VA Vol 6 No 7 July 1978

THE RESTORER'S CORNER By }. R. Nielander, Jr.
Over the past several months you r offrcers and
directors have made a point of trying to provide Divi­
sion headquarters representation at the various
Division chapter fly-ins as well as the larger regional
fly-ins which attract antique and classic aircraft. In
attending these events and talking with the chapter
officers and flyein chairmen, one theme seemed to
permeate the conversations. Most of these officers
and chairmen lamented the fact that, while they had
wonderful dedicated people with which to work,
many of these people were inexperienced in their
jobs, having assumed their duties for the first time
at the current fly-in. This inexperience resulted in
much wasted time and lost motion, as well as some
problems which should have been anticipated and
remedied before they occurred. There were numer­
ous discussions concerning how these situations
could be alleviated. Of course all agreed that if a
volunteer is willing to serve in the same capacity for
a series of fly-ins or chapter activities, his knowledge
and ability improves with each successive exposure,
and he soon becomes an expert at his job. This fact
is of course most evident at Oshkosh where some
volunteers have been doing the same job for over
twenty years. It is also evident at the Sun 'n Fun, Wat­
sonville, and other large regional fly-ins. This is not
to say that there are no mistakes made in the opera­
tion of these large fly-ins. There are, but there is also
more likely to be the expertise at hand to bailout those
who made an error in judgement and to straighten
out the problems.
In discussing these matters with the chapter of­
ficers and fly-in chairmen it was agreed that the ideal
situation would be for a chapter to designate its fly-in
committee chairmen and committee volunteers a
year ahead of time, and then encourage these indi­
viduals to volunteer their services at other fly-ins in
advance of their own function so that when their
time of responsibility arrived, they would be well
trained and knowledgeable with reference to their
assigned tasks. In keeping with this thought, your
Oshkosh chairmen and co-chairmen welcome all
those who hold regional or chapter fly-in responsi­
bilities and encourage them to work on the same
committees at Oshkosh. They may not do everything
right at Oshkosh, but they certainly have a multitude
of opportunities to do it over and over and over until
they get it right. The end result is that an Oshkosh
volunteer is an expert in his field when he goes home
and accepts the chairmanship of a similar committee
at his local fly-in. There is no better training available.
The complete list of Antique/Classic Division con­
vention committees with the names and addresses
of their chairmen and co-chairmen appeared on page
24 of the May issue of The Vintage Airplane. Drop a
note to the chairman of the committee which interests
you, and let him know that you want to help. He'll
appreciate hearing from you, and you'll become a
fly-in expert on the committee of your choice. If you
will not be sure until the last minute that you'll be
able to attend, just show up and tell him, "here I am".
He'll welcome you with open arms.
Elsewhere in this issue you will find the Division
convention activities schedule including the forums
schedule and the Division evening programs. This
service is provided to help you plan in advance those
activities in which you would like to participate. Please
note that the Division will sponsor a picnic dinner
on Tuesday evening, August first, and a social hour
on Friday evening, August fourth. The latter will be
later in the evening following the awards program.
Division members are cordially invited to attend either
or both of these fu r.ctions so that all may become
better acquainted with their officers, directors and
fellow members.
Don't forget the membership contest. Five new
members gets you a set of antique flying goggles.
Five more gets you a leather flying helmet, and the
member recruiting the most new members by the end
of the year gets a five year free membership in the
Division. Start your recruiting campaign now.
SEE YOU AT OSHKOSH!
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP DRIVE WIN
*
A pai r of Antique Goggles
by persuading 5 people to
Jom.
II
A
Leather Flying Helmet when you get 10 people to sign up. - then start over and win again ­
~A
free five year member­
ship in the Antique/Classic
Division if you sponsor the
most new members in
1978.
To Qualify: Write your name and member­
ship number on the back of the member­
ship blanks we've been providing in THE
VINT ACE AIRPLANE. Headquarters will
keep score.
The VINTAGEAI!1PLANE Editorial
Staff
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC
DIVISION INC.
of THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130
Publisher
Paul H. Poberezny
(Photo by Chris Sorensen)
A pair of Parakeets over Iowa .
Editor
David Gustafson
Copyright" 1978 EAA Antique/Classic Division . Inc .. All Rights Reserved .
JULY 1978
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS PRESIDENT J . R. NIELANDER, JR. P.O. BOX 2464 FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33303 VICE-PRESIDENT JACK WINTHROP RT. 1, BOX 111 ALLEN , TX 75002 Directors
Willi am J. Ehlen Route 8 Box 506 Tampa, Florida 33618 AI Kelch 7018 W. Bonniwell Road Mequon, Wi sconsin 53092 Claude l. Cray, Jr . %35 Sylvia Avenue Northridge, California 91324 Box 3747 Martin sville, Virginia 24112 Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Drive Indianapolis, Indiana 46274 Art hur R, ., ""organ 3744 N. 51st Boulevdfd Milwaukee, Wi sco n sin 51216 Richard Wagner
P.O. Box 181
M. C. " Kelly" Viets RR 1 Box 151 Sti lwell, Kansas 66085 W. BRAD THOMAS, JR . 301 DODSON MILL ROAD PILOT MOUNTAIN, NC 27041
TREASURER E. E. " BUCK" HILBERT 8102 LEECH RD. UNION, IL 60180 (Cover Photo by Lee Fray: EAA Air Museum s Lockheed 12 Electra.)
The Restorer's Corner by J. R. Nielander, Jr. . ... . .. ... , .. ........ . ... . ..
On Converting a Tri-Pacer toa Taildragger by Bob Schumaker .. ,',......
Franklin Rose by Edward D. Williams ..... . , ......................... ,..
Chino 78 by Claude Gray ..... .... .... .. . .. .... . . ... . ............. ... .
Vintage Album . .. . , .......... , . . .. . . . . .. . .. ...... , .. .. ... .. . , .... . . . ..
Judging Update by Claude Gray ... ........ . , .. . . . ..... ,., . ... ......... .
The Crouch-Bolas Dragonfly by David Gustafson " ........ , .. . .... ..... ,.
Oshkosh Convention Schedule ........ .. . , ......................... . ..
The Tiger and the Tempest by David Gustafson .. ,., .. ... ...............
2
4
8
12 14 16 17 22 24 Morton W . leste r
Lyo ns, Wisconsi n 53148
Advisors
SECRETARY NUMBER 7
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Associate Editors: H. Glenn Buffington, Robert G. Elliott, AI Kelch,
Edward D. Williams, Byron (Fred) Fredericksen
Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Associate Editorships are assigned
to those writers who submit five or more articles .which are published in THE VINTAGE AIR­
PLANE during the current year. Associates receive a bound volume of THE VINTAGE AIR­
PLANE and a free one-year membership in the Division for their efforts. POLICY-Opinions
expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting
rests entirely with the contributor.
VOLUME 6
Ron ald Fritz 1989 Wil son , NW Grand Rapid s, Michigan 49504 Stan Gomoll 1042 90th l ane, NE Minneapoli s, Minneso t a 55434 John R. Tur gyan 1530 Kuser Road Trenton , New Jersey 08619 Robert E. Kessel 445 Oakrid ge Drive Roc he ster, New York 14617 EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP
o NON-EAA MEMBER - $20.00_ Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/
Classic Division , 12 monthly iss ues of THE V INTAGE AIRPLANE ; one yea r mem­
bership in the Experimental Aircraft Association and separate membership cards.
SPORT AVIATION magazine not included.
o
EAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA. Antique/ Classic
Division, 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE AND MEMBERSHIP CARD .
(Applica nt must be c urrent EM member and must give EAA membership number .)
Robert A. Whit e
Box 704
Zellwood, Flori da 32798
THE VtNTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by EAA Antique/Classic Division , In c .• and is published
monthly at Hales Corners. Wi sconsi n 53t30. Second ctass Po stage paid at Hales Corners Po st Office .
Hales Corners, Wi sconsin 53130, and additional mailing offices. Membership rates for EAA Antique/
Classic Division , Inc., are $14.00 per 12 month period of which $10.00 is for the publication of THE
VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation .
Page 8
Page 17
ON CONVERTING A T
TO A TAILDRAG
By Bob Schum aker (EAA #60859) 403 Meadowview Dr., S.E. Huntsville, AL 35802 (Photos provided by Author)
Easy does it! The highest 6" in th e world about to be
consumed for that first landing - th e D arlin ' touch ed
on all 3 points - the end of a perfect flight.
So you think a Tri-Pacer is a great little ole plane ,
but, it looks like a flying milkstool. I, too, thought this
and therein lies quite a story.
It was November in Huntsville , Alabama and the
local FBO at South Huntsville Airport was making his
plans for the wet days - (We don't have winter with
snow, etc., in the SOUTH Su'h). He and I were chatting
about where and when I could get a plane and he said
"Bob - did you ever think about a Tri-Pacer? Although
this didn't really turn me on, there was a slight spark
lit, and I asked him what he had in mind. Ole' Mc said
he knew where he could get a " slightly" damaged Tri­
Pacer which he thought could be obtained at a low dol­
lar output. There was one small problem though, he
wanted the wings to fix up a Tri-Pacer he had to fix for
a customer. Oh sure, I could have the damaged wings
off of the plane he was fixing. As just a matter of side
interest I asked him what was the "s light" damage the
original Tri-Pacer had before it lost its wings - Well it
seems the front landing gear was in the cockpit, along
with a damaged oil cooler, broken generator pully,
crushed exhaust pipe and broken carburetor flange,
also odd and assorted bits and pieces which needed
straightening and/or welding. Well, we all have to
compare with something and his idea of "s light" and
mine are not too far apart, and, they got a lot closer to­
4
gether when he added, "Oh yes Bob, the engine has
only 6 hours since a fresh major. That did it. We
changed $, wings, parts, etc., and "Away We Go." My
wife's husband is off on another project .
Then the problem was what to start on. The wings
looked like someone had landed on them (and in fact
they had) so we started on them. Since the right wing
spar could be straight~ned and all but five ribs, one
drag strut and the leading edge tip were real fair, it
seemed logical to start on that wing.
The act of pricing parts for aeroplanes has some
violent side effects. The first is a sick empty feeling
(starts in the wallet and ends with the eyeballs, throw­
ing daydreams out of focus). Second, this wonderful
person called WIFE - (that's the one who brings your
dinner to the shop (garage), brings colas, "holds" till
dope drys, backs rivets (with finger in one ear and
shoulder over other), who with all of her fine attri­
butes, has a breaking point. This usually occurs just as
you add the third figure to the "Well Honey it won't
cost too much ... just .. . DOLLARS!" The third is
where you change from buyer to scrounger and learn
the fine art of getting for little or nothing those things
you need so badly. As you become more and more pro­
ficient your smiles become larger and the project gets
done, with the maximum of labor, but the minimum of
cost.
