vintage airplane - aug 2009

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Aug 2009

1/44


2/44

G OFF RO I SON

PRES IDENT VINT G E AIR RAFT ASSOCI ATION

Oshkosh 2 9

is

now

in

the

history

books

I

t's

nearly

mid-July

here

in

the Midwest, and my trip to

Oshkosh is

now

only days

away. All early indicators for

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009

being successful are very

positive

at

this point.

This year's

event

clearly has

the potential

to

be

EAA's

finest convention yet.

I hope everyone who had the

opportunity to join us in Osh

kosh

this

year

had a wonderful

experience.

And

for those of you

who

followed the

show on EAA's

AirVenture

website from

afar,

I'm

sure

you were

wishing

you cou ld

have been there. I cannot

remem

ber a year when we

had

so many

newly

restored

aircraft come

out

of

restoration with plans to

ar

rive

in

Oshkosh.

Then

add to the

formula that

these aircraft

and

their custodians

will arrive

to

the

splendor of a totally new atmo

sphere

in the middle

of Wiscon

sin. It's

going

to be a special event

for 2009. I look forward to the ex-

perience, and I hope I get the op

structure

and expertise to de liver

such a product to the member

ship. (Th is is no sma ll task ) From

the vintage perspective, this elec-

tronic

news letter is intended to

accomp l

ish

a couple of

things.

This

new

electronic

newsletter gives us

another

way to

communicate

with

the membership

The

primary

intent

is

to

keep

the membership

better informed

about the latest and greatest in

information and

deve

lopments

within

the

vintage movement.

Secondarily,

Vintage

Aircraft On-

we've handed him yet

another

cha

llenge that I know

you will

find not only interesting, but also

profess iona ll y presented and of

h igh quality. Thanks, H

f

you have not

had

the plea

sure

of perusing

the

new vintage

e-newsletter,

you

can find t at

http:

www a

.

0 rg v intagea ircraft/

issues

The

Yin

tage

Hangar is now

complete

as I write

this

month's

column. It stands as

testament

to

the

Spirit of EAA and its vol

unteers,

as well as

to those who

gave generous ly of their dollars to

support this sometimes seemingly

mountainous effort. I

have

stood

in

front

of this structure in

com

pl

ete

awe as to what has been ac-

complished in

such a short time .

Anyone can throw large sums

of

money at

a

project

,

but often

times

all you get is a shell. Albeit

a

nice

she ll , but nonetheless, a

shell.

Then you

have

to muster

your peop le to assist in the finish

work. t is with great

pride

that

http://www/http://www/http://www/http://www/


3/44

AUGUST

VOL

37 NO 8 2009

CONTENTS

Fe Straight&Level

Oshkosh2009is now

in

the historybooks

byGeoffRobison

2 News

6 Bringon

the

Clown:KentPietsch

and

HisCadetCourt Jester

byBuddDavisson

2

TheFinestof

Them

All-The FairchildParasol

After14years,CharlieBellfulfillshisflights

of

fancy

bySparkyBarnesSargent

2

LightPlaneHeritage

Thesearchforperfection

byGeorge

A.

Hardie,

Jr.

26

Care

and Maintenance of Wooden

Propellers

Tipson propellersfromone

of the

U.K.'sleading

lightplanedesigners

byArthurw.].G.Ord-Hurne

28

TheVintageMechanic

My

thoughts

on radialengines

byRobert

G.

Lock

STAFF

EAA

Publisher

Tom

Poberezny

Directorof

EAA

Publications

34

TheVintageInstructor

Mary jon

es

ExecutiveDirector/Editor

H.G. Frautschy

Flightreview

Production/SpecialProject KathleenWitman

byDougStewart

Photography

jimKoepnick

BonnieKratz

6

MysteryPlane

AdvertisingCoordinator

Sue Anderson

byH.G.Frautschy

Classified

Ad

Coordinator

Lesley Poberezny

CopyEditor

Colleen

Walsh

Directorof Advertising Katrina Bradshaw


4/44

F

Issues

New

Advisory

Circular for Vintage Aircraft

The

FAA

has issued new Advisory

Circular,

AC

23-27,

Parts and Mate-

rials

Substitution for Vintage Aircraft

dated May 18, 2009.

The

AC, cre

ated by

the FAA s

Small Airplane

Di

rectorate

in

Kansas City, Missouri,

was a joint effort by the FAA in

consultation with industry

repre

sentatives including

EAA and EAA s

Vintage Aircraft Association.

The

publication

gives

guidance

to both

owner/restorers

and

FAA

aviation safety inspectors

when

col

lecting

information

needed

for

an

FAA

approval

when

parts or materi

als used in

the

original construction

of

the

type-certificated airplane are

no

longer available, or newer, more

appropriate materials are

now

com

mon and

would be more appropri

ate to

be

used when repairing

or

replacing

components

.

The advisory circular details

the

level of information needed

to

doc

ument

a

part or

material substitu

tion,

and

while

it

is not intended

as a

how

to

manual,

it does give

specific

examples of

the

types of

changes that can

be

made with

a

simple logbook entry. Examples

shown

in

appendix 1

include

the

use of

ANSI

specifications for bear

ing substitutions, or

the

use of gen

erator

or alternator belts made to

an

SAE

specification.

In

appendix 2,

clear

guidance

is

1980 (and follow-on type

certifi

cated

models

of

the

same

aircraft)

as well as those certificated under

Group

2 Memos, (and

ATC

aircraft

certifica ted

by

the Department

of

Commerce) are eligibl e for parts

and material

subs t

it ut ions using

AC

23-27 as

approved data.

Also,

the change

cannot

cause a percepti

ble change to

the

certification basis

for

that

particular airplan

e.

I f you have

suggestions regard

ing

the

incorporation of

other

parts

and

material substitutions, send

them

to

(please

copy

t he Vintage

Aircraft Association at

vintageaircra t@

eaa.org):

FAA

Small Airplane Directorate

Attn:

ACE-100/AC23-27

comments

910 Locust

Kansas City, MO 64106-2641

Hs

Inspector General

GA Operations Pose No

Homeland Security Threat

General aviation

(GA)

operations

do

not present a serious

homeland

security vulnerability requiring

the

Transportation

Security

Adminis

tration (TSA) to increase regulatory

oversight of

the

ind

ust

ry,

according

to

a report released by t

he

Depart

ment

of Homeland Security's Office

of Inspector General

(O

I

G) in

June.

The

report, IITSA s Role

in

Gen

eral Aviation Security, was drafted

at the request of Representative

Sheila Jackson

Lee (D

-Texas), chair

owned GA

facilities

in

metropoli

tan areas where people could be per

ceived to be at risk in the event of a

terrorist

attack

l

aunched

from

the

airports. IIWe determined that gen

eral aviation presents

only

limited

and

mostly hypothetical threats to

security,

the

OIG stated. We also

determined that the steps general

aviation airport owners and manag

ers have taken

to enhance

security

are positive and effective cou

pled with voluntary measures taken

by

the

owners

and

operators of air

craft based at general aviation sites.

The

report

goes on to state that

significant regul

ation

of

the

indus

try would require considerable fed

eral funding

and that no

additional

regulation is being recommended

at this time.

This report confirms

what

EAA

has

been

telling Congress

and

gov

ernment agencies

concerned with

aviation

security for years, stated

Doug Macnair,

EAA

vice

president

of

government

relations. IIOur po

sition, which

is

based

on known

facts

and other

government

and

in

dustry studies, has always been

that

general aviation does

not

pose a

se

rious

homeland

security threa t

that

would require

any

additional regu

lation of the industry,

that

there are

no indications of plots to

use GA

aircraft

in an

attack,

and

that vol

untary measures,

implemented

by

the

community

to address

the

most


5/44

tion from a security

standpoint

on

the

Hill

and help dispe

l

the

stub

born perception by some in Con

gress that GA poses

an

undue risk

to

homeland

security.

