VA Vol 36 No 2 Feb 2008 - Member Home
Transcription
VA Vol 36 No 2 Feb 2008 - Member Home
GEOFF ROBISON PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AI RCR AFT ASSOC IATON Getting out there! To help me write this column, I fig ured out that the best way to get my mind shifted to "aviation mode" was to go to the airport, make a pot of cof fee, turn on a little "country radio," and just be around the many avia tion artifacts at the hangar. I could hear the airplanes coming and going on the nearby runway, and there was no phone to pester me. Then all of the airplane noise got me thinking about the upcoming flying season, now just a couple of months away. Suddenly, the motivation kicked in, and my mind started cranking. Deci sions, decisions! I have been trying to decide which fly-in events to attend in 2008 . To start off my planning, I thought about the local events that are relatively easy to get to. It starts every year on the first of January at Nappanee, Indiana, where EAA Chap ter 938 members, the "Cloudchasers," host their annual New Year's Day Han gar-Over Fly-In/Drive-In Luncheon event. This year was their 17'" annual get-together, and they put on a great feed that attracts a whole bunch of EAA members and their aircraft. No, there's no jumping in the nearly fro zen river or anything like that. They just have a large, warm hangar, and you get to do a whole bunch of han gar flying with a great group of folks while enjoying some good chow. Then there's the great Skiplane Fly-In at Oshkosh's Pioneer Airport. This event got started many years ago as a celebration of Audrey Poberezny's birthday, and it is typically held on the fourth Saturday of January, which this year was January 26. This is al ways a good time with lots of great chili served up. Sorry I didn't make it this year, Audrey. It seems as though my 3-year-old grandson is now of the age that he wants to know when I'm going to be there for his birth day, which is now always celebrated .. . the airplane noise got me thinking about the upcoming flying season, now just a couple of months away. Suddenly, the motivation kicked in ... that same Saturday. In the future, my solution to this dilemma is to bring him along! The weather up north is just start ing to turn when the second largest fly-in in the world takes place in Flor ida. I try to make Sun 'n Fun at least every other year, and I was there in 2007, but I had a lot of fun last year. So don't be surprised if you see me in Lakeland in early April ... On Memorial Day weekend I can typically be found at the Marion, In diana, airport where Ray Johnson and a corps of volunteers always hold their annual fund-raiser for the local high school band. Ray puts on a great show and manages to attract most of the local community to visit the air port during this well-managed and well-attended event. After Sun 'n Fun and Marion, things will start to get pretty busy for me in preparation for EAA Air Venture Oshkosh. The spring board meetings are in early May, and then several Oshkosh work parties keep me pretty busy right up through early August. With Oshkosh behind me, I then have the opportunity to get back out on the fly -in circuit. The weekend after Labor Day, in Hagerstown, In diana, Chapter 373 President Mar vin Stohler hosts an overnight fly-in camping event. This is always great fun, and has great food and a huge bonfire to battle the normally crisp air. With pancakes in the morning and a nice trip home by early after noon, a good time is had by all. This year, our local VAA Chapter 37 is making plans to host the re gional Stinson fly-in at Auburn, In diana (GWB). This event is shaping up to be a real hit on the circuit. Au burn is home to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum as well as the Kruse World War II Victory Museum. Our local "Hoosier Warbird Museum" will be partiCipating as well. On Sep tember 13 we are planning a pancake breakfast for anyone interested. With all of this going on, I am still hoping to attend the Tulsa Regional Fly-In and/or the Biplane Expo in Bartlesville, Oklahoma . The last time I attended the Tulsa Regional Fly-In was in 1998, and I had a great time. I have never attended the annual continlled on page 37 G N E VOL. 36 , No.2 co I Fe 2008 TENTS Straight & Level Getting out there! by Geoff Robison 2 News 6 Vintage Aircraft Club of Great Britain Fly-In A delightful aviation day by David Macready 10 Timeless and Triumphant The Taylorcraft "Twosome" "Best buy in the sky!" by Sparky Barnes Sargent 18 Reziches' Travel Airs Part II-November Charlie Eighty One Fifteen by James Rezich 22 What Our Members Are Restoring by David Tunno 24 The Technical Corner Slotted ailerons by Robert G. Lock 28 Multiple Organization Listing 30 Pass It to Buck Here I am again by Buck Hilbert 32 The Vintage Instructor Kick the tires: Part I by Doug Stewart 34 Reviews Books and Videos of Interest to Vintage Members by H.G. Frautschy 36 Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy 38 39 Calendar Classified Ads COVERS FRONT COVER The side-by-side Taylorcraft has long been a favorite of lightplane enthusiasts. We spotted this month's featured airplane well south in the VM parking area during EM AirVenture Oshkosh 2007, and Sparky Barnes Sargent had an enjoyable ti me interviewing its owner, Joel Severinghaus. See the story beginning on page 10. EM photo by Jim Koepnick. BACK COVER: David Macready of the United Kingdom has been kind enough to share dozens of images of aircraft ftown in the UK, and we 're happy to start featuring a few of his photographs in this month's issue. This pretty 1946 Auster 5J1, owned by Barry Dowsett and Ian Oliver. is se rial number 1970. David snapped this photo as Pamela IV was departing the 2006 Croft Farm Charity fly-in in Defford . Worcs., Great Britain. STAFF EAA Publisher Director of EAA Publications Executive Director/Editor Executive Assistant News Editor Photography Advertising Coordinator Classified Ad Coordinator Copy Editor Director of Advertisi ng Tom Poberezny David Hipschman H.G. Frautschy Jillian Rooker Ric Reynolds Jim Koepnick Bonnie Kratz Sue Anderson Daphene VanHullum Colleen Walsh Katrina Bradshaw Display Advertising Representatives: No rth east: Allen Murray Phone 856-229-7180, FAX 856-229-7258, e-mail: allemllllffa;@tnilllisprillg.colII Southeast: Chester Baumgartner Phone 727-532-4640, FAX 727-532-4630, e-mail: [email protected] Centra l: Gary Worden Phone 800-444-9932, FAX 816-74 1-6458, e-mail: [email protected] Mountain & Pacific: John Gibson Phone 916-784-9593, e-mail: [email protected] Europe: Willi Tacke Phone +4989693 40213, FAX +49896934021 4, e-mail: [email protected] VINTAGE AIRPLANE Cessna T-SO Bobcat Club We missed listing Jon Larson and the Cessna Bobcat club, now in its 49th year, as a type club. Here's its information: Cessna T-50 "The Flying Bobcats" Jon D. Larson P.O. Box 566 Auburn, WA,98071 253-670-8218 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.Angelfire.coml mi2lbobcat You can find the rest of the type club list on our website at www.Vintage Aircraft.org. Click on the "Type Clubs" link at the top of the home page. Cessna Spring Steel Gear Leg FAA issues airworthiness concern sheet In the fall of last year the FAA is sued an airworthiness concern sheet (ACS) for Cessna models 120, 140, 150,170, 172,175,180,182, 185, 188, 190, 195, 205, 206, and 210. The reason for the ACS quoted from the document "was corrosion and fatigue cracking of the main landing gear (MLG) spring struts have caused MLG failures on various Cessna air plane models." Here is the text of the ACS: "The left MLG broke on a 172K that did a ground loop on June 18, 2007. On May 6, 2006, the left MLG leg broke off at 4 inches from the axle attach point on an A185F. Both of these failures were due to corro sion/fatigue. Our records indicate 72 occurrences beginning in 1975 until the present time. Of these 72, 35 were identified as being axle and hardware failures and 37 as being spring strut failures. Our analysis of the SDR and accident data indicates that, for the axle and hardware failures, the num ber of SDRs per year has dropped from 3.3 (1974 to 1981) to 1.0 since 1981; for the spring strut, the num ber of SDRs per year has increased from 0.6 (1974 to 1987) to 1.4 since 2 FEBR U ARY 2008 1987 . We have reason to believe that wear-out for the spring struts is about 3,000 flight hours on rough terrain, and about 8,000 flight hours on paved runways. At th is time, we believe that our analysis is showing that these spring struts should be vi sual and NDI inspected every 2,000 flight hours. The axle and hardware should be at least visually inspected every 2,000 flight hours. " In 2001, the NTSB issued two safety recommendations : The first recommended an initial inspection at the next 100-hour or annual in spection,; and the second recom mended repetitive inspections at appropriate intervals. "At this time , the FAA has not made a determination on what type of corrective action (if any) should be taken. The resolution of this air worthiness concern could involve an airworthiness Ddirective (AD) action or a Sspecial Aa irworth iness Iinfor mation Bbulletin (SAIB), or the FAA could determine that no action is needed at this time. The initial Rrisk Aassessment for this concern indi cated that an AD or SAIB might be considered. "Enclosed are: (1) the Initial Risk Assessment Evaluation Chart (IRAEC), (2) a photograph of the latest failure, (3) the previous ACS dated 5/23/01, (4) FAA AC43-16A article dated July 2002, (5) a sche matic of a spring strut, and (6) Cess na's temporary revision to their service manual." Comments The FAA requests your comments. Any comments or replies to the FAA need to be as specific as possible. Please provide specific examples to il lustrate your comments/concerns. Comments are to be addressed to Gary D. Park, Aerospace Engineer, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office, ACE-118W, 1801 Airport Rd ., Wich ita, KS 67209, phone 316-946-4123, e-mail Gary.Park@(aa.gov. An ACS is not an airworthiness directive or a service bulletin. It is a method by which the FAA can gather comment and field expertise regard ing a maintenance issue prior to the FAA making a determination regard ing follow-up maintenance actions, if any. The follow-up can be no further action on up to and including an air worthiness directive. Tom Carr, technical representa tive of the Cessna Pilots Association, forwarded a copy of the club's com ments regarding the ACS. Here's what the CPA wrote to the FAA engineer Mr. Park: "Cessna Pilots Association (CPA) has received very few comments from the membership on the airworthiness concern sheet (ACS). One member with a U206F model with 7,000 hours on the aircraft used on unimproved strips felt that with the amount of hours on the gear and his type of op eration, rough runways, that is was probably time to just to go ahead and replace his original gear struts. CPA feels his point about rough runways has merit and feels that any flight operations off unimproved runways, has to be harder on the gear struts as compared to the operator that stays on improved runways. That would be especially true of any ski- equipped aircraft operations. "The gear strut failures CPA has been made aware of all originated from a corrosion point usually on the bottom side of the strut. The new Cessna inspection criteria called out in the July I, 2007, temporary 5 revi sion 180/185 manual revision details looking for rust as a warning sign . It should be noted that until that 180/185 manual revision there is very little detail of inspection criteria for the main gear spring struts in any of the service manuals for the flat spring gear equipped Cessna models . Un less an experienced A&P/IA advised the owner that chipped paint and stone chips could lead to pitting cor rosion and strut fa ilure, many owners were accepting blind ignorance that 2008 /1RVENTLRE OSHKOSH ~ There's Much More Online Look for more EM AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 information online at www.AirVenture.org . • For admission and hours: www.AirVenture. org/2008/ planning/admission.html • For information on accommodations: www. AirVenture. org/2008/planning/where _to _stay.html • Find or share a ride to Oshkosh : www.AirVenture.org/ rideshare/default. asp • For information on flying into Wittman Regional Airport, alternate airports, and stops to and from Oshkosh: www.AirVenture.org/2008/f1ying/index. html their struts were fine. The Cessna new production 206H models still utilize the flat spring main gear, and the in spection details in its service man ual for the gear struts are still pretty sparse as compared to what is n ow contained in the 180/185 manual re vision. CPA feels that the 180/185 re vision should be incorporated into all the service manuals that affect any Cessna model equipped with the flat spring gear struts. CPA was made aware of a com pany, XP Modifica t ions (509-884 3355, www.XPMods. com) that has the provisions to inspect (NDI) and verify the bends and angles of the Cessna gear struts. They inspect about five sets of gear legs a mon th and reject about one out of 100 due to cracks and corrosion depths out of limits . It is interesting that the ma jority of their current cliental is from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest where un improved landing strips are the norm for back-country operators. These op erators have learned that verifying the condition of their gear strut s in the off-season when the planes are converted to floats is the better way to ensure their mission reliability. Just as the CPA member with the 206 mentioned earlier, any back-country operator has to understand they are being