vintage airplane - sep 2003

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2003

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VOL. 31 , No. 9

SEPTEMBER 2003

2 VAA NEWS/H .G.Frautschy

4 2003

AIRVENTUREAWARDS

6

JOHNMILLERRECALLS

A LITTLE FLYING INCIDENT IN 1929/johnMiller

8 TAILWHEELTRANSITIONTRAINING , PART 3

CROSSWIND TECHNIQUE AND SLIPS TO LANDING

THE

LOST

ARTS?/DonovanHammer

10 MYSTERY

PLANE/H.G.

Frautschy

11 ONELARGEADRENALINECOCKTAIL

WHAT HAPPENS

WHEN

THE FUSELAGE GAS TANK

SPLITS OPEN

IN

FLIGHT

WITH NO

PLACE

TO

GO?/

l Kelch

14

RICHARD

PORTER'S

C-196

A ROUND-MoTORED " WHATSIT?

"/Budd

Davisson

18 VAA CHAPTERLOCATOR

VISIT THE VAA CHAPTER NEAREST YOU AND

GET

TO

KNOW SOME GREAT OLD-AIRPLANE ENTHUSIASTS!

19 PASS IT TO BUCK

20 VAACHAPTERS

IN

ACTION

VAA CHAPTER 30 's YOUNG EAGLES RALLY/

H.G.Fra

utschy

21 A LEAPOFFAITH

RobMixon

22

THEVINTAGEINSTRUCTOR

WHAT'S GOING ON?/Doug

Stewart

25

CALENDAR

27 NEW

MEMBERS

28 CLASSIFIEDADS


3/36

STR IGHT

e

L

EL

Y

ESPIE

BUTCH

JOYCE

PRESIDENT

VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Hats

off to our volunteers

I don't know about you, but after

spending nearly two-and-a-half weeks

in Oshkosh working and enjoying

EAA

AirVenture 2003, making the shift back

to working for

a living

is

a tough transi

tion I've been trying to think of

all

of

the events

that

took place, and put

them in

some

sort or order, but it's diffi-

cult, since there were so many great

activities that took place .

This year's event

was

a great success

in every respect. Thanks to good

weather in the central Midwest, we

had a large number of airplanes arrive

during the weekend prior to the con

vention's start on Tuesday.

We

were

blessed with a great group of volun

teers who showed up early, and our

flight line safety and Tall Pines Cafe

volunteers

were

able to help their fel-

low

VAA

members get off to an

enjoyable start

to the week.

Over the years,

as

the convention

grounds have been rearranged by EAA,

we 've had to adjust our parking area

layout. We're working on that again.

To

explain

t

further, for many years

we've kept the

area

just to the south of

the Theater in the Woods as antique

(no camping) parking only, and then

started

showplane camping about

halfway through this area to the south.

few

rows of the camping area that are

set aside for homebuilt camping, and

that's often the reason you

see

a gap in

the parking as you are directed south

toward the

rest of

showplane camping.

On

the opening day of EAA AirVen-

ture, we did a physical inventory of

airplanes in the showplane camping

area, plus our VAA parking, and

we

counted nearly

1,100

airplanes, a record

number of showplanes for us. It also

seemed that many

folks

chose to stay

longer and participate in the many fo-

rums and visit the displays, including

Countdown to Kitty Hawk.

This

year,

the judges also had their

hands

full. Before

EAA

AirVenture

starts, the judges arrive early enough

to be issued their

equipment.

It's a

great plan , and

when

it works,

the

judges can start reviewing aircraft

be-

fore the actual start of the event. Not

this

year.

The computer system issued

to our judges

was

not working prop

erly, and would

remain in

various

states of disarray for the duration of

the convention. Not to

be

outflanked

by a computer, our judges were issued

our old-fashioned pencil and paper

forms at the beginning of the week,

and

they

accomplished

their

tasks

with their usual efficiency. They all did

last year. After

checking

with

the

judges about any discrepancies

that

they

needed to address, they went

home and worked on the airplane, and

were

presented with the Grand Cham

pion Lindy. Great job Congratulations

to all the winners. I strongly believe

that

if

it were not

for

the awards pro

gram, many of these great airplanes in

each of the judging categories would

not be restored to the levels we see to

day.

It's

truly remarkable.

My hat's off to the hard-working

chairmen, co-chairmen, and sunburned

volunteers of the flight line safety

crew.

On

scooters and on

foot,

these folks

do

their best to help VAA members and

nonmembers alike park and depart

with their airplanes, sometimes with

an

interval of only a few seconds. During

that time, they have to ensure the air

plane's

in

a safe environment, check

its

registration number, and if needed,

check on the radio to see if it qualifies

to park in the showplane camping area,

and then point them toward the right

spot. That's a lot to do on a hot day,

and there are times when it gets a bit


4/36

VAA

NEWS

Sport

Pilot

Takes

a Major Step at E AirVenture

E

AirVenture

Oshkosh attendees

are

ac

customed to

big

announcements, but they

heard

a huge

one

July

31, during F

Ad

ministrator

Marion

Blakey's Meet the

Administrator session.

Held this year in the largest E forum

pavilion,

which

nearly quadrupled

the

num

ber of available seats, she told a

standing-room-only crowd that she'd

signed the

sport pilot/light-sport aircraft

(SP

/LSA) rulemaking package

and

for

warded t to the Department of

Transportation (DOT).

Secretary of Transportation

Norman

Mineta attended E AirVenture

two

days

later and said

that

SP/LSA

would

not be in

his office

long.

After

DOT

and Office of

Management and

Budget

(OMB)

approval,

SP/LSA will

become official

upon publica

tion

in the Federal Register

This

will

serve the

needs

of

aviation

enthusiasts

for many

years to come,

said

the administrator,

making

her

first visit

to

Oshkosh.

It's

expected

to

greatly

reduce

the barriers for

becoming

a pilot

and

for

becoming

an

aircraft owner. I can

assure

you I'm

going

to

work

very

hard with

DOT

as the

rule continues to

move

forward.

This is a

momentous step on

the road

to seeing

sport pilot/light-sport

aircraft

be

come a reality, commented E

President

Tom

Poberezny.

E continues to

work

closely with

the

FAA

to ensure that the infrastructure

needed

for

training and

aircraft inspection

are

in

place so members can fully realize

the rule's benefits when it takes effect.

The

light-sport aircraft portion of the

rule

will

require

that

all manufacturers

up

hold

the consensus standards that

are

being

established by the industry/commu

nity/government committee administered

by ASTM,

thus ensuring that

each new

ready-to-fly

light-sport aircraft

will be

con

structed within accepted design

and

quality assurance

standards.

Most of the

ASTM

standards for

LSA

should

be completed

when

F issues the

final

SP

/LSA rule. The powered parachute

standards

are already completed,

and the

fixed-wing

committee

has

completed its

quality control standard. It

is

in

the

final

stages of balloting

its

other

standards.

The weight-shift

(trike), gyroplane, and

glider committees have

also begun work

on

their various required

standards.

After

the final

SP

/LSA

rule

is published, the var

ious

consensus

standards

will

be

adjusted

as

necessary to meet the final rule

speci

fications.

While

the

SP

/LSA announcement

was

the

highlight

of her forum,

F Administra

tor Blakey discussed the year-old

FITS

(FAA-Industry

Training Standards) program,

created in

partnership

with

Cirrus

DeSign,

AirShares Elite,

Avidyne, and

Garmin. The

program

aims to

develop tailored training

for

the

individual ways pilots use their air

planes.

One size

doesn't fit all,

Blakey

said of

current

training.

She also announced the

expansion

of

the DAR

(deSignated airworthiness repre

sentative) inspection program. The

number of homebuilt aircraft is

growing,

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey

addresses representatives of type

cl ubs during the annual EAA j VAA

Type C

lub

EAA AirVenture Brings Gov-

e

rnment Industry Aviators

Together

As

the

world's pre-eminent gen

eral and recreational

aviation

showcase,

EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh

is where all the players of aviation

government, industry, association,

and the general public-meet and

get things done.

