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8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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DE
E
BER
E
VOL
34
, No. 12 2006
ONTENTS
2 VAA News
4
By
The Numbers
Getting
the
markings right
by Marv
Hoppenworth
7 Restoration Corner
General res toration techniques
by Stan Gomoll
10
The Prototype 1930 INF
Ted Teach's AirVenture award
winner
by Sparky Barnes Sargent
18
The Oldest
Chipmunk
Ca
n you fly Canadian?
by
Budd Davisson
8
Why
I Love
to
Fly
Exp la
ining
the
lure of flight
by Hugh B. Horning
3 Book Review
4 The Vintage Instructor
Best glide
by
Doug Stewart
36
Mystery Plane
by H.G. Frautschy
S T FF
EAA Publisher Tom
Pob
erezny
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
4/44
F
to
STC Holders: No Ethanol
in
Auto Fuel
The FAA has issued a special air
worthiness information bulletin
(SAIB) warning
aircraft
owners
and
operators with
auto
fuel supplemen
tal
type
certificates (STC)
to ensure
the
fuel they use does not contain
alcohol
(ethanol
or
methanol). The
SAIB reinforces EAA's ongoing efforts
to ensure the availability of compli
ant
autogas by
heading
off or modi
fying legislative attempts in several
states to require ethanol in all gaso
lines sold.
EAA, one of two primary sources of
automobile gasoline
STCs
for general
aviation aircraft, advocates that , at
the very least, states
should
exempt
premium grade
fuel
from ethanol
mandates
to
ensure a readily avail
able
and
safe fuel supply for aircraft.
The
FAA
cites
numerous
reasons
alcohol and airplanes do not
mix.
Alcohol:
• Adversely affects the volatility of
auto
gasoline, which could cause va
por lock.
. Is corrosive and not
compatible
with
rubber seals and
other
mate
rials
used in aircraft, which could
lead to
fuel
system
deterioration
and
malfunction
.
• Is subject to phase separation,
which
happens when the fuel cools
as an aircraft
climbs to
higher alti
automobile gasoline that conforms to
the specifications published in
their
airplane flight
manual
or automobile
gasoline STC
flight manual supple
ment.
Those
unsure
about
the
pres
ence of alcohol can perform a simple
test with
EAA's
auto
fuel Alcohol Test
Kit, available by calling 920-426-4843
or e-mailing dwalker@
eaa.or
g
2 j1
lIRVENTURE
O S K O S
It s Never Too Early to
Plan for Oshkosh
Aviation's biggest
week
of
the
year
takes a year
to prepare
for,
and
you
can bet
preparations
are well under
way
for EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh
2007, set to take
place
July 23-29.
EAA draws the
aviation
community
together
to share the pure joy and
excitement of flight
unmatched
any
where in the world.
"All
the
spirit,
innovation, and
dreams of
aviation come together
in
one place, for one week, said
EAA
President
Tom Poberezny. This
is the true magiC
of A irVenture:
Whether
we come from
the
pilot
this
event unique,
however,
is
the
fact that
it
is also
aviation's
annual
family reunion .
If you're asked
to
explain what
EAA
AirVenture is,
there's
only one
good answer-'You gotta be there '"
Start Out the
New Year
at
SportAir Workshop
EAA s
SportAir Workshops will
hit
the ground running
in
2007
with
a
large
number and variety of ses
sions
located
throughout
the coun
try. Now is the time to make plans to
attend
before
they
fill up. And
what
better holiday gift
is
there
for
the
as
piring homebuilder?
• Oshkosh, Wisconsin-january
27 -28: Learn
to
successfully build your
aircraft
with
these courses: Compos
ites, Fabric Covering, or Sheet Metal.
Other
courses include Electrical Sys
tems
and
Avionics,
and
Gas Welding,
plus Introduction to Aircraft Building
and What's
Involved
in
Kit Building
suit those just getting started.
• Lakeland, Florida-February 17
18: Held
at
the
Sun 'n Fun campus,
learn Composites,
Fabric
Covering
,
and Sheet Metal, as well as Electrical
Systems
and
Avionics,
and What
's In
volved in
Kit
Building.
• Dallas, Texas-March 3-4: Com
posites, Fabric
Covering
, and Sheet
Metal construction
methods,
plus
Electrical Systems and Avionics, Gas
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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workshops,
as well as
special
EM
mem
ber tuition for
the
courses, visit
www
SportAir com or call 800-967-5746.
Lost
Swift
Cowling
Mark Holliday
had
a
bad night
a
while back,
and
he s willing
to
share
the event
with
those of
you in the
southeastern United States in the hope
that someone will hear of a new Globe
Swift cowling that s appeared. Here s
Mark s sad tale:
While trailering N78261
north on
Interstate
75
from Atlanta to Athens
the entire nice original cowl blew off
the airplane, unknown to me
until
I
was getting off the highway at the Ath
ens exit. The cowl appeared to be bolted
in place, the handles were latched, and
the camlocks on the top fastened, but
the
brackets were bolted
only to the
firewall and were
not
attached
to the
cowl. I saw screws
through
the holes
where the bracket attaches to the cowl,
but
they were apparently too small and
used only to position the cowl; but the
cowl felt solid.
By
the time I got turned around and
returned to Atlanta to proceed
north
on 1 75 (about a two-hour drive each
way,
and
it s now
about
2:00
a.m.
looking for
the
cowl,
someone must
have already picked it up. I didn t find
it.
I checked with the Georgia State
Pa-
trol, and there was no record of any
accidents or their people picking it up.
Could you please run the following ad:
Lost complete original Swift cowl
on
northbound
1 75 between Atlanta, GA
and Athens,
TN on
10-5-06. Reward for
return or information. Mark 651-270
1318, or e-mail:
MarkH85@aol com
If
you ve got news for Mark, please
contact him
at the
numbers above, or
call
us
here at
VAA
headquarters: 920
426-4825 .
Ei TEn N
THE 20
IRCR FT
TO
FLO K
Just as
this issue
was
going
to
press, we were advised
of the
passing of 1999 VAA Hall of Fame
Inductee
Tom Flock
of
Rockville,
Indiana.
Tom was a master re
storer of Waco aircraft
and
known
worldwide
for
his expertise and
outstanding workmanship on
a
number of
Waco restorations
and
a PiperJ-3 Cub. He was a longtime
member
of
EAA
Chapter 83.
A
retired farm-implements
dealer, Tom s avocation was
an
tique
aircraft, a passion
at
which
he
excelled. During
the
1993 Waco
Club fly-in, Tom was awarded the
Bob Poor Memorial Award for ex
quisite workmanship. His restora
tions consistently won
awards at
fly-ins across
the
country. He en
joyed meeting folks from all walks
http:///reader/full/SportAir.commailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/SportAir.commailto:[email protected]
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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BY
THE
Getting the markings right
veryone who builds
or restores an airplane
is
hit
with the
task
of
laying
out
registration
identification numbers.
Over the last 60 years
they have gone
from
24
inches to
20
inches to
12
inches
and whatever
on
classic and amateur-
built aircraft. May I suggest a current
copy
of Federal Aviation Regula t ion
FAR)
Section 45 .1, Subpart C, Nation-
al ty and Registration Marks The FAA
mandated markings can
be
traced
Y MARV HOPPENWORTH
back to a 1919 international agree-
ment that
detailed
the
type of mark-
ings for aircraft
around
the world.