extreme mission specific, and their maintenance program has to be adjusted accordingly to make sure the landing gear component parts are inspected and determined to be air worthy on a regular basis. "As per the Cessn a 180/185 man ual revision, 'Examine for signs of corrosion (red rust) if damage to the paint finish of the landing gear spring is found. ' That simplistic but very important detail put out in a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB) would alert owners and A&P/IAs as well to the firs t in dication there needed to be further inspection and maintenance accom plished on the gear legs. The aircraft is required to have annua l inspec tions, and the landing gear is called out in any annual inspection check list . A stone chip picked up taxiing away from the annual now has a full 12 or more likely 13 months before the required annual inspection comes due again. If the aircraft owners were made aware of the seriousness of that red rust forming on the gear by read ing about it in an SAIB, action could be taken sooner rather than later and thereby possibly avoiding becoming another accident statistic. CPA Final Comments "There are two failure modes in volved here. Th e first is failure of the strut at some point other than the axles attach point. This type of failure is generally caused by corro sion that has penetrated through the shot peened surface. CPA is unaware of any gear leg failure of this nature where the shot peened surface had not been penetrated prior to failure by damage or corrosion, either ox idation or fretting corrosion. This type of failure is preventable by an nual visual inspection of the gear leg for corrosion, damage, and integrity of the paint film. "The second failure mode is of the strut failing at the axle attach points. CPA's experience indicates that this type of failure only occurs on aircraft that are used on rough surfaces or operate on skis from time to time. Suggesting periodic inspection of the bolt holes on aircraft used in such a manner for cracks and dealing with cracks that are found as prescribed by Cessna Aircraft Company will prevent these types of failures . As far as the axle and hardware inspection every 2,000 hours, CPA fee ls those items should be being looked at dur ing every tire change, which should occur more often than 2,000 hours. If those additional details were in cluded in the SAIB, then the owners changing their own tires as permit ted under preventative maintenance would be made aware of the impor tance of checking the axle and at taching hardware whenever the wheel was removed." Respectively submitted, Tom Carr Technical Representative Cessna Pilots Association If you have any further comment you'd like to forward to the FAA, please send a copy of your comments to Mr. Park, and I'm sure the CPA would appreciate a copy of your com ments, as would we here at EAA/VAA headquarters. You can e-mail them to [email protected], or send via regu lar mail to Cessna Pilots Association, V IN TAGE A IR PLAN E 3 AirVenture: Where the Aviation World Celebrates Plans are well underway for several major activities that will take place at the 56th EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration, scheduled for July 28 August 3 at Wittman Regional Air port in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Already in the works for this sum mer's aviation extravaganza are: • The 50th anniversary of NASA, with the people and machines that brought a half-century of achieve ment and history in space and aero nautics, and those who are planning what's next. • Greater opportunities for women to participate in all aspects of aviation, including encourage ment for more women to join the pilot community. • Acknowledgment of a number of significant airframe milestones, in cluding the 70th anniversary of the T-6 trainer, the 50th anniversary of the Nanchang CJ-6A, the 10th anni versary of Cirrus Design, and more. • Aviation innovation displays , such as the latest developments and products relating to space tourism, unmanned air vehicles, electric powered aircraft, light-sport aircraft, and others. These events and much more are in store for the hundreds of thou- John Frank, Executive Director, 3940 Mitchell Rd., Santa Maria, CA 93456. Company Ends Support for Red Baron Pizza Squadron The popular Red Baron Pizza Squadron, which performed fre quently at the EAA AirVenture Osh kosh air show and was a sponsor of KidVenture in 2007, is being retired by its owner, the Schwan Food Com pany of Marshall, Minnesota. The squadron, which flew vintage Boeing PT-17 Stearman World War II primary trainers, conducted more than 2,000 performances over the past 28 years. Bill McCormack, Schwan's execu tive vice preSident, cited changing 4 FEBRUARY 2008 sands of aviation enthusiasts who make the annual pilgrimage each summer to Northeastern Wiscon sin. It's the unique family atmo sphere and culture of the event itself, however, that brings people back year after year, says EAA Presi dent and AirVenture Chairman Tom Poberezny. "While the special events and activities at EAA AirVenture each year offer experiences that are unmatched anywhere in the avia tion world, it's the annual aviation family reunion element that is the most memorable feature of what is known simply as 'Oshkosh' around the world," he said. Specific details for all the main activities, as well as traditional con vention mainstays, will be updated regularly over the next several months on www.AirVenture.org, your source for AirVenture news and information. market conditions as the primary reason the company decided to pull the plug on the popular performing group. "The retail grocery industry has experienced considerable change over the past few years, and as a re suit, we have decided to refocus our Red Baron marketing program and to discontinue the Red Baron Squad ron," he said. "The Red Baron Squad ron has been an incredible asset to our company, and we are very proud of its long successful history." Schwan is looking to sell the squad ron's assets, which includes seven air planes, tooling, and ground support vehicles. "We'd be happy to dialogue with any company or people who would be interested. We hope to find a good use for them," he said. Jayson Wilson, director of flight operations and left wing pilot, com mented, "We are very proud to have been a part of such a legendary pro gram. We can all say we were a part of something really special. The air show community and our fans have been great. We'll miss all of them." A total of 42 pilots flew for the team over the years, traveling more than six million miles and flying more than 80,000 passengers . The team won the World Airshow News Bill Barber Award for Showmanship in 1993 and garnered the Art Scholl Showmanship Award in 1995 . ....... c ~~, EA/v lhe Spirit of Aviation. I88.OI'J EM AlrYenture 2008 July 23 • August 3 A delightful aviation day BY DAVID MACREADY estled in the heart of rural Bedfordshire is the delightful air field at Sackville Farm, and the an nual VAC members-only visit can often be associated with the need for the pre-Christmas diet coupled N 6 FEBRUARY 2008 with an enforced consideration of the weight and balance chart for the aircraft for the return jour ney home. This year once again the alternate adverse weather day (Sunday) was not needed, and our chairman agreed several days be forehand with Tim Wilkinson that all things looked good for Sunday 6th October. Saturday arrived and we were in deed blessed with a delightful au tumnal morning and reasonably clear conditions; the crosswind of ten associated with Sackville Farm (and incidentally our old home at Finmere) was missing, and this day was set to be a delight. First arriv als, a Beagle D5 Husky G-ATCD and a Chrislea Super Ace Sky Jeep G AKVR, also signified the standard for the aircraft types that arrived at varying times during the day. From a personal perspective , O.K. , my son, loved Auster JIN G-BLPG . The aircraft was built in 1959 and flown in by Peter Gill resplendent in its Royal Canadian Air Force markings, and O.K. insisted on having his photo taken by it. It was nice to see our member ship secretary, Rob Stobo, venture out, to field afar, in his diminutive Volkswagen-powered Jodel D.9 Bebe G-BDNT. However, of special note, it was great to see Barbara Schlus sler fly in her Evan VP-l Volksplane G-BGLF; Barbara succeeded this time despite several thwarted at tempts previously. Watching the come and go of aircraft, from the vantage point of a comfortable seat by the clubhouse, an airmanship note became all too apparent; re member when landing toward the clubhouse, hold off making con tact until after the windsock. Sev eral people were caught out buy the gently undulating landscape of this great rural airfield . Of those, a few decided to get value their for money by landing a few times, all in the same approach, before finally giving up the flying lark and park ing the aircraft before retiring to the clubhouse. Close to lunchtime the barbe cue was fired up, with those wisps of smoke gently drifting away in the breeze acting as a beacon to the fast-growing numbers of attendees; lunch was imminent. In this case my two children who had accom panied me on the day were prowl ing with their eyes firmly set on the sausages and beef burgers. Lunch re ally plays down the feast and selec tion of fare that Tim and all those at Sackville Farm lay on so magnifi cently for all those fortunate to at tend . The growing hive of activity taking place inside the clubhouse, preparing the feast that was soon The single-place Druine Turbulent is often powered by an aero-conversion of the air-cooled Volkswagen engine. This one, a Rollason-built example constructed in the md-1950s, is owned by John Mickleburgh and David Clark of the Tiger Club, one of the UK's most venerable sport flying clubs. The club just celebrated its 50th anniversary. This Turbulent is one of four cUlTently flown by the Turbulent Display team of the club. Log on to www.tigerclub.co.ukfor more information. This Piper PA-22-108 Colt, G-ARNJ was built in 1961. Built in 1954, this Super Cub, serial number 18-3841, is owned by the Delta FoXtrot Flying Group. VINTAGE A IR PLAN E 7 Afew StaggelWings are in Europe, including this fine example owned by The Fighter Collection. It was originally delivered to the U.S. Navy as a UC-43B BuNo 23689 and then allocated serial 44-67724. It was assigned to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease agreement, becoming FT475 and operating from Scotland. After the end of World War II, it returned to the U.S. Navy as BuNo 32874 before returning to the U.S. civilian registry as NC1193V. Even the Vagabond has managed to spread its wings overseas. This is a Piper PA-17, serial number 15-229, owned by B.P. Gardner. to beckon all, was reaching a fever pitch as a huge table in the club house slowly vanished as more and more food piled up. A queue slowly formed , a queue that was polite and in a way both subdued yet orderly, fuelled by eager anticipation adding to its growing length. Now queues seem to be one of the few national sports that we excel in. The queue on this occasion was indeed one of our finer efforts in both its good natured and controlled manner tempering the desire to rush for ward for the food. But the urging from those deep within the queue, a virtual stampede, was tempered by knowledge that savoring the de lights of the cooking was now im minent, yet the volumes available to all was indeed plentiful. Very soon the background noise gave way to contented murmurs as the food, a very special element of the day, had once again hit the mark. Still more and more people flew in. The growing number and variety of aircraft types and color schemes acted as a great visual aid when ap proaching from the air and was the delight of all those on the ground as well. A rough idea of the span of aircraft types and variety can be judged by the fact that at the oldest end of the scale were four aircraft from both sides of the Atlantic, an interesting juxtaposition when con Sidering the development of gen eral aviation at that time. There was John Coker and Sue Thompson in the DH Tiger Moth G-ANFM and Cliff Lovell in the Luscombe 8E G BTCj, both aircraft being built in 1941 . These were then followed by, age-wise of the aircraft, two more examples from both sides of the Atlantic with Cathy Silk's DH Ti ger Moth G-AVPJ and Cathy Stokes' Piper J-3C-6S G-BBUU, both aircraft being built in 1943. At the other If it has a familiar look to you, it's be cause the Auster 5J2 Arrow in a li cense-built Taylorcraft. This one, serial number 2366, buiH in 1946, is owned by J.G. Parish and is powered by a Continental C-85-12. 8 FEBRUARY 2008 BuiH in 1965, this is a Beagle (Auster) 06. In 1960, Auster was sold to British Executive and General Aviation Ltd (BEAGLE). Auster production continued until 1968. This 06 is owned by D.J. O'Gonnan. Some of the most popular post-war lightplanes in Europe are the Druine Turbulent series, designed by Frenchman Roger Druine. This is a D5 Turbi, a two-place model. The Chrislea CH3 Super Ace Sky Jeep is certainly a unique airplane. Designed by R.C. Christoforides, the four-place plane powered by a 145-hp Gypsy Major en gine it has a wingspan of 36 feet and a maximum gross weight of 2,350 pounds. This one is owned by R.B. Webber. end of the scale was David Cassidy's MCR-Ol Banbi G-CDLL, which was only 2 yea rs old, having been built in 2005, followed by Derrick Brunt in his Banbi G-TDVB built in 2004 and Richard Goddin's Skyranger G SKRG , a head y 4 years old and a well-traveled aircraft despite such tender years, adorned with stickers from trips both close and afar. Although food does often form the central theme when most peo ple talk about Sackville Farm each yea r, it is worth remembering what makes it all so special and why we really keep returning. And that is the friendliness and welcoming na ture of Tim and all those involved at the flying club whose labors and our own sense of well-being and con tentedness are directly attributed to. From a purely selfish perspective, the fact that my 2-year-old daugh ter fell asleep in the car on the jour ney home (a definite indication of contentment) and the pOint that at no time did I have to worry about her or my 8-year-old son, who inci dentally continually asks when we are going back again, both of whom were made very welcome, is a testa ment to all those involved. ....... Owned by J. K. Houlgrave and R.B. Webber, this Luton two-place, side-by side airplane with parallel lift struts reminds one of Paul Poberezny's Super Ace airplane. It's powered by a Conti nental (Rolls-Royce) C-90. