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GEOFF
RO ISON
PR
ESI
E
NT
VI
NTAGE AI RCRAFT ASSOCIATI
ON
Fresh
air
new
hangar, including electrical and
plumbing work, rough-in construc
tion, and
HVAC
work. We will feed
you
and
provide
housing
if needed.
These
work weekends
are a lot of
fun. Hope to see you up there
By the time you
read
this issue
you
should have
received
your
full
color mailing requesting your par
ticipation in our annual Friends
of
the Red Barn campaign. I encourage
you
to consider participating at any
level that you re comfortable with.
The Friends
of
the Red Barn is very
important
to our
annual
budget;
t helps us ensure we can continue
to meet the
needs of VAA members
during
EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh
.
As many
of
you
are already aware,
we recently learned that significant
progress has been made in the de
velopment of
an alternative fuel for
certificated aircraft engines. This
fuel, 94Ul, may provide a long-
term alternative that would
poten-
tially replace lOOll while
imposing
the
least amount of impact on the
flying community. EAA has con-
Happy spri n
gtime to the mem-
bership of the Vintage Aircraft Asso
ciation Although t has been quite
windy
of
late in my region, we have
finally experienced a good
number
of
days where we have been able to
open the doors of the chapter hangar.
We
greatly enjoy
the
fresh air; we also
look forward to the utility bills taking
a giant leap downward each spring.
The spring weather has also now
allowed us
to
continue with
the
construction of a new addit ion to
the chapter hangar
here
at DeKalb
County
Airport in northeastern
Indiana. As
you may well remem-
ber, we had hoped to complete this
project last fall, but unfortunately,
old man winter snuck
up on
us
and had other ideas The plumbing
hookups for the restroom facilities
have now been installed, and
we
are prepared
to pour
the concrete
foundation
. God willing (and the
creek don t rise), we
shou
ld be able
to complete this exciting project by
Oshkosh time.
Speaking
of
vintage construction
www. VintageAircraft.org and
there 's
a photo
on
the News page in this
issue of
Vintage Airplane.
Execut ive
i rec tor
H.G.
Frautschy has put
put together
a
nice
pictorial
of the progress on
both websites, and he will
be add-
ing additional
photos and
video
as
the project continues.
s
many
of
you
are
already aware
we
recently
learned
that
significant
progress
has
been made
in the
development of an
alternative
fuel
for certificated
aircraft
engines.
http:///reader/full/VintageAircraft.orghttp:///reader/full/VintageAircraft.org
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N E
MAY
VOL 37, NO 5
2009
CONTENTS
Fe
Straight Level
Fresh air
by Geoff Robison
2 News
5 Aeromail
6
Replicating a French Barracuda
Tom Wathen, Mark Lightsey, and
the
Caudron C.460
by Budd Davisson
4
Those Wonderful Widgeons
Flying since
the
40s
by Sparky Barnes Sargent
2 Light Plane Heritage
Uncle Bob s Midwing Midway
Part II
by Bob Whittier
28
The Vintage Mechanic
Some thoughts on restoration and airworthiness
by Robert G. Lock
32
The Vintage Instructor
Weight wait,
don t
tell me
by Doug Stewart
34
Mystery Plane
by H.G. Frautschy
38
Classified Ads
STAFF
EAA
Publisher
Tom Poberezny
Director of
EAA
Publications
Mary
Jones
Executive
Director/Editor
H.G . Frautschy
Production/Special Project
Kathleen
Witman
Photography
Jim Koepnick
Bonnie
Kratz
Advertising Coordinator
Sue Anderson
Classified Ad
Coordinator
Lesley Poberezny
Copy
Editor
Colleen
Walsh
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Flush Toilets
and other site improvements
to make AirVenture attendees more
comfortable
It's
not that
often
that
something
as
modest
as a
commode takes
center
stage. But
when talking to
EAA s
members about
the
sweeping
changes coming to
their
conven
tion site, one simple
priority con
sistently rated highly: flush toilets.
Focusing
on
flush toilets
in
a broad
discussion
about the comprehen
sive AirVenture
site-enhancement
program
is
like focusing
on
shoul
der harness
adjustments in
de
scribing a cross-country flight. It's
a
small consideration in the big
scheme
of things,
something that
doesn
't really
matter to
anyone ...
except
to
you
when
your comfort
begins to suffer. And
then it mat
ters a
lot
.
The lO-year, multimillion-dollar
plan to upgrade EAA s convention
site not
only
will
bring improve
ments
to roadways, layout, and
infrastructure (see last
month's
Hotline
in
Sport Aviation , but also
will result
in
significant
improve
ments
in creature comforts
for
attendees.
The long-range vision
calls for flush
toilets
in
many
ar
eas,
addit
i
onal and
refurbished
campground shower
facilities,
more green
spaces, additional
John
Berendt
Cannon Falls, Minnesota
Just
as
this
issue
was going
to press
we
learned that
long
time VAA
Director John
Berendt
passed away early
in
the
morning
of April
IS, 2009,
at
the
age
of
74. A lifetime
EAA
member (EAA
36591,
VAA
984),
John
started fly-
ing in
the late 1950s
and
had his
interest in aviation
renewed
in
and most
cost-effective way to cre
ate shade
is with
trees,
and
we
had
a ready supply of trees that had
to
be removed from
the paths
cleared
for new roadways and
construc
tion,
said Steve Taylor, EAA facili
ties manager. We've
transplanted
42 trees and added a few
new
ones
1967
when
he
joined
EAA
Chap
ter 300 in
Faribault,
Minnesota.
John enthusiastically owned an
Aeronca 11AC Chief, a Fairchild
PT-19,
and
a Fairchild F-24. He's
best known
as
the
president of
the
Fairchild
Club
and editor
of
the Fairchild Flyer.
John
was a
charter member of
VAA
Chapter
13
in
Albert
Lea,
Minnesota
.
He
was
appointed an
advisor to
the
Antique/Classic
Di-
vision (now VAA) in
1989,
and
after his
election
as a
director
in
1990,
he continued to
serve
the
membership until his death.
John
has
been
a
volunteer at EAA
Air
Venture Oshkosh since 1975, con
centrating
his efforts
on the VAA
forums
and
the
Type
Club tent,
and
throughout
the
years
John
was
the volunteer who
sent you your
membership longevity
pins.
We
will miss
John's
direct
and
forth
right manner
as well as his pas
sionate commitment to aviation
and
to
the
VAA.
We extend
our
condolences
to
his
wife, Marge,
and
his friends
and
family.
Bunkhouse, West, Stits, and
North
40 shower houses will boast
new
interiors
with better
lighting,
up
graded shower stalls, lavatory sink
facilities
and, of
course (drum
roll), flush toilets.
The
toilets will
be added to the back
half of each
shower house,
with access from
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2009 irVenture
NOT M
vailable for
Pre Order
Get a jump on
E
AirVenture
Oshkosh 2009 by pre-ordering the
2009
notice
to airmen (NOTAM) .
Although
many
of
the
procedures
are similar to previous years, there
are updates in nearly every area to
enhance safety, efficiency, and con
venience for
the
thousands of air
planes expected.
The E AirVenture NOT M is
required reading
and should
be
part of a pilot s preflight prepara
tion. I t outlines all arrival/depar
ture procedures, radio frequencies,
Wittman Regional Airport details,
and much more.
The 32-page booklets are ex
pected to be
printed
and available
later this month along with an on
line version.
