Vintage Airplane - Mar 2006

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Mar 2006

1/44


2/44

ARC H

VOL. 34 , NO.3

2 6

ONTENTS

1

Straight and Level

by Geoff Robison

2 VAA News

4

Aeromail

6 A Silver Eag le

Part II - Hightlights of 1930

A

biography

of

E.

M.

Matty Laird

by Robert

G.

E

ll

io

tt

and

Ed Esca ll

on

2

Type Clubs to Oshkosh

Row after row after row

by Tim Fox

4 Din

nd

orf, Doolittle, & Their Stinson

Nearly lost to the ages, a historic airplane makes a comeback

by Budd Davisson

20 54 Days With

the Blue

Pho

enix

[s

it

an

end, or a begi

nni

ng?

by Gl

en

Scott

25 Pass I t to Bu ck

Here's the dri

ll

by Buck Hilbert

26 100

Years

at Huffman Prairie

The Wrights' home

fie

ld advant age is celebrated

by Scotty Markl

and

28

Books a

nd

Movie Review

by H.G. Fra utschy

32

The Vin

ta

ge Ins

tructor

CRM

by Doug Stewart

STAFF

E

Publisher Tom Poberezny

E Editor·in·Chief Scott Spangler


3/44

GEOFF

ROBISON

PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT AS

SO

CIATION

V

ging

ircr ft

propos l

By

now a large segment

of

our

membership

has had an opportu

nity

to review

the proposed

aging

aircraft initiatives developed by EAA

and the Vintage Aircraft Association

(VAA). Most would certainly agree

the

time

is

upon

us

to

recognize

the

need for some resolution to these

long-term issues. The intent here

is to create a new,

optional

aircraft

certification category

that

will give

owners

and their mechanics the

ability to maintain vintage aircraft

using

safety-based

forms,

with

fit

and function

criteria,

as

opposed

to

unavailable

or outdated type

certificate data.

Contrary

to some

misinformed

opinions

I've heard, it

is no t an

owner

maintenance pro

gram like the

one

in Canada.

Within 24 hours of the announce

ment

of this initiative we began

to

hear from

the

membership

and

rep

resentatives of the various type clubs.

Some

of

the immediate concerns we

heard: "What is the potential impact

on the value of my aircraft?" "What

impact can I anticipate from my in

point,

but

I believe these concerns

can be sufficiently addressed in an

appropriately structured rule.

We

probably

all know of at least

one

restoration project

in our

in

dividual

regional area

th a

t has se

rious

issues

because of

the

lack

of

available data

to

get it restored and

signed off for flight , not to

men

tion

those aircraft

that

will remain

EAA/VAA

proposed initiative

will be

presented

at the aging aircraft

public meeting on

March 22-23 in

Kansas City,

Missouri

in "basket"

status until the

owner

has at least some assurance

that

his

or her monetary resources and per

sonal efforts will

not

be wasted .

We

have

also

heard some great

Click on 2006 - 02/08 -

EAA

Set to

Advance Vintage Aircraft Proposal

Next Month.

This jOint EAA/VAA-proposed ini

tiative will be presented at the aging

aircraft public

meeting

on

March

22-23

in

Kansas City,

Missouri

.

The proposa l, which conceptually

met with approval by key

mem

bers

of the FAA

management

team

during

the

EAA/FAA

Recreational

Aviation

Summit, was presented

Tuesday,

February

7, in

Washing

ton,

D.C.,

to representatives

from

the

National

Air

Transportation

As

sociation (NATA), General Aviation

Manufacturers Association

(GAMA),

Professional Aviation

Maintenance

Association (PAMA), Aircraft Own

ers

and

Pilots Association (AOPA),

the

Aircraft Electronics Association

(AEA),

and others.

In

other

news,

the

VAA

was

deeply saddened to hear

of the

re

cent death of

Daryl Lenz

in

a traffic

accident near his home. Daryl served

as the director

of

aircraft

mainte

nance

at

the

Kermit

Weeks

Han


4/44

Lawrence to Speak

on

Aging

Aircraft

EAA Vice

President of Industry and

Regulatory

Affairs

Earl

Lawrence will

speak at a two-day public meeting

on

aging aircraft, scheduled for March

22-23 in Kansas City, Missouri. The

meeting will emphasize what can be

done to mitigate the effects of fatigue,

corrosion, and deterioration

on

aging

general aviation airplanes.

PartiCipants will share informa

tion, resolve questions, and discuss

potential

solutions

regarding

the

continued airworthiness of older

GA

airplanes. The current fleet average is

approximately 35 years old and will

increase to

SO

years old by 2020.

Vintage Aircraft Association Ex-

ecutive Director H.G.

Frautschy

also plans to share expertise at the

meeting, which

is

slated to begin at

8 a.m. each day, with registration at

8 a.m. on March 22.

Individuals may submit a request

to present a statement at the meet

ing.

If

unable to attend, either mail

a

statement to FAA

Small Airplane

Directorate, FAA Central Region, At

tention: Mr. Marv Nuss, 901 Locust,

Room 301, Kansas City, MO 64106,

or e-mail marvin.nuss@{aa.gov.

VAA Board Members Retire

Bob Brauer, of Chicago, Illinois,

and Roger Gomoll, of Blaine, Min

nesota, decided to step down from

the

VAA

board last year, and during

V

Ques

ti

on

of

the

onth

Q

fly a neat old biplane, and sometimes need to extend my day

a bit on the trip home. y take on the required lights needed for

: ~ y i n

at n i ~ t

are position lights plus an anti-collision light,

eIther a rotating beacon and/or strobes. My friend says antiques are

grandfathered in here and that they don't need anything but position lights.

Can you shed some, er light, on this subject?

A

An

Antique

Flier

(the airplane, not the pilot )

: Antiques and classics are definitely reqUired to have an

anti-collision lighting system as well as navigation lights if they want to

fly at night . The only grandfathered part

is

they have to meet the ear

lier requirements for the placement and coverage of the anti-collision

beacon, rather than having to meet the most current requirements. It

basically comes down to having a strobe or rotating beacon on either

the

top

or

the bottom

of

the

aircraft (belly, tip of

the

vertical, or wher

ever); that s sufficient for aircraft that wete type-certificated before April

I, 1957. These aircraft

can t

get by without

anything

or just position

lights, but they don t need as extensive a system as a more modern air

plane would need.

Since

you

asked,

here s

a

bit

more

on requirements

for flying at

night:

CFR

4

Part

91 205

c)

Visual flight rules (night). For

VFR

flight

at

night,

the

following

in

struments

and equipment

are required:

1)

Instruments and equipment specified in paragraph (b) of this section.

2) Approved pOSition lights.

3)

An approved

aviation

red

or

aviation

white

anti-collision light

system

on

all U.S .-registered civil aircraft. Anti-collision

light

systems

initially installed after August 11, 1971,

on

aircraft for which a type cer

tificate was issued or applied for before August 11, 1971,

must

at

least

meet

the anti-collision light standards of

part

23, 25, 27, or 29 of this

chapter, as applicable, that were in effect

on

August 10, 1971, except

that the color may be either aviation red or aviation white. In

the

event

of failure of

any

light of

the

anti-collision light system, operations with

http:///reader/full/marvin.nuss@%7Baa.govhttp:///reader/full/marvin.nuss@%7Baa.gov


5/44

nance chairman for many years. For

well more than a decade, Bob worked

with Roger's father, the late Stan Go

moll, as they kept the VAA's build

ings in good repair and oversaw the

updating of some structures on the

VAA grounds. He's worn a number of

hats as chairman, including co-chair

of the Parking committee

and

he

served for more than a decade as the

board's point of contact man for

VAA

Chapters and the EAA Chapter Office.