Now for the project. I've got a young man who lives
down the street named Joey Sieja who is endowed with
an uncanny mechanical aptitude and a deep love for
the Aeroplane. Between us, we started the job . The first
move was to de-hide the wings. Then the true needs
became painfully obvious : nine ribs, two outer leading
edges, drag wires, drag struts and a main spar. The
bad ribs were removed as well as the other parts. A jig
was made and a lot of rib repairing was done, but, there
were still five ribs needed and a drag strut, to say
nothing of the spar. An old friend who had just rebuilt
a J-3 wing came up with the needed ribs. A friend at
another local airport said he thought he remembered
seeing an old Pacer or Tri-Pacer wing back in " the junk
pile in the woods." By golly he was right, there was a
complete Tri-Pacer wing in the pile. It was badly dam­
aged , but there it was with a good main spar and three
drag struts. Boy, oh boy. What a find . Cost: NOTHING .
" If you can use that old junk you're welcome to it
friend." That's what the good ole' FBO said. Wing,
honeysuckle vine, pine needles and all headed for the
house . Now we had all we needed to build the wings.
They were re-built in four weeks and one was covered
and completed when we found the MARTIN fasten­
ers we'd planned to use in lieu of wing stitching were
out of production. This in itself isn't too bad, but when
you have had enough for one wing and then make the
discovery, you are in a world of hurt. I called everybody
I could think of, or had heard of, who might have
enough for the other wing. No luck! But all was not
lost. I had noticed the Cessna rag wings had clips in
Lined up for welding - very important.
Another shot on how to block up the fuselage - It's
done just like you milk a porcupine - " Very Carefully. "
their li ' l ole' wings. Hummmm! Call GADa. I did and
whether you are aware of it or not that's one great
bunch of g uys. They are there to help, and they do.
A check of their record s showed the Cessna clips had
never been approved for Piper , however, the wing
structure was similar and the airfoil and speed factors
were close . They told us how the original tests were
conducted, and advised we use the same technique on
Piper rib s. They said if the tests were within the re­
quirements they would buy-off on their use . Well
things were brightening up . We obtained some Cessna
clips and set up a simple pull test device using a scale
and some weights. Our "engineering analysis" proved
the clips more than adequate so we bundled the pack­
age up and sent it to the GADa. They sent us a letter
approving the use of the clips on our Tri-Pacer wing.
Since these clips are readily available we are now fin­
ishing our other wing.
While all of this was going on , the bent and broken
parts in the propeller end were welded, straightened
or replaced. The prop was sent off to the propeller hos­
pital and made well again . The cowling was left lying
in a pile.
I kept looking at this thing, this airplane, thinking
to myself I sure wish it had a tailwheel. Without that
milk stool gear it would look pretty slick . Then it came
to me, as I sat looking through the "Tennessee
Yellow pages ." I saw an ad which said: convert your
PA-22 to a PA-20. Easy conversion . Ho Ho Ho. Well as
a matter of fact , the conversion is not real hard , but as
you can see some real backyard engineering was re­
quired. When we finally got the fuselage jacked up we
all held our breath while I welded and welded and
welded. Finally, all was done. The gear was removed
from the box and placed in the mounting brackets.
Hey! I've got a tail dragger. Whoops. No tail wheel.
The price of a new one jerked me up short, so away we
went on a scrounging mission. After exhausting almost
every resource, and our patience , we heard of a place
up in Tennessee where an A&P had a shop in a barn
with bunches of "good junk." We called him and he al­
lowed he might just have a tailwheel. So we took off
in the ole' 63 pick'em-up and headed for the hills. Be­
lieve it or not you have to ford a stream to get there
and his house was built in 1835. The barns look about
as old, but he did in fact have a correct tailwheel and
as we wound around the J-2 & 3's, Aeronica 7AC's, a
Bellanca Cruisemaster without cover, etc., I
thought I'd have to go back to see Ole' Charlie's one
day soon and just mosey around. It would take all day
just to see all that's in those barns and sheds . He even
has a 1200 ft. strip (I may work up enough courage to
try some day) . Meanwhile, back at the Pacer . ..
With the main gear in place and the tail wheel
mounted, at least I could roll it in and out. Brakes
came from a friend at Moontown Airport (just changed
to Mills Airport) who just had them laying around.
(Mill s is, by th e way, one of th e few airports left with
smudge pots for runway lights) . Now the brakes are in
too , so we may be flying soon.
Anyway , w e've loved every minute of it.
PART II
Well here we are again. The Pacer is being loaded
on the back of the pick' em-up truck, tail first to start
its first long " taxi run ."
We got down to good ole South Huntsville Airport
with the fuselage in great shape but our nerves shot.
Did you ever notice as the cars pass you they seem to
cut you off? (It's a phenomenon called " drive where
you ' re looking".) I can understand though, because
you just don't see an aeroplane going down the road
every day.
Eventually the fairings went on and the systems
were checked out. The engine ran real rough. Why?
Because , as you turn it over each week or every other
day or whatever, a little oil is worked up into each cyl­
inder. Comes the big day and you hit the starter : It
starts with a cloud of blue smoke . You have just fou)ed
out all of your bottom plugs and some of the top ones
too. After I cleaned the plugs and checked the setting,
the 0-290 ran fine.
The next day I was out at the airport bright and
early and found a puddle of gas beneath the plane. For
those who don't know, this is a revolting development,
5
mainly because the inside of a J-3 thru PA22 is covered
with fabric just like the outside . Where was the leak?
Why the selector valve of course . We tore a hole in the
interior big enough to remove the thing and found it
shot , worn out , non repairable , etc. We took jeweler's
rouge and lapped it smooth, then put it back together ,
checked it out and it worked fine , on the RIGHT TANK
position. When turned " off" it leaked again. This is
when you quit playing games and wonder, where can
you find a fuel selector valve on a Saturday afternoon?
In that old Tri-Pacer fuselage you saw on the side of a
hill about 15 miles up the road. Back in the pick'em-up
truck and back to the hills. Lo and behold in this thor­
oughly stripped out hull all that was left were wasps
and the selector valve. There were so many wasps we
had to cut a hole in the outside fabric and remove the
valve from the outside . The wasps hummed and fussed ,
but didn 't come out after us so we were home free.
Sunday morning the valve was cleaned up , checked
out, and installed. The engine was run up and then
came the first big moment. The plane moved under its
own power. Out to the runway and up and down we go ,
Lin e up ch ecked and rea d y fo r welding.
Joey hard at the w ing
b uildin g b usiness ­ I
just had to stop .~nd
sn ap hi m - Th at's a
" Ya n kee screwdri ver
in A labama-.
Brakes, at las t (o nl y 15,000 m o re thin gs to d o) .
slowiy at first checking for toe-in or toe-out, and feel­
ing of squirreliness. All was good, the runs became
faster and finally the tail came up and you won't be­
lieve it but it took off and was flying. Well that ended
the ground test. The flying tests followed the approved
sequences and all ' went well. Look Ma, no hands, and
it's straight and level. Meanwhile back on the ground a
good friend called Joey, my daughter and her boyfriend
hopped in Joey's 210 and came up with cameras in
hand. Many pictures later we peeled off for the land­
ing. The first one was hot and high because I was over
warned about the sink rate. The second was on and
rolling. I disengaged my eight white knuckles from the
control wheel crawled out amid back patting and chat­
ting and the whole world looked great. (Now to finish
the KR-2)
Bye! See ya'il at Oshkosh!
Back up Runway 6 and ready to go - this is the last of
several "Taxi Passes" - "Now or Never!"
In the back yard rigged and checked - I really wanted to
fly it out.
7
By Edward D . William s
(EAA #5701 0)
71 3 Eastman Drive
Mt. Prospect, '" . 60056
(Ass oc iate Edito r)
(Photos provided by the Author)
If Hollywood ever decides to make a movie on the
life of aviation pioneer Franklin E. Rose , the plot will
probably seem far-fetched . To make things worse for
credibility, the colorful Rose in hi s youth was as hand­
some as any movie star .
Rose had a brief connection with film making, it­
self, when he flew in the early 1920s as a movie stunt
pilot. But he also was an airmail pilot , mechanic, barn­
storming pilot, commercial pilot , aircraft salesman,
military pilot and finally commander of an Air Force
base in Germany.
Rose, 78, now retired for 21 years and living at Wal­
nut Creek, Calif., also missed by a whisker sharing a
place in history with another pilot , Leon D. Cuddeback,
in flying the first successful flight of the mail by a pri­
vate contractor in 1926.
That route, by Varney Air Lines, holder of Contract
Air Mail Route #5 (CAM #5) authority, consisted of
northbound and southbound service between Pasco,
Wash., Boise, Idaho, and Elko, Nev., begun on April 6,
1926. Cuddeback flew the inaugural southbound route
successfully, thus gaining a prominent place in avia­
tion history. But Rose , who flew northbound from Elko,
was forced down in a storm and didn't make.a success­
ful flight .. . or the record books.
8
...
.:
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...
-
"1
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~'..,
-...;
'"l­
~
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:
H andsom e Fran k lin E. Ro se strikes a d as hin g pose next to his Swallow M ailplane in 1926 .
To make the Hollywood scenario more implausible,
it is a fact that Rose 's wife , Mildred, 75 , who learned to
fly in 1926 and flew aerobatics, taught their son , Frank­
lin Rose , Jr., to fly. The son in turn did so well he later
became one of America's first jet pi lots, but not until
he had shot down 13 German aircraft in World War II.
The younger Rose retired from the Air Force as a full
colonel, still being outranked by his father , who retired
as a brigadier general.
"Stars and Stripes, " the U.S. military newspaper,
more than 23 years ago - on Jan. 5, 1955 - said of the
elder Rose :
BRIG GEN FRANKLIN ROSE, an aviation pioneer
who has been pushing aircraft through the skies for
the past 36 years , is going stronger than ever today.
As commander of the 322nd Air Div (Combat Cargo)
headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Rose controls all
the troop carrier and transport aircraft in the USAFE
theater of operations. The huge C119S of the 322nd
roll up an average of 27,000 miles daily in flying vital
supplies to 32 U.S . air bases in 13 countries in Europe
and North Africa.
Rose himself has rolled up quite a few hours in the
cockpit since he first earned his wings as a flying
cadet in 1918. He's 54 today, and a rundown of the jobs
he's held reads like a ca psu le history of the growth of
the aviation industry.
