vintage airplane - may 1977

8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 1977

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Restorer sCornerflJJ/ .J.R.NIELANCER .JR.

CONVENTION MANPOWERWe have again come to that time of the year when all

of our aviation thoughts, like th e navigation receivers inour aircraft when tuned to 111 .8mc and reading --- ......., are homing in on Oshkosh. For many of us and ourfriends this means burning some midnight oil to complete that beautiful restoration, or running that periodicinspection early enough so that we hav e plenty of timeto correct any des crepancies, or, if we have all of thehard work behind us just polishing up the old bircJ andchanging her oil. For others of us whose projects aren'tfar enough along to con sider bringing them this year itmea ns thinking about wh ether or not the old car willmake the trip, ancj if so will it need new tires first.Also, many of us have to check over our ca mping equipment to make sure that it is still in condition to ward offth e elements during our stay in Camp Scholler.

All of these tasks are a small part of the conventionplanning which is being done by your Division convention chairmen and co-chairmen. They have beenworking steadily for months preparin g for their jobsacqui ring new eq uipm ent for the use of the ir committees, and reconditionin g old equipment to give it newlife. They have also been busy orga ni z ing a nucleus ofvolunteers to aid them wi th their commi ttee tasks.How eve r, many, many more volunteers are needed tomake your Division's convention effort run smoothly, so

that you may enjoy it to the fullest. For example, yourDivision parking committee, as well as your Divis ionconvention he adquart ers barn, are operated o n four

committees on which yo u would lik e to serve and drop aline to its chairman volunteering your services. He willbe very happ y to hear from you, and you will get muchsat isfact ion from know ing that you have jo in ed theteam .Those of you who ca n't plan far enough ahead to besure that yo u are going to be ab le to make it to Oshkoshthis year, will still have plenty of opportunities to vo lunteer yo ur services after you arrive at the co nvention .There wi ll be sig n-up sheets in the Antique/Classic co n5iif6 .-fil. ;_iL ' t ail [ vention headquarters barn, so pl ease come down to the

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thr ee-hour shifts per pay. Your Divi sion parking com mittee ope rates ten posts which must be manned during th eday, and your Divi sio n conve ntio n hea dqu Mters barn hasfour positions. This works out to be 320 th ree- hourshifts for the parking committee and 128 three-hourshi fts for the headq uar ter s staff during th e eight co nve ntion days. In addition to these two most important committees, we hav e found it ne cessary to establish asecurity committee for the purpose of patro lling theAntique/Cl ass ic di spl ay airc raft parki ng areas to protectthe aircraf t from overl y enthu sias tic spectators. Thesecurit y com mittee will also aid the unifor med auxi liarypolice volunteers in guarding the gates to, and inpatrolling the fence lin es. of, the Antique/Classic area.This effort will consist of fo ur three-hour shift s. Also,the security committee will be operating a couple ofnight patrols. Aga in thi s year your Divi sion will beoperating a displ ay booth in the commercial displaybuilding. This will require two persons on duty fo r twothr ee-and- one-half-ho ur shifts per day, a total of 32shifts during the co nventi on. Usu a lly the men work onthe parking and security committees whil e the ir wive s,daughters, or girlfriends work in th e headq uarters barnor in the display booth, but this is not necessar ily thesituation. Las t year we had so me women wo rking on th eparking and security committees and so me men workingin the headquarters barn. Th e important thing is that wene ed your help in wh atever ca pacity you are willing andable to serve.

Th ese committees ment ioned above, al hough theyare the ones requiring the greatest number of volunteersto help them do the ir jobs successfully, are only a smallpart of the total number of Antique/C lass ic Divi sio nconvention committees. Elsewhere in this issue yo u willfind a complete li st of the Division convention committees along with the names and ad dresses of their chairmen and co-chairmen. Please pick out a committee or

littl e red barn with the wind sock on the top, locatedsouth of the control tower, and sign up for the time slotsof your choice as soon as you arrive. In this way, yo urchairma n will be able to he lp you pick times which willnot interfere with ot her activ ities which might interestyou. Your officers and chairmen loo k fo rw ard to thepl easure of meet ing you at Oshkosh. They also look forward to the op portun it y of working with you.

CONVENTION EQUIPMENTI n add itio n to the convention manpower needs asoutlined abov e, we st ill need severa l ite ms of equip mentto facil itate the smooth operation of our Division convention effort. Includ ed amongst these ne eds are a 40 x40 Dalite beaded projection sc re en, a dual 8 millimetermovi e projector, a 16 millimeter sound movie projecto ran opaque projecto r and a 35 millim ete r slide projector,a ll for use in the Di vision forums tent. If you ha ve anyof thi s equipment in good us ed working condition andyo u would be willing to donate it to the Division or tothe Air Mus eum Found at ion for use by the Divi sion,please let us hea r from you. Your forum s chairmenwould be extremely pleased. The project ion eq uipm entdoes not have to be the newes t or the most modern. Infact, it only nee ds to be good quality standard equipment in good working condition . For exa mpl e themovi e projecto rs should be the standard ree l type andthe slide proj ectors cou ld be either the type which feedsslid es individuall y o r a carousel type.Besides the proj ec ti on eq uipm ent needed for theforu ms, the Di vis io n parking com mittee needsmec hanized two wheel vehic les, namely, mini-bikes,motor scooters, or trail bikes. They have a lot of acreageto cover, and quite a few of the posts can not be adequate ly manned on foot. If you have one of these ve hicles which you are willing to donate or if yo u are willingto lend it to the parking com mittee for the period of theconvention, please let us hear from you.


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Paul H. PobereznyJ \ ~ s ~ C EditorH. Glenn Bu!.tingtonW. Cr ockett St. No. 201Se,att le, Washington 98119

ANTIQUE AND CLASSICDIVISIONOFFICERS

PRESIDENTJ.R . NIELANDER. JR.P.O. BOX 2464FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33303VICEPRESIDENTJACK WINTHROPRT. 1. BOX 111ALLEN , TX 75002

'SECRETARYRICHARD WAGNERP.O . BOX 181LYONS, WI 53148

TREASURERE.E. "BUCK " HILBERT8102 LEECH RD .UN ION, IL 60180

Associat e EditorRobert G. Elliott1227 Oakwood Ave.

Da ytona Beach, Florida 32014

ditorialtaff

EditorAI Kelch Assistant EditorLois KelchAssociate Editor

Edward D. Wi ll ams713 Eastman Dr.Mt. Prospect, Illinois 60056Assoc iate Editors will be identified in th e table of co ntents on articles the y send in and repeated on the articl eif they have written it. Associa te Editorships will beassign ed to those who qualify (5 articles in any calendaryear).

DirectorsClaude L. Gray. Jr.9635 Sylvia AvenueNorthridge. California 91324

J ames B. Horne3840 Coronation RoadEagan, Minnesot a 55122George E. StubbsBox 11 3Brownsburg, Indiana 4611 2William J. EhlenRoute B. Box 506

Tampa, Florida 33 61 8

AI Kelch7018 W. Bonniwelt RoadMeq uon , Wisconsin 53092Evander M. BrittBox 1525Lumberton. North Carolina 28358

M. C. "Kelly" VietsRR 1. Box 151Stillwell. Kansas 66085Morton LesterP.O. Bo x 3747

Martinsville. Virginia 24112

AdvisorsW. 8rad Thomas, Jr.301 Dodson Mill Road

Pilot Mountain , No r th Carolina 270 41Robert A. White1207 Falcon Drive

Or l ando. Florida 32803MaUrice "S onny " Clavel

Box 98Wauchula. F L 33875

Dale A, Gustafson772 4 Shady Hill DriveIndianapo lis, IN 46274

Roger J . Sherron446 C Las Casitas

Sanl. Rosa. CA 95401Stan Gomoll104290th Lane, N.E,

Minneapolis, MN 55434

THE V INTAGE AIRPLANE is ow ned exclusively by Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc . and is published monthly atHa les Corners, Wisconsin 53130. Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office. Ha les Corners. Wisconsin53130. and additional mailing offices. Membershi p rates for Antique Classic Aircraft . Inc. at 514.00 per 12 monthperiod of which $10.00 is for the pu b lic ation 01 THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to atl who areinte res ted in aviation.