You can
place
your order at
https://Secure EAA org/airventure/
notamJequest html
Submit Your
Type
Club
Meeting Information
Many
type
clubs hold special
events,
dinners
and
meetings
in
and around
Oshkosh
throughout
AirVenture week, and E provides
a listing on the AirVenture website.
If your type club plans
to meet
here, visit
https://Secure eaa org/air-
venture/type_clubs html
and com
plete the online form. The deadline
to submit
information
is July 14.
Call 888-322-4636, ext. 6112, or
e-mail ssedlachek@
eaa org
for more
information.
tor, Field Representative, Ground basic Young Eagles flight.
Support Volunteer, Humanitarian The
nomination
period is open
(presented for efforts to reach spe through
June
IS,
and
the official
cial needs Young Eagles), and the nomination form is available
at
Young Eagles Horizon award, rec www YoungEagles org/nomination
ognizing efforts
to
go
beyond
the
form pdf
V
Work Parties
The new VAA Vintage Hangar is up, and now
it
is time for us to in-
stall the interior offices, reconnect the water supply, and install electri
cal service to the other buildings in the VAA Red Barn area. There is
much
to
do before AirVenture 2009 , and we sure could benefit from
your skills, talents, and help. If you have any background in rough con
struction, finish work, electrical, plumbing, HVAC or if
you
would make
a good supervisor, please come up and help us during any of our work
weekends. Come for one day or all three days-it s up to you. All we ask
is that
you
check in with us via e-mail before you arrive so we can plan
our work and resources.
We
have living accommodations for volunteers, and we will have
great evening meals supplied by chefs Steve Nesse (your regular host
at
VAA
' s
Tall
Pines Cafe) and Bob Lumley. We will also supply lunch.
Please let Archie James know
if and when
you
are coming so we can make arrangements for food and lodging.
Please bring tools hammers, drills, tape measures, etc.
The work weekends are as follows:
https://secure.eaa.org/airventurehttps://secure.eaa.org/airventurehttps://secure.eaa.org/airventurehttps://secure.eaa.org/airhttps://secure.eaa.org/airhttps://secure.eaa.org/airhttps://secure.eaa.org/airhttps://secure.eaa.org/airmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://secure.eaa.org/airventurehttps://secure.eaa.org/airmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]
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EM's
Consolidated
PT-3
will be featured
at
the Classic
Military Trainers Ultimate Fantasy Camp, October 9-11.
Ultimate
Fantasy:
Classic
Military
Trainers
You won't
want to miss this chance of a lifetime to
experience unforgettable flights in two incredible aircraft
from EAA's collection of military trainers-a Consoli
dated
PT-3
and a North American
T-6
.
EM's Classic Military Trainers Ultimate Fantasy Flight
Camp, October 9-11, will include a course on the history
of perhaps the most interesting period of military train
ers: the
1930s.
Participants will have a rare opportu
nity to fly in the only remaining airworthy PT-3 plus take
a second flight in the famed pilot maker, the North
American
T-6.
Flights include a preflight briefing
on
the
aircraft and its controls.
EAA pilots and instructors will
perform
the
take
off, demonstrate
in
the air
how the controls work,
and then
it
is your turn
To
learn more on this and
other EAA Fantasy Flight Camps, visit www Fantasy
FlightCamp org
Send Your Young Eagte to Camp
Cutline: Air Academy campers get to test their
abilities
on
EAA s
Challenge Course.
-Session 1: June 15-19,2009
-Session
2:
June 21-25,2009
The
EAA Young Eagles Camp
is
designed as an
introduction to the
wonderful
world of aviation
for students ages 12-13. This program uses small
group activities and close counselor relationships
to present
the
basics
of
flight
in
a science
camp
format that is a unique combination of fun
and
discovery. Primary activities include rocketry and
learning about how balloons fly and about avia
tion history and flight.
There are plenty of opportunities for kids to
learn about aviation at the EAA Air Academy. To
learn more, visit www AirAcademy org
VAA
Vintage Hangar Project
Nears Completion
After a particularly harsh win-
ter in east-central Wisconsin, we've
from MPB Builders completed the
framing and
outer
shell of the new
Vintage
Hangar project
. Here it
is
in its unpainted state after all exte
unteers
to descend upon it and fi
nalize the interior work that needs
to be
done
and
paint
the exterior.
See the item on page 3 for more de
http://www.fantasy/http:///reader/full/FlightCamp.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirAcademy.orghttp://www.fantasy/http:///reader/full/FlightCamp.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirAcademy.org
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SEND YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS TO :
VAA, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
P
.O.
Box 3086
OSHKOSH,
WI
549
03-30
86
OR
YOU
CAN E-MAIL THEM TO: vintageaircraft@eaa org
In the March 2009
issue of
intage Airplane
I was extremely
TH E
VINTAGE
interested
in
the
well-written ar
MECHANIC
ticle-The
Vintage
Mechanic
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page 24, by Robert
G.
Lock.
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irs
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aH
erat
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l,
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en
ance,
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8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
8/44
N
estled in the hills on
the edge
of
Riverside,
California, Flabob Air
port
has a form
of
aer
ial patina to it. It's as if it has been
fondled
by
generations of loving
hands, which have
smoothed the
sharp edges
and worn the finish,
thereby giving it a friendly, lived-in
feel. Many of
the
hangars are rusty,
the
spirit of Bill Turner,
the
long
time
replica king, still lives
on at
the
airport
he called home for so
many years.
The
Caudron
C.460 is
another
of
aviation
philanthropist/entre
preneur Tom Wathen's projects. He
and Bill Turner created some fantas
tic
airplanes
(Turner-Laird SpeCial
and
de Havilland
Comet,
to
name
good move, and I'm loving it.
Mark
came
into
airplanes the
same way
most
people do, via mod
els and a very early interest. He got
his private pilot certificate
in
high
school at Long Beach, California,
but then
started hanging
out up
at
another
Southern California
sport
aviation
hot
spot, Santa Paula.
I
got my
license
at
Long Beach,
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
9/44
In
1936
. . . Michel
Detroyat
and his
ern California legendary airman,
airplane creator, and restorer.
Mark got a real job working
for the gas company, but old air
planes
almost
immediately started
working
on
him
.
I was living in Hemet but com
muted to Hawthorne in an old Bel-
lanca Cruisair. When you put that
amount of time on an old airplane,
you
can't help
but learn how to
work on it. Then I built a Cor-
ben
Super Ace with a Model A for
power. I was always
out
at the
air
port working
on
something, and
people kept dropping by 'Hey, can
you help
me
with this? Can you
make this part for me?'
and
about
10 years ago, I had enough busi
ness going that I jumped out on
my
own.
And here I am
building
wild-looking French airplanes.
As he tells it, Tom Wathen
had
the
Caudron
shuffling from front
to back burner for a
number
of
years before Mark took the proj-
ect over.
Tom likes
to
do airplanes
that
were winners. Plus
i t has
to
be
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
10/44
something
no
one else
has
done.
After
doing such
a
long
series of
racers together,
Bill
Turner and
he decided the
Caudron would
be
the
next
project because it fit both
of his criteria:
It had won both the
Greve and the Thompson
trophies
What I
didn't
know
was that
Tom had
gone
to France and
come
back
with
a
complete
set
of
original
construction drawings for
the
air-
plane. They
apparently were used
on the
project
for
a
little while
then
totally
disappeared.