The ge neral, an affab le, soft-spoken man , holds the
16th air mail pilot's license iss ued in the U.S .; the 125th
co mmercial pilot' s licen se; and the 118th engineer­
mechanic's licen se.
For a good part of hi s yo uth he barnstormed across
the U.S. with a flying circus perform ing death-defying
feats standing out on the wings. During this period ­
the early 20s - he also worked as a Hollywood
stuntman, earning hi s bread by leaping from a speed­
ing cycle to a plane or transferring from low flying
planes into cars.
"Those were exciting days," the general recall s.
"We landed anywhere there was enough space for a
take-off and crowd s would flock for miles to see us
perform.
" I was se llin g airpl anes at this time , too," said the
general. "As a matter of fact , I was in just about every
phase of the business.
" But then you just abo ut had to be, or you'd starve
to death. That' s part of the growth of aviation. Every­
body had to be a pioneer and stay with the business­
or get out of it entirely. It was one of the best ways we
had of promotin g commercial aviation."
In 1926 the senior Rose joined Varney Air Lines , the
company which got the first air mail contract . He flew
the first northbound mail flight from Elko, Nev., to
Boise , Idaho.
" I was forced down in a storm and landed in the
middle of a desert, " the general related. "It was 40
miles to the nearest ranch and I came in by Pony Ex­
press with the mail sack slung over a horse's neck ."
In 1929, Rose got in on the ground floor of the
fledgling passe nger airline industry. He became pres­
ident of Varney Speed Lines , "the fastest airline in the
world," flying Lockheed Orions from Los Angeles to
San Francisco in o ne hour and 58 minutes.
Rose made his first trip to Europe in 1934, demon­
strating Lockheed Orion airc raft to various gove rn­
ments. From 1935 to 1940 when he returned to active
duty with the Army as a captain, Rose had a distribu­
torship for Stinson and Taylorcraft on the West Coast.
From 1940-1946 Rose headed the Pacific Coast
Technical Training Comd, supervising the chain ,of
schools set up to train defense workers.
Following the war, Rose became associated with
Pacific Aircraft Sales Co., West Coast distributor for
Beechcraft. He became a brigadier general in 1948 and
in 1951 again went on active duty with the Air Force,
ass umin g command of the 349th Troop Carrier Wing
Very rare photo of Franklin E. Rose in cockpit of his
Swa llow with original Curtiss K-6 engine in ea rl y 1926.
Ma n standing next to plane is unidentified.
Franklin E. Rose 's Swa llow Mailplane No.4 shown
after its original I S0- hp Curtiss K-6 was replaced with
the Wright Whirlwind }-4, with 200 horsepower.
....
:
at Hamilton AFB, Calif. A year later he was named
commander of Donaldson AFB, S.c., and in November
1953 he took over the 465th Troop Carrier Wing.
When the 322nd Air Div. was formed in March 1954
to control USAFE's vast fleet of troop carrier and cargo
transports, Rose soon got the commander's job.
Rose retired from the Air Force and closed out a 37­
year career in aviation on July 30, 1956. "I haven't
flown since my retirement," he said in an interview
recently at his California home with this author. "I used
to fly Lockheed C-130s in the Air Force, and that was
work," he said.
Although his days as a young pilot are more than
50 years in the past, his recollections of the trials and
hazards of being an airmail pilot are still vivid.
"I've got a pretty good recollection of the early
days," said Rose, who at 78 is in as good health and is
as alert and sharp as a much younger man.
"I started out with Walter Varney in 1919 and was
associated with him in various deals," Rose recalled .
"I was flying at that time in an air show act chang­
ing from an automobile or a motorcycle on to a Lincoln
Standard, and we were using Varney's aircraft. When
Walter Varney got the contract for the airmail in 1926,
he asked me if I would be one of his pilots."
Rose said Varney selected Leon Cuddeback, Joe
Taff, George Buck and himself as the pilots for his new
airmail company, which was to be based at Boise. Var­
ney had bought six Swallow biplanes with Curtiss C-6
and K-6 engines for his operations, and they prepared
for the inaugural flights.
"We all went up to Boise and helped overhaul the
engines for him and helped install them in the planes,"
Rose recalled. After that, Rose flew his plane - Swal­
low No.4 - down to Elko to prepare for his first run on
the Elko-Boise-Pasco route.
The following, from Rose's interview with this au­
thor, are his recollections of the events of April 6, 1926,
the inaugural day:
"I took off around ten in the morning. The weather
wasn't too good, but in those days we had to fly con­
tact and not instrument flying, because we didn't have
the instruments to do it. In taking off from Elko, head­
ing north, there was a little saddle in the mountains. I
had to have 10,000 feet altitude to get through, and I
just barely cleared it. Then I went into the plateau
cou ntry. I got over this saddle and there were thunder­
storms ahead of me that were darker than black, so I
had to keep down where I had visual contact. I got to
where I was bucking headwinds in these storms and I
was just running out of gas. It was approximately 225
miles from Elko to Boise, and I had about a 30 minute
reserve, for normal conditions.
10
Four
prior
1. &
Chris
new Wright Whirlwind j-4 engines uncrated
to installation at Boise in May, 1926. Left to right:
2 . Unknown, 3. Ralph Fifer, mechanic, 4. DeVelschow, chief mechanic, 5. Franklin Rose, pilot 6. Leon Cuddeback, pilot, 7. Charles Wrightson, business mgr. The j-4 replaced the underpowered Curtiss Cob and K-6' engines used in the first two months of Varney Air Lines operations. THEY LED THE WAY: Shortly after the historic Pasco­
Boise-Elko flight of Varney Air Lines on April 6, 1926,
this group posed before a Swallow biplane at Boise.
Shown (from left) are pilot joe Taff, pilot Franklin Rose,
Hal Bruntsch, Mrs. Walter T. Varney, chief pilot Leon
Cuddeback, the senior Varney's chauffeur, and a rep­
resentative of the U. S. Post Office with Curtiss K-6
engine.
"But I bucked these winds and terrific turbulance
and was flying right down on the ground, and the gas
gauge was getting to the bottom. I figured, well, if I run
out of gas and land in this 5agebrush and stuff out
here, I'm going to roll the plane up in a knot. So I
started using my head - or I thought I was - and I
saw a bunch of wild horses over on a mesa, and I saw
two men on horseback rounding them up. I figured if
I could get down there and get to some kind of civiliza­
tion, or get somebody to find me, I would land.
"I worried if I would have enough power, and for­
tunately I did, and I landed on a little mud bar in the
river. I had to use power and almost stalled it. If I'd
have landed at normal flying speed I'd have just rolled
up in a knot as the tires went down six inches in the
mud. I just sat there, and finally about an hou r later I
saw these two horsemen coming down the side of the
mesa. I told them what happened. They wanted to know
if I was in trouble . One was an old man, and another
man about 22 or 23 years old and I asked them where
I was.
"They said the closest town was Jordon Valley, Ore­
gon, and it was 60 miles away . I said, ' Well how am I
going to get there?' One cowboy said, 'I'll guide you
in : I asked, ' How much do you want?' and he said ,
'About a month 's salary,' I asked how much did he
make a month, and he said, 'Ten dollars a month: So
I said, 'Well, I'll double that if you can get me there:
"Fortunately, I had about $50 or $60 with me. We
carried a 30-30 rifle in the ship and a 45 caliber auto­
matic and a bunch of chocolate bars, and I had figured
when I landed there that if I could shoot a horse and
eat it, then I wouldn't starve to death. There were
plenty of horses and antelope roaming around. Any­
way, the cowboy got a horse and said, 'This horse may
be a little frisky. He hasn't been ridden for a year since
we been out here last: They evidently went out once a
year to round the horses up.
"I get on the horse and I just hit the saddle and I
went up about 3 feet, then landed flat on my fanny on
the ground, with the horse' s hoof going by me. So I
got on again and rode on.
"In two days we got into Jordon Valley, and after
two hours of trying, I phoned Walter Varney in Boise
to tell him I was safe .
"The next morning a truck driver agreed to take
me into Boise, and we finally got there after I helped
him dig the truck out of the mud about five different
times. We'd get stuck and we'd put chains and sacks
under the wheels to get going again. But we finally got
into Boise. "
The Evening Capital News of Boise carried this ac­
count of Rose's misadventures on April 7, 1926:
"MISSING MAIL FLYER FOUND,
FORCED DOWN BY BLIZZARD
Rose Lands on Mountain Slope
in Idaho 75 Miles Off Course
"BOISE, Idaho, April 7 (A.P.) - After twenty-four
hours of anxiety Franklin Rose, air mail pilot lost on
his first trip from Elko to Boise was rep<;>rted safe and
uninjured sixty-five miles south of Jordon Valley at
8 :10 o' clock tonight in a telephone message to Boise. "
Rose continued with his recollections, saying, "I
flew for about two months and then Varney got per­
mission from the Post Office to shut down the line to
put new Wright J-4 engines on. We had K6 and C6 en­
gines, and they were giving us a lot of trouble. In the
north leg, from Pasco to Boise, our boys went down
several times with engine trouble. So they got permis­
sion for a delay in operations to get those J-4s on."
Rose said that he flew for Varney for another four
months and then went to work for Pacific Air Trans­
port, at a raise in salary from $150 to $200 a month,
flying between San Francisco and Fresno and Los
Angeles .
Although he had a colorful and highly eventful ca­
reer in aviation, Rose had no roots in aviation . He was
born to an army cavalry officer at Fort Riley, Kans .,
and lived at a number of army posts, so he swore he
would never go into the military service. But a strong
yearning to fly caused him to reconsider by enlisting
in the army as a cadet in 1918, and he got his wings
at Bakersfield, Calif. Although he left active duty in a
few years , he remained in the reserves.
Although still in the Army Reserve, he did consid­
erable civilian flying. He recalled:
" I was stunt flying, and a kid by the name of Johnny
Townsend and I bought a ship after we got out of ser­
vice in 1919, and we tried to figure out some stunts and
how we could make some money. We did pretty well.
I was first one to ever make a change from a motor­
cycle to an airplane and from an automobile to an air­
plane, and I did stunts like that in front of newsreel
cameramen. This helped us out with publicity and we
got several calls from air show promoters about it."
This led to his airmail service with Varney and Pa­
cific Air Transport but in 1929 he stopped such flying
to take on a Stearman aircraft sales agency at Oak­
land because Varney Air Lines with replacing its Swal­
lows with Stearmans, and writer Varney bought the
newer planes from Rose. Varney sold Varney Air Lines
soon after. "Then Walter Varney bought out my little
company as he wanted to run another new airline - as
Varney Speed Lines - in California, but he kept me on
as president. Later on, he went to Lockheed and bought
these Lockheed Orions, although we had started out
with little Stinsons on the original route between Oak­
land and Sacramento and Los Angeles .