I
painted my
first set
of numbers
on my ]-3
Cub
in 1948: NC9245H
in black on ye
ll
ow. I did quite a few
in those early years. Yo u
must hear
about
this
one
set
of
numbers
in
par-
ticular. A friend was
having
me re-
cover
the
wings of his 1939 Aeronca
Chief. One day we
were
alerted to
two new cute little yellow airplanes
at the gas pit. Come to fi nd out, they
were
the
new Piper
PA-15
Vagabonds.
My friend drew my attention to
the
new
little 18-inch numbers on the
wings
and
asked if I cou ld paint his
wings like
that.
My
answer
was , "I
don t know why not." So I proceeded
to
layout
th e set of numbers. Maroon
on
white . Two days after I pull ed
the
tape, we
got
an
advisory
circular
in
the
announcing the
new mini
mum
size of registration numbers on
the
wing was 20 inches
There was
no
way I could correct
that except to do it over. I spent
the
next two evenings on my own time,
Download the letters at
www
Vintage i
rcr
ft
org
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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with a sharp knife, peeling the ma
roon
letters down
to the
silver dope
and
reworking
the
white base color.
Then the new
size
20-inch
numbers
were masked
and
repainted
maroon.
Now you know
why
I recommend
a current copy of
FAR
Section 45.1,
Subpart
C
There are so many combi
nations of size, speed, age, etc., that it
is too hard to
commit
to memory.
Here's
another story I have
to
credit
to experience.
Sometime
around
1960,
my
Taylorcraft was
due
for re
cover. At that
time
the FAA was re
questing registration
numbers
be
put
on the side so that recognizing
these
numbers
would
be easier for fighter
pilots. I did not argue
with
that. Since
my T-Craft
had
split colors on
the
fu
selage, I masked and painted black
numbers,
black
above
the
split-line
and yellow numbers below the line,
surrounded by the black trim color.
This set
of numbers, although co n
trasting
in color, washed out to be
unrecognizable at 200 feet. I then
had
to lower my trim line about 8 inches
and redo
the
letters
in
black-an-yel
Iowan
the
lower half.
You
cannot
be
lieve
what
a difference
that
made . We
learn by our mistakes. So we call
i t
ex
perience. Wisdom comes from learn
ing from
someone
else's experience.
Over the years I have observed
many
sets of N numbers. I have seen
I/4 s and I/7 s that would
tip
if you
looked at
them
long
enough.
In
cluded is a
layout of
what, I think,
numbers
should look
like.
The
FAR
calls for Roman Block. Many print
shops
do
not even recognize Roman
Block.
As
you will note, the numeral
cals. Decide where you want to put
your row
of numbers.
If
it
is a rect
angular wing, I suggest you take your
measurements from
the
trailing edge.
The distance between each
l
etter
or
number is to be one-half the width of
the letters. Do not use a
ballpoint
pen
to make any marks. A soft lead pencil
should be used if you need to make
marks. You may also use short pieces
of tape.
Two days after
I pulled
the
tape,
we got
an
advisory circular
in the
announcing the
new
minimum
size of
registration
numbers
on
90 degrees when you get to the last
number. It is
suggested that you iden
tify each number
and
letter, and mark
it on the tape.
Check
it against
your
registration certificate. An error from
here
on
would be hard to correct.
We all know that masking tape
never
tears where you
wish
it to, so
I recommend a putty knife about an
inch and
a half wide . Place the
putty
knife over the spot
you
want the tape
to tear and pull up. This leaves a sharp
edge
with
accuracy
within about
1/64
of
an
inch . Where two pieces of tape
converge
on
an angle
of
less
than
90
degrees, just lay
them
down, stick
ing
one on top
of another.
Lift the
two ends together, slip a small piece
of
metal under
the
intersection, and,
using an Exacto knife or a
sharp
util
ity knife,
cut on the
lines
formed
by
the
masking
tape. Then lay the tapes
back down. Do not
cut
directly
onto
your
painted surface. There are vinyl
tapes
that
give a nice sharp edge, and
these may be worth
the extra cost.
3M Fineline
masking
tape is also
a great
product
for
producing
sharp,
clean masked
paint
edges.
Double-check each
number,
mak
ing
sure you have closed in and
masked all the
corners
that should
be treated that way.
It is
easy
to
over
look . Before painting
the
numbers,
remember
to
check
all
the
edges by
rubbing down with your thumbnail
and
use
a
lower
air
pressure when
painting
the
trim and numbers.
A
simple
way
to
put
numbers
on
the vertical fin and rudder is to lay
out
your small numbers using mask
ing tape sized to match the width of
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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VIATION ROMAN
BLOCK
TYPE
BY
H.
G FRAUTSCHY
The font shown to the right is based upon the let website, there are computer type fonts available for
ter guide published in the December 2002 issue
of
use in marking aircraft. The closest version to the
Vintage Airplane as originally published in Brimm style used
on
pre-World
War
II and postwar aircraft is
and Boggess Aircraft Maintenance for the Airplane commonly designated "AmarilloUSAF. " It is the font
Mechanic. In
my
research
on
this subject, at no time used
by
the U.S. Air Force to mark its aircraft. The
have I turned up an
FAA
or Civil Aviation Authority font is available from TLai Enterprises at
www TLai
CAA) document that actually
depicted
the
letters.
com/med_des/amusafhtml It is available as a free
Only a description in the regulations has been seen in download on a
trial
basis and is fairly inexpensive
official documents. ($15)
if you
want to buy the full letter set.
I have created alternative versions
of
some
of
the This font is very close to
that
used on civil aircraft
letters (the 2 and
7)
as seen
in
material submitted
by in
the
1940s,
but there are differences. Research of
Marv Hoppenworth and in period photos of aircra ft your aircraft type will disclose changes you may need
built
in
the 1930s and
1940s.
If members have oth to make. For example, the 7 used
on Waco
aircraft
ers they'd like to see depicted, please let us know. has the upper right corner of the numeral trimmed at
The letters and numbers are available
on
the
VAA an
angle, where other aircraft manufacturers used a
website at www.VintageAircraft.org. They will be down 7 that featured a sharp corner
at
that point. The
load able
in
PDF form and as Adobe Illustrator docu regulatory requirement for the font's thickness to be
ments. You can download only the letters you need, 1/6
of
the height of the character notwithstanding,
or all of them if you wish. Typically, sign shops spe variations
in
thickness seemed to abound as well.
cializing in computer-generated
graphics
can work Another option, for those who would prefer to have
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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Letter Sizes - All Dimensions in Inches
AIRCRAFT
REGISTRATION
NUMBERS
AND
LE
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20 12
3
W=16
13-3/8
8 2
B=4
3-3/8
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8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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BY STAN GOMOLL
eneral restoration techniques
Editor sNote:
In this
installation of the Restoration
Corner,
well-known
vintage
aircraft restorer Stan Gomoll of
Minneapolis, Min
nesota, disc
usses
general
techniques used
in
renovating tail groups and wings . G.
R.
C. and H. G F
T IL
GROU
P
N
D
WINGS
Tail Group
The types of construction used in air
craft tail groups falls into three general cat
egories: steel tUbing, aluminum and wood.