I
didn't
erably. Because
it has
to
look
like
a specific
airplane, you're
terribly
constrained
in
your
design
work.
On the
one hand,
you have the
areas and basic dimensions avail-
able, but
on the other,
every
time
a detail s
even
slightly wrong, ev-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
11/44
and appearance-wise.
What he was referring to is that
the
Ranger is a bigger
engine than
the original Renault engine.
lso
the
bigger nose
on the
case was likely to
cause cowling changes. How
ever, a bigger problem with
the
inches versus
nearly
500
inches.
With an
airplane
that
was,
in
But,
we
could get it with a con theory, going to
be fairly
fast, a
stant-speed
prop,
which would
be
fixed-pitch
prop
would
be a real
a huge improvement over trying detriment.
The original had
a
to run a fixed-pitch on a Ranger.
two-position prop: You
took off
in
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
12/44
coarse pitch; then, when
you
were
up and running,
ram
air pressure
triggered an
automatic change to
a
finer pitch. A
constant-speed prop
turning faster
wou
ld be about
the
right
diameter,
around
6 feet,
and
it would work well
at
both
ends of
the envelope.
Once
we discovered
the OM
we never looked back.
At that point research
on
the
airframe began in earnest. This
meant finding
every photo possi
ble
along with
every kind
of
draw
ing
available
. With on ly mode l
airplane drawings in their hands,
it meant they had to
continu
ally check
the
accuracy of those
against photos
of the real
airplane
Flabob legend
d
a
rquart got the
builders started in the right direc-
tion on the landing gear wh en he
donated a pair of Culver V shock
struts to the cause. The motion
that closes the gear doors is so
complicated
that to
call it mon-
key motion would be doing a dis-
service to monkeys everywhere.
using
comparative
geometry: Find
something
that's
a
known dimen
sion,
like the prop (in side view),
and
use
that to create a
scale
to
get
the
rest
of
the
dimensions.
Mark says, We found one set of
drawings from
the
American
Air
Racing Society
that
was
extremely
accurate and
pulled
the airfoil off
those.
We
don't know what the air
foil is,
but
it
is
perfectly symmetr i
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completely rebuilding
the
front
half of
the
fuselage. Again.
Since
they
had no drawings for
anything, they relied
on
the tried
and true
method
of looking at simi
lar airplanes
and
using
their
struc
ture
as
guides for their design work.
Mark got with George Pereira,
who
designed
the GP-4, which is
similar in weight and speed to the
Caudron, and used
his
wing at -
tach system. It's a one-piece wing
that comes up
into
the fuselage,
so it's
not
too complicated
.
One
of Mark's previous customers was
a retired Boeing engineer, and he
looked
over their
shoulders
to
make sure they didn t do some-
thing really stupid .
liThe
wing
uses a
laminated,
solid spar for
the
center, which
tapers
and
slowly
becomes
a
box
spar toward the tips.
liThe ailerons work on a unique
torque tube system,
the
design of
which
is
driven
by
the
total lack
of space in the fuselage,
which
is
true of just about everything. I sit
on
the
floor
and
still
had
to cheat
the
canopy up
just
a
little
just
to
fit in it. In fact, the trim
and
tail wheel
lock
are on the right
side, making it
look
as i f I have
to
change hands on the stick
to
get
them, but that s
not
the
case.
I can reach almost nothing on the
left side of
the
airplane
with
my
left
hand
because
I m
so crowded.
It's only 22 inches across, so it s
much
easier to reach
across the
airplane
with
my left
hand.
liThe landing gear was actually
Cleveland Would Never
Be
th
Same
To hardcore air racing fans, 1936 will forever be known as
"The
Year
the French Came to Cleveland." In a sport that had
national prominence
just
below
that
of
baseball with almo.
st
exactly the same level of strictly American testosterone,
it
was
unthinkable that some effete Europeans could come over here
and beat us at our own game. But they did. Actually Michel De
troyat and his Caudron C.460 didn t just beat us, they cleaned
our clock. In
the
Greve Trophy race, Detroyat was 22 miles
faster than Harold Neumann in a Folkerts, and in the Thomp
son Trophy race, he blazed across the line 16 mph faster than
Earl Ortman in the Keith Rider R-3. Margins like that don t con
stitute winning:
They
amount to a trouncing.
In the defense of the good old United States, at least one
point has
to
be made: Air racing in the United States was
essentially a 3-D form of small-town drag racing. Every air
plane was hand built
by
amateurs
in
their backyards and han
gars, and every single team was nickel-and-diming their way
around the racing circuit. The Caudron was built by anything
but a bunch of amateurs, and its racing was part of a corpo
rate strategy. In fact, Caudron had been a major force in the
French aviation industry, which was considerable,
by
the
way
since around 1912. For it to show up at Cleveland was the
equivalent of having a team officially fielded by Boeing lined
up next to
you
at Reno.
The
airplane was a professionally
de
signed and built machine.
And
it wasn t designed to come to
America. That was something of
an
afterthought.
The airplane was originally designed to compete in the Coupe
Deutsch de la Meurthe race of 1934, Europe's premier aerial
free-for-all, which a Caudron won. Naturally Then
its
racers
started
playing with the record book. That summer Raymond
Delmotte fired up the long, lean racer and set an absolute,
world land-plane speed record of 314 mph. We say "Iand
plane" because the absolute overall speed record was held by
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
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The gear was the most difficult part of the airplane
to
design because
the wheels
start
in front of the spar but retract behind it.
Tom
Wathen: racer angel, airport
savior, sport aviation legend, and
all-around good guy. He sponsored
the Caudron project.
Mark Lightsey looks huge in this
photo because the airplane is decep
tively tiny and he barely fits in it.
to
lock it down.
We had
pictures of
the
gear
but
didn' t know
exactly which
way
we
were going
to
go when
the
late
d Marquart stopped by.
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Mark used the metric equivalent, cov
ering it all with Poly-Fiber products.
liThe covering and
painting
sys
tem is a new product manufactured
by Poly-Fiber for the Ceconite STC.
It 's called Star Gloss,
and it went
on really slick, Mark says.
When you see how tiny the air
plane is and how
Mark fills
up
the
cockpit and then you look at Fla
bob's 40 -foot wide runway, you
have
to
wonder how it flies.
liThe
good
news is
that the
nose
is
really narrow and the flaps re
ally
get
the nose
down
so
you
have the runway in sight
until
you flare, but on the ground
you
can barely see the sides.
liOn my first takeoff, I elected not
to use any of the split-flaps. I brought
the tail
up
and
it
hit 70, then 80,
then 90 , and it showed absolutely
no indication
it was going to leave
the ground.
At
100 I tugged on the
stick a little, and it came right off.
That symmetrical wing needs angle
of attack to fly. Now, I use 15 degrees
of flap
and
hold it slightly tail low,
and
i t
flies off really easily.
I know it looks like
i t
ought to
be a real handful in the air,
but the
controls are really quite nice. It isn't
sensitive at all. However, it is abso
lutely neutral
on
all axes. If you
put
a wing down, it'll stay down. Same
way with the rudder and elevator. Be-
cause it has so
much
side area ahead
of
the CG, if I pull the nose
to
the
side with rudder, it'll fly sideways all
day long. There
is
zero dihedral ef
fect:
You
absolutely
can't
pick
up
a
wing with rudder.
rAiLWW66LS
The long barracuda shape of the C 460 replica is emphasized y the
French tricolor stripe. The tiny 75-square-foot wing
is
partially respon
sible for the original s 314-mph top speed.
so I have a
lot of
time
to
get it set
up for touchdown.
liThe tail wheel is lockable, and
I don't
think you
could
control
the
airp
lane on landing i f
it weren't
locked.