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9 "The new straight stringers allow you to see the structure of the airframe just beneath the fabric-they're like cheekbones on a supermodel ... " - Joel Severinghaus BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT Sometimes there are hidden treasures tucked quietly away in the south 40 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, far away from the milling crowds. That's where Joel Severinghaus' Taylorcraft BC12-D was tied down this past summer, and it beckoned to me as I wandered through the field. It was conspicuous by its very presence, with its fresh ivory paint glowing under the midday sun and its bright blue trim reflecting the sky above. The judges found it alluring, as well, and awarded it a Classic Bronze Lindy (Class 1, 0-80 hp) trophy. NC96130 (s/n 8430) was manufactured in 1946 at the Taylorcraft Aviation Corporation fac tory in Alliance, Ohio. It was a turbulent year for Taylorcraft, replete with several factory fires, storm damages, and financial troubles. The com pany filed bankruptcy in early November, just six Joel Severinghaus months after NC96130 rolled off the production line and onto the ramp. NC96130's own saga began on May 23, 1946, when its airworthiness certificate was issued. Six days later, it flew to its new home in Kansas and later went to owners in Missouri. It eventually made its way to several different owners in Minnesota-including a fly ing club-and in North Dakota, as well. This par ticular Taylorcraft, like the company itself, had its own share of hardship-including ground loops, wind damage, and a hand-propping inci dent. Then in August 2005, Severinghaus of Des Moines, Iowa, became its new caretaker. CSfrf €J' tt~f€J'f!1 Chet Peek, aviation historian and author, pro vides a glimpse back in time regarding the devel- John Frisbie with the completed BC12-0. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11 Taylorcraft ad in April 1946 issue of Skyways magazine. 12 FEBRUARY 2008 opment of the Taylorcraft: "In 1931, when e.G. Taylor married his E-2 Cub to Continental's new A-40 engine, he made personal flying safe and afford able. Of course, you couldn't fly very fast, or very far, or very high, but you could get in the air. A few short years later, Taylor formed a new company and built his famous Taylorcraft. It of fered side-by-side seating, wheel con trol, closed-cabin comfort, and would cruise at 100 mph with only 65 hp. Finally, a lightplane could be used for business trips or even vacation jaunts. Taylor's Cub made private flying possi ble; his Taylorcraft made it practical." The side-by-side BC12-D (model B, .continental engine, 1200 pounds gross weight) was dubbed the "Two some" and had numerous improve ments over the prewar model BC-12. It had larger tail surfaces like Taylor craft's earlier 12 model, and the rudder and elevators had only two hinges (the prewar model had three). The BC12-D also had a one-piece windshield, and by February 1946, stamped alumi num wing ribs and fabric retainer clip wire were used-thereby eliminating the need for costly rib building and rib stitching. Three versions were available-the Standard, Custom, and Deluxe. Powered by a Continen tal A-65-8 engine, the airplane had a maximum cruising speed of 105 mph and a landing speed of 38 mph. It car ried 50 pounds of baggage behind the seat and had a fuel capacity of 18 gal lons, providing a range of 500 miles. Like its predecessors, the BC12-D had a NACA 23012 semisymmetrical air foil, as opposed to the flat-bottomed Clark Y airfoil used on many Pipers. So its wings, coupled with a stream lined airframe, allowed it to fly faster than a Cub with the same engine. A company ad in the February 1946 issue of Flying proclaimed the finer fea tures of the airplane, including: "Will outperform any ship in its class-in Speed, Altitude, and Endurance. Bet ter Construction--of 6500 Taylorcrafts built in the past two years, not one has been found to have a structural failure. PROOF: CAA records! Lower Operat ing Cost-War training school opera tors have proved Taylorcraft costs less to maintain than any other plane in any class at any price! Best high alti tude take-off performance. All who see and fly the new Taylorcrafts agree-Dollar for Dollar, Fea ture for Feature-Taylorcraft has earned the reputation IBest Buy in the Sky."1 The publicity that was gen erated when pilots set records while flying their Taylorcrafts in the late 1930s and early 1940s was perhaps some of the best marketing for the company. Those records included: Hunter and Humphrey Moody flew an endurance flight of 14 days and nights aloft in 1938; Dewey El dred flew 975 miles nonstop from New York to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1939; Grace Huntington achieved a world altitude record for lightplanes of 24,311 feet in 1940; Jack Snodgrass won the Firestone Trophy Race during the Miami Air Maneuvers in 1940 and Fon Stark won it in 1941; and Ev elyn Burleson flew a nonstop goodwill flight from Canada to Mexico in 1941. Burleson had extra fuel tanks installed in the 1940 deluxe Taylorcraft Miss Liberty and completed her l,700-mile flight in 16 Vz hours. These accomplishments, and others, were highlighted in a full-page ad in the April 1946 issue of Skyways. That same ad also listed the "firsts" for Taylorcraft, such as: "FIRST to introduce side by-side seating with wheel control in light airplanes. FIRST to employ a racing type wing with fuselage giv ing added 'lift.' FIRST to issue an illustrated printed parts catalog to its service organi zation, assuring Taylorcraft owners prompt, effic~nt ser vice at home and away from home. FIRST to use multilami nar wing spars .... FIRST to introduce model changes ev ery year." And Skyways helped further promote the new Tay lorcraft "Twosome" with its special three-page cutaway fea ture in its May 1946 issue. Look how cleanly the trailing edge drain hole is opened up. You can see how taking your time results in fine fabric work that both the public and aircraft judges notice. PHOTOS SPARKY BARNES SARGENT AJfin~f!fj(i)~ T9.!f~(i)'fe~#f~ Severinghaus' introduc tion to tube-and-fabric style flying occurred while he was a student pilot and had the opportunity to do part of his training in a Piper J-5. He en joyed it so much that he be gan looking around at vintage airplanes, and he soon de veloped an affinity for Tay lorcrafts. "It was more than 10 years ago, on one of my first trips to Oshkosh," he re calls, "when I was walking the flightline and looking at old planes, and way down there in the south forty was a Tay lorcraft. What caught my eye was the long, elegant taper of the fuselage. e.G. Taylor, who originally designed the Cub, refined his ideas with the Tay lorcraft. He made it side-by side, gave it a more efficient airfoil, and put the shock cords up inside the fuselage, rather than have them hang ing out in the slipstream." Two years later, Severing haus attended the Taylorcraft forum at EAA AirVenture Osh kosh, and he posed a question to the group: "Does anyone have a nice BC12-D for sale?" Quite the cream puff-take a look at the newly fabri cated landing gear leg to fuselage fairings. Nice new Alrtex upholstery, wool headliner, firewall fabric, and carpet complete the interior. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13 NC 96130 Shinn mechanical brake parts are still available from Sky A new Lang tail wheel was installed. Bound in Atlanta, Georgia. A guy told me to see him after the forum was over. Two weeks later, I was up in Fargo looking at NC96130," smiles Severinghaus. liThe appeal of that airplane was that it was pretty orig inal. The panel hadn't been cut up to add extra instruments, and the engine had been top overhauled. It had all of its logbooks-including the original one with the factory test pilot's signa ture-and most of the repair and main tenance invoices from FBOs around the country, dating back to 1946." He flew it for a year and brought it to EAA AirVenture in 2006, camping out under its wing. But he noticed several nicer-looking Taylorcrafts, and that inspired him to make a change. Af ter that week, I started the campaign of convincing my wife to let me restore it," he says, with a gentle laugh. II II Fairings help streamline the bungee shock absorbers. 14 FEB R UARY 2008 ~ue~f}(9"(O .JJ1ufhenf!cJfy Severinghaus won his campaign and gained permission from his wife, Beverly Westra, to begin a full-fledged restoration of NC96130. One of the next steps was finding a mechanic. While attending the Antique Air plane Association's fly-in that fall, he noticed "a pristine 1940 Taylorcraft BC-6S. It was owned and restored by john Frisbie of Udall, Kansas," says Severinghaus, "and it was his father's airplane. He had inherited his fa ther's hangar and tools, and he had just started his Aircraft Restoration and Recovering business. My goal for the restoration was to be completely authentic and have the airplane looking like it did the day it came out of the factory. It's tough to find a mechanic willing to do that-to use all slotted screws and original fasten ers, such as friction tape and cord, as opposed to Phillips-head screws and plastic cable ties. After I talked with john, I knew he was the one to re store my airplane, so I flew it to his shop in November 2006." Back at home in Iowa, Severinghaus devoted hours upon hours to learning the answers to myriad questions, such as: What were the correct colors and paint scheme, and was the glove box handle originally plastic or metal? His persistence was fruitful, and he found the answers he sought. "Other Taylor craft owners had scanned in unfaded paint samples from old airplanes, and then jim and Dondi Miller at Aircraft Technical Support mixed the paint to match. Now they have the formula for Taylorcraft Ivory, which is subtly different than Daytona White or Di ana Cream. And I'm indebted to the members of the Taylorcraft Founda tion, particularly everyone who par ticipated in the discussion forum on the website-they shared an incred ible wealth of knowledge," reflects Severinghaus. "And Chet Peek's book, The Taylorcraft Story, is a goldmine of historical information." Yet another Taylorcraft pilot loaned him the correct glove box handle, and Severinghaus replicated it by making a rubber mold and casting a new one from plastic resin. When it came time for firewall-forward originality, he in sisted upon keeping the old Case mag netos, along with unshielded ignition harness and spark plugs. And after an extensive search, he located "an old, unfiltered air scoop in good condi tion, with a factory-original screen over its opening, and john carefully shaped the new cowling he'd made to fit around it." Meanwhile, Westra, who good na turedly adopted the title of "Taylor craft Financier," patiently endured her husband's quest for authentic ity in the restoration, including the overflowing filing cabinets full of Taylorcraft research and his self confessed obsession with the smallest of details. 1{ef9.!"(O~ 9.nJ JMi(9"(Oe As Severinghaus delved ever deeper, he realized that parts avail ability (or lack thereof) presented its own challenge. Fortunately, he was able to locate drawings for parts that needed to be fabricated as owner-produced parts, and he discovered that a few items were still being supplied by vendors, such as Shinn mechanical brake parts (Skybound); an exhaust sys tem (Wag-Aero); an aluminum nosebowl (Aircraft Spruce); miscel laneous parts for Taylorcrafts (Uni vair); and cabin carpet and interior upholstery (Airtex). As they removed the fabric from the airframe at Frisbie's shop in Kansas, they were surprised and dismayed at what they saw. Per haps most alarming was a crack and bend in the compression tube at the right front jury strut attach ment bracket-the fitting was com pletely broken off below the fabric. "I learned that some mechanics don't go into a great amount of detail on the FAA Form 337s," shares Severinghaus with a wry smile. "We found that every piece of wood on the airframe was either cracked or broken. Some had been r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - Well, for fabric-covered airplanes, anyway... we got the idea from Ponce. It's called rejuvenation, and it works great with real dope finishes. Spray our rejuvenator overaged dope; it soaks in and restores flexibility for years of added life. It can even hide hairline cracks. And no finish has the foot-deep luster of authentic polished dope. Roll back the calendar on your plane's finish! 