vintage airplane - aug 2010

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Aug 2010

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AUGUST 2010


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Stay tuned for more coverage

on EAA Oshkosh AirVenture

2010 in the October Vintage

Airplane magazine.

Heads up everyone: EAA is asking

the membership to stand down on

reacting to the FCC’s controversial

announcement on June 15. As many

of you are already aware, the FCC has

a planned change to 47 CFR Part 87to prohibit the certification, manu-

facture, importation, sale, or use of

any 121.5 ELT (emergency locator

transmitter) devices. (With the excep-

tion of the Breitling Emergency watch

with ELT).

This of course is in direct conflict

with FAA Rule 14 CFR Part 91.207,which requires you to have an op-

erational ELT on board your U.S.-

registered civil aircraft regardless of

the operating frequency of 121.5 or

the updated 406 MHz. Although this

new FCC ruling was written to take

effect 60 days after publication, EAA

is busy working with other aviationassociations to remedy these conflict-

ing rules. As of July 13, the proposed

regulation had not been published in

the Federal Register , so the 60-day clock

had not begun. Because of the atten-

tion brought to bear on this proposed

that the EPA continues to push hard

on the fuel industry for a resolution

to the formulation of a non-leaded

fuel that will perform satisfactorily

with our piston-powered aircraft. In

addition, aviation is soon to be the

only user of the lead additive, thus

making aviation subject to financial

and supply interruptions. There is

only one producer of the additive leftin the world. All it would take is one

industrial accident at that plant and

there would be no 100LL available.

While most of our lower- and mid-

dle-horsepower vintage aircraft would

actually be better off with one of the

currently available specifications for

unleaded aviation fuels, our friendswith high-horsepower engines would

be put in a difficult position, with de-

rated engines or worse.

It appears that the struggle con-

tinues. Along the way I have become

aware of a number of relevant factors

that I was totally ignorant of that you

may find interesting. We are all awareof the issues surrounding the need to

find an alternative fuel for our vin-

tage flying machines, but I was to-

tally rolled back on my heels when

I learned that 100LL makes up only

1/10 of 1 percent of all the refined fu-

and complicated issues at hand. The

goal is to find a common standard

fuel that will service the entire fleet

without any compromise to perfor-

mance or engine life. That’s a huge

goal, and it’s not likely to be devel-

oped overnight, or any time soon for

that matter.

The industry has never had to

reverse engineer a safe alternativefuel for the existing fleet, and it has

indeed proven to be an elusive task.

Then, mix in the fact that there

remains only one manufacturer of

tetraethyl lead fuel additive left in

the world, serving only 1/10 of 1

percent of all blended fuels in this

country, and you begin to realizethe need to move forward with this

initiative. Let’s all hope for the best.

I like to think that we have not yet

found that chemical engineer with

the talent to see this issue resolved.

Industry leaders are now lament-

ing the fact that “leadership by the

FAA is vital at this juncture in or-der to remove any unnecessary or

outdated hurdles,” and “Such hur-

dles could delay the development

and delivery of new products and

should be removed if they provide

no safety benefit.”

GEOFF ROBISON

PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

Keeping abreast of issues


3/44

IFC Straight & Level Keeping abreast of issues

by Geoff Robison

2 News

4 Aeromail

6 The Sensuously Svelte Ryan SCW The Larson family’s flying legacy

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

15 How to Tie the Seine Knot! Don’t let that pesky little knot drive you insane

by Bob Whittier

18 Life and the Zen of the Stinson How an airplane weaves its way into many lives

by Budd Davisson

26 Light Plane Heritage The Allen A-4 Lightplane by Jack McRae

29

The Vintage Mechanic Structural alignment by Robert G. Lock

34 The Vintage Instructor The lost art of slips by Steve Krog, CFI

36 Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy

39 Classified Ads

40 A Different Perspective The right seat by S. Michelle Souder

A I R P L A N E A U G U S TC O N T E N T S

S T A F FEAA Publisher Tom PobereznyDirector of EAA Publications Mary Jones

Executive Director/Editor H.G. Frautschy

Vol. 38, No. 7 2010

18

6

BONNIE KRATZ


4/44

VAA NEWS

Vintage Aircraft Online Last year we launched the online

publication Vintage Aircraft Online,

and it immediately became popular

with thousands of our members and

enthusiasts. Like Vintage Airplanemagazine, there’s always a need for

interesting material to share with the

membership. If you have something

you’d like to contribute, please drop

us a line via e-mail at vintageaircraft@

eaa.org . Perhaps you have a batch of

10-15 photos of a fly-in, a project or

how-to that would be great to share

in a slideshow, or a few pictures and

a write-up about your local vintage

aircraft–oriented event. If you think

it would be of interest, send it along!

Honoring EAA’s 2010

Arlington Fly-InVisitors to the Arlington Fly-In got a real treat Thursday, July 8, as a Boeing

787 Dreamliner made a fly-by to provide an exciting opening to the afternoon airshow. The airplane, still undergoing test flights, made two low passes before the

cheering crowd.

The fly-in started Wednesday, July 7, and unlike some past years, Mother

Nature was extremely cooperative. “We’re having a wonderful run of incredible

weather,” said fly-in Executive Director Barbara Tolbert. The fly-in, which ran

through Sunday, July 11, featured everything from hot-air balloons and radio-

controlled aircraft to the most modern naval jets.

One of the newest attractions on the Arlington landscape is the Antique

Airplane Barnstormers Barn in the Vintage Aircraft area. EAA Manager of FieldRelations Ron Wagner described the project as one highlighting the ingenuity

of EAAers through and through. “One person cut down the trees from his land,

and a por table milling machine was brought in to cut the boards. Then they were

dried with fans. Volunteers put it together in four different sections. Since it’s

located on airport property, the sections make it easier to move before and after

the event. It’s really neat—all built by volunteers at little cost to the fly-in.”

The Barnstormers Barn Red Barn is a part of the newly renovated Vintage Air-

craft area, which by all accounts was ver y well received. Vintage Day was Friday,

July 9, where in addition to historic aircraft, there were vintage cars and living-history re-enactors in period costume. Featured inside the barn were items from

the Skagit Aero Education Museum of Concrete, Washington.

For more information on the fly-in and the Barnstormer’s Red Barn project,

visit the Arlington Fly-In’s website at www.ArlingtonFlyIn.org.

JAY TOLBERT


5/44

Club, Jimmy Franklin; Warbirds

of America, Ha rold D. “Hal”

Weekley; and Homebuilders,

Dean Wilson. These inductees

capture the spirit of EAA and itscommunity.

VAA’s inductee is Morton Les-

ter (VAA 14) of

Martinsville,

Virginia. Mor-

ton l e a rne d

t o f l y f r o m

h i s f a t h e r ,

t h e o w n e r

of his home-

tow n’ s f i r s t

airport. Over

the years, he

owned many

aircraft, ranging from modern

Bonanzas to vintage Wacos. Mor-

ton also restored many prototypesand one-of-a-kind racing aircraft

that he later donated to museums,

including the Crosby CR-4 and

the Keith Rider Jackrabbit.

Instrumental in the creation

of the Virginia Aviation Museum,

Morton was an early member of

EAA/VAA Chapter 3 and has servedas its president several times. He

also served on the board of direc-

tors for what is now the Vintage

Aircraft Association, as well as the

board of directors of the EAA Avia-

tion Foundation.

Enroll in an EAA Webinar!

Join the thousands of people

who have participated in free EAA

webinars (web-based seminars).

All you need is a computer and a

broadband Internet connection to

receive live streaming interactive

To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little reminiscing on your part.

Mail nominating materials to:

Remember, your “contemporary” may be a candidate; nominate someone today!

www.VintageAircraft.org

CALL FOR VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Nominations

Morton Lester


6/44

Douglas DC-2I was reading through the April

issue of Vintage Airplane (another

excellent issue), and the insert on

page 3 regarding the Douglas DC-2

joining the Oshkosh DC-3 celebra-

tion caught my eye. It has alsoprompted this letter.

While Clay Lacy is an aviation

luminary and has made significant

contributions to the aviation in-

dustry over the years, I wish to take

exception to the statement that

he “was the driving force behind

the airplane’s restoration.” I’ve en-closed an article that appeared in

the AAHS Journal, Vol. 52, No. 4,

Winter 2007, detailing the history

of this aircraft.

