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8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
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8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
2/36
EDITORIAL STAFF
Publisher
Tom Pob e rezny
July1995 Vol.23,
No.7
CONTENTS
1 S
tr
aight
&
Level/
Espie
Butch
Joyce
2 AlCNews/
CompiledbyH.G.Frautschy
4 From theA rchiveslDennisParks
7
Pa
ssitto Buckl
Vi
ce
-
Pre sident
MarkeHngII
Commun
ica tions
Di
ck
Ma
tt
Editor"in"
Ch
ief
Jack
Cox
Editor
Henry G. Frautschy
Manag
i
ng
Editor
Go
ld
a
Cox
ArtDir
ector
MikeDru
cks
AssistantArtDirector
SaraA.O tto
Computer GraphicSpecialists
Ol ivia l. Phillip
Je
nniferLarsen
Adve
rtising
Mary Jones
Associate
Ed
itor
Norm
Pe
tersen
FeatureWriters
Geo
r
ge Hardi
e, Jr.
De nn is
Parks
StaffPhotographers
Jim Koe
pn i
c k MikeSteineke
C
arl Sc
huppe l
Do
nna Bushman
EditorialAssistant
I
sabe ll
eW
s
ke
EAA
ANTIQUE/
CLASSIC DIVISION
,
INC
_
OFFICERS
President
Voce-President
Espie 'Butch'Joyce
ArthurMorgan
P.O. Box 35584
W211 NII863
Hilnop
Dr.
Greensboro.NC27425
Germantown.
WI 53022
910/393-0344
414/628-2724
Secretory
Treasurer
SIe
veNesse
E.E.
'Buck'Hilbert
2009HighlandAve.
P.O. Box424
Al
be rt
Lea.
MN 56007
Union.IL 60 180
507/373-1
674
815/923-
45
91
DIRECTORS
John
Berendt
Robert C.
'Bob'
Brauer
7
645
Echo Poi
nt
Rd.
9345
S.Hoyne
C
an
non
Fa
lls. MN55009
Chicago.IL60620
507/263-2
41
4 312/779-2105
GeneChase
JohnS.Copeland
2159
Ca
rtt
on
Rd.
28-3
Williamsbur8Ct.
Oshkosh.WI
54904
Sh
rewsbu
ry.
MA
1545
414/231-5002
fiJ8/842-7867
PhilCoufson
George
Daubner
2841 5SpringbrookDr.
2448 Lo
ugh
Lone
Lawton.MI49065
Hartford.WI s:!IJ27
616/624-6490
414
/673-5885
ChOflesHarris
Stan
Gomoll
7215
East46thS .
1042 90th Lane.NE
Tu isa. OK
74
145
M i n n e a p o l ~ MN 55434
918/622-8400
612/7
84-1172
Dale
A.Gustafson
JeannieHll
7724
ShadyHill
Dr.
P.O.
Box
328
Indi
anapo
lis. IN
46278
Horvard .IL60033
317/293-4430
815/943-7205
RobeltUckteig
Robert D'Bob"Lu
mley
1
708
BayOaksDr.
1265
Sou
th
1241h St
.
AlbertLea .MN
56007
Brookfield.WI
53005
507/373-2922 414/782-2633
Ge
ne
Morris
GeorgeYork
IISC SIeveCourt.R.R. 2
181 SlobodaAv.
Roanoke.
TX 76262
Mansfield.
OH 44906
817/491-9110
419/529-4378
S.H.'Wes'Sch
mid
2359LefeberAvenue
Wauwatosa. WI
53213
414/771-1545
DIRECTOR
EMERITUS
S.J.
Wittman
1904-1995
ADVISORS
Joe Dickey
Ji
mmy
Rollison
55
OakeyAv. 640
Alamo Dr.
Lawrenceburg.IN 47025 Vacaville.CA 95688
812
/
537
-
9354
707/45l-{)411
DeanRichardson
Geoff Robison
6701 Colony
Dr.
1521
E.
MacGregor Dr.
Madisen.
WI
53717
New
Haven.
IN
46774
608/833-1291
219/493-4724
E.E.
Buck
H
il
bert
Page4
8
WhatOur Membersare Restorin
g!
NormPetersen
.
...
- --
-
lr ..zi:
----..
10
TypeClubNoteslNormPe tersen
2 NeopolitanFloat -
Caproni Ca.l001H.G.Frautschy
~
~ I
16
Frank Warren's
Thompson
Trophy
Paintings
Page12
18
ReplicaRacerslH.G.Frautschy
22
TemcoT-35 Buckaroo /
NormPetersen
25 WelcomeNewMembers
26 MysteryPlanelH.G.Frautschy
28
Calendar
29
VintageTrader
32 Antique/ClassicMerchandise
Page22
FRONT
COVER
DelmarBenjamin
and his
Gee BeeR-2SuperSportsterr
ep l
ica
hove been wowing airshowcrowds
and
airracing fonsfor thepast coupleof
years. Delmar ond master builder SteveWolf
of
Creswell.OR built the R-2.
which first flew in 1991. Look for th is and mony other ra
cer
replicas
at
E M
OSHKOSH
'95during
the 'GoIden Age
ofAirRacing"
celebration, EM
Photo
by
JimKoepnick. Shot
with 0
Canon EOS-l
equipped
with
on 8O-2ClJmm 12.8
lens. 1/500at
i l i on
KodakLumiere
100
film. Cessna210 photo
plane piloted
by
BruceMoore.
BACK COVER Aviation ortist Sam Lyons cap
tures the excitement
surroundingSpringfield.MA
ond the
Granville
Bros.
AircraftCo.withhis acrylic
painting en
titled
"G ee Bee Sportste rs :
24"xI8"
limited edition prints
are
available
of this
painting
-
con
tael S&VEnterprises.4600 KingsCrossingDr
.
Kennesaw.GA 30144.orcall1/800-544-4992.
Copyright
1995 bythe
EAA
Antique/Classic
Di
vision
Inc.
All rightsreserved.
VINTAGE
AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943)
is published and
owned
exclusively
by
the EM
An
tique/Classic
Division. Inc.
of
the Experimental
Aircraft Association and is published monthly
at
EMAviation
Center,
3000 Poberezny Rd.,
P.O.
Box 30
B6
Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086.
Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin
54901
and at additional mailingoffices. The membership rate for EM Antique/Classic
Division, Inc.s $27 .
00
for current EM
members
for 12
month
period of
which
$15.00 is for the publication
of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership
is open to
all
who
are interested
in
aviation.
POSTMASTER
:
Send
address changes
to EM Antique/Classic
Division, Inc
..
P.O.
Box
3086, Oshkosh,W54903-3086.
FORE
I
GN
AND APO
ADDRESSES
- Please allow
at least two
months
for
delivery
of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE
to
foreign
and
APO addresses
via suriace mail.
ADVERTISING
- Antique/Classic
Division
does not guarantee
or
endorse
any product
offered through the advertising.
We
invite
constructive
criticism
and welcome any
report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising
so
that corrective
measures
can betaken.
EDITORIAl
POLICY:Readers are encouraged to submit stories andphotographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the
authors
.Responsibility for accuracy in reporting
rests
entirely w ~ h
the
contributor.No
renumeration
is made.
Material should
be sent
to:
E d ~ o r
VINTAGE
AIRPLANE
,P.O.
Box 3086, Oshkosh,
WI
54903-3086.
Phone
414
426 4800.
The
words
EAA ,ULTRALIGHT,FLY WITH THE FI
RST
TEAM ,SPORT
AVIATION
and
the
logos of EAA ,EAA INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION,
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC
DIVISION ,
INTERNATIONAL
AEROBATIC
CLUB
,
WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are registered
trademarks.
THE
EM
SKY
SHOPPE
and
iogos
of
the
EM AVIATION FOUNDATION andEAA
ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION
are
trademarks
of the above associations and their use by
any person
other than the above association
is strictly
prohibited.
http:///reader/full/Chicago.ILhttp:///reader/full/Chicago.IL8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
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This will be
the last
issue
of
VIN-
AGE
AIRPLANE
you will see before
'95 Convention begins, and
a way it hardly seems fair
that
a com
has passed since the 994 Con
.
There are
a number
of
changes
have
occurred to the grounds this
year. The most noticeable addition
the construction of two new commer
display hangars. These buildings are
west
of
the new concrete taxiway
the heavies and military
aircraft
displayed . Don t fret
though
-
An-
Headquarters will still
be
in the same place as it has been
the past.