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

ANTIQUE CLASSICIVISION

ofTHE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

P.O. Box 229 Hales Corners Wis 53130MAY 1977 VOLUME 5 NUMBER 5

Restorer's Corner . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. . .1Miller Flying Service . . . . . .. . . . . 3"Confessions of a Pi lot" . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . .4The Light Plane . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .9Vi ntage Alb um . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . 111930 Franklin Sport "A" . . . . . . . . .14Cont inental A40 . . .. .. . .. . . . . . . 15Fi rst Flighter (by Glenn Bu ffi ngton, Assoc. Ed itor) . . . . . . . . 19Antique/Classic Co nvention Management . . .. . . . . . . . . . .21Lindbergh Co mm emorat ive Tour . . . . . .. . . . . 22

EAA ANTIQUE CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIPo NON-EAA MEMBER - $34.00. Includes one year membership in the M Antique/Classic Division, 12monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE ; one year membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associati on . 12 monthly issues of SPORT AVIATION and separate membership cards.o NON- M MEMBER - $20.00. Includes one year membership in the M Antique/Classic Division , 12monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE ; c;ne year membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association and separate membership cards. SPORT AVIATION not included.o EAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes one year membership in the M Antique/Classic Division. 12 monthlyissues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and membership card . (Appl icant must be current EAA member andmust g ive M membership number.

PICTURE BOXON THE COVER (Back Cover)

Travelair 76 formerly owned yjoy in 7932 . Owned y AI Ke lch.Franklin Sport 90 manufactured y Weldon and Ruth Ropp donated tothe E.A A Museum

Copyright 1977 Ant ique Cl assic Aircraft, Inc . All Rights Reserved .


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By R.A. MillerNorth Benton, Ohio44449(Photos courtesy o the Author)

CONFESSIONS OF A PILOT . Fly boys are a peculiar lot, some nurtured by fond and loving care andothers just hom e-grown . This pilot is probably mosteasily identified as belonging to the latter group.It seems as far back as I can remember, I was fascinated by things that flew. In my make-believe world, Iflew like a bird and though t up all kinds of contraptionsthat made noises and took me up and away through allkinds of imaginary maneuvers and situations.In the late 1920's, while I was in my teens, came theera of oceanic crossings. The adventures of these bravepioneers: Nungesser, Cole, Kingsford Smith, Chamberlin,Byrd and others, and my hero - Charles Lindbergh,made headlines. I shared this admiration with manyother boys my age, I am sure. One will never know howmany young minds were influenced by this man. Theseeds sown by Lucky Lindy in 1927 producedbumper crops of pilots for years to follow.Born and raised on the farm and the oldest of five,from May to September we were the barefoot kids. Anexpression of old, and made many times in the privacyof our family, was, I'll try to put you all through highschool and then it's root hog or die.

We had to walk one mile to the railroad station andthen to the Alliance High School by train. It was herethat two men, Mr. Pfouts, the Manual Training teacher(now called Industrial Arts), and the school superintendent, Mr. Stanton, by encouraging me to become a schoolteacher, afforded me the opportunity to earn enoughmoney above that wh ich was needed for necessities, toallow me to indulge and experience for real, the thrills offlying.On flying-weather Sundays, with the help of secondhand automobiles from Model T's to Rickenbachers, Itraveled 30 miles to Mid City Airport near Akron, Ohio,and started flying lessons.Two things were considered of prime importance,how many hours to solo and what kind of landings weremade. My budget allowed me 15 minutes a week, at 30dollars per hour, in a Kinner Bird. In due time, I managed my 10 hours solo, 10 questions on C.A.R. civil air

regulations), 3 landings in the presence of a C.A.A. Inspector, and a private license.In the early 1930's, I had survived the then limitedcommercial and transport. The mastery of a transportlicense became a status symbol and transformed one intoa self-styled super individual , complete with helmet andgoggles, and this is where my story begins.I think if the truth were known, every pilot who hasflown for a while has had experiences which he does notfind comforting to talk about, particularly if he has beeninvolved in one or more accidents. How desperately hetried, but how futile it was to find a logical excuse thatwas not pilot-related.If, after an accident, and the pilot is lucky, he extricates himself from the wreckage, the first questionbound to come is, What happened? . The response willprobably begin with, The engine lost power, or Theengine quit, or The mechanic , The Brakes ,but seldom if ever, The pilotIt is amazing how humble one can get after 18,000+hours, 45 years experience teaching, 40+ years a flightinstructor, and a pilot examiner ever since they have

had them. I is a very stupid pilot, who after allthese years, cannot feel that accidents are caused bypilots, not airplanes. Furthermore, it is also a very stupidpilot who cannot learn and profit from the experiencesof others. It is with the foregoing format that I offerthese experiences.I FI RST TEST FLIGHTIt was two days before Thanksgiving, 1933. I couldhardly wait to test fly the two cylinder airplane I hadbuilt from two wrecked airplanes. One was the remainsof a C-3 Aeronca, owned by a local flying club. Some ofthe members dared to do some night flying and hit thetrees on the approach, and totaled the airplane. I boughtthe pile for $25.00. Some time prior to this, I hadlearned of a C-2 Aeronca wh ich had been a collapsedhangar casualty. I bought it also for $25.00. From thesetwo airplanes, I was able to get fittings, landing gear,engine, and the essentials. What was needed from thereon, I made.

In those days, an airplane only needed to be reqistered and given a number. An airworthiness certificatewas not required. I rebuilt it in mother's old barn, andcovered it with unbleached muslin (Penney's best) in thefront room.The test flight was planned for the next morning be- Above: "I built it n my mother's barn "

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Franklin Sport 90 , made by joy Manu-facturing Franklin P.A. Purchased unassembledfrom the factory for 600.

fore school. I had opened up the fence just west of theNorth Benton Presbyterian Church. Early that morning,I taxied the little, all-white jewel through the churchyard, up the hill to where the old Indian mount used tobe, and chose to make a down-hill run to the north fortake off. I had made the propeller, my first attempt atsuch a project, and I had some doubts about the properpitch. The down-hill take-off was to favor my chances ofat least becoming airborne on the first attempt.Much to my surprise, the take-off was short and sheclimbed well so I decided to circle over Ray Henry shouse at the Sebring Country Club to prove to him thathis misgivings and advice were all unnecessary. Justabout the time I had reached cloud nine and was re-turning to the field, extremely pleased with myself, the

My first attempt. Indian motorcycle engine, buggy wheels and springs, a poplarpropel/or, custom made by boots Mil/er, 74 yrs. old, 7978.

engine began losing power. I saw I was unable to reachthe field from which I had moments before departed. Ichose to land over some small undergrowth, briars, etc.uphill , and aimed for an open spot in the meadow. Therail fence was one rail too hi gh which shortened mylanding roll considerably, and I came to rest minus oneundercarriage, one propeller and one wing. I had theEdinger boys take it apart, and I went on to school.I later figured out what had happened. The night before I had shellacked the cork float on the combined gascap and fuel qu anti ty gauge. The shellac remained tackythe following morning. I did not want to emmerse thetacky float in the gas tank, so instead, I put a rag arounda much too sma ll cork and stuffed it in the fi ll er neck.