The real credit for the rescue and

restoration of this aircraft should

go to the volunteers of the Douglas

Historical Foundation and many

retired McDonnell Douglas em-

ployees that brought a derelict air-

frame back to airworthy condition.

Mr. Lacy was never a member of

the Douglas Historical Foundation,

nor a contributor to that group to

attention to those unnamed and un-sung volunteers of the Douglas His-torical Foundation that restored thisaircraft. Without their efforts, Mr.Lacy would not have the opportunityof bringing the last airworthy DC-2

to Oshkosh this summer.Keep up the great work on Vin-

tage Airplane.

Regards,

Hayden Hamilton

AAHS Managing Editor,

VAA 714656

We appreciate Hayden taking thetime to set the record straight on Cap-

tain Lacy’s level of involvement in the

DC-2; we look forward to publishing

more on this remarkable restoration

in a future issue of Vintage Airplane.

—H.G. Frautschy

Horsa, Not a Waco

Regards,

Jim Gorman

Mansfield, Ohio

Jim’s right; I misidentified it whenwriting the caption—the fault is entirely

my own, not author Henry Holden’s. Jim

Gorman flew the C-47 during his mili-

tary service during World War II, and

later he became very active in the pres-

ervation of the Beech Staggerwing se-

ries of aircraft. He and his wife, Marge,

have been active pilots for more than

65 years, and they were recently pre-

sented with Wright Brothers Master Pi-

lot awards by the FAA.—H.G. Frautschy

Emma Browning Mrs. Emma Browning, former

owner and operator of Browning

Aerial Service on Robert Mueller

Airport in Austin, Texas, passedaway at the age of 99-1/2.

Born on October 26, 1910,

in Eastland, Texas, she took her

first plane ride in 1929. In 1930,

she met and later married Robert

M. Browning, an original barn-

stormer. She obtained her pilot’s

certificate in 1939. Together theymoved to Austin and opened

a school to train military pilots.

An original founding member of

NATA (National Air Transportation

Association), she operated an FBO

business for over 60 years, serving

airline, business, and private air-

craft. Mrs. Browning was inducted

into the Texas Aviation

Hall of Fame in 2005.

Emma met and knew

Charles Lindbergh and

Amelia Earhart. Amelia

spent the night in the

AEROMAILSend your comments and questions to:

VAA, Letters to the EditorP.O. Box 3086

Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086Or you can e-mail them to: [email protected]


7/44

Finnish DC-3

Much has been written about

the DC-3, and the series article of

Mr. Holden in your magazine was

very welcome.The June issue arrived only yes-

terday in this corner of the world,

but already the two first parts led

me into temptation to brag about

the plane we are flying here in

Finland. It must be—it is—the

most beautiful example flying in

Europe! Picture proof enclosed!Our ship is s/n 6346 of a batch

of 17 ordered by Pan Am. It went,

however, straight to military ser-

vices as a C-52C and served eventu-

ally in the European theater of op-

erations. After the war it was bought

by AERO Oy—later Finnair—and

flew there until 1966. It then flew

for 16 years in the Finnish air force

before being purchased by Airvet-

eran Oy in 1986.

Being a retired airline pilot,

I have flown it since then as a

hobby. We operate it on club ba-

sis, i.e., membership in the club

being a requisite to board the

plane. Our purpose is to keep the

plane in airworthy condition as

a piece of Finland’s aviation his-

tory and to honor those who have

flown and maintained it since its

birth in 1942.

Sincerely,

Kari I. Heikkala

VAA 20948

P.S. It is our plane on the stamp!

The stamp and two photos by LassiTolvanen of the former Finnish Air-

lines DC-3/C-47.


8/44

the Snsuously

Ryan


9/44

Svelte

The

L a r s o n

family’s

f l y i n g

l e g a c y


10/44

Ryan Aeronautical Company The Sport Coupe, or SC, was con-

ceived by T. Claude Ryan, founder

of Ryan Aeronautical Company

per Scarab was installed. Thus the

prototype became an SC-W145

(NC17372) under ATC No. 658 on

October 31, 1937. (This airplane is

Hailed this New Era Cabin Plane!

. . . Ryan S-C was a whole show in

itself. The air-wise flocked to the

only new design in production that

NC18912 was originally equipped with a wooden

Hartzell propeller and a 145-hp Warner. It now has a

165-hp Warner and an Ole Fahlin propeller.

CHRIS MILLER


11/44

bines the advantages of low wing

design and metal construction. …

Its maneuverability is amazing; its

response to the controls uncanny.

Professional and amateur pilots

alike pronounce it the easiest ship

heat and ventilation ducts. If addi-

tional fresh air was desired, the can-

opy could be opened during flight.

Yet only 12 Ryan SC-Ws were

produced before World War II be-

gan in 1941. The company abruptly

and heavy aluminum sheet. The

distinctive cantilever wings span 37

feet 6 inches. Aircraft historian and

author Joseph Juptner describes the

wing construction as being “… atype of monospar wing wherein the

single hollow spar beam formed

the first third of the wing’s front

edge as a monocoque all-metal box;

the wing ribs cantilevered from the

spar’s rear face to the trailing edge.

The forward third of the wing was

covered with “Alclad” (24ST) metal

sheet, and the rear 2/3 portion was

covered in fabric.” (U.S. Civil Air-

craft, Volume 7 )

The chord at the wing root mea-

sures 99 inches, which dramatically

tapers down to only 26 inches at the

wingtip. The detachable, rounded

wingtips are also made of alumi-

num. The fabric-covered aileronshave a static and dynamic counter

balance, and the rudder, elevators,

vertical stabilizer, and strut-braced

horizontal stabilizers are also fab-

ric-covered. The airframe measures

25 feet 5 inches from nose to tail,

and stands 7 feet tall on its widely

spaced main gear (97-inch tread).As powered by the 145-hp War-

ner, its empty weight is 1,345

pounds, and its gross weight is

2,150 pounds. With a fuel burn of

9.5 gph and a capacity of 37 gal-

lons, the Ryan SC-W145 offers a

range of around 450 miles, while

cruising in the neighborhood of 135

to 140 mph. Its maximum speed is

150 mph. One particularly unusual

feature of the SC-W is its perforated

center-section belly flap (air brake)

with a total area of about 5 square

feet. The air brake can be extended

Brad Larson (left) and David Russell Williams stand in front of Brad’s

Ryan when the two SCW owners visited the Grass Roots Fly-In in 2008.

Brad Larson and his son, Glenn, with Brad’s favorite airplane.

H . G .

F R A U T S C H Y

C H R I S M I L

L E R


12/44

(designed and built by Etienne Dor-

moy, who also built the 1924 Dor-

moy Bathtub). Brad recalls that the

1925 model was an improved ver-

sion with fabric covering, and it hadplaced second and third in the 1925

National Air Races. Naturally, Brad

was excited to have the opportunity

to restore the airplane, and after

covering the fuselage and wings, he

installed a low-powered Indian mo-

torcycle engine on it, instead of the

costlier 20-hp Henderson engine. It

was perhaps his first practical lesson

about horsepower and airplanes; the

small Indian simply didn’t generate

enough power to even lift the ship

off the ground.

In 1932-1933, Brad learned to fly

in a 1931 tandem-seat, open-cockpit,

pusher airplane that few today have

seen aloft. “Three of us bought aCurtiss Junior, and I learned to fly

in that,” Brad recalls. “I flew an

Aeronca C-3 quite a bit, and had a

couple of Cubs.” Although he has

logged numerous hours in several

aircraft logbooks, he has never to-

Glenn shows how to

activate…

…the perforated drag flap

mounted below the cockpit.

PHOTOS CHRIS MILLER


13/44

taled his hours of lightplane flying. couple of Bonanzas, and another

P H O T O S C H R I S M I L L E R

The cockpit of the Ryan is best described as “well-loved” and careworn.While not a showplane, its worn instrument panel paint highlights the

fact the Ryan has never been a hangar queen. Over the decades Brad Lar-

son has flown the aircraft from coast-to-coast on numerous occasions.


14/44

make stick forces on the heavy side.

But the airplane is nimble.” (The en-

tire pilot report is available at www.

Airbum.com.)

