VA Vol 16 No 1 Jan 1988

STRAIGHT
AND
LEVEL VOYAGER ­
NOW PUBLIC DOMAIN by Bob Lickteig
On Friday November 20, 1987, just
11 months after its historical flight, the
Voyager has become the newest attrac­
tion at the National Air and Space
Museum in Washington, D.C.
As we well remember from its two vis­
its to Oshkosh, the Voyager is a large
aircraft, with a wing span of 110ft.,
about the same as a Boeing 727 air­
liner. Suspending this huge aircraft pre­
sented some problems as the gallery it
was destined for is only 105 ft.wide .
This required positioning the Voyager
in a slight bank, which gives the viewer
a sense that it is making a graceful turn
inside the Independence Avenue en­
trance to the Museum. The Voyager is
displayed without its winglets, as the
record flight of 25,000 plus miles was
made without them . The one on the
right wing blew away on take off, and
the pilots maneuvered the aircraft to
cause the left winglet to tear away in
flight.
The Voyager was not a government
or big business project. The Voyager
was more like a typical EAA homebuilt
project. EAA members were involved in
contributing and soliciting money, parts,
material and equipment from wherever
they could to keep the project alive. This
project was a dream and a challenge,
2 NOVEMBER 1987
and the only way to accomplish it was
the EAA way - design, build, test,
change, redo and make do. The total
project did not cost $2 million like it
might have had the government been
involved. In fact, if the government had
been involved, that amount probably
would have been spent just to estimate
what the cost would be.
We of EAA have seen so much suc­
cessful work from Burt Rutan, the Voy­
ager's designer, that we knew structur­
ally the project was possible. I am sure
most of us would admit that this pro­
posed flight was a long shot, though ,
when you consider the factors of weath­
er, fuel, mechanical failures and human
fatigue. The master of long distance
flights, Max Conrad, never considered
an eight-day endurance flight of any
kind. And that's not even considering
the cramped quarters the Voyager crew
had to endure - Max would never have
had room to bring along his guitar.
The flight of the Voyager was a per­
fect example of courageous and daring
people willing to test and gamble
perhaps life itself for a chance to do
something no one has done before. All
EAA members should stand tall at this
success for the part they played in it.
The Voyager is now the second
homebuilt aircraft on display at the Na­
tional Air and Space Museum. It joins
Steve Wittman's Bonzo.
Many stories, books and a motion
picture have been written covering the
Voyager odyssey. Now, the Voyager it­
self is on display in the center of U.S.
aviation history. These are all fitting tri­
butes to the Voyager, its gallant crew,
Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, and its
designer Burt Rutan.
The Voyager now belongs to the pub­
lic. In its proud position at the National
Air and Space Museum, it will continue
to inspire and thrill over 7 million visitors
a year.
We're better together. Welcome
aboard, join us and you have it all. •
PUBLICATION STAFF PUBLISHER Tom Poberezny TIlt=
VICE-PRESIDENT MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Dick Matt CREATIVE ART DIRECTOR Mike Drucks JANUARY 1988. Vol. 16, No.1
MANAGING EDITOR/ADVERTISING Mary Jones Copyright "'1988 by the EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. All rights reserved .
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Norman Petersen Dick Cavin FEATURE WRITERS George A. Hardie, Jr. Dennis Parks EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Carol Krone STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jim Koepnick Carl Schuppel Jeff Isom EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC_ OFFICERS President
R. J. Lickteig
1718 Lakewood
Albert Lea, MN 56007
507/373-2922
Vice President
M.C. "Kelly" Viets
Rt. 2, Box 128
Lyndon , KS 66451 913/828-3518 Secretary
Ronald Fritz
15401 Sparta Avenue
Kent City, MI49330
616/678-5012
Treasurer
E.E. " Buck" Hilbert
P.O. Box 145
Union,IL60180
815/923-4591
DIRECTORS
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617/366-7245
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813/823-2339
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104290th Lane, NE Minneapolis, MN 55434 Dale A. Gustafson
7724 Shady Hill Drive
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Box 468
Madison , NC 27025
919/427-0216
Arthur R. Morgan
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414/442-3631
Gene Morris
115C Steve Court, R. R. 2
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817/491-9110 Daniel Neuman
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61 21571-0893
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2359 Lefeber Avenue
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419/529-4378
4141771 -1545
Contents
2
4
5
6
9
10
12
13
14
19
20
22
23
24
26
28
28
29
Straight and Level/by Bob Lickteig
AlC News/by Norm Petersen
Vintage Literature/by Dennis Parks
Ed Wegner's Fairchild 24
by Norm Petersen
Members' Projects/by Norm Petersen
The Time Capsule/by Jack Cox
Vintage Seaplanes/by Norm Petersen
Type Club Activities/by Norm Petersen
Harry & Sherry's Taylorcraft BC-12D
by Harry Miltner
Out of the Past ... In Photos
by Ray L. Johnson
Fly Out to Shawano/by Bob Lumley
Interesting Members - Jay Vieaux
by Bob Brauer
Prop Tips
Just Another Grass Landing Strip. __
Not Anymore/by Joyce Helser
Welcome New Members
Mystery Plane/by George A. Hardie, Jr.
Letters to the Editor
Vintage Trader
6121784-1 172 DIRECTOR EMERITUS
S.J. Wittman 7200 S.E. 85th Lane Ocala, FL 32672 904/245-7768 ADVISORS
Robert C. " Bob" Brauer
9345 S. Hoyne
Chicago, IL 60620
3121779-2105
John A. Fogerty
RR2, Box 70
Roberts, WI 54023
715/425-2455
Robert D. "Bob" Lumley
N104 W20387
Willow Creek Road
Colgate, WI 53017
414/255-6832
Steven C. Nesse
2009 Highland Ave.
Albert Lea, MN 56007
507/373-1674
Page 6
Page 10
Page 22
FRONT COVER ... Flying over the green Wisconsin countryside is
Ed Wegner of Plymouth , WI in his award-winning Ranger-powered
1941 Fairchild 24 which employs a certified Beech electric propeller.
For the full story on this custom restoration see page 6.
(Carl Schuppel Photo)
BACK COVER ... Keystone-Loening K-84 "Commuter." Introduced
in 1929, NX9781 was the prototype 300 hp amphibian of which 40
were built.
(EAA Photo Archives, Kurt Collection)
The words EAA, ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM , SPORT AVIATION , and the logos of EXPERIMENTAL
AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC., EAA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION INC .
INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB INC., WARBIRDS OF AMERICA INC .. are registered trademarks. THE EAA
SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION INC. and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are
trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above associations is strictly
prohibited.
Editorial Policy: Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are
solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. Material should
be sent to: Editor, The VINTAGE AIRPLANE , Wittman Airfield , Oshkosh , WI 54903-3086. Phone : 414/426-4800 .
The VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by EAA Antique/Classic Division.
Inc. of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. and is published monthly at Wittman Airfield , Oshkosh. WI 54903­
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
Compiled by Norm Petersen
GENE CHASE RETIRES
After 14-1 12 years at EAA Headquar­
ters in various capacities, including
editor of The Vintage Airplane since De­
cember 1979, Gene Chase jumped on
the retirement bandwagon as of
. November 1, 1987. Not one to worry as
to what he would be keeping busy with,
Gene admitted he has many "projects"
that need work, including his model
shop in his home and two airplanes in
his hangar - a 1933 Davis D-1-W and
a 1935 Taylor E-2 "Cub."
Gene came to work at EAA from a
corporate pilot position at Standard Oil
Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he
had flown a Lockheed Lodestar for a
number of years. In addition, Gene has
maintained a CFI rating for over 40
years and plans on continuing dual in­
struction in the future. At present, he is
busy checking out a new owner in his
Cessna 195 powered with a 450 hp
P&Wengine!
Having the desire to fly since his early
childhood, Gene has actively pursued
aviation since entering the Naval Avia­
tion Cadet program during WW II. Addi­
tional military flight time was added as
Gene flew in the Navy Reserve for a
number of years, which included the
changeover from propellers to jets.
At present, Gene's logbook shows
some 287 different types of aircraft over
the years, a feat that puts him among a
very select few. He has flown the gamut
from ultralights to four-engine recips
and jets.
A member of the exclusive "Caterpil­
lar Club" by virtue of bailing out of a
flaming airplane, Gene has one more
take off than landing in his book. While
flying a Grumman F3F-2 biplane fighter
during Oshkosh '71, the nose of the
airplane caught fire (a broken fuel line
was suspect) and forced Gene and his
passenger, 18-year-old Randy Beloff,
to bailout over open country southwest
of Oshkosh near Pickett, Wisconsin .
Both parachutists landed safely, how­
ever, Gene was severely burned on his
hands, arms and neck and spent con­
siderable time healing.
The F3F-2 (which at one time was
Leroy Grumman's personal airplane)
slammed into the ground on the Clyde
Brey farm and was demolished. Sur­
4 JANUARY 1988
Gene Chase contemplates retirement on his last day at his EAA desk. These multi­
talented hands have flown more than 287 different types of airplanes and written
~merous airplane articles.
prisingly, the exact spot is easy to find
as Clyde and Karen Brey report that to
this very day every time they plow the
ground, some additional silver grey and
green fabric comes to the surface!
Gene and his wife, Dorothy, donated
their "Church Midwing" to the EAA Air
Museum where it proudly hangs in the
Racing Section along with some pretty
fast company. They totally restored the
tiny yellow and black racer when they
lived in Tulsa and Gene flew it on
numerous occasions. It is powered with
a four-cylinder Heath Henderson en­
gine of approximately 26 hp. Gene's
150 lb. frame would just fit in the tiny
cockpit. Luckily, Gene's other two
airplanes, the Davis and Taylor Cub,
are also black and yellow, so Gene has
to inventory only two colors of paint.
Perhaps it is called progress, how­
ever, we miss the happy smile that
Gene would bring to EAA on a daily
basis. His friendly attitude merely com­
plimented that exceptional "aircraft
mind" that was our constant resource
for information. A man of exceptional
organizational ability, Gene grew with
EAA and the Antique/Classic Division.
As Senior Editor, he discharged his
duties in a faithful manner over the
many years, and the membership was
the benefactor.
A most happy retirement, Gene, and
don't forget to drag out the flute and
piccolo once in a while!
Hans Lohman Rasmussen
Roger Lorenzen, propeller maker of
Heath Parasol fame, inquired of Bill
Schlapman, another Heath Parasol
owner, about his old friend Hans Ras­
mussen, who had worked with Roger at
the Heath factory in the early '30s. Hans
had returned to his native Denmark in
1935 and Roger thought he might still
be living in Odense, Denmark - up in
his eighties!
Bill Schlapman asked if I knew any
Danes in Odense. It just happened that
Carl Erik Gimbel (EAA 146080) of
Holmstrupvej 9, 5250 Odense SV, Den­
mark not only lived there but was com­
ing to Oshkosh '87. Photo copies of
pages 296A, 297 A and 298A of Volume
I, The Golden Age of Air Racing,which
tells the story of Hans Rasmussen and
his "Skippy" racer were sent to Carl Erik
with the words, "Try and locate this
man."
A check of the phone book revealed
Hans Rasmussen lived only a short dis­
tance from Carl Erik and in no time he
was located and gave Carl Erik the en­
tire story of his aviation activities in the
U.S. Carl Erik brought greetings along
to Oshkosh '87 where he met with
Roger Lorenzen and gave him the full
story on Hans Rasmussen , now 83
years old!
Returning to Denmark after five full
days at Oshkosh '87, Carl Erik Gimbel
sat down and wrote the story of Hans
Lohman Rasmussen and his "Skippy"
racer for the Danish antique airplane
magazine published by the KZ and Vet­
eranfly Klubben (EAA Chapter 655) .
The story, along with pictures, was pub­
lished in this third quarter issue of the
magazine and is very nicely done. It
carefully explains how Hans Rasmus­
sen (who uses the name Lohman Ras­
mussen in Denmark for easier identifi­
cation) built not only the airframe for
"Skippy," but the engine as well!