I encourage everyone to
by and visit with us and it's a good
ask friends to
gather
for the
Your
Headquarters (the Red
offers
the
following services this
new full line
of
Antique/Classic
that can be purchased
and if space s limited
return trip, shipment can be ar
This merchandise will also be in
year ro und for your
ordering
Through a new policy
this
year, we
have a list of aircraft that are for sale
different individuals located
on
the
grounds.
f
you see an air
the flight line
that
has the
An-
"For sale" sign, you will be
to come into the Red Barn , ask to
the
list and read
information about
f
you wish, you can come
the Red Barn and look at the
in
s
for sa le. f you have an
lan e to sell, we ask
that
you register
airplane for sale . Past
com
men ts
m members about the manner n which
airplanes have been offered for sale
To
make your stay more fun, we will
laminating
service available, as
the button machine to perform
special services that you may
want
At
this time, we are planning to
Pat Packard displaying and selling
STRAIGHT LEVEL
by spie
"Butch"
Joyce
some
of
his
artwork. Pat
is a
very tal-
ented artist and s responsible for a large
portion
of
the
art
and design work in the
EAA
Air Adventure Museum. Pat will
also be happy to talk to
you
about any
specia l
artwork
you might want done. I
plan on asking him to paint my Clipped
Wing Cub on the back of my leather
coat.
The
Red Barn will have a Steve
Wittman area that
I
think that you will
find of interest.
A popular effort appreciated by mem
bers in
the past
is
the information
desk
located on the front porch of the Red
Barn, staffed by
Jeannie Hill
and her
volunteers.
The Barn
sales
area
will be
ably staffed by Kate Morgan, Ruth Coul
son and their volunteers.
Because
of the
increased activities
at
Headquarters, additional volunteers will
be
needed
. Your help as a volunteer is
needed
and appreciated in all areas.
f
you can stop and give some of your time
at
the
volunteer
booth located
on
the
corner (out
in front
of
the
Red
Barn) it
will
make
your time spent at Oshkosh
more enjoyable.
Here
are your A/C EAA Convention
Chairman:
AlC Convention Management
Espie Butch Joyce 910/393-0344
Antique Awards
Dale Gustafson 317/293-4430
Classic Awards
George York 419/529-4378
Contemporary Awards
Dan
Knutson 608/592-3712
Construction and Maintenance
Stan Gomoll 612/784-1172
Data Processing
Janet Bennett 616/684-8813
Flight Line Operations
Art Morgan 414/628-2724
Flight Safety
Phil Coulson 616/624-6490
Fly-Out
Bob Lumley 414/782-2633
Forums
John Berendt 507/263-2414
Hall of Fame
Dean
Richardson 608/257-8801
AlC Headquarters
Kate Morgan 414/628-2724
Interview Circle
Charlie Harris 918/742-7311
Manpower
Gloria Beecroft 310/427-1880
Membership/Chapter Information
Bob Brauer 313/779-2105
OX-5 Pioneers
Bob Wallace 301/686-9242
Parade of Flight
Steve Nesse 507/377-1400
AlC Parking
George Daubner 414/673-5885
Participant Plaque
John Copeland 508/842-7867
AlC Picnic
Jeannie Hill 815/943-7205
Pioneer Video
Jeannie Hill 815/943-7205
AlC Press
Jeannie Hill 815/943-7205
Security
Geoff Robinson 219/493-3360
Type Club Headquarters
Joe and Julie Dickey 812/537-9354
Volunteer Host
Judi Wyrembeck 414/231-4100
AlC Workshop
George Meade 414/926-2428
AeroGram
Bill and Sara Marcy 303/798-6086
The telephone
numbers
listed
are
ei
ther the home number
or work
number
for
these individual
Chairmen,
should
you need to contact them for any reason
pertaining to the Convention.
We will have the new shower in place
on the south end
of
the flight line. There
have
been
a number
of
other improve-
ments made to the show plane and show
plane camping
parking area from air
show
center
to the south end
of
parking.
I feel I
should
point out
the
official
start date of the Convention s Thursday
July 27. Each year people continue
to
arrive earlier and earlier to get a choice
spot
- that s fine,
but members
who ar
rive early need to understand that all the
services expected from Convention per
sonnel do not go online until the official
opening day
of
the Convention. f you
wish to come early,
you
need
to
plan
your campsite accordingly.
The officers, directors, advisers,
chairmen and staff of the Antique/Clas
sic Division stand
ready to
assist you in
any
way
that
we
can,
so please
let
us
hear
your needs
and
suggestions.
Your
Division is
on the
go, so ask a friend
to
join up with us. Let s all pull together
for the good of
aviation. Join
us and
have it all
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1
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8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
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pilot Alexander Zuyev , Vi e tnam
ace
St
eve Richie,
av ia
tion
writer
Richard
Co
llins and many
ot
hers. New
exhib
its
wi
ll
includ e a tribute
to
W
omen
With
Wings, the new Pioneer Airport exhibit
and perhaps a few added surprises.
WITTM N H NG R PL NS
Over a year before the untimely passing
of Steve
and
Paula Wittman ,
plans
have
been
und erway to build a hangar at Pio
neer
Airport
which would
hou
se th e in
credible ar tifac t collection and aircraft of
the Wittman legacy. The EAA Aviation
Foundation is planning on enter ing th e
next phase
of
those plans with the ground
breaking ceremony scheduled
fo
r Tues
day , August 1, at 11:30 a .m. at Pioneer
Airport
, immedi
ate
ly following the cere
monies at the EAA Memoria l Wall. T he
plans
ca
ll
for a 60x60 foot hanga r in th e
style of
Steve's original hangar. Construc
tion and finishing of th e
han
gar would
take place over the fall and winte r, with
completion in time for the 1996 season at
Pioneer Airport . All interested individu
als a re welcom e to attend
the
gro
und
breaking on August 1, and memorial co
n-
tribution s are welcome . For more
information, contact the EAA Avi ation
Foundation
D
evelopment
D epartment ,
P.O. 3065, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3065.
BEECH 18 COCKPIT DISPLAY
The assistant museum director for the
Staggerwing Museum in Tullahoma, TN,
Bill McClure, has, through the generosity
of D
ave
Warr en of
Southwestern
Aero
Exchange in
Tu l sa, OK
,
ac q
ui re d
the
cockpit and nose section of a Navy Beech
18
. The museum hopes to se t the cockpit
up
fo r di spla y in co mplete as
po
ss ible
condition
and,
to that end, th ey nee d
some donor assistance.
They are
looking
for (but are not limited to) an instrument
panel , all main panel inst rum ents,
both
the pilot's and co-pilot' s
seats, cockpit
lighting floor boards,
and
panel placard
s.
The
plan
is
to involve the st udents in the
Aircraft M
aint
enance program at Middle
Tennessee State University in the
restoration
of
the cockpit,
and
will serve
as a focal
point
in th e incorporation of
the Twin Beech Association s first dis
play at the fi rst-class Staggerwing Mu
seum. Call Bill at 615/895-6836 if you can
provide any
help with
this worthwhile
project.
lC
MERCHANDISE
Be sure to stop by Antique
/C
lassic
Headquarters
(The Red Barn)
and
check
out the new line
of
A/C logo wear, as well
as
many new shirts and sweats with color
fu
l airplane motifs.
For
a preview
of
some
of
the merchandise ava ilable, see the An
tique/ Classic
advertisment
at the
end of
this month 's issue of Vintage Airplane
E ON THE AIR
THE GRE TEST
SHOW IN THE IR
IS
NOW ON THE IR
Did you know that over 27 million
people attended aviation events in
the U .S. last year? Did you know
that makes aviation the second most
popular in-person spectator sport in
the country?
It
shows once again
what many EAAers have understood
for
a long time: Fascination with
flight is something people share al
most universally.
We are pleased to announce one
of
the most ambitious programs to
meet the needs
of
that market ever
undertaken by our marketing and
communications department. On
July 15, at 12 noon EST, a one hour
monthly television series, dedicated
to covering all aspects of aviation
will
premier.
It will
be produced by
EA A
's Paul Harvey Audio/ Visual
Center.
The
production team
is headed
by Dick Matt, Executive Pro
ducerlDirector. Dick
is
also
EAA
's
Vice
President
of Marketing
and
Communications. WriterIProducer
Jon
Tennyson will write and associ
ate produce the series. Director
of
photography
is
Scott Guyette.
Other
team
members are
Tim
Kramer,
editor and Jay
Koepke,
camera mount specialist.
