Here it is the announcement that you have been waiting for Our EAA AntiqueClassic Division s new membership contest is off the ground and is in full flight The rules are very simple PRINT your name and Division membership number on the back of each Division membership application which you now have in your possession and then give the applications to your friends after you have told them why they should join the AntiqueClassic Division Or make a short speech on the subject at your next EAA chapshyter meeting and sign up your chapter members Or talk to the gang that hangs out at your local airport and get nem to sign up Thats all you have to do The rest will be accomplished for you by Headquarters

For any contest there have to be prizes and your Headquarters staff have some great ones just waiting to be mailed out When the first five new memberships with your name and Division membership number printshyed on the back arrive at Headquarters you will be sent one pair of original military style goggles comshyplete with a leather pouch When the second five (a total of ten) new members are received with your name and number on the back you will be shipped a beautiful new brown genuine leather flying helmet Additional goggles and helmets will be sent to you each time an additional five and ten new members respectively bearing your name and number are reshyceived so there is no limit to how many goggles

The Restorers Corner

By] R Nielander Jr Division Pres ident

and helmets you can win On December 311978 Headshyquarters wi ll total the number of new memberships sponsored by each member during this entire year and the member who has sponsored the most new memshybers will receive a free five year membership in the EAA AntiqueClassic Division Sounds great doesnt t Earn one two three four or more sets of beautishyful new goggles and helmets just by telling your aviation-minded friends and acquaintences about the EAA AntiqueClassic Division and getting them to join and then put yourself in the running for the big prize of a five year free membership too

You should have about 24 membership applications on hand in back issues of this magazine but if you need additional ones just write to Headquarters The staff will be happy to send you all that you can use

This contest is open to all members of the EAA AntiqueClassic Division even to those new members whose membership application may have counted toward another members prize Only your officers directors advisors and Headquarters staff are inelligishyble to win prizes

Elsewhere in this issue you will find our annual listing of type clubs andor newsletter editors Your Division Officers encou rage you to support the type clubs of your choice particularly if you own that type airplane The majority of those listed publish newsletters which in many cases are the only sources of information concerning parts and maintenance proshycedures on that particular type aircraft Most of the officers and editors are extremely dedicated and many times they do not even ask for enough remunershyation to cover the printing and mailing costs of their newsletters The cost of joining a type club runs all the way from just making your desires known to the club to sending a contribution for postage and printing to just a few dollars a year Nowhere else can such a wealth of information be obtained for such a small investment

Calendar of Events APRIL 16 - GRAND PRAIRIE TEXAS - Annual Fly-In sponsored by

EAA Chapter 34 Contact George C Sims 8171292-4233 or 292-3798 MAY 5-7 - ROANOKE RAPIDS NORTH CAROLINA - Spring Fly-In

sponsored by AntiquelClassic Chapter 3 MAY 5-7 - CHINO CALIFORNIA - 4th Annual Southern Califorshy

nia Regional Fly-In Sponsored by EAA Chapters 1 7 11 92 96 448 and 494 Contact Gene Vickery 1115 S Sierra Vista Avenue Alhambra California 91801 2131289~8944

MAY 19 20 21 - HORN POINT MARYLAND - Potomac Antique Aero Squadron Fly-In Aerodrome built by Francis du Pont 2 miles west of Cambridge on Marylands Eastern Shore For inshyformation contact Bernie Funk Office 301-952-4770

MAY 26 Z7 28 - WATSONVILLE CALIFORNIA - 14th Annual West Coast Antique Aircraft Fly-In and Air Show at Watsonville Airshyport Co-sponsored by the Northern California Chapter Antique Airplane Association and the Watsonville Chamber of Commerce For information contact Earl W Swaney Publicity Director 525 Saratoga Ave No3 Santa Clara California 95050 415645-3709 (days) 4081296-5632 (evenings)

MAY 26-29 - HARVARD ILLINOIS - Monocoupe Fly-In Dacy Airshyport Held in connection with Ryan Fly-In Contact Willard Beneshydict 129Cedar Street Wayland Michigan 49348

MAY 28 - TOUGHKENAMON PENNSYLVANIA - A gathering of Moths Garden Flying Field Unicom 1228 80 octane 215268shy8988

JUNE 2-4 - ATCHISON KANSAS - The Annual Fly-In of the Greater Kansas City Chapter Antique Airplane Association will be held at Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport Contact Dick Shane 8315 Floyd Overland Park Kansas 66212 913648-3139 or Kermit Hoffshymeier 103 NW 64th Terrace Gladstone Missouri 64118 8161 436-3459

JUNE 3-4 - GENERAL MOTORS WILDCAT TEST PILOT and Ground Crew reunion Contact Dick Foote PO Box 57 Willimantic Connecticut 06226 - 203423-2584 or Dan Hanrahan 470 Elmore Avenue Elizabeth New Jersey On08 - 2011254-4481 Names and addresses appreciated

JUNE 911 - SPRINGFiElD OHIO - 2nd Annual Spring EAA MidshyEastern Regional Fly-In (MERFI) Air Show awards on airport camping static displays etc Please check NOTAMS Contact Myrna Lewis 241 Bassett Drive Springfield Ohio 44506 5131 323-2424

JUNE 17-18 - FREDERICKSBURG VIRGINIA - Antique Aircraft FlyshyIn Shannon Airport Air Show attractions Bob Hoover Bob Russhysell and Duane Cole

JULY 1-2 - GAINESVILLE GEORGIA - 11th Annual Cracker Fly-In at Lee-Gilmer Airport Awards will be presented in all categories Our banquet will be at the Gainesville Holiday Inn Saturday night July 2 Len Povey has accepted an invitation to be guest speaker Accommodations - Gainesville Holiday Inn and other local motels Iformation Jim Ealy 3535 Ch ilders Road Roswell Georgia 30075 404993-4568

JULY 1-9 - BLAKESBURG IOWA - Wright Brothers 75th Annivershysary Fly-In at the Antique Airfield Includes World War II PT and liaison Plane Fly-In July 1-3 Fairchild Club Fly-In and Unique Airshyplane Fly-In July 6-9

JULY 14-16 - MINDEN NEBRASKA - Second Annual National Stinshyson Club Fly-In Pioneer Field near Harold Warps Pioneer Vilshylage BBQ Friday night for early arrivals Saturday night banquet and awards Scheduled events Fly-In Chairman Bob Near 2702 Butterfoot Lane Hastings Nebraska 68901 402463-9309

JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 26th Annual EAA Fly-In Start making your plans now - it isnt too early

(Photo by Chris Sorensen)

John Bowdens Curtiss Robin

Editorial Staff

Publisher Paul H Poberezny

Editor David Gustafson

Associate Editors H Glenn Buffington Robert G Elliott AI Kelch Edward D Williams

Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs Associate Editorships are assigned to those writers who submit five or more articles which are published in THE VINTAGE AIRshyPLANE during the current year Associates receive a bound volume of THE VINTAGE AIRshyPLANE and a free one-year membership in the Division for their efforts POliCY-Opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor

ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS

PRESIDENT J R NIELANDER JR

PO BOX 2464 FT LAUDERDALE FL 33303

VICE-PRESIDENT JACK WINTHROP

RT 1 BOX 111 ALLEN TX 75002

SECRETARY W BRAD THOMAS JR

301 DODSON MILL ROAD PILOT MOUNTAIN NC 27041

TREASURER E E BUCK HILBERT

8102 LEECH RD UNION IL 60180

Directors

William I Ehlen Route 8 Box 506

Tampa Florida 33618

Claude l Gray Ir 35 Sylvia Avenue

Northridge California 91324

Dale A Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Drive

Indianapolis Indiana 46274

Richard Wagner PO Box 181

l yons Wisconsin 53148

Advisors

Rona ld Fritz 1989 Wilson NW

Grand Rapids Michigan 49504

Roger I Sherron 446-C Las Cas itas

Sa nta Rosa California 95401

AI Kelch 7018 W Bonniwell Road

Mequon Wisconsin 53092

Morton W lester Box 3747

Martinsville Virgi nia 24112

An hur R Morgan 513 North 91st Street

Milwa ukee Wi scon sin 53226

M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 151

St ilwell Kansas 66085

Stan Gomoll 1042 90th Lane NE

Minneapolis Minnesota 55434

Robert E Kessel 445 Oakridge Drive

Rochester New York 14617

Robert A White 1207 Falcon Drive

Orlando Florida 32803

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc and is published monthly at Hales Corners Wisconsin 53130 Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office Hales Corners Wisconsin 53130 and additional mailing offices Membership rates for EAA Antiquel Classic Division Inc are $1400 per 12 month period o f which $1000 is for the publication of T HE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation

The VINTAGEAI1PLANE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC

of THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION PO Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130

CopyrightO 1978 EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc All Rights Reserved

APRIL 1978 VOLUME 6 NUMBER 4

CONTENTS (Cover Photo by Chris Sorensen 1937 Model A-7S-300 Stearman)

The Restorers Corner by J R Nie lander Jr 2 Calendar of Events bull 2 A Vintage Pilot by David Gustafson bull 4 Fords Are Where You Find Them by Byron (Fred) Fredericksen 8 Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs 9 Bill Chomo Reports Philosophy of Restoration 10 We Were There In Numbers Even If

They Ain t Making Them Like That Anymore by Wm J Bill Ehlen 12 Vintage Album 14 Dean Tilton s Grand Champion Travel Air 2000 by Jack Cox 16 Whistling In The ~i ggi ng by Paul H Poberezny 17 National Stearman Fly-In by Thomas E Lowe bull bull 18 Clear To Land compiled by Kell y Viets 21 Restoration Tips Equal or Better by Dorr 8 Carpenter 22 Periodicals of Interest to the AntiqueClassic World by Leo Opdycke 23 Letters 25

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP o NON-EAA MEMBER - $2000 Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique

Class ic Divi sion 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE one year memshybership in the Experimental Aircraft Association and separate membership cards SPORT AVIATION magazine not included

o EAA MEMBER - $1400 Includes one year membership in the EAAAntiqueClass ic Division 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE AND MEMBERSHIP CARD (Applicant must be current EAA member and must give EAA membership number)

----=~~

Page 8 bull Page 10 Page 12

3

~1- VI~Ir1-G Pltor By David Gustafson Editor

(Photographs Provided by Sabbie Ludovici)

Sabbie Ludovici started logging hours over fifty years ago Now thats not necessarily remarkable in itself but the picture changes a little when you disshycover that hes still spending 363 days a year on a field still logging 30 to 35 hours a week as an instructor shyand half of those are spent with the only FAA Approved aerobatics curriculum in the country At the age of 67 Sabbie has the kind of mental acuity and sensitivity to flight that makes kids envious

As a teacher he hangs on to what he was taught over fifty years ago fly by feel Or as he puts it Youve got to learn to fly by the seat of your pants you ve got to feel it in your fanny And hes quick to point out that no amount of federal regulating will ever have an effect on someones ah fanny You cant regulate safety What hes talking about is a total physical intellectual commitment to sensing what the airplane is doing Naturally anyone who learned to fly as Sabbie did in a Standard )-1 which couldnt be trimmed and which had a grand total of four unshyreliable instruments (altimeter tachometer oil presshysure and temperature) would know exactly what hes talking about

I began to find out what he was talking about four years ago when he agreed to check me out in the Cessna 120 Id just bought It was my first taildragger We were in the pattern practicing touch-and-go s Id worked through three stages mexican jumping bean kangaroo Kamikaze The score was Sabbie 32000 hours me 105 We were on base leg The plane was rocking

Sabbie barked at me relax dammit I tried to Youve got white knuckles he added accusingly and I can see the muscles bu lging in your arms and wrists I wiped the sweat off my palms and turned

to final Think of the airplane as your lover Youre not going to grab or squeeze or jerk a woman are you Maybe you do You shouldnt Fondle that conshytrol stick and itll be nice to you Make love to your airplane His voice was softer and some color began to show in my hands about that time As he extended his metaphor about the airplane as a woman I must have developed a bit of color in my face too for he started chuckling and slapped his thigh I wondered

Sabbies Waco 10 built in 1928 and powered with an OX-5 that reportedly came off Lindbergh s lenny

what kind of an image he used when giVing flying lessons to a woman Then I chuckled See Its fun when you relax

We touched down rolled then I throttled forshyward and lifted the tail Get that tail up sooner and get it up higher now keep it straight Sabbie

4

(Photo by David Gustatson)

Sabbie Ludovici at 67 with his typica l grin Fifty years of fly ing and still go ing strong

You had to do more than fl y to keep go ing in the thirties Sabb ie welds the gear back onto a j-3 that hed ferried out of a field

coaxed Then he snapped again dont jerk it off the laxed I was still over-controlling Youre driving runway ease it off now instead of flying Leave the ailerons alone You re

We leveled off at 800 feet and Sabbie focused on working too hard He turned to me Theres no something below like hed never seen it before even turbulence up here today you know but you sure are though hed been over that part of the field thoushy working hard to create your own with those controls sands of times See those ruts down there I used to There was another kind of turbulence in his voice haul logs over that road when I was a kid Made some His hands waved then fell on the right wheel I let go of my flying school money doing that and braced myself for another of Sabbies flying exshy

We turned final again and though I was more re- amples The plane lurched tipped hopped dove and

Around 1940 Sabbie (second from right) ran a mechanics school His students are seen here recovering a Travel Aire

d ~

sacheted The aluminum skin crackled Sabbie was completely relaxed See he shouted in mock serishyousness see how you can make your own storm I saw vividly You dont have to keep readjusting for every puff of wind It was like riding with an Italian John Wayne on a bucking bronco which had polished off a bale of loco weed He suddenly let go of the stick folded his arms and pulled his feet back from the rudshyder pedals Hed done it with hundreds of students

5

The plane bobbed a few more times leveled off and glided smoothly to the runway Theres no reashyson to be frightened of an occasional bump on final

he said softly and seriously And theres no reason to be afraid of this machine falling apart either Suddenly it struck home that fear had been the enemy not the wind and not the plane Sabbie had seen my fear a lot earlier and finally decided to scare it out of me We shut down in front of his hangar and he climbed out gingerly With a broad smile that made his ears stand out a little he said you ll make it I did A few more hours with Sabbie and I felt like Clark Gable with Vivian Leigh I literally went with the wind

Then a couple years ago Sabbie kissed one of his female students hopped out of the plane with an expression of success and stood back while she took off for her first solo flight It was his wife Louise She was 63 at the time I always wanted to teach her he said calmly over coffee but when we were younger there never seemed to be any time She was busy raising the kids Of course she always wanted to learn so I guess nows as good a time as any His pride was obvious

Sabbies son Joe was ready to solo an airplane at the age of 10 We had to stick seven cushions under him to bring his eyes above the planes instrushyment panel Hed been flying with me for over nine years I started holding him in my lap when he was nine months old When he was eighteen months I could talk him through a landing by anticipating his moves and telling him when to pull back on the stick Then a winter went by and Joe stayed on the ground The next time I took him up and told him to pull back he nearly stood the airplane on its tail I forgot to take into account that he had become much stronger and quicker with his reflexes

Louise Joe and I were only three people out of about 3000 that Sabbie has introduced to the art of safe sensitive flying Unfortunately what he knows about relaxation and feeling in flight is dying out People teach you to tune dials and memorize rules but they dont get down to fundamentals Ive straightshyened out a lot of pilots who were taught the wrong way and who wound up being afraid of flying Some of them were high time pilots and some of them were even CFIs What does a scared CFI teach Sabbie doesnt hold back when he gets into the subject of flight instruction Seventy-five percent of the flight instruction in this country stinks today They dont teach you how the airplane can take care of itself Too many operators are anxious for a dollar and let a student solo before hes ready They promise they can get you to solo in six hours and they do it and

thats stupid You cant deal with a set period of hours you have to deal with individual personalities He believes that 70 percent of the instructors effort should go into teaching relaxation and feeling 20 percent goes toward breaking the driving habit or overshycontrolling and 10 percent goes into teaching skills Theres fifty years of experience behind that idea Its the kind of experience the FAA would profit from if there were some way they could gear up to listen

Sabbies one of those rare people who found a way of life that he could embrace with undiminished interest for a half century In fifty years of flying and instructing Ive never been frightened by it or bored by it he says convincingly While he easily looks like hes 67 he has the kind of energy that mocks the white hair thats left on his head He tells stories with the flourish of a Zorba and commands attention like a Pied Piper Hell drop just about anyshything hes doing on the ground to turn his hands into airplanes and talk about flying And when you hear him say that reminds me or there was this pilot it often becomes hard to get a word in edgeshywise I love talking to people he once confided then grinned and added slowly maybe too much All those years have given him a lot to talk about

Unlike a lot of boys in the 1920s who watched a bush pilot put down in a local pea patch then bought a two-dollar ride and left for flying school Sabbie didnt even get a close-up look at an airplane until he was on his way to flying school

It was 1926 when I made up my mind to go I was 16 Id seen planes way overhead but never got a chance to look at one or fly in one he recounts No I got hooked when I ran across a full-page ad in Popular Mechanics for the Sweeney Aviation School out in Kansas City Missouri It was the idea of speed more than anything that excited me He made up his mind and told his mother There was a great storm A year later though I was on my way I got a lot of help from Lindbergh When he made his great flight in 27 there were a lot of sons who finally won their arguments Sabbie left his native Rhode Island with the ad in his pocket

His first ride overwhelmed him with disappointshyment There was no sense of speed None It was alshymost like that old Standard J-1 just hung there in space It was slow I was ready to give up But on the second lesson my instructor let me take the controls and my desire for speed was left in the clouds Those lessons cost him $35 a crack and he used to get up at 300 am walk thirteen blocks and then fly until the winds came up

Sabbie used the Waco 10 until 1938 when it was crushed by a hangar roof that fell in during a hurricane

Sabbie and Walt Scheibe pose in front of Walts AW Cessna

There weren t any aviation weather reports in those days there werent any air sectionals the planes didnt have radios - there was no one to talk to and it was rare to find one that even had a compass On cross-country trips hed literally stick a wet thumb in the air glance at the position of the sun and climb into the cockpit with his copy of the Rand McNally Road Atlas With those kind of conditions you either developed a feeling for flight or took up farming (someshy

6

rricanes sure raise havoc with airplanes This one in 54 tossed Sabbies PT-23 into the trees Somehow it was cked out without any dam age

In 1946 Sabbie took delivery on a new Taylorcraft Be 120 which he still owns

times suddenly) When he was on the ground Sabbie busied himself with a wrench a needle and thread or a paintbrush and he developed the knowledge equivalent to an AampP

A couple years later Sabbie hitched back to Rhode Island He befriended Joel Meynard and the two went off in search of an airplane (with a little financial help from Sabbies mother) They scoured the New York area for a plane but found nothing for sale While at Roosevelt field however he did make the acquaintshyance of a young aviatrix Amelia Earhart They came home empty-handed and found that there was a Waco 10 on Block Island that had been wrecked ten hours after it had left the factory Doug Harris had rebuilt it When Harris had found he couldnt rebuild the engine and couldnt purchase a new one from the factory he changed the mount and installed an OX-5 That engine reportedly came off of Lindberghs old Jenny (it was a small world then too) Sabbie and Joel bought the Waco 10 then flew it up to Woonsocket where they opened the LampM Flying Service and School And almost immediately after that we were shut down by the Federal Government Someone had crashed and in the space of a couple days the FARs

I

became pregnant with new rules about licensing Sabbie and Joel of course complied there was no choice Soon after they were running their service again doing charters joy rides and the occasional lesson It was 1930 and things were slow

Anyones first airplane becomes their lifetime favorite says Sabbie I dont care what kind of machine it is its always the best The Waco 10 in Sabbies life lived to be rebuilt a couple times until the hurricane of 1938 retired it permanently In the eight years he flew it however he logged enough exshyperiences to fill a book Like the time he went up late in the morning to relax a little hed only had about an hours sleep the night before He fell asleep in the Waco for 15 minutes and flew 20 miles in the process without losing any altitude or altering his heading Thats a trimmed airplane

At another time he was up on a sight-seeing trip with a friend They circled this and buzzed that and in the process a thunderstorm moved in between them and the airport They had two choices go to Boston or go through the storm Sabbie decided mainly because he didnt know much about thundershystorms back in 1932 to fly through it and satisfy his curiosity I was very lucky and I guess the good Lord didnt want me yet He admits he really didnt get scared while he was in the storm because he was too busy Almost immediately after entering the melee the control stick was ripped out of his hand It was all over the cockpit Sabbie recounts but for all the violence it averaged out to level flight after a fashion and a straight heading to boot Some fashion

There was an incredible amount of rain and turshybulence but none of the vertical drafts you hear about At least thats what he remembers His altishymeter wasnt the sensitive type When I got out I was ready to quit flying but that feeling didnt even last to the airport

In 1937 Sabbie was ferrying home a brand new 40 horsepower Taylorcraft The weather service had reported some mild storms and he was eager to get home He decided to fly around the cells (no more of that straight-through stuff) and took off with a full tank He went around a total of 14 thunderstorms some of which were so big and savage that they proshyduced huge newspaper headlines the next day In the process of storm dodging Sabbie found himself over wilderness areas without roads fields or runways Finally as night began to fall he found a grass strip put down and checked out a suspicion that had been building up he had less than one cup of gas left in the nine-gallon tank That was the closest he ever came to running out of gas

On another occasion in the late 30s a friend of Sabbies put a J-3 in a field to sit out a thunderstorm He was a tad nervous at the time and wound up with unapproved retractable gear The next day Sabbie hauled out some welding equipment and tacked the gear together He couldnt weld in the fuselage for fear of burning up the fabric so he fished a 2x4 in along a broken longeron and secured it with baling wire There were still some gaping holes in the fabric however and they needed attention before the yellow bird could be ferried back to the airport The owner had brought dope and thread but forgot to bring some fabric They begged some pillow cases from a friend covered the holes in the true spirit of CAM 18 and took off for better facilities

In August of 1942 Sabbie left Rhode Island to parshyticipate as a civilian flight instructor in a Navy train shying program He was with that program until late in 1944 when he switched over to the Air Force for a chance to fly the hump from India to China He was in with 8000 others all of whom found themselves out on the street when the Burma Road was finished So Sabbie went home and set himself up again as an FBO

During his civilian career hes worked at six airshyports One of those was turned into a racetrack two were converted to apartment complexes one became a shopping center and another is now a college campus Sabbie had built one of those fields himself His wife told me he used a wheelbarrow to cart stones off the field and built a hangar with his own hands Sabbie added I became the airport manager meshychanic instructor charter pilot bookkeeper salesshyman you name it Louise reminded him you used to come home from that job as an auto mechanic grab a bag full of sandwiches a whiskey bottle filled with coffee and down the works on the way to the field

Today Sabbie is still busy giving instructions to students and experienced pilots When he was 65 he won FAA approval for a thirty-hour aerobatic curricshyulum Of course anyone whos taking it will quickly tell you its the teacher that makes the difference So he spends 4 to 5 hours a day sommersaulting around the sky and loving every minute of it It cleans my system out moves the blood and the sediment around he says When you learn aerobatics the right way you learn safety relaxation and precision You become a better pilot

Sabbies students refer to him as salty and crusty but they always do it in tones of fondness I have yet to meet a student who didn t respect him along with his fifty-year-old approach to safe flight

7

By Byron (Fred) Fredericksen (fAA 99807 ) 3240 W Breezewood Lane N eenah Wisconsin 54956

Perhaps twenty years too late would be a more appropriate heading for my little tale here I offer this story for those interested in Ford Tri-Motor history I have read with much interest some of the fine works Ford historians have done through the years and more will be done as time goes on I think THE FORD STORY by William T Larkins was done extremely well Work su~h as that takes a lot of research and it is good that some one does it There are also Ford history publishycations I have not seen and the Ford I write of here may be old news to some folks

While at a friend s home in Alaska a few years ago our conversation got going on rumors of old airshyplanes in the Alaska bush (This kind of rumor always excities me and I have followed many since I believe this needs to be done) My host went on to say he thought he knew where there was a Ford In fact he had seen it near a remote airstrip many years ago He also added that in all probability there may not be much left of it if in fact it was still there How it got there he did not know He also said he knew of a party that represented a group from South Of The

Border which had also been seeking this Ford Howshyever he thought they had probably lost interest in it by this point in time

My thoughts went back to stories I had read about aerial refueling with Fords over Alaska I remembered one about Garland Lincoln flying a Ford to refuel a Lockheed 12-A in flight which Jimmie Mattern was flying during an air search

Of course since Ford Tri-Motors have showed up at all points of the globe through the years the one my buddy was speaking of could have arrived at its final resting place for any number of reasons Since I had to leave Alaska in a few days I asked my friend if he would be interested in making a trip to the Ford Site for a look-see if Id finance it He agreed to do so if he found the time that winter and if the weather was suitable I had things to do and left for home

Now perhaps some readers know all about the Ford I refer to that Lincoln was flying Maybe some one owns it today Upon returning home I found some stories on the subject and they indicate Lincoln crash-landed his Ford and totaled it on the Alaska tundra during bad weather in 1937 I do not wish to quote any publications here and I did not do any new research on Ford history However I did find the registration and serial numbers on the Ford involved in our rumor It was NC-8403 model 4-AT-E serial 4-AT-65 and the name PTARMIGAN II was probably painted on it I also found a photograph showing Mr Ray Peterson and a Ford Tri-Motor bearing the words

PTARMIGAN lion its fuselage The photo was dated 1932 Mr Peterson has been involved with airplanes and airlines in Alaska for years Ptarmigan is the name of the official state bird in Alaska

Within a few months of returning to Wisconsin I decided we should have a look at our rumor As agreed my Alaskan buddy made the trip for me It was not a real long trip but it was in December It involved going from Fairbanks to Bethel then to Flat which I understand is a mining camp and has been for years The Ford site was an hours ride from the camp airshystrip via rented snow machine

The Ford was still there The name PTARMIGAN II was on the fuselage All that was visible was the fuseshylage And it had been stripped Twelve foot high brush had grown up around it My Buddy took some photos then waited out some bad weather at Flat and finally via a ski equipped Cub and Fairchild F-27 to McGrath and Anchorage arrived home four days later

He sent me the photos and a letter explaining that the cockpit gear cabin interior and every other little part had been removed The tail feathers had been damaged probably by a dozer blade He figured a Ford restorer had gotten to it The engines were gone as was the cowling The wings are said to be buried in stones under the fuselage but he did not see them due to the deep snow

He ended his letter with the words we are just twenty years too late

For the record The Alaskan Ford was a model 4 ATE Serial Number 4-AT-65 Registration Number NC 8403 It was built in 1929 with three Wright Whirlshywind engines rated at 300 horsepower Mamer Flying Service in Spokane Washington was the first owner They sold it to Tom Marshall Kester and Ed Groeneyke in 1934 and that same year it was damaged beyond repair while being landed at an airstrip at Flat Alaska

(Photo by ] O Berr y)

Twe lve feet of brush has grow n up around the Ford sa

8

Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs

Publication of the following Type Club information does not constitute endorsement of either the listed organizations or their officers nor does it guarantee the integrity of their operations None of the listed Type Clubs is affiliated with either the Experimental Aircraft Association or its AntiqueClassic Division While every effort has been made to publish correct and up-to-date information solely as a service to the members of the EAA AntiqueClassic Division the acshycuracy can not be guaranteed Please send any addishytions or corrections to the Editor

The Aeronca Chief Information George S York 181 Sloboda Ave Mansfield OH 44901

Aeronca Club Edward H Schubert Chairman 28 East State SI Janesville WI 53545

The Aeronca Owners Club C W Lasher 14100 Lake Candlwood Ct Miami Lakes FL 33014

Aeronca Sedan Club Richard Welsh 2311 E Lake Sammamish PI Issaquah WA 98027

The Airmaster Club Gar Williams Chairman 9 South 125 Aero Drive Naperville IL 60540

The American Bonanza Society B J McClanahan MD PO Box 13 Hornel NY 14843

The American Bonanza Society Reading Municipal Airport Box 3749

Reading PA 19605

American Navion Society A R Cardono Chairman of the Board Box 1175 Airport Station Banning CA 92220

The Bird Airplane Club Mrs Richard C Hill Secretary Box 89 Harvard I L 60033

Canadian-American Amphibian Assoc Don Kyte President Box 527 Diablo CA 94528

Cessna 120-140 Association Box 92 Tom Teegarden President Richardson TX 75080

Culver Club Lawrence Low Chairman 60 Skywood Way Woodside CA 94062

The Dart Club Lloyd Washburn 3958 Washburn Drive PI Clinton OH 43452

The Dehaviland Moth Club John Bright Chairman 221 East Ransom SI Kalamazoo MI 49007

Eastern Cessna 190195 Association Cliff C Crabs 25575 Butternut Ridge Rd N Olmstead OH 44070

The Ercoupe Club M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 159 Stilwell KS 66085

Ercoupe Owners Club Skip Carden President Box 15058 Durham NC 27704

The Fairchild Club Ken Love President 1102 Main SI Crete IL 60417

Fokker Verein Dr Stanley S Murel 812 East Park Row Arlington TX 76010

The Funk Aircraft Owners Assoc G Dale Beach Chairman 1621 Dreher SI Sacramento CA 95814