800-362-3490 RandolphAircraft.com VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15 Here's the mold for making the new glove box handle. cutaway in the lower cowling. The new glove box handle. Sandblasting the BC12-D fuselage. An original wing tank placard , which Severinghaus replicated. repaired, and some had not. That's the kind of thing you don't see until you take the fabric off. The metal wingtip bows and nose ribs needed straightening, and the tail was in pretty good condition, al though it had splices on the top of the fin and rudder. .. but that wasn't bad . It's like a small scar on a pretty woman ... you don't really notice 16 FEBRUARY 2008 it and it adds some character." Frisbie worked on the project full time, fabricating new upper and lower cowlings, windshield fairings, landing gear, and wing root fair ings, as well as spruce stringers and door frames. Other items, such as the floorboards, instruments, and the compression tube in the right wing, were repaired as necessary. After the fuselage was sandblasted and primed, tiny pinholes appeared along some of the bottom fuselage cross tubes. Fris bie cut out the damaged tubes, which had collected water for years and were filled with rust, and replaced them. "I was very lucky to have a talented mechanic like John, who also did the welding repairs on the fuselage, the fabric installation, and the painting," The windshield fai ring was t he t rickiest piece to fabricate. says Severinghaus. "He even made staples by hand, in order to fasten the wool felt gasket material to the en gine baffles, using the original 1946 staple holes." As is common with modern-day restorations, a few concessions were made for safety's sake. Shoulder har nesses were installed, a small fire ex tinguisher was mounted adjacent to the seat, and an antenna (for use with a handheld radio) was routed inter nally so it wouldn't be visible from the exterior of the aircraft. And for longevity considerations, Poly-Fiber fabric and coatings were selected, as opposed to Grade A cotton. ~~~!{ Jf~~)fQt!~l months, NC96130 was ready for her test flight. Frisbie had the honor of that first flight, and then a very eager Sev eringhaus had his chance ... they were both pleased with what they found . "Boy, she flies like a differ ent airplane now," smiles Severing haus, "because she's rigged correctly. That's one advantage to taking the wings and tail off an old airplane and rigging them again. She holds a heading nicely now, and trims up better, too. Flight controls are more sensitive to input, since the new cables take the slop out of the sys tem. The stall is very gentle, and I fly my final approach at 60 mph but you have to be careful about ex cess airspeed on final , or you'll float forever in ground effect with that long 36-foot wing! I get 80 mph in dicated at cruise with the Sensenich wood prop. She could fly faster with a metal prop, and I could push the engine faster, but I fly at 2,lS0 rpm as the manual says." His first cross-country was his jour ney home to Iowa June 23-24, 2007. "It was wonderful, flying her home at l,SOO feet agl above Kansas and Missouri," Severinghaus reminisces. "She flies well, and she's lighter now, too .. . she lost 17 pounds in the res toration. The new straight stringers allow you to see the structure of the airframe just beneath the fabric they're like cheekbones on a super model-and it's just pretty when you can see that underlying structure. You try not to anthropomorphize your airplane, but you end up doing it anyway." In late July, he flew it to EAA Air Venture, just as he did last year. But this time, it was his Taylorcraft that was literally outstanding in the field. "It's been agonizing as well as exciting, because I feel like I should put white gloves on before I fly her, and I spend 4S minutes cleaning her after a flight. So I tell people my next airplane is going to be painted the color of dead bugs!" laughs Sev eringhaus. "But there is something that I miss in the airplane, now that it's been restored-it's that old air plane smell-that combination of old gas, oil, and fabric combined with dust and grass. People tell me it'll come back, with time. " V~nfaJe VaQtte Severinghaus delights in flying his newly restored Taylorcraft, and he finds it quite economical to op erate. He typically plans for a 4.S gph fuel burn, "so even with avgas over $4 per gallon, it on ly costs me about $20 per hour to fly the Tay lorcraft," he comment s. "My wife, of course, points out the additional fixed costs of hangar rent and in surance at about $300 per month, plus the capital costs of the plane and restoration. Even so, she flies with me on the weekends, and she's willing to hand-prop it .. .I'm a very lucky guy!/I Severinghaus has become an am bassador for the value of restoring vintage airplanes, enthusiastically promoting the advantages they of fer to pilots and owners. "I wish more people would rest ore old airp lanes. For a $SOK investment, I've got a 61 -year-old [sport pi lot-eligible] airplane. It may not fly as fast as a new light-sport air plane, and it doesn't have a glass panel, but I don't need one. Brand new airplanes are great, and I can understand their appeal," he says."But there are some of us who are crazy about old tube-and-fabric airplanes. We love flying from grass strips, and navigat ing by pilotage and dead reckoning instead of using GPS. It's not for everybody, but it's very satisfying, because it's pure, unadulterated fun flying." ~ VINTAGE AI RPLA NE 17 And here is what air show smoke is all about! Although this is actually NC606K-the Reziiche~s' Travel Air D-4-D Speed wing, not NC8US. Photo was taken by Ted Koston at the AAA DuPage Air Show in the earty 1970s. A unique feature of Travel Airs is the bottom of the rear control stick belly, which allows air and smoke to enter the rear cockpit as can I)e seen by looking closely at this picture! 18 FEBRUARY 2008 This is the photo that Mike first saw and started his pursuit of owning NC8115. At this time the airplane was owned by Eart Stein of Fostoria, Ohio. The ship was then powered with the Wright J·6-7 Whirtwind. These were commonly called "El ephant Ear" Travel Airs. Next came "Standard Wings," which are com monly confused with Speed Wings. The Standard Wings incorporated the new "Frieze" ailerons to replace the old overbalance design and fea tured round wingtips on both the up per and lower wings. The same Travel Air No.1 airfoil was retained, and the span stayed the same at 33 feet for the upper wing and 28 feet, 10 inches for the lower. The unique design feature of the Frieze aileron was the hinge arrange ment, which had the hinge pivot set back to allow the entire leading edge of the aileron to extend beyond the surface of the wing. When the aileron was deflected up, the bottom leading edge of the aileron extended below the lower surface of the wing. This added aerodynamic drag to the wing with the upturned aileron on the out side of the turn, therefore reducing adverse yaw created by the downward deflection from the opposite wing's aileron in a turn. Standard Wings also came with or without fuel tanks, depending on the model. Standard Wing airplanes carry the -4000 designation. Many people think because a Travel Air has round wingtips that it is a Speedwing, when in reality it is a Standard Wing. Another mis conception is that Speed wings were Standard Wings, just shortened at the inboard ends. The Speedwing used the Travel Air No.2 airfoil, which had a slight undercamber to the airfoil and featured heavier spar and rib construction. The span was reduced to 30 feet,S inches for the upper wing and 26 feet for the lower wing. But the most visible and sig nificant feature was that the flying wire terminal ends were below the surface of the wing. This eliminated the small "bump" fairings at the in tersection of the flying wires and wing surfaces. This and the shorter span helped push cruising speeds up into the 120-mph range. The trade-off was a slightly higher stall speed. Speedwings were never of fered in any Travel Air factory lit erature, and only five airplanes were built as D-4-Ds by Travel Air, and six more were factory-converted. The two most famous D-4-Ds were NC434N, the original Pepsi Sky writer, and NC606K, the Reziches' third Travel Air! During 1939 Mike began corre sponding with D-4000 Travel Air owners, trying to find an airplane within his budget. He finally set tled on NC8US, SIN 887. One thing about Mike-he was very thorough in his research and often knew more about the airplane than the owner! He kept meticulous notes about Travel Airs and had many detailed lists of airplanes by registration number and serial number, owner, and geographic area. So why was Mike attracted to NC811S? It was the history of this 10-year-old Travel Air that Mike was taken with, along with the price. Mike knew that the airplane was delivered in early February 1929 to N.R. Air ways, the Travel Air dealer at Curtiss Field on Long Island. The ship was outfitted nicely with a short NACA cowl, wheelpants on the 30 x 5 Ben dix wheels, and a Hamilton Standard ground-adjustable prop was on the front of the ever-popular Wright J-S. Additionally it had a hand-crank in ertia starter and running lights with a "hot-shot" battery. It also featured two luggage compartments-the tra ditional one behind the pilot and one on the left side of the fuselage with an external door. The only detail I cannot find is in what colors it was originally delivered. It was sold to a local pilot, VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19 --- -==== - NC8l1S on the south side of "Muni" airport. You can see the Joe Marshall Buick dealership on 63n1 Street. Believe it or not, the dealership still remains at this same location today, under another name! and it remained in the New York City area for a number of years, having several successive own ers. During this time it was never cracked up. It did have a 3 x lO-inch tail wheel installed in place of the original tail skid. The ship received routine maintenance, and various airframe parts were recovered as necessary. Then , in 1937, the famed Linco gasoline pilot Joe Mackey bought the airplane and moved it to Finlay, Ohio. Joe and his crew modi fied the airplane for air show work and skywrit ing. Bu t the most im pressive modification was the removal of the Wright J-5 and the in stallation of the more modern J-6-7 Whirl wind with the classic front exhaust collec20 FEBRUARY 2 0 08 Here is Frank, with his ever-present cigar, in 1941 with the Reziches' second Travel Air, a D-4000, NC8l1S, at the Chicago Municipal airport. Colors are overall red with white. tor. This exhaust system was one of the keys for successful skywriting, as the smoke oil could be injected into the large exhaust collector where it would be heated by the superheated ex haust from every cyl inder before entering the tailpipe and being trailed in a great burned smoke oil cloud behind the airplane. Okay, here's the fam ily secret to the impres sive amounts of smoke we are able to get from the J-6-7s on the Travel Air: we inject the smoke oil into the exhaust col lector through an AN-6 steel elbow welded You can see the extra-long exhaust pipe with the front collector on the Wright J-6-7 in this view into the manifold. The of the restored NC811S. smoke oil is pumped in under 15 psi of pressure! Now that's a lot of pressure, and if hardly a trace of unburned smoke between two sawhorses and let him you have even seen oil being pumped oil. The Pitts drivers with only 180 hang out! Most of the "training" was done af out of a 3/8-inch fitting, you know hp of "heat" and two headers that what large amount of volume we are exit the cowling pointing straight ter work, and it was hard to get the full down don't have a chance of leav five hours. In 1933 Milo Burcham had talking about. set the record of four hours and five Once the smoke oil is burned, ing a nice long smoke trail! you need to keep it together in a Okay, back to NC811S. One of minutes, so the Rezich boys were out continuous stream behind the the other air show modifications the to raise the bar quite a bit. As it turned airplane. The key here is a long Mackey team did was to add an in out, they never did make the attempt. While Joe had this Travel Air, tailpipe, and where it exits the air verted header fuel tank for extended plane. If the "smoke stack" is too inverted flying. This was of particu Mike flew it during an air show per short, the smoke will not be con lar interest to the Rezich brothers, formance at the Cleveland National centrated and will disperse quickly. as they had been considering an at Air Races in 1938. Mike was part of a The angle at which the smoke en tempt to set a record. They had al three-ship formation act that trailed ters the air stream is equally impor-' ready put some thought into this miles of smoke. Mike Murphy would tanto If the angle is too large, the idea and even developed and used later buy the Travel Air from Mackey airflow will tear apart the smoke a "simulator." The theory was to fly and remove the WrightJ-6-7 and put as soon as it leaves the pipe. On from Chicago to St. Louis and back, a Wright J-S back on, but he kept the Travel Airs, we had the tailpipe following along the airmail route. the smoke system and inverted fuel run under the right landing gear, The route was well-known, but the system. Murphy would sell the air and it ended just past the leading plan had an added twist-the entire plane to a local pilot, Earl Stein, but edge of the lower wing. If you see route would be flown upside down! might have had the airplane on a an AT-6 or a BT-13 used for skywrit That would be nearly five hours of lease-back, as the hours continued ing, you'll notice they will have inverted flight! So in preparation for to mount. the long overwing Harvard-style this record attempt, the Rezich boys The airplane would be sold to Art tailpipe. Many air show pilots can came up