V.a rney k~pt Rose on as. president of Varney Speed
Lines because "He didn't want any part of it. He was
the owner and he liked to give the orders , but he didn't
want to be an official in the company," Rose said.
The company operated from July 1929 until 1934
on that route when it got a mail contract from Los An­
geles to Mexico City. " We outbid Pan American, which
had that business at that time. We operated the Mexi­
can line for about two years," Rose said. "And we
closed down because the politics down there were
something very difficult to deal with.
" Then Walter Varney offered me a job surveying
the aviation situation in Rumania, " Rose continued.
" We thought we'd sell all our Orions to Rumania. So I
went over there and surveyed their airline needs. I
took an Orion to New York and put it on the deck of
the ship Europa bound for Bremerhaven. I flew it off
the dock from there to Rumania. " But getting away
from Bremerhaven proved to be an adventure.
"That's when Hitler was in business over there,"
Rose said. "The Nazis had an eye on me all the way
through. From Bramerhaven clear until I crossed the
border into Poland and down to Rumania. "
But it took a ruse and exceptional flying skill to get
the Orion out of Bremerhaven in the first place as the
Germans impounded the plane. Every day Rose would
get into the plane on the dock and "warm it up" to get
the armed German guards used to that procedure. Fi­
nally, one day, after the usual "warm up," Rose sim­
ply took off.
Rose said, "As I took off from the pier at Bremer­
haven, I missed those tie-down things (for a ship's an­
chor) by about three feet, and the wing tips were only
about three feet from the light poles. "
Rose continued: "I had been waiting for the wind
to change, and I had revved it up for about fou r or five
days while the wind was still at a little angle. While
I waited for a square wind, these guys with their guns
on their shoulders and their green uniforms just stood
back watching me.
"There was just a little drizzle-rain as I moved the
plane down the dock, and it sank low after takeoff, but
I was still about three feet above the water. So I held it
down low over the river, got up steam, came back and
made some turns around a smokestack. I zoomed by
about five feet from them because I was so happy to
get off from the dock. With all those German police, it
was the only way I could get it out of there. "
But Rose admitted that he probably couldn 't have
taken off from the dock if it weren't for the great flying
capabilities of the Orion.
11
.,~
(Photo Courtesy of Franklin Rose)
RQse eluded th e. Naz i~ at · Bremerh aven, he fl ew
'51' n* the': 'Of;On ' io
Rumania, w here it was sold. This rare pic­
ture sho ws th e Orion after takeoff on a flight in Rum a­
nia in w hich Rose demonstrated its capabili ties.
" Oh, that Lockheed, I loved that thing, " he said . "I
could do all kinds of things with it as it had no bad hab­
its at all. That Orion was the sweetest flyin g airplane ,
and I could do many tricks with it. "
Although he got out of Germany all right, his trou­
bles were not over because of German influence in
Rumania.
"I'll never forget the day I got down to Rumania .
They decided to buy the ship , so I had no airplane. The
police met me at the airport when I landed and they
were going to put me in jail . But a Standard Oil man I
got acquainted with fixed it all up and they let me go ."
Rose not only sold the Orion in Rumania, but he
gave King Carol rides in it and took pictures of the
Ruman ian King inside the plane. Rose still has those
photos in one of several scrapbooks .
In 1935, Rose went back in business for him self and
took on an agency for Stin son aircraft which he oper­
ated until World War II, when he went back into ac­
12
tive service as a captain .
Rose continued: " I knew Donald Douglas, Bob
Gross and Jack Northrop , all that bunch weil. So when
I was called back in the service in '40 , I wa s in charge
of all the technical training on the Pacific Coast, in all
those factory school s. And I could get things done be­
cause I knew these people . When I'd request things,
they' d do them. So I had a pretty good record going ;
that's wh y I wa s made General in February, 1948, and
I was a General until July 30 , 1956, when I retired after
34 years in the service."
Rose also spoke with great pride about the military
career of his son and his son ' s flying ability.
" He went into service in 1940," Rose said , "and
during his advanced training he won a plaque for the
acrobatic flying. He went to Mississippi and he wa s
checked out in the Mustangs and then went to England
and flew in support of the invasion . He al so followed
Patton' s army all the way down through th e end of the
war. "
Before he retired to Springfield , Va. , the youn ger
Rose flew the Lockheed F-80 in the first jet fighter
squadron in the Air Force . He and his wife , Mary, also
had the di stinction of having thei r picture in Life Mag­
azine in Dec. 9, 1946, issue .
Today the elder Rose is content to play golf on the
cour se adjoining his home and not think back. Al­
though he has a number of scrapbooks and a large
trunk of aviation momentoes , he rarely looks at them .
They contain historical matters only touched on briefly
in this article and someday may find themselves in a
museum or library on aviation.
The aviation career of Franklin E. Rose , Sr. , could
form the basis of a great motion picture , but they don ' t
make 'em like " Ceiling Zero" or " Dawn Patrol " any­
more.
GRAND CHAMPION
American Eagle 101
Claude Gray
Northridge, CA
(jack Cox Photo)
By Claude Gray
9635 Sylvia Ave.
Northridge, California 91324
After days of early morning fog and marginal
weather in the Los Angeles basin, Friday's weather
was a great improvement and the fly-in got off to a
good ~tart. Both Saturday and Sunday were beautiful
clear days . President Paul claimed credit for this by
announcing he had used his influence with the " man
in charge " and had traded us two days of good Wis­
consin weather. His efforts were greatly appreciated
by everyone. With this good change in the weather the
registration of display aircraft reached th e 300 mark.
The Antique and Classic aircraft were well repre­
se nted from the 1927 OX-5 American Eagle, which was
fly-in Grand Champion, jud ge's choice Antique and
oldest aircraft, through a Waco 10, Porterfields, Rear­
wins, Fairchild 22's and 24's, Travelairs , the Harlow­
Cessna Airmaster, Staggerwings, Stinsons and Stear­
mans and into some beautiful Cessna 140'5, 195's,
Swifts, the judge 's choic e Bellanca and runner-up
Mooney Mite and the classic Stinsons.
A Ford Trimotor, a Stearman, a P-51 and a helicop­
ter stayed busy hauling passengers and gave the pub­
lic a chance to fly in some rare aircraft. Top quality
aerobatic shows were put on by Bob Herendeen in his
Pitts, Gerry Massey in the "Little Toot " and Frank
Sanders in his Sea Fury. Another favorite act was the
mock dog fight between the replica WW I Nieuport and
Fokker Triplane flown by Erich Schilling and Jim Ap­
pleby.
Being the home base for many of the Warbird air­
craft plus their out of town members, the display and
fly-by 's of the two Sea Fury's, P-51 ' s, a Corsair, a Hell­
cat, a rare 0-47, B-17, B-25, a Spitfire and others gave
a show much like Oshkosh.
All of this along with an awa rds dinner Saturday
ni ght with an outstanding Bar-B-Que beef meal made
for a very successfu l, gr.eatly enjoyed fly-in that is rap­
idly becoming one of the best. We are all looking for­
ward to n ext year.
This prett y 1941 Porterfield
CP-65 belongs to Fred Holla­
way who flew it from Ontar­
io, California.
AWARDS
Chino '78
ANTIQUES
Judges Choice
American Eagle 101
Claude Gray
Northridge, CA
Oldest Antique
American Eagle 101
Claude Gray
Northridge, CA
Best Multi-Wing
Travel Air Speedwing
Frank Rezich
Irvine, CA
Best High Wing
Cessna Airmaster C34
Clyde Bourgesois
Santa Ynez , CA
Best Low Wing
Harlow PJC-2
Mel & Dod Heflinger
Redondo Beach, CA
CLASSICS
Judges Choice
Bellanca
Roland Joslyn
Malibu, CA
1st Runner Up
Mooney Mite
Anthony &
Larry Terrigno
Buena Park, CA
13
Vintage CHINO '78 PHOTOS BY In 1937 the Rearwin company turned out this
Sportster 9000L which is now owned by Ken
jorgensen of San Dimas.
'&";.rJ.
-.
Above: Best High Wing Antique Award went to
Clyde Bourgeois of Santa Ynez for his 1934
Cessna Airmaster C34 which is powered by a
Warner 165.
Below: This Stinson 108-2 was built in 1947 and
packs 230 horsepower under the cowling. It's
owned by Ken Wicken of North Hollywood.
..
~
Album
~
FLY-IN
CKCOX
Right: Carl Cox brought this sharp 795 7
Rya n Na vion in from Fullerto n.
Below : O wned by AI Kiefer o f So uth Pasa­
dena, this Wa c o 70 GXE is pow ered by
a 77 5 hp Tank OX-5.
•
In
u ace
ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC AIRCRAFT ""-.
By Claude Gray Chief, Antique Judge 9635 Sylvia Avenue Northridge, California 91324 During the past year considerable time has been
spent by the Division officers on an update and review
of the judging of aircraft at Oshkosh and the Compe­
tition Judging Manual. This Manual will be available
to members in the near future. It is a guide for judges,
restorers, builders, exhibitors, and competitors. It
covers maintenance, restoration and construction
standards.
These standardized rules and point grading sys­
tem have been used for the past three years at Osh­
kosh . It has been interesting to note how close the
final scores have run each year for the various cate­
gories of winners. The Grand Champions have all
scored within 2 to 3 points of each other for the past
three years. The Reserve Grand Champions also have
been near each other in score, but 7 to 8 points below
the Grand Champions. This has shown that the re­
storers who give the small details of authenticity
considerably more attention are the ones who are
winning Grand Champion .
16
It has been the small non-authentiC items that
have kept well done aircraft in 2nd place instead of
1st. Many of these negative points have come from
non-authentic hardware, instruments, chrome, seat
belts, etc. There has been more competition between
aircraft in the Reserve Grand Champion scores. On
one occasion, two Reserve Grand Champion awards
were given because of tie scores. This emphasizes the
point again that the small details of authenticity,
plus good workmanship, make the difference.
Each year there have been some very well done
aircraft which, due to the restorer's personal desires,
have been modernized and customized too much to
score well from an authentic point of view. With this
in mind, a new category for judging has been added:
Customized Aircraft. These are judged on the basis
of workmanship and beauty with awards for Cham­
pion, Runner-up and Outstanding in Class.
A category for Replica Aircraft has also been added.
These aircraft must be full scale replicas of the ori­
ginal, and they are judged on the basis of how well
they follow the original manufacturer'S plans, plus
quality of workmanship.
