STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

by Bob Lickteig President

Antique/Classic Division

For those of you who won't be at Osh­kosh this year as well as those who plan to attend, this message provides some of the color of this fantastic EAA Con­vention . .. .

Welcome to the World of Flight . .. Oshkosh '85 and the 15th anniversary of our EM Antique/Classic Division. This issue of our publication, THE VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE, proudly presents the highlight of our first 15 years. This Con­vention and anniversary issue mark a milestone for the EM Antique/Classic Division. Throughout 1985 we have

honored our founders and charter mem­bers for their farsightedness and dedi­cation to the preservation of these his­torical aircraft.

We, the same as all Americans, have stood tall as we salute the rebuilding of the Statue of Liberty. This undertaking must be the restoration project of the century. For 99 years this symbol of freedom has welcomed the immigrants from around the world who arrived here in search of freedom and opportunity. This mixture of all nationalities - work­ing together - made this the greatest country the world has ever witnessed. Thirty-three years ago another symbol was formed - EM - to house the nationwide interest in flight and the love of airplanes. These enthusiasts had in­terests ranging from building model airplanes to building their own aircraft, to restoring and flying antique or classic airplanes and to those who just enjoy aviation as an exciting spectator sport.

Once again we must thank and con­gratulate our Founder and President, Paul Poberezny, who welcomed this di­verse interest in aviation and welded it together into the EAA organization we all share today. This working together of hundreds of EMers whether their in­terests be ultralights, homebuilts, an­tiques, classics, rotorcraft or warbirds, all volunteering their time, is what EAA is all about. With each Division present and responsible for their part, it is pos­

sible for EM to stage the world's largest aviation event.

On behalf of the EM Antique/Classic Division, it is an honor for me to wel­come you, our members, guests and spectators to World of Flight, Oshkosh '85.

The EAA Antique/Classic Division has an exciting schedule of group ac­tivities - all originating from our Head­quarters Building. Please join us for our Fly-Out, Parade of Flight, Picnic, week­long Workshop, daily Interview Circle, educational Forums, Photo Contest and our Riverboat Cruise. Please check at the Antique/Classic Headquarters and your Convention Program Book for complete details regarding these events.

So now you are a part of this great annual extravaganza of aviation. I ask you to pick up the excitement, witness the nostalgia, renew old and meet new friends who like you share the same in­terest and love of aviation. For many this will be a once in a lifetime opportu­nity to relish and witness aviation from the humble Wright brothers' beginning to the age of supersonic flight.

Once again, welcome to the greatest show on earth as this is Oshkosh '85.

It's going to be a great Convention. Make the Antique/Classic area your headquarters for Oshkosh '85.

Welcome aboard - join us and you have it all! •

2 JULY 1985

PUBLICATION STAFF

PUBLISHER Paul H. Poberezny

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Tom Poberezny

DIRECTOR, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Dick Matt

EDITOR Gene R. Chase

CREATIVE ART DIRECTOR Mike Drucks

MANAGING EDITOR/ADVERTISING Mary Jones

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Norman Petersen

FEATURE WRITERS George A. Hardie, Jr.

Dennis Parks

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC.

OFFICERS

President Vice President R. J. Lickteig Roy Redman

1620 Bay Oaks Drive R1.3, Box 208 Albert Lea, MN 56007 Faribault, MN 55021

507/373·2922 507-334-5922

Secretary Treasurer Ronald Fritz E. E. " Buck" Hilbert

15401 Sparta Avenue P.O. Box 145 Kent City, MI 49330 Union, IL 60180

616/678-5012 815/923-4591

DIRECTORS

John S. Copeland Stan Gomoll 9 Joanne Drive 1042 90th Lane, NE

Westborough, MA 01581 Minneapolis, MN 55434 617/366-7245 612/784-1172

Dale A. Gustafson Espie M. Joyce, Jr. 7724 Shady Hill Drive Box 468 Indianapolis, IN 46274 Madison, NC 27025

317/293-4430 919/427-0216

Morton W. Lester Arthur R. Morgan P.O. Box 3747 3744 North 51st Blvd.

Martinsville, VA24112 Milwaukee, WI 53216 703/632-4839 414/442-3631

Daniel Neuman Ray Olcott 1521 Berne Circle W. 1500 Kings Way

Minneapolis, MN 55421 Nokomis, FL 33555 6121571-0893 813/485-8139

Gene Morris John R. Turgyan 15C Steve Court, R.R. 2 Box 229, R.F.D. 2

Roanoke, TX 76262 Wrightstown, NJ 08562 817/491-9110 609n58-291 0

S.J. Wittman George S. York Box 2672 181 Sloboda Ave.

Oshkosh, WI 54903 Mansfield, OH 44906 414/235-1265 419/529-4378 .

ADVISORS

Timothy V. Bowers Phillip Coulson 729 - 2nd SI. 28415 Springbrook Dr.

Woodland, CA 95695 Lawton, MI 49065 916/666-1875 616/624-6490

S.H. " Wes" Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa, WI 53213

414n 71-1545

W. S. "Jerry" Wallin Gar Williams 29804 - 179 PI. SE Nine South 135 Aero Drive

Kent, WA 98031 Naperville, IL 60540 206/631-9644 31 21355-9416

JULY 1985. Vol. 13, No.7 Copyright Q 1985 by the EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. All rights reserved.

Contents

2 Straight and Level by Bob Lickteig

4 Letters to the Editor 5 A1CNews

by Gene Chase 6 EAA Antique/Classic Division .. _

15 Years of Service by Gene Chase

27 The Replica Gee Bee R-1/R-2 Page 6 "Long Tail" Racer

by Dick Cavin 30 Oshkosh '85 Antique/Classic

Forum Schedule 31 Sun 'n Fun '85 Photo Album 34 Auster Mark 7

by Norm Petersen 36 The Ed Morrow Story, Part 2

by Ted Businger 42 Vintage Literature

by Dennis Parks 43 Member's Projects

by Gene Chase 44 Type Club News

by Gene Chase 45 Mystery Plane

by George Hardie, Jr. 46 Calendar of Events 46 Vintage Seaplanes 47 Charter Reflections

by Morton Lester Page 36 49 Vintage Trader

FRONT COVER . • . Resplendent in the bright sunshine of a February morning in Kenosha, Wisconsin are (from left) Ed Wegner's Fairchild 24R46, George Hinken's Stinson 108, Gar William's Cessna Airmaster, and Ken William's Rearwin Cloudster.

(Photo by Ted Koston)

BACK COVER ... Very pretty photo of a 1948 Piper PA-15, SIN 100, taken at Hartford, Wisconsin on May 20, 1979. Owner is long-time EAA member Robert Kumferman (EAA 24423, AlC 88) of 9402 W. Goodrich Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53224.

(Photo by Ted Koston)

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 soley those of the authors. Respo[lsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. Material should be sent to: Gene R. Chase, Editor, The VINTAGE AIRPLANE, Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591. 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 54903­2591 . Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh, WI 54901 and additional mailing offices. Membership rates for EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. are $18.00 for current EAA members for 12 month period of which $12.00 is for the publication of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation.

ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through our advertis­ing. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

Postmaster: Send address changes to EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. , Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591 .

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

Letters To Editor~~~ MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

Dear Gene,

Chet Wellman deserves a big "well done" for the AI Menasco story. I'm enclosing a photo which relates to AI's trip to Japan in 1916.

Your article in the April 1985 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE on the Pasped Skylark was very good, and for the first time a totally accurate account has been given. When I lived in California, Cy Perkins and I drove together to the Oceanside OX-5 club meetings.

Some time back while in a used book out­let I picked up a copy of the April , 1941 issue of Flying and Popular Aviation containing the front cover photo of the Pasped Skylark. I sent it to Cy who appreciated receiving it be­cause his original copy had worn out.

Cy's son, Larry, is also a decent guy who recently provided me with C/N information on six Howard DGA-15's which I was seek­ing for John Turgyan.

Cordially,

Ted Businger (EAA 93833, AlC 2333) Rt. 2, Box 280 Willow Springs, MO 65793

AI Menasco Collection via Roy Russell

On the way to Japan in 1916. Vic Bertran­dis is on the far left and on the far right is AI Menasco. Art Smith is in the auto named "The Comet."

Dear Gene,

I read in the April 1985 issue of THE VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE that the Mystery Plane, X-110N, has not been identified.

It is the M.w.Z., W-LB-50 No. M.w.Z.-1 powered by a Leblond. It was manufactured by M.w.Z. Aircraft, 4044 North Ridgeway Av­enue, Chicago, Illinois circa 1929-30. Maybe someone in the Chicago area can tell us who or what M.W.Z. means. (How about it, Mike Rezich? ... ed.)

Ed Garber suggested it was possibly the McCarthy. I have been doing "leg work re­search" on the McCarthy Air Scout since I read an article on it in the February 7, 1927 issue of A VIA TlON

It was a two-place tandem monoplane that looked somewhat like a miniature Bellanca. It was built in 1924 at Lowell, Michigan and powered with a 45 hp six-cylinder Anzani. 4 JULY 1985

I am also doing research on the "Whitmar Leonard" one and two-place all metal pri­mary gliders built in 1929 and 1930. They were designated LPT-1 and LPT-2 manufac­tured by Leonard Motorless Aircraft, 32 Crescent Street, N.w., Grand Rapids, Michi­gan. When I have more definite information I'll share it with you.

I enjoy the magazine very much, espe­cially the articles by Roy Redman. I hope he'll do more.

Sincerely,

Roy Oberg (EAA 5000, AlC 591) 8040 Shadybrook, S.E. Ada, MI 49301

Dear Paul ,

Your article in the April 1985 issue of WESTERN FL YER was just the shot in the arm that we needed becaue it provides the technical basis for our arguments in support of autogas.

Inform Mr. Ben Visser of Shell Oil Com­pany that we've been using his company's Shell autogas in our airplanes for nearly a year, along with Amoco.

We first began using autogas in June of 1984 and have pumped well over 36,000 gal­lons in our fleet of Cessna 150s, Skyhawks and Cherokee 140s. We've had great suc­cess with autogas in Cessna 182s along with other aircraft.

We do have a problem here at Hanscom Field as far as selling it on a retail basis. The Massachusetts Port Authority, the proprietor of the airport, is not yet convinced that it is operationally safe. In fact, they state the fol ­lowing: "It also appears that the use of Mogas may raise significant operational and safety issues." Your article, and the latest article in Aerospace Engineering should go a long way towards refuting this argument.

Massport has told potential autogas users that 100LL avgas is a suitable alternative to autogas. This means, of course, that they want 80 octane users to continue using 100LL even though we've shown that au­togas is the only way to go. What they're trying to do is to protect the two primary FBO's on the field who cannot sell autogas for aircraft use.

Tell your readers that we're also in the pro­cess of getting STCs for our Cessna 152s. We think that we're the largest user of au­togas in the flight training/rental business in the country. We've had great luck with it. Bet­ter still is the $30,000 we've saved in operat­ing costs.

Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

Mike Goulian (EAA 217655) Executive Flyers Aviation Hanscom Field Bedford, MA 01730 •

EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is $25.00 for one year, $48.00 for 2 years and $69.00 for 3 years. All include 12 is· sues 01 Sport Aviation per year. Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $15.00 an· nually. Family Membership is avail­able for an additional $10.00 annually.

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC EAA Member - $18.00. Includes one year membership in EAA An· tique-Classic Division, 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airplane and membership card. Applicant must be a current EAA member and must give EAA membership number.

Non-EAA Member - $28.00. In­cludes one year membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Divison, 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Air· plane, one year membership in the EAA and separate membership cards. Sport Aviation not included.

lAC Membership in the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. is $25.00 an­nually which includes 12 issues of Sport Aerobatics. All lAC members are required to be members of EAA,

WARBIRDS Membership in the Warbirds of America, Inc. is $25.00 per year, which includes a subscription to Warbirds Newsletter. Warbird memo bers are required to be members of EAA.

ULTRALIGHT Membership in the EAA Ultralight Assn. is $25.00 per year which in­cludes the LIght Plane World pub­lication ($15.00 additional for Sport Aviation magazine). For current EAA members only, $15.00, which includes Light Plane World publication.

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS

~ Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars or an international postal money order similarly drawn.

Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired. Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the fol­lowing address:

WITTMAN AIRFIELD OSHKOSH, WI 54903-2591

PHONE (414) 426-4800 OFFICE HOURS:

8:30-5:00 MON.-FRI.

Compiled by Gene Chase

CANADIANS TO OSHKOSH '85

All Canadians flying their aircraft to EM Oshkosh '85 (July 26-August 2) or the lAC International Aerobatic Compe­titions at Fond du Lac (August 5-10) must comply with the provisions of Fed­eral Aviation Regulations. Please follow the instructions below to obtain your Special Flight Authorization.

CANADIAN EAA MEMBERS FL YING AMATEUR-BUlL TIUL TRAUGHTI WARBIRD AIRCRAFT TO OSHKOSH

It is necessary to comply with Federal Aviation Regulations, Section 91.28 in regard to Special Flight Authorization

. for Canadian registered amateur-built, ultralight and warbird aircraft. Due to the large number of Canadian EMers at­tending, the FM has arranged to issue a Special Flight Authorization to EM, which will authorize operation of amateur-built, ultralight or warbird air­craft within the United States from the Canadian border to Oshkosh and return by the most direct route.

Members desiring to fly amateur­built, ultralight or warbird aircraft to Osh­kosh will be required to complete an ap­plication form. Upon receipt of the com­pleted form a copy of the Special Flight Authorization must be in the aircraft at all times when the aircraft is operated within the United States. Please write to: Oshkosh Canadian Coordinator, EM Headquarters, Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591 for applica­tion forms and detailed instructions. Please note: Completed application forms must be received by EM Head­quarters NO LATER THAN JULY 8, 1985.

CANADIAN NON-EM MEMBERS FLY­ING AMATEUR-BUlL T/UL TRALIGHTI WARBIRD AIRCRAFT TO OSHKOSH

Please do not write to EM Head­quarters. Address your request to: Richard L. Porter, Manager, Flight Stan­dards District Office No. 61, General Mitchell Field, Milwaukee, WI 53207

STANDARD CATEGORY CERTIFI­CATED AIRCRAFT (CERTIFICATION OF AIRWORTHINESS):

A special United States Flight Au­thorization is not required providing

your aircraft has correct and current Canadian documentation. However, you must file a United States Flight Plan to point of entry and clear customs on arrival. Please note customs clearance is not available at Oshkosh without sub­stantial cost. After customs clearance, another flight plan must be filed to Osh­kosh. If you require specific details, write to EM Headquarters.

PAUL POBEREZNY RE-ELECTED AS CIACA PRESIDENT

By a unanimous vote of representa­tives of 19 countries, EM President Paul H. Poberezny was re-elected pres­ident of the Commission Internationale des Aeronefs des Construction Amateur (CIACA), the committee that represents the interests of amateur air­craft builders and antique airplane own­ers on a worldwide basis. CIACA is, in turn, a part of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the world governing body for sporting events and records involving aircraft. The election took place on April 19 dur­ing the annual FAI meeting in Paris.

In reaction to this re-election, Pobe­rezny said, "This is a great honor and an extremely serious responsibility. I am both pleased and proud that the in­ternational representatives of CIACA have taken this opportunity to demon­strate their confidence in EM and hon­ors its 33 year history of promoting sport and recreational aviation."

Photo by Ted Koston

This 1930 Savoia Marchetti, NC194M, SIN 7 received the 1985 FAI Phoenix Diploma.

Photo by Gene Chase

R. W. "Buzz" Kaplan (L) and Gary Under­land holding the Oshkosh '84 Silver Age Antique Champion award.

SAVOIA MARCHETII S.56 RECEIVES WORLD RECOGNITION

Paris, France: The sole flying exam­ple of a Savoia Marchetti S.56 amphi­bian was named recipient of .the FAI Phoenix Diploma for the world's best re­stored antique airplane in 1984. This honor is awarded annually by the Fed­eration Aeronautique Internationale.

This rare airplane is owned by R. W. "Buzz" Kaplan (EM 70086, NC 8609), Owatonna, Minnesota and was re­stored for him by Gary Underwood (EM 43898, NC 8198) of Medford, Minnesota. Buzz flew it to Oshkosh '84 where it was on display all week and flown several times. It received the Osh­kosh '84 Antique Silver Age Champion Award. The restoration of this plane was featured in the November 1984 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE.

PIPER FUEL DRAIN AD

Wag-Aero has developed fuel drain kits to comply with the recent Airworthi­ness Directive on a number of the older high wing Piper airc·raft. There are four kits in all: the kit for the J-3, J-4, PA-15 and PA-17 with fuselage fuel tanks which sells for $19.95; one for the PA­11, 16, 18, 18A, 20 and 22 with wing tanks that sells for $9.95; one for the PA-16 with wing tank and fuselage tank which sells for $26.95 and one for the J-4, J-5, PA-12 and PA-14 with a wing tank that sells for $9.50. The kits include the drain valve, required hardware and placard as outlined in the AD. For more information call or write Wag Aero, Inc., P. O. Box 181, Dept. NR, Lyons, WI 53148, phone 414/763-9586 .•

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

EAA Ale DIVISION

The Red Barn and an Antique Grand Champion, two rallying points for Antique/Classic members. This OX-5 powered Alexander Eaglerock was named Grand Champion Antique at Oshkosh '73. The Red Barn, shown here as it originally looked, would not become the Convention headquarters for the Antique/Classic Division until 1974.

by Gene Chase

PLANTING THE SEED

Back in the sixties when EAA was still pretty much a one man operation, the need became ever greater for more as­sistance in running the Annual Conven­tions. EAA Founder and President, Paul H. Poberezny, conceived the idea of special interest groups within the or­ganization, to be formed basically as volunteer groups to help at the Conven­tions. These would be members whose primary interests involved warbird air­craft, aerobatic flight and antique air­craft. 6 JULY 1985

Soon the Warbirds of America (a pre­viously organized group of warbird en­thuSiasts) and the International Aero­batic Club were on board ... and before long a group of antiquers would be.

During the 1969 EAA Convention at Rockford, Illinois, a group of members were discussing the value of having a separate parking area for the types of planes they loved most - the antiques. The concept of "classic" aircraft would come later.

This group included Bill and Troy Dodd, Lake Zurich, Illinois; Bob Heuer, Maple Park, IL; Buck Hilbert, Union, IL; Lee Parsons, Carrollton, Ohio; and Charlie Sheets, Solon, Iowa. There may

have been one or two others but fading memories do not recall their names. While discussing this parking idea, the thought occurred that this special in­terest group within the Experimental Aircraft Association could actually han­dle, among other things, the parking of older airplanes at the Annual Conven­tion. This small, but enthusiastic group would evolve into the Antique/Classic Division of EAA as we know it today.

But first, major changes were on the horizon as outlined by President Paul Poberezny in his "Homebuilder's Corner" in the January, 1970 issue of SPORT AVIATION. He stated : "We will begin this year with a new challenge - that

15 YEARS OF SERVICE

EAA File Photo

Dave Jameson's Lockheed Vega, NR105W, was the Grand Champion Antique at Osh­kosh '10, the first year a special parking arrangement was developed for Antiques and Classic.

of relocating our Annual Convention site. By now each member has received the four-page Convention bulletin an­nouncing the move to Oshkosh, Wis­consin - some 123 miles from Rock­ford .

"Moving a large event such as ours is not an easy task and those of us who are directly involved in its operation are well aware of the great effort that is fac­ing us.

"If there had been a reasonable solu­tion other than a move, which would have been in the best interest of the membership, your Board of Directors would have accepted it. However, with such issues as follows to be consid­ered, the Board believed both for future expansion and dollar investment, a new site be obtained for 1970 and future years.

"These items presented by the Rockford Airport were of sincere con­cern, such as: no further expansion or improvement should be considered by EM because of airport expansion plans. The probable rental of land in the campsite area to a commercial concern ; a year-to-year agreement of airport

facilities; a choice that if there was camping on the airport grounds the evening aerobatic program would not be permitted, and if aerobatics were held, no camping would be permitted.

"It was suggested that EAA rent from the airport, areas such as the campsite, EM aircraft tie downs and display at a rate comparable to commercial proper­ties rented to others by the airport. In­cluded in the rental would be services that EAA has, in the past, provided or paid for and obtained at a much lower figure than could be purchased by the airport. With this arrangement, the an­nual convention fee of the members would then have been increased sub­stantially.

"The limited area for future expan­sion of the homebuilt and antique parking area was of concern and due to a proposed new terminal building at the N.W. corner of the airport, plans call for future closing of the NW-SE runway which was used ex­tenSively for fly-bys."

With the definite move of the Annual EM Convention from Rockford to Osh­kosh having been announced, the

group asked President Paul if they could have their own parking area at Wittman Field during the 1970 Conven­tion. Paul said they could, but they would have to organize and manage the parking of the antiques themselves.

The group gladly accepted this new responsibility and when the winter snow had melted, antiquers and their wives joined similar groups of homebuilders and warbirds in preparing the grounds for the upcoming 18th Annual EM In­ternational Convention Fly-In, sched­uled for August 1-7.

The antiquers were beginning to or­ganize and following the precedent set at previous conventions, a judging com­mittee was named. At Oshkosh '70 this group was officially called the "Judges and Awards Committee, Antique Air­craft Division." It consisted of Gene Chase, Tulsa, Oklahoma - Chairman; Evander Britt, Lumberton, North Carolina; Dusty Rhodes, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Ed Sanders, Ft. Worth, Texas; and Harold Maloy, Oklahoma City, Ok­lahoma.

OSHKOSH '70

Despite the geographic move of the Convention the 1970 event exceeded expectations. The Grand Champion Antique was the Lockheed Vega, NR105W owned by David Jameson, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Dave restored the all-wood Vega in the same colors as Wiley Post's famous "Winnie Mae".

The Reserve Grand Champion An­tique award went to a Stearman PT-17, N11 BY, in military colors, owned by Dr. Berne Yocke, Aurora, Illinois. There was no Grand Champion Classic award at Oshkosh '70.

In those early years, a single chair­man was in charge of all "Show Plane Parking", then called "Display Aircraft". This Chairman at Oshkosh '70 was Herb Cunningham from Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.

Glorious weather prevailed and the show plane total count was 607 includ­ing 249 antique, claSSiC, and "special" aircraft as reported in the October, 1970 issue of SPORT A VIA TlON. Note the use of the word classic - this is signif-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

icant because at that time there was no definition for a classic aircraft judging category, nor separate awards for so­called classic aircraft. But that would soon change.

JACK COX'S TRIAL BALLOON

In that same October, 1970 issue of SPORT AVIA TlON was a two-page ar­ticle by Jack Cox, Assistant Editor who with his wife Golda had been on the EM Staff since January of that year. Jack's article was entitled "The Classic Airplane" and was described as being a "trial balloon - a device to test public reaction to some new idea."

Basically, Jack proposed to occa­sionally devote a couple of pages in SPORT AVIA TlON, to planes that were built after January 1, 1946 and were at least 20 years old. In 1970 that would have included 1946 through 1950, and each year thereafter, a new year would be added.

Jack further stated, "What EAA prop­oses is the formation of an informal coordinating unit having as its purpose the publicizing of existing 'type club' ac­tivities, encouraging and assisting in the establishment of new type clubs and, probably most important, making the 'over' 20' classic airplanes a legitimate class recognized at all fly-ins, eligible to park in the display areas and to receive trophies and awards.

''The space in SPORT AVIATlON would be used for profiles on the aircraft of the period; reprints of flight tests writ­ten when the planes were new; evalua­tions of the same birds today; articles on restorations by the bankrupt, sore­backed heroes themselves; company histories; reports on outstanding flights of classic airplanes; modifications and maintenance tips; sources of hard-to­get parts; and much more."

In his article Jack praised the type clubs and listed the nine he was aware of. He was emphatic in stating, "It should be clearly understood here that this is not - definitely NOT! - an at­tempt by the EAA to take over any exist­ing club - or even make it an affiliate such as the lAC or the Warbirds."

The primary purpose was to legitimize a new classification of older aircraft, thus getting a larger group of aviation enthusiasts in on the fun of strictly "sport" aviation. And during the Annual Convention, EAA would reserve space at Oshkosh for the type clubs to park their own classic planes with their own volunteers. Further, EM would publicize on the Classic Airplane pages (in SPORTA VIA TlON) the exist­ing type clubs and their activities.

Jack continued, "Now about the name 'Classic'. Yes, I'm perfectly aware 8 JULY 1985

Photo by Ted Koston

Oshkosh '71 - Center stage. Antique parking is at bottom of photo with a few overflow homebuilts, and Wittman Tower is at left center. Across the road south of the Tower is a corn field - antiques and classics park there now.

that the term is already used as a sub­classification in antique airplane judging - including the EM's which I devised myself. I am further aware that the term 'Neo-classic' (meaning 'new classic') is often used to denote aircraft of the late 1940's. I don't like the term with its built in contradiction - what is 'new' about a 20-year-old airplane? In my opinion, there is a beautifully simple way to end once and for all the wild names, confu­sion, and frustration inherent with the classification of old airplanes as it is now done."

If the response to all this was great enough, a formal classic awards system would be formulated and appropriate trophies and awards would be ready for presentation at Oshkosh 71.

Jack closed his article by asking the readers to respond with their ideas, pro or con, and if they supported the con­cept to send in pictures, articles, per­sonal experiences, etc., which could be used in SPORT AVIA TlON. Several ar­ticles were submitted and published in subsequent issues of the magazine.

THE CLASSIC AIRPLANE

The response to Jack's "trial balloon article" was highly favorable and in the January, 1971 issue of SPORT AVIA­TION he wrote the first of a series of articles called "The Classic Airplane."

Interest in the classic category con­cept grew and the members began con­tributing stories for ''The Classic Airplane" articles.

LOOKING AHEAD TO OSHKOSH '71

In the "Hotline from Headquarters" section of the May, 1971 issue of SPORT A VIA TlON the following an­nouncement appeared: "The Ercoupe Club, comprised of owners and pilots of this classic aircraft will conduct their na­

tional convention in conjunction with the 1971 EM Convention and Fly-In, and an area for these aircraft will be set aside for them."