with their inverted flight Lentz in Lafayette, Indiana, for a tell you that unburned smoke oil simulator. This was a backseat with short time before Mike would get to can really give you a greasy belly! seat belts and a rudder bar with stir purchase it in May of 1941. Well, I started cleaning the belly rups attached to a beam. Nick would We will pick up next time with the on NC606K when I was 9 years old, get strapped in right-side up, and prewar activities and the restoration and I can tell you that there was Mike and Frank would roll him over of NC811S. ....... VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21 BY DAVID TUNNO N3N-3 44879 has been in my family for 29 years. It was the second N owned by my father, a World War II Marine Corsair pi lot who trained in N's at Pensacola and always sang their praises, espe cially when compared to the more numerous Stearmans and Wacos. Dad passed away a couple of years ago. I undertook finishing the work he had done over the years and adding a few touches of my own. That work has taken about eight years, admittedly in small increments, but it's done now, finally, and I think the results speak for themselves. Power is from a 300-hp Lycom ing and 2B-20 prop. It's the per fect engine for the N, in terms of weight, power, and fuel consump 22 FEBRUARY 2008 tion, and with the AT-IO cowl, I think it's also the best-looking combination. Lots of N's are out there with the original yellow Navy livery. I chose a different route. The scheme is pre-war Marine Corps, as would have been seen on the corps' pre-war fighters and dive bombers. The windshields are custom built. The original N windshields are just like the Stearman, with three glass panels, the center one facing flat to the wind. These new windshields have a center rib and are raked back. I think they give the plane a more "serious" look. Anyway, they just look better. Wheels and brakes are from a BT. I'd like to add fairings over the land ing gear struts to finish off the look, but that will have to wait. If you've never seen the wayan N is built, don't pass up the chance to see one stripped down. It is incredible. It is built like a bridge. No wood, as most people know, but also no welded steel tubing. It's all anodized aluminum ex trusions with riveted gussets; very im pressive. You can tell a for-profit low bidder didn't build it, and that was its eventual undoing, as the cost to the Navy of building the N far exceeded the cost of buying a Stearman. When you see a stripped-down N, you see where the money went. This bird is currently at Santa Paula, California, and, for those who are interested, she will be reluctantly listed for sale. David Tunno [email protected] or online at www. Tunno.com ....... VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23 Slotted ailerons BY ROBERT arly aircraft beginning with the Wright Flyer through the development of the airplane in to the 1920s were often unstable in flight because there was little design and wind tunnel test ing data available. In many cases, de signers relied on data generated by one another. There was a significant event that would improve the stability and low speed flight of aircraft, a program that commenced design and develop ment of more safe aircraft. In 1926, philanthropist Daniel Guggenheim offered a $100,000 main prize and five $10,000 secondary awards for air craft that could meet certain require ments. These requirements were: • Maintain controlled, level flight at 35 mph without stalling. • Demonstrate hands-off stability for five minutes at any airspeed between 45 mph and 100 mph in gusty air. • Glide power-off at less than 38 mph. • Land over a 35-foot obstacle with maximum 300-foot roll. • From a standing start, take off within 500 feet and clear that same 35-foot obstacle. Those were stiff requirements for the time, but the contest officially began on April 30, 1927, and ended October I, 1929. Twenty-seven man ufacturers announced their entry into the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Com petition, with six of those from for eign countries. Many innovations and technolo gies were to first appear at the com petition and are still in use today. Automatic leading-edge slots, auto matic and manual trailing-edge flaps, adjustable horizontal stabilizer for trim, oleo landing gear struts to ab sorb the shock of landing loads, and wheel brakes to stop the aircraft af ter landing are some of the innova tions highlighted by the competition. G. LOCK E 24 FEBRUARY 2008 Command-Aire SC3-B, serial W-Gl powered by a IS0-hp Axelson radial engine. Note full-span Lachmann slotted ailerons on lower wings. Only four of the model 5C3-B aircraft were constructed: serial numbers W-Gl (NCGOS), W-94 (NC948E), W-l11 (NC973E), and W-142 (NCI04S7). These aircraft were the ancestors of the now common STOL (short take off and landing) aircraft. When ailerons deflect for lateral control, a phenomenon called ad verse yaw takes place. The defini tion of adverse yaw is "yaw generated when the ailerons are used. The lift ing wing generates more drag due to an increase in lift, causing an airplane to yaw toward it." In other words, when banking an airplane to the left (if no rudder control is used), the left aileron moves up and the right aile ron moves down. The down-moving aileron effectively increases the cam ber of the wing (and the effective an gle of attack) of the right wing, which increases drag. The up-moving aile ron reduces the effective camber of that portion of the wing (decreasing the effective angle of attack of the left wing), which decreases the lift gener ated by that wing. Thus the nose of the airplane will move opposite the turn. This is adverse yaw simply ex plained. [There's a deeper, illustrated explanation of adverse yaw in Chap ter 8 of the online book See How it Flies, by John S. Denker, on the web site www.Av8n.com.-Editor] There fore, most aircraft of conventional control will need varying inputs of rudder in the turn to compensate for adverse yaw. Some aircraft are much worse than others. One way to deal with adverse yaw is to move the aile ron travel up more than down travel Aeroplane, a story titled "I Am an Aircraft Designer," the Wolff photograph, the Lachmann slot ted aileron as used by designer Al bert Vollmecke, is clearly shown. You can plainly see the STALL SPBBD CONTROL generous slot be (lJmmand-aire ailerons banish tween the wing slopPl! tXJ11troL T.~ .......""'••~ and aileron. The _bo1itr ............... r s .., ..... ,,,,.,(40 U" ..fd .....I"'lo. r.-,..................... _ .. slot was formed on o.a..c.rr..-."...........,.............. Io,.".. _ .... .....,..Tbit - s ........... both the wing and .........,,'-,11."'__ ........... "" .... ;~~:.;;: ~u '0" ~ ..;:,~~-=,~~.:: aileron using hand «*""'.....u.................. kril-... a carved and sanded balsa wood. The balsa wood was at tached to the chro WATCH T HE TRADE PAPERS f O R MORE ABOUT COMMANJ).AlRE"S UNCANNY STADIUTY moly steel aileron spar using bras s safety wire and was glued in place on the wood wing. In Command-Aire advertisements, the photo served as the ba sis for a drawing highlighting the excellent roll control of their biplane, thanks to the slotted aileron. text of a talk given on the "Forces Programme" of the BBC on Monday May 2S, 1942, Mr. Frise states: "I have been asked to mention the Frise aileron, which I patented as far back as 1921. The aileron, as you know, is the control on the wing tips used to carry out most of the aeroplane manoeuvres. This idea was born whilst I was working on means of improving the safety of flight, and it was awarded the Wakefield Gold Medal by the Royal Aero nautical Society. "This control became practically standard through out the world, and soon its original purpose of improv ing safety was overshadowed by its ab il ity to increase the fighting manoeuvrability of aircraft in war. The only enemy aircraft not so fitted at the beginning of the War (WWIJ) was the Messerschmitt 109, but this suffered so badly at the hands of the Spitfires and Hurricanes using the Frise aileron, that it is not surprising to find that the latest model Messerschmitt, the 109f, has returned to the fight wearing Frise ailerons. "Although we have seen so much of our work turned to the waging of war, we have in the aeroplane the strongest weapon also for peace, in that it can reduce the size of the world and make isolation and the flourishing of perni cious doctrines anywhere pOSSible." TI.. " •••••,••• , " . .-.....~"'oow . ~'fl)-,uUUIctMf_ Io" ... ,.. ..... e 'lMcodtpiooedridotllot .......... ~bo;.,p ... ~,...,... ..tf-...l Fo.i_...... Lb.o ....... C(~ .. phOt .. . . . . ,....._............ l>iI· ,1o . . . . i.............,.. a1,pI~ _ _ ,..,oI.l<,oftod~ .. ~..d<>ft~). ... ""'-.....I.... ,~oo:wo f•• Api... lt,....no..pooPdT. ;......... <l.Io~ .... ~of~'IO. "I'1 ~.doo ppn.uu; in.....,;.. f;J' 'h ~u..,.. CU/ll/ll"NO ' AI~r ~ rUWN .. Nf) . .. , . ,. ,~C . t ..J • • •• JA ••.•••• • ~ ~ 0 . 5.6% bJ1.2% ,Ax/so! ~ it c.O.62% d. 4. 3% b-~ I I-/.10X:;J;..::-2S:W . - i Slotted aileron 25 per cent chord by 40 per cent Sen1Jspcr7 C __ - -o..¥Z ~ .- -- 52:! -~ 0,8.4% 0, 18.9% "'I IIad OIleron v, 0 19.37.- -.-Ax/s of r o taflon 4O.0J:. 40 per cent c hord by 3 0 p er cent s emispan C ~ d~ fr olafion (termed aileron differential); a typical travel would be 18 0,8.7% 0 , 12.2% <,1.= degrees down and 2S degrees up. Another method to deal a 33%1"'" . 2 l 77 Frise- fype ai l e r o n " , ,I, 25.07.- with adverse yaw is to drop the leading edge of the up 25per cent chord by 40 per cent s emispon moving aileron below the wing's lower surface to create a small amount of drag. Here's the now famous Frise slotted aileron from NACA Which leads us to the subject at hand, low-speed Report No. 422 shown in cross section. The generous slot gives good lateral control at low airspeeds. When the aile slotted ailerons. Two individuals stand out for the de ron is deflected up, its lower leading edge drops below the velopment of these lateral control elements of the air plane-Gustav Lachmann of Germany and L.G. Frise wing's bottom surface, causing a small amount of drag to (pronounced Freeze) of England. offset adverse yaw. Note the following details: e The aileron hinge pivot pOint is 13 percent chord aft of the wing's rear spar. Leslie George Frise Born 1897 in Bristol, England, Frise graduated from e The lower surface of the aileron is in line with the Bristol University, majoring in aeronautical engineer lower surface of the wing. ing, and upon graduation entered Bristol Aircraft and The remaining aileron area aft of the pivot point is 2S took part in the design of the famous World War I Bris percent chord, making this type of aileron easy to balance tol Fighter. Extracted from the June 12, 1942, issue of The aerodynamically. V I NTA GE AI R PLAN E 25 SIMULTANEOUS AILERON DISPLACEMENTS WITH ASSUMED DIFFERENTIAL ARRANGEMENTS Average differential Extreme differential Upward displace ment Downward displace ment Upward displace ment Downward displace ment Degrees Degrees Degrees Degrees 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 8.5 10.0 7.0 20.0 13.0 20.0 12 . 0 30.0 15.0 40.0 11.5 35 . 0 15.0 50.0 7.0 Table 1 details the testi ng of the Frise type aileron in NACA's 7-foot by lO-foot wind tunnel. The authors of this report are Fred Weick and Richard W. Noyes. The definition of a Frise type aileron is this: an aileron having a nose portion projecting ahead of the hinge axis and a lower surface in line with the lower surface of the wing. Gustav Viktor Lachmann While not a member of the Command-Aire organiza tion, Dr. G. Lachmann had a tremendous influence on the aircraft designed by Albert Vollmecke and produced by the Little Rock firm. A WWI aviator, Lachmann crashed his airplane into the ground in 1917 after it stalled. Lit tle was known of aerodynamics in the early days, and as Lachmann lay in a hospital bed recovering from his in juries, he began thinking about the wings of an airplane and what could be done to improve stall characteristics. A stall occurs when airflow over the wing is too slow or the angle of attack of the machine is too high; the air is said to burble, drag forces increase, and the lift generated by the wing can no longer support the weight of the craft and it plummets to the earth. At low altitude the stall can be disastrous, because the aviator cannot recover before striking the ground. Lachmann surmised that if a wing was constructed of several smaller wings, separated by open spaces or "slots" that ran straight outward from the fuselage and parallel to each other, then the air would flow between the slots at high angles of attack at low airspeeds. Upon his recovery he began to experiment. Pursuing his work at the Gottin gen Laboratory, Lachmann made some models to test his theory and to document the results. He applied for a patent for his slotted-wing design in February 1918, but his patent was denied because the pat ent authorities believed that the slots would destroy wing lift. Lachmann had to conduct further tests to prove his doubters were incorrect. His paper Stall-Proof Airplanes (Ab sturzsichere Flugzeuge) was a lecture delivered before the W.G.L. at Munich, Germany, in September 1925. It was published in the Yearbook of the w.C.L. for 1925 (Berichte und Abhandlungen der W.C.L., May 1926, pp 86-90). The pa per was translated into English by Dwight M. Miner for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and became NACA Technical Memorandum No. 393, January 1927. 