The Heath Club Bob Burgee Chairman 7612 Erie SI Sylvania OH 43560

Howard Club Richard K Martin Chairman Route 3 Aerodrome Road Green Bay WI 54301

International Cessna 170 Association Inc 29010 Highway 160 East Durango CO 81301

International Cessna 195 Club Dwight M Ewing President Box 737 Merced CA 95340

International Citabria Club Ltd Box 29 White Lake NY 12786

International Swift Association Charles Nelson Box 644 Athens TN 37303

The Interstate Club Bruce F Mitchell 5421 NE 43 St Kansas City MO 64117

The Luscomb Association Robert Shelton 339 W Pierce SI Macomb IL 61455

The Meyers Club Ev Payette 1604 South Custer Rd Monroe MI 48161

Monocoupe Club Mr and Mrs Bud Dake Chairmen 8318 Fairbanks lerkeley MS 63134

The Mooney Mite Owners Assoc Box 3999 Charlottesvi lie VA 22903

The Moth Club Dudley Kelly RI 4 Versailles KY 40383

National Ryan Club Mitch Mayborn 3164 Whitehall Dallas TX 75229

National Ryan Club PT-22 Division Bill J Hodges Chairman 308 West Moore Ave Searcy AR 72143

National Waco Club Ray H Brandly 2650 W Alex Bellbrook Rd Dayton OH 45459

OX5 Aviation Pioneers 419 Plaza Building Pittsburgh PA 15219

Porterfield Club Charles E Lebreckt Chairman 3121 E Lake Shore Drive Wonder Lake IL 60097

The Rearwin Club George T Williams 115 Pauquette SI Portage WI 53901

Robin Club Walter L Tufts Chairman 4138 Santa Rosa Drive Moor Park CA 93021

Rose Parakeet Club J W Pose PO Box 32 Ingleside IL 60041

Seabee Newsletter George W Mojonnier Editor 10615 69th Place SE Snohomish WA 98290

Spartan Club Don Fairbanks Cardinal Air Training Hangar 224 Lunken Airport Cincinnati OH 42226

The Staggerwing Club James C Gorman President Box 1217 Mansfield OH 44903

Stampe Club Allen Schneider RI 1 Brodhead WI 53520

Stearmans Restorers Association Inc M Lowe President 823 Kingston Lane Crystal Lake IL 60014

Stinson Club J J Paul 1518 Ronson Rd Houston TX 77050

Taylorcraft Owners Club Merton A Meade Jr Chairman 5906 Summer Lane Oxan Hill MD 20021

Travel Air Club H M Herb Harkcom Buzzards Roost RI 1 Mola OK 74036

U S Stampe Club Stephen J Linsenmeyer 127 Hollywood Drive Monroe MI 48161

Vagabond News Cecil Ogles Editor 448 CAve Coronado CA 92118

Vintage Sailplane Association Jeff Steele 6053 - 25th Rd N Arlington VA 22207

West Coast Cessna 120140 Club Inc Doug Williams President Box 891 Menlo Park CA 94025

Wheelchair Pilots Howard L Treadwell 11018 - 102nd Ave Largo FL 33540

World War I Aeroplanes Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie KY 12601

Wright J-5 Club George Lanning 833 Stoneburner Lane Kent WA 98031

9

BILL CHOMO REPORTS

PHILOSOPHV OF

RESTORATION

An Interview with Bill Choma Director of M aintenance amp Restoration

VINTAGE AIRPLANE What is your philosophy on reshystoring airplanes

Bill Chomo Well at EAA we re charged with a very great responsibility in that we re preserving our aviashytion history for posterity Were fortunate in that were dealing with something that is relatively new aviashytions only 75 years old So weve got a better jump than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian items that are thousands of years old Our philosophy differs between the two types of restoring (1) workshying for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum display Flying takes preference here so all planes have to be made airworthy and authenticity as far as materials and so on are secondary To some extent thats true in Museum quality restoration You have to take modern liberties We want an airplane that can sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly and not have to be rebuilt another time I know there are other museum people who differ with me because they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT original type materials glues and everything else The reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or three hundred year life on a very perishable comshymodity like an airplane you have to use the best posshysib le techniques that we have today - the best posshysib le glues (including epoxy) The dope is a good exshyample all of the original planes way back had varnish on them which became britt le in a very sho rt time A

little later they had nitrate dope which deteriorates The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back into a natural state right in the can Thats why there are very few old movies left Well nitrate dope is about the same Its made with nitric acid and cellushylose Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid is consumed so its neutral But the stuff will turn acid again as this process never stops with acid and evenshytually it will eat the fabric off the airplane This is one of the reason s that butyrate dope was developed So why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten years

Tires are another example of a problem On origishynal tires the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cershytain number of years The ozone in the air destroys the rubber Then you have to find sources of supply to get original configuration tires Thats a must even on the flyable airplanes

Hardwares also difficult because we have modshyernized our bolts Unless you go to a local hardware store and buy tractor nuts and bolts you really don t have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back then A lot of the original materials are just not in use anymore

Naturally some things like the integrity of the airshyplane its general shape and some details like the rib stitching can be kept true to form With rib stitching for example the same spac ing that was used when it was originally built shou ld definitely be retained You dont want to change any of that Its something that a future scholar a hundred years from now is going to

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Bill Choma left) lays on some tape over rib stit ch ing on the elevator of the Dehavilshyland Rap ide being res tored in the shops Phillipe Van Pelt lencls a hand

want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down on the leading edge

On the other hand what do you do for accuracy with some of the rare aircraft where there were absoshylutely no blueprints Usually you can copy some of the parts from original s Thats an art in itself But when the part is actually missing what did it look like The search can wind through old photos magazines or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying glass trying to decipher from the picture what the part looked like and what its scale was It takes a fantasti c library

VA Of the airplanes you ve restored for EAA how many have been given the Museum treatment

BC The only two that I can think of that weren t reshystored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the Pfalz Those two were restored to museum status Thats only because they would have required major rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying them there was no reason to do the extra work Conshyseq uently the Pheasant was not even recovered It was rejuvenated and repainted with the original fabshyric on it Someday were going to have to completely restore that airp lane The flying wires or flying cab les in some instances were just cleaned up but not reshyplaced They wou ld not be ai rworthy The engines were not gone through They were cleaned on the outshysid e but not disassembled and overhauled

VA Have they been pickled

10

(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

11

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

12

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

SEND YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO

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24

(Photo by Chris Sorensen)

John Bowdens Curtiss Robin

Editorial Staff

Publisher Paul H Poberezny

Editor David Gustafson

Associate Editors H Glenn Buffington Robert G Elliott AI Kelch Edward D Williams

Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs Associate Editorships are assigned to those writers who submit five or more articles which are published in THE VINTAGE AIRshyPLANE during the current year Associates receive a bound volume of THE VINTAGE AIRshyPLANE and a free one-year membership in the Division for their efforts POliCY-Opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor

ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS

PRESIDENT J R NIELANDER JR

PO BOX 2464 FT LAUDERDALE FL 33303

VICE-PRESIDENT JACK WINTHROP

RT 1 BOX 111 ALLEN TX 75002

SECRETARY W BRAD THOMAS JR

301 DODSON MILL ROAD PILOT MOUNTAIN NC 27041

TREASURER E E BUCK HILBERT

8102 LEECH RD UNION IL 60180

Directors

William I Ehlen Route 8 Box 506

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l yons Wisconsin 53148

Advisors

Rona ld Fritz 1989 Wilson NW

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An hur R Morgan 513 North 91st Street

Milwa ukee Wi scon sin 53226

M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 151

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Orlando Florida 32803

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc and is published monthly at Hales Corners Wisconsin 53130 Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office Hales Corners Wisconsin 53130 and additional mailing offices Membership rates for EAA Antiquel Classic Division Inc are $1400 per 12 month period o f which $1000 is for the publication of T HE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation

The VINTAGEAI1PLANE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC

of THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION PO Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130

CopyrightO 1978 EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc All Rights Reserved

APRIL 1978 VOLUME 6 NUMBER 4

CONTENTS (Cover Photo by Chris Sorensen 1937 Model A-7S-300 Stearman)

The Restorers Corner by J R Nie lander Jr 2 Calendar of Events bull 2 A Vintage Pilot by David Gustafson bull 4 Fords Are Where You Find Them by Byron (Fred) Fredericksen 8 Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs 9 Bill Chomo Reports Philosophy of Restoration 10 We Were There In Numbers Even If

They Ain t Making Them Like That Anymore by Wm J Bill Ehlen 12 Vintage Album 14 Dean Tilton s Grand Champion Travel Air 2000 by Jack Cox 16 Whistling In The ~i ggi ng by Paul H Poberezny 17 National Stearman Fly-In by Thomas E Lowe bull bull 18 Clear To Land compiled by Kell y Viets 21 Restoration Tips Equal or Better by Dorr 8 Carpenter 22 Periodicals of Interest to the AntiqueClassic World by Leo Opdycke 23 Letters 25

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP o NON-EAA MEMBER - $2000 Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique

Class ic Divi sion 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE one year memshybership in the Experimental Aircraft Association and separate membership cards SPORT AVIATION magazine not included

o EAA MEMBER - $1400 Includes one year membership in the EAAAntiqueClass ic Division 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE AND MEMBERSHIP CARD (Applicant must be current EAA member and must give EAA membership number)

----=~~

Page 8 bull Page 10 Page 12

3

~1- VI~Ir1-G Pltor By David Gustafson Editor

(Photographs Provided by Sabbie Ludovici)

Sabbie Ludovici started logging hours over fifty years ago Now thats not necessarily remarkable in itself but the picture changes a little when you disshycover that hes still spending 363 days a year on a field still logging 30 to 35 hours a week as an instructor shyand half of those are spent with the only FAA Approved aerobatics curriculum in the country At the age of 67 Sabbie has the kind of mental acuity and sensitivity to flight that makes kids envious

As a teacher he hangs on to what he was taught over fifty years ago fly by feel Or as he puts it Youve got to learn to fly by the seat of your pants you ve got to feel it in your fanny And hes quick to point out that no amount of federal regulating will ever have an effect on someones ah fanny You cant regulate safety What hes talking about is a total physical intellectual commitment to sensing what the airplane is doing Naturally anyone who learned to fly as Sabbie did in a Standard )-1 which couldnt be trimmed and which had a grand total of four unshyreliable instruments (altimeter tachometer oil presshysure and temperature) would know exactly what hes talking about

I began to find out what he was talking about four years ago when he agreed to check me out in the Cessna 120 Id just bought It was my first taildragger We were in the pattern practicing touch-and-go s Id worked through three stages mexican jumping bean kangaroo Kamikaze The score was Sabbie 32000 hours me 105 We were on base leg The plane was rocking

Sabbie barked at me relax dammit I tried to Youve got white knuckles he added accusingly and I can see the muscles bu lging in your arms and wrists I wiped the sweat off my palms and turned

to final Think of the airplane as your lover Youre not going to grab or squeeze or jerk a woman are you Maybe you do You shouldnt Fondle that conshytrol stick and itll be nice to you Make love to your airplane His voice was softer and some color began to show in my hands about that time As he extended his metaphor about the airplane as a woman I must have developed a bit of color in my face too for he started chuckling and slapped his thigh I wondered

Sabbies Waco 10 built in 1928 and powered with an OX-5 that reportedly came off Lindbergh s lenny

what kind of an image he used when giVing flying lessons to a woman Then I chuckled See Its fun when you relax

We touched down rolled then I throttled forshyward and lifted the tail Get that tail up sooner and get it up higher now keep it straight Sabbie

4

(Photo by David Gustatson)

Sabbie Ludovici at 67 with his typica l grin Fifty years of fly ing and still go ing strong

You had to do more than fl y to keep go ing in the thirties Sabb ie welds the gear back onto a j-3 that hed ferried out of a field

coaxed Then he snapped again dont jerk it off the laxed I was still over-controlling Youre driving runway ease it off now instead of flying Leave the ailerons alone You re

We leveled off at 800 feet and Sabbie focused on working too hard He turned to me Theres no something below like hed never seen it before even turbulence up here today you know but you sure are though hed been over that part of the field thoushy working hard to create your own with those controls sands of times See those ruts down there I used to There was another kind of turbulence in his voice haul logs over that road when I was a kid Made some His hands waved then fell on the right wheel I let go of my flying school money doing that and braced myself for another of Sabbies flying exshy

We turned final again and though I was more re- amples The plane lurched tipped hopped dove and

Around 1940 Sabbie (second from right) ran a mechanics school His students are seen here recovering a Travel Aire

d ~

sacheted The aluminum skin crackled Sabbie was completely relaxed See he shouted in mock serishyousness see how you can make your own storm I saw vividly You dont have to keep readjusting for every puff of wind It was like riding with an Italian John Wayne on a bucking bronco which had polished off a bale of loco weed He suddenly let go of the stick folded his arms and pulled his feet back from the rudshyder pedals Hed done it with hundreds of students

5

The plane bobbed a few more times leveled off and glided smoothly to the runway Theres no reashyson to be frightened of an occasional bump on final

he said softly and seriously And theres no reason to be afraid of this machine falling apart either Suddenly it struck home that fear had been the enemy not the wind and not the plane Sabbie had seen my fear a lot earlier and finally decided to scare it out of me We shut down in front of his hangar and he climbed out gingerly With a broad smile that made his ears stand out a little he said you ll make it I did A few more hours with Sabbie and I felt like Clark Gable with Vivian Leigh I literally went with the wind

Then a couple years ago Sabbie kissed one of his female students hopped out of the plane with an expression of success and stood back while she took off for her first solo flight It was his wife Louise She was 63 at the time I always wanted to teach her he said calmly over coffee but when we were younger there never seemed to be any time She was busy raising the kids Of course she always wanted to learn so I guess nows as good a time as any His pride was obvious

Sabbies son Joe was ready to solo an airplane at the age of 10 We had to stick seven cushions under him to bring his eyes above the planes instrushyment panel Hed been flying with me for over nine years I started holding him in my lap when he was nine months old When he was eighteen months I could talk him through a landing by anticipating his moves and telling him when to pull back on the stick Then a winter went by and Joe stayed on the ground The next time I took him up and told him to pull back he nearly stood the airplane on its tail I forgot to take into account that he had become much stronger and quicker with his reflexes

Louise Joe and I were only three people out of about 3000 that Sabbie has introduced to the art of safe sensitive flying Unfortunately what he knows about relaxation and feeling in flight is dying out People teach you to tune dials and memorize rules but they dont get down to fundamentals Ive straightshyened out a lot of pilots who were taught the wrong way and who wound up being afraid of flying Some of them were high time pilots and some of them were even CFIs What does a scared CFI teach Sabbie doesnt hold back when he gets into the subject of flight instruction Seventy-five percent of the flight instruction in this country stinks today They dont teach you how the airplane can take care of itself Too many operators are anxious for a dollar and let a student solo before hes ready They promise they can get you to solo in six hours and they do it and

thats stupid You cant deal with a set period of hours you have to deal with individual personalities He believes that 70 percent of the instructors effort should go into teaching relaxation and feeling 20 percent goes toward breaking the driving habit or overshycontrolling and 10 percent goes into teaching skills Theres fifty years of experience behind that idea Its the kind of experience the FAA would profit from if there were some way they could gear up to listen

Sabbies one of those rare people who found a way of life that he could embrace with undiminished interest for a half century In fifty years of flying and instructing Ive never been frightened by it or bored by it he says convincingly While he easily looks like hes 67 he has the kind of energy that mocks the white hair thats left on his head He tells stories with the flourish of a Zorba and commands attention like a Pied Piper Hell drop just about anyshything hes doing on the ground to turn his hands into airplanes and talk about flying And when you hear him say that reminds me or there was this pilot it often becomes hard to get a word in edgeshywise I love talking to people he once confided then grinned and added slowly maybe too much All those years have given him a lot to talk about

Unlike a lot of boys in the 1920s who watched a bush pilot put down in a local pea patch then bought a two-dollar ride and left for flying school Sabbie didnt even get a close-up look at an airplane until he was on his way to flying school

It was 1926 when I made up my mind to go I was 16 Id seen planes way overhead but never got a chance to look at one or fly in one he recounts No I got hooked when I ran across a full-page ad in Popular Mechanics for the Sweeney Aviation School out in Kansas City Missouri It was the idea of speed more than anything that excited me He made up his mind and told his mother There was a great storm A year later though I was on my way I got a lot of help from Lindbergh When he made his great flight in 27 there were a lot of sons who finally won their arguments Sabbie left his native Rhode Island with the ad in his pocket

His first ride overwhelmed him with disappointshyment There was no sense of speed None It was alshymost like that old Standard J-1 just hung there in space It was slow I was ready to give up But on the second lesson my instructor let me take the controls and my desire for speed was left in the clouds Those lessons cost him $35 a crack and he used to get up at 300 am walk thirteen blocks and then fly until the winds came up

Sabbie used the Waco 10 until 1938 when it was crushed by a hangar roof that fell in during a hurricane

Sabbie and Walt Scheibe pose in front of Walts AW Cessna

There weren t any aviation weather reports in those days there werent any air sectionals the planes didnt have radios - there was no one to talk to and it was rare to find one that even had a compass On cross-country trips hed literally stick a wet thumb in the air glance at the position of the sun and climb into the cockpit with his copy of the Rand McNally Road Atlas With those kind of conditions you either developed a feeling for flight or took up farming (someshy

6

rricanes sure raise havoc with airplanes This one in 54 tossed Sabbies PT-23 into the trees Somehow it was cked out without any dam age

In 1946 Sabbie took delivery on a new Taylorcraft Be 120 which he still owns

times suddenly) When he was on the ground Sabbie busied himself with a wrench a needle and thread or a paintbrush and he developed the knowledge equivalent to an AampP

A couple years later Sabbie hitched back to Rhode Island He befriended Joel Meynard and the two went off in search of an airplane (with a little financial help from Sabbies mother) They scoured the New York area for a plane but found nothing for sale While at Roosevelt field however he did make the acquaintshyance of a young aviatrix Amelia Earhart They came home empty-handed and found that there was a Waco 10 on Block Island that had been wrecked ten hours after it had left the factory Doug Harris had rebuilt it When Harris had found he couldnt rebuild the engine and couldnt purchase a new one from the factory he changed the mount and installed an OX-5 That engine reportedly came off of Lindberghs old Jenny (it was a small world then too) Sabbie and Joel bought the Waco 10 then flew it up to Woonsocket where they opened the LampM Flying Service and School And almost immediately after that we were shut down by the Federal Government Someone had crashed and in the space of a couple days the FARs

I

became pregnant with new rules about licensing Sabbie and Joel of course complied there was no choice Soon after they were running their service again doing charters joy rides and the occasional lesson It was 1930 and things were slow

Anyones first airplane becomes their lifetime favorite says Sabbie I dont care what kind of machine it is its always the best The Waco 10 in Sabbies life lived to be rebuilt a couple times until the hurricane of 1938 retired it permanently In the eight years he flew it however he logged enough exshyperiences to fill a book Like the time he went up late in the morning to relax a little hed only had about an hours sleep the night before He fell asleep in the Waco for 15 minutes and flew 20 miles in the process without losing any altitude or altering his heading Thats a trimmed airplane

At another time he was up on a sight-seeing trip with a friend They circled this and buzzed that and in the process a thunderstorm moved in between them and the airport They had two choices go to Boston or go through the storm Sabbie decided mainly because he didnt know much about thundershystorms back in 1932 to fly through it and satisfy his curiosity I was very lucky and I guess the good Lord didnt want me yet He admits he really didnt get scared while he was in the storm because he was too busy Almost immediately after entering the melee the control stick was ripped out of his hand It was all over the cockpit Sabbie recounts but for all the violence it averaged out to level flight after a fashion and a straight heading to boot Some fashion

There was an incredible amount of rain and turshybulence but none of the vertical drafts you hear about At least thats what he remembers His altishymeter wasnt the sensitive type When I got out I was ready to quit flying but that feeling didnt even last to the airport

In 1937 Sabbie was ferrying home a brand new 40 horsepower Taylorcraft The weather service had reported some mild storms and he was eager to get home He decided to fly around the cells (no more of that straight-through stuff) and took off with a full tank He went around a total of 14 thunderstorms some of which were so big and savage that they proshyduced huge newspaper headlines the next day In the process of storm dodging Sabbie found himself over wilderness areas without roads fields or runways Finally as night began to fall he found a grass strip put down and checked out a suspicion that had been building up he had less than one cup of gas left in the nine-gallon tank That was the closest he ever came to running out of gas

On another occasion in the late 30s a friend of Sabbies put a J-3 in a field to sit out a thunderstorm He was a tad nervous at the time and wound up with unapproved retractable gear The next day Sabbie hauled out some welding equipment and tacked the gear together He couldnt weld in the fuselage for fear of burning up the fabric so he fished a 2x4 in along a broken longeron and secured it with baling wire There were still some gaping holes in the fabric however and they needed attention before the yellow bird could be ferried back to the airport The owner had brought dope and thread but forgot to bring some fabric They begged some pillow cases from a friend covered the holes in the true spirit of CAM 18 and took off for better facilities

In August of 1942 Sabbie left Rhode Island to parshyticipate as a civilian flight instructor in a Navy train shying program He was with that program until late in 1944 when he switched over to the Air Force for a chance to fly the hump from India to China He was in with 8000 others all of whom found themselves out on the street when the Burma Road was finished So Sabbie went home and set himself up again as an FBO

During his civilian career hes worked at six airshyports One of those was turned into a racetrack two were converted to apartment complexes one became a shopping center and another is now a college campus Sabbie had built one of those fields himself His wife told me he used a wheelbarrow to cart stones off the field and built a hangar with his own hands Sabbie added I became the airport manager meshychanic instructor charter pilot bookkeeper salesshyman you name it Louise reminded him you used to come home from that job as an auto mechanic grab a bag full of sandwiches a whiskey bottle filled with coffee and down the works on the way to the field

Today Sabbie is still busy giving instructions to students and experienced pilots When he was 65 he won FAA approval for a thirty-hour aerobatic curricshyulum Of course anyone whos taking it will quickly tell you its the teacher that makes the difference So he spends 4 to 5 hours a day sommersaulting around the sky and loving every minute of it It cleans my system out moves the blood and the sediment around he says When you learn aerobatics the right way you learn safety relaxation and precision You become a better pilot

Sabbies students refer to him as salty and crusty but they always do it in tones of fondness I have yet to meet a student who didn t respect him along with his fifty-year-old approach to safe flight

7

By Byron (Fred) Fredericksen (fAA 99807 ) 3240 W Breezewood Lane N eenah Wisconsin 54956

Perhaps twenty years too late would be a more appropriate heading for my little tale here I offer this story for those interested in Ford Tri-Motor history I have read with much interest some of the fine works Ford historians have done through the years and more will be done as time goes on I think THE FORD STORY by William T Larkins was done extremely well Work su~h as that takes a lot of research and it is good that some one does it There are also Ford history publishycations I have not seen and the Ford I write of here may be old news to some folks

While at a friend s home in Alaska a few years ago our conversation got going on rumors of old airshyplanes in the Alaska bush (This kind of rumor always excities me and I have followed many since I believe this needs to be done) My host went on to say he thought he knew where there was a Ford In fact he had seen it near a remote airstrip many years ago He also added that in all probability there may not be much left of it if in fact it was still there How it got there he did not know He also said he knew of a party that represented a group from South Of The

Border which had also been seeking this Ford Howshyever he thought they had probably lost interest in it by this point in time

My thoughts went back to stories I had read about aerial refueling with Fords over Alaska I remembered one about Garland Lincoln flying a Ford to refuel a Lockheed 12-A in flight which Jimmie Mattern was flying during an air search

Of course since Ford Tri-Motors have showed up at all points of the globe through the years the one my buddy was speaking of could have arrived at its final resting place for any number of reasons Since I had to leave Alaska in a few days I asked my friend if he would be interested in making a trip to the Ford Site for a look-see if Id finance it He agreed to do so if he found the time that winter and if the weather was suitable I had things to do and left for home

Now perhaps some readers know all about the Ford I refer to that Lincoln was flying Maybe some one owns it today Upon returning home I found some stories on the subject and they indicate Lincoln crash-landed his Ford and totaled it on the Alaska tundra during bad weather in 1937 I do not wish to quote any publications here and I did not do any new research on Ford history However I did find the registration and serial numbers on the Ford involved in our rumor It was NC-8403 model 4-AT-E serial 4-AT-65 and the name PTARMIGAN II was probably painted on it I also found a photograph showing Mr Ray Peterson and a Ford Tri-Motor bearing the words

PTARMIGAN lion its fuselage The photo was dated 1932 Mr Peterson has been involved with airplanes and airlines in Alaska for years Ptarmigan is the name of the official state bird in Alaska

Within a few months of returning to Wisconsin I decided we should have a look at our rumor As agreed my Alaskan buddy made the trip for me It was not a real long trip but it was in December It involved going from Fairbanks to Bethel then to Flat which I understand is a mining camp and has been for years The Ford site was an hours ride from the camp airshystrip via rented snow machine

The Ford was still there The name PTARMIGAN II was on the fuselage All that was visible was the fuseshylage And it had been stripped Twelve foot high brush had grown up around it My Buddy took some photos then waited out some bad weather at Flat and finally via a ski equipped Cub and Fairchild F-27 to McGrath and Anchorage arrived home four days later

He sent me the photos and a letter explaining that the cockpit gear cabin interior and every other little part had been removed The tail feathers had been damaged probably by a dozer blade He figured a Ford restorer had gotten to it The engines were gone as was the cowling The wings are said to be buried in stones under the fuselage but he did not see them due to the deep snow

He ended his letter with the words we are just twenty years too late

For the record The Alaskan Ford was a model 4 ATE Serial Number 4-AT-65 Registration Number NC 8403 It was built in 1929 with three Wright Whirlshywind engines rated at 300 horsepower Mamer Flying Service in Spokane Washington was the first owner They sold it to Tom Marshall Kester and Ed Groeneyke in 1934 and that same year it was damaged beyond repair while being landed at an airstrip at Flat Alaska

(Photo by ] O Berr y)

Twe lve feet of brush has grow n up around the Ford sa

8

Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs

Publication of the following Type Club information does not constitute endorsement of either the listed organizations or their officers nor does it guarantee the integrity of their operations None of the listed Type Clubs is affiliated with either the Experimental Aircraft Association or its AntiqueClassic Division While every effort has been made to publish correct and up-to-date information solely as a service to the members of the EAA AntiqueClassic Division the acshycuracy can not be guaranteed Please send any addishytions or corrections to the Editor

The Aeronca Chief Information George S York 181 Sloboda Ave Mansfield OH 44901

Aeronca Club Edward H Schubert Chairman 28 East State SI Janesville WI 53545

The Aeronca Owners Club C W Lasher 14100 Lake Candlwood Ct Miami Lakes FL 33014

Aeronca Sedan Club Richard Welsh 2311 E Lake Sammamish PI Issaquah WA 98027

The Airmaster Club Gar Williams Chairman 9 South 125 Aero Drive Naperville IL 60540

The American Bonanza Society B J McClanahan MD PO Box 13 Hornel NY 14843

The American Bonanza Society Reading Municipal Airport Box 3749

Reading PA 19605

American Navion Society A R Cardono Chairman of the Board Box 1175 Airport Station Banning CA 92220

The Bird Airplane Club Mrs Richard C Hill Secretary Box 89 Harvard I L 60033

Canadian-American Amphibian Assoc Don Kyte President Box 527 Diablo CA 94528

Cessna 120-140 Association Box 92 Tom Teegarden President Richardson TX 75080

Culver Club Lawrence Low Chairman 60 Skywood Way Woodside CA 94062

The Dart Club Lloyd Washburn 3958 Washburn Drive PI Clinton OH 43452

The Dehaviland Moth Club John Bright Chairman 221 East Ransom SI Kalamazoo MI 49007

Eastern Cessna 190195 Association Cliff C Crabs 25575 Butternut Ridge Rd N Olmstead OH 44070

The Ercoupe Club M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 159 Stilwell KS 66085

Ercoupe Owners Club Skip Carden President Box 15058 Durham NC 27704

The Fairchild Club Ken Love President 1102 Main SI Crete IL 60417

Fokker Verein Dr Stanley S Murel 812 East Park Row Arlington TX 76010

The Funk Aircraft Owners Assoc G Dale Beach Chairman 1621 Dreher SI Sacramento CA 95814