While

GA

has once again been

shown not to be a significant secu

rity risk, all pilots

and

aircraft

own

ers

should continue to be aware

of the potentia l for

misuse of GA

aircraft

and

remain vigilant for un

usual

or

suspicious

activity at

air

ports

and

report anything ou

t of

the ordinary to the

Airport Watch

report ing facility

at

866-427-3287.

General aviation accounts for

77

percent

of all

domestic

flights

and

includes air cargo transport,

emer

gency medical flight operations,

flight

school

training, and corpo

rate and private aviation.

EAA Halls of Fame

Celebration Set

EAA

will again honor

and

recog

nize a group of individuals for their

accomplishments

and

contribu

tions to aviation during

the annual

EAA

Halls o f Fame ceremony set for

October 16, 2009,

at

the EAA Air

Venture Museum

in

Oshkosh.

Open

to the public, the

dinner

and

award ceremony offers a who's

who

of

aviation notables

.

While

the National

Association of Flight

Instructors, Warbirds

of

America,

and International

Aerobatic

Club

have

not

yet

announced their in

ductees, the

following honorees

have been confirmed:

Home

built Hall

of Fa

m

Lance Neibauer

EAA s Ford

Tri Motor

Stars

With Depp

EA

A plan

es,

staff

part of Public

nemies

The

major motion

picture

Public nemies opened in theaters around the country

July

1, and

EAAers

were

finally

able to

see the organization's

1929 Ford Tri-Motor

and

parts

of

Pioneer

Airport

on

the

silver

screen

. EAA

staffer

Zachary

Baughman was one of

the

first

to

see

the

film and gave

it

abig thumbs

up

.. ..

Director

Michael

Mann

'snew

film, Public

n mi s

revolves around

the final

year of Depression-era

bank robber

John Dillinger

's

ife. Throughout

the

film

Dillinger, captured

flawlessly by

actor Johnny

Depp,

plays

acat and

mouse game

with Melvin Purvis, portrayed solidly by actor Christian

Bale

.

Mann has captured the look

and feel

of the

1930s

perfectly with beautiful cinematography,

well

-

designed

costumes and

sets, and

a

great

musical

score

.

Scenes

filmed

in EAA

's

hometown,

Oshkosh,

playa large

part

in

the

movie-EAA'sown Pioneer

Airport

plays a

small

part,

as does

the

Museum's 1929

Ford Tri-Motor, which can

be

seen about an hour into the 143-minute

film

. If

you

look closely at the Tri-Motor, you

will

be able

to

see EAA s

own

director of aircraft

operations,

Sean

Elliott,

looking

out of

the

copilot's window

.

The

film

flows

at a

methodical pace

interspersed with intense action and hot lead from Dill

inger 'sTommy gun. If

you

'

ve

had your fill of transforming cars, mutant superheroes, and killer

robots

from

the

future,

then

this nicely

done period

piece with good

, solid

acting

is

just

for

you

(and

any

thing with

aFord Tri-Motor in it

has

to

be

good)

dial engines and

the

presence of

large

stature

,

while

others are di

minutive and

perform maneuvers

with the

flick of a wrist.

Whatever

trips your

trigger, the

fascination

with

biplanes has

been

epitomized

be

the

honored

guest for

the

event

and

got ready for

the

final goodbye.

And a grand finale it was

When

asked

about

the

good fortune of

having

great weather, Harris said,

"I

talked a little with

the

Almighty,


6/44

ored field. Pilots flew their biplanes

from

the

four corners of

the coun

try to attend the finale. Both fly

in

and drive-in spectators had the

chance to take

a

biplane

ride.

The

event

was

packed

with educational

forums, but i t

was

not

unusual

to

see a

biplane owner simply taking

a

traditional

afternoon

nap under

the shade

of his lower wing.

Over

these

past

23 years,

some

2,500 bipes

and

7,000

other

aircraft

have drawn approximately

75,000

fans

to the

Biplane Expo.

The

NBA

was formed as a

nonprofit

organiza

tion

in

1987

to

educate

the

general

public

on the

history

and

devel

opment

of biplane aircraft and to

promote

their

preservation. Their

mission continues, and

member

ship

is

open to anyone interested

in

biplanes

and in

preserving

them.

To

view

a photo

gallery of im

ages from

the

final expo, visit

www

EAA org/Photos

and

click

Biplane

Expo Finale."

Tax elief in lorida

In 2008,

the

Florida

Department

of Revenue began collecting

a 6

percent tax

on

any airplane-in

cluding

those

from

out

of st t -

that

has been

purchased within

six

months

of

being

flown

into

Florida

for

any

of a variety of purposes.

EAA and the

Aircraft Owner

and

Pilots Association have been urging

for clarity

on

the guidelines and limi

tations

of the

current

law.

That

ad

vocacy has now shown results; new

out-of-state aircraft owners no longer

need to pay tax for short-term recre

CALL

FOR

VAA

HALL

OF

FAME

NOMINATIONS

Nominate your

favorite

aviator

for

the

EAA

Vintage Aircraft Association

Hall

of

Fame.

A huge honor could

be

bestowed

upon that

man or

woman

working

next to

you on

your

airplane, sitting next to you

in the chapter meeting,

or walking

next

to

you

at EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh. Think

about the people

in

your

circle

of aviation

friends: the mechanic, photographer, or

pilot who has shared innumerable tips

with you and with many others. They

could be the next

VAA

Hall

of

Fame in

ductees-but

only

if they are nominated.

The person

you

nominate can be a

citizen of any country and may be

living

or deceased, and

his

or her involvement

in vintage aviation must have occurred

between 1950 and the present day. His

or her contribution could be

in

the areas

of

flying,

design, mechanical or aerody

namic developments, administration,

writing, some other vital and relevant

field, or any combination of fields that

support aviation. The person you nomi

nate must be or have been a member of

the Vintage Aircraft Association, and pref

erence is given to those whose actions

have

contributed to the

VAA

in

some

way,

perhaps as a volunteer, a restorer who

shares

his expertise with others, a writer,

a photographer,

or

a pilot sharing

stories,

preserving aviation history, and encour

aging

new pilots

and enthusiasts.

is a good candidate

for

induction.

Mail

the

form

to:

VAA Hall

of Fame

Charles

W.

Harris,

Chairman

7215

East

6

th

St.

Tulsa, OK 74147

Remember, your "contemporary"

may

be a candidate; nominate someone today

Find the nomination

form

at

www

VintageAircraft.org

call

the

VAA office for

a copy

920-426-6110),

or on your own

sheet of

paper, simply include

the follow

ing

information:

•

Date

submitted.

•Name of person

nominated.

•

Address and

phone

number

of

nominee.

•Date of

birth

of

nominee.

If

deceased,

date

of death.

•

Name

and

relationship

of

nominee s

clos

est

living

relative.

•Address and phone of nominee s closest

living relative.

•E-mail

address

of

nominee.

•

Time span (dates)

of the nominee s

con

tributions to

aviation.

(Must be between

195 to present day.)

•

V

and

E

number,

if

known.

(Nominee

must have been or is aV member.)

•Area s) of contributions to

aviation.

• Describe the event(s) or nature of activi

ties

the nominee has undertaken in avia

tion to be worthy of induction into the

http:///reader/full/VintageAircraft.orghttp:///reader/full/VintageAircraft.org


7/44

VAA and EAA Launch

New

Online

Initiatives

I f

you re

a

VAA member and have

given

us a valid e-mail address when you signed

up or renewed

your

membership, then you

received

the

inaugural issue of

Vintage Air-

. - - -

craft Online, the VAA's

new

monthly elec

tronic newsletter. If you've not seen it yet, feel free to view it online at www.EAA.org/vintageaircraft/issues.