"This week is important to our

government

relations because it

gives EAA a tool

nobody

else has,"

said Earl Lawrence, EAA vice presi

dent of industry and regulatory

affairs. "In

one

day government of

ficials can see everything related to

general

aviation and

recreational

aviation that would take

them

years

to see at different events. Just as im

portant is that the people and the

aircraft

that

come to Oshkosh relate

with each other. People don' t realize

what

effect it has on officials when

they come here

and

see how polite


5/36

uel

EAA has devoted considerable

resources to researching

viable

re

placements

for

leaded aviation

fuels.

While there

were

no

fuel-spe

cific

meetings

this year,

new

aircraft engines by Honda/Tele

dyne

Continental and

Bombardier

tout the use of autogas. By devel

oping

these

replacements and

technologies,

it

offers the possibil

ity

of changing to

a

nonleaded

fuel

and

keeping everyone

in

the

air,

Lawrence said.

ging

ircraft

Field

approvals

were a

hot topic

at the

annual

FAA and type clubs

meetings

. We worked directly

with

the

FAA

Small Airplane Direc

torate to

develop

material that

makes

it

easier for

people to main

tain older aircraft, said Lawrence.

That system

can be difficult

,

so

EAA and other aviation organiza

tions have been working with the

FAA

to develop procedures and

poliCies

that' ll make it easier

to

keep aging aircraft flying.

Security

Transportation

Security

Admin

istration (TSA) representatives

attended

EAA

AirVenture to see

how general aviation operates.

We talked about TFRs

(temporary

flight restrictions),

and how

can

we better

communicate

them to

our membership,

Lawrence

said.

About pop-up

presidential

TFRs,

he added, TSA does not imple

ment

the

presidential

TFRs;

that's

the Secret

Service,

and the Secret

Service is hard

to

communicate

Jim Wrigbt and

ughes Racer Lost

One

of

the

most beautiful repro

duction

aircraft ever

built and

the

innovative visionary who spear

headed the creation of the recently

completed

Hughes H-1 racer were

both

lost when James L Wright,

53

,

was forced to make

an emergency

landing

in

Yellowstone National

Park.

Attempting to land in the area of the

Midway Geyser, witnesses stated he

veered away at the last instant when

he realized a number of people were

in the

area. Several witnesses men

tioned

a few loud pops of

noises

coming from the plane, and

then

si

lence

as

it made its controlled descent

and then crashed.

Completed last year after a multi

year

program to

re-create

the

record-setting Hughes racer built for

Howard Hughes

in

1935,

Wright

wasted no time in getting the airplane

ready

for

a speed trial, and on Septem

ber 13 2002, in

Reno

Nevada, during

the

Reno

Air

Races , Wright flew

the

Hughes replica to a new speed record

Disc

ove

ry

Networks Spotlight

Avi

ation

s

Birt

h EAA AirVenture

In September

the Discovery

Chan

nel and

its digital aviation network

the Discovery

Wings

Channel

will air

special programming that you won t

want to

miss.

On

September 17, the Discovery

Wings

Channel

airs Oshkosh 2003:

The Centennial

Edition Produced by

EAA

TV the

hour-long recap of

EAA Air

Venture Oshkosh 2003 focuses on

piloting, economics of general

avia

tion,

homebuilding

and access

to the

skies, EAA s

unique aviation

commu

nity at

AirVenture,

and a

look ahead to

aviation s

second

century.

Scheduled

airtime is 9 p.m. EDT, with repeats at

midnight and (September 18) 5

a.m

.,

8 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m.

On

September 19, the Discovery

Channel will air a

two-hour

documen

tary, The

Wright Brothers:

Rrst

In Right

featuring extensive focus

on EAA s

Countdown to Kitty Hawk

and the con

struction of EAA s authentic

reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer

by The Wright

Experience in

Warrenton,

Virginia.

The

documentary follows

the

parallel paths of the Wrights in 1903

and

The

Wright

Experience

in 2003

as

Ken

Hyde

and

his team employ reverse

engineering to

interpolate the brothers

design

process and results from exist

ing Wright

aircraft and parts, family

correspondence,

and

other sources.

EAA President Tom Poberezny de

scribes the centennial celebration S

significance

along

with Countdown

to

Kitty

Hawk

festivities, culminating in

the

flight of the Flyer reproduction pre


6/36

-

-

SH K S H

• 2 3

ntique

Antique

Grand

Champion

William Scott 1930 Stearman Aircraft 4E

N663K

Reno,

NV

Antique Reserve

Grand

Champion

Richard Jackson 1931 Sikorsky S-39

NC50V

Rochester,

NH

Bronze Lindy

Replica Aircraft

Jim Wright, 1935 Hughes H-IB NX258Y

Cottage Grove, OR

World

War

II

Trainer/Liaison

aircraft

Richard Packer

1941 Boeing

A75N1

PT17) N9856G

Transport Category

Kent

and

Sandy Blankenburg

1942 Lockheed Electra

Groveland,

CA

World War II Era 1942-1945)

Scott Perdue

1942 Stearman PT-17 N62552

Fort Worth, TX

Bronze Age 1937-1941)

Richard Packer

1941 Boeing A75Nl PT-17) N9856F

Silver Age 1928-1936)

Mark Grusauski

1935 Waco

YKC-S

NC14614

Silver Age 1928-1936)

Outstanding Closed Cockpit Monoplane

Max Davis

1935 Stinson

SR-6A

Waconia, MN 55387

Outstanding

Open Cockpit Monoplane

Kenneth Jorgensen

1931 Curtis WrightJr. CW1 N10860

San Dimas,

CA

Outstanding

Closed

Cockpit Biplane

Les

Cashmere

1929 Waco CTO Nc16203

McAlester, OK

Outstanding Open Cockpit Biplane

Frank Pavliga

1929 Waco CTO NC675N

Rootstown, OH

Runner Up

David Allen

1930 Waco

ASO

N662Y

Elbert, CO

World War

II Military Trainer/Liaison

Runner Up

David Hermann

Aeronca 0-58 N48620

Two Rivers,

WI

Transport

Category

Carolinas Historic Aviation Commission

Museum

Replica

Thomas Wathen

Laird-Turner LTR-14 racer N263Y

Santa Barbara,

CA

Runner Up

Colin Clarke

1927 Bellanca CH300 NC796W

Wenatchee,

WA

Classic

Classic

Grand

Champion

Michael Greenblatt Beech 18 N2913B

Midland,

GA

Classic

Classic Reserve Grand Champion

R. Fleeman, Piper J-3 NC92027

Lawrence, TN

Class I 0-80 hp

Malvern Gross, Mooney M18 N4187

Eastsound,

WA

Class II 81-150

hp

Mark Holliday, Cessna 140 NC3537V

Lake Elmo, MN

Class III 151-235

hp

Barry Weber, Beech 35 N80418

Livermore,

CA

Class IV 236

hp

Higher)

Richard Epton, Navion Twin DI6A

N108N

Brooks,

GA

Best

Custom

Classic

Frank Sperandeo, Piper PA-22-135


7/36

Outstanding Cessna

170/180

Rodney Erickson

Cessna 170 N2600V

Fairmount, ND

Outstanding Cessna 190/195

Daniel Petersen

Cessna 195 N195DS

Unadilla,

NE

Outstanding

Ercoupe

David Tulis

Ercoupe 415-0 N2404H

Atlanta, GA

Outstanding Luscombe

Donald Warner

Luscombe 8E N77842

Gilbert, AZ

Outstanding Nav ion

William Guy

Mark Cyrier

Navion NlO133

Fort Worth,

TX

Outstanding

Pip

er

J-3

Richard Rademacher

Piper J3 NC3650K

Urbana, OH 43078

Outstanding Piper, Other

Windle Henry

Piper PA-12 N92754

Sercay, AR 72143

Outstanding Stinson

Simon

Rose

Stinson 108-3CFLWI

St.