In the following month's "Hotline" col­umn, the new parking plan for classic airplanes was outlined: "This year at Oshkosh a new parking area will be de­signated for Classic airplanes - those aircraft produced between January 1, 1946 and December 31, 1950. War­birds will be parked at the north end of runway 18-36, the same as last year; homebuilts and antiques (aircraft pro­duced prior to January 1, 1942, and some wartime planes such as Staggerwings, Howards, etc.) im­mediately in front of the control tower - again, the same as last year. To the south of this group will be the Classic airplane parking area.

"Signs will be erected to deSignate 'type' rows such as Aeronca, Ercoupe, Mooney 'Mite', Luscombe, Stinson, Swift, Piper, Cessna 170, etc. so that 'birds of a feather' can park together and, hopefully, get some type club ac­tivity started within their respective groups.

"Due to the large number of Classic airplanes (1946-1950) and the difficulty of identifying and differentiating be­tween a '41 and a '46 Luscombe, for example, we are assigning parking spots for these aircraft BY PREVIOUS REGISTRATION ONLY. If you plan to fly a 1946-50 era airplane to Oshkosh and wish to park it in the Classic airplane area, you must write Classic Airplane Parking, Experimental Aircraft Association, Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130 prior to the Convention and identify your plane by year and make (1946 Taylorcraft, for instance). You will receive by return mail a diagram of the field and a small disc to attach to your

The first Grand Champion Classic, named at Oshkosh '71 - Ed Wegner's 1946 Spartan 12, NC21962.

windshield so that Oshkosh ground per­sonnel will be able to identify you and direct you to the proper area. OTHER­WISE YOUR AIRPLANE WILL BE SENT TO THE ITINERANT PARKING AREA.

"Planes of this era which are not pre­registered will be able to move from the itinerant parking to the Classic airplane area only after the owner registers his plane at the EM aircraft registration booth and is given an identification disc.

"Parking of the 1946-50 aircraft has always been a problem at past Conven­tions, and this new system is both an effort to solve the problem and to recog­nize a new class of older aircraft, those Classic airplanes which have been re­stored with the same 'tender loving care' as older antiques, thereby provid­ing more enjoyment and participation in the Fly-In for greater numbers of mem­bers."

Classic airplanes were now being recognized as members of the sport aviation fraternity and type clubs were , getting national recognition through EAA's SPORT AVIATION magazine. In the July, 1971 Hotline the Staggerwing Club announced its Annual Meeting would be held at Oshkosh '71 and a special display row would be setup. Also, the Mooney Mite owners, the Aeronca Club and the Mooney Mite Owners type clubs would be there in full force.

Another "classic airplane" article by Jack Cox appeared in that July issue. This one proudly announced, ''This Au­gust for the first time, the Classic Airplane, those aircraft produced be­tween January 1, 1946 and December 31, 1950, will be fully recognized at an EM Fly-In Convention. Classics will have their own parking area and will have their own awards."

The classic plane parking area and pre-registration procedures were further described as were the new orange and white checkerboard EAA traffic control ''towers''. These towers would be manned by volunteer ground traffic directors who would "aim you to­ward the classic parking area".

Jack Cox conceived not only the CLASSIC category name but also the first subdivisions for judging purposes. In July, 1971 he wrote: "Due to the great variety of aircraft involved, it has been decided to subdivide classics as fol­lows: Class I, below 100 hp; Class II , 100-165 hp; Class III , over 165 hp." Also listed were several aircraft exam­ples for each class.

Jack's article on the subject con­cluded with "Since this is the first year for the Classic Airplane category we will be playing everything 'by ear' and ex­pect to learn a lot. Improvements will be made as interest is shown and experi­ence is gained. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed."

OSHKOSH '71

The 19th Annual EAA Convention was held August 1-7. A total of 828 showplanes were registered, an in­crease of 25% over last year. The new Classic Airplane category accounted for 288 registrations. ­

Harold Johnston of Pueblo, Colorado won the Grand Champion Antique award with his Vultee V-1A Special, NC16099. It was built in 1936 for mil­lionaire publisher William Randolph Hearst on a no-expense-spared basis. Power was a 1 ,000 hp Wright R-1820 with a 3-bladed propeller. . The Reserve Grand Champion An­

tique award went to Charles Klessig of Galesburg, North Dakota for his 1917

Standard J-1 , N9477. This stately old biplane was powered with a Curtiss OXX-6 engine .

The very first to be named Grand Champion Classic was the one and only 1946 Spartan 12, a tricycle geared development of the Model 7W "Execu­tive". Ed Wegner of Plymouth, Wiscon­sin restored this rare aircraft after ac­quiring it from George Goodhead, Tulsa, Oklahoma, who acquired it through the efforts of Col. Maxwell Bal­four, an executive of Spartan Aircraft Company in Tulsa.

There was no Reserve Grand Cham­pion Classic in 1971 .

The judging of the Classics was ac­complished by the Antique Judging Committee chaired by Evander Britt of Lumberton, North Carolina. He was ably assisted by H. N. "Dusty" Rhodes of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Harold Maloy, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; I=d Sanders, Ft. Worth, Texas; Johnny Livingston, Pompano Beach,· Florida; and Stan Dzik of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Jack Cox of EAA Headquarters was in charge of Antique Aircraft Awards. A committee responsible for "Homebuilt and Antique Aircraft" was chaired by Herb Cunningham of Scarborough, On­tario, Canada with Co-Chairman Ed Wegner, Carl Koeling and Bob Puryear.

Generally, things went well in the An­tique and Classic areas at Oshkosh '71 , but the parking by pre-registration sys­tem would have to be modified. Also, the Antique Judging Committee was worked ' to death attempting 10 look at nearly 500 antique and classic aircraft. It was agreed that a separate judging committee for Classics should be formed for 1972.

Immediately after the Convention work was started on the '72 Fly-In. The Classic parking area was plowed, smoothed and seeded. By October a good stand of fall grass was up. Other work consisted of filling , installation of additional culverts, etc. to generally im­prove the grounds.

In his SPORT A VIA TlON editorials following the Convention, Paul paid tri­bute to the many volunteers who worked long hours before and during the event. He stated, ''The 42,000 flight operations for the week is something at which to marvel - 10,000 more than last year and approximately 25,000 more than O'Hare Field usually reports as the world's busiest airport during a week long period. This could not have been possible if depending upon radio control alone or without the cooperation of both the FM and the pilots. Toler­ance and respect for each other as well as excellent airmanship contribute to this safe record ... .

"Enthusiasm and favorable personal comments have been received from EM members/owners of Classic Airplanes (1946-1950) - they have, at

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

long last, been recognized and feel t~ey have a home within their own organIza­tion - extra voices to lend weight to the future of EAAlSport Aviation at the Chapter, local state and Federal gov­ernment leveL"

ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OF EAA UNDER CONSIDERATION

The headline above preceded the fol­lowing three paragraphs on page 17 of the "Hot Line" section of the October, 1971 issue of SPORT AVIATlON.

"Since the beginning of the EM, many members have had a great in­terest in antique and classic aircraft. Ac­tually, the typical I=AA member has a wide range of interests within the avia­tion field - many own antiques or classics and are also building a home­built. Members with a homebuilt as their "fun" plane and a classic such as a Cessna 170 for instance, as their "fam­ily" plane are much more common than most real ize.

"Since the first EAA Fly-In in 1953, all types of aircraft have been welcome, and antiques have been eligible for awards all along. This follows the EM's avowed policy that the use of an aircraft types it as a 'sport' plane - not a~e , method of manufacture or other criteria. But though this is the policy, it is recog­nized that most of EAA Headquarters' time is spent with homebuilt activities and that our annual Convention at Osh­kosh is centered aroun.d the homebuilt aircraft and the homebuilder. Most of us feel this is just as it should be; how­ever, this is not to say that in addition to the present policies and activities more cannot be done in other areas. For instance, in addition to homebuild­ing forums at Oshkosh, new ones can be held on subjects of interest to own­ers of antique and classic airplanes, etc.

"With the foregoing in mind, a group of interested EM members will be meeting this fall at Headquarters to dis­cuss the formation of an Antique/ Classic Divison of the EM. The pur­pose will be to provide direction and leadership so that a larger number of aviation enthusiasts will be able to enjoy EAA activities to an even greater extent than ever before."

FIRST ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC MEETING

As reported on page 5 of the "Hot Line" section of the December, 1971 issue of SPORT AVIA TlON, "A meeting was held Saturday, November 6 at Hales Corners to consider the formation of an Antique and Classic group within the EAA for our members whose in­terests lie in this area of sport aviation. 10 JULY 1985

Dave Jameson, Oshkosh, Wisconsin ­EAA Antique/Classic Division's first pres­ident.

16 men from around the nation at­tended and a great deal of discussion and planning was done - ge~erally, ~~­garding the antique and classIc classIfI­cation system, aims and goals of the proposed organization, plans to im­prove the antique and classic phases of our fly-in Convention at Oshkosh, and the selection of a slate of provisional officers and directors.

"Some modification of EM's class­ificiation of antique and classic aircraft was approved and will henceforth be­come the official policy of EAA at the national level and should by adopted by Chapters for their own fly-ins. They are as follows:

"Antique Aircraft: Any aircraft of any nation produced before January 1, 1946 with the following exceptions: 1) All Beechcraft Model 17's, Fairchild

24's and Monocoupes (any model) produced after December 31, 1945 will be classified with the pre-war models as Antiques.

2) Any 1946 model year aircraft that came off the production lines in the last months of 1945 will be consid­ered Classics.

3) Any military aircraft produced before January 1, 1946 and not eligible for "Warbird" classification under the current rules of the "Warbirds of America", Division of EAA, will be considered Antiques. Also, if an owner of a military aircraft does not belong to the Warbirds of America and/or does not choose to have his aircraft judged as a Warbird, he has the option of requesting the judges to consider his plane an Antique. It will be the responsibility of the air­craft owner to make this intention known.

"Classic Aircraft: Any aircraft of any nation produced between December

31, 1945 and January 1, 1951 (with the addition of a few 1946 models that actu­ally came off the production lines in late 1945 as mentioned under 'Antique Air­craft'), The decision of the group was to limit the Classics to the 1946-50 era for the time being rather than having the 20th year from the present as the end of this classification. At some future time a new classification for later aircraft could be formulated .

"A large Board of Directors was selected so as to obtain representation from all parts of the nation and to insure a good number at each board meetin~ . EAA Antique Chapters 316 and 395 WIll have representation on this Board.

"Officers and Board members will serve in their provisional capacity until the 1972 EAA Fly-In at which time a formal election will be held. The im­mediate work for the group will be to prepare Antique and Classic activities for Oshkosh and create an organiza­tional structure. All inquiries concerning the activities of the group should be ad­dressed to the President, Dave Jame­son, 4322 Bellhaven, Oshkosh, WI 54901 .

Officers Elected at First Antiquel Classic Meeting:

President - Dave Jameson, Oshkosh, Wisconsin Vice President - J.R. Nielander, Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Secretary - Dick Wagner, Lyons, Wis­consin Treasurer - Bill Dodd, Lake Zurich, Illinois

Directors

Richard P. Austin, Greensboro, NC Richard Baxter, Seattle, WA Tony Blackstone, Enid, OK Peter Bowers, Seattle, WA Ray Brandly, Dayton, OH Evander Britt, Lumberton, NC Ron Fritz, Grand Rapids, MI Wayne Fredline, Grand Rapids, MI James C. Gorman, Mansfield, OH Ken Hyde, Warrenton, VA John C. Luebke, Naperville, IL Harold Maloy, Oklahoma City, OK Vince Mariani, Findlay, OH Lee Parsons, Carrollton, OH John Perry, Scottsbluff, NE Nick Rezich, Rockford,. IL H. N. "Dusty" Rhodes, Santa Fe, NM Robert Ring, East Kingston, NH George E. Stubbs, Indianapolis, IN Ed Wegner, Plymouth, WI Landis West, Scottsbluff, NE Dr. Bernard Yocke, Aurora, IL George S. York, Mansfield, OH

Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker chats with EAA President Paul Poberezny during a visit to the EAA Museum in November, 1971. Capt. Rickenbacker, then President of Eastern Airlines, also addressed the first meeting of the Antique/Classic Division during his visit.

"CAPT. EDDIE RICKENBACKER SPEAKS"

"During the Antique and Classic meeting, the group was honored with the appearance by Capt. Eddie Ricken­backer who, along with other Eastern Air Lines officials, was touring the EM Air Education Museum. Accompanied by President Paul Poberezny, Capt. Rickenbacker inspected the restoration area, offices and the main aircraft dis­play area. In a short talk to the vintage aircraft enthusiasts, Rickenbacker stated he was favorably impressed with the immaculate condition of the build­ings and displays and considered EMers to be one of America's last out­posts of individualism and an important reservoir of technical and mechanical skills that made American aviation great.

"Still robust and ramrod straight, Capt. Eddie made his entrance amid a stand ­ing ovation, his famed wide-brimmed felt hat firmly in hand - a rare and in­spiring glimpse of an aviation immortal."

Those few paragraphs described the first meeting of the newly formed EM Antique/Classic Division on November 6, 1971.

SECOND ANTIQUE/CLASSIC MEETING

The second meeting of the Division took place at EM Headquarters at Hales Corners on Saturday, February 26, 1972. Approximately 30 persons were in attendance from all around the nation and the first order of business was the announcement that the Division was legally incorporated.

Major decisions made during the meeting included an agreement that, in­itially, no separate dues structure would be applied to members of the Antique/ Classic Division. An Antique/Classic membership card would be issued, on request, to all EM members who

wished to be identified with the division. Special decals and patches would also be forthcoming.

A great deal of time was devoted to the matter of judging. Evander Britt of Lumberton, North Carolina was re-af­firmed as chief judge of Antique aircraft at Oshkosh, and it was decided that a second set of judges would be selected for Classic aircraft due to the large number of aircraft involved. A rating form for judges was to be looked into and categories formulated and pub­lished in SPORT AVIA nON prior to the Oshkosh '72 Convention.

Finally the work of vastly improving the program at Oshkosh for Antiques and Classics came under considera­tion. Committees were formed to plan forums, fly-out activities, parking, etc. and chairmen were appointed to start the ball rolling.

This meeting was deemed .the first step in making Oshkosh '72 a great fly­in for owners and admirers of Antique and Classic aircraft. Among the chair­men named for the various aircraft categories for the '72 Convention were Antiques, Dave Jameson and Classics, Dick Wagner.

As was done the previous year, pre­registration of classic aircraft attending Oshkosh was required.

Among the details worked out during the pre-Oshkosh '72 planning sessions were that Classic airplanes would be judged by a team co-chaired by Jim Gorman of Mansfield, OH and Morton Lester of Martinsville, VA. Also, rules were changed to disallow a previous Oshkosh Grand Champion Award win­ner in the Antique and Classic categories to receive that honor again at Oshkosh.

OSHKOSH '72

The old cliche "Bigger and better than ever," described the 20th Annual EM Fly-In Convention on July 30-August 5 in spite of some of the worst summer weather experienced in the Midwest in many years. The weather at Oshkosh was good with only one overnight rain, but the surrounding areas were hard hit. Still the total show plane count was up to 929.

The Grand Champion Antique was a 1929 Waco ATO Taperwing, NC719E owned by Gordon Bourland, Jr. of Fort Worth, Texas.

The Reserve Grand Champion An­tique was a Howard DGA-15P, NC95462 owned by John R. Turgyan, Wrightstown, NJ.

The Grand Champion Classic was a newly restored 1945 Piper J-3 Cub owned by David G. Hamilton of Port­land, IN.

Photo courtesy of Morton Lester

The second Antique/Classic Division meeting was held at EAA Headquarters on Feb­ruary 26 1972. Among those attending were: L-R, clockwise around the table - Richard wagner,' Secretary, E. E. "Buck" Hilbert, President; J. R. Nielander, Jr., Vice-President; Gar W. Williams, Jr., Treasurer; Directors Morton Lester, George Stubbs, Claude Gray (partially hidden),_Jack Winthrop, Kelly Viets and Jim Horne. Unable to attend were Evander Britt and AI Kelch.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

There was no Reserve Grand Cham­pion Classic named in 1972.

Oshkosh 72 was a living history book for air transport fans. Flying in were a Ford Tri-Motor, Boeing 247, two Lock­heed 12As, Junkers Ju. 52, a pre-WW II Beech 18, a Stinson Tri-Motor, two Douglas DC-3s and a privately owned Martin 404.

Bill Turner flew his Ed Marquart-built replica 1934 Brown B-2, "Miss Los Angeles" racer all the way from Califor­nia. The sight of this faithful reproduc­tion thrilled a lot of viewers who had never seen that class of plane-in real life. Unfortunately it would be next year before the Antique/Classic judging sys­tem began recognizing replicas of vin­tage aircraft, so the Brown B-2 received no award. However, Bill and his plane were featured on the front cover of the November 1972 issue of SPORT AVIA­TION.

The Chairman of the Antique/Classic Division Activities at Oshkosh 72 was President of the Division, David Jame­son of Oshkosh, WI. Vice-President J. R. Nielander of Fort Lauderdale, FL was Chairman of Classic Aircraft activities.

The Antique judging team consisted of Chairman, Evander Britt, Lumberton, NC; C. W. "Pete" Covington, Mar­tinsville, VA; Gene Chase, Tulsa, OK; "Dusty" Rhodes, Denver, CO; and Ed Sanders, Ft. Worth, TX.

The Judging Committee for Classics included Co-chairmen Jim Gorman, Mansfield, OH and Morton Lester, Mar­tinsville, VA. They were assisted by Warren Hall, Burlington, NC; John En­gles, Liberty, NC; and Bill Sauter, Santa Fe, NM.

Chairman of the Antique and Classic Awards Committee was Evander Britt, Lumberton, NC and the Chairman of the Parking Committee was Ed Wegner, Plymouth, WI.

It had been announced earlier that a meeting would be held during Oshkosh 72 to elect officers and directors for the 1972-73 period and conduct other Divi­sion business. That meeting did not take place, but one was scheduled for later in the year.

ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING ­NOVEMBER 18,1972

This meeting was held at EAA Head­quarters with Paul Poberezny making the opening address. He described the goals of the Division within EAA and explained the reasons Dave Jameson would not be running for re-election as President. Mr. Jameson spoke briefly thanking the members for their past cooperation and giving words of en­couragement on supporting the new president. 12 JULY 1985

Photo by Dick Stouffer

L-R: Dusty Rhodes, Evander Britt and Ray Brandly award the Oshkosh '72 Grand Champion Antique Trophy to Gordon Bourland for his Waco ATO Taperwing, NC7195.

A discussion was held regarding the formation of chapters and the organiza­tional benefits which would ensue. Jack Cox explained that a chapter-numbering system would be desirable as it would provide EAA Headquarters staff a sim­ple and effective means of identifica­tion.

Jack also expressed strong feelings that in the near future an individual pub- ­lication directed specifically to the An­tique and Classic member would be a most effecive means of communication. Type clubs could use the pages of this publication to get out their information and it could serve -as an informational source on special problems associated primarily with the Antique/Classic Divi­sion.

The additional expense for such a

Photo by Lee Fray

E. E. "Buck" Hilbert, Union, IL, served as Antique/Classic Division President from November, 1972 through December, 1975.

publication was discussed and Morton Lester made a motion providing for an annual dues of $10 for membership in the Division. The motion was seconded and a vote on the issue carried unani­mously_ (The annual dues for EAA were $15.00 at that time.)

It was also agreed to have decals made, reproducing the Antique/Classic Divison emblem which was designed by Jack Cox. Dick Wagner offered to pre­pare the decals and have them avail­able in the near future.

After a lunch break, the election of Officers and Board of Directors was held. As chairmen of the election com­mittee, Evander Britt conducted this portion of the meeting. Elected for the 1972-73 term were:

President - E. E. "Buck" Hilbert, Union, IL Vice-President - J. R. Nielander, Fort Lauderdale, FL Secretary - Dick Wagner, Lyons, WI Treasurer - Nick Rezich, Rockford, IL

It was decided the present Directors be retained and the members in atten­dance at the meeting be added to the existing Board. (The names of the Di­rectors were not listed in the minutes of this meeting.)

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE

The first issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE, Volume 1, Number 1, was dated December, 1972 and edited by Jack Cox, Editor-in-Chief of EAA's SPORT AVIATlON. It was 12 pages in length and printed on EAA's in-house offset press. Featured on the front cover was a 1962 photo of the completely as­sembled framework, ready for cover, of Herb Harkcom's 1927 Fairchild FC-2, NC3569, SIN 35. Herb lived in Inola, OK at the time and after flying it for six

Photo by Jack Cox

There's nothing more classic than a classic J-3! This preHy IiHle bird won Grand Champion Classic honors at Oshkosh '72 for owner David G. Hamilton of Portland, IN.

years, donated it to the EM Aviation Museum in 1969.

This premier issue contained an editorial by Paul Poberezny who ex­pressed his pleasure with the sincerity shown by those who attended the November 18th business meeting. He also re-stated the purpose of the An­tique/Classic Divison which was then one year old.

Buck Hilbert in his first editorial wel­comed members to the Division and explained what the $10.00 membership fee would provide. He also outlined the future plans for the organization.

Other articles included the minutes of the November 18th business meeting, a "Washington Report" by Dave Scott, and "Ryan Reflections" by Bill J. Hodges.

Last but not least, Jack Cox wrote, "This is the first issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE - a name chosen to cover all older planes - and it is just the be­ginning . . . This house organ of the Antique/Classic Division of EM will, like SPORT A VIA TlON, become a high quality publication .... Our goal, quite simply, is to produce the very best magazine for antique and classic airplanes."

The second issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was dated January 1973 and was 16 pages in length. Golda Cox (rv'lrs. Jack Cox) was listed on the magazine's masthead as Assistant Editor and Bonnie Poberezny was listed as Division Executive Secretary.

VINTAGE was (and still is) printed by Times Printing Company in Random Lake, WI as is SPORT A VIATION. The magazine was printed on "slick" paper with no color and it contained photos and selected type styles.

In his early editorials, President Buck Hilbert described the Division member­

ship numbering system, the forthcom­ing individual stationery and illustrated brochures, and he praised EM Head­quarters for its strong support of not only the Antique/Classic Division, but the Warbirds and International Aero­batic Club as well.

He described the upcoming 1973 Convention at Oshkosh as "the first full blown adventure for the Antique/Classic Division." EM would provide the park­ing area, fencing and a tent, but no more. The Division would have to pro­vide its own manpower for parking, reg­istration, security, membership promo­tion, activities'iprograms, judging, and a myriad of other details. Buck asked for "eight or ten volunteers to show up four or five days in advance of the Conven­tion to act as nail benders, electricians, jack of all trades and organizers." This was the beginning of a fledgling group of volunteers that would grow into the huge force of dedicated and well-or­ganized volunteers which exists today.

On the weekend of January 19-21 , 1973 EM President Paul Poberezny and officers of the Antique/Classic Divi­Sion attended the organizational meet­ing of a new Florida group which was to become the first chapter of the Divi­sion. The combination meeting and fly­in was hosted by Florida President James McClanahan and his group of enthusiastic members. In addition to Paul, also attending were EAA Museum Vice President Dave Jameson of Osh­kosh, WI ; Antique/Classic Division President But k Hilbert of Union, IL; Vice-President J. R. Nielander, Jr. of Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and Secretary Dick Wagner of Lyons, WI.

In March, 1973 Gene and Dorothy Chase moved from Tulsa, OK to Hales Corners to join the EAA staff. That month's issue of THE VINTAGE

AIRPLANE listed the editorial staff as follows: Publisher - Paul H. Poberezny, Editor - Jack Cox, Assistant Editors ­Gene Chase and Golda Cox. Dorothy Chase replaced Bonnie as Division Executive Secretary. Although not listed in the first three issues, Paul was, in fact, the Publisher and has served in that capacity to this day.

PREPARING FOR OSHKOSH '73

After only three years of use, the Oshkosh Fly-In site had nearly reached its limit. Auto parking had been a par­ticular problem. At its April, 1973 meet­ing the EAA Board of Directors au­thorized Paul Poberezny to purchase the 56 acre tract of land just south of the control tower. The acquisition of this parcel , used in 1972 for EAA auto park­ing and antique aircraft parking, would insure future growth in an orderly fash­ion.

This parcel of privately owned land had been leased by EAA for fly-in weeks on a year-to-year basis and had it been sold to outside interests not will­ing to make the land available for fly-in use, the Oshkosh site would have been severely limited. In 1973 EM also leased the land across the street to the west for use as non-EAA parking, and the wooded area (Ollie's Woods) to the south of the antique airplane parking area to be made into a park complete with picnic tables and outdoor grills.

Just two months before the Conven­tion the rainy weather was causing many setbacks at the Oshkosh site and almost no volunteer help had made the scene. Buck Hilbert was telling Antique and Classic members to be sure and bring tie-downs. Classic pilots were re­minded again to pre-register their air­craft.

The July 1973 issue of THE VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE sported some color for the first time. The front and back covers had blue borders and selected areas on the inside pages were also dressed in blue. The magazine had grown to 20 pages with this issue.

In President Buck's July editorial he described the storm that hit the Bur­lington, WI Airport during an EM Fly-In, damaging twelve airplanes, including Dale Glenn's 1930 Ford Tri-Motor, NC8407 on June 16; 1973. Through the generosity of some EM members the damaged Ford was acquired from the insurance company for the EM Avia­tion Museum. A "Save the Ford" fund drive would be started soon and Buck urged Antique/Classic members to con­tribute money, parts, or whatever was needed to get the big bird back into the air.