Another category of aircraft, though very small
in numbers, has appeared. It is the Antique Home­
built. Some of the early homebuilts of the late 20's
and early 30's are being found and restored. These
add much to preserve the early history of flying, and
they are most welcome. They are judged and awartled
on the same basis as a company manufactured product.
For the restorer's information, it is important to
point out again that the aircraft is not penalized for
any items currently required by FAA regulations that
it did not originally have such as strobe lights, bea­
cons and ELI's. Radios and their related indicating
instruments are also not penalized. From this point
on though, any changes from original and authentic
will probably cost points. It must be remembered that
many changes and ideas used in later years are not
necessarily done for safety reasons, but more probably
for cost reduction and ease of production. There are
many fine 30 to 40 year-old airplanes flying today
that are more highly stressed and have less restric­
tions than do those new products being built today.
At Oshkosh we are fortunate in having enough
willing, knowledgeable, and well qualified help so
that each aircraft is judged by at least 10 judges. The
individual scores are averaged and no one score can
affect the final score too greatly. At the local chapter
fly-ins, averages of a lesser number will still give a fair
and equitable score.
With an open mind the restorer can follow the
grade sheet and judge his own aircraft. He will come
up with a score very close to that of the judges. This
has been done and has been proven in the past.
It might be noted that on the grade sheet there is
no space for a grade for what a fine fellow the restorer
might be, or for how much work he has done at some
fly-in or chapter event. The judges are only judging
the aircraft for authenticity and workmanship. Well
done restorations have been, and will continue to be,
the winners at Oshkosh. When an owner takes home
a trophy from Oshkosh he knows that his aircraft has
earned it, and he can be proud of his aircraft and his
workmanship.
We are preserving history in our restorations, and
an authentically done aircraft can still be a safe and
dependable machine with good workmanship and
proper maintenance .
~~--
____
~~~~'
__
~~~~,~.~.
..
~--~-r,-.~--------~~~~,--~~----~~~~--~------------~---------:~~------
THE CROUCH-BOLAS DRAGONFLY
EARLY..s,.T.O.L.
By David Gustafson, Editor
(Photos provided by Walter Scheibe
and Mrs . Kurt langborg)
During the early 1930's in a factory originally built
to stamp out Ford fenders in Pawtucket, Rhode Island ,
two men led the efforts of fifty others to develop one
of the first successful STOl aircraft. The airplane, called
a Crouch-Bolas Dragonfly, performed beautifully on
the field, where it set several records on its first flight,
and failed miserably in the market place.
It was the wrong time.
Some of the ideas developed in that aircraft were
practiced enough to be carried up through design fea­
tures found on modern planes like the Helio. So natu­
rally, there are some fascinating parts of the Crouch­
Bolas twin that merit a brief " du sting off" here .
There have been a number of Dragonflys - all
bearing a resemblance to their namesake, but this ver­
sion of the insect had so me unique features.
The Crouch -B olas Drago nfly stands read y for a flight
at Providence airport in Rhode Is/and . The yea r was
1935.
The conceiver/designers were Briti sh, and like
most engineers of the period they travelled with im­
pressive handles : Captain Goodman-Crouch , O.B.E .,
M.I.Ae.A., F.R.Ae .S., M . I.Ae.E. , F.R . S.A. and Mr .
Harold Bolas M .B.E., A .M.I.C.E. Crouch's experience
included extensive time as a Royal Air Service pilot,
a stint as ~ec hnical manager in charge of all metal air­
craft production in England and then three years as a
designer of dirigibles , aeroplanes, and air screws at
the R.A. F.
Bolas, meanwhile, distinguished himself as a re­
sourceful designer who'd already impressed his inter­
national colleagues with designs like the Pixie , winner
of a speed prize for light planes at lympne in 1923. At
the time, it was the world's smallest airplane with eight­
foot racing wings . Pixie II had more power and number
III was a monoplane that cou Id be converted to a bi­
plane - with folding wings . The Imp and the Elf fol­
lowed and as their names suggest, they were studies
in near-miniature. That proved to be perfect training
for a future task: Bolas was to spend several weeks out
on a submarine figuring out how to equip it with a re­
connaissance plane. To accomplish the miss ion , the
gun turret on the deck was emptied and converted to
an airtight hangar . Bolas then designed a two-place
folding biplane, with floats of course, that could be cat­
apulted from the deck. The plane had a wireless and
effectively extended the vision of the sub by several
hundred miles. It was a bad way to build flying time,
however, because if the plane reported any kind of
enemy activity, the sub immedi ately went below, tak­
ing the hangar with it.
Good man-Crouch h ad visited the Un ited State s
early in the thirties and fo und that despite the depres­
sion, the aviation industry seemed to be doing quite
well in America. Certainly there were more potential
backers with good money than in Britain . On the way
home , he turned over some ideas in hi s head for a new,
"safe" airplane , which was a sort of industrial preoc­
cupation in that era. He docked in Southampton and
call ed Bolas at 2:00 AM to inform him that they were
both heading out immediately for the States . Within a
week they were off.
They cock tail-partied their way from New York to
Pawtucket, raisin g enough money in the process to
begin work on some new engine concepts. The engines
were to serve a specific "experimental " purpose. They
were to be mounted on a new airplane that was being
designed to fly in its own slipstream. Like the engines,
the aircraft structure was designed solely to test a
theory and explore a potential. Practical production
models could be developed later.
To direct the slipstream over both wings, they needed
a high thrust line so the cylinders were mounted in a
vertical, inverted line. The first Dragon IVD had verti­
cal fins and a baffle shroud that was vented forward
with a four bladed fan just inside . The fan was driven
by an enclosed shaft that connected to the engine by
leveled gears.
Incorporating a lot of standard automobile parts ,
the engine could run on a direct drive or geared basis.
It weighed 125 pounds and developed 76 horsepower
at 2100 rpm, which, in those days, was a very respect­
able weight to horsepower ratio . The type IVG was a 2
to 1 geared companion that generated 90 horsepower
at 3000 rpm and weighed 245 pounds . Cooling was
handled the same way.
The engines were mounted on the Dragonfly air­
plane with 10 degrees down thrust. Therefore, the slip­
stream, created by two nine-foot props , developed
automatic lift over the wings . Goodman-Crouch re­
17
portedly said that "eve n before the Dragonfly starts to
move , more than 65 percent of its weight has been
lifted by this 60-mile an hour slipstream breeze, which
on ordinary aircraft is totally wasted."
Crouch and Bolas were contributing to the rush in
the 1930's to develop an airplane which could be landed
at incredibly slow speeds in short fields, as simply as
one drives a car. With 65 percent lift at zero forward
speed, they were well on the way . To maximize their
lift at slow forward speeds they invented leading edge
slots and drooping flaps which would increase chord
and lift in ground effect. The actuating devices were
all hydraulic, and the fittings involved were the stuff
nightmares are made of - typically British, in other
words. In fact, the look of the Dragonfly has a dis­
tinctly British accent for the period .
Early testing revealed some amazing performance
results, both positive and negative. With 1600 pounds,
including pilot and fuel, the Dragonfly slipped into
an attitude on departure and final that was truly fore­
shadowing the helicopter. However, the Dragon en­
gines were unreliable . They plagued the test program
with constant failure . So the Dragons were replaced
with more dependable, if heavier, Menascos. At the
same time , the tail group was enlarged and additions
like wheel pants were worked in to improve cruise
speed.
Crouch-Bolas "Dragon" Type WG.
An early Dragon engine for the plane. It had dual elec­
tric and inverted cy linders. Note the vertica l cooling
fins.
The next step: a fan driven by linkage to the prop
shaft aided an intake cooling fan , but the problem of
heat persisted.
The added weight cut into performance curves but
the strange looking plane with its odd take-offs and
landings still amazed people.
On December 4, 1935, the Dragonfly was flown in
its first public demonstration. A few days later, the
Providence Journal reported:
" Those who went to the State Airport at Hillsgrove
last Wednesday had been promised something revolu­
tional in aviation, and they were not disappointed. At
least, they saw four world 's records claimed for a
plane, produced in a Rhode Island ' hatchery' and de­
signed to take off and land at a slow, safe speed and to
be free from the hazards of unexpected stalls, spins
and other bad manners.
"There she goes," the crowd roared when the
Crouch-Bolas ' Dragonfly' took the air for its first public
demonstration . It was a friendly but a critical audience,
for many an expert was present having come to Provi­
dence for a convention.
"And the show was effective, especially so since the
' Dragonfly' was teamed with a standard type of sport­
plane so that the performances might be contrasted.
Together they took off. Together they flew at their min­
imum speeds, the 'Dragonfly' gradually falling behind.
18
The upper surface of the top wing, showing fuel tank and atta ch points for leading edge sla ts.
Leading edge of the lower wing and landing gear.
End view of the tail group. That's a lot of space for
work on one aircraft.
VI
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.10 L' H:-.. .\ I.
1,1.' 1. \ ll: 1.1l ." , j ',;C
A DRAGONFLY IN' 'R HODE ISLAND SKIES "Duke" Skolling, pilot
"';-- ""1e!7 ­
Exciting Careers
o~ English Fliers
Reach New Climax
Pawtu cKct Plallc Se ts World lk co l'd ~, Say Spollsors, Aftcr PlIhlic lkillons tratio ll at State Ail'porl Last W Cdll csdH ,Y ,
T
ir ove la~t \~edn~ay
t.,.d bee n prom l~cd !.omethi n&: re\'oIWlona l In
• viati on, a n d they werc no t d i~ap'
pointed. At lea.."t. they ~ aw four
,-""ied tll i~ plunc u/J:\ ,] ., ,,.. J3 1)!a.~
Rrrill ill, lIs t.{ itlg~ , of C·"QJ1SC . had to
unfolded he/of t" Iht" \ (J/u pu i t lUIHII..hcJ it
no'~S~ne.:h:lI~:r:~~t~:;e:~lr:;~·n('. bu t "Drag onfly " and sa mt 01
we'\'e Ipplied prmclpl('s th at nobody
tIs prcdet.(,S30 rS
eoJ5t! has used ." he cxpl all\~, " ll1 :st cil d
l to f If'tting the I!ilip5trea m Ihl t bl o~~ s
1back (rom the propell ers go to waste. D ire-clly abt"!\'(' Is nt'w R hnde bland
!
onslratioll . . II w;u a
'!
[flf>~dIY
f
th~ir minimum
b~~h:\rS~~~~::~U~::~
h). rli!l1t. Plo\'('r.
5('1 (.
"Is
~mph ibian rn~c1
!;"f! .
_
l ll.$~~~t
thi$
It .. ··
~o:-t"ff"!
f (,1' th(""c v('us, but in ,he
: fourth ~("ar (ot :CI,;C~·(':c ~CI,;. vpe : "Cvl\
I the !\i.:2 \\a5 ~ unk by accIdent. gOin g
I dOWll wtt h liIll on boa~d.