Albert,

AB

Outstanding

Swift

C

ustom

Class B (81-150HP)

Thomas Martino

Ercoupe N2974H

Franktown, CO

Custom Class C (151-235HP)

Charles Heath

Aeronca 15AC N1264H

Cot tage Grove,

OR

97424

C

ustom

Class D (236 and up)

Robert Petersen

Cessna 180 N2443C

Cameron Park,

CA

Preservation

Ray

Johnson

Aeronca 11 AC N3469E

Marion,

IN

Best C

ustom Runner

Up

Robert Runkle

Cessna 140 N1408U

Swanton,OH

ontemporary

Co

ntemporary

Grand Champion

Richa rd Hansen 1959 Beech N404T

Batavia,

IL

Co

ntemporary

Reserve

Grand

Champion

John Janovetz, 1958 Beech 95 NlOOBH

Colleyville,

TX

Co

ntemporary

Class I Single Engine

(0

-1 60 hpj

Thomas Ferraro 1959 Pacer PA-22

McKinney, TX

Class II Single

Engine

(161-230

hp

j

ONTEMPOR RY

Outstanding

Beech single Engine

Allen Boyce

1959 Beech K35 N637Q

Coronado, CA

Outstanding

Cessna 170/172/175

R.

Kachergius

1956 Cessna 172 N5148A

Orland Park, IL

Outstanding Cessna 180-182-210

Dale Wilkens

1958 Cessna 182 N818H

Independence, KS

Outstanding

Champion

Erik Hokuf

1958 Ch

ampion 7FC

N9128R

Richfield, MN 55423

Outstanding

Mooney

Gerald Turney

1963 Mooney M20C N175KT

Oakland,

CA

Outstanding

Pip

er PA-18

Super Cub

John Sibbitt

1956 Piper PA-19 N3591A

Hyannis,

NE

Outstanding PA-22 Tri-Pacer

James Page

1956 Piper PA-22-150 N4804A

Raleigh, NC 27604

Outstanding Piper PA-24 Comanche

William

&

Susan Harryman

1965 Piper PA-24-260 N8582P

Marion, IL

Outstanding Piper Cherokee


8/36

I

n 1929 I was hired

by

firm

in

Norwalk, Connecticut,

Norwalk Airways,

to

take de

livery of and fly

its newly

purchased New Standard D-25 five

place biplane.

That

was

an

airplane

designed especially for barnstorming

after the Department of Commerce,

in 1927, grounded the old World War

I

Standard

J-1

airplanes with

His

pano-Suiza engines, operated by the

old Gates Flying Circus.

The

New

Standard D-2S was designed by

an

engineer from the Sikorsky organiza

tion, named Komarnitsky under the

supervision of Charles Healy Day the

designer of the original Standard J-1,

and Clyde Pangborn, the chief pilot

of the Gates Flying Circus. The New

Standard

D-2S was

powered by

a

Wright

J-S engine

of

22S -hp, the

same type of radial engine that flew

Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic

in 1927. The pilot sat in the rear cock

pit to

balance the engine, and the

four passengers sat in a large bathtub

shaped cockpit located

on

the center

of lift under

the

upper wing center

section, all facing forward.

t

was an

ideal airplane for barnstorming on a

large scale, such as the Gates opera

tion, out of

grass fields of limited size.

day

and there was a

kept me very busy hopping four pas

sengers at a time for $2.50 a head on

very short hops, $10 per load. t was a

fast, lucrative operation, so the own

ers were

on their

way

to paying

off

the

cost of

the airplane, and I was

making a good commission of 20 per

cent. The hops were

no

more

than

5

minutes in the air, just

out

over

the

city and harbor and back for a quick

reload, out

one

side of the

cockpit

and in the other simultaneously with

a good

pit

crew. t was a

tight

field,

and

landings

had

to

be

made

pre

cisely. The area around the field was

all

residential.

t

was

only three

months before the stock market crash

of

October

1929, the

beginning

of

the Depression,

and

everyone

had

money to spend.

Connecticut had the first aviation

regulatory laws, originating in 1911,

which were more restrictive in pur

pose

than

regulatory,

for

many

wealthy people

in the

state

hated

airplanes. Some had actually sued in

attempts to prevent flying over their

land, claiming

it was trespassing.

Failing in that effort, they had insti

private, even private airstrips,

and

charged fees for licenses.

All

pi

lots

and

mechanics

had to

take state

written

exams,

flight

tests, and

medical

exams,

which

were

dupli

cates of the

federal tests, and

pay

fees for state licenses. Each airplane

was inspected by a

state inspector

and

licensed each year for a fee, in

addition to

a costly state

personal

property tax. Any fixed base opera

tion was licensed and taxed. A

non-fixed base

operation

such

as

barnstorming was

therefore not

possible.

Insurance requirements

were burdensome.

t

was a paradox

that civil aviation could exist

at

all

in Connecticut.

And that was the

real objective.

One state aircraft inspector, I will

call him Mr. P the initial of his name,

had been some pre-World

War

I early

bird pilot's mechanic, and he made it

known

that

he was the world's most

senior, knowledgeable, and strict in

spector in existence. He was on duty

five days a week but on weekends he

would, on his own time, drive around


9/36

'sfeJicUed

the

on

its fuselage,

1nd collected the annual fee. How

ever,

in

front of

my crowd

of eager

passenger prospects, he ordered me

to

stop flying so

that

he

could inspect

the airplane again. He could not find

anything wrong with

the

brand new

plane, but

he

noticed a slight tear in

the canvas boot on the tailskid. It

was

a little

triangular tear

caused

by

a

stick or stone.

He

walked around

to

the propeller, put a red grounding tag

on the hub, and announced, in front

of the crowd,

that

a new canvas boot

would have to be installed

and

a re

port

made to

him before any

more

flying

could

be

done.

This right in

the middle of my first big day of pas

senger flying! He then

loaded

his

family back into his car and drove

off,

to harass

another pilot

some

where, no doubt. The purpose of that

canvas

boot

was

to

exclude dirt

and

grass,

and

possibly field mice, from

getting up into the fuselage. That lit

tle three-cornered tear was not likely

1 \ \ , 7 i : ~ \ ' 7 D ' 1ft front of

my crowd of eager

passenger

prospects

. . .

he noticed a slight tear

. . .

walked

around to the

propeller, put a red

grounding tag on the

hub, and announced,

. . . that a new canvas

boot would have to

be

installed and a

report made

to

him

before

any more

flying

could be done.

having been born, but they were in

effect nonetheless, just

as

was

the law

of

gravity before

Newton. Just as I

was lifting off, with the

entire

field

behind

me,

and

I mean

no

more

ahead, with that heavy load, the en

gine lost power and started shaking

descent

and

actually gave

me

a very

slight climb, as judged by eye and

feel

(the pucker factor). I had not gotten

low enough

to

get ground effect,

but

by

holding straight

ahead

and care

fully

holding

the best airspeed I was

getting just a little climb, heading out

over

Long

Island Sound with

smoother air over the water. The en

gine was holding its lower power and

its vibration, and extraneous popping

and banging

was

at a steady level. Oil

pressure was okay. Numerous small

sailboats out

on

the sound were reas

suring.

Without

losing any of that

precious altitude, I was able to make a

very, very gradual downwind turn

back inland.

Over the

land I felt a

slight upward thermal

and nicely

made it over

the

rising ground for a

downwind leg to the field. I did not

risk a 10-12 mph downwind landing

back on the field because the field

was too short with high trees

on

the

downwind end, so a crash

would

have been inevitable

and

disastrous,

especially with the crowd of people at

the downwind

end.

By

very careful

attention to airspeed, I was able to


10/36

Tailwheel

Transition Training

Part

rosswind technique and slips to lan

ding the

lost

arts

DONOVAN HAMMER

ntroduction

This time around I want to touch

on two

topics where th

ese

useful, i not necessary, flight maneuvers.

some

transition pilots have a bit

o

trouble. These

are cross

For

tailwheel airplanes

proper

crosswind technique

is es

wind

technique and slips to

landing. Three

common threads

sential.

The

same

can

be said o slips

for

most o

the older

connect these two maneuvers. Both are used as part o

th

e tailwheel airplanes. The methods that I

use

and teach

are

no

landing approach. Both use cross-control

o

rudder and different than those shown in th e

FAA

s Flight Training

ailerons. And both are in danger o becoming lost arts. Handbook AC 61-21A which serves

as

the basis for the

Crossw

ind and

slip maneuvers are still part o the FAA flight Practical Test Standards

(PTS)

used in every pilot S FAA

flight

exam, but the quality o training and execution are showing exams.