Some of the aircraft utilizing wood construc
tion in their tail groups are Mooney, Culver,
Waco and
Fairchild, to name a few.
Start by laying all the parts
on
the floor
in plan form. Now is the time to check for
pieces that are missing or may have been
misplaced, such as trim actuator brackets,
hinge pins, brace wires and attaching hard
ware. Make a list of missing
parts
along
with a worksheet of the work to
be
accom
plished; then when you set the piece aside
awaiting parts or material, you can pick up
where you left off.
Check for
ADs
or factory service bulletins
that may apply to your aircraft. These could
refer to such things as attach points, hinge
brackets, internal corrosion or wood rot.
Steel
Tube Construction
Clean all the parts using soap and wa-
ter, paint stripper or sandblasting. I do not
choose to sandblast unless it is absolutely
necessary, as this process removes the
natural protective coating on the metal.
Wire
brushing will clean the surface, but leaves
rust
in
pitted areas and inside small radius
corners. If you do choose to sandblast, care
must
be taken because it will reduce the
thickness of the material and can distort
bushings or roller bearings.
If the trim tab on the control surface is
mounted with bolts or PK screws, it might
be necessary to weld a reinforcement
in
this area to prevent cracking of the thin trail
ing edge tubing.
After each part is repaired and cleaned,
give
it
a coat of primer. I like
to
use lac
quer-resistant zinc chromate or a good ep-
oxy primer.
Adjustable
trim
tab
actuators
should
be disassembled, cleaned and re-assem
bled using a grease with a wide tempera
ture range . Check cables for condition and
proper clearance from structures . Make a
drawing to be used
in
accurately locating
the inspection plate holes after the new cov-
ering is installed.
Check
an
d, if necessary, replace the wir-
ing for the navigation light.
You
might want
to install extra wiring for the possible instal
lation
of
a strobe light at a later date .
After all the tail pieces are cleaned , re-
paired and primed, take the time to mount
the complete assembly on the fuselage. It's
much easier to take care of mounting prob
lems now than after the pieces are covered.
At this time do a complete rigging of all wires
and/or
struts
for the tai group, including
hooking
up any
adjustable trim tabs. Check
for adequate clearance between parts, tak
ing into consideration the added thickness
of
one or more layers
of
fabric and/or tape.
Also, i t's easy to rig the proper travel of trim
Check to see that all repairs are covered
on Form 337s . It s not uncommon to find
that the proper paperwork has not been
completed.
Wood Construction
The small blade of a pocket knife is a good
tool for checking the condition of
wood
struc
ture . The po int should penetrate very little
into the
wood
. I suggest trying this on a piece
of scrap wood
to get the feel.
The
blade
will
penetrate very easily into decayed
wood.
It s
advisable to replace all hardware
such asbolts , nuts, washers, etc. as cad
mium plating wears
off
and moisture
in
the
wood can result in
rust
on
these
areas ,
which in turn, causes the wood to decay
with a major loss of strength. Even though
the hardware may look good, it should be
replaced. It has probably been installed for
a long time and with the long life
of
today's
modern fabrics it will be a long time before
the plane is re-covered again.
Pay
particular
attention to the area
around the attach points. All of the old paint
should
be
removed down to bare wood
so
a
good check can
be
made for cracks and dry
rot. Check all the glue joints and gussets for
strength
and/or
separation.
The
old casein
glues deteriorate with
age
.
Refer to the FAA s Advisory Circular AC
43.13, which describes repairs to wood and
metal structures. The old standby is to fin
ish the wood with two coats of spar varnish,
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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tion and restoration. Another good source
of information is local
EM
and
VAA
chapter
fly-ins and fly-ins sponsored
by
the various
type clubs.
As
mentioned in previous Restoration
Corner articles , there are companies that
sell reprints of aircraft and engine manuals.
These companies advertise
in Trade-A-Plane
and several aviati
on
magazines and are well
worth knowing about.
Wings-To remove fabric covering, first
remove
the
rib
stitching
by
cutting the cords.
If the fabric is secured by metal clips, these
must be removed carefully to prevent dam
age
to the metal ribs . Whether constructed
of wood or metal, most wings are delicate
structures and can be damaged easily.
Ei
ther save the old fabric or make patterns
from which the location of inspection holes
and control cable openings can
be
deter
mined when the surfaces are re-covered .
After the covering is removed
an
evalua
tion of the condition of the wing is next on
the agenda. Continuing with your worksheet,
make a list of the following items along with
pertinent remarks:
Leading
Edge-note
wrinkles , cracks,
previous repairs , corrosion or
plywood
sepa
ration. Wings are frequently stored with their
leading edges down creating a natural trap
inside the leading edge covering for mois
ture resu lting in corrosion and / or wood rot.
Ribs-note
previous and/ or unrepaired
damage, wood rot, loose glue joints and
gussets, damage to capstrips cause
by
wire
or
PK
screws, ribs misshapen because of
over-taut fabric or bowed due to over-tighten
ing of drag and anti-drag wires.
Butt
ribs-same as
above.
Ribs at aileron
space-same
as above
plus distortion resulting
in
too little or too
much clearance from the aileron.
Spars-note
condition
of finish,
any
cracks or elongated holes causing loose
have
they shrunk, causing ribs to
bow?
Navigation and landing
l ights-check
mounting brackets for cracks and security,
unnecessary screw holes
in
the wood, nut
plates or tinneman nuts miSSing or worn out,
and
condition of wiring. If the landing light is
retractable , does it operate properly?
Ailerons-check
general condition
of
structure. Depending on construction ma
terials , is there rust, corrosion , wood rot ,
loose rivets or glue joints?
Are
hinge attach
points secure? Is the trailing edge straight
and aligned with wing trailing edge? Check
leading edge for cracks and/ or
wrinkles
these are usually visible even through the
finish paint. Some ailerons are counterbal
anced with lead weights
in
either the leading
edge or mounted
on
external arms. Check
these for a good, solid attachment.
A decision
must be
made at this point
whether
to
completely
disassemble the
wing panels or to restore portions of them.
If
you
decide to totally restore the wings, be
sure to do one panel at a time, leaving the
other(s) assembled
to
guide you
in re
-as
sembly of the rebuilt unit.
When
possible, the route I like to take is
to remove the leading edge covering, drag
and anti-drag wires and compression mem
bers, leaving the spars and ribs assembled.
This procedure allows a good cleaning and
checking of the structure. I then refinish the
wood with a minimum
of
two coats
of
spar
varnish, and the metal parts with a good
primer followed by a good covering with
black enamel. Primer alone does not give
long-term protection. Reassemble the wing
panel using all new hardware.
Aluminum
structures
can experience
electrolytic action between the aluminum
and
steel fittings (dissimilar metalS), result
ing
in
corrosion.
The
use of cadmium-plated
bolts will neutralize this action.
An advantage
in
restoring a classic rather
and
the top of the fuselage (high wing
mono
planes or cabin biplanes). Us ing a wing rib
pattern sawed out of plywood, line up the
leading and trailing edges
of
the ribs with
nose ribs in place aligned with main ribs.
The ailerons should be
in
place
to
assure
proper alignment and clearances.
The t rammeling process comes next.