The
pilot's weight
is
so far
back and there's so much
weight
out forward
that
if the airplane
started to move Sideways on the
runway,
it
would be like a dumbbell
and
really
want
to
come around
hard. With the locking tail wheel,
it's not that
bad and
a little
rudder
and brake holds it.
So now that Tom
and
Mark have
created their airplane, what's next?
Tom is
working with some
air
show people
in
Europe who really
want to see the airp lane, so we're
dismantling
it
and taking it to
Eu
rope for the summer. We're going to
hit the Geneva Classics show,
and
France
is
having a 100th anniversary
of
Caudron show. In total, we're go
ing to hit eight to 10 shows.
Mark is quick
to
point out that
he didn't do
this
by himself and
wants to
credit
the Caudron kids
who were part of his crew.
I know
I'm
going to miss some
body, and if I do, I'm sorry. But I have
to thank Bill Hill, Tony Furakawa,
Nando and Hualdo Mendoza, Don
Newman,
Larry Gudde, Barry Ken
nedy,
Carah
Durell, Austin Jones,
John Nelson, Rob Gold, and espe
cially Tom Wathen. It may be a little
airplane,
but it took
a
lot of
hands
and
a lot of hours
to
get it fin ished.
Every time I strap it
on
I
think
of
Tom
Wathen, and
I think
of these
guys. They really pulled it off.
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THOSE
WONDERFUL
WIDGEONS
Flying since
th
4 s
by Sparky Barnes Sargent
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fairly rare
bird and
easily a favor
ite
among those who
are fond of
vintage
amphibians-for both
its
eye appeal and performance.
With
its
durable
design
and
sporty
ma
neuverability,
the
Widgeon origi
nally had seating for four
or
five
people, and it featured all-metal
construction, cantilever wings,
and
a
semi-monocoque two-step
hull
,
with an
overall
length of
31
feet,S inches
and
a
wingspan of
40 feet. The G-44A featured a few
improvements over
the
original
G-44-including
a
modified hull
and seating
for
s ix-and
those
several engine conversions
over
the
years.
The Gannet
conversion
(Pace,
Masan
dorf)
featured
300-hp
Ly-
coming R-680 radials,
while
other
conversions
used
260-hp
Continental
IO-470-Ds
or the 260-hp
Lycoming GO-435s. McK
innon Enterprises of
Or
egon developed
its
own
conversion using the
270
hp
Lycoming GO-480s
with three-bladed pro
pellers
and increased
fuel
capacity. The McKinnon
Super Widgeon
responded
happily to
the conversion,
showing improved speed,
climb, and
range.
Other
features included mod
ern
avionics
and
retract
able wingtip floats, along
with
various creature com
forts
ranging from wider
windows
to a larger door,
soundproofing, and even an escape
hatch.
The
McKinnon conversion
also
included
changes to the struc
ture and
hull, thereby allowing
an increased maximum take-off
weight.
Yet
another
engine
conver
sion uses the
turbocharged 350-hp
Lycoming
TIO-540s . Through
the
years,
Widgeons have also
been
modified
with droop tips
and
a
one-piece windshield.
N135MG
Brian
Van
Wagnen of Jackson,
Michigan, has been flying since
he
was 14,
mowing
grass
to pay
for
flying
lessons.
They
had wa
ter airplanes,
which
I was attracted
to
right away
since I
grew up on
a
lake,
says Van Wagnen with a
smile,
and
I was fortunate
enough
to get around
one
of
these when
I
was 16. Al Meyers of Meyers Aircraft
had a Widgeon
down at
Tecumseh,
and
I was flying a Volmer [an ex
perimental
amphibian
designed by
Volmer Jensen]
at the time
with a
guy-they
took
me
out
in
the Wid
geon,
and
I fell
in
love with it
So
I've been flying
them
for a long
time, and I do have one
at
home . I
fly for American out of O'Hare,
but
I'm
really a seaplane
nut
."
Van
Wagnen explains
that Jim
Hagedorn
contacted
me to ferry
the airplane and then give
him
some
dual in it. This airplane was restored
many years ago, and it was already
nice when
he
bought it from Mike
Reece in Portland, Oregon .
Then
Jim
added
a stripe
and
logo to the
exterior,
along
with a
new
interior
and
panel
done by
Modern Aero
in Egan, Minnesota. I don't know a
lot
about
this airplane's history,
but
these little holes
on
the fuselage
were for a depth charge rack, when
it
was used for coastal
patrol
dur
ing World War
II
.
Then
it
went into
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18/44
AIMeyers
of
Meyers Aircraft had
a
idgeon
down
at
Tecumseh, and
. they
took
me
out in the
Widgeon,
and
I
fell
in
love
with
it "
Brian an
Wagnen
Note
the
immaculate interior and up-t
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This Widgeon is powered y Continental 52 s.
ing,
the
flight controls are fabric
covered on
all
the
Widgeons, with
the
exception
that some of them
have
had
the
flaps
metalized-but
this
one
hasn't.
Van Wagnen
thoroughly
enjoyed
flying
the
Widgeon
to E
AirVen
ture Oshkosh
for its first
visit-es
pecially wh
en
it
came time
for
the
judging
and
awards. N135MG made
both its
pilot
and its
owner
happy
when it
was awarded
the
Transport
Category Champion Bronze Lindy
at
the end of
E
AirVenture 2008.
N7 G
Frank Marzich
of Rockford, Il
linois, started
hanging
out
at
air
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•
The Widgeon's flight controls are
Close-up view of the wheel well.
Unlike most general-aviation air
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Here you can see the entryway into the cabin .
N744G s panel- note the handsome
woo
yokes.
able,
explains
Marzich, so I've
owned it about 10 years now.
has two batteries in
it for
backup
.
It
holds
100 gallons of fuel, and
if
you
let it . The biggest
attraction
of this airplane
is
on the water,
and
coming
out of
the
water,
he
says,
smiling
broadly. When
you're
in
full displacement taxi, you just
turn
around
like a fishing boat,
and then
all of a sudden you just
jam
the
power to
it,
and the monster just
lurches
up and this one comes
out
of the water really fast, in 9 or
10 seconds-and you get up on
the
step
and
it takes
another
second to
pick
up speed. It's
pretty
impres
sive, because
the
water is spraying
up all
around and the
windows are
getting wet.
s
much
as he
loves
it
on
the
water,
he
says it also
handles
real
nice
on the
land;
the
only
thing
that's a little different
is
that
with
the
round
nose on it-like the bow
of
a
ship-your
ight
picture
is
not
square like in
t
airplanes.
So
it's
not
so easy
to
tell if you're in a
crab.
You
ask yourself,
'Where on
that
roundness
do I really want
to
put the horizon?' I t
takes
a
little
bit
of
getting
used to,
to
see
when
your nose
is
straight, because
other
airplanes have
a
boxier nose and
it's pretty easy
to
see
when those
lines line up
on the
runway.
t
first,
it's pretty easy to
land
crooked, be
cause you don ' t
know what
you're
looking for-but if you use your pe
ripheral
you
can catch your drift.