Lesson No . 1 - Don t underestimate the importance of aproperly vented gas cap. Check and test it often.II. SPIN PRACTICE

In one of the first Alliance-built Taylorcrafts, complete with tail skid, I got lesson No.2.n those days I had a ll it took to run a one manfl ght operation.While giving sta ll and spin instruction to a tall, eagerand capable student, things went something like this:

By this time the experience and demonstrated sk illrequirements for a private license had expanded somewhat from the three spot landings to include, amongother things, two turn precision spins.

We were practicing spins at a vCl y comfortable alti tude near the field, when on one recovery I heard so me-

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thing snap, and the rudder went limp and the airplanekept on spinning. I took the cont rol s and the stable littl eT- craft ca me out by just holding full down elevator anda steep dive. I was un ab le to kee p the a irpl ane fro mturning after spin recovery. After a se ries of sk ids andslip s we ca me to res t in the ce nter of the field, off therunway. This student was Geo rge Henderso n, wh o hassi nc e put in 20 years as pil ot with United Airlines .

Wh at caused this experience? Whil e wear ing themec hani c's hat in this one-man operat ion, th e mec hanichad failed to detec t a frayed ca bl e at a pull ey junction,and George, with h s long legs and eagern ess to stop th esp in on its mark, had stomped on the rudd er and se parated the few remaining strand s. Lesson No . 2 Thoroughly inspect all control linkages often.III FLIGHT EMERGENCIESThe next two lesso ns are es pec ia y for flight instructions :My next airplane was a Franklin Sport, a biplane the last one built by the Joy Manu facturing Company,Fr anklin , Penn sy lva nia. This was a new mac hine, butnever assembled. Joy Manufact uring Company built coal

mining machinery and dec id ed in 1931 or thereabo ut,after building so me 20 or 30 airpl anes, that th e a irpl anebusiness and the mac hinery business were not compat ibl e and quit the airpl ane business. I paid $600 forthe airpl ane, NC-10792. Born in the dep ress ion, this airpl ane like many ot her things in those difficult tim es isremembered o nl y by a few.After trucking home, assembling and rigging, I beganto do so me ser ious inst ructing in this littl e jewel. One ofmy ea rli est students was Walter Pas h. Walt was an easygoi ng unexc itable guy. Walt was so casual, that wh en Iwould close the throttle and indicate a simulated forcedlanding, whether he did or didn't make the chosen fie ldmade little difference.On this occasion, I had resolved to let him go downto an ex tremely low altitud e to show him how im possible hi s cho ice was. This too k pl ace onl y about amile from the field and over terrain which I know almostwith my eyes closed. I let Walt come down, and downwhen suddenly I felt a jolt and th e airplane pitched forward and down. In stantly I knew we had hit a powerline, I pu shed the throttle open wide. The airplane al-

mos t hit th e ground, then began to pick up speed andclimb, when it aga in lurched and al most went out ofcontrol. We came on back to the field and found 110ft.of wire, one e nd of which had wrapped aro und and snapped into sort of a kn ot around the landing gear, with theres t of the wire trailing. Lesson No 3 - The instructorca n learn more than the student.IV . FLIGHT EMERGENCIES CONTINUEDI Got my next lesson in simulated force d landingswhen Reub en Edinger, Boob we called him instead ofRub , caught me by surprise. He was right up on histoes. He had received enough instruction, and I hadoverly impressed up on him th e importance of maneuveri ng into the wind as soon as possibl e, should anemergency arise. I pull ed the throttle shortly after takeoff while on the down wind leg and at a very low altitude. "Boob h t the controls so abruptl y to turn theairplane 180 deg rees into th e wind, tha t th e airplane dida half snap an d started to spin. I grabbed the controls andsto pped the spin but did not hav e room to completelyrecover from the dive and we hit the ground at possiblea 10 or 15 deg ree angle and bruised th e airplane badly.

Mr. Miller after a li fetime of experience is still First Air Mail from Sebring, Benton and BelOit, carried y me in my Franklin Sporta boy, doing the same things he did then. Be-hind him is his current project. See picture on May 79, 7938.page 8).

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Millers Brainstorm under construction. Note the good lookingFranklin Sport 90 NC-l 0792 after one of many rebuildings. Born in the depression, hand hammered wheel parts. This plane is a completely Miller crea-this plane like many others is remembered y only a few. tion built in the late 40's. Fuselage is metalized oller tube truss. Sold25 years ago it is still flying.The first thing I remember was that I could feel something warm and wet on my legs. I thought I wasbleeding. As I began to get my senses, I realized it wasnot blood on my legs but warm gasoline. I could hear

Boob moaning in the back when I suddenly realizedthe possibility of fire, and that I would have to get Boobout.After pulling him out and away from the airplane, wewere relieved to find that he had only the wind knockedout of him when he hit the control stick on impact. Ihad a sore head and was soon to have one of the finestshiners you ever saw.For a very hot shot pilot, this was at the time veryhard to explain. Comments are not solicited. Lesson No.

4 Initiate your first similated forced landing at altitude.V. TRICKED BY A FIR EXTINGUISHERThis airplane gave me one more thrill . I shared thisexperience with Bob Hendricks from Salem:The strip in use was E- W with a corn field to thesouth, and some tall scrubby and dead trees to the west.It was in the fall, and the corn was in shocks. We werepracticing take off and landing to the west.On one such take off we had ju.st become air-borne,when the left wing began getting lower and lower and we

began to turn. I sat there a few seconds and wonderedwhy Bob didn't stop the turn. With some impatience Igrabbed the stick and gave it a jerk to the right and itwouldn't move.

By this time, the airplane was in a steep bank, and Ihad to hold a lot of right rudder to keep the airplanefrom over-banking. This caused severe slipping. I couldnot keep it from turning to the left.By this time those dead trees looked like a picketfence, and we were headed right for them with little orno directional control. You can say, as have I manytimes, How lucky can you get?" Here we are, goingbetween trees in a big, uncontrollable circle. We came on

around and I hoped I could get back into the field, andperhaps get down without hitting anything. We gotaround into the direction of take off, but instead ofbeing on the landing strip, we were among a bunch ofcorn shocks. We had been using full power to hold theairplane in this crazy attitude. I began to ease back onthe throttle and about 15 or 20 feet above the ground, Ikicked full right rudder which threw the airplane into asevere skid, and we plopped on the ground, betweencorn shocks, and never scratched the airplane. I was soweak and shaky I could hardly get out of the airplane.Right after take off, Bob felt the stiffness on the stickand let go of the controls, thinking I was on them. He

soon was to learn that something was wrong. It certainlywas not intentional. The cause? The fire extinguisher(then a required item of equipment) had become dislodged, rolled down between the tube leading from thefront to the rear control stick and the floor boards.Which hat was I wearing this time? It was the mechanic's hat - the bracket should have been safetied. Les-son No.5 - perform a thorough pre-flight, anything thatcan happen, will eventually.

My apologies to the many students, who over theyears have been made to believe their teacher can do nowrong. Apologies also to the pilot applicants who nervously and thoughtfully take their seats beside the masterpilot who knows all, sees all, and may bust them anyminute. And finally, apoligies to the F.A.A. whose continued confidence in his judgment and experience hasrenewed his pilot examiner designation repeatedly.After this writing, if I am lucky, they may take theposition suggested by a friend of mine, who had beenasked by an agent in the Cleveland Office to come be-fore him and explain two successive gear-up accidents.After administering admonishment, the agent was askedin the victim's Tennessee drawl, "Sir, have you ever hadan accident?" "No, sir " was the reply. "Then instead ofgiving me hell, you should be asking me questions. I havehad experience and you haven't."