Bob was asked to come on board as

an adviser to the

VAA

board in 1986,

and became a director in 1988, a po

sition he held until his retirement in

the summer of 200S. Bob is still ac

tive

as

a volunteer, and if you make it

to any of the VAA work parties during

this spring, he'll be happy to find you

some work to

do

Roger

comes

by

his

work

for

VAA naturally;

his father, Stan,

was a longtime

board member

and

active

vol

unteer who

en-

couraged his

son's love of avi

ation. Roger has served

EAA as

a vol

unteer for

many

years, including his

time at

EAA's

Pioneer Airport, where

Roger can

often

be

found

grinning

as

he gives another ride

to

a paying

customer

in

EAA's

Travel

Air

biplane.

Appointed to the VAA board after his

father's untimely passing, Roger has

been right in the thick

of

things, serv

ing as

the

Type Club chairman,

and

during

the

year he served

the

board

atnIP.nrHM_nrtl for complete details.

M AlrVenture

Planning Guide

What

Do

You

Want

t

Know

Forums and

workshops

te ch aviation

A wise man once said, If it has

Once you've made the decision

to

attend

EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh

2006, you can't

just

wait for July,

hop into the cockpit, and show up.

You need to start planning, and

now

A great way to start is by download

ing the

EAA

AirVenture 2006 Plan

ning Guide, now available at www

airventure.org.

The

handy document includes es

sential information about admission,

lodging, driving directions, commer

cial flights, vehicle rental, ground

transportation services, and a lot

more. Get your copy today and start

http:///reader/full/airventure.orghttp:///reader/full/airventure.org


6/44

Helio ourier Notes

If your Helio H-391-B, H-250, or

H-295 has in excess of 3,600 hours

and needs

to

be

upgraded per

Air

worthiness Directive 82-16-08

Amendment

39-4427, parts are be

coming an issue with older airplanes

in

the

field.

Several Helio owners have asked

us recently about the availabil

ity of

new

parts, the current

own

ers of Helio Aircraft.

LLC

are

not

presently manufacturing replace

ment

items

such

as

leading-edge

slats

and

wing

carry-through

as

semblies. With the current fleet at

around

200

airplanes, those

older

models that have 4,500

hours

plus

are in need of replacement items.

We

can at this point direct you to

rebuilders with an excellent reputa

tion and knowledge in Helio Couriers

based upon many years of experience.

The following individuals

and/

or organizations

may

be of

some

assistance.

JAARS Aviation

Div.

Jim Metzler,

Head of

Maintenance

Waxhaw, North Carolina

www jaars org

Aero Pacific

Steve Murray

Carlsbad, California

760-931-0022

A complete list of

Helio

main

tenance personnel

is

to

be

made

available March

I,

2006.

For additional information visit

www heliocourier net

International Young

Eagles Day

GIVING BACK

EAA Vintage

Chapter

27

in

Delaware,

Ohio

(DLZ),

is

a small but busy

group.

Chapter 27

had

a very successful air show in August of 2004 and

is

planning another

for August 2006.

We

also

have

a

pancake

breakfast

on

the third

Saturday

of

each month

from May through September.

As

a result, for the first time since the

Chapter

was organized in the early

1990s, we have some assets in the bank.

We

wanted

to give

back to the community that has

supported

our

organization. As

a result,

the

city

has

donated land on

the

airport

for

us to build a shelter house to be available to the public and we have

enclosed

one end

of

it

for the VAA kitchen for our pancake

breakfast

and

meetings.

Chapter 27

and donations

from local businesses have supported the

shelter costs. The city

assisted

us with trusses and some heavy work,

and

our

members

have

done the rest. We have

had

a lot of fun

with the

construction

project and

plan to

finish

the interior this

winter and be

ready in May for our pancake breakfasts.

Sincerely,

Roger

R.

Brown

VAA

Chapter

27 President

http:///reader/full/www.jaars.orghttp:///reader/full/www.heliocourier.nethttp:///reader/full/www.heliocourier.nethttp:///reader/full/www.heliocourier.nethttp:///reader/full/www.jaars.orghttp:///reader/full/www.heliocourier.net


7/44

Friends of

the

Red Barn

Campaign

Many services are provided to vintage aircraft en

thusiasts at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. From parking

airplanes to feeding people

at

the

Tall Pines Cafe

and

Red Barn, more

than

400 volunteers do it all. Some

may ask, If volunteers are providing the services,

where

is

the expense?"

Glad you asked. The scooters for the flight line crew

need repair and batteries, and the

Red

Barn needs

paint, new windowsills, updated wiring, and other

sundry repairs, plus we love to care for

our

volun teers

with special recognition caps

and

a pizza party.

The

list really could go

on

and

on,

but

no matter how

many expenses we can point out, the need remains

constant . The Friends of the Red Barn fund helps pay

for the VAA expenses at EAA AirVenture, and is a cru

cial part of the Vintage Aircraft Association budget.

Please help the VAA and our 400-plus dedicated

volunteers make this an unforgettable experience for

our many

EAA

AirVenture guests. We've

made

it even

more fun to give this year, with more giving levels to

fit each person's budget, and more interesting activi

ties for donors to be a part of.

Your

contribution

now really does make a differ

ence. There are six levels of gifts and gift recognit ion .

Thank

yo u for whatever you

can

do.

Here are some of

th

e many activities the Friends of

the

Red Barn

fund

underwrites:

• Red Barn Informat ion Desk Supplies

• Participant Plaques and Supplies

Toni

's Red Carpet Express Repairs and Radios

• Caps for VAA Volunteers

• Pizza

Party for

VAA

Volunteers

• Flightline Parking Scooters and Supplies

• Breakfast for Past Grand Champions

• Volunteer Booth Administrative Supplies

• Membership Booth Administrative Supplies

• Signs Throughout the Vintage Area

• Red Barn and Other Buildings' Maintenance

•

And More

Th ank·

You

Items

by Level

Name Listed:

Vintage, Web

& Sign

at

Red

Barn

Donor

Appreciation

Certificate

Access to

Volunteer

Center

Special

FORB

Badge

Two P

asses

to

VAA

Volunteer

Party

Special

FORB

Cap

Breakfast

at

Tall

Pines

Cafe

Tr i·Motor

Ride

Certificate

Two Tickets

toVAA

Pi

cnic

Close Auto

Parking

Diamond,

1,000

X X X X X X

2

People

/

Full Wk

2 Tickets

X

Full Week

Platinum,

750

X X X X X X

2 People/

Full

Wk

2 Ticke

ts

X 2 Days

Gold,

500

X X X

X X

X

1

Person

/ Full Wk

1 Ticket

Silver.

250

X

X X X X X

Bronze

100

X

X

X

X

Loyal Supporter,

99

&

Under

X X

VAA

Friends

of the Red

Barn

Name

EAA

____ VAA ___

_

Address _

City/State/Zip __

_


8/44

PART

II

HIGHLIGHTS

OF

1930

A

biography of

E

.M. Matty

Laird

y ROBERT

G

ELLIOTT

AND

ED

ESCALLON

The highlight of 1930 proved to

be the design

and construction of

the

Solution

racer,

which

became

the first and only biplane to win the

coveted

Thompson

Trophy

Race

for

the fastest aircraft of the day. The

Solution had been built in a record

30 days

and was completed just one

hour before the race. In the follow

ing year, Matty s newest racer, the

Super Solution became

the

first air

craft

to win the

new

Bendix Tro

phy, setting

the

trans-continental

speed record of 11 hours, 15 min

Matty and Elsie Laird enjoy

their

mountain

retreat

on the shores of Lake Tox-

utes, under the capable pilotage of

away North Carolina

and sat

momentarily for this photograph in July 1975.


9/44

Laird

Solution

in which Speed Holman

won

the Thompson Trophy Race in 1930.