So
you get used
to
looking out the
side,
and
then you'll pick out where
that
runway
line should be on the
nose
up
there,
and
pretty soon
that
will start to come together.
N744G
was restored by Chuck
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Light Plane Heritage
ORIGINALLY
PUBLISHED IN E Experimenter
AUGU
T
994
Uncle
Bob s
Midwing Midway
Part II
BY BOB WHITTI R
EAA 1235
L
ast
month
we told
how
designer Grover C. Loen
ing in 1918 created a shoulder-wing monoplane
that was significantly simpler, lighter, and faster
than
the
biplanes then being used in World War I
This M-8 also
had an advantage
from the
impor-
crate
height to
a
minimum
. Once
the
planes
had
been
uncrated in Europe, mechanics would have to reinstall
the center sections and take care to rig them accurately.
Slight misalignment of a center section would translate
into appreciable misalignment of long upper wings.
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
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he midwing design has been used in numerous types of homebuilt air
planes, such as this Cassutt speedster and the similar-looking Monerai.
Absence of dihedral can simplify construction of cantilever wing spars.
Brothers Paul and Norman Poberezny built the low-wing Pober Sport
P-5 in 1959 Paul found that the low wing s larger wing struts had sig
nificantly higher turbulence on the upper wing surface at the wing strut
juncture than his midwing Little Audrey which required much smaller
struts below the wing.
monoplanes
would be
to ship
overseas. Had that war
dragged on into 1919, it is very possible the M-Ss might
have seen a lot of action.
You won't read about this in coffee table books, but the
deve
loper of th e now widely used
Poly-Fibe r ai r
craf
t
covering mate-
ria l
s create
d one - and
two seater
mi
d
wing
designs called t
he
Flut-R
Bu
gs
wh ich became popular
among
ho
m
eb
uilt
airpl
ane
ent
h usiast
s.
In
recent years, Randy Schlitter of Kan
sas h
as
re-created a line of RANS ul
tralig
ht
s. I t includes the
S-9 and
S-lO
aerobat ic mode l
s
which are mid
wings. In Te nnessee, Wayne Ison 's
TEAM
In c.
organization
developed
th
e very popul ar miniMAX
ultra-
light, which also
is
a midwing.
None
made the choice
of mid-
wing configuration capriciously.
In
discussi
ng Little
Audrey Po
berezny said, I chose the midwing
configuration basically for structural
reason s. I t
is
easier,
and
a bit safer,
to
have
struts in
tension
under
the
wings rat
her
than
in
compression
as th ey would have to be
on
a strut
braced low -wing. I also wan
ted the
greatest possible proporti
on
of the
total w
in
g area
within the
propeller
slipst
ream
to coax
more
lift out of
it dur
ing
takeoff or in the event of
a go-around.
He
went on to
say I
once
flew a
C
ub
th at had
been
modified
into
a
high-wing twin by installing Lycom
ings
on
both right and left wings.
During th e run-up prior to takeoff, I
chanced to look down at the wheels
and
was surprised
to
notice that tire
defl
ection
was much less th
an
nor
ma
l.
Th
is
showed
tha
t even with
the
ship at a
standst
ill, so mu
ch
air being driven over
the
wings
by
the prope
ll
ers was ge nerating an appreciable
amount
of lift.
He
also related how when flying four-engined
KC 97
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24/44
\
I
Some military planes
used
the midwing concept to ad-
-
vantage. In the Martin B-l of 1935 above and some
later bombers it created space in fuselage bellies for
bomb bays.
Top
right the 1937 Douglas 0-47A carried
pilot observer and rear gunner. Observer could move
into belly
to
see through underwing windows. Belly
hatch opened for vertical photography and dropping
messages etc. Right midwing design allowed Grum
man to draw on biplane experience when creating its
first monoplane the F4F-4 Wildcat. Since it is a big
ship the pilot could sit above the wing to clear the main spar This high position combined with small diam
eter of twin-row radial engine gave excellent forward visibility
for
combat and carrier landings.
climb out so well
as
to startle
modern
fliers. Their slow
turning engines drive large-diameter propellers. You have
now learned one of the mysterious reasons why some
planes are eagles and other are turkeys.
Poberezny also told us
that
some time after
the
ittle
Audrey
project, he built a low-wing, the Pober
Sport
It had
two struts above each wing. Tests with yarn tufts attached
to the upper surface of
one
wing showed
that
there was
much
turbulence
in the
areas where
the
struts
met the
wings, with appreciable loss of lift. In addition to this loss
of lift,
the
struts had to be made of heavier streamlined
ste
el tubing to give adequate resistance to buckling under
the compression load applied to them.
At fly-ins you will
notice
that
most ultralights are designed to have wing
struts in tension rather
than
compression.
Discussing his firm's miniMAX, Wayne Ison said, We
chose
the
midwing configuration because careful engi
neering
is
required
to
keep an ultralight
within
the
le
gal weight limit. Calculations showed
that
by attaching
wing roots to the top longerons instead of using cabane
struts
as
on
a parasol,
we
got maximum strength for the
structurally easy to incorporate admirably large windows
just below
the
wings.
In an informative and much-appreciated letter,
Ray
Stits
told us
that the
reason he chose the midwing configura
tion for his first Flut-R-Bug was to concentrate the differ
ent
airframe loads into as compact an area as pOSSible and
also for the sake of structural strength with low weight.
It
was
originally intended to power that first, quite small
Flut-R-Bug with a VW engine. Thus it was imperative to
keep weight
as
low
as
possible consistent with safety. But
in 1955, techniques for converting those auto engines
for
flight were in their infancy, and stories reaching
Ray
about
problems various people had encountered prompted him
to switch to a 65-hp aviation engine. This led to the basic
design evolving into the two-seat
Flut-R-Bugs.
These planes were fitted with cockpit canopies built
up
of metal strips. Right
and
left sides
had
transparent
plastic panels, while
the top
areas were fabric-covered
to shield occupants' heads from the
hot
sun. Test flights
were made
with
and without
these canopies
and
also
with
and without
the
plastic side panels. The airplanes
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Top left , French Bernard
set
278 mph speed record in 1924 Hispano-Suiza engine of 450 hp had 12 cylinders
in three banks of four each. Cowl over right and
left
banks blended cleanly into roots of midwing. Center and
top right, Wittman Buster of late 1940s had flat-four 85-hp engine and used same idea in its cowling, as did
others. Bottom drawings show Art Chester's Jeep of mid-1930s.
It
had a gull wing similar to Stinson Reliant.
Spars were deepest and strongest where
struts
attached. Fairly open angle at junctures of
struts
with wing
undersides minimized drag from squeezing air in these angles. Shorter wing chord
at
roots minimized size
of juncture between wings and fuselage. Short wingspans of racers afforded good bracing angles.
~ ~ ~ l
I
D
The valley where a low-wing meets a round or
oval fuselage, A is a big drag generator. Effi
cient root fillets,
B
are complicated and costly
I ~ , , , , ~ ~
O L ~ m u ~ u m m r u
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Interesting things can be done with midwings. n
955
Ray Stits designed this single-seater SA-SA Flut-R-Bug.