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Above: Old timers never qUit This is the latest Millercreation. It is undergoing flight tests now. Designedand built by Miller you can readily see he is stilllooking to the future of aviation.I am glad to have lived and been a part of this era.Who knows, it has been perhaps the most significant inaviation history. Most of our acquaintances becamefriends because of a common interest in aviation. Nextto health, friends are the biggest asset one can have.I take perhaps selfish pride in thinking I had a verysmall part in shaping some successful careers in aviation;some with Hughes, Lockheed, United, TW.A., PanAmerican, corporation pilots, and others. I only woundthem up, and they kept on running.Perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences of all

is to have some one, out of the blue, come up smilingwith nand extended , and say, Hello, Mr Miller, youdon't remember me, do you? You gave me my firstairplane ride when I was seven years old.The act of giving kids an airplane ride is like puttingmoney in the bank. The more you put in and the longerit's there, the greater the reward.I think flying can be pleasurable, profitable and safe.We must, like everything else, work at it. It is a game atwhich no one can win by cheating.A step in the right direction might be to stop blamingthe poor, defenseless airplane, and assume a more honestand helpful approach to our safety problems.

Above: Picture was taken after I had sold the "Brainstorm".How I wish I had it now. The owner will not part with it. Idid not attach much importance to it - it had done all I ex-pected of it, and crowded for hangar space. I sold it for400.00,25 yrs. ago How I wish I had it now.Right: 2 photos of Miller Brainstorm under construction.


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ene LianeLonePhotos by Robert egge

This is a start of what I hope can be a regular feature.Light aircraft and super light aircraft, have a distinctive appeal all their own. The Franklin Sport falls in thisclass, as one of the smallest of two-place biplanes. Therewere other small two-place biplanes, such as the Bell-anca, with a Salmson engine, however it had a longslender configuration giving it greater dimensions thanthe Sport. The Sport has a span of only 26' on the upperwing, and 24' on the lower wing. The Lambert 226R of90 hp is a very adequate power plant for the airp lane.Both cockpits will accommodate a large six footer withease, which is a very unusual thing for such a small airplane. Looking at the configuration you'll see that thefuselage is quite deep, making the seats very comfortable, in that you are not sitting on the floor but in analmost chair position. The front seat is a little difficultto get into, but can be managed by threading throughthe half circle cut-out in the back of the center section.The weight is a light 845 Ibs., scarcely more than thePiper Cub. The square foot wing area is almost the same,however, it differs greatly in flying characteristics. It willstay with a Cub on climb, and land at a slower speed. Ifgoes faster in cruise, however, being a biplane of shortspan, it operates completely differently.

y I KelchThe flying speed in the specifications was stated at105 mph cruise. After getting my plane restored, thebest I could get out of it was 90 mph cruise, with a topspeed of about 100. Landing speed, however, matches orbetters the specs. The curved air foil, similar to that of aWaco 10, makes it a good barnstorming machine. It hasthat hang-on I characteristic and then a sharp stall. Iwould guess that the 7 mph stall speed is on the highside, however, I haven' t had the time to leisurely watchthe airspeed on landing. It requires your undivided atten

tion in this department. Cross winds are very bad withsuch a low stall. Ground handling on the other hand ismore than adequate, and it steers like a kiddie car on theground. Since far the great majority of my time in flyinghas been spent in Cubs, I am comparing it to the Cub,which' is not a fair comparison, and my lack of highperformance experience will somewhat shade this article.In the air the controls are quite sensitive. A moderatepressure places it into a steep bank turn, which tooksome getting used to on my part. Once I was used to it,it was great sport. A I ttle pressure, then neutral stick,and a 180 takes only seconds. The only flight characteristic of the airplane that I do not like may be due tothe rigging, and that is a tendency to wander on altitude.The only other airplane that I have flown that gave methis feeling was the Lambert 90 Monocoupe. For somereason or other, it's very easy to lose altitude if you areunattentative, and a gradual climb doesn't seem to bepossible. On the other hand, in a steep climb it is like aFokker DVI I - it just hangs on and goes almost straightup. The roll rate is fairly fast, but not being an aerobaticpilot, I can't compare it. All in all, it is a good flyingmachine that is tough as whang leather in construction.It was truly built for abuse. The landing gear is extremely sturdy and the fuselage is heavily built. The

wings are so well braced that there is no way in the airthat they could be removed from the airplane.Going back to the cross wind characteristics andlanding, it does take attention, as does any good airplane. In a moderate to strong wind, it can be a tremendous handful. With such a low stall, the only way youcan get it down is to fly it right on. The gusts slosh itaround to where the ground becomes a moving target,and landing is sort of like shooting skeet. Now we cometo the old subject of ground looping. I don t think anyairplane is a ground looper - only the pilot. This onedeserves every split second of attention, and should youlet it get started, it will naturally go .around fast, being soshort coupled. I have only ground loo'ped it once, andafter having the experience, I know what to expect andam always ahead of it. It is very easy to hit hard and beairborne quickly with the sharp stall. Still air is a complete reverse in personality. The airplane in the air normally will not fly hands off, being a neutrally stableairplane. It requ ires flying every minute. Th is characteristic does change in still air, and it is possible to takeyour hands off for a couple seconds on a still eveningflight. In still air it lands like a pigeon, and would certainly take short field landing if they measured fromtouch down to roll out, as they used to.As with many other airplanes, it is a shame that thedepression cut its life short, with only six Model 90sbeing built. There is not a true record that I can find, onhow many A models were built, or how many A modelswere converted to 90s at a later date, so the total number is a great question mark. It has been said, anywherefrom 20 to 40 airplanes.

It is easy to move by one person on the ground, easyon gas, carries two large people with 24 gallons of gas,and a good long range of nearly 450 miles, if you stretch

9


11/24


12/24

Vintagen and hei

Pictures 7 2 3 4: NC 73739 was last serial No and lastto be assembled by joy Mfg Now restored and flying.Owned by your Editor AI Kelch shown beside friendFRANKIE Picture No.3.Picture No.5: NC 687 W One of first A models.Franklin Aircraft shows on vertical stabalizer was latermoved to center of trade mark.

Picture No.6: Serial No 5 of A Model M5A Velieengine. Manufactured in 7930. Sat in an open barn for 30years till joe Arnold of Ft Worth Tex found it. 8 yearsof restoring and it is almost ready to fly.Picture No.7. This is the Model A from whichRichard Anderson drew the plates featured on page73 7 4. Last report it is in Ohio needing restoration.

8


13/24

AlbumVintag Machines

Pictures 8 and 77: NC 27 D Customizedfor aerobatics by Denny Sherman ofFlorida. Subsequent owners, Dr. Gerberwho sold it to John Donahue. Presentowner unknownPicture No 9: NC 70792. A Model 90much modified b y William Grahill ofSpringfield Ohio. Lycoming 725 andlanding gear changed. It was reported thathe had approval on the modifications."Good Looking "Pictures No. 7 and 72: NC 70779 andNC 77607 both of these pictures werekindly given to me at Oshkosh. I was toooccupied to get more information or thedonor's name. I would appreciate hearingfrom them.