~.o far PIS
. may be kn own Cram published Re ·
('o·,m ls. it hil S not be<'n replaced .
When th o e.p."m«" on Ihe
had pr .. v('d, HS \a1ue, Bola~ expected
G ovdman·Crouch til r~llll"ll tl'l th{" sportin g plan~ trade.
~1-2
II
m\l~h
el~L~~~~~ml\al:'~~;,Oqu.r.~'t \~U:I~'~\j:~~
1)(1I\",r WIl!-.1
Ina DrOlll" ! ::.l l 1S. LatN IS 8
O' ,the o("par1.ment,
of Commerce. belan to ha ·,·e Ide...
C oodman.CrolKh lo!':t t Olio with
H i, bl, id~a was 10 ('a il Harold
BrI!to1. In 1926.. lh~ Old j\tall drc· B nlai! from bC'n at t ,\'O i("l tb' mnrn ­
orated him. 2I :< an o~kcr o r l'r, ~ Orde r ifi.li!!. ThC"y :cold (\1.;1 all :t-.:lt they
~,r Ihl' Brjl~.~hErnpll (' fur :O;rI"\,IC ~'~ _10 (\wnt'd III the ~lcI r,HlIllry, rc~ ~n c,d
,\', ..1ItClII In IIodrl:'lOJI \u 11I.~ \\ l'rk .I( fl'nm :iit' l\("ru CillO. and p.('ke-<! thrlr
dlid \.( t~.{" Al!·\•. nrthlll('''S lkpart· h:l~ •.
nl"l1l 11(' "'.'I~ -ll~ I·Ii:,·d '.~ ,'Il :11(' du " ('~ .
. .
.
'I '.If T, i'I"_nll·a, R,...~r("'·l.'dll\r · ,' I'.lh('" I I tiEl 1 lfOl G itT
Errol1.r(' q, .", .... hr.,.r":\· 1"1';'\ (.1'11'· IT .\ ('R.\ ('K.l"P
"~
"lth ,·""v.n, bl. punl""n" Poxle,
,...~~.........
Won lipeed prtl,e at Lympn. in
lt23-tol. 1 span 18 teet; P ouum.
ex perimen tal lripllllne built to test
perform a nce oC «~a r~ propt'lien'
vtl
Dvii,
THO
' '',' UU~ol.
8ue~.t"
.n' lIImax fn, sh eat ot d laar.m.,
PI
•
ovcr. ~onvcrted tor inlan~ "yin"
81 one lime stan dard pU:rJuJ\ plane
o.f the R. A. F.
I
.
N! who \o,'I!I !Jro .lirpl:lll('~ ' hal'" o'll d 1,) 'j;f" kr,' \\:1 '31-1;(' r:.f 1.:'1(' dt'cp.s.~ ...
h and I'" 3i J; _'-.'I (('ly 'l ~!il ~Impl.\ <t" <I.,j' 1 I.d,df'!·,\ a\('; ~·r...:'~H, 11',-: ('f!cel ne:-,('ss
tom'·bll ... .! 1Il It 'rf'~If'd _'h~' :\ 11" :'o. l l!\I~ · of llw l·.,mi)r." ' IO:: rllr bilthH Lllg In ­
OI~lt')j,!~
Capl. Go odman .Crol/c";
1f M B !
e t.
r.
0 as
I
speeds 1he ·draaon·
15 Bolas s b t
_
eradllall) (a1lme behlOd
It wal Crouc h who put It over Th~Y
)
TOl et hH they Jand('d from 1400 make II fin e . pa ir at plrtn ers 85 of them lh~ last word o r a SUCCUS- l in flYing T oo many m en w en bell,. place amon,lhe equl pmftlt oC major' • three seal ed !P'>tt~r, de,l,ncd to
fU
t eel, the ~ portp18ne using the great,.r \ you would wan t to .ee
\ career at home
rubbed out for trivia l cauaes.
~ lea,ue Navies
Ir. u tl tuc k ed aWl ) o n the d ec k of a
,tt of one of the concrete rU/lWiI)S
I.ona be rMe the ""ar Goodman·
The t.:.ptam had just developed.
At hml lh Bolal w.s d lsml . led t ram warsh ip durrne Heet milnOCu\res
dr:l~unny' r amr do .... n almOllt G~~:n.~~~\!~~k~ ~I'): SaIPt~I~\ ~~~t~~h J;a~h:Oa~; ~~~~~:ee /lle;o~: ~r;~\~d~~~raa:~~~~!~!. ~~t~~1SI~~::!..: ~~ty. tor ...sIX mO~lhl At t~e .P,nna ll ~n~ t~e Pipit , I sln&l~
pur ·
v '" t'r;,l1~ ',,\I~v ...r1 h~ 1\ ""~ ""'1 r1 .. " .. A FRAt' ~ :M I A,. J;' " p <.:
fl)
__ ._ _ _ _ _ _ __
I
o f J u an d(' I, ('Jer\·OI ·s
r o.
wh ich
pr'lm isC'd
j'JwC'r J<lnd lng
I"pe-t~s and k:-:, pr.~qbdlt .... of cra.~h·
109 III the ,! land: ?f ,q :l:4';t{'u.r.~,. Bola!
b Ui lt th(' C' lcr \a and leC'f'I\",d an
n rdl'r of .. Jof'l·"nd Ilu'ug.\'ro. the
'C,m' , II : fru m :h, "",.ntor him·
,,,,,N!.
but a
,n "perl ! 8 h.gh me of .i> mb.••low "."10"
~~ '.
'
~~"""II!~.
dence tor . convention
TIlE PAa.TNEB.8 .
And the show was el'l'eetive, Hped ally so ,inel!' the "dr.gontly" wal WELL TEAMED
l earned wit h a standard type ot sportThe per:tena\ slory ot then exp~r1 .
1
h I h
f
. ht menten. b oth of them o[llini lly from
pane so 1 III t e per or manees mle
En&loii;lld. where they were lon,
be contrilsted,
Toa-elh cr
they Identitlred with avJatlon,;S., full of
manoeu\'r«i on the n c1d. Toa:ether In\e r('Sl as the nove l prinCI ple they
they took off. TQi:elhcr they n ew at have evolved in their !C hop on Camp-
cr ,,,, al ."d,ener. for man)
.,...
dc­
be
~~~~.:Y\l:;:;llr;l k~~r;l ~l; ~~~~;dl~l'~~ I :r:~~~~~~~~j~~ !'It;~·~- ;~·l~t~~;~('~.~ k\~~
I tl~m
I
~~~cnn~I~lsoa,ct~~o~~:I~~'~~~;~~i~'~~;~;
J ill
I
worid', r~ords claimed for a p la ne. ! :/a ~.~~i1I! :.~::: ~::](~nea~~U~~':,l~~
plan t". )U!t bdore the drmon~l ra·
proouc ro in 51 Rhode bland "hat ch' l to c')ntrol:'
at the Stale Au pnl·t. Nu te
ery" and dr! igm'<i to lake off and
Th is U~ of the :,Jlp~ tream IS e\'i.
the radi cAl (h 'partur,", In dCloign tha t
land II 1I l!1o ...... safc ~ peed a nd to be 11 dent when thl!' "dra , onOy" tOXI C'!
tilts the (,11einc. forwJird. direct .
1r ee from lhe ha.:3rd, o f Ullt'xpcc ted along the eround. Ala!!s from the lin g lh(' !li stl'("am aga ins t the
p ropeller, wh ic h commonly are liven
p
.
. t.alb.. s p ir.s, and other bad manners. to mOlik e the ru dder of Ilrcraft e fwangs and thCTt'by gilHlmg hflme
"Th.r,- ' he goes," Ihr no wd ,""ed f",I ;v. al I... Ihan My ;n,
n.
pow,,, AI 'he lOp ore ,orne of Ih e
ll,'hf'n the Crou(·h· il(,I9.J "Draaon"y" unnCt'('~:o:a r)' In man('J("u\rilll the I ('arly ~);pcrim("'nlal pllln(,J d~ ·
took lh(' 1f1r fue lis ~ ...~t public d cm- Cr,..,uch ·E ol!l$ .plan.. Llkew l~. lh~
~lg nl-d b.v Mr. BoI.~: From l<'ft
II
.~u J'·II(JJin('
A
s ;R lI{~ d
HOSE: \\ho went to the \ C'orl\'('nllrmall y .mintlCd , But C C)OO ­
Stolte A irport at H ills - man.Crouch Jnsi!-ts hi:\ "dr.le.))) f!y " IS
'1
seated
~~:'~;~' ~\ ~i, ~ ·~;:-1l~')~1'7~·.lt'::p :~~;_:~:
ern Ih(> '·... :lol.:',~:l!lt'.' u( '.'\ ·1t'f'·Id
,o mm('1'\ I" 1'0',11''':1.,
,
I n :l od.' illil I" !' ';1',." ~
linn ~' OnoptlHl<"
<lr\l_ . . ",~ . ld
Rnrt $O,,;ntna H,il· h n ' ,
I
Sf'
~iq\\:~ 1!1 \~ i;I:·.o:n ; !lpC'~rl of t h t'
1"':':"Il:~·
11"1'-.: "'.~ :on t h e
d, .-, ,. F .11 n.\ fOr h:~t-,·.\ B\' \\ "r~
'1, 1'.1 [,'. ..'. r, t-.~. J~: Illh'n
r,,,y 1'1 :I
r· .'" . r,..
:10.,·
" Together they landed from 1400 feet, the sport­
plane using the greater part of one of the concrete run­
ways. The 'Dragonfly' came down almost verticall y,
followed by a ground run on landing of less than f ive
feet . The sportplane had been forced to circle, unable
to make the field the first time . A wind between 20
and 28 miles an hour velocity added to the interest of
the test.
" Sponsors of the new plane claim world's records
for it as to speed range, slow flight , angle of descent,
landing distance and take-off."
That almost vertical descent proved to be the drag­
onfly in the ointment . It's difficult to convince passen­
gers that everything is alright when they're suddenly
lying in their seats instead of sitting in them . The ef­
fects of the depression buried whatever potential the
airplane might have had and Misters Crouch and Bolas
went back to England .
Apparently the engines were scrapped , the wings
were destroyed many years later, and no one knows
what happened to the fuselage.
Rea d y for th e fir st tes t hop . The D ragonfl y w as posed
with its Dragon eng in es prio r to h aulin g off to th e
airpo rt.
The tail group i s read y for co ver . Ve rtica l fin s w ere
later replaced with larger models as can be seen in the
newspaper photo.