Don 't be alarmed at the thought of doing
this, as it is simple if done according to the
book. It 's
just
a
matter
of tightening the
drag
and
anti-drag wires
in
sequence,
keep
ing each bay square and the spars straight.
This must be done before the leading edge
sheeting (if used) is installed.
Wood leading edges are more difficult
to repair or replace.
The
wood sheets have
to
be
prebent over a form with a smaller
ra
dius than that of the rib curvature. Star t
by
soaking the plywood
in
water overnight, then
clamp it to the form with wide straps . Old
seat belts work well for this.
Do not try to fully bend the sheet at one
time, but tighten the straps gradually.
The
use
of
an electric steam iron
set
on full
heat and applied directly to the wood sur
face helps to bend the wood without crack
ing
thanks to steaming action.
It's of utmost
importance
to
trammel
the wing before final installation of the lead
ing edge sheeting.
For
holding the sheeting
in place I made a
set
of clamps that work
great for either wood or aluminum. I cut
sev
eral pieces of 2 x 4 four inches longer than
the height
of
the spar, then fastened one
end of each strap (seat belt) to one end of
each 2 x 4 . I then weld flat steel plates to
one end of
8
long pieces of l 4 threaded
rod and riveted them
to
the other end
of
each strap.
Each clamp is completed by inserting
each rod through holes drilled at the other
end of each 2 x 4
and
held
in
place
by
large
washers and nuts. These clamps can be
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ner Airplane Motor Corporation
Ltd.
of
Glendale, California.
The
odel
IN
Teach believes
th t
Kinner
wanted its share in Waco's biplane
market, and that, ultimately, is how
the INF model came
into produc
tion. This was an extremely
popu
lar
biplane, even in 1930 with the
economy
the way it
was, and they
were
selling
like hotcakes-30 of
them in
six
months
So
we
think
that
Kinner agreed
to
buy the air
plane
if Waco
would
design and use
the
Kinner engine installation for
this airplane
.
Leslie
H.
Bowman (who would later
become one
of
the first presidents
of
the National Aviation Training As
sociation) was a test
pilot
for Kinner
and personally took
delivery
of the
prototype
INF
on June
13, 1930.
t
that time, the aircraft bore an experi
mental
registration number, since ap
proved Type Certificate 345 wasn ' t
issued until August
of that
year. For
those who wonder
what
INF means,
Waco's designation
is
interpreted this
way: I represents
the
125-hp Kinner
B-5 engine; N was used
in
1930 to
represent open-cockpit
aircraft;
and
F denotes the aircraft series. Accord
ing to Teach,
the INFs
were known
as
the baby Fs
in
the Waco F series,
since they were smaller
than,
for in
stance,
the
UPFs.
Bowman drew some attention to
the new Waco by flying it in the 1930
National Air Races in Chicago just a
couple of months later.
He
won $300
by finishing in second place, with a
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
14/44
was also well
liked by
those
who
appreciated its
aerobatic agility, and it was used for
aerobatic training, as well as in the Ci
vilian Pilot Training Program. Nearly
SO
of
these three-place open-cockpit
biplanes were manufactured by Waco
in 1930
and
1931, and
they
sold for
around $4,400 or more, depending
upon the
customer's choice of op
tional equipment, which
included a
ground-adjustable metal propeller,
Heywood starter,
navigation
lights,
and
Hot Shot battery. n
engine
ring
cowl
and
wheelpants were also avail
able for
those who
desired a sleeker
machine and
a bit more speed.
Doug Smith, Andrew Flyboy King (pilot
of
the Waco INF for
our
photo shoot)
NC864V Yesterday
Ted
Teach,
Jack Tiffany, Herman Leffew,
and Jerry Pruden.
Kinner Airplane
Motor
Corpo
ration owned
the prototype INF for
about
seven months before selling
it
to
a
woman named
Elsie Bala,
of
Idaho. Not
much
is
known about
her,
except that
she retained ownership
of
the
biplane for about six years. Af-
ter that , several flying schools owned
it
during
the early to mid 1940s, in
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
15/44
Around
50
Waco INFs were buiH in
1930 and 1931.
the
back of one, along with this state-
The
INF
has
outrigger style gear legs.
ment:
I
purchased
the
airplane
for
$100
behind
a
hangar
in
northern
California
in
1961. Teach
wonders
who that person
was,
and who the
men in the photographs were.
Another
interesting
item
that
yields some history about this Model
INF is a
letter
that
W.T. Homan of
Santa Paula, California, typed on
De
cember 28, 1971,
to
a
Mr.
Beichtold.
In
part,
it says,
About
three
years
ago I bought
INF
Waco NC864V
Se
rial
Number
326S
. . . .
This
ship
was
new at Mines
Field
(now Interna
tional
Airport)
Los
Angeles
in
1930
and
I find that several of
my
friends
either learned to
fly
in
i t
or
soloed
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The
INF
is
a
three place
biplane if
the front two passengers are small. The gold
pinstripe
around
the registration number
was
painted
by
hand.
I
mind
that
it's rare to find a line
boy
who can perform such a task), he de
cided
to
install
an
electrical system
and
starter in the biplane,
which
re
quired locating and installing a wind
generator and voltage regulator. Along
36
hours
a week,
with
90
percent
of
his time
on
this airplane.
Doug's enthusiasm for restoring old
airplanes was awakened several years
ago when he was working
at
a flight
school to build time to become an air
instigator of
the
Leading Edge Air
craft-Restorers of Old Flying Ma
chines group
in
Spring Valley, Ohio.
The
group is basically
composed
of
Tiffany and his wife, Kate; Herman
Leffew;
and
Don Siefer (and more
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17/44
The
handcrafted
metal wheelpants
add a nice
finishing
touch
to this
193
Waco INF
Note
the
attention
to detail
where the
flying
and
landing
wires
join
the wing
interesting note
regarding the
cor
rect
tension ' for the flying wires,"
says Teach with a chuckle. "It says
in 1991,
and
Doug did a lot of the res-
toration work
on
that-it was an Osh
kosh winner about 10 years ago. Back
in
1969, I started a Pitts,
and
it took a
while to get it done," he says, eyes twin
kling
as
he laughs and adds, "I have a
on most any
airplane,
and
especially
so on the Waco INF Since pants
didn't
come with the Waco when Teach pur
chased it, he decided to ask Mark
Ken-
nison of D&D
Auto
Restoration in
Covington, Ohio, whether
or
not he
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18/44
ach
aileron
extends all
the
way
to
the
wingtip
(HVLP) gravity-feed
paint
cup an d
gun, with excellent res ults. Smith
and Teach selected Randolph's bu
tyrate dope system for the fabric and
Randolph's Ranthane
for
the
metal
to obtain a good match between the
components, and they retained the
Waco INF's original colors-vermil
lion on the fuselage, with silver wings
and tail. They also researched the
black trim stripe, according to Smith,
who
explains
that
"depending on
what year your Waco was built, it had
a different design for
the
stripe,
and
we
found
that the
arrow was correct
for
1930."
The
instruments
were
overhauled
and
refaced,
and the instrument
Lessons Learned
If
you've ever helped restore
an
air
pl
ane,
yo u know firsthand that the
successful completion
of
a project nor
ma
ll
y takes longer
than
anticipated.