However,

it should

be

important to note that the ex

some

o the ravages

o

neglect in recent decades. Maybe it can

amples shown in the pertinent sections o AC 61-21A us e

be

said that slips

are

th

e victim

o

modern aircraft designs

tricycle-gear

airplanes. That

is

to

say,

for

the most part

th

e

with

th

eir flaps, reduced nldder effectiveness, and clean side techniques

used

for

taildragg

ers are not so much different, but

profiles.

On

the other

hand crosswind landing and takeoff

rather are

just a strict

adherence to the

standard techniques

tec

hniqu

e owes

much

o its demise

to

the tricycle gear that is that should be used for tricycle

airplanes.

I view any training

tol

eran t o bad habits. Modern airplane design and tricycle given to transition pilots to polish-up crosswind and slip

tech

gear

have not

so

much

rendered

s

lip

and crosswind tech niqu

es as

remedial

in

nature and encourage those pilots to

niques

usel

ess, but rather have made it possible to neglect also use

them

when flying tricycle ailplanes.

Slips

Budd Davisson wrote a great arti

cle

for

the January

2003

issue

of

Flight Training

magazine.

t is

recom

mended reading for those interested

in this

topic.

In the article Budd

laments

the

rarity of seeing

some

one

perform

a sideslip

to

landing,

and then discusses the use

and

ad

vantages of

slips.

In

addition, he

dispels the misconception held by

some

that

slips are unsafe.

For

many of

the older Rag

modern

Wichita

Iron Clads

may

never have experienced a truly effec

tive sideslip and may, in fact, find

their first exposure a tad unnerving.

Both flaps and slips

create

extra

drag, but unlike flaps, the slip re

duces lift so

that both

components

of

the

lift-drag ratio are working to

ward

a steeper

glidepath

. In

addition, exiting a slip increases lift

and decreases

the

stall speed,

thus

the slip can be freely entered

and

ex

ited as needed

during the

approach.

the pattern and

on approach.

t

is

told to us that an off-centered ball

is

a

standing

invitation for a

spin

if

we

inadvertently

stall the airplane.

Although an off-centered ball is a

necessary condition for a spin, it

is

not

a sufficient condition. Acknowl

edging

that

there

are always

pathological

situations

for

any

ma

neuver, it

can still

be said, when

properly

done, that a slip is no less

safe than the Wings-level approach.

t

must be mentioned, however,

that


11/36

crosswind technique is required.

t

is

human

nature to reduce complex

operations down to their most criti

cal tasks. This allows us to dismiss

some tasks as trivial so

that

we can

focus

on

those that are more impor

tant. Because

of

the tricycle gear's

forgiving

characteristics

the side

loads induced

by

light

to moder

ately light crosswinds present little

hazard even when

no

concerted ef

fort is made

to

eliminate the side

loads caused by landing with a slight

crab

or

with a slight sideways drift.

Since experience

rarely

punishes

such infractions, some tricycle gear

pilots soon develop an unconscious

complacency toward those cross

winds that fall below some arbitrary

threshold. Unless a

student

pilot

is

trained

otherwise it

is

almost

in

evitable for bad habits to arise from

such natural complacency.

Any level of complacency toward

crosswinds while landing

or

taking

off in a taildragger may very well re-

sult

in loss

of

directional control.

Even what might

be perceived

as

fairly

light

crosswinds

can

be

dan

gerous

in

the

event of an

incompletely rotated

three-point

landing if drift

or

crab is ignored.

Complacency will

not

likely

last

very long with taildraggers,

though.

Experience is a harsh teacher. There

is nothing like doing S-turns across

a

runway centerline to

drive

home

an

object lesson on drift correction.

This is taking low-altitude ground

reference maneuvers to

the

extreme.

t is important

for

the

transition pi

lot to develop a keener sense of drift

By

the time crosswind compo

nents

reach

moderate

levels,

pretty

much everybody

recognizes

the

need to use some form

of

corrective

action.

A

drawback

to

tricycle

air

planes

is

that they

do

not always

force us to perfect our crosswind

technique. Almost any form of flail

ing

can

result in a successful, albeit

bumpy

, landing. On

the

other hand,

taildraggers demand us to be profi

cient in our crosswind skills,

and

either you have

them

or

you

go

someplace where the runway is

Wind-aligned.

ven what might be

perceived

as

fairly

light

crosswinds can

be dangerous

The private aircraft

that

the vast

majority

of

us fly are relatively slow

and

light. For these aircraft, particu

larly the taildraggers,

there

are two

acceptable methods used for cross

wind landings. The most frequently

used method for doing

crosswind

landing comes straight from the

FAA s Flight Training

Handbook

C

61-21A. For this type

of approach

a

crab

is

used for

most

of

the

final ap

proach. Then some adequate time

prior to the flare, a cross-controlled

attitude

is

established. The

cross

controlled

attitude is essentially a

runway-aligned

Sideslip into the

crosswind where the slip's sideways

motion cancels

the

drift caused by

the crosswind. The second method

wheel

landings must

be done

with

the minimum

of vertical

velocity.

Thus taildraggers require good con

trol over forward

and

vertical

airspeeds

at touchdown and

it

is

important

to be able to provide sus

tained control over the drift to allow

enough time to obtain the correct

forward

or

vertical airspeeds during

landing.

Bad

habits usually form the basis

for

any

difficulties that some transi

tion

pilots experience

during the

crosswind portion of tail wheel train

ing.

Bad

habits have their start from

insufficient primary training

and/or

subsequent neglect. First and fore

most Mother Nature does not

always cooperate during primary

training

by

providing the adequate

conditions

for

instruction

or

prac

tice

of

crosswind

techniques.

Also,

many

find it difficult to use effective

cross-controlled

rudder/aileron

si

multaneously with precise elevator

control. This

is

particularly true with

the

added workload experienced

during

landing. Frequently steep

learning curves

and

inadequate prac

tice opportunities prevent pilots

from

achieving the proper

level

of

proficiency.

Bad

habits form

if

these

problems are

not

corrected early, es

pecially

when the

forgiving

nature

of

the tricycle landing gear imposes

no dramatic penalties for improper

crosswind technique. Unfortunately,

taildraggers

are

unforgiving of

lax

technique of any form. t is then im

portant to

unlearn any bad habits

and

replace them with

the

appropri

ate skills.


12/36

BY H G FRAUTSCHY

JUNE S

M Y S T E R Y A N S W E R

- -

---

ARROW SPORT

The June Mystery Plane was disguised a bit from its

factory

configuration, but that didn t

fool a few

of

you. Here's

one

of

the

letters we received:

liThe June Mystery Plane is an Arrow Sport biplane

by Arrow Aircraft Corp .

of

Havelock, Nebraska.

The

side-by-side two-seater was

introduced in

1928

with

unbraced cantilever taper wings. N struts were

op

tional A five-cylinder

Le

Blond radial engine of 60

hp

on

the

original Arrow Sport was rated up

to

85 hp for

the

1931 Arrow Sport 85.

A brilliant red

and

cream restoration of the well-

preserved NC9325 by New York antiquers John Schlie

and Bill Archer was flown August 1965 after 31 years'

storage in a Hempstead garage. Photos

and

text in Fly-

in

July 1968

are

by aero historian

and

model

kit

craftsman Gene Thomas.

li he distinctive

25-foot-6-inch

wingspan

taper

wing form of the Arrow Sport was complemented by a

27-foot

wingspan copy

powered

by a

1l0-hp

Kinner

K 5 It

was called the one-of-a-kind C.P.3 Warren

Ta-

perwing

and was built

in

1931 at California

Polytechical. Ref . Skyways No. 47, July 1968.

liThe Arrow

Sport

V-8 low-wing

monoplane

with

reworked Ford V 8 auto power by Arrow Aircraft and

Motors Corp. of Lincoln, Nebraska, followed

the

bi

plane in 1936."