Inboard ends of wings detached from fuselage and swung upward. At same t ime wing struts pivoted
on
their
bolts and wings ended
up
folded with roots upward
and
tips downward. Could fit into
odd
hangar spaces. Wing
panels were only 8 feet long overall span proved to give too poor span loading for good takeoff and climb so
2 feet were spliced to each wingtip to increase span. Tips would then touch the ground if folded ; change was
made to detachable wings racked
on
each side of the fuselage . This ship led to later two-seat Flut-R-Bugs.
on
the
canopy but just
the
top fabric
in
place
and
expe
rienced no turbulence. Then some builders of this model
began to report experiencing turbulence over the tail sur
faces in tight left turns at cruising speed. Simple, single
curvature, triangular fairings made of sheet
aluminum
and
installed
in the
angle between wing leading edges
and the
fuselage cured this
by
delaying airflow separa
tion.
Live
and learn.
As
far as we know,
no wind tunnel
tests have
been
made of small , simple
midwing
planes
designed
and
built
on
tight
budgets-not
enough such midwings have
been built
to
attract
the attention
of
the wind
tunnel
people. Probably some have been made for larger, faster
military types, but one could spend
much
time trying to
hunt
down the decades-old reports
that
resulted.
When one looks at the accompanying side-view draw
ing of
the
Grumman Wildcat, it becomes readily appar
ent that
the enclosed cockpit positioned
so
far above the
juncture of wing roots and fuselage sides could cause
no
turbulence problems. But when we look at pictures of
as
sorted smaller midwings, with the inboard ends of their
wings close to large
open
cockpits,
common
sense says
turbulence must result.
One
has to consider each mid
lages. The classic cure for
the
aerodynamic drag created
there is to install well-shaped sheet aluminum fillets hav
ing elaborate curves requiring
much
work
and
expense.
This
is one
reason why
many
low-wings have fuselages
with flat bottoms
and
sides. They can get by with
much
simpler fairings or
none
at all. The drawings
in
this ar
ticle make it easy to visualize what this
is
all about.
Read
Tony Bingelis' article
on
fairings in
the
April 1992 issue
of xp rim nt r
Now look
at the
draWings of Roscoe Turner's big rac
ing plane,
the
LTR-14. The
l OOO
-
hp
P&W Twin Wasp
engine t
hat
powered it was of
the
radial type, today often
referred to
as
a round engine. The
NACA
drag-reducing
cowling fitted
around
it was, therefore,
round as
seen
from
the
front. This dictated t
hat the
fuselage cross sec
tion should be round to blend in with it.
An
d
now
notice where
the
wings join this fuselage.
The angles are
obtuse rather than
acute. Airflow was
th
us
smooth and
easy
in
this area,
and
so even such a
fast plane
as
this could get by without large and complex
wing root fillets. Their absence left more of each wing's
inboard area
open
to
the
beneficial effect of
the
big pro
peller's slipstream. Since th
is
plane carried only the pilot,
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
27/44
in
little
change
of
trim
with movement of the throt-
tle. Because the midwing layout duplicates this setup,
Grumman engineers probably felt using it for the Wild
cat would help Navy pilots accustomed to biplanes to
make the transition to monoplanes.
For
the
same reason
the
Turner racer did
not
have
them
, the Wildcat also had
no
big wing root fillets. The
twin-row, 14-cylinder P W Twin Wasp engine
chosen
to power this design similarly had a round cowling that
blended into a
round
fuselage. But because this engine
was
48 inches
in
diameter compared to
the
S4
inches of
single-row radials of
the
same power, cowling diameter
was
minimized to
the
benefit of forward visibility
when
making carrier landings or firing at enemy aircraft.
To
maintain good streamline form aft of
the
engine,
the
fuselage was of quite appreciable diameter. This al
lowed the pilot seat and controls to be located completely
above
the
wing. The pilot's
head
was
thus positioned
quite high
and
therefore to
the
benefit of visibility
both
forward and to each side.
The reason
why
later
Grumman
fighters were low
wings was because
the
Wildcat's landing gear track
had
to
be made quite narrow to retract
into the
fuselage. It
was too narrow to handle the enormous propeller torque
created by more powerful engines. The reason why
the
Vought
F4U
Corsair used
an
inverted gull wing was be
cause this layout retained
the
midwing's simple, clean,
wing-to-fuselage
juncture while
also
enabling short
light, sturdy landing gear legs to be positioned well out
from
the
fuselage centerline. The more
one
looks
into
and thinks about the design features of any successful air
plane, the better one appreciates
the amount
of engineer
ing talent
put
into it.
Many
racing planes
of
the
1930s and 1940s were
of the
midwing
type. Their short wingspans allowed
streamlined steel tube struts or tie rods
to
be used
with
favorable
bracing
angles.
The design and
construc-
tion of two-spar-braced wings was well understood by
airplane builders of those days, and they were compara
tively easy
and
inexpensive to build.
The quest for speed led deSigners into cantilever wings
that
reqUired increasingly sophisticated engineering
as
speeds
and
stresses increased. The midwing configuration
allowed such wings
to
be simply, lightly,
and
strongly at
tached
to the fuselage framework. Airfoils tended to be
quite
thin
for the sake of speed, and it was a challenge
to retract
landing
gears
into the
available space. Again,
the
midwing configuration worked well because landing
gears could be retracted into
the
ample fuselage space in
the
area below the wing.
Mention
has
been made of
the
similarity between
biplanes and
midwings in
regard to
minimal change
of trim with
changes
in throttle
setting. Flying racing
planes around closed courses called for as much skill
and
concent ration as does driving
an
Indianapolis ra
ce
car
The planes flew very fast
and not
very far above
the
ground. Pilots must watch instruments, get into position
to round pylons,
and
keep track of competing planes.
It
would be easy to lose sight of altitude for even a mo
ment and
let
the
plane
fly
into the ground.
We
wondered
if
the
midwing's minimal change of trim was one of the
reasons those race pilots liked
the
type, so we asked
no
less
an
authority than Steve Wittman about it.
He replied that yes,
they
were aware
of
this
and
ap
preciated it, but it was not
the
major reason for choos
ing midwings.
When
simple-to-build wings braced with
streamlined tie rods were used,
the
layout
lent
itself
to
fastening
both
upper
and
lower rods to
the
fuselage .
As
in
the
Turner racer, there could be streamlining advan
tages. Both low-wings
and
midwings afforded good visi
bility ahead
when
racers banked around pylons. Minimal
change of trim came
as
a welcome bonus.
Compared to high-wing monoplanes, the downward
visibility of midwings is fundamentally poor. Very few
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
28/44
position. That's why some racing
and aerobatic ships are low-wings.
On the other hand, light mid
wings intended for sport flying
usually have engines of modest
weight,
and
to get proper balance
pilot
seats are located
where
wings
join
the
fuselage. In such ships
downward visibility can be nil.
This
might not
bother
a pilot who
normally
flies cross-country
over
monotonous terrain, but could
be
considered
unacceptable
by
one
who
likes
to
fly over scenic regions.
The midwing design finds applications today. Above Pushy Cat has its
It's worth noting that
TE M Inc.
wing
on
the propeller thrust line. Does
65
mph on a 200-cubic-inch
n-
offers
customers
a
choice between
gine. Below the popular miniMAX ultralight uses the midwing idea to
its midwing
MiniMAX
and high
simplify construction and reduce weight compared to a high-wing. Tall
wing
Hi-MAX.
vertical tail carries a useful amount of its area above turbulence coming
Openings or windows
on fuse
back
from
cockpit
in op n
models.
general-purpose civilian midwings have been manufac
tured because of this. But there
is
variation in downward
visibility among midwings. The high cockpit positioning
on the Grumman
Wildcat offered quite good visibility
not
only ahead,
but
also to each side,
and
fighter pilots
seldom have need
to
look directly below. A low-wing
with low-set cockpit and a lot of dihedral can offer poorer
visibility to the side, it should be noted.
lage sides of
midwings have
been
much
used as a way
to improve
downward
visibility.