Airborne! Due to chron ic problem s with the Drago n
engines the ai rcraft on l y flew wi th Menascos. They
---Were rated at 725 hp, but only developeJ 90 beca use
of the nine-foot props.
_ _ _lIIiiiill!!l!t:;iAlIII!!:ZP"-:
The paper predictions for the Dragonfly were pretty
fantastic, but performance was really far behind.
21
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION CONVENTION ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE
9:00 A.M. - 10:15 A.M.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 1,1978
6:45 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.
Picnic Dinner, Ollie's Park (Tickets must be purchased
in advance at Antique/Classic Division Headquarters
barn).
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2,1978
4:00 P.M. - 6:30 P.M.
SUNDAY, JULY 30, 1978 Piper Cub : Building & Restoration
CL YDE SMITH, JR .
Piper Corp .
Technical Instructor
10:30 A.M. - 11 :45 A.M .
Rearwin-Commonweath
Skyranger
GEORGE WILLIAMS ,
Chairman , Rearwin Club
12 :00 N - 1 :15 P.M.
Cessna 170
GEORGE MOCK, Past P
International Cessna
170 Association
1 :30 P.M. - 2:45 P.M .
Cessna 120/140
DOUGLAS WILLIAMS, Pres., West Coast 120/140 Club JIM BARKER
CAROL SINtPSON
3 :00 P.M. - 4:15 P.M.
Navion, Buying, Speed
Modification &
Maintenance
ROBERT G. ROGIEN, Dir.
American Navion Society
"History of Flight" Air Show
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 1978
8:00 P.M . - 8:45 P.M.
Antique/Classic Awards, Main Pavilion
10:00 P.M. - 11 :30 P.M.
Social Hour, Ollie's Park (Tickets must be purchased
in advance at Antique/Classic Division Headquarters
barn).
MONDAY, JULY 31,1978
Taylor & Piper Cubs
JOHN McGEOGHEGAN, Chairman, Cub Club 10:30 A.M. - 11:45
The Wonderful World of Amphibians
DON KYTE, Pres.
Canadian-American
Amphibian Assoc.
"SPENCE" SPENCER
12:00 N - 1: 15 P. M.
European Antique Airplanes HAROLD BEST-DEVEREUX
EAA European
Representative
1 :30 P.M. - 2:45 P.M.
Howard Airplanes
RICHARD K. MARTIN, Chairman National Howard Club 3:00 P.M. - 4 :15 P.M.
Australian Vintage Aircraft : Talk & Movies
CAPT. ALAN SEARLE
Associated With Australian
Air Force Museum
9:00 A.M. - 10:15 A.M.
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION CONVENTION SCHEDULE ANTIQUE/CLASSIC FORUMS TENT #3 OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN SATURDAY, JULY 29,1978
9:00 A.M . - 10:15 A.M.
10:30 A.M. - 11 :45 A.M.
12 :00 N - 1 :15 P.M.
Antique Chapters:
Their Importance &
Activities
BOB WHITE, Pres. Florida Sport Aviation Antique & Classic Airplane Association
Fail-Safe Instrumentation J. R. NIELANDER, Pres.
EAA Antique & Classic
Division
Capt. Pan Am Airlines
TUESDAY, AUGUST 1,1978
9 :00 A.M . - 10:15 A.M.
Luscombe
JOHN BERGESON Luscombe Association 1 :30 P.M. - 2:45 P.M.
DH Moth
JOHN BRIGHT, Chairman
DH Moth Club
10 :30 A.M. - 11:45 A.M.
3 :00 P.M. - 4 :15 P.M .
Aeronca " K" & Older Models & Engines
EDWARD SCHUBERT,
Chairman
Aeronca Club
12 :00 N - 1 :15 P.M.
22
Interstate Airplanes
Maintenance &
Restoration
TIMOTHY TALEN , Western Coordinator, Interstate Club Aeronca: Keeping Champs & Chiefs Flying
C. L. " BUZZ" WAGNER
Stampe SV4 Aircraft
ALLEN SCHNEIDER
Stampe Expert
Nationally Known
Aeronca Authority
1 :30 P.M . - 2:45 P.M.
Magneto Overhaul &
Repair For The Beginner
3:00 P.M. - 4 :15 P.M. Cessna 170
BILL HASEL TON
Antique Engine Authority
RICHARD TOMASELLO,
Wis. State Repre­
sentative International
170 Ass'n.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2,1978 9:00 A.M. - 10:15 A.M.
Vagabond 15/17
CECIL OGLES, Editor
" Vagabond News"
10:30 A.M . - 11 :45 A.M .
Vintage Cessnas
GAR WILLIAMS &
ELDON CESSNA
12 :00 N - 1:1 5 P.M .
Aeronca Chief
GEORGE YORK,
Classic Aircraft Judge
1 :30 P.M. - 2:45 P.M.
Staggerwing
JIM GORMAN, Pres.
Staggerwing Club, &
GEORGE YORK
3:00 P.M . - 4:15 P.M.
Luscombe
ART MORGAN, Sec./Treas.
American Luscombe Club
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3,1978 9:00 A.M. - 10:15 A.M. Taylorcrafts
FORREST BARBER,
Taylorcraft Test Pilot,
Representing TaYlorcraft
Owners Club
10 :30 A.M . - 11 :45 A.M.
Servicing The
Cessna 120/140
DALE RUHMEL,
Cessna Authority
12:00 N - 1 :15 P.M.
Bourke Engine
JOHN HENDRICKS,
Bourke Experimenter
1 :30 P.M. - 2:45 P.M. Cessna 195
DAN KINDEL, Pres.
Eastern Cessna 195
Association
CLIFF CRABS
BILL TERRELL
3:00 P.M. - 4 :15 P.M.
DAVE FOX,
Nationally Known Pilot
of Antique Airplanes
1908-1938 Aircraft
Control Development
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4,
9:00 A.M. - 10 :15 A.M.
10:30 A.M. - 11:45 A.M.
12 :00 N - 1 :15 P.M .
Ercoupes : Yesterday,
Today, Tomorrow
SKIP CARDEN, Exec.
Dir., Ercoupe Owners
Club
1 :30 P.M. - 2:45 P.M. Biography of WACO
RA Y BRANDL Y, Pres.
National WACO Club
3:00 P.M. - 4:15 P.M.
CHARLES LASHER, Pres.
Aeronca Owners Club
Restoring The
Post-War Aeroncas
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5,1978 9 :00 A.M. - 10:15 A.M .
Antique/Classic Aircraft
Judging : The New
Standard Procedure
CLAUDE GRAY,
Chief Antique Judge
BRAD THOMAS,
Chief Classic Judge
10:30 A.M . - 11 :45 A.M .
Antique/Classic
Division Business
Meeting
Newsletter Editing :
A Discussion On Why ,
How, and Its Rewards
J . R. NlELANDER, Pres.
Presiding
1 :30 P.M. - 2:45 P.M.
The Staggerwing
Museum : What A
Type-Club Created
ALLEN D . HENNINGER,
Museum Director
3:00 P.M. - 4:15 P.M.
Culver Cadet
JAMES REZICH
Culver Authority
12 :00 N - 1 :15 P.M.
CECIL OGLES
Presiding
1~78
Ryans: In General
DORR CARPENTER,
Nationally Known
Ryan Authority
Swift CHARLES NELSON,
Pres. International
Swift Association
(Photo by David Gustafson)
Paul Poberezny tries out the cockpit of the replica
Wright Flyer commissioned by the fAA Foundation to
honor the first 75 years of powered flight.
23
Th e EAA M useu m 's new Tige r M oth, a generous g ift
of Mrs. Christian Dohn. .
(Gene Chase Photo!
By David Gustafson , Editor
Last winter the EAA Museum received a newly re­
stored DH 82 A. The airplane is in beautiful condition
and likely will make a grand entrance at Oshkosh 78.
Donor of the tiger moth was Mrs. Christian Dohn,
who's husband was killed in November, 1974 while
flying his Pitts S2. Mr ; Dohm had purchased the Moth
from a flying club in ' England in 1972. At the time, it
wasn't air worthy. In fact, just bringing it up to ferry
status would have been an accomplishment. So the
plane was transported by truck to a restoration facil­
ity near Heathrow Airport outside of London. The plane
was totally stripped down and refurbished in original
RAF markings .
It was shipped to the port of New Orleans , where
it arrived in December of 1973. Mr. Dohn had the plane
24
assembled and hangered. Unfortunately, he only got
to fly his handsome Tiger for 5 hours before his un­
time ly death .
Mrs . Dohn, being interested in preserving the Moth ,
decided at the suggestion of Reg Braddock (EAA
#2989) to pay the expenses of Reg and Stan Thigpen
(EAA #64155) to dismantle the plane, crate it, and move
it to EAA's facility in Burlington where they'd put the
pieces back together (Reg is an A&P and an AI, which
certainly helps).
Sounds like a perfect set-up for another page in the
annals of old fash ioned EAA teamwork and the spirit
of " Can-do." That spirit was about to get a test of fire ,
however, and a real chilly one at that.
Typically, Reg and Stan turned the breakdown pro­
cess into a Chapter 405 project . Their group, which
meets at varying locals, assembled at Hammond Air­
port , just north of New Orleans , and spent a Saturday
pulling the wings off the Moth. They got enthus iastic
help from President Dick Warner , Don Lea, Bill Sisco,
Jim Corkeran , Don Austin, Hugh Duncan , Don Brown,
and Gary Kramer.
In the effort to provide secure non-abrasive crating ,
the men of405 cleaned out one store of its entire inven­
tory of foam mattresses . Satis fied f inally, that the
plane could be moved without damage, Reg and Stan
hooked the twenty-foot gooseneck trailer to thei r
three-quarter ton pickup and moved out. On the map
it looked so simple. But maps don 't recognize the
whims of Mother Nature.
They hit Macomb , Mississippi and they passed into
another atmosphere. For 200 miles they humbly crawled
through a steady downpour of 'ain. " In Arkansas, that
rain turned solid, " said Stan. They pulled into a motel
The Moth was comp letel y restored in England prior to
being shipped to the States in 7973.
C
Ch ase Ph oto )
(ene
an
•
(
....-­
~--
)
(Photo by David Gustafson)
Reg Braddock (left) and Stan Thigpen took a look at
the two-place Acrosport after hauling the Moth through
winter's worst between Louisiana and Wisconsin.
at Osceola, while the rain and sleet mixed it up with
cold temperatures and laid a blanket of ice on every­
thing . The next morning Reg had to call a tow truck to
get his own truck "unstuck" and out on the road.
Things got worse.