Russ

Brown

Lyndhurst, Oh io

Correct answers were also received from Charles F

Schultz, Louisville, Kentucky;

John

Henry Hess, Man

heim, Pennsylvania; Tom

Whisnant, Granite

Falls,

North

Carolina;

and Wayne Muxlow,

Minneapolis,

Minnesota.

THIS

MONTH S

MYSTERY

PLANE COMES FROM

ART AND BECKY

HASTINGS OF S U -

SANVILLE,

CALIFORNIA. THE

PHOTO WAS TAKEN IN 1931, AFTER THE AIRPLANE

LANDED ON

THE

ROUND

HOLE RANCH,

S

MILES NORTH

OF

RENO,

NEVADA

SEND YOUR

ANSWER TO:

EAA, VINTAGE


13/36

What happens

wh n

the fuselage gas tank splits

open in flight with no place to go?

M

ny

years ago, after search

ing and finding the

Franklin Sport 90, of which

only

six were

built,

I con

sidered myself lucky. I drove to New

York in the dead of winter to pick it

up. I left Milwaukee

on

Friday morn

ing and drove almost nonstop to New

York. When I got tired I would pull

into a wayside,

eat

a

sandwich, and

take a

nap.

I

had

a perfect alarm

clock-it

was so cold that in 15 or 20

minutes my cold toes would tell me it

L

KELCH

trailer with 12-inch tires . All four

wings were

on

top of my station

wagon. Rather

than

completely

restoring it I couldn't wait that long

to fly it), I did a

powder

puff" job to

get it in the

air.

Having

owned

and restored other

biplanes, I

didn't

expect

any

rigging

problems.

It

had as many wires

as

a

birdcage. I rigged it

and had

it ready

prior

to the

Fourth

of

July. We

had

guests on the Fourth for a cookout,

and I slipped away after we ate and

of the grass, slowing me up but help

ing to lift the tail due to the long gear

and

the drag

well

below the plane.

The

power

curve

problem was now

solved,

but

I

had

to get

out

of the

grass.

Having

a

little

time in float

planes,

I

applied the floatplane

rule-lift

one

foot

out

at

a time

It

worked, and I parted a

few

tree limbs

with

my

wheels on the way

out It

was

an ominous

start of a flight for

which I

had

waited for so long In the

air was a

second

thrill. I though t I


14/36

After my powder puff rebuild, I flew the Franklin to

After arriving home in Mequon, Wisconsin, with the the E convention in Oshkosh. Here it sits on the

Franklin Spor

t

but lost it on the rollout. The

high

grass stopped me with no damage ex

cept to

my

ego. I kept working on the

rigging

and

got

the

plane flyable,

but

I found it very attention-prone. I did

then

fly

it

to

Ottumwa

and

many

summer fly-ins, but it was still not

overly friendly to the pilot.

While

vacationing in Florida,

someone

told me of "Slim" Felder

man,

who

had

something

to do

with

the Franklin Sport. I was given a pos

sible location-Punta Gorda-and

found

only

one

Felderman

in that

area.

On

ringing the doorbell, a tall,

wiry, and

sprightly old

man invited

me in.

I told him I

had

a Franklin

Sport NC13139 registration number.

He asked me, Have you rolled it,

spun

it,

or looped it yet?

In

com

plete surprise I retorted, No-I have

trouble making it behave the way I

would

like it

to.

He snapped back,

"That's your fault." Having somewhat

of an accumulated ego with past

flight line

in 1973

part had a negative effect on roll, so

they sliced

it

off, which helped.

I returned

home

with a complete

set

of

plans

and

a renewed

approach

to rigging. Slim said to test the rigging

only in still

air.

If the plane stays level

hands-off for two minutes, it is rigged

correctly. That I did, and resorted

to

two-finger control

and my

first confi

dent enjoyment came about.

The

saga continued

.

On

a

very

mild

CAVU

(ceiling

and

visibility un

limited) day I was taking some friends

for rides. A dark storm appeared some

distance to

the

north, traveling east. I

tied

the

Sport down near

the

barn.

No problem,

I

thought. We stood

under

the patio roof

on the

barn,

watching the storm pass,

and

visiting,

when

all

of

a

sudden

hail

the

size

of

golf balls

came

tumbling

down off

the roof. First they

bounced

off the

wing

of the

plane. Then they didn' t

going right through

the

top cloth

and

then,

finally,

through the bottom

logs,

and

a registered repair station

had

signed it off. Oh

well

Here we go again. I completed the

airframe

restoration to show condi

tion

. Now came the engine. t

took

a

long

time

to find a usable case. I

lucked into a truckload of Lambert

engine

parts . Voila-I

had it made

and could

now

complete

the

restora

tion.

One more

curveball to

catch.

No

propeller. I

found

a new 50-hp

Continental wooden propeller, which

oddly enough is larger than a Conti

nental 85 hp . I tried it

and

found

that

the

90-hp

Lambert would not pull it

up to the proper static rpm. In des

peration I took a Stanley Sureform

file

and started lowering its pitch right

on the plane. I started

the

engine to

test it,

then

whittled

away several

times until I got

it close

to right. I

took

the prop off, sanded it smooth,

and then

checked its balance. I tried

it again,

and

it

had

a little roughness

that a wad of gum on

one

blade


15/36

In

97

, E pho-

tographer Ted

Koston shot these

three Birds of a

Feather.

Steer and filled the gas tank with 24

gallons of fuel. Away I went , ignor

ing all

caution

and

heading

straight

over the Kettle Moraine State Forest

to Oshkosh.

To

digress for just a moment-In

my restoration I made a new gas tank

and had intended

to

weld it

at my

company where we did

aluminum

welding daily. Dale Crites mentioned

that since he was the

one

to sign it

of f, he

would prefer that

I have

it

welded by a registered aircraft welder.

I did that, and it looked fine. Now

back to the story.

Right in

the

thickest

part

of

the

forest

the

gas tank split wide open,

and 24 gallons of gas came pouring

down the fuselage

under

my feet.

Off

went

the

switch-the

short

stacks

would

surely

ignite

the

gas

and, "Poof "

To digress

again-Arlo

Martine, a

very old-time instructor at Waukesha

County Airport where I

hung out

with Dale, once gave me a refresher

checkout on this situation, turning

off the switch and declaring

an

emer

gency

landing-I

saw a big juicy field

right in front of me.

"TRAP."

I started

a

regular pow

e

r-off de

c

ent.

Arlo

turned the engine back on and

ad

monished me, "Just suppose there

is

a

ditch or something

that

you can't see

ing

was

plenty

large and long,

but

had large pumpkins in

it

.

Knowing

how

tough

the vines are,

they

would

surely

trip me on my

back. At

the

other

end of the patch was a line of

large trees with an opening

large

enough

to

go

thro

u

gh, and

I could

see stubble

on

the other side of the

opening in

the

trees. I carefully spent

off

my altitude to go

through

the

opening. There was a stubble field for

sure, but a hill rose directly in front

of

me

. t is impossible to land

up

hill

with

the engine off. I think

an

angel

had its hands on the stick to make a

power-off 90-degree turn, 10 feet

from terra firma.

I straightened out, and the Sport

and I rolled less than 100 feet. I liter

ally escalated out of

the

cockpit and

scrambled

up

the

hillside where

I

watched

the

gasoline still running

out of the fuselage. An approaching

farm tractor that started circling the

plane interrupted my thoughts. My

fear factor rose fast. I was afraid the

tractor

could ignite the

gas

fumes

that

were all over

the ground.

I

got

him

away from

the

pl

ane.

We sur

veyed

the problem and went

to

his

house to

wait

for

the

gas

to evapo

rate

to

a safe level.

t

was lunchtime,

and they

invited me

to lunch. What

a

farm-style lunch they

gave

-

load. Other pilots wouldn't fly them.

The

long wings made them danger

ous; a quick turn

and

the long wings

could

hit

ground.

After lunch we gathered some tools

and

took off the cowling

and

all hin

drances

to get

the tank out.

