vintage airplane - feb 2002

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2002

1/36

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2/36

VOL

3

, No. 2 FEBRUARY

2 2

STRAIGHT LEVELl

Butch

Joyce

2

VAA

NEWS/

H.G.

ra

utschy MaryJon

es

4

MYSTERY PLANE/H.G. Frautschy

5

FROM

THE

ARCHIVES/H.

G ra

utschy Susan

Lurvey

6

FROM

SEA TO

SHINING

SEA/James Diane Mo rton

and

Walter Thomas

1

TYPE

CLUB NOTES/Scott Barland

13

MEMBERS PROJECTS

15

THE VOLUNTEER SEABEE/Budd Davisson

21

PASS IT

TO

BUCK/Bu

ck

Hilbert

25

NEW

MEMBERS

26

CALENDAR

27

CLASSIFIED ADS

3

VAA MERCHANDISE

WWW VINTAGEAIRCRAFT ORG

http:///reader/full/WWW.VINTAGEAIRCRAFT.ORGhttp:///reader/full/WWW.VINTAGEAIRCRAFT.ORG


3/36

R IGHT e LEVEL

Y

ESPIE

BUTCH

JOYCE

PRESIDENT VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Celebration and a helping hand

Time certainly has a habit of sneaking up on you.

As

I

write this,

we

have

only

23

months

to go until we cele

brate 100 years of powered flight with EAA's flight of a

reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer

at

Kitty Hawk,

North Carolina. This amazing airplane

is

taking shape in

the shop of

Ken

Hyde and the Wright Experience.

At this year s EAA Sun n Fun

Fly-In

at Lakeland,

Florida, be sure to check out the C

ent

ennial of Flight tent

display for a wide range of displays highlighting

the

cele

bration of

EAA's

Countdown

to

Kitty Hawk.

Aft

er Sun

n

Fun, all eyes will be focused on

th

e 2002 edition of

EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh, where we'll continue to honor the

Wright brothers' achievements.

Time really does streak by. Here's a graphic exam

ple-during

this year's EAA AirVenture event, we'll take

part in festivities that will commemorate the 50th an

niversary of

EAA's

annual fly-in, which was first held in

September

1953. Fifty

years

of

EAA

conventions?

It

hardly seems possible, but indeed,

th

e 2002

gathering

is the

fiftieth such event,

which took

place

during the

first year of EAA's existence

(EAA

came into being

on

January 26, 1953).

We're quite pleased to announce that th e

VAA

will be

helping the E

AA

commemorate that first gathering with

a special display in the grassy area just north of VAA's

Red

Barn, south of AeroShell Square (often refe

rr

ed to

as

the

West Ramp ) . EAA is well along in its planning of a re

creation

of

that

first

gathering, with many

of the

airplanes and

displays

that

were prese

nt at

that

first

event on hand during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2002.

t

really

is

amazing to

see

how

far

we've come

as

an organi

better

way

to

show

the

world

that

we are

all responsible, capa

ble individuals who

enjoy the

freedom of

the

skies

in

the same way a sailor revels in taking to the

nation's waterways or an automobile or motorcycle en

thusiast

takes

to the

highways. Plan on attending EAA

AirVenture and showing the world

that no

matter where

we fly from,

the

events of last September will

not

cause

us

to cower and retreat.

See

you at the

fly

-

in

As we are often reminded, for good or bad we are still

a

pretty

small

group

of

people.

It's

not

so good when

you're trying to be heard above the crowd of other voices

calling for restrictions. A nice part of being a small group

is that we often know and take care of one another. Un

fortunately, sometimes things don t go

as

planned, and it

really can

put

a sour taste in someone's

mouth

if he

feels

the community didn' t treat him well.

We've all heard stories

about

parts being

sent out

for

repair and

then not being

returned

to

their owners.

When

and if the part finally does get back to the owner,

i t turns

out to not be the same one

sent

in. That's very

disappointing, and it belays the trust placed in the recipi

ent

by the part's owner.

This type of situation recently happened

to

me,

and

I

am disappointed and not happy that this has

come

to

pass. For the time being, I'll continue to believe that the

situation will reach a satisfactory conclusion. I was dis

cussing this matter with a fellow antique owner, who fe lt

that this type of occurrence should not

happen

in avia


4/36

VAA

NEWS

COMPILED BY

H G

FRAUTSCHY MARY JONES

Sport Pilot

NPRM

Release

Imminent

As this issue goes to press the

sport pilot/light-sport aircraft notice

of proposed rulemaking

is

about to

be published in the Federal Register.

There are plenty of opportunities for

vintage aircraft enthusiasts to enjoy

the privileges afforded by these pro

posed regulations, so we encourage

you

to read and comment on

the

NPRM. Check EAA's websites

at

www eaa org

and

www sportpilot or

for

the latest on this issue.

Commenting

on

the

Sport

Pilot

NPRM

After the NPRM

is

published, a

90-day

public comment period

will follow. During that time, any

one can officially register support,

concerns, or

questions

about the

proposed new rule. EAA expects

significant public

input

because

the

sport pilot rule will establish

not only

a

new pilot certificate

and a new

aircraft category but

also new aircraft

maintenance

reg

ulations.

There will be

several

ways to

submit

comments to the sport pi

lot docket:

1. You may submit a letter in

triplicate

to

the

docket office via

FRONT

BACK

COVERS:

The vol

unteers at

Wally Fisk's Polar

the mail. Be sure to use the specific

docket number, which will be an

nounced with the NPRM.

2. You may

submit comments

electronically:

a

Via e-mail. That process will

be

explained

in detail when the

NPRM

is

released.

b Via fax. Again, the proper fax

number will be supplied with

the

NPRM.

3.

EAA

will provide a direct link

through both the

www eaa org

and

www sportpilot org websites to make

general comments to the

NPRM

and

to

ask

the

FAA

to add

specific

aircraft to the

NPRM.

Commenting

on

the

NPRM will

be

very important.

However,

what's even more important is

what you say

and

how

you

say

it EAA offers this guidance:

1.

NOTE THAT ALL COMMENTS

ARE

OPEN TO PUBLIC REVIEW.

(For example, that includes all me

dia, members of medical and

environmental groups, and other

governmenta l agencies.)

2.

Comments

should be written

reasonably and

rationally. Emo

tional or

unsupported statements

will be disregarded.

3. Identify

and

be specific about

which part of the rule you are com

menting on .

4. Be factual and, if possible, of

fer suggested changes to the

cost of obtaining a medical for many

people. The requirement

to

hold

a

valid U.S. driver's license does es

tablish

a

medical

re

quirement.

Therefore, at

no

time should any

one make a reference to no medical

being required.

8. There

is

no

limit

to

the

num

ber of comments

you

can submit.

Separate comments may be sub

mitted for different subjects.

9. Your name,

address,

and

phone number

or e-mail address

is

required in case

the FAA

needs to

contact

you

to

help

them

under

stand your

point of

view.

TECHNI

C

L

RTICLES

W NT

E

As a group, we ' re a pretty re-

sourceful bunch, and one of the

stated missions

of

the

Vintage

Aircraft Association

is to

share

educational opportunities among

the membership.

We're always

on the lookout for good technical

articles.

This year

, we ve re-

ceived a number

of

requests for

solid information on radio and

transponder information in light

airplanes. If you've done a well-

executed, approved

installation

http:///reader/full/www.eaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.sportpilot.orghttp:///reader/full/www.sportpilot.orghttp:///reader/full/www.sportpilot.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.sportpilot.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.sportpilot.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.sportpilot.org


5/36

WHAT

OUR MEMBERS

ARE RESTORING

We're always interested in seeing

what

our

members

are

f lying

and

restoring. I f

you'd like to

share

your

project

with

your fellow

members,

send

us

a

small

selection

of photos

(two

to four

pictures) and a shor t de

scription.

Use

the address at the end

of this page.

NEW

BOOKS

OF

INTEREST

VAA member and historian Chet

Peek has filled in

one

of the blank

spots in the

history

of light

aircraft

in the

United States with

the

publi

cation of his latest book, Flying With

40 Horses, A History of

the

Continental

A-40 Aircraft

Engine

and

the Planes

t

Flew. Chet takes us on a journey

though the

history of

l ight aircraft

engines, setting the stage for the

well-timed

introduction

of the

Con

t inental

A-40

in

February 1931.