(Continued on Page 23)
VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2Arul2~ by Dennis Parks
The Post-War Emergence of
the Lightplane
"43 Private Planes Certified by CAA,"
Aviation News, February 26, 1945;
"Lightplane Production Obstacles Loom
Despite WPB's Go-Ahead ," Aviation
News, May 21 , 1945; "Low-Price plane
potentials," Aero Digest, July 1945 and
similar articles were some of the harbin­
gers of the post-war boom expected for
the lightplane industry.
The "43 Private Planes" mentioned in
the first articles not only reflected the
return of private flying but also fore­
shadowed one of the problems with the
expected boom- they were surplus mil­
itary aircraft. They included Ryan STs,
Fairchild M-62s and Taylorcraft DCOs.
They were among the 18,500 primary
trainers and liaison types declared
surplus in 1945, more than 80 percent
of which were sold.
The predictions at this time period
were for a very healthy market. In fact,
today it is hard to believe that they were
taken seriously. Victor Pero, chief of the
Industry War Board, had estimated that
2,800,000 of the nation's families would
in the next decade have enough pur­
chasing power to buy their own plane
but that "Only 1,000,000 of them will
hanker after private planes. "
As reported in the March, 1946 issue
of AERO DIGEST, "A recent survey by
one of the leading popular magazines
turned up 300,000 urban families in the
higher income brackets who listed a
plane as either their first or second pur­
chase contemplated ."
Added to this estimate was the possi­
bility that rural families would wish to
own their own planes, adding another
100,000 prospective buyers. That total
of 400,000 matched other estimates of
the time .
That these expectations for the rural
population remained high in the follow­
ing year was reflected in the Sep­
tember, 1946 article in AERO DIGEST,
"Flying Farmers Will Account for 60%
of the Lightplanes." The article provided
coverage of the first annual convention
of the National Flying Farmers Associa­
tion held in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The 250 members attending the Con­
vention were told by Art Boreman,
chairman of the CAA non-scheduled
flight committee , "Farmers an~tBanch­
men of the United States are expected
to purchase 60% of all the lightplanes
produced during 1947-50. That means
that flying farmers will be a constantly
growing influence in the development
of ol,Jr civil aviation."
The CAA in its report "Civil Aviation
and the National Economy" had pre­
dicted that by 1955 the aircraft registra­
tion would reach 400,000 of which
320,000 would be for personal and bus­
iness use.
The outlook looked good in early
1946. The March issue of AERO 01­
GESTstated "A survey of editors of 132
publications, completed recently by the
Associated Business Papers organiza­
tion , reveals that twenty-one manufac­
turers have a total of 53,000 orders on
their books. "
The aviation magazines were full of
articles on lightplanes. The INDUS­
TRIAL ARTS INDEX for 1945 listed 85
articles on lightplanes and in 1946 110
were listed. During this same time is­
sues of FLYING and SKYWA YS
magazines had as many as 16 pages
of full-page ads for personal planes.
Trying to reach a broader audience
outside the aviation journals, Piper,
Beech and others were advertising to
readers in BUSINESS WEEK, LIFE,
and BETTER HOME AND GARDENS
among others.
The fall of 1945 saw the Type Certifi­
cation of the first of the new post-war
lightplanes when the Aeronca 7AC
Champion received Type number 759
on 18 October. By the end of 1946 18
more lightplanes would be certified .
These included the Aeronca Chief,
Globe Swift, Stinson Voyager, Cessna
120 and the Ercoupe.
These aircraft were well received in
the various aviation magazines. From
March 1945 to December 1946 light­
planes graced the covers of 46 issues
of AIR FACTS, FL YING, and SKY­
WAYS.
The first pilot report on the new
planes appeared in the November 1945
issue of AIR FACTS. This flight test was
of the Stinson Voyager. The first pilot
report to appear in SKYWA YS was in
February 1946 and the first for FL YING
was in May 1946. These were both of
the Stinson Voyager.
From November, 1945 till December,
1946 these three magazines which ap­
pealed to the personal pilot carried out
31 flight tests on 20 different light­
planes. No plane besides the Voyager
was covered in all three journals.
Others covered in two of the three in­
cluded , the Aeronca Champion, Beech
Bonanza, Cessna 140, Swift, Navion
and the Piper Super Cruiser.
Another indicator in the lightplane
boom was the lAS (Institue for Aeronau­
tical Sciences) National Light Aircraft
Meeting held in Detroit during the sum­
mer of 1946. This two-day meeting at­
tended by over 200 aeronautical en­
gineers included papers by Grover
Loening - "Noise Reduction"; Carl
Doman, chief engineer of Aircooled
Motors - "Simplified Design for En­
gines"; George Weitz of CAA - "Mainte­
nance Problems of the Personal
Airplane"; and J. Gwinn of Convair,
"The Effect of Center ot Gravity Move­
ment of Safety of Personal Aircraft" (Re­
member the Gwinn Aircar?)
November 1946 probably saw the
highwater mark of the lightplane boom
with the holding of the first National Air­
craft Show in Cleveland. From the De­
cember 1946 issue of A VIA nON:
"The one word 'Big' is the best single
adjective to apply to the nation's first
postwar National Aircraft Show, held in
the huge wartime bomber plant at
Cleveland Airport.
"First, it was the biggest show in the
industry's history from the standpoint of
participation, with more than 155
exhibitors.
"Second, it attracted the largest audi­
ence to ever view an indoor aircraft dis­
(Continued on Page 12)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
ED WEGNER'S
•
•
•
Fairchild 24 by Norm Petersen
(Transcribed from Gene Chase's Inter­
view with Ed Wegner at Oshkosh '87)
Most airplane folks will agree that one
of the outstanding authorities on Fair­
child aircraft is Ed Wegner of Plymouth,
Wisconsin . His dedication to the mar­
que is known the world over and if you
need an answer to a question about
Fairchilds, Ed will most likely be able to
provide the correct answer. Perhaps the
term ,"walking encyclopedia" describes
Ed better than any other.
Ed, whose full name is Edward C.
Wegner (EAA 33887, AlC 136), resides
at 10 Stafford Street, Plymouth, WI
53073, has been heavily involved in an­
tique restorations for many, many
years. His latest project is a 1941 Fair­
child 24W-41 A, NC28690, SI N W41 A­
111 , which earned the Grand Champion
Custom Antique award at EAA Oshkosh
'87.
The project began when Ed, along
with his son Randy, bought a couple of
Intake side of the big 440 cu.in. Ranger engine with its hanging bed-type mount. Note
Marvel-Schebler carb with attendant plumbing and remote oil tank on firewall. This is
a very "sanitary" installation!
Cruising above the waters of Lake Winnebago, Ed Wegner's Fairchild 24 presents a
pretty picture with its long nose and fully-faired landing gear. The paint scheme is very
complimentary to the airplane.
6 JANUARY 1988
"24" airframes that had been Warner
powered from the factory. Being partial
to Ranger engines, (and an expert on
the intricacies of same), Ed decided to
convert the best airframe to Ranger in­
line power. He had a factory engine
mount so the hunt for cowl pieces
began. Success was partially achieved
on a trip to New Jersey and Solberg
Airport. (Ed Wegner's eyes beam with
excitement when he describes walking
through rooms adjacent to an old
hangar with Ranger parts stacked from
floor to ceiling, many in original cartons !
The collection, remaining after the elder
Solberg had died, was one of the most
mind-boggling experiences Ed had ever
come across.)
Using some new Solberg cowl blanks
and making a new top cowl worked very
nicely. A nosebowl from a PT-19 was
modified to conform to the Beech elec­
tric propeller spinner. With this prop, the
pilot can set the propeller for whatever
pitch he wants . Ed says this prop makes
NC28690 the "goingest 24" he has ever
owned, even better than the Aeromatic
on his previous Fairchild 24, NC25323
- the red and cream Ranger-powered
bird that had so many of us drooling for
years!
Ed's latest edition is covered with
Stits Dacron, four coats of nitrate, four
coats of butyrate - nontautening and
six coats of nontautening silver, sanded
periodically and then a final light sand­
ing . Ed says, "We used a non-sanding
sealer over the silver to give better
adhesion when we applied the Deltron
paint, which is a pure urethane. We let
it sit for about a week and then ultra fine
sanded the fuselage, the cloth parts,
and then buffed it to get away from
some of the really high lustre that the
enamel would have. This way it looks
more like buffed butyrate."
The instrument panel was built new,
more or less in the configuration of the
Fairchild panel, but the hump was elimi­
nated . It was used mainly for the old GE
radio. Modern wiring and circuit break­
ers brought it up to a near IFR panel,
although it's not certified as such. The
panel was then wood-grained and a
coat of clear urethane was applied to
protect the wood grain. The result is a
better appearing panel than the original.
Leading edge landing lights were in­
stalled along with strobes on the
wingtips for better visibility. A King KX­
160 radio with VOR head along with a
transponder (under the panel) are the
necessary radio items for normal flying.
The engine is a 200 hp Ranger that
was purchased new in the crate! How­
ever, these military engines were built
with too large of tolerances, so it was
disassembled and totally rebuilt. New
main bearings that are .010 under were
installed and then the case was line
bored for a perfect close fit on the
mains. The rods were bored out to the
same dimensions as the mains ­
roughly .002 to .003 instead of the .004
to .006 that the military had. Along with
new guides and seals plus some modifi­
cations to the oil galley holes resulted
in an engine that burns very little oil.
Besides maintaining excellent cylin­
der head temperatures and good oil
temperatures, the rebuilt engine has
been running very well for the near forty
hours it has accumulated to date. At 21
square, it uses about a pint of oil per
hour, however, if it is run hard, about a
quart per hour is normal consumption .
Cruise speed at 21 square is 115 mph
at a fuel burn of about 10 gallons per
hour. Using the approved Marvel Sche­
bier carburetor instead of the original
Stromberg gives much better perfor­
mance and uses about one gallon per
hour less fuel.
The idea of using a Beech electric
propeller on a Fairchild 24 had been
dancing through Ed Wegner's fertile
mind for some time. He discovered that
Beech had not only certified the prop on
the early Model 35 "Bonanza" but also
on the 200 hp Ranger as used in the
Fairchild 24! Since many of the early
"Bonanzas" have been converted from
the Beech electric prop to the hydraulic
Hartzell, the supply of Beech electric
props just laying around is very good.
Ed located a Beech prop and
promptly put it in top condition . "It's a
laminated wooden-bladed propeller
with a little gear box run by an electric
motor. It works just great on this engine/
airframe combination. The rate of climb
increased by almost 200 ft .lminute over
any other 24 that I had with an Aeroma­
tic, however, the cruise speed stayed
about the same."
How a pair of aluminum wheel pants
could have withstood over 40 years of
pounding and still be in letter perfect
With the Ranger engine turning the Beech electric prop at a good clip, the two exhaust
pipes are devoid of any smoke or carbon - the sign of a very healthy engine. The fairing
of the spinner into the modified nosebowl is especially well done. The "master rebuilder" Ed Wegner with
his familiar Fairchild hat stands by his
pride and joy, NC28690. At a slim and
trim 62, Ed looks in as good a shape as
his airplane.
shape elicited the next answer from Ed.
"Augie Wegner (EAA 85671, NC 7581)
found them for me in Michigan. The
airplane they had been on burned up in
'49 or '50 and the wheelpants had been
saved since then . They were brand
new!"
Ed Wegner explains the wood work
on the airplane as such : "The wings are
all new. The only thing we used over
were the truss wires, all the fittings and
the bellcranks. The ailerons, of course ,
and the elevator and rudder are a com­
bination of aluminum and steel so it was
just a matter of cleaning them up. The
stringers and formers on the fuselage
plus new doors and door frames were
built from new wood . All the sheet metal
was replaced . I found a new firewall at
Solberg's Airport in New Jersey. The
horizontal tail was reskinned with new
Beautiful custom-built instrument panel
is nearly identical to the original except
for the missing "hump" where the com­
pass sits. Stick grips are custom made
from walnut. Note Fairchild logo on left side brake pedals. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
The full interior is shown in this photo with the custom door panels and other fine pOints of Jeff Bell's work really looking good.