Editor's Note: The dream of many over the past 12 years will become a reality when this majestic old airliner will fly sometime this year. Restored in Eastern Air Transport colors, the Ford 4-A T will virtually be a new airplane.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

OSHKOSH '73

"Greater than ever'" exclaimed Divi­sion President Buck Hilbert in describ­ing the 21 st Annual EM Fly-In Conven­tion. 168 antique and 422 Classic air­craft winged their way to Oshkosh to participate. Total show planes num­bered 1,120 and as reported by F M Controllers at Wittman Field for the week of July 29 through August 4, 1973, 58,440 aircraft movements were re­ported. This compared with 43,869 movements in the previous year.

Overall Chairman of Antique/Classic Activities was Buck Hilbert. In charge of aircraft parking were: Antiques - Gar Williams and Jim Brewer; Classics - Ed Wegner. Awards Chairmen were : An­tiques - Evander Britt; Classics - J. R. Nielander and George York.

Antique Aircraft Judges were: Evan­der Britt - Chairman, Doug Rounds, Ed Sanders, Kelly Viets, Pete Covington, and Dusty Rhodes.

Classic Aircraft Judges were: Co­Chairmen Jim Gorman and Morton Les­ter, assisting were George York, Buck Hilbert, John Engles, John Shearer, John Parish, and Dub Yarbrough.

The premier awards as determined by the judges were:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - 1929 Alexander Eaglerock A-2, NC6601 , owned by Reagan Ormand and Jack Brouse, Ar­lington, TX. Reserve Grand Champion - Stinson SR-1O, NC21135, George Stubbs, In­dianapolis, IN.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - 1946 Aeronca 7AC converted to a 7CCM, CF-JUU owned by Doug and Lois Moore of Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. Reserve Grand Champion - None awarded.

REPLICA:

Champion - Great Lakes, N6669, Bill Duncan, Spokane, WA.

Considering that 1973 was just the second year the Antique/Classic Divi­sion managed the full spectrum of its activities at Oshkosh from aircraft park­ing, to judging, awards, forums, securi­ty, etc., etc., Division President Hilbert was pleased that things went well. He observed that everyone seemed to have a good time, but in planning for Oshkosh '74 they had their work cut out for them.

Buck specifically noted the Classics award categories must be expanded as there were many deserving planes in attendance and the number of awards 14 JULY 1985

too limited. The forums were well ac­cepted and attendance was excellent, but there was need for expansion. He called upon the Type Clubs for assist­ance in this area.

EM President Paul Poberezny ex­pressed his pleasure with the many chairmen, co-chairmen and volunteers whose efforts were responsible for Osh­kosh '73 running so smoothly. He espe­cially noted the "47 biplanes approach­ing from the southeast, and some fifty Cessna 170s given clearance to land", all carried out with safety, courtesy and cooperation.

Renowned news commentator Paul Harvey was in attendance and addres­sed Convention goers during one even­ing program. Earlier that day he enjoyed taking a close look at the Grand Cham­pion Alexander Eaglerock.

Also at Oshkosh '73 was actor Cliff Robertson whose real love is airplanes. He graciously signed autographs as he inconspicuously attempted to be one of the guys.

Immediately after the Convention, Buck Hilbert approached Paul Pobe­rezny regarding the possible utilization of an existing farm building on the An­tique/Classic site as a Division Head­quarters. Paul gave him the green light and plans to accomplish this would be finalized later.

In October, 1973, Paul Poberezny represented EAA at a meeting in Wash­ington, DC of the Consultative Planning Conference Energy Outlook for Avia­tion. The subject discussed was the the fuel crisis and its effect on general avi ­ation. In addition to fuel quantity shor­tages, some refiners announced plans to discontinue the production of 80 oc­tane avgas. EM agreed with the FAA that auto gas should not be used in the absence of avgas.

1974 - A BLEAK OUTLOOK?

The picture in 1974 was not rosy for sport aviation enthusiasts. July 1 was the deadline for the installation of Emergency Locator Transmitters (EL Ts) in ALL aircraft - new aircraft, including homebuilts had been required to carry EL Ts since January 1,1972. (Later some exemptions were allowed, but not for most antique and classic air­craft.)

It was feared the fuel crisis would ad­versely affect attendance at fly-ins, in­cluding Oshkosh '74. Because many gas stations throughout the country would not be open on Sundays, the EM Board of Directors changed the dates from the previously announced Sunday through Saturday to Wednes­day, July 31 through Tuesday, August 6. Although the FM Administrator later rescinded his request that FBO's sus­pend Sunday sales, the revised dates for the 1974 EM Convention would re­main the same. Auto gas would still be unavailable on Sundays.

In January 1974 Nick Rezich re ­signed as Treasurer of the Antique/ Classic Division and the Board of Direc­tors selected one of their 'members, Gar Williams of Naperville, IL to replace him. Nick was praised for his tireless efforts on behalf of the Division and he would continue to write for THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. His "Reminiscing with Big Nick" articles were all-time favorites.

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE grew to 24 pages with the June, 1974 issue. Previ­ous issues had been 20 pages in length. Buck proudly noted the improve­ment in content and quality and credited it to the contributors "beginning to make their mark." He stated the magazine was doing its job in pulling all Antique/ Classic members closer together.

Oshkosh '73 Grand Champion Classic ­Moore of Orangeville, Ontario, Canada.

Photo by Lee Fray Aeronca 7ACI7CCM, CF-JUU, owned by Doug

THE RED BARN

On Saturday, March 16, 1974 the Of­ficers and Directors of the Antique/ Classic Division met at EM Headquar­ters in Hales Corners, WI.

President Buck Hjlbert welcomed Vice-President J. R. Nielander, Secret­ary, Dick Wagner; Treasurer, Gar ~il­Iiams; and Directors Claude Gray, Jim Horne, Morton Lester, George Stubbs, Kelly Viets, and Jack Winthrop. Direc­tors AI Kelch and Evander Britt were unable to attend.

Among the items of business was a discussion on converting the aforemen­tioned farm building on the Antique/ Classic portion of the Oshkosh Fly-In site into a pleasant, rustic-style perma­nent headquarters for the Division. Edna Viets volunteered to head up the staff for this headquarters building, later affection·ately known as the "Red Barn". Prior to Oshkosh '74 the Antique/

. Classic Headquarters during the Con­vention was a tent.

In the spring Buck started work on the remodeling, delayed somewhat by the need to recover from knee surgery and by wet, cold weather. Work prog­ressed steadily but it soon became ob­vious that completion of the work by Fly­In time would require a Herculean effort. When school was out he pressed his family into service and then recruited the early Fly-In arrivals. The last of the interior paneling was nailed into place just before the first day of Oshkosh '74. We don't have the names of all those who helped, but members owe each of them a debt of gratitude.

OSHKOSH '74

Two of the most visible improvements in the Antique/Classic area at Oshkosh '74 were the new Headquarters Building

(Red Barn) and the moving of the Classic parking area to the area south of Ollie's Woods (where Show Plane Camping is now). The Antiques con­tinued to park in the expanse between the FM Control Tower and Ollie's Woods.

The Red Barn was barely completed in time and as soon as the last of the shavings was swept away, the gals took over - Edna Viets, Dorothy Hilbert, Nancy Hall, Pauline and Liz Winthrop and others really pitched in. They signed up new members, took renew­als sold back issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE (a hot item, incidentally), sold decals and patches and served as an information booth until their voices cracked.

Vice-President J. R. Nielander had a full slate of speakers for the forums cov­ering many of the older aircraft types. General Chairman for Antique/Classic Activities was Buck Hilbert. Gar Wil­liams was in charge of Antique and Classic aircraft parking. Evander Britt handled the Antique awards and J. R. Nielander took charge of the classic awards.

Among the highlights on the flight line was the national debut of Dale Crites' just completed 1911 Curtiss ~usher re­storation with an OX-5 engine. Many Antique/Classic members were thrilled to meet one of the all-time aviation greats, Mr. T. Claude Ryan, wh.o was being escorted at the Convention by Dave Jameson, the Division's first Pres­ident. Also, George Williams of the Rearwin Type Club had Ken Rearwin for his special guest. Another famous personage appearing in the forums area was Fred Weick, designer of the Ercoupe, and credited with enough other contributions to aviation to more than fill the pages of this magazine.

The worry about low attendance was unfounded as never in the 22-year his­tory of EM had there been such a jump forward in the size of its Fly-In Conven­tion from one year to the next.

The number of show planes in­creased a full 20 percent over the previ­ous year, to 1,345. This included 173 Antiques and 512 Classics. Part of the increase in the number of Classic planes was attributed to the change. in the description of the category to in­

clude those aircraft manufactured through 1955 rather than 1950.

The top aircraft awards were:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - Fairchild 24R, NC77661, Tom Leonhardt, Dick Buck and Jud Gudehous of Rockingham, CT. Reserve Grand Champion - Rearwin Sportster, NC20723, Alfred Nagle and Ken Gatzke, Montello, WI.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Swift GC-1 B, N2459B, Edmund Gorny, Livermore, CA. Reserve Grand Champion - Piper J-3 Cub, NC42621 , David Hamilton, Ander­son, IN.

REPLICA:

Champion - 1911 Curtiss Pusher, N1911D Dale Crites, Waukesha, WI.

As the Annual EM Convention grew in size, so did the number of volunteers needed to make the event happen. The efforts of these dedicated members are typified by Antique/Classic member Ernie Moser, manager and FBO of the St. Augustine, FL Airport who came early and stayed late, spending an in­credible 130 hours on a tractor helping to keep the grass mowed on the huge Fly-In site. It's members like Ernie who make the EM movement work.

1975 - ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION'S 5TH YEAR

Early in the year EAA President Paul Poberezny asked all EAA members to write to their elected officials in Wash­ington to express concern over the exhorbitant federal use taxes. The gov­ernment planned to raise some $78 to $88 million to "partially recover the costs of airway services which are used by general aviation, and the certifying and licensing of airmen, aircraft and air-craft equipment." It was felt by many that these changes would have a dev­astating effect on the future of sport! general aviation.

In April Buck announced that mem­bers would not be able to camp with their antique and classic aircraft at Osh­kosh as in the past. This was due to complaints from other members of the Photo by Ted Koaton

Oshkosh '74 - the first year the Red Barn was useable as Antique/Classic Headquar­ clutter, open fires, cooking and general ters. disarray in an area intended for aircraft

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Photo by Lee Fray Aviation Greats at Oshkosh '75. Front row, left to right: Jack Rose, Karl White, Ole Fahlin, Bob Granville, Clayton Bruckner, Matty Laird, Russ Brinkley, C.G. Taylor, Fred Weick, Bill Ong, Grace Harris, Bernie Pietenpol. Back row, left to right: Roger Don Rae, Fish Salmon, Eldon Cessna, Howard Morey, Tony LeVier, Steve Wittman, Martin Jensen, Ed Granville, T. Claude Ryan, Jim Church and Vernon Payne. Missing when this photo was taken were Art Davis, Woody Edmondson, Eddie Fisher, Ray Hegy, Mike Murphy, Harold Neumann, Bill Sweet, Blanche Noyes, Tom Towie, Sinnie Sinclair, Len Povey, Edna Gardner Whyte and Elrey Jeppesen.

display. The opening of the new camp­ground across the road to the west would "make this new requirement a lit­tle easier to take, and the facilities would be much more convenient."

Pre-registration for classics at Osh­kosh would be required once again and because of the limited parking area at the Fly-In site, members were asked to register "display quality classics only". Other classics would park in the trans­ient aircraft parking area. Buck Hilbert described a "display quality" aircraft as "one that the owner takes considerable pride in and wants others to see and enjoy as much as he does. He is proud of it, he takes very good care of it, and it/ooks it.

In April, Antique/Classic President Buck Hilbert and lAC Division President Verne Jobst attended meetings in Washington, DC with FAA top echelon. The meetings were arranged by Charlie Schuck, FAA Co-ordinator, for the pur­pose of getting acquainted. Among those they met were the Acting Ad­ministrator, Jimmie Dow, the new Assis­tant Administrator for General Aviation, Allan Landolt, the FAA Medical Chief, the Chief of Flight Standards and the Editor of the FAA Aviation News. Buck 16 JULY 1985

and Verne left the meeting with a real senSe of direction and were pleased to learn the men they met were also in­terested in sport aviation.

At the April 12, 1975 Board meeting, the Directors voted unanimously to ac­cept the Judging Rules drawn up by the Judging Standards Committee, com­posed of Gar Williams, Dick Wagner and AI Kelch. The intention was that the rules would be used at fly-ins through­out the country.

In May, 1975, it was announced that in cooperation with EAA, the Smithso­nian's National Air and Space Museum and famed designer E. M. "Matty" Laird, the Florida Sport Aviation Antique and Classic Association would restore the 1931 Laird Super Solution racer. Spearheaded by FSAACA President, Ed Escallon, the plane would be re­stored to flying condition then put on display in the EAA Air Museum.

OSHKOSH '75

There were many highlights of the 23rd Annual EAA Convention, July 29 through August 4, 1975, but none greater than the "Greats of Aviation Day". This group of 36 men and women

were the guests of EAA and were rec­ognized for their significant contribu­tions to the development of aviation prior to WW II.

They were given tours of the entire Fly-In, presented to the members in several stage appearances and gener­ally given the celebrity treatment they so richly deserved.

In all but two aspects, records were broken at Oshkosh '75. Those were showplanes down to 1338 compared with last year's 1345 and total aircraft movements down - 67,314 as com­pared to 70,128 in 1974.

Ironically, however, these two bellwethers of EAA Fly-In success were down slightly because the overall oper­ation was so huge. Due to a portion of last year's Classic parking area being taken to establish a showplane campsite. Classic pre-registrations had to be restricted to pre-1951 aircraft about half way through the process, so great were the numbers of owners of these popular post-war aircraft wanting a show line spot.

The more recent Classics were on the airport, but they were parked in the itinerant area. And because the fly-by pattern in recent years had become

very close to the saturation point, a schedule of fly-by times, based on air­craft speeds was imposed. This re­sulted in a much safer operation, but naturally cut down on total aircraft movements.

The top awards were:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - 1928 American Eagle, NC7310, Ed Wegner, Plymouth, WI. Reserve Grand Champion - Rearwin Sportster, NC20723, Alfred Nagel and Ken Gatzke, Montello, WI.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Stinson 108-2, N971 J, Jim Mankins, Corona, CA. Reserve Grand Champion - Swift GC­1 B, N2459B, Edmond Gorney, liver­more, CA.

REPLICA:

Best WW I - SE-5A, N9841 , A. Mangos, Williamsport, PA.

Antique/Classic Chairman at the Convention was Buck Hilbert, and Co­chairman was J. R. Nielander. Chair­man of Antique/Classic parking was Kelly Viets, with Jack Winthrop and Gar Williams as Co-chairmen. Awards chairmen were Antique - Evander Britt and Classic - Morton Lester.

The Antique Judging Committee was Evander Britt - Chairman; Dusty Rhodes, Paul Hopkins, AI Kelch, Doug Rounds, Pete Covington, Dale Gustaf­son and Claude Gray.

Morton Lester and Jim Gorman were Co-chairmen of the Classic Judging Committee, assisted by Brad Thomas, Roger Jennings, Dale Wolford, Duffy Thompson, John Engles, John Womack, Swanson Poer, George York, John Parish, Maurice Clavel , John Tur­gyan and Dub Yarbrough.

During the Board of Directors Meet­ing at the Convention on August 4, 1975 the election results were announced. Re-elected were incumbents: J. R. Nielander, Vice-President ; Gar Wil­liams, Treasurer; and Directors Jim Horne, Morton Lester, Claude Gray and George Stubbs.

Also at the meeting a personal note of thanks was extended by President Buck Hilbert to the Judging Committee for their development of the new Judg­ing Standards; J R. Nielander for his extensive and far reaching efforts to make the Convention a success; and also to the volunteer workers for their participation and help in making the An­tique/Classic part of the 1975 Conven­tion the success it was. A special thanks was given to the Parking Committee Chairman Kelly Viets and to Jack Winthop.

On October 11, 1975 Paul Poberezny was presented with the Lawrence P.

J. R. Nielander, Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, served as Antique/Classic Presi­dent from early 1976 through 1978.

Sharples Award by the Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association. This annual award is intended to "recognize and in­spire unselfish contributions to general aviation."

1976 - BICENTENNIAL YEAR

1976 started off with some changes for the Antique/Classic Division. Buck Hilbert who lead the Division so suc­cessfully for three years stepped down from the office of President due to the extremely tight schedule imposed upon him by his employer, United Airlines. Vice-President J. R. Nielander was named President and Director Morton Lester became Vice-President.

In another move, the Officers and Di­rectors assumed full responsibility for the writing and editing of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE, effective with the January issue. Director AI Kelch very kindly ac­cepted the job as Editor and then sol­icited the following groups of Contribut­ing Editors: Dusty Rhodes, Evander Britt, Jim Barton, Claude Gray, Ed Es­calion, Rod Spanier, Dale Gustafson, Henry Wheeler, Morton Lester, Kelly Viets, Bob Elliott, Jack Lanning, Bill Thuma and Glenn Buffington.

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE took on a new look when Editor Kelch changed the format from vertical to horizontal, because photos of airplanes lend them­selves more readily to a horizontal lay out. This horizontal format would be re­tained for five years; through the 1980 issues.

In an editorial in the January 1976 issue of VINTAGE, Paul Poberezny an­nounced the restoration of the EAA Air Museum's Ford Tri-Motor was started. And for use as a pattern, the Ford Tri­Motor fuselage which J. R. Nielander hacked out of a South American jungle was in the EM shop.

In his early editorials, President J. R. Nielander solicited articles for the magazine and gave the basic tips for

writing them. He also described equip­ment needed in the Antique/Classic area during the Annual Convention, in­cluding: projection screen, slide and movie projectors, ping pong paddles to be painted orange for use in parking planes, mini-bikes, lightweight hard hats, etc. He hoped some of the items could be donated to the Division.

He also solicited volunteers for the many slots to be filled during the Con­vention. He described the four three­hour daily shifts for nine days with the parking committee having ten positions to be manned daily and the headquar­ters committee, four positions. This worked out to be a total of 504 three­hour shifts!

Paul Poberezny's editorials in VIN­TAGE were titled "Whistling In the Rig­ging" and in the April 1975 issue he ex­pressed his appreciation for the mem­bers' support of the Division and for the fine work of AI and his lovely wife Lois in putting out the monthly magazine. Lois' name was listed on the masthead as Assistant Editor.

Paul also expressed his pleasure at the decision of the Antique/Classic Of­ficers and Directors to limit awards and recognition to EM members only.

In that same issue of VINTAGE, Chairman of the Antique Awards Com­mittee, Claude Gray, wrote an article on judging Antique and Classic aircraft at Oshkosh. He outlined some guidelines and presented excerpts from the new judges guidebook, as well as a sample scoring form.

And last, but not least, that January 1976 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE began the continued use of full color on the front cover.

NEW OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND ADVISORS

At the April 24, 1976 Board meeting at EM Headquarters, the Directors ap­pointed William H. Ehlen of Tampa, Florida to the vacancy left when Morton Lester was named Vice President. Buck Hilbert accepted the Treasurer's job when Gar Williams resigned from that

, position. Also the Directors created an advisory board and named W. Brad Thomas, Jr, of Pilot Mountain, NC and Robert A. White of Orlando, FL to serve.

Noting that expenses were exceed­ing income, the Board called for a dues increase from $10.00 to $14.00 per year effective June 1, 1976.

In a guest editorial in THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE, Tom Poberezny, EM Executive Vice President, praised the efforts of the FM Tower and Gypsy Controllers at past EM Conventions. He stated, "They rank with the best in the business, exemplified by the profes­sional, efficient and courteous manner in which they handle the air traffic."

In his last editorial before the 1976 EM Convention, President J. R.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Nielander announced a membership drive and cited the benefits of an in­creased Division membership. In addi­tion he issued an invitation to all readers of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE who planned to attend Oshkosh 76 to stop by the "Antique/Classic Division Head­quarters Barn" for a visit.

OSHKOSH '76

The 24th Annual EM Convention was the longest yet, starting on July 31 and concluding on August 8 with Paul Poberezny making a demonstration flight in Buck Hilber,t's Aeronca C-3.

Some of the airshow highlights were the first Oshkosh appearance of the Canadian Snowbirds, an almost unbe­lievable performance by Dwain Trenton in a turbo-prop Great Lakes and a "His­tory of Flight" fly-by of representative aircraft of every era, beginning with Dale Crites' 1911 Curtiss Pusher and ending with the newest of the new, Burt Rutan's VariEze.

Top award winners at Oshkosh 76 were:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - 1927 American Eagle, NC3738, Claude Gray and Robert Groff, Northridge, CA Reserve Grand Champion - American Eaglet, NC548Y, Eugene Morris, Hampshire, IL

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Piper PA-15 Vag­abond, N4402H, Bill Amundson and Dick Peterson, Stoughton, WI Reserve Grand Champion - Stinson 108-3, N8074, Ron Kramer, Pella, IA

REPLICA:

Champion - 1908 Curtiss June Bug II, N1908C, Mercury Aircraft, Inc., Ham­mondsport, NY.

REPLICAS

In his August 1976 editorial, J. R. Nielander expressed his views of rep­lica aircraft. He wrote, "There is much to be said for the replica. First of all, it is usually a well-proven design. Sec­ond, it is easily recognizable as a rare bit of aviation history, and only an ex­pert can distinguish it from an original if the builder sticks religiously to the plans. Third, replicas come in all sizes, shapes and horsepower to fit all sizes of pocketbooks."

Although replicas had appeared at EAA Fly-In Conventions for many years, they were not recognized as 18 JULY 1985

Photo by Dick Stouffer

Oshkosh '76 - the Antique/Classic area.

such for awards until Oshkosh 73. Even in 1972 when Bill Turner flew his beautiful Brown B-2 "Miss Los Angeles" replica to Oshkosh from his home in California, it received lots of attention, but no award.

In time replicas would come into their own and in future years some very ex­citing examples would be flown to Osh­kosh.

The masthead of the October, 1976 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE listed four new additions to the Advisory Board. They were: Maurice "Sonny" Clavel, Wauchula, FL; Stan Gomoll, Minneapolis, MN; Dale A. Gustafson, Indianapolis, IN; and Roger J. Sherron, Santa Rosa, CA.

In another move, Vice-President Mor­ton Lester and Director Jack Winthrop exchanged positions on the Antique/ Classic Board.

The November 1976 issue of VIN­TAGE was the Convention coverage issue and in his editorial, President J. R. Nielander dedicated it to the 128 vol­unteers, the largest number ever to work in the Antique/Classic area of the Convention.

1977 - 50th ANNIVERSARY YEAR OF LINDBERGH'S FLIGHT

1977 was a banner year on two counts - the 50th anniversary year of Lindbergh's flight and the 25th anniver­sary year of EAA. This was the year the EM Museum staff, along with the help and contributions of many other indi­viduals and organizations, built and flew a replica of the Ryan "Spirit of St. Louis" in just under five months. This replica was first test flown in late March by Paul Poberezny, and made its first public ap­pearance at the Spirit of St. Louis dedi­cation ceremony on April 20th at St. Louis, MO.

In June the replica Ryan was flown to New York City where it began a tour

of 102 U.S. cities just as Lindbergh did in 1927 after his return from Paris.

Speaking of replicas, J. R. Nielan­der's earlier editorial on the advantages of building replica aircraft evoked many favorable replies from members. Some were kind enough to send along infor­mation where certain plans could be ob­tained.

Editor AI Kelch named three As­sociate Editors to help with the publica­tion of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE based on their past contributions of ar­ticles. They were: H. Glenn Buffington of Seattle, WA; Robert G. Elliott of Day­tona Beach, FL; and Edward D. Wil­liams, Mt. Prospect, IL.

The April 1977 issue of THE VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE contained an exten­sive listing of Type Clubs. It was hoped this would be an annual feature. A foot­note pointed out the listing was printed solely as a service and did not consti­tute an endorsement by or affiliation with EM.

President Nielander happily pointed out in his April editorial the membership drive resulted in a growth of over 50% during the past year. On behalf of the officers, directors and advisors he thanked all the members who took the time to acquaint fellow aviation en­thusiasts with the activities of the Divi­sion.

PERSONNEL CHANGES

During 1977 two Advisors, Brad Thomas and Dale Gustafson were named to the Board of Directors, replac­ing Jim Horne and George Stubbs who resigned. "Sonny" Clavel resigned his Advisor post and Arthur R. Morgan of Milwaukee, WI was named to fill that vacancy. Later in the year, Robert E. Kesel of Rochester, NY was asked to fill one of the two remaining vacancies on the Board of Advisors.

JUDGING MANUAL

In his June 1977 editorial J. R. Nielander wrote, "Over the past three years your Division has had standing committees which have been working very hard at the monumental task of 'putting together a Judging Manual ... . Much thanks is due the original com­mittee consisting of AI Kelch, Dick Wagner and Gar Williams; the present committee consisting of Brad Thomas, Claude Gray and George York; and, in addition, to Bob Taylor and other mem­bers of the Antique Airplane Association who supplied much valuable input in the early and basic stages of development. "

Nielander quoted from the manual the definition of Antique, Classic, Cus­tomized and Replica aircraft. He then explained the reason for the upper age limit of Classic aircraft; "The solution ar­rived at by the committee, that is, De­cember 31 , 1955, is an excellent com­promise. That was the year which, for all practical purposes, averages out as the demise of the taildragger. Piper brought out the Tripacer in 1953. Cessna had already terminated the 140A in 1951. The 190/195 ceased in 1955. Only a few 170Bs were built in 1956. The 310 had come out in 1953. Beechcraft had their Bonanza through several modifications by 1955 and were making plans to phase out their big H­18 twin. Aeronca and Taylorcraft were out of production as were Luscombe and Stinson."

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC CHAPTERS

By mid-1977, four Division Chapters had been chartered. Chapter 1 was the largest, being the Florida Sport Aviation Antique and Classic Association, one of the sponsoring groups of the annual Sun 'n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, FL. It was also the group restoring the Laird Super Solution for the EM Museum.

Chapter 2 was the Houston Antiquers who sponsored a very successful fly-in at Conroe, TX each year in May.