In

the

meantime,

I

had phoned Vintage

headquarters at Oshkosh and told

them my pligh t. Before I knew it the

Williams brothers, Ken and George,

drove down and picked

me

up, gas

tank in hand. The welding school

at

the

fly-in had an old-timer who had

welded all

the

Waco gas tanks

at

the

factory, using hydrogen in place of

acetylene. He washed

the tank out

thoroughly with water, hid behind a

post, and struck a lighted torch in the

tank neck. When that didn't result in

an

explosion,

he

decided it was okay

to re-weld the tank. I was escorted

back to the farm, just west of Ke-

waskum, and we laboriously replaced

the

tank. I

purchased some tractor

gas

from my "new" farmer friend,

and thanked him

and

his wife, prom

ising

to come back some time and

give

him

a ride (which I did).

Back

in the

cockpit, I

pushed the

throttle

to the

wall,

dodged some

implements

left in the field

,

and

took

off

I immediately spotted an ugly rain


16/36

I

f Richard Porter, of Leeward Air

Ranch in Ocala, Florida, liked

to mess with

people s heads

about his airplane, it would be

an easy thing to do. What he

laughingly refers to as a 196, and in

fact is labeled as such

on the

tail, is

formed

aluminum

cowl is a Pratt &

Whitney R-985. The original Jacobs

755-cubic

inch oil pumper

was

heave-ho d over 40 years ago

in

fa

vor

of Pratt &

Whitney s

littlest

horsepower factory.

With

the

tip

tanks and monster

memorable antique fly-ins, and

then

moved to Zephyrhills, Florida, when

Richard was about eight. They

opened another FBO

and

that s

where Richard

got

seriously

and

deeply into aviation.

A lot of things happen when


17/36

while flying those old

birds

with

my dad.

t

was great while it lasted,

but the FAA and Part 135 saw the

end to that.

I was always working with Dad's

mechanics and was especially fasci

nated

with

engines. So after selling

the

196 and DC-3.

t

also was great,

but

by

the mid

'80s

the parachute

center was sold to a new owner who

didn't want to keep the 196, so the

196 was sold.

I gave a lot of

thought

to buying

the old 196, but it had over 12,000

190-195 classifieds in Trade-A-Plane

an

ad

popped up

that

described

a

195 equipped with Pratt & Whitney

R-985 450 hp. I immediately called

the

seller

and

I kept getting more

excited

with

every

question

I asked

him. 'Was

this

airplane a photo


18/36

The entire interior

is

being remade

home

by

two months.

in

sections with Richard tackling

When N4383V S/N7305 came out

the instrument panel as his first

of the factory in February of 1949, it

project. A

full

IFR panel with King

was delivered by the local Cessna

Silver Crown series avionics

is

the

dealer directly to Park Aerial Survey

centerpiece of a rebuild that r -

where they cut a good sized camera

placed every electrical component

hatch in the belly and put it to work

in

the airplane including all of the

for 10 years and 3,400 hours with its

wi

ring and circuit breakers.

300

Jacobs. Since they were doing

high altitude mapping, Park Aerial

had a local shop installing Pratt and

Whitney 450 R985s on some of their

195s. They referred

to their con

one

airplane

a year. In 1959

N4383V became the last

of

four 195s Park Aerial had con-

verted.

t

was also

the

second

of

the

only two airplanes that

ever received

the

wing tip

tanks,

which

was

not done

until 1966.

As

coincidence

would have it, my dad's old

196 was the first airplane they

converted to 196 and the first

to get the tip tanks.

Park Aerial flew it for the

next

11

years and 2,250 hours

after they converted it. Then

in 1970,

with

a total airframe

time of 5,650 hours, they sold

i t and i t started changing

hands through eight

other

owners, having only been

flown a total of 260 hours dur-

ing those next 19 years before

I bought

it

When I finally got it home

and looked it over carefully. I

think the phrase

I

used

was

that it was a flyable construc-

tive

total. t

had

been

a

working airplane

all

its

life

and

it

looked like it. Everywhere on

the airplane there were marks

that

every working airplane seems to ac-

cumulate over a long life . The

airplane had been handled and man-

handled so

much

that nothing was

straight. The skin

on

the top of the

rear fuselage, for instance, was full of

little

dents

caused by well

meaning

individuals who undoubtedly had

said, ' Here,

let me

help you move

your airplane.'

W

hen

I

bought the

airplane

the


19/36

no one was restoring 195s, so a base

level of

restoration

experience

on

the airplane hadn't developed yet. I

had exceptional he lp from my good

friend Max Bridges,

also of

Zephyrhills, who wanted to

learn

how to do aircraft sheet metal.

Fortunately for me, Jeannie Van

Sant up

in

Pennsylvania was still in

business. Her late father

had

pretty

mu

ch

cornered

the

market

on

195

and surplus LC -126 parts, which is

the military

195.

Jeannie had

a

printed catalog of all the parts she

had. I went

through

it

line by line

and ordered every new airframe part

she

had that

would fit my airplane.

Ray's Aircraft Service in

California

made

PMA'd

door posts and spar

plates; they also made

the

Plexiglas

cover

plates

for

the

stationary

in -

strument

panel marking the

switches and engine controls.

As Max

and I

looked

at the air

plane, it became obvious we were

going to have to be careful

what

or

der we

did

things in

because

so

much skin had to be rep laced that it

would have been

easy

to

lose

too

much structural integrity and we'd

have to build fuselage jigs. So, we

decided to do it a panel at a time.

By

the

time we finished the fuse

lage, we had replaced all of the top

fuselage skin from

the

tail cone

to

the firewall,

the

rear

spar carry

through, three

belly

skins

due

to

holes that had been drilled in

them

over

the

years, and all four door

posts.

We

reskinned the cabin door,

reskinned the baggage door, the en

tire cabin floor, installed new

seat

cell overhauls, and all new

fuel lines, control cables

and bell cranks replaced,

the

optional right

side

landing light installed, and

just general clean up.

The

real challenge in the

restoration

came

with

the instru-

ment panel and my desire to install

a full King Silver Crown IFR radio

package and standard gyro Til lay

outs,

including

dual

ILSs and

autopilot

in

a

small

instrument

panel that you can't reach under to

service because of

the

oil tank. My

solution was to build a new panel

and

radio center stack

that

was split

in

the

middle, with engine instru-

ments on

the

right

side,

and

flight

instruments

on

the left, and the ra

dio center stack

made

fixed in place;

you can

remove either

side

of the

panel without disturbing the radios .

I a lso built

a new stationary

lower

panel

and glove box and replaced

every switch, circuit

breaker, buss

bar, and replaced every inch of wire

in

the

entire airplane.

Ahead

of the

firewall was

not

ex

empt

from work either,

and

since I

was in the flat engine overhaul busi

ness at the time, the engine was not

a real big deal. I contracted

with

a

friend of

mine who

is in the

round

eng

i

ne

business

to

overhaul

the

ba

sic

engine pineapple

and my shop

did

the

final assembly.

We

installed

all brand new cylinders and hard-

ware

from the

crankcase out. On

went brand

new

late

model

Bendix

magnetos and E-80 starter, and I up

graded

it to a new

Jasco

alternator

Cessna didn 't build

it this

way the

unmistak-

able modifications made to

Park Aerial Survey's specifica-

tions give the

196

a unique profile,

nd spectacular performance.

picked out the seat upholstery and

paint colors.

The

airplane was

painted in

pieces, with

the

final as

sembly completed and the 196 test

flown

the

Friday evening before

the

1992 Sun 'n Fun Fly-in. I literally

broke

the

engine in while flying be

tween

Zephyrhills

and Lakeland

with the second

hour

being spent in

a holding pattern over Lake Parker.

When the airplane

was

origi-

nally

converted to the R985, it was

in restricted category for aerial sur

vey,

and I didn't want to live with

that and the limitations it carried, so

I decided to push for standard certi

fication. I know

others

who

have

tried

this with 450

P&W 195s

and

they've met with

stiff resistance.

However, as

is

always

the

case, you

just have to

hit

the right FAA rep on

the right day

at

the

right

time. Our

man looked at

the

12 Form 33 7s

previously done

over

the years,

looked at the seven more Form 337s

that

we had done, looked

over

the

airplane

and

said,

'[t

was

done

on

a

field approval

the

first time and

that's good

enough for

me.'