This

aircraft was 30 days old the day of the race having been

completed

about one hour

before

the race

began

allowing time

enough

for a

short

test hop and refueling

due

to a

short

postponement of the Thompson Race

start.

LEFT: Speed Holman.

Full view

o completed

Laird Sesquiwing.

of-a-kind Laird was

not

preserved

instead of being destroyed.

The middle '30s saw the develop

ment of a huge airline

industry

in

this country. Chicago became a ma

jor airline hub and drew heavily on

the aviation talent in the area. Many

of Matty's employees went with the

airlines during the lean year that en

veloped the Laird Co., and a few are

still involved in the

management

of

this industry today.

After a few years of

operation,


10/44

Photograph taken at

the 1930

Chicago

National Air

Races which

were conducted at

Curtiss-Reynolds Airport

Chicago. Speed

Holman is shown

at

right rounding

a

pylon

in

the

Laird

Solution. Upper

center

is

what

is

believed to

be

the

plane

of Arthur Page who

was

pulling out

of

the

race. Page made

a

crash

landing and died of injuries while Holman went

continued into

1937,

when

Roscoe

Turner brought in two projects just

two

months

before

the

National

Air

Races. They were his damaged

We-

dell-Williams

and

a partially com

on

to

win the

Thompson Trophy

Race.

ment with Roscoe.

Obsolescence

and

technical problems

prevented

it from ever again placing in a ma

jor event.

Roscoe s second major project was

built with

the

internal drag bracing

lightened, and

a greatly

improved

fuselage

attach method

was incor

porated. Existing ailerons were used,

with

the

flaps extended to cover the

span added to

the

wing. The result

ing loading of 50 pounds per square

foot was

among

the

highest used

in

aircraft at

the

time,

and much

tech

nical

comment centered

about it.

Actually,

the

wing

turned

out to be

one of

the really

outstanding

as

pects of

the

racer,

and

its configu

ration

was widely copied

in

World

War

II

fighters.

Additionally, Matty added about

a

square foot

to

the elevator

sur

face

area

and completely outfit

ted the

fuselage

structure almost

from scratch. Larger fuel tanks

than

Brown

had planned

on using were

included. In

many

respects

the

ren

ovation

of

the

Laird-Turner Racer

was

more

difficult

than building

a

completely new aircraft.

When

finished, a

weight check

confirmed Matty had

eliminated

more

than

400 pounds of weight just

from

the

parts Brown had shipped

him. The

LTR 14

was tested success

fully

and

accepted

by

Roscoe,

who

proceeded to California in it on

its second flight.

In

succeeding years the

Laird

Turner Racer served

to change

the

fortunes of tough-luck Roscoe. Dur

ing the

1937

Thompson,

Roscoe,

who

was leading

the

race, was mo

mentarily blinded by

the

sun while

rounding

a pylon. Turning back to

re-circle

the

pylon, he lost his lead

to

Earl

Ortman and

Rudy Kling. In


11/44

Jimmy

Doolittle

. _ . ~

i

n

UJ

ti

>

8

/)

5

::t:

is

congratulated

by

Ma

tty

Laird

after

winning

the

Bend

ix Race

September

1931.

occasion

had become Miss ham-

pion

This

victory made him the

only man to

ever win the coveted

Thompson Trophy three times. De-

spite

the

credit

due

Matty, Roscoe

never properly recognized

him.

Matty, however, never pressed

the

issue, saying, That 's just

the

way

Roscoe was.

Turner's victories plus

those

ear

lier

in

the

decades by the

Solu

tion

and

Super Solution gave Laird

planes three first

and

two third

places

in

the Thompson

Races,

one irst

in

the

Bendix,

and

a trans

continental and

tri-Capitol speed

record, in addition to at least

a

dozen different inter-city records.

For a small civil-based aircraft fac

tory,

the E M

Laird Co.

had won

a

large share of

the

records

and

races

of

the

'30s,

due to the

skill of

the

employees

and the

genius of E.M.

Matty Laird.

As

this country's involvement in

the

World War

II

became more im

minent,

Matty

realized

i t

was go

~ ~

~ ~ ~

Laird Turner

on

the

line after

being rebuiH

by

the E. fam

il-

iar Laird

trademark on the tail


12/44

successfully

met

the challenges of

wartime

materials

shortages with

a labor force

consisting

mostly of

women

.

Although untrained,

and

faced

with

schedules

that doubled

every

month

, they rapidly grew into

a skilled team

under the

able guid

ance of Matty.

His

talents in produc

tion were directed to the product ion

of B-24 and

SB2C

vertical fins, com

plete empennage groups for Martin

B-26s,

and numerous other

items,

such

as

wing flaps, radio cabinets,

crew bunks, and de-icer

tanks

for

the Martin

PBM

.

Matty never

had any

interest in

military aircraft, with the possible

ex

ception of building a trainer for

the

armed services.

He

had lost an early

bid for a trainer in the Laird Swallow

days, when Maj. Reuben Fleet, a pro

curement officer

for

the

Army,

vetoed

the purchase.

Fleet

later resigned from

the Army and organized the Consoli

dated Aircraft Co. , which received the

verted engine

that Continental

was

developing. In considering

the

cap

italization costs involved that

had

doubled since the '30s, and know

ing firsthand

the boom-bust

mar

ket that followed

the

previous war,

Matty

decided

to

retire from the

aviation business.

An

additional factor tha t prompted

his

decision

was the fact

that his

daughter

had

contracted

polio. At

the

time, the only known treatment

was

frequent immersions in warm

water combined with physical ther

apy. Consequently, Matty decided to

move to a warmer climate, choosing

Boca Raton, a small

community on

the lower east coast of Florida. There,

he and

his l

ovely

Elsie,

whom he

married in 1933, devoted themselves

to raising their son and daughter.

In later years the Lairds purchased

some

land in the

Lake

Toxaway

area of

North

Carolina

and

built a

home

. The lake had been a million

The Laird Speedwing

olution

(Pratt Whitney

Wasp Junior

engine)

Winner First Place

-Thompson

Trophy ace-

Chicago

, Illinois, September 1, 1930

Average

speed

201.91 mph

for 100-mile race

(20 laps around a

5-mile

course)

Piloted

y

C.W.

Speed

Holman

organization of pilots who made

their

first flight

before December

17, 1916. Matty also became active

in the

Connecticut

Aeronautical

Historical Association's restoration

of

the

Solution beginning in 1964.

He first became acquainted with

the

Florida Sport Antique

and

Clas

sic

Association at the Remuda Ranch

Fly-In during

November 1974,

where he was

an

honored

guest.

There

he

joined

the EAA.

In recog

nition of

his many

achievements

prior

to

1940,

Matty

was awarded

the

coveted

Silver Eagle

member

ship

in

the

association. Since

then

the

Lairds have been active in

EAA

,

being

honored

among

the

avia

tion

greats

at

Oshkosh, 1975,

and

appearing

at

many

EAA

functions

throughout the

state of Florida.

His

present

work

on

EAA s

res

toration

of the Super Solution has

brought him back, full circle, to the

work to which he began devoting his


13/44

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14/44

H.G. FR UTSCHY

D

d you notice the rows of the

same aircraft parked together

at

Oshkosh thi s year? There

were Cessna 170s, Aeroncas,

Taylorcrafts,

and

Swifts. Last year i t

was Stinsons and Helio Couriers. Ever

wonder

how they

all got to park to

gether in such a great spot? It 's simple.

The Vintage Aircraft Association

provides a limited reserved parking

area for type clubs. The type clubs are

a part of Vintage activities, and year

round

they support their particular

aircraft

through

activities such

as fo-

rums, chat rooms,

and

newsletters on

topics that range from historic infor

mation to the latest maintenance is-

sues. Type clubs can be found during

the convention in

the

large tent just

BY TIM

Fox

VAA

TYPE CLUB PARKING

COORDI

NATOR

the members

as

well. Nothing is worse

than doing all the work, planning, and

publicity, only to have

no

one show up.