The ground turned white and then "disappeared."
They were driving into the tail end of winter' s worst
in the Central Mid-West. Movement ahead was steady,
if slower than the current of a back bayou. Eventually
they wound up behind a semi-truck which crawled onto
a bridge spanning the pure white Mississippi River at
Cairo, Illinois. The semi stopped for a minute, a quar­
ter mile short of bridge's crest. Reg stopped too. The
semi moved again . Reg didn ' t . He couldn ' t. Snow tires
and chains aren ' t standard equipment in Louisiana,
so Reg and Stan just sat there, spinning rubber. Traffic
backed up for miles, until a kid in a four-wheel drive
vehicle pulled out ')f the line, up to Reg's truck and
dragged him over the hump.
They drove into Cairo, which was smothered under
18 inches of snow. At that time , there were about as
many plows in Cairo as watermelons. It didn ' t take
long to get stuck. The police came by and radioed for
a tow truck saying "we need to pull an airplane out of
the corner of 22nd and Spruce." Well, the people with
police monitors were all listening in after a storm like
that, and before long there was a large crowd at the
corner of 22nd and Spruce. Quite a few brought their
cameras.
Night was falling, and it became apparent that
Cairo was the end of a rough day. Unfortunately, there
was no room at the Inn for our intrepid EAA'ers. Other
folks had given up the battle earlier in the day,-5o Stan
finally had to ask the local constabulary for a warm
cell. The request was granted, but the Police eventu­
ally decided the local fire hall had more to offer in the
way of comfort . The police did provide a sort of taxi
service though , by bringing them to a restaurant for
dinner and taking them over to the fire hall when they
were finished. Before Reg and Stan got out of Cairo
they met the Police Chief, the Fire Chief, the Mayor,
and a lot of other friendly people.
On the next day they' made Burlington . It was late
at night, however, and they were unable to rouse the
Motel owner, so they left the trailer at the Hangar and
drove down to Lake Geneva. The day after they put the
plane together inside EAA's Flight Research Center,
where it would remain until the weather warmed up.
Then, after a tour of EAA's Museum and shops the two
movers started their return trip, which was dull by
comparison.
Our thanks to Reg and Stan and the people in Chap­
ter 405 for a job well done. And special thanks to Mrs.
Dohn for her part in making your EAA Aviation Museum
one of the finest in the world.
25 Calendar of Events JULY 9 - EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA - 2nd Annual Aeronca Fly­
In, Easton Airport. 10 AM to 2:30 PM , open to all types of
Aeroncas. Rain date, July 16. Contact Jim Polles , 215/759-3713
nights and weekends .
JULY 14-16 - MINDEN , NEBRASKA - Second Annual National Stin­
son Club Fly-In. Pioneer Field near Harold Warp's Pioneer Vil­
lage. BBQ Friday night for early arrivals . Saturday night banquet
and awards. Scheduled events. Fly-In Chairman Bob Near, 2702
Butterfoot Lane, Hastings, Nebraska 68901. 402/463-9309.
JULY 14-16 - HOLLISTER, CALIFORNIA - " The Friendly Fly-In " at
Hollister Airport, Sponsored by EAA Chapter 62 . Contact May­
nard Ingalls, 1125 Pembridge , San Jose, California 95118. 4081
266-2225.
JULY 14-16 - GARDNER, KANSAS - (Greater Kansas City) EAA Chap­
ter 200 Fly-In. Potluck Friday night. Contact Chuck Morlan , 9000
Gillette, Lenexa , Kansas 66215. 913/888-5668.
JULY 15-16 - LOCKPORT, ILLINOIS - Chapter 15 and 86 of the
Chicago area EAA are now formulating plans for their 18th
Annual Fly-In and Air Show to be held at Lewis University. In­
formation: Janice P. Fish, P.O . 411, Lemont, Illinois 60439.
JULY 15-16 - LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK - Antique Airplane Club
of Greater New York 16th Annual Fly-In, Brookhaven Airport,
Brookhaven , Long Island , New York .
JULY 15-16 - EUREKA, MONTANA - Fly-In at Eureka Airport and
Crystal Lakes Country Club . Golf, tennis, swimming, contest,
awards. Accommodations available. Contact 406/889-3733 .
JULY 15-16 - LEWISTOWN , MONTANA - First fly-in and air show
at Beacon Star Antique Airfield just outside Lewistown . Fly-in
and campout. Sponsored by Frank and Billie Bass, Lewiston,
Montana.
JULY 16 - DUNKIRK, NEW YORK - Annual Fly-In Breakfast
sponsored by EAA Chapter 46 and Dunkirk Rotary. Free break­
fast to homebuilders, antique and warbird pilots . Trophies in
all EAA classes. Spot landing contest on arrival. Contact Charles
Gallagher, 19 Shelby Drive, Buffalo, New York 14225.
JULY 16-22 - EL PASO, TEXAS - American Navion Society Convention
and fly-in at the Airport Hilton Inn . Awards, seminars. Contact
Mrs. Betty Ladehoff, American Navion Society, Box 1175, Municipal
Airport , Banning, Calif. 92220. 714/849-2213.
JULY 19-22. - MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - National reunion of the 91st
Bomb Group. Contact Bob Gerstemeier, 930 Woodlawn Drive ,
Lansdale, PA 19446.
JULY 20-23 - WICHITA, KANSAS - Fourth annual Beech Aero Club
roundup at Beech Headquarters . Contact Norm Dunn, 316/681­
7602.
JULY 21-23 - COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS - Funk Fly-In . Funk owners,
pilots and friends invited. Fly-bys, factory and museum tours ,
banquet. Contact G. Dale Beach , 1621 Dreher Street. Sacramento,
California 95814 or Joe c. Funk , 2409 Edgevale Drive , Coffey­
ville, Kansas 67337.
JULY 22-23 - CLOVERDALE, CALIFORNIA Fly-In and air
show sponsored by EAA Chapter 124 . Pilots contests,
fly-bys , aircraft judging, nearby camping. Contact Rich
DashieI707/544-1146.
JULY 29-30 - TIETON, WASHINGTON - Annual fly-in and
camp out for members and families of Western Travelairs.
JULY 29 - AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - 26th Annual
Fly-In . Plan now - it 's the greatest show on earth.
JULY 30 - LIVERMORE , CALIFORNIA - 9th Annual Livermore Fly-In
Air Show. Homebuilts, antiques, warbird s, prizes, gifts. Contact
Air Show 78, P.O. Box 494, Livermore, California 94550.
AUGUST 6 - ILWACO , WASHINGTON - Washington Fl y in g
Farmers sa lmon fishing fly-in. Contact Vanard Bedker, Mabton,
W as hington .
AUGUST 6-12 - LAKELAND , FLORIDA - International Cessna 170
Association convention fly-in. Contact Carl Spink, Jr., Rt. 1, Box
373-B8 Crystal River, Florida 32629.
AUGUST 7-12 - FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN - 13th Annual EAA!
lAC International Aerobatic Championships. For further informa­
tion contact Sam Maxwell , 2116 Erie, North Kansas City, MO
64116.
AUGUST 11-12 - MEDFORD , OREGON - Annual Shakespeare
fly-in spon sored by Medford Chapter, Oregon Pilots Associa­
tion, Contact Baumers , Box 1682, Medford, Oregon 97501.
AUGUST 11-13 - ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - Abbotsford International
Air Show. Contact Abbotsford International Air Show Society ,
Box 361, Abbotsford, B.C. V2S 4N9 Canada.
AUGUST 20 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK - Antique, ClaSSiC, Home­
built Fly-In sponsored by EAA Chapter 486, Whitefords Airport.
Air show. Field closed 1 :00 to 5:00 with intermission for early
departures. Pancake breakfast. Contact Herb Livingston , 1257
Gallagher Rd. , Baldwinsville , N .Y. 13027.
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 4 - BLAKESBURG, IOWA - Antique Air­
plane Association Convention , Antique Airfield, Blakesb urg,
Iowa (Members and guests only).
SEPTEMBER 6-10 - GALESBURG , ILLINOIS - 7th National Stear­
man Fly-In , Galesburg Municipal Airport. Contact Jim Leahy ,
P.O. Box 1505, Galesburg, Illinois 61401 . (309) 343-2119; or Tom
Lowe, 823 Kingston Lane, Crystal Lake , Illinoi s 60014 (815) 459­
6873 .
CLASSIFIED ADS
REPLICA 1912 CURTISS PUSHER - Excellent craftsmanship,
fabric, C-65, 90 SMOH. A real crowd plea ser - $4800 or
best offer. 805/498-5101.
TAYLORCRAFT BD-12D - Razorback , butyrate. New Slick
ignition. Genave 100 Comm portable installed . Spare prop
and compass. Sound 65 hp Cont. Fresh annual. $5000 firm .
Crawford,7500 Balboa, Van Nuys, CA 91406.
1934 REARWIN SPORTSTER - Ken Royce 90 hp, 90% restored.
Good history . Complete. $4800.00. Larry J. Kruljac , 545 3
Rochester Street, Riverside, CA 92504 . 714/686-4305.
SOPWITH PUP REPLICA - 125 Warner, licensed June 78.
$13,500.00. Joe Zacko, 13201 Hathaway Drive, Silver Spring,
Maryland 20906. 301/933-1292.
AGREAT Gin
First Landing
for a friend or yourself 6 PRINTS FOR $2.95 PPD. First Takeoff First Landi ng First Passenger First Snaproll, First TCA First Skydiver 11" x 14"
HENRY'S FIRSTS
11440 W. Woods Rd.
Franklin , WI 53132
Dear Dave:
In regards to your WAZZIT on the back cover of the
April 78 issue. It izzit a Gallaudet CO-1 (Co rps Obser­
vation) all metal powered by a 400 Liberty, number
AS68587.
In the early 20's the air service used the DH 4's for
many roles (they still had 1000 DH 4's in active use in
1925). The observation design was virtually stagnant
then as the Air Corps stipulation was that any new de­
sign had to be Liberty powered (they had many, many
war surplus Liberty engines). Some other manufac­
turers tried to build an observation type, namely the
Engineering division of the Air Service, Fokker, Boeing
& Loening . They even tried up-dating the DH 4 with a
steel tube fuselage.
It wasn't until 1924 the Air Service had an open
competition for an observation type. This bred the Cur­
tiss Falcon X01, Douglas X02, Dayton Wright, Cox
Klemin and Thomas Morse (five manufacturers all to­
gether).
Enough rambling, sure do enjoy the classic aviation
as well as antique portion of Vintage Airplane.
Sincerely,
Roy Oberg
8040 Shady Brook, S.E.
Ada, Michigan.. 49301
EAA #5000
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