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14/24

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16/24

7470 Brookdale Dr.Norman, Oklahoma

The development of the horizontally opposed, aircooled aircraft engine, was perhaps the single mostimportant factor in the growth of our modern privateaircraft industry. During the '20s and early '30s thestructural designs of small planes were refined from thestick and wire of World War 1 to the use of steel andaluminum components we still see today. But perhapsdue to the abundance of surplus OX-5's, light enginedevelopment lagged. The few new Production engineswere generally radials, both expensive and, if not unreliable, at best had short service livesTH ANNOUNCEMENT:Then came the Continental A-40. The following storyappeared in the April 1931 AVIATION magazine.With the introduction of the model A-40 engine, theContinental Aircraft Engine Company, Detroit, Mich.,has entered the light aircraft field. The engine is a fourcylinder, horizontal opposed, air-cooled, L-head, fourcycle design, developing 35 hp. t 2500 r.p.m., designedaround the requirements of the private plane owner. Thehorizontal opposed arrangement of the two pairs of cylinders makes for simplicity of cowling arrangement, andaffords practically unobstructed vision from a cockpitbehind the engine. The total weight is 138 Ibs .

an engine that was cheap, light, simple, and went 500


17/24

All component parts of the assembly are mounted onor contained in, a heavily ribbed, one-piece, heat-treatedaluminum alloy crankcase. Four engine supporting lugsare case integral with the rear of the case, and the oilreservoir is located in the bottom . A heat-treated aluminum alloy cover which carries the magneto andtachometer drive is bolted to the rear end of the case. Asingle carburetor is attached directly to the bottom ofthe crankcase. The riser from the carburetor goes upthrough the oil reservoir, and branches right and leftinside the case, connecting with the external intake pipeto the cylinder at flanged connections located near thebottom on each side.

The cylinders are nickel iron cast in pairs, and suitably finned for cooling. The heads are heat-treated aluminum alloy cast in pairs, and the pistons are heattreated aluminum alloy die castings. Three compressionand one oil control rings are provided above the wrist pin.The latter is secured in place by the use of snap rings.Connecting rods are high carbon steel forgings.

The crankshaft is a one-piece, three-throw, highcarbon steel forging, heat-treated and completelymachined. Int egral counter weights are provided. Theshaft is drilled throughout for lightness and is plugged toform an oil passage. The shaft is supported in twobronze backed babbitt-lined bearing design to takethrust in both directions. The camshaft is a carbon steelforging.

The cyl inders are of the L-head type and are eachprovided with one intake and one exhaust valve. Thelatter are of chrome steel and are operated by adjustableround nose steel tappets.

Lubricating oil is circulated by a vane-type oil pumpdriven by the camshaft, and located on the front of thecrankcase. Full pressure lubrication is supplied to themain bearings and the crank pins. The crankshaft bearings are lubricated through drilled passages in the crankcase. Cylinder walls and piston pins are oiled by sprayfrom the crankcase. Pressure release valves and oil pressure gauge connections are provided. The normal oilpressure at 2500 r .p.m. is 35 Ibs. Additional specifications of the manufacturer are :Bore 3 8 in . (79.4 millimeters)Stroke 3 3 4 in. (95.2 millimeters)Piston displacement 28.7 cu.in. per cyl.Total piston displacement 114.8 cu.in .

At last the light aircraft manufacturers had available

hours between overhauls. Sensing a demand for a reliablepowerplant, Continental Motors, a major supplier to theauto industry, had started the development of th is smallfour-cylinderengine in 1930 and introduced it in 1931.It was certificated under ATC No. 72 on May 19, 1931,with production models being shipped immediatelythereafter. The specifications listed above reflect the useof many standard automotive components and designconcepts of that day. Some say that the valves, pistons,rings, rods, etc., were standard parts from otherContinental models.ACCEPTANCE:

A number of small aircraft manufacturers were immediately interested. Perhaps the most famous was theTaylor (Piper) organization of Bradford, Penn. They hilddesigned the E-2 Cub, originally for the BrownbackTiger Kitten , but the twenty or so horses put out by

that little engine just would not fly the Cub. C G.Taylor says

We fin ished the airplane but we had no engine. Piperand I chased around for a long time looking for a suitable one. We tried one that didn't have enough power,then heard of the Continental engine up in Detroit, soPiper and I drove up there. About that time Bud Havenjoined the firm at Bradford, and when we finally got aContinental engine installed in the Cub, he and I had 26forced landings between us in the first 30 days. It keptblowing gaskets,. and the single magneto would quit.Gradually Continental got the thing refined and morereliable .

According to records I examined at the Piper factory,this plane was Taylor S N 12, (the first E-2), N-10594built on 4-9-31 and had A-40 S N 132 installed. TaylorSIN 14 was Canadian CF - ARA and had engine No. 150.These were the earliest Cubs, built under Group 2(2-358) authorization. ATC No. 455 for the Cub withthe A-40-2 engine was not issued until 11-7-31.

Actually the fi rst airpl ane ATC'd with an A-40 wasthe Alexander Flyabout, built by the makers of the famous Eaglerock series. ATC No. 439 was authorized on7-31-31, but due to the poor performance in the highColorado altitudes, only four or five were built.

Other manufacturers adopted the A-40 over the nextsix years, but with the exception of Taylorcraft, noneattained substantial production. Listed below are theplanes known to have been certified with the A-40; theremay have been others.

AIRCRAFT HAVING A4 ENGINETaylor E-2

Taylor (Piper) )-2Piper) -3

Alexander FlyaboutHeath LNA-40Heath CNA-40Taylorcraft AWelch OTW07Porterfield 40Aeronca KCARose Parrakeet

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN EVOLUTIONIt is estimated that approximately 3000 A-40 engines

were built. This figure comes from two sources; serialnumbers and aircraft production.

I appears that A-40 serial numbers started at No.100. The - 2 series ran to about 450, according to notesin the parts book. -3 s and -4's were evidently mixedtogether, but all numbers above 1000 seem to be -4'sand I ve never seen one above 3000. My highest is S N2538. The -5 twin ignition models started at S N 3000but not too many were built. I have SINs 3002 and3075). From this evidence, a total production of about3000 could be estimated.

16

Records show -4 engin es were shipped as late as 12-37 tal continued.


18/24

to Taylorcraft, and the 1938 Pip er literature showsplanes ava l able with the single ignition A-40. Th e twinignition option cost an additional $125. But for practically the same price you could get one of the new 50HP Franklins, so it is easy to see why not many A-40'swere so ld in 1938.If you add up the known aircraft production it comesout something lik e thi s:E-2 Cub . . . 350J-2 Cub . 1195J-3 Cub . 200Taylorcraft A . 350Others . . 300Total 2395If 25% or abo ut 600 were us ed as replacements, wecome up with a total production of 3000. Consid er ingthat so few were made, there still seems to be quite anumber of these littl e engines around. I st ill get a chanceto pick one up every once in a whil e, but have quitcollecting them. With 11 in the shed, I'm running out ofroomThe design of the A-40 was basically sound, so therewere few modifications as production contin ued. I knowof no "bul let ins" ever issued for this engine. The earlydevelopment troubles, referred to by Taylor above, werequickly solved. A change was made to the Bendix mag,and thin copper gaskets were in stalled on each side ofthe soft aluminum he ad gas kets. One serious defec tappeared later, however. The crankshaft wou ld brea k inthe rear rod journal at almost exactly the 100 hourmark Bill Jones, a fe ll ow antiquer here in OklahomaCity told me "We continually broke crankshafts in our ea rl yA-40's. But we were near Detroit, so we'd just lo ad theengine in the car, take it to their se rvic e shop, and inthree hours, they'd have a new crankshaf t installed.It wasn't a particularly dangerous problem, since th eengine would run for several hours with the shaftbroken. The back rod bearing held th e parts in pl ace."