It had been several years since the Stin

sons had been in a group at Oshkosh,

and the club directors were excited

about the possibilities. You have to start

early in your planning efforts, and we

started right after Oshkosh 2003 with

announcements in the club newsletter.

This past year's type club groups were

organized and had their spots set up

before the end of 2004.

You should estimate

the

attendance

potential of

your group

so you

can

request space in the type club area.

Space is limited, and to reserve space,

VAA

is looking

for a solid commit-

ment

from

your

group. You should

accommodate a few different types

every year), the wingspan of the air

craft, and a contact person who will

be

coordinating the

event.

Your re

quest should be forwarded

to VAA

and they will forward it to the type

club parking coordinator.

lanning

Several steps are necessary to en

sure a successful

event

for your club.

Developing interest and enthusiasm

will ensure that you have a good turn

out

and provide a good

time

for all.

Many

of your

members may have

never been to Oshkosh or have not

come for many years. Some

may

at

tend

every year

but

park randomly,

and not with a group.


15/44

for

the

event in every

month's

issue

of the

club newsletter. I

wanted

to

be sure that all

the

pilots knew

what

was going to happen

and

what

they

could expect. It's important for pilots

to make

the commitment early so

other summertime activities don't use

up available leisure time. This

can't

be done on a last-minute basis. Also,

when

planned

ahead, variables such

as fuel costs, meals,

and

lodging do

not playas big a role.

Arrival

Many

of

you

have

seen the large

group

arrivals

of

the Bonanzas and

Mooneys. Almost all pilots come in

through

the

normal NOTAM

arrival

from Ripon,

but

if your group is large

enough, you may qualify for a special

arrival. The type club parking coor

dinator can help you find out if your

group

qualifies.

With special type

club parking reserved, how

and

when

your group arrives does not matter, as

they are assured that their parking is

reserved together.

Parking

When

most people arrive at Osh

kosh

they

hold up placards that say

VAC for

vintage

aircraft

parking.

They

are

directed to

Papa

taxiway

and head south into

the

Vintage area.

Once they arrive

they

are parked in

the next available open spot,

in

rows

going south. The sooner you get there,

the closer you are to the action. As

many

of you know, a late arrival can

find you closer to Fond du Lac than

Oshkosh Type club reserved aircraft

ter

your aircraft, pay for camping if

you're camping on the field,

and

get

admission wris tbands for your stay.

Shortly after your arrival and regis

tration, Vintage volunteers will come

out and take a picture

of

your plane

and it will be placed on a participant

plaque. This

is

available free

to VAA

members, courtesy of the Vintage Air-

craft Association in the Vintage Red

Barn Headquarters building.

You

are

also entitled to a free participant mug.

If

you ask

the

participant plaque staff

in the back of the hospitality center in

the Red Barn, they can come out

and

take a special picture of you with your

aircraft for

the

plaque. This plaque is

available for all

VAA participants at

Oshkosh. While at the Red Barn you

can check out the activities, browse

the

VAA

store,

or

check

out the

type

club

and

workshop tents.

Activities

This is

the

cornerstone of your type

club event. Plan activities for

your

group. The type club parking coordi

nator can help you with suggestions

and

arrangements for

ground

trans

portation, restaurant reservations,

or

group activities. This should all be set

up

as

soon

as possible, as you

need

plenty

of

time

to

advertise

in your

club newsletter.

If

you're stuck for ideas on what to

do, here's some good

news-the VAA

already has things scheduled that you

can participate in as a group, such as

the

VAA

picnic. It's a great

time

for

your type club to get together and

have dinner at

the

EAA Nature Center

bus to transport everyone. The turn

out

was so large we had to charter

an

additional

bus to handle the group

Stinson owners from all over the field

wanted

to

join in,

and

hopefully we

gained some new membership. The

type club rented a van so the mem

bers

had

a way

to

travel into town to

resupply and get items not available

on field.

With the heavy

airspace

traffic

around Oshkosh

and

the

problems of

moving and parking aircraft, daily

fly-

outs are

not

encouraged, but

on

Satur

day there is a fly-out to Shawano, Wis-

consin, that your group can participate

in. Shawano is approximately

S

miles

north of Oshkosh, so it's a short flight.

There is a signup list at

the

Vintage

Red

Barn,

and

a briefing is held early

Saturday

morning

for

participants.

This is a

great fl

y-in hosted by the

town,

and they

really enjoy

the

vin

tage aircraft coming from Oshkosh. If

you provide a list

of

your pilots

they

will send

an

invitation. All arriving pi

lots get a free breakfast, ice cream, and

some Wisconsin cheese. Of course,

your parking places are saved back in

Oshkosh, so you can leave your camp

setup and come back at your leisure.

There's really a lot for your group

to

do

Parking within your aircraft group

is fun and a learning experience. Com

mon interests and experiences

are

shared by owners with the same type

of

plane. It's also

an opportunity to

look at other aircraft to

see

how things

were done. It's any easy way to see what

modifications may be available

and


16/44


17/44


18/44

time, a pilot leaves something behind

in the airplane's soul. Tom Dinndorf

of Baudette,

Minnesota,

is

acutely

aware of that,

and

he

doesn't

take

the responsibility lightly.

I've

owned this airplane

for

over 30 years

and

carted its remains

around

to

various

locations as I

moved, he said. Eventually, I re

alized I

wasn't

going

to

get

the

air

plane done in my lifetime, and that

just wasn't right. lowed

it

to the

airplane

and to

history

to

get it fin

ished.

Thank

goodness I found Rod

and

Dottie Roy. They are the only

reason the airplane is finished, and

they should get all of

the

credit.

As

Dinndorf got

into

the

project,

researching its history became a near

obsession, but just as it's difficult

to

prove Washington Slept Here, it's

often impossible to prove a given pi

lot has flown a given airplane. Unless,

could take a look at the logbooks

and

get back to him. I

didn

't expect

him

to

drop

what

he was

doing

and

search,

but that

was exactly

what he

did.

He had

me

hold on while he

got the logbook and

thumbed

back

to

August '38. He said,

'Yes,

on

Au

gust 13th it says 'acceptance flight,

new Stinson, 15 minutes.' I can't tell

you

how

that

made

me

feel. Today, I

have copies of all of Doolittle's Stin

son log entries , and I periodically

pull them out and look at them

to

convince

myself the Doolittle con

nection is real. It's

almost

scary to

own and fly an airplane with that

much history

to

it.

Although

the

Stinson

is

a work of

art today, it wasn't always

that

way. In

fact, it has spent far more time in der

elict and/or project condition

than it

did in flying condition.

The last

time

the airplane flew,

The luxurious front

office

of

the tin-

son

and

its massive control wheels

a thread: The dual vandals of weather

and

human

nature can

reduce

an

airplane in this situation

to

junk in

nothing flat unless a savior rides over

the horizon. NC21104 was lucky. Its

savior was named Luke Youngren.

Dinndorf

said, In 1971 I heard

about

the

airplane and thought I'd

like to restore an antique. I went over


19/44

this. I put the

fu

selage in my base

ment shop and

the wings in the

garage, thinking

I'd start

restor

ing it. I bought a

compressor and

sandblaster

and

started cleaning

the fuselage and I

think that's when

the lights started

coming

on

that

this was going to

be a much big

ger project than I

thought it

was."

Dinndorf had worked in his father's

pharmacy as a youngster and, when

he went to college, continued in that

direction. Eventually

he

was in the

manufacturing end of the pharma

ceutical business and found himself

leaving Minnesota for Atlanta.