The Heath Club Bob Burgee Chairman 7612 Erie SI Sylvania OH 43560

Howard Club Richard K Martin Chairman Route 3 Aerodrome Road Green Bay WI 54301

International Cessna 170 Association Inc 29010 Highway 160 East Durango CO 81301

International Cessna 195 Club Dwight M Ewing President Box 737 Merced CA 95340

International Citabria Club Ltd Box 29 White Lake NY 12786

International Swift Association Charles Nelson Box 644 Athens TN 37303

The Interstate Club Bruce F Mitchell 5421 NE 43 St Kansas City MO 64117

The Luscomb Association Robert Shelton 339 W Pierce SI Macomb IL 61455

The Meyers Club Ev Payette 1604 South Custer Rd Monroe MI 48161

Monocoupe Club Mr and Mrs Bud Dake Chairmen 8318 Fairbanks lerkeley MS 63134

The Mooney Mite Owners Assoc Box 3999 Charlottesvi lie VA 22903

The Moth Club Dudley Kelly RI 4 Versailles KY 40383

National Ryan Club Mitch Mayborn 3164 Whitehall Dallas TX 75229

National Ryan Club PT-22 Division Bill J Hodges Chairman 308 West Moore Ave Searcy AR 72143

National Waco Club Ray H Brandly 2650 W Alex Bellbrook Rd Dayton OH 45459

OX5 Aviation Pioneers 419 Plaza Building Pittsburgh PA 15219

Porterfield Club Charles E Lebreckt Chairman 3121 E Lake Shore Drive Wonder Lake IL 60097

The Rearwin Club George T Williams 115 Pauquette SI Portage WI 53901

Robin Club Walter L Tufts Chairman 4138 Santa Rosa Drive Moor Park CA 93021

Rose Parakeet Club J W Pose PO Box 32 Ingleside IL 60041

Seabee Newsletter George W Mojonnier Editor 10615 69th Place SE Snohomish WA 98290

Spartan Club Don Fairbanks Cardinal Air Training Hangar 224 Lunken Airport Cincinnati OH 42226

The Staggerwing Club James C Gorman President Box 1217 Mansfield OH 44903

Stampe Club Allen Schneider RI 1 Brodhead WI 53520

Stearmans Restorers Association Inc M Lowe President 823 Kingston Lane Crystal Lake IL 60014

Stinson Club J J Paul 1518 Ronson Rd Houston TX 77050

Taylorcraft Owners Club Merton A Meade Jr Chairman 5906 Summer Lane Oxan Hill MD 20021

Travel Air Club H M Herb Harkcom Buzzards Roost RI 1 Mola OK 74036

U S Stampe Club Stephen J Linsenmeyer 127 Hollywood Drive Monroe MI 48161

Vagabond News Cecil Ogles Editor 448 CAve Coronado CA 92118

Vintage Sailplane Association Jeff Steele 6053 - 25th Rd N Arlington VA 22207

West Coast Cessna 120140 Club Inc Doug Williams President Box 891 Menlo Park CA 94025

Wheelchair Pilots Howard L Treadwell 11018 - 102nd Ave Largo FL 33540

World War I Aeroplanes Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie KY 12601

Wright J-5 Club George Lanning 833 Stoneburner Lane Kent WA 98031

9

BILL CHOMO REPORTS

PHILOSOPHV OF

RESTORATION

An Interview with Bill Choma Director of M aintenance amp Restoration

VINTAGE AIRPLANE What is your philosophy on reshystoring airplanes

Bill Chomo Well at EAA we re charged with a very great responsibility in that we re preserving our aviashytion history for posterity Were fortunate in that were dealing with something that is relatively new aviashytions only 75 years old So weve got a better jump than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian items that are thousands of years old Our philosophy differs between the two types of restoring (1) workshying for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum display Flying takes preference here so all planes have to be made airworthy and authenticity as far as materials and so on are secondary To some extent thats true in Museum quality restoration You have to take modern liberties We want an airplane that can sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly and not have to be rebuilt another time I know there are other museum people who differ with me because they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT original type materials glues and everything else The reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or three hundred year life on a very perishable comshymodity like an airplane you have to use the best posshysib le techniques that we have today - the best posshysib le glues (including epoxy) The dope is a good exshyample all of the original planes way back had varnish on them which became britt le in a very sho rt time A

little later they had nitrate dope which deteriorates The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back into a natural state right in the can Thats why there are very few old movies left Well nitrate dope is about the same Its made with nitric acid and cellushylose Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid is consumed so its neutral But the stuff will turn acid again as this process never stops with acid and evenshytually it will eat the fabric off the airplane This is one of the reason s that butyrate dope was developed So why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten years

Tires are another example of a problem On origishynal tires the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cershytain number of years The ozone in the air destroys the rubber Then you have to find sources of supply to get original configuration tires Thats a must even on the flyable airplanes

Hardwares also difficult because we have modshyernized our bolts Unless you go to a local hardware store and buy tractor nuts and bolts you really don t have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back then A lot of the original materials are just not in use anymore

Naturally some things like the integrity of the airshyplane its general shape and some details like the rib stitching can be kept true to form With rib stitching for example the same spac ing that was used when it was originally built shou ld definitely be retained You dont want to change any of that Its something that a future scholar a hundred years from now is going to

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Bill Choma left) lays on some tape over rib stit ch ing on the elevator of the Dehavilshyland Rap ide being res tored in the shops Phillipe Van Pelt lencls a hand

want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down on the leading edge

On the other hand what do you do for accuracy with some of the rare aircraft where there were absoshylutely no blueprints Usually you can copy some of the parts from original s Thats an art in itself But when the part is actually missing what did it look like The search can wind through old photos magazines or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying glass trying to decipher from the picture what the part looked like and what its scale was It takes a fantasti c library

VA Of the airplanes you ve restored for EAA how many have been given the Museum treatment

BC The only two that I can think of that weren t reshystored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the Pfalz Those two were restored to museum status Thats only because they would have required major rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying them there was no reason to do the extra work Conshyseq uently the Pheasant was not even recovered It was rejuvenated and repainted with the original fabshyric on it Someday were going to have to completely restore that airp lane The flying wires or flying cab les in some instances were just cleaned up but not reshyplaced They wou ld not be ai rworthy The engines were not gone through They were cleaned on the outshysid e but not disassembled and overhauled

VA Have they been pickled

10

(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

11

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

12

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

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24

~1- VI~Ir1-G Pltor By David Gustafson Editor

(Photographs Provided by Sabbie Ludovici)

Sabbie Ludovici started logging hours over fifty years ago Now thats not necessarily remarkable in itself but the picture changes a little when you disshycover that hes still spending 363 days a year on a field still logging 30 to 35 hours a week as an instructor shyand half of those are spent with the only FAA Approved aerobatics curriculum in the country At the age of 67 Sabbie has the kind of mental acuity and sensitivity to flight that makes kids envious

As a teacher he hangs on to what he was taught over fifty years ago fly by feel Or as he puts it Youve got to learn to fly by the seat of your pants you ve got to feel it in your fanny And hes quick to point out that no amount of federal regulating will ever have an effect on someones ah fanny You cant regulate safety What hes talking about is a total physical intellectual commitment to sensing what the airplane is doing Naturally anyone who learned to fly as Sabbie did in a Standard )-1 which couldnt be trimmed and which had a grand total of four unshyreliable instruments (altimeter tachometer oil presshysure and temperature) would know exactly what hes talking about

I began to find out what he was talking about four years ago when he agreed to check me out in the Cessna 120 Id just bought It was my first taildragger We were in the pattern practicing touch-and-go s Id worked through three stages mexican jumping bean kangaroo Kamikaze The score was Sabbie 32000 hours me 105 We were on base leg The plane was rocking

Sabbie barked at me relax dammit I tried to Youve got white knuckles he added accusingly and I can see the muscles bu lging in your arms and wrists I wiped the sweat off my palms and turned

to final Think of the airplane as your lover Youre not going to grab or squeeze or jerk a woman are you Maybe you do You shouldnt Fondle that conshytrol stick and itll be nice to you Make love to your airplane His voice was softer and some color began to show in my hands about that time As he extended his metaphor about the airplane as a woman I must have developed a bit of color in my face too for he started chuckling and slapped his thigh I wondered

Sabbies Waco 10 built in 1928 and powered with an OX-5 that reportedly came off Lindbergh s lenny

what kind of an image he used when giVing flying lessons to a woman Then I chuckled See Its fun when you relax

We touched down rolled then I throttled forshyward and lifted the tail Get that tail up sooner and get it up higher now keep it straight Sabbie

4

(Photo by David Gustatson)

Sabbie Ludovici at 67 with his typica l grin Fifty years of fly ing and still go ing strong

You had to do more than fl y to keep go ing in the thirties Sabb ie welds the gear back onto a j-3 that hed ferried out of a field

coaxed Then he snapped again dont jerk it off the laxed I was still over-controlling Youre driving runway ease it off now instead of flying Leave the ailerons alone You re

We leveled off at 800 feet and Sabbie focused on working too hard He turned to me Theres no something below like hed never seen it before even turbulence up here today you know but you sure are though hed been over that part of the field thoushy working hard to create your own with those controls sands of times See those ruts down there I used to There was another kind of turbulence in his voice haul logs over that road when I was a kid Made some His hands waved then fell on the right wheel I let go of my flying school money doing that and braced myself for another of Sabbies flying exshy

We turned final again and though I was more re- amples The plane lurched tipped hopped dove and

Around 1940 Sabbie (second from right) ran a mechanics school His students are seen here recovering a Travel Aire

d ~

sacheted The aluminum skin crackled Sabbie was completely relaxed See he shouted in mock serishyousness see how you can make your own storm I saw vividly You dont have to keep readjusting for every puff of wind It was like riding with an Italian John Wayne on a bucking bronco which had polished off a bale of loco weed He suddenly let go of the stick folded his arms and pulled his feet back from the rudshyder pedals Hed done it with hundreds of students

5

The plane bobbed a few more times leveled off and glided smoothly to the runway Theres no reashyson to be frightened of an occasional bump on final

he said softly and seriously And theres no reason to be afraid of this machine falling apart either Suddenly it struck home that fear had been the enemy not the wind and not the plane Sabbie had seen my fear a lot earlier and finally decided to scare it out of me We shut down in front of his hangar and he climbed out gingerly With a broad smile that made his ears stand out a little he said you ll make it I did A few more hours with Sabbie and I felt like Clark Gable with Vivian Leigh I literally went with the wind

Then a couple years ago Sabbie kissed one of his female students hopped out of the plane with an expression of success and stood back while she took off for her first solo flight It was his wife Louise She was 63 at the time I always wanted to teach her he said calmly over coffee but when we were younger there never seemed to be any time She was busy raising the kids Of course she always wanted to learn so I guess nows as good a time as any His pride was obvious

Sabbies son Joe was ready to solo an airplane at the age of 10 We had to stick seven cushions under him to bring his eyes above the planes instrushyment panel Hed been flying with me for over nine years I started holding him in my lap when he was nine months old When he was eighteen months I could talk him through a landing by anticipating his moves and telling him when to pull back on the stick Then a winter went by and Joe stayed on the ground The next time I took him up and told him to pull back he nearly stood the airplane on its tail I forgot to take into account that he had become much stronger and quicker with his reflexes

Louise Joe and I were only three people out of about 3000 that Sabbie has introduced to the art of safe sensitive flying Unfortunately what he knows about relaxation and feeling in flight is dying out People teach you to tune dials and memorize rules but they dont get down to fundamentals Ive straightshyened out a lot of pilots who were taught the wrong way and who wound up being afraid of flying Some of them were high time pilots and some of them were even CFIs What does a scared CFI teach Sabbie doesnt hold back when he gets into the subject of flight instruction Seventy-five percent of the flight instruction in this country stinks today They dont teach you how the airplane can take care of itself Too many operators are anxious for a dollar and let a student solo before hes ready They promise they can get you to solo in six hours and they do it and

thats stupid You cant deal with a set period of hours you have to deal with individual personalities He believes that 70 percent of the instructors effort should go into teaching relaxation and feeling 20 percent goes toward breaking the driving habit or overshycontrolling and 10 percent goes into teaching skills Theres fifty years of experience behind that idea Its the kind of experience the FAA would profit from if there were some way they could gear up to listen

Sabbies one of those rare people who found a way of life that he could embrace with undiminished interest for a half century In fifty years of flying and instructing Ive never been frightened by it or bored by it he says convincingly While he easily looks like hes 67 he has the kind of energy that mocks the white hair thats left on his head He tells stories with the flourish of a Zorba and commands attention like a Pied Piper Hell drop just about anyshything hes doing on the ground to turn his hands into airplanes and talk about flying And when you hear him say that reminds me or there was this pilot it often becomes hard to get a word in edgeshywise I love talking to people he once confided then grinned and added slowly maybe too much All those years have given him a lot to talk about

Unlike a lot of boys in the 1920s who watched a bush pilot put down in a local pea patch then bought a two-dollar ride and left for flying school Sabbie didnt even get a close-up look at an airplane until he was on his way to flying school

It was 1926 when I made up my mind to go I was 16 Id seen planes way overhead but never got a chance to look at one or fly in one he recounts No I got hooked when I ran across a full-page ad in Popular Mechanics for the Sweeney Aviation School out in Kansas City Missouri It was the idea of speed more than anything that excited me He made up his mind and told his mother There was a great storm A year later though I was on my way I got a lot of help from Lindbergh When he made his great flight in 27 there were a lot of sons who finally won their arguments Sabbie left his native Rhode Island with the ad in his pocket

His first ride overwhelmed him with disappointshyment There was no sense of speed None It was alshymost like that old Standard J-1 just hung there in space It was slow I was ready to give up But on the second lesson my instructor let me take the controls and my desire for speed was left in the clouds Those lessons cost him $35 a crack and he used to get up at 300 am walk thirteen blocks and then fly until the winds came up

Sabbie used the Waco 10 until 1938 when it was crushed by a hangar roof that fell in during a hurricane

Sabbie and Walt Scheibe pose in front of Walts AW Cessna

There weren t any aviation weather reports in those days there werent any air sectionals the planes didnt have radios - there was no one to talk to and it was rare to find one that even had a compass On cross-country trips hed literally stick a wet thumb in the air glance at the position of the sun and climb into the cockpit with his copy of the Rand McNally Road Atlas With those kind of conditions you either developed a feeling for flight or took up farming (someshy

6

rricanes sure raise havoc with airplanes This one in 54 tossed Sabbies PT-23 into the trees Somehow it was cked out without any dam age

In 1946 Sabbie took delivery on a new Taylorcraft Be 120 which he still owns

times suddenly) When he was on the ground Sabbie busied himself with a wrench a needle and thread or a paintbrush and he developed the knowledge equivalent to an AampP

A couple years later Sabbie hitched back to Rhode Island He befriended Joel Meynard and the two went off in search of an airplane (with a little financial help from Sabbies mother) They scoured the New York area for a plane but found nothing for sale While at Roosevelt field however he did make the acquaintshyance of a young aviatrix Amelia Earhart They came home empty-handed and found that there was a Waco 10 on Block Island that had been wrecked ten hours after it had left the factory Doug Harris had rebuilt it When Harris had found he couldnt rebuild the engine and couldnt purchase a new one from the factory he changed the mount and installed an OX-5 That engine reportedly came off of Lindberghs old Jenny (it was a small world then too) Sabbie and Joel bought the Waco 10 then flew it up to Woonsocket where they opened the LampM Flying Service and School And almost immediately after that we were shut down by the Federal Government Someone had crashed and in the space of a couple days the FARs

I

became pregnant with new rules about licensing Sabbie and Joel of course complied there was no choice Soon after they were running their service again doing charters joy rides and the occasional lesson It was 1930 and things were slow

Anyones first airplane becomes their lifetime favorite says Sabbie I dont care what kind of machine it is its always the best The Waco 10 in Sabbies life lived to be rebuilt a couple times until the hurricane of 1938 retired it permanently In the eight years he flew it however he logged enough exshyperiences to fill a book Like the time he went up late in the morning to relax a little hed only had about an hours sleep the night before He fell asleep in the Waco for 15 minutes and flew 20 miles in the process without losing any altitude or altering his heading Thats a trimmed airplane

At another time he was up on a sight-seeing trip with a friend They circled this and buzzed that and in the process a thunderstorm moved in between them and the airport They had two choices go to Boston or go through the storm Sabbie decided mainly because he didnt know much about thundershystorms back in 1932 to fly through it and satisfy his curiosity I was very lucky and I guess the good Lord didnt want me yet He admits he really didnt get scared while he was in the storm because he was too busy Almost immediately after entering the melee the control stick was ripped out of his hand It was all over the cockpit Sabbie recounts but for all the violence it averaged out to level flight after a fashion and a straight heading to boot Some fashion

There was an incredible amount of rain and turshybulence but none of the vertical drafts you hear about At least thats what he remembers His altishymeter wasnt the sensitive type When I got out I was ready to quit flying but that feeling didnt even last to the airport

In 1937 Sabbie was ferrying home a brand new 40 horsepower Taylorcraft The weather service had reported some mild storms and he was eager to get home He decided to fly around the cells (no more of that straight-through stuff) and took off with a full tank He went around a total of 14 thunderstorms some of which were so big and savage that they proshyduced huge newspaper headlines the next day In the process of storm dodging Sabbie found himself over wilderness areas without roads fields or runways Finally as night began to fall he found a grass strip put down and checked out a suspicion that had been building up he had less than one cup of gas left in the nine-gallon tank That was the closest he ever came to running out of gas

On another occasion in the late 30s a friend of Sabbies put a J-3 in a field to sit out a thunderstorm He was a tad nervous at the time and wound up with unapproved retractable gear The next day Sabbie hauled out some welding equipment and tacked the gear together He couldnt weld in the fuselage for fear of burning up the fabric so he fished a 2x4 in along a broken longeron and secured it with baling wire There were still some gaping holes in the fabric however and they needed attention before the yellow bird could be ferried back to the airport The owner had brought dope and thread but forgot to bring some fabric They begged some pillow cases from a friend covered the holes in the true spirit of CAM 18 and took off for better facilities

In August of 1942 Sabbie left Rhode Island to parshyticipate as a civilian flight instructor in a Navy train shying program He was with that program until late in 1944 when he switched over to the Air Force for a chance to fly the hump from India to China He was in with 8000 others all of whom found themselves out on the street when the Burma Road was finished So Sabbie went home and set himself up again as an FBO

During his civilian career hes worked at six airshyports One of those was turned into a racetrack two were converted to apartment complexes one became a shopping center and another is now a college campus Sabbie had built one of those fields himself His wife told me he used a wheelbarrow to cart stones off the field and built a hangar with his own hands Sabbie added I became the airport manager meshychanic instructor charter pilot bookkeeper salesshyman you name it Louise reminded him you used to come home from that job as an auto mechanic grab a bag full of sandwiches a whiskey bottle filled with coffee and down the works on the way to the field

Today Sabbie is still busy giving instructions to students and experienced pilots When he was 65 he won FAA approval for a thirty-hour aerobatic curricshyulum Of course anyone whos taking it will quickly tell you its the teacher that makes the difference So he spends 4 to 5 hours a day sommersaulting around the sky and loving every minute of it It cleans my system out moves the blood and the sediment around he says When you learn aerobatics the right way you learn safety relaxation and precision You become a better pilot

Sabbies students refer to him as salty and crusty but they always do it in tones of fondness I have yet to meet a student who didn t respect him along with his fifty-year-old approach to safe flight

7

By Byron (Fred) Fredericksen (fAA 99807 ) 3240 W Breezewood Lane N eenah Wisconsin 54956

Perhaps twenty years too late would be a more appropriate heading for my little tale here I offer this story for those interested in Ford Tri-Motor history I have read with much interest some of the fine works Ford historians have done through the years and more will be done as time goes on I think THE FORD STORY by William T Larkins was done extremely well Work su~h as that takes a lot of research and it is good that some one does it There are also Ford history publishycations I have not seen and the Ford I write of here may be old news to some folks

While at a friend s home in Alaska a few years ago our conversation got going on rumors of old airshyplanes in the Alaska bush (This kind of rumor always excities me and I have followed many since I believe this needs to be done) My host went on to say he thought he knew where there was a Ford In fact he had seen it near a remote airstrip many years ago He also added that in all probability there may not be much left of it if in fact it was still there How it got there he did not know He also said he knew of a party that represented a group from South Of The

Border which had also been seeking this Ford Howshyever he thought they had probably lost interest in it by this point in time

My thoughts went back to stories I had read about aerial refueling with Fords over Alaska I remembered one about Garland Lincoln flying a Ford to refuel a Lockheed 12-A in flight which Jimmie Mattern was flying during an air search

Of course since Ford Tri-Motors have showed up at all points of the globe through the years the one my buddy was speaking of could have arrived at its final resting place for any number of reasons Since I had to leave Alaska in a few days I asked my friend if he would be interested in making a trip to the Ford Site for a look-see if Id finance it He agreed to do so if he found the time that winter and if the weather was suitable I had things to do and left for home

Now perhaps some readers know all about the Ford I refer to that Lincoln was flying Maybe some one owns it today Upon returning home I found some stories on the subject and they indicate Lincoln crash-landed his Ford and totaled it on the Alaska tundra during bad weather in 1937 I do not wish to quote any publications here and I did not do any new research on Ford history However I did find the registration and serial numbers on the Ford involved in our rumor It was NC-8403 model 4-AT-E serial 4-AT-65 and the name PTARMIGAN II was probably painted on it I also found a photograph showing Mr Ray Peterson and a Ford Tri-Motor bearing the words

PTARMIGAN lion its fuselage The photo was dated 1932 Mr Peterson has been involved with airplanes and airlines in Alaska for years Ptarmigan is the name of the official state bird in Alaska

Within a few months of returning to Wisconsin I decided we should have a look at our rumor As agreed my Alaskan buddy made the trip for me It was not a real long trip but it was in December It involved going from Fairbanks to Bethel then to Flat which I understand is a mining camp and has been for years The Ford site was an hours ride from the camp airshystrip via rented snow machine

The Ford was still there The name PTARMIGAN II was on the fuselage All that was visible was the fuseshylage And it had been stripped Twelve foot high brush had grown up around it My Buddy took some photos then waited out some bad weather at Flat and finally via a ski equipped Cub and Fairchild F-27 to McGrath and Anchorage arrived home four days later

He sent me the photos and a letter explaining that the cockpit gear cabin interior and every other little part had been removed The tail feathers had been damaged probably by a dozer blade He figured a Ford restorer had gotten to it The engines were gone as was the cowling The wings are said to be buried in stones under the fuselage but he did not see them due to the deep snow

He ended his letter with the words we are just twenty years too late

For the record The Alaskan Ford was a model 4 ATE Serial Number 4-AT-65 Registration Number NC 8403 It was built in 1929 with three Wright Whirlshywind engines rated at 300 horsepower Mamer Flying Service in Spokane Washington was the first owner They sold it to Tom Marshall Kester and Ed Groeneyke in 1934 and that same year it was damaged beyond repair while being landed at an airstrip at Flat Alaska

(Photo by ] O Berr y)

Twe lve feet of brush has grow n up around the Ford sa

8

Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs

Publication of the following Type Club information does not constitute endorsement of either the listed organizations or their officers nor does it guarantee the integrity of their operations None of the listed Type Clubs is affiliated with either the Experimental Aircraft Association or its AntiqueClassic Division While every effort has been made to publish correct and up-to-date information solely as a service to the members of the EAA AntiqueClassic Division the acshycuracy can not be guaranteed Please send any addishytions or corrections to the Editor

The Aeronca Chief Information George S York 181 Sloboda Ave Mansfield OH 44901

Aeronca Club Edward H Schubert Chairman 28 East State SI Janesville WI 53545

The Aeronca Owners Club C W Lasher 14100 Lake Candlwood Ct Miami Lakes FL 33014

Aeronca Sedan Club Richard Welsh 2311 E Lake Sammamish PI Issaquah WA 98027

The Airmaster Club Gar Williams Chairman 9 South 125 Aero Drive Naperville IL 60540

The American Bonanza Society B J McClanahan MD PO Box 13 Hornel NY 14843

The American Bonanza Society Reading Municipal Airport Box 3749

Reading PA 19605

American Navion Society A R Cardono Chairman of the Board Box 1175 Airport Station Banning CA 92220

The Bird Airplane Club Mrs Richard C Hill Secretary Box 89 Harvard I L 60033

Canadian-American Amphibian Assoc Don Kyte President Box 527 Diablo CA 94528

Cessna 120-140 Association Box 92 Tom Teegarden President Richardson TX 75080

Culver Club Lawrence Low Chairman 60 Skywood Way Woodside CA 94062

The Dart Club Lloyd Washburn 3958 Washburn Drive PI Clinton OH 43452

The Dehaviland Moth Club John Bright Chairman 221 East Ransom SI Kalamazoo MI 49007

Eastern Cessna 190195 Association Cliff C Crabs 25575 Butternut Ridge Rd N Olmstead OH 44070

The Ercoupe Club M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 159 Stilwell KS 66085

Ercoupe Owners Club Skip Carden President Box 15058 Durham NC 27704

The Fairchild Club Ken Love President 1102 Main SI Crete IL 60417

Fokker Verein Dr Stanley S Murel 812 East Park Row Arlington TX 76010

The Funk Aircraft Owners Assoc G Dale Beach Chairman 1621 Dreher SI Sacramento CA 95814

The Heath Club Bob Burgee Chairman 7612 Erie SI Sylvania OH 43560

Howard Club Richard K Martin Chairman Route 3 Aerodrome Road Green Bay WI 54301

International Cessna 170 Association Inc 29010 Highway 160 East Durango CO 81301

International Cessna 195 Club Dwight M Ewing President Box 737 Merced CA 95340

International Citabria Club Ltd Box 29 White Lake NY 12786

International Swift Association Charles Nelson Box 644 Athens TN 37303

The Interstate Club Bruce F Mitchell 5421 NE 43 St Kansas City MO 64117

The Luscomb Association Robert Shelton 339 W Pierce SI Macomb IL 61455

The Meyers Club Ev Payette 1604 South Custer Rd Monroe MI 48161

Monocoupe Club Mr and Mrs Bud Dake Chairmen 8318 Fairbanks lerkeley MS 63134

The Mooney Mite Owners Assoc Box 3999 Charlottesvi lie VA 22903

The Moth Club Dudley Kelly RI 4 Versailles KY 40383

National Ryan Club Mitch Mayborn 3164 Whitehall Dallas TX 75229

National Ryan Club PT-22 Division Bill J Hodges Chairman 308 West Moore Ave Searcy AR 72143

National Waco Club Ray H Brandly 2650 W Alex Bellbrook Rd Dayton OH 45459

OX5 Aviation Pioneers 419 Plaza Building Pittsburgh PA 15219

Porterfield Club Charles E Lebreckt Chairman 3121 E Lake Shore Drive Wonder Lake IL 60097

The Rearwin Club George T Williams 115 Pauquette SI Portage WI 53901

Robin Club Walter L Tufts Chairman 4138 Santa Rosa Drive Moor Park CA 93021

Rose Parakeet Club J W Pose PO Box 32 Ingleside IL 60041

Seabee Newsletter George W Mojonnier Editor 10615 69th Place SE Snohomish WA 98290

Spartan Club Don Fairbanks Cardinal Air Training Hangar 224 Lunken Airport Cincinnati OH 42226

The Staggerwing Club James C Gorman President Box 1217 Mansfield OH 44903

Stampe Club Allen Schneider RI 1 Brodhead WI 53520

Stearmans Restorers Association Inc M Lowe President 823 Kingston Lane Crystal Lake IL 60014

Stinson Club J J Paul 1518 Ronson Rd Houston TX 77050

Taylorcraft Owners Club Merton A Meade Jr Chairman 5906 Summer Lane Oxan Hill MD 20021

Travel Air Club H M Herb Harkcom Buzzards Roost RI 1 Mola OK 74036

U S Stampe Club Stephen J Linsenmeyer 127 Hollywood Drive Monroe MI 48161

Vagabond News Cecil Ogles Editor 448 CAve Coronado CA 92118

Vintage Sailplane Association Jeff Steele 6053 - 25th Rd N Arlington VA 22207

West Coast Cessna 120140 Club Inc Doug Williams President Box 891 Menlo Park CA 94025

Wheelchair Pilots Howard L Treadwell 11018 - 102nd Ave Largo FL 33540

World War I Aeroplanes Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie KY 12601

Wright J-5 Club George Lanning 833 Stoneburner Lane Kent WA 98031

9

BILL CHOMO REPORTS

PHILOSOPHV OF

RESTORATION

An Interview with Bill Choma Director of M aintenance amp Restoration

VINTAGE AIRPLANE What is your philosophy on reshystoring airplanes

Bill Chomo Well at EAA we re charged with a very great responsibility in that we re preserving our aviashytion history for posterity Were fortunate in that were dealing with something that is relatively new aviashytions only 75 years old So weve got a better jump than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian items that are thousands of years old Our philosophy differs between the two types of restoring (1) workshying for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum display Flying takes preference here so all planes have to be made airworthy and authenticity as far as materials and so on are secondary To some extent thats true in Museum quality restoration You have to take modern liberties We want an airplane that can sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly and not have to be rebuilt another time I know there are other museum people who differ with me because they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT original type materials glues and everything else The reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or three hundred year life on a very perishable comshymodity like an airplane you have to use the best posshysib le techniques that we have today - the best posshysib le glues (including epoxy) The dope is a good exshyample all of the original planes way back had varnish on them which became britt le in a very sho rt time A

little later they had nitrate dope which deteriorates The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back into a natural state right in the can Thats why there are very few old movies left Well nitrate dope is about the same Its made with nitric acid and cellushylose Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid is consumed so its neutral But the stuff will turn acid again as this process never stops with acid and evenshytually it will eat the fabric off the airplane This is one of the reason s that butyrate dope was developed So why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten years