WANT TO SEND US PHOTOGRAPH

If you're thinking about sending a photograph to Vintage Airplane, we'd ap

preciate it if you'd follow these pointers.

All

photographs must

be

sharp, with the main subject

in

clear focus. If it's

not in focus in the photographic print or slide, no amount of production magic

on our part

can

make it usable for magazine reproduction.

The same holds true for the exposure of the print. If it's over- or underex

posed, we can't fix it. If it has problems like this, we simply can't publish it.

Here's our list of acceptable photograph formats, in order of preference:

A. 35 mm slides on

100 ASA

or lower film

B.

4-by-6-inch or larger prints from 35 mm or larger negatives

C. Digital photographs- The digital file directly from the camera should

support a file that is

300

dpi at a photo size of 4-by-6 inches. That does not

mean that a low-resolution file can Simply

be

re-sized to the larger size-the

file

must

be a high-resolution image for us to use it in a magazine. Since

prints from digital printers vary so widely in quality,

we

prefer not to use them

for publication, unless they are printed with at least 300 dpi resolution on a

high quality photo inkjet or dye sublimation printer, using photo paper appro

priate for the printer. Prints made on regular inkjet paper are not suitable for

reproduction .

To

help you take a great picture of your airplane, here are some tips to

make it look its best:

1. Shoot your photos early in the morning or later in the day. Our favorite

times are during the "golden hour" after sunrise or before sunset. Avoid mid

day as the harsh shadows of noontime sun can obscure details. Keep the

sunlight

on

the nose

and

side

of

the airplane. Facing the sun at about a 45

degree angle seems to work well.

2. Clean the airplane. Even a coating of dust can make it look drab.

3. Put away any accessories such as fueling steps or ladders . Keep the

background clean. When you're shooting the airplane, avoid including other

objects or people. Be mindful of background landscape items such

as

airport

antennae or control

towers-in

a photo, they can appear to grow from your air

plane. The same holds true for people standing behind the airplane-your

fuselage may sprout feet!

4. Keep the horizon level in the viewfinder.

5. Use a separate shot if

you

want to highlight people. If a person is next to

the airplane, please don 't show them leaning on the prop.

6. Don't have the engine running and no

one

in the cockpit!


6/36

MYSTERY

PLANE

BY

H G

FRAUTSCHY

This

month's

Mystery

Plane

is

bare-bones shot

from

the

collection of

Dr

Stanley Mohler of

Wright

State University.

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO: EAA VINTAGE AIRPLANE, P.O.

Box 3086 , OSHKOSH ,

WI

54903-3086 . YOUR ANSWER

NEEDS

TO

BE

IN

NO

LATER THAN

MARCH 10

FOR INCLUSION IN

THE MAY

2002

ISSUE

OF

VINTAGE

A

IRPLANE

.

You CAN ALSO SEND YOUR RESPONSE VIA E-MAIL.

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO

vintage@eaa org

BE

SURE TO I

NCLUDE

BOTH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS (ES-

PECIALLY

YOUR CITY

AND

STATE ) IN THE BODY OF YOUR NOTE

9 2 6

RROW

FIVE

Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis, Minnesota,

sent

us

the

one and only response

to

the November Mystery Plane:

The

November Mystery Plane is

the

1926 Arrow Five.

Built

by

Arrow Aircraft

Motor

Corp.,

Havelock, Ne

braska.

To clear

up

th e March Mystery Plane, it

is not

the Ben

Jones

Special,

but the

Briggs Special, also

known

as

the

Briggs-Marion. I t set a lightplane altitude

record of

21,750 feet in 1936.

Pete

Bowers

submitted

November s photo, and he

sent

along this write-up with the

photo:

As identified

in

this photo

taken October 13, 1926,

this o

ne

is

called

the

Arrow Five.

It

looks

like a

1924 Lincoln-Standard LS-5

fuselage

with new

tail surfaces and an entirely

new

one-bay wing

with a single I-strut

on

each side. There's a 180-hp Hisso

engin

e and

a fou

r-s

eat front

cockpit

with the

tw

o for

ward seats facing aft.

As on th

e

LS-5

the front seats

had

side windows.

Arrow, later

noted

for

the

little sport

biplane

and th

e

Ford V-8

powered ship, seems to have started in 1926

with some personnel from Lincoln-Standard.

The

address on the back of the print

says

Havlock

,

Nebraska.

Modern

atlases

and

a search

on

the

Internet

show

it

to be Havelock, located

on the

north side of Lin

coln. The later Arrow firm, supposedly founded in 1928,

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


7/36

FROM THE

A

CHIVES

BY

H.G. FRAUTSCHY AND SUSAN LURVEY

FROM

THE

EAA

AVIATION FOUNDATION

LIBRARY

ARCHIVES

Frank

P

Cavenagh

of

Hudson,

Ohio, snapped

these

images on

3-

1 2

by

4·1 2

inch

Eastman

nitrate stock

during

the National

Air Races of the

1930s.

We have

Richard Downes

(he was

Frank s

half·brother)

to thank for

saving

and

donating the

images

to the

EAA Aviation Foundation.

Racers

1932

, Cleveland, Ohio. Jim

my

Doolittle taxis in

with the

Gee

Bee R-1's

800

-hp Pratt & Whitney

Wasp Senior barking and snapping under the

tight cowling.

The Gee Bee R-2,

Race No.7

at rest in a hangar at

Cleveland

in 1932

(possibly the Skyways hangar?).

L

ee

Gehlbach flew the R-2 in the Bendix Trophy race.

Up

against three Wedell-Williams racers, the

Gee

Bee

was considered a favorite to

win

.

An

oil leak forced

Gehlbach to land at Chanute

Field

in Rantoul , Illinois ,

to refill the oil supply for the 550-hp

Wasp

installed

for long-distance racing. Unable to repair the leak,

Gehlbach removed the canopy

so he

could at least

peer around the windshield's opaque, oil-coated sur

faces.

He

landed 1 hour,

21

minutes, 54 seconds

after the race winner, Jimmy Wed ell, did in his

No.

92

racer. Gehlbach trailed the third place winner

by

nearly half

an

hour.

The

exceptional metalworking

done

by

Hill Aircraft Streamliners

of

Cincinnati,

Ohio,

is clearly evident in this view of the firewall cowling

and

landing gear fairings (then called boots

)

.


8/36

I

early 1998 Walt

Thomas men

tioned to Jim and Diane Morton

his intent

to

fly his Cessna

140

from Maryland

to

Chino, California,

for

the

International Cessna 120/140

Association Convention. The Mor

tons

and

Walt agreed to make

the

trip

together. For Jim and Diane,

it

was a

once in a lifetime opportunity to fly

their

Cessna

140,

NC89676,

across

the country. Walt previously had

flown N2026V to California

in

1989.

A

Cloudy Start

On September 18 Jim called at

1400 Zulu

to

say

that despite

the

overcast, the weather was flyable. We

agreed

to

meet at Potomac Airfield

(VKX), west of Andrews Air Force

Base. After

everyone

arrived

near

midday, we refueled

both

planes,

and

then Jim rechecked the weather.

Our

originally planned route was

south-southeast to First Flight Air

port (FFA-Kitty Hawk)

and

then

Jim

Morton and

NC89 7

pause before departing Cape May, New Jersey.

Jim

's wife , Diane, served as navigator, accommodations manager,

and pho-

tographe

r

and

an

hour later

picked

up a west

bound tail

wind

26V was doing

S-turns

behind '676,

since Jim

and

Diane were

breaking in a

just-re

placed cylinder.

The

next

stop was

was excellent. We refueled at Tay

lorsville, Illinois,

and then flew

west-southwest, crossing the Missis

sippi River

north

of Saint Louis. For

our next overnight stop, we landed at


9/36

Waiting

for

the rain to stop

and

the ceiling to lift. Walt rises up

on

his tip-

toes to confirm that the airplane

he

sees taxiing in is another Cessna 14 ,

also

en

route to the 1

2

/

14

Convention.

with

us

for several miles in his classic

Piper. The two Cessnas flew past Jef

ferson City, over the

Ozarks

, and

landed at Neosho EOS) for refueling

and lunch .