Note crank down windows and passenger assist straps, a typical Fairchild trademark.
The most easily recognized feature of a Fairchild 24 is the outrigger
landing gear with the beautifully faired wheelpants. Note the strict atten­
tion to detail and the close fit of the various pieces - a Wegner trademark.
The aluminum casting on the cabin step is another Fairchild " Pegasus"
logo.
8 JANUARY 1988
plywood along with the vertical fin ."
The basic paint color is Porsche red
which was chosen because it had the
least amount of orange in it, so it would
stand up well. The trim color is a dark
Ford red with an orange separator
stripe between the two. The exceptional
quality of the paint scheme and its per­
fect detailing is a tribute to Ed Wegner
and his son, Randy, who have been in
the automotive body business for more
years than Ed cares to remember. A
very close look at the painting work­
manship on this Fairchild has sent
many an antiquer walking away shaking
his head in absolute wonderment ­
muttering, "How do they do it so per­
fectly?"
The material used on the upholstery
is very close to the original that Fairchild
used , although it is a modern type fabric
which is flame retardant. The color and
texture of the fabric is from an early
Hudson
Terraplane
and
closely
matches the original. Ed did add a little
more vinyl on the side door kick panels
for better durability. The work was done
by Jeff Bell of Sheboygan, Wisconsin ,
son of Charlie Bell (EAA 49475, AlC
7923), who had the Grand Champion
Fairchild 24W at Oshkosh '83.
Ed Wegner learned to fly at the age
of 16 at the Kohler, Wisconsin Airport
from Melvin Thompson . Ed was able to
get a job as a line boy to help with ex­
penses. After receiving his Private
license, he signed up for the service
• and went through the cadet program
which included college training. "We
were just into flying Stearmans when
the war ended in '45 and they cut off
our program ." With the military career
over, Ed returned to Kohler airport and
jumped into the surplus airplane joyride.
"We bought six or seven PT-19s and
PT-23s from Fayetteville, Arkansas and
ferried them home, one at a time . That
was really a fun time. I only wish I had
known then what I know now!
Many Antique/Classic Division mem­
bers will remember the 1975 Grand
Champion Antique "American Eagle"
which Ed had restored over a 4-1 /2 year
period. Nicknamed "Tempus Fugit, " the
silver-colored biplane was eventually
sold to a museum in Athol, Idaho where
it was destroyed in a hangar fire a year
later.
Other restorations by Ed Wegner
have been more fortunate and are still
flying today, including a Swift, an early
Funk, a Waco DOC, a Waco VKS-7F,
a Spartan C-3 biplane which Ed still flies
and a Spartan Model 12, a low wing, all
metal tri-gear airplane with a 500 hp
P&W engine up front. It was a 450 hp
(R-985) with a 12 to 1 blower system
that boosted the horsepower to 500.
Weighing over 3300 Ibs. empty, it
needed the extra horsepower. As Ed
says, "It was a well-designed, nice flying
airplane. It just came out at the wrong
period of time in 1946."
After so many airplanes over such a
long period of time, Ed feels he should
sit back and take it a bit easy on the
airplane work. "Let some of the younger
ones take over," he says.
Tail surfaces of the Fairchild are spruce and plywood ahead of the hinge
line and steel and fabric behind. Note the Fairchild logo on the fin and the
beautiful job of rib-stitching on the rudder.
Telling Ed Wegner to stop rebuilding
airplanes is like telling an old mailman
he shouldn't go for a walk! It's tough to
do! •
MEMBER'S PROTECTS...
u
by Norm Petersen
, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , Making its initial flight on October 11,1987 was "Turkey Red," a
homebuilt, two-place biplane designed and built by Jim Soares
(EAA 104408, AlC 2243) of 7093 Dry Creek Road, Belgrade, Montana
59714. With a steel tube fuselage and wood wings, "Turkey Red"
is powered by a converted Model "A" Ford engine swinging an
aluminum alloy propeller. Jim reports that October 11th was quite
some day! "It felt like 1915 - everything in slow motion." Note the
brass radiator which Jim built from scratch. •
Stinson Flying Station Wagon 108-3, SIN 108-3941, owned by 26­
year-old Jon EckriclI (EAA 297550), 7623 Deansville Road, Mar­
shall, WI 53559. Both Jon's father and grandfather flew a 108-3 so
it is only right that Jon continues with the tradition! Rebuilt in 1975,
N1000M has some 500 hours on it now and is almost IFR certified.
Jon reports the Stinson has a full complement of King radios in­
cluding a Loran-C receiver.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
The Time Capsule
8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules ... a fleeting instant frozen forever . . . preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past. The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers . .. or their estates . .. who
attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes
passing through. These priceless peeks at aviation's Golden Age deserve to be seen . . . and we intend to present a few of them each
month in this new feature. Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed. This month 's photos are from the
Schrade Radtke Collection.
I
I
,
Left. This brawny beast is R189M, the
Seversky 2-PA-L, variously described as
an "export fighter" and a "2-seat convoy
fighter." Powered by a 1000 hp Wright
GR-1830-G3 Cyclone, it was apparently a
company prototype of many uses. As
X189M, the airframe was previously the
P&W R-1340 powered Model X-BT. Radtke
Collection #869.
Harry Crosby's CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races, probably in 1938. All metal, it was about the absolute minimum
airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer. The fuselage was 21.5 ft. long but the highly tapered wings
spanned just 16 feet. Quite innovative, the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing, provision for dry ice cooling ...
and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler. Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from
reaching its full development. Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244.522 mph. Crosby died during World
War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing, the XP-79B Flying Ram. Radtke Collection #257.
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I .. . at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937. It was demonstrated there by
Frank Hawks, who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd. The Aircar was
a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car. Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile. It
had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle.
A brake and a " clutch" pedal on the floor completed the auto look. The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until, at 55 mph, the
" clutch " was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew. It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled
on take-off with full aft wheel. The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel! Frank Hawks' favorite ploy was to take
his hand off the wheel and let it land itself. Unfortunately, Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on
take-off from a polo field on a private estate. This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company. Two Aircars were built, the Model
1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy). Hawks crashed in the Model II. The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego
in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated. Afterwards, it was reported to have been donated to a school ... and has
never been heard from since. Radtke Collection # 558.
Here's a little mystery . . . according to
Revolution In The Sky, the book on the
early Lockheeds, this Sirius was wrecked
in 1935 and never repaired, yet here it is
at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking
pretty fit. This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C
Sport Cabin Sirius, a special model with
tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just
behind the P&W Wasp C. The name under
the canopy is "S. R. Sague, Pilot" . Radtke
# 689.
(Continued from Page 5)
play, the final total topping 150,00 paid
admissions.
"Third , the actual floor space - some
500,000 sq. ft. - was the largest ever
devoted to an aeronautical display.
"Personal displays . . . were among
the best attended throughout the 10 day
show."
In truth this time lightplane production
was at an all time high. At the overall
production peak in August and Sep­
tember 1946, 4,000 aircraft were being
turned out a month. Aeronca itself was
producing about 1,000 each month.
At the beginning of 1947 there were
over 400,000 licensed pilots, 189,156
with private pilot licenses. There were
more than 30 personal aircraft models
for the private owner to consider when
buying a flying machines for business
or pleasure, ranging from two to seven­
place machines. No less than 17 com­
panies were competing for sales in this
market segment.
Personal aircraft production had
. gone from 1,946 units in 1945 to an un­
believable 33,254 units. The end of
1946 saw 81 ,000 civil aircraft in opera­
tion . Of the close to 61 ,000 single en­
gine civil aircraft registered , over 43,000
were powered by engines of under 145
horsepower. Close to 31 ,000 had 65
horsepower or less.
This was truly the golden era of the
lightplane. But, it was a short-lived one
as the market rapidly went sour. Sales
in 1947 fell to around 15,515 units, and
by 1949 had plunged to 3,500 units.
It was a unique event in the history
of the lightplane ; one never to be seen
again . •
VINTAGE SEAPLANES Dennis Parks, EAA librarian, came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the
EAA photo collections. It's a Viking Kittyhawk B-8, N753Y, SIN 26, powered with a Kinner
B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats. This three-place, open cockpit biplane
was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co., New Haven, CT and Franklin T. Kurt was the
chief engineer.
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub "Coupe" mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into
the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In. Owned by Don Eckman,
P.O. Box 12586, Milwaukee, WI 53212, the "Coupe" N25064, SIN 4-801, was built up for
floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh, WI and features extreme light weight, 85hp Continental
engine with flat 42" pitch prop, heavy duty float struts and 3/16" cable support wires
to floats. Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling.
12 JANUARY 1988
I
~ ~ype
ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
-
International Cessna
120/140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dor­
chen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh
'87 and the really enjoyable flights that
brought them across the middle of the
U.S. to Oshkosh. They got a big kick
out of the Antique/Classic fly-out to
Shawano described elsewhere in this
magazine.
When the time came to leave Osh­
kosh , the engine on their Cessna 140
acted very sick so a trip was made to
the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh
run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport,
Iowa (they operate this tent on dona­
tions and kindness!) They removed the
cowl , pulled the plug on the cold cylin­
der, pushed a large rope down through
the plug hole, hit the "thang" with a mal­
let and pulled on the prop several
hundred times. It worked! The valve
came unstuck and Dorchen was ready
to go - a bit later than planned.
That was the second time for a stuck
valve. It happend the last time on a long
cross-country when Forman's had to
buy several loads of 100LL. Now they
put Marvel Mystery in when they buy
100LL. "You have to believe in some­
thing!" Dorchen has nothing but kind
words to say about young Tr~ pp Myrick
who did the job as a member of Chapter
75, Davenport, Iowa.
Another interesting member of the In­
ternantional Cessna 120/140 Associa­
tion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who
lives in Sacramento, Kentucky with his
wife Joyce. Dave bought a Cessna 140
in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Con­
tinental engine, Edo 1650 floats and
long range fuel tanks. (You need long
range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly
to Oshkosh !)
On the morning of August 1, 1986,
the 140 was lowered into the water for
the first time and Dave taxied out for
three take offs and landings. Everything
went well , so he loaded Joyce and a lot
of baggage on board and headed for
the big "0". After a fuel stop at Lake
Shelbyville, Illinois, they headed for
Lake Michigan where they lost a mag­
neto and had to land in six-foot waves!
-
--
- -
After buying the most expensive mag in
Chicago, they headed for Lake Win­
nebago. Late afternoon thunderstorms
cut them off 15 miles short so they
headed for Lake Michigan again and
rough water.
They landed at Port Washington just
ahead of the storm. The only room in
town was above a bar. The next day
brought sunshine and they made it to
Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane
base.
After flying back to Kentucky from
Oshkosh, the 140 was hit head on by a
houseboat on August 8, 1986! The dam­
age amounted to $13,500 and Dave
and Joyce are now rebuilding the
wreck. They say, "It will be flying again."
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a
two-page insert on building a tool for
removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank
bearings and another tool for removing
aileron and elevator hinge bearings.
Both tools also install the new bearings
in their respective holders. The de­
signer is John W. Dooley of Rt. 2, Box
317B2, Frisco, TX 75034.
For information on the International
Cessna 120/140 Association , write to
Box 830092, Richardson, TX 75083­
0092.
were burnt out in the solid unit. The rud­
der trim tab and trim tab cables were
burnt and there was skin damage to the
aircraft nose. The spirit compass and
carb air temperature gauges were de­
magnetized and extensive areas of the
cabin and nose were magnetized, in­
cluding landing gear, heater, radios,
radio racks, pilot's seat, control yoke
and control columns as well as hoses,
nuts and bolts.
The aircraft had to be demagnetized,
all compasses and the RMI system had
to be overhauled and reswung; the rud­
der trim tab and trim cables replaced as
was the rear navigation light and the
ADF loops. Of course, sheet metal re­
pairs were necessary for the nose sec­
tion. The ELT required recertification al­
though it had just been signed off and
the WX-8 "Stormscope" was returned
to the factory for a check and recalibra­
tion .