Teach reflects, "After all these years,
it's hard to make an estimate of how
long it'll take to finish a project. This
past January, I said 'Doug, I think we'll
have this done
the end
of the
month,'
and in February, I said the same thing.
I t was finished mid-June "
Smith agrees that it's easy to make
an optimistic estimate, especially in
the beginning. "When we first started
on
it, we both thought we'd have it
finished in a year, no problem. But
it took two
years
to
finish.
The im
portant thing
in
doing something
like this
is that if
you put
in the
time,
they come out
nice.
We could have
had
a flying airplane a lot faster
and
a lot
sooner
and, for Ted's sake, a lot
discovered
that
"it flies nothing like
a Stearman
It
jumps
off
the
ground
and flies like it's very light, although
it isn't that light. It has a good cruis
ing speed at 95 mph, and on grass it
lands and settles right down, but put
it
on
a hard top and
then
each land
ing can be exciting."
While Teach likes working on an air
craft restoration, he also loves flying the
finished product and sharing it with
those who are appreciative . He says he
enjoys "giving rides, because it's excit
ing for people. I remember taking some
Young Eagles in
my
Stearman, and
that usually makes kids pretty happy.
There were 10 of them that Saturday
afternoon,
and
most
had
a big smile.
In Monday's mail, I
had
a thank-you
note
from one
little
kid who
had
made
the
effort to find
my
address, go
home,
buy a card, and write a thank
you note-he
had
to have it
in
the
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hipmunks are just one of Chipmunk. It s a homegrown prod
through
the listing of
RAF
Bulldogs
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e
their Moth trainer
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No. 11 was given the
U K
registration
James says, I got
together
with plane
had,
so we continued research
of G-AKDN-the
on
ly registration it has
Dav
id
Gillespie,
and
we
both
liked
ing
it. We
checked
the
U.K. registry
carried for more than
S9
years.
the
Canadian
connection
the ai r - and
found the
ai
rplane
was listed
to a name in North Yorkshire, Eng
land: Philip Derry.
called
to verify
t hat it was there and, having recog
nized the last name, Derry, asked him
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The
tightly
cowled
Gipsy Major 10 Mk2
was
a bit of a
headache as
as r . ~ u , ~ l l l n
registration was con
cerned
so the
Chipmunk
retains its
British
registration
tiny, squishy green airport-Bagby
Field in
North
Yorkshire.
It
looked as
if th ere should be signs saying 'Hob
bit Crossing.'
It
was a perfect place for
a Chipmunk.
It
was no coincidence that Philip
even more
evident
in the fact that
he
isn 't,
and
never has
been,
a pilot.
That and
the
fact
that
he
didn't
tell
his girlfriend-soon-to-be-wife
that
he
had bought the airplane.
It
was, as he
phrased it, An impulse buy.
The wing fuel
tanks
feature the filler
neck
and
mechanical fuel gauge all in
one unit
difficulty they
had
in trying to get
primary
flight
training
locally
in the
Chipmunk for Phil and his sons only
added
another
reason for
him
to let
the plane go.
I called David
and
told
him the
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but
quite
another when
it's in Eng
land
and you're in Canada, plus the
airplane is registered in England. Both
areas present their own problems.
James says, "Even before we
went
over to retrieve
the
airplane, it was ob
vious that re-registering the airplane
in Canada was going to be a paper
work nightmare, wh ich
is
exactly the
way it turned out. The shipping of the
airplane had its
own
headaches, but
they were more manageable."
Moving a foreign-registered air
plane
across the Atlantic is not for
the faint of heart. t would be a ma
jor challenge for
anyone,
much less
two private pilots who had no idea
what
they
were get ting into. James is
a mathemat ics professor,
and
David
is
the creative director
at an
ad agency,
neither of which
prepared
them for
what they were about to attempt.
However, enthusiasm
almost
always
overcomes inexperience.
Their enthusiasm, however, was
further augmented by good fortune:
Tom
Coates,
an
engineer who had
built up his
own private
de Havil
land
air force over
the
years and had
shipped numerous airplanes across
the pond, was literally in their back
yard . He
possessed
the experience
they were lacking, plus lent them the
special attachment
hardware
they'd
There Are Chipmunks
and
ThenThere
Is
No 11
In the
course of
putting their
little beauty back in
the
air,
the
David-James team discovered on their airplane a number of items
that
differed from
the
usual Chipmunk. For one thing,
it
has
the
original Canadian-designed "bird cage canopy
that
was adopted
on the O.K.-produced airplanes (around 1,100 in total) but wasn't
used on
the
rest of
the
Canadian-produced
Munks
(just
more
than
200 produced), which have the distinctive blown bubble. The
rear side panels of their canopy were originally
fiat but
they were
"bubbled ouf during the
RAF
evaluation process to allow the pilot
to
move his head further sideways.
The landing gear also has a number of characteristics
that set
it
apart
.In the UK. production models, the landing gear legs are
canted forward a few inches to improve stability on the ground
roll, but
on Canadian production models
the gear is
in
the
origi
nal position,as on No.n and all early pre-production versions.
Also,
the
airplane has small, streamlined fairings around
the
need to secure the airframe in the 40
foot shipping container.
He
said they
could do it. They felt th ey could do it.
So
they were
on
their way.
David says,
When
my wife, Karen,
James,
and
I checked
in
at
the
airport
to
leave, we were
each carrying 60
pounds of slings and brackets for pick
ing up
and then
securing the airplane
in a shipping container."
When
we got to England," David
says, "we flew
the
airplane a couple of
times,
which
was really stressful We
had
already committed to the
pur
chase with a
down
payment,
and
we
had
to make a 'go/no-go' decision be
fore we took
the
next
step
.
Neither
of us had
more than
an
hour
's
time
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back at Saskatoon, where they looked
at it closely.
James says, The
airplane
was in
good condition,
no
corrosion or any
thing like that,
although
the fab
ric on the wings could probably use
some work. Actually, as we were
to
find
out, i t
needed a lot of
work.
What was curious was
that as the
air
plane sat in our hangar, the 40-below
weather caused the paint to flake off,
and it left a shadow of
the
airplane
on the floor in paint chips.
When they got ready to approach
the registration issue, they knew they
had a lot of work to do. Among other
things, the airplane, when built in
Canada, had a Gipsy Major
lC
engine,
but when it was being prepped for
the RAF trainer competition (the only
other entrant was the Fairey Primer),
the engine was changed
to
a Gipsy
Major 10 Mk2. This didn't go down
well with Transport Canada, and the
possibilities of getting it re-registered
were getting dimmer and dimmer.
By that time, we were already
looking at paint schemes, and every
time we
thought
about changing
the
G-AKDN,
which is what it was known
as
since it arrived
in England, to
a
Canadian CF number,
it just didn't
look right in our minds. The airplane
had
originally been
natural
alumi-
num
with some
stripes,
and
it had
been painted perhaps
sometime
in
the '60s, but we wanted it in its orig
inal
1947 scheme,
which
is what
i t
was wearing when it pioneered
the
RAF adoption in 1949.
Somewhere along
the
line, while
we were stripping
the
paint and pol
ishing the aluminum, which took 200
hours, by the way, we decided the best
way to keep the airplane looking origi
nal was to leave it registered in England
and fly it here in English registration.