In some
cases
the
visibility gain
has
been
mar
ginal, in
others quite worthwhile .
Punch
a small hole
in
a
piece
of
paper. When
you
hold the paper
some
inches ahead
of
one
of
your
eyes
you can see little
through
the
hole.
But your arc
of vision
increases
substantially
the
closer
you bring the
card to
your
eye .
The
same
effect
governs
the visibility
through
airplane
windows. Study
the
illustrations
used in
these ar
ticles and evaluate
how
different shoulder-Wings and
midwings
rate
in this
regard.
Some years ago
we corresponded with
Robert
Thompson]r.
(now
deceased)
of Ohio
. He was very
well-informed
on Heath light
planes, and
in
discuss
ing the Heath
Center-Wing,
he stated
that
it was a
much
better
windy-day
plane
than
was
the
Parasol.
In the air, this
had
something to do with the fact
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
29/44
than other types. When plunging into a gust, drag
acting on a high-mounted wing causes a momen
tary
tail-down
action. In the case of a low-wing it
would cause a nose-down action. Ison of TEAM
and
Schlitter
of
RANS
said they have not noticed
this
effect,
but
that
might
be because
their planes
are quite light.
Probably
what we read applies to
heavier
and
faster midwings. Read
Exploring
the
Parasol
Monoplane
in
the
March 1993 issue of -
perimenter; note particularly the drawing on page
20 and
interpolate to
midwings.
With less wing drag compared
to
biplanes,
mono
planes have
become
popular
among aerobatic pi
lots,
and
many monoplanes
are midwings.
Lower
drag translates into better performance in the spec
tacular upward-zooming maneuvers now so much a
part
of
competition
and air
show
work.
The mini
mal
change of trim
with
throttle movement that
has long made biplanes
popular
similarly makes the
midwing
configuration advantageous in
aerobatic
work. The
simple
but
very
strong attachment of
wing
to
fuselage is
an advantage
when
vigorous use
of the ailerons is made.
Some midwings have
no dihedral,
others
a notice
able amount. Flat
wings
are often
seen
on racers
and aerobatic ships. Having no dihedral
can
simplify
the
construction
of box spars for cantilever wings.
Sometimes a
one-piece
cantilever
wing
turns
out
to
be
both
lighter and stronger
than
a similar one
consisting of
three
panels
connected with
steel fit
tings. Often the absence of dihedral can make a mid
wing respond to the ailerons faster or make it handle
better in inverted flight. A
designer has
to
think of
many things.
On the other hand, dihedral
is
common
on
light
midwings
intended
for
sport
flying. We have seen
nothing in airplane design textbooks on
midwing
di
hedral. In
the
early 1960s
EAA
published a softcover
book entitled E Aircraft File Number 3, DESIGN,
Volume 1. On page 22 is an article by Bill Meadow
croft on Dihedral Effects. The calculations it pres
ents use a midwing design as a subject.
in Wolfgang Langewiesche's well-known book
Stick
and Rudder has something
to
say
about
spiral dives,
which are to full-size planes
what
spiral stability
is
to
free-flight models.
Cockpit entry
and
exit can be more of a problem
to
the
designer
of
a
midwing
than
other
types.
In
ships
having
the cockpit between the wing roots it's
usual
to
provide a step of some sort at a
convenient
location on the side of the fuselage
and
a step pad or
walkway on
the
wing root. Some sort of handhold
is also
needed,
especially
in
taildraggers, by
which
a pilot
can
lower
himself
into and pull
himself up
out of the seat. Wire-braced midwings like the Buhl
Bull Pup are nice
in
this
respect, because
the
cabane
struts
to
which the overhead wing tie rods are at
tached
also serve as a convenient
and sturdy hand
hold. Such struts also provide pilot protection in the
event
of a nose-over.
Strut-braced mid
wings such
as
the miniMAX
and
RANS aerobatic models have
no
such overhead
structures.
The
former
is
boarded from ahead of the
wing
by means of
a
step
in
the
fuselage
just
above
the
landing gear. The RANS
planes have projecting
footsteps
on
their fuselages
and
pads
on the tops
of
their rear wing spars and are boarded from behind
the wing.
It's easy to step from the ground
to
the wingwalk
of a lOW-Wing,
but
in some
designs
one must
then
clamber over a rear wing strut to
reach
the cockpit.
But
once up
on the
wingwalk of a midwing,
the
path
to the
cockpit is
clear.
In
small parasol monoplanes
there's often
not much
clearance
between
the top of
the fuselage and underside of the wing, which calls
for some squirming to get in and
out.
Turbulent airflow and therefore much drag can be
created by the combination of a usefully high wind
shield ahead of an open cockpit, the cabane struts,
and
the
underside of
the
wing
of
a
parasol
mono
plane. Based
on
Heath Parasol components, the 1929
Church Midwing was much cleaner in this area and
appreciably faster. Plans for it are in the 1931 Flying
and Glider Manual reprint available from EAA (and
http:///reader/full/www.EAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.EAA.org
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
30/44
BY ROBERT G
LO
CK
Some
thoughts
on
restoration
and
airworthiness
As the
aviation
industry contin-
ued
to grow
in the middle
1920s,
Congress,
in an attempt to
create a
uniform
set of regulations govern
ing aviation, created the Aeronautics
Branch of
the
Department
of Com
merce. The Aeronautics Branch (re
nam
ed
the
Bureau of
Air
Commerce
in
1934) began to create new docu
ments, one of which was Aeronautics
Bulletin
7H
(right, top). This docu
ment spelled
out the
first published
data on making repairs to certificated
aircraft in the United States. The pub
lication date
was
January
I
1936.
This was
the
first data published
to
aid mechanics
in
accomplishing re
pairs and alterations of aircraft.
By
1938
the
government contin
ued
to
evolve its oversight
of
avia
tion by creating the Civil Aeronautics
Administration
CAA).
It
created
the
Civil Aviation Regulations
(CAR)
and
Civil Aviation Manuals (CAM).
Re-
quirements for approved type certifi
cates
(ATC)
were
now contained in
· c r ; ~ ~ , · ? : . ;
U. S.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
...H.p..n.Soc:.oocorv
CIVIL AERONAUTICS A DMINISTRAHON
o . . w H
- o I h > . ~
MAINTENANCE , REPAIR, AND AlTERATION
OF CERTIFICATED
AIRCRAFT, AIRCRAFT
ENGINES,
PROPELLERS,
AND
INSTlWMENTS
AS M£N
OED JUNE t
1941
CIVIL AERONAUTICS MANUAL
inspected for issuance of a permanent
airworthiness certificate,
then upon
the
restoration of
that
aircraft, appli
cation would be made to the FAA and
a conformity inspection would have
to be completed before a new perma
nent
certificate could be issued.
As the workload
for
CAA inspectors
increased, a new method of licensing
was
created. The designated airworthi
ness main tenance inspector
(DAM )
was selected as a means to license air-
craft annually. These selected
DAMls
were well-experienced, certificated
Aircraft
and
Engine (A&E) mechan
ics who were hand-selected by local
CAA
maintenance inspectors. The
air-
worthiness certificate
was
still reissued
every 12 calendar months, but in the
middle 1950s, about the time the
CAA
evolved
into the
FAA
(Federal
Avia-
tion Agency), things began to change
for airworthiness certificates. They be
came permanent. The aircraft could
be relicensed every year by the
DAM .