This new member benefit

is in addition to

our

monthly

magazine,

and

it gives us

another

way

we

can share in

formation

among one

another,

and

gives you

an opportunity to

visit with fellow members. We'll be able to share

more

about

the aircraft of yesteryear

and

the great people

who

enjoy them using

the

multimedia resources of

EAA and

the

Internet.

Vintage Airplane

magazine will

continue

to be your printed member benefit, bringing you

the

full-color glory of

the

great airplanes of yesteryear.

Vintage

Aircraft Online

is intended

to be an interactive newsletter

in the

sense

that

we not only encourage your

input,

but

also need the collective brainpower of all of you out there to keep us posted on

the

latest happenings

in the

world of vintage aircraft. We'll be reading

what

you post

within

Oshkosh365,

and

of course we'll gather

input

from various sources,

but the

best

and most

informed group of reporters

within

aviation is you! Drop us an

e-mail at

vintageaircraft@eaa org

and

let us

know

how

we're

doing

and

what

you d

like

to

see; most importantly,

feel free to contribute material you

think

would be of interest

to

your fellow

VAA

members.

H.G. Frautschy

Editor,

Vintage

Aircraft Online

Editor, Vintage Airplane magazine

Executive Director,

VAA

EAA s

Oshkosh365

Is Now Live

Withthe

introduction of Oshkosh365, EAA's

online community, be able to bring together

thousands of enthusiasts who restore,

fly,

and just

OS OS

lain enjoy great old airplanes.

EAA

members are

aviation's most passionate community of enthu

i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i ~

siasts.

We

dedicate ourselves to actively partici

pating and sharing our common love of aviation with each other through chapter meetings, at regional fly-ins, and of

http://www.eaa.org/vintageaircraft/issuesmailto:[email protected]://www.eaa.org/vintageaircraft/issuesmailto:[email protected]


8/44


9/44

no "

the

an

nouncer cries

over the

PA

sys

tem:

Not only

does he not know how to fly, but

. . . look He's lost an aileron This

is very, very serious. He's

up

there

in

a 60-year-old

airplane and has

had a control failure. How can he

possibly survive?" You can almost

hear him wringing his hands.

by

Budd Davisson

Pietsch was leading an aeronautical

double

life is putting it mildly. As

the demands of both careers built,

push came to shove and Kent had a

serious decision

to

make .

"I was flying about 21 air shows

a year all over the western half of

the

U.S. and

I'm strictly a one-man

operation,"

he

says. "l have to ferry

my own airplane, do my

mainte

nance, my scheduling, my advertis


10/44

of

many

aviators-model

airplanes, working

at

the

airport from junior high

on

,

the

usual stuff-there is a

basic, underlying difference

in

Kent's

upbringing

that

left

him

no choice

but

to be

doing

what

he's doing.

Yes

he

worked

at the

airport,

but it was at his dad's fixed

base operation

and

Mooney

dealership in Minot, North

Dakota, a business that

has been in operation

for

nearly 40 years

www.Pietsch

A

ircraft.com).

It's easy to be

the

air

port

kid

when your

family

has

an

operation on

the

air

port,

Kent says. I would

haunt

the place

and

even

tually soloed a Mooney

on

my

16th

birthday.

Having a family in which

aviation is the central

theme

is

one

thing,

but the

direction his dad went with

his personal aviation meant

that

Kent was going

to

get

a really early

introduction

into the air

show

business

and sport aviation.

Kent's father and friends,

who

included Jim McDon

ald, Jim Bergo, Gary John

son, and many others

,

built what was to be

the

first

customer-built

Stolp

Starduster Too

in

five and

a half

months

during 1967.

My dad was really into aer

obatics, so

he

started flying

http://www.pietsch/http://www.pietsch/


11/44

ciding to build a clipped

Cub with

T-craft wings instead.

My dad was

also a

Citabria

dealer, so I

started

doing aerobat

ics

almost

as

soon

as I started fly

ing and in '69 started giving a little

aerobatic dual in a 7KCAB Citabria,

plus I

went along and helped at air

shows. During that time I was lucky

enough to

meet

ait

show greats

such as Harold Krier, Frank Price,

Bill

Barber, Art Scholl, Bob Lyjack,

Danny Clisham, and many others.

Needless

to

say, I

wanted to

be

fly-

ing in that

arena,

and

my family

brother, who

happens to

be

dat

ing

my mom

now./I Kent affection

ately

refers

to Leonard

as

Uncle

Daddy./I Kent's

father

and his

un

cle's wife are both deceased.

He had

the

airplane tied down

on the line

at our

airport,

and

I got

to looking at

i t

while

the

clipped

Cub

was

going

together. Here was

a

tandem

Cub-like airp lan

e

that

already had a 23012 airfoil

like

the T-craft

and

was basically really

strong. So, I bought it and started

using it for

my

comedy act.

It was actually a pretty tired old

eted hat-sections and, besides being

cracked

and bent,

were a real p'ain

to work on.

So

I started looking for

replacement ribs. The Artic Tern,

a

bush version of

the Cadet, used

the same ribs and someone had the

STC

for using

them

in Cadets,

but

I

couldn't track it

down

and wound

up rebuilding the originals.

I started dropping

the

aileron in

1974. It is

made of

foam and Mo

nokote

model airplane covering,

and it's fixed in a level position. I

pull a cable,

which

pulls the pins,

and it's gone. It's so light that

i t


12/44

ity to work out. This was especially

true

when

he built up a second air

plane so

he

could station airplanes

around the country, to cut down

on

long cross-countries.

li he

problems

involved in

get

ting

to the shows far outweigh the

problems and risks of actually fly

ing the

shows. Since

I'm

always

VFR

and

not

moving

very fast, it's

a major problem making sure I'll

be there

when the

announcer starts

his pitch. The pressure to get there

is

enormous.

With

two airplanes,

Kent can spot

one

in

each

part of

the

country he'

ll

be flying

that

year.

Still, I wind

up

flying some really

long legs, he says. This past year,

for

instance,

I'd

routinely

fly legs

like California to Wichita,

then

back

to California

the

next week. Having

two airplanes makes this easier,

but

getting both airplanes certified was

harder than I'd expected.

On

the

first airplane,

in

1973,

the FSDO had a problem letting

me dual-certify it. I wanted it in

restricted

exhibition when flying

shows, but

normal

category when

flying

it

cross-country. The

local

GADO said dropping

the aileron

was out of

the

question,

and

it had

to go restricted or experimental

only,

but

I knew it was possible be

cause i t

had

been done before. That

being

the

case, I let it be known that

I was going to be talking to

my

sen

ator about

it,

and they somehow

came

up

with a

method

whereby

an A&P-me-simply makes a log

book

entry before

and

after each

show, changing

the

category.

li he

real problem came when I


13/44

out

a box

on the application

form

labeled

'Other' that

gave

an

offi

cial,

and

recognized, solu

tion

for

guys like

me who had

a

prob

l

em

that couldn't

be easily fit

into

t

he

other

pigeon holes. So,

then

I

had

two airplanes in

the

same dual cat

egories

and

life was good.

I

started

landing the Cadet

on top

of a

moving RV at

Abbots

ford, British Columbia,

Canada.