There was simply too much history to
lose by changing the numbers.
We could only keep it registered
in the U.K.
if
we were working with
an English-licensed
engineer
and a
U.K.-approved maintenance organiza
tion in Canada. Once again, luck was
with us, and we managed to have Tom
Coates' aviation company in Saska
toon
approved,
and
we engaged Gra
ham Fox to oversee the paperwork and
ultimately
come
over from England
to
conduct inspections. Also, Philip
Derry wanted to maintain his connec
tion
with
the
airplane, so he's one of
our partners, and we have successfully
preserved
the
English registration.
James says,
When the
aircraft orig
inally came
out
of its shipping con
tainer, in August 2002, and we flew
it , over 55 years had elapsed since it
initially left the country. Although i t
flew like a charm, we knew we had our
maintenance work cut out for us. It
was disassembled and worked on un
til May of 2004, when it underwent
its 'Star Inspection,' which is required
every three years for English-registered
aircraft. It
is
sort of a super-duper an
nual. Graham came over and worked
with Tom Coates to do the work.
The test flight after this inspec
tion
was something really special
because we had George Neal, then
86 years old
and
still flying his own
Chipmunk, do the flight. George was
the de Havilland Canada Chipmunk
chief
production
test
pilot who did
the very first flight on No. 11 back in
1947. It was a thrilling day for us.
When the project was finished and
the airplane was flying, James and Da
vid found they had created much more
than simply a wonderful airplane.
Graham comes to visit quite often,
both
for inspections
and to
go
hunt-
ing. Ultimately we expect to host an
extended visit by Phil Derry
and
his
family,
and flying will be on the agenda.
The entire project has been fun with
one of the major side benefits being the
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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I Love
you
like
to fly?/I
t
times it s
tough to
put it
into words,
and all you
seem to
be
attempt
to
explain the
remark-
able experience
that is
personal flight.
Hugh Homing as put his thoughts into
words,
and
perhaps he
can
help all ofus fill in
the
blanks when someone asks
you,
Hey, what s flying all about?/I-H.G.
Frautschy
Horsemen
say that
when leaming to
ride
the
novice becomes a rider
when he or
she is
in
control of the horse
and
the horse knows it.
t is
much the same with a
pilot and his
plane.
The
student becomes an avia-
tor when he fully controls
the plane
and is
in
con-
trol in
any
situation
The Challenge of Flying
Broaden your flight-maneuvering
expertise to handling weather, navi
gation, radio communications, flight
regulations, emergency procedures,
etc., and you begin to understand why
Sbiving
for
Proficiency
and
Professionalism
Proficiency and professionalism
are the pilot's continuing but never
perfectly-achievable goals. Apart from
the
personal satisfaction one gets by
constant improvement in his flying,
there is another great benefit: the in
creased assurance of staying alive. Un
like most vocations
and
avocations, a
careless attitude or action, a misjudg
ment, or a mistake can cost you your
life ... quickly and with
absolute
cer
tainty.
I
don't
mean to be melodra
matic
or
suggest that flying is unsafe,
but
it is only
as
safe
as
the attitude
and
proficiency of the pilot. Federal laws,
regulations, inspections, and periodic
proficiency checks all work to assure
that
only
properly trained
and
cur
rently proficient pilots are granted cer
tificates (licenses) to
fly.
way from always using your pre-, dur
ing-,
and
post-flight checklists to fol
lowing the aphorism
"When
in doubt,
don't "
regardless
of
whether the
doubt relates to the
condition of
the
pilot,
the
plane, or
the environment.
A sign sometimes seen at
the
exits of
airport parking lots reads, Be careful,
you are
now
leaving the safety of fly-
ing." How true Flying is much safer
than driving, bicycling,
and
other rou
tine pursuits, according to statistics.
General
Aviation s
Broad Scope
General
aviation,
which includes
everything except airline
and
military
flying, has had
an
ever-improving
safety record over the
past
12 years.
General aviation includes such diverse
commercial flying activities as corpo
rate transportation, crop dusting, fish
scouting, pipeline inspection, ban
ner tOWing, flight instruction, char
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
31/44
The
Technical Versus Aesthetic
Appeals
of
Flying
As you might surmise, one of the
great challenge-appeals of flying
is
its
all-consuming
involvement and
test
ing of one s physical, intellectual,
and
emotional qualities. One must develop
and apply
these
qualities
with
disci
pline, balance,
and
grace
to the three
outside-the-self entities:
the
aircraft,
the physical environment,
and the
sit
uation at hand.
If all this sounds ordered and techni
cal,
don t
be misled, because the other
great appeal of flying
is
the almost over
whelming sense of freedom and beauty
it bestows sometimes bordering
on
the spiritual or mystic. There have been
times, when flying alone, that I have lit
erally burst into song-so moved and in
spired was I to
be
as free as the proverbial
bird, soaring in the heavens far removed
from earthly restraints and obstacles.
It is difficult to describe the elation
and awe one feels while flying in
an
azure sky, as the red-orange sun is ris
ing over the hills and valleys filled with
morning mists. Or to be able to see 100
miles in all directions on a crystal clear
day, from the white surf of the ocean
to the purple inland
mountain
ranges.
The beauty of flight transcends all other
aspects of flying.
Flying Teaches bout ute
inGeneral
There are also many benefits that
fly-
ing brings to one s life in general, apart
from the obvious quick and convenient
transportation and the kind of plea
sures already described. Flying teaches,
GET
TH SKILLS
TO
GET
IT
BUILT
AT EM SPORTAIR
WORKSHOPS
GET
YOUR HOMEBUILDING PROJECT OFF
THE
GROUND
BY SIGNING UP FOR
EAA'S SPORTAIR WORKSHOPS
DEC
1-3
DEC 2-3
JAN
2 -22
W
PAlM
BEACH,
Fl
•
Repa
i
rman
lSA) Inspection
-
Airplane
CORONA, CA
• RV s s e m b ~
WPAlM BEACH,
Fl
•
Repairman
ISA)
Inspection-Airplane
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to determine present position, one starts
by looking at the big picture-scanning
the distance first for prominent large
landmarks such as mountains, rivers, cit
ies,
etc. and relating these to the charts.
You
then narrow down position by look
ing at more specific detailed landmarks
such as highways, lakes, railroad tracks,
and
relating these to the chart. And fi-
nally, you narrow down position by re-
lating a quarry, outdoor movie, bridge,
racetrack, or road intersection to the
chart and pinpoint your position. Such
an
approach of always starting with the
big picture and then looking to the de
tails
is
a sound one for handling any sit
uation one encounters in life. Otherwise,
we fall into the dilemma of not seeing
the forest for the trees.