"I trailered the fuselage down be

hind a little 2-liter Oldsmobile. We

were so marginal

on

power that we

couldn't run the air conditioner and

climb even

the

slightest hill, so

we

just rolled

the

windows down and

sweated all the way.

When I got to Atlanta, life took

over

and

I barely

touched

the air

plane. It was sad. And I

was

getting

really frustrated.

Here

I had this amaz

ing historical artifact and I couldn't

do anything with

it "

Life

eventually

seems to work

things out, and after he moved back

to Minnesota, he met Rod Roy and

Roy's

wife,

Dottie. "I

was

at Oshkosh

service FBO in

that

we do every type

of maintenance except avionics. The

restoration projects are part of that.

His first rebuild project was the

ratty C-140 he and Dottie had

bought. We took it

to

Oshkosh

as

part of that 150 or so C-140 gaggle,

and ours was the airplane the EAA

singled

out

for photos when they

were covering the event.

Rod's

first big project was a pair of

Christen Eagles,

one

of which won

a grand champion Lindy at Osh

kosh. Along the

way,

Dottie, who

is

a trained and experienced nurse, be

came part of the restoration team.

Almost from the beginning,

Rod

remembered, she'd do all of the rib

stitching and got really good at it. At

the time, I didn't do upholstery and

usually bought a kit and installed it.

We

were in

the

process of installing

one of those when Dottie said, 'Hey, I

can do that.' She took a trade school

course in upholstery

at

night for a

year and has been doing all of our in

teriors since.

Almost since the beginning,

Rod

had been doing the motors for his

re

builds,

so

adding upholstery rounded

out his in-house capabilities.

We usually spend a little more

time with a restoration than other

shops,

but

that's deceiving because

we aren't farming anything out. We're

a one-stop restoration operation, and

the

airplane never leaves our build

ing. Plus, I have to give credit to my

shop crew. They're a group of really

motivated and talented guys.

Our first restoration that gained

any notoriety

was

the red-and-black

ized

that

as negative as I had been, I

had underestimated it badly. It

was

far

from being a hopeless basket case,

but it was far worse than I initially

thought it was. It took us about a

week

to

figure out what we had, but

then it took over three years before

we figured out what we didn't have.

While

Rod was banging on

the

airplane, Tom continued scroung

ing, splitting his time between dig

ging up historical information and

missing parts.

Tom said, We

had

a lot of peo

ple really help us on this, including

George Alleman, president of the

Na

tional Stinson Club, but finding and

visiting Jerry Arnold,

another

Gull

wing restorer up in Winnipeg, got us

some of the hardest-to-find parts, in

cluding the front seats. The back seats

are just slings, so

Rod

could fabricate

those, but the front seats are very

unique. Jerry has a trucking company

and a nose for wrecked Stinsons. Since

the airplane

was

sort of a 'poor man's

Beaver,' lots of them

were

used in Ca

nadian bush

flying

and many

were

torn up in the process. Many were

just

abandoned

or

pushed

against

hangars. Jerry scouted

them

out and

backhauled them to his hangar.

The front seats I got still had the

original leather

on

them, which was

good because we could then do a bet

ter job of duplicating the material and

the pattern

. He also

had

a vacuum

tank that

I

had

just about given up

on finding.

The original concept Eddie Stinson

had, when it came to building his air

planes, was that they should be lim


20/44

The Great Doolittle/Porta

Potti

Ambush

Tom Dinndorf admits to being a

Doo

little nut. Which is actually a huge

un

derstatement.

" I'm a little frustrated that so many

people only remember him for the To

kyo

raid when there are so many other

things he should be remembered for.

Besides his achievements in air racing,

he

pioneered instrument flight, did the

first outside loop, and if he hadn 't read

Hitler's mind

and

talked Shell into set

ting up production o f 100-0ctane fuel

in

the 1930s,

we

would have been

in

real

trouble in the early days of WW II.

"During the four years

we

worked

on

this airplane, Doolittle was never more

than a millimeter from

my

mind or from

the heart of this project. I had read

ev- Tom

Dinndorf,

proud caretaker of

erything I could

on

him and searched

the DooliHlelSheli

Stinson.

the

archives in every museum you

could think of looking for things that would tie him to our airplane.

"During one search at the Smithsonian , I stumbled

on

a really nice 8

by-10 of our airplane

in

the original Shell paint job, and I wanted

e s p ~ r

ately to not only meet Doolittle, but to show him the picture.

My ~ p p o r ~ u n l t y

came some years ago at Oshkosh when he chaired a panel

on

air racing.

" I won't say that I was actually 'stalking' him.

Well

maybe I was.

Anyway

I spotted him

in

the crowd just as

he

stepped into a Porta Potti. I waited.

un

til he came out, and introduced myself. I should also say that I was a little

nervous but

he

could not

have

been more congenial or gracious.

We

talked

about airplane and him having flown it. Then I showed him the picture ,

and

without asking,

he

took it

away

for a few minutes and came back

hav

ing signed it for me. I'm too old to do double back flips, but if I could have,

I would have.

He

was just so nice about it.

"Later, I saw a Discovery Channel program

on

him that featured his sec

ond son, John P I Googled the name for a phone number and hit him on the

first call. I explained the airplane thing to him , and he was just as gracious

as his father had been. Plus, he led me to Jonna Doolittle Hoppes, the

granddaughter, who was doing

an

insider book on Jimmy, Calculated Risk

He also introduced me to Jimmy Doolittle III, grandson and namesake.

wings were split between feeder air

lines, corporations and very rich

sportsmen. Although Eddie Stinson

had died in 1932, the result of a crash

at the end of a forced landing in Chi

cago's Jackson Park, the company

policy was well

entrenched

and no

corners were cut in building his air

planes. The outline of his airplanes

was very distinctive not only because

of the gull at the wing root where

it went into the fuselage, but also the

finely shaped, bumped cowls all

the

civilian Gullwings sported (military

Reliants had smooth cowls). Unfor

tunately, the

bumped

cowl loomed

large

on

Dinndorf's missing list.

It's difficult to describe how much

effort we put into trying,

and I

em

phasize 'trying,' to find the right cowl

for the airplane. I had a cowling, but

it was a smooth one, and I had de

cided very early on

that

the airplane

was going

to

be exactly,

and I

mean

exactly, the way it was

on

August 13 ,

1938, when Doolittle first

flew

the air

plane. Going with a smooth cowl sim

ply wasn't an option.

The airplane had already become

as

much a fabrication project

as

a

res-

toration

because, as Rod put it, ...

there was practically nothing on the

airplane, ei ther wood or metal, that

was rebuildable.

So

the logical solu

tion for

the

missing cowling was to

build a new one-no small project.

The bumps, rather than being formed

separately and riveted to a base cowl

ing, were part of the primary surface.

To make matters worse, the cowl ta

pered slightly toward the

rear

Tom found a metal smith, Larry


21/44

rust,

but nothing

catastrophic,

and

luckily, the steel

truss

wing spars

weren't bad at all.

We

had to do a lit

tle welding on it, but since this was a

300-hp airplane, not a 450,

the

spars

weren't heat-treated.

If

they had been

heat-treated it would have made re

pairs much more difficult.

The very first

time

I saw

the

fu

selage, Tom remembered,

my

first

thought

was, 'This isn't made

to

fly;

all

the

tubing

is

too stout.' It's abso

lutely massive in some areas.

The steel tube spars of the Gull

wing are streamlined

with

ribs built

up from small, square aluminum tub

ing

that

is

gusseted

and

riveted to

gether.

What

makes

the

process of

restoring them so interesting

is

that

they use square aluminum tubing

that was manufactured spedfically for

Stinson. Luckily, according

to

Tom,

getting a supply of it turned out to be

no problem.