26 FEBRUARY 2008 The Handley Page H.P.39 in 1929. The air craft's remarkable periormance can be directly attributed to the high-lift devices designed by Gustav Lachmann. It was Lachmann who finally patented the idea of slots and the slotted aileron that Vollmecke used to make the Command-Aire biplane a very stable ship. Lachmann was invited to the factory of Frederick Hand ley Page in England to help develop high lift-devices for the aircraft engineers intended to enter in the Guggen heim Safe Aircraft Competition. Handley Page decided the solution to stalls was to lay a slot down the length of the leading edge of the wing, from the fuselage to the wingtip. Handley Page had received a patent for the invention of slots on October 24,1919, and slotted wings became a key to the firm's fortunes, as sales of patent rights earned about $3.6 million in payments from other builders of ships. In turn, slotted wings led to the development of flaps for wings. Handley Page engineers also performed a number of different tests, including a retractable slot called a "slat." Lachmann, after gaining a patent for his slotted wing and aileron design, soon joined forces with Handley Page to produce the H.P.39 Gugnunc, a one-of-a-kind aircraft to compete in the Guggenheim contest in 1929. The H.P.39 finished a close second to the winner of the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Contest, th e Curtiss Tanager. The H.P.39 had a simple wing constructed of wood but was equipped with a complicated control-surface arrangement. The inboard sections of leading-edge slats were intercon nected with the trailing-edge flaps, and the outboard sections of slats and interceptors were automatic, to control the stall. Lachmann collaborated with Handley Page on this design. Dr. G. Lachmann also authored other technical articles re garding safe flight and the design of light aircraft. In his pa per Stall-ProofAirplanes, dated May 1925, Lachmann writes: "How does a typical airplane stall occur? According to my own very clear remembrance of a stall eight years ago, the process is somewhat as follows. Shortly after the air plane takes off, the engine begins to slow down and th en to misfire. The pilot sees the edge of the aviation field im mediately in front of him. At the best, it is the question of a bad landing place, vegetable garden or the like. At the worst, there are houses, barns, etc. In most cases, and in spite of all instructions and warnings to the contrary, the pilot usually makes the famous (or, rather infamous) 'distress curve,' in order to make the field . A better way, in such cases, is to fly straight ahead and take one's chances with pancaking or sideslipping into a garden. In the curve, he feels the pressure leaving the controls, and the airplane begins to sink and sideslip. If he attempts to right the air plane out of its tilted position, he notices that it does not respond to the ailerons and, instead of coming out of the curve, begins to turn more strongly about the inner wing. Finally, the airplane goes over the wing or tilts [its] nose and begins to spin or plunges vertically down. The altitude at the disposal of the pilot is seldom sufficient to enable the airplane to flatten out and in most instances the ca tastrophe is sealed by striking the ground." _ _-:::::::=:;::-j A Superflite's ™ System I is the perfect covering system for your vintage aircraft Many original manufacture~s colors are available. Get an award-winning, old time finish with Superflite System I. Purchase the entire kit and receive FREE ground shipping! Superll.te Prj G1Fl :h1 ~(jH() FI www.superflite.com LfJl Hillt':"l, 1il' (J'ill" ( ' , 800·323·0611 fJ1,~ Cj)l (jll' J ,,/11;11 AERO CLASSIC "COLLECTOR SERIES" Vintage Tires New USA Production In his research, Lachmann discovered spanwise slots on wings and slotted ailerons improved performance. Lach mann wrote, ((A similar principle is followed in the simple slotted-wing aileron, in which there is a wedge-shaped slot between the wing and the aileron. Such ailerons have been very successfully used in Germany on the Heinkel airplanes. This device has been the subject of a long series of wind tunnel tests in England, which were performed in the National Physics Laboratory, under the direction of the Aeronautical Research Committee (British)." And so some interesting information on the slotted aileron from the Englishman L.G. Frise and the German Dr. G. Lach mann has been provided. It is interesting to ponder whether either had any knowledge of what the other was doing. While Dr. Lachmann did work in England for Handley Page for a time, I have found no evidence to indicate the two ever met, worked together, or even shared data. Perhaps it will remain a mystery. However, the aviation industry owes a debt of grati tude to the two for developing the slotted aileron. ....... Show off your pride and joy with a fresh set of Vintage Rubber. These newly minted tires are FAA-TSO'd and speed rated to 120 MPH. 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Larry Robinson 10906 Denoeu Road Boynton Beach, FL 33437 561-732-3250 Email: [email protected] Dues: $48/ yr. Publication: Monthly, The Rying Wire Florida Cub Flyers, Inc. Larry Robinson 10906 Denoeu Road Boynton Beach, FL 33437 561-732-3250 Email: [email protected] Dues: $48/yr. Publication: Monthly, The Cub Courier National Biplane Association Charles W. Harris P.O. Box 470350 Tulsa, OK 74147-0350 91&B6&D75591&B6&D039 Email: [email protected] Website: www.nationalbiplaneassn.org; www.biplaneexpo.com Dues: $25 individual; $40 family; add $10 foreign Publication: Bi-Annual North American Trainer Association (T6, T28, NA64, NA50, P51, B25) Kathy & Stoney Stonich 25801 NE Hinness Road Brush Prairie, WA 98606 360-256-0066 or 360-896-5398 Email: [email protected] Website: www.NorthAmericanTrainer.org Dues: $50 US & Canada; $60 Foreign Publication: Quarterly, "NATA Skylines" WWI Aeroplanes, Inc. 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Chabrian 101 Corsair Drive Daytona Beach, FL 32114 386-226-7996, 386-226-7998 Email: [email protected] Website: www.wai.org Dues: $39/ yr., $29 students Publication: Bi-monthly "Aviation for Women" GET YOUR HOMEBUILDING PROJECT OFF THE GROUND BY SIGNING UP FOR EAA'S SPORTAIR WORKSHOPS BEGINS Feb 15 Feb 16 feb 16 Feb 16 Feb 16 Feb 16 Feb 22 Mllr 1 Mllr 1 Mar 1 Marl Marl Mllr 1 Mllr 15 Mar 15 Mar 15 Mar 15 DURATION 2 ~ days 2days 2 dpys 2days 2 days 1day 2Vz d!lYS 2days 2days 2days 2days 1day 2 ~ days 2days 2days 2days 2daY5 COURSE DESCRIPTION LOCATION Repairmoll (ELSA) Insp.cUon-Alrplane Composite Construction Electrical Systems pnd Avionics Fabric (overing Sheet Metal Test Flying Your Prolect Repairman (ELSA) Inspedion·AlrDIOl!e Composite Conslruction Electri,," SYstems and Avlonic$ Fllbrlc Cpyerjna Sheel Melol Test Flying Your Prolect Repairman (ELSA) Inspecfion,Airplane CompOsite Construdion Eledrical Systems pnd Avionics Fa6ric (overing Sheet Melol Frederick, MD lakeland, fL lakeland, FL Lokeland, FL lakeland FL lakeland fL Denver (0 Dallas,TX Dpllas TX Dallas TX DallosTX Dallos, TX Oshkosh,WI Watsonville, CA WQtsonville, CA Watsonville, CA Watsonville CA CompIet, 2008 SchecIuIfI onInt JOOII VISIT WWW.SPORTAIR.COM OR CALL 1-800-967-5746 FOR DETAILS EAA WORKSHOPS == ~ -~ VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29 BY BUCK HILBERT Here I am again I've been blessed with a grea t n u mber of fr ien ds . Aviation, automotive, medical, farmers, an d neighbors. I find it mentally invigorating liste n ing to wha t t h ey have to say, their pet peeves, their little tips, jokes, and idle conversation . Years ago, my favorite uncle made the statement, "Small talk makes the world go 'rou nd ." Ain't that the truth? Well, the websites, e-mail, the telephone, and the fax machine have all made small talk more likely than ever before. We are besieged with information these days, and it certainly widens one's horizons. Here's a case in pOint. ~ U) z With acknowledgements to the author, Bill Vatter, a Rolls-Royce Owners Club member, and with thanks to the club's executive director, Tim Younes, here 's our take on the procedure used by Rolls-Royce to neatly secure cotter pins. o ~ 0:: ~ ::: ~ L -________________________________-J HEAD SNUG ALTERNATE TO SHANK Figures 1. The only installation version shown in AC-43-13B. Most of us are used to securing cotter pins in this way. Even with the top part of the pin crimped so it's tight against the threaded end of the bolt, it still lies in wait for the unwary knuckle or shop rag. 30 FE B R U ARY 2008 Figure 2. From Figure 6-20 of AC-6SA, the Aircraft Mechanics Handbook. We'll consider the Rolls Royce installation method to be a variation of the alternative shown. "Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble." - Henry Royce (ou can't buy ready-made twisted pins, )ut they're pretty easy to make. With the lead of the pin held in a vise , grip the )in's two legs with a pair of pliers about me bolt diameter in length from the eye md of the pin. Then twist the legs a bit nore than 90 degrees. The objective is :0 have a pin that is twisted in the sec :ion that passes through the bolt. your Igonal cutting pliers, and while pulling irmly to keep the pin's head seated in he nut, bend it around the nut like this. After the castellated nut has been in stalled, install the pin and tap it with a plastic or rubber mallet to seat the head into the notch of the nut, snug against the bolt. Next, cut off the end even with the far edge of the notch in the castel lated nut. Prebend the very end of the cut-off pin and then push the leg into the notch. There 's no need to have the end of the pin jammed up against the bolt. If it was cut to the right length, the pin will neatly fit in the notch where it can 't catch a knuckle or a rag. Some folks may find they need to use an old screwdriver or very small punch and mallet to push the end into the notch. Re peat for the other side, and you 've "scrape proofed" this cotter pin installation. According to a quote attributed to Henry Royce, "Whatever is rightly done , however humble , is noble." As aircraft restorers and mechanics, we know that sentiment well. This cotter pin installa tion method is just one more way to prove it! One of my good friends and fellow VAA member, Ken Kres mery, is a wonderful guy who also has the" airplane disease," so much so that he is the prin cipal mover in Chapter 790 and 1414 here in northern Illinois. He's also a Rolls-Royce automo bile fan. He shook me up send ing me a copy of the Rolls-Royce news letter, The Flying Lady, with a note directing me to an article on cotter pin installation. I looked at it, read it , and spent some time appreciating t h e nea tness of the way it was done. Th e question it raised in my m ind was, Would it be appli cab le (legal) to use this method on aircraft? I dug into my reference library, got out the "mechanic's bible," AC-43 -13B, and found only one paragraph on cotter pin installa tion, wh ich included a not too informative diagram. (Figure 1) Not completely satisfied with that scant information, I dug a little deeper into the Aircraft Me chanics Handbook, AC-6SA, and found wh at I was looking for. The process sim ilar to a twisted pin is an option and is quite le gal. (Figure 2) The method described is so simple and such a great alter native to the gashes-slashes-rag grabber-snag system I've been using for years that I'm going to begin using it as my standard from now on when and if I can. I pass t his information on to the rest of you " airplane wrenchers" who may find this as interesting as I have. Over to ~lu, 7i3t(r;), K V INTAG E AIR P LAN E 31 BY DOUG STEWART Kick the tires: Part I A few winters back I remember hearing a client of mine call over the UNICOM, shortly after he had taken off, that the airspeed indicator in his airplane wasn't working. My first thought was that he probably had not checked to see that his airspeed indi cator was "alive" prior to liftoff, for if he had, he most likely wouldn't be in his current predicament. But to give him the benefit of the doubt, I supposed it was possible (al though not probable) that some con densation might have formed in his static lines while the airplane was in a heated hangar overnight, and now that it was exposed to sub-freezing temperatures in the winter air, the con densate had turned to ice. Since the air plane did not have a static line drain, I couldn't fault the pilot for not check ing that item during his preflight in spection. But I had a strong suspicion that perhaps this pilot's preflight in spection had been less than thorough. I told the pilot, over the UNICOM, to re-enter the pattern and land, and we would then check it out. I wasn't too concerned about his landing without an airspeed indicator (ASI) because we had practiced a couple of landings with the ASI covered up (Hint, hint.. .something we all should periodically do!) during his last Wings program training. My suspicions were confirmed as the airplane turned off the runway and en tered the taxiway leading to the ramp. From my window in the fixed base op erator I could see the streamer boldly emblazoned with the words "Remove 32 FEBRUARY 2008 Before Flight" hanging from the pitot vane on the bottom of the wing. But remembering the admonition that folks who live in grass houses shouldn't play with matches, I wasn't about to set a large fire under that pilot's ego. For I, too, had made a similar mistake (that's when I learned to be sure to check that the ASI is working prior to rotation), and I know that if there were to be a gather ing of pilots who had all made the same mistake, it would require a very, very large hangar to hold all the attendees. But this does lead us to a discussion of preflight inspections. What con stituted a proper and thorough pre flight? What types of conditions might ground the airplane, even if it were in a flyable condition? How