The show is titled Ultimate Flights
and it will appear on the cable sports
programming netwo
rk
, ESPN2. A
n
ew
ly produced one hour show will
follow in each succeeding month
(check your local listings for show
times). Ultimate Flights will follow a
video magazine format simi l
ar
to
many popular news shows. Regular
departments or columns will be
augmented by fascinating features
from all around
the
world
of
avia
tion.
We' ll keep you posted
on
pro
gramming plans for Ultimate Flights
here in the pages of
VINTAGE
AIRPLANE. The premier show
will
feature stories of aerobatic champi
ons; a physically challenged aviator;
women
in
aviation; Steve Wittman's
last interview; a fascinating Young
Eagle youth feature on the most re
cent
activities of Father Goose,
Bill Lishman, the man who trained
wild geese to
fly
in formation with
his
Ultralight; a What's Up current
f-
fairs segment hosted by
EAA
presi
dent Tom Poberezny; coverage of air
racing and other activities from the
Sun 'n Fun
EAA
Fly-In Convention;
a segment on legendary homebuilder
Ray Stits and more.
On-going contributors to the
show, in addition to Tom Poberezny,
will be international aerobatic cham
pion
Patty
Wagstaff, who hosts
Women in Aviation ; John and
Martha King
of
King Schools who
will present Let's
Go
Flying, a seg-
ment designed to teach viewers the
basics
of
aerodynamics
and
flying;
Sean D. Tucker, one of the true su
perstars
of
the airshow circuit, who
will present a monthly feature enti
tled Sky Dancing and Ken Toson,
the young star of the Young Ea
gles motion picture, who will host a
youth in
aviation
segment
called
Young Eagles.
Ultimate Flights will represent far
more than an entertaining hour.
t
will be intended as a forum
of
infor
mation exchange for all who are in
terested in the fascinating world of
flight. From Warbirds to Ultralights;
from hang gliders to tactical je t
s;
from those who have only dreamed
of
piloting a plane to the most cele
brated pilots
in
the world; it's our in
tention to cover it
all.
In a very real sense this show be
lo ngs to all EAA members .
Tell
your friends about it. f you like it,
support the advertisers. Write a let
ter to ESPN complimenting
them
for recognizing the size and impor
tance of the aviation
interested
community
...
and
don 't
forget
us.
Write us here
in
Oshkosh and l
et us
know what you think.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE
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FROM THE RCHIVES ...
The Israel Redhead Racer
Thanks to
the
efforts of
John
Beetham,
EAA
Treasurer, the
EAA photo archives
was
loaned
an
album
of
air racing photos belong-
ing to
the
family
ofHoward Lyon.
The photos
taken by Mr.
Lyon are mainly of
golden
age
air
racers .
Of
special interest
are the photos
of
Gordon
Israel's
Menasco powered racer,
the
Redhead. Mr. Lyon
had
attended
the
Von Hoffman
Aircraft
School
in St.
Louis,
where
Gordon Israel was
a welding instruc
tor. Later,
Lyon
would help Israel
in
the con-
struction
of
the Redhead
racer.
Gordon Israel
not only
designed and
constructed his own racer the "Red
head"
but
also contributed to more
fa
mous
Howard Racers; "Pete,"
Ike,
"Mike" and "Mister Mulligan." Along
with Benny Howard he co-piloted
Mis-
ter Mulligan to
a
win in the
1935
Ben
dix Race.
4 JULY 995
by
Dennis Parks
GORDON ISRAEL
Gordon Israel, from Clayton, MO re
ceived his first airplane ride in 1922 in the
Jenny
of
a friend . From 1928 to 1930, he
worked as an instructor at the Von Hoff
man School which folded up in 1930. Is
rael
was then approached by Benny
Howard, who wanted his assistance in de
signing and building a Wright-Gypsy pow
ered racer.
The
airplane became know to
the racing world as
"Pete." At
the time,
Benny Howard was flying mail between
St. Louis and Omaha via Kansas City.
The racer was constructed in a
hangar at
Lambert
field that had
been
vacated by
the
Von Hoffman
School,
which came
complete with full welding equipment.
In its debut at Chicago, during Sep
tember of
1930,
Pete
won five firsts and
two
thirds out of seven
starts Quite a
demonstration
of
the Howard-Israel the
ory
of
design. Israel would also go on to
help design and build
the
other
Howard
racers, Ike, "Mike" and "Mister Mulli
gan. Israel would co-pilot Mister Mulli
gan to victory
in
the 1935 Bendix race. In
1932 Gordon Israel would design and
build his own Menasco
powered
racer,
the "Redhead." During his professional
career, Israel would remain active in the
aircraft industry, working for such compa
nies
as
Curtiss-Robertson, Buhl, Stinson,
Howard, Grumman and Lear Jet.
REDHEAD
The
Redhead design was conceived in
January
1932. Design and construction
would continue through July when it was
ready to fly. It followed the same design
principles as the previous single-seat
Howard racers, using a steel tube fuselage
and wooden
wings. However the Red
head had plywood instead
of
fabric cov
ered
wings . The Israel design was
also
unique in the use of the inverted gull
wing. Redhead was powered by a super
charged Menasco Buccaneer C-6S six
cylinder in-line engine of 544 cubic inches
rated at
230 hp. Though a faster machine
than Mike or Ike, the
Redhead
was
plagued by engine problems throughout
most
of
its career. However, its first prob
lem was on the first flight, when the test
pilot cracked it up on landing. The air
craft and engine and had to be rebuilt. A
new pilot
was also
needed
and
Israel
found Lou Bowen, an American Airlines
pilot, to
fly
the airplane.
RACES
1932: The Redhead's first racing ap
pearance was at the National Air Races at
Cleveland
in
September
1932
where it
was entered as
the "Gordon Israel
Spe
cial. Israel had high hopes for the ma
chine as it was the only supercharged
Menasco entered.
It
did well at the start,
with Bowen well out in front by the sec
ond
lap,
but the front bearing
on
the
Menasco started
seizing
and the revs
started dropping off. This happened in
every race and Israel came back from
Cleveland
without
earning a penny. A
disappointed Gordon Israel sent the en
gine back to Menasco to have the main
bearing rebored.
1933: Los Angeles - At the Nationals
in July, with Gordon
Israel at
the con
trols, the Redhead fared much better than
in 1932. Israel finished third three times
in the 550 cubic inch events, and fifth in
the 1,000 cubic inch event. For his efforts,
Israel earned 250.
1933: Chicago - At the International
races in September, Israel flew Redhead.
He
placed second twice and third once in
the
550
cubic inch events, which gave him
a
second overall standing
,
earning
him
$225. Roy Minor in the Howard
Ike"
won each
of
the events. Israel ran 197.73
mph in his third event which would have
been fast enough to have won the first two
events, but Minor won at 201.8 mph.
1934: The Redhead" appeared at the
Omaha races in August.
Israel
won the
50 mile free-for-all at a speed of 197.3
mph
.
Unfortunately,
he damaged
the
ship very
badly
when he
hit
a
bump
on
the field on landing
after
victory in the
race. From all that we've
been
able to
find, this was the last time Israel raced the
Redhead.
1935:
In 1935
Gordon Israel
joined
with
Benny Howard
in
piloting the
Howard "Mister Mulligan to victory in
the Bendix cross country race from Los
Angeles to Cleveland.
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
7/36
bove) This head-on view shows the inverted gull
used by
Israel to reduce the
fuselage intersection drag t the side of the
fuse-
the airfoil had
9
symmetrical section set zero
of
incidence to prevent any airflow separation at
of the center section and the fuselage .
The
short wing of the Redhead had many ribs
strength, along with four compression bays. There
ars to be one piece laminated leading and trail
The elliptical plan form was se
in order to reduce the cord at the side of the
elage. Unfortunately, the airplane had miserable
all characteristics and would snap-roll if one tried to
t on landing.
Above) The engine was Menasco supercharged
5
cubic inch
six-cylinder engine. The fuselage below) was of welded steel tub
ing, the turtle deck
plywood
covered. The center section where
the wing panels were attached was heat treated.
VINT GE
IRPL NE 5
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
8/36
(Right)
The
Israel Redhead, like the
Howard single-seat racers, was con
structed very robustly. Howard and
Israel were
extremely conscious
about
incorporating enough struc
tural strength. The Redhead and the
Howard racers were stressed to
9G
limit. They were as
strong
as
the
Army pursuit planes flying at
the
time. Israel believed he had enough
concerns about keeping the hopped
up Menasco engines running without
worrying about the airplane coming
apart.