Charlie

Near,

yet another Stinson

restorer, this one from Nebraska, han

dled irrigation pipe, and he apparently

found the original dies for the rib tub

ing and had some made for his Stin

the

process

much

easier.

When it came

to

doing

the

inte

rior, they were in

trouble because

nothing of the original remained and

they were unsuccessful in finding su

f

ficient photos to use

as

a guide. They

did, however, luck out when discover

ing a series of detailed drawings.

We used

the

drawings

done

by

William Wylam,

which

were incred

ible in their detail and were drawn

from Stinsons back when they were

still in their heyday.

We

judged them

as being accurate because we looked

at his drawings of

other

airplanes for

which there were photographs to use

as

comparisons, and he was dead on.

So we

felt safe in using his work.

Dottie laid in a

supply of whole

hides and started cutting and stitch

ing, using both the original, rotting

seat upholstery and the Wylam draw

ings

as

guides.

One thing we'd like

to

ask Dottie

is

about rib stitching

the

wings:

t

the

root, they are at least 16 inches deep.

Running

a

stitching

needle that far

and being

that

accurate must be a real

art. Or does she have some tricks she

Rod Roy ace restorer from the shore

of

Lake

Superior in

Grand Mara is

Minnesota.

and was looking for a way to exactly

duplicate the colors

and the

logo. He

in

tum

plugged me

into

someone in

Shell, who not only gave us permis

sion to paint

the

logo on the airplane,

but also got us a color chip for us to

match. It's

kind

of funny because

when we gave the chip to PPG, they

found it was identified

as

Shell

Yellow

.

I guess we

could

have asked them

first,

but

we probably

wouldn't

have

trusted them anyway.

Rod is justifiably proud that every

single bit of trim, except the Stinson

logo,

is

masked paint.

Although Rod

usually does

his

own engines, he was up to his hips in

Stinson parts

and both he and

Tom

wanted to

get

the

airplane

done

in

time for Oshkosh.

So the

R-680, 300

hp

Lycoming was sent out

to

Radials

Inc., in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

So how did Tom feel

the

first time


22/44

s

it an end, or a beginning?

F

ew airplanes deserve a bi

ography more than 1 Blue.

She started

out in Octo-

ber of 1934

as

a Fairchild

22C7D, built at the Fairch

ild factory in Hagerstown, Maryland.

This Fairchild

had character

from

the start and has touched many lives

over the past 71 years. I can tell the

story for 01 Blue

as

I have

had

the

Y GLEN

S OTT

afternoon of October 20,

2005, when Jon Bartell

and

his

son

Louis arrived

at

Ar-

lington, Texas Airport in the

afternoon.

This was a

mo-

mentous day as I waited with

friends for

their

1,000-mile

journey

to terminate

at

my

hangar.

Bartell

had

agreed to part


23/44

Left: NC14302 28

years

after a

Jim

Dewey

restoration. This

is

the very

same

airpla

ne

featured in the 2006 V calen-

dar as published by Turner Publishing.

and blueprints. A

lO

-foot length of

sectional chart was starched on

the

wall for the crew to au tograph at

the end of their flight from Ohio.

The last 12 days

of

October

of

fered few daylight hours to fly af

ter a day of work, so enjoyed my

evenings

making

small

improve

ments and learning

the

aircraft .

managed to squeeze in a

few

flights

before the

annua

l inspection came

due . was on cloud nine

The entire month

of

Novem

ber was spent learning

the

aircraft

and performing the

annual

on this

Ralph

Schmidt retired presi-

dent of Menasco checks out the

Fairchild.

rare gem.

couldn t

believe

the

incredible craftsmanship

that

Jim Dewey and his crew

had lavished

on

the restora

tion of 01 Blue in 1977.

Jim

was

the original owner of this

The day

after

the

fire

. No

wood

fabric

and

very little

sheet

metal survived. The

annual

inspection consumed

the

month of Novem-

ber. The fire consumed everything else.

my well-equipped hangar. The

wings were

awesome to

in

-

gj

spect,

as

the woodwork was su-

b

£

perb and there

re

no

cables

pulleys or moving parts in

them. A simple push rod from

the stick to the

aileron

does

U

the job very well. The IS-foot

ailerons were damage free and

reflected Dewey's work,

as

did

the cowling

and metal

wheel

pants. Metal never fit so well

enjoyed much of getting acquainted

with

Ole Blue and

it was as if making

a new friend . realized that had a

thoroughbred that could enjoy for

many years to come.

My

next and

last flight

in

the

Fairchild was

on

December 3 with

my wife

Rosa,

when we flew locally

for

an hour and

experienced a stiff

crosswind. The controls and han-

ing edges and repainted the tips, but

now

had to put her to bed without

her cowling. Later would touch up

the

paint and

detail

that

gorgeous

Menasco engine.

The evening of December 12 was

going to visit 1 u

e

at the hangar.

As

my wife and arrived at

the

air

port in the dark, so did the fire trucks

They were also going to the T-han

gars.

Then

saw

the black smoke boil

ing from the end of a

row

of hangars.

Our row

The smoke was coming from a

spot only eight to 10 spaces from my

hangar,

but

the firemen wouldn' t let


24/44

became truly interested in

aviation when my father

and I

started building

and

flying radio-controlled mod

els in 1970. In 1977, at

the

age of 16, I

started to

take

flying lessons, flying Grumman Tr-2

trainers and

Cessna

lS0s

. Due

to

cars, motorcycles, girls,

and

the as

sociated costs of those

aforemen

tioned items, I got

out

of flying for

a while, even though I had passed

my

FAA written

and

had about

30

hours flying time.

A childhood friend of mine, Mike

George, with

whom

I had flown ra

dio-controlled planes, had started

flying full-sized planes about the

same time I did. He continued

on

and

currently

owns many planes,

including a P-S1 Mustang and F4U

Flying as a

r t

Bec

oming

th

e first

certificated sport pilot

in

Illinois

BY MARTY TOWSLEY

t

that time

un eknownst to

me I had

ecome the fi

rs

t

certificated sport

pilot

in

Illinois.

well it flies. As a side note, both of

my parents

had

flown 1941 Taylor

clean l,3S0-hour example. While it

wasn t

a showplane, it flew nicely.

Exactly one week later, October 16,

2004, it was mine.

Mike had introduced

me

to

an

instructor who was a friend of his ,

Denny Taft . Denny was a former F-16

pilot,

is

a

current

airline pilot,

and

also had tailwheel time in a friend s

newer Taylorcraft that was based at

Taylorville, Illinois, where I was go

ing to base my aircraft. Denny and I

flew my Taylorcraft to its new home

in a stiff breeze, where I saw the cars

on the two-lane roads making better

headway

than

us.

As I had decided to become a

sport pilot

and the

rating was so

new, Denn y and I had to

liter

ally rewrite

the

book . Many of

th

e

signoffs

had to be re-created, as


25/44

aspect

was

landing in

a

taildrag

ger, especially crosswind landings.

t one point, while walking from

the

hangar after a particularly gru

eling landing session, I dejectedly

encouraged Denny

to

let me know

if I needed to sell

the

T-craft. I told

him I completely understood if he

told me

to

sell it. He

informed

me

everyone had

the

occasional bad

day, and

even

though

there were

still rough days ahead, I was finally

successful in soloing for the second

time in my life.

I started building time and prac

ticing for

the

flight exam, but this

was where

another

stumbling block

was encountered. No one could

be located

who

could

conduct

the

flight exam in a fixed-wing cer

tificated aircraft, so I did some re

s

I left

the

building

I called

my instruc

tor, Denny,

and

told

him

of

my

conversa

tion with Don. Denny

advised

me he

had re

cently heard

of

Don

and had wanted me

to

speak

to him about

being a sport

pilot

examiner. I retraced

my steps and

spoke

with

Don about this. s

most

of

this was new

to him and

the local

FSDO, several calls and conversa

tions were made by him and the

FSDO

personnel to confirm what

was needed for him to become a

sport pilot examiner.