When the
CAA
evolved into the
FAA
r i t ~
UWlSE W.,..,
BE
UNITED STATES Of' AUERIC . . . . . . .CRAFT
i ! 1 t O : . ' : ~ Y E O CIVIL
AERONAUTICS
~ ~ O R l t y .
U . : = ~ :
• . .).mclW1 AIRlYORTHINESS AUTBORIZATION" ,
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
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til
wJCCled
and
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;8 oForm
60 8
Figure 1.
IS iI
us ration above s a copy taken
'AA
air
worthiness paperwork file. The original registration number NC150M has
been assigned
to
another airplane due
to
inactivity. These early airworthi
ness certificates were issued annually and therefore had an expiration
date. Note that the airworthiness certificate is signed by a CAA inspector
as mechanics could not relicense aircraft in those days.
Figure 2 . The Wright engine instal
lation
in
my Command-Aire.
the
word
Agency" was dropped in
favor of "Administration." And
that
is what
it
is today,
the
Federal
Avia
tion
Administration.
Government
control
and
bureaucracy
continues
to grow ever larger.
While we are
on
the subject of the
FAA and
airworthiness, perhaps
an
easy method to
distinguish
differ
ences between a major repair
and
a
major alteration
is to
apply
the
fol
lowing: 1)
I f the
repair
returns the
aircraft to its original type certificate,
affects airworthiness,
and
cannot
be
done
using elementary techniques,
then
it
is
a major repair;
2)
If
the
re
pair (or modification) alters confor
mity to
the
original type certificate,
then
it
is
a major alteration.
If an
A&P
mechanic cannot
ap
prove a
major
repair
or alteration,
then
a "field approval" by an
FAA
was January 1,1986,
and
the date of
issuance was July 16, 1990. Perhaps
a future story
on FAA
field approvals
could prove interesting. This
STC is
a
one-time approval for installation of
Figure 3.
Ci2
] GiZ..
7b C 6Z r I RcAn : :
/.
CNc,/
.l./E ~
( / A J
P
vu..
7E'Sr
~ / J J E ' I:J
cce;S( ) I2 le
70
8G
JIJ
STJliu-E' i ) . A::>12.
P o
(H
.
u
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
32/44
l
Nearing the end of a very long day and a successful engine mount pull
test . That s me
to
the left not looking very happy) and my father, Leon-
a
rd
to
the right.
In
the center
is FAA
inspector
AI
Strickfaden.
If
we
look slightly overheated,
it
was due to a temperature of over
100
°F
in
my shop when we completed the test
in
late afternoon.
a Wright R-760-8 engine
in
NC997E.
The STC required
an
engine mount
pull test to 7.441s; I believe this was
beyond the limits of design
in
1929.
But it was either do the test or cancel
the STC application, so I did the test
Figure 2 shows the Wright engine in
stallation in my Command-Aire.
The FAA required an engine mount
pull test. I constructed a very simple
"I" beam arrangement and made the
problem into a weight-and-balance
solution .
By
calculating
the amount
of
pull to be exerted on the
engine
mount structure, I used the axle cen
terline as a fulcrum
point
and deter
mined how much weight to place on
a plywood mount I had fabricated at
the horizontal stabilizer attach points.
Figure 3 shows my notes on how
to conduct the pull
test.
Adding
SO-pound bags
of
glass beads
pro-
vided a down load in the aft fuselage,
thus causing a downward pull on
the
engine
mount structure . It worked
forms to its original type certificate. I
Sometimes this is very difficult, espe
cially if the original type design data
is missing. At the FAA headquarters in
Washington, D.
C,
I have seen file cab
inets with drawers containing type de
sign data. Just like in Joe Juptner's
U S
Civil Aircraft books, each drawer had
folders with the original ATC number
at the top. Some of the folders con
tained data; some folders were empty.
When the folder was empty, the FAA
has
no
type
design
data
other
than
the data that is published in Aircraft,
Engine and Propeller Listing, which is
very limited.
Just what is type design data, you
ask? Upon original granting of the
ATC to Command-Aire for my airplane
in March 1927, type design data was
in the
form
of
draWings, engineering
data, photographs, and any other type
of data required by the Aeronautics
Branch of the Department, and later
the CAA for manufacturing approval
aft center of gravity loading, a loading
schedule
(if
required), and appropriate
placarding must be included. A list of
reqUired, optional, and special equip
ment must accompany the weight-and
balance data. And lastly,
FAA
Form 337
(Major Repair
and
Major Alteration)
must be completed by the supervising
A P
/IA
. Aircraft and engine logbooks
must have appropriate entries made by
authorized individuals, and registration
data must be shown.
After many months or
should
I say years) of restoration work, per
haps that
small piece of paper
that
says PERMANENT AIRWORTHINESS
CERTIFICATE-STANDARD is now
in
your hand. Categories of
the
Air
worthiness Certificate are: NORMAL,
UTILITY,
and
ACROBATIC Types of
certificates are: STANDARD (NC), RE-
STRICTED (NR), LIMITED (NL),
and
EXPERIMENTAL (NX).
ATC data is also known as type de
sign data. Type design data
can
be
found in the Aircraft Listing Engine
Listing and Propeller Listing an FAA
publication for fewer than SO airplanes
registered,
and the
Aircraft Engine
and
Propeller
Specifications
for the "middle
aged" aircraft, with more than SO air
planes registered.
For the older
vintage
airplanes
the above is the only type
design
data available. If you are really lucky
there may be copies
of
original fac
tory drawings available as a valuable
supplement. However, most
of
the
factory drawings for many antique air
craft have been destroyed or the FAA
will not release them . For the Waco
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
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•
CR NKSH FT
GRINDING •
CR NKSH FT B L NCING
•
C MSH FT
GRINDING
• M GN FLUXING
•
CONNECTING RODS
•
ST RTER D PTERS
• ROCKER
RMS
• ULTR SONIC INSPECTIONS
•
T PPET BODIES
• CUSTOM M CHINING
•
COUNTERWEIGHTS
•
PL TING
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8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2009
34/44
BY DOUG STEWART
Weight wait, don't tell me
Not
too
long ago, a potential cli
ent
called
me
seeking training for a
tailwheel endorsement.
He
had heard
that
I conducted
the
training
in
my
Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser
and
was
hoping that he would fit inside. Need
less to
say,
the bells and whistles went
off
inside
my
head. Fit inside? I
asked. Umm, yeah, he replied, you
see,
I'm
a little
on the
heavy side.
Well,
how
much
do you weigh? I
asked.
You
are aware
that
there
is
a
maximum
certified weight limit for
the airplane that
we
can't exceed.
I weigh
about
330
pounds, he
answered. Doing
a
quick
calcula
tion in
my
head
I realized
that
be
tween us, plus
the empty
weight of
the
airplane, we
would be
close
to
max
gross weight,
and
that
wasn't
even accounting for
any
fuel. That
will be
pushing our
weight limits,
I
responded,
but
if we
start with
only
half
fuel we should be okay.
You
realize, though,
that
in
order
to
remain within
the
center of grav
ity envelope you will have to sit in
tleman.
However, I
must
say
that
this was not
the
first
time
I
had
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