It

was sort

of

a

rushed

decision,

and

I wanted

to

get it going

in

time

for

the show. I bought a '79 Ford

RVon

Monday,

and

Les

Knight,

owner

of

K-Line

Trailers

[a

worldwide business

from Abbotsford] spent Tuesday

and

Wednesday building a rack

and

land

ing platform on the top.Jim Franklin

made the first landing on

i t a

long,

but

good, story. Then, I made three

or four practice

landings

and then

did the show

that

weekend.

The Cadet works out really well

for

the

car-top landings. It's a little

better than

a

Cub

because it has a

better roll rate so I

can do

aerobat

ics between

each landing attempt.

The

problem with the

In terstate is

the

door,

and

I

only

have 8

inches

on

each side of

the

platform

to

see.

The Cub has a big door

and the

pilot

sits further back

in

the airpl

ane

for

a good view of

the

tire,

when

you're

right there a foot or so over

the

plat

form

and

trying to nail it on.

The Interstate

is al

so really

good

for

my dead

-stick act. I

start

at

6,000 feet

and

do aerobatics all

the way to

the

ground,

and coast

to a stop

with the

spinner

in the

announcer's hand

. It's really

pre

in af

plane

and the RV in the same con

tainer.

Doing it in

two

containers

was

prohibitively

expensive, so

at

the

last

minute

I

bought

a '99 Chevy

Silverado

at the Spokane auto auc

tion. Rick Davis from Everett, Wash

ington,

and

I

had

two weeks

to

get

the

airplane

and the

truck on the

boat. Once again, Kent's friend

Les

Knight jumped

in

and

built

the

rack

in

two days. Kent continues: Then

Rick, Bud

Gran

l

ey,

Charlie Wright,

and

I

shoehorned i t -and the

air

plane-into

the

container. It was so

tight

that I flipped

the

rack

around

on the

truck and put the tail of

the

airplane

up in the

bed.

We had

about

an inch

to spare

but

we made

it

on the

boat.

When

we got

to the

Emirates, it

was

another

'rush, rush, rush' deal,

and

we barely got

the

last screw

in

the

airplane

in

time to

fly the man

datory

practice. It's a

testament to

the

simplicity and durability of

the

Cadet

and the

number

of times I've

taken it

apart

that

we were able to

get it all

done in

time

and

still have

zero mechanical glitches.

I

can't

imagine

doing anything

else with

my

life, he says. I've been

doing this now

for

over

34 years

and

400 shows,

and

I still love it. I

love flying

the

little airplane,

and

I'm surrounded by great people. The

air

show

people

and the

audiences

are absolutely

the

best. I'm having a

ball

and

intend

on

continuing to do

this

as long as anyone is

willing to

stand

and

watch.

At

the rate

he's

going, he'll

have to find another Cadet

as a

spare,

while he rebuilds one.

Af-

ter

all, a

man can never have too

many

Interstates.

P.S.

Kent says

he

has yet

another

Interstate

in

pieces at his home, so

he must

agree.

The Interstate Cadet: The What?

Considering that

an

Interstate Cadet bears more than a passing Similarity

to

most other tandem two-place aircraft of the 194Os, the truth

is that

it's anything

but

a warmed-over Cub, even though the construction methods are identical.

The basic fuselage s tructure benefitted from

the

decade

that

passed after

the Cub's design,

and

the landing

gear

is a compression spr ing/oleo system

that

allows its rebound characteristics

to

be damped,

so

it's ideally suited to

rough field work.

The airfoil is a semi-symmetrical 23012, which helps contribute

to the

air

plane's relatively high speed (for

the

power)

of

1OO-plus mph.

Interstate Manufacturing Company

EI

Segundo, California) built approxi

mately 320 Interstate Cadets in 1941 and 1942. The airplane was

or

iginally

powered by

an

A-50 Continental but,

as

with all

other

airplanes

of

the

period,

quickly

adapted the

6S-hp Continental A-65.

In recent times,

the

type certificate was resurrected, along with

the

tooling,

by Arctic Aircraft. It was slightly upgraded

and

equipped with an 0-320

of

160

hp, eventually evolving into

the

Arctic Tern as a highly modified

and

modern


14/44


15/44

in 1966. About the same time, his

wife,

Donna,

decided to overcome

her fear of flying.

"I went

out

to

the

airport by my

self and took a lesson," says Donna,

smiling,

and then went home

and

said, 'Guess what I did-I took a

fly-

ing

lesson, and

spent

my

weekly

waitress' check to do it ' I kept tak

ing lessons, and I started to learn to

like it. And he was happy I did it, be

cause it

put

us together

in

a hobby."

They both soloed a Piper Cher

okee

and took their

checkrides

in

the Piper Tri-Pacer that

he

rebuilt.

Charlie joined

E (49475)

and

started

attending

the fly-in while it

was

in

Rockford.

Donna currently

flies a converted Piper Pacer that

her husband

restored,

and

when

asked how she helped him with the

Fairchild 22 restoration, she laughs

and

says, "Money "

The Antique Bug

Charlie has restored a variety of

airplanes through the years, and

he became

smitten

with antiques

when he

purchased

a partially re

stored

Fairchild

24W

in

1980. He

finished

NC77655 in

a couple of

years' time and first flew it on Janu

ary I,

1983 . When the Bells

took

it to E Oshkosh that summer,

Donna

fortuitously saw to it that

it

was registered for judging. It was

selected as

Grand

Champion. The

following year, Charlie himself be

came a judge for antique airplanes

at Oshkosh,

and only recently re

tired from that role.

He discovered the Fairchild 22


16/44

Donna and Charlie Bell.

Note the wooden vertical stabilizer.

ne beautiful wooden wing

Charlie

Bell

made the all-new cowling

for the Fairchild.

dormant

until 1994,

when the Bells

moved to Woods and Lakes Airpark

in Florida.


17/44

utility of

the

famous

Fairchild

fleet. Both students and sports

man

pilots enjoyed the 22's doc

ile flying characteristics

and

gentle

aerobatic capabilities. Fairchild 22s

were built

under

a succession of

approved type certificates (ATCs)

from about 1930 to 1935, and they

were powered by a variety of en

gines (see sidebar).

With a

wingspan

of 32 feet 10

inches,

the

fabric-covered

Fairch

ild 22-C7D stood 7 feet 10 inches

tall and measured 21 feet 8

inches

from prop to tailskid. It

had

a gross

weight of 1,550

pounds and

an

empty weight

of

992

pounds,

with

a fuel capacity

of

21 gallons and 2.4

gallons

of

oil. Its

robust

fuselage

was

built

from

round and

square

steel tubing, faired to a slender pro

file by wooden stringers

and

form

ers. The wings were

constructed of

spruce spars and truss-type ribs,

and

its manner was completely charm

ing." It cruised about 95 mph for a

range of 350 miles, and its 42

mph

landings were

cushioned by

Fairch

ild spring-oil shock absorbers. Its

flight

and engine controls glided

smoothly

over ball bearings,

its

rudder was balanced, and trim con

trol

was provided

by an

adjustable

horizontal stabilizer.

Built

under ATC

No. 503 (April

1933),

the

22-C7D was powered

by

a four-cylinder, upright, air-cooled

Wright

Gipsy

L-320.

The

inline

Gipsy, a "greaser" engine with ex

posed rocker arms, developed 90

hp

at 1950 rpm, and a

hand

starter was

standard

equipment

at the time. A

1929

advertisement

touted Wright

Aeronautical

Corporation's

vision

and engineering

skills:

In

decid

ing to manufacture the famous

'Gipsy'

engine

in

America,

Wright

is

again

looking ahead

and

taking

air classic-the 1100 mile race for

the

King's cup Another estab

lished a new class record by climb

ing 20,000

feet

in

70

minutes

...

Still another broke

the

world's light

plane record by remaining aloft for

24 hours."