Weather radar and a "stormscope"
are excellent weather avoidance de­
vices, but as the story shows, are not
infallible in detecting every hazard.
For information on the American Nav­
ion Society, write to Box 1175, Munici­
pal Airport, Banning, CA 92220-0911 ­
phone 714/849-2213.
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November '87 Navioneer pub­
lished by the American Navion Society
has a most unique story by Ken
McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that
was struck by lightning during a moder­
ate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet
ASL over Canmore, Alberta on July 25,
1986. The lightning arrived in the form
of a five foot diameter fireball directly in
front of the aircraft, accompanied by a
deafening bang. More than $7000 dam­
age was caused to the airframe and air­
craft components.
The lightning passed from the nose
through to the tail of the aircraft, exiting
through the rudder trim tab and rear
navigation light. The light was shat­
tered, melted and re-fused by the exit­
ing electrical charge . The lightning
singed sleeping bags and pillows
stowed in the nose, resulting in a strong
burnt smell. The radios were still func­
tional but the ADFs would not home.
After a safe landing in Calgary, an
inspection revealed extensive damage.
The two Collins 650A ADF loop anten­
nae were destroyed - the amplifiers
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental
Luscombe Association's newsletter,
called "The Luscombe Courant," makes
note of the bad news first. Effective De­
cember 8, 1987, all U.S. registered air­
craft are required to install an 10 plate
on the exterior of the airplane. This is
part of the ruling that also requires 12
inch registration numbers for any air­
craft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense
Identification Zone) and if you have
added extra fuel tanks in the passenger
or baggage compartments, authorizing
documentation must be carried on
board the aircraft.
Now the good news! Many years ago,
Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates
made up in quantity to sell to the mem­
bership. He has now seen fit to turn the
remaining batch of 10 plates over to the
C.L.A. to sell and raise money for their
1988 "Get Together." (Note: He didn 't
say fly-in, which it is not - for insurance
purposes!)
(Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner
(EAA 223678)
1512 Skyline Drive
Ellensburg, WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I: Another Toy?
That was Sherry's comment
another toy? Have you ever dreamed
of finding an old vintage aircraft or an­
tique car hidden in some farmer's barn?
I have for years! I guess the men work­
ing for Harrah's car collection and
museum in Reno gave me the clue as
these chaps were paid to comb the
countryside looking for antiques.
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the
bucolic countryside of Central Utah
building a barn for Charley and Marcia
Eppler. Over a fire at night, Charley
would spin a yarn about an old mono­
plane that was hidden in a shed on some
farmer's place. With a little research, we
quickly found the shed and the most de­
lapidated airplane sitting inside, hardly
out of the way of the harsh Utah winters.
The weather had taken its toll as the
fabric was completely tattered, and one
could even see its wing and fuselage
skeleton.
The identity revealed an old Taylor­
craft, possibly circa 1946-48. It took
14 JANUAR Y 1988
Charley some time to find the real name
of the owner and then Marcia went to
work. Having been brought up in the
valley, she knew everyone on a first
name basis. The owner turned out to be
"Floyd." We found Floyd on Sunday
down in Ephram, and his only remark
was, "Won't sell the old bird, want to
restore it myself. "
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter
and our talks turned from airplanes to
the Carter administration and back to
airplanes, never forgetting Floyd's old
shed. The main topic was, was it worth
anything? The shed roof had leaked
right down into the wing junction section
and the water had no doubt continued
into the lower fuselage area. Were the
longerons damaged? What about the
spars themselves? What about the en­
gine, stored all these years in the open
shed? Certainly it had not run in a dec­
ade. We came up with a true worth to
be $1 ,OOO.OO! Not a penny more.
Since then , I moved to Central Wash­
ington state, miles and months from our
find in that old shed in Spring City, Utah.
But, I have kept in contact with the
Epplers, birds of a feather stick together
you know. After a while, I got a call from
Charley saying the T-Craft was on the
block and he was number one in line to
bid on it. Not a finger had been put on
the old bird; it lay just as we-first found
it over two years ago. With inflation and
such, we moved our price to $1 ,200.00,
but that was a joke as old Floyd came
up with a firm price of $2,000.00 ­
nothing more and certainly nothing less.
No country boy haggling, I thought.
Gratefully we paid the dough and
Charley moved the old bird to higher
ground in fear the old shed would not
withstand another snowfall. On my way
to a friend 's wedding in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming in April, I'd continue on down
to central Utah and fetch the old girl and
bring 'er back to Ellensburg. Being a
member of EAA and with the help of
some retired Boeing types, I figured
within a year or two we should have the
old Taylorcraft restored and back in. its
natural habitat.
The logbooks reveal a total airframe
time of 455 hours and the engine logs
show a recent overhaul of .015 oversize
many decades ago. If the main spars
are good, and the fuselage tubing is
okay, then in retrospect it would be a
good buy.
The big topic of conversation is
whether to clip the wings and go to a
bigger engine or restore it as original.
But, we have plenty of time for such
decisions. The main thing is that it has
been moved to higher ground and is on
the road to a full restoration program.
But, I won't give up either, I still dream
of running onto an old Morgan or Allard
in a shed somewhere in rural America.
Chapter II: On the Road to Spring
City
In late March, I dragged an open
glider trailer down to Spring City, Utah
behind our wee pick-up truck, "Dottie."
What an awful trip . I had headwinds on
the way and stronger headwinds on the
return trip. But the wee beast did exactly
as the advertisements say, "Datsun's
are DRIVEN!"
I found the old T-Craft in about the
condition I expected. The wing was
worse , but the fuselage much better. In
fact, with the old tattered original Irish
linen stripped off, the fuselage looks
new. However the left wing is pretty
awful. Zillions of tiny bees built nests in
the wing and the secretion or whatever
corroded the aluminum ribs and steel.
About six or seven ribs have to be re­
placed completely, plus the trailing
edge aluminum. The left aileron is non­
existent. The right wing could be reco­
vered tomorrow, but we will replace the
two wood spars. The material is Sitka
spruce from Washington State.
Everyone here thinks we got quite a
buy. With only 455 hours, they say the
airplane's hardly broken in, but the en­
gine is still a mystery. It was supposedly
rebuilt by old Floyd, but there is nothing
written in the logbooks. The engine is a
65 hp Continental ; it's one of the first
things that will be sold. 65 hp will hardly
get my 225-pound partner off the
ground at 5,000' elevation on a hot
summer day. In its place we will install
a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150.
I checked with the local Technical Col­
lege in Tacoma and they said it would
be a rather simple installation . Also, the
brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydrauli­
cally actuated drum brakes. This is a
must, for the old mechanical brakes
leave a lot to be desired .
The project is progressing well. I have
the left wing completely dismantled and
have made accurate drawings of all the
components . Xerox copies have been
sent to all the aircraft parts houses and
the search has just started for ribs, aile­
ron components , bellcranks, etc. Also I
have contacted dozens of people whom
I've learned about through the T-craft
movement for spare parts for the wing.
Prater Hogue is nearby for assist­
ance, but he outlined how "I" can do all
the work. I want to come away from this
with not only a restored antique but the
"A" rating for aircraft repair.
When not working on the wing , i have
been stripping all the components from
the fuselage. Windows , doors, instru­
ments, fuel tank have been removed
and stored in safe places. The shop has
needed work, mostly to keep out the
famous Ellensburg wind . Overhead
lights will have to be installed if any
moonlighting is to go on this fall and
winter. All in all, it is a fun project - a
bit frustrating at time as no one seems
to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is
installed and what mods have to be
made to the fuselage and engine cowl.
The FAA gives us what they call a "one
time STC" but the exact details to the
conversion are up to the owner.
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Al­
liance, Ohio by the same chaps that
possibly built ours. They are very much
the same design but stronger in many
ways as the engine is the 0-235, 115
horsepower. The price is much
Before covering began, the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to
check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies. Workmanship looks to be first
class.
stronger, too, bringing some $23,000. It
is hard to imagine how much a project
like this is going to cost. If we were to
restore it just as it is, leaving the 65
engine in place, perhaps we could get
away for $4,000 to $5,000, but the
larger engine conversion could cost a
packet. It is even hard to get good
prices on used/serviceable parts as
everyone seems to think their parts are
made out of gold! And they might be,
as nobody makes certain parts any­
more. But, that's part of the fun , running
down some part that is long since for­
gotten. Project reports will come slowly
as the work will come slowly. When it's
finished , though , Sherry and I want to
see America in aT-Craft - something
I haven't been able to do in my
sailplane. So wish us luck!
Chapter III: The Trials and Tribula­
tions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed
the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a
vintage aircraft, the last quarter of '82
was no exception. First, my silent part­
ner came on to some severe financial
problems so the lifeblood of the restora­
tion was cut, somewhat. I have had to
dig deep to buy the necessary parts to
see the wings , at least, finished . The
six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce
spars ended up a no-show and I had to
purchase some locally. Sitka Spruce is
becoming scarce, at least aircraft
grade. The timber was oversize so
naturally it had to be whittled down to
the exact size of the original. The Uni­
versity shop gave me the cold shoulder
- a possible shop accident would lead
to a lawsuit, so I then turned to the El­
lensburg High School where I was
warmly received and their new surface
planer certainly did the trick. To make
the spars super accurate, I first dressed
them down on a table saw. Working the
17-foot piece by myself, the spar
jumped out of the saw and when it came
down, the blade put a slice in the spar
itself. So a factory modification had to
be made before the wing was ever put
together. Bad show! While working on
the wing , I spent two weeks sandblast­
ing the fuselage with a very underpow­
ered sandblaster and compressor.
Then using the latest Stits epoxy, I
primed the aft part of the fuselage. Sev­
eral weeks later I noticed corrosion oc­
curring under the primer. The local ex­
perts said that rinsing the metal with
"Metal Prep" was unnecessary but it
later turned out to be untrue advice. So,
the primer had to all be removed and
started over again. This time I hired a
student to do the spraying as the fumes
were getting to me. He did a lovely job
and now the fuselage just shines.
More advice from the local pundits
declared my 65 hp engine unfit for any­
thing short of an anchor. Can 't be any
good, sitting in a shed for 25 some year,
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
however, and we are now going into the
ninth month of paperwork to get an "N"
number and STC for the larger engine
modification! But, I'll see it through ,
however. Germans are known for stub­
bornness! Tune in to next time .
Chapter IV: The T-Pot is Finally Look­
ing Like an Airplane!
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the
full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition. Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft.
they said. So I unloaded it to a chap in
Spokance for $750.00 I threw in the
motor mount and prop. He has since
gone through the engine and has found
it to be in mint condition . Props alone
cost $750.00!!! So, you win a few and
loose a bunch. (More advice proved
worthless.)
Don't buy anything new, they said.
Scrounge if you can. Just about all the
wing parts I purchased in "serviceable"
condition had to be restored as corro­
sion had set in. The compression struts
were twisted and I am stili waiting for
Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace
these for me. For the little savings, buy­
ing them new from Univair is the smart
move.
We have decided to go to juice
brakes, drum not disc. I ordered some
used PA-22 brakes and wheels and
when the package arrived, there was
one brake. I called and asked about the
shortage and he said, "That's all you
get for $49.50. " I asked about the plural
words . . . "wheels and brakes?" It
seems the same used car parts gypos
are now selling aircraft parts! (Editor's
note: Harry writes later that he decided
to go with the hydraulic brake instead.)
Beginning in December I saw a
breakthrough in the project. The spars
were nicely cut, dressed and varnished.
(In drilling out the spars, I forgot to say
that several of the holes were drilled
several thousands off. I then had to find
16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to ac­
commodate the spar fittings.) Within a
week the wing is totally rebuilt now and
looks very serviceable. The FAA has
not let up their pursuit of harassment,
All is alive and well. Despite the many
setbacks, including losing our lovely
workshop in several months, the old T­
Pot is finally looking like an airplane.