We

took off, headed

MSL and

picked up

Interstate

40

near Clinton,

Oklahoma. Another

60

miles under our wings and

we

were over

the Texas Panhandle,

where the

visibility

was unre

Cessna's high-density-altitude per

formance,

so

extra

clothing

and

other items were

packed

and

shipped

back

to

New Jersey. After

ward, we celebrated Jim's birthday

with

dinner

at the hotel's pub and

retired early.

We

departed AMA on the fourth

day at 0815 local. Our 140s climbed

quickly in

the

cool,

smooth

air

to

6,500 feet

MSL.

Flying west along

40,

the

terrain

underneath

began

rising, so we climbed to 8,500 feet.

Santa Rosa ,

New Mexico,

was

our

next

stop; we landed

into

a stiff 20

knot breeze directly down Runway

26. Leaving Q58, we climbed again

to 8,500 feet and could see the San

dia Mountains 90 miles away. Thirty

miles east

of

Albuquerque, civiliza

tion reappeared. The

lead

aircraft

contacted

ABQ

Approach

, and our

flight was given vectors to the Albu

querque International Sunport

Airport. Once we passed the moun


10/36

turbulence were becoming worse, we

landed at Gallup. The winds were 20

knots at 30 to 45 degrees to the run

way,

so we

bo

t h

carried

higher

approach speeds and

made

wheel

landings. This was the first airport we

noticed

really heavy chains being

used as tiedowns.

The strong winds

made their existence obvious.

Our fifth day began with a trip to

the airport

before sunrise. Pullover

sweaters and

other

layers

were

needed

for

the

39 °F

temperature,

but takeoff

performance

would be

great

We

lifted off just after sunup,

departing

east (downhill

and

up

wind),

and turned west to follow

the highway. At 8,500 feet

MSL

we

had a 10- to 12-knot tail wind and

unrestricted

visibility.

The

smooth

morning air was enjoyab le, espe

cially after yes terday's turbulence.

We passed the Petrified Forest and

then headed

over

the desert,

past

Holbrook

and

Winslow, Arizona.


11/36

Peninsula was pumping moisture

across

the

desert and up

the

moun

tains.

As the

warm,

moist air rose

up

the

mountain

slopes, it cooled

and condensed, causing the over

cast and precipitation.

Two hours later

FSS

said

condi

tions were improving.

We

departed

Runway

03

and followed

1-40

at 500

feet AGL. Twelve miles

west, low

clouds

hung

entirely across a ridge,

obscuring it

and the

terrain

on

the

other side.

We

could see

clearly

northward but not west where we

were headed. We turned around and

returned

to

FLG.

There

we

joined

three

gentlemen

for

lunch.

They

were also waiting out the weather

en

route to the ' 140 Convention. After

another

hour's wait,

we

tried again.

This time we flew around the west

ridge, and within 20 miles skies be

came scattered and then clear.

Our "concrete compass" guided

us past Williams and Seligman to a

This interesting array of mirrors with a cent ral tower

is

a solar power gener-

ating station located just west of Barstow Daggett airfield in California.

The

esert

esolation

Day six started with a sunrise de

parture. We headed southwest along

the highway, flew past the Ford Mo

tor Company Proving

Grounds,

then west to Needles, California.

At

Needles we followed the road north

by

white plumes

falling

to the

ground.

Whoa

These

were

muni

tions exploding over the desert.

We

never

determined

where

they

origi

nated,

but

it

definitely got

our

attention. Uh-huh That's

why

it's a


12/36

PE CLUB NOTES

TOWARD SAFER EFU ELING

s published

in

the

17 News

M

ny of

us

who utilize the

autogas

STC

refuel

our

Cessna 170s with

those

2.5-

and

5-gallon plastic jugs that

are so easy to use and

that

pass the

test

of being an appropriate and

properly labeled

container

when

we stop by

our

favorite gas station

on the way

to

the

airport. While

these

jugs are obviously

intended

for transporting gasoline, they

have several characteristics that

cause concern about fire safety.

The one that

causes

the most

concern is that

the

molded poly

ethylene plastic is an insulator ,

preventing

any

buildup

in static

electrical charge from

escaping

rapidly

through the container

to

the ground. Remember the science

experiment

where you pull a plas

tic

comb through

your

hair on a

dry day and generate

a

spark of

SCOTT B RL ND

setting

the

plastic

jugs

on

the

ground doesn

't

complete

ly

bleed

off

the

static charge unless they re

main

there for a while, because

the

insulating characteristics of

the

plastic jug slows

the

static charge's

dissipation to a slow trickle.

The

real

concern comes when

we take that

jug

up

the ladder

,

open the

fuel cap,

and

start

pour

ing the go-juice in. If

the

plane has

acquired a slight static charge from

such

things as

the

wind

blowing

over it,

there

may be enough elec

trical potential (difference in static

charge) between it and the fuel in

the

jug to cause a spark.

This was

brought

home to

me in

a

rather dramatic fashion

when a

good friend

and

fellow Cessna 170

Association member called to relate

what he thought might have been a

close

approach to

disaster. He had

become

the

centerpiece in a fire de

partment training film.

I

started

thinking about

static

proof ing this process,

and the

ob

vious first step is

to

be

sure that

your plane

is

adequately grounded .

This

is

critical

during

the refueling

operation,

and

there's

no

good rea

son

why

it shouldn't be

grounded

all

the time

. If

your

hangar

is

grounded electrically

through

your

electrical service, attach

one end

of

the

wire to

the

hangar steel

and the

other end, through an alligator clip,

to

any

bare metal part of

the air

frame. If your airplane

is

tied down

on

grass/dirt,

anyone

of your metal

tie-down rods

is a

good

ground

.

Tied

down

on pavement? Your tie

down rings in the pavement should

do nicely. I used a piece of stranded

14 gauge copper house wire for this

airframe

ground

cable,

one end


13/36

[Vintage Airplane Editor's Note:

Be

certain the airframe component

you attach

your

grounding strap to

is

indeed electrically bonded

to

the rest

of

the airframe, all the way

to

the

fuel tank-you d be surprised how

may light airplanes have electrically

isolated components. A simple check

with the continuity test function

on

a multimeter can be used

to

confirm

your

ground location.]

So

what do

we

do about those

pesky plastic jugs? If we electri

cally connect the gasoline to

the

now-grounded airplane (before

opening

the fuel

tank

caps

or

the

plastic jugs), then

no

static charge

can

exist. And

no

spark

can jump

up

and

bite us. Here's how I modi

fied

my

plastic jugs to allow

me

to

do that.

See

the drawing below.)

Cut

the

head

off a 10-32 x 1.5

inch

machine screw and drill a

No.

48 hole down

the

center of

the

screw

about 1/4-inch

deep.

Cut

a piece

of

14 gauge solid cop

per

house wire long

enough

to

reach

from

the

handle of

the plas

tic

jug to the bottom

(inside),

strip

the

insulation from its

full

length, and so lder one end

of

the

wire into the drilled

screw

.

Thread

on

a

common

hex nut,

a

flat washer,

and

a rubber washer

cut from

an old inner tube . Drill

a

3/16-inch

hole in the jug han

dle just

behind

the filler

opening.

[Vintage Airplane Editor's Note: If

you're using an electric drill, be

cer-

tain

no gasoline fumes are

present-you d

feel

pretty foolish

if

you blew up the gas jug and yourself

10 24 X 11 2

M A C H I N E S C R E W ~

/

H X N U T ~

FLAT METAL WASHER

RUBBER

W A S H E R ~ = = : ~ : - i i i i i i ~ .,.

#48

HOLE

1/4

EEP

~

t

14 BARE COPPER

WIRE

SOL ER INTO

SCREW

while installing a grounding strap ]

To install the ground wire you

just made,

ho

ld

the

wire/screw

assembly with

a

long-nose

pliers

or a

hemostat,

insert the

assem

bly,

wire-end

first, through the

filler

opening and up through

the

3/16-inch

hole. Spread a little

gasoline

-

resistant sealant around

the base of the protruding threads

(I

used some neoprene cement left

over from

a

wet-suit repair

kit),

and

then

add another rubber

washer, flat washer,

and

hex nut.

You

should

now have

about

1

inch of screw thread exposed to

act as your

ground

lug. The bare

copper wire

should be

pushed,

pulled, or bent as necessary to

reach

near

the bottom

of

the

con

tainer without blocking the filler

neck. Snug the top hex

nut

down,

and let the sealant/cement cure

before

exposing it

to gasoline . I

modified all five

of

my

containers

in less

than

two hours, so it

is

not

a big job. The photo

on

the fol

lowing

page shows

one

of

my

own

anti-static fuel containers, at

tached to its connecting wire

alligator clip (that's next).