(Left) Because of the miserable low
speed handling
of
the Redhead, when
Israel flew it at the Los Angles races
in
933
he made only wheel landings
to keep from rolling the racer up in
ball.
In
the two months between the
Nationals in
LA
and the Internation
als in Chicago, Israel took the air
plane back to St. Louis and put new
center section on it, greatly improv
ing
the
airplane s handling at
low
speeds.
(Above) After Ben Howard and Gordon Israel produced Pete, and prior to construction ofMike and Ike Israel began work on
his own racer. t was largely completed by the time the Howard racers were begun. Work on the Redhead apparently
stopped while the two new Howard racers were completed. Israel s airplane was completed
in
the summer of
932
after
Ike
and Mike took to the
air.
6 JULY 995
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
9/36
by
Buck Hilbert
EAA 21
le
5
P O
Box 4 4
Union,
IL
6 18
I'm having a bad
day
I just came
from a
trip
to purchase another
of stamps.
The
Post
Office
is
be
a
major
investment for me. I
more money
down
there
paying
I
to people, parts I mail, and things
get that have postage due
than
I care
think about.
BUT I
gotta
start thinking about
t
is especially difficult to accept
I spend severa l h
ours
each
day
at my typewriter answering letters
trying
to
help people. I feel a need
answer
eac
h and every l
etter
I get. I
enjoy
the sense of accomplish
I
get whenever
I
am
able
to
help
ev e
n
those who
are not yet
ers
of our Antique/Classic Divi
n.
What bothers me is that often, and I
often than
not
, I never
hear
from
the
very people who I try
to
. I send specifications, manuals , in
recommendations , refe r
and in
general do
everything I
to
help
our
members.
Once in a
I even have
to
give advice to
the
you
know
type
- " I
really
like
this
airplane
do
I find
just
the one
that's right
me?") .
I ask
them
to share with
their
fellow
and Division
members
when they
especially interesting project,
or
good idea. I meet
and
see
people
all
the time,
who have
restorations and great ideas
.
In
I often get a deluge of answers
help when I
have
a
question
or
that I need
advice
to
solve
.
it is
frustrating when
I don't
hear
from those who I have sent mate
to
- I
have
no
way
of
knowing
if
or
if they thought I
blowing
smoke. Feedback
is im
P SSd
hBUCK
I'm sure many of you
notice
that I
sign
off my column and letters with
"
Over
to
You."
Sure,
it's
an obvious
reference to
our
aviation
radio phrase
ology, but it much more than
that
When I write you
and
sign
off
with
"Ove
r
to
You," it means I 'd like and
need
a reply.
How do
I
know
I
didn't
say or do
something that displeased
you? C'mon
guys
and
ga
ls, we have a
forum here with the
EAA
Antique/Classic Division's Vintage
Airplane
that
can serve
everyone of
its
members. H.G. and I need your help
and your input, and we need feedback
so we stay on track.
A
good exampl
e
are
my
comments
on
the
Aviation Rul
es
Advisory Com
mitte
e in a r
ece
nt issue. I asked for in
put
on how you wanted to handle th e
revision
of
FAR parts
91
and 43 as per
tains to
Owner/
Pilot
maintenanc e. I
explained that
th
ese
rul
es had been
in
ef
fect since 1938 and they could stand
some changing to m
ee
t today 's needs.
Care to hazard a
guess as
to how
many pe
ople
I heard from?
Believe
it
or
not, less
than
ten
That
's
ten out of
nearly 10 ,000 members out there who
took th
e
time to express their opinion.
I know there is a silent majority out
there.
I
certainly know
it can
be
diffi
cult to
set your mind to
it
and
actually
get with
it.
But
gee whiz, gang, we
have until May
of
'96 to set in place re
vised rules
that
could make it easier for
us to own and
maintain our airplanes.
Isn't that
some
incentive? Paul
Poberezny
can't do it all
alone
-
nei
ther can the other alphabet aviation or
ganizations
or
type clubs. All
of them
need
member participation,
and
they
need it
on
a
frequent
basis.
This
month's
column
isn't
meant
a
to be sour grapes or
browbeating
- it's
your wake up call and rallying cry.
Re
member,
as volunteers we
can't do
your bidding unless you make your
views
known.
Write them
down
and
send them back, and
it
you need more
information before
you can form an
opinion, then all
you
have
to
do is ask.
It's why we are all here.
ll is
not
gloom
and
doom - here's a
humorous note H.G. and I received a cou-
ple of weeks ago . . .
Dear Buck,
Could you po ssibly send me a copy
of your April "Pa ss it
to
Buck" in Vin
tage Airplane? My husband was inter
es
t
ed
in
your
di sc
ussion
of
th
e
engine
hour recorder that didn ' t
require an
elec tric or mec hanical
driv
e. (I didn 't
know that and
gave
the magazine to
the recycler.)
I
hope
you'll be
able to
se nd this
to
me and restore our domestic tranquil
ity.
Enclosed
is $5 .00 which I hope will
cover
your expenses
and a self-ad
dressed , stamped envelope.
Thank you,
Maskao Smith
EAA87167
A/
C4467
W e were able to sen d another copy
of
the April issue to Masako s her husband
could order a
Running
Time Meter for
his airplane We were pleased
to
hear that
everything
worked out fine.
Now
ifwe
can get Masako to hang onto her Vintage
Airplane a few months longer before send-
ing them to the (shudder at the thought)
recycler . . .
Over to
you
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
10/36
WHAT OUR
MEMBERS RE
RESTORING
by Norm
Petersen
These photos
of
a Piper
PAolI
Cub
Special, N4790M,
S N
11-439, were sent
in by longtime
EAAer, Joe
Gibson
(EAA
6748, A C 16190) of
Caroline,
WI, who
restored the airplane over
a
period of four years. The "basket case"
Cub
was
purchased from Lowell
Stephani (EAA
148825) of Black
Creek, WI, who had started the restora
tion.
The airplane came with a Ly
coming
0-235
engine
of
115 hp
and
a
set of Federal A WB-1500 wheel/ skis.
Joe Gibson s Piper PA ll Cub Special
Joe advertised the A WB-1500's for sale
and the telephone almost jumped off
the
wall
(Apparently the demand
ex
ceeds the supply ) New wing leading
and trailing edges were installed along
with an 18-gal. tank in each wing.
The
entire
airplane was covered with the
7600 Process and
butyrate
dope done
up in the original
Piper
paint scheme.
The majored
Lycoming
is
full electric
with landing light, nav lights, intercom
and all the goodies . A new cowl was
fabricated to go along with the original
nose bowl. Original 8:00 X 4 tires, tubes
and brakes are retained along
with
a
Maule
tailwheel. A complete
set
of
new sealed struts from Univair was in
stalled on final assembly.
Joe
reports
the
PAolI is a joy to fly and really per
forms
with
a
strong
engine and metal
prop. The pretty blue and yellow PA
has recently
been
sold to Johnny
Johnson of
Pound, WI. and
Joe is
now
busy with a
Piper
PA-17 Vagabond.
Tony Morozowsky s a
ird
LC lB
The bare airframe of a 1928 Laird LC-IB, NC5793,
S N
161 , is pictured in the
bright sunshine
at
Zanesville, Ohio. Sent in by owner , Tony Moro
zowsky
(EAA
246668, A C 15283) of Zanesville, Ohio,
the Laird is slowly being restored to flying condition
and will be powered y a Wright J-5 engine, its original
powerplant. Note the many crossed wires used in
the
fuselage truss, a Matty Laird trademark. Visible also
is
the push-pull
tube to the
elevator and
the
slave
struts between
the
upper
and lower ailerons.
(Hey
Tony, those
wheels
are going to be awful rough on
takeoff. Would suggest locating some with a wee bit 0 '
rubber on them ) Tony 's entire family is heavily in
volved with airplanes and they have enough projects to
keep them out of mischief for years to come.
8 JULY 995
1955 Cessna 180
This photo of a 1955 Cessna 180, N3180D, S N
31978, was taken
at
Gallatin Airport, Bozeman ,
MT,
where
the pretty
airplane
is based . Owners
Alan Dvain and Steve Kleimer , both residents
of
Bozeman, were busy polishing the aluminum on
the classic Cessna as I happened by. Present plans
are to fly the 180 to
EAA
Oshkosh ' 95, so
many
more
folks will have a
chance to
view
the pretty
bird.
For
many years, the Cessna 180 was owned
by the
Nash Bros. at
Redstone,
MT,
in the far
northeast corner
of
Montana.