Bombs Away!This particular Ryan has some

interesting history. “During World

War II, our plane was used as an anti-

submarine dive bomber from the

eastern United States’ coastal waters

down to the Florida coast. The doc-

tor who owned the SC-W at that

time had named it Honey Child, and

he loaned it to the Civil Air Patrol,”

shares Glenn. More detail about this

facet of the Ryan’s history is revealed

by the aircraft records, which include

the Supplement to Aircraft Operation

Record (Form 309), dated Septem-

ber 12, 1941. This form states that

Ryan SC-W-145 (s/n 206), with CivilAeronautics Administration (CAA)

identification mark NC18912, was

authorized for the following addi-

tional operation: “May carry speci-

fied bomb load, only under direct

orders of the proper military au-

thorities. Operation Limitation – No

persons other than bona fide mem-bers of the crew may be carried with

bomb installed.” The new weight

schedule of the airplane accounted

for the bomb shackle and installa-

tion weight of 8 pounds and the

100-pound weight of the bomb. This

confidential paperwork was signed

by G.G. McElravy, senior aircraft in-

spector, and dated May 28, 1942.

The following year, a CAA Repair and

Alteration Form showed that then-

current owner Robert Silverman of

Pennsylvania had the bomb shackle

and release removed from the air-

Photo of NC18912, with its bomb attached during its anti-submarine

patrol days.

P H O T O S

C O U R T E S Y

B R A D L

A R S O N


15/44

Chain of OwnershipRyan Aeronautical Company’s

chief engineer, Millard C. Boyd,

signed the Manufacturer’s Affida-

vit of Conformity for s/n 206, SC-W145 on April 12, 1938. Two days

later, the airplane was sold to its

first owner—Warner Aircraft Cor-

poration of Detroit, Michigan. In

September 1940, Richard Booth

Wallace of Bloomfield Hills, Michi-

gan, sold it for $2,500 to Herman

Neuweiler of Allentown, Pennsyl-

vania. Neuweiler sold it for $3,500in January 1942, and Robert Sil-

verman of Philadelphia became

the new owner. Other owners in-

cluded William Cherney and Du-

pree Wooten of Chicago, Rex Short

of Michigan, and Gordon Haase of

Appleton, Wisconsin. Haase sold it

to Fliteways in September 1948, andit sold it the following month to

Paper Cities Flying Service, also of

Wisconsin. In April 1949, Northern

School of Aviation of Marquette,

Michigan, bought NC18912. It sold

it in October 1951 to the Marsh-

field Aero Club of Wisconsin.

The following July, the RyanSC-W changed hands yet again—

this time, it went to Brad Larson of

Minnesota. The SC-W hadn’t been

advertised; in fact, it had been dis-

assembled and was collecting dust

in storage. “I found it back in a

hangar,” recounts Brad, “when I

was trying to sell my civilian How-

ard—NC22424, the Shell Oil How-

ard—to a fellow for around $2,300.

I saw this airplane all in parts in the

back, and said, ‘What’s that?’ He

told me, ‘That’s a little Ryan Sport

Coupe model.’ I said, ‘Throw all

The following is an en-

lightening firsthand account

of the manufacturing tech-

niques used for the Ryan SC

models, as published in the

December 15, 1937, issue

of The Sportsman Pilot :

The appearance of the new metal

Ryan Warner- and Menasco-poweredcabin planes (SC-145W and SC-150

respectively) has created added

interest in the pioneering metal-

working practices developed by T.

Claude Ryan in the interests of mass produc-

tion of aircraft.Describing the processes worked out, William Wagner, of Ryan Aeronautical Company,

reports that in making … “The new S-C cabin plane, a full-scale plaster model was con-

structed in great detail following completion of the wooden ‘mock-up.’ After designers and

engineers were satisfied that desired results would be obtained, individual plaster of Paris

molds of the contours were taken from the original mock-up.

“These were developed into zinc dies which were poured into sand molds whose shapeswere reproductions of the various sections of the mock-up. These dies are carefully cast

and require but litt le polishing and grinding to give the precision contour required. The

punch, or upper portion of the die, was then cast in lead on top of the zinc die. With the die

in place and hammer working , it has been possible to stamp into the desired forms uniform

metal sheets with precision on a quantity basis.

“Before assembly, all sheets are finished and all holes drilled for rivets by the use of Ryan

‘nesting’ type steel templates. These master templates eliminate all layout work on individual

parts, several hundred being used with one for practically every part in the plane.

“When all parts are thus stamped by precision metal dies and completely finished to

h d f ll i fi h d bl b d

-


16/44

time, and he remembers watching

the Ryan take shape under his fa-

ther’s skillful hands. “It was like a

playground to me, and I used to sitinside it. I was the only kid in town

with a real airplane in the base-

ment,” Glenn says, laughing. “Later

on, I did all the riveting in the back

of the tail, because I was the smallest

and could get back in there. My dad

restored the Ryan to enjoy and fly

anywhere; not to put in a museum.”

After the aircraft had been stripped

of its wing and tail fabric, and all the

metal parts were cleaned, Brad in-

spected the components and found

them to be in good condition and

ready for covering and assembly. He

lation had been previously accom-

plished for Ryan s/n 208, and that

paperwork facilitated the required

field approval for Brad’s installation.He overhauled the engine himself,

and reflects that “all kinds of parts

were available at that time.” He

doesn’t recall encountering any ma-

jor challenges along the way and

completed the restoration in 1962.

A couple of years later, he modified

the instrument panel to accommo-

date a new radio installation and

converted the tail wheel to make it

full-swiveling and steerable. Since

NC18912’s restoration was completed,

the airplane has been flown fairly reg-

ularly and has always been hangared.

my older brother, Paul, also enjoys

flying it with my dad. All three of

us fly—or have flown—for North-

west Airlines. My dad went from

the Gullwing Stinson to the 747,and I haven’t retired yet. We’d all

fly the Ryan to Rockford or Osh-

kosh, and to the Antique Airplane

Association fly-in in Ottumwa,

Iowa. My dad used to live in Santa

Paula, California—where he rebuilt

the Cessna Airmaster—and we’ve

flown all over the country.”

Glenn chuckles and shares thathis most memorable—but not his

most pleasant—flight in the Ryan

took place in December 2009. “I

left Flying Cloud Airport in Minne-

apolis when it was 5 degrees below

zero, to bring it to Florida. They

had a big snowstorm up there,

and I pushed it out of the hangarand immediately all the windows

frosted up. I took a credit card and

a rag and cleaned the windows—

I had no heat in the airplane and

didn’t warm up until I got down as

far as Nashville!”

Brad patiently and painstakingly

hand polished the Ryan before heand Glenn flew it over to Sun ’n

Fun from Sarasota. While the Lar-

sons have attended the fly-in nu-

merous times, this was their first

time being there with an older res-

toration. “People still like to look at

it,” says Glenn, smiling. “And we

don’t judge the plane by whether

it has the correct head on the screw

or the right nut; we look at the grass

that’s trampled down around the

airplane, from where people have

walked all around it, looking at it!”

Brad chimes in, “That’s the way to

Sixteen-year-old Brad Larson (right) and his best friend, Karl Jessup, with

the Dormoy prior to restoration.


17/44

You may have heard an exasper-

ated military man exclaim, “There

are three ways to do a thing—theright way, the wrong way, and the

Army way!”

And there must be truth in it, if

the seine knot is any example.

For as long as there have been

civil aviation regulations, the seine

knot has been specified by the gov-

ernment for securing the loops ofcord that lace wing fabric to the

ribs and keep it from fluttering and

lifting from the ribs. The FAA speci-

fied it, and before it the CAA speci-

fied it, and long before it, the early

Bureau of Air Commerce specified

it. The seine knot goes way back.

Refer now to Figure 1, which is

taken from a government manual.

Looks pretty simple, does it not?

That’s what everyone thinks. Well,

make up a small dummy wing or

take a control surface. Give this,

along with a rib-stitching needle

confused. I even tried it on an FAA

man, and he could not follow it!

So for the sake of EAA membersworking on their projects in places

from Medford, Massachusetts, to

Medford, Oregon, I wished to se-

cure for publication a set of step-

by-step pictures showing exactly

how to do this knot. A letter to the

maintenance branch of the FAA

in Washington brought the replythat no, it had nothing like this

available; it had never had anyone

complain that the standard seine

knot drawing was hard to follow.