Chapter 3 was the tri-state East Coast group, the North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia Antique Airplane Foundation, Inc. This very active chap­ter sponsored several fly-ins each year.

Chapter 4 was the Minnesota Chap­ter, another active group located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

OSHKOSH '77

Referred to as the most waterlogged Convention ever, Oshkosh '77 was still highly successful. The lovely ladies on the Headquarters Staff sold more new memberships in the Antique/Classic Di­vision than were ever sold in the other two Divisions combined. This resulted in a total membership growth of 6% and was credited to the efforts of Chairmen Kate Morgan and Donna Bartlett in the Headquarters Red Barn and Alicia Smith and Jackie House in the exhibit

booth in the Commercial Exhibit Build­ing, as well as all of their volunteer workers. Although the forums tent was 25 percent larger (100 additional seats), there were overflow audiences at sev­eral of the forums.

Oshkosh '77 saw an increase of 33% in the total number of Division volun­teers when 170 pitched in to handle Convention duties. The practice of rec­ognizing an Outstanding Division Vol­unteer had been initiated in 1976, but this year there were so many that the chairmen could not narrow the choice down to a single one. Outstanding Vol­unteer Awards were presented to Hugh P. Harrison, Jeff Copeland, Bob Wallace and Mary Morris.

The superior job done by Division vol­unteers was paralleled by the Division showing in numbers of display aircraft registered. For the first time the An­tique/Classic Division had more display aircraft on the field than all other categories combined. Included in the record total number of 1389 display air­craft were 182 Antiques and 539 Class­ics.

The Division Fly-By Schedule Com­mittee had an uphill battle against the weather all week, but were still able to put together a very interesting History of Flight pageant in the rain for the Thursday p.m. airshow.

The judges did an excellent job of spotlighting the best of the competing aircraft, with top awards going to:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - Kari Ke~n (Sioux) Coupe 90-B, NC 10721, Forrest Lovely, Richfield, MN. Reserve Grand Champion - Pitcairn PA-8, Mailwing, NC10753, Jack Rose, Spangle, WA.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Piper PA-11 , N78661, Don Freitag, Summerville, SC.

Reserve Grand Champion - Bellanca 14-19, N6RJ, Roland M. Joslyn, Malibu, CA.

REPLICA:

Champion - Fokker DVIII, N7557U, Ed Swearingen, Park Forest, IL.

The end of the year marked the end of an era for THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE when the December, 1977 issue was the last one edited by Division Director AI Kelch. Two years previously, AI a­greed to take on the editorship for one year, which stretched into two when a replacement could not be found.

AI and his wife Lois were completely and totally involved in the magazine's production for that period of time and did a superb job. On behalf of all the members, the Division Officers and Di­rectors thanked AI and Lois Kelch as well as the Associate Editors, Bob El­liott, Ed Williams and Glenn Buffington for their outstanding efforts.

1978 - 75 YEARS OF POWERED FLIGHT

Although AI and Lois Kelch had re­signed from the editorship of THE VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE in December 1977, they graciously agreed to produce the January and February 1978 issues be­cause of the two month lead time re­quired and the fact the new editor, David Gustafson, would not be joining the staff at EM Headquarters until Jan­uary 1 st. AI consented to stay involved as an Associate Editor of the magazine, and of course as a member of the Divi­sion Board of Directors.

President J.R. Nielander in his Janu­ary editorial in VINTAGE presented the following New Year's resolutions:

1. Produce a high quality color brochure telling the story of the Division as a promotional tool.

2. Membership Drive.

A small portion of the planes lining up for the Oshkosh '78 Antique/Classic Parade of Flight, an activity that ha~ become a Conventi?n fa.vorite. These represent .~he .I~te '20s and early 30's era including the EAA Museum s Stinson SM-8A and Ryan SPirit of St. Louis" replica nearest the runway.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

3. Encourage the formation of additional Antique/Classic chapters.

4. Encourage the members to provide material for publication in VINTAGE.

In his February editorial Nielander discussed the merits of the owner/re­storer of antique and classic being able to legally perform maintenance, repairs and periodic inspections on their own aircraft and without altering the status of the standard category airworthiness certificate. He eagerly solicited com­ments and suggestions from Division members.

In another editorial, J. R. Nielander discussed the dwindling supply of unre­stored antique aircraft and the necessity of eventually turning to replicas to satisfy the hunger for flying the aircraft of yesteryear. The first fruits of an effort to compile a list of plans sources for antique replicas appeared in the June 1978 issue of VINTAGE through the courtesy of Leo Opdycke, the editor of WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES. Leo supplied the sources of plans for over 50 different WW I and earlier aircraft.

Also in this June issue of VINTAGE, the name of Byron (Fred) Fredericksen was added to the listing of the Associate Editors which also included Glenn Buf­fington, Bob Elliott, AI Kelch and Ed Wil­liams.

OSHKOSH '78

While most of the nation sweltered in oppressive heat and humidity, EMers who poured into Wisconsin in record numbers for the 26th Annual EM Fly-In Convention, July 29-August 5, enjoyed a week of Mother Nature's natural air conditioning. The largest crowds ever to attend an EM event taxed traffic and Convention site facilities to their limits on both days of the opening weekend. Auto traffic was bumper-to-bumper on the four-lane highway for 31 miles south of Oshkosh!

The Antique/Classic Division's par­ticipation was again more successful than ever, thanks to the fine efforts of all the volunteers, many of whom had been helping since the Division's first involvement in 1972. The forums under the direction of Bill Ehlen and AI Hen­ninger were their usual great success, with the 250-seat tent being filled to overflowing on several occasions.

The "History of Flight" pageant di­rected by Ron Fritz and Phil Coulson was a big hit with the entire air show audience. John Turgyan was in charge of the social hour and picnic dinner in Ollie's Park and this well-attended event would be scheduled annually.

Art Morgan and Bob Kessel did their usual superb jobs and with their volun­teers parked a record number of 193 20 JULY 1985

Antique, 603 Classic and 5 Replica air­craft. The total show plane count was 1,471, up 82 over 1977.

The old Red Barn was its usual bee­hive of activitiy with the Manpower Committee under Jack Winthrop and Jack Copeland and the Security Com­mittee headed by George Williams and Jim Smith sharing space in it with Kate Morgan and Donna Bartlett's group. Kate and Donna, along with Jackie House and Mary Morris inthe Division's booth in the Commercial Exhibit Build­ing did a great job of promoting the Di­vision and signing up 189 new mem­bers.

AI and Lois Kelch along with Charlie Nelson and his Temco Buckaroo aerial photo plane, provided the Division press coverage. Stan Gomoll's Decora­tion's Committee did a beautiful job in decorating the promotional booth and also helped set up the Headquarter's Red Barn. The Supply Committee was headed by Art Morgan and John Kalas who obtained and maintained the equipment used by the Parking Com­mittee, including overhauling the motor bikes.

The Division awards program under the direction of Dale Gustafson on Fri­day evening was a fitting end to the tre­mendous efforts of the Judges Commit­tee headed by Claude Gray, Brad Thomas and George York.

The following received the top awards:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - 1929 Curtiss Robin, NR59H, Joseph Erale, Brentwood, L.I., NY. Reserve Grand Champion - Rearwin Sportster, NC20723, Alfred Nagel, Montello, WI.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Aeronca 7AC Champion, N85448, Ron Wojnar, Mil­waukee, WI. Reserve Grand Champion - Rawdon T-1, N5160, Jack Chastain, Creve Coeur, MO.

REPLICA:

Champion - 1911 Curtiss Pusher, N1911D, Dale Crites, Waukesha, WI.

1979 - A YEAR OF CHANGE

There were changes among those at the helm of-the Antique/Classic Division in 1979. Early in the year, J.R. Nielan­der resigned as President and Secre­tary Brad Thomas was named as re­placement. Director Kelly Viets was named Secretary. In February, Director William Ehlen passed away. He was ac­tive in the formation of the Division and his interest in vintage aircraft and sup­port of sport aviation would be greatly missed.

Photo by Lee Fray

W. Brad Thomas, Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, served as Antique/Classic Divi­sion President from 1979 through 1983.

Three new names on the Board of Advisors were John S. Copeland, Westborough, MA; Gene Morris, Hamp­shire, IL and Daniel F. Neuman, Min­neapolis, MN. Late in the year, Robert A. White resigned his post as Advisor and Advisor John Turgyan was named to the Board of Directors.

Lionel Salisbury became an As­sociate Editor of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and Gene Chase of the EM Staff was named Editor, replacing David Gustafson who left EAA employ­ment. Gene had previously served as Assistant Editor of the magazine from 1973 through 1975.

President Brad Thomas in his May, 1979 editorial stated that since using the rules and standards as set forth in the Judging Manual for judging antique and classic aircraft over the past four years, fewer complaints that ever be­fore have been received. He noted the manual was available from EM Head­quarters at a cost of only $1.00. The August issue of VINTAGE contained the complete judging manual as per­taining to antiques and classics.

Division Advisor Ronald Fritz ac­cepted the responsibility of promoting the formation of new Antique/Classic Division chapters, and AI Kelch and Dick Wagner headed a policy commit­tee to research various merchandizing programs which would promote the Di ­vision.

In his June 1979 editorial, President Thomas reminded the readers that issue of the magazine contained a bal­lot (this feature was started in 1977) and urged every member to vote for the of­ficers and directors of his or her choice for the upcoming election.

In the August issue of VINTAGE, the new "Hall of Fame" program under the guidance of Morton W. Lester was an­nounced. Morton, a trustee of the EM Air Musem Foundation and a Director of the EM Antique/Classic Division said space in the Museum would be al­located for photos and factual informa­tion about many of those people who

were active in aviation in the 20s and 30s and never received the recognition due them. Morton asked members to send in nominations or consideration for this honor.

OSHKOSH '79

As expected, the Great Energy Crunch of '79, fact or fiction, failed to dampen the spirits of EAAers attending the Convention, July 2S-August 4, and once again the affair was tremendously successful. Much of the credit was due to the 215 volunteers, chairmen and co­chairmen who handled the respon­sibilities for the Antique/Classic Divi­sion.

The new Theater in the Woods lo­cated in Ollie's Park was available for evening programs for the first time, re­placing the previously used pavillion north of the FAA Tower. This was a boon to Antique/Classic members, being adjacent to all of their activities.

The Aircraft Judges selected the fol­lowing for top awards:

ANTIQUE :

Grand Champion - Howard DGA-15P, NC22416, Dick Martin, Green Bay, WI. Reserve Grand Champion - WACO QCF, NX11241 , Marion Havelaar, Rapid City, SO.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Luscombe SE, N2132B, Tim and Barbara Bowers, Woodland, CA. Reserve Grand Champion - Rawdon T-1 , N5160, Maybelle Chastain, Creve Coeur, MO.

REPLICA:

Champion - 1929 Travel Air Mystery Ship, N4S2N, Jim Younkin, Springdale, AR.

In attendance at Oshkosh '79 were 1374 show planes, including 177 An­tiques, 553 Classics and 11 Replicas.

Before the year ended, the Antique/ Classic Division listed the following nine chapters. 1. Lakeland, FL 2. Houston, TX 3. Charlotte, NC 4. Minneapolis, MN 5. York, PA 6. Rochester, NY 7. Flanders, NJ S. Grand Rapids, MI 9. S~a!1le , WA

1980 - ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION'S 10TH YEAR

The January 1980 issue of THE VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE contained an article about the status of the Laird Super So­lution project. The building of a faithful replica of this famous racing aircraft was undertaken by Antique/Classic Di­vision Chapter 1 of Florida under the

leadership of Chapter President Ed Es­calion. Through Ed's friendship with the plane's designer, E.M. "Matty" Laird and his wife Elsie, Matty's expertise and support was available.

Chapter members and many other volunteers throughout the country do­nated time, money and materials to get the plane "on the gear" with all major airframe components constructed. At that time the plane was moved to EM Headquarters in Hales Corners where the restoration shop under the guidance of Bill Chomo, completed the aircraft.

Paul Poberezny was named Chair­man of the General Aviation Energy Council at a meeting in Washington, DC. The group was to meet frequently and objectively to formulate an ap­proach to the fuel shortage problems.

Later in the year Paul was selected as the 1979 recipient of the Frank G. Brewer Trophy for outstanding contribu­tion to aviation and space education.

The EM Air Museum was granted funds along with matching funds from AOPA to begin research toward adapt­ing auto fuel to aircraft use and results would be forthcoming at the completion of the test.

In his May editorial , Brad Thomas ob­served the noticeable reduction in the number of antiques at many fly-ins over the previous few years. As possible reasons he cited the ever-rising inflation factor escalating the value of the aircraft to excessive heights, thus making long flights less desirable to the owners; and the high cost of fuel, especially to those vintage planes with engines which burn up to 25 gph.

Also in·May, EM Antique/Classic Di ­vision Chapter 10 in Tulsa, OK received its charter.

In the June, 1979 issue of VINTAGE, Claude Gray, Antique/Classic Division Chief Judge wrote an article containing tips and suggestions to would-be win­ners of awards at Oshkosh and other fly-ins where the EM Judging Manual is used.

OSHKOSH '80 - 28TH ANNUAL EAA CONVENTION

The Antique/Classic Division sched­ule for Oshkosh 'SO was basically the same as in previous years. Among the physical changes were the moving of the Antique/Classic Forums Tent to the north of the Convention grounds with the other forums tents. Thus, all those attending the Convention could attend the forums on older aircraft rather than only those with flight line passes as in the past.

In place of the Forums Tent next to the Red Barn was the Antique/Classic Division Hospitality Tent. This was made available at no charge to the OX­5 Aviation Pioneers, QBs, old timers or any group wanting to use the facilities for informal gatherings concerning an­tique and classic aircraft.

Antique/Classic Division Judge Claude Gray, Jr. presents the Grand Champion Classic trophy to Jim Roberts for his Oshkosh 'SO winner - an Aeronca 15AC Sedan, N1491H.

Another new feature at Oshkosh 'SO was the allocation of space across the paved road east of the Red Barn for the Division's own Antique/Classic Inter­view Circle, complete with a separate PA system.

Among the highlights of the week were the debut of the EM Museum's Laird Super Solution and an Aviation Greats Day featuring Matty Laird and General James Doolittle, along with Blanche Noyes, Harold Neumann, Bob Hall, Eldon Cessna, Eddie Fisher, Harold Johnson, Tony LeVier, Cliff Hen­derson, Steve Wittman, Leon Atwood, AI Menasco and Roger Don Rae.

Camera buffs had a field day with the vintage raCing aircraft on display. In ad­dition to the Super Solution were Bill Turner's replica Gee Bee Model Z, Jim Younkin's replica Travel Air Mustery Ship and Steve Wittman's original Bonzo.

The Antique/Classic Parade of Flight was scheduled on Aviation Greats Day so the honored guests could witness the panorama of aviation history. All of the guests had been personally in­volved in most of the era portrayed by the "Parade".

Statistically, the record number of 1547 show planes included 157 An­tiques (down slightly), 620 Classics and 15 Replicas.

Oshkosh '80 top award winners were:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - Buhl LA-1 Pup, NC34SY, Dan Neuman, Minneapolis, MN. Reserve Grand Champion - De Havil­land DH-80 Tiger Moth, C-FCTN, Frank Evans and Tom Dietrich, Kitchener, On­tario, Canada.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Aeronca 15AC Sedan, N1491H, Jim Thompson, Roberts, IL

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

Reserve Grand Champion - Cessna 180, N9428C, Douglas and Barbara Trager, Chino, CA.

REPLICA

Champion - Ryan NYP, NX211NX, Dave and Steve Cannavo, Lester, PA.

At the Annual Business Meeting of the Antique/Classic Division on August 9 at the Convention, the results of the election revealed the following incum­bents being re-elected: Brad Thomas, President; Kelly Viets, Secretary; .and Directors AI Kelch, Morton Lester and Art Morgan.

At the same meeting the total number of Directors was increased to ten with the naming of Ronald Fritz, Robert E. Kesel and George S. York as new Di­rectors. These men had previously served as Advisors to the Board of Di­rectors.

1981

In his first editorial of the year, Pres­ident Brad Thomas described the un­settled world conditions and how they affected sport aviation with inflated fuel prices and spotty availability. But by the time he wrote about the fantastically successful Oshkosh '81, his message was all upbeat.

Personnel changes during the year included the addition of Steve Wittman of Oshkosh, WI to the Antique/Classic Board of Directors when the EAA Board voted to appoint one o~ their members to each of the Division Boards. At the same time the EAA Board voted to name each Division President as a member of the parent Board.

The Antique/Classic Board of Direc­tors regretfully accepted the resignation of Dick Wagner who had served as an officer and director since the inception of the Division.

The Antique/Classic Board of Ad­visors was increased to six with the naming of Ed Burns, Des Plaines, IL, Espie M. "Butch" Joyce, Jr., Madison; NC and S. H. "Wes" Schmid, Wauwa­tosa, WI as members.

Regarding THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE the year began with the Publication Staff consisting of only Publisher Paul Poberezny and Editor Gene Chase. By the end of the year it also included As­sociate Editor George A. Hardie, Jr. and Editorial Assistants Norman Peter­sen and Pat Etter, both EAA staffers. George, a former vice-president of EAA and noted aviation historian, was a part­time EAA employee and long-time vol­unteer. Among his contributions to the magazine was (and still is) the ever popular Mystery Plane column which 22 JULY 1985

he took over several months after it first appeared in the April 1981 issue.

With the January, 1981 issue, VIN­TAGE was returned from a horizontal format to its original vertical format for several reasons:

1. So that typing procedure for the prep­aration of copy by EAA Headquarters personnel would be standard with all other EAA publications. 2. To enhance the solicitation of adver­tisers because the standard format for ads matches a vertical layout. 3. Many of those who permanently bind 12 month's issues of the magazine pre­fer the vertical format.

In the March issue of VINTAGE, An­tique/Classic Division Chief Judge Claude Gray announced the addition of rules in the Judges Guide Book pertain­ing to the Replica category. Established and proven during the last EAA Con­ventions at Oshkosh, this basic judging system was by then recognized and applied to all categories, including cus­tombuilt and warbirds.

OSHKOSH '81

The dour predictions made earlier in the year for the 1981 EAA Convention did not materialize and the event was described as the smoothest and great­est ever. It was truly international with 11 aircraft arriving in a Qantas Boeing 747 from Australia; two tiny crickets from France, also via 747, a Taifun 17E powered sailplane from Germany and the ever large contingent from Canada.

Total show plane count was up 50 over the previous year to 1603. This in­cluded 170 Antiques, 582 Classics and 10 Replicas. The top award winners were:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - 1928 Cessna AW, NC4725, Gar Williams, Naperville, IL. Reserve Grand Champion - Waco 10, NC3960, C.N. Armstrong, Rawlings, MD.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Piper PA-17 Vag­abond, N4811 H, James L. Jenkins, Huntington, CT. Reserve Grand Champion - Cessna 180, N9428C, Douglas Trager, Chino, CA.

REPLICA:

Champion - Great Lakes, NX65DS, Don Browett, Independence, MO.

The greatest improvement over the past few years was seen in the Classic aircraft at Oshkosh '81. There were al­ways great numbers to judge but few ever placed in the "high point" categories. That situation turned

around in '81 and it continues to this day.

There was also much agonizing among the Antique Judges in determin­ing the winners. They had to choose from, among others, five new and im­maculate restorations: Clem Armstrong's Waco 10, Gar William's Cessna AW, John Rathjen's Curtiss Robin, Dan Neuman's Curtiss Jenny and Bud Dake's Clipwing Monocoupe. It was the best year ever for new antiques.

The most significant highlight of Osh­kosh '81 was the official site dedication of the new EAA Aviation Center. On Au­gust 5 at 10:30 a.m. Paul Poberezny turned the first shovelful of earth, fol­lowed by son, Tom and the officers, di­rectors and trustees.

On September 4, 1981, EAA Presi­dent Paul Poberezny was honored when he received the 1981 Meritorious Service Award of the Aviation Hall of fame in Cleveland, OH. Paul was cited for his "extraordinary and enduring con­tribution to aviation."

1982

In his February editorial in SPORT A VIA nON Paul Poberezny touched briefly on the possibility of pursuing the availability of a Repairman's Certificate for the owners/restorers of vintage air­craft. This had been on Paul's mind for a number of years. He felt that a certifi­cate similar to the one which allowed homebuilders to do the maintenance on and re-certifying their aircraft could be a fitting recognition by the FAA of the excellent effort put forth by many restor­ers of vintage aircraft. He asked for reader's comments and said he would pursue the matter only if there was enough interest.

The responses were numerous and positive, including remarks by A&P's and lAs. These encouraged the forma­tion of a committee to evaluate the com­ments and present a proposal to the FAA. Composed of leadership from both EAA and Antique/Classic Division, the committee members were Paul Poberezny, Charles Schuck, Brad Thomas, AI Kelch, Morton Lester and Claude Gray.

The Board of Advisors was increased to eight when the Antique/Classic Offic­ers and Directors named Roy Redman, Kilkenny, MN and Robert G. Herman, Menomonee Falls, WI to fill vacancies.

In the June issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE the Division Officers and Di­rectors announced a dues increase from $14.00 to $18.00 per year, effec­tive September 1, 1982. In the same issue, President Brad Thomas, in his editorial, listed each of the Division Of­ficers, Directors and Advisors along with their duties at the Annual EAA Con­vention and where they could be found during the event.

Photo by Jack Cox

Oshkosh '81, groundbreaking ceremonies for the EAA Aviation Center. Flanked by the Spirit of St. Louis, Dick Stouffer leads the dedication ceremonies for the future home of EAA and the Antique/Classic Division.

OSHKOSH '82 - SALUTE TO NASA AERONAUTICS

EAA's 30th Annual Convention, July 31-August 7, seemingly had everything, the good, the bad and about everything in between. It began and ended in good weather, but mid-week brought thun­derstorms, low ceilings, damaging winds and high water. An astounding number of people and airplanes con­verged on Wittman Field for opening day - and did so safely. But on the fourth day while traffic .was relatively light, a mid-air collision occurred in the fly-by pattern, taking the lives of three persons: Rick Demond of Whitmore Lake, MI in his 1932 Corben Baby Ace, plus the pilot and passenger of a Star­duster Too. RicK and his family were ardent supporters of EAA and the An­tique/Classic Division and his absence would be deeply felt.

On the brighter side, FAA Adminis­trator J. Lynn Helms presented Paul Poberezny STCs for the use of un­leaded auto fuel in the Continental 0­200 engine and the Cessna 150; then he became the first person to legally fly a U.S. registered aircraft on auto fuel. EAA's Chief Pilot, Jim Barton, accom­panied him.

NASA was at Oshkosh '82 in force with four aircraft, several displays and over 30 forums of interest to sport and general aviation pilots. The total count of registered show planes was 1818. Of that number, 176 were Antiques, 585 were Classics and the Replicas num­bered 5.

The top awards went to:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - Stinson SR-8C, NC17116, Roy and Judi Redman, Faribault, MN. Reserve Grand Champion - Stinson

SM6000B Tri-Motor, NC11170, Chuck Andreas, Bill Brennand and Byron Fre­dericksen.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Luscombe 8A, NC71454, Tom Stoia, Manning, SC. Reserve Grand Champion - Aeronca 11 AC Chief, NC85829, Elymus L. Nace, Rehoboth Beach, DE.

REPLICA:

Champion - Howard DGA-6, "Mr. Mul­ligan", NR273Y, Bob and Jim Younkin, Springdale, AR.

At the annual business meeting of the Antique/Classic Division on August 7, 1982, it was reported the Division was experiencing a steady growth. The offic­ers and directors up for re-election were unanimously elected for their two-year terms of office. Following the member­ship meeting a Board of Directors meet­ing was conducted and the Board unan­imously voted to donate $1,000 per year for five years to the EAA Capital Campaign Drive. It was noted that none of the donated funds came from mem­bership dues, but from several project promoted during the Conventions which bring income to the Division.

On October 20, 1982, EAA on behalf of its Antique/Classic Division wrote to the FAA proposing that FAR 43 be amended to allow the restorer of an an­tique or classic aircraft, at his/her op­tion, to conduct inspections (including annual inspections) repairs and altera­tions to his/her aircraft, so long as the restoration work was accomplished by the restorer under supervision of an A&P.

The proposal was published in the Federal Register in November with the request for comments to be received no

later than December 8, 1982. The year ended awaiting FAA's decision.

1983 - NEW EAA AVIATION CENTER DEDICATED

Just two years after Paul Poberezny turned that first spade of dirt, the magni­ficent new EAA Aviation Center was de­dicated on July 30, 1983. The keynote speaker was Barron Hilton, Chairman of the Board and President of Hilton Hotels Corporation and an active EAA member.

Special guests included actor Cliff Robertson, who acted as Master of Ceremonies; Sam Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Wax Com­pany, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Thayer; Aviation Great, Steve Wittman ; FAA Administrator, J. Lynn Helms, plus many more.

EAA President Paul Poberezny and EAA Aviation Foundation President Tom Poberezny both addressed the as­sembly. Just as the ribbon was cut, the EAA Foundation's replica ·Spirit of St. Louis" made a low pass over the cere­mony and the new EAA Aviation Center was officially open. This historic event took place on the first day of the 31 st Annual EAA Fly-In Convention and was the highlight of the week.

Early in the year the Antique/Classic Board of Directors named Daniel Neuman of Minneapolis, MN to the Board of Advisors to replace Ed Burns who resigned. The Board also voted to have THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE deliv­ered in a protective wrapper because of members' complaints of receiving muti­lated copies in the mail.

On March 7, 1983, Antique/Classic Division Chapter 11 received its charter at a ceremony at Milwaukee, WI. The group's first president W::lS John Kalas.

The 9th Annual EAA Sun 'n Fun Fly­In at Lakeland, FL March 13-19 estab­lished new attendance records in spite of one of the area's worst winters and three days of IFR weather during the popular event. In spite of these adversi­tites, the Fly-In recorded 25,000 people, 5,100 aircraft and over 800 show plan­es. Antique/Classic Division Chapter One has been a vital element in this Fly-In since its inception.