Tires are another example of a problem On origishynal tires the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cershytain number of years The ozone in the air destroys the rubber Then you have to find sources of supply to get original configuration tires Thats a must even on the flyable airplanes

Hardwares also difficult because we have modshyernized our bolts Unless you go to a local hardware store and buy tractor nuts and bolts you really don t have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back then A lot of the original materials are just not in use anymore

Naturally some things like the integrity of the airshyplane its general shape and some details like the rib stitching can be kept true to form With rib stitching for example the same spac ing that was used when it was originally built shou ld definitely be retained You dont want to change any of that Its something that a future scholar a hundred years from now is going to

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Bill Choma left) lays on some tape over rib stit ch ing on the elevator of the Dehavilshyland Rap ide being res tored in the shops Phillipe Van Pelt lencls a hand

want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down on the leading edge

On the other hand what do you do for accuracy with some of the rare aircraft where there were absoshylutely no blueprints Usually you can copy some of the parts from original s Thats an art in itself But when the part is actually missing what did it look like The search can wind through old photos magazines or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying glass trying to decipher from the picture what the part looked like and what its scale was It takes a fantasti c library

VA Of the airplanes you ve restored for EAA how many have been given the Museum treatment

BC The only two that I can think of that weren t reshystored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the Pfalz Those two were restored to museum status Thats only because they would have required major rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying them there was no reason to do the extra work Conshyseq uently the Pheasant was not even recovered It was rejuvenated and repainted with the original fabshyric on it Someday were going to have to completely restore that airp lane The flying wires or flying cab les in some instances were just cleaned up but not reshyplaced They wou ld not be ai rworthy The engines were not gone through They were cleaned on the outshysid e but not disassembled and overhauled

VA Have they been pickled

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(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

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We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

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ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

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Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

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Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

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( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

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(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

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(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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24

(Photo by David Gustatson)

Sabbie Ludovici at 67 with his typica l grin Fifty years of fly ing and still go ing strong

You had to do more than fl y to keep go ing in the thirties Sabb ie welds the gear back onto a j-3 that hed ferried out of a field

coaxed Then he snapped again dont jerk it off the laxed I was still over-controlling Youre driving runway ease it off now instead of flying Leave the ailerons alone You re

We leveled off at 800 feet and Sabbie focused on working too hard He turned to me Theres no something below like hed never seen it before even turbulence up here today you know but you sure are though hed been over that part of the field thoushy working hard to create your own with those controls sands of times See those ruts down there I used to There was another kind of turbulence in his voice haul logs over that road when I was a kid Made some His hands waved then fell on the right wheel I let go of my flying school money doing that and braced myself for another of Sabbies flying exshy

We turned final again and though I was more re- amples The plane lurched tipped hopped dove and

Around 1940 Sabbie (second from right) ran a mechanics school His students are seen here recovering a Travel Aire

d ~

sacheted The aluminum skin crackled Sabbie was completely relaxed See he shouted in mock serishyousness see how you can make your own storm I saw vividly You dont have to keep readjusting for every puff of wind It was like riding with an Italian John Wayne on a bucking bronco which had polished off a bale of loco weed He suddenly let go of the stick folded his arms and pulled his feet back from the rudshyder pedals Hed done it with hundreds of students

5

The plane bobbed a few more times leveled off and glided smoothly to the runway Theres no reashyson to be frightened of an occasional bump on final

he said softly and seriously And theres no reason to be afraid of this machine falling apart either Suddenly it struck home that fear had been the enemy not the wind and not the plane Sabbie had seen my fear a lot earlier and finally decided to scare it out of me We shut down in front of his hangar and he climbed out gingerly With a broad smile that made his ears stand out a little he said you ll make it I did A few more hours with Sabbie and I felt like Clark Gable with Vivian Leigh I literally went with the wind

Then a couple years ago Sabbie kissed one of his female students hopped out of the plane with an expression of success and stood back while she took off for her first solo flight It was his wife Louise She was 63 at the time I always wanted to teach her he said calmly over coffee but when we were younger there never seemed to be any time She was busy raising the kids Of course she always wanted to learn so I guess nows as good a time as any His pride was obvious

Sabbies son Joe was ready to solo an airplane at the age of 10 We had to stick seven cushions under him to bring his eyes above the planes instrushyment panel Hed been flying with me for over nine years I started holding him in my lap when he was nine months old When he was eighteen months I could talk him through a landing by anticipating his moves and telling him when to pull back on the stick Then a winter went by and Joe stayed on the ground The next time I took him up and told him to pull back he nearly stood the airplane on its tail I forgot to take into account that he had become much stronger and quicker with his reflexes

Louise Joe and I were only three people out of about 3000 that Sabbie has introduced to the art of safe sensitive flying Unfortunately what he knows about relaxation and feeling in flight is dying out People teach you to tune dials and memorize rules but they dont get down to fundamentals Ive straightshyened out a lot of pilots who were taught the wrong way and who wound up being afraid of flying Some of them were high time pilots and some of them were even CFIs What does a scared CFI teach Sabbie doesnt hold back when he gets into the subject of flight instruction Seventy-five percent of the flight instruction in this country stinks today They dont teach you how the airplane can take care of itself Too many operators are anxious for a dollar and let a student solo before hes ready They promise they can get you to solo in six hours and they do it and

thats stupid You cant deal with a set period of hours you have to deal with individual personalities He believes that 70 percent of the instructors effort should go into teaching relaxation and feeling 20 percent goes toward breaking the driving habit or overshycontrolling and 10 percent goes into teaching skills Theres fifty years of experience behind that idea Its the kind of experience the FAA would profit from if there were some way they could gear up to listen

Sabbies one of those rare people who found a way of life that he could embrace with undiminished interest for a half century In fifty years of flying and instructing Ive never been frightened by it or bored by it he says convincingly While he easily looks like hes 67 he has the kind of energy that mocks the white hair thats left on his head He tells stories with the flourish of a Zorba and commands attention like a Pied Piper Hell drop just about anyshything hes doing on the ground to turn his hands into airplanes and talk about flying And when you hear him say that reminds me or there was this pilot it often becomes hard to get a word in edgeshywise I love talking to people he once confided then grinned and added slowly maybe too much All those years have given him a lot to talk about

Unlike a lot of boys in the 1920s who watched a bush pilot put down in a local pea patch then bought a two-dollar ride and left for flying school Sabbie didnt even get a close-up look at an airplane until he was on his way to flying school

It was 1926 when I made up my mind to go I was 16 Id seen planes way overhead but never got a chance to look at one or fly in one he recounts No I got hooked when I ran across a full-page ad in Popular Mechanics for the Sweeney Aviation School out in Kansas City Missouri It was the idea of speed more than anything that excited me He made up his mind and told his mother There was a great storm A year later though I was on my way I got a lot of help from Lindbergh When he made his great flight in 27 there were a lot of sons who finally won their arguments Sabbie left his native Rhode Island with the ad in his pocket

His first ride overwhelmed him with disappointshyment There was no sense of speed None It was alshymost like that old Standard J-1 just hung there in space It was slow I was ready to give up But on the second lesson my instructor let me take the controls and my desire for speed was left in the clouds Those lessons cost him $35 a crack and he used to get up at 300 am walk thirteen blocks and then fly until the winds came up

Sabbie used the Waco 10 until 1938 when it was crushed by a hangar roof that fell in during a hurricane

Sabbie and Walt Scheibe pose in front of Walts AW Cessna

There weren t any aviation weather reports in those days there werent any air sectionals the planes didnt have radios - there was no one to talk to and it was rare to find one that even had a compass On cross-country trips hed literally stick a wet thumb in the air glance at the position of the sun and climb into the cockpit with his copy of the Rand McNally Road Atlas With those kind of conditions you either developed a feeling for flight or took up farming (someshy

6

rricanes sure raise havoc with airplanes This one in 54 tossed Sabbies PT-23 into the trees Somehow it was cked out without any dam age

In 1946 Sabbie took delivery on a new Taylorcraft Be 120 which he still owns

times suddenly) When he was on the ground Sabbie busied himself with a wrench a needle and thread or a paintbrush and he developed the knowledge equivalent to an AampP

A couple years later Sabbie hitched back to Rhode Island He befriended Joel Meynard and the two went off in search of an airplane (with a little financial help from Sabbies mother) They scoured the New York area for a plane but found nothing for sale While at Roosevelt field however he did make the acquaintshyance of a young aviatrix Amelia Earhart They came home empty-handed and found that there was a Waco 10 on Block Island that had been wrecked ten hours after it had left the factory Doug Harris had rebuilt it When Harris had found he couldnt rebuild the engine and couldnt purchase a new one from the factory he changed the mount and installed an OX-5 That engine reportedly came off of Lindberghs old Jenny (it was a small world then too) Sabbie and Joel bought the Waco 10 then flew it up to Woonsocket where they opened the LampM Flying Service and School And almost immediately after that we were shut down by the Federal Government Someone had crashed and in the space of a couple days the FARs

I

became pregnant with new rules about licensing Sabbie and Joel of course complied there was no choice Soon after they were running their service again doing charters joy rides and the occasional lesson It was 1930 and things were slow

Anyones first airplane becomes their lifetime favorite says Sabbie I dont care what kind of machine it is its always the best The Waco 10 in Sabbies life lived to be rebuilt a couple times until the hurricane of 1938 retired it permanently In the eight years he flew it however he logged enough exshyperiences to fill a book Like the time he went up late in the morning to relax a little hed only had about an hours sleep the night before He fell asleep in the Waco for 15 minutes and flew 20 miles in the process without losing any altitude or altering his heading Thats a trimmed airplane

At another time he was up on a sight-seeing trip with a friend They circled this and buzzed that and in the process a thunderstorm moved in between them and the airport They had two choices go to Boston or go through the storm Sabbie decided mainly because he didnt know much about thundershystorms back in 1932 to fly through it and satisfy his curiosity I was very lucky and I guess the good Lord didnt want me yet He admits he really didnt get scared while he was in the storm because he was too busy Almost immediately after entering the melee the control stick was ripped out of his hand It was all over the cockpit Sabbie recounts but for all the violence it averaged out to level flight after a fashion and a straight heading to boot Some fashion

There was an incredible amount of rain and turshybulence but none of the vertical drafts you hear about At least thats what he remembers His altishymeter wasnt the sensitive type When I got out I was ready to quit flying but that feeling didnt even last to the airport

In 1937 Sabbie was ferrying home a brand new 40 horsepower Taylorcraft The weather service had reported some mild storms and he was eager to get home He decided to fly around the cells (no more of that straight-through stuff) and took off with a full tank He went around a total of 14 thunderstorms some of which were so big and savage that they proshyduced huge newspaper headlines the next day In the process of storm dodging Sabbie found himself over wilderness areas without roads fields or runways Finally as night began to fall he found a grass strip put down and checked out a suspicion that had been building up he had less than one cup of gas left in the nine-gallon tank That was the closest he ever came to running out of gas

On another occasion in the late 30s a friend of Sabbies put a J-3 in a field to sit out a thunderstorm He was a tad nervous at the time and wound up with unapproved retractable gear The next day Sabbie hauled out some welding equipment and tacked the gear together He couldnt weld in the fuselage for fear of burning up the fabric so he fished a 2x4 in along a broken longeron and secured it with baling wire There were still some gaping holes in the fabric however and they needed attention before the yellow bird could be ferried back to the airport The owner had brought dope and thread but forgot to bring some fabric They begged some pillow cases from a friend covered the holes in the true spirit of CAM 18 and took off for better facilities

In August of 1942 Sabbie left Rhode Island to parshyticipate as a civilian flight instructor in a Navy train shying program He was with that program until late in 1944 when he switched over to the Air Force for a chance to fly the hump from India to China He was in with 8000 others all of whom found themselves out on the street when the Burma Road was finished So Sabbie went home and set himself up again as an FBO

During his civilian career hes worked at six airshyports One of those was turned into a racetrack two were converted to apartment complexes one became a shopping center and another is now a college campus Sabbie had built one of those fields himself His wife told me he used a wheelbarrow to cart stones off the field and built a hangar with his own hands Sabbie added I became the airport manager meshychanic instructor charter pilot bookkeeper salesshyman you name it Louise reminded him you used to come home from that job as an auto mechanic grab a bag full of sandwiches a whiskey bottle filled with coffee and down the works on the way to the field

Today Sabbie is still busy giving instructions to students and experienced pilots When he was 65 he won FAA approval for a thirty-hour aerobatic curricshyulum Of course anyone whos taking it will quickly tell you its the teacher that makes the difference So he spends 4 to 5 hours a day sommersaulting around the sky and loving every minute of it It cleans my system out moves the blood and the sediment around he says When you learn aerobatics the right way you learn safety relaxation and precision You become a better pilot

Sabbies students refer to him as salty and crusty but they always do it in tones of fondness I have yet to meet a student who didn t respect him along with his fifty-year-old approach to safe flight

7

By Byron (Fred) Fredericksen (fAA 99807 ) 3240 W Breezewood Lane N eenah Wisconsin 54956

Perhaps twenty years too late would be a more appropriate heading for my little tale here I offer this story for those interested in Ford Tri-Motor history I have read with much interest some of the fine works Ford historians have done through the years and more will be done as time goes on I think THE FORD STORY by William T Larkins was done extremely well Work su~h as that takes a lot of research and it is good that some one does it There are also Ford history publishycations I have not seen and the Ford I write of here may be old news to some folks

While at a friend s home in Alaska a few years ago our conversation got going on rumors of old airshyplanes in the Alaska bush (This kind of rumor always excities me and I have followed many since I believe this needs to be done) My host went on to say he thought he knew where there was a Ford In fact he had seen it near a remote airstrip many years ago He also added that in all probability there may not be much left of it if in fact it was still there How it got there he did not know He also said he knew of a party that represented a group from South Of The

Border which had also been seeking this Ford Howshyever he thought they had probably lost interest in it by this point in time

My thoughts went back to stories I had read about aerial refueling with Fords over Alaska I remembered one about Garland Lincoln flying a Ford to refuel a Lockheed 12-A in flight which Jimmie Mattern was flying during an air search

Of course since Ford Tri-Motors have showed up at all points of the globe through the years the one my buddy was speaking of could have arrived at its final resting place for any number of reasons Since I had to leave Alaska in a few days I asked my friend if he would be interested in making a trip to the Ford Site for a look-see if Id finance it He agreed to do so if he found the time that winter and if the weather was suitable I had things to do and left for home

Now perhaps some readers know all about the Ford I refer to that Lincoln was flying Maybe some one owns it today Upon returning home I found some stories on the subject and they indicate Lincoln crash-landed his Ford and totaled it on the Alaska tundra during bad weather in 1937 I do not wish to quote any publications here and I did not do any new research on Ford history However I did find the registration and serial numbers on the Ford involved in our rumor It was NC-8403 model 4-AT-E serial 4-AT-65 and the name PTARMIGAN II was probably painted on it I also found a photograph showing Mr Ray Peterson and a Ford Tri-Motor bearing the words

PTARMIGAN lion its fuselage The photo was dated 1932 Mr Peterson has been involved with airplanes and airlines in Alaska for years Ptarmigan is the name of the official state bird in Alaska

Within a few months of returning to Wisconsin I decided we should have a look at our rumor As agreed my Alaskan buddy made the trip for me It was not a real long trip but it was in December It involved going from Fairbanks to Bethel then to Flat which I understand is a mining camp and has been for years The Ford site was an hours ride from the camp airshystrip via rented snow machine

The Ford was still there The name PTARMIGAN II was on the fuselage All that was visible was the fuseshylage And it had been stripped Twelve foot high brush had grown up around it My Buddy took some photos then waited out some bad weather at Flat and finally via a ski equipped Cub and Fairchild F-27 to McGrath and Anchorage arrived home four days later

He sent me the photos and a letter explaining that the cockpit gear cabin interior and every other little part had been removed The tail feathers had been damaged probably by a dozer blade He figured a Ford restorer had gotten to it The engines were gone as was the cowling The wings are said to be buried in stones under the fuselage but he did not see them due to the deep snow

He ended his letter with the words we are just twenty years too late

For the record The Alaskan Ford was a model 4 ATE Serial Number 4-AT-65 Registration Number NC 8403 It was built in 1929 with three Wright Whirlshywind engines rated at 300 horsepower Mamer Flying Service in Spokane Washington was the first owner They sold it to Tom Marshall Kester and Ed Groeneyke in 1934 and that same year it was damaged beyond repair while being landed at an airstrip at Flat Alaska

(Photo by ] O Berr y)

Twe lve feet of brush has grow n up around the Ford sa

8

Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs

Publication of the following Type Club information does not constitute endorsement of either the listed organizations or their officers nor does it guarantee the integrity of their operations None of the listed Type Clubs is affiliated with either the Experimental Aircraft Association or its AntiqueClassic Division While every effort has been made to publish correct and up-to-date information solely as a service to the members of the EAA AntiqueClassic Division the acshycuracy can not be guaranteed Please send any addishytions or corrections to the Editor

The Aeronca Chief Information George S York 181 Sloboda Ave Mansfield OH 44901

Aeronca Club Edward H Schubert Chairman 28 East State SI Janesville WI 53545

The Aeronca Owners Club C W Lasher 14100 Lake Candlwood Ct Miami Lakes FL 33014

Aeronca Sedan Club Richard Welsh 2311 E Lake Sammamish PI Issaquah WA 98027

The Airmaster Club Gar Williams Chairman 9 South 125 Aero Drive Naperville IL 60540

The American Bonanza Society B J McClanahan MD PO Box 13 Hornel NY 14843

The American Bonanza Society Reading Municipal Airport Box 3749

Reading PA 19605

American Navion Society A R Cardono Chairman of the Board Box 1175 Airport Station Banning CA 92220

The Bird Airplane Club Mrs Richard C Hill Secretary Box 89 Harvard I L 60033

Canadian-American Amphibian Assoc Don Kyte President Box 527 Diablo CA 94528

Cessna 120-140 Association Box 92 Tom Teegarden President Richardson TX 75080

Culver Club Lawrence Low Chairman 60 Skywood Way Woodside CA 94062

The Dart Club Lloyd Washburn 3958 Washburn Drive PI Clinton OH 43452

The Dehaviland Moth Club John Bright Chairman 221 East Ransom SI Kalamazoo MI 49007

Eastern Cessna 190195 Association Cliff C Crabs 25575 Butternut Ridge Rd N Olmstead OH 44070

The Ercoupe Club M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 159 Stilwell KS 66085

Ercoupe Owners Club Skip Carden President Box 15058 Durham NC 27704

The Fairchild Club Ken Love President 1102 Main SI Crete IL 60417

Fokker Verein Dr Stanley S Murel 812 East Park Row Arlington TX 76010

The Funk Aircraft Owners Assoc G Dale Beach Chairman 1621 Dreher SI Sacramento CA 95814

The Heath Club Bob Burgee Chairman 7612 Erie SI Sylvania OH 43560

Howard Club Richard K Martin Chairman Route 3 Aerodrome Road Green Bay WI 54301

International Cessna 170 Association Inc 29010 Highway 160 East Durango CO 81301

International Cessna 195 Club Dwight M Ewing President Box 737 Merced CA 95340

International Citabria Club Ltd Box 29 White Lake NY 12786

International Swift Association Charles Nelson Box 644 Athens TN 37303

The Interstate Club Bruce F Mitchell 5421 NE 43 St Kansas City MO 64117

The Luscomb Association Robert Shelton 339 W Pierce SI Macomb IL 61455

The Meyers Club Ev Payette 1604 South Custer Rd Monroe MI 48161

Monocoupe Club Mr and Mrs Bud Dake Chairmen 8318 Fairbanks lerkeley MS 63134

The Mooney Mite Owners Assoc Box 3999 Charlottesvi lie VA 22903

The Moth Club Dudley Kelly RI 4 Versailles KY 40383

National Ryan Club Mitch Mayborn 3164 Whitehall Dallas TX 75229

National Ryan Club PT-22 Division Bill J Hodges Chairman 308 West Moore Ave Searcy AR 72143

National Waco Club Ray H Brandly 2650 W Alex Bellbrook Rd Dayton OH 45459

OX5 Aviation Pioneers 419 Plaza Building Pittsburgh PA 15219

Porterfield Club Charles E Lebreckt Chairman 3121 E Lake Shore Drive Wonder Lake IL 60097

The Rearwin Club George T Williams 115 Pauquette SI Portage WI 53901

Robin Club Walter L Tufts Chairman 4138 Santa Rosa Drive Moor Park CA 93021

Rose Parakeet Club J W Pose PO Box 32 Ingleside IL 60041

Seabee Newsletter George W Mojonnier Editor 10615 69th Place SE Snohomish WA 98290

Spartan Club Don Fairbanks Cardinal Air Training Hangar 224 Lunken Airport Cincinnati OH 42226

The Staggerwing Club James C Gorman President Box 1217 Mansfield OH 44903

Stampe Club Allen Schneider RI 1 Brodhead WI 53520

Stearmans Restorers Association Inc M Lowe President 823 Kingston Lane Crystal Lake IL 60014

Stinson Club J J Paul 1518 Ronson Rd Houston TX 77050

Taylorcraft Owners Club Merton A Meade Jr Chairman 5906 Summer Lane Oxan Hill MD 20021

Travel Air Club H M Herb Harkcom Buzzards Roost RI 1 Mola OK 74036

U S Stampe Club Stephen J Linsenmeyer 127 Hollywood Drive Monroe MI 48161

Vagabond News Cecil Ogles Editor 448 CAve Coronado CA 92118

Vintage Sailplane Association Jeff Steele 6053 - 25th Rd N Arlington VA 22207

West Coast Cessna 120140 Club Inc Doug Williams President Box 891 Menlo Park CA 94025

Wheelchair Pilots Howard L Treadwell 11018 - 102nd Ave Largo FL 33540

World War I Aeroplanes Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie KY 12601

Wright J-5 Club George Lanning 833 Stoneburner Lane Kent WA 98031

9

BILL CHOMO REPORTS

PHILOSOPHV OF

RESTORATION

An Interview with Bill Choma Director of M aintenance amp Restoration

VINTAGE AIRPLANE What is your philosophy on reshystoring airplanes

Bill Chomo Well at EAA we re charged with a very great responsibility in that we re preserving our aviashytion history for posterity Were fortunate in that were dealing with something that is relatively new aviashytions only 75 years old So weve got a better jump than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian items that are thousands of years old Our philosophy differs between the two types of restoring (1) workshying for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum display Flying takes preference here so all planes have to be made airworthy and authenticity as far as materials and so on are secondary To some extent thats true in Museum quality restoration You have to take modern liberties We want an airplane that can sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly and not have to be rebuilt another time I know there are other museum people who differ with me because they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT original type materials glues and everything else The reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or three hundred year life on a very perishable comshymodity like an airplane you have to use the best posshysib le techniques that we have today - the best posshysib le glues (including epoxy) The dope is a good exshyample all of the original planes way back had varnish on them which became britt le in a very sho rt time A

little later they had nitrate dope which deteriorates The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back into a natural state right in the can Thats why there are very few old movies left Well nitrate dope is about the same Its made with nitric acid and cellushylose Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid is consumed so its neutral But the stuff will turn acid again as this process never stops with acid and evenshytually it will eat the fabric off the airplane This is one of the reason s that butyrate dope was developed So why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten years

Tires are another example of a problem On origishynal tires the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cershytain number of years The ozone in the air destroys the rubber Then you have to find sources of supply to get original configuration tires Thats a must even on the flyable airplanes

Hardwares also difficult because we have modshyernized our bolts Unless you go to a local hardware store and buy tractor nuts and bolts you really don t have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back then A lot of the original materials are just not in use anymore

Naturally some things like the integrity of the airshyplane its general shape and some details like the rib stitching can be kept true to form With rib stitching for example the same spac ing that was used when it was originally built shou ld definitely be retained You dont want to change any of that Its something that a future scholar a hundred years from now is going to

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Bill Choma left) lays on some tape over rib stit ch ing on the elevator of the Dehavilshyland Rap ide being res tored in the shops Phillipe Van Pelt lencls a hand

want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down on the leading edge

On the other hand what do you do for accuracy with some of the rare aircraft where there were absoshylutely no blueprints Usually you can copy some of the parts from original s Thats an art in itself But when the part is actually missing what did it look like The search can wind through old photos magazines or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying glass trying to decipher from the picture what the part looked like and what its scale was It takes a fantasti c library

VA Of the airplanes you ve restored for EAA how many have been given the Museum treatment

BC The only two that I can think of that weren t reshystored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the Pfalz Those two were restored to museum status Thats only because they would have required major rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying them there was no reason to do the extra work Conshyseq uently the Pheasant was not even recovered It was rejuvenated and repainted with the original fabshyric on it Someday were going to have to completely restore that airp lane The flying wires or flying cab les in some instances were just cleaned up but not reshyplaced They wou ld not be ai rworthy The engines were not gone through They were cleaned on the outshysid e but not disassembled and overhauled

VA Have they been pickled

10

(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

11

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

12

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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The plane bobbed a few more times leveled off and glided smoothly to the runway Theres no reashyson to be frightened of an occasional bump on final

he said softly and seriously And theres no reason to be afraid of this machine falling apart either Suddenly it struck home that fear had been the enemy not the wind and not the plane Sabbie had seen my fear a lot earlier and finally decided to scare it out of me We shut down in front of his hangar and he climbed out gingerly With a broad smile that made his ears stand out a little he said you ll make it I did A few more hours with Sabbie and I felt like Clark Gable with Vivian Leigh I literally went with the wind

Then a couple years ago Sabbie kissed one of his female students hopped out of the plane with an expression of success and stood back while she took off for her first solo flight It was his wife Louise She was 63 at the time I always wanted to teach her he said calmly over coffee but when we were younger there never seemed to be any time She was busy raising the kids Of course she always wanted to learn so I guess nows as good a time as any His pride was obvious

Sabbies son Joe was ready to solo an airplane at the age of 10 We had to stick seven cushions under him to bring his eyes above the planes instrushyment panel Hed been flying with me for over nine years I started holding him in my lap when he was nine months old When he was eighteen months I could talk him through a landing by anticipating his moves and telling him when to pull back on the stick Then a winter went by and Joe stayed on the ground The next time I took him up and told him to pull back he nearly stood the airplane on its tail I forgot to take into account that he had become much stronger and quicker with his reflexes

Louise Joe and I were only three people out of about 3000 that Sabbie has introduced to the art of safe sensitive flying Unfortunately what he knows about relaxation and feeling in flight is dying out People teach you to tune dials and memorize rules but they dont get down to fundamentals Ive straightshyened out a lot of pilots who were taught the wrong way and who wound up being afraid of flying Some of them were high time pilots and some of them were even CFIs What does a scared CFI teach Sabbie doesnt hold back when he gets into the subject of flight instruction Seventy-five percent of the flight instruction in this country stinks today They dont teach you how the airplane can take care of itself Too many operators are anxious for a dollar and let a student solo before hes ready They promise they can get you to solo in six hours and they do it and

thats stupid You cant deal with a set period of hours you have to deal with individual personalities He believes that 70 percent of the instructors effort should go into teaching relaxation and feeling 20 percent goes toward breaking the driving habit or overshycontrolling and 10 percent goes into teaching skills Theres fifty years of experience behind that idea Its the kind of experience the FAA would profit from if there were some way they could gear up to listen

Sabbies one of those rare people who found a way of life that he could embrace with undiminished interest for a half century In fifty years of flying and instructing Ive never been frightened by it or bored by it he says convincingly While he easily looks like hes 67 he has the kind of energy that mocks the white hair thats left on his head He tells stories with the flourish of a Zorba and commands attention like a Pied Piper Hell drop just about anyshything hes doing on the ground to turn his hands into airplanes and talk about flying And when you hear him say that reminds me or there was this pilot it often becomes hard to get a word in edgeshywise I love talking to people he once confided then grinned and added slowly maybe too much All those years have given him a lot to talk about

Unlike a lot of boys in the 1920s who watched a bush pilot put down in a local pea patch then bought a two-dollar ride and left for flying school Sabbie didnt even get a close-up look at an airplane until he was on his way to flying school

It was 1926 when I made up my mind to go I was 16 Id seen planes way overhead but never got a chance to look at one or fly in one he recounts No I got hooked when I ran across a full-page ad in Popular Mechanics for the Sweeney Aviation School out in Kansas City Missouri It was the idea of speed more than anything that excited me He made up his mind and told his mother There was a great storm A year later though I was on my way I got a lot of help from Lindbergh When he made his great flight in 27 there were a lot of sons who finally won their arguments Sabbie left his native Rhode Island with the ad in his pocket

His first ride overwhelmed him with disappointshyment There was no sense of speed None It was alshymost like that old Standard J-1 just hung there in space It was slow I was ready to give up But on the second lesson my instructor let me take the controls and my desire for speed was left in the clouds Those lessons cost him $35 a crack and he used to get up at 300 am walk thirteen blocks and then fly until the winds came up