The Restoration

The

smoothly

cowled Gipsy per

fectly complemented

the

Fairchild

22's

aesthetically pleasing profile

of parasol

wings

perched atop

a

tandem fuselage, gracefully stream

lined all

the

way to its

statuesque

rudder. The 22-C7D

turned heads

in

its heyday,

and Charlie

wanted

it to do

the

same after a personal,

hands-on

restoration. Following are

the highlights

of

how he accom

plished just that.

Just before moving to

Ockla

waha,

Florida, Charlie heard from

his

good

friend

Ed,

who had

pre


18/44

parts, because they won't fit.

Then, removing

a

panel from

the

neatly contoured engine

cowling to reveal an

immacu

lately painted engine

and

engine

room, he further

describes

the

Gipsy: "This

engine

feeds oil

to

the main bearing

with an out

side line.

It's got

two Scintilla

magnetos,

and

they

are intercon

nected

with the

thrott le- the

timing

varies with the

throttle

position. That's

very

unusual.

With

full

advance

on the throt

tle, you have full advance on

the

timing,

which is 35 degrees be

fore

top dead

center.

With

the

throttle

pulled all

the

way back,

the

timing is back to zero."

The

Gipsy needed

a

wood

prop,

and

Charlie located a pro

peller, previously

owned

by Joe

Araldi,

now

deceased,

inside

a

restaurant at

the

Lakeland air

port.

He

took it over to Jim Kim-

ball,

who

was able to use it

as

a

pattern to make a new one. Since

the

Fairchild 22 has no electrical

system, Charlie

hand-props

it.

There is

an

impulse coupling

on

the

right mag, which helps a bit,

but

sometimes

the

Gipsy extracts

its toll

in perspiration before

it

settles

into a

steady

rhythm.

Charlie typically has a

neighbor

climb in

the

rear cockpit to con

trol

the

throttle and stand

on the

brakes while he's

on the

busi

ness

end

of

the

engine. They also

tie the

tail

down and chock it.

Pleased

with the

engine, Charlie

says it runs surprisingly good


19/44

endless trim cables. Charlie retained

the original instrument panel in

set (in

which

the instruments are

displayed) but fabricated its

new

perimeter panel. The original alu

minum nosebowl was dinged and

dented, but he patiently brought it

back

into

form by

hand.

When he formed the cowlings,

Charlie paid special

attention to

a

couple of details in particular.

One

was the large, concave contour

on

each side of the fuselage, located

over the

fuselage

fuel tank.

He

made an oak former,

then

clamped

the

sheet metal

on top

of

it,

and

worked the metal until

t

con

formed smoothly to

that concave

shape. And

he

took

the

time to fin

ish

the

edges

of the

cowlings,

in

stead of leaving them plain. "All of

the edges

on the

engine cowlings

are

wrapped over

against

them

selves,

and

I made those here," says

Charlie, gesturing

to

a

bench in

his

hangar shop. Elaborating on the te

dious process, he laughs

and

says,

"Oh, it was a son of a gun I actu

and stripped the parts, this is what

we

came

up

with. And

the

interior

is pret ty close to original colors."

Throughout the project, Char

lie restored

components

as closely

back to original as he could. "The

only

change I made was to add

a

tail wheel

and

horn

for steer

ing, but

it can easily be changed

back to a skid. I

built

the

left-hand

gear;

it

was

broken

due to

an

ac

cident in 1945,"

he says. "I think

they

were doing

some

instructing

yet for Civilian Pilot Training,

and

it

looks like they were running

this

thing

about

six

to eight hours

a day.

Those old engines weren't

going to

take that,

and one day

it

blew

a piston, landed,

and broke

this

gear off."

Atti

c Treas

ur

e

Speaking of landing gear, Char

lie

has

a

wonderful little story to

share

about

the wheels. "These are

Warner straight-axle,

magnesium

wheels,

which

are very rare

to

come

by," he explains. "The ones

that

Fairchild

225

and

Their

Powerplant5*

Prototype

Kreider-Reisner Fairchild

22-Genet 80

hp, five cylinder, radial

Fairchild 22

C7:

ATC #408

(March 1931)-Michigan

Rover

75

hp,

four cylinder, inverted

inline

Fairchild 22

C7

A,

C7AM, C7

AS:

ATe #438 (July

1931

)-American Cirrus

Hi-Drive Mark

11195

hp,

four

cylinder,

inverted inline

Fairchild 22

C7B:

ATe

#483 (May 1932)-Menasco C 4

Pi-

rate 125 hp, four cylinder, inverted in

line (fuel capacity for the C7B increased

from 21 to 30 gallons)

Fairchild C7C:

De Havilland Gipsy III inverted inline

Fairchild C7D:

ATe

#503 (April 1933)-Wright Gipsy 90

hp, four cylinder, upright inline

Fairchild

C7E:

ATe #515 (September 1933)-Warner

Scarab 125 hp, seven cylinder, radial

(fuel capacity for the

C7E

was increased

to

30 gallons, and the fuselage was con

toured

to

mate with the round engine)

Fairchild C7F:

ATC

#517 (September

1933)-Warner

Super Scarab 145 hp, seven cylinder,

radial (fuel capacity

for

the C7F was

increased to 30 gallons, a bumped

cowling was added,

and

the

fuse

lage was contoured to mate with the


20/44

what was up there?

Two sealed

boxes

of

brand

new wheels-they

were

new old

stock.

What

a find

Everything

was

there-two com

plete

wheels

with bearings,

back

ing plates ,

shoes, washers

,

and

even hubcaps. The

only thing

that

wasn't on

them was the tires.

That

was

just

amazing,

after

all

of

the

work

and

hunting

that

I did,

to

find

them

just a mile away."

Finished and Flying

Through his years of judging

antiques, Charlie acquired some

knowledge

about

the historical ac

curacy of certain

details

of

which

many folks aren't

even

aware. For

instance,

he knew that instru

ment

markings (such as green and

white

arcs)

have

not always been

required, and

that an

aircraft's air

worthiness certificate was issued on

a temporary basis

up

until

the

mid

1950s,

after which

the

certificate

became a

permanent

issue.

Fortunately, he

dealt with an

FAA

inspector

who

surprisingly

had

that knowledge.

"I

waited almost

a year for

Al

Kimball

to inspect

it,

and

he gave it a

permanent

airwor

thiness

certificate because it

didn

't

have

one

previously. He was a nice

guy," reflects Charlie, and it was a

real pleasure to have him inspect it.

The

other

part

about

this plane

is

it

doesn't

have a weight-and-balance

envelope.

I t

just

states

that

max

gross

is

1,550 pounds,

and

you can

have 34 pounds of baggage."

On January

27,

2009

,

some

63

years

after it

last

flew,

NC9479

climbed back into the

sky

.

The

first flight was great," Charlie smiles

broadly,

and the

Gipsy performed

well.

The

22 is

super

light on the

controls, because it's all ball-bearing

controls. I was surprised by

the

full

span ailerons; the control input

isn't quite

as

touchy

as I

thought

it

would

be. During

my

first land

ing, I gave it tail

trim-it's

up

and

down,

and

has

no

indicator

on i t -

until

I

thought

it felt

about

right.

Of course,

I'm coming in

over

the

trees,

and then

I pulled a little bit

more

trim,

and

wow I t started

to

porpoise

on

me. Well, I

got down

on the

ground,

and

I really was feel

ing

like I was way

too

light

on the

controls,

so I punched

the pow

er

and

got out. I came around

the

sec

ond time,

and I trimmed it

mor

e

forward. Then I

had

a

real

nice

landing

for the first one,

and that

felt good. I landed right next to

the

paved

runway

on

the

grass .