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
11/36
Sidney Heidersdorf s
Piper J-SA Cub Cruiser
This very pretty
1940
Piper J-5A
Cub Cruiser, N31038, SIN 5-304, is the
proud
possession of Sidney Heide rs
dorf
(EAA
375615)
of Juneau
, Alaska.
This entirely original J-5A sports an
original paint scheme of yellow with a
fish
hook arrow, open
cowling
around
the cylinders of the Continen
tal A-75
engine (complete
with
cast
aluminum valve covers) and propeller
spinner
that flows into the lip
on
the
front of the cowl.
The
metal Sensenich prop
is one of
the very few changes from the original
1940 wooden propeller.
Note
the
original 8:00 X 4 tires , tubes and
brakes. This artistic photo was sent in
by
noted
aviation
photographer, Roy
Cagle (EAA 15401,
A C
1691) , for ton for many years before moving
to
merly of Juneau , AK, and
now
of Alaska, is
one
of 375 J-5A
Piper Cub
Prescott, Arkansas. Sid's J-5A , which Cruisers remaining on the FAA regis
bounced
around
the
state of
Washing-
ter.
.
John Mark s Grumman Mallard
Framed in the left hand window of Bob Redner's
Republic Seabee
is
the beautiful 1947 Grumman
Mallard , N1888T,
S N
131, being flown by owner ,
John Mark (EAA 9866, A C 8935) of Oshkosh, WI.
Pictured over
Lake
Winnebago near Oshkosh, the
pretty much stock Mallard has P W R-1340 en
gines and
is
kept
in
immaculate condition. While
enjoying a ride with Bob and Kimberly Redner
in
their award-winning Seabee, John Mark formed up
on us while over the lake. I leaned across Bob 's lap
and took the picture out the left window. We could
plainly see John Mark ' s big grin on his face as he
pulled along
side
with the pretty Grumman, his
right hand on the
overhead
throttles. Thirty-two
Grumman G-73 Mallard's remain on the FAA reg
istry today.
Douglas Solberg s Noorduyn Norseman
These
photos of a civilianized 1943 No
orduyn Norseman
UC-64A, NC55555 , S N
228, were
sent
in by
veteran photographer,
Roy Cagle, now
of Prescott
, Arkansas.
The
especially rare (on wheels) Norseman was the
pride and joy of Doug Solberg for ma
ny
years
at Juneau, AK where these photos were taken.
Powered
with a 600 hp Pratt
Whitney
R
1340 engine pulling a big
three-bladed pro
peller,
the Norseman
could haul a huge load
on wheels - up to 3400 Ibs. - and over a ton on floats.
Built in Canada in substantial numbers (over 700),
only about 50 of the big, fabric-covered machines
remain in service
today
. This
particular Norseman
is now in a museum in Fairbanks, AK.
Note: The
Norseman
Floatplane Festival
will
be
held
at Red
Lake,
Ontario,
Canada
,
on
July
14 -
16,1995,
and up to 18
Norsemen (?)
on floats
are
expected.)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
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12/36
Type
Club
The Funk Flyer mance and reliability provided by adding
NOTES
by Norm
Petersen
Compiled
from v rious
type club
public tions & newsletters
Ruth Ebey editor
nd
publisher
(619-466-1461)
A FunkL...Fly-ln?
by Bob
Richardson
My
young
non-aviation neighbor
asked me what I had planned for week
end activity
and
I told him I intended
to
go
to the Funk
Fly-In at Coffeyville,
Kansas. He looked askance at me
and
asked, What 's a fly-in? and
What's
a
Funk? t really takes some doing to ex
plain
to
an uninf
ormed
ground pounder,
but to describe the remarkable charms of
the Funk flying machine is even more dif
ficult. My friend did not seem impressed
with my
dual explanations, shook
his
head and went on about his business mut
tering something about to each his own,
etc.
After that exchange, I began to realize
that
there probably
were a few av iation
enthusiasts around who were not familiar
with the grand old Funk either.
Here is a little background: the design,
a
two-place
, side-by-side, high-wing
monoplane originated with Joe and
Howard Funk in the late '30s, with a few
airplanes built in
Akron, Ohio
, in 1939.
(The CAA Type certificate No 715 was
approved
on August
22 , 1939.)
These
ea rly airplanes were called
the
Model B
and sported
a
63 HP
Funk Model E200
E4L, inverted, liquid-cooled engine (con
verted automotive Model B Ford engine).
The
Funk airplane project was moved
to Coffeyville, Kansas, sometime
in
1941,
but soon
after
the demands of WWII
stymied
airplane production
and the
Funks turned to the manufacture of mili
tary par ts. The little monopl ane , how
ever, remained close to the hearts of
the
Funk broth ers, and
by 1945 th ey
were
ready to come back with a po stwar air
plane, the Model 8-85-C.
A
number of
refinements
had
been
made
to the
after
-war airplanes ,
but
the
big difference was the improved perfor
10 JULY 1995
the Continental C-85-12 (85 HP) engine.
The
Funk was typical of many airp lanes
of the
period
with fabric-covered wood
wings, steel tubular fuselage and conven
tionallanding
gear. Overall dimensions,
performance
figures and maximum
weights vary with model designations,
but , generally,
the
airp lan e has a
wingspan of 30 feet, was 20 feet lon
g
had
a gross weight of 1350 pounds and cruised
aro und 100 mph.
During those heady airplane building
days of
1946,
the sma ll Funk assembly
line
put out
two
airplanes
a day
and
had
an em p loyee force of over 100
people.
Things began to slow down in 1947, and
as every airplane man of the time will teU
you , things
came to
a
screeching halt
in
1948. The Funk brothers closed down the
airplane
business ,
regrouped, and
went
on to bigger and better things, but the lit
tle monoplane remained the sentimental
heart of Funk Manufacturing Corp.
The 8-85-C has been called a gentle
airplane ,
others have called
it solid,
most just say it's a good flying airplane
and as good as you can get with
85
horse
power.
Owners
will tell
you that
they
have never regretted taking a chance on
the little Funk
. The airplane was de
signed with the amateur pilot in mind.
Some
were used as trainers,
but the
ma
jority were valued as personal airplanes.
Over the years the stature of the little
two-seater has grown, and nowadays the
basic fifty-year-old design is very much in
demand by buyers and airplane collectors
around the country. Many of the remain
ing airplanes have been rebuilt and recov
ered several times , a few have been al
tered with
increased
horsepower , but
most remain very close to their original
configuration. Usually
they
conform
to
th e early factory
color
schemes
and are
either
blue with cream trim, red with
black trim,
or
yellow with blue trim .
The
C-85 models are mostly two-toned yellow
and maroon.
Funk airplane owners feel a special ca
maraderie and have banded together in
the Funk Owners Association, a type club
that conducts a national fly-in annually at
Coffeyville , Kansas, usually in the latter
part of August (or the latter part of July).
Everyone
is
welcome to these affairs, and
if
any are
curio us about this little
air
plane
, they should plane to attend
the
next Funk Fly-ln.
Ri
ght
now it is
hard to
pin
down the
exact number of Funk airplanes
of all
models sti
ll
flying,
or
how
many
were
originally built, but one thing is notewor
thy: everyone knows about a ll those
small postwar airplanes that were built in
Kansas, but at least 230 Funks were built
in Oklahoma - South Coffeyville, that
is.
(Ed. Note: 116 Funk aircraft remain on
the F U.S. register today.)
National Stinson Club's Plane Talk
Bill nd Debbie Snavely editors
High Cost of Maintenance
Your
maintenance bill depends on
how much hide your mechanic loses when
he is
inspecting
your
engine.
You
know
those pretty nylon safety wires you put on
your engine to hold things nea tly in place?
When you cut them with the side cutters
(dikes) or your
knif
e, they
leave
very
sharp edges and
get
sharper
as they get
older.
To
alleviate this problem ,
cut them
with your
sharp
knife right at
the
clasp.
Then run your finger over
the
edge to
make
sure you
got
all
the
sharpness off.
f
it is a little
sharp, running
a file
over
the edge will help (to dull the sharp edge).
Safety wire that is as sharp as any nee
dle needs some attention to also. Cutting
them with the side
cutters
(dikes) mak es
them very sharp.
File these edges smooth and then curl
the edge back to
the
existing wire to help
this
problem.
The
same can be
said for
those nasty little cotter keys. I have heard
horror stories
of mec hanics
getting
im
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
13/36
paled with these wires as they run their
hands
into tight engi
ne compartmen ts.