Sabbie used the Waco 10 until 1938 when it was crushed by a hangar roof that fell in during a hurricane

Sabbie and Walt Scheibe pose in front of Walts AW Cessna

There weren t any aviation weather reports in those days there werent any air sectionals the planes didnt have radios - there was no one to talk to and it was rare to find one that even had a compass On cross-country trips hed literally stick a wet thumb in the air glance at the position of the sun and climb into the cockpit with his copy of the Rand McNally Road Atlas With those kind of conditions you either developed a feeling for flight or took up farming (someshy

6

rricanes sure raise havoc with airplanes This one in 54 tossed Sabbies PT-23 into the trees Somehow it was cked out without any dam age

In 1946 Sabbie took delivery on a new Taylorcraft Be 120 which he still owns

times suddenly) When he was on the ground Sabbie busied himself with a wrench a needle and thread or a paintbrush and he developed the knowledge equivalent to an AampP

A couple years later Sabbie hitched back to Rhode Island He befriended Joel Meynard and the two went off in search of an airplane (with a little financial help from Sabbies mother) They scoured the New York area for a plane but found nothing for sale While at Roosevelt field however he did make the acquaintshyance of a young aviatrix Amelia Earhart They came home empty-handed and found that there was a Waco 10 on Block Island that had been wrecked ten hours after it had left the factory Doug Harris had rebuilt it When Harris had found he couldnt rebuild the engine and couldnt purchase a new one from the factory he changed the mount and installed an OX-5 That engine reportedly came off of Lindberghs old Jenny (it was a small world then too) Sabbie and Joel bought the Waco 10 then flew it up to Woonsocket where they opened the LampM Flying Service and School And almost immediately after that we were shut down by the Federal Government Someone had crashed and in the space of a couple days the FARs

I

became pregnant with new rules about licensing Sabbie and Joel of course complied there was no choice Soon after they were running their service again doing charters joy rides and the occasional lesson It was 1930 and things were slow

Anyones first airplane becomes their lifetime favorite says Sabbie I dont care what kind of machine it is its always the best The Waco 10 in Sabbies life lived to be rebuilt a couple times until the hurricane of 1938 retired it permanently In the eight years he flew it however he logged enough exshyperiences to fill a book Like the time he went up late in the morning to relax a little hed only had about an hours sleep the night before He fell asleep in the Waco for 15 minutes and flew 20 miles in the process without losing any altitude or altering his heading Thats a trimmed airplane

At another time he was up on a sight-seeing trip with a friend They circled this and buzzed that and in the process a thunderstorm moved in between them and the airport They had two choices go to Boston or go through the storm Sabbie decided mainly because he didnt know much about thundershystorms back in 1932 to fly through it and satisfy his curiosity I was very lucky and I guess the good Lord didnt want me yet He admits he really didnt get scared while he was in the storm because he was too busy Almost immediately after entering the melee the control stick was ripped out of his hand It was all over the cockpit Sabbie recounts but for all the violence it averaged out to level flight after a fashion and a straight heading to boot Some fashion

There was an incredible amount of rain and turshybulence but none of the vertical drafts you hear about At least thats what he remembers His altishymeter wasnt the sensitive type When I got out I was ready to quit flying but that feeling didnt even last to the airport

In 1937 Sabbie was ferrying home a brand new 40 horsepower Taylorcraft The weather service had reported some mild storms and he was eager to get home He decided to fly around the cells (no more of that straight-through stuff) and took off with a full tank He went around a total of 14 thunderstorms some of which were so big and savage that they proshyduced huge newspaper headlines the next day In the process of storm dodging Sabbie found himself over wilderness areas without roads fields or runways Finally as night began to fall he found a grass strip put down and checked out a suspicion that had been building up he had less than one cup of gas left in the nine-gallon tank That was the closest he ever came to running out of gas

On another occasion in the late 30s a friend of Sabbies put a J-3 in a field to sit out a thunderstorm He was a tad nervous at the time and wound up with unapproved retractable gear The next day Sabbie hauled out some welding equipment and tacked the gear together He couldnt weld in the fuselage for fear of burning up the fabric so he fished a 2x4 in along a broken longeron and secured it with baling wire There were still some gaping holes in the fabric however and they needed attention before the yellow bird could be ferried back to the airport The owner had brought dope and thread but forgot to bring some fabric They begged some pillow cases from a friend covered the holes in the true spirit of CAM 18 and took off for better facilities

In August of 1942 Sabbie left Rhode Island to parshyticipate as a civilian flight instructor in a Navy train shying program He was with that program until late in 1944 when he switched over to the Air Force for a chance to fly the hump from India to China He was in with 8000 others all of whom found themselves out on the street when the Burma Road was finished So Sabbie went home and set himself up again as an FBO

During his civilian career hes worked at six airshyports One of those was turned into a racetrack two were converted to apartment complexes one became a shopping center and another is now a college campus Sabbie had built one of those fields himself His wife told me he used a wheelbarrow to cart stones off the field and built a hangar with his own hands Sabbie added I became the airport manager meshychanic instructor charter pilot bookkeeper salesshyman you name it Louise reminded him you used to come home from that job as an auto mechanic grab a bag full of sandwiches a whiskey bottle filled with coffee and down the works on the way to the field

Today Sabbie is still busy giving instructions to students and experienced pilots When he was 65 he won FAA approval for a thirty-hour aerobatic curricshyulum Of course anyone whos taking it will quickly tell you its the teacher that makes the difference So he spends 4 to 5 hours a day sommersaulting around the sky and loving every minute of it It cleans my system out moves the blood and the sediment around he says When you learn aerobatics the right way you learn safety relaxation and precision You become a better pilot

Sabbies students refer to him as salty and crusty but they always do it in tones of fondness I have yet to meet a student who didn t respect him along with his fifty-year-old approach to safe flight

7

By Byron (Fred) Fredericksen (fAA 99807 ) 3240 W Breezewood Lane N eenah Wisconsin 54956

Perhaps twenty years too late would be a more appropriate heading for my little tale here I offer this story for those interested in Ford Tri-Motor history I have read with much interest some of the fine works Ford historians have done through the years and more will be done as time goes on I think THE FORD STORY by William T Larkins was done extremely well Work su~h as that takes a lot of research and it is good that some one does it There are also Ford history publishycations I have not seen and the Ford I write of here may be old news to some folks

While at a friend s home in Alaska a few years ago our conversation got going on rumors of old airshyplanes in the Alaska bush (This kind of rumor always excities me and I have followed many since I believe this needs to be done) My host went on to say he thought he knew where there was a Ford In fact he had seen it near a remote airstrip many years ago He also added that in all probability there may not be much left of it if in fact it was still there How it got there he did not know He also said he knew of a party that represented a group from South Of The

Border which had also been seeking this Ford Howshyever he thought they had probably lost interest in it by this point in time

My thoughts went back to stories I had read about aerial refueling with Fords over Alaska I remembered one about Garland Lincoln flying a Ford to refuel a Lockheed 12-A in flight which Jimmie Mattern was flying during an air search

Of course since Ford Tri-Motors have showed up at all points of the globe through the years the one my buddy was speaking of could have arrived at its final resting place for any number of reasons Since I had to leave Alaska in a few days I asked my friend if he would be interested in making a trip to the Ford Site for a look-see if Id finance it He agreed to do so if he found the time that winter and if the weather was suitable I had things to do and left for home

Now perhaps some readers know all about the Ford I refer to that Lincoln was flying Maybe some one owns it today Upon returning home I found some stories on the subject and they indicate Lincoln crash-landed his Ford and totaled it on the Alaska tundra during bad weather in 1937 I do not wish to quote any publications here and I did not do any new research on Ford history However I did find the registration and serial numbers on the Ford involved in our rumor It was NC-8403 model 4-AT-E serial 4-AT-65 and the name PTARMIGAN II was probably painted on it I also found a photograph showing Mr Ray Peterson and a Ford Tri-Motor bearing the words

PTARMIGAN lion its fuselage The photo was dated 1932 Mr Peterson has been involved with airplanes and airlines in Alaska for years Ptarmigan is the name of the official state bird in Alaska

Within a few months of returning to Wisconsin I decided we should have a look at our rumor As agreed my Alaskan buddy made the trip for me It was not a real long trip but it was in December It involved going from Fairbanks to Bethel then to Flat which I understand is a mining camp and has been for years The Ford site was an hours ride from the camp airshystrip via rented snow machine

The Ford was still there The name PTARMIGAN II was on the fuselage All that was visible was the fuseshylage And it had been stripped Twelve foot high brush had grown up around it My Buddy took some photos then waited out some bad weather at Flat and finally via a ski equipped Cub and Fairchild F-27 to McGrath and Anchorage arrived home four days later

He sent me the photos and a letter explaining that the cockpit gear cabin interior and every other little part had been removed The tail feathers had been damaged probably by a dozer blade He figured a Ford restorer had gotten to it The engines were gone as was the cowling The wings are said to be buried in stones under the fuselage but he did not see them due to the deep snow

He ended his letter with the words we are just twenty years too late

For the record The Alaskan Ford was a model 4 ATE Serial Number 4-AT-65 Registration Number NC 8403 It was built in 1929 with three Wright Whirlshywind engines rated at 300 horsepower Mamer Flying Service in Spokane Washington was the first owner They sold it to Tom Marshall Kester and Ed Groeneyke in 1934 and that same year it was damaged beyond repair while being landed at an airstrip at Flat Alaska

(Photo by ] O Berr y)

Twe lve feet of brush has grow n up around the Ford sa

8

Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs

Publication of the following Type Club information does not constitute endorsement of either the listed organizations or their officers nor does it guarantee the integrity of their operations None of the listed Type Clubs is affiliated with either the Experimental Aircraft Association or its AntiqueClassic Division While every effort has been made to publish correct and up-to-date information solely as a service to the members of the EAA AntiqueClassic Division the acshycuracy can not be guaranteed Please send any addishytions or corrections to the Editor

The Aeronca Chief Information George S York 181 Sloboda Ave Mansfield OH 44901

Aeronca Club Edward H Schubert Chairman 28 East State SI Janesville WI 53545

The Aeronca Owners Club C W Lasher 14100 Lake Candlwood Ct Miami Lakes FL 33014

Aeronca Sedan Club Richard Welsh 2311 E Lake Sammamish PI Issaquah WA 98027

The Airmaster Club Gar Williams Chairman 9 South 125 Aero Drive Naperville IL 60540

The American Bonanza Society B J McClanahan MD PO Box 13 Hornel NY 14843

The American Bonanza Society Reading Municipal Airport Box 3749

Reading PA 19605

American Navion Society A R Cardono Chairman of the Board Box 1175 Airport Station Banning CA 92220

The Bird Airplane Club Mrs Richard C Hill Secretary Box 89 Harvard I L 60033

Canadian-American Amphibian Assoc Don Kyte President Box 527 Diablo CA 94528

Cessna 120-140 Association Box 92 Tom Teegarden President Richardson TX 75080

Culver Club Lawrence Low Chairman 60 Skywood Way Woodside CA 94062

The Dart Club Lloyd Washburn 3958 Washburn Drive PI Clinton OH 43452

The Dehaviland Moth Club John Bright Chairman 221 East Ransom SI Kalamazoo MI 49007

Eastern Cessna 190195 Association Cliff C Crabs 25575 Butternut Ridge Rd N Olmstead OH 44070

The Ercoupe Club M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 159 Stilwell KS 66085

Ercoupe Owners Club Skip Carden President Box 15058 Durham NC 27704

The Fairchild Club Ken Love President 1102 Main SI Crete IL 60417

Fokker Verein Dr Stanley S Murel 812 East Park Row Arlington TX 76010

The Funk Aircraft Owners Assoc G Dale Beach Chairman 1621 Dreher SI Sacramento CA 95814

The Heath Club Bob Burgee Chairman 7612 Erie SI Sylvania OH 43560

Howard Club Richard K Martin Chairman Route 3 Aerodrome Road Green Bay WI 54301

International Cessna 170 Association Inc 29010 Highway 160 East Durango CO 81301

International Cessna 195 Club Dwight M Ewing President Box 737 Merced CA 95340

International Citabria Club Ltd Box 29 White Lake NY 12786

International Swift Association Charles Nelson Box 644 Athens TN 37303

The Interstate Club Bruce F Mitchell 5421 NE 43 St Kansas City MO 64117

The Luscomb Association Robert Shelton 339 W Pierce SI Macomb IL 61455

The Meyers Club Ev Payette 1604 South Custer Rd Monroe MI 48161

Monocoupe Club Mr and Mrs Bud Dake Chairmen 8318 Fairbanks lerkeley MS 63134

The Mooney Mite Owners Assoc Box 3999 Charlottesvi lie VA 22903

The Moth Club Dudley Kelly RI 4 Versailles KY 40383

National Ryan Club Mitch Mayborn 3164 Whitehall Dallas TX 75229

National Ryan Club PT-22 Division Bill J Hodges Chairman 308 West Moore Ave Searcy AR 72143

National Waco Club Ray H Brandly 2650 W Alex Bellbrook Rd Dayton OH 45459

OX5 Aviation Pioneers 419 Plaza Building Pittsburgh PA 15219

Porterfield Club Charles E Lebreckt Chairman 3121 E Lake Shore Drive Wonder Lake IL 60097

The Rearwin Club George T Williams 115 Pauquette SI Portage WI 53901

Robin Club Walter L Tufts Chairman 4138 Santa Rosa Drive Moor Park CA 93021

Rose Parakeet Club J W Pose PO Box 32 Ingleside IL 60041

Seabee Newsletter George W Mojonnier Editor 10615 69th Place SE Snohomish WA 98290

Spartan Club Don Fairbanks Cardinal Air Training Hangar 224 Lunken Airport Cincinnati OH 42226

The Staggerwing Club James C Gorman President Box 1217 Mansfield OH 44903

Stampe Club Allen Schneider RI 1 Brodhead WI 53520

Stearmans Restorers Association Inc M Lowe President 823 Kingston Lane Crystal Lake IL 60014

Stinson Club J J Paul 1518 Ronson Rd Houston TX 77050

Taylorcraft Owners Club Merton A Meade Jr Chairman 5906 Summer Lane Oxan Hill MD 20021

Travel Air Club H M Herb Harkcom Buzzards Roost RI 1 Mola OK 74036

U S Stampe Club Stephen J Linsenmeyer 127 Hollywood Drive Monroe MI 48161

Vagabond News Cecil Ogles Editor 448 CAve Coronado CA 92118

Vintage Sailplane Association Jeff Steele 6053 - 25th Rd N Arlington VA 22207

West Coast Cessna 120140 Club Inc Doug Williams President Box 891 Menlo Park CA 94025

Wheelchair Pilots Howard L Treadwell 11018 - 102nd Ave Largo FL 33540

World War I Aeroplanes Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie KY 12601

Wright J-5 Club George Lanning 833 Stoneburner Lane Kent WA 98031

9

BILL CHOMO REPORTS

PHILOSOPHV OF

RESTORATION

An Interview with Bill Choma Director of M aintenance amp Restoration

VINTAGE AIRPLANE What is your philosophy on reshystoring airplanes

Bill Chomo Well at EAA we re charged with a very great responsibility in that we re preserving our aviashytion history for posterity Were fortunate in that were dealing with something that is relatively new aviashytions only 75 years old So weve got a better jump than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian items that are thousands of years old Our philosophy differs between the two types of restoring (1) workshying for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum display Flying takes preference here so all planes have to be made airworthy and authenticity as far as materials and so on are secondary To some extent thats true in Museum quality restoration You have to take modern liberties We want an airplane that can sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly and not have to be rebuilt another time I know there are other museum people who differ with me because they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT original type materials glues and everything else The reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or three hundred year life on a very perishable comshymodity like an airplane you have to use the best posshysib le techniques that we have today - the best posshysib le glues (including epoxy) The dope is a good exshyample all of the original planes way back had varnish on them which became britt le in a very sho rt time A

little later they had nitrate dope which deteriorates The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back into a natural state right in the can Thats why there are very few old movies left Well nitrate dope is about the same Its made with nitric acid and cellushylose Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid is consumed so its neutral But the stuff will turn acid again as this process never stops with acid and evenshytually it will eat the fabric off the airplane This is one of the reason s that butyrate dope was developed So why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten years

Tires are another example of a problem On origishynal tires the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cershytain number of years The ozone in the air destroys the rubber Then you have to find sources of supply to get original configuration tires Thats a must even on the flyable airplanes

Hardwares also difficult because we have modshyernized our bolts Unless you go to a local hardware store and buy tractor nuts and bolts you really don t have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back then A lot of the original materials are just not in use anymore

Naturally some things like the integrity of the airshyplane its general shape and some details like the rib stitching can be kept true to form With rib stitching for example the same spac ing that was used when it was originally built shou ld definitely be retained You dont want to change any of that Its something that a future scholar a hundred years from now is going to

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Bill Choma left) lays on some tape over rib stit ch ing on the elevator of the Dehavilshyland Rap ide being res tored in the shops Phillipe Van Pelt lencls a hand

want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down on the leading edge

On the other hand what do you do for accuracy with some of the rare aircraft where there were absoshylutely no blueprints Usually you can copy some of the parts from original s Thats an art in itself But when the part is actually missing what did it look like The search can wind through old photos magazines or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying glass trying to decipher from the picture what the part looked like and what its scale was It takes a fantasti c library

VA Of the airplanes you ve restored for EAA how many have been given the Museum treatment

BC The only two that I can think of that weren t reshystored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the Pfalz Those two were restored to museum status Thats only because they would have required major rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying them there was no reason to do the extra work Conshyseq uently the Pheasant was not even recovered It was rejuvenated and repainted with the original fabshyric on it Someday were going to have to completely restore that airp lane The flying wires or flying cab les in some instances were just cleaned up but not reshyplaced They wou ld not be ai rworthy The engines were not gone through They were cleaned on the outshysid e but not disassembled and overhauled

VA Have they been pickled

10

(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

11

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

12

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

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ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

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SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

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WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

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24

rricanes sure raise havoc with airplanes This one in 54 tossed Sabbies PT-23 into the trees Somehow it was cked out without any dam age

In 1946 Sabbie took delivery on a new Taylorcraft Be 120 which he still owns

times suddenly) When he was on the ground Sabbie busied himself with a wrench a needle and thread or a paintbrush and he developed the knowledge equivalent to an AampP

A couple years later Sabbie hitched back to Rhode Island He befriended Joel Meynard and the two went off in search of an airplane (with a little financial help from Sabbies mother) They scoured the New York area for a plane but found nothing for sale While at Roosevelt field however he did make the acquaintshyance of a young aviatrix Amelia Earhart They came home empty-handed and found that there was a Waco 10 on Block Island that had been wrecked ten hours after it had left the factory Doug Harris had rebuilt it When Harris had found he couldnt rebuild the engine and couldnt purchase a new one from the factory he changed the mount and installed an OX-5 That engine reportedly came off of Lindberghs old Jenny (it was a small world then too) Sabbie and Joel bought the Waco 10 then flew it up to Woonsocket where they opened the LampM Flying Service and School And almost immediately after that we were shut down by the Federal Government Someone had crashed and in the space of a couple days the FARs

I

became pregnant with new rules about licensing Sabbie and Joel of course complied there was no choice Soon after they were running their service again doing charters joy rides and the occasional lesson It was 1930 and things were slow

Anyones first airplane becomes their lifetime favorite says Sabbie I dont care what kind of machine it is its always the best The Waco 10 in Sabbies life lived to be rebuilt a couple times until the hurricane of 1938 retired it permanently In the eight years he flew it however he logged enough exshyperiences to fill a book Like the time he went up late in the morning to relax a little hed only had about an hours sleep the night before He fell asleep in the Waco for 15 minutes and flew 20 miles in the process without losing any altitude or altering his heading Thats a trimmed airplane

At another time he was up on a sight-seeing trip with a friend They circled this and buzzed that and in the process a thunderstorm moved in between them and the airport They had two choices go to Boston or go through the storm Sabbie decided mainly because he didnt know much about thundershystorms back in 1932 to fly through it and satisfy his curiosity I was very lucky and I guess the good Lord didnt want me yet He admits he really didnt get scared while he was in the storm because he was too busy Almost immediately after entering the melee the control stick was ripped out of his hand It was all over the cockpit Sabbie recounts but for all the violence it averaged out to level flight after a fashion and a straight heading to boot Some fashion

There was an incredible amount of rain and turshybulence but none of the vertical drafts you hear about At least thats what he remembers His altishymeter wasnt the sensitive type When I got out I was ready to quit flying but that feeling didnt even last to the airport

In 1937 Sabbie was ferrying home a brand new 40 horsepower Taylorcraft The weather service had reported some mild storms and he was eager to get home He decided to fly around the cells (no more of that straight-through stuff) and took off with a full tank He went around a total of 14 thunderstorms some of which were so big and savage that they proshyduced huge newspaper headlines the next day In the process of storm dodging Sabbie found himself over wilderness areas without roads fields or runways Finally as night began to fall he found a grass strip put down and checked out a suspicion that had been building up he had less than one cup of gas left in the nine-gallon tank That was the closest he ever came to running out of gas

On another occasion in the late 30s a friend of Sabbies put a J-3 in a field to sit out a thunderstorm He was a tad nervous at the time and wound up with unapproved retractable gear The next day Sabbie hauled out some welding equipment and tacked the gear together He couldnt weld in the fuselage for fear of burning up the fabric so he fished a 2x4 in along a broken longeron and secured it with baling wire There were still some gaping holes in the fabric however and they needed attention before the yellow bird could be ferried back to the airport The owner had brought dope and thread but forgot to bring some fabric They begged some pillow cases from a friend covered the holes in the true spirit of CAM 18 and took off for better facilities

In August of 1942 Sabbie left Rhode Island to parshyticipate as a civilian flight instructor in a Navy train shying program He was with that program until late in 1944 when he switched over to the Air Force for a chance to fly the hump from India to China He was in with 8000 others all of whom found themselves out on the street when the Burma Road was finished So Sabbie went home and set himself up again as an FBO

During his civilian career hes worked at six airshyports One of those was turned into a racetrack two were converted to apartment complexes one became a shopping center and another is now a college campus Sabbie had built one of those fields himself His wife told me he used a wheelbarrow to cart stones off the field and built a hangar with his own hands Sabbie added I became the airport manager meshychanic instructor charter pilot bookkeeper salesshyman you name it Louise reminded him you used to come home from that job as an auto mechanic grab a bag full of sandwiches a whiskey bottle filled with coffee and down the works on the way to the field

Today Sabbie is still busy giving instructions to students and experienced pilots When he was 65 he won FAA approval for a thirty-hour aerobatic curricshyulum Of course anyone whos taking it will quickly tell you its the teacher that makes the difference So he spends 4 to 5 hours a day sommersaulting around the sky and loving every minute of it It cleans my system out moves the blood and the sediment around he says When you learn aerobatics the right way you learn safety relaxation and precision You become a better pilot

Sabbies students refer to him as salty and crusty but they always do it in tones of fondness I have yet to meet a student who didn t respect him along with his fifty-year-old approach to safe flight

7

By Byron (Fred) Fredericksen (fAA 99807 ) 3240 W Breezewood Lane N eenah Wisconsin 54956

Perhaps twenty years too late would be a more appropriate heading for my little tale here I offer this story for those interested in Ford Tri-Motor history I have read with much interest some of the fine works Ford historians have done through the years and more will be done as time goes on I think THE FORD STORY by William T Larkins was done extremely well Work su~h as that takes a lot of research and it is good that some one does it There are also Ford history publishycations I have not seen and the Ford I write of here may be old news to some folks

While at a friend s home in Alaska a few years ago our conversation got going on rumors of old airshyplanes in the Alaska bush (This kind of rumor always excities me and I have followed many since I believe this needs to be done) My host went on to say he thought he knew where there was a Ford In fact he had seen it near a remote airstrip many years ago He also added that in all probability there may not be much left of it if in fact it was still there How it got there he did not know He also said he knew of a party that represented a group from South Of The

Border which had also been seeking this Ford Howshyever he thought they had probably lost interest in it by this point in time

My thoughts went back to stories I had read about aerial refueling with Fords over Alaska I remembered one about Garland Lincoln flying a Ford to refuel a Lockheed 12-A in flight which Jimmie Mattern was flying during an air search

Of course since Ford Tri-Motors have showed up at all points of the globe through the years the one my buddy was speaking of could have arrived at its final resting place for any number of reasons Since I had to leave Alaska in a few days I asked my friend if he would be interested in making a trip to the Ford Site for a look-see if Id finance it He agreed to do so if he found the time that winter and if the weather was suitable I had things to do and left for home

Now perhaps some readers know all about the Ford I refer to that Lincoln was flying Maybe some one owns it today Upon returning home I found some stories on the subject and they indicate Lincoln crash-landed his Ford and totaled it on the Alaska tundra during bad weather in 1937 I do not wish to quote any publications here and I did not do any new research on Ford history However I did find the registration and serial numbers on the Ford involved in our rumor It was NC-8403 model 4-AT-E serial 4-AT-65 and the name PTARMIGAN II was probably painted on it I also found a photograph showing Mr Ray Peterson and a Ford Tri-Motor bearing the words

PTARMIGAN lion its fuselage The photo was dated 1932 Mr Peterson has been involved with airplanes and airlines in Alaska for years Ptarmigan is the name of the official state bird in Alaska

Within a few months of returning to Wisconsin I decided we should have a look at our rumor As agreed my Alaskan buddy made the trip for me It was not a real long trip but it was in December It involved going from Fairbanks to Bethel then to Flat which I understand is a mining camp and has been for years The Ford site was an hours ride from the camp airshystrip via rented snow machine

The Ford was still there The name PTARMIGAN II was on the fuselage All that was visible was the fuseshylage And it had been stripped Twelve foot high brush had grown up around it My Buddy took some photos then waited out some bad weather at Flat and finally via a ski equipped Cub and Fairchild F-27 to McGrath and Anchorage arrived home four days later

He sent me the photos and a letter explaining that the cockpit gear cabin interior and every other little part had been removed The tail feathers had been damaged probably by a dozer blade He figured a Ford restorer had gotten to it The engines were gone as was the cowling The wings are said to be buried in stones under the fuselage but he did not see them due to the deep snow

He ended his letter with the words we are just twenty years too late

For the record The Alaskan Ford was a model 4 ATE Serial Number 4-AT-65 Registration Number NC 8403 It was built in 1929 with three Wright Whirlshywind engines rated at 300 horsepower Mamer Flying Service in Spokane Washington was the first owner They sold it to Tom Marshall Kester and Ed Groeneyke in 1934 and that same year it was damaged beyond repair while being landed at an airstrip at Flat Alaska

(Photo by ] O Berr y)

Twe lve feet of brush has grow n up around the Ford sa

8

Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs

Publication of the following Type Club information does not constitute endorsement of either the listed organizations or their officers nor does it guarantee the integrity of their operations None of the listed Type Clubs is affiliated with either the Experimental Aircraft Association or its AntiqueClassic Division While every effort has been made to publish correct and up-to-date information solely as a service to the members of the EAA AntiqueClassic Division the acshycuracy can not be guaranteed Please send any addishytions or corrections to the Editor

The Aeronca Chief Information George S York 181 Sloboda Ave Mansfield OH 44901

Aeronca Club Edward H Schubert Chairman 28 East State SI Janesville WI 53545

The Aeronca Owners Club C W Lasher 14100 Lake Candlwood Ct Miami Lakes FL 33014

Aeronca Sedan Club Richard Welsh 2311 E Lake Sammamish PI Issaquah WA 98027

The Airmaster Club Gar Williams Chairman 9 South 125 Aero Drive Naperville IL 60540

The American Bonanza Society B J McClanahan MD PO Box 13 Hornel NY 14843

The American Bonanza Society Reading Municipal Airport Box 3749

Reading PA 19605

American Navion Society A R Cardono Chairman of the Board Box 1175 Airport Station Banning CA 92220

The Bird Airplane Club Mrs Richard C Hill Secretary Box 89 Harvard I L 60033

Canadian-American Amphibian Assoc Don Kyte President Box 527 Diablo CA 94528

Cessna 120-140 Association Box 92 Tom Teegarden President Richardson TX 75080

Culver Club Lawrence Low Chairman 60 Skywood Way Woodside CA 94062

The Dart Club Lloyd Washburn 3958 Washburn Drive PI Clinton OH 43452

The Dehaviland Moth Club John Bright Chairman 221 East Ransom SI Kalamazoo MI 49007

Eastern Cessna 190195 Association Cliff C Crabs 25575 Butternut Ridge Rd N Olmstead OH 44070

The Ercoupe Club M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 159 Stilwell KS 66085

Ercoupe Owners Club Skip Carden President Box 15058 Durham NC 27704

The Fairchild Club Ken Love President 1102 Main SI Crete IL 60417

Fokker Verein Dr Stanley S Murel 812 East Park Row Arlington TX 76010

The Funk Aircraft Owners Assoc G Dale Beach Chairman 1621 Dreher SI Sacramento CA 95814