Finally the day arrived, and I met

a well-prepared Don for the ground

no is spoke of this event.

For the most part every

one I have come into contact

with has been supportive.

There seemed

to

be

inter

est and questions whenever

someone learned I was sport

pilot certificated, and I have

encouraged

them

to

inves

tigate this avenue of flying.

Though one or two have be

littled

the

certificate, I know

those

one or

two will

prob

ably be

looking

at this cer

tificate

when

perhaps

minor

health issues start to ap

pear and

they want to

con

tinue flying. Though I could

have

gone

on and received

my private pilot certificate, for the

time

being

I

am

happy with

my

plane

and

the type of flying I do .

I have the signoffs for Class C

and

D airspace,

and

I make

the

Sunday

morning fly-in breakfasts

with

my

friends,

as

well

as

lunch

and

dinner

dates with my supportive wife.

t seems many people I have


26/44

Dear Fam ii t

1

NASA

is

going

to e

t

i

nRIN.

'can't

wait

v ~

Your

Pilot

In

Command

Make plans today to at tend this week-long event filled

with aviation seminars, workshops, daily airshows,


27/44

E . BUCK

HILB E

RT

Here s the drill

Most of us

amateur

metal bend

ers and

wood

butchers

reach

for

a drill and use it with

little

or no

regard to

whether

or not

the

work

calls for a special bit for

the

particu

lar job.

Oftentimes , we re

in

a hurry,

in

the

middle of a job

that can t

wait,

so we grab a

hand

drill,

search

through

the

available bits, grab

the

one

closest to

the

size we need,

and

punch the

hole.

Hey

I t works. I

can

see daylight

coming through the hole. What

more

do

you want?

Well, if

you

go by

the book and

do the

job

as required, you take

your time, analyze the job and the

needs, find

the proper

bi t

,

make

sure

everything

is

in place,

and

then drill

the

hole.

The job s done, but

not the

way

the

book says.

Before we

talk

about

bits, let s

look at the

drill

motor

who

prefers mobility, you use

one

of

the new

rechargeable battery-

powered, variable-speed jobs that

The tip does the

actual cutting

work; the flutes al-

low transport of

first. What

type of

drill

LIP

OR

CUTTING EDGE

is

safest

to

use

around

aircraft?

Pneumatic

or

electric?

FLUTE

I guess this question

can be answered by the

mechanic himself. Some

learned using the pneu-

matic,

others the

elec

tric. And if

you

are one

th

chops away

from

th

work

doesn t have cords or hoses to get

tangled up, snag

on

the job, or trip

people.

Whatever

the choice, the

end result is

about the

same. Your

comfort level is

the

concern here.

continued on p

g

6


28/44

EAIS

at Huffman Prairie

The Wrights' ho

m

field advantage is celebrated

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS Y

SCOTTY MARKLAND

CHAPTER

610

COUNSELOR

We had a remark the engine.

Pilot

able experience on

Mark Dusenberry re-

Monday, October 3, leased the weight on

2005.

We watched

as

the

catapult,

the

bi

a

replica

Wright

III

plane moved down

1905 biplane was cat the track, and

then

apulted

into the sky the Flyer rose from

as a re-enactment

of

the track after a

run

Orville and Wilbur s of about 50 feet. We

flights

from historic

could hear

the clat-

Huffman

Prairie,

at

Mark usenberry

Wright-Patterson Air

skims the surface

of

Force Base

in

Greene

Huffman

Prairie in his

County, Ohio . We

Wrigbt lyer III replica

were standing 500 feet

away

when

mechanics

a

few days before the

official

celebration

.

for the Flyer

III

started


29/44

ter

of

the engine

clearly

and

saw

the

slowly

turning

propellers rotat-

ing

at

400

to

450 rpm. Except for

the

engine noise, it was very quiet.

It

was early

morning, the

fog

had

lifted,

and

the grass was

wet with

dew.

The

pilot

made

a leisurely

flight

at

25 feet of

altitude.

Time

aloft was 5

to

7 minutes, covering

a mile or less.

t

the

southwest

end

of

the

prai-

rie

the pilot

made a

ISO-degree

shallow bank and

turned

around

a small tree before returning

to the

launching

point and

landing

on

its

skids. It was eerie; it was like going

back 100 years

and

watching a 1905

Wright

airplane

flying from the

same field on a

beautiful October

morning. In your imagination you

could see

the

brothers

out

there fly-

ing their

invention,

dressed

in the

clothing of

the

day.

The group from EAA Chapter

610 was invited

to

static display our

1911 Wright B replica (more later).

There were two

other

Wright B air-

craft on display as well, the Day-

ton

Wright B

and

the

Utah College

Wright B.

There

were a

total of three

fly-

ing

Wright airplanes , and one on

static display. That's

a remark

able assembly

in

itself. During this

demonstration, there were

only

20

or 30 people present.

On

Wednes-

day, October 5

an

official dedica-

tion

marking

the

100

th

anniversary

of

the

Wrights' flights

at Huffman

Prairie was made,

with

many

digni-

taries present. Speeches were made,

general aviation airplanes over

the

prairie. Most

of these pilots

were

from Chapter 610.

A

little information about the

EAA

Chapter

610

Wright

Model

warping,

but

we

have

a

different

control system. Mark is an

inter

esting

guy. He

built the airplane

and engine, and learned to

fly

it

on

a

student permit.

All of

the


30/44

ne

ix Right

A movie by Brian Terwilliger

This

is

a love story.

Really.

Sure, the title leads you to believe

it s about

the

people

and

planes of gen

eral aviation

as

manifested in Van Nuys

Airport near

Los

Angeles, but it s really

all

about

the love affair so many of us

have

with

aviation. It just

happens to

be

wrapped

around

the story of

Van

Nuys and the many

people

who ve

brought

it

to

life over

the

past decades.

It s about every airport and every pilot

who ever loved his local airport

and

his fellow pilots. Twenty-nine-year-old

Brian Terwilliger, the director

and

pro

ducer of this

terrific film,

and

a

pilot

himself,

understands

that

underlying

theme

well; he subtitled his film

The

Romance ofFlying

With

the

exception of

the

IMAX for

mat

films

shot

with

an

aviation theme,

few movies have

captured the

visceral

essence

of

flying as well and as

pro

fessionally as Terwilliger

and

his crew

have in One Six Right Told

through

the

voices of those who keep the airport

alive (you may watch the entire film

before you realize there is no

narra

tor) the passion these men and women

have for flying and general aviation is

highlighted by some of

the best foot

age ever

shot

of aircraft

in

flight.

Steven Miles,

the

director of photog

raphy, and aerial directors of

photog

raphy Carston

Bell

and

Doug Holgate

all get a

standing ovation

from

me

for


31/44

Flying

Thoughts:

An Aviator s Flight

Through

Life

A

book by

Richard Ward

Dick Ward's

expert

ise when it comes to the Twin

Bonanza

and

its

brethren

is well known

to

Beech

crafters, but I didn't

know

much else

about

this eru

dite fellow Midwesterner until I read his self-pub

li

shed

book.

That's too bad,

because

he

strikes

me

as

the

kind

of fellow

yo

u 'd like to

get to

know. He's like

many

of

us-nuts

about

airplanes since

h e

was

a

youngster

building

stick-and-tissue

mode

ls of his fa-

vorites and then

gathering

as many

ratings

as

time

and

circumstances

would

allow.

Sprinkled with

Dick's poems

and wide-

r

anging

thoughts on

subjects as diverse as politiCS and l

earn

ing to

fly float -eq u

ipped

J-3 Cubs on the Allegheny

river

in

Pittsburgh,

you'll

never

wonder where

Dick

Ward

stands on

subjects

near and

dear

to

his h

eart

.