Like I

said,

the

right guy at

the

right time.

One of the

most

common ques

tions

people ask is how t compares


20/36

CALIFORNIA

Hayward, CA, VAA Ch.

29

Meeting

2nd

Thurs., 7:00 PM

Hayward Airport, Hangar 7

William Field, President

Phone: 510-784-1168

Email: [email protected]

Riverside, CA, VAA

Ch.

33

Meeting 3rd Sat., 1:00

PM

Clubhouse at West end

of Flabob Airport

Travis Gammill, President

Phone: 909-686-6268

Sacramento,

CA,

VAA

Ch.

25

Meeting 2nd Sat., 10:00 AM

For Place Contact:

Red

Hamilton, President

Phone: 707-964-7733

Email:

red@reds headers.com

FLORIDA

Lakeland,

FL,

VAA

Ch.

1

For Time & Place Contact:

James Conyers, President

Phone: 407-339-9061

Email:

[email protected]

KANSAS

Overland Park,

KS,

VAA Ch . 16

Meeting 3rd Fri., 7:00 PM

Gardner Municipal Airport-Term

Bldg

.

Gerald Gippner, President

Phone: 913-764-8512

LOUISIANA

New Iberia, LA, VAA Ch . 30

Meeting 1st Sun., 9:00

AM

For Place Contact:

Roland Denison, President

Phone: 337-365-3047

Email:

eaaac30@cox intemet.com

MASSACHusms

East Falmouth,

MA,

VAA

Ch

. 34

Meeting 2nd Sat., 10:00

AM

For Place Contact:

Roger McDowell, President

Phone: 508-457-0506

Email:

[email protected]

MICHIGAN

Niles,

MI,

VAA

Ch . 35

Meeting

2nd

Sat., 10:00

AM

Niles, MI 3TR) Term. Bldg.

Kenneth

Kasner, President

Phone: 616-699-7064

Email:

[email protected]

NEBRASKA

Plattsmouth, NE, VAA Ch. 31

Meeting 1st Sat., 10:30

AM

Plattsmouth Airport Term Bldg.

Keith Howard, President

Phone: 402-291-2103


NEW

HAMPSIRE

North Hampton

NH, VAA Ch.

5

Meeting 2nd Sat., :00

AM

Chaper Clubhouse

N. Hampton Airfield

Jack Hodgson, President

Phone: 603-895-3939


www.vaa15.org

NEW JERSEY

Andover,

NJ,

VAA Ch. 7

Meeting 1st Sun., 10:00

AM

Andover Aeroflex Airport

William Moore, President

Phone: 908-236-6619

Email:

[email protected]

OHIO

Delaware, OH,

VAA

Ch.

27

Meeting 1st Sat., 8:00 AM

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.vaa15.orgmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.vaa15.orgmailto:[email protected]


21/36

P SS

IT TO UCK

BY E.E. "BUCK" HILBERT,

EAA

#21

VAA #5

P O Box 424, UNION, IL 60180

Safetying fasteners

One

of the biggest

bugaboos

of pilot/owner maintenance can

be getting to understand the ins

and outs

of safetying fasteners.

What size and what kind of wire

do you use? And

where do you

get

information on

the proper

way to do it?

The

old

FAR

Part 43 rule was

quite explicit, but it has been su

perseded

by Advisory

Circular

(AC) 43-13-1B and 2A. This

AC is

available from aviation book sup

pliers, and if you happen to have

a government printing office store

in your local city, it often has the

manual there.

Chapter

7 in this

new manual (read "maintenance

bible")

is

very well illustrated and

explains it all.

What

follows are

excerpts from that AC.

Why safety? The book, and com

mon sense, says it's to prevent

screws,

nuts

, bolts,

snap

rings, oil

caps, drain cocks, valves, and other

parts from falling off the airplane

and scaring the unsuspecting public.

It also assures you, the pilot/owner,

that

things

are going to

hold

to

gether and keep you flying.

There are

all

kinds of safeties.

We

all know about cotter pins. They are

><

i

lt4MP\.(1

E)(AMPlEl lKAW

£)(.t.MPlE 4

~ 3 . ~ " a p p I y O a l t y p e s a l b o l t s . 1 ' I I I I I $ 1 " - n - l s c r l J W S

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VI1II3I" peru wtIIdIere WIred $0 th;iIlhe Iooseor.g

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~ 1, 3, atId 41OkOllllP the bop., potb)n ~ 1 0 5 I 1 h e

headoflhe

baR. The cllrection oflWisl

kom the

secotld to

!he third urn example

2 is cIockwtM

10

keep the WJr'EI poaitIorI around the

MCOf)(l ul1ll The WIfe eoteNog tile

hole

in the

ttWd un/

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wv.. excepl example 2.

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\tie

hellO

ot

tl\at Ix*.

~ s

5.

5 7 & S show meth0d5lor,.,;nog v ~ staMara rtems, NOTE w.re

may

be wrapped

0\1&1 tile U r ' l ~

tatl ef

ttl&n around W hen

wiring

Cfiteiated I M

Of on

othef llema when there os 8

de;;lIfar.c:ePfobiem

£

XAMPLE10

~ 9 .hows the

HoIow·1\ead

p/I>g.

~ COflect ~ t o n of lingle

mattoocI for

woMg

bob in

be w nd

81

,hown wife

10 doIeI)o

speced 1t\IJIft-

l1ifferent planK Nole thetabbenlonalde the plegroup

1I\a,,,,, should always be

hoIe lOeYOIdSNlgSand

IIJIPIied IKI

tNI le


22/36

VAA

CHAPTERS IN ACTION

VAA

hapter

30 s Young Eagles rally

H.G.

FRAUTSCHY

a few of the vintage airplanes used by Chapter

; O ; ~

members during their

Young

Eagles rally. The

Clipped Wing Cub is owned

by John

Edley. The Champ

Is owned by Richard and Roland Denison and the Tay-

lorcraft Is owned by Roland Denison.

Helicopter pilot

Eddie Bienvenu

adjusts the seat Skyler Bouillon age 10 is entranced as

VAA

Chapter 30 presi-


23/36

A

eap

o Faith

y

ROB

MI

XON

O

n

December

7 2003

there

will

be a

celebra

t ion

of

the Wright

brothers and the f irst

powered , controlled flight of an air

plane from level ground.

December 17

1903

near Kitty

Hawk, North Carolina, two brothers

walked the sands pulling a strange

contraption. Like Thomas Edison and

inventors before, some thought them

to

be

insane.

In

fact, only four spec

tators lined

the

route

of the f irst

flight of a power-driven, heavier-than

air flying machine. That flight was to

be

a total

of

120 feet and lasted for

a

total time

of

12 seconds.

Of the

three other flights accomplished

that

day,

the longest

was 852

feet

and

lasted 59 seconds.

The

Wrights

had

studied glider

flights done

by

others. These flights

flew down the sides

of

hills using up-

slope air currents to keep them aloft.

Another earlier glider designer, Otto

Lilienthal, was killed during a glider

crash in

1896.

Wilber

presented

a paper

to

the

Western Society of Engineers on

Sep-

tember 18 , 1901. He made reference

to Lilienthal:

"Otto Lilienthal

seems to

be

the

first

man who really comprehended

that

balancing was the

first

instead

of the last of the great problems con

data

that allowed

them to

build an

airfoil and wing

that

could

lift

a man

into the

air by powered

flight.

They

produced the first reliable table of air

pressures

on

curved surfaces. They

also designed

and bu i lt their own

lightweight

engine-not

bad for two

brothers who never completed high

L /

7 l

~ - . . o

Rob Mixon's Chanute-style hang

glider, which he flew in the

1970s

The glider had an N number, and

when asked by the F for its

method of launch, the

F

got

quite a kick out of Rob 's reply:

Leap off a cliff. Three flights were

made, until damage

to

the landing

gear (a sprained ankle) prevented

further fl ights.

school. In all fairness

the

higher

mathematics and education were ob

tained through home study.