The Heath Club Bob Burgee Chairman 7612 Erie SI Sylvania OH 43560

Howard Club Richard K Martin Chairman Route 3 Aerodrome Road Green Bay WI 54301

International Cessna 170 Association Inc 29010 Highway 160 East Durango CO 81301

International Cessna 195 Club Dwight M Ewing President Box 737 Merced CA 95340

International Citabria Club Ltd Box 29 White Lake NY 12786

International Swift Association Charles Nelson Box 644 Athens TN 37303

The Interstate Club Bruce F Mitchell 5421 NE 43 St Kansas City MO 64117

The Luscomb Association Robert Shelton 339 W Pierce SI Macomb IL 61455

The Meyers Club Ev Payette 1604 South Custer Rd Monroe MI 48161

Monocoupe Club Mr and Mrs Bud Dake Chairmen 8318 Fairbanks lerkeley MS 63134

The Mooney Mite Owners Assoc Box 3999 Charlottesvi lie VA 22903

The Moth Club Dudley Kelly RI 4 Versailles KY 40383

National Ryan Club Mitch Mayborn 3164 Whitehall Dallas TX 75229

National Ryan Club PT-22 Division Bill J Hodges Chairman 308 West Moore Ave Searcy AR 72143

National Waco Club Ray H Brandly 2650 W Alex Bellbrook Rd Dayton OH 45459

OX5 Aviation Pioneers 419 Plaza Building Pittsburgh PA 15219

Porterfield Club Charles E Lebreckt Chairman 3121 E Lake Shore Drive Wonder Lake IL 60097

The Rearwin Club George T Williams 115 Pauquette SI Portage WI 53901

Robin Club Walter L Tufts Chairman 4138 Santa Rosa Drive Moor Park CA 93021

Rose Parakeet Club J W Pose PO Box 32 Ingleside IL 60041

Seabee Newsletter George W Mojonnier Editor 10615 69th Place SE Snohomish WA 98290

Spartan Club Don Fairbanks Cardinal Air Training Hangar 224 Lunken Airport Cincinnati OH 42226

The Staggerwing Club James C Gorman President Box 1217 Mansfield OH 44903

Stampe Club Allen Schneider RI 1 Brodhead WI 53520

Stearmans Restorers Association Inc M Lowe President 823 Kingston Lane Crystal Lake IL 60014

Stinson Club J J Paul 1518 Ronson Rd Houston TX 77050

Taylorcraft Owners Club Merton A Meade Jr Chairman 5906 Summer Lane Oxan Hill MD 20021

Travel Air Club H M Herb Harkcom Buzzards Roost RI 1 Mola OK 74036

U S Stampe Club Stephen J Linsenmeyer 127 Hollywood Drive Monroe MI 48161

Vagabond News Cecil Ogles Editor 448 CAve Coronado CA 92118

Vintage Sailplane Association Jeff Steele 6053 - 25th Rd N Arlington VA 22207

West Coast Cessna 120140 Club Inc Doug Williams President Box 891 Menlo Park CA 94025

Wheelchair Pilots Howard L Treadwell 11018 - 102nd Ave Largo FL 33540

World War I Aeroplanes Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie KY 12601

Wright J-5 Club George Lanning 833 Stoneburner Lane Kent WA 98031

9

BILL CHOMO REPORTS

PHILOSOPHV OF

RESTORATION

An Interview with Bill Choma Director of M aintenance amp Restoration

VINTAGE AIRPLANE What is your philosophy on reshystoring airplanes

Bill Chomo Well at EAA we re charged with a very great responsibility in that we re preserving our aviashytion history for posterity Were fortunate in that were dealing with something that is relatively new aviashytions only 75 years old So weve got a better jump than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian items that are thousands of years old Our philosophy differs between the two types of restoring (1) workshying for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum display Flying takes preference here so all planes have to be made airworthy and authenticity as far as materials and so on are secondary To some extent thats true in Museum quality restoration You have to take modern liberties We want an airplane that can sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly and not have to be rebuilt another time I know there are other museum people who differ with me because they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT original type materials glues and everything else The reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or three hundred year life on a very perishable comshymodity like an airplane you have to use the best posshysib le techniques that we have today - the best posshysib le glues (including epoxy) The dope is a good exshyample all of the original planes way back had varnish on them which became britt le in a very sho rt time A

little later they had nitrate dope which deteriorates The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back into a natural state right in the can Thats why there are very few old movies left Well nitrate dope is about the same Its made with nitric acid and cellushylose Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid is consumed so its neutral But the stuff will turn acid again as this process never stops with acid and evenshytually it will eat the fabric off the airplane This is one of the reason s that butyrate dope was developed So why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten years

Tires are another example of a problem On origishynal tires the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cershytain number of years The ozone in the air destroys the rubber Then you have to find sources of supply to get original configuration tires Thats a must even on the flyable airplanes

Hardwares also difficult because we have modshyernized our bolts Unless you go to a local hardware store and buy tractor nuts and bolts you really don t have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back then A lot of the original materials are just not in use anymore

Naturally some things like the integrity of the airshyplane its general shape and some details like the rib stitching can be kept true to form With rib stitching for example the same spac ing that was used when it was originally built shou ld definitely be retained You dont want to change any of that Its something that a future scholar a hundred years from now is going to

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Bill Choma left) lays on some tape over rib stit ch ing on the elevator of the Dehavilshyland Rap ide being res tored in the shops Phillipe Van Pelt lencls a hand

want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down on the leading edge

On the other hand what do you do for accuracy with some of the rare aircraft where there were absoshylutely no blueprints Usually you can copy some of the parts from original s Thats an art in itself But when the part is actually missing what did it look like The search can wind through old photos magazines or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying glass trying to decipher from the picture what the part looked like and what its scale was It takes a fantasti c library

VA Of the airplanes you ve restored for EAA how many have been given the Museum treatment

BC The only two that I can think of that weren t reshystored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the Pfalz Those two were restored to museum status Thats only because they would have required major rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying them there was no reason to do the extra work Conshyseq uently the Pheasant was not even recovered It was rejuvenated and repainted with the original fabshyric on it Someday were going to have to completely restore that airp lane The flying wires or flying cab les in some instances were just cleaned up but not reshyplaced They wou ld not be ai rworthy The engines were not gone through They were cleaned on the outshysid e but not disassembled and overhauled

VA Have they been pickled

10

(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

11

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

12

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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24

By Byron (Fred) Fredericksen (fAA 99807 ) 3240 W Breezewood Lane N eenah Wisconsin 54956

Perhaps twenty years too late would be a more appropriate heading for my little tale here I offer this story for those interested in Ford Tri-Motor history I have read with much interest some of the fine works Ford historians have done through the years and more will be done as time goes on I think THE FORD STORY by William T Larkins was done extremely well Work su~h as that takes a lot of research and it is good that some one does it There are also Ford history publishycations I have not seen and the Ford I write of here may be old news to some folks

While at a friend s home in Alaska a few years ago our conversation got going on rumors of old airshyplanes in the Alaska bush (This kind of rumor always excities me and I have followed many since I believe this needs to be done) My host went on to say he thought he knew where there was a Ford In fact he had seen it near a remote airstrip many years ago He also added that in all probability there may not be much left of it if in fact it was still there How it got there he did not know He also said he knew of a party that represented a group from South Of The

Border which had also been seeking this Ford Howshyever he thought they had probably lost interest in it by this point in time

My thoughts went back to stories I had read about aerial refueling with Fords over Alaska I remembered one about Garland Lincoln flying a Ford to refuel a Lockheed 12-A in flight which Jimmie Mattern was flying during an air search

Of course since Ford Tri-Motors have showed up at all points of the globe through the years the one my buddy was speaking of could have arrived at its final resting place for any number of reasons Since I had to leave Alaska in a few days I asked my friend if he would be interested in making a trip to the Ford Site for a look-see if Id finance it He agreed to do so if he found the time that winter and if the weather was suitable I had things to do and left for home

Now perhaps some readers know all about the Ford I refer to that Lincoln was flying Maybe some one owns it today Upon returning home I found some stories on the subject and they indicate Lincoln crash-landed his Ford and totaled it on the Alaska tundra during bad weather in 1937 I do not wish to quote any publications here and I did not do any new research on Ford history However I did find the registration and serial numbers on the Ford involved in our rumor It was NC-8403 model 4-AT-E serial 4-AT-65 and the name PTARMIGAN II was probably painted on it I also found a photograph showing Mr Ray Peterson and a Ford Tri-Motor bearing the words

PTARMIGAN lion its fuselage The photo was dated 1932 Mr Peterson has been involved with airplanes and airlines in Alaska for years Ptarmigan is the name of the official state bird in Alaska

Within a few months of returning to Wisconsin I decided we should have a look at our rumor As agreed my Alaskan buddy made the trip for me It was not a real long trip but it was in December It involved going from Fairbanks to Bethel then to Flat which I understand is a mining camp and has been for years The Ford site was an hours ride from the camp airshystrip via rented snow machine

The Ford was still there The name PTARMIGAN II was on the fuselage All that was visible was the fuseshylage And it had been stripped Twelve foot high brush had grown up around it My Buddy took some photos then waited out some bad weather at Flat and finally via a ski equipped Cub and Fairchild F-27 to McGrath and Anchorage arrived home four days later

He sent me the photos and a letter explaining that the cockpit gear cabin interior and every other little part had been removed The tail feathers had been damaged probably by a dozer blade He figured a Ford restorer had gotten to it The engines were gone as was the cowling The wings are said to be buried in stones under the fuselage but he did not see them due to the deep snow

He ended his letter with the words we are just twenty years too late

For the record The Alaskan Ford was a model 4 ATE Serial Number 4-AT-65 Registration Number NC 8403 It was built in 1929 with three Wright Whirlshywind engines rated at 300 horsepower Mamer Flying Service in Spokane Washington was the first owner They sold it to Tom Marshall Kester and Ed Groeneyke in 1934 and that same year it was damaged beyond repair while being landed at an airstrip at Flat Alaska

(Photo by ] O Berr y)

Twe lve feet of brush has grow n up around the Ford sa

8

Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs

Publication of the following Type Club information does not constitute endorsement of either the listed organizations or their officers nor does it guarantee the integrity of their operations None of the listed Type Clubs is affiliated with either the Experimental Aircraft Association or its AntiqueClassic Division While every effort has been made to publish correct and up-to-date information solely as a service to the members of the EAA AntiqueClassic Division the acshycuracy can not be guaranteed Please send any addishytions or corrections to the Editor

The Aeronca Chief Information George S York 181 Sloboda Ave Mansfield OH 44901

Aeronca Club Edward H Schubert Chairman 28 East State SI Janesville WI 53545

The Aeronca Owners Club C W Lasher 14100 Lake Candlwood Ct Miami Lakes FL 33014

Aeronca Sedan Club Richard Welsh 2311 E Lake Sammamish PI Issaquah WA 98027

The Airmaster Club Gar Williams Chairman 9 South 125 Aero Drive Naperville IL 60540

The American Bonanza Society B J McClanahan MD PO Box 13 Hornel NY 14843

The American Bonanza Society Reading Municipal Airport Box 3749

Reading PA 19605

American Navion Society A R Cardono Chairman of the Board Box 1175 Airport Station Banning CA 92220

The Bird Airplane Club Mrs Richard C Hill Secretary Box 89 Harvard I L 60033

Canadian-American Amphibian Assoc Don Kyte President Box 527 Diablo CA 94528

Cessna 120-140 Association Box 92 Tom Teegarden President Richardson TX 75080

Culver Club Lawrence Low Chairman 60 Skywood Way Woodside CA 94062

The Dart Club Lloyd Washburn 3958 Washburn Drive PI Clinton OH 43452

The Dehaviland Moth Club John Bright Chairman 221 East Ransom SI Kalamazoo MI 49007

Eastern Cessna 190195 Association Cliff C Crabs 25575 Butternut Ridge Rd N Olmstead OH 44070

The Ercoupe Club M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 159 Stilwell KS 66085

Ercoupe Owners Club Skip Carden President Box 15058 Durham NC 27704

The Fairchild Club Ken Love President 1102 Main SI Crete IL 60417

Fokker Verein Dr Stanley S Murel 812 East Park Row Arlington TX 76010

The Funk Aircraft Owners Assoc G Dale Beach Chairman 1621 Dreher SI Sacramento CA 95814

The Heath Club Bob Burgee Chairman 7612 Erie SI Sylvania OH 43560

Howard Club Richard K Martin Chairman Route 3 Aerodrome Road Green Bay WI 54301

International Cessna 170 Association Inc 29010 Highway 160 East Durango CO 81301

International Cessna 195 Club Dwight M Ewing President Box 737 Merced CA 95340

International Citabria Club Ltd Box 29 White Lake NY 12786

International Swift Association Charles Nelson Box 644 Athens TN 37303

The Interstate Club Bruce F Mitchell 5421 NE 43 St Kansas City MO 64117

The Luscomb Association Robert Shelton 339 W Pierce SI Macomb IL 61455

The Meyers Club Ev Payette 1604 South Custer Rd Monroe MI 48161

Monocoupe Club Mr and Mrs Bud Dake Chairmen 8318 Fairbanks lerkeley MS 63134

The Mooney Mite Owners Assoc Box 3999 Charlottesvi lie VA 22903

The Moth Club Dudley Kelly RI 4 Versailles KY 40383

National Ryan Club Mitch Mayborn 3164 Whitehall Dallas TX 75229

National Ryan Club PT-22 Division Bill J Hodges Chairman 308 West Moore Ave Searcy AR 72143

National Waco Club Ray H Brandly 2650 W Alex Bellbrook Rd Dayton OH 45459

OX5 Aviation Pioneers 419 Plaza Building Pittsburgh PA 15219

Porterfield Club Charles E Lebreckt Chairman 3121 E Lake Shore Drive Wonder Lake IL 60097

The Rearwin Club George T Williams 115 Pauquette SI Portage WI 53901

Robin Club Walter L Tufts Chairman 4138 Santa Rosa Drive Moor Park CA 93021

Rose Parakeet Club J W Pose PO Box 32 Ingleside IL 60041

Seabee Newsletter George W Mojonnier Editor 10615 69th Place SE Snohomish WA 98290

Spartan Club Don Fairbanks Cardinal Air Training Hangar 224 Lunken Airport Cincinnati OH 42226

The Staggerwing Club James C Gorman President Box 1217 Mansfield OH 44903

Stampe Club Allen Schneider RI 1 Brodhead WI 53520

Stearmans Restorers Association Inc M Lowe President 823 Kingston Lane Crystal Lake IL 60014

Stinson Club J J Paul 1518 Ronson Rd Houston TX 77050

Taylorcraft Owners Club Merton A Meade Jr Chairman 5906 Summer Lane Oxan Hill MD 20021

Travel Air Club H M Herb Harkcom Buzzards Roost RI 1 Mola OK 74036

U S Stampe Club Stephen J Linsenmeyer 127 Hollywood Drive Monroe MI 48161

Vagabond News Cecil Ogles Editor 448 CAve Coronado CA 92118

Vintage Sailplane Association Jeff Steele 6053 - 25th Rd N Arlington VA 22207

West Coast Cessna 120140 Club Inc Doug Williams President Box 891 Menlo Park CA 94025

Wheelchair Pilots Howard L Treadwell 11018 - 102nd Ave Largo FL 33540

World War I Aeroplanes Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie KY 12601

Wright J-5 Club George Lanning 833 Stoneburner Lane Kent WA 98031

9

BILL CHOMO REPORTS

PHILOSOPHV OF

RESTORATION

An Interview with Bill Choma Director of M aintenance amp Restoration

VINTAGE AIRPLANE What is your philosophy on reshystoring airplanes

Bill Chomo Well at EAA we re charged with a very great responsibility in that we re preserving our aviashytion history for posterity Were fortunate in that were dealing with something that is relatively new aviashytions only 75 years old So weve got a better jump than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian items that are thousands of years old Our philosophy differs between the two types of restoring (1) workshying for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum display Flying takes preference here so all planes have to be made airworthy and authenticity as far as materials and so on are secondary To some extent thats true in Museum quality restoration You have to take modern liberties We want an airplane that can sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly and not have to be rebuilt another time I know there are other museum people who differ with me because they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT original type materials glues and everything else The reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or three hundred year life on a very perishable comshymodity like an airplane you have to use the best posshysib le techniques that we have today - the best posshysib le glues (including epoxy) The dope is a good exshyample all of the original planes way back had varnish on them which became britt le in a very sho rt time A

little later they had nitrate dope which deteriorates The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back into a natural state right in the can Thats why there are very few old movies left Well nitrate dope is about the same Its made with nitric acid and cellushylose Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid is consumed so its neutral But the stuff will turn acid again as this process never stops with acid and evenshytually it will eat the fabric off the airplane This is one of the reason s that butyrate dope was developed So why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten years

Tires are another example of a problem On origishynal tires the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cershytain number of years The ozone in the air destroys the rubber Then you have to find sources of supply to get original configuration tires Thats a must even on the flyable airplanes

Hardwares also difficult because we have modshyernized our bolts Unless you go to a local hardware store and buy tractor nuts and bolts you really don t have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back then A lot of the original materials are just not in use anymore

Naturally some things like the integrity of the airshyplane its general shape and some details like the rib stitching can be kept true to form With rib stitching for example the same spac ing that was used when it was originally built shou ld definitely be retained You dont want to change any of that Its something that a future scholar a hundred years from now is going to

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Bill Choma left) lays on some tape over rib stit ch ing on the elevator of the Dehavilshyland Rap ide being res tored in the shops Phillipe Van Pelt lencls a hand

want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down on the leading edge

On the other hand what do you do for accuracy with some of the rare aircraft where there were absoshylutely no blueprints Usually you can copy some of the parts from original s Thats an art in itself But when the part is actually missing what did it look like The search can wind through old photos magazines or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying glass trying to decipher from the picture what the part looked like and what its scale was It takes a fantasti c library

VA Of the airplanes you ve restored for EAA how many have been given the Museum treatment

BC The only two that I can think of that weren t reshystored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the Pfalz Those two were restored to museum status Thats only because they would have required major rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying them there was no reason to do the extra work Conshyseq uently the Pheasant was not even recovered It was rejuvenated and repainted with the original fabshyric on it Someday were going to have to completely restore that airp lane The flying wires or flying cab les in some instances were just cleaned up but not reshyplaced They wou ld not be ai rworthy The engines were not gone through They were cleaned on the outshysid e but not disassembled and overhauled

VA Have they been pickled

10

(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

11

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

12

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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24

Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs

Publication of the following Type Club information does not constitute endorsement of either the listed organizations or their officers nor does it guarantee the integrity of their operations None of the listed Type Clubs is affiliated with either the Experimental Aircraft Association or its AntiqueClassic Division While every effort has been made to publish correct and up-to-date information solely as a service to the members of the EAA AntiqueClassic Division the acshycuracy can not be guaranteed Please send any addishytions or corrections to the Editor

The Aeronca Chief Information George S York 181 Sloboda Ave Mansfield OH 44901

Aeronca Club Edward H Schubert Chairman 28 East State SI Janesville WI 53545

The Aeronca Owners Club C W Lasher 14100 Lake Candlwood Ct Miami Lakes FL 33014

Aeronca Sedan Club Richard Welsh 2311 E Lake Sammamish PI Issaquah WA 98027

The Airmaster Club Gar Williams Chairman 9 South 125 Aero Drive Naperville IL 60540

The American Bonanza Society B J McClanahan MD PO Box 13 Hornel NY 14843

The American Bonanza Society Reading Municipal Airport Box 3749

Reading PA 19605

American Navion Society A R Cardono Chairman of the Board Box 1175 Airport Station Banning CA 92220

The Bird Airplane Club Mrs Richard C Hill Secretary Box 89 Harvard I L 60033

Canadian-American Amphibian Assoc Don Kyte President Box 527 Diablo CA 94528

Cessna 120-140 Association Box 92 Tom Teegarden President Richardson TX 75080

Culver Club Lawrence Low Chairman 60 Skywood Way Woodside CA 94062

The Dart Club Lloyd Washburn 3958 Washburn Drive PI Clinton OH 43452

The Dehaviland Moth Club John Bright Chairman 221 East Ransom SI Kalamazoo MI 49007

Eastern Cessna 190195 Association Cliff C Crabs 25575 Butternut Ridge Rd N Olmstead OH 44070

The Ercoupe Club M C Kelly Viets RR 1 Box 159 Stilwell KS 66085

Ercoupe Owners Club Skip Carden President Box 15058 Durham NC 27704

The Fairchild Club Ken Love President 1102 Main SI Crete IL 60417

Fokker Verein Dr Stanley S Murel 812 East Park Row Arlington TX 76010

The Funk Aircraft Owners Assoc G Dale Beach Chairman 1621 Dreher SI Sacramento CA 95814

The Heath Club Bob Burgee Chairman 7612 Erie SI Sylvania OH 43560

Howard Club Richard K Martin Chairman Route 3 Aerodrome Road Green Bay WI 54301

International Cessna 170 Association Inc 29010 Highway 160 East Durango CO 81301

International Cessna 195 Club Dwight M Ewing President Box 737 Merced CA 95340

International Citabria Club Ltd Box 29 White Lake NY 12786

International Swift Association Charles Nelson Box 644 Athens TN 37303

The Interstate Club Bruce F Mitchell 5421 NE 43 St Kansas City MO 64117

The Luscomb Association Robert Shelton 339 W Pierce SI Macomb IL 61455

The Meyers Club Ev Payette 1604 South Custer Rd Monroe MI 48161

Monocoupe Club Mr and Mrs Bud Dake Chairmen 8318 Fairbanks lerkeley MS 63134

The Mooney Mite Owners Assoc Box 3999 Charlottesvi lie VA 22903

The Moth Club Dudley Kelly RI 4 Versailles KY 40383

National Ryan Club Mitch Mayborn 3164 Whitehall Dallas TX 75229

National Ryan Club PT-22 Division Bill J Hodges Chairman 308 West Moore Ave Searcy AR 72143

National Waco Club Ray H Brandly 2650 W Alex Bellbrook Rd Dayton OH 45459

OX5 Aviation Pioneers 419 Plaza Building Pittsburgh PA 15219

Porterfield Club Charles E Lebreckt Chairman 3121 E Lake Shore Drive Wonder Lake IL 60097

The Rearwin Club George T Williams 115 Pauquette SI Portage WI 53901

Robin Club Walter L Tufts Chairman 4138 Santa Rosa Drive Moor Park CA 93021

Rose Parakeet Club J W Pose PO Box 32 Ingleside IL 60041

Seabee Newsletter George W Mojonnier Editor 10615 69th Place SE Snohomish WA 98290

Spartan Club Don Fairbanks Cardinal Air Training Hangar 224 Lunken Airport Cincinnati OH 42226

The Staggerwing Club James C Gorman President Box 1217 Mansfield OH 44903

Stampe Club Allen Schneider RI 1 Brodhead WI 53520

Stearmans Restorers Association Inc M Lowe President 823 Kingston Lane Crystal Lake IL 60014

Stinson Club J J Paul 1518 Ronson Rd Houston TX 77050

Taylorcraft Owners Club Merton A Meade Jr Chairman 5906 Summer Lane Oxan Hill MD 20021

Travel Air Club H M Herb Harkcom Buzzards Roost RI 1 Mola OK 74036

U S Stampe Club Stephen J Linsenmeyer 127 Hollywood Drive Monroe MI 48161

Vagabond News Cecil Ogles Editor 448 CAve Coronado CA 92118

Vintage Sailplane Association Jeff Steele 6053 - 25th Rd N Arlington VA 22207

West Coast Cessna 120140 Club Inc Doug Williams President Box 891 Menlo Park CA 94025

Wheelchair Pilots Howard L Treadwell 11018 - 102nd Ave Largo FL 33540

World War I Aeroplanes Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie KY 12601

Wright J-5 Club George Lanning 833 Stoneburner Lane Kent WA 98031

9

BILL CHOMO REPORTS

PHILOSOPHV OF

RESTORATION

An Interview with Bill Choma Director of M aintenance amp Restoration

VINTAGE AIRPLANE What is your philosophy on reshystoring airplanes

Bill Chomo Well at EAA we re charged with a very great responsibility in that we re preserving our aviashytion history for posterity Were fortunate in that were dealing with something that is relatively new aviashytions only 75 years old So weve got a better jump than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian items that are thousands of years old Our philosophy differs between the two types of restoring (1) workshying for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum display Flying takes preference here so all planes have to be made airworthy and authenticity as far as materials and so on are secondary To some extent thats true in Museum quality restoration You have to take modern liberties We want an airplane that can sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly and not have to be rebuilt another time I know there are other museum people who differ with me because they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT original type materials glues and everything else The reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or three hundred year life on a very perishable comshymodity like an airplane you have to use the best posshysib le techniques that we have today - the best posshysib le glues (including epoxy) The dope is a good exshyample all of the original planes way back had varnish on them which became britt le in a very sho rt time A

little later they had nitrate dope which deteriorates The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back into a natural state right in the can Thats why there are very few old movies left Well nitrate dope is about the same Its made with nitric acid and cellushylose Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid is consumed so its neutral But the stuff will turn acid again as this process never stops with acid and evenshytually it will eat the fabric off the airplane This is one of the reason s that butyrate dope was developed So why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten years

Tires are another example of a problem On origishynal tires the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cershytain number of years The ozone in the air destroys the rubber Then you have to find sources of supply to get original configuration tires Thats a must even on the flyable airplanes

Hardwares also difficult because we have modshyernized our bolts Unless you go to a local hardware store and buy tractor nuts and bolts you really don t have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back then A lot of the original materials are just not in use anymore

Naturally some things like the integrity of the airshyplane its general shape and some details like the rib stitching can be kept true to form With rib stitching for example the same spac ing that was used when it was originally built shou ld definitely be retained You dont want to change any of that Its something that a future scholar a hundred years from now is going to

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Bill Choma left) lays on some tape over rib stit ch ing on the elevator of the Dehavilshyland Rap ide being res tored in the shops Phillipe Van Pelt lencls a hand

want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down on the leading edge

On the other hand what do you do for accuracy with some of the rare aircraft where there were absoshylutely no blueprints Usually you can copy some of the parts from original s Thats an art in itself But when the part is actually missing what did it look like The search can wind through old photos magazines or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying glass trying to decipher from the picture what the part looked like and what its scale was It takes a fantasti c library

VA Of the airplanes you ve restored for EAA how many have been given the Museum treatment

BC The only two that I can think of that weren t reshystored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the Pfalz Those two were restored to museum status Thats only because they would have required major rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying them there was no reason to do the extra work Conshyseq uently the Pheasant was not even recovered It was rejuvenated and repainted with the original fabshyric on it Someday were going to have to completely restore that airp lane The flying wires or flying cab les in some instances were just cleaned up but not reshyplaced They wou ld not be ai rworthy The engines were not gone through They were cleaned on the outshysid e but not disassembled and overhauled

VA Have they been pickled

10

(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

11

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

12

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

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24

BILL CHOMO REPORTS

PHILOSOPHV OF

RESTORATION

An Interview with Bill Choma Director of M aintenance amp Restoration

VINTAGE AIRPLANE What is your philosophy on reshystoring airplanes

Bill Chomo Well at EAA we re charged with a very great responsibility in that we re preserving our aviashytion history for posterity Were fortunate in that were dealing with something that is relatively new aviashytions only 75 years old So weve got a better jump than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian items that are thousands of years old Our philosophy differs between the two types of restoring (1) workshying for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum display Flying takes preference here so all planes have to be made airworthy and authenticity as far as materials and so on are secondary To some extent thats true in Museum quality restoration You have to take modern liberties We want an airplane that can sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly and not have to be rebuilt another time I know there are other museum people who differ with me because they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT original type materials glues and everything else The reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or three hundred year life on a very perishable comshymodity like an airplane you have to use the best posshysib le techniques that we have today - the best posshysib le glues (including epoxy) The dope is a good exshyample all of the original planes way back had varnish on them which became britt le in a very sho rt time A

little later they had nitrate dope which deteriorates The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back into a natural state right in the can Thats why there are very few old movies left Well nitrate dope is about the same Its made with nitric acid and cellushylose Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid is consumed so its neutral But the stuff will turn acid again as this process never stops with acid and evenshytually it will eat the fabric off the airplane This is one of the reason s that butyrate dope was developed So why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten years

Tires are another example of a problem On origishynal tires the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cershytain number of years The ozone in the air destroys the rubber Then you have to find sources of supply to get original configuration tires Thats a must even on the flyable airplanes

Hardwares also difficult because we have modshyernized our bolts Unless you go to a local hardware store and buy tractor nuts and bolts you really don t have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back then A lot of the original materials are just not in use anymore

Naturally some things like the integrity of the airshyplane its general shape and some details like the rib stitching can be kept true to form With rib stitching for example the same spac ing that was used when it was originally built shou ld definitely be retained You dont want to change any of that Its something that a future scholar a hundred years from now is going to

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Bill Choma left) lays on some tape over rib stit ch ing on the elevator of the Dehavilshyland Rap ide being res tored in the shops Phillipe Van Pelt lencls a hand

want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down on the leading edge