The

gear

is

soft

and

straight, and the

brakes are sufficient. It's

been

cold

and

windy this winter

in

Florida, so

I

want to

get out of

the

cockpit be

fore too long.

So

I've really

only

got

about

five hours

on

it so far."

Finally,

after

14 years

of

perse

verance,

patience

, and

tedious

la

bor, Charlie has fulfilled his flights

of fancy

in

the

Fairchild 22-C7D.

He'll

continue

flying it when

the


21/44

AUA is responsive, professional, competent, competitive

and friendly. lus it is nice to do business with

good

friends

who are also avid sport aviation enthusiasts a valued

long-term experience.

- John Parish Sr.

John

Parish Sr.

,-

Tullahoma, TN

•

Founder

and

chairman of

the

board

of Beechcraft

Heritage Museum;

president

for 20 years

• Past

board

member

EAA

Aviation

Foundation

and EAA

Aviation

Assoc. for

over

30 years

•

Commercia/ instrument

mu/ti

engine

land and

sea; 5 000 hrs

•

Three

sons also pilots

and satisfied

clients of AUA


22/44

Light Plane Heritage

.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN E Experimenter JULY 987

;

Personal

flying as

created

by

a mid-19th century artist.

The search for perfection

T

he history of aviation is a

fascinating subject for study.

It's a

continuing

account of

the

aspirations

and

frustra

tions of

thousands

of dissatisfied in

dividuals, all searching for the perfect

machine

to

carry man through the

air

with

the ease and freedom of the

BY GEORGE A. HARDIE, JR.

the time but astounded the world af-

ter they made their first public flights

five year later.

From

the

beginning

the

popular

concept of man-flight was

usually

centered on a machine to carry a sin

gle individual. Note the details of the

"flying machine"

as

conceived by an

tion for pilots since the earliest days.

The diminut ive Demoiselle built by

Alberto Santos-Dumont in 1908 in

spired

many

a would-be flier

to

get

into aviation. Other small machines

appeared

as

aviation developed, but

the pressures of the first World War

turned designers to the use of more


23/44

~ ~ -

+

';1... I

't l. .>t

~

0

- ' ..:-

/

-

,

/

Details From Lympne

1) Gloucester Gannet,

interplane

strut termi-

nal.

2)

RAE. Hurricane,

nose

and

undercar-

riage. 3) Avro biplane,

center section struts.

4)

Avro biplane, Douglas

engine and chain-drive

arrangement. 5 and 6)

Gannet,

wing folding

and locking gear. (7)

Gannet, nose and

un-

dercarriage.

8)

Ponce

let, celluloid fairing to

aileron gap.

9)

Handley

Page pilot s office with

lid off.

10)

Poncelet, ai

leron control.

Germany particularly, the restrictions

on

powered aircraft forced the devel

opment of the glider as a means

to

get into

the

air. The results of glider

meetings held at the Wasserkuppe in

the

Rh6n

mountains

of Bavaria be

ginning

in

1920 revived interest in

personal flight. At a meeting

in

the

summer of 1922, a total of 53 enthu

siasts

competed

, and a remarkable

endurance record of three hours, 10

minutes

was

established.

The English, too, encouraged by

the German experience and the work

of the French, had turned to gliding

as

an outlet for an interest in flying.

In October 1922 a contest was held

at

Itford Hill

near Newhaven

for a

of

35

entries and aroused much pop

ular interest . Many of the

entrants

failed to meet

the

deadline, but a re-

spectable

number

managed to get

into the air. The prize

was

won by the

French pilot Maneyrol, who set a new

endurance record of three hours, 21

minutes in his Peyret glider.

The natural

next

step was to add

power to these light machines-thus

the birth of the motorglider. Stimu

lated by popular interest, the Duke of

Sutherland, recently appOinted Under

Secretary of State for

Air,

announced

in April 1923 that he was offering a

prize of $2,500 for a competition be

tween low-powered airplanes of Brit-

ish

manufacture

, the contest to be

Ion (British Imperial) of fuel was to

be declared the winner of both prizes.

A reserve was allowed to enable the

pilot to return to his starting point.

Included was a transport test, which

consisted of a demonstration of pre

paring

the

aircraft for towing on the

road, with a width not to exceed 7

feet 6 inches in towable condition. To

enlarge the scope of the contest other

prizes were added to the list. The

Ab-

dulla Company offered $2,500

for

the

highest

speed over two laps of

the

course with no fuel restriction. Atotal

of $1,500

was

offered by two associa

tions for

the

greatest number of cir

cuits around

the

12-l/4-mile course

completed during the contest, a mini


24/44

ILIGHT PLANE HERITAGE I

I 'EET

AVRO

D H 53

AVRO

A N E C

VIICIKIER§

POHCELET

-GANNET

5

:ZYRi:T


25/44

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More Details From

Lympne-(l) D.H.53,

nose, cockpit, and wing-bracing. 2)

D.H.53,

undercarriage. 3) Peyret, engine cowl

ing

with

air-scoop, and undercarriage. Note petrol tank in

front of

pilot. 4) Poncelet, petrol tank as fairing for pilot's head.

5)

Poncelet, engine cowl ing showing cooling air intake and outlet. 6) Gnosspelius Gull, airscrew shaft and chain-drive.

7)

Peyret, fabric and elastic-band fairing of aileron gap. 8) Parnall Pixie, cockpit, wing-bracing, and engine cowling.

in Kent. The Royal Aero Club offi

cially named the contest The Motor

Glider Competition which brought

forth strong critiCism especially from

the caustic

e.G.

Grey editor of

The

Aeroplane

the

aeronautical weekly.

He contended that when a motor

is put into a glider it ceases to be a

glider and becomes an ordinary air

an experiment in flying with very

low power. In April 1923 it dem

onstrated its ability to fly with only

3-1/2 hp. Two of the type were built

especially for the competition Nos. 3

and

4

with a slight modification of

the original design.

The

second design was the

Gnosspelius Gull, designed and

the Cherub exceeded the capacity

specified in the rules. Duplicates of

both of these designs were also en

tered in the contest.

A detailed description of each of

the

airplanes entered

is

beyond

the

scope of this article. An examination

of the sketches reprinted from the

British magazine

The Aeroplane

will


26/44

6 I Avro, Type560

17

&

18

I

A.N

.EC

3 & 4 I E.E.C Wren

2&19

8&

12

10

21

22

13

9

Pamall

Pixie I

24

Pamall

Pixie

II

14

R.A.E.

HUI

23 Handley

-Page

25

I Handley-Page

26 I

Handley-Page

I

698 c.c.

Blackbume

36 0 21 0 138

32

0

15

7

145

37

0

24

3

36

3

19

6

142

18 0 16 8 103

30 1 19 8 120

25

0 17 3

200

36 8

21 7 214

32 9 22

11

160

30

0 19 2 135

29 0 100

18

0

23 0 17 8 80

36 0

18

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Monop .

Tracto

r 36

0 17 0 1

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nop

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Tractor 20

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285 471 3.41

289 465

3.

21

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402

500

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283 460 4.47

310 490 4.08

395 575 2.88

520

6.5

480 2.86

430 2.74

I

I

500

I 8.

06

las

of

George Parnall

&

Company

of Bristol. It was a low-wing

mono-

plane designed

for

the economy

contest using

wings

of

large area

and

powered with a Douglas engine

of

500 cc,

entered

as Pixie

II

.

The

same machine, with wings of smaller

area

and

powered with a Douglas of

750

cc

was entered

as

Pixie II for the

speed contest,

which

it

won with

a

speed of 76.5 mph.

before

the

contest

the

A.N.E.C. had

turned in an unbelievable 127 miles

per gallon over a measured course at

Brooklands. This was true economy

The two prizes for greatest

total

mileage flown were awarded to Bert

Hinkler.