Bob Thompson notes this problem in his correspondence, and Walt Jamounea u mentioned it during my interview with him at Lock Haven . It seems it got so bad thatTaylor actua lly design ed and built his own engine,expecting to drop the Continental. However, a newthrust bea ring, or perhaps a redesigned crank shaft wasinstalled, and the happy marriage of Cub and Continen

Th e ca use of thi s bl'eakage cou ld have been a misdesign of the thrust bearing. Old timers say the firstengines had a thrust bearing at the rea r instead of thehont. This would let the little crank shaft ac t as a springin tension, and after flexing 5000 tim es a minute for 100hours, it would give way . However, nothing in the engines I've seen indica tes this design. The rear bearingcarrier doesn't look as though it is designed to take anythrust load, and the origina l specs mention bearings thatwould "take thrust in both directions. Perhaps the ear lycrankshafts were deficie nt in so me other way. As shownin the photo, the -2 crank is co nsid erab ly different thanthe -4. It is machined all over, has a small er hub nut, iscounterbalanced, and we ighs two pound s more. Perh apssome reader can help so lve this mystery.With a minor timing change made wh e n the -3 modelsappeared, the A-40's remain ed essentially the sa methroughout the remaining production life. Rod bearingswere changed from poured babbit to steel backed in sertsin 1935 , and the twin ignition feature was offered as anoption in 1937.It seems doubtful, howeve r, that the A-40 proved tobe a financia l success for Continenta l. Early Piperrecords show th e cost of an engine to be $400 . Thiswould mea n a total reve nu e of on ly a little over onemillion for the to tal production of 3000 engines. Ofcourse those were" real" 1935 doll arsFLYING THE A-40:The first remark you a lwa ys hear abo ut the A-40 is"but you only hav e one mag " Looki ng back throughmy logs since 1939 I see that I' ve had other, bi gge rengines quit, but never an A-40. The fact that they areso simple seems to work in favor of al most zerocomplete failures. I've a lways felt that if yo u kept themagneto in top shape, no ot her part will let you down.So with that off my chest,let's talk abo ut how the litt leengine operates.First starting. If yo u handl e them right they are easyto sta rt, even without impulse mag and primer. Leavethe throt t le almost closed and pull the prop thro ugh 5 or6 tim es. You will hea r a fairly loud suck in g noise whi chmeans the idle jets are feeding gas into th e cylinders.Open th e thrott le a bit mo re , turn on the mag and givethe prop a qu ick fli p. Itwill al most alw ays start. Don' tgrasp the prop out nc ar the tip, yo u won't ge t enoughspeed on that non-impuse mag. Lay yo ur hands on the

Above: Fire Wall forward the A-40 is ready to bolton and go fly ing There will be a lo t ofgreen eyed -2owners drooling at the sight of this. (Including me

AI Kelch.)blad e about 12 inch es from the prop hub and you'll geta good snap. Since my pla ne has no brakes, I use a"behind the prop" sta nce with my left foot ac ting as achock. (see pic) This lets yo u hold onto the airplane andget to th e thrott le quicker.After th e engine starts let it idle at 6-800 rpm andwat ch th e o l pressure. It should come up to over 25pounds in about 30 seconds. Sometimes though, afterlong periods of sto ra ge, you won't ge t any pressure. Shu tdown immediately, and lift the tai l of the plane as hi ghas you can. This al lows th e o l to run to the fro nt part ofthe engine and prime the pump.The run up , if you want to do one, is a little difficultsi nce most A-40 powered planeb have no brakes, Iusua ll y warm the engine up with chocks in front of thewh ee ls at about 1200 rpm. The only way to ge t a safefu ll throt t le check is to tie the plane to so mething, soyou get used to making this ch eck during take-off.Watch for 2250 to 2300 rpm as you start to ro ll; if yo uget thi s mu ch, th e pl ane wil l take-off OK and will probably turn 2400 to 2500 as you go over the fence. Max

17

imum is 2575 but you will seldom see that . the l tt le engine back up and went home for the day.


19/24

Frankly you mu st run these little engines nearly wideopen to keep most planes in th e air. Some old timershave to ld me they always tlew with a wide open throttleon the theory that the coo ling wa s better. I try to cruisemine at 2300 with one person aboard, but have to raiseit to 2400 when I have a passenger. Of course variousprop pitches can make a great difference here.The littl e engines are very smooth to fly, but will givean occasional "skip", especially in wet weather. I'm toldthis is due to carburetor ice, but I'm not sure it is. I havetwo almost zero time engines that I have changed backand forth in my Cub, one skips and the other doesn't.Usually, when the oi l temp is over 150, the skips stop.Ted Wells, the Piper General Manager in the '30'sused to re-assure his customers with this advice, It willspit, but won't quitThere is no problem with the engine stopping in aglide, since they windmill so easily, but just to be sure Iset the idl e to 550+ rpm. Let it run for a few minutesbefore you shut it down, lets things cool off evenly.

That's about al l you can say about f lying the A-40,you just start them and fly them, it's as simple as that.All that fun on 2Y2gallons of gas per houriCARE AND FEEDING:These little engines are particular about three things,gas, oil and valve lubrication.The nameplates say you should use 67 (later 73) octan e aviation gas. They will run fine on the modern 80octane and also on most all car gas. But I don't believe inusing car gas if you can avoid it, since there is a possibility of cutting the life of a rare and valuable antiqueengine. They will NOT run on 100 octane avgas. Theplugs foul in a matter of minutes and you're looking fora place to land, I know M-41-E plugs seem to work bestwith the 80 octane.

The correct oil to us e is a matter of some controversy. Th e Continental Owners Manual says to useSAE 30, 40, or 50, depend ing on the oil temp. BobThompson, and some of the other old timers say tonever use heavier tha n SAE 20. Bob te ll s this story:"I very well remember the first A40-3 that I saw, Mr.Ted Wells (Now Mrs. Walter Beeches' right hand man)had flown a E2 in to East Dayton Airport, wasremaining overnight, and ordered a oil change, so I looked on the Standard Oil Chart for the Little Continentaland it said SAE-30-weight, so I put a gallon in, cow led

Mr. Wells came out the next AM, paid his bill, got a tankof gas and a prop and was on hi s merry way, but abo ut15 miles out the engine suddenly fro ze up, and downcame Mr. Wells. He ca ll ed up the Airport Mgr, and hadhim bring out a gallon of 20-weight auto oi l, they dumped the 30-weigh t, and put in the 20-weight. He apo ligized for forgetting to tell me about The Little Engines'Queer Whims about what oi l it liked. They are prettymuch the same today, slight ly better with the new pis-tons, but the long stroke, small bore, makes it hard to getlubrication up to the top of the bore, and 30-weight isstill out except where it is very hot, lik e some parts ofTexas, I believe you get away with 30-weight, where youhave 90 to 105 degrees, day after day.I compromise and use SAE 20 in the winter and SAE30 in the summer. This has worked so far, the engi nesrun cool and don't use oil. For breaking in after an overhaul, use a nondetergent o l for the first five to sevenhours, then change to a dispersant type.The va lve action of the A-40 is simple, but it is alsoout in the open with no provision for lubrication. Youshould squirt the valves with penetrating oil at leastevery hour or so to keep them both clean and lubricated.Normally they won 't stick when new, but after theguides get worn, smal l flakes of carbon stick to the stemsand they will hang up. I ve seen them stuck so tight thatyou had to take out a plug and pound the valve down soas to close it and get oil back into the gu ides.Overhauling the A-40 is not hard, in fact the fourpages devoted to it in the service manual make it sou nddeceptively si mple. There are several points to watch,mainly involving the careful grinding and matching ofthe metal surfaces. For more information on this, referto the article Bob Whittier wrote some years ago in theExperimental magazine entitled "Keeping the A-40Going", and Bob Thompson of Dayton has helped outmany peop le with their A-40 rebuilds. Parts and gasketsused to be a problem but I've coralled a fair stock overthe years, and would share them if there is a real need.POSTSCRIPTI fee l obliged to say that many of the "facts" in theabove artic le were obtained from sources that cannot becompletely authenticated. Much has been deduced frommy own experiences, and they may not hav e beentypical. If your readers can offer additional information,I'd be happy to hear fro m them.