Usua
ll
y when
no
one is aro
und
to help
yo u out is when this wi
ll
happen . T he
only thing yo u ca n do is grit
your
teeth
and pull the wire back out the way it went
in. Very painful!
Blocked Exhaust
A note from a member sta tes
that
the
flame
tube burnt
out
and blocked the ex
hau st pipe on his Stinson 108-3. Wh en
this happens, you lose three cylinders on
that
side and about 400 rpm. Of course ,
this happened
when
th
ey
had full
tanks
and two friends in
the
back.
Mak
e sur e
that yo u ch
ec
k yo ur exhaust tubes on a
regular basis.
International Cessna 170
Association - The
170
News
Editor, Velvet Fackeldey (417-532-4847)
Rudder Cable Safety Check
Dick Klockner
Last month, as we touched down from
a flight , I heard a
soft
'
ping.
'
As
I was
wondering what the noi se was , the plane
began turning right. When I tried to co
r-
rect with left rudder,
nothin
g happen
ed
.
Then I tried left brake - nothing agai n.
By this time we were heading for the
woods lining both sides of our runway.
Since the plane wanted to go
ri
ght and
time was rapid ly running out, I decided to
try a ground loop. It worked and we spun
a ro und , just
missing
th e trees with o
ur
left wingtip.
Nothing lik e a n exciting landin g
to
wake a pilot up
A rudder cable had
broken. It broke
inside the las t compartment of the ta
il
cone. It is impossible to see in there and
the
corros
ion which was occurring went
undetected over a period
of
time by many
people - including my se
lf.
The rest
of
the
cable
was in fine shape, but
that
small
sect ion inside the cone and behind the
last bulkhead had actually rust
ed
in two.
Since
one
can ' t see in sid e
that
sec tion ,
I would suggest disconnecting the cables
and pulling th em
out
far e
nou
gh
to
in
spect th
em
. Don 't forget this
imp
ort ant
checkup!
National Ryan Club Newsletter
Bill Hodges, editor (501-268-2620)
Oil
Leaks at the Head to Cylinder
Mike Wilson, Technical Director
Check for oil at the h
ea
d gaskets, while
doing the preflight.
I f
oil
is
found coming
out
at
th e gasket,
have
yo
ur
m
ec
hanic
check the
torque of the nuts
; the engine
must be cool.
If
you are not ab le to have
a mechanic
do
it, you
can
do it yourself
for a temporary fix. I t may
not stop
all
the leaks ,
but
at l
east
the
head
will not
come off. A severe leak could damage the
head, cylinder, or piston and rings, due to
excessive heat.
Use a 6 to 8 inch end wrench
and start
to tighten
eac
h nut. There are a total of
16 nuts
(on
a Kinner radial cylinder
head), so tighten eve ry 3rd or 5th nut , just
a little , lik e 1I6th of a turn. This m
ea
ns
you will n
ee
d to go
around the
h
ea
d sev
era
l times. Every 3rd nut means 3 tim es
aro und to do a ll s tud s once . You may
need to go around the h
ead
several times
to
tighten all
th e
nuts
ju
st
a littl e at a
time. The r
eason
why we do it thi s way:
well, just take my word for it. Before you
star t to tighten the nuts, check to see if
some
of
the
st
uds show m
ore threads
be
yond the nut. This may be an indication
of st uds being pulled out of the head
or
stripped threads.
So if you just creep
up
on th e nuts a
littl e at a tim e ,
you will
be ab le
to
ge t
yo
ur
ship
back
home. Don' t
get carried
away, and u
se
a big long wrench , like 12
inches or more.
f
all
yo u have is a 12
incher,
then
hold your hand at the 6 in ch
position .
There are
many o th
er
things to
co n
sider when installing
a (cy
lind
er)
head . I always an nea l the gasket before
installation , also the surfaces mu
st
be
checked for
"t
rue."
More
next time.
From the "International
180/185 Club"
newsletter-
Johnny Miller, president (916-6722620)
Landing Techniques
The high
es
t pe rcent
age
of acci den ts
occ
ur
in the landin g
ph
ase of a flight
(37%). There have been a couple of good
ar ticl es in the past discussing three point
(full stall) landings. Club memb
ers
have
been doin g a good job kee pin g us in -
formed about aircraft maintenance info r-
CRACKS
mation,
but not much is said about
what
yo u
have
to
do
every
time
you fly i.e. ,
land the airplane.
From
the many pilots I've talked with
I have
over
300 180/185's in
sured),
most
say they use a
three
point (nose hi gh atti
tude) full stall technique for the majority
of their landings . They ind icated this is
the way they were taught. Set up the air
plane, pull power and flare a few feet
AGL,
hold
the
yo ke
back
until the air-
plane settles
on
the
runway
.
For
wheel
landings, carry a little extra speed and pin
it
on
the runwa
y.
Nothing could be fur
ther from the truth .
Neither
procedure is
the "best" way to do it.
I be lieve many of you
were
never ini
tially train ed
to
do wheel la ndings the
right way - I
wasn
' t .
Most
are
told you
only do wheel
land in gs in st
rong cross
winds. Some
are
afraid
of
them.
Except for soft field landings, I be lieve
a wheel landing is actua lly the preferred
way to land. It 's easy. I'll briefly discuss
why. Many
of
you know
of the
" MA F"
Missionary
Aviator
's
Fellowship
out
of
Re
dland
s, CA. For over 20 yea rs they
have bee n training th
ei
r pilots to fly
Cessna 180/185 s and 206's in countries all
over the wo r ld a nd
sti
ll have over 40
180/185's in service. Their training con
sists of hundreds of classroom and flight
hour
s with several training flights to Idaho
to
fly the
back co
untry . They
hav
e
in-
structors with over 10,000
hour
s
of
1801185
time alone. I know there are ot her train
ing
facilities , but for my
money,
these
guys are the real experts. They have to fly
these aircraft for a living in all conditions.
Obviously they had to develop, standard
ize and use procedures and techniques to
insure consistency and safety.
Guess what? They use the wheel land
ing 98% of
the
time, except on soft sur
faces.
Landings
depend on feeling, reaction
and response. You want
eac
h landing to
Continued on page 26)
E SNA
PART
#
041173 STRINGER ASSEMBLY
o
From the International Cessna 120/140 Association
Bill Rhoades, Editor and Maintenance Advisor
Roy L. Farris writes: I called you recently to ask if you had any exper ience with
cracked fuselage stringers, and you said
that
you had not.
You asked at the time if I would se
nd
a description of the repairs.
While trying to find a small
vibration
in my (Cessna) 140A, I found the upper
center stringer cracked over 60%
of
its width. It required removal
of
the windshield
and several instruments in order to
remove and buck
the rive ts which
were
neces
sary to replace it. We fabricated a new one, and used the old cast bracket which the
upper
center motor
mount bolts to . Replacing the stringer so lved the vibration
problem. Enclosed is a ske tch of the stringer and location of the crack. I think
these stringers should be checked at
ea
ch annual.
Thank
you, Roy L. Farris #3445
VINTAGE AIRPLANE
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
14/36
e polit n Float
by H.G. Frautschy
with information supplied by Gerolamo Gavazzi and
his
book Vintage Wings On
The
Lake
The
rem arkable restoration of
the last aproni Ca 1 still flying
Certain aspects of antique airplane en
thusiasts are universal, no matter where in
the world they live or what language they
speak. Gerolamo Gavazzi, IC 15849 of
Milan,
Italy
is
one of
us
who simply
couldn't bear
to
see
an
old
aerop
l
ane
crumble
into
dust.
His
passion
for the
Caproni Ca .100 runs
deep into
his soul.
Before WW II , Gerolamo's father was the
proud owner of a Ca.100, often referred to
as a Caproncino, and it was in this air
plane that as a young boy Gerolamo was
treated to an airplane ride. Later , he even
managed to
fly
I-ABOU on a semi-regular
basis after joining the Como
Aero
Club
in
1962.
His
ties
to the brigh
tly
colored
sesquiplane were steadfast.
When Gerolamo's father gave him that
ride after the War, the Ca.100
was al
ready
an
old airplane. The Italian Air
Force had replaced them in 1938 with the
Breda 25, a more complex training air
craft.
To those who enjoy the history of
various aircraft
of
the world,
the
Ca.100
might have a vaguely familiar look. An
Italian Ministry of Aviation request
in
1928 for proposals to build training air
craft
for the Italian
Royal Air
Force re
quired the
Caproni
factory to work fast,
so, in the interest
of
speed, they acquired
a license to build the DH.60 Cirrus Moth
from
DeHavilland.