In his June, 1983 editorial, Division President Brad Thomas reported on the Board meeting held on May 6 at the Kermit Weeks Flight Research Center in Oshkosh, WI. They discussed the problem of pilots parking in the Antique/ Classic area at Oshkosh and not regis­tering their aircaraft.

As a possible solution, each arrival at Oshkosh '83 would be given a sheet explaining the registration procedure and listing the advantages of register­ing: no fee, complimentary Convention pilot mug, and a more complete and ac­curate count of show planes in atten­dance.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

Before adjourning, the group was given a tour through the soon-to-be completed EM Aviation Center and all were thoroughly impressed.

The July 1983 issue of VINTAGE contained a guest editorial by Division Director Claude Gray, who also served as Chairman of the EM National Judg­ing Committee. He discussed the intent of the rules in the Judging Guidebook and gave some valuable tips for restor­ers who plan to have their aircraft judged.

Paul Poberezny announced in his July editorial in SPORTAVIATlON that, "The EM petition for an Antique/ Classic Repairman Certificate for those who would have qualified has been de­nied by the FAA even though 208 a­greed, 82 disagreed, and some 153 let­ters were irrelevant. However, FAA has agreed to a feasibility study with the possibility of receiving a petition for a rule change. The denial was based upon many of the comments submitted by the president of the Antique Airplane Association of Blakesburg, Iowa."

The October 1983 issue of THE VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE contained EM's pet­ition, the FAA's letter of denial, and a sampling of letters, both pro and con, from respondents.

OSHKOSH '83

As always, the Antique/Classic Divi­sion played an important part in this, the 31 st Annual EAA Fly-In Convention. Each year the operation ran more smoothly, thanks to the many dedicated volunteers who made it all happen.

The new venture in '83 of making space available in the Hospitality Tent for the Type Clubs was an outstanding success. Advisor Butch Joyce through input from the Type Club members would plan a larger program for the groups in 1984.

The Antique/Classic Division's hour of glory was their ever-popular Parade of Flight on Wednesday, August 3. With incredible organization and hard work by 60 flight line volunteers, 96 aircraft were flagged off for exhibition flights be­fore the huge throng of spectators, and parked after landing in only 60 minutes! The entire operation was conducted without a hitch.

First to take off was Dale Crites of Waukesha, WI in his 1911 Curtiss Pusher followed by a steady flow of vin­tage aircraft representing the years from 1911 through 1955. The Parade of Flight continues to be one of the high­lights of the Annual EM Convention.

Included in the 1521 show planes awere 119 Antiques, 514 Classics and 5 Replicas. 24 JULY 1985

Replicas have been recognized as an excellent means of keeping the "antiques" alive. This replica of "Mr. Mulligan", a Howard DGA-6, NR273Y, won Grand Champion Replica honors for Bob and Jim Younkin of Springdale, AR at Oshkosh '82. The Red Barn and Type Club Tent are in the background.

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - Fairchild 24W, NC77655, Charles W. Bell, Sheboygan, WI. Reserve Grand Champion Beechcraft B17L Staggerwing, NC270Y, Dick Hansen and Dick Perry, Batavia, IL.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Aeronca 7AC, NC84998, Robert K. Armstrong, Rawl­ings, MD. Reserve Grand Champion - Lus­combe 8F, N1373B, George Chaffey, Pittsburg, CA.

REPLICA:

Champion - 1916 Halberstadt D.IV, N1388J, Carl Swanson, Aliens Grove, WI.

Following a long established custom, the September, 1983 issue of VINTAGE contained an extensive listing of Type Clubs with addresses, phone numbers and other information. The same issue announced the FM had amended EM's STC to include the Continental A-40 through the C-90 series of en­gines, permitting them to use unleaded auto gasoline.

More changes in personnel occurred late in the year when the Board of Direc­tors accepted the resignations of Vice­President Jack Winthrop, and Secretary Kelly Viets. Both men had faithfully served the Division since it started. Their positions were filled by Robert J. Lickteig of Albert Lea, MN and Ronald Fritz of Kent City, MI respectively. Fritz had been a long-time Director and Ad­visor.

The resignation of Director Robert E. Kesel was also accepted and to fill his and Fritz's post on the Board of Direc­tors, Robert G. Herman and Gene Mor­

ris were moved up from the Board of Advisors. Replacing them were newly named Advisors Ray Olcott of Nokomis, FL and Gar Williams of Naperville, IL.

1984 - EAA'S NEW HOME

After 31 years in Hales Corners, WI EM moved into the new Aviation Center in Oshkosh, WI and was open for "business as usual" on January 9, 1984. THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE's new Oshkosh address was reflected for the first time in the January, 1984 issue.

In his January "Straight and Level" editorial, President Brad Thomas re­capped the Division's accomplishments during the previous year and outlined the goals for '84. He mentioned that a specific area at Oshkosh '84 would be designated for the display of past Grand Champions in both antique and classic categories. He hoped that many would be returned to be so honored.

He described the "face-lifting" planned for the Red Barn Headquarters in the form of a new porch complete with porch swings and rocking chairs. He further described a study that was underway to increase the number of awards for antique aircraft to spread the awards more evenly among antiques and classics.

In his February editorial Brad an­nounced to the members the EAA Avia­tion Foundation's plans for the EM Air Academy, .an aviation program for boys and girls 15-17 years of age. Antique/ Classic Division Vice-President, Bob Lickteig volunteered to assist the Foun­dation by heading up the efforts of the Division toward this new project, not only with funding from donors, but in assisting with the procurement of volun­teers and tools needed to make the venture a success.

An editorial by the editor in the March issue of the magazine stated, "The last

Robert J. "Dobbie" Lickteig, Albert Lea, Minnesota, serves as the current Antique/ Classic Division President, having taken over in April 1984.

five years have seen great progress in the Antique/Classic Division under the leadership of Brad Thomas and his Board of Directors. As we go to press with this issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE, we learned of his request to step down from this position. Brad served admirably as President and his resignation is accepted with regret."

Also, by action of the Board of Direc­tors, Vice-President Bob Lickteig was named President; Director Roy Red­man was named Vice-President and Advisors Jack Copeland and Stan Gomoll were named Directors.

President Lickteig's first editorial ap­peared in the April 1984 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. In it he recon­firmed the aims and goals of the Divi­sion. He stated, "As I write my first mes­sage to you I cannot help but think of the great opportunity we have not only to continue our efforts of the past but to look at the challenges that lie ahead."

In his next editorial, Bob discussed the EAA Air Academy and the Antique/ Classic Division's planned involvement. He volunteered the use of his son's J-3 Cub in which each of the 30 students would receive an orientation flight. He predicted the EM Air Academy would be expanded over the years to come and paid tribute to Paul Poberezny for his foresight and vision for bringing EM to where it is today.

The Antique/Classic Division was be­coming international with the first re­quest for chapter status by a group of members in Argentina. This announce­ment in the June 1984 issue of VIN­TAGE named Mr. Abel Debock as Chapter President. The group became Chapter number 12.

Another Chapter was formed during the year when Chapter 18 in Phoenix, Arizona received its charter. Stanley W. Loer was the group's first president.

The EM Aviation Foundation's Auto Fuel STC program made great strides

during the year when they received F M approval for the issuance of STCs for many models of Aeronca, Cessna, In­terstate, Luscombe, McClish (Funk), Piper and Taylorcraft aircraft. At the same time, the list of airports in the U.S. providing auto fuel grew rapidly.

OSHKOSH - 84 - THE FREEDOM OF FLIGHT

Oshkosh '84, the 32nd Annual EM Fly-In Convention was held July 28-Au­gust 4 and new records were set in all areas with the weatherman cooperating nicely. Total show plane count was up including 128 Antiques and 607 Class­ics.

The Antique/Classic Division ac­tivities involved greater participation

. than ever, and thanks to the hardwork­ing chairmen, co-chairmen and volun­teers, each committee did its job splen­didly. The Antique/Classic Chairman for the Convention was Bob Lickteig, with Co-Chairman Roy Redman.

The Antique/Classic area with a new porch on the Red Barn was the talk of the Convention. AI Kelch and Bob Lum­ley were responsible for the design and construction of the porch and, with minimum assistance, completed the job just in time for the '84 Convention. This new addition to the Red Barn was named the Friendship Porch and, in an appropriate ceremony, was dedicated to all Convention volunteers.

Manpower Chairman Jack Copeland, with Co-Chairmen Ray Olcott and Bob Lumley did an outstanding job. Thanks to Art Morgan, Chairman of Parking and Flight Line Safety, along with Co-Chair­man Bob Herman and Bob Braver, there were no parking problems.

The Antique/Classic Fly-Out to Wautoma, WI had 40 aircraft and 100 people, a most enjoyable outing thanks to Bob Lumley. The reunion of past grand champions and reserve grand champions arranged by AI Kelch brought out seven aircraft. The reactiva­tion of the picnic resulted in 420 people enjoying fine food and a great social hour, thanks to Bob Kelly.

The first photo contest of the Division attracted 26 entries. Jack McCarthy not only organized this activity but gave complete photo coverage of all Antique/ Classic activities. The Headquarters Staff at the Red Barn was busy through­out the Convention with Kate Morgan, Ruth Coulson and Jo Olcott handling merchandise sales double the amount of previous years.

The Parade of Flight had 93 planes participating with Phil Coulson and Will­iam Benedict doing an excellent job of organizing. The Type Club Headquar­ters Tent was full with ten clubs con­ducting their business. The group was honored during the week when EM Convention Chairman Tom Poberezny spoke to them. Type Club Chairman

Butch Joyce was planning on a larger tent for 1985. The Forums handled by Ron Fritz and Gene Morris had the largest attendance on record.

Roy Redman had a merchandising and chapter stand which was busy all week, signing up 121 new Division members and talking with 20 members interested in forming new chapters. The merchandising and chapter stand was constructed by Stan Gomoll.

Dan Neuman arranged for and con­ducted 18 interviews with aircraft own­ers. This was more activity than ever for that committee.

Coordinating the requirements of press people in the Antique/Classic area were AI and Lois Kelch and they did their usual superb job. The security of the Antique/Classic area was the re­sponsibility of Chairman Dave Shaw, with Co-Chairman Jack Huffman, Dale Fauw and Tom Auger. These men did an excellent job in the performance of their duties.

Last but not least, the aircraft judges were to be congratulated for a job well done. The Antiques were judged by Chairman Dale Gustafson with Co­Chairman Pete Covington. Chairman George York judged the Classics along with Co-Chairman Dale Wolford.

Of course, those listed above are only a small percentage of the total number of volunteers who participate at Osh­kosh and are responsible for making the Annual EM Convention the greatest aviation event in the world. Without them, if would not happen.

The top awards at Oshkosh '84 went to:

ANTIQUE:

Grand Champion - Stinson SR-5E, N14187, J. Tom Laurie, Newport Beach, CA. Reserve Grand Champion - Stearman C3R, NC794H, Jeff Robinson, Arleta, CA.

CLASSIC:

Grand Champion - Cessna 140, NC4135N, Rick and Kathie Paige, San Mateo, CA. Reserve Grand Champion - Rawdon T-1 , N5160, Terry Chastain, Manches­ter, MO.

REPLICA:

Champion - Gee Bee Model Y, N718L, Ken Flaglor, Northbrook, IL.

One of the greatest thrills at Oshkosh '84 was the appearance of the Rutan Voyager, the aircraft designed to cir­cumnavigate the earth, non-stop. It was flown to Oshkosh by Dick Rutan and Jeanna Yeager from its home base, Mojave, CA.

The first EM Air Academy which ran from July 15-August 4, 1985 far ex­ceeded all expectations in its impact on participants. The program will definitely

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

Photo by Jim Koepnlck

The Antique/Classic Red Barn - Oshkosh '84 - with the new Friendship Porch beckoning members to "come on in and set a spell". This shot was taken just before the Convention opened. A big thank you is due AI Kelch and Bob Lumley for their perseverance in seeing this project to its completion.

be scheduled again in '85. The election results announced at the

Annual Antique/Classic Divison busi­ness meeting during the Convention in­dicated that all incumbents were re­elected with the exception of Director Robert G. Herman who was unseated by Advisor Espie M. "Butch" Joyce.

In the November 1984 issue of VIN­TAGE the name of Dennis Parks ap­peared on the masthead as a feature writer as a result of his monthly con­tributions of a column called "Vintage Literature." It first appeared in the July issue and was an on-going series de­scribing periodicals f(om the vintage years of aviation. Dennis is on the staff of the Purdue University Libraries.

1985 - ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION'S 15TH YEAR

Commitment for Growth

"Welcome to 1985. Welcome to your Antique/Classic Division's 15th year of service and leadership," were President Bob Lickteig's opening remarks in his first editorial for the year in VINTAGE. He went on to pay tribute to the group's founding fathers and re-established the Division's goals for the anniversary year with the theme - COMMITMENT FOR GROWTH.

In that same January 1985 issue of the magazine, Paul Poberezny wrote an editorial "Looking Back . . . Looking Ahead" in which he recalled calling the first Antique/Classic meeting to order. Aims and goals were discussed and, particularly, the help that would be needed for the Antique/Classic en­thusiast during the Annual Convention.

Past president and current treasurer "Buck" Hilbert, the Division's first presi­dent Dave Jameson, and past secretary and director Kelly Viets all contributed guest editorials in the April and June 26 JULY 1985

issues of VINTAGE. They reminisced about the early days of the Division and their involvement with it.

The EM Aviation Foundation con­tinued to receive all additional STCs from the FM for the use of auto fuel in aircraft; the most recent being for sev­eral models of B&B Aviation (Bellanca), Northwest - Rankin Porterfield and S. L. Industries (Aero Commander) air­craft. The Foundation also received STC approval for the use of auto fuel in the Lycoming 0-235 and 0-290 engines.

Early in the year some personnel changes occurred in the Division when, due to personal commitments and other considerations, two long-time Directors, AI Kelch and Claude Gray, resigned. In January, 1981 Claude and AI were named Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively of the EM National Judg­ing Committee formed by the EAA Board of Directors. In this capacity they were responsible for writing the EAA Aircraft Judging Manual and they leave this legacy which will serve EAA in a constructive manner for many years to come.

The Antique/Classic Board of Direc­tors named Advisors Ray Olcott and Dan Neuman to serve out the unexpired terms of Kelch and Gray. The Board also appointed three new advisors: Timothy V. Bowers of Woodland, CA; Phillip Coulson of Lawton, MI and W. S. "Jerry" Wallin of Kent, WA.

With the March 1985 issue, THE VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE had grown to 32 pages and the back cover was also in color.

Looking ahead to Oshkosh '85, scheduled for July 26 to August 2, this Antique/Classic Division made plans for three new activities, in addition to all the regular ones. These are a riverboat din­ner cruise, a program to present each registered aircraft owner or pilot a Par­

ticipant's Recognition Plaque and a week-long Antique/Classic Workshop which will give members an opportunity for hands-on experience in aircraft woodworking, dope and fabric.

President Bob Lickteig wrote, "With our 15th Anniversary year celebration continuing, we once again are making plans to be a major sponsor of the EM Air Academy '85 ... It's going to be a great Convention. Make the Antique/ Classic area your headquarters for Oshkosh '85. Welcome aboard. Join us and you have it all!"

EPILOGUE This treatise was not intended to be

a detailed historical account of the EM Antique/Classic Division. The space re­quired for such a compilation was not available in this special, 52-page issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE.

The omission of so many names of members who over the years contri­buted so much to the success of the Division through their contributions of time, money and donation of materials is regretable and in no way downplays the importance of their efforts.

Also, we would like to have listed all the award winners, both people and air­craft, but again, space would not permit it.

The account of the early years of the Division is more detailed to pay tribute to those who made it happen - from EM President, Paul Poberezy who conceived and promoted the idea, to those enthusiastic EM members who traveled at their own expense, to EM Headquarters to help organize the EM Antique/Classic Division.

This historical account is dedicated to all members of the Antique/Classic Division, and especially to those charter members, many of whom have been serving the group since its inception . •

'I'U EREPLICA GEE BEE R-l/R-2 "LONG TADJ RACER"

Jess with his super-sized homebuilt Gee Bee replica. The 140 gallon fuel tank is on the c.g. behind the firewall. Original was sometimes called the R-3 or the "Intestinal Fortitude" which was printed on the cowl.

Story and Photos by Dick Cavin (EM 2904) 10529 Somerton Drive Dallas, TX 75229

As you head north out of Ft. Worth, Texas about 30 miles up the way you'll come to the tiny town of Justin. On your left are softly rolling plains as far as the eye can see, while on the other side of the road to the east the terrain abruptly roughens. Perhaps it's really true what the natives say, that this is where the West begins. It would be easy to close one's eyes and imagine the great herds of buffalo that grazed these very plains less than a century ago.

As I drove west from Justin on this perfectly beautiful Saturday afternoon last February, th~re was a cloudless sky and a gentle southerly breeze that made this warm day carry more than just a hint of springtime just around the corner. I was already beginning to be­lieve the natives who say that heaven is only a local call from here.

Jess Shryack's Flying S Ranch is only a couple of miles west of Justin and I had no trouble locating it. Not only did I see his big hangar a mile away, but I also saw a neighbor making a friendly low pass down the strip in his

Fairchild 24. As I turned into the parking lot in front of the hangar, I was suddenly in another world. The first thing I saw was Jess' 1934 DeSoto "Airflow". That brought back a flood of memories of my teen years and how I had begged my parents into buying the Chrysler twin to the DeSoto. The body style was a rad­ical departure from the norm. It was trumpeted as "streamlined", the wave of the future . Actually, it wasn't very pretty. Somehow it looked like it had melted and run down on each end. An outraged public promptly rejected them.

Jess was visiting with a neighbor in front of the hangar when I drove up. He greeted me warmly and while we ex­changed pleasantries in the warm sun­shine, I looked back into the darker re­cesses of the cavernous hangar. I could see Jess' blood red Staggerwing that he's had for 14 years, with a white and yellow Culver Cadet further back in a corner, and what looked like still another Cadet fuselage in another corner. Then I saw what I had come to see - the bare boned hulk of a fuse­lage, with the center section almost hid­ing behind that inspiring P&W R-985 ra­dial engine and the massive legs of the wide stance gear protruding under­neath. Somehow a head-on view re­

minded me of a giant gorilla striking a threatening pose. Others have said it reminds them of a bulldog. In any case the impression of power and brute strength comes through loud and clear.

Back to Jess for moment, though. He comes by his fascination with the "old­ies" quite naturally. He was born in 1921 and all those Golden Age airplanes were venerated objects of worship, even though they were always beyond his reach because of his tender years.

He first soloed a Luscombe in the Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1942. (Coincidentally, I noted a couple of al­most-restored Luscombes tied down alongside the hangar). Jess went to Chanute, Kansas for the cross country phase of the CPT program. There he met and fell in love with the Stagger­wing. He also got acquainted with the Culver Cadet in that year and it, too, became ·one of his loves. His son took his private license test on the family Culver, much to the delight of the FM inspector officiating.

Jess went to Chickasha, Oklahoma on his graduation from CPT and in­structed on PT-19s. After WW II he went back to school and got his degree in mechanical engineering and worked for Chance Vought for a while. Flying

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

Author Cavin calls this "Fantasy Island". Jess proudly displays his Gee Bee, De Soto, Beech Staggerwing. Cadillac and Culver Cadet.

still called, though, and when the Ko­rean War broke out he went to Colum­bus, Mississippi and instructed on AT­6s. In 1952 he began his airline career, where he spent the next .30 years.

In case you didn't know, there are air­line pilots and then there are airline pilots. Some of them are there just for the money and begrudge every minute of it. Another segment like to fly and savor the professionalism required. There's still another group that truly love flying - any kind of flying. They just don't get enough of it. It's not only their profession, but also their hobby. All of us in that category have an especial camaraderie with others that fit this mold. Obviously, Jess is one of these.

During his airline career, Jess never lost sight of his memories of the airplanes that made history in the 20s and 30s. In 1969 he did something about it. He bought the acreage for his 2,000 ft. strip and in 1971 put the hangar on it. The hangar itself was a model of those of yesteryear, with a high arched roof and a lean-to type of shop on the side. That same year he found his Staggerwing. The Cadet and Luscombes came along next and soon his hangar was full to overflowing with his private stable of flying machines.

At this point you might think he. should have been content with just the Staggerwing and the other chicks in his hangar. But you just don't understand the situation. A true horse lover is never content with just ONE horse, or even a half dozen. He loves 'em all . Especially the real thoroughbreds. Such was the case for Jess' thirst for the mighty Gee Bee.

Eventually it boiled down not to IF, but WHEN he would build the plane, so he started collecting parts. He bought a 28 JULY 1985

wrecked PT-19 for the tail wheel, rudder pedals, stick and walking beam, instru­ments, etc. Next he got a set of 6:50 x 10 wheels and brakes from a Cessna 310. A trip to the Snow Agplane plant at Olney, Texas yielded a bounty of large diameter steel tubing. And so it went . . an engine, a Ham Standard con­stant speed prop, then selected spruce and mahogany plywood for the wing.

Now his big problem was an accurate set of plans. Lady Luck soon smiled, though. He learned about Rudy Profant and the American Air Racing Society in Cleveland, Ohio from whom he bought a set of plans for a Gee Bee Model D. This was identical structurally in many respects to the R-1 /R-2 that Jess had selected to replicate. This gave him an accurate main gear drawing. Jess also

lucked into an excellent line drawing, a three-view, but without dimensions.

On an airline layover in Hartford, Connecticut, he tracked down a Pete Miller who, in 1932 when he was Assis­tant Chief Engineer for Granville Brothers, had drawn the very drawing that Jess had. Pete was able to re­member some of the vital numbers Jess needed. Now he had enough informa­tion to start construction.

He had talked about his Gee Bee dream with a friend, Richard Wilkinson of Ponder, Texas, another sleepy vil­lage a few miles north of Justin. Richard is a character of sorts himself. He is a free soul who lives life at a laid back pace of whatever suits his fancy at the moment, as long as it isn't spelled R-U­S-H. He is well known in the area for his expertise in building guitars, violins, harpsichords, etc., and also for the building of wooden wings.

Jess and Richard decided to start on it and on January 7, 1982, they laid the first pieces of tubing for a fuselage side in a long table top jig and the project was underway at last. This is getting ahead of the story, though!

In his research on this big Granville Brothers racer Jess learned that after the R-1 and R-2 racers were wrecked they salvaged many parts and built a hybrid combination of the two in 1933. In the process they lengthened the fu­selage from 17' 9" to 19' 9", which greatly improved the flying characteris­tics. They retained the elliptical wings of 25' span from the R-2 and installed them and a 550 hp version of the R-985. This gave the plane a max speed of 225 mph, while the R-1 with the 800 hp Wasp Sr. would hit 309 mph wide out.

While all the earlier Gee Bees were lost, it was totally untrue they killed all the pilots that flew them. Actually Jimmy Doolittle and most other pilots who flew

Retired airline captain Jess Shyrack had a long-time dream of building and flying a Gee Bee. His replica is powered with a 450 hp. P&W R-985 and a Ham Standard constant speed prop.

the Gee Bees praised them as fine fly­ing airplanes. Landing them on the tiny postage stamp airports of that day, along with the poor brakes was a big factor in the accidents. Remember, too, that racing pilots pushed their engines far beyond normal safe limits and the Gee Bees didn't readily lend them­selves to dead stick landings.

Jess has gone to the 19'9" fuselage length and he has also increased the span to 28'. The average chord is 5' , giving 140 sq. ft. of wing area, about twice the 75 sq. ft. of the Model Z, like Bill Turner's.

The earlier airplanes used a modified M-6 or M-16 airfoil, but Jess is using the 23012 as used on Staggerwings and Luscombes. He isn't interested in racing or making high speed runs with the Gee Bee. He only wants a safe flying airplane so the higher lift airfoil and in­creased wing area will tame the landing speed markedly. The empty weight will be 1,600 Ibs. as compared with the R-2's nearly 1,800 Ibs. Gross weight will be 2,600 Ibs.

The horizontal tail span and area have also been increased to better han­dle the' extra wing area. The horizontal tail centroid is close to the magic 2.5 times the wing chord aft of the 25% wing chord. This makes the plane much more conventional than you might sus­pect. Oh, yes, it still looks very much the Gee Bee in spite of the extra length and span.

It's interesting to see how much the original Gee Bee aircraft grew as time went by and requirements changed. The 1931 Model Z had a span of 23'5", was 15' long and had an empty weight of 1,400 Ibs. Its wing area was only 75 sq. ft (10 less than a Thorp T-18)., It hit 270 mph top and landed at 80 mph. Lowell Bayles won the Thompson Trophy Race with it in 1931 , with an average speed of 236.23 mph.

Forward visibility isn't the greatest.

The PT-19 control system is installed and the instrument are plumbed and/or wired. Note the wing and landing gear mount structure.

The last model, the R6H "Q.E.D.", was designed for the London-Mel­bourne Race. It was also flown in the 1938 Bendix Trophy Race. It had a P&W R-1690 800 hp engine, a 34' span, was 27' long, had an empty weight of 3,100 Ibs. and grossed out at 6,500 Ibs. Its max speed was 225 mph ..

The largest diameter of the fuselage is just behind the engine. The fuselage shape is an almost perfect tear drop of low aspect ratio, dictated by wind tunnel studies at New York University. The round cross section in the wing attach­ment area required extensive root fair­ing to partially negate the speed-rob­bing dihedral. Other racers with long fu­selages were able to get by with no di­hedral and get excellent performance gains. All that is a story in itself, though!

One of the major problems in building a Gee Bee is building a cowl that fits the engine in front and flows smoothly into the fuselage shape. Jess was lucky. He found a Beech 0-18 cowl and by adding metal skirting on the rear side it worked out just fine.