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft
"on hold" while Skeeter got an engine
transplant, I'm back again with the old
girl. How does Sherry know my prog­
ress?? I've been broke from buying air­
craft parts since June 4, 1985. On that
day we rigged the entire aircraft putting
the wings in place, hooking up the con­
trol cables and attaching the tail feath­
ers. I felt this essential as after the fabric
was installed and the aircraft fully as­
sembled, I did not want any surprises.
(I'm getting too old for these kind of sur­
prises.)
A very knowledgeable chap named
Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and
gave it the inspection, "prior to fabric."
Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and
has surely forgotten more about light
aircraft than I will ever learn. He found
several things needing further attention
and then signed it off, "for cover." The
following weeks were spent learning the
covering process with lots of reading
and VCR tapes from the experts. After
the usual Miltner research, the Stits
Poly Fiber process was chosen. This is
a dacron cloth weighing 2.7 oz. per
square yard and Stits Poly co?tings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C. G.
Taylor, himself. Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights. Grimes tail light on top
of fin is standard.
Continental 0-200 installation is very
neatly done including the all-important
baffling. Lower cowling is "bumped out"
to allow room for the Cessna 150 type
exhaust system.
used to protect the fabric. (Days of
Grade "A" cotton and Irish linen are
stitching. "
Exactly 323 hours from start, the fab­
ric was then ready for its first coat of
"silver" dope. Then three or four coats
follow, sanded between coats to protect
the dacron from the ultra-violet rays
when parked outside. The most fun was
exploring the many color schemes for
the final paint job. Since this is an an­
tique airplane, we wanted to use colors
and designs typical of the late '30s and
'40s. I remember seeing a Beech 18 on
display at the Smithsonian with a two­
tone yellow paint job and dark green
accent stripe. I wrote to the Smithsonian
and they were kind enough to send the
exact color numbers and by chance,
Stits had them in their repertoire .
The only shortcoming to the entire
Stits process is a very toxic and smelly
odor to the dopes and glues. Trying to
work in a well-ventilated, wood-heated
shop in the middle of one of the worst
Washington State winters was a chore.
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class, including the two original
glove box doors. Note heel brakes on pilot's side only. Portable transceiver fits nicely
on floor, just ahead of the seat.
over.)
To make things easier on my first
covering job, I had Hower Aviation of
Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks
out of the Stits dacron. These socks are
then pulled over the ailerons, elevator,
horizontal stabilator, wings and fuse­
lage components. The loose side is
glued to the metal with Poly Tak ce­
ment. Then a household clothes iron,
set at 250 degrees, is rubbed over the
baggy, wrinkled dacron until it becomes
taut. This has to be one of the seven
wonders of the world for instantly it
looks professional and airworthy! After
this, two coats of Stits Polybrush are
hand painted on the fabric. All horizon­
tal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and
stiffners with a "rib stitch," stitched with
needle and dacron thread. Two inch
dacron tape is then applied to all lead­
ing and trailing edges and over the "rib
In the beginning I got sick from the
odors and then turned to a well-respi­
rated mask which I wore for months.
For the spraying of the silver and final
coats, I have hired a young student from
the Tech department here at Central
University.
Well, I've blown about 1162 hours
and a ton of dough on the old restora­
tion project, and it still ain't flyable. We
are still without an engine so if you hap­
pen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Con­
tinental, call collect. There is no flying
date set but we do want to barnstorm
Americain summer 1987. Cheers and
stay tuned .
Chapter V: How to Make a Turkey
into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung
through 4% years of frustration and
joy, the restorer's three step continues
. . . two steps forward and one back.
"Hell, it's easy, they say, start with a
vintage basket case Taylorcraft and
with a few parts and a little time, you'll
be flying. " Well, the hands on the old
Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400
revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone)
and what seems like a mini National
Debt, the old bird is far from airborne.
A typical week is such: Five days to
trim and fit a brand new windscreen to
the boot cowl and wings. Tighten the
last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O,
a hairline crack races across the front
of the windshield . Luckily I had warned
the windshield manufacturer that the
lovely curves did not fit the frame prop­
erly, and another will be sent free. But,
all is not gloom. The fabric is on and the
cream and yellow Stits paint glistens
like a new Pfennig. Not a grand champi­
on, mind you, but catching up to one.
Being at this project for what seems
a lifetime, we felt it fitting to buyout our
partner and place my mate, co-pilot and
navigator's name on the FAA registry.
There will be times I am sure when a
very silent partner 1200 miles away in
rural Utah will be sorely missed, but
thanks, Charley, for turning loose one­
half the ownership.
After looking for years at a replace­
ment engine for the tired old 65, we re­
turned from Canada with a 108 horse
jewel. I had done my homework, I had
thought. I contacted the FAA, the
Taylorcraft Company and with a very
green light we purchased the Lycoming
0-235. Upon returning I again con­
tacted the T-craft factory to order a
mount; 10 and behold, the mount is a
dynafocal mount. What's the old tune of
Kenny Rogers . . . "If it wasn't for bad
luck, I'd have no luck at aiL " Well, my
engine has the conical mount and its an
insurmountable task to mate the two .
To add insult to injury, the factory
would not supply any data as to thrust
line, etc., due to the "liability" song. So,
rolling my own mount seemed impossi­
ble. Sorry, Bruce, your engine is still a
gem, but hopefully a fellow in Sun­
nyside will trade even for a freshly ma­
jored engine by Quackenbush. It's an
0-200 Continental (100 hpj. In reality
the 100 hp Continental is the better bet
for it is some 40 Ibs. lighter, parts are
easier to come by and a motor mount
can be purchased "over the counter."
But when you make a change, the re­
verberation is felt all the way through
the fuselage. Now the engine cowl will
have to be altered and new bits and
pieces hung on the engine. The FAA
will again give the nod to use a wooden
propeller ... nostalgia city, these old
wood clubs.
Play it again, Sam. Time for a back
step. Kittitas County gave up the shoe
about seven months ago, throwing us
out of our EAA clubhouse and shop.
Saint Dugan was quick to come to the
rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft
is fully rigged, living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar. But, the war with
the County is not over. "Liability" again
rears its ugly head, and the County
wants all hangar renters and leasees to
carry a million dollars worth of liability
insurance - to the tune, if we'll pay it,
of $1600 a year. Well, I can handle the
Federal Agrivation Agency, the famous
Ellensburg winds, but this new caper
could kill the gander. I know the old ad­
age - if God had wanted man to fly,
he would have made them all mil­
lionaires.
In the meantime, work continues on
the old turkey - rather slowly this
winter as the hangar is not heated.
Come spring, it will be flat stick to com­
petition. Flying date is set for May 12,
1987. Come mid-June when Sher is
finished with school, we'll head east and
barnstorm the U.S. of A., landing in
farmer's fields, sleeping under the wing
and all the good things that Richard
Bach mentions in his flying books.
And our dream is to land on the old
Silliman's farm strip in Canaan, Con­
necticut and celebrate my first first flight
some 40 years ago with Gus in his old
Widgeon.
P.S. Just got a note from the FAA
informing me that the gas lines are the
wrong size and the entire fuel system
has to be revamped. Bigger size due to
bigger engine. When will it stop??
Chapter VI: The Finale!
Christmas Eve: The chap from Sun­
nyside arrived to make the big engine
switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his
Continental 0-200. As he opened the
tailgate he paused and said, "I really
shouldn't make this trade as I have over
seven grand in the engine and rebuild.
My heart sank, as I had contacted the
new Taylorcraft Company in Lock
Haven for one of their motor mounts to
mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BC­
12D. But, "my word is my word ," he
said. So, Santa brought us one of the
finest engines available - a freshly re­
manufactured engine by one of the west
coast's leading rebuilders Lynn
Quackenbush!
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to
order the motor mount and they said
that they could not supply the motor
mount after all. They were in Chapter
11! What next? I had gotten rid of the
0-235 because a mount was unavaila­
ble and now I was stuck with an 0-200
and again no mount was available.
Another step backwards. Univair did
have one in stock, and it was pur­
chased.
It was decided that the stock Cessna
150 exhaust system would be used, so
now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl
would have to be drastically altered to
fit the extended engine and different
muffler system. (The 0-200 has a star­
ter and alternator, which moves the en­
gine forward some 5".) This was done
by adding some 5" to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges
were made to cover the mufflers and
sparkplugs. The top cowl, by the way,
had to be made from scratch with some
pre-formed sheets of aluminum . Prog­
ress through the spring of '87 went well .
Control cables, tach, hot air box, electri­
cal components were obtained from a
number of sources and by May it was
ready for FAA inspection. By the way,
a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen
knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylor­
craft has never been offered, factory
made, with a wood propeller.
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor ar­
rived and started the long, drawn out
paperwork ordeal. He mentioned that
he was representing the Engineering/
Modification branch of the FAA, respon­
sible for the issue of a future STC in my
name. The STC would cover the follow­
ing changes:
1. Skylight in roof, over cockpit.
2. Plastic in lower section of each
door.
3. Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching.
4. Continental 0-200A engine.
5. Battery box mounted under bag­
gage compartment.
6. Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson.
The FAA also required an inspection
by the local A&P (AI). The Field Advisor
noticed that the alternator did not have
a name tag on it, even though it was
checked by the engine rebuilder and
stated in the logs. For five weeks the
FAA hassled us with this problem and
finally requested that we buy a new al­
ternator which would produce a yellow
tag. He also did not like the "handmade"
looking engine data plate found on the
right side of the Continental engine.
Four trips were made from Seattle (800
miles) to review the paper and reinspect
the alternator.
Growing tired of the harrassment, I
went to visit Modification/Engineering
and talked them into putting the whole
aircraft into the "Experimental" category
for a period of time so that we could at
least go to Oshkosh. They agreed to
this and the aircraft would be tested,
along with the wood prop and all the
other modifications for a month or so.
It is still in the Experimental category
and the paperwork and testing con­
tinues. Oh, they came over one day and
personally flew the old bird, and I
haven't seen them since.
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylor­
craft for the first time in over 25 years,
and I must admit that there was abso­
lutely no enjoyment or emotion on my
part. The FAA has done their job too
well, and I was drained, both physically
and mentally. It was as if I was installing
an Allison in the old girl. Heavens
knows there are many factory-made F­
19 models built by Mrs. Ferris of the old
Taylorcraft Company flying around with
0-200A engines on board.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A
CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or, Ten Ways I Personally Screwed
Up!
1. As you disassemble the aircraft,
make accurate drawings or take
Polaroid pictures of the components as
they are taken apart. Several months or
even years later, it will make it less dif­
ficult to reassemble.
2. Surround yourself with knowledge­
able people. Remember you get what
you pay for. "Sidewalk Supers" are a
dime a dozen and can cost you a packet
in the long run.
3. Build yourself a glass bead box. Truly
an effortless way to clean old paint and
light corrosion and rust off your old
parts.
4. Corrosion, like cancer, has to be re­
moved and the part, whether steel or
aluminum, has to be treated with an
acid etch. DuPont has both these prod­
ucts. If the fuselage has to be
sandblasted, the residue (oil from the
compressor and sand dust) has to be
cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned
with "Metal Prep."
5. If small modifications are to be made
- remember a 337 FAA form will have
to be made, including a drawing, de­
scription and a photograph of the com­
pleted part or component, then signed
by an A&P. If a major mod or change
is to be made requiring structural
changes or an engine transplant, take
it up with the Engineering/Modification
branch of the FAA.
6. If a job being done requires two
people, don't try to do it by yourself.
Wait until help arrives.
7. Remember when buying from an air­
craft salvage yard they usually charge
33% of the original cost. These original
parts are sky high to begin with. Most
likely they can be obtained new from an
aircraft parts store, i. e., Aircraft Spruce,
Wicks, etc., etc. Again, if obtained from
a salvage yard, they are off of a totalled
out aircraft, so buyer beware!
8. The FAA will sometimes put your
"Classic" in the "Experimental" category
to test a part, component change or en­
gine swap, but it will have to be put back
into the standard category at the end of
a test. Unfortunately, there are no ex­
ceptions.
9. If an engine has been stored in a dry
climate for a long period of time, even
unpickled, it still could be airworthy with
a minimum of teardown.