On the other hand what do you do for accuracy with some of the rare aircraft where there were absoshylutely no blueprints Usually you can copy some of the parts from original s Thats an art in itself But when the part is actually missing what did it look like The search can wind through old photos magazines or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying glass trying to decipher from the picture what the part looked like and what its scale was It takes a fantasti c library

VA Of the airplanes you ve restored for EAA how many have been given the Museum treatment

BC The only two that I can think of that weren t reshystored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the Pfalz Those two were restored to museum status Thats only because they would have required major rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying them there was no reason to do the extra work Conshyseq uently the Pheasant was not even recovered It was rejuvenated and repainted with the original fabshyric on it Someday were going to have to completely restore that airp lane The flying wires or flying cab les in some instances were just cleaned up but not reshyplaced They wou ld not be ai rworthy The engines were not gone through They were cleaned on the outshysid e but not disassembled and overhauled

VA Have they been pickled

10

(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

11

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

12

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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24

(PhOLO by David Gustafson)

Bill Chomo Director of EAA s maintenance and restorashytion facility works on the two-place Aero Sport

Be Those two have been yes Not all of the aircraft engines in the Museum are pickled Problem is it realshyly doesn t do a long term safe job of preserving the enshygine Thats because we have museum visitors who turn propellers Once you turn the propeller even half a turn on a pickled engine the pickl ing is destroyed because the rings wipe it off the wall

We have another preservation problem on a lot of the engines you don t dare pull the carburetors off beshycause they re visible and you don t dare pull the exshyhaust stacks off because they re also visible But you still want to pull those items off and cover the holes because no matter where the prop stops there are alshyways some open intake valves and some open exhaust valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no way to seal off the crankcase You might seal off the breather but you can t seal off the intake and exhaust valves that are open

Weve been thinking if we remove the carburetors and exhaust stacks and slip polyethylene film over the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors then reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade wed have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase

The alternative would be to try to stop the people from turning the props The Smithsonian uses some small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to discourage prop turning Of course Im afraid that if anybody forcibly turned the prop theyd damage the nosebowl - so that isn t the answer Maybe further back from the ropes

The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft

--~

(Photo by David Gustafson)

The Museum s Pheasant one of very few aircraft in EAAs Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition

right now that are in need of restoration About twoshythirds of those Ill never see restored because Ill have retired by then Ive got about 25 years to go The Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size they have about 35 mechanics working for them and they restore on the average one airplane a year I feel real proud of my people in that up until two months ago we only had 5 mechanics here including myself Now were up to seven Weve been averaging about two aircraft a year and some were built from scratch like the Spirit of St Louis in 412 months - and the twoshyplace Acro which will soon be ready to fly

It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman For a comshyplete restoration of one like that youre looking at about 2000 man hours Thats roughly one man one year They can run as high as 6 or 7000 hours on someshything like a P-39 or the Stuka

Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile

VA Sure but lets start with pickled engines next month

The EAA Museum s Pfalz restored for display only

11

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

12

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

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PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

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Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

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24

We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By Wm Bill EhlenEven If EAA 26796 Ale 441

They Aint Making Them Like Rt 8 Box 506 Tampa Florida 33678That Anymore

Those of us whose only detected vice is having made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and butts against the laws of man and nature many many times In fact I doubt if you could flit from hither to yon more than once or twice before becoming conshyvinced that somebody or something was trying to crowd you between a rock and a hard place If the friendly folks dont throw you a curve there is alshyways Murphy to contend with

If Murphy isnt enough there is always the rest of that horde of rules makers that came after Farashyday and Einstein There are guys like Sodd whose Second Law says Sooner or later the worst posshysible set of circumstances is bound to occur And that philosopher Simon who enunciated the law Everything put together falls apart sooner or later And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who first postulated the theory of the Perversity of inshyanimate objects after which he concluded that You cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter He then went on to state with profound wisdom The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability

So we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash known as the Sun n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In knew what kind of odds were against us The first year there was an impassable front that lay across southern Georgia and a sudden rain storm made us wonder what was going on when it hit And the second year we should have started wondering when an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers Last year we finally knew for sure that Murphy and all his cohorts were after us when for the first time in history snow fell in Lakeland

More sane folks Im certain would have given up but who in their right mind could ever call pilots sane However long before the airplane loused up our life myoid Grand-daddy that sage from around

Rabbit Hash Kaintuck learned the Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations As published they said (1) negative expectations yield negative results and (2) positive expectations yield negative results Long years of poker playing made quite a mathemashytician out of old Gran-pappy and he figured that if you punched the 1X button on any pocket calculator often enough the reciprocal of that second truism came up and read negative results yield positive expectations He then postulated that famous corolshylary to Murphys laws that has become our bible Dont believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM

We did Consequently the 1978 Sun n Fun dawned bright sunny and passably warm It stayed that way all week Like all the other self-ordained psychics I can loudly say I told you so

Some unofficial advance figures are quite intershyesting This year 9740 EAA members registered at the Sun n Fun there were 1089 pilots registered 736 people filled 285 camping units and this year we had twenty of the most delightful real down-to-earth FAA controllers manning our temporary tower They logged 9140 movements on the active transient runway (not counting fly-bys nor exhibitions)

If youll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun n Fun sector of the airport youll note that almost one third of the planes on the field at that time were Antiques and Classics Our Antique amp Classic Divishysion of the EAA was well represented The Sun n Fun is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the eight southeastern statesthe local chapters includshying our large antique group known as the Florida Sport Aviation Antique amp Classic Airplane Association

For the second year in a row our division officers held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during the fly-in and manned a good-fellowship booth in one of the exhibition tents

This years Grand Champion Antique award winshyner a Travel Air 2000 NC6117 was restored to abshy

solute mint condition by Dean S Tilton of Lakeland Florida For the last two years right here on our Sun n Fun Field I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janushyary 1975 This Travel Air was originally built by that famous triumvirate Cessna Beech and Stearman Deans rather extensive log book entries show that in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L Schroeder of Erie ND and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who apshyparently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey North Dakota This 2000 still has the original 90 HP OX-5 engine Its log book shows that it was accepted for the US Army May 81918

Of side interest Dean decided it would be best to use 20 inch Bendix wheels fitted with 30-500 4-ply tires as used in 1929 These tires were made for Dean by the Universal Tire Co of Lancaster Pennsylvania

For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on the old OX-5 would be a serious problem but by a stroke of antiquers luck a stranger named Clarence Benjamin from way down east in Maine supplied an original OX-5 Overhaul Manual From there on Dean says it was only busted knuckles

Another winner I was privileged to get closer acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its ownshyers to the car rental agency was the Super 260 Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Classhysic over 165 HP Mr and Mrs Hale Andrew flew their beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow

So while almost everything north of the deep south was seriously snowed-in a goodly number did succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth

Were deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Vershygason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower and his gang of controllers At a bash before the week began I was invited to bend elbows with them Believe it or not secretly they have the same misshytress that we do

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ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

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Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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24

ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER Stampe SV-4 N666DH owned by Don Henry St Augustine FL

ANTIQUE amp CLASSIC WINNERS

Antique Awards Grand Champion Antique - Travel A i r 2000

NC611 7 - Dean Tilton Lakeland FL Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco NC7527 shy

Ern ie Moser St Augustine FL Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9 NC66V - Dick

Durst Orlando FL Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A NCshy

25628 - Bob Allen Fayetteville NC WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50 NC69072 shyjim Kramer Palm Beach FL

Classic Awards Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3 N963 shy

Red Smith Lakeland FL Best Restored Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite

N346M - john Wright and B McKinney Greenville Sc

Best Restored 101middot165 HP - Aeronca Sedan CshyFAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls Brampton Ont Canada

Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437shyHale Andrew Berkley Springs WV

Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL

Classic Best Of Type - Swift NC3834K - j M jones Clarkston GA

13

Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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Vintagl Men and Th e

Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion N5437K owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs WV LAKE

Ph(

Best Classic Restored - Up To 100 HP - Mooney Mite N346M-owned by John Wright and B McKinney of Greenshyville Sc

A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun n Fun

14

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

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( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

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(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

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(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

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CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

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(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

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Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

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PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

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WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

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24

Album age Machines

D 78 I Ehlen

Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934 owned by Archie Young of Reddington Beach FL

Sun n Funs SW corner of Lakeland Airport

Left to right Hugh Moreland and Col Bob Blackburn who used their arctic gear to fly clown frolll the Northwes t Territories of Florida in Hugh s recently re stored Ste arm an are greeteci by H arold Wa tson the thircl member of their Counterfeit Air Force

The Antique amp Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

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(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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24

Dean Tiltons Grand Champion Travel Air 2000

By Jack Cox Editor of Sport Aviation (Reprinted from Sport Aviation)

When we think of the late 20s inevitably it is of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis On a more mundane level however that was the time of the 3-place open cockpit OX-5 powered biplane It was the heyday of the American Eagle the Alexander Eaglerock Swallow KR-31 Command-Aire Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000

The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers are left breathing the relative merits of each will be argued with gusto a stein or so usually They were built in the greatest number and survive today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the antique airplane hobby The most colorful comparison of the two I ever heard came from the late M B Dusty Huggins of Timmonsville South Carolina In the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the nashytions larger crop dusting outfits following the growshying season each year from Louisiana to Canada At one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial engine he could hang on them Dusty loved the Wacos and in fact retained a couple of them until the day he died just for old times sake but readily (and I think with no little pride) admitted they were a handful on the ground So much so that he kept several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots before turning them loose in the Wacos Even then 9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing in a Waco Dusty would guffaw His experience was that the Waco stood up better under the incredible day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant docile airplanes to fly

Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an example of any of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs One so blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland Florida Three years ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at SunN Fun 78

Deans beautiful Travel Air NC6117 Ser No 615 began life in Walter Beechs Wichita aeroplane works in 1928 and for a great while appeared to have

ended it as a part of Peter Bryns personal cache of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey North Dakota farm A few years ago however Mr Bryn began to sell off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly at his door empty trailer at the ready

For a variety of reasons one of which was having more antique airplanes than time Joe never got around to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to Dean - minus an engine Dean began work three years ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January 9- 13 days before the start of Sun N Fun 78 But thats getting ahead of the story

Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably good condition requiring basically just a good cleanshyup new fuselage formers and stringers a little repair work on the wings and cover job The engine was a little more of a challenge For a time Dean dickered with Peter Bryn for a majored OX but after finding it was going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait looked elsewhere As often is the case an OX-5 was eventually found right in his own backyard Merle Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that until lately had been used in the orange groves to stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost

Dean overhauled the engine refinished the still airworthy Fahlin propeller covered the airframe with Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope The final color coats were International Orange for the fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the wings and horizontal tail A leaf-spring tail wheel rig was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities of todays paved runway environment

A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice and assistance along the way An OX-5 overhaul manual was obtained from a friend in Maine and Ernie and Lucy Webb of Charlotte North Carolina who own one of the first and still finest TA 2000 restorations provided invalshyuable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compartshyment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within etc And of course local airplane nuts were always dropping by to lend a hand here or there kibitzing of just drinking his coffee

The final hang-up was a useable magneto An ad in good 01 Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed item and paved the way for an award winning first showing at Sun N Fun The first trip around the patch was strictly unintentional Dean had not flown a tail dragger in many many years so was doing a lot of taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable

happened the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a gust and launched into the breeze Fortunately Dusty Huggins assessment of the type was correct for Dean was able to get it around the pattern and back down on pavement again safely even if not too artistically By Sun N Fun time he had built up several hours flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a really great old flying machine he had Winning the Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet frosting on the cake

Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney Maine He left there during World War II joining the Air Force as an aviation cadet He progressed through the Stearman and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross Georgia preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended He and his classmates were probably the only persons in the world who greeted the news of victory with disshymay they never got to fly the Mustang

After his discharge Dean married and settled in Nebraska where he became a general contractor After 12 years of battling Great Plains winters he moved to Florida where he could operate his business on a year-round basis He has continued to fly over the years and owns a Cessna Centurion which his wife also flies

The Centurion is one of the most popular lightshyplanes of our day just as the Travel Air 2000 was in the late 20s Owning one of each is what I call enjoyshying the best of two worlds

(Photo by lac k Cox)

GRAND CHAMPION ANTIQUE AT LAKELAND 78

16

( ( 3 2 i Ii

17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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17

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

It has been some time since I wrote a Whistling In The Rigging column which appeared in our early isshysues of the Experimenter the forerunner of our SPORT AVIATION magazine This column is being written on my return flight from Washington DC The day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was as it has always been most enjoyable and helpful There were a number of general aviation problems discussed - problems that concern all of us Whether our airshyplanes are factory built antiques classics or homeshybuilts some ownership problems are the same Many of the fine FAA people who are involved in the comshyplexity of bureaucracy are not aware of the grass roots problems of aircraft ownership Lately there has been increased legislation by local communities and states adding to the complex rules regulations and laws of our federal government When these rulings are totalled up they discourage aircraft ownership Many of them not understood by current pilots and owners of aircraft There is a great difference between flying someone elses airplane either through rental or borrowing and owning your own aircraft There is considerable expense involved in the private ownershyship of an object that spends about 99 of its life tied to the ground or setting in a hangar I have always had great admiration for those who have met the chalshylenge of aircraft ownership

While in Washington we discussed many of our problems and philosophies When I mentioned to one very understanding pro aviation (a ll phases of it) FAA

official that I considered the approximately 170-175 000 general aviation type aircraft in flying condition to be a drop in the bucket his first reaction was asshy

tonishment He felt that many licensed airplanes was quite significant Perhaps to some people it might be if 20000 of those were in the air on any single weekshyend Yet in one medium-sized community there are proshybably more automobiles than the national total of air vehicles In our conversation with the FAA man the more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats snowmobiles motorcycles and other recreational veshyhicles the more he agreed we have a long way to go in aviation There are too few aircraft owners sharing the tax load placed upon us by the local state and federal government There is a great advantage for us all in increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to provide for a healthy general aviation future That way we would also increase the security of those earning a livelihood in aviation such as the mechanic the fixed base operator the factory worker engine manufacturer and all others directly concerned with the making of and use of the end product - the airshyplane It also behooves government and the FAA itself to establish and encourage the construction and opshyeration of a greater general aviation fleet for recreashytion and transportation That would make it easier for government to justify the numbers of employees it has and it would insure justification for maintaining smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the future

I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA in Washington They need our support good thinking and cooperation However it is we who must come up with the ideas and solutions and follow through Dont expect your government to do it for you

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufacshytured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for the pilot and the adjoining front seat A further recomshymendation was made to FAA that all aircraft antique classic etc be required to have shoulder harnesses in the front seats EAA for the past twenty-five years has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft buildshyers to install the shoulder harness and our membershyship application has carried that pledge However the installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificatshyed aircraft though appearing to be a simple matter to those at the National Transportation Safety Board does create a problem As we know modification or installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifishycate This can be extremely time consuming as well as costly If it were a matter of the owner being asked

to do this on a voluntary basis without approval of FAA much more could be gained However this we are sure would not be the case Our recommendation to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the many different aircraft produced before 1978 unless someone develops a very practical solution

It is often noted that our organization is looked upshyon as a fine group thats dedicated only to the encourshyagement of people to design and build airplanes However aviation people aviation organizations and government are learning that EAA is and has been much more than that It is an organization that grew as it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation and in particular of the average individuals desire to fly

With your continued support and your efforts to strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encouragshying all of aviation to be a part of us we shall make great strides

As I have often said there is strength in numbers but there must also be strength in leadership I am very proud of our AntiqueClassic Division and the great help and leadership it has provided throughout the years along with the special efforts that are exshypended at your annual Oshkosh convention

Lets all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks shyenjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities Toshygether we will make aviation better for those who will follow us

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

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24

nATIOnAL~STEARmAn flY-Inbull bull

By Thomas E Lowe 823 Kingston Lane

Crystal Lake IL 60014

The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at Galesburg lllillois on September 9-11 1977 with 51 Stearmans from all over the country in attendance equaling the previous high number achieved the year before The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was also the Stearman flying the greatest distance Bob Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3 N66416 which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stearshyman Fly-In Sam Ace Eli Mendenhall his wife Leanshyna Dave Finn and several others also arrived early in the week and were very helpful in completing the myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in

By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had arshyrived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over town to get the fly-in off to an official start Later that night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly enshyjoyed at the Holiday Inn On Friday Galesburg conshytinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass Thursshyday also saw the official opening of the Stearman Fly-In Headquarters Building which strangely enough looked exactly like an old outdoor privy It was Earlier in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica outhouse Being purists they instead scoured the rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found the real thing behind a farmers house Sam and Dave astounded the farmer by asking to buy it and purshychased the original two holer for $20 They removed it suffering several stings from the wasps that called it home and brought it to the airport where it was

placed in a prominent spot on the flight line It was duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting posters an old Sears catalog a US star insignia and officially marked as a 1942 two holer A small flag pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra which served as a windsock While the fly-in headshyquarters was a focal point of conversation jokes and ribald comments it also served as an information censhyter about the fly-in for as each Stearman arrived its type military serial number and N number were reshycorded on the side for all to see Later Jim Leahy was heard to remark Well now Ill have to clean out a spot in my hangar so that thing thats been outside for the last 50 years can be in out of the weather

Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of Stearmans was made over town and then all the parshyticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken or fish dinner Saturday morning dawned bright and

18

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

SEND YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO

EAA AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC P O BOX 229

HALES CORNERS WI 53130 Wisconsin Residents Include 4 Sales Tax

Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery

de YELLOW Jmiddot3 CUB IRST NATIONAL BANK Of ANyenlOWN 400

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Regular bank checks emblazoned with a flying yellow Jmiddot3 Cub I

Complete the order form and write out your check fow get a deposit slip from the same account and clearly indicate any changes or other notations as you wish it to appear on the checks (These two documents will furnish us all the data we need to make your checks compatible with your banks computer and Amer Bank Assn specs) On gift orders send your check and mark his check VOl D Please allow 3 weeks for delivery

Start Using Plane Checks Now Your old checks will always be good

Identity Check Co Box 149-0 Park Ridge III 60068 Activate my order for Plane Checks starting No ____ 0300-$750 0600-$1275 0900-$1775 Plane Checks ar e top bound- one part deposit slips and registers are Included In each order

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24

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

autiful black and gold fully IFR equipped custom 0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani

beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol Several circuits were flown over town then the mass gaggle proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth Illinois to enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the Monmouth Flying Club This year was no exception and once again we had our usual incident at Monshymouth The New Orleans twins John Hooper and John McCormick with Hooper at the controls landed the ir N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway that everyone else was using That was OK except Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished it into shattered pieces of glass tin wire and pipe with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of their Stearman After close inspection there was found to be little damage to the Stearman except for the prop which was replaced by one of Jim Leahys extra ones but with plenty of damage to Hooper s pr ide Later that evening at the awards ceremony Hooper and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing theyd like to forget and also so that they could always carry their own VASI with them in the future

After the return flight back to Galesburg the reshymainder of the day was filled with constant flying buddy hops formation flying conversations and nosshytalgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stearshymans that attend the fly-in each year The afternoon saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying conshytests and another mass flight was flown over town just before sunset One incident of interest to the pilots was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private Pilot Bob Baird who flew his fathers 300 Lycoming powered Stearman at Galesburg He was given the troshyphy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the flyshyin and later that evening received his welcome into the group by being thrown clothes and all into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn

The awards dinner and presentations were held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Paul Boyer (left) of Lakewood Colorado and Bill Wilshykins Th e Silent Eag le a deaf-mute Stearman pilot from Circleville Ohio check the message board at the rea r o f th e Stea rm an Fl y-In Headquarters Building a 7942 Two-Holer

enjoyed by all Numerous awards were presented by the Stearman Fly-In Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Inc and the Stearman Restorers Association The second annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was presentshyed to SRA President and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman Tom Lowe The SRA had established this to be their highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to honor some individual whose efforts had been outshystanding in preserving the history and in promoting Stearman airplanes today Nominations were made by SRA members and the final selection made bY a comshymittee headed by SRA Vice-President Larry PalmershyBall The first recipient was Jim Leahy Fly-In CoshyChairman and founder Chet Reyckert of Skiatook Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accomshyplishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly reshybuilt PT-17 that had been completed only the day beshyfore and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel starvation problem required an emergency forced landing in a field and the termination of his flight to Galesburg Many of the trophies were adorned with beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stearshyman handmade by Dave Finn They were greatly apshypreciated by all The final award of the evening was the Dusters amp Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Troshyphy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his outshystanding PT-17 restoration

Sundays dawn again was welcomed with a dawn patrol of eleven Stearmans with the remainder choosshying to sleep in a little late The weather again was exshycellent at Galesburg but was deteriorating in other areas of the country Six Stearmans had left Houston Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Arshykansas before the weather caused them to return home Many of the Stearman pilots began departing for home knowing that the weather was destined to get worse Several pilots including Chet Reyckert Jimmy Maris John and Frank Price Dick Bardon Dick Harders and Don Buck decided to leave for home on Monday but instead spent several more days weathshy

19

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

SEND YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO

EAA AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC P O BOX 229

HALES CORNERS WI 53130 Wisconsin Residents Include 4 Sales Tax

Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery

de YELLOW Jmiddot3 CUB IRST NATIONAL BANK Of ANyenlOWN 400

nytown USA

QQ H 113

I LA R S

OIIgt~Sb7 IIgt~Sb

PLANE CHECKS A NEW WAY TO IDENTIFY WITH YOUR THING

Regular bank checks emblazoned with a flying yellow Jmiddot3 Cub I

Complete the order form and write out your check fow get a deposit slip from the same account and clearly indicate any changes or other notations as you wish it to appear on the checks (These two documents will furnish us all the data we need to make your checks compatible with your banks computer and Amer Bank Assn specs) On gift orders send your check and mark his check VOl D Please allow 3 weeks for delivery

Start Using Plane Checks Now Your old checks will always be good

Identity Check Co Box 149-0 Park Ridge III 60068 Activate my order for Plane Checks starting No ____ 0300-$750 0600-$1275 0900-$1775 Plane Checks ar e top bound- one part deposit slips and registers are Included In each order

_ Checkbook cover $50 $

o Yellow Jmiddot3 Cub r l BEECH Assortment rJ NORTH CENTRAL DCmiddot9

Ll Cherokee middot o Sundownermiddot r I PIPER Assortment

fJ CONTINENTAL DCmiddotl0

rJ Arrowmiddot o V Bonanzamiddot II HELICOPTER IBElLi

o Seneca IImiddot rJ Baronmiddot [I Pmiddot51 MUSTANG

U BREEZYmiddot o CURTISS JENNY o NATIONAL DCmiddot l0 () CESSNA Assortment D TWA l middot1011 fl AMERICAN DCmiddot l0

(J Hawkmiddot r J PSA 727 U EASTERN lmiddot1011 [ J 210 Centurion [ I BOmiddot5 1I WESTERN OCmiddotl0

fJ 310middot lJ MOONEY LJ PITTS SPECIALmiddot LJ UNITED DCmiddotl0

middotPl ease al lolll 10 extra days to process these checks

All check backgrounds are blue (except J-3 Cub)

Ship via 0 UPS (insured) 0 Parcel Post 0 WEST COAST add one dollar-well fly itl

Ship To

Address City State Zip _ ___

24

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17 N38940 the recipient of the Dusters amp Sprayers Supshyply Grand Champion Trophy

ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured down for several days They finally got to leave for home on Wednesday but still fought marginal VFR conditions to their various destinations

A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the Galesburg Pilots Association The remainder of the morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends Sunshyday afternoon an excellent air show was presented for the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Dushyane Cole Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim Leahy who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get out of a stock Stearman and also by Dick Baird a fly-in regular from Buffalo New York in his Lycomshying 300 Stearman

Just prior to the start of the air show the entire Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stearshyman and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane A local

Galesburg woman Mrs Mary Bishop also received a flight in a Stearman along with several other prizes as the winner of radio station WAlKs Stearman Pilot of the Year Contest She won by correctly guessing the exact number of Stearmans that would attend the flyshyin

Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has conshytinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes coming from near and far to enjoy several days toshygether renewing the warm bond of friendship genershyated by the love for a great old biplane The 7th Nashytional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on September 8-101978 and everyone interested in Stearshymans is cordially invited

(photo by Dick Stouffer)

Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg

20

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

SEND YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO

EAA AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC P O BOX 229

HALES CORNERS WI 53130 Wisconsin Residents Include 4 Sales Tax

Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery

de YELLOW Jmiddot3 CUB IRST NATIONAL BANK Of ANyenlOWN 400

nytown USA

QQ H 113

I LA R S

OIIgt~Sb7 IIgt~Sb

PLANE CHECKS A NEW WAY TO IDENTIFY WITH YOUR THING

Regular bank checks emblazoned with a flying yellow Jmiddot3 Cub I

Complete the order form and write out your check fow get a deposit slip from the same account and clearly indicate any changes or other notations as you wish it to appear on the checks (These two documents will furnish us all the data we need to make your checks compatible with your banks computer and Amer Bank Assn specs) On gift orders send your check and mark his check VOl D Please allow 3 weeks for delivery

Start Using Plane Checks Now Your old checks will always be good

Identity Check Co Box 149-0 Park Ridge III 60068 Activate my order for Plane Checks starting No ____ 0300-$750 0600-$1275 0900-$1775 Plane Checks ar e top bound- one part deposit slips and registers are Included In each order

_ Checkbook cover $50 $

o Yellow Jmiddot3 Cub r l BEECH Assortment rJ NORTH CENTRAL DCmiddot9

Ll Cherokee middot o Sundownermiddot r I PIPER Assortment

fJ CONTINENTAL DCmiddotl0

rJ Arrowmiddot o V Bonanzamiddot II HELICOPTER IBElLi

o Seneca IImiddot rJ Baronmiddot [I Pmiddot51 MUSTANG

U BREEZYmiddot o CURTISS JENNY o NATIONAL DCmiddot l0 () CESSNA Assortment D TWA l middot1011 fl AMERICAN DCmiddot l0

(J Hawkmiddot r J PSA 727 U EASTERN lmiddot1011 [ J 210 Centurion [ I BOmiddot5 1I WESTERN OCmiddotl0

fJ 310middot lJ MOONEY LJ PITTS SPECIALmiddot LJ UNITED DCmiddotl0

middotPl ease al lolll 10 extra days to process these checks

All check backgrounds are blue (except J-3 Cub)

Ship via 0 UPS (insured) 0 Parcel Post 0 WEST COAST add one dollar-well fly itl

Ship To

Address City State Zip _ ___

24

CLEAR TO LAnD

(Photo Provided by Jim Barton)

Leonard Buckler and Ken Ringle inspect the results of someones first so lo landing after zero dual Note the CAP emb lem on the side it was the only way you cou ld fly during the second World War

Compiled by Kelly Viets Editor Ercoupe News letter

RR 1 Box 151 Stilwell Kansas 66085

During World War II the only private aircraft alshylowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol A genshytleman in the CAP had arranged to fly from the Moshyline Illinois area to Galesburg Illinois for some busishyness we had there As it was a nice day he brought his wife along When they prepared to return home he dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit locked the brakes set the throttle and proceeded to prop the enshygine When the engine caught it was running a little fast so he called to his wife to slow it down Now she had never been in a plane till that morning and had only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg She did however know how to drive a car So she did as you do in a car to turn things off she pushed the knob in and in the same instant she hit the parking brake causing it to release

The plane immediately moved forward at an ever increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at her which seemed only to add to her confusion She had this steering wheel in front of her so she grabbed it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the airshyport To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and knew that she was flying By some miracle the plane cleared the trees at the end of the runway and conshytinued to climb

As her first panic subsided she realized that in orshyder to survive this she would have to somehow figure out how to fly the plane She started experimenting and found that she could turn like driving a car and in that way she kept the airport in sight She then found out if she pushed forward the plane went down and when she pulled back the plane went up She thought Well now this isnt so bad so she then started tryi ng out the i nfernal knob that started all this in the first place She found out that if she pulled back the engine would slow down She was smart enough to keep the knob all the way forward because she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast

enough to keep her up in the air Meanwhile back at the airport it was chaos Peoshy

ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the field) Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field so they were all trying to save their planes

She flew around the airport three times before she remembered that when her husband landed he had come in over some trees at the edge of the field so that was what she would do She came over the trees just right pulled back on the knob and the plane setshytled to the ground just right She was so relieved that she shut it down Thats right she pushed it forward to the panel Yes sure enough she was flying again

Again after regaining some composure she came in over the trees only this time she hit hard on the nose wheel It really wasnt too bad This landing did however preclude any more inadvertant take-offs Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation

21

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

SEND YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO

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Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery

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Regular bank checks emblazoned with a flying yellow Jmiddot3 Cub I

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Start Using Plane Checks Now Your old checks will always be good

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24

(Photo by Lee Fray)

There are times when the only source of new rings is an auto dealer but

Restoration By Dorr B Carpenter IA

EAA27724L 225 Saunders Rd

Lake Forest IL 60045Tips Equal Or Better

The supply of original engine and airframe parts for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and purshyposes many years ago