The boot cowl just aft of the ring cowl was also a stroke of luck. Jess found that three half sections of a Bamboo Bomber ring cowl would work perfectly. These two items not only saved Jess a bundle, but also many weeks of work. Just aft of the firewall is the gas tank and it's a whopping big box that holds 140 gallons. A metal craftsman named Alvarez working on Addison Airport made it for him and it's a work of art. The pilot seat is well aft of the tank and there is enough leg room for a man 7 ft . tall. The elevator control system is only mocked up now. It will require ­some careful design in its final stage to get the right "gearing" between the stick and elevator. It just wouldn't do if an airplane like this was super sensitive on the controls.

All electrical work is complete and all instruments are installed and operating. Jess had a good friend of his come down from Missouri and spend a week wiring it. All plumbing is also complete, which Jess did himself.

He has taxied the airplane without wings and says it handles as easily on the ground as a PT-19. And, yes, visibil­ity over the nose is zero, but he's found an angle alongside the engine that will give him some view of what's happen­ing and will modify the canopy accord­ingly.

He is also pleased with the snock struts he's made. They are tail wheel shocks from a PT-19 with stiff springs added to their pure oleo action to allow

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

I

for the heavy engine weight on them. I noticed Jess had no exhaust collector ring, only straight stacks. Surprisingly, he says they are quiet. All the racers used them in those days to save weight and to get the extra ounce of power.

The original R-1 and R-2 would climb at about 4,000 ft.lmin. and the earliest one used a fixed pitch prop. Later, Smith controllable pitch props were in­stalled. Jess' light weight airframe with the Ham Standard constant speed prop should climb like a rocket.

The wings are nearly done and they look beautiful. Skinning a wing with that amount of compound curves takes a true artist. He is using 3/32" plywood for the skin, so it will not move around so badly when humidity changes. The ribs have slotted cap strips with a plywood web, with vertical intercostals added for strength. He still has to build the ailer­ons and flaps. Stits Polyfiber will be used to cover the entire airplane.

The wing planform is a modified el­

lipse, with a straight leading edge and curvature on the trailing edge. Root chord is 5', with average chord about 4' near the tip. The spar is a husky 6" x 1-1 /2". Jess said Richard slipped the ribs on over the spar, top and bottom, and after the glue set he cut the caps off where they crossed the spar. He then glued additional spar cap material top and bottom that matched the thick­ness of the rib cap strips. A very neat way to do it and it gets maximum spar depth for greater strength.

Jess hopes to fly the Gee Bee late this summer. He probably will truck it to either the Sherman, Texas airport with its 10,000 ft . runway or to nearby Den­ton with a 5,000 ft. runway for initial flying. He said he expects to land it on the wheels and let the tail down gradu­ally as the racing pilots all did. The extra wide runway at Sherman would make life a little easier for Jess, too.

As I prepared to leave, I looked around in all directions and could plainly

see three other ranch airports within a five-mile radius. I couldn't help but think this is a real life Fantasy Island, where all men's fantasies come true. As drove away I was still in a time warp. The car radio was even playing a re­taped program of the 1948 Hit Parade!

While I was there a friend of Jess' drove in with a 1922 Ford Model T tour­ing car that looked brand new. Also a Stearman, a Cessna 150 taildragger and a 150 dropped in for a visit, plus a couple more that flew by and waved. Just a typical pretty day at the Flying S, Jess said.

I made a brief stop at Justin Time Air­field , which is a mile or so from Jess' place. It's the antique center of things in these parts, so we'" have to come back and do a story on it at a future date.

In the meantime I'm going to hunt up a pair of knickers and myoid golf cap I wore in the 30s and be on hand with my Kodak box camera for the first flight of Jess' fabulous Gee Bee replica! •

OSHKOSH'85 ANTIQUE-CLASSIC FORUM SCHEDULE

8:45a.m. 10:15a.m. 11:45 a.m. 1:15p.m. 2:45p.m. 8 p.m.

Friday, TIps on Fabric Antique and Classic Stinson 108 Series Your Antique/Classic July 26, 1985 Covering- Aircraft Judging Airplanes- Division-

Marv Hoppenworth Procedures ­ Kelly Viets Bob Lickteig, Dale Gustafson Roy Redman

Saturday, Ercoupes- Cessna 120/140­ Cessna 1201140­ Rigging the Navion ­ Bucker Airplanes ­July 27,1985 Kelly Viets International Cessna Continued R.G.Rogien Chris Arvanites

120/140 Association

Sunday, DeHaviland Moths - Stinson Reliants ­ Swifts- Civil Air Patrol on AIR SHOW -July 28,1985 Jerry Schwam Roy Redman Charlie Nelson Anti-Sub Patrol NO FORUM

DuringWWII-Roger Thiel

Monday, Luscombes- PiperCubs- Ryans and Kinner Fairchild 24s and Fairchild Continued July 29,1985 Luscombe The Cub Club, Engines- Primary Trainers ­

Association, John Bergeson Ryan Club Fairchild Club, Ed John Bergeson Wegner and John

Berendt

Tuesday, Heath Airplanes and Wacos- PostWarAeroncas- Beechcraft Beechcraft July 30, 1985 Engines- Ray Brandly C. L. "Buzz· Wagner Staggerwings ­ Bonanzas - American

Bill Schlapman Jim Gorman and Bonanza Society, and others George York Norm Colvin

Wednesday, Cessna 170s - Cessna 170s Aeronca Restoration Short Wing Pipers - NO FORUM- Cessna 190/1905s ­July31,1985 George Mock Continued and Research - Clyde Smith, Jr. AIR SHOW Cliff Crabbs and

Augie Wegner Bill Terrell

Thursday, Fabric Piper Taylorcrafts ­August 1,1985 Restorations ­ Forrest Barber

Clyde Smith, Jr.

30 JULY 1985

Photo by Golda Cox Photo by Jack Cox 1946 Navion, N91554 with 205 hp Continental engine. Owner is Best Custom Antique award went to this Howard DGA-15P, Harold Beyer of Calumet City, IL. owned by R. J. Geren, Carrollton, TX.

Photo by Golda Cox

Tom and Lorraine Zedaker flew their 1947 Stinson 108-2, N400C from their home in Las Vegas, NV and won the Best Custom Photo by Jack Cox

Classic - over 165 hp award. Engine is a 230 hp Continental A 1940 Culver Cadet LCA, N29393 owned by Lynne P. Meyer of 0-470R. Champaign, IL. Note added landing gear fairings.

Photo by Jack Cox

TYPE CLUB

HEADQUARTERS

Little Rocket Racer, SIN 2 being built by Joe Araldi, Lakeland, Florida. The original, SIN 1, was designed by Mr. Albert A. Vollmecke and flown by Lee Gehlback to 1st place in the 1930 All American Derby.

Photo by Dick Matt

(L-R) Butch Joyce, Madison, NC, Antique/Classic Director and Bob Lickteig, Albert Lea, MN, President of the Antique/Classic Division attended Sun 'n Fun '85.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

Photo by Golda Cox

Barbara Kitchens from Milner, GA and her Clip Wing Piper J-3, N41105. Plane received Best Antique Monoplane award.

Photo by Jack Cox

The most rare airplane at the Fly-In was this 1935 Miles Hawk Speed 6 with British registration G-ADGP owned by D. A. McCar­thy of Limerick, Ireland. Power is a 6-cylinder 210 hp De Havil­land Gipsy. Plane is the sole survivor of only three manufac­tUred.

Photo by Golda Cox 1941 Taylorcraft BL-65, N36130 owned and restored by mem­bers of EAA Chapter 635, DeLand, FL. Power is a Lycoming 0-145-B2, 65 hp.

32 JULY 1985

Photo by Jack Cox Bili Johnson and his son Bill, Jr. from Hopkinsville, KY with their 1948 Bellanca Cruisair, N74466. Plane was named Best Restored Classic - over 165 hp.

PHOTOALBUM

Photo by Jack Cox Photo by Jack Cox

Tom and Viv Tedrow, Freehold, NJ with their Porterfield, N41VT, Dave Serene of Ford City, PA took home a Best Type Award for winner of Best Cabin Antique award. his Piper PA-20, N1580A.

Photo by Golda Cox Photo by Golda Cox

This classic 1949 Cessna 195, N9375A, owned by Donald E. Piper Pacer, N5732D, converted from a Tri-Pacer by Billy Hen­Gillom, Lafayette, LA won a Best Type award. derson of Lakeland, FL. Billy is the Executive Director of the

Sun 'n Fun Corporation.

VINTAGE· AIRPLANE 33

Side view reveals Taylorcraft influence! Note rounded underside of the 23012 airfoil used on both Taylorcraft and Auster.

AUSTER MARK 7 Story and photos by Norm Petersen

The ring of the telephone jolted me upright at my desk in the EM Aviation Center. The voice on the far end said in a genuine Canadian accent, "We are over at Basler Flight Service with our unusual aircraft and thought you would like to know."

In no time, I was across Wittman Field and walking onto Basler's ramp - camera in hand. In front of me was the brightest yellow tail dragger I had seen in years! Only the Canadian roun­deIs and fin flash of red, white and dark blue added color to the machine. Al­though the Canadian registration, C­GCID, gave a clue as to the airplane's home, the nose gave you a definite tinge of British ancestry.

The two enthusiastic pilots intro­duced themselves as Sandy Brown, 3713 Haslam Road, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 6A5, and Gary Roach, 2124 11th Avenue, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 2S6. They had just purchased the Auster Mk 7 near Windsor, Ontario, Canada and were ferrying the bird home to British Columbia. (The urge to stop in Oshkosh and check out the EM Museum was too much -lucky for me!)

Built in 1947 by the Auster Aircraft, Ltd. of Reasky, Leicester, England, this 34 JULY 1985

particular Mark 7 had spent most of its life in Canada as an A.O.P. (Air Obser­vation Post) aircraft doing duty similar to our U. S. L-19 observation type airplane. It seats two side-by-side with a huge area behind the seats available for a third person, an aerial camera or cable-laying equipment. Use as an ae­rial ambulance (stretcher) is also ap­proved. The Mark 7 can operate on wheels, skis or floats.

Sandy and Gary pointed out that the engine in "GCID" was a 145 hp DeHavil­land Gipsy Major which just happened to come from a DeHaviliand "Chip­munk". In typical British tradition, the engine is an inverted four cylinder, air­cooled and turning counterclockwise as vieweCl from the cockpit. The prop was a fixed pitch German made Hoffman which was said · to have cost about $2,000. Ouch!!

. Fuel tanks in the wings hold 24 Impe­rial gallons (22 usable) and give about three hours of cruising at 7 gal./hr. The oil tank holds 3 Imperial gallons of #50 weight oil and consumption on the trip was running at one quart per hour. Al­though the Mark 7 will top out at 120 mph, normal cruise at 2100 rpm is 100 mph.

Most aviation people are aware that Auster started building aircraft in Eng­land in 1939 on license from Taylorcraft in the U.S. Hence, Austers have that "Taylorcraft look" about them and the Mark 7 is no differ9nt. The doors have the same shape, the wings have the same planform and the 23012 airfoil is used throughout the Auster series of aircraft.

Sandy Brown and Gary Roach, two of Canada's most enthusiastic airplane af­ficionados, pose in the shade of their newly purchased prize. Note "Junkers" type flap below trailing edge of wing.

Interior photo shows single control stick with right-hand throttle and mixture. Taylor­craft owners will recognize large control column frame under instrument panel.

Three-quarter rear photo shows flaps in the deployed position. Note how they seal the large gap and help reduce the stalling speed to only 35 mph!

There is one main difference! Only the British can take a docile handling 600 pound Taylorcraft and build the same machine at 1200 to 1400 Ibs. empty weight! Although the factory specs for a Mark 7 put the weight at 1469 Ibs., Sandy and Gary said their machine has an empty weight of 1401 Ibs. The gross weight is listed at 2210 Ibs, giving a useful load of about 800 Ibs. Take-off run into a 5 mph wind is 125 yards, while the landing run is a scant 90 yards.

Part of the nearly STOL performance is due to the fitting of Junkers-type flaps that mount behind and below the trailing edge of the wing. These flaps can be lowered to increase wing area and lift as they close the "slot" between wing and flap when deployed. Normal stall speed is said to be only 35 mph - no doubt, in part, to the effectiveness of the flaps.

Sandy, who is in the glass business, and Gary, who is a logger by trade, were thankful for two items at Oshkosh. One was the opportunity to go through the EAA Aviation Museum, which they really enjoyed. The other was locating two cases of # 50 weight airplane oil at Basler Flight Service. Now they would have enough oil to complete the trip to British Columbia.

After taking pictures of the brightly colored Auster, I bid good-bye to the Canadians as they headed westward with their newly purchased prize. I trust their trip was a successful one.

And, lastly, a word of thanks to Mr. C. G. Taylor who, at last report, was nearing 90 years of age and was in fai l­ing health. Because of his untiring ef­forts of many years ago, we can enjoy the sight of an Auster Mark 7 in good old Oshkosh! •

$2000 Hoffman prop graces front of Auster Mark 7. Note cowl Carburetor side of 145 hp Gipsy engine shows much plumbing opening on left side compared to American in-line engines and control rods. Cowling is held on with six Dzus fasteners. which have opening on right side.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35

THE ED MORROW STORY (Part two of two parts)

Ed Morrow in 1929 with a Timm Collegiate powered with a 165 hp Continental A-70.

as told to Ted Businger (EM 93833, AlC 2333) Rt. 2, Box 280 Willow Springs, MO 65793

ELMER DYE

As Elmer Dye became such a focal point in my life for several years, a little of his background seems appropriate. He was raised on his parents' sheep ranch near Worland, Wyoming. One of his first jobs off the ranch was as a mechanic/welder in the oilfields near home, which proved to be an asset later.

Doctors ordered his mother to South­ern California as a means of restoring her failing health. Initially they located in Long Beach where the flying bug bit Elmer. He signed up for lessons with Ryan but before he could begin flight training, the Ryan facility in Los Angeles was closed down. To enable Elmer to pursue his training, the Dye family moved to Encanto.

Elmer and I really got acquainted when I bought a used revolver and needed help learning how to hit a target with accuracy. This was an easy as­signment for him as he had started handling firearms at an early age on the Wyoming ranch. He was a marvelous companion and we soon joined forces as partners in building two sport planes. 36 JULY 1985

Elmer was a self-assured "leader of the gang" type of young man. I admired his self-assurance and tremendous drive. When it came to things aeronau­tical, I was usually conservative. Elmer had a way of making his opinion the dominant one.

ELMER DYE'S HEATH PARASOL

Elmer had a Heath Parasol powered with a three cylinder Anzani engine. They are the ones that vibrate so badly your eyes seem to see everything two or three times. The little ship was stored at Dutch Flats Airfield.

One day some "light fingered" gents partially dismantled the plane and towed it up to Huntington Beach where an alert policeman noticed Elmer's name on the cockpit side and called him. Until then we were not aware it was missing.

We drove up to retrieve it, but the wing was too cumbersome for the car, so it was temporarily stored in a shed adjacent to an oil well derrick. We took the fuselage and engine with us. When we arrived at Encanto we stored the fu­selage under Elmer's mother's home. This was an easy chore as the house was built on a hillside. The open end easily accommodated our needs.

SOLAR MS-1

With Claude Ryan sitting on the sidelines and the Mahoney-Ryan Com­pany gone, there was very little opportu­nity for aviation type employment in San Diego in May, 1929. Fred Rohr was the plant superintendent at Solar (this had originally been Prudden) and the two of us had worked together at Ryan.

This factory was located in one wing of the old fish cannery building that had

been used by Ryan. Bill Lewis had de­signed and was completing the en­gineering on a large sesqui-wing airplane at that time. Mr. Lewis was highly regarded in the aviation commu­nity as he was the Lewis of Lewis and Vought.

The Solar Company owner, Mr. Price hired me on Fred's recommendation. The job I was hired for was to make all the fittings and welds required, plus any machining. A promise was made that I would be the department head of that section just as soon as business picked up.

As we neared the completion of this large corrugated skinned plane, it was obvious that Mr. Price was having great financial difficulty. Unless a buyer showed up fairly soon, it would be necessary for me to go job hunting again.

By this time Fred Rohr had just about perfected his drop hammer operation and the income derived by the company was due to the drop hammered parts being made.

On one visit with Hawley Bowlus (myoid boss at Ryan) a job was offered at San Diego Air Service. It included a stipulated number of flying hours each month for each of the instructors. Natur­ally this situation left me with very mixed emotions.

The folks at Solar were fine people and if sales . materialized, it would be the more stable place to work. A great deal of agonizing went on over quite a period of time. Finally I explained the offer to Mr. Price and Fred Rohr and regretfully asked to be released. I be­lieve they were relieved to have one less employee to worry about.

The Solar MS-1 was an aristocratic looking aircraft for its time and was an

. Elmer Dye and his Heath Parasol. Airplane was stolen and later recovered.

1930 Solar MS-1, NC258V, SIN 101 with Wasp C 420 hp engine. This all-metal plane was sold to a customer in Mexico.

outstanding performer in the air. When it was time to test fly the MS-1, I recom­mended Doug Kelley to Mr. Price as the pilot. In January, 1930, Mr. Kelley was hired and all tests were completed. Doug Kelley was the ideal man for the job, and Solar was as pleased with him as he was with them.

Several days after the final test flight Lindbergh returned and, of course, he had to fly the Solar MS-1 . His remarks were very encouraging.

Kelley then took the sesqui-plane on a tour of California, partly to show its cross-country performance and partly to seek a buyer. In an effort to stir up a sale, Mr. Price came up with a publicity stunt that garnered some press. He dubbed the plane "The Flying Nursery" and scheduled a sales flight back to his hometown in Massachusetts. The plane would transport his wife and three little children.

Doug Kelley could not be spared from his duties as chief pilot for "Airtech"(San Diego Air Service) for such a period of time, so Bill Seaton, his assistant, re ­placed him for that tour of the country. When the plane came back to San Diego, I was allowed a little stick time. Later that plane was sold in Mexico and the buyer got one of the best bargains in aviation history when they took deliv­ery in 1931 . (Author's Note: In 1963 Solar received an inquiry for a replace­ment wing panel for the MS-1. Is it pos­sible this plane still exists in Mexico?)

After leaving Solar Aircraft, Doug Kel­ley worked his way up in Air Transport and is now the retired President of the P.S.A.

FLYWORM

Cliff and Elmer had been working in Mission Beach, California during the time I was with Solar. They had been building a "cyclonic aircraft" designed by Paul Maiwurm. After several view­ings of "the thing", I was firmly con­vinced it could never leave the ground.

When Maiwurm left town, Elmer was very subdued. He finally blurted out the fact that he, his Mom and Aunt had made a substantial financial investment in the project and now that was lost.

ledged that he had gained some valu­able work experience as he had done the welding on the machine, along with many other details necessary in such a project.

THE 1929 DYE DART "SPORT"

We used tM Anzani engine from Elmer's Heath for the sport plane we built. As the two of us were fairly adept welders the "Sport" ended up with a welded tube fuselage and wing. The covering was standard for that period, fabric and dope. We knew what we wanted our sport plane to look like, so no drawings were made. It was strictly eyeball engineering.

One morning I took a Warner-pow­ered Travel Air from Airtech and headed

toward Kearney Mesa. The school had an auxiliary field there as part of the primary training program. This was to separate the student pilots from the congested and more hazardous military and commercial activity close to San Diego.

As I'd suspicioned, Elmer and Cliff had towed the Sport from Encanto to Kearney. As I neared the field I saw a neat little plane flying around. When Elmer spotted the Travel Air, he beat a hasty retreat to the field and landed. By the time the Travel Air could be landed and shut down, Elmer could be seen on the far side of the Sport, ostensibly tin­kering wilh the plane and glancing fur­tively in my direction. He didn't recog­nize me and thought he'd been caught in the act of flying this unlicensed plane by an official of the Department of Com­merce.

Relieved that he wasn't going to lose his pilot's license, he excitedly de­scribed the , handling qualities of the Sport. I gave each of them a short hop in the Travel Air, then departed for home base. Elmer flew the Sport back to Encanto, while Cliff drove the car.

During the ensuing week, Elmer made a few minor revisions to the plane. That weekend we towed the Sport to a small field on a nearby hilltop. Naturally there had to be a photo ses­sion, and some fine tuning, then it was my turn to make my first hop in our dream plane.

Once in the air, my elation turned to chagrin. The aileron control was next to non-existent. It almost seemed we had

Ed Morrow Photo

When things settled down, he acknow- Paul Maiwurm's "Flyworm" Cyclonic aircraft built in San Diego in 1925. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

The first Dye Dart "Sport" built in 1929 by Elmer Dye and Ed Morrow. Engine was a 3-cylinder Anzani.

The first Waco 10 on Ryan's Dutch Flats field. Originally powered with an OX-5, Ed Morrow installed this 90 hp Siemens-Halske. He recalled cracks developing in the cast aluminum head through the spark plug holes and the plugs blowing out, "shooting holes in the propeller."

Autographed photo of Douglas Corrigan in his Curtiss Robin. Corrigan earned the nickname "Wrong Way" in July, 1938 when he took olf in his Robin from New York "intending" to fly to California, but he "misread" his compass and flew non-stop to Ireland. 38 JULY 1985

built a solid wing, with all lateral control being by rudder only. In all other re­spects, it lived up to Elmer's ecstatic report. It was indeed a sportster, albeit a very touchy one on the elevators. The landing was a revelation as it touched down without a wobble or a jar; or, as I told Elmer, "Like a crow on a post."

That one flight was enough for me. The Sport had to be reworked to give betler control. Elmer was satisfied enough to continue flying it, at least until he wrapped it around a power pole on take-off. Elmer suffered some minor in­juries to his neck and back in this mis­hap. The remains of our Sportster were stowed under his mother's house, next to the Heath.

AIR TECH

About the same time I changed jobs, "San Diego Air Service" changed its name to "Airtech". I recall this being the classiest flight school in existence, at that time. Mr. I. N. Lawson assembled the best staff available. His instructors and classes they taught were:

I. N. Lawson, Aerodynamics Hawley Bowlus, Aircraft Construction

and ~epair Gene Fry, Engines Jack Thornburg, Dope and Covering Roy Campbell, Airport Management Archie Atherton, Parachutes Doug Kelly, Flight Harold Gatly, Navigation Dean Blake, Meteorology Doug Corrigan, Operations John van der Linde, Woodworking

Shortly after being admitled to ''the circle", I found myself conducting a class in Construction and Repairs, in addition to my work in the welding and metal shop. Later the Aerodynamics class was also under my tutelage. I gave it my best possible effort and really did try hard. Perhaps the students did not realize it, but I did not feel prepared or qualified to handle so much responsi­bility so soon.

Not long after this, Hawley Bowlus decided to leave the school to pursue his dream of building sailplanes. He felt more time had to be devoted to the de­sign of his sailplane in order to get it into production. Now my office door car­ried a new title, "Chief of Ground SchooL"

HARRY AND DOUG CORRIGAN

A few month after I started to work for the school, my roommate Nabor went to work for Kinner in Glendale, California. This put me in the position of having to pay all the bills on the apart­ment as well having to do all the chores. When Harry Corrigan, Doug's brother, came to San Diego for his summer va­cation from U.C.L.A., it was a relief to have him move in with me. Harry was working at Jimmie Russell's parachute factory, a job that I'd helped him get.

Harry was an extremely decent guy and as smart as a whip. He made sev­

eral abortive attempts to teach me some higher mathematics, until he dis­covered how impossible it was to pound round numbers into a square head. Doug dropped in with great regularity, which allowed the three of us to have a number of memorable evenings. Few brothers have a stronger bond of affec­tion and general regard for each other than these two. Doug was helping to finance Harry's education that he him­self was denied. I felt fortunate to know them and be treated as a family member.

One evening shortly before we left the field, Doug hand propped a Curtiss and his hand caught a good lick. While walking home our path took us over a sizable embankment that required a run and jump to climb. By that time his hand was really sore, and wouldn't you know he slipped and fell on it. The pain was so severe, all he could do was hiss, and try to keep the tears from his eyes.

Doug put in many long hours and often as I'd leave he could be seen look­ing out the back window with a wistful expression. The look seemed to pose the question, "Will I ever get the break needed in this flying game?" It is possi­ble that even then he was formulating a plan to cross the Atlantic?

As far as I'm concerned, Doug Corri­gan succeeded greatly, both as an av­iator and a fine human being because I had the honor and privilege of watch­ing him develop through daily toil that often was drudgery. That made me proudest of all when this "doogle boy" realized his daring dream.

CLARK AND GOODWIN

A sorry incident occurred when one of our mechanics named Clark and a student pilot named Goodwin made a flight in the school's only Monocoupe. Doug Corrigan was Chief of Operations, but as luck would have it, he was in Arizona installing a new engine for one of our customers.

Apparently Clark reasoned that he could get away with a short hop on Goodwin's time as long as Corrigan wasn't around to see it. They took off together in the Monocoupe, heading in the direction of Kearney Mesa. In all too short a time a U.S. Navy pilot landed and informed Hawley BoWlus that he had observed our Monocoupe going into a low level turn and a half spin, then crash.

By his action, Clark had knowingly broken many rules. He was prohibited from flying while on duty, he used an airplane with an incomplete inspection that bad not been signed off for flight (that was part of my job). Most as­suredly he was not allowed or qualified to take a student aloft. We were never able to comprehend why poor Goodwin allowed himself to be euchered into that flight.

BOWLUS "SAILPLANE"

By 1929 Hawley Bowlus was well into building his sailplane. By today's

Hawley Bowlus left Alrtech to devote his time to the development of this Bowlus Sailplane. Note "roadster" used as tow car.

Hawley Bowlus prepares to test fly the Lawson Primary Glider In 1929. Ed Morrow welded the steel tube fuselage.