Of course any grassroots mechanic

could have told the FAA that the

reason was most mechanics learned

to tie the knot from other mechan-

ics, and anyway, a lot of them have

their own pet knots.

So, I went to the library and

looked into every book I could find

on knots, seamanship, and fishing.

Not one of them mentioned the

How to

Tie the Seine Knot!Don’t let that pesky little knot drive you insane

BY BOB WHITTIERpublished in EAA Sport Aviation August 1966

J I M K

O E P N I C K


18/44

diagram as in Figure 1! Obviously,

each author had merely taken it for

granted that the knot was easy to

tie as sketched and reprinted the

old drawing perfunctorily. I suspectnow that this evasive seine knot

might have originated among the

fishermen of the French coast; then

some early aviation pioneer found

it was ideal for lacing fabric to the

ribs of Bleriots and Voisins, and it

came to the United States prior to

World War I along with the linen

then used for aircraft covering. TheArmy then may have adopted it as

standard and started it on its way.

This is only conjecture of course,

but it’s a logical theory.

At any rate, the time-honored

drawing in Figure 1 contains two

things that are most confusing

and omits one thing that is vital,

which is why persons who havenever been shown how to tie the

seine knot can find it frustrating.

First, this diagram shows the knot

being tied from the top down,

Figure 2. After being pushed down

through the covering on one side of

the rib and pulled up on the other

side, the needle is passed under thesection of cord lying along the rib.

Figure 4: The needle is run under the cord that lies along the rib

between the two knots, then over and under again.


19/44

Second, there is a vital

pulling motion about

two-thirds of the way

through that is not

shown at all. Third, thesketch shows how the

cord goes, which really

isn’t so easy to interpret

when you are trying to

figure out how the nee-

dle goes to make the

cord go that way!

Therefore I made

up a dummy wing andfor the sake of photo-

graphic clarity, made an

oversized needle from

a dowel and threaded

heavy black cord into

its drilled eye. Begin-

ning with Figure 2, the

captions explain how todo it. Good luck!

Figure 6: Begin to tighten the knot.

It closes down into a layout resem-

bling a figure-eight.

Figure 9: The seine knot is snugged tight, and theneedle is going down to the next knot. The reason

for using the seine knot is that it holds tension

(Figure 7) around the rib, while your free hand

is used to lock the knot tight. Also, each knot is

locked, so if vibration breaks one loop around the

rib, the other loops will not loosen up.

Figure 7: Again, one picture’s

worth 1,000 words. The part of theloop that goes around the rib as

shown here is pulled tight, quite

firmly and smartly. Put your thumb

on the snugged knot as shown by

dotted lines in Figure 1 to hold the

loop tight.

OK, we’re not saying that really

happened or that it would havechanged history... but it makesyou wonder. On the other hand,you never have to wonderwhether you’ll get a beautifullong-lasting covering job usingPoly-Fiber We’ve made the

that is, working from the top. But

a right-handed person doing rib

stitching in the normal way would

find it more natural to work “up.”


20/44

of the Stinson How an airplane

weaves its wayinto many lives

BY BUDD DAVISSON


21/44

Life has a way of chang-

ing, both as fate smiles

and frowns upon us and

as we progress through

the various stations of

the birth-to-death jour-

ney. For most of us, however, onething remains constant: the air-

plane. It was there at the beginning

and is usually there at the end. It

often, however, isn’t the same air-

plane, if nothing else because our

tastes and situations change. Some-

times, however, the same airplane

affects many lives. Such is thecase with 108-3 Stinson N6865M.

It is an example of an airplane that

drifted through several lives, en-

hancing both along the way and

forging a relationship between peo-

ple, in this case the restorers, father

and son Tom and Bill Scott, and the

current owner, Jim Gibson.

“I first heard about the airplane

from someone at work,” remem-

bers Bill Scott, who now lives in

Spring Hill, Florida, with his wife

of 26 years, Michelle. “At the time I

was working for Piedmont twisting

store for my older brother. From

that point on, we always had an

airplane of some kind in the shop.”

Since he was brought up with his

hands constantly working on air-

craft, it was a natural path for him

to follow.“My high school had a voca-

tional program where I could spend

half-days attending George T. Baker

Aviation School. By the time I was

graduated, I had my airframe ticket.

I earned my powerplant ticket by

attending night school.”

The yen for Stinsons struck earlyin Bill’s life and had a unique kind

of luck attached to it.

“I was still in high school, and

one weekend my flight instructor

and I were driving around look-

ing at various airplane projects

that others were working on. One

was in a transmission shop, and I

spied a Stinson 10A in the rafters.

Now bear in mind, I was only 16

years old at the time. Still, when

the owner saw me doing my best to

look at the airplane, he said, ‘If you

boys put this airplane together and

airplane down and took it home.”

Airplanes in the Scott household

are family affairs, so young Bill had

plenty of knowledgeable hands to

help him.

Bill says, “The airplane had some

ground loop damage and a worn-

out 90 Franklin, but Dad and my

older brother helped me out all

along the way.”

That was the first in a long line

J I M K

O E P N I C K

Jim Gibson, the owner of Stinson

N6865M, restored by the father/

son team of Tom and Bill Scott.

“When the owner saw me doing my best to look at

the airplane, he said, ‘If you boys put this airplane

together and get it flying, I’ll give it to you.’”


22/44

an airplane the sensible thing to

do. That’s exactly what happened

to the 108-3. I didn’t build it to sell.

It just worked out that way.”When Bill heard about the old

108, it was described as being disas-

sembled and in storage at a private

airfield. It was an airplane-in-a-barn

story that proved to be true.

“When we first saw the airplane,”

Bill says, “the initial impression was

that it was pretty complete and not

in bad shape at all. Someone had

started to restore it, which turned

out not to be a good thing because

they were just trying to get it flying,

not truly restoring it.

At the time Bill looked at the air-

“First of all, when we did an in-

ventory, we found some parts miss-

ing, including the spinner, but lots

of other parts were there, but weweren’t willing to put them back on

the airplane, even though it looked

as if the previous owner was going

to. Although the bottom cowl was

good, which isn’t usually the case,

most of the rest of the cowl, includ-

ing the nose bowl, was either miss-

ing or in need of severe restoration.

“The instrument panel had been

heavily modified, and the entire

airplane was loaded with old wiring

that had to go. The fuselage tub-

ing hadn’t been sand blasted and

repainted, so it looked pretty sorry,

amount of wood in the interior that

gave the Stinson Station Wagon its

name, this alone involved some

rather unusual work.“The rear interior side panels and

bulkhead were there, but barely.

They had started rotting from the

back where, among other things,

insulation had held moisture

against them. These panels were

steam formed and fitted in a specific

way to make sure they give plenty

of shoulder room and curve around

the seats right. These looked okay

from the front, but if you touched

them, they would crumble. They

weren’t even strong enough to

make patterns from. So, we first fi-

JIM KOEPNICK


23/44

Tidy needlework is evident in the zipper installation

in the headliner’s access hole for the elevator trim

mechanism.

A completely custom panel was created for Jim’s

J I M K

O E P N I C K P H

O T O S


24/44

work to get all the Bondo off as

it did to hammer the pants back

straight, but the trim strips were

missing; however, I had anotherpair of pants that were essentially

junk, but the trim strips could be

cleaned up and re-used.”

A lot of airplanes like Stin-

sons have been subjected to a lot

of what we’d term “butchery” as

generations of radios required in-

creasingly obtrusive holes. So, the

panels are always a challenge, and

some decisions have to be made.

“First of all, we were building

this airplane to use, not to show,

so although we like original pan-

els and interiors, the truth was that

airplanes are subjected to over their

lives are beyond understanding,

and one of them often has to do

with the control wheels.“Someone had cut the tops off of

the wheels. I guess they were trying

to make them look more modern

or something, sort of a ‘ram’s horn’

look, but we couldn’t leave them that

way. So, we kept our eyes open un-

til a pair of restorable ones surfaced,

and we made them look original.”

Once the basics were done, Bill

went through the airplane and

brought everything up to their stan-

dards, which include new windows,

pulleys, cables, and practically all

the hardware in the airframe.

color, including the family Dodge,

which was passed down through

each of my older siblings until it

eventually got handed down to me.However, we used the last on this

airplane, so I guess our next airplane

will be blue or something!”