10. Reassemble the entire aircraft, in­
cluding rigging the control cables, be­
fore fabric recover - especially if new
spars were installed. •
Out
Of The
Past
•
•
•
In Photos
Ray L. Johnson
(EAA 159826, Ale 5728)
347 S. 500 East
Marion, IN 46953
and
Wilbur Hostetler
(EAA 94013)
2515 Monroe Pike
Marion, IN 46953
These two photos were given to us
by a gentleman who recently retired
from our company, Indiana and Michi­
gan Electric Company. Another retiree
had given them to him several years
earlier! We were given the photos be­
cause of our obvious obsession with
airplanes.
After getting the photos, we went
about finding a date when the accident
occurred . Wilbur's supervisor found the
date for us - July 15, 1930. We then
went to the library to find the old news­
paper clippings. Here is the story.
On July 15, 1930, a pilot flew this bip­
lane through a high voltage line be­
tween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one
span). The pilot miraculously escaped
injury. According to the newspaper clip­
ping, the pilot was flying a Pheasant
biplane. He was on his way to Fond du
Lac, Wisconsin from Dayton, Ohio.
"The neat part, " Ray says, "was the
fact that it occurred on the farm across
the road from where I grew up! I recog­
nized the buildings in the photos as we
had lived there since 1960. My first
knowledge of the accident was when
we received the photos."
Then the bonus part turned up!
"While researching the two photos, we
discovered a second airplane had gone
through high lines on June 16, 1943!
(13 years later). You guessed it, be­
tween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the
same exact spot as the first accident!"
The newspaper accounts of the two
nearly identical accidents add informa­
tion to the story. The Pheasant was
being flown by pilot Don Williams, age
40, an experienced aviator with over 15
years of flight time. He was not injured
in the crash . The highline carried
132,000 volts and the Pheasant had
gone through three of seven wires . The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the "tangle" with high
tension wires between towers No.7 and 8 on July 15, 1930. Unusual for the period is
a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that
powerplant. Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use).
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above! Photo came
from the power company collection of years ago. Exact same spot was hit by another
airplane 13 years later.
airplane was one of three built by the
company at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
where Steve Wittman was the company
test pilot.
Details on the 1943 accident were
given in the newspaper account. It
seems Air Cadet James J. Coughey
had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker
Hill Naval Air Station (now named Gris­
som Air Force Base) and after encoun­
tering fog and low ceilings, hit the lower
wire of the highline and landed upside
down in the field. The crash tore the
motor from the plane, however, the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and
toppled out on the ground unhurt.
We wonder what the odds are for two
airplanes to hit the same power lines in
the same spot, crash inverted into the
nearby field and both pilots emerge un­
scathed?
Editor's Note: Ray Johnson and Wil­
bur Hostetler restored the 1947
Aeronca "Chief", N3469E, that won
Best of Type at Oshkosh '86 and was
featured in the April '87 issue of The
Vintage Airplane. ... N. A. P.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH '87 ABOVE. A ground view taken as the event
was well along, about 10 a.m., reveals
three lines of airplanes parked on the
large expanse of mowed grass. This is
indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in!
LEFT. The initial bunch of 15 to 20
airplanes are parked along the perimeter
road so the local population can look and
visit. The NE/SW grass runway was used
almost exclusively. Seaplane ramp has
two boats tied up next to it.
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley
(EAA 106377, AlC 6560)
Nl04 W20398 Willow Road
Colgate, WI 53017
In a bold move, the annual Antique/
Classic Monday morning fly-out was
held at Shawano, Wisconsin airport.
From Oshkosh, the distance is approx­
imately 60 miles and the landing area
includes not only the Shawano Airport,
but the adjoining Shawano Lake for
those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes.
The absolutely perfect weather
brought forth a nice turnout of some 50
aircraft and just over 100 people to feast
on the coffee and fresh rolls that were
distributed by the good folks of
Shawano. In addition to the free coffee,
many of the pilots and passenger took
advantage of several nearby restau­
rants within easy walking distance of
the Shawano Airport. The local folks
20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of
people who flew in. Even the free coffee
was consumed to the last drop!
Many Shawano residents turned out
to view the many Antique/Classic air­
craft of all types and were particularly
thrilled to visit with the pilots and pas­
sengers. An exciting time was enjoyed
by all.
The free coffee and rolls were pro­
vided by the Shawano Chamber of
Commerce and the Mayor of the city,
Leo Schroeder, welcomed the entire
group and graciously invited everyone
to return in '88!
For the first time ever, seaplanes
were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano
has a seaplane base at the north end
of the runway. Kirk Erickson of War­
road, Minnesota flew his beautiful
Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a
couple of passengers on board. His
time from the Brennand Seaplane Base
was only 25 minutes with the 230 Con­
tinental really humming.
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen
cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo
1320s and, with EAA staff photographer
Jeff Isom in the back seat, made the trip
to Shawano in fine style. Several
airplanes pulled up alongside during the
trip and had themselves "shot" with
Jeff's camera. On the return trip , they
reported seeing a bald eagle just 50'
below the Cub shortly after take off from
Shawano Lake!
A drawing was held at the Shawano
Airport to give away 25 "Fly-Out '87"
dash plaques and a one-year member­
ship in the Antique/Classic Division .
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom
Hampshire of Menomonee Falls, WI for
his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out
together. Tom contacted the local offi­
cials who provided refreshments and
then arrived early enough to handle all
the aircraft parking . Great job, Tom!
Don't miss the fly-out in '88! Stay
turned for the time and place - and
keep your tanks full!
Part of the Antique/Classic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from
WiHman Field to go to Shawano. Some of the waits were in
excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the
pilots!
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe
(EAA 186220, AlC 11057), 8 South Street, Ashland, MA 01721
and his 1946 7AC "Champ," N2120E, SIN 7AC-5691. Very preHy
paint job, Mark.
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersen's Cub shows
the town of Shawano in the background, the river through town
and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing
in the center of the picture. The first batch of AlC members have
landed and parked.
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is
Lola Oyko (EAA 221089, AlC 10481), 10 Broadmeadow Rd.,
Marlboro, MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 " Cub, " N24619, SIN 3307
powered with a 65 Lycoming. Note how Jeff Isom placed the
tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo!
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass
area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway. The local
townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their
airport and SPB.
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different
airplanes. Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
floats with an engine removed for work. This 1961 twin is owned
by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano, WI.
•
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer
(EAA 81504, AlC 4319)
9345 S. Hoyne
Chicago, IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as
I do, then I guess those friends of ours
who are deeply involved in aviation are
interesting to us. It would be great if I
could talk ·about several of the terrific
people I know whose involvement in
aviation is fascinating to me. However,
one person comes to mind for this occa­
sion because of his total involvement
and broad experience in aviation, in
spite of his relatively young age.
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest, il­
linois, a member of our local Chapter
260 in Lansing , Illinois near Chicago.
For as long as he can remember, his
interests were always centered around
aviation, and from a hobby this interest
has grown into a career. Even before
he obtained his A&P license, he had an
intense interest in aircraft construction
and in particular, the Breezy. By the
time he was 18 years old, he had
learned all the skills necessary to build
and fly one. In addition, he had become
an accomplished welder, having been
taught by Breezy deSigner, Carl Unger.
Having earned his reputation as an
expert welder, he generously fabricates
aircraft parts and frame sections for his
EM friends. This activity then ex­
panded to doing welding repairs on cus­
tom built aircraft, as well as special and
unusual welding on antique and classic
aircraft.
Following completion of the Breezy,
he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt.
After his graduation from high school ,
it was necessary for him to obtain his
A&P license in order to get a job as an
aircraft mechanic. With all of the experi­
ence he had, getting the license turned
out to be a mere formality. Upon receiv­
ing his license in 1976, he worked for a
Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to ac­
quire the necessary 18 months experi­
ence.
Following his job at Chicago Ham­
mond (now named Lansing Municipal
Airport), Jay worked for Emery Air Char­
ter in Rockford , Illinois and G & N Avia­
tion at Griffith, Indiana as an A&P
mechanic.
During his employment at these two
firms, he owned a Bellanca, Citabria,
Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt. He does
not talk much about the time he owned
the Citabria or the bug , and he doesn't
have to say anything about the Cassutt;
it speaks for itself, thanks to Jay's ex­
pert touch .
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
22 JANUARY 1988
*****************************************
Jay Vieaux
*****************************************
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand, Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a
lower cowling assembly. Note the neat workbench in the background.
1979 and proceeded to completely re­
build it for serious racing , incorporating
many subtle improvements to the air­
frame. These improvements covered
an extensive aerodynamic clean up and
weight reduction while remaining well
within safe operation of the airframe.
Regarding the engine, to me it bor­
dered on witchcraft, considering the
performance he got out of that 0-200!
During the build up of the engine, he
handpicked every part for optimum
quality and matched weight. The results
were impressive. The engine turned
over 4200 rpm during flight tests.
Jay entered the Cassutt, named
Super Spook (after the P-51 racer, "Gal­
loping Ghost"), in every formula race in .
1981, choosing for his pilot Carroll
Dietz. The results for a first-time record
were impressive: fourth place in the
Silver division at Reno; two first place
victories at Corvallis, Oregon, second
or third place (he can't remember) in
the San Marcos Silver race.
Jay currently works for AMOCO Cor­
poration (formerly Standard Oil) where
he has been for the past four and one­
half years. He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as
flight engineer on AMOCO's fleet of
Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway
Airport.
Jay pOints out that in the early days
of aviation, Standard Oil was one of the
first corporations to place heavy em­
phasis on its newly created aviation
products division. He has used his pos­
ition to do research on the early use of
aircraft for corporate transportation .
Although his current job takes him
away from home from time to time to
exotic places like Wichita, Jakarta and
Sidney, there is always time left for his
first love, vintage aircraft. He is now re­
storing his classic Tri-Pacer and work­
ing with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb.
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off
those fine old aircraft of the Golden
Age. He has just completed an exten­
sive six-year research project involving
selection of a very special replica an­
tique aircraft construction project .. .
but that's another story. This much I can
tell you : It will be an exact replica of an
aircraft with a round engine, two wings,
rag and tube construction, and superb
workmanship. •
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with
permission from the Fall, 1987 issue of
PROP TIPS, published by Aero Propel­
ler and Accessories, Inc., 3400 Indus­
trial Lane, Broomfield, Colorado 80020,
(303/469-1749).
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will
review some inspection, maintenance
and general care recommendations of­
fered by the manufacturers. Don't forget
that your propeller is subjected to high,
often extreme, stresses including bend­
ing, twisting, centrifugal forces, impact
from rocks, and abrasion from sand just
to name a few. The following Prop Tips
will help to minimize the effects of these
forces.
Avoid run-up in loose sand , gravel,
or rocks. Beware of tie-down ropes,
chains, towbars, etc.
3. Washing the plane - Corrosion pro­
tection:
Do not use solvents or solutions on
the prop in a way in which the fluid
could seep into the hub on the up­
right blade. Do not use pressure
washes on the prop pointed toward
the hub. Any moisture which pene­
trates the hub seals increases the
risk of corrosion .
1. Your preflight should include:
Conduct a visual inspection for
bends , nicks, scratches, cracks, cor­
rosion, loose spinner screws, nut or
bolts. Look for excessive oil or
grease (new or recently overhauled
props may show minor leakage for
up to 20 hours of operation).
4. Lubrication:
Take care to avoid blowing out clamp
gaskets by removing one zerk and
pumping grease into the remaining
fitting until grease appears through
the hole where the zerk was re­
moved.
Replace the zerk fitting . Use grease
which conforms to MIL-G-23827,
81322, or 3545, such as Aero Shell
Grease NO.5. Mixing of different
greases is to be avoided, so record
the type and MIL Spec number of
the grease installed.
2. Your ground run-up:
Follow the Operator's Handbook.
5. Filing the propeller:
Take sand and gravel nicks seriously!