We

have

to be able to connect

the fuel jug's ground

l

ug

to

the

airframe, so make a connecting

cable: I used another piece of

that

14

gauge

stranded

house

wire,

about

10 feet long,

and

attached

medium-size alligator clips to

each end . You'll see how it

is

used

in just a

moment.

To put this system to work,


14/36

(an

exhaust

stack

is

convenient

and

works well .

After touching

the

free end of

this

wire

to

each jug s

ground

lug, clip it to

one,

carry

the jug

up

the

ladder,

and start

the refu-

eling. t is most

important

that

this

connecting wire

be

attached

both to the

plane and

the

fuel

jug

before

taking the jug up near

the

fuel cap,

and

it must

remain

attached throughout to make

sure that any static electricity is

bled off

harmlessly before

it

builds

up

enough to cause a

spark. Bring the

empty

fuel

jug

down

off

the

ladder,

attach the

clip

to

the next one, and con

tinue.

Remember also

that

gasoline

fumes are heavier than

air, sink

ing to

the

floor and

following

any sloping

surfaces

downward.

Any open flame,

pilot

light, or

source of electrical spark below,

downwind, or

down-slope from a

fuel

overflow or spill

can com

pletely

wipe

out

all

your

good

work in eliminating the static

electricity

hazard. t has

been

said that

fire is a

wonderful

ser-

vant

but

a horrible

master.

You

don t need to let a gasoline-fed

fire

prove

it to you.

This doesn t

eliminate all fire

hazards; it

just

helps

minimize

ones we can

do

something about

without too big

an

effort. f noth

ing

else,

your

insurance

carrier

should breathe a little easier, and

you

can

tell that

smart

mouth

across the ramp to put away the

marshmallows.

Grounding

Wire l ternative

Vintage Airplane Editor s Note: I ve used a similar

set of

grounding wires for a number

of

years, built

using 1/16-inch stranded stainless steel cable bought

by the foot

at

the local

hardware

store. The store

even

had

a

vinyl-covered

version,

but

I

was

too

cheap to buy it. I added clips from the local electrical

supply house, and

my

grounding cables looked

just

like the ones on the fuel trucks . If you really hate

those finger sticks that

occur

when your tender


15/36

WHAT

OUR MEMBERS

ARE

RESTORING

BY H G FRAUTSCHY

DH.82A

TIGER

MOTH

Nick and Elsa Steo of Mendon, New York are the proud owners and restorers of this 1944 de Havilland Tiger Moth.

Built at Hatfield, Herts

R-S063

served

the RAF and then the

Belgian air force

as

a primary trainer. Next it belonged to

the Brasschaat Aero Club in Belgium, where it was used for banner

and

glider towing, as well as general sightseeing

flights. After it had accumulated more

than

4,000 hours of flight time in its logs, Gert Frank bought it and had it and

a number of other Moths shipped to the United States. In 1971, Nick Steo Sr. bought

the

project and slowly began its

restoration, but he passed away before its completion. His son, Nick Jr., and his son s wife, Elsa , then picked up the

project and restarted

the

process using professional restorers. Fifteen years after it began, the project was completed,

thanks to the efforts of George Denys. Its maiden flight in U.S. airspace took place

on

August 24, 2001.


16/36

DH .82A

TIGER

MOTH

William "Bill" King, a

name

well

known

to

those

who have had the pleasure of visiting Cole Palen's Old

Rhinebeck Aerodrome, decided

to

restore his Tiger Moth, which he had been flying

at

the

aerodrome for 5 years.

Bill pointed out

that

the Tiger Moth has plenty of small parts, so the restoration progressed slowly, but in spring

2001

the

airplane was restored

and

ready for

the

air show season. Bill credits

John

Cullere

and John

Tremper for

helping him

not

miss a third season with his Tiger Moth. Bill's son, Andrew King, sent us the second photo showing

Bill's brother, David, flying the Moth, Andrew in his Ryan M l mailplane, and Bill flying the recently completed

Rhinebeck Aerodrome Curtiss Jenny. That's quite a formation shot Tom Polopink, the Aerodrome's museum direc

tor, took the photo.


17/36

t 's

a

common

story:

Someone finds an airplane

abandoned

in a barn/field/

hangar. It s totally run-down

with

mice

corroding

the

wings,

the engine

frozen

into a solid lump, the fabric

a c lose approximation of

papyrus

,

and everything in

the

airplane needing

re

placement. So the would-be

restorer takes it apart, trucks

it home, and starts the long

process

of disassembling,

tagging, restoring, and re

assembling.

But that's not the story of

Wally

Fisk s Volunteer

Seabee. The

above story,

where

the

restorer starts with

an entire airplane

and, in

the process

of

disassembling

it, figures out

where

every

thing

goes,

is the exact

opposite from what the

Seabee crew started with.

They didn't start with a cor

roded hulk covered with bird

droppings;

they

started with

mounds and mounds of

boxes full

of

parts, not a one

of

which was identified. The

Seabee,

although

partially

re-

stored and painted,

was

totally disassembled and rep

resented

one

of

those jigsaw

puzzles

that

come in a plain


18/36

who

banged

away

on the airplane,

Wally Fisk originally bought the air-

During

E

AirVenture Oshkosh

2001 Seabee pilot

Larry Mullaly stands

between fellow

restorers Ray Kreps

and Duane Poehls

When we got the airplane, only a

half a

gallon of paint

of each color

When

the airplane came

to

us,

according to

Duane, the wings

and

control surfaces were in crates.

The engine

was

disassembled and

in boxes. Another box

held

a bunch

of

actuators, but

we didn't

know

what they were for. All the hy-

draulics

parts

were

in

another

box.

Again, not tagged. We had a terrible

time just figuring

out which

parts


19/36

The six-cylinder Franklin engine is coupled to a cooling Cloth

interiors

are

not

usually the

best

choice for sea

fan

in

front

and

a crankshaft extension

on

the rear, which

planes, so

the

Seabee was

neatly upholstered

in vinyl

drives the prop .

You

can clearly see the Franklin 's distrib with a close-nap carpet used

underfoot

. A basic

VFR

in-

utor

and coil ignition

system. It

' s

mounted

on

the left

strument

panel

was

re-instalied,

along with

expertly

side

of

the shaft extension case, just aft of the

baffle.

rendered lettering for each switch and placard . The new

The

Franklin uses a mixed system, with one magneto fir lettering included a placard

for

one unusual switch-on

ing one set of plugs and an automotive-style distributor

the lower

left

corner of the panel,

there s

an electrical

for the other set.

ca

u

se

they didn't match

.

The

water

rudder

was a classic

case of not knowing

what

did what.

We had no way of knowing how it

attached

. We e-mailed a lot of peo

ple. We even made parts out of wood

to try to figure out

how

it worked.

The tail wheel

steering

was

the

same way.

As

far as we could tell, we

had

all

the

parts ,

but

because

they

had this kind of Rube Goldberg way

of working, we just couldn't figure it

out. If we hadn't had another air

plane to

look

at

, we might still be

trying to make i t work.

The seats had already been uphol

stered, but there were

no

side panels,

so

they came up with upholstery

that wo uld match

and

had Airtex

make up

the

panels.

The instruments that came with

the airplane were a mixture

of

over

switch labeled Anchor Light.

turned

out to

be a real

problem

be

cause most of it, including the axles,

were badly corroded

and had to

be

replaced or rebuilt. Fortunately,

that

was

the

only serious corrosion in

the

airframe because the airplane

only

had

about 450 hours total time

and

had never seen sa ltwater.

If

they thou ght the

landing

gear

was a problem, then they must have

thought gett ing

the

Franklin engine

running was a

borderline

disaster

because,

among other

things, some

of the accessories were missing along

with some of the internals. On top

of that,

many

of

the

parts

they

did

have

couldn't

be

rebuilt,

and they

had to buy a second

engine

just to

get enough

usable

parts

to get one

running. They had the basic engine

overhau

led

by

Bolduc

Aviation

in

Minneapolis. Then it was found that

did,

they

could

expect some

prob

lems , because one of their engine

manuals had

the notation

that they

should ... expect major repairs

shortly after 600 hours.