As a pilot,

he

shares

how the

diScipline

and

s

tru

cture

we're all

taught

can

be applied

to

everyday life. It 's a

ll

here,

and quite entertaining to

read. Flying Thoughts

can be purchased

through

the Twin Bonanza Associ

ation at

www.twinbonanza.com click on the

Market

place tab. Or you

can

write

to them

at: Twin Bonanza

Association

,

19684

Lakeshore

Drive,

Three

Rivers,

MI

49093

USA

. The 156-page

book

costs $18.95 plus

shipping

for addresses

in

the

United

States.

Katherine

Stinson:

The Flying

Schoolgirl

A book by Debra

L.

Winegarten

Published by

Eakin Press, this

133-page

book is

written primarily

for teens

and preteens,

but

th

e

story is timeless and will

be

enjoyed

by

aviation

enthusiasts of

all ages . Ms.

Winegarten has

t

aken

the

time to

fill

in many

details

of

Stinson's

life,

and

while

adding

fictiona l d ialogue

to history

books

is

not

among my

favorite literary devices,

Winegarten

does her

best

to

restrain herself

and doesn ' t

allow

manulacturers

colors

are available

.

U W l l r u l \ n n t r l g O

d

Time finishwith unllmlt d

color

choices.

problem wit th. superfine

Billy '

Dopel

AERO

CLASSIC

COLLECTOR SERIES

Vintage Tires

New USA Production

S

ho

w off y

our

pride and joy with a

fresh set of Vintage Rubber. These

ne

wl

y minted

ti r

es

ar

e FAA-TSO'd

and sp

ee

d rated to 120 MPH. Some

things are better left the way th ey

were and in the 40's and 50 's, these tires were perfectly

in

tune to the ex

ci

ting tim

es

in aviation.

Not only do these ti res set y

our

vinta

ge

plane a

part

from

http://www.twinbonanza.com-click/http://www.twinbonanza.com-click/


32/44

The

Spectacle ofFlight

A book

by

Robert Wohl

Published by

Yale

University Press

This

beautifully

printed volume

of

the history of

flight

during

the past

century (it still

seems

odd to

write that ) starts off with a photograph of a crowd in

front of a building

that

I

instantly

recognized; it was

the St. Louis Art Museum, with thousands of spectators

looking up

at

Lindbergh's

Spirit o

st.

Louis

after his re

turn

to

the United States.

I d been on

Art Hill dozens

of times

during

my

college

career

and

have

always

marveled

at the

tre

mendous crowds

that

gathered

all over North Amer

ica wherever Lindbergh flew

after

his record-setting

flight. His impact is highlighted by the choice of au

thor Robert Wohl

to

begin this 364-page book with 40

the many

photographs and

illustrations

that

comple

ment the text. There are a couple of layout errors, most

notably

an upside-down reproduction

of a still

from

the movie Hell s Angels of the zeppelin emerging from

the

clouds,

but then

it's

not

as

i f

anyone today

who s

not an aviation enthusiast would recognize an upside

down zeppelin

Wohl is a professor of

history

at the

University

of

California at Los Angeles.

The

Spectacle

o

Flight, pub

lished by Yale University Press, is available from book

stores, identified as ISBN 0-300-10692-0.

Flights

F

orgotten

nd

Remembere

d

Lt

Col. Boardman

C.

Reed

USAF

Ret

.)

Boardman Reed has

been

a VAA member for

de

cades and was, for

many

years, a faithful responder

to

our Mystery Plane

column.

His military career, which

offiCially started

just

before World War II, actually

starts in 1928, when

he began

logging

each

flight ex

perience in meticulous detail. Boardman maintained

his

very

detailed

logs

until

he

was

an

aviation

cadet,

when he simply

no

longer had the time to dedicate

to

such detailed entries.

I ve enjoyed

reading Tom

Brokaw's The Greatest Generation,

but

there s simply

nothing

like

hearing

it

from one

who s been

there,

and Reed certainly was present and active

flying

so

many of the remark

able aircraft of

the

30s,

'40s,

and

'50s.

As

a career military

man, he

started

life

We re

lucky

to

have

had

in the

Army

Air

Corps, transitioning

men like

to

the newly formed

U .S. Air

Force

af

ter the war. Later,

him

when

he

flew all

manner

of civilian aircraft,

we

needed

including

his

good

friend

Pete Bower's

Fly

Baby and Curtiss


33/44

Purchased AUA, Inc. years go but left for better rates.

Have since returned to AUA, Inc. for their reliable,

courteous, and now economic policy. Also appreciate

their pilot-friendly exclusions.

- Peter

Novak

Peter

ovak

Bloomington,

L

• Soloed

1969

private same year

•

Commercial

197

• Instrument MEL 1971

• FI 1972;

ATP

1973

• Captain United Airlines 8 777

- 23 000

hours

total

time


34/44

YDOUG STEWART

CRM.

In

the

airlines

i t stands for crew

resource

management.

In

the

airplanes you

and

I

fly

it stands

for cockpit resource management. And

unfortunately

for me, it so

often

seems to

stand

for can't remember

much.

(Bear

with

me

a

moment and

I'll

remember

why

I started to write

this

article )

RM

of

distractions

from passengers, air

traffic control

ATC)

,

or

aircraft anomalies.

Suppose you select gear down

as

you enter the down

wind leg of the traffic pattern,

and

you

don't

see

thr

ee

in the

green.

Is

this an emergency situation? Do you

need to have

the

manual

gear

extension procedure

Oh

right

I

remember

now.

CRM

. It's

an

initialism that

many

of us

have

heard, but it's

possible that you really don 't un

derstand how

a

term that's

used

by the airlines could be applied

to the cockpits

of

our personal

airplanes.

If

we

consider

that

it

refers

to

using all available tools,

it could make a bit more sense.

Let's take a look

at

those tools

and

how we

can

use

them

, espe

cially when the

yogurt

starts to

creep

up

above

the

eyeballs. My

list

is not prioritized; because

of

my can't remember m uch,

they ' re listed

as

I think of

them.

Let's see

now

checklists . .

.

they're

a

good

tool (especially

for my personal CRM). I have

If your sectional is

back

in

the luggage

compartment, it isn t

g

oing to do you mu h

good when the

batteries

in

your

handheld PS die.

memorized? The answer

to

both

questions

is

no.

What

should you

do? The answer

is

simple . leave

the traffic pattern, climb to a safe

altitude,

and get out the checklist

This is

not

a procedure that you

have to have memorized. I t

is

not

an

emergency situation ... yet.

Us-

ing

the

checklist will ensure that

you

don't

miss

anything.

Check

lists are one

of

the best tools in

our

CRM

flight bag.

Passengers .

they

sometimes

can be one heck of

a

distrac-

tion,

especially if they have not

been

briefed

on the

sterile cock

pit concept, which is no talking

about

anything

(the

wife

and

kids, the ball game

,

the great

joke

they

just heard, etc.) except

What

about

all the possible resources for informa ceiling. About 10 miles before

reaching

Emporia,


35/44

tion that you, or

your

passengers,

might

be referenc

ing? I certainly

hope

you have brought along all the

current and proper charts

that

you might need,

but

I

have

noticed

that many pilots forget

to bring along

a

current

Airport/Facility Directory

AFO) or

other

suit

able reference for airport, NAVAID, and other related

information.

Many pilots

are

now tending

to rely

solely on their

GPS

for

this

information (as well as

the daily lunch special

at

the

airport

restaurant)

but

forget that

i f

the database in the GPS

is not

current,

then the information might

very

well not be reli

able, and if the

batteries

die, that

Documents

Vintage Airplane - Mar 2006