They finished the airplane in

2000, and Jim Gibson saw it at the

Wings and Things Fly-In that year

in Lakeland. At the time he was

looking for a four-place airplane,

but the airplane wasn’t for sale. Jim came into aviation as a young

man, but the career path that took

him toward his Stinson was such

that it was anything but predictable.

“I got a degree in geology, but

JIM KOEPNICK


25/44

Joe piloted his beautiful Lockheed 12A in filming the movie

Amelia in 2009. Director Mira Nair and actress Hilary Swank

both left their signatures on the door – what a perfect souvenir.

AUA has been very helpful meeting my Lockheed 12A’sinsurance needs. The entire staff has been friendly and prompt

with all of my requests.

— Joe Shepherd

Joe ShepherdFayetteville, Georgia

Owner of a 1936Lockheed 12A anda Cessna 195


26/44

when they ran out, I was laid off,

and a friend suggested I sell in-

surance. I started doing that and

slowly that mutated into financialplanning, and before long I had

my own office and that’s what I did

most of my working life.”

Although he had learned to fly

in the mid ’50s, he stopped flying

when he got married in ’63 (he and

Kathy have been married 44 years).

“Although I wasn’t always fly-

ing, I had always wanted my ownrunway, and that was what was in

the back of my mind when I found

a farm outside of Terre Haute, In-

diana, and bought it along with a

friend, Dr. Deward ‘Pete’ Peterson.”

2,400-foot strip of land by moving

a lot of dirt, bulldozing off humps,

and filling low areas. We also had

to bridge a small creek with a 3-by 300-foot sewer pipe. The whole

runway was shaped with a slight

crown in the center, which allows

water to drain quickly. Finally, we

planted tall fescue grass, which is

well suited to Indiana weather and

forms a dense turf. The airstrip ap-

pears on the St. Louis sectional as

‘Aero Plaines-PVT.’ We did that inthe early ’80s, and we still have it.

It’ll go to the grandkids.”

You can’t have a runway without

an airplane, so Jim and his partner

bought a restored L-16 Aeronca,

was for sale, and he said it was.”

At that point the little red air-

plane went to live with Jim Gibson,

but as is often the case, situationschange and little airplanes move

on to enhance others’ lives.

Jim explains, “I’ve enjoyed the

airplane for nearly four years, but

because of my age I’m giving the

whole LSA thing serious consider-

ation. Although I believe I can still

pass the upcoming physical, the

FAA has made noises about requir-ing additional tests the next time

around because of a comment my

AME made in my paperwork. So,

rather than failing an exam, I may

just skip it. I hate to sell the Stin-

JIM KOEPNICK


27/44


28/44

Light Plane Heritage

published in EAA Experimenter March 1990

THE ALLEN A-4 LIGHTPLANEBY JACK MCRAE

T

he Allen A-4 lightplane

was designed and built

for the purpose of com-

peting in the lightplaneevents at the 1924 National Air

Races to be held in Dayton, Ohio, in

October. Its designer was Edmund T.

(Eddie) Allen, 28, an MIT engineer-

ing graduate who had learned to

flying activities in the United States

and Europe, during the summer of

1924 he gave a detailed description

of the design and construction ofhis A-4 lightplane.

Allen explained that the basic

design features decided upon were

(1) fuel economy, (2) ease of han-

dling in the air and on landing, (3)

hp and 3200 rpm. The engine was

modified considerably and was to

prove to be the biggest obstacle to

the success of the airplane.Allen put much effort into pick-

ing what he considered the most

efficient design configuration. He

decided on a shoulder-wing mono-

plane with a high-aspect-ratio ta-

The Allen A-4 lightplane. The ju-

nior aviator is unidentified.


29/44

lowed for a minimum rate of climb

of 200 feet/minute.

The fuselage was of wood construc-

tion, had a rectangular cross section,

and was unusually long to give good

control with small tail surfaces. The

four spruce longerons tapered from

3/4 inch square at the firewall to

1/2 inch square at the tail. Diagonal

members of the Warren truss were 3/4

inch square, glued and nailed with

plywood gussets of 1/16-inch mahog-

any. Torsional stiffness was increased

by using a 3/4-inch-square diagonalacross each station. The structural

weight of the fuselage was

stated to be 25 pounds.

The cockpit f loor was

1/4-inch fir plywood with

the pilot seated directly

on the floorboard, with his

feet raised to the rudder bar,which was slightly higher

than his hips.

The wing was of all-wood

construction, fabric-covered.

Two parallel spars per panel

were used with upper and

lower cap strips providing

equal strength for a positiveor negative load factor of

8.0. A box section spar re-

sulted with a small interior

bulkhead at each rib station.

The weight of four spars was

21 pounds. One-half of the

ribs were plywood with extra

compression members at the

top and bottom of the sparsin addition to rib cap strips.

Alternate ribs were of a

novel construction to save

weight. They were made with

a paper web “of a tough ma-

provide torsional strength and con-

sisted on 1-inch by 3/32-inch spruce

diagonals crossing alternate ribs at

both upper and lower surfaces of

the spars. All joints were glued and

nailed, thus eliminating all fittings

except those for the strut attach-

ments and spar roots.

The leading edge was a large

strip of spruce intended to allow

for rough handling on the ground.

The wingtips were of oak bent in

the form of an ellipse. The wings

and fuselage were covered withsinge-ply balloon cloth weighing

2 ounces per square yard. The lift

struts were of 3/4-inch-diameter

steel tubing and sloped from the

spars to a single fitting at the lower

longeron, forming a vee.

The landing gear axle consisted

of 1.125-inch-diameter by 18-gauge

steel tube, heat-treated to 140,000

psi tensile strength. The axle was

attached to three smaller tubes, of

which the upper one passed through

the fuselage above the lower longe-

rons and was fastened to the longe-

rons with a shock cord. A drag struton each side was attached to the


30/44

fuselage at the lift strut fitting. The

wheels were the same 20x2-inch size

used on the Smith Motor Wheel.

The tail surfaces were single-piece,

all-movable rudder and elevator of

wood construction, fabric-covered.

The conversion of the Harley-Da-

vidson motorcycle engine for aircraft

use required many changes and pro-

vided the most problems. In order

to increase the propeller efficiency

Allen decide to attach the propeller

shaft to an idler gear that ran at a

ratio of 26 to 58 with the crankshaftand thus reduced the propeller rpm.

A set of bearings was added to take

thrust and lateral load. The gear case

part of the crankcase was removed,

saving 18 pounds, and this was

closed by welding a piece of alumi-

num over the opening. The cast iron

intake and exhaust manifold that

weighed 12 pounds was replaced

with a steel tube manifold. The

carburetor was moved from above

the engine to a location below the

crankcase to reduce the chance of

fire and to improve the gravity feed

for the fueled system. Ground tests

on the engine in this condition

showed that it developed 11.2 hp at

3680 rpm or 1650 propeller rpm. A

new Zenith carburetor replaced the

motorcycle unit, new valve guides

and springs were installed, and thetiming was modified for the higher

engine speed.

The airplane was taken to the Na-

val Air Station at Anacostia for its

first test flights and apparently cre-

ated somewhat of a sensation be-

cause of its small size. The first flight

was made September 14, 1924, and

showed that the little ship was stable

and controllable. After a series of suc-

cessful flights it was decided to try a

new propeller with higher pitch and

narrower blade sections to increase

the efficiency and improve the rate

of climb. However, continuous prob-

lems with the engine prevented Al-

len from competing in the lightplane

events at the National Air Races. In

his column in Aviation magazine for

October 13, reporting on the races,

he lamented, “The A-4 sits in Wash-ington waiting for new pistons after

but 58 minutes in the air.” He com-

plained that he and other lightplane

builders using motorcycle engines

could get no cooperation from the

engine manufacturers.

In 1925 Allen became an air mail

pilot for the U.S. Post Office Depart-ment and was stationed in Chey-

enne, Wyoming. Apparently he did

not take the A-4 with him, because

in an advertisement in Aviation for

October 12, 1925, he offered it for

sale, “No reasonable offer rejected,

can be examined at Washington.”