The Barling NB-3, reg. no. 880M owned by Ruth Alexander in 1930. Ed Morrow replaced the original LeBlond engine with a Warner because the owner planned to make record setting flights.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39

Last photo taken of the second Dye Dart. It crashed in Wyoming enroute to Detroit for start of Cirrus Derby.

standards, it was primitive. About six units were finished at San Diego's Lindbergh field, then Hawley moved his operation to San Fernando, California. Most of his soaring flights were at Point Loma. Lindbergh bought one for his own use after soaring at Point Loma and in the Temachapi Mountains near Gorman, .California.

At one time Hawley held most of the world's soaring records. Then his chief instructor, Jack Barstow used the same bird to break them. Shortly before Hawley passed away, he went to Mojave for a weekend of successful soaring. When he was packing up to leave, he remarked, "For all the years I've been away from it, I can't see where I've lost very much."

LAWSON PRIMARY GLIDER

Mr. Lawson brought the drawings of his primary glider to me. His instructions were "Hawley's sailplane is stirring up considerable local interest in that field. This design of mine is for a rugged pri­mary glider that is simpler and less time consuming to rig and break down. The fact it can be moved on a very light­weight trailer is a big plus for us too. I'd like you to use it as a project for instruc­tion on construction techniques. Divide the task among the ground school stu­dents to allow them the opportunity for a practical application of things they have studied. We will use the glider to teach our own students plus any outsid­ers interested in our primary gliding course as a preliminary to stepping up to Hawley's sailplane level."

The wing construction was assigned to the wood shop and later to cover and doping. My metal shop students laid out the steel tube fuselage frame on the concrete floor, cutting and fitting as re­quired, identical to the system we used on the first projects at Ryan. We tack welded the frame on the floor, then put it on sawhorses to complete the weld­ing.

The wing was built in two sections because of its complicated structure and as an aid in transportation and stor­age. The airfoil shape was similar to a Clark Y, only thicker. The metal portion was completed quickly so some of the metal shop students "turned to" on the wing, which hastened the project's com­pletion time.

Because of Hawley's experience with sailplanes, he was allowed the honor of 40 JULY 1985

making the first flight. One of our group had a Roadster to which we tied a 100 ft . length of rope for the tow. He made four or five tows, each with increased tow lengths, till the last one put him over 100 ft. high and at an angle greater than 45 degrees. I was next in line and be­cause every1hing had gone so smoothly, another 100 ft. was added to the rope. In three successive tows I was never less than 100 ft. a.g.1. I never was able to make a wheel landing, only three point like in a powered plane. That glider landed feather light either way.

Most of those in the area who were interested in sailplane flying checked out in the Lawson Glider. Some very prominent personalities put in some stick time but never advanced to the Bowlus sailplane. I towed off many times in Hawley's machine, but never really got into soaring.

RUTH ALEXANDER

I was asked to install a five cylinder Warner engine in a Barling NB-3 for a young lady named Ruth Alexander. Ruth was a nice lady and in time she could have been a fine pilot. She had a burning desire to make a name for her­self, in the shortest possible time. Un­fortunately her ambition exceeded her ability and that of the equipment.

With her Warner-powered Barling,

she did make several record fl ights. One of her attempts was aimed at the altitude record and her sponsor was a name brand parachute company. I was to modify the pilot's seat to accommo­date the chute, but she had accelerated her schedule to the point where there was insufficient time to complete the job. When I discussed this with her, she just shrugged it off with, "I really don't want the extra weight anyway!" She went up sans chute.

Her next record attempt was a non­stop cross-country from San Diego to Wichita, Kansas. I was in Santee, California that night and heard her fly up Mission Valley. I could also see patches of fog in the moonlight and later I heard her coming back toward town. When I checked in for work the next morning the bad news awaited me. Ap­parently she had flown back on top and when she thought she was in the vicinity of the field she dived through the fog, pulling the wings off on pull out.

Every1hing about that flight was wrong. The Barling did not have adequate instruments for an all weather night flight, and her experience was too limited. Somebody really goofed by al­lowing her to take off. We shoved the remains of her plane in the back room of the now defunct Bowlus Sailplane Factory.

FLIGHT TIME

In spite of all the previous time I'd logged solo, Airtech signed me in as a student pilot. This only meant the addi­tion of a scant two or three hours of dual time. Most of this was accumulated in a Warner-powered Travel Air. Bill Seaton was my instructor and he taught me a great deal. Later another instruc­tor Earl Mitchel checked me out in a Travel Air "Speedwing", with a 225 hp J-5. That was some ship, a true delight to fly.

When the school was satisfied with my flying , I began to accumulate the

Wright J-5 Travel Air, NC9822 used by the Airtech School of Aviation for advanced (commerCial) courses. Movie actor Wallace Berry once owned this plane.

greatest amount of time in Kinner and Warner-powered Fleets. It was in the Fleets that I really worked on aerobat­ics. My agreement with the school was for a given number of hours of flight time. There were no specific limitations, but it didn't seem wise to test their generosity. I selected a practice area some distance from the field where I was determined to learn to be as good a pilot as was possible.

Airtech also had a Ryan "Brougham" and a Challenger "Robin" which I had the opportunity to fly after I had my li­mited commercial license. The school then gave its blessing on my carrying passengers.

A dandy looking biplane arrived from Los Angeles one day, and proceeded to make the most astounding landing I'd ever seen. He "drug" the tail skid a very long way across the field, with the wheels at least a foot off the ground, finally settling in. It was an OX-5 Bird. Some of us were allowed a demonstra­tion ride.

During my flight in the Bird I was in for a surprise. As I came in for what should have been a normal landing, I badly overshot the field. Of course I could have slipped like the Dickens and fish-tailed, but that would have denied me the chance to learn something from the experience. The next time around I held the nose up, just like we were told never to do in a Jenny. The bird landed like a feather. I really loved that plane and the Kinner-powered Bird that was delivered to the school some time later.

One plane we repaired at Airtech seemed to embody everything good in an aircraft. If was a Stearman with a 225 hp Wright Whirlwind. It was brought up from Mexico showing substantial battle fatigue, with a neat row of 30 calibre bullet holes in it. We never learned the explanation for this.

DYE MORROW "DART"

Following Elmer's recovery from the Sportster accident, we commenced searching for a suitable power plant for our next venture. Our first stop was at the Kinner plant in Long Beach, Califor­nia. The Kinner five cylinder was a good engine but simply did not fit in well with what we had in mind.

Our next stop was at Menasco where we checked out the 90hp "Pirate". This suited our needs, but was well beyond our means. We discussed a deal to pro­mote that engine if the price were re­duced for us. Menasco felt they had enough exposure and held firm on the price. That left us out.

The last stop was at the local "Cirrus" dealer. This organization had. the first inverted unit in Southern California and were willing to give a discount in return for our promotional efforts. Elmer paid for the engine by having his Dad sell $3,000 worth of sheep. My investment was in the raw materials plus other needed items. This required nearly every cent I had.

build the "Dart". The two of us spent every available minute on it. Later Doug and Harry Corrigan assisted us as much as possible. Fred Rohr made the cowling on his drop hammer at Solar. When completed, Elmer made the first flight, and oh how that baby did fly!

We built the wing to be full cantilever, then decided that was too daring a move for us, with the limited knowledge we possessed. A strut was then added to each side, going from the top of the fuselage to the top tube of the wing spar, just inboard of the landing gear and the outer wing panel. We then reco­vered the affected area and painted the plane dark blue. Elmer then flew it to Lindbergh Field, partly to show it off.

Next came the great day when I got to fly our latest creation. Elmer wanted to go along so he had to ride in the front cockpit as there were no dual controls. Without giving it a real "wringing out" we did give it a complete check out. I was thrilled to the core with its handling. The Dart had too much aileron area, which made it sensitive, but this was a vast improvment over the Sport. With the two of us aboard, it cruised at 11.5 mph indicated and 130 mph full throttle in level flight.

The only significant problems that I can recall were poor fuel flow between the tank and the carburetor; and a buck­led tube in the area of the front wing spar. As a hindsight, that should have raised a red flag.

By that time the starting date for the American Cirrus Derby was close at hand. Elmer was sure the Dart had as good a chance to win as any, and that even placing high at the finish would be the best advertisement we could get. My conservative argument was to keep the ship in the local area, with a less rigorous flight program.

We both agreed that our next project would be an improvement on the Dart. The changes we proposed were an ad­ditional foot of landing gear length, less sensitive ailerons and a complete stress analysis.

As Elmer had the larger investment,

and was the daring one in our partner­ship, his determination to compete in the Cirrus Derby became overwhelm­ing. On his flight to the Derby's starting point at Detroit, Michigan, Elmer de­cided to go by way of Worland, Wyom­ing to show the Dart to his Dad. As he neared Casper, Wyoming he got boxed in by two especially vicious thun­derstorms. The severe turbulence col­lapsed one wing, which struck his head before departing the aircraft. The wreck ended up in a plowed field and it took three days by team and wagon to get Elmer's body to Worland. Not only had I lost a good friend and business as­sociate, but also the effort and dreams of a year. In retrospect, we had ex­ceeded our ability and the price was very high.

EPILOGUE

In a very short time the Depression caught up with Airtech and this superb school was forced out of business. For a time I survived on several temporary jobs. Finally, the only sensible thing to do was to return to the family farm at Kent, Oregon. There I prayed for a quick economic upturn that would allow me to return to the only vocation I'd ever wanted - aviation. Late in 1933, a tele­gram from "Dapper Dan" Burnett invited me back to Ryan.

I am most happy that it was my good fortune to have had my day of flying and building airplanes from the twenties to the fifties. That type of aviation career is gone forever because governmental restrictions, and excessive costs bar those of my income· group from engag­ing in the type of an aviator's life that I enjoyed.

The current ultralight movement is exciting, however its rapid growth is bringing on government regulation. In spite of this I think it faces a healthy and thrilling future.

Author's note: A special thanks is due Mr. Howard Rozelle of the Pacific Beach (California) Historical Society who willingly provided many' of these photos on very short notice . •

Photo by Howard Rozelle, 1215184

It took us a trifle less than a year to Doug "Wrong Way" Corrigan and Ed Morrow reminisce over old photos. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 41

By Dennis Parks (EAA 115388)

Purdue University Libraries

One of the most cited early American aviation publications was the Aeronauti­cal Annual edited by James Means of Boston. James Means, like Chanute, was determined to spread as much in­formation about mechanical flight as possible. His vehicle for doing so was his Aeronautical Annual.

For the three issues published during the 1890's he edited and issued signif­icant papers on current developments in aeronautics prepared by experimen­ters in the field. James Means' interest in flight began with a sea voyage during which he became fascinated with watching gulls fly. This led him to con­sider the possibilities of mechanical' flight.

He expanded his interest by collect­ing aeronautical literature, mainly com­ing from Europe. He shared his thoughts in a few popular publications. One in January 1893 appearing in Frank Leslie's Weekly declared his idea that it was wiser to first develop a small unmanned model than risk the lives of men and that "any measure of success with full-sized apparatus must be pre­ceded by complete success with flying models."

In 1893 Means retired from his busi­ness of shoe manufacture and devoted full time to experimenting with model gliders. By the end of 1894, having built a fair glider model, Means asked him­self, what next? It occurred to him that there were others around the world who were experimenting like him in ignor­ance of others' work. He decided to gather the best of the world's literature and publish it. This led to the publication of the Aeronautical Annual. The first of which appeared in 1895.

Having no contributors for the first issue, Means made it an historical vol­ume. Copies were sent to every exper­imenter he could locate and to public libraries in the larger American cities. It was available for sale to others for $1 .00. Production costs were from Means' own pocket and there were no advertisers.

There were 16 articles and an edito­rial in the first issue of 172 pages. It also included 16 plates of illustrations. The title page described the annual as being "devoted to the encouragement of experiment with aerial machines, and to the advancement of the science of aerodynamics."

Means had gone as far as he could with his experiments, he lacked the knowledge to go further. The literature 42 JULY 1985

The

Aeronautical Annual.

1895. Edited by JAMES MEANS.

BOSTON. MASS. , \\" . B . C L ARK E & CO . ,

340 W ASHISGTO:\" STREET .

James Means' AERONAUTICAL ANNUAL, 1895, 1896, 1897.

of others could build a body of knowl­edge to help others. What was also lacking was true "research", the scien­tific method, which the Wright brothers brought to bear so well on the problem of manned flight.

The first volume begins with Leonardo da Vinci's treatise upon the flight of birds and his design for an or­nithopter. Leonardo remarked on the soaring of birds and the power of wind needed to keep birds aloft.

A reprint of Sir George Cayley's "On Aerial Navigation" from Nicholson's Journal issues of November 1809, Feb­ruary and March 1810 was the second article. Cayley the "Father of British Aeronautics", believed that it was futile for man to expect to fly by flapping arti­ficial wings, an idea that held sway for a long time and hindered aeronautical development. He also discussed the aerodynamics of the concave shape of bird wings and the· effect of angle of at­tack on performance.

The first issue also included a reprint of Francis Wenham's paper given be­fore the new Royal Aeronautical Society in June 1866. Wenham also discussed bird flight. He had discovered the prinCi­ple of the high-aspect wing. There were also many short pieces including a selection of letters between Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Banks in London

and others in America. Franklin had wit­nessed the first manned balloon flight in France during 1783. In response to his report about the flight to Philadel­phia, he received a letter from Francis Hopkinson saying "We have been di­verting ourselves with raising paper bal­loons by means of burnt straw, to the great astonishment of the populace."

In a concluding editorial, Means gives details of his model glider designs. He concludes the volume with "No one dares to set a limit to man's achieve­ment; we are now only in the earliest stages of the science of aerial naviga­tion." 1896 saw the appearance of the second volume. It contained 19 articles, 16 plates, now including photographs, many illustrations and 158 pages. In re­sponse to the first volume this one now contained original contributions. The major articles were by Lilienthal , Maxim and Chanute. Lilienthal 's 18-page arti­cle was entitled "Practical experiments for the development of Human Flight."

The German pioneer, Otto Lilienthal had also studied bird flight and pub­lished a book about it in 1889. He de­cided that one had to conquer the air by actually flying. He thus embarked on gliding experiments and in the years be­fore his death in a glider in 1896 he made made over 2,000 flights.

In this article he stated that the "jour­

ney in the air without the use of the bal­loon is absolutely necessary in order to gain a judgement as to the actual re­quirements for an independent flight. He recognized the need for aircraft sta­bility and stated "It is in the air itself that we have to develop our knowledge of the stability of flight." Lilienthal's death saddened Means, especially since he had argued for the use of flying models for experiment in order to not risk human life.

Hiram Maxim's 30 page article "Natu­ral and artificial flight" is very interesting. It covers his interest in bird flight and his design and construction of a flying machine.

Unlike others who worked with flying models and those who experimented with gliders, Maxim decided to plunge right in ''to make a larger machine heavier than air that would lift itself from the earth by dynamic energy generated by the machine itself."

His machine was not large, it was huge. Of biplane configuration, the main planes were 110' long, carried a total area of 5,550 sq. ft, had a 350 hp steam engine pulling twin 17' props, and weighing 3-1 12 tons.

His effort was not to provide free flight or build a practical airplane, it was just to show that his propulsive design could lift a heavier than air craft from the ground. This it did in 1894. At a speed of about 42 mph it lifted clean of the tracks it was on, but got fouled on the retaining guard rails placed to prevent a complete take off, and crashed.

Octave Chanute, the great American gliding pioneer and aviation historian,

provided a 15-page article "Sailing Flight" .in which he examined the con­siderable literature on bird flight. He did not find in any of it precise measure­ment that would be necessary to test the author's theories "by numerical examples." He said he was determined to gather such data for himself.

In the remaining short pieces were six papers related to kites, including one by Alexander Bell on his tetrahedral cel­lular kites. In the editorial Means issued an invitation to "Experimenters in all parts of the world to send in concise accounts of their experiments".

In the introduction to the third and final volume of 1897, Means, after be­moaning the loss of Lilienthal, went on to state that ''the advance toward the full solution of the problem of flight which was made in the year 1896 was greater than that of any previous year." He stated that the "best lines for inves­tigators to follow are very clearly marked out." These were 1) Develop­ment of the self-propelled aerodrome (Langley's term), 2) Development of the motorless air-sailer, 3) Development of the motor.

The volume of 178 pages included 14 articles, a miscellany and an editorial. There were 18 plates of illustrations and photos.

The lead article was a 24-page treatise by Samuel Langley "Story of Experiments in Mechanical Flight." The article covered Langley's experiment in powered models from 1887 to 1896 with the successful flight of Aerodrome No. 5.

This is followed by an article by Cha­

nute "Recent Experiments in Gliding Flight" in which he tells of work done along the Lake Michigan dunes near Chicago during the summers of 1896 and 1897.

Another article was by Chanute's col­laborator, August Herring, called "Dynamic Flight." Percy Pilcher, a glider experimenter from England who was to meet the same fate as Lilienthal, contri­buted a paper on his work.

Means in his editorial again makes a strong plea on behalf of flying models for research. "We have reached the stage of experiment where it is neces­sary to use all possible persuasion to keep reasonably near terra firma those persons who have nothing but the cour­age of ignorance to equip them for ven­tures in the air."

The three volumes of 1895, 1896, and 1897 providing accounts of such famed contemporary experimenters as Lilienthal, Langley and Chanute repre­sents the best collection of the experi­ments and thought available at that time, and one of the best of all time.

Means stated in his first volume "If this compilation should happily bring any new workers into the field of aero­nautical experiment, the hopes of the editor will be amply fulfilled." That such hopes were fulfilled is evidenced by a letter from Orville Wright dated January, 5, 1908 containing the following : "The old Annuals were largely responsible for the active interest which led us to begin experiments in aeronautics."

The volumes of the Annuals were examined in the Goss History of En­gineering Library at Purdue University .•

MEMBER'S PROTECTS... t:lII

This section of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is dedicated to members and their aircraft projects. We welcome photos along with descriptions, and the projects can be either completed or un­derway. Send material to the editor at the address shown on page 3 of this issue.

This beautiful blue and white 1940 WACO UPF-7, N173E, SIN 5592, is owned by Espie M. "Butch" Joyce, Jr. (EAA 19740, AlC 4199), Box 468, Madi­son, NC 27025. It's based at Shiloh Field where he keeps his award-win­ning Beech 0-35 Bonanza. The Waco originally was one of the thirty-plus as­signed to the Private Flying Section of the CAA and painted black and orange. Butch is planning to restore the plane back to its original configuration .•

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 43

, I ~ype ClubActivities

The Meyer's Aircraft Owners Associ­ation newsletter dated April 9, 1985 mentioned that E. J. Whorton has infor­mation on the installation of a Century IV Auto Pilot in a Meyers 200 at an ex­tremely reasonable price. Call him at 503/838-5873.

The newest member of the Meyers Association is Ian Pollock of Northcliff, South Africa. He has an immaculate 200 which was shipped to South Africa in 1965 and assembled at Rand Airport, outside Johannesburg. He is the sec­ond owner.

Col. Bud Young has modified his gear lights on his Meyers 200 to show GREEN when down and locked, all lights OUT when up and locked, and RED while cycling or unlocked. For a copy of the modified wiring diagram, send a SAS.E. to the address below.

Although only the Model 200 is men­tioned here, this group is for 145 and OTW owners as well. For information on the Meyers Aircraft Owners Associa­tion contact: Jacque Merrihew, 199 So. Washington Street, Sonora, CA 95370. Phone 209/532-2826.

The Corben Club is a new Type Club dedicated to the finding , restoring and building of Corben designs like the Baby Ace, Junior Ace and Super Ace. The Corben designs are both antique historically and fit into the replica cate­gory as well.

The basic purpose of the club is to establish communication among those who cherish Corben · history and for those who build and fly the famous trad­itional Corben designs. The goals are to develop purpose and fitting activities for Corben owners and fans. The first Corben Club Fly-In will be held July 4-6, 1985 at Antique Airfield near Blakes­burg, Iowa.

For further information write Corben Club, P. O. Box 127, Blakesburg, IA 52536, phone 515/938-2773. 44 JULY 1985

The 3rd National Aeronca Factory Fly­In has been scheduled for June 13-15, 1986 at Middletown, Ohio. The two pre­vious Aeronca Fly-Ins at Middletown were sponsored by some of the Aeronca Type Clubs. For more informa­tion contact Jim Thompson, Box 102, Roberts, IL 60962, phone 217/395­2522.

gUPVv CUB The Second Annual Super Cub

Pilot's Association Fly-In will be held July 5-7, 1985 at the Root Ranch in the Idaho · Wilderness Area. The Root Ranch is owned by Flying Resort Ranches and is about ten miles south of the Chamberlain Basin Airstrip, the

. location of last year's fly-in. There are facilities for camping, as

well as a bunkhouse and lodge to meet the needs of those who want to sleep in a bed and have their meals cooked for them, as well as those who want to rough it in a sleeping bag under the wing.

There were about 35 Super Cubs in attendance last year and from the number of inquiries, there may be twice that many in attendance this year. For information contact: Jim Richmond, Super Cub Pilot's Association, P.O. Box 9823, Yakima, WA 98909, phone 509/ 248-9491 .

MINNESOTA SEAPLANE PILOTS ASSOCIATION

The seaplane facilities on Lake Win­nebago near Oshkosh, Wisconsin were described in this group's current news­letters. Some of the members plan to fly there during Oshkosh '85, July 26­August 2.

The Seaplane Pilot's Association an­nual corn roast will take place at the seaplane base on Monday afternoon, July 29, during the afternoon airshow, with all the brats and sweet corn you can eat. The flight into the base from the north is described as very simple and safe. The base is very well or­ganized with frequent shuttle buses to Wittman Field during the Fly-In.

Anyone interested in coordinating a MSPA contingent to Oshkosh is asked to contact the Minnesota Seaplane Pilot's Association at 6980 Lake Drive, Circle Pines, MN 55014, phone 61 21 559-2448.

Because of the unprecedented growth in membership over the past few months the CPA outgrew its first office and in June, moved into offices in the International Flying Farmers building on Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport. The mailing address remains the same but the new phone number is 316/946­4777. Members passing through Wichita are welcome to stop and visit and can actually park their airplanes right outside the office.

The CPA will celebrate its first an­niversary on August 1st. The rapid growth of the group resulted in the monthly newsletter expanding from eight to twenty-four pages over the past eight months.

An "every member get a member" re­cruiting campaign is underway and each person who joins by this August 1 st will be considered a charter member.

For information contact John M. Frank, Newsletter Editor, Cessna Pilots Association, P.O. Box 12948, Wichita, K~ 68288, phone 316/721-4313 . •

by George A. Hardie, Jr.

This month's Mystery Plane is another example of a designer's at­tempt to perfect an STOL machine to improve the utility value of an aircraft. The photo was submitted by John Lengenfelder of Lawrenceville, New Jersey who says it was taken at the Poulevard Airport, North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1939. Answers will be published in the October, 1985 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline for that issue is August 15, 1985.

The Mystery Plane in the April 1985 issue brought back memories to Mike Rezich of Chicago, Illinois. He writes, "The airplane may be a mystery to the

young generation of book historians who weren't around in those days, but I was well acquainted with that airplane in particular. Many years back when I used to be a 'go-fer', clean up and around boy for Willie Laird, Mattie's older brother, I helped assemble the Laird LCA-A, NC931 (shown in the photo), and also went along on the sec­ond test hop, along with Mike Bakco, the welder, Harold Laird and Mattie, who was flying it.

"The airplane was a 6-place cabin job with a 420 hp Pratt & Whitney engine, built for a Chicago businessman, George Horton, who was President of the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company. He later bought Mattie's last airplane to

be produced, the Laird Sesquiplane. The pilot who flew the airplane around the country for Mr. Horton was AI Spor­rer, who was one of the first corporate pilots in the country. Most of the young fellows will mistake it for a Stinson bip­lane, but this ship was a bit bigger and heavier. The color was blue fuselage and gold wings. Mr. Horton owned and operated the ship for four or five years. ~he last I heard of it was in about 1939 when a fellow up in northern Wisconsin was using it to haul fish. In those days it was considered quite a plush job ­P&W power, brakes and upholstered cabin, no helmet and goggles. It cruised a little over 100 mph. It was also on display at the Chicago Aircraft Show in 1929."

Others answers were received from John and Anthony Morozowsky of Zanesville, Ohio (who are restoring a Laird LC-1 B 200, serial number 161 , and an LCORW 450 Senior Speedwing, serial number 162); H. Glenn Buf­fington, San Diego, CA; Cedric Gallo­way, Hesperia, CA; H. M. Richey, M.D., Waco, TX; Stan Piteau, Holland, MI ; and Charley Hayes, Park Forest, IL. •

OOPS! An unfortunate mix-up occurred in

the answer for March in the Mystery Plane article in the June issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. The photo shown was actually of the Laird LC-M, which appeared in the April issue and is answered here (above). The correct photo for the March mystery plane is shown here. To date, no answer has been received about this airplane and it is still a mystery. Ed Peck of Waddy, Kentucky, who furnished the photo, says the insignia on the side of the fuselage read "Cloud Coupe". Maybe this will help identify the airplane, which appears to be a homebuilt.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 45

VINTAGE SEAPLANES Edo-Aire Seaplane Division has, for several years, been sending season's greetings cards to friends in the form of captioned photos of seaplanes of yes­teryear. Edo-Aire has granted THE VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE magazine permis­sion to reprint the series which starts with this issue.

ADMIRAL BYRD'S CONDOR

"This aircraft, a Curtiss Wright Con­dor AT-32 on Edo 70-16800 floats, was used by Admiral Richard E. Byrd (the first man to overfly both the north and south poles) during his 1933-35 Antarc­tic expedition. Named 'William Horlick' after a good friend who made a major contribution to Byrd's privately financed expedition, the Condor was equipped with two Cyclone 725 hp supercharged

engines that incorporated variable pitch propellers - a relatively new develop­ment in 1933. It had a wing span of 82 feet, cruised at 100 kts and was oper­a.ted at a gross weight of 19,000 Ibs. The Edo floats were 32 feet long and were the largest floats manufactured up

to that time. In 1933 the plane was low­ered from the research ship 'Ruppert', fueled in the water, and flown 800 miles over the frozen Antarctic wastes to the explorer's base, Little America. It was landed on floats in the snow and later fitted with skis." •

GALENDAR O~ EVENTS We would like to list your aviation event in our calendar. Please send information to the EdHor, The VINTAGE AIRPLANE, Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. lilformation must be received at least two months in advance of the issue in which it will appear.