The Caproni engi
neers made a few changes to the basic
DH
design - the landing gear was redesigned ,
with a pair
of oleo
strut
shock-absorbed
landing
gears, instead of
the
bungee
corded straight axle landing gear on the
DH.60. The vertical tail also underwent a
profile change,
but
the biggest change to
the DH
design
was a wing
revision.
A
number of
large Caproni bombers
has
used an inverted sesquiplane configura
tion, with the longer wing as the
bottom
surfaces, and the smaller wings mounted
above. The Ca.100 was given this
same
arrangement, resulting in an unusual look
ing
biplane
. By 1930
the
Ca.100 was in
production, and it continued to be made
until 1937. The in
li
ne
upright Co
lu
mbo
S.53 (four cylinder, 9 hp), S.63 (six cy lin
12 JULY 1995
der, 145 hp) and
95
hp, 7-cylinder radial
Fiat
A.50
engines
were used for
power,
with the 145 hp S.63 the favored engine.
Approximately
680 Ca.100
trainers
were built during the 1930's, and it proved
itself a very
capable trainer. Before
the
war began, it was thought that nearly 300
of the aeroplanes still existed, but the war
years
took
their toll on the survivors.
Many pre-war aircraft that served no mili
tary purpose were converted to scrap and
recycled, so few
private
aircraft survived
the second World War. After the War,
there were
15
Ca.l00's remaining, and
three of them were f10atplanes that would
come to operate at the Como
Aero
Club.
The
Como
Aero
Club has a long and
interesting history. Located on the shore
of
Lake
Como
in
the
city
of
Milan
, in
northern
Italy , it was
created
in 1930
to
serve as a base for local flight training as
part
of
a nationwide encouragement
of
aviation
by
the Italian government. It
opened
in
1932, and was officially inaugu
rated the next year with the arrival
of
the
Dornier
DO-X, the 12 engined
German
seaplane which stayed for 3 days.
A flying
club
was
established at the
Como water aerodrome, and was very ac
tive until the start of WW II, during which
each
and every aeroplane owned by the
club was destroyed. When the club was
started
again
in 1946-47,
the organizers
had
to
start
from
scratch
with an empty
hangar.
The empty cove
on lake Como in
northern
Italy began to hum again with
aeronautical
sounds, inc luding a Macchi
MB
308 (a high wing cabin airplane) and a
SeaBee. Amazingly, a Ca.100 was located
and purchased by the club.
The
first
of
three that would operate at the post-war
Como Aero Club was
as
registered
1-
ABOU.
Two more Ca.100's were
added
,
I-COMA
and I-DISC. All
three
were in
service and out of service at various times
and of the three only two survive, I-
DI
SC
and I
-ABOU.
I-DISC was grounded after
being damaged in a landing accident, and
was later restored for static display in the
Giocanni Caproni Museum
in Trento.
1-
AB OU continued to
fly
until 1968.
Macchi of Varese built SIN
3992
Caproni Ca.lOO during the late spring of
1932,
comp
l
eting
the
airframe
in
June.
Built
as
one of
36
seap
l
anes
assigned to
the Rome-Lido Aerobrigta operating as a
pri mary flight school, it operated
there
until 1938, when the school was closed and
the
airplane
was moved for a time to the
town of Desenzano, on Lake Garda.
It
remained
in
service as
a training
aeroplane
until 1940, when it was then
sold to a famous Ita lian powerboat racer,
Samuele Silvani.
The
airplane was flown
to Pavia
water Aerodrome. It
was regis
tered
as
I-ABOU and
kept there until
grounded by
the
hostilities. Fortune
smiled
on the
little
biplane
, for
it's
pur
chase
by a
private individual
just
as
the
War
was beginning would help ensure its
survival. Stored out of sight from both the
Axis and Allied military
,
the
airplane
would remain undisturbed
in
storage until
1947,
when
an
agreement
was made for
the Como Aero Club
to
purchase the
sesquiplane. The
Ca.l00
was flown to
Como in 1948 in less than airworthy con
dition, but it did arrive and delighted club
members began an extensive overhaul.
Along with the aeroplane came a spare
pair of floats.
I-ABOU
has never had a
wheel
landing
gear
, having always
been
mounted on a pair
of
wooden floats. Five
spare Columbo S.63 engines were bought
surplus from the Italian military.
After
it's first restoration, the Ca.100
flew until 1952, when a
landing accident
put
it
out of
commission until 1957,
and
then again,
it was damaged in 1963 and
had to be repaired. As a training airplane,
it is not surprising that the aeroplane had
some hard use , and by 1967, the basic air
frame and engine
bad
simply
begun to
wear out. It's airworthiness certificate ran
out
in 1967-68, and it steadi ly declined as
it
sat
in
the
back
of
the
Como
Aero
Club
hangar.
I-ABOU has
lost
it's
Airworthiness
Certificate because the engine was using
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
15/36
prodigious rate, and couldnt reach
rated power standards it needed to
inspection.
At some point after
it
s grounded, the Ca.100 was hauled out
hangar and an attempt was made to
the
engine and slide
her
down the
into the water. Before it could be
onto
the lake the Columbo
to a halt , seizing after having sat
long without proper care. The for
antique then sat in the humid lake air
quite some time, corroding and rot
At one point, a businessman from the
town of Brianza was allowed
to
Ca.100 outdoors
in
his garden,
the elements further attacked the air
.
By
the
mid-1980 s,
the airplane
was
in
the
hangar
at the
water
aero
985 proved to be a turning point
the history of I-ABOU. One day, as
sesquiplane was being moved in
hangar, one of the floats cracked open.
was obvious to all that
I-ABOU
had to
or
it would be lost to his
another photo in so
picture collections. The Aero Club
show some interest in
sesquiplane, and the Ca.100 was
to the water aerodrome . Per
it could be restored
to
its
former
. . .
Above) The Caproni
Ca.100
Caproncino captured over Lake
Como
in
northern Italy after its six
year long restoration. The sesqui
plane
is laid
out with the
shorter
wing on top, and
the
entire struc-
ture, including
the
floats, is wood
with metal fittings. The
Ca.1
OO s
basic design
grew
out
of
a licens
ing agreement with DeHavilland to
produce the DH.60 Cirrus Moth.
(Above, right) The instrument
panel has been restored to its original configuration, no
small task considering the rarity of pre-war instruments
in
modern Italy.
(Below) The 145 hp Columbo S.63 six-cylinder engine powered the majority of the
Ca.1OOs built.
VINTAGE
IRPL NE
3
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
16/36
The projected costs
were
extraordi
nary. Unlike the United States and other
countries around the world where antique
airplanes not only existed but
fl
ew in ap
preciable numbers, It aly simply does n
ot
have a
cac
he
of remaining
antique air
planes a nd spare parts to a llow the
restoratio n of a f leet of antiques, such as
we have here in the States. With that in
mind , it's not hard to imagine the kind
of
responses Gerolamo Gavazzi got when he
started asking potential sponsors if they
were interested in joining him in a restora
(Above) Gerolamo Gavazzi,
the
spark-
plug who
organized
the restoration
of
ABOU. Right) The official
rollout
cere-
mony
of
the
Ca.100
at the Como
Aero
Club
was dramatic, compete
with
an
unveiling of the old club aeroplane as
the restored
sesquiplane
was moved out
of the hangar.
14 JULY 1995
tion
of
the
Ca
.100. They loo k
ed
at him
with
disbelief.
R ebuild that?
To
Fly?
Sure
. .
.
The few sponsors who expressed a cer
tain am
ou
nt
of
faith that it cou ld be
done
wanted
to
impose their
own will on the
project. Friends were also asked to jo in in
the effort, but many simply said it couldn 't
be done. "Put in a modern engine, and
get a 'Special certificate
of
Airworthiness,'
an d add
some radios," were the
word s
most
often spo ken to Gerolamo when
he'd broach the idea to some of his friends.
Finally, it became clear that he was going
to have to go it alone, and orga nize the
restoration
of th e "Capr onc
ino
" on his
ow
n
T he end of th e year 1985, Gerolamo
Gavazzi had orga
ni
zed
"Ca
proncino Sri ,"
formed as an orga
ni
za tion specifica
ll
y to
restore th e I-A BQ U . A pr oposa l was
made to the Como Aero Cl ub, which they
acce
pt
ed, opening the road to restoration
for the old Caproni.