On the other hand, one must
not
ig-
nore the details.
f
you're flying at night
on
a course where there
is
a 4,000-foot
mountain,
and
you let your altitude
drift down to 3,900 feet because of in
attention or downdrafts, you might be
in for a rude awakening (or in this case,
the opposite of awakening). Closely al
lied to the principle of being attuned to
one's environment (position) is the cor
ollary of seeing what
is
there,
not
seeing
what you want to be there. It's common
for student pilots to get lost when flying
cross-country for the first time because
they have a preconceived idea of where
they should be. They will strain to find
on
the
ground the radio tower or lake
that their flight course line on the chart
says should be there. It may
not
be there
because the plane
has
veered far off
course or is either ahead or behind es-
timated position because of winds that
have changed or were incorrectly esti
gasoline in the clear plastic sampling
container. In this instance there was no
globule; just clear liquid, presumably
gasoline. But upon closer inspection, I
found that 98 percent of the clear liquid
was water with only a small surface layer
of gasoline That was not
what
I was ex
pecting,
and
I almost overlooked it.
f
I
had concluded from that non-globule
sample that the gasoline was not con
taminated and taken off,
chances
are
that amount of water in the fuel would
have caused the engine to quit at a criti
cal time during takeoff.
So,
we
don t
ig-
nore the details and make sure we see
what is really there rather than what we
expect or want to be there.
The
ocial
spects
of
Flying
In addition to the personal challenge
and gratification
one
gets from
the
act of flying,
there
are also social
and
cultural benefits.
The
most pervasive
of these is
the
camaraderie that exists
among pilots ..an almost mystical bond
that pilot-author Ernest
Gann
chose
as
the theme for his novel
Band Broth-
ers
This camaraderie manifests itself in
many ways on a social level, from mem
bership and
activity in various flying
organizations to participation in fly-ins,
safety seminars, community flying proj
ects, and just plain hangar flying, where
pilots get together informally to tell tall
tales and discuss airplanes and airman
ship for hours on end.
Foremost
among
these social activi
ties is Oshkosh,
the
cryptic description
of the world's largest flying event: the
Experimental Aircraft Association's an
nual international aviation convention
and fly-in, held at Oshkosh, Wiscon
Similar but smaller fly-ins are held
throughout the United States during
the other times of the year. During the
social flying season from roughly April
through October, the flying enthusi
ast can attend a fly-in or other aviation
event within reasonable distance almost
every weekend. A pilot's range of inter
ests includes not only the pleasure of
aerial solitude but also the fun of social
izing with the band of brothers
and
sis-
ters. And, interestingly enough, one of a
pilot's greatest pleasures
is
to introduce
or share the love of flying with non-fli
ers.
Few
experiences rival that of seeing
the expressions of awe, wonder,
and
ela
tion on a youngster 's face during a first
flight. EAA s Young Eagles program has
given more than a million
and
a quar
ter flight experiences to youngsters the
world over, and more are added to the
world's largest logbook each day.
The Diverse
ppeal
of Flying
The focus
of my
flying interests
is
the golden
age
of
flying ...
the
period
of
the
1930s
through
the World War
II years. The romance of
the
era, as ex
emplified by
the
barnstormers, airmail
pilots,
racing
pilots, early
airline
pi
lots, and combat pilots is beyond com
parison. Perhaps it is because
the
pilot
(the
human
factor) was
predominant
as opposed
to
the technological. t also
strikes me
that the
aircraft of that era
were more diverse and were more works
of art and individuality than mechani
cal marvels or technical triumphs. This
is
a highly subjective and personal view
point and is in no way disparaging of
the high-tech aerospace and avionic de
velopments that are so ubiquitous in
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
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Norma
Joyce pictured
with her granddaughter
Mikaela
Ann Kamsch who
s now 5 years
old and
says she just loves flying.
NonnaJoyce
Greensboro, NC 27425
• President of AUA
Inc. since
1986
• Post
Treasurer
for EAA Chapter 8
in GSO, NC
• Vintage Chapter 3 Boord of
Directors and Secretory for 2007
AUA
Inc.
wishes
you
a
Joyful Holiday
Season
"
We
thank you for your support and loyalty.
In
2007,
we
look forward to
continue offering you the best insurance coverages, pricing, and service
through your Vintage Insurance Program."
-
Norma
oyce
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
34/44
H.G.
FRAUTSCHY AND BILL SCHLAPMAN
A
Drive
in
the Clouds The
Story
the
Aerocar
By Jake Schultz
The story of the Aerocar has been a long time coming, but
it's well worth the wait. Jake Schultz took literally years to
re-
search
nd
write this book, which was published this summer
by Flying Books International.
Schultz,
n
engineer with Boeing, had the good fortune to
become friends with
both
Molt and Lillian Neil Taylor, who
opened
up
their archive for research
into the
Aerocar proj
ects,
as
well
as m ny
other fascinating projects worked on by
Molt Taylor during his long
nd
prolific aviation career. The
book takes the time to
fill
in many of the details of Molt's life,
things that would all contribute to make the Aerocar, the IMP,
Coot, and other projects come to fruition. Taylor's creation of
the Aerocar was the closest we ever got to full-scale produc
tion of a road able vehicle, even when aerospace giants such
as
Convair got into the act. That
was
due in part to the incredible
dedication to the concept by Molt and Lillian,
who
did their
best to bring the Aerocar to life over most of their careers. Side
bars throughout the book highlight the personal involvement
of many others in the Aerocar projects throughout the years,
including personal remembrances by Carl Gladen, one of the
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ = = = ~ = ~ = ~ ~ = ~
Aerocar's early distributors
nd the
producer of
the
Aerocar
plastic model.
Also
detailed are the near-misses
as
Taylor did
his best to get the Aerocar into production, but a combination
of poor management
on
the part of one producer, along with
excessively high production cost estimates by others, kept the
Aerocar's production very limited.
There
is plenty
of
new
material here to enjoy,
nd
some
you'll shake your head at
as
you realize
th t but
for a
few
mis
guided individuals intent
on
making quick money, the
Aero-
car would have made it into prodUction,
nd
we'd be seeing
it
as
a vintage airplane, rather
th n n
interesting novelty.
Available
in
both softbound
nd
a limited edition of hard
back editions,
A
Drive in the l o u d s ~ T Story
the Aerocar
ISBN:
0-9725249-2-4)
is
available
through EAA nd other
aviation booksellers, including Historic Aviation
www.His-
Superfljte tM
System I
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SYSTEM
ffJI£ -
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L NES
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Since 1949
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8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Dec 2006
35/44
well
documented. A
few
surprises are in
the pages; for instance,
we
all know that
the PT series trainers were built in Wich
ita, but how many of us knew
that the
same company also built many of the
Cold War's Boeing
B-47
and
B-52
bomb
ers when it became a division of Boeing?
The book
is
also profusely illustrated
with
color photos in Appendix
A.
If
there is one section of the book I would
like to have seen done better, it's this,
because
the
color
photos
suffer from
poor quality control by the printer dur
ing
the
layout
and printing
process,
with a
number
of
them
marred by
an
excessive
amount of magenta
ink . In
addition to
the
color-photo section, a
handy set of reference drawings created
by Kenneth D. Wilson,
noted
drafts
man is published in Appendix E. It's
just what's needed for modelers and en
thusiasts of the
PT
series trainers.
Also
in
that
set are Peter Westburg's Stea
rman 4E drawings.
Hardbound, Stearman
Aircraft:
A De-
tailed
History (ISBN: 1-58007-087-6) is
available from EAA and other booksellers,
including the publisher, Specialty Press:
www
.Spe
cialtyPress.com or 800-895-4585.
Retail
price
is
$39.95 plus shipping.
The Untold Story ofLindbergh s
1927 1928 Good Will
Tours
By
Ev Cassagneres
Wow Ev Cassagneres'
companion
book to his
The
Untold
Story of the
Spirit
ofSt.