JULY 2-4 - CARLSBAD, NEW MEXICO - 1985 National Ercoupe Fly-In. Contact Skip Cardin, Box 15058, Durham, NC 27704. Phone 919/ 471-9492.

JULY 4-6 - BLAKESBURG, IOWA - Aeronca Fly-In at Antique Airfield. Awards, forums, fly­out Aeronca party and slide show. Contact The Aeronca Club, 1432 28th Court, Kenosha, WI 53140, 414/552-9014.

JULY 5-7 - ALLIANCE, OHIO - Annual Taylor­craft Fly-In/Reunion at Barber Airport, three miles north of Alliance. Contact Bruce M. "Bar­ney" Bixler, 12809 Greenbower, N.E., Alliance, OH 44601.

JULY 5-7 - MINDEN, NEBRASKA - 9th Annual National Stinson Club Fly-In. Make reserva­tions at the Pioneer Motel in Minden, phone 308/832-2750. For information on the Fly-In contact Doug Shannon, P. O. Box 12864, Dal­las, TX 75225. •

JULY 7 - ALBERT LEA, MINNESOTA - EAA Antique/Classic Chapter 13's 2nd Annual Fly-In breakfast and many other activities, including sky diving. Contact Air Albert Lea, 507/373­0608.

JULY 13-14 - ANDERSON, INDIANA - First National Cub Club Fly-In at Ace Airport. Camp­ing available. Contact: Annie Barnett, 7607 Columbus Avenue, Anderson, IN 46103.

JULY 12-14 - ANDERSON, INDANA - 1st An­nual Cub Club Fly-In at Ace Airport. Contact: Rick Duckworth, 517/875-2205.

JULY 18-21 - VANDALIA, OHIO - Dayton Inter­national Air Show & Trade Exposition. Dayton International Airport, Vandalia, OH. Contact George Wedekind, Jr., Room 214, Terminal Building, Dayton International Airport, Van­dalia, OH 45377, 513/898-5901 .

46 JULY 1985

JULY 22-26 - BLAKESBURG, IOWA - 17th An­nual International Cessna 170 Association Convention. Contact F. O. Kline, 6021567­4588.

JULY 26 - AUGUST 2 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - 33rd Annual EAA Fly-In and Convention. Make your plans now to attend the World's Greatest Aviation Event. Contact EAA, Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.

AUGUST 2-4 - COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS - Funk Fly-In. Fly-bys, cOntests, homebuilts, antiques. Contact Ray Pahls, 454 S. Summitlawn, Wichita, KS 67209.

AUGUST 18 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK ­EAA Chapter 486 Airshow - Whitford's Airport. Pancake Breakfast, refreshments. Contact Jack Briggs, 315/699-2946.

AUGUST 18 - CLARENCE, NEW YORK - EAA Chapter 656 "Generic" Taildragger Fly-In at Clarence Aerodrome. General aviation wel­come as well. Contact: Sterling Daschler, 142 Curtis Parkway, Buffalo, NY 14223, phone 716/ 833-3837 evenings.

AUGUST 23-25 - SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY ­13th Annual Air Show Extraordinaire at Sussex Airport. Antiques, Classics, Warbirds, aerobat­ics, balloons, Army Special Forces Parachute Team. For more information call 201 /857-9919 or 201 /875-2103.

AUGUST 25 - MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA - 4th Annual Michigan City Aviators Fly-In, Drive-In Pancake Breakfast and Airshow. Antiques, Classics, Warbirds, Ultralights, Homebuilts on display. Door prizes and much more. Contact Marge Edson, P.O. Box 2092, Michigan City, IN 46360, 219/785-2103.

SEPTEMBER 4-8 - GALESBURG, ILLINOIS ­National Stearman Fly-In. Contact Tom Lowe, 823 Kingston Lane, Crystal Lake, IL 60014.

SEPTEMBER 6-8 - GIG HARBOR, WASHING­TON - Puget Sound Antique Airplane Club's 5th Annual Fly-In at Tacoma Narrows Airport. Antique/Classic judging and awards. Contact Floyd Tuckness, 29528 - 179th Place, SE, Kent, WA 98031, phone 206/631-7454.

SEPTEMBER 7-8 - MARION, OHIO - Annual Mid-Eastern Regional EAA Fly-In at Marion Municipal Airport. Contact Lou Lindeman, after 5 p.m. 513/849-9455.

SEPTEMBER 7-8 - SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY ­EAA Chapters 73 and 238 Tri-Chapter Fly-In with Antique/Classic Chapter 7. Food, camp­ing, Saturday night entertainment. Aviation vendors welcome. Contact Vearl Lack, 201 / 584-9553 or Anne Fennimore, 201 /584-4154 (after 6 p.m.).

SEPTEMBER 8 - WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WIS­CONSIN - 5th Annual Antique Transportation Show & Fly-In. Sponsored by EAA Chapter 706 and local Model T Chapter. Contact Joe, 715/886-3261.

SEPTEMBER 13-14 - AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK - Ed Heath Days. Commemoration of Heath's First Flight, September 13, 1910. Dis­plays of Heath aircraft, radio control models, fly;ins, forums. Saturday evening dinner and guest speakers. Contact Adirondack Chapter 602, EAA 45 Spring Avenue, Gloversville, NY 12078.

SEPTEMBER 13-15 - KERRVILLE, TEXAS ­21 st Annual Kerrville Fly-In. Sponsored by the 43 EAA Chapters in Texas. Contact: Kerrville Convention and Visitor's Bureau, P.O. Box 790, Kerrville, TX 78029, 5121896-1155.

OCTOBER 3-6 - FOUNTAINHEAD, OKLAHOMA - 10th Annual Convention of the International Cessna 120/140 Association. Contact: Carl At­kinson, McAlister, Oklahoma.

OCTOBER 3-6 - EUFALA, OKLAHOMA - 10th Annual Convention of the International Cessna 120/140 Association at Fountainhead Lodge, Lake Eufala, 55 miles SSE of Tulsa. Contact: Carl Atkinson, 918/426-1897.

OCTOBER 11-13 CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA - EAA Chapter 3 Fall Fly-In. Con­tact Henry or Pat Miller, 919/548-9293 . •

CHARTER REFLECTIONS

Photo by Lee Fray Antique/Classic Board of Directors Meeting, March 16, 1974 at EAA Headquarters. L-R, seated are - Gar W. Williams, Jr., Treasuret; E. E. " Buck" Hilbert, President; Richard Wagner, Secretary; J.R. Nielander, Jr., Vice-President. Standing are - Jack Cox, EAA Staff; Directors Jim Horne, George Stubbs, Jack Winthrop, Morton W. Lester and Claude L. Gray, Jr.; Bill Hodges, EAA Staff; Kelly Viets, Director; Gene and Dorothy Chase, EAA Staff.

by Morton Lester had the opportunity to meet Paul, and of Greensboro, North Carolina and I a­(EM 55178, AlC 14) we briefly discussed the feasibility of an greed to attend and represent the North P.O. Box 3747 EM division for antique and classic air- Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia Martinsville, VA24112 craft. I found Paul to be a very warm, Antique group. We arrived in the late

understanding person and one of the afternoon on the 25th at Milwaukee's most perceptive executives it has been Mitchell Field and were met by good

During the early fall of 1971, I was my pleasure to know, before or since. friends Jack and Golda Cox, formerly of privileged to be elected President of the He advised that Headquarters had for Ashboro, North Carolina, who were full­North Carolina, South Carolina and Vir­ several years been constantly receiving time employees of EM. ginia Antique Airplane Foundation, Inc., inquiries relative to the establishing of Reservations had been made for us which had been founded in the mid-fif­ .an Antique/Classic Division and men­ at the Pineview Motel in Hales Corners . ties by a group of dedicated sport avia­ tioned that at a meeting on November It was there that we ran into Dave Jame­tion enthusiasts from the above three 6, 1971 much discussion had taken son, Buck Hilbert, J. R. Nielander, states. Their mission was one of good place in that regard. Paul said, "I felt the Evander Britt and John Perry. Also, we fellowship and the preservation of our Division's first function would be to learned that others were staying at the aeronautical heritage. select leadership within the EM sport Golden Key Motel.

I had long admired the progress and aviation movement whose aviation in­ After an evening "talk" session, we achievements being accomplished by terests lie in the Antique/Classic area agreed to meet early for breakfast the Paul Poberezny through the Experi­ - EM members of like interest who following morning, and not being accus­mental Aircraft Association, and I could then, through organizational tomed to cold weather, I vividly recall deeply sensed that the EM, under work, expand activities and interest." sharp pains in my lungs from breathing Paul's leadership, was destined to be­ Paul suggested that another meeting the super cold air while walking to the come a spokesman and leader in avia- be set up to gain input from antiquers restaurant.

. tion. throughout the country and thereby At 8:30 a.m. we arrived at the EM The Executive Committee of the develop and formulate the Antique/ Headquarters located at 11311 West

Carolinas and Virginia Antique Aircraft Classic Division structure. Thus 1971 Forest Home Avenue, Franklin, Wis­group had frequently discussed the marks the year the Antique/Classic consin. It was basically an industrial possibility and desirability of our affiliat­ wheels were put in motion and a charter building, but handsomely styled with a ing with EM as many of us individually obtained. well-designed and functional layout as were already members of EM. After some delays in work scheduling a multi-purpose building. The

A short time later, during an EAA and weather, this second meeting was forethought and planning that went into gathering at St. Augustine, Florida, I set for February 26, 1972. Dick Austin that facility was to prove to be a real

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 47

plus when in future years our move to Oshkosh dictated that the time had come for the disposing of the Franklin facility.

My first interest was a tour of the Museum and shop, and I was truly im­pressed with the neatness and cleanli­ness of the entire facility. Also, I took the opportunity to meet most of the Headquarters personnel, and I was overwhelmed at the friendly atmos­phere and genuine sincerity and help­fulness of the staff. I was very impressed with the efficiency and attention to detail that was most apparent.

At 10:00 a. m. we began to gather in a large room on the lower level at the northeast corner of the building and it indeed seems like just yesterday. In ad­dition to those already mentioned, others I recall were Stan Dzik, Nick Re­zich, H. N. "Dusty" Rhodes, Bob Ring, George York, Jim Gorman, Vince Ma­riani, Ray Brandly, Bernie Yocke, Ron Fritz, Wayne Fredline, Ed Wegner, Tony Blackstone, Don Stewart, Dick Wagner plus several others Whose names have long since escaped my memory.

EM was represented by Paul Pobe­rezny, Bill Hodges and Jack and Golda Cox. Paul called the group to order, out­lining goals and procedures for a Divi­sion within EAA. The meeting was very

orderly with everyone having an oppor­tunity to give views and suggestions. Jack Cox made an excellent presenta­tion on the merits of antique and classic activities. The meeting was ultimately adjourned with Dave Jameson agreeing to continue serving as President of the Division until a general membership meeting could be scheduled.

The meeting was set for November 18, 1972, and on that date, 33 hardy souls gathered at EM Headquarters. The following officers were elected: Buck Hilbert, President; J. R. Nielander, Vice-President; Dick Wagner, Secret­ary; and Nick Rezich, Treasurer. Jack Cox volunteered to serve as editor of our publication. Several names were discussed, with "The Vintage Airplane" being selected. Jack Cox designed our logo and patch and Dick Wagner volun­teered to have them made up.

In the months that followed, many were to come forward to play leadership rolls. The first full functioning board was comprised of Jack Winthrop, Kelly Viets, George Stubbs, Claude Gray, Evander Britt, AI Kelch, Jim Horner and Morton Lester. Dorothy Chase per­formed an admirable service as Division Executive Secretary. Jack Cox con­tinued his usual superb performance as editor of ''The Vintage Airplane" with Golda Cox and Gene Chase as assis­

tant editors, and the magazine and Divi­sion progressed in sustained, systema­tic growth which has continued to this day.

As we approach the completion of our fifteenth year, we can look back with much satisfaction and pride. All officers and directors have performed with a sincere at heart interest in the sport avi­ation movement. Our division member­ship is now at an all-time high with re­newed interest by the membership and new prospective members alike.

Oshkosh '85 will shortly be upon us and I predict that the Antique/Classic Division will handle its part of the fly-in with calm and smooth operating effi­ciency, which will reflect the intense planning and dedication that has gone into our portion of the gathering.

From a personal reflection, some of my most pleasant and happiest memories have been spent in EM in­volvement, and I truly feel fortunate to have been afforded the great EM fel­lowship and the dear friendships that have means to much over the years.

I shall always be appreciative to the Poberezny family for making it possible for each of us to benefit from and be a part of the great EM experience that has already taken a positive and con­structive place in the history and future of the world of aviation . •

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Above prices include shipping for Continental U.S.A. Only. museum's price­ Send $9.95 for each 16 oz. bottle or save an extra $3.95 per bottle and send $72.00 less collection of for each case of 12 - 16 oz. bottles to: aircraft. EAA. Wittman Airfield. Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086

Wisconsin Residents Add 5% Sales Tax

48 JULY 1985

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet~ .. 25e per word, 20 word minimum. Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader, Wittman Airfield Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591 .

AIRCRAFT:

FAIRCHILD 24-R-46 ~ Approximately 1800 n . Disassembled spare engine, parts. Ceconite wings. Hartzell prop. Asking $7,600. Call after 8 p.m., 617/383-1519, Massachusetts. Also sepa­rate, Y-150 Bendix Angle Starter, $200. (7-2)

ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of unlimited aerobatics. 23 sheets of 'clear, easy to follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical draw­ings, photos and exploded views. Complete parts and materials list. Full size wing drawings. Plans plus 139 page Builder's Manual - $60.00. Info Pack - $5.00. Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing ­$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 Corners, WI 53130. 414/529-2609.

POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying. Big, roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot. VW power insures hard to beat 3'/2 gph at cruise setting. 15 large instruction sheets. Plans - $60.00. Info Pack - $5.00. Send check or money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/529-2609.

ACRO II - The new 2-place aerobatic trainer and sport biplane. 20 pages of easy to follow, detailed plans. Complete with isometric drawings, photos, exploded views. Plans - $85.00. Info Pac ­$5.00. Send check or money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., P.O. Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/529-2609.

SWIFT - good for pattern to build Experimental. STEARMAN - fuselage - never converted. Numerous parts. PT-19 fuselage. Continental En­gine Mdunt for same. UC-78 - Metal propeller, otherparts. W.A. Womack, Sr. , 175 Clark Street, Beaumont, Texas 77705. Send SAS.E.

1933 FAIRCHILD 22, Menasco D-4 Super Pirate Engine. About 285 hours, airframe 1030 hours. Very clean, some engine spares. $30,000. Spare engine available. 312/358-4035 or 742-2041 .

MISCELLANEOUS: BACK ISSUES .. . Back issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE (and other EAA Division publications) are available at $1.25 per issue. Send your list of issues desired along with payment to : Back Issues, EAA-Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591.

WRIGHT J-5 Parts: Master rod, link rods, magna­fluxed ok and a box of new miscellaneous parts. $500.00, 518/537-4945. (6-1)

Badly Needed Cessna 140-A cowl parts - parted or assembled - full cowl or nose bowl and lower . cowl assembly. Please call Angelo Fraboni, 5801 Monona Drive, Monona, WI 53716-3599, 608/222­1464 or 608/222-8517.

FOR SALE: 1 Ranger 175 hp, 3-26-43, complete firewall forward on PT mount and stand, $1,000. 3 Ranger crankcases with crank shaft and rods, $200.00 each. 4 Ranger handcrank starters, $35.00 each. Edward C. Wegner, 414/892-8706.

WANTED: Wanted: "Splicing Clamp" for splicing aircraft ca­bles. Jim Johnson, 44525 Gillan Avenue, Lancas­ter, CA 93535, 805/948-0361 .

Wanted : Cessna 206 or 185 on floats. Low time engine. Kurt Lepping, P.O. Box 872, Wasilla, Alaska 99687, phone 907/376-7713.

·VINTAGE TRADER. AD fO·RM Send check or money order with copy to Vintage Trader - EM, Wittman Airfield , Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591 .

Total Words ____ Number of Issues to Run ________________________

Total $,____ Signature ___________.___________________

Address

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 49

B~~. LOG BOOKS NEW AND REVISED FOR .. .

Pilots: EM Pilot Log Book ..... . $2.95 ppd. Aircraft Owners and Builders:

EM Amateur Built Aircraft Log Book ........ .. ..... $2.95 ppd. (

EM Propeller (or Rotor) Log Book . .. ....... . . . .. $2.95 ppd.

EM Engine and Reduction Drive Log Book ... ...... ... ... $2.95 ppd.

Ultralight Owners and Operators: EM Ultralight Pilot's Log and

Achievement Record . ... .. $2.95 ppd. EM Ultralight Engine and

Aircraft Log .. .... . ... .. .. $2.95 ppd. Also Now Available:

CAM-18 (Reprint of early CM Manual) ..... ... .. .. $6.95 ppd.

Amateur-Built Aircraft Service and Maintenance Manual . . .... $5.95 ppd.

Order From:

EAA Wittman Airfield Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591

Phone 414/426-4800 Include payment with order - Wisc. residents add 5% sales tax

Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery

STITS POLY-FIBER e IS THE WORLD'S ONLY COMPLETE FABRIC COVERING

SYSTEM APPROVED BY FAA UNDER AN STC AND MANUFACTURED UNDER AN FAA-PMA.

e WILL NOT SUPPORT COMBUSTION.

e WITH POLY-FIBER FINISHES, WILL NEVER RINGWORM, CHECK OR PEEL

e IS THE LIGHTEST COVERING METHOD APPROVED ONDER AN FAA-STC_

e IS THE MOST ECONOMICAL, CONSIDERING THE YEARS OF TROUBLE FREE SERVICE.

e SAMPLE OF OUR NEW HIGH STRENGTH, LIGHT WEIGHT, SMOOTH FABRIC STYLES, WOVEN FROM SECOND GENERATION POLYESTER FILAMENT_

e NEW 68 PAGE MANUAL #1, REVISION 13, WITH DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR FABRIC COVERING, REFINISHING FABRIC SURFACES, AND PAINTING AIRCRAFT FOR CORROSION CONTROL

e LATEST CATALOG AND DISTRIBUTOR LIST_

50 JULY 1985

THE JOURNA L OF THE EARLY AEROPLANE

SAMPLE ISSUE $4 ) 15 CRESCENT RD. POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. 12601

] FLYING AND GLIDER MANUALS

1929 - 1930 - 1931 - 1932 Price: $3.25 ea_ppd_

SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO:

EAA A VIATION FOUNDATION, INC. WITTMAN AIRFIELD ­

OSHKOSH, WI 54903-3065 Allow 4-6 Weeks for Delivory

Wisconsin Residents Include 5% Sales Tax

Classic owners! Interior looking ....bbyr

Finish it right with an airtex interior

Complete interior assemblies for dO-it-yourself instalfation.

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

Free Catalog of complete product line. Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials: $3.00.

..;r I VISAet

•Qlr ex products, inc. ~ 259 Lower Morrisville Rd. , Dept. VA Fallsin~ton, PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

~

I

EAA OFFICIAL

VIDEO VHS & BETA

rThe official EAA Founda­tion video collection of­fers these great tapes for your viewing pleasure: EAA '84 55 minutes of Fly-In excilement from pre-Con­venlion preparaton to the arrival of Voyager. Includes great Warbirds show scenes. $52.00 EAA OSHKOSH '83 A 26 minute film covering the complete '83 Convention and the dedication of the EAA Aviation Center. $39.00 EAA OSHKOSH '77 The 77 Convention plus excellent excerpts of the Spirit of St. Louis Commemorative Tour. $39.00 AERONAUTICAL ODDITIES 17 minutes of fun featuring the oddities and comedies of the early flight as seen in news­reels of the day. A great addition to your personal library. $29.95 WE SAW IT HAPPEN 60 minutes covering the history of flight as seen in rare early footage and interviews with many aviation pioneers. $59,00 WINGS ON DREAMS (1981) This famous John Denver film is an in-depth look at EM Oshkosh '81 and features ground breaking ceremonies for the Aviation Center. $29.00 BASIC AIRCRAFT WELDING Learn the intricacies of welding with practical demonstrations on the subject. An excellent film for the builder. $39.95 IN PURSUIT OF DREAMS - New Release EM member actor/pilot Cliff Robertson is narrator host of a film that features Founder Paul Poberezny and tells of EM's early days, philosophy and accomplishments, $29,00 (16 minutes) BASIC AIRCRAFT WOODWORKING - New

Release Woodworking knowledge is essential to any homebuilder project. This tape covers the basics of wood construction techniques, $39.95

Add $2.50 for postage and handling Wisconsin residents add 5% sales tax

Guaranteed Immediate Delivery

Watch for New Releases

If your plane is on this list ... You could be wasting money!

NOW AVAILABLE! STC's for Lycoming 0-235 and 0-290 engines. Also, you can convert your Cessna 152 with a Lycoming 0-235-L2C to auto gas - STC's now available exclusively from EAA.

Over 10,000 aircraft owners get more flying for the dollar with EAA's AUTO FUEL STCs.

As a result of EAA's leadership In alternative fuels research and development, FAA has fully approved the use of unleaded auto gas for 317 different aircraft models and engine combina­tions. Auto gas STCs (Supplemental Type Certificates) are avail ­able from the non-profit EAA Aviation Foundation at 50<1: per engine horsepower: Example - 85 hp. Cessna 140-(50<1: x 85) = $42.50. (Non-EAA members add $15.00 surcharge to total). Send check with aircraft N number, aircraft and engine model and serial numbers and EAA member number.

AERONCA AER O COMMANOER GRU MMAN AM ERICAN PA·28·151 PA-n l!>OAA·5. AA·5AIncludmg S L.

Includmg Beffanca . PA ·22S150Industfles AA·5B Champion . 'fyrck . •J3F·50, ·505, ·60, AA ·I 100Wagnel. 8 & 8 605 . 65. ·655AA·IAARCTIC AIRCRAFTAVIaTIOn . Inc •J31. -565 ·655

CO" INC. AA·IB AA · IC PORTERFIELO50 · IC S·IA LUSCO M8E65· IC IL·3J) Includmg Rankin.

8EECHCRAFT65· lAC IL·3E) 8. 8A . C. 0, E, F, 1·8F Northwest YO·5B Includmg BonanLa CP·55MOONEY0·58B 35. A,35. B·35, C·35. CP·65 50·58B M·18C CS·55 0·58A IL-3A)

0·35. E·35. F·35, M·18C55G·35, 35R TAYLO RCRAFTM·18L

CESS NA 7AC M·IBLA BC

7CCM IL·16B) 7BCM IL-16A)

120. i40 . 140A BC ·55MORRI SEY 7DC BCI2·65 IL·2H)

AI5UK ·M 150 , 15DA·H. 150J·M,

~ BC12·D 7FC 7EC

BC12D·85

7JC 152.A·152 PIPER 170 . 170A . B BC12D4·85

7ECA J·3C40

172 , 172A·E, 172F BCS S7AC

J.3C·501J.4IA) 172G. H. BCS·65 1721 , K. L, M

J3C·50S BCS1 2·65J3C·65IL ·4)

S7CC M S7DC

175 , 175A . B. C. P1720 BCS ' 120 In J3C ·65S

BCSI20·B5J4S7EC 180 . 180A,H , 180J BCSI20+B5J4A11AC 182 , 182A·P 19

11CC J4A·S 11BC

FI9

Sl1AC 305A 10' IA) J4E IL·4F)305B . 305E I TO-IO , DC·65IL·2 L·2C)

Sl1BC J5A (L ' 4F)

0,10 . O' IF ) DCO·65 (L·2A. B. M) BCI2 ·DI

J·2 305C , 10' IE ), 3050 J.3S11CC

IP· IG) . 305F BCSI2-DIJ5A·BO 50·C KCA

L·4A VARGA 65-C

ERCOUPE L·4B INE·I) 2i5OIncludmg AJ(co. Forney L·4H65·CA 2150A

S·50·C Alon . Mooney

L·4J (NE·2) 2180 S·65·CA

41 5C, 4150. [, G, PA·II41 1·CD PAl1S

7GCB 7GCA f.1 , F'IA

PA ·17 -Note : Only tho~ J3FA·2, A·2A and J3L models pre ·

7GCBA 7KC PA·IBM,W

..... Iously modlhed 10 use 7GCAA

PA ·T9 FUNK Teledyne Continental

7GCBC E·2

Motors engines are 15AC

PA·28 ·140InCludmg McClish PA ·28·ISO approvedBB5C

Since 1980, over 2700 engineering fligh t tes t hours have been conducted by EAA in the Cessna 150, Cessna 182, Cessna 172, Piper Cherokee, Beechcraft Bonanza and Ercoupe. Addit ional airc raft were approved by FAA based on fuel system similarities. Al l approved aircraft are powered by 80 Octane Continen tal engines (not fuel injected) and Lycoming 0-320-A, C and E engines. STCs are only approved and sold for the engine/ai rframe combi nations listed above.

Complete, low cost, protection, including auto gas coverage, is available through EAA's approved insurance program, EAA's Auto Gas Airport Directory which lists over 300 FBOs that provide auto fuel service is now available at $3.00 and 501t postage.

EAA LEADS TH E WAY Join EAA - Be a part of the Aviation Association that is ac tively engaged in making fl ying safer, more enjoyable and more affordable for you , Annual membership $25.00, includes monthly magazine SPORT AVIATION and many other benefits. Join today and get your STC at the special EAA member rate:

Write Attention : STC - EAA Aviation FoundationEA~ Wittman Airfield

~FOUNOATION Oshkosh, WI 54903-3065

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 51