It was stated that 46 flights hadbeen made and that it had climbed

2,000 feet. Evidently there were no

takers, and it was advertised again

in the September 6, 1926, issue for

$50 FOB Washington, D.C. It was

mentioned that 48 flights had been

made at Bolling Field, and it was

described as “A real light plane.”

Eddie Allen stayed with the AirMail Service until 1929, and during

the 1929-39 period he became one

of the best-known engineering test

pilots in the United States, doing

test flying for nearly every major

Allen A-4 Specifications

Engine Harley-Davidson 2 cylinders, 37

cubic inches

Wingspan 27 feet

Length 18 feet, 9 inches

Wing area 76 square feet

Maximum speed 68 mph (calculated)

Rate of climb 200 fpm minimum

Design gross weight 380 pounds

Estimated Weight Distribution

Fuselage, including seat and

controls

33 pounds

Engine 65 pounds

Propeller 5 pounds

Gas tank and lines 10 pounds

Wing 64 pounds


31/44

This issue will discuss struc-

tural alignment of fixed-wing air-

craft and slant it toward the older

biplanes where one can do much

in the way of rigging for stability.

However, it won’t discuss assemblyand rigging; that’s for another col-

umn or two. Here I would like to

discuss some basics of alignment

checks that are made at the begin-

ning and during restoration. Good

flight characteristics begin with

good structural alignment of sub-

assemblies: wing, empennage, en-gine, and landing gear alignment,

also a symmetry check.

WING ALIGNMENT (Figure 1):

This begins when the wings are as-

sembled or, if the wings have not

been disassembled, before apply-

ing the fabric covering. Here you

will need a set of trammel pointsin order to assure the bays of each

wing are square. On the lower sur-

face of the wings there should be

a small center point marked in

the spars. These center points are

the centerline of the compression

member and the centerline of the

spars. Wings are separated into

bays, which is a Pratt truss con-sisting of the front and rear spar,

two compression members, and

two drag wires (actually a drag and

anti-drag wire).

Start at the root of the wing,

place the trammel points diago-

nally across the spars and adjust

wires until the distance betweenpoints is identical. Snug the wires

by tightening each wire the same

amount. Go to the next bay and

repeat the process until you have

trammed all bays. Then go back

and recheck the tram of each bay;

you may have to make some mi-

nor adjustments.

Be sure to loosen and tightenthe brace wires the same num-

ber of turns. Repeat the process at

each bay. Return to the root bay

and recheck for a third time. You

probably won’t need to make any

adjustments.

Now it’s time to tension the

wires. I always like to tram with

the wire tension snug but nottight. It’s easier that way. You can

tension the wires by tightening

each wire the same amount; the

tram won’t change but the tension

will increase.

The wires need to be tight, but

not too tight. It depends on how

structurally sound the wing designis. Not much was recorded for the

old airplanes, so I use the chart for

the Boeing Stearman biplane. They

set the wire tension for a 3/16-

inch diameter tie rod from 200

pounds minimum to 400 pounds

maximum. If you have a wire ten-

siometer, use it. If not, strum the

wires and listen for a low to me-dium bass sound. If the wires

touch where they cross at the mid-

bay point, provide an anti-chafe

means, such as Teflon rings; then

tie the wires together with rib lac-

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Structural alignment

THE VintageMechanic


32/44

the chord line of the wing and the

longitudinal axis of the airplane.

Depending on the airplane, it will

be from 0 to +3 degrees.

Decalage is the difference be-tween angles of incidence of the

wings of a biplane. If the upper

wings have more incidence than

the lower wings, then the decalage

is positive. If the lower wings have

more incidence than the upper

wings, then the decalage is negative.

Figure 2 shows the angle of in-cidence of the wings of a biplane.

When the ailerons are on the up-

per wing only, then the upper wing

will have less angle of incidence

than the lower wings, so the lower

wings will commence to stall before

the upper wings. If the ailerons are

on the lower wings, then the op-posite is true. On most of the older

airfoils the angle of incidence can

be measured by placing a straight

edge from leading edge to trailing

edge on the bottom surface of the

wing. And with the fuselage leveled

longitudinally, you can read the an-

gle with a protractor.

Read the same angle for boththe left and right wings. I also mea-

sured the angle of incidence (on

my Command-Aire) before the

wings were covered by placing a

straight piece of wood between the

spars and reading the angle with

a protractor. If you don’t read thesame angle, fix it before covering

or you will have a lousy-flying air-

plane when you’re finished.

Check the angles of incidence

for both upper and lower wings

at the root. (Figure 3.) The angles

should be exactly the same for both

left and right wing roots. If they arenot the same, fix the problem be-

fore proceeding with the restora-

tion process.

I installed a set of newly fabri-

cated 4412 high-lift wings on an

ag Stearman biplane many years

ago. I could not rig the airplane

for level flight; the airplane always

wanted to roll to the right and was

airspeed sensitive. After much frus-

trating time spent trying to rem-

edy the problem, I looked closely

at the center section. Someone had

repaired the center section by re-

placing the front spar; however,

the attach fittings were not prop-

erly located on the spar. The resultwas that one upper wing had more

angle of incidence than the other

wing. There was absolutely no way

to rig the airplane to fly properly,

so I had to replace the entire cen-

ter section.

EMPENNAGE ALIGNMENT: An-

gle of incidence setting of hori-

zontal stabilizer. The horizontal

stabilizer provides longitudinal sta-

bility for the aircraft during flight,

so again the setting is critical. Some

horizontal stabs are fixed and some

are adjustable.

Many fixed horizontal stabiliz-ers have a negative angle of inci-

dence; that is, the leading edge is

lower than the trailing edge. This

is to provide for positive longitu-

dinal stability, as the lifting force

on most all horizontal stabilizers

is down. With the fuselage leveled

longitudinally, place a str aightedge across the stabilizer and read

the setting with a protractor. If

the stabilizer is adjustable, check

the incidence at both extremes us-

ing a straight edge and protractor.

Hopefully there is manufacturer’s

data to tell you what the setting

should be and where the neutral

setting is located.

Many aircraft with propellers

that turn to the right (as viewed

from the pilot’s seat) have the ver-

tical stabilizer offset to the left

slightly to counteract effects of en-

gine torque. If the vertical stabi-

lizer is not adjustable, don’t worry

about it. You’ll need to rig the air-plane for yaw problems with a tab

on the rudder.

ENGINE ALIGNMENT (F ig-

ure 4): An important factor when

FIGURE 2


33/44

line would be described as a con-

tinuation of the engine crank-

shaft centerline. It may or may

not be the fuselage longitudinal

axis. Some engines have a smallamount of right side thrust to

counteract torque effect. And a

few aircraft were designed with

a small amount of down thrust.

Again, check the drawings.

FUSELAGE FRAME (Figure 4). Tie

rods in a Pratt-type frame should be

adjusted carefully to assure proper

alignment of attaching surfaces.

Here, trammel points are punchedinto the fuselage longerons at each

station (cluster). The fuselage is

aligned by loosening and tighten-

ing the wires in each bay until the

fuselage is straight.

LANDING GEAR ALIGNMENT

(Figures 5, 6 and 7): Two factors

are important in correct landing

gear alignment. They are toe-in

and camber . Illustrations below

show how to place the aircraft

on grease plates to allow the gear

to walk out to its position when

loaded. Gear alignment checks

should be made with the aircraft

at gross weight and in the three-

point attitude.

I set my landing gears with

no toe-in or toe-out; however, asmall amount of toe-in, maybe up

to 1/8 inch, can be used. A small

amount of toe-in will relax ten-

sion on shock cords when the air-

craft taxies. Toe-out would cause

the landing gear to walk out, thus

further loading the shock cords. I

also like to set a small amount of posi tive camber . On many ships,

once the landing gear is welded

in place it is impossible to change

the toe-in/toe-out condition.

FIGURE 4

FIGURE 5


34/44

Illustrations used here are re-

moved from a Cessna L-19 main-

tenance manual and are typical for

aircraft with a spring steel gear. If

no data on landing gear alignment

for a particular model aircraft can

be located, I use the above data as a

guide to setting landing gear align-ment. Typical toe-in for the L-19

is from 0 to 1/16 inch (0.06 inch).

Typical camber setting is from 0 to

1 degree (1/8 inch or 0.125 inch).

These dimensions would be sim-

ilar to most aircraft. I do not set

my landing gears with toe-out or

negative camber. I am aware that

some folks like a small amount

of toe-out in their landing gears.