Once

they got

the engine prob

lems solved, the project really kicked

into high gear. According to Duane,

We could see

the

airplane was start

ing to take shape,

so

we put the pedal

to

the

metal.

When we

started work

ing on the windows, we realized they

weren't

tagged

either. They were

grommet mounted, so they could be

kicked out in [an] emergency, but we

didn't know

which

grommet went

with which

window.

It

was just an

other

piece of the Seabee puzzle.

Towards

the

end, we were

calling

people, including

those

who had

painted the airplane, and tracking

down information like what type of


20/36

The designers

of

the Seabee made

extensive use

of

corrugated metal to

add

st

i

ffness to

the wings tail and

in

this case the water rudder.

Greg Jones-landing gear struts

Ray Kreps-an

ex-F-86

pilot; did

whatever was needed and was

Mr.

Window Guy

Larry Mullaly-research

and

pa

perwork

Duane

Poehls-wiring

and parts

coordinator

Frank Sokolik- a little of every

thing and head parts cleaner

Alden Bjorkland-Plexiglas polisher

When the volunteers came to the

museum,

the universal attitude

among them

was, We

don't want

to be tour guides. We want to work

on

airplanes. The Seabee fulfilled

th

at desire. When

the

museum

closed, Fenton, Kreps, Poehls,

and

Sokolik stayed on

the

project, and

every

Wednesday

night

became

Seabee night

for

them.

"We wound up working 156 days

on

the

project for a total of 1,002

man

hours, as

near

as

we

can

fig

ure, says Duane.

In a long-standing Oshkosh tradi

tion

,

the

y didn't

get

the

airplane

finished and ready to

fl

y until just a

few days before EAA

AirVenture

Slence

nll

his Seabel'

By

H.G.

FRAUTSCHY

I

n the

year before

the United

States entered World War II, P.H.

Spence Spencer lofted the lines

on what he would call the Spencer

Amphibian Air Car, Model S-12. By

March

I,

1941, Spencer

and

his

two employees (one part-time,

the

other

in

the

shop all day) cut the

first parts for

the

two-place aerial

boat. nly

5.5

months

after con

struction

began the Air Car first

flew from

the beach at

Belmore,

Great South Bay, on New York's

Long Island.

With

flat plywood for

the

fuse

lage

and

conventional wood spars

and ribs for the wings,

the

Air Car

was quite practical, albeit a

bit

un

usual in

appearance

. Its pusher

engine allowed for a handy door

on

the

nose of the airplane. A pilot

or passenger could settle into the

right-hand

seat,

flip

open

the

cabin hatch/door on the nose, and

fish all day in comfort. When

the

pilot

was done, the amphibian

could be nosed

up

to

the

beach or

floating dock.

t

was a simple mat

ter of opening the door and

stepping out to

secure the ma

chine. The rear-mounted prop was

somewhat

protected from

the

hull's water spray, and Spence en

joyed

the

rest

of

the

summer

operating

the Air Car from

the

Babylon,

Long Island,

seaplane

Spence

to help

the

company, he

would have access to

its

wood

molding

workshop

during

off

hours. By

that

time some restric

tions on

civilian flying

had

been

lifted, and Spence flew the Air Car

to Chicago, where he made further

changes to the airframe, streamlin

ing

some

of the

early version's

rather

slab-sided looks. He flew

it

regularly from Fox Lake, northwest

of Chicago,

where

he tested

the

hull's hydrodynamic qualities.

By the

close

of

'43, Mill's Nov

elty

had not

been

very successful

in getting more than one contract,

and Spence was ready when Nels

Kelly called again. Kelly had gone

back

to

work for Republic,

and

upon

hearing

that the

company

was interested

in

a civilian project

for work after the war ended, he

made

a

pitch to senior

manage

ment

regarding

the

production of

the

Air Car. Spencer was hired

as

a

design consultant, and Republic

paid him $17,000 for

the

rights

to

the design.

Republic

had plenty of

experi

ence in building

airplanes

out of

sheet metal, and

i

the

postwar

market was

as

hungry for airplanes

as was forecast, they'd need to pro

duce

them at a

pretty good

clip,

possibly as many as 10 per day

After Republic built and

flew

the


21/36

production,

and

extensive use

of hydro-formed sections of alu

minum

for

all

of the

major

components kept

the

number

of pieces in

the

airframe

down

to a minimum.

As

originally de

signed, the

hull

had 362 parts

assembled with 6,200 rivets. t

took 590 man-hours to build it.

After the design

review

, the

number of parts tumbled to 63,

with only 2,400 rivets needing

to

be

driven

in

place

,

taking

only

20

man-hours. The total

number of parts

in the

airframe

went

from 1,800 down to a

more manageable 450. The wing's

new structure

was

also innovative,

using beading stamped into the

wing panel's surfaces to act as stiff

eners for

the

structure, instead of

laborious wing rib installations. Af-

ter heated debate about

the

merits

of such a structure,

it

proof tested

to

be four

times stronger

in to r

sional

rigidity

and held

up

to a

proof load of 115 percent.

The

RC-1

Seabee,

as the

design

was

now dubbed,

was

ready

to

show to

the

postwar public by

the

winter of 1945, and when

the

pro

duction

RC-3s started

coming

off

the

line

at

Republic's Long Island

factory, it was believed

they

had

about

4,000 orders for

the

unique

airplane . But those

orders

were

made

when

the

price was $3,995,

and the

book started shrinking as

soon as the price started to increase.

Republic management had targeted

a price that was far too low to meet,

into the sides of the

hull.

Elimi

nating the

wells added enough

room to the interior to make a

four-seater practical.

Also

needed

was

more horse

power.

The

Franklin engine

first

considered

for the

revamped

de

sign developed 200

hp,

but more

was

needed

, and

to help

control

costs, Republic bought a control

ling interest in Aircooled Motors,

Sy

racuse, New

York . Aircooled

had

been

building

the

Franklin

series

for

a number of airframe

makers , and it

managed

to sim

plify the Franklin 500 engine and

get

a 12

hp boost in

the process .

When finall y

put into

produc

tion, that horsepower had grown

to

215

ponies,

with the Franklin

6A8-215B9F as

the

standard

in

stallation. While the Koppers

Aeromatic prop

was standard

equipment ,

the

metal Hartzell

controllable/reversible prop was a

Douglas Ro lfe

continued to develop his Air Car

series as a homebuilt project until

his

death

in 1995 at the age

of

97.

Spencer's life was filled

with

a

number of remarkable technical

achievements

,

no doubt

a legacy

of his

father,

Christopher Minor

Spencer. C.M.

Spencer

invented

the

Spencer repeating rifle,

one

of

the Union Army's

most

effective

weapons of

the

Civil War.

Longevity

must

run

in the

Spencer

family,

as

Spence was

born

long

after the war,

when

his

father was 63 years old. The elder

Spencer lived

long

enough to see

his

son

solo a Curtiss- type flying

boat on the Connecticut

River

in

the

summer of 1914.

For information on the Seabee

visit

www min

prin

g

com

jh

oop

e

r3

se c

lub htm

That s

the

web address for

John

P. Hooper's Seabee web page, the

home

of

the International

Re

public Seabee Owners

Club

. You

http://www.mindspring.com/-jhooper3/seaclub.htrnhttp://www.mindspring.com/-jhooper3/seaclub.htrnhttp://www.mindspring.com/-jhooper3/seaclub.htrnhttp://www.mindspring.com/-jhooper3/seaclub.htrnhttp://www.mindspring.com/-jhooper3/seaclub.htrnhttp://www.mindspring.com/-jhooper3/seaclub.htrn


22/36

The Seabee s distinctive lines come

from

the genius of

Percival H. Spencer whose

basic design for

an

amphibious airplane

made out

of

steel tube and wood was

bought by Republic and then modified

and produced

after

World

War II. Spencer

helped Republic design the airplane for

all-metal construction

on an

assembly

line, but its unique art deco lines re

mained

true to his original concept.

opened

it

up to

work on

it, there

were no brushes

in

it.

We

found one

brush in Grant's

garage

attic,

so

Bolduc [Aviation] took

the

one brush

down

to the

parts

store

and pawed

through a bunch of brushes until

they

found a pair that

matched.