~
6. Constant speed props:
Controllable pitch propellers require
periodic reconditioning. Check your
propeller logbook and follow the
TBO interval recommended by the
propeller manufacturer. This infor­
mation can be found in Hartzell Ser­
vice Letter 61 M and in McCauley
Service Bulletin 137B.
If you wish, send a self-addressed
stamped envelope with your request
and we will be happy to mail copies of
the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifi­
cations to you at the earliest possible
date. •
VI~TAf3~
«Jew
s
Nicks or scratches can be the start
of fatigue cracks and/or catastrophic
prop failure! Have your FBO or cer­
tified technician inspect and repair
any nick before you fly again. Large
nicks or gouges may affect the struc­
ture, balance, or operation of the
prop and should be repaired by a
certified propeller repair station im­
mediately. When taking off from a
non-hard surface runway, minimLze
prop damage by allowing the aircraft
to move before applying full power.
Llnl?Arul?~
(Continued from Page 13)
(Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved
Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder
radial engine named "Clipper" which
featured four valves per cylinder and
developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm. The little
speedster took a second and third place
in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with
the old master, Steve Wittman, winning
both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer.
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers ­
Roger Lorenzen, Steve Wittman and
Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have
contributed so much over these many,
many years. And we must also extend
a hearty "Mange Tak" to Carl Erik Gim­
bel of Odense, Denmark for assisting in
the greeting exchange and for writing
the fascinating story of Hans Lohman
Rasmussen for the Danish magazine .•
Dwayne Green has volunteered to
take over the project of selling the
plates to all Luscombe owners who
want them. It is a must that you install
the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lus­
combe. You probably can remove the
old from the inside and install it exter­
nally, but why bother. The price of the
new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn 't
worth the effort! Contact Dwayne Green
at 4 Meadow Glen Court, Santa Rosa,
CA 95404, phone 707/544-4535 . •
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND, FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland
Municipal Airport. Contact: Sun 'n Fun Head­
quarters, 3838 Dranefield Road , P. O. Box
6750, Lakeland, FL 33807, phone 813/644­
2431.
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION RE­
SORT, OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog
Association annual meeting and fly-in at
Golden Falcon Airpark, Grand Lake Vacation
Resort. Contact: Phil Phillips, 505/897-4174.
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS, ALASKA - Interna­
tional Cessna 170 Association Convention at
Fairbanks International Airport. Convention
site: Sophie Station Motel. Contact: Convention
Chairmen, Rick and Cheryl Schikora, 1919 Lat­
hrop, Drawer 17, Fairbanks, AK 99701 , 907/
456-1566 (work) , or 907/488-1724 (home). Re­
member the time difference.
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN
- 36th annual International EAA Convention
and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field.
Contact: John Burton, EAA Headquarters,
Willman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER GRASS LANDING STRIP The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport, John Hatz, fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub
before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis. Known throughout Wisconsin
for his thorough instruction, John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for
flying with his many students. John is a busy, busy man!
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason, Wisconsin from
1968 to 1983 and never heard much
about the local airport, except that some
family had an airstrip. We would see a
plane in the sky and if it wasn't very
high, we knew it probably came from
Gleason International Airport ... that's
how many people around Gleason re­
ferred to the airport.
Eventually I came to know the wife of
the family that owned the airport as she
worked in the gas station at Gleason for
a few years. She and I would exchange
pleasantries when I saw her at the sta­
24 JANUARY 1988
tion. I didn't know her name; we just
enjoyed small talk about the things
going on in town or with our families.
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after
giving up our jobs in Rhinelander. I had
a job as a nurse's aid in a nursing home,
but my husband Rudy had to look for
work. He finally got a job at EM on the
Maintenance Staff as a custodian. A
year later, I was hired there also; first in
the volunteer kitchen and later as grass
cutter for the Ingersoll Company.
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase, whose
husband Gene also worked at EAA.
Dorothy encouraged me to introduce
myself to Gene, and when I did he
asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason. Of course, I said "no," as I had
really only heard of him but never met
him. Gene informed me that John
owned the airport near Gleason and
that it was called "Hay Meadow." We
looked at an aeronautical chart and
sure enough, it was the same airport. I
told Gene how we always just called it
Gleason International. Since I was
going home that weekend, I decided I
would check it out to be sure it was the
same airport.
When I got back to Gleason, I asked
at the gas station where Mrs. Hatz
worked (she wasn't there that day) if
their airport was called Hay Meadow
Airport. The man said, "I think it is, but
we just call it Gleason International." I
came back and told Gene, "Yes, that's
the airport all right."
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking
about this airport and how I never really
knew anything about it. For all those
years I never knew or cared about it.
One thing you learn by working for
EAA is that people interested in
airplanes know each other. Since the
Hatz's were EAA members, many
people, including members of EM's
staff, knew them well. I thought about
how I'd lived in the same little town of
maybe 200 people for 15 years and
didn't know them at all.
In March of 1987 my mother took
sick, so I traveled back to Gleason to
see her. One night as I drove by the gas
station, Mrs. Hatz was working, so I
stopped especially to talk with her. We
didn't discuss the town's happenings
that night, rather we talked about
people and places and things of EM.
We talked about people we both knew,
and she told me about some of the con­
ventions that they attended. We talked
about Paul and Audrey Poberezny, and
what nice people they were.
She even told a story about Tom Pob­
erezny at one of the convention's. She
didn't remember what year it was, but
it was some years ago when Tom was
a young lad. He asked her if they still
ate their dinner on the tailgate of their
station wagon. She told him they did,
and he asked if he could join them. As
they ate he said, "It's nice to sit here
and enjoy dinner, for nobody would
even think of me being here." Nowa­
days, Tom couldn't get lost with that
radio on his belt.
After we talked for about two hours,
it was time for me to go home, but I
wanted to know more about the Hatz's
and their airport. Summers are busy,
though, when you work for EM. I knew
I would have to wait until after the 1987
Convention before I could continue my
adventure with this airport, which meant
more to me now than it ever did when
I lived there.
In late August I went to see John Hatz
and met him for the first time. As we
were driving down Vascheau Road
where their home and airport are 10­
cated , we could see a plane practicing
touch and goes. I talked to his wife , Ber­
dina, again , as we waited for John and
his student to land. While waiting I had
the opportunity to see everything they
did there . In one hangar, his boys were
building a plane. They had the wood
constructed for the wings and fuselage .
In another barn were stored two fuse­
lages of older planes that John plans to
restore when he has the time.
I asked John if I could have an inter­
view with him and, of course, he said
yes . But, he didn't have too much time
left. This was on Monday and he only
had two hours left open for the week ­
one on Wedneday and one on Friday.
I took the Wednesday appointment .
Wednesday came and I was there on
time. John came in after giving a stu­
dent a lesson . I wondered why anybody
would pick a town like Gleason to have
an airport, as Gleason is a declining busi­
ness and farming community. John said
he wanted his own field after managing
the Merrill Airport for 11 years . He said
he just got tired of regulations. So, he
bought this 77-acre farm and made an
east-west runway. Presently he hang­
ars eight planes for other owners , plus
five of his own .
This past year has been the best ever
for him. Currently he has more students
than he can handle, having to turn many
away as he doesn 't have enough hours
in the day. In addition to giving lessons
at Hay Meadow, he also trains at
Wausau.
As I talked with John I learned that
he had donated a 1929 Velie
Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Foun­
dation . I learned that all of John and
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers, EAA Chapter 640, which is made up of many flyers
in the area. This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin.
Berdina's sons are involved in aviation.
Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow
Field, Lyman is a commercial pilot and
mechanic, and Aaron is an airline em­
ployee. A daughter, Barbara, enjoys rid­
ing in the airplanes, just like her mother.
The Hatz's generally sponsor two fly­
ins a year at Hay Meadow Field . One
- a ski plane fly-in - is held the sec­
ond weekend of February each year.
The second is held sometime during the
month of July and features antique and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway. In the back­
ground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work.
This is rural America at its very best!
classic airplanes.
As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writ­
ten about them in the past year. I could
tell that this family was well known
throughout the Midwest. I asked John if
he had a little time to take me for a ride
in one his planes and he said , "Of
course!" I told him I'd always wanted a
ride in an open cockpit biplane and he
said , "I have one over in the other
hangar we could go up in it."
As we walked to the hangar I noticed
two other planes in it - a Piper Cub
which they just finished restoring and a
1928 Waco - and the biplane that we
were going to take a ride in. John calls
it the Hatz Special, "Happiness". I put
on a jacket as it was cool that morning,
then John made my day by handing me
a leather helmet with goggles attached ,
just like they wore in World War II. I was
so excited about getting into an open
cockpit biplane with the leather helmet,
I felt like I was in another world . As we
taxied down the grass air strip, I felt like
a queen . We flew over the village of
Gleason and I recognized some of the
farms. It was a delightful flight.
By the time I left John and his little
empire of airplanes, a neighbor had
come over and needed the use of one
of his planes to look for some cattle that
had strayed off into the woods . John's
son Allen took them up to look.
I will never know all the goodness
John has put into aviation, but I'm find­
ing out more everyday. As we drove
away from Hay Meadow Field, I felt very
satisfied with what I found - a family
that was really friendly and John, a pilot
and instructor, in his own little empire.
And he flies just for fun . •
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA Antique/Classic Division (through October 21 , 1987). We
are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members' common interest is vintage aircraft. Succeeding issues
of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members.
Craft, Kenneth L.
Erickson, Russell
Smith, Melissa
Strasburg, Pennsylvania
Humnoke, Arizona
Santa Barbara, California
Strick, Benjamin T.
Cocks, Eric H. Wilkinson, Bill
Corona Del Mar, California
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada
Foley, Ken F.
Gilliland, William L. Quebe, Raymond J.
Columbus, Ohio
Santa Cruz, California Austin, Texas
Foley, Joseph Edwin
Klein, Fred R. Bymaster, Don
Westerville, Ohio
East Sound, Washington Colorado Springs, Colorado
Anderson, Bill
Kleckner, Frank Tollett, Thomas V.
Littleton, Colorado
Allentown, Pennsylvania Marble Falls, Texas
James, Marvin
Albright, Ralph N.
Garel-Frantzen, Tony
Scio, Oregon
Tucson, Arizona
Wheeling, Illinois
Wesenberg, Donald R.
Lambrecht, Richard
Winton, California
Bethany, Oklahoma
Tylenda, John R.
A.P.O. New York, New York
Borath, Ernest F.
Major, Don D.
Crescent City, California
Collierville, Tennessee
Columbia, Maryland
Bartis, John
Jordan, William Tomas Lee
St. Charles, Missouri
Edenton, North Carolina
Dickinson, Jim Paul
Pasha,Joseph
Patterson, Robert W.
Boynton Beach, Florida
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Hendricks, C. Michael
Norman, Oklahoma
Covey, Jim Snohomish, Washington Cass, Gerald C.
Pruchnis, Albert B.
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Windber, Pennsylvania
Acworth, Georgia Vander Lugt, Tunis
Stedman, William
Kentwood, Michigan
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
De Van Jr., William L. Davis, Jeffrey R. Hamilton, Carolynn
EI Cajon, California Anchorage, Alaska
Castle, Richard Erickson, Ed
Mount Holly, New Jersey Hagerstown, Maryland
Stanton Jr., James R. Shirley, Jess G.
Ocean City, New Jersey Fort Bragg, California
Cameron, J. Swanson, Kyle G.
Mount Gravatt, Queensland, Australia Clure, Lawrence A. Cloquet, Minnesota
Lund, Lawrence
Atkins, A.D. Birmingham, Alabama Espinosa, Floyd Mission Hills, California Murray, Douglas Toronto, Ontario, Canada Hoggatt, Raymond Wyoming, Michigan Bussinah, Alex Columbia, South Carolina Mylnarek, R. Pleasanton, California
Canfield, Ohio Jeffery, Terry
Rose, Daniel J. Miami, Florida Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
New Baltimore, Michigan Tendlck, Ted O. Rawlings, David E.
Gislason, Vldir Hayfield, Minnesota Palatine, Illinois
Akureyi, Iceland Schiller, Doug Williams, Franklin T.