Louis
is
an equally impressive work,
the compilation of decades of research
begun back in the 1960s. Cassagneres
was fortunate to live in Connecticut
and
after
the
intercession
of
a mutual
friend, he and Lindbergh met in 1968,
host of South
American
countries
all
were visited by Lindbergh flying
the
Spirit. Organized and funded by the Dan
iel Guggenheim Fund, Lindbergh's avia
tion evangelical message was
brought
to cow towns
and
big cities with equal
enthusiasm. Lindbergh exhorted local
officials to invest in airports and the in
frastructure to boost
both
aviation and
the local economy.
Each of the tour stops
is
described in
detail, with nearly every stop also docu
mented by a photo or two. Cassagneres'
indefatigable work to gather this infor
mation took great dedication, and he has
patiently woven it into a quite readable
book that
is
both entertaining and infor
mative. Included in the book is a fold-out
map with all of the tour flights shown.
You can purchase an autographed
copy of The Untold Story of Lindbergh s
1927 1928
Good
Will
Tours
(ISBN:
1
57510-125-4) from its author by writing
to him at Ev Cassagneres, 420 Budding
Ridge Road, Cheshire, CT 06410. For
more
information
you
can
give
him
a call at 203-272-2127,
but
be advised
that he
cannot
accept credit cards. The
cost is
$29.95,
shipping within the
United States.
The
Pietenpol
Story
By
Chet Peek
Review by William
J.
Schlapman
Chet Peek's newest book The Pi-
etenpol
Story to my knowledge,
is
the
first and only book available
on
the life
of B.H. "Bernie" Pietenpol and the Pi
etenpol Air Camper. He's th e pioneer
developer of a very successful auto en
gine-powered homebuilder airplane.
Created during the Great Depression,
today.
As shown by
Chet,
another
en
abler for
the
amateur builder was basic
wood construction. Wood was used for
both cost and familiarity to the build
ers.
Chet
gives a firsthand
report
as
he
reveals his personal efforts
during
his curren t building of a Pietenpol Air
Camper,
which
includes
the
Model A
Ford engine. In fact, he interrupted his
project to write the book.
In the post-World War II era, new
generations of automobiles
were de
veloped and marketed. The Chevrolet
Corvair, powered by a
rear-mounted
air-cooled engine was
introduced
in
the late 1950s. Here again, Bernie recog
nized a special opportunity and in 1960
adapted the six-cylinder, air-cooled Cor
vair
engine
to
the
Air Camper-more
horsepower, less weight. Improved per
formance It's all detailed in the chapter
on
Corvair Power.
Air Campers were never sold as kit
planes in
the
currently accepted sense.
Kits
offered by Bernie were bundles of
selected woods in appropriate sizes and
specially modified parts for the Model A
engine conversion. Some builders make
convenience or comfort modifications,
but normally
they
stick closely
to the
time-proven plans.
There are active Pietenpol clubs or
groups that extend the pleasures of own
ing and flying Air Campers.
All
are cov
ered in the closing chapters. An annual
gathering at Brodhead, WisconSin-pre
ceding
EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh-is
particularly interesting.
In addition
to
The Pietenpol Story,
Chefs
books include
The Heath
Story,
Flying
With
40 Horses, The
First
Cub, Res-
urrection ofa Jenny,
The
Taylorcraft Story,
http:///reader/full/www.SpecialtyPress.comhttp:///reader/full/www.SpecialtyPress.comhttp:///reader/full/www.SpecialtyPress.comhttp:///reader/full/www.SpecialtyPress.comhttp:///reader/full/www.SpecialtyPress.comhttp:///reader/full/www.SpecialtyPress.com
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I was in a pilot briefing room, one
dark gray day,
getting
the
weather
from
the WSI
station
when I over
heard the following conversation be
tween
an
elderly
gentleman and
a
young
man who appeared to be in
his 20s.
The
gray-haired fellow was
saying: " . . but what
about
best loi
ter
speed?
Wouldn
' t we want to use
that speed in a glide,
once
we had
our landing site below us?"
The young man replied: "No There
is
only
one speed to use once
the
en
gine has failed, and
that
is the best
glide speed
as
published in the POH .
That glide speed
is
also known
as the
best lift over drag (LID) speed . t is
that
speed alone that will give you
the
best glide performance because
that
is
where the two curves for para
site drag
and
induced drag intersect."
I was eager to hear
the
response
to
that.
Whereas
the term best loiter
speed" was a
new one to
me, I cer
tainly was well familiar with
the
term
Y DOUG
STEW RT
est glide
their animated discussion, I
noticed
that
the
younger
man was wearing a
shirt identifying
him as
an instructor
with
the local flight
school.
I must
admit
that
I was
taken
aback. I
had
surely thought
the
elderly gentleman
was
the
instructor who was trying
to lead his client, through a Socratic
method, to a better understanding of
the
subtleties of what to do when the
engine quits
and the
airplane
sud
denly turns into a glider.
No
There
is only
one glide speed to
us
e,
and that is
,
as
I
said
,
the
be
st
speed as published
the
pilot's operating handbook
(PO
H)
for
the
aircraft. But for those of us
fly-
ing
older aircraft that
don't
have a
POH (and
might
not even have much
of
an
operator's handbook,
for
that
matter) a published source of this air
speed
might
not exist.
f that is the case, then using the best
rate of climb speed y) for your aircraft
as your best glide speed will certainly
have you close to your best
LID
speed.
We would most definitely use
this
airspeed
i f
the
engine
has ceased
to
function while we are
at
altitude
and
have some
distance
to cover as we
glide to a suitable landing site . t is
the
glide speed
that
will allow us to
maximize
the distance covered in a
glide. Let us also remember that even
if we have that speed published in a
POH or owner's
manual
,
that
speed,
as published, is determined for use
when at maximum gross weight.
Seeing
as how
too
many
of
the
en
gine
failures
that pilots experience
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the question the elderly gentleman
at
the start
of
this
article
had been
posing. If distance to cover is
no
lon
ger
an
issue, wouldn't
our
ability
to
maximize our
time in the
air, relative
to altitude, be of greatest concern?
G ider pilots are very conversan t
with this speed as they seek to maxi
mize their time in a thermal, and they
refer to it
as
minimum sink speed. Un
fortunately,
it is
a speed that
we
power
pilots will probably never see in
our
POHs. (At least I
have yet to
see
it
there.) A good way to approximate that
speed
is
to multiply
the
"clean" stall
speed V
S1
) by 1.2. This should afford
most pilots their best minimum sink
speed, maximizing their time aloft.
Let's
also
consider some of the
other things that we can do to max
imize (or
minimize,
if we find
our-
selves too high)
our
glide.
Certainly
our
configuration
will have a major
effect on glide
performance.
Flaps
(oops, I guess
that
leaves my Super
Cruiser
out) as well as
gear
i f you
have a retractable gear airplane) can
be used to
contro
l
our
descent rate.
Certainly
getting
dirty
will allow
us to descend much more rapidly, if
we find ourselves high. (In fact, my
Cardinal RG will rival a
grand piano
in its glide once
the
flaps are fully de
ployed and the gear is down.)
However, if we find ourselves get
ting low on our fin
al
approach