When

we investigated

the

discharg-

ing problem,

i t

turned out

the

generator was wired for

'normal'

ro-

tation. The Franklin

turns the other

direction, so we swapped a

few

wires

and were on

our

way.

With a cruise

of

103 to lOS

mph,

the Seabee isn't a rocket ship, but with

its pregnant pickle shape, you would-

n't expect it to be. Fortunately, says

Duane, we

aren't burning much

oil

and

[are using]

about

14 gallons

of

gas. However,

the

engine has a mag-

neto

and

a battery/distributor, which

isn' t shielded, so there's lots of igni-

tion noise in the radio.

The airplane isn't really very

good in a crosswind because

of

that

huge tail, he says, Which is aggra-

vated on takeoff by the

way

it

levitates up on

the

struts at such a

slow speed. I don't

think

it even has

a demonstrated

crosswind

compo-

nent

in

the

handbook.


23/36

P SS IT

TO

CK

BY

E.E. BUCK

HILBERT, EAA 21

VAA

5

Reading about the adventures

and

experiences of Dutch Redfield and

now Bill Dunn sure triggers your ex

citement bones. They're wonderful

I've had a few adventures

as

well,

but

I hesitate

to

relate

them,

know

ing full well that some of them were

pretty

boneheaded

and I was lucky

to have survived to tell about them.

Before I spill

the

beans about this

incident, here's a little background.

At 17, right out

of

high school, I en

listed

in

the

Army Air

Corps

at

the

beginning of World War II. I had fin

ished a specialized course in aviation

mechanics

and

enlisted

to

become

an aviation cadet.

I

had

been working

at

the local

airport

for a

couple

years,

had

all

kinds of "sandbag" and dual time,

and had

soloed in

the

J-3

Porter

field, Aeronca Defender, and the

Duster Stearman C 3. I was pretty

hot; I'll tell you that.

After the stint in pre-flight school I

was

assigned to Primary Flying School

at Wickenburg, Arizona. I was intro

duced to PT-l7s, PT-13Ds, and

PT-27s.

The

-27 was a fully

instrumented,

electrically equipped version.

My instructor, Mr.

Bingham,

soloed me in

short

order, and I was

free to practice what I was supposed

have learned. Unlike of

P O

Box

424,

UNION,

IL

60180

climb. Finally, after an eternity, I got

up to 13,500 feet indicated. In Janu

ary, I can tell

you,

it was

very cold

up there.

I was freezing

and now

only wanted to

get

back to

that

warm Arizona desert air.

I thought a

while

and then de

cided a

spin would

be

the

best

and

quickest way

down.

After about six

turns I

pulled out,

and I

was still

above 10,000,

but it was a little

warmer. Okay,

what

to do now? How

about a few rolls

on

a point?

So

from

about 15 miles away from the field, I

put the

nose

on

a

point and began

doing rolls, one after another, maybe

about 10 or so.

Now that 220 Continental, as

some of

you

well know, has a float

type carburetor and would always

quit when

inverted.

I

had

held

in

verted for a couple minutes during

one of the rolls, and when I

rolled

right

side up, the

engine

was

just

wind milling. Never giving it a sec

ond

thought,

I just kept

on

rolling

and rolling. I finally got down to

about 2,000 or 3,000

feet

off

the

ground, poked

the

power to

it,

and ...

NOTHING

I pumped the

throttle, I checked the fuel selector, I

hit the primer

... it

took

a little,

but

not enough to keep me in the air.

By I was

four or

five

miles off the highway, no

one knows where I am, and it's get

ting

to the point where the sun

is

setting.

Now,

the book says in a situa

tion like this you stay

with the

airplane and wait for rescue. But wait

a

minute;

I think I know what's the

matter with

this

engine

. I'll bet

the

float is stuck. I t ran on the primer,

didn 't it?

Well

that's got to be

it

Find

a rock; bang on the carburetor bowl.

Bang it good; this used to happen

on

the Duster Stearman. Now, let's try it.

Wind up the inertia starter and, "That

was

it

It runs " It's now almost dark,

so a

quick run

-up

with

a full power

check and it's off for home.

When 1 land the proverbial stuff

hits the fan. The A.O. (airdrome offi

cer)

is

upset, as I

am

the

last

one

to

land and

it's dark "Where 'n 'ell

have you been?" Thinking I was a

hero,

I

explained, and explained

again in front of the e.O., and again


24/36

I ve told you about

this project

some

time in the past,

and

after the dust

settled over

Sep

tember

11,

I got to

fly

Gary

Karner s

Aeroncopy.

It

was

great fun, and i t

flies great

with

a

Continental

A-65.

Gary used my C-3

to

take

measure-

ments to make his

copy

of

a

C 3

as a homebuil t airplane. I ve been sell ing some

of

my

toys

to

make a bit

of

room around here at the Funny Farm, and my C-3, which I ve

had since the

1960s,

was

on

the block. Gary bought it, so now he owns both.

As

soon as the weather gets nice, and we get

it

running,

it

will move to the

Brodhead, Wisconsin, airport. Isn t Gary s Aeroncopy cute?

got

fixed

and got

home in fine

shape, and I m here to tell about it

almost 60 years later.

I've had several forced landings

since

that

time,

and

I've lucked

out

every time. It did teach me to always

be aware of your options and always

have a plan in mind in case the un

mentionable happens.

Here's a recent note I received:

to see

the

northbound mail planes

come

in.

There

were

three

pilots:

Lindbergh, Slonnegar,

and

Smith.

I

had the great privilege of seeing and

talking to all three.

The

big thrill was in 1928

when

Col. Lindbergh flew over his old air

mail

route

in the Spirit o

St

Louis

with Slooney

and

Smith in DH-4s in

formation. They were about S feet

Richard,

It's a pleasure to hear from you,

and I

thank you

for your

kind

re

marks about Vintage Airplane

When

I was a trustee

for

the

Wings

&

Wheels Museum in Florida,

now

defunct,

we had an ex-Marine

Corps DH-4 in almost-flying condi

tion.

When

the

museum

broke

up

it

was auctioned off and went to Brazil,

I think.

It was one that

had

been modi

fied to a steel tube fuselage

and,

of

course, was

not the

mail plane

model that was all wood. It also

had

armament and was a

single

place

with a cargo pit

up

front.

Not

too

authentic

at that.

I m sending

you,

on loan of

course, the Smithsonian publica

tion on the

DH-4 history. In

this

book you ll find all

sorts

of

infor

mation

on

the original airplane

and

the many variants. Enjoy the book,

and

one

of these days when you are

finished with it, either drop it off

at

my son s house over in

Rockford

(address included), or if

you

are

out

for a drive,

stop by

here at

the

Funny Farm.

Reading about your childhood

in Peoria

is

very interesting. I never

got to actually meet Lindbergh ,

but

I was

just

a kid

when

he flew

over Rockford on his

nationwide

tour

and

dropped

the

message

con

tainer. I was only 4 years old, but I

remember the

crowd

was going

crazy yelling, "Lindy Lindy " and

jumping up and down with excite

ment. Quite a time. Lindbergh sure


25/36

Wally

Baldwin of Middle-

town, Ohio, whose father

spent many years

at

Aeronca

during its aircraft production

heyday,

sent

us

this photo-

graph. Taken at Lunken

airport

(sometimes referred

to

as sunken Lunken J in

Cincinnati , Ohio, t shows the

airfield the year before the

devastating flood of January

1937. The new

administration

building in the center

was

added on

to the smaller

termi

nal just to its left.

When

the

airport

was

flooded,

only

the

top floor of the new building

and

the instruments

on top of

the small white weather in-

strument

box were

visible.

In

the

far

upper

left

comer,

the

low

building

along the

road

is the

first

Aeronca

factory.

On

the

left

side

of

the

ph

oto

is

th

e M

etal

Ai

rc

raft

Company, builders

of the

Ramingo

series

of all-metal airplanes. The flood

bankrupted the

already

fragile

c

ompany

, and Aeronca bought

the

building. Aeronca chose to

move

its

operation

to

Middletown,

Ohio, and the Metal Aircraft Company building was

moved

to Aeronca's

new

location

after the floodwaters receded.

n

the main ramp is a Stinson Trimotor and an American

Airways Douglas DC-3,

complete with the entry door on the

right side of

the cabin.

The administration building still stands, and it now has

Dr.