Above and Be/ow: With this starting stance t a -ways starts, SEE

18


20/24

Fi,.., 'Fligh's,.By: Glen Buffington, Assoc. Editor818 W Crockett St.Seattle, WA 98119In every era there are the first-timers; armed with a letter of introduction to Dr.first aboard the Mayflower, first to climb Hugo von Eckener, given her by Generalinto the early wagon train heading West, Paul von Hindenburg, she was given thethose with the initial automobile in the privilege of being a passenger aboard onelocal area and first in the airlanes. Clara of the test fl ights of the ZR- I . The d ir-Adams was such a person and chose the igible later was known as the USS Los

hobby of being a first fl ighter as pas- Angeles when it was delivered to thesenger aboard some of the historic flights United Sta tes under the terms of theof the past. .Versailles Treaty.Mrs. Adams, a native of Cincinnati, In 1928, when the Graf Zeppelin madedeveloped a love for flight early in life its pioneer round trip from Europe to theand made her first flight in March, 1914 Un ited States, it was Clara's honor to buyat Lake Eustis, Florida. The flight was in the first ticket ever sold to a woman toa Thomas flying boat, constructed by fly across the Atlantic. With 64 men andWalter E. Johnson and Charles Herrman, one woman aboard, the flight lasted 71and Clara reported they went up only hours on the one-way excursion westabout seven hundred feet. In 1924 she bound from Friedrichshafen to Lakewas in F iedrichshafen, Germany and hurst, N. J.

Above left: Westward HoI Hono- Above: Clara Adams deplaneslulu, Midway, Wake, Guam and fter another domestic first-Manila 7,988 miles. The Paci flight aboard United Airlines,fic Clipper over The Golden first DC-3.Gate.

In 1931, she flew from New York toRio de Janeiro in order to fly on theDornier DO X on its flight from Rio toNew York, where it landed August 27th,with Clara as the only woman paying passenger. A huge flying boat for that era, ithad a span of 157 feet and grossed106,000 Ibs. fully loaded. It was poweredby twelve 600 h.p. liquid-cooled CurtissConqueror engines {back-to-back} andcarried 170 persons on one of its earlytest flights from Lake Constance inSwitzerland.Clara was fortunate in having a husband, George L Adams, Pennsylvaniatanner, who sympathized with her love offlying and with his passing, was goodenough to leave her with enough money

so that she could continue flying . Shefollowed the expanding airlines closelyand as new segments and equipment wereadded, she made it a point to be presentfor the inaugurals on both domestic andoverseas fl ights. As her reputation grew,the PR groups were pleased to keep herinformed of up-coming flights.1936 was a big year for Mrs. Adams.I n May she was one of eleven women onthe flight of the Hindenburg, across theAtlantic on its maiden flight to America,which flew with 51 passengers and a crewof 56. In October of that year she boarded the Ch ina CI ipper wh ich made theinaugural commercial passenger fl ightacross the Pacific; she reported havingcovered 27,000 miles by air that year.

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The following year she made the roundtrip between New York and Bermuda onthe inauguration of that service.Back in 1931 she had reserved a ticketon th e first scheduled PAA trip to fly theAtlantic; an eight-year reservation inadvance which must have delighted PanAmerican passenger agents. This Atlantichop , in Jun e of 1939, was the first leg ofher trip around-the-world on which sheused only th e existing and regular passenger se rvices and set an enviable record.Sh e returned to New York after covering24,609 miles, using five airlines, in 16day s, 19 hours and 4 minutes. The routing was: New York, Marseille, Leipzig,Athens, Basra, Jodhpur, Rangoon, Bangkok, Manil a, Guam, Wake, Midway, Ho nolulu, San Francisco and New York. Onthe way home, she engaged in a broadcastwhile in the air approaching Midway,talking to Mexico City in Spanish andthen in English to Honolulu and SanFrancisco.

Cl ara's favorite descriptions of herselfwer e Historic First Flighter" and"Persistent First Flighter", and she invested thousands of dollars in her hobby.Becaus e of the frequency of fl ights an dthe publicity given them, Clara felt heracceptance of air travel might be contagious to others. No doubt they did serveso mewh at in promoting travel b y a ir during the formative years.

Another of Clara s hobbies or avocation, when not airborne, was the designing and making of unusual settings forgems. Many of her friends are blessedwith beautiful pins, earrings and rings,designed by Clara. She also had a flair forthe theatrical and would sometimesentertain her guests facing them on thepiano bench and playing tunes with herhands behind her back.Viola Gentry, veteran pilot and a closefriend of Clara, advises that "Clara was agreat gal and continued her first flightswhenever the airlines called her regardingtheir first flights. She 'folded her wings'on February 10, 1971 after only a shortillness and being in the hospital about aweek".

Viola saluted Clara Adams and ArnoldBayley, two of her devoted aviationbooster friends, in memorial, by teamingwith Ruth Johnson of Chino, CA., andflying the 1972 Powder Puff Derby. The2,616 mi. race was flown from SanCarlos, CA., to Toms River, NJ that year,and the girls turned in a good performance with a +23.46 score overall, an average ground speed of 201.46 mph.

John Heinmuller, in his "Man's Fightto Fly", wrote "During the many discussions I had with Clara Adams, who carefully analyzed all existing records andstatistics on the round-th e-world flights, Ihad occasion to appreciate her deep

Above: 407 . Even bigger than the Sarafand,Germany s Dornier Do -X needed twelve engines to li ft it off the water. Powered initially by 550-h.p. Siemens radials it waslater re-engined with 675-h.p. Curtiss Conquerors, which gave it a top speed of 730m.p.h. Th e Do-X weighed 55 tons and couldcarry 769 passengers. During a visit to En-gland in 7930 it was piloted fo r 70 minutesby the Prince of Wales. Later, it flew to NewYork and back.

knowledge of aeronautical subjects andher great loyalty to the cause".In the summation of her autobiography, "Wings for Life", Ruth Nichol swrote, "I consider it quite possible thatduring my lifetime interplanetary travelwill become an accepted fact, and th atord inary citizens may plan vacations onthe moon instead of Miami Beach. Of onething I am certain -- when space shipstakeoff, I shall be flying them, whether in

my present bodily form or another".Somehow or other, Clara Adams willnot be far behind making reservationsReferences:"Hangar Flying" Viola Gentry"Women with Wings" Charles Planck"Man's Fight to Fly" John Heinmuller"Wings for Life" Ruth Nichols

Below: Pioneer pilot Viola Gentry, licenseNo. 7822, in the cockpit of the CurtissThrush Outd oor Girl , assisting in thechecking of radio gear used during and in-airrefueling record flight. Originally, Viola andMary Moore Sansom planned. to ma ke theflight, however it was subsequently made byFrances Marsalis and Helen Richey whostayed aloft 237 hours 42 minutes, Dec.20-30, 7933 over Miami, Florida.

Above and Below: Ruth Johnson and ViolaGentry by the Piper Comanche in whichthey flew the 7972 Powder Puff Derby andcarried the names of Clara Adams andArnold Bayley into the air once again as amemorial.