As
is
so
typica l the
world
over, the
restoration of
the
a irpl a ne depended
most on what was needed for the e ngi ne.
(Left)
Another
shot of
the
Ca.100
serenely flying past the Italian villas lin-
ing the shore of Lake Como.
H av ing bee n wo rn o ut a nd the n left to
th e e le me nt s s ur e ly mu st have a lm ost
com ple te ly r
uin
ed it. G e ro la mo fir st
went to each
of
the fl ying clubs th at still
existed wh o in the past had
op
erated the
Ca
.l00
, but none could help with parts
or
any other in fo rma ti on. It was a longs hot,
but how about the Ita
li
an milita
ry
? Since
th e a
irpl
ane had b
ee
n widely use d as a
military trainer before the war , pe rhaps
th e Aeronauti ca Milita re s till had som e
lo n g lo s t pa rt s th a t
could
aid in th e
restoration. Th e upper level Italian offi
cers who met with Gerolamo were int er
ested in helping, but they could not offer
any part s -
inquir
es by the
staff
came
back tim e
and
time again with negative
results .
The
parts simply
didn't
exist in
the normal channels of supply.
Networking can often have unex
pected results, and while conversing with
the
"
Grupo
Amici Velicoli Storici
"
(GA
VS), or the "Friends
of
Vintage Air
planes
Group ,
he was reminded that it
was possible that a few of the
aviation
trade schools had older engines that were
used as training aid
s.
A trip
to
R o me
co
n
firmed
th at the
Galilei In stitut e had a Co lumbo S.63 in
their collection , but the In sti
tu t
e's offi
cials were not thrilled with the prospect
of selling the eng
in
e. Gerolamo's
en t
hu
sias
m mu s t have
swayed
the men, for
they
did
agree
to check into
selling
the
e ngin e to him .
They
l
ater
came back
with the startling news that they
couldn't
se
ll
som
et
hing th
at
didn ' t belong to them
- it was on loa n from the Aeronautica
Militare
An excited Gerolamo Gavazzi went
right back to th e officers who had tried
to
he lp
him
on his
previous
visit.
They
were incredulous, a nd they agreed to
help. At a meeting with all three
of
the
protagonists in this litt le play, Gerolamo
agreed to
provide
the
In
stit
ut
e
with
a
suitab le e n
gine
for instruction , and the
Aerona
utica Militare would se ll him the
Co lumb
o
at auction
.
As
all
of the
bu
reaucratic wheels slowly turned (again,
some things ar e universal ) before the
deal was
consummated
, the engine was
sent to a museum,
where
the curator de
cided he
wanted
to
keep
the engine for
display Fortunately, the officers at the
Aeronautica
Militare
did not
want
to
break
a
promi
se (how refreshing ) and
so they prevail
ed , and the engine wa s
eventually
sold to Ge rolamo for use in
the Ca .lDO .
Anoth
e r en gine was eventually ob
tained from
a
wind machine through
a
surp
lus deale r in on e
of
the seediest sec
tions of Rom e . I t involved the convo
luted negotiations with a wily junk deal er
and tran
s
porting
the engine
home
in the
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1995
17/36
a
little
Fiat 131. For the full
, I strongly suggest obtaining a copy
Gavazzi's Vintage Wings
The Lake, a
hard cover
book pub
by
Gerolamo. Details are included
A C
News on page 3
Now he had three engines, and a luck
have it, he was able to
obtain
an
from the "Istituto Technico Malig
" in Udine. Engine
overhaul
could
original engine slated
overhaul, and a second engine to be
as
a spare.
The
remaining engines
be used for spare parts.
After
cleanup , the
parts
were in
, including
the
multiple-piece
pistons
were replaced
the cylinders cleaned up and chromed
to standard.
The
valve guides were
out , and new valves installed. Once
the first rebuild of the Columbo was
nting - it would not produce rated
and so
a
decision
was
made
to
the engine re-overhauled
by
a differ
shop. After another year, the engine
, and was made ready for
in the Ca.100.
The
airframe of the Ca .100 was
sur
sound , and mechanic Sergio
the restoration,
under
direction of
Felice
Gonalba,
found
which
is
built up entirely of
was in reasonably good condition.
tail surfaces were not nearly as
. Damage caused by careless move
in the hangar had banged
up
the
rudder and elevator, and coupled with
rot
from over 50 years
of
exposure and
use had ruined them beyond
repair.
A
new set was built up.
The
wings
didn't
need much
more
than minor rib
repairs
and cleaning up , with a careful inspec
tion
of the entire structure
. The wing
struts were
inspected and repaired, and
the
wooden float
that
had split
open
was
fixed,with
the
other float inspected
and
cleaned up.
The airframe
accessories, including
the fuel tank, canopy frame and oil cooler
took
a
bit more effort, and
all
of the
metal fittings were x-ray inspected, sand
blasted and pronounced fit for use.
The
instrument panel had been cob
bled
up over the years, and so an effort
was
made to return it to it 's previous
glory. A Pezzani model 2 compass, built
up from the parts of two units, is the cen
terpiece of the panel, and
other
instru
ments were found
in
the stores of the
Como water
aerodrome
hangar. A clock
was also built up from the remains of two
non-working clocks.
As the
restoration
progressed, parts
and
pieces from
other
Como warehouses were found , including
a float and other airframe
components.
A few
spare propellers
were
obtained
from the Caproni family, who had
taken
an interest in seeing
the
last Ca.100
take
to the skies again.
After a six year effort, the Caproni
Ca.100 was ready for its first flight, re
splendent in its new green, red and white
Italian military color scheme. Test pilot
Carlo Zorzoli, the
last
man to fly 1-
ABOU
in 1968, was given the honor in
1991 of flying
the
newly restored sesqui
plane from the
Como water
aerodrome.
The test flight was routine , and for the
first time in
23
years, a Ca.100 was flying
in Italian skies.
At the
conclusion of his
book,
Gerolamo's
comments regarding
his reason for passionately ensuring that
the Ca.100 was restored as it was, in orig
inal flying condition, were summed up as
follows:
Static restoration can,
of course,
be
done. While this too is auspicable (com
mendable), it lacks the romantic touch.
A
static
restored
plane is
a
piece
of his
tory,
but
it brings to mind dust, staleness
and
mold. However much it may
evoke
memories and emotions,
it is a ghost of
the past. But when
one
clambers into the
cockpit of a
plane
that flies , from it em
anates a fragrant mixture of oil,
grease
,
petrol, rubber and leather.
The
hotted engine and the drop of oil
on the floor are signs
of
life.
"When the engine is switched on, with
its
unmistakable throb, the vibrations
shudder, and the instruments spring into
action, the aircraft seems possessed of a
soul."
Against monumental odds,
Gerolamo
Gavazzi and his friends and partners have
breathed
life into a
part
of Italy's recent
history.
Our
congratulations of accom
plishing such an extraordinary task
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
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Roscoe Turner: Three Time WInner
of
the Thompson Trophy ...
Far
right) Roscoe Turner fuels his
racer, dubbed the "Pesco Special,"
during
preparations
for the Na-
tional Air Races in Cleveland during
1938. Roscoe won the race
that
year with a
283 42
mph average
speed. The last National Air Races
held before WW
I
took place Labor
Day weekend 1939 Roscoe re-
turned with the same racer
but
with
a
new
sponsor, Champion Spark
Plugs (right). When the sun se t on
the races at the end of the holiday
weekend, two momentous events
had occurred Roscoe Turner had
won
an unprecedented
third
Thompson Trophy race, and the
Germans had invaded Poland, set-
ting the stage for the second world
war. Roscoe announced his retire-
ment from air racing, and the world
knew that future peace was uncer-
tain until Nazi aggression could be
6 JULY 995
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1939
THOMPSON TROPHY
Painting
by
rank Warren
The
winners
29 Roscoe Turner LTR 14
Miss
Champion
282 54
mph
70 Tony LeVier Rider R 4
Schoenfeldt Firecracker
272 54
mph
2 Earl Ortman
Rider R3
Marcoux-Bromberg
Special 25444
mph
Others
in the race
52
Harry
Crosby Crosby
CR-4
4 Steve WIttman WIttman Bonzo
25 Joe Mackey Wedell Turner
5
Art Chester Chester
Goon
DNF Out
lap 18
out ofoil
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
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20/36
Jim Younkin
of
Fayetteville,
AR
has long
been bitten by
the racer
bug,
having
built up
repli
cas of two of the most famous racers of all
time. In
the
foreground
is the
replica
of
NR614K, the Travel Air Mystery S winner
of
the