Kindall's Aeronca C-3 hanging in

the west

wi

ng

.

Explore

= ~ f : s ~ ~ l i n f i ~ It

Wil Blue Wonde

rs

Explor

in

g the Magic ofFlight


26/36

St 4 t St 4

a mesa.

For

winds 10 knots or

less

,

continlled

from

p ge

you land uphill. Turning base, an

4,500-foot altitude. The valley other mesa sticks up a mile

away.

was filled with

quilt-patterned

No

problems, just very different to

vegetable

fields crosshatched

us

flatlanders./I

We

enjoyed tour

with irrigation

canals . We saw

ing

Sedona's

many tourist

laborers tending some fields

and

boutiques, which sell Indian art

Flight planning

with

a wall

chart

is always fun,

other

fields

that had just been

work

and

wares.

Then

we drove

and i t s

also neat

to

figure

out just

how far

reclaimed

adjacent

to

the

low

back up the mesa to view an ab

your

flight

has

taken

you. Walt and Jim use

the

hills west.

solutely stunning sunset, followed

time-honored

string

and

scale method of

dis

by dinner and a restful sleep.

tance calculation to

figure

out how far they

Coast to Coast

had flown

with their

Cessna

140s.

Leaving

the

Imperial Valley

we flew northwest

above

the

Salinas Valley

to

west

of

Salinas Air-

port at

the

valley's

north

end. jim,

leading

since Bakersfield, called

Monterey Approach

and

requested

and

was

granted

a flyby

over Mon

terey

Bay

then back across the

peninsula. Walt, never having flown

over the Pacific Coast, was amazed

at

the

ocean's clear, deep blue color.

After

our

aerial

reconnaissance

we

landed on MRY s 28L at 1505 local,

taxied

in, and

tied

down at Del

Monte Aviation. As a

destination,

Monterey

was

significant

since it

was a duty station during

jim's

Navy

career. He

acquired his commercial

and

instrument

ratings while here.

NC89676

and

its crew

had com

pleted the trek from the Atlantic

to

the Pacific Ocean,

flying

2,930

statute miles in six days. N2026V

had

traveled 2,920 miles,

not

quite

from sea

to

sea (albeit W18

is

beside

the

Patuxent River, which

empties

into the Chesapeake

Bay,

which

empties

into

the Atlantic).

Our afternoon, evening, and

fol

The Convention

and

Return

Thursday

afternoon

we left

MRY

at

1500 local

with '676

leading. We

flew back down

the

Salinas Valley,

followed

Route 101

southeast,

crossed

over

the pass

at

Las Cruces,

flew beside

the mountains adjacent

to the ocean, and landed

at

Santa

Barbara

(SBA)

for fuel. We left

SBA

at 1745 loca l

and

headed southeast

along

the coast

with Point Mugu

Naval Air Station. Approach proVid

ing

flight following

into the Los

Angeles

basin.

The

basin

was

hazy

with an overcast 1,000 feet

above.

We

landed

at

Chino

(CNO) just af

ter

dark, taxied in,

and

parked our

two transcontinental Cessna 140s

together at

the

base

of the

tower.

The next two days

we

enjoyed the

International Cessna

120/140

Asso

ciation Convention, caught up with

friends who

had fl

own out at

30,000 feet, toured

the

several avia

tion

museums at CNO, changed

'676's and

'26V's

oil, and

relaxed

before our return east.

On Tuesday we departed Se

dona

at 0725 local,

refueled

at

Gallup, and then

flew back

to

ABQ International.

Wednesday

morning '26V

departed

ABQ for

the

A/C Chapter 3 Fly-In

at

Darlington,

South Carolina, arriving

Friday

morning

. Walt

returned to

Mary

land on

October 5. jim

and Diane

stayed

in

New Mexico, visiting Taos

and

taking in

the

Balloon Festival

on

Saturday.

'676 departed

ABQ

on

Sunday,

October 4, and

returned

to

Cape May

on

October 10, having

to

follow a weather system across Okla

homa,

Arkansas, Tennessee, North

Carolina, Virginia,

and

Maryland.

j im and Diane

received

the

Longest Distance Flown

Award

at

the

1998 International Cessna

120/140

Association Convention.

They

said:

The longest distance

award

was nice,

but

we are pleased

with the fact

that

we

did

it; we flew

our

Cessna 140s literally

'from

sea to

shining

sea,' saw our beautiful coun

try, met some very nice people,

and

will

remember this experience

for

the rest of

our

lives./I Walt received

the

Longest

Distance

Flown Award


27/36

NEW MEMBERS

Jeff Ottewell. Richmond,

BC,

Canada

Jean Hickman Stoneycreek,

ON,

Canada

Alan McLeod. . . . . . . . . Hudson Heights, po, Canada

Frederic

Djakov

L'Hay

les

Roses,

France

Ian

Rosewell

Little London, Hamps,

Great

Britain

John E. Stevens Staffs, Great Britain

Richard Wery . Juneau, AK

Ralph

Doss Wynne, AR

Robert D.

Hohanshelt Scottsdale, AZ

David

Molina Tucson,

AZ

William N. Doushkess Pasadena, CA

Rick

Mohr .

Placerville,

CA

Donald P. Stevenson Denair, CA

Don

Zabel Tujunga,

CA

Ronald Padgett Tampa, FL

Frank

J.

Sierra

Tampa, FL

Ronald Cox Pop l

ar

Grove,

IL

Melvern K. Finzer. Naperville, IL

Jack

Gladish

Camp Point,

IL

Paul David

Stevens

. . Montgomery,

IL

Clarke

Tate Gridley,

IL

Jerry L. Maxfield Hutchinson, KS

R

O.

Lassalle New

Iberia, LA

Donald Sands Lafayette, LA

Gary

M.

Banks

Scituate, MA

Thomas W. Tinkler . Edgewater, MD

Corey G.

Jacques Saco, ME

Warren

S.

Bolton

Niles,

MI

Peter Keillor, III Midland, MI

Daniel

L. Mills Manchester, MI

Paul

R. Nicholls Lowell,

MI

Donald C.

Berndt

Coon Rapids, MN

Robert

E. Bush Maryville, MO

H.

Dwight Hardy . Tulsa,

OK

Bradley Hardy . . . . . . . Tulsa, OK

Gordon E. Munch . .

Aumsville,

OR

Eugene Chiappe Granbury,

TX

Rodney

L.

Doss . . .

Dallas, TX

Louie Hamilton Houston, TX

John Ingham . . .

Fort

Worth, TX

Walter Lansing . .

San Marcos, TX

Mike

Plyer . . . Sherman, TX

James W. Welch . . . .

El Paso, TX

John A. Williams

Dallas,

TX

Kimbel

H.

Watson . . . . . Ogden,

UT

Thomas A. McKee . Spotsylvania, VA

Charles Schuck . . . . Vienna, VA

Larry Toigo . . . . . .

Da

le City, VA

Patrick Thompson Enumclaw,

WA

John Reidenbach . Kenosha, WI

Clif Harper. . . . . . . . Rock

Springs, WY

Fly

high

with

quality

lassic interior

omplete interior assemblies ready for installation

Custom qua

li ty

at

economic l

prices.

• Cushion upholstery sets


28/36

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our r

ea

der s as a

matter of information only and

does

not constitute approval, sponsor

ship, involvement,

co

ntrol or direction of any event fly- in, seminars,

fly market, etc. listed. Please se

nd

the in formation to EAA, A tt: Vin

t

age

Airplan

e,

PO.

Box

3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Information

shollid be received four months prior

to

the event date.

FEBRUARY 10 M ondovi, WI-Ski-Fly-ln at Log

Cab

in

Ai rpo rt.

In f

o: 715-287-4205.

FEBRUARY 2

3 Fort

Pier

ce,

FL EAA Ch.

908

Pancake

Breakfast, 7-11 a. m .

at

th e

EAA

Hangar, St. Lucie

International Airport.

Info

:

561-464-0538

or

561-489-0420.

FE

BRUARY 28 - MARCH

2 - Bozeman, MT

M ontana

Av

iation Confere

nc e

, Ho liday Gran Tree Inn s.

Workshops

se

min

ars,

nationally recognized

speakers,

tr

ade show.

Info

:

phone:

406-444-2506

fax:

40

6-444-2506,

e-ma

il :

dalke@s tat

e.

mt.lls .