Fortunately most of the old flying machines with the exception of the Warbirds were essentially handshy

made and if they could be built that way then they can be rebuilt the same way now Anything made of metal can be made just as well or better now than it was then

I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft blueshyprints manuals and bulletins are available to help with this task of maintenance For a part to be entirely legal and satisfactory it need not come from a box marked Menasco or Ryan

It is hard to set these ideas down in black and white without an illustration showing that there can be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts endeavors

Probably the modern parts most often substituted for originals are piston rings Every combustion enshygine uses them and they are readily available over the counter in auto stores and on special order from some manufacturers

This is where the problems of legality and suitashybility come into play There are a number of facts which you should know No engine part manufactured for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturers authorishyzation under FAR Part 21 These parts bear no Airshyworthiness Approval tag form 81303 and none were manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order) as in FAR Part 37 So on the surface it appears that they cannot be used in aircraft But this is not so

The fact that these parts have no tag or authorizashytion only means that they were not manufactured for aircraft use We must go one step further into FAR Part 43 to be specific Part 4313 paragraph (b) which reads

Each person maintaining or altering or pershyforming preventive maintenance shall do that work in such a manner and use materials of such a quality that the condition of the aircraft airframe aircraft engine propeller or appliance worked on will be at least equal to its original or properly alshytered condition (with regard to aerodynamics funcshytion structural strength resistance to vibration and deterioration and other qualities affecting airshyworthi ness)

The key to the above paragraph is the materials equal to its original Nothing is said about boxes yelshylow tags or approvals Here we have a question as to who makes this evaluation and on what basis Any certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these substitutions legal Bear in mind that they lay their reputations and license on the line when they sign for the work done with other than authorized parts If these people are not engineers and most are not it

boils down to such parts as pistons rings gaskets and such parts that are known to be better made in 1977 than in the 1920s and 30s

On the other hand most manufacturers do not like to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft beshycause of a possible liability One manufacturer has even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting the sale of rings for aircraft use This isnt true but they do have a company memo to this effect For this reason it is best when buying rings to buy them inshydicating size and not use

The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality than in years past However when using these rings in Menasco engines trouble results because of their increased efficiency My experience in the installation of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was rebuilt about 15 years ago gives some idea about the type of difficulties that could occur The engine was run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings seated and then the trouble started Up until this time the engine burned a considerable amount of oil but ran very well As the rings seated she seemed to miss and lose power for no apparent reason Every test was performed on the engine While hot and cold it tested perfectly with exceptionally good compression Howshyever after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory flying service the engine was removed and torn down To my great surprise the compression rings were nearly worn out

What had happened is that in April 1942 the Menshyasco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number 29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place of the single rings found in the original product beshycause of excessive oil consumption Now 25 years lashyter the modern ring had improved in quality to such an extent that the combination of two oil scraper rings left the cylinder walls dry which accounted for the missing and low power from poor compression This poor compression was evident only when the enshygine was running When it was stopped and allowed to cool somewhat the inverted configuration of the cylshyinders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around the rings and seal them for good compression by the time it was tested

Since that time I have used only single oil rings usually on new pistons and have not had any probshylems

The only advice I can put forward concerning subshystitutions on parts is to be very careful The more you know about old equipment the more likely you will come to realize that almost anything can happen and sometimes does

22

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

SEND YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO

EAA AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC P O BOX 229

HALES CORNERS WI 53130 Wisconsin Residents Include 4 Sales Tax

Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery

de YELLOW Jmiddot3 CUB IRST NATIONAL BANK Of ANyenlOWN 400

nytown USA

QQ H 113

I LA R S

OIIgt~Sb7 IIgt~Sb

PLANE CHECKS A NEW WAY TO IDENTIFY WITH YOUR THING

Regular bank checks emblazoned with a flying yellow Jmiddot3 Cub I

Complete the order form and write out your check fow get a deposit slip from the same account and clearly indicate any changes or other notations as you wish it to appear on the checks (These two documents will furnish us all the data we need to make your checks compatible with your banks computer and Amer Bank Assn specs) On gift orders send your check and mark his check VOl D Please allow 3 weeks for delivery

Start Using Plane Checks Now Your old checks will always be good

Identity Check Co Box 149-0 Park Ridge III 60068 Activate my order for Plane Checks starting No ____ 0300-$750 0600-$1275 0900-$1775 Plane Checks ar e top bound- one part deposit slips and registers are Included In each order

_ Checkbook cover $50 $

o Yellow Jmiddot3 Cub r l BEECH Assortment rJ NORTH CENTRAL DCmiddot9

Ll Cherokee middot o Sundownermiddot r I PIPER Assortment

fJ CONTINENTAL DCmiddotl0

rJ Arrowmiddot o V Bonanzamiddot II HELICOPTER IBElLi

o Seneca IImiddot rJ Baronmiddot [I Pmiddot51 MUSTANG

U BREEZYmiddot o CURTISS JENNY o NATIONAL DCmiddot l0 () CESSNA Assortment D TWA l middot1011 fl AMERICAN DCmiddot l0

(J Hawkmiddot r J PSA 727 U EASTERN lmiddot1011 [ J 210 Centurion [ I BOmiddot5 1I WESTERN OCmiddotl0

fJ 310middot lJ MOONEY LJ PITTS SPECIALmiddot LJ UNITED DCmiddotl0

middotPl ease al lolll 10 extra days to process these checks

All check backgrounds are blue (except J-3 Cub)

Ship via 0 UPS (insured) 0 Parcel Post 0 WEST COAST add one dollar-well fly itl

Ship To

Address City State Zip _ ___

24

Periodicals of Interest to the Antique Classic World

Compiled and Commented on By

Leonard Opdycke Editor (EAA 1076) World War I Aeroplanes

75 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie New York

AELR quarterly journal of the friends 0) the Army Museum Belgium half in French the other half features news of the collection and supplementary history of the ac Albert Van Hoorebeck ed Avenue van Gogh 15 1140 Brussels 100 francs

AERODROME MODELER bimonthly journal devoted to the WWI modeler information on markings deshytails kits some history Gary Circe ed 788 State St Schenectady NY 12307 $10yr

AEROPLANE MONTHLY monthly aviation history journal with access to the back files of both FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE and a rare combination of literacy and accuracy Richard T Riding ed Dorset House Stamford St London SE1 9LU UK $2080yr

AEROSPACE 10 issues y r journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society deals with the affairs of the RAeS plus special papers on aero history and design and current research comes with membership G R Wrixon ed 4 Hamilton PI London WIV OBQ UK $5yr

AIR-BRITAIN DIGEST bimonthly along with the monthly AIR-BRITAIN NEWS journals of The Intershynational Association of Aviation Historians the former strong on registers production and airlines mostly British the latter strong on registers and ac movements occasional pieces on early ac as they appear J C Cook ed 12 Woodfield Close Redhill Surrey RH1 2DL UK $11yr

AIR CLASSICS monthly on aircraft history a good deal on museums and restoration heavy on WWI WWII - frequent articles on forgotten air-craft Jim Scheetz ed Challenge Publ Inc 7950 Deering Ave Canoga Pk CA 91304 $11 yr

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA quarterly featuring picture stories of six or seven famous aircraft types with brief informative text Ian Allan Ltd (US subscriptions from Bill Dean Books 166-41 Powells Cove Blvd Whitestone NY 11357)

AIRPOWER bimonthly on military aircraft and their history use JV Mizrahi ed Sentry Books Inc 10718 White Oak Ave Granada Hills CA 91344 $8yr

AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURshyNAL quarterly scholary publication dealing with all aspects of American avhist generally balancing nicely the old and the new membership also brings the AAHS NEWSLETIER a brief interim account of current doings and new members Robert E Williams ed Box 99 Garden Grove CA92642 $1250yr

ASAP NEWS brand new journal of the Australian Society for Aerohistorical Preservation dealing with collection and restoration and partly aimed at the establishment of an Australian National Aviashytion Museum Neville Hewitt President Box 1093 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make conshytact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA JOURNAL there is both a society and a journal but we seem not to have been able to make contact with either

AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND quarterly journal about NZ aviation history and its aircraft usually some material on the earliest period membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and THE REGISTER REVIEW altogether giving a nice overview of the subject past and present Brian L Lockstone ed Box 18-056 Wellington NZ $6NZlyr

AVIATION NEWS weekly subtitled Britain s Intershynational Aviation Newspaper mostly historicallyshyoriented articles with current news when appropri shyate Alan W Hall ed 26 The Broadway Amersham Bucks HP7 OAR US subscription fr Bill Dean Books (cf AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED EXTRA above)

CONTROL COLUMN bimonthly journal of the British Aircraft Preservation Council features restorations of all kinds recovered wrecks and sites museums collections some h is tory when appropriate a modellers column Peter -Schofield ed 8 Green shyfield Ave Urmston Manchester M31 1XN UK 25p each

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (GT BRITAIN) quarterly journal of the British Society of World War I Aero Historians scholarly readable stresses

the aircraft themselves perhaps more than its US counterpart (below) which tends to feature accounts of pilots squadrons and missions Paul S Leaman ed 31 Holly Rd Cove Farnborough Hants GU14 OEA UK $9yr

CROSS amp COCKADE JOURNAL (USA) quarterly jourshynal of the Society of World War 1 Aero Historians featuring (but not exclusively) men and machines and events co nnected with the American War scholarly and complete (cf CampC Gt Britain above) rotating editorship write George H (Cooke Bus Mgr 10443 S Memphis Ave Whittier~ CA 90604 $9yr

DEUTSCHE AEROKURIER monthly covers current German aviation scene with stress on gliders and

- general aviation articles on oldtimers and museums Wolfgang Wagner ed 5000 K61m 1 Ebertplatz 2 W Germany

LE FANATIQUE DE LAVIATION monthly aviation reshyview a good deal of historical material largely French though not exclusively modelers page Michel Marrand ed 15-17 Qual de lOise 75019 Paris France 99f overseas

ICARE quarterly revue de Iaviation francaise each volume is a work of art visually technically hisshytorically - superb journal each issue has a special theme or topic with appropriate research and authors Jean Lasserre de ICARE-Cidex A No 213 94396 Orly-Aerogares France 105f overseas

INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUE AIRPLANE DIGEST quarshyterly journal of the Antique Airplane Association some historical material often in the form of reprints from early sources plus news of fly-ins and reports from the various chapters (type clubs) of AAA membership also brings the QUARTERLY AAA NEWS and the QUARTERLY APM BULLETIN (journal of the AMs Airpower Museum) Louise Blaine ed Box H Ottumwa Iowa 52501 $1250yr Incl membership

ITALIAN AVIATION RESEARCH BRANCH OF AIR BRITAIN JOURNAL quarterly journal of the IARB features Italian aviation history especially the airshycraft old and new drawings and a green-paper English translation insert Giorgio Apostolo ed Via Ampere 49 20131 Milan Italy 8500 lire

NSM quarterly journal of the National Soaring Museum at Elmira NY features soaring activities and developments everywhere with occasional hisshytorical material on the gliding pioneers Meta L Levin ed NSM Harris Hill RDI Elmira NY 14903

23

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

SEND YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO

EAA AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC P O BOX 229

HALES CORNERS WI 53130 Wisconsin Residents Include 4 Sales Tax

Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery

de YELLOW Jmiddot3 CUB IRST NATIONAL BANK Of ANyenlOWN 400

nytown USA

QQ H 113

I LA R S

OIIgt~Sb7 IIgt~Sb

PLANE CHECKS A NEW WAY TO IDENTIFY WITH YOUR THING

Regular bank checks emblazoned with a flying yellow Jmiddot3 Cub I

Complete the order form and write out your check fow get a deposit slip from the same account and clearly indicate any changes or other notations as you wish it to appear on the checks (These two documents will furnish us all the data we need to make your checks compatible with your banks computer and Amer Bank Assn specs) On gift orders send your check and mark his check VOl D Please allow 3 weeks for delivery

Start Using Plane Checks Now Your old checks will always be good

Identity Check Co Box 149-0 Park Ridge III 60068 Activate my order for Plane Checks starting No ____ 0300-$750 0600-$1275 0900-$1775 Plane Checks ar e top bound- one part deposit slips and registers are Included In each order

_ Checkbook cover $50 $

o Yellow Jmiddot3 Cub r l BEECH Assortment rJ NORTH CENTRAL DCmiddot9

Ll Cherokee middot o Sundownermiddot r I PIPER Assortment

fJ CONTINENTAL DCmiddotl0

rJ Arrowmiddot o V Bonanzamiddot II HELICOPTER IBElLi

o Seneca IImiddot rJ Baronmiddot [I Pmiddot51 MUSTANG

U BREEZYmiddot o CURTISS JENNY o NATIONAL DCmiddot l0 () CESSNA Assortment D TWA l middot1011 fl AMERICAN DCmiddot l0

(J Hawkmiddot r J PSA 727 U EASTERN lmiddot1011 [ J 210 Centurion [ I BOmiddot5 1I WESTERN OCmiddotl0

fJ 310middot lJ MOONEY LJ PITTS SPECIALmiddot LJ UNITED DCmiddotl0

middotPl ease al lolll 10 extra days to process these checks

All check backgrounds are blue (except J-3 Cub)

Ship via 0 UPS (insured) 0 Parcel Post 0 WEST COAST add one dollar-well fly itl

Ship To

Address City State Zip _ ___

24

PEGASE quarterly journal of 1AssoCiation des Amis WINGS bimonthly on all types of aircraft and their du Musee de lAir presents historical material in history and design excellent material j V Mizrahi connection with the various types on exhibit ed Sentry Magazines 10718 White Oak Ave or with some special current events and includes some straight historyall of course about the French efforts men and machines jean-Paul F-Chapuis ed 46 Ave Kleber 75116 Paris France 20f

PILOT monthly review of flying for business and pleasure with occasional pieces on early aircraft of different periods james Gilbert ed Blakeden Dr Claygate Surrey KTIO OjR UK $925yr

PILOT NEWS monthly sent free to all ac owners in the Midwest dealing mostly with flying situations men and machines in that area including some hisshytorical material that goes way back and Stan Morels regular Fokker Verein column Kenneth C Weyand ed 5320 N jackson Kansas City MO 64119 $5yr

PIONNIERS quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges featuring articles on aviation pioneers esp French ones Arnaud de Castillon de Saint-Victor ed Porte Maillot 75116 Paris France 20f

PROP SWING journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society occasional publication comes with the Shuttleworth Collection and its restoration and exhibition projects David Ogilvy ed Shuttleshyworth Collection Old Warden Aerodrome Bigglesshywade Beds UK

SCALE MODELS monthly dealing with scale models of all kinds aircraft tanks cars etc plastic and flying historical articles in support of the model under consideration - good history and tech drawshyings R G Moulton ed Box 35 Bridge St Hemel Hempstead Herts HP1 1EE $8yr

SPORT AVIATION monthly journal of the Experi shymental Aircraft Association deals with every aspect of homebuilding and design and restoration tips techniques new materials new kits new designsshyand old ones marvelous advertisements jack Cox ed Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130 $20yr inshycludes membership and organizational services

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT monthly dealing with antique and classic aeroplanes thei r history construction and reconstruction and flying - museum news workshyshop reports - mostly English Gordon Riley ed 137 Onslow Gardens S Woodford London E18 INA UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books - CF AIRshyCRAFT ILL EXTRA_above) $550yr

Granada Hills CA 91344 $650yr

WINGS weekly magazine color good paper and all on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts) Anthony Robinson ed Orbis Rubl Ltd 2022 Bedshyfordbury London WC2N 4BL UK

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES 5yr journal dealing with building and rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919 techniques information sources museums some history Leonard E Opdycke ed 15 Crescent Rd Poughkeepsie NY 12601 voluntary contributions back issues for sale at $2

AVIATION PUBLICATIONS Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of the most delightful books in the aviation world A rare text this story of the Tin Goose is beautifully comshyposed More than 70 clear photos and drawings 120 pages $480

Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an expert on the aeroplane that put the USA into the world of aviation Many photos 76 pages $430

Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true segment of history The original service and operashytions manual reprinted Includes drawings on conshystruction printed in blueprint fashion on large heavy stock $430

Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Reshyprint on the engine that powered the Jenny Booklet covers the operation assembly and repair of the 90 hp powerplant 20 pages photographs $230

Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference book to such engines as the Kinner LeBlond Szekely Century American Cirrus Crosley Packard and many others 60 pages $330

1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Airshyline Schedule Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford Tri Motor $130

SEND YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO

EAA AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC P O BOX 229

HALES CORNERS WI 53130 Wisconsin Residents Include 4 Sales Tax

Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery

de YELLOW Jmiddot3 CUB IRST NATIONAL BANK Of ANyenlOWN 400

nytown USA

QQ H 113

I LA R S

OIIgt~Sb7 IIgt~Sb

PLANE CHECKS A NEW WAY TO IDENTIFY WITH YOUR THING

Regular bank checks emblazoned with a flying yellow Jmiddot3 Cub I

Complete the order form and write out your check fow get a deposit slip from the same account and clearly indicate any changes or other notations as you wish it to appear on the checks (These two documents will furnish us all the data we need to make your checks compatible with your banks computer and Amer Bank Assn specs) On gift orders send your check and mark his check VOl D Please allow 3 weeks for delivery

Start Using Plane Checks Now Your old checks will always be good

Identity Check Co Box 149-0 Park Ridge III 60068 Activate my order for Plane Checks starting No ____ 0300-$750 0600-$1275 0900-$1775 Plane Checks ar e top bound- one part deposit slips and registers are Included In each order

_ Checkbook cover $50 $

o Yellow Jmiddot3 Cub r l BEECH Assortment rJ NORTH CENTRAL DCmiddot9

Ll Cherokee middot o Sundownermiddot r I PIPER Assortment

fJ CONTINENTAL DCmiddotl0

rJ Arrowmiddot o V Bonanzamiddot II HELICOPTER IBElLi

o Seneca IImiddot rJ Baronmiddot [I Pmiddot51 MUSTANG

U BREEZYmiddot o CURTISS JENNY o NATIONAL DCmiddot l0 () CESSNA Assortment D TWA l middot1011 fl AMERICAN DCmiddot l0

(J Hawkmiddot r J PSA 727 U EASTERN lmiddot1011 [ J 210 Centurion [ I BOmiddot5 1I WESTERN OCmiddotl0

fJ 310middot lJ MOONEY LJ PITTS SPECIALmiddot LJ UNITED DCmiddotl0

middotPl ease al lolll 10 extra days to process these checks

All check backgrounds are blue (except J-3 Cub)

Ship via 0 UPS (insured) 0 Parcel Post 0 WEST COAST add one dollar-well fly itl

Ship To

Address City State Zip _ ___

24

1I~rlII~11S Dear Sir

I enjoyed the December 1977 issue of The Vintage Airplane which just arrived I was particularly inshyterested in the two articles on Carl Swansons creation and restoration for the National Aeronautical Collecshytion in Canada as my father was a scout pilot in the First World War with a few hours in Sopwith Triplanes and Active Service Flying Camels

The photographs of the cockpit arrangements were particularly fascinating as they bore out many of my fathers memories However I believe that your caption writer is in error in drawing attention to the firing button for the machine gun located at the top center of the spade handle joystick in the pictures on pages 11 12 15 If what my father has told me is correct this is the blip switch used to short out the ignition circuit on the rotary engine to give the pilot some measure of control over RPM Evishydently throttle and mixture adjustments were touchy and once set were left alone as much as possible with power air final approach being controlled by shorting out the mags for short periods

The machine guns on my fathers aircraft were activated by two levers located inside the spade grip and attached to bourden cables which ran to the triggers Neither the Sopwith Triplane nor the Sopwith Camel were equipped with an electrical system Therefore the machine guns could not have been fired electrically

I still own the joystick out of one of my fathers Camels a photograph of which is enclosed The blip switch and gun levers can both be seen

Tom Wood 122 John Street PO Box 2080 Bracebridge Ontario Canada POB 1CO

Dear Sir Enclosed is a print It was taken from a glass

negative somewhat deteriorated after 65 or 70 years of storage that was found in extreme northeast Kansas

My grandmother has spoken of seeing Lincoln Beecky barnstorming in the area although I cannot say if this is a photograph of him

I would also be interested in corresponding with anyone that has information about the Lincoln Sport Biplane or the Lincoln Aircraft Co that produced airplanes in Lincoln Nebraska about 1920-30

Harry R Owen EAA 02365 Railroad Ave Isanti Minnesota 55040

Dear Mr Nielander Last week I had the pleasure of meeting with Gene

O Neill The circumstances of our meeting were quite extraordinary and one of those things that go to make a Ripley story Apparently he is a friend of the Applebys (Flabob) and had been asked by them to look me up in Australia Would you believe the first day in the country some 70 odd miles from Sydney he attended a barbecue at which I was present Needless to say at dawn the next morning we went flying

Having learned that I intended to visit the States in January he did a good selling job in that I have changed my vacation itinerary so that I can visit the Lakeland Winter Convention The purpose of this letshyter is to ask you to please initiate any pre-registration that might be necessary I am already a member of EAA - reg no 097622 My Australian private pilot license is No 4396

In Australia I am building up an airfield complex similar in concept to Cole Palen s Hopefully it will be finished in 4 - 5 years however at the present time we have in residence two Tiger Moths two Tiger Hornets Fokker DR1 Triplane an Auster and a J3 Piper Cub Our field covers 130 acres grass of course and we welcome in only old aircraft My aim is to duplicate Palens setup right down to the replica World War I aircraft and to this end we are currently building two Sopwith Pups Come 1984 we should have our act together In the meanwhile I am visiting as many antique field shows as possible to pick up pointers and I look forward to meeting you and members of your group in Florida

Cheers Neil Cottee Hurstville New South Wales Australia

Dear JR Thank you very much for being so kind as to send

us the early AAA Newsletter You indeed do have a deep interest in the early publications of the AAA and youre to be commended for your pursuit of finding a set of these things

We just returned from a 1400 mile round trip to Ardmore Oklahoma where we picked up the remains of the Rearwin Airplane Company which had been donated to the Museum This consisted of five pickup loads plus three trailers including the type certificate manufacturing rights and we still have to get the blueshyprints and miscellaneous stuff in connection with this There always seems to be something that takes us away from our correspondence and magazine work but its nice to get out and go pick up some goodies once in a while too

Very truly yours Robert L Taylor President Antique Airplane Association Inc

Dear AI I wish to compliment you on your presentation

of the articles on the Johnson airplanes and on Orville Hickman My compliments also to Mr Ropp and Mr Peterson I have the original article in Argosy magazine and newspaper articles about the Johnsons I did not know the Johnsons but live only 25 minutes from Terre Haute I was only 6 years old in 1913 but remember well the tornado and flood which did so much damage to the Johnson Brothers efforts This same tornado

25

Ann Arbor Michigan 48103

WORLD WAR 1 ~

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES is a service organization founded in 1961 to bring toshygether builders and restorers of early airshycraft and provide information about parts information drawings engines and if posshysible whole aircraft Sample issue of the journal $2 subscriptions on the basis of voluntary contributions

Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Road

Poughkeepsie NY 12601

no problem whatever I enjoyed flying the Air King -----------------------

blew away my grandparents barn and another barn plus doing other major damage within a quarter mile of our home

I also flew one of Mr Hickmans designs in 1928 which was an OX5 powered Air King owned by Walter Jones Brail Indiana The only thing I didnt like about the Air King was the method they used to mount the aileron horns on the aileron front box spars While checking the airplane one day I found one of the aileron horns loose On further inspection we found the horns were fastened to the box spars with just plain wood screws As the aileron box spar was built up with rather thin wood we decided to beef them up We removed one side of the box at point of aileron horn attachment and inserted an 18 inch solid piece of spruce glued in and replaced part of box removed redrilled holes and bolted horns back on clear through spar Otherwise the plane flew good and I had no other complaints

I soloed a JN4D in 1925 and flew it quite some time then I bought a J1 Standard and was flying it at the time I flew the Air King I transitioned to the Air King myself without a check ride in anything with

as it was so much more responsive to control input than J1 or JN4 Of course the performance and load carrying capabilities were much better also I wish that National Airways System could have stayed in business Of course those depression days affected a lot of us including me I always thought the Pheasant and Starl ing were pretty airplanes I never flew either of them

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year I beg to remain

Sincerely Malcolm McHargue Rural Route No1 Carbon IN 47837

Mr Dave Gustafson Noted the article of AI Kelch on Orville Hickman

in the December 1977 issue of the AntiqueClassic publication Vintage Airplane

I read the article with interest and could not help noting the last paragraph where he states that its a shame that these small bits of history are lost Recognizing Orvilles name somewhere I dug out a 1933 issue of the Flying Manual and sure enough in Chapter 4 he authored an article on his own deSign the Hickman Midget Seaplane Complete plans were offered A very early contributor to the homebuilt movement

Respectfully Marion H Havelaar (EAA 47909) President Chapter 39 Route 1 Box 133A Rapid City SD 57701

Dear Mr Gustafson I would be happy to have you run this photo in

your next issue with the request that if anyone knows anything about the event such as Name of Pilot Owner of Plane Name of Plane Location Jackson Park or Lincoln Park Chicago etc can contact me at the address shown below

Thank you very much for your cooperation in this effort to satisfy my curiosity

Richard A Wiley 1710 Avondale

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FALLSINGTON PA 19054

(215) 295-4115

Ann Arbor Michigan 48103

WORLD WAR 1 ~

WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES is a service organization founded in 1961 to bring toshygether builders and restorers of early airshycraft and provide information about parts information drawings engines and if posshysible whole aircraft Sample issue of the journal $2 subscriptions on the basis of voluntary contributions

Leonard E Opdycke 15 Crescent Road

Poughkeepsie NY 12601

no problem whatever I enjoyed flying the Air King -----------------------

blew away my grandparents barn and another barn plus doing other major damage within a quarter mile of our home

I also flew one of Mr Hickmans designs in 1928 which was an OX5 powered Air King owned by Walter Jones Brail Indiana The only thing I didnt like about the Air King was the method they used to mount the aileron horns on the aileron front box spars While checking the airplane one day I found one of the aileron horns loose On further inspection we found the horns were fastened to the box spars with just plain wood screws As the aileron box spar was built up with rather thin wood we decided to beef them up We removed one side of the box at point of aileron horn attachment and inserted an 18 inch solid piece of spruce glued in and replaced part of box removed redrilled holes and bolted horns back on clear through spar Otherwise the plane flew good and I had no other complaints

I soloed a JN4D in 1925 and flew it quite some time then I bought a J1 Standard and was flying it at the time I flew the Air King I transitioned to the Air King myself without a check ride in anything with

as it was so much more responsive to control input than J1 or JN4 Of course the performance and load carrying capabilities were much better also I wish that National Airways System could have stayed in business Of course those depression days affected a lot of us including me I always thought the Pheasant and Starl ing were pretty airplanes I never flew either of them

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year I beg to remain

Sincerely Malcolm McHargue Rural Route No1 Carbon IN 47837

Mr Dave Gustafson Noted the article of AI Kelch on Orville Hickman

in the December 1977 issue of the AntiqueClassic publication Vintage Airplane

I read the article with interest and could not help noting the last paragraph where he states that its a shame that these small bits of history are lost Recognizing Orvilles name somewhere I dug out a 1933 issue of the Flying Manual and sure enough in Chapter 4 he authored an article on his own deSign the Hickman Midget Seaplane Complete plans were offered A very early contributor to the homebuilt movement

Respectfully Marion H Havelaar (EAA 47909) President Chapter 39 Route 1 Box 133A Rapid City SD 57701

Dear Mr Gustafson I would be happy to have you run this photo in

your next issue with the request that if anyone knows anything about the event such as Name of Pilot Owner of Plane Name of Plane Location Jackson Park or Lincoln Park Chicago etc can contact me at the address shown below

Thank you very much for your cooperation in this effort to satisfy my curiosity

Richard A Wiley 1710 Avondale

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Are you restoring a Classic 11~ CUSHION UPHOLSTERY SETS

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~(U1t dJu ~~ I~

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FINISH IT RIGHT WITH AN

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INTERIOR All Items Designed for Easy

DO-IT-YOURSELF INSTALLATION

WALL PANEL SETS bull HEADLINERSmiddot CARPETS

Airtex interior upholstery items are all made up into complete assemblies ready for you to install Your choice of three fabric s tyles and twenty colors Luxurious cut pile carpets in seven colors wrinkleshyfree Duraliner headliners baggage compartshyments seat s lings and fire wall covers are also available for Classic planes

RE-COVER ENVELOPES Available for all Classics and some Antique model s in Ceconite 101 102 and cotton Airtex make s the worlds finest envelopes

Rondolpt AIRCRAFT FINISHES

Nitrate amp butyrate dope enamel urethane thinners reducer retarder and primers Complete stock of re-covering supplies

Send $100 for Catalog a1d Our Fabrics Selection Guide

IJ~P~ Jnc DEPT R LOWER MORRISVILLE ROAD

FALLSINGTON PA 19054

(215) 295-4115