He

flew 80 laps of the course

in

the Avro

monoplane

for a

total

of 1,000 miles. The prize for greatest

height went to Maurice Piercey, who

took the A.N.E.C. monoplane to 14,400

exhibition

of

ingenuity and

perse

verance by the deSigners, builders,

and

pilots in overcoming seemingly

insurmountable obstacles to achieve

these creditable performances. Even

50 years later these records remain

worthy of challenge.

It is interesting to note the Ameri

can reaction

to

this event. Lester D.

Gardner,

the

distinguished editor of

viation

magazine, wrote, "We be


27/44

Drive

one.

Drive

Smart

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New 3.5L

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28/44

A

ooden propeller is

a

beautiful thing to behold,

a fascinating thing to

make,

and

represents

the

vital link between a sta

tionary, lifeless airplane and a sleek,

fast-moving machine. Without the

propeller, all is useless.

Although

are

and

Maintenance

of

Wooden

Propellers

Tips on propellers

from on of the

U.K.'s leading

ligh tplane designers

Y

ARTHUR

W.J.G. ORD-HuME

"Your

propeller

is vital!

f

you have

ever been stranded

miles

from

home

because

you

have

accidentally damaged

your prop

... you

know what I'm getting

at."

that should righ

tl y

be

directed

far from home, and possibly,

as

a

elsewhere. On an airplane with a

result of indirect causes such as a

starter, even this albeit dubious per

forced

landing

in

rough terrain,

sonal contact

is

lost. your airplane.

Your

propeller

is vital

I f

you

Taxiing

through

long grass,

the

have

ever been

stranded

miles

prop

cuts

into

the weeds.

Each

from home because yo u have ac

blade

of

grass, each heavy grass

Cidenta lly broken or damaged your

head offers resistance to the passage


29/44

be sucked

up

by the propeller vor

tex.

I f

the prop

blade has

a metal

sheath,

the

object, acting as a mis

sile, can severely

damage

the cov

ering, loosening and distorting it

and

putting

the whole

fan

out

of

aerodynamic balance. This

can

set

up vibration

that

in

time might

shatter

the

prop, crack

the

engine

mount,

or damage

the motor

itself.

If

the

blade

is not

sheathed,

the

ob

ject will bite deeply

into

the wood,

splintering it locally. Your propeller

blade

is

virtually a little wing. Any

irregularities in

the

leading edge are

detrimental to efficiency and will

set up turbulence and shock waves

around

the

area of damage.

The

third

evil is hail. A flight

through a

storm can

finish an

un

sheathed

prop

very

quickly.

The

damage will be noticed by a gradual

slowing

down

of speed and chang

ing engine noise as the

engine

has

to work harder to drive the dirty

blade through the air. A sheathed

prop will survive-a fabric-covered

propeller may sustain damage to

the

varnish but little else. The droplets

of ice

act

as

shot-blast;

remember

that

the tip speed of

the

blade is not

very far short of the speed of sound.

Commercial

wood

propel

lers invariably have a protective

sheath

that

can take

the

form of a

metal-capped leading edge, fabric

covering,

or

a

process

whereby a

moldable

plastic

finish is

applied

and bonded

to the

wood. Addition

ally, large commercial wood props

are made either of very hard, dura

ble wood or compressed wood that

to run

up

on a clear

asphalt surface or,

just as good, short

grass.

As

a corollary

to this, avoid stand

ing

in line

with

a

propeller whilst

the

engine

is

being

run

in case anything

should be thrown

out

by

the

blades. A

small pebble could

blind a

person

20

yards from

a

run

ning prop.

2)

Where

pos

sible, avoid pro

longed taxi ing

through

long grass.

I f you do have to,

take it slowly and

try

not

to gun

the

throttle too much.

3) If

you

meet

hail on

fl ight,

throt t le

back

as

much as you can

and try to get out

of

i t h a i l

will

fetch

the

finish off

a

metal-skinned

wing

leading

edge

at

speed

as well as

stripping the prop.

For general pro

peller

maintenance

and in addition to the points in

CAA

Technical Manual

No. 101,

there are five points to watch:

1 Inspect

your prop

after every

flight through

hail

or

heavy

rain.

Make

good any

chipped

varnish.

costs nothing and

could

save the

insurance

company

from having to

payout

to your wife.

4

Don t fly

with

an

unsheathed

bare wood propeller. Save yourself

work

and cover it

with

fiberglass at


30/44

BY

RO ERT

G. LOCK

y thoughts on

r di l engines

A

an

FAA

airframe and powerplant mechanic,

I

have been around

single-row radial

engines

such

as

the

Wright

J-6-7 (R-760),

Continental

W-670 (R-670), Pratt

Whitney

R-985,

and Ly

coming

R-680 for

many

years. I will

attempt

to pass

along some of my

experiences,

most recent

ly

main

taining and operating three Wright

R-760-8

and

two

Continental

W-670 engines.

Many older

single-row radial

engines

were certifi

cated

on

73-oc tane fuel.

They

were low-compression

engines

and

operated

at

low rpm,

and manifo

ld pres

sure was

not boosted. When 73-octane

fuel was

no

longer

available,

the

next

higher

grade,

80/87,

was

used. This fuel worked well with low-compression en

gines, but has become another good

product that

has

been added to the disappeared

list. So now opera

tors must decide whether

to

use 100LL or au

to

fuel.

During the late 1980s and

into

the early 1990s I had

the

opportunity

to operate

a

Wright

R-760

installed

in my 1929

Command-Aire

biplane

on 80/87, both

leaded regular

and unleaded

regular

automotive

fue

l.

I found

the leaded

automotive fuel

to

be a

suitable

replacement for the more expensive grade 80/87, but

tion, the following are some tips I've learned

to

keep

the

engine operational

as the

hours SMOH build.

After

more

than

eight

years,

the

two

Wright

powered New

Standard

D-25s have

more than

4,000

hours

of operation. I have

done much

of

the

mainte

nance

on

the

airframe

and

powerplant

and

can report

the

following information.

First,

the

engines

now

operate

about

250 hours per

year

and

are

installed in ships

used specifically for

giving

rides;

therefore,

I use full

power

for takeoff,

climb

at

1750-1800

rpm

to 1,000-1,500 feet above

the

ground, cruise at 1650-1725

rpm, gradually reduce

power, and land. Each flight is actually

in

the air for

slightly

more than

15

minutes.

There are,

of

course,

ferry flights where

the

engine runs constantly at 1700

1750 rpm. That's the type

of operation

the engines

have

endured.

And they are

operated

specifically on

lOO-octane low-lead aircraft fuel.

The engines

have

regular

25-hour

inspections,

which includes

oil

change,

screen

inspections,

and

spark plug maintenance, plus a generous inspection of

the engine

compartment and

a solvent wash-down.

At

the even inspections (50-

and

100-hour), I inspect and


31/44

The Wright

R-760

engine also has no lower rocker drains, so all rocker arms below

the

horizontal

will

not drain back to

the sump to be scavenged into the oil tank.

hours just to keep tabs on cylinder leakage.

With

the

engine warm and

at 80

psi of air pressure, a

cylinder

normally

will

hold

72

to

78 psi. When

cylinder

leak

age drops below 70 psi, I "stake" the

exhaust

valve

if

that is leaking)

by

removing the rocker

cover

to tap

the valve with a

wood block and hammer.

Avgas

of

100LL

puts

an

unbelievable

amount of

chemical

de

posits

into the

combustion chamber,

on the

piston

top,

and around the exhaust valve

that

sometimes

causes the valve not

to

seat properly. You

can

usually

hear where air

is

escaping

around the

rings or

around

the exhaust

valve seat. It's when

you have

leakage at

both

locations

that

things

get interesting.

than

blowby

around the rings because the ring gaps

were almost lined up. I re-staggered

the

ring gaps

and

replaced

the

cylinder

and continued

on.