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Antique/Classic Convention ChairmanJ. R. Nieland er Jr .Box 2464Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33303Antique/Classic Convention Co-ChairmanJack C. WinthropRoute 1 Box 111Allen TX. 75002Antique/CLassic ForumsAntique/Classic Forums ha irmanWilliam J . EhlenRoute 8 Box 506Tampa, FL. 33618Antique/Classic Forums Co-ChairmanAllen D. Henninger936 McKellar DriveTullahoma, TN. 37388Antique/Classic Parking Flight Line SafetyAntique/Classic Parking ChairmanArthur R. Morgan513 N. 91 st StreetMilwauk ee, WI. 53226Antique/Classic Parking Co-ChairmanJohn J. Kalas2603 S. Superior StreetMilwaukee, WI. 53207Antique Parking ChairmanRob ert E. Kese l455 Oakridge DriveRoche ster, NY . 14617Antique Parking Co-ChairmanDutch Brafford735 Weadock Stree tLim a OH . 45804Classic Parking ChairmanLeonard McGintyRoute 2 Box 878Thonotosassa FL. 33592Classic Parking Co-ChairmanJohn S. Copeland1089 Beechwood RoadBuffa lo Grove, IL. 60090Antique/Classic Fly-By Schedule CoordinationAntique/Classic Fly By Schedule ChairmanEduardo C. Escal lon335 Milford Drive

Merritt Island, FL. 32952Antique/Classic Fly-By Schedule Co-ChairmanRoger J. Sherron446-C Las CasitasSanta Rosa, CA. 95401Antique/Classic Judging AwardsAntique Awards Chairman Chief JudgeClaude L. Gray, Jr.9635 Sylvia AvenueNorthridge, CA. 9 324Classic Awards Chairman Chief JudgeW. Brad Thomas, Jr .301 Dodson Mill RoadPilot Mountain, NC. 27041Classic Awards Co-Chairman Co -Chief JudgeGeorge S. York181 Sloboda AvenueMan sfie ld , OH. 44906Antique/Classic Headquarters StaffAntique/Classic Headquarters taff ChairmanKate Morgan513 N. 91 st StreetMilw aukee, WI. 53226Antique/Classic Headquarters Staff Co-ChairmanDonn a BartletBox 5156Lake land, FL. 33803Antique/Classic SecurityAntique/Classic Security ChairmanBilly Henderson502 Norfolk CircleLakeland, FL. 33801Antique/Classic Security Co-ChairmanMatt Woer nerBox 117Highland s TX. 77562Antique/Classic Pavilion ProgramsAntique/Classic Pavilion Programs ChairmanDale A. Gustafson7724 Shady Hill DriveIndianapolis, IN. 46274Antique/Classic Display BoothAntique/Classic Display Booth ChairmanAlicia Smith7930 Biscayne Point CircleMiami Beach, FL. 33141

Antique/Classic Di splay Booth Co-ChairmanPhyllis Hamilton905 Slack DriveAnderson, IN . 46013Antique/Classic Displ ay Booth Co-ChairmanJackie HouseRoute 1 Box 104Sanger, TX. 76266Antique/Classic Press CoverageAntique/Classic Press ChairmanAI. H. Kelch7018 W. Bonniwel l RoadMequon, WI. 53092Antique/Classic Press Co-ChairmanLois Kelch7018 W. Bonniwe RoadMequon, WI. 53092Antique/Classic Photo Airplane PilotEd uardo C. Escallon335 Milford DriveMerritt Island, FL. 32952Antique/Classic Booth Barn DecorationsAntique/Classic Decoration ChairmanStan Gomoll1042 90th Lane, N.E.Minneapolis, MN. 55434Antique/Classic Equipment SupplyAntique/Classic Equipment Supply ChairmanRichard H. WagnerBox 181Lyons, WI. 53148Antique/Classic Equipment Supply Co-ChairmanArthur R. Morgan513 N. 91st StreetMilw aukee, WI. 53226Antique/Classic Restoration WorkshopAntique/Classic Restoration ChairmanRonald Fritz1989 Wilson NWGrand Rapids, MI . 49504Antique/Classic Restoration Co-ChairmanWayne C. Fredline362 Broman RoadSparta, M . 49345

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EVENTS1977


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Lindbergh ommemorative Tour

This map, which appeared in the March 928 issue of Aero Diges t, illustrates the fourhistoric flights of the Spirit of St. Louis. EA A s Commemorative flight will closelyfo llow Lindbergh s Round the United S tates Flight solid line).

It is onl y fitting that in thi s, the 50th anniversary yearof the Lindbergh flight and nat ionalt our,EAA and the EAA Ai rMu se um Foundation honor theman who more than any ot her in spi red us to fly.Thepl an,as ann oun ced last month, isfo rtheFoundat iontoconst ruct a full size re plicaof theSpi ritofSt.Loui sandin mid Juneof 1977 se nd itonatourofth econtiguous48 st ates . fo llowing closely Lindbergh 's originalro ute. The itinerary will be such that the a ircraft willarrive atOshkoshonopenin gdayand will remain du ringmost of the wee k, participat ing in f ly- in acti vities. Appropriate ceremoni es and an off icial se nd off forth eremainderof thetourarepl ann ed.In 1927Charl es Lindberghso ughttoca l atte ntiontoand foster the growth of commercialaviation. In 1977EAA will uti li ze its commemorative flight t o spotl ightthewo rldof sport aviation.EAA memb ersand Ch apterswill be cal ed uponto assist in preparing fo r and wel

comingtheSpi ritof St. Loui swhenitland sin their city.In the course of pub li cizing theSpirit 's visit, at tentionwill be drawn to the loca lChapter, localbu ild ingprojects and in teresting members as we ll as EAA, theAirMuseum Foundat ion and the sport aviationmovement,in ge neral.The Lindbergh comm emorat ive tour f light is very

li kely the last sucheve nt. Fi ftyyearsfromnow inthe year 2027 ...it isdoubt ful thatsuchanaircraftas aSp ir it of St. Loui swill becompat iblewi thTwenty- firstCe ntury ATC procedures. All of us, however, hope and confidentlyexpect thatspor tf ly ingwil lstillthrive in 2027 .Ifo urcommemorati ve tourhelp sin somesma ll way to awaken aga in the publi c in te rest in th eadventure of flying. . .fl ying for the shee r love of it. . .and thu sins ur et hatourtypeof ac tivitywill endure,then the inspirat ionofCh arl es Lindbergh will have livedonto se rve futurege nerations.

May 28- 29 WATSONVILL E, CALI FORNIA - 13th AnnualWest Coast An t ique Air craft Fl y- In and Air Sh ow.Co -sponso red by the Northern Cali fo rnia Ch apterAn t iqueAirplaneAssn., and theWatsonvill eCh amb erof Commerce.Co ntactEarl W.Sw aney525Saratoga Ave.,No.3SantaClara, CA 95050June12 ALLENTOWN , PA .- 5thAnnualEAA Ch apter70Fly-In. Qu een City Airport. Warbirds, Hom ebuilts,Antiques and Cl ass ics . Rain dateJune19.Co ntacto Tarafas215-865-9478

June24- 26 HAM ILTON ,OHIO- Waco Reuni onFly-In.Co ntactRay Brandl y2650W.Al ex Bellb rook Rd.Dayton,OH 45459June26thruJuly4 Antiqu eAirf ield , lakesburg, Iowa, 50thAnniversa ry Comm emorative Fl y- In of Lindberg's TransAtlanticf ight .July30- August6 OSHKOSH, WISCONS IN - 25th Annual EAAFl y- In.Startmakingyour plansnow- it'sgo ingtobeabigone.August21 WEE DSPORT,NEW YORK - Antique,Classic andHomebuilt Fly-In .Trophies- AirShow. Field closed1:00 P.M . until 5:00 P.M. Intermission for earlydepartures . Pancakebreakfast8:00A.M. - 12:00noon.Sponso redbyEAA 486.Contact Herb Livin gs ton1257Ga ll agherRd.Baldwinsville,NY 13027August28thru September5 7th Annual AAA- ADM Fly-In,AntiqueAirfield ,Blakesburg, Iowa. Th e National AAA Conve ntion,opento memb ersand guestsonl y.Nopublicday .

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vintage airplane - may 1977

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