However, with a rubber shock

cord gear, the tow-out will make

the gear spread out, thus stressing

shock cords when the ship is in

motion on the ground.

Gear alignment is most impor-

tant if the aircraft is to display good

ground-handling qualities. When I

fabricated the landing gear for myCommand-Aire, I spent much time

aligning the landing gear. My land-

ing gear had too much camber, so I

eliminated the problem by cutting

two shims from heavy-wall PVC

pipe, splitting one side and sliding

it in place above the shock portion

of the gear. A hose clamp assured

the shim would stay in place.

After the shock cords were cov-

ered with a leather boot, the shims

and clamps were invisible. Another

check that should be made is tail

wheel alignment. With the rudder

pedals in neutral, lift the aft fuse-

lage up so the tail wheel no longer

touches the ground. Note the posi-

tion of the tail wheel. It should be

in the neutral position. Then movethe rudder pedals and note if tail

wheel steering is positive. The tail

wheel should move to correspond

with rudder deflection.

Finally, hold the rudder in the

neutral position and try to move

the tail wheel left and right. There

should be movement resistance. If

the tail wheel moves without rud-

der movement, investigate why

this is happening and fix the prob-

FIGURE 7


35/44

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lem. Positive tail wheel steering is an important factor

to control the airplane on the ground. Some aircraft

are designed with a locking tail wheel; the New Stan-

dard D-25 I fly is that way.

On this aircraft, a symmetry check of the tail wheel

is made to assure the tail wheel tracks straight when

locked for takeoff and landing. I’ve only flown a cou-

ple airplanes that had no steering and no locking

device on the tail wheel. The Precissi Travel Air and

Kermit Week’s Ford Tri-Motor are two examples. Here

you must rely totally on good brakes to keep the air-

craft tracking straight down the runway.

Too much toe-in will cause excessive tire wear, par-

ticularly if the aircraft is operated from hard-surfacerunways. Excessive positive camber will cause heavy

wear on the tires on the outer half of tread. If the

aircraft is equipped with a shock cord—type landing

gear, as the cords wear, the wheel camber will go to

the negative, and the top of the wheels will move to-

ward the fuselage. We don’t want this as it decreases

prop-to-ground clearance. If this happens, tighten or

replace the shock cords.Landing gear alignment is always done with the air-

plane at gross weight and in the normal taxi position. I

used to adjust the wheel alignment every 100 hours on

Cessna L-19 airplanes when I was in the Army. I always

put two people in the airplane to get it as close to gross

weight as possible. So one should use this same tech-

nique when setting gear alignment on old aircraft.

SYMMETRY CHECK: The sketch in Figure 8 shows a

symmetry check on an Aeronca L-16. You can accom-

plish this on any airplane—simply use a measuring tape

and compare dimensions of hard points of the airplane.

Compare a dimension on the right side of the airplane to

the same measurement on left side of airplane. Dimen-

sions should be close to the same, perhaps within 1/4

to 1/2 inch of each other, again depending on the type

of airplane. If the airplane does strange things on theground and is a handful to control, perhaps the problem

is in landing gear alignment. Measure from a fixed point

on the landing gear, say the axle to a fixed point on the

tail post. The farther apart the measurements are, the

worse the ground handling of the airplane.


36/44

While recently attend-

ing the 25th Annual

Sentimental Journey

Fly-In held at Piper

Memorial Airport in Lock Haven,

Pennsylvania, my friend Mark Stew-

art and I were watching airplanesand their pilots hopping rides and

demonstrating their piloting tech-

niques doing takeoffs, landings, and

flybys. Most every airplane, when

on the approach to land, employed

a forward slip to achieve a touch-

down on the numbers and make the

first turn-off comfortably and safely.

Mark turned to me and commented,

“The slip really is a lost art and a ma-

neuver many pilots really don’t un-

derstand or use today.” I agreed.

The slip, when implemented cor-

rectly, is a useful and safe tool for

pilots young and old, provided it is

practiced with some regularity. But

with the introduction of flaps it hasbecome a lost art, even though pi-

lots flying flap-equipped airplanes

should understand the slip and be

able to perform it when needed.

Ask yourself these questions:

a crosswind landing, you’re execut-

ing a side slip.”

There are two types of slips: the

forward slip and the side slip. In the

simplest of definitions, the forward

slip is used to lose altitude, while the

side slip is used for runway align-ment. Let’s take a look at their re-

spective similarities and differences.

The forward slip is often em-

ployed when a pilot has set up for

the final approach to land and hasexcess altitude, when making ob-

stacle landings (especially at short

fields), or when making a spot land-

ing. A forward slip allows for the

aircraft to maintain a straight-line

How to Practice Forward SlipsThe next time you make a plea-

sure flight, climb to an altitude

of about 2,500 feet above ground

level (AGL). Level off and align

your airplane with a straight road

that is also aligned with the surfacewind. If the wind is generally from

the south, fly south over a north/

south road. Reduce the power to

the setting used on final approach

to land and establish the final ap-

proach glide speed. Apply left aile-

ron, lowering the left wing about

10-15 degrees (similar to a shallow

bank turn). The airplane will want

to turn left. Now apply opposite,

or right, rudder using just enough

rudder that the airplane continues

to track in a straight line over the

road. The airspeed will give you

erratic readings whenever doing

slips, so it is more important to

focus on maintaining the correctdescent or glide attitude. You may

need to apply very slight forward

pressure on the stick or yoke to do

so. Continue the descent and track

for 1,000 feet of descent; then re-

BY Steve Krog, CFI

The lost art of slips

THE Vintage

Instructor

“When was the last

time I performed aslip, and how often

have I practiced slips?


37/44

applying left rudder. Hold your de-

scent attitude and track over the

road for 1,000 feet and then return

to level-cruise flight. A forward slip

to the right will often feel more

awkward than the forward slip to

the left.

Try practicing the forward slip

from a safe altitude a few more

times, increasing the wing-down

angle a little more each time.

You’ll soon find that you will reach

a point where you run out of rud-

der and cannot hold the straightline track. Now you know

how far you can go with the

slip in your airplane and still

have full directional control.

Congratulations! You’ve just

acted as a “test pilot” and

found the limits of your air-

plane in a slip.If your aircraft is equipped

with a vertical speed indi-

cator (VSI), note the rate of

descent while holding the

plane in the forward slip.

Compare it to the normal

rate of descent used when

flying your final approach.

Once comfortable enter-

ing and exiting the forward slip,

you’re ready to give it a try in the

traffic pattern. Fly a normal pat-

tern, but intentionally maintain

some excess altitude. If you nor-

mally turn final at approximately

500 feet above the ground, main-

tain altitude and turn final at 800feet above the ground. Once es-

tablished on final approach with

power reduced and normal glide

attitude established, enter into a

forward slip to eliminate the ex-

been making crosswind landings

for a long time, you may want to

practice the side slip.

Again, climb to an altitude

about 2,500 feet above the ground.

Level off and align your airplane

with a straight road that is perpen-

dicular to the surface wind. If the

wind is generally from the south,

fly over an east/west road. Reduce

the power to the power setting

used on final approach to land. Es-

tablish final-approach glide speed.

If the wind is from the left, apply

left aileron, lowering the left wing

about 10-15 degrees (similar to a

shallow bank turn). The airplane

will want to turn left. Now apply

just enough opposite, or right,

rudder so that the nose of the air-

plane—or longitudinal axis—re-

mains aligned with the road. Adda little power, perhaps 100 rpm.

The airspeed will give you erratic

readings whenever doing slips, so

focus on maintaining the correct

descent or glide attitude. You may

rudder to maintain alignment with

the road. Add 100 rpm and continue

with the side slip for 1,000 feet of

descent. Then level off and resume

cruise flight. If you’ve allowed the

airplane to drift away due to the

wind, add a bit more wing-down ai-

leron, causing the airplane to move

back to the road. Once over and

aligned with the road, adjust the

amount of aileron and rudder to

remain over the road.

After trying the side slip both

left and right several times andre a c h i ng y ou r c omf or t

level, it’s time to give it a

try in the traffic pattern. If

you are truly landing with

a crosswind, some level of

the side slip will need to

be maintained throughout

the approach and landing.In a tailwheel airplane the

main gear wheel most into

the wind will touch down

first, followed by the other

main gear. This is necessary

to maintain airplane align-

ment with the runway cen-

terline. Then the tail wheel

will touch down. From this

point forward, follow through

with the normal crosswind land-

ing inputs.