It

is said

that

anyone can count

the seeds of an apple ,

but to

count

the fruit of

the seed is

pure

faith.

Perhaps it is the early demonstra

wings. As a

matter

of

fact

,

this

is a

very small

part

of its mental labor. If

I take

this

piece of paper, and after

placing it parallel with the ground ,

quickly let

it fall , it

will

not settle

steadily

down as a

staid sensible

piece

of

paper ought to do , but it in-

sists

on contravening

eve

r y

recognized rule of decorum, turning

over and darting

hither

and thither

in

the

most

erratic manner, much

af

ter the

style

of

an untrained horse.

Yet

this

is

the

style of a steed that

man must learn to manage before

f lying can become an everyday

sport.

Now,

there

are

two

ways

of

learning to

ride a

fractious horse:

one is to get on him and learn by ac

tual

practice how each motion and

trick

may be best met; the other is

to sit on

a

fence

and

watch

the

beast a while , and then retire to the

house and

at

leisure f igure

out

the

best way of

overcoming his jumps

and kicks. The latter system is the

safest, but the former,

on

the whole ,

turns

out the larger proportion

of

good

riders. It is

very much

the

same in learning to ride a flying ma

chine. If you are looking for perfect

safety

, you

will

do

well to

sit on a

fence and watch the birds; but

if

you

really wish to learn, you

must

mount

a machine and become acquainted

with its tr icks by actual trial. "


24/36

THE VINT GE INSTRUCTOR : ~ o .

------------------------------------------------------------------.

What s going on?

DOUG STEWART

T

he rumble was

unmistakable.

Since I

no

longer was living in the Bay Area of San Fran-

cisco, and the floor was not bouncing

enough

for me to call Flight Service with a PIREP (pi-

lot

report) of

constant light chop with occasional

moderate turbulence as reported by a man in his liv-

ing room, it could only be one thing. A round engine.

A Continental 220.

Sure enough,

looking

over to

the

downwind to

Runway 29, there was a yellow and blue Stearman. All

that make

the

strongest of us wince. And the pilot of

the

Stearman

was about to experience the verbal

wrath of

our

chief mechanic.

Taxiing

in to the ramp

on this

warm summer

da

y

the pristine Stearman tailed

to

the open hangar doors

of the repair shop . The pristine repair shop. Most of us

admiring the scene were in aural ecstasy as the

round

engine revved up just prior

to

the pilot pulling the

mixture

and

shutting down the

engine. There was

about one nanosecond

of

silence

betwe

en

th

e stop-


25/36

the

need

to be ever vigilant of runway incursions.

Most pilots have that awareness, especially after the

FAA

, EAA and other organizations have done such a

good job of educating us about

that

need.

I am talking about an awareness of things like who,

or what,

is

behind us

as

well as in front of us as we fire

up our engines, about whether or not we are blocking

the on ly egress

to

a

runway,

and about where the

wind is in relationship to us as we taxi and

run

up.

And sad to

say

from my observations there are

many

pilots

who

do not have this awareness, as the pilot of

the Stearman found out.

For example, do you pull your airplane

out

from its

tiedown spot

and

line it

up

in the

taxiway

prior to

starting? I'm sure

the owner

of

the

aircraft parked be

hind yo u will be appreciative, especially i f it is

an

award-winning beauty at a major fly-in. But it wouldn

t

matter if

it

were

an old veteran of a rag- tag flight

school; the need for courtesy remains . And if there are

folks sitting in that row of lawn chairs by th e FBO of

fice

holding up their score cards after each landing,

on

a sunny s

um m

er afternoon, I m sure they

don t

want

their bodies blasted with dirt, grass, and exhaust, even

if they do get off

on th

e smell of combusted 80 octane.

I m sure

th

e

combined

sco res they give a pilot for

startup will be

on the

negative side if that pilot

is

not

aware that his judging panel sits directly behind him as

he starts

up

. And that hangar

with the

open doors?

Would you believe

that

I once wi

tne

ssed a pilot blast a

se t of

struts sitting

just

inside an

open hangar,

th

at

were still wet with paint, not once, but three

tim

es, as

he taxied

in

circles

trying

to decide

wher

e to park. I

know that you will be more thoughtful.

f you are at an airport where there is only one taxi

way on

and

off the

runway

,

do you

taxi up to th e

hold short

line

before checking if there are aircraft

landing, or in

the pattern

for

landing? More

th

an

once I have observed

an

airplane have

to

go around ,

because there was

another

plane still

on the

runway,

unable to clear the

runway

because the taxiway was

blocked by yet anot

h er

plane th

at appeared to be

oblivious

to

everything but its own needs. I hope that

tioned

correctly for the quartering tailwind, showing

wha t I assume to be the pilot's awareness of where the

wind is

and

then

only to

stop the aircraft in the run

up

area with

the

tail pointing into

the

wind. As

the

throttle is

advanced

for

the

mag

check,

the

airplane

starts to jump around like an agitated kangaroo, while

the

yoke

or stick jabs

and

stabs at the pilot as only

Muhammad Ali

could do. The pilot probably wonders

(then

again, maybe not)

why

the tachometer seems a

bit less stable

during

the run-up. I guess I am wrong

when I ass-u-me that

the

pilot is aware of

the

wind.

Had

the

airplane been faced

into the

wind prior

to the

run-up, it would

have been

more stable

on the

ground, have more accurate instrument indications ,

and

have been less

prone to

overheating.

So as we see situational awareness is important in

our gro

und operations.

Be aware

of

where you

are

and

what s

next. I t is

important

not only from a

safety

standpoint,

but from a courtesy standpoint as

wel l. The

lack

of awareness

might

not necessarily

l

ead

to an accident or incident, although there

are

certa in ly situations where it might, but it will defi

nitely

lead to ill will from one 's fellow pilots and

mechanics

.

Practice

situational

awareness on the

ground, as well as in the air. It 's

one

of those steps we

take as

we transition

from

being

a

good pilot to

being a e tpilot

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26/36

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j

y S4

:

' - ' I

continued from page

18

Zanesville, OH,

VAA Ch. 22

John

s Landing, 5800 Wortman Rd.

For Meeting Time Contact:

John Morozowsky, President

Phone: 740-453-6889

OKL HOM

Tulsa,

OK

VAA Ch.

10

Mee

ting 4th

Thurs., 7:30

PM

Hardesty Library

C

hristopher

McGuire, Preside

nt

Phone: 918-341-6798

E-mail: cmcguire@att net

SOUTH C ROLIN

Cross,

SC,

VAA

Ch.

3

For Time & Place Co

ntact

:

John

Betts, President

Phone: 252-225-0713

Email: betts@maii c1is com

TEX S

Houston,

TX,

VAA

Ch.

2

Meeting 4th Sun., 2:00

PM

Dry Creek Airport Cypress,

TX

Tailwheel

Transition

Training

continued from page 9

runway in crosswind conditions, it

is highly probable

that

side drift or a

crab will occur if cross-controls are

not

used. I have had a pilot relate to

me

that he

had

ground looped on

takeoff in such a situation. It

is

fairly

rare but certainly not unheard

of,

al

though most ground loops do occur

upon landing.

In closing let me reiterate

that

,

for

the most

part, taildragger tech

niques are really

the

same as

those

that should be used for tricycle air

planes. I t is

just

that

taildraggers

require a strict

adherence

and a

mastery of those standard tech-

niques

. Also,

it

is easy to find a

certificated flight instructor

who'll

sign you

off

with only

a cursory

treatment

of

ground

handling,

wheel

landings, slips,

and

cross

winds. I hope I have convinced any

potential transition student

that it

is in his/her best interest

to

insist on

a comprehensive training program.

If you are

not

comfortable with

do

ing wheel landings or crosswind

operations,

it

is

unlikely that

you

will practice

and

learn them

on

your own.

Having a

complete

skill

set gives you

the

confidence in your

abilities to

handle

those less than

ideal

conditions that have

a nasty

habit of turning up . This will help

you

better

enjoy that lovely tail-

E Flight Planner™

EM in an agreement with

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an

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vintage airplane - sep 2003

Documents