should we proceed if we find a squawk? Is there any time when a "kick the tires, light the fires" mentality might suffice? And last, but far from least, what ramifica tions might we expect if we miss some thing on a preflight inspection? Let's take a look at the last item first. The ramifications might run from something not even noticeable during the flight to something that ends in the loss of airplane and/or life. As an exam ple, I remember a friend of mine who missed the fact that one of the fuel caps on his beautiful Cessna 195 was not se cure. As a result, the fuel in that tank was siphoning out, into the slipstream, all the while he was on his flight from Maine back to Massachusetts. Now I am sure that he probably no ticed that the fuel gauge was showing a much faster drop than normal, but it is quite possible that the pilot succumbed to the same type of denial that I ex perienced when the fuel line broke in my Cardinal (described in a recent ar ticle) and continued on with his flight, all the while rationalizing away the problem. But unfortunately his C-195 turned into a glider just 5 miles short of his destination when it ran completely out of fuel, and in the ensuing forced landing, when faced with the choice of trying to fly above the power lines that were between the airplane and the chosen landing spot or below them, the airplane hit some trees and ended up rolling into a ball. Literally! Miracu lously no one was killed, and the pilot and passenger suffered only minor in juries. (The way it was discovered that the fuel cap had been ajar was by the red stains [remember 80 octane?] that covered what remained of the wing and empennage.) The question arises: how did the pi lot miss the fact that his fuel cap was loose? The answer could be one of many. In my experience I have seen quite a variety of reasons why pilots miss items on a preflight inspection of their airplane. Probably heading the list is distractions! Other things I find included on the list are being in a hurry and complacency, to mention a couple of them. Just as it is so important to main tain a "sterile cockpit" whenever we are operating on or in the vicinity of an airport, it is equally as important that we ensure we are not distracted by our passengers while inspecting our airplanes. All it takes is one moment of inattention, due to the distraction caused by a bystander's innocent "in vent everyone of the scenarios I terference," to miss an important item have just described, and that item is (like a loose fu el cap) . Thus, I recom a checklist. Notice that I did not say a mend to all my clients that they tell "do" list, but a "check" list. The way their passengers that if the passenger I inspect an airplane, and the way I distracts t h em during their preflight recommend that my clients inspect inspection, it might very well lead to their aircraft, is by following a "flow" their demise. Admittedly this mes around the airplane, inspecting each sage might be construed as harsh, but item in a logical, methodical, sequen I guarantee you it is effective. tial fashion. Then, when I have com Other distractions might not come pleted the preflight inspection, I get from our passengers, but from the en out that list and "check" to ensure that vironment or perhaps other operations I have not missed anything. And yes, being conducted on the airport, like there are times when I have indeed the flyby of that beautiful Staggerwing missed something, either because of . .. (Oops, I just got distracted from writing this article as I visualized that wonderful biplane flying by). We have to be cautious that nothing distracts us from the critically important job of the preflight inspection. Even when the temperatures are well below freezing, and the winds are gusting into the 20s as you inspect the airplane out of doors, it is not the time to hurry that inspection. We have to be vigilant that nothing causes us to rush that inspection. Okay ... you prob ably should have done the inspection before you called for your instrument flight rules clearance, and now you face a void time that is looming large; however, it is much better to call flight service and let them know that you missed the void time than to depart into the clag with something not right with the airplane. The phrase that it's "much better to be down here, wish ing you were up there," rather than the other way around, definitely ap being distracted, being in a hurry, or plies when it comes to the preflight being just plain complacent. By being inspection. diSCiplined, and getting out and using Another mentality that I have seen that checklist after the inspection is lead to missing an item on a preflight complete, I ensure that nothing gets is complacency. "There wasn't any missed . thing wrong with the airplane when I I have found that carrying that inspected it this morning, and nothing checklist with me through the inspec wen t wrong on the flight down. Be- . tion can be a distraction in and of itself. sides, it's going to be dark before I get There are some things that require two home, if I don't get going now. We'll hands to inspect, and if that checklist just kick the tires and light the fires." occupies one of my hands, I am already Remember those tho ughts when you distracted as I try to find somewhere to discover that neither the cockpit lights put the list. (I won't bore you with a nor the landing lights work as the un sampling of potential scenarios for this forecast head winds have you arriving one, even though you might chuckle at home after dark. some of them.) Thus, again, I save the There is one item that could pre list for the end of the inspection. The phrase it is "much better to be down here, wishing you were up there, " rather than the other way around, definitely applies when it comes to the prefl ight inspection. As we have seen, missing just one small thing has the potential to lead to disaster. It could be loss of life or air plane. But there have been some situa tions where the only thing injured was ego, and the only loss was of the use of a pilot certificate for a period of time. Again, one example I have in mind in volved a loose fuel cap . . . In next month 's article I will dis cuss the guidance provided by the FARs in relation to a preflight inspection. We will also look at what constitutes a no-go situation, as well as how we can go ahead and safely as well as legally fly the airplane, even if we might have found a squawk. In the meantime, be sure to take your undistrac ted t ime as you thor oughly preflight your airplane prior to enjoying . . . blue skies and tail winds. Doug Stewart is the 2004 National CFI ofthe Year, a Master Instructor, and a des ignated pilot examiner. He operates DSFI Inc. (www.DSFlight.com) based at the Columbia County Airport (lBi) . ...... Flight Control Cables Custom Manufactured! Each cable is pre-stretched, proof loaded and certified in accordance with MlL-DTL-5688. • Quick delivery • Reasonable prices • Certification to MIL-DTL-6 ll 7 or to your specifications • 1116" to 1/4" galvanized or stainless steel cable • Certified bulk cable and terminals are avai lable """'-McFarlane' M cFarlane Aviation Products 888.794.5280 696 East 1700 Road, Baldwin City, KS 66006 785.594.274 1 785.594.3922 Fax sales@mcfa rl aneaviati on.co m Order Online at www.mcfarlaneaviatioD.co m VI NTAG E A I RPLANE 33 Books and videos of interest to Vintage members BY The Story of the 1929-1949 National Air Races DVD Two recent releases have crossed my desk here at EAA headquarters, both of which required a great deal of self-control to prevent me from being distracted while at work! The first is a neatly done DVD of the history of the National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the great aspects of the DVD format is its ability to have its content split by chapters, and the National Air Race Project (NARP) has taken advantage of that fact. Its new video, The Story of the 1929 1949 National Air Races , brings this amazing period in aviation history to life with professional narration and both still photos and period film footage. Many of the photographs and much of the film footage have never been seen publicly. Profession ally produced and written, this of fering by the NARP is a must for any air-racing fan. I'll let the producers tell you a bit about it: "The Story of the 1929-1949 Na tional Air Races represents an interest ing and significant chapter in modern aviation's development. The fascinat ing story of the National Air Races is recounted in this lively, two-hour narrative which presents over 600 rare, original photographs, and more 34 FEBRUARY 2008 H.G. FRAUTSCHY than 50 minutes of vintage newsreel clips and home movie footage, much of this source material presented to the public for the first time." You can order The Story of the 1929 1949 National Air Races directly at its website, www.Nationa IAirRaces. net. or by calling 888-NAR-8886. The video is available only in DVD format and retails for $28.95, plus $4.95 ship ping and handling. In writing this review I also noticed that the NARP has just completed its first interview video, also illustrated by film footage and still photos. It's a two-hour inter view with Dick Becker, naval aviator and postwar racer and good friend of Cook Cleland. Becker, who recently passed away, raced the Super Corsairs modified into 4,000-hp racing beasts by Cleland and his crew. Th e inter view is available for $9.95, plus 4.95 shipping and handling. pers used the oceans to form a vast global network of travel routes. Juan Trippe's Clippers would playa key role in the evolution of transoceanic flight, 'setting time and distance re cords over the Atlantic and Pacific, providing airmail delivery between countries, and eventually serving the Allies as troop and cargo transports during World War II. The year 2007 marked the 80th an niversary of Pan American Airways, and this fascinating , informative, and richly illustrated book, titled Pan American Clippers: The Golden Age of Flying Boats by James Trautman, cele brates the golden age of flying boats. Trautman's book covers the era of the Clippers in great detail, and it's il lustrated with hundreds of period pho tographs of not only the flying boats, but also many of the locations and far flung stations that served as outposts for Pan American as Juan Trippe's air line blazed a pioneering trail across the Pacific. Places such as Wake and Midway Islands had to be transformed from desolate atolls in the Pacific to luxurious overnight stops for passen gers who could now cross the vast ocean in five days, instead of the 17 days it previously took as a passenger on a fast steamship. There's only one problem with the book-like books on Zeppelin travel, Pan American Clippers makes you wish you could experience such an amazing aircraft firsthand, rather than vicariously. Oh well! Pan American Clippers: The Golden Age of Flying Boats by James Traut Pan American Clippers: The Golden Age ofFlying Boats For a world coming out of eco nomic depression in the 1930s, the Pan American Airways Clipper "fly ing boats" symbolized elegance and luxury, adventure and romance. Like their maritime namesakes, the Clip . man; ISBN: 1-55046-476-0/978-1 55046-476-4; cost: $45.95, hardcover with jacket; published by Boston Mills Press and Firefly Books. These items can be purchased through EAA by calling 1-800-564 6322 (within USA/Canada) or 920 426-5912 (outside of USA/Canada), or by placing your order on the EAA website: http://shop.eaa.org. ..... Bill Price Burke, VA _ Learned to fli' at aBe 16, soloing in a TFC Champ _ Former flight instructor _ Earned Silver Soaring Badge in a Schweitzer 1·26 sailplane _ Participated in glider field in a Cessna 170A he once owned "AUA handled my claim promptly and without hassle." - Bill Price (& Kermit) AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. To become a member of VAA call 800·843·36J2. AUA's Exclusive EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Insurance Program Lower liability and hull premiums - Medical payments included - Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages component parts endorsements BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US FROM THE EAA LIBRARY'S RADTKE COLLECTION. Send your answer to EAA, Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs to be in no later than March 10 for inclusion in the May 2008 issue of Vintage Airplane. You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your answer to [email protected]. Be sure to include your name, city, and state in the body of your note, and put "(Month) Mystery Plane" in the subject line. NOVEMBER'S MYSTERY ANSWER Here's one of the answers for No vember's Mystery Plane: "The November 2007 Mystery Plane is one of 10 Verville Sportsman ATs (aka Sport AT or Sport Trainer) that was built between 1930 and 1932 (this aircraft is possibly NC455M). "Following the Buhl-Verville J-4 Airster (ATC #1) of 1925-27, in 1928 Alfred W. Verville formed the Verville Aircraft Company and constructed his famous Air Coach. Next in the lineage of Verville designs, the Sportsmans were basically a civil version of the four YPT-lOs that were constructed for the USAAC (five versions: YPT-lO, A, B, C, and D). The YPT-lOs had a span of 33 feet and an overall length of 25 feet for the -10, 2S feet S inches for the -lOA, 25 feet 3 inches for the -lOB, 25 feet 36 FEBRUARY 2008 I for the -lOC, and 2S feet 4 inches for the -10D. Gross weights ranged from 2,289 pounds for the YPT-10 to 2,557 pounds for the YPT-10C. The maxi- mum airspeeds ranged from 108 mph for the YPT-lOA and B, to 112 mph for the YPT-10C. The powerplants of the YIT-lOs varied as well. The YPT-lO was This picture was taken by me at Morganton, North Carolina, at the Kistler airport in the middle 1930s with my faithful Brownie box camera. The Verville was being ferried by a crop duster pilot to Foley, Alabama, to convert to a crop duster for his business. The pilot would stop in Morganton to visit his teenage son for a couple of days when ferrying aircraft to Fo· ley. One trip, he flew through with a brand new 4O·hp Taylor J·2 to Foley with the intention of converting to a crop duster. I was a teenager at that time, learning to fly in a J·2, and thought that would be a tad underpowered! He ferried at least two of these Verville trainers to Alabama. We were all fascinated with the operation of the Heywood starter.