Clifton, Patty R.
Warrenville, Illinois Walnut Creek, California
Eldorado, Kansas
Santa Barbara, California Koide, Gyoko 26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka, Seichiro
Ridenour, Edwin E.
Neeves, Brian J.
Tokyo, Japan
Springfield, Ohio
Henderson, Nevada
Blackburne, J. A.
Shows, Herbert
Byers, Thomas C.
College Park, Georgia
Larose, Louisiana
Loomis, California
Reichek, Edward R.
Wruck, Jerry
Gavalis, Richard
Cleveland, Ohio
Douglas, Arkansas
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
Comstock, G. Kenneth
Donaldson, John A.
Simmonds, Don M.
Garberville, California
Victoria, Ontario
Mercer Island, Washington
Singh~,
Charles
Hodges, William T.
Pilkington, Lynn
Grimsby, England
Andersonville , Georgia
Hyrum, Utah
Polonitza, Rollin
Sharp, Milford G.
Linnihaw, Terry
Evanston, Illinois
Steele, Alabama
Appleton, Wisconsin
Field, Harold S.
Windh, Peter L.
Lockwood, Terry
Amarillo, Texas
Mississauga, Ontario
Chandler, Arizona
Dezendorf, Thomas C.
Stagner, Robert E.
Sagerser, James A.
Belmont, California
Poplar Bluff, Missouri
Mesa, Arizona
Volpe, Tom
Nelson, Amos
Smith, Dennis R.
Laconia, New Hampshire
Mineral Point, Wisconsin
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Hillis, Rod
Griffin, Jimmy C.
Bergsmann, Robert E.
Pottsboro, Texas
Alameda, California
Heriot Bay, British Columbia
Lieb, Tom
Redondo Beach, California
Asplundh, Barr E.
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Smythe, David
Roseville, Minnesota
Gordon, Eugene C.
Crumpler, North Carolina
Janousek, Joseph O.
Meyer, John E.
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Bohlmann, Melvin
Valparaiso, Indiana
Eckel, Mark G.
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Ladd, Larry S.
Floyds Knobs, Indiana
Krysiak, Richard C.
Atlanta, Georgia
Sell, George J.
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Murray, Raymond
East Aurora, New York
Anderson, Thomas P.
Los Angeles, California
Holman, Daily A. Portland, Oregon
Guest, Roger R.
Ewers, Ivan
Santa Barbara, California
Bakula, Mark
Muskego, Wisconsin
Vieaux, James M.
Park Forest, Illinois
Reid, David W.
EI Dorado, Alabama
Midland, Texas
Wing, Jerold D.
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Moore, Donald L.
Sedalia, Missouri
Melvin, Kenneth E. W.
Beaverton, Oregon
Finerty, Duane J.
Troy, Michigan
Berkman, Herbert R.
Canoga Park, California
Snelling, John Corvallis, Oregon •
Stevensville, Maryland
Allender, J. Reverdy
Bothell, Washington
Plendl, Bruce R.
Robles Jr., Marion W.
Lakeland, Florida
Harmacinski, Larry
Everett, Washington
Asheville, North Carolina
Arnold, M. Lee
Gilpatrick, Robert J.
Mesa, Arizona
So Daytona, Florida
Godfrey, James D.
Jewett, Dale P.
Arlington, Texas
Hutchinson, Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
by George A. Hardie, Jr.
;
---- ~-.-~
This neat little monoplane is evidently
a two-place, possibly a side-by-side. It
appears to be a modification of an ear­
lier design. The photo was taken at
Bowman Field, Louisville, Kentucky in
the early 1930s and was submitted by
Ed Peck of Waddy, Kentucky, who is
compiling a history of the field. Answers
will be published in the April , 1988 issue
of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline
for that issue is February 10, 1988.
The Mystery Plane in the October,
THE VINTAGE
1987 issue of
AIRPLANE was the Populair. Charley
Hayes of Park Forest, Illinois writes : "As
I recall, it was a one of a kind which
never received an ATC. It was powered
by a Chevrolair engine. "
The photo was taken from an ad that
appeared in the April, 1930 issue of
Popular Aviation. The airplane was built
by the Earl Aviation Corp., Ltd. , a closed
corporation located at Los Angeles,
California. It was to be shown at the
New York Aircraft Salon in May of that
year. Excerpts from the ad show the
confidence the company had in their
new design :
"To a plane-wise public and a world
of pilots and executives accustomed to
flying and selling good airplanes,
POPULAIR makes its bow at the New
without
York Aircraft Salon
apologies.
"The POPULAIR is everything you
demand in a two-place sport training
Letters TO The
Dear Gene (Chase),
I meant to write you for some time
regarding the modern day aviation
nomenclature composed and used by
the younger generation in aviation
today.
The nomenclature and terminology is
rather demeaning and degrading of the
golden age era of airplanes.
As the elder of the Rezich brothers, I
have been around airplanes going on
almost 60 years. And we used proper
terminology in those days and now.
I can immediately identify a "Johnny
come lately" when he uses terms such
as: Number one - Ragwing. I never
saw an airplane covered with rags.
They were covered with expensive and
durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric.
We also kept our airplanes inside and
never let them deteriorate to rags. The
proper term is fabric covered airplane.
Newspapers used to call them can­
vas covered and still do, but that's par
28 JANUARY 1988
plane. It embodies a new high perfor­
mance at a low, readily saleable price.
"In the production of the POPULAIR,
the Earl Aviation Corporation, Ltd. had
a definite purpose in view - to create
a small plane of superior type to any­
thing in the field of simi lar character.
How splendidly this aim has been
achieved can well be realized upon in­
spection, study of specifications and
demonstration of performance."
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his
scrapbook, "The POPULAIR did not be­
come popular." Too bad, for it was an
attractive design.
Additional correct answers were re­
ceived from Ted Businger, Willow
Springs, Missouri; Dave Gauthier, Au­
burn, Washington ; Ben Bowman,
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania; Wayne
Van Valkenburgh , Jasper, Georgia;
Roy Cagle, Juneau, Alaska ; and Emil
Strasser, Hawthorne, Georgia . •
Edito~ .~~~
..
..
for the course for news people.
Number two : Tail feathers. I never
saw feathers on an airplane except
when sparrows got inside the wing or
fuselage. The proper term is tail group
or empennage.
Number three : Taildragger. To me
the tail flys as fast as the nose. In my
day when the tail was dragging, the
airplane was not fit to fly, It was drag­
ging on the tail post because of a tail
skid or tail wheel failure.
Number four: Bipe. What in the h­
is a bipe? Sounds like some kind of
squeemy animal. The proper name is
biplane, monoplane or triplane, de­
pending on which it is.
Number Five: Tu Holer. Sounds like
someone punched some holes in the
fuselage or wings. The only time I saw
holes in an airplane is when the inspec­
tors used to cut holes in new fabric to
look inside. The proper term is open
cockpit, one place, two place or three
place.
,
Number Six: Round Engine. The
proper term is radial engine. There ac­
tually was a round engine built for air­
craft use where the cylinders were
parallel to the crankshaft operated on a
wobble plate principle. I doubt if any of
the younger gneration has ever heard
or seen one. There were only a few
built. It was a six-cylinder barrel type
engine, liquid cooled .
Then there is the forever misclassifi­
cation of center section riders as wing
walkers. They don't go anywhere. They
are strapped to a mast and that's where
they stay.
You might publish this as the opinion
and remarks of an old timer.
Best regards,
Mike Rezich
(EM 510, NC 2239)
6424 So. LaPorte Avenue
Chicago, IL 60638 •
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet... 25e per word, 20 word minimum. Send your ad 10 The Vinlage Trader, Willman Airfield Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591. AIRCRAFT:
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900, Engine IT
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ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of
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follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical draw­
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$15.00. The Technique of Aircraft Building $10.00 plus $2.00 postage. Send check or money
order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales
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11768. (1-1)
MISCELLANEOUS:
PLANS:
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Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around
the border of the U.S. in our J-3 Cub. See Nova
Scotia, New York City, Kitty Hawk, Key West, lost
in Texas! MI. SI. Helen, Expo '86. 12,788 miles, 61
days, camping under the wing. $36.00 ppd, or book
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49423. (12-2)
WANTED:
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Frank Strnad, Box 173A, Northport, NY 11768. (1-1)
STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS THE CHOICE OF THE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation.
Custom quality at economical prices.
• Cushion upholstery sets
• Wall panel sets
• Headliners
• Carpet sets
• Baggage compartment sets
• Firewall covers
• Seat slings
• Recover envelopes and dopes
Delle/oped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA e.pec/ally lor
Polye.ter Fabric on Aircraft, Not Modified Automot/lle Finishes, Water
Borne House Paint, or Tinted and Re/abled Cellulo.e Dope
Will Not
Support Combust/on
Lighte.t COllerlng Approlled Under FAA-STC
and PMA
Mo.t Economical COllerlng Material. Con.,der'ng Yea,.
of Trouble Free Seflflce
No Fa/.e or MI.'eadlng Adllertls/ng ClaIm.
INC.
259 Lower Morrisville Rd ., Dept. VA
Fallsington, PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
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VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE
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FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Spon.ored by EAA
Aviation Foundation. Before Making Expensive Mistakes, See This Tape
and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time. $49.95. Also Direct from
EAA (1 -800-843-3612), and from Slits Distributors.
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WRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE
Sample of High Strength, Very
Smooth 1.7 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for
Aircraft Covering
Manual #1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC
Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control
Latest Catalog
and Distributor List.
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Free catalog of complete product line.
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and
styles of materials: $3.00.
QiFt~RODUCTS'
HERE'S WHY I * Pro lien Durability on Thousand. 01 Aircraft
* FAA-STC For Oller 630 Aircraft Models * Superior Quality Coat/ng.
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STITS POLY-FIBER
AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
P.O. Box 3084-V, Riverside, CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280 VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
SEE JANUARY '88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS .
It's Exciting! It's for Everyone! See this priceless collection of
rare, historically significant air­
craft, all imaginatively displayed
in the world's largest. most mod­
em sport aviation museum. Enjoy
the many educational displays
and audio-visual presentations.
Stop by - here's somet hing the
entire family will enjoy. Just
minutes away!
SEE JANUAR Y '88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS .
HOURS
8:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Monday thru Saturday
11 :00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sundays
Closed Easter. Thanksgiving. Christmas
and New Years Day (Guided group tour
arrangements must be made two weeks
in advance).
CONVENIENT LOCATION
The EM Aviation Center is located on
Wittman Field. Oshkosh. Wis. - just off
Highway 41. Going North Exit Hwy. 26
or 44. Going South Exit Hwy. 44 and
follow signs. For fly-ins - free bus from
Basler Flight Service.
EA~
~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield
Oshkosh. WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
30 JANUARY 1988
Gerry Miller, A&P, lA,
widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles
of the light aircraft industry for outstanding, award winning,
restorations of WACO's over the past 25 years, is expanding
his facilities to general aircraft.
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork, metal
and fabric application, a completed aircraft will exceed any
expectations.
Museum restorations as well as "Air Show" masterpieces will
be considered.
Now accepting selected projects. Please submit details to: Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge, Grand Junction, CO 81506 You've borrowed a buddy's air­
plane to fly the family to a re­
mote, grass landing strip for a
weekend of camping. The
weather is warm and the great
outdoors beckons. Life doesn't
get much better.
But what if your flight doesn't
go as planned? AVEMCO wants
you to be a protected pilot. Be­
fore you fly a borrowed, rented
or flying club airplane, call
AVEMCO for the best aviation
insurance available.
In most cases, the owner's in­
surance protects him, not you. If
you have an accident, it is prob­
able that you will be sued and
suffer financial loss (attorney's
fees, court costs, judgments
and more). AVEMCO, however,
can help you protect yourself
against potential financial loss.
Deal direct with AVEMCO. You'll
avoid time and confusion, while
taking advantage of rates that
are among the most competitive
in the industry. We can even
bind your insurance right over
the phone. Be a protected pilot.
Call AVEMCO today, toll-free.