The slip is one of the basic ma-

neuvers that, when understood

and practiced, will give the pilot

an added tool for safely putting the

airplane exactly where he or shewants on the approach to land. A

slip can be put in, taken out, or ad-

justed as needed to modify the rate

of descent or runway alignment

(when landing with a crosswind).


38/44

Send your answer to EAA,

Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086,

Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your

answer needs to be in no later

than September 20 for inclusion

in the November 2010 issue

o f V i n t a g e Airplane.

You can also send your re-

sponse via e-mail. Send your

answer to [email protected] .

Be sure to include your name

plus your city and state in the

body of your note and put“(Month) Mystery Plane” in the

subject line.

by H.G. FRAUTSCHY

MYSTERY PLANE

This month’s Mystery Plane comes from the EAA archives

M A Y ’S M Y S T E RY A N S W E R

The May Mystery Plane came to The May 2010 Mystery Plane seems his characteristic octagonal wooden


39/44

completed in early 1929 with a 220-hp

Wright J-5 (R-790) and received Group

2 Approval as No. 2-15 on March 1,

1929. It is, apparently, this specific

aircraft because your photo seems to

have been taken at the same time, butfrom a different angle and without the

tripod at the tail, as it is in the photo

in Juptner’s U.S. Civil Aircraft, Vol. 9

for Group 2-15. Aerofiles.com aided

me greatly as well.

The International Aircraft Corp. of

Ancor, Ohio, built this aircraft as a

follow-on to their open-front-cockpit(for two) F-17W (same Wright engine)

under ATC 154 in 5/29 and the open-

front-cockpit F-17H (Hispano-Suiza

liquid-cooled V-8 of 150-180 hp)

under ATC 155 in 5/29. All F-17 and

F-18 aircraft had open rear cockpits.

International was founded in about

1927 in Long Beach, California, and

by 1930 was in Jackson, Michigan,

where it went out of business.

Jack Er ickson, State Col lege ,

Pennsylvania

Other correct answers were

received from Sharon Rajnus,

Malin, Oregon; Wayne Muxlow,

Minneapolis, Minnesota; WesSmith, Springfield, Illinois; and

Doug Rounds, Zebulon, Georgia,

who points out that information on

the F-18 can be found in numerous

places including T-Hangar Tales

by Joe Juptner and Juptner’s U.S.

Civil Aircraft, Vol. 2, ATC 154, and

it’s described in the 1928 editionof Jane ’s Al l the World ’s Ai rc ra ft .

Thomas Lymburn of Princeton,

Minnesota, pointed out that the

earlier three-seat F-17 Sportsman

was built in quantity (at least

f h d)


40/44

EAAMembership in the Experimental Aircraft

Association, Inc. is $40 for one year, includ-ing 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION . Familymembership is an additional $10 annually. Allmajor credit cards accepted for membership.(Add $16 for International Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPSPlease submit your remittance with a

check or draft drawn on a United Statesbank payable in United States dollars. Addrequired Foreign Postage amount for eachmembership.

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATIONCurrent EAA members may join the

Vintage Aircraft Association and receive

year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included).(Add $7 for International Postage.)

WARBIRDSCurrent EAA members may join the EAA

Warbirds of America Division and receiveWARBIRDS magazine for an additional$45 per year.

EAA Membership, WARBIRDS mag-azine and one year membership in theWarbirds Division is available for $55 per

year (SPORT OficAVIATION magazinenot included). (Add $7 for InternationalPostage.)

IACCurrent EAA members may join the

International Aerobatic Club, Inc. Divi-sion and receive SPORT AEROBATICS magazine for an additional $45 per year.

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

VINTAGE

AIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION

OFFICERS

DIRECTORS

DIRECTORS

EMERITUS

PresidentGeoff Robison

1521 E. MacGregor Dr.New Haven, IN 46774

[email protected]

Vice-PresidentGeorge Daubner

N57W34837 Pondview LnOconomowoc, WI 53066

262-560-1949 [email protected]

Steve Bender85 Brush Hill Road

Sherborn, MA 01770508-653-7557

[email protected]

David Bennett375 Killdeer Ct

Lincoln, CA 95648916-645-8370

[email protected]

Jerry Brown4605 Hickory Wood Row

Greenwood, IN 46143317-422-9366

[email protected]

Dave Clark635 Vestal Lane

Plainfield, IN [email protected]

John S. Copeland1A Deacon Street

Northborough, MA 01532508-393-4775

[email protected]

Phil Coulson28415 Springbrook Dr.

Lawton, MI 49065269-624-6490

[email protected]

Dale A. Gustafson7724 Shady Hills Dr.

Indianapolis, IN 46278317-293-4430

[email protected]

Jeannie HillP.O. Box 328

Harvard, IL 60033-0328815-943-7205

Espie “Butch” Joyce704 N. Regional Rd.

Greensboro, NC 27409336-668-3650

[email protected]

Steve Krog1002 Heather Ln.

Hartford, WI [email protected]

Robert D. “Bob” Lumley1265 South 124th St.Brookfield, WI 53005

[email protected]

S.H. “Wes” Schmid2359 Lefeber AvenueWauwatosa, WI 53213

[email protected]

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Chicago, IL 60643773-779-2105

[email protected]

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Oshkosh, WI 54904920-231-5002

[email protected]

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Kent City, MI 49330616-678-5012

[email protected]

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[email protected]

E.E. “Buck” Hilbert8102 Leech Rd.Union, IL 60180

[email protected]

Gene Morris5936 Steve Court

Roanoke, TX 76262817-491-9110

genemorr is@char ter.net

Membership Services DirectoryEnjoy the many benefits of EAA and

EAA’s Vintage Aircraft Association

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873Web Sites: www.vintageaircraft.org, www.airventure.org, www.eaa.org/memberbenefits E-Mail: [email protected]

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TM

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Use this toll-free number for: information about AirVenture Oshkosh; aeromedical and technical aviation questions;

chapters; and Young Eagles. Please have your membership number ready when calling.

Office hours are 8:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Monday - Friday, CST)

SecretarySteve Nesse

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[email protected]

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[email protected]


41/44

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SERVICES

VINTAGE TRADERSometh ing to buy , se l l , o r t rade?

Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum,with boldface lead-in on first line.

Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167 inches) by 1,

2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and white only, and no

frequency discounts.

Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to

desired issue date (i.e., Januar y 10 is the closing date for the

March issue). VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising

in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion per issue.

Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment mustaccompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-6845)

or e-mail ([email protected] ) using credit card payment (all cards

accepted). Include name on card, complete address, type of card,

card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA.

Address advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified

Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.

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Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-InGrimes Field Airport (I74), Urbana, Ohio

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EAA’s online Calendar of Events is the “go-to” spot on the Web to list and find avia-tion events in your area. The user-friendly, searchable format makes it the perfect web-

based tool for planning your local trips to a fly-in.

In EAA’s online Calendar of Events, you can search for events at any given time within

a certain radius of any airport by entering the identifier or a ZIP code, and you can further

define your search to look for just the types of events you’d like to attend.

We invite you to access the EAA online Calendar of Events at http://www.eaa.org/

calendar/


42/44

Which seat in an aircraft

is the right seat? There’s

the nonstandard pilot

in command (PIC) seat,

which can be on the right side, thefront, or back, depending on the air-

frame. There’s also the “right” seat

where “right” denotes correct, ap-

propriate, or good.

Sometimes the right seat can be

the wrong seat. Ask any instruc-

tor, and she will tell you there have

been times when the right seat was

ple refuse to get back into a little air-

plane because their first experiences

had them scared out of their wits?

Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of

introducing someone to flight?Of course the right seat can be

the “right” seat for business or travel

purposes; a good flight in the right

seat could add another aviator to

the field. One of my favorite spots is

in the right seat beside my airplane’s

former owner. In the “right” seat

I can completely relax and let my

being the “right” seat, there would

be no first flights or Young Eagles

flights. Sometimes the left seat is

the “right” seat to spend time with

nonpilot friends or family for tripsor sig

vintage airplane - aug 2010

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