At

the

910-hour SMOH mark

the number

five cylin

der decided

to do

the same thing.

At

80 psi the cylin

der would hold

only

50

pSi which

would slowly drop

to 44 psi and stabilize. So I removed the cylinder,

and

it appeared exactly as the

number

four did 300 hours

earlier. There was blowby

around

the rings which

could be heard

coming

out of

the

crankcase breather)

and

a

lot

of chemical

buildup

from

the

low-lead fuel.

I inspected the piston

and

cylinder, roughed

the

walls

with

a

hone,

and

reinstalled the cylinder with

new


32/44

A New Standard D-

25A

with nicely

spun

Townend cowl surrounding the Wright

R-760-8

engine.

Arrival

at the Reedley, California, airport in 1989 after 3

2

hours of

flying. That's

my

oldest grandson, Joshua Lee, coming up to greet me

with a welcome balloon.

He

is a young man now

ber five cylinder on the compression stroke. It works

The cylinder problems

we've

experienced

on the

Wrights have been on number four and number five ,

the two lower cylinders.

All

the

other

cylinders are still

the original overhauled parts and have 930 total hours

of operating time. Wright R-760s have always had an

oil control problem with

the

lower cylinders,

and

this

could be the root cause.

and checked on the 100-hour inspection. I rarely find

that

the

clearance has gotten out of limit,

but

I do oc

casionally have

to

readjust

the

clearance on

one

or

two valves. I rotate the engine through three

com-

plete firing revolutions

and

check

the

clearance on

each cylinder. If the spark plugs are removed,

turning

the

engine

through

three rotations

is relatively easy.

Here again, the silicone valve cover gaskets make this

help boil off water accumulations caused by condensa

Stewart Aircraft Finishing Svstems


33/44

tion. The Wright is red lined

at

88°C inlet oil tempera

ture. I set operating oil pressure at mid range, 68-70 psi

(the Wright oil pressure is 50-80 psi). It has been cold

( )

here in Florida,

and the

temperature gauge reads below

30°C

when

I start

the

engine.

So

I

warm

the oil for 15

minutes before taking off.

My

primary

concern

in

operating

this

engine has

been

the

use of lOOLL fuel. The aromatics used to boost

octane rating

and

whatever chemical is used to replace

the

lead cause a large

buildup

of deposits

in

the com

bustion chamber,

on the piston

top,

and on the

valve

stems

and

seats . There are chemical deposits

showing

up

on

the leading

edge

of the

right

lower wing

just

behind exhaust

tail pipe

that no

cleaner will remove.

These deposits

appear

as small black specks

that

you

can

feel

when running

your

hands

over

them.

Your

fingernail will flake

them

off. This chemical buildup

is

also inside

the

exhaust

system

and

appears as a

light

tan to

a yellow color. I've seen it

in

this

engine

and

inside

exhaust

systems of

opposed

engines. I

have

a

series

of colored photographs taken of

a

Lycoming

0-320

in New Hampshire

that

was operated

on lOOLL

fuel. The chemical buildup

is

very heavy.

So

we can ex

pect changes

in

radial engine operation

and

even over

haul life if this fuel

is

used

on

a regular basis.

I have used

no

fuel/oil additives; however, I did use

some

Marvel Mystery Oil

in the

fuel for a

time

. We

cannot

operate

the

engine

on

automotive fuel because

the airplane

is

flown commercially. However, if

I

could

use

auto

fuel, I'd

try to

use a

mixture

of

75 percent

auto

and

25

percent

lOOLL.

I'll

bet the engine

would

LOVE it (Editor S Note: We concur here at EAA. The 75/25

mix seems to have just the right amount of lead for valve

lubrication while

minimizing

the deposits and staining

mentioned by Bob.-HGF

So,

it

is

my

belief

that i f one

stays

on top

of

engine

operation and

does regular maintenance

along with

good

preventive

maintenance measures,

engine

life

should be

enhanced

. I

am

absolutely "sold"

on

Aero

Shell ashless

dispersant

oil,

with changes every

25

hours (with

no

filter system installed). In fact, Aero

Shell

is now an

official sponsor of Rob's

barnstorming

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ircraft Finishes of the Future Today!

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CL SSIC

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34/44

troubleshooting and inspec

tions,

including

daily, 25-hour,

and

50-hour

checks,

which can

be easily added to the 100-hour

and annual

inspection checklist.

Something

that

is

intrigu

ing to me was overall

engine

expansion when operating

temperature has been reached.

For a period of time we ran a

Townend

ring

cowl

on the

New Standard D-25A, but i t

soon

cracked around the

at

tachment points.

I

also no

ticed that

the cowl was very

tight when

the engine was

hot, so I loosened

the attach

ment

clamps until there

was

a

small amount of looseness

with

the

engine at

tempera

ture.

When

the

engine cooled

there

was

quite

a

bit of

clear

ance

between the

cowl

and

en-

My primary concern

in

operating this engine has

been

the

use

of

OOLL

fuel.

The

aromatics used to boost

octane

rating

and

whatever

chemical

is used to

replace

the

lead cause large

buildup

of deposits

in

the combustion

chamber, the

piston

top,

and

on

the

valve

stems and seats.

temperature to a respectable

82°C. The tech reps

at

Aero

Shell told

me

that an

inlet

oil

temperature of

at least 80

°C

was needed to

boil

off water

condensation

from

the

oil

system.

And

it in

fact

does

that

The Wright R-760 en

gine

installation

is

very reli

able, and I

am not afraid

to

take

the ship on

a coast-to

coast cross-county flight.

I would have to say it was a

successful flight

with

19 fuel

stops

and

seven days and six

nights of travel.

Consider

ing

the

airplane

had only

15

hours of

flight

time

and the

pilot

had

the

same

number

in

type, I

encountered just

two

problems. First, the base seal

on the number one

cylinder

decided to

leak (badly),

and

gine. This eliminated

the

cracking problem. To my

amazement,

the

Wright Whirlwind engine must

have

grown

at

least 1/2 inch or more in diameter

when it came

up to

temperature

Now,

on the

pre

flight

inspection

I

can

shake

the

cowl,

but when

the

engine is hot there is

no

movement.

Amazing

In 1928, Fred Weick

(pronounced

Wyck), an engi

neer from

the

National Advisory

Committee

for Aero

nautics (NACA), led the

development of what

was to

become known

as

the

NACA low-drag engine cowl

ing. Weick

had

access to

the NACA

Propeller Research

Wind Tunnel

at

Langley, Virginia. Weick

and

his team

won the 1929 Collier Trophy, the first

of

five Collier

awards for

NACA

. Their

wind

tunnel experiments led

to

many

discoveries

as

to

how to

fair

in an

engine

and

how

to control cooling of

the

engine. But I don't recall

reading

anything

about cowling fit to

the

engine

when

at operating temperature.

Oh, well,

book this one to

experience

and

a little trial

and

error

second,

the

throttle

control broke

on

takeoff from

the

Blythe, California, airport, resulting

in

some anxious

moments,

as the

engine

was

turning only

1200 rpm.

But

that problem

was overcome,

and

the trip

contin

ued

as if

nothing had happened.

But

enough of

the

flying stories; back

to the

subject at hand.

The Wright cylinder base seals are a

constant

prob

lem with

leakage as

engine time

builds. It seems at

about the

600-hour mark oil will begin seeping around

the

cylinder base area of cylinders

number

vintage airplane - aug 2009

Documents