MARCH

1 3

Casa Grande,

AZ

t

e Arizona An

tiqu

e Air

craf

t

Assoc is sponso ring th e 44th Ann ua l Cac tus Fly-[n, 480-987

55 16.

MARCH 2 3 Fort Pierce,

FL EAA

Ch . 908 Pancake Breakfast,

7-11 a.m. EAA

Han

ga r, St. Lucie Interna

ti

onal Airport. Info:

561-464-0538 o r 561-489-0420.

"I

couldn't

have

won

these swell

trophies

without

Poly-Fiber "

ell,

OK. ..

maybe he

didn

t actually say that. ..

Roscoe Turn er - Famaus

Race

Pilot

APRIL 20 Furt Pierce, FL EAA Ch. 908

Pancake

Breakfast, 7

11

a.m.

EAA Hangar St. Lucie In ternational Airpor t .

Inf

o:

561-464-0538

or

56

1-48

9-0420.

MAY 3 S Cl

eve

land,

OH-18th Ann ual Symposium of

th

e

Society

of

Ai

r Racing

Historians.

Sessions f

ea turin

g

talk

s

by

pilots, crew

members and others at

the

Holiday Inn-Ai rport.

In fo:

Herman

Schaub 440-234-2301

o r

Don

Berliner, 703

548-0405.

MAY

4 S

Woodland, CA-8

th

Annual Great Valley Fly-In,

Watts-Woodland Airport (041). Judging of antiques, cla ssics,

and homeb uilts. Pancake breakfasts, food ve

ndors

raffle,

Young Eagles

program.

Info:

530-662-9631

or www.woodlan

daviatioll .com.

MAY 4 -

S

Daytoll,

OH Ch .

48

A

nnu

a l

Funday

Su

nd a

y

Regional Fly-In

at Moraine Ai

rPark (1-73).

Ca

mping,

awards

,

d i

sp

lays.

Inf

o:

937-859-8967

o r

www.MoraineA irpark.com.

MAY S R ockford, IL EAA Ch. 22

Fly-In/Drive-In Breakfast,

Greater

Rfd. Airport , Co ur tesy Ai rcraft Hangar. Info: 815

397-4995 .

MAY TUlIghkenamon, PA-EAA Ch

apter 240

Open House

H

angar/Cl

ubh

ouse

Dedication. 28

th

Annual

Fly-In/Drive-In

season at New

Gar

den Airport (N57), with

pancake

brea kfast.

Young Eagles flights. Ad mission free . Info: 215- 76 1-319l.

MAY 17 19 Co

lllmbia, CA-Gathe rin

g of

Luscombes

2002,

26

th

ann

ual event. Aircraft judging, spo t

landin

g, flour

bombing compe

tition

s, and more.

In f

o:

559/888

-2745;

619/482-8236

or

www.luscombe-c1a.org .

MAY

18

Fort Pierc

e,

FL EAA

Ch .

908 Pancake

Breakfast, 7-11

a.m. EAA Hangar, St. Lucie In t

ernationa

l Ai rp

or

t . In fo: 561

464-0538.

MAY

9

Troy,

OH VAA

Chapter

36 1

st

An nual Fly-[n

Barbeq ue

at

Waco Field. In fo:

937-447

-41 45.

MAY

19 R

omeoville, L EAA Ch . 15 Fly- In Breakfast

at

Lewis

Romeoville Airport (LOT).

In f

o:

630-243-8213.

MAY 24 2S At

chison,

KS 36

t

Annua

l Kansas C ity Area Fly

In ,

Ame

lia

Earhart

Memor ial

Airport

(K59).

In f

o:

816-238

2161 or

816-363-6351

or

jsullens@kc. rr.com.

MAY 31-JUNE I Bart lesvill

e,

O K 16

th

An nu al

National

Bi

plane Co

n

vention and

Exposit i

on

at

Frank Phillips

Field.

Forums static

displays,

seminars ex h ibit

s. All

types of

ai r

craft and airp

lan

e lovers are invited. Biplane crews and

NBA

m emb ers admitted free. Info: 9 1

8-622-8400

o r 9 18-336-3976

JUNE 7- Ga inesville, TX Texas Ch. Vintage Aircraft

Association hosting its 39

th

An nual Fly-In. Ga in esvi lle

Municipal

Ai rp

ort (GLE)

In f

o:

817-429-5385;

817-468-157

l.

JUNE

2 3

Nil

es, MI-EAA Ch .

865 Annua

l Fly-[n/ Breakfast at

Jerry

Tyler

Municipal Airport

(3TR), 7 till noon.

Info

: 219

271-8533.

J ULY

6 R

cnsselae r,

IN EAA

C

hapt

er

828

Fly-[n

at

Jasper

Co unty

Airport.

Ham bean lun

c

h. Inf

o: 2

19-866

-

5587.

JULY

3

TOllghkenamon,

PA EAA

Chap ter 240 28

th

Annual

Fly- In/Drive- In Pancake Breakfast

8:00 a.m.

at New Garden

Airport (N57). Young Eagles Ra ll y. Ad mi ssion free. In fo:

215-761-3191

http://www.woodlan/http:///reader/full/daviatioll.comhttp:///reader/full/daviatioll.comhttp:///reader/full/daviatioll.comhttp://www.morainea/http://www.morainea/http://www.morainea/http://www.morainea/http:///reader/full/irpark.comhttp:///reader/full/irpark.comhttp:///reader/full/www.luscombe-c1a.orghttp://www.woodlan/http:///reader/full/daviatioll.comhttp://www.morainea/http:///reader/full/irpark.comhttp:///reader/full/www.luscombe-c1a.org


29/36

Aircraft Exhaust Systems

Jlmlping Branch, WV 25969

800-227-5951

30

different engines for fitting

Antiques, Warbirds, General Aviation

304-466-1724 Fax 304-466-0802

ww

w.air

r

a

t

exhau

stsys

.com

'

The

us

eof Dotron or simi

lar

modern m o l e r i ~ os a subsUMe for coHon is 0

dead giveaway

10 Ihe knowing eye. They simply do

nallook

righl

on

vinlage

aircrah,· from

Robert

Mikesh, former

curalor

ollhe

Nolionol

Air and

Spo,"

Museum, in

his

book Restoring Museum Aircraft.

VltiTAGE.

AE.RO fAP.>RIC./.

LTD

,.....,

:::::; ./

I I I IJ 1/(1/,\

:::::;

Don t

compromise

your restoration with modern coverings

. finish the

job correctly

with

authentic fabrics.

C

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fi

lat

ed Gr

ad

e A

oti

on

Ea

rly

ai rcra ft

lotion

Impor

ted

aircr

a

ft Li

n

en (bei

ge

an

dt

an

)

Ger

man WWl

lo

zenge print

fabril

F

b

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pes: frayed,

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ht,

pnked and early

Am

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li

n

en lodng

lord

Pure cotton machine and hand sewing threa d

Vintage

Aero

fabrics,

ltd.

18

Journey 's End, Mendon, VI 05701

lei:

802-773-0686 fox: 802-786-2129 websile : www.avtiolh.lom

·Original Nieupart 28 restored by Vintage Avianan Services·

ew

Wedell-W illiams

Air

S

er

vice

Authors: Robert Hirsch & Barbara Schultz

A timel

ess

investment that

even Wall

Stree

t

should envy.

Award Winning Vintage Interiors

Paul Workman

OHIO AI RCRAFT INTERIORS

Parr Airport (421)

Zanesville, Ohio

43701

800.794.6560

A history of air racing at its best!

170 photos, 19 detailed drawings.

$19.95 plus $3.95 shipping.

Order from : Little Buttes Publishing Co.

PO

Box 2043

Lancaster,

CA

93539

OR

online:

www.planemercantile.com

VINTAGE

TRADER

Something

to buy,

sell or trade?

Classified Word Ads:

5.50 per

10

words, 180 words maximum, with bold-

face lead-in on first line.

Classified Display

Ads:

One column

wide Z.167 inches) by

I , 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

(Le.,

January 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 inser

tion per issue. Classified ads are not

accepted via phone. Payment must ac

company order. Word ads may be

sent

via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail

clas

[email protected])

using credit card payment

(all cards accepted).

Include

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on

card,

complete

address, type of car

vintage airplane - feb 2002

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