-AI Patton, Augusta, Georgia. powered by a 165-hp Wright R-540-1, while the YPT-10B used a 165-hp Wright YRG -540. The -lOA used a 165-hp Continental YR-545-1, and the -lOC was powered by a 180-hp Lycom ing YR-680-1. The YPT-lOD appears to have been converted from the origi nal YPT-lO and was retrofitted with a 170-hp Kinner R-720. All YPT-10s were delivered to the USMC in 1931-32 (Fa hey, James c. U.S. Army Aircraft 1908 1946, pp 35, 60). "The Sportsman AT was originally priced at $5,250 in 1930, which in creased to $5,500 in 1931. Powered by a 165 -hp Continental A-70, the AT had a VMAX of around 120 mph . The span of the ATs was reduced to 31 fee t , and the overa ll length was likewise reduced to 24 feet 3.5 inches. The height of the Sports man AT was 8 feet 9 inches, and the empty weight was 1,562 pounds. An other prominent visu al difference between the YPT-10s and the Sports man ATs are the smaller balloon tires . Sportsman ATs also d isplayed NC marking on the wings and verti cal fin, which also sported (no pun intended) the Verville Aircraft Co. logo. The particular aircraft depicted in Vintage Airplane appears to be NC455M. I base that on the strong similarity to NASM laser videodisc image 45,224 (Disc I, Side B, frames 45,220-45,226). According to Aero files.com, the 10 Verville Sportsman ATs were consecutively registered NC450M to NC459M. "The sole remaining Vervill e Sportsman AT (NC457M, no. 8 of 10) is held by the National Air and Space Museum at Washington, D .C. In 1958, Alfred Verville bega n searching for a Sportsman AT and in 1960 re ceived a letter from William Cham plin of Rochester, New Hampshire, which stated that NC457M was in storage at the Skyhaven Airport. The aircraft was officially handed over to the old National Air Museum (NAM, now NASM) on April 18, 1963, and was stored for many years at the Paul E. Garber Preservation and Res toration Facility at Suitland, Mary land, before apparently being moved to the new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Cen ter at Dulles." Wesley R. Smith, Springfield, Illinois. Other Correct answers were re ceived from Jack Erickson, State Col lege, Pennsylvania; Tom Ramsey, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee; and Thomas Lym burn, Princeton, Minnesota. Antique Airplan e Association fly-in in Blakesburg, Iowa, and I am deter mined to get there this year or next for certain. Th en of cou rse th ere's the Waco event in Creve Coeur, near St. Louis, Missouri, that I would love to get to. I have been to th e ai rport there but never th e Waco even t. Of course, the members-only fly-in for the Midwest Antique Airp lane Club at Brodhead, Wiscon sin, is always a fun time. I missed th at one last year beca use I was o ut vo lu n t eeri n g on the EAA's B-17 tou r. Yes, in the mid d le of all this fly-in activity, I also hope to spen d at least five weeks on the tour this year. Here 's hop i ng my wife d oesn't read this column an ytime soo n, as I can just see her eyes roll ing already. I hope to see many of you out there on th e circuit! Do us a ll t he favor of inviting a friend to join th e VAA, and h elp us keep strong the association we h ave all enjoyed for so many years now. I know we all hear sim il ar com mentary sometimes on a da ily ba sis, bu t please keep our troops in your day-to-day t h o u gh t s. I h ave a cousin so m ewhere in t h e m o u n tains of Afghanistan and a n ephew who is headed to Iraq in t h e next few weeks. Th ese brave youn g m en are in my m ind each and every day, and we can n ever properly th ank th em for their proud service to this co u n t ry. Freed o m is not free! The least we can do is keep th em in our thoughts and prayers until they can come home. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, the World 's Greatest Aviation Celebration, is July 28 through August 3. 2008. VAA is abo ut participation : Be a member! Be a volunteer! Be there! Let's all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember, we are better t oget her. Join us and have it all. A~ V INTAGE AIRPLANE 37 2008 MAJOR FLy-INS For details on EM Chapter fly·ins and other local aviation events, visit www.eaa.org/events Sun 'n Fun Fly-In Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL), Lakeland, FL April 8-13, 2008 www.Sun-N-Fun.org Golden West EAA Regional Ry-In Yuba County Airport (MYV), Marysville, CA June 6-8, 2008 www.GoldenWestFlyln.org Virginia EAA Regional Fly-In Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ), Suffolk, VA June 14-15, 2008 www. VAEAAorg Rocky Mountain EAA Regional Fly-In Front Range Airport (FTG ), Watkins, CO June 27-29 , 2008 www.RMRFI.org Arlington Northwest EAA Fly-In Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO), Arlington , WA July 9-13, 2008 www.NWEM .org EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Wittman Regional Airport (OSH ), Oshkosh, WI July 28-August 3, 2008 www.AirVenture.org EAA Southwest Regional-The Texas Fly-In Hondo Municipal Airport (HDO), Hondo, TX October 10-11, 2008 www.SWRFI.org 38 FEBRUARY 2008 The following list of coming events is furnished to our readers as a matter of ~- ~ information only and does not constitute approval , sponsorship, involvement, control, or direction of any event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. To submit an event, send the information via mail to: Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Or e-mail the information to: [email protected]. Information should be received four months prior to the event date. .:. ,;i _ .... _" April 27 - Half Moon Bay, CA - Half Moon Bay Airport 18th Annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show lOam - 4pm More than 2,000 antique, vintage, classic , custom and exotic displays. Helicopter, bi-plane and B-17 rides will be available for $50-$425. For info 650-726-2328 or www.miramarevents.com May 2-4 - Burlington, NC - Alamance County Airport (KBUY) VAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In . All Classes Welcome! BBQ on field Fri Eve. EAA judging all classes Sat. Awards Dinner Sat night. Info: Jim Wilson, 843-753-7138 or [email protected] May 30-June 1 - Poplar Grove Airport, IL (C77) - Army Wings and Wheels 2008 Vintage Wings and Wheels Museum L-bird fly-in and living history re-enactment. Flying events, pancake breakfast, awards. See website at www.ArmyWingsAndWheels.com or call Museum at 815-547-3115 for further details . June 5-7 - Bartlesville, OK - 22nd Annual Biplane Expo , Contact 1-918 622-8400, www.biplanexpo.com June 7-8 - Troy, OH - WACO Field (lWF) VAA Chapter 36 Wings and Wheels Strawberry Festival Fly-In. 9am - 6pm Airplane rides, Aviation Safety Team Seminar, Military reenactments, cash prizes. June 12-15 - Middletown, OH - Hook Municipal Airport (MWO). 14th National Aeronca Association Convention. See more Aeroncas in one place than you 'll see anywhere in the world. Tours , forums and lots of fellowship, fun and flying will make this a weekend event you won't want to miss. For more information: www.aeroncapilots.com, email [email protected] or call 216-337-5643. June 21 - Porterville, CA - Eagle Mountain Air Show at Porterville Airport Aerobatics, Warbird fly-bys , vinatge, military and civilian aircraft on display, Awards for display planes Gates open at 8 AM Flour bombing and spot-landing in the morning. Food, beverage, crafts vendors Contact: (559) 289-0887. June 26·29 - Mt. Vernon, OH - Wynkoop Airport (6G4) 49th Annual National Waco Club Reunion. For more info contact Andy Heins at 937 313-5931 or email [email protected] Aug. 10 - Queen City, MO - Applegate Airport. 21st Annual Watermelon Fly-in and BBQ 2:00 PM -Dark. Come and see grass roots aviation at its best. Info: 660-766-2644 or 660-665-0210 or [email protected] August 10 - Chetek, WI - Chetek Municipal Southworth Airport (Y23) Annual BBQ Charity Fly-In 10:30 - 3:30 pm Modern, Antique, Unique planes and Warbirds. Antique and Collector cars. Children activities and airplane ride raffle. Water ski show to follow. www.hydroflites.com Contact info: Chuck Harrison 715-456-8415, [email protected] Tim Knutson 651-308-2839, [email protected] September 19-20 - Bartlesville, OK - 52 Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In , Contact 1-918-622-8400, www.tulsaf/yin.com October 3-5 - Camden, SC - Woodward Field (KCDN) VAA Chapter 3 Fall Fly-In. All Classes Welcome! BBQ on field Fri Eve. EAA judging all classes Sat. Awards Dinner Sat night. Info: Jim Wilson , 843-753-7138 or eiwilson@homexpressway-net alte 8 to 'ClJ. of tlte 1929-1949 dfatiollaL cfEi'C dUzcetl The only comprehensive Story of the National Air Races available today! The entertaining, narrated documentary fIlm accurately captures this exciting, key era in aviation's history for the first time ever! Over 2 hours long, the DVD is filled with never-before-published vintage film and photos. Join legends like Jimmy Doolittle, Amelia Earhart and Roscoe Turner in the race cockpit! Order your The safety of modem olt. ~~~~ , "Mil- Spec" aviation wire Call toll-free: 888-NAR-8886 On-line : www.NationaIAirRaces.net With that classic "braided and lacquered" look. PO Box 51 (107 Woodville Rd.) Wood River Jet , RJ 02894 (401) 364-3839 fax (401) 364-3830 www.narragansettreproductions.com Ell Something to buy, sell, or trade? Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum, with boldface lead-in on first line. Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2 .167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and white only, and no frequency discounts. Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January 10 is the closing date for the March issue). VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion per issue. Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must accompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail ([email protected]) using credit card payment (all cards accepted). Include name on card, complete address, type of card, card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Address advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086 , Oshkosh , WI 54903-3086. AIRCRAFT MURPHY ELITE: T.T. 50 Hrs, Lycoming 0-360 , 500 SMOH , 50 STOH . $52,000 Don-Sky Harbor, Duluth, MN ph/fax 218-723-1126 MISCELLANEOUS Airplane T-Shirts 150 Different Airplanes Available WE PROBABLY HAVE YOUR AIRPLANE! www.airplanetshirts.com 1-800-645-7739 Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit www.flyingwires.com or call 800-517 -9278. Aircraft Construction and Restoration, Russ Lassetter, Cleveland, GA. 706 348-7514 BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings, main bearings, bushings, master rods, valves, piston rings. Call us Toll Free 1-800-233-6934, e-mail [email protected] Website www.ramengine.com VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS, N. 604 FREYA ST., SPOKANE, WA 99202 Charles Hubbell Paintings - 100 assorted history of aviation - in mint condition. $1000 - 828-369-8209 SERVICES Always Flying Aircraft Restoration, LLC A&P I.A.: Annual, 100 hr. inspections. Wayne Forshey 740-472-1481 Ohio - statewide. 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VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vintage Aircraft Associalion of Ihe Experimenlal Aircraft Associalion and is published monlhly al EM Avia tion Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, e-mail: [email protected]. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which inctudes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $36 per year for EM membe!s and $46 for non-EM membe!s. Periodicals Postage paid al Oshkosh , Wisconsin 54901 and al addilional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes 10 Vinlage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. PM 40032445 Relum undeliverable Canadian addresses 10 World Dislribulion Services, Stalion A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5, e-mail: [email protected]. FOR EIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at leasl two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE 10 foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. 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The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited. 40 FEBRUARY 2008 Llfaonthe THE 2008 FORD EDGE • • • • • • • • • • 3.5L Duratec V6 engine 265 hp at 6,250 rpm 6-speed automatic transmission 250 Ib.-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm One of Ward's Best Engines of 2007 Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle standards AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control Safety Canopy with rollover sensor Second-row reclining seatbacks Optional rear seat DVD Entertainment System ENJOY THE PRIVILEGE OF PARTNERSHIP EAA Members who are considering the purchase or lease of anew Ford Motor Company vehicle should be sure to take advantage of the Ford Partner Recognition Program. Your membership benefits qualify you for X-Plan pricing, which could save you as much as $1 ,514 on a2008 Ford Edge. EXCLUSIVE PRICING, EXCEPTIONALLY SIMPLE!