THE PRESIDENT'S PAGE By E. E. "Buck" Hilbert

President, Antique-Classic Division

CONVENTION TIME IS HERE!

(Photo by Ted Kaston )

Most of our activities will be centered about the Antique and Classic Division Headquarters Building, and the forums tent. The building will be manned everyday all day, and the guys and girls will do their best to accommodate your desires for back issues of The Vintage Airplane, memberships, decals, patches and what not.

There will be a meeting of officers, directors and chapter presidents open to all the member­ship at noon on Sunday. This is the only time available from the forum schedule. The floor will be open to suggestions and you'll have the opportunity to meet your officers and directors in person.

Through the efforts of your Vice President, J. R. Nielander, Jr. , the forum schedule is full from 0900 Wednesday, the first day, through 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, the last day. And there is something for everyone, too. I defy anyone to say J. R. hasn't put together a really interesting set of forums. I don't think I'm going to have time to look at airplanes . . . there is just too much going on at the forum tent.

Our time slot in the main building is the anchor; we will wind up the Convention from 9:30 p.m. 'til dark. At that time we'll have any last. minute awards and you'll meet some interesting people.

You early birds, come prepared! Have your sleeves rolled up and your working clothes on. There will be plenty to do for all concerned, and let's arrange it so that we alI have time to see the airplanes and visit with our buddies by sharing the work.

See you there!!

HOW TO JOIN THE ANTIQUE-CLASSIC DIVISION Membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division is open to all EAA members who have a special

interest in the older aircraft that are a proud part of our aviati on heritage. Membership in the Antique­Classic Division is $10.00 per year which entjtl( ~ s one to 12 issues of The Vintage Airplane published monthly at EAA Headqua r ters. Each member will a lso receive a special Antique-Classic membership card plus one additional card for one's spouse or other designated family member.

Membership in EAA is $15.00 per year which includes 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. All mem­bership correspondence shou ld be addressed to: EAA, Box 229, Ha les Corners , Wisconsin 53130.

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VOLUME 2 - NUMBER 7 JULY 1974

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Reminiscing With Big Nick .. . Nick Rezich . ................ . ........... ... . .. . . . ........ ... .. 4 The Life And Times Of Tweety Bird ... Dave Hamilton .... . .......... . .... ... .... ..... . . ...... 13 Nostalgia .. A Georgia Odyssey! . . . Evander Britt .... . ...... ...... . . .. .. . .. . .... .. .. . .. . .. . .. 16 Golden Oldie of the Month ... Gar W. Williams .... ...... . .......... ... . . . . . .... .... .. .... .. . . 20 Around the Antique/Classic World ..... .... ... .... ....... . . .. ... .. ... .. ... . .. . ... .. . ....... . .. 23

ON THE COVER ... Howard DGA-ll when BACK COVER ... Jungmeister and Ryan! new. Now owned and being restored by Photo by Ted Koston Bill Wright of Tulsa.

Courtesy Nick Rezich

EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher - Paul H. Poberezny Editor - Jack Cox Assistant Ed itor - Gene Chase Assistant Editor - Golda Cox

ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS

PRESIDENT - VICE PRESIDENT E. E. HILBERT J . R. NIELANDER. JR 8102 LE ECH RD. P. O. BOX 2464 UNION. ILLINOIS 60180 FT. LAUDERDALE . FLA. 33303

SECRETARY TREASURER RICHARD WAGNER GAR W. WILLIAMS , JR. BOX 181 g S 135 AERO DR., RT. 1 LYONS. WIS . 53148 NAPERVILLE , ILL. 60540

DIRECTORS

EVANDER BRITT JIM HORNE MORTON LESTER KELLY VIETS P. O. Box 458 3850 Coronation Rd. P. O. Box 3747 RR 1, Box 151 Lumberton , N. C. 28358 Eagan, Minn. 55122 Martinsville, Va. 24112 Stilwell , Kansas 66085

CLAUDE L. GRAY, JR. AL KELCH GEORGE STUBBS JACK WINTHROP 9635 Sylvia Ave. 7018 W. Bonniwell Rd . RR 18, Box 127 3536 Whitehall Dr. Northridge, Calif. 91324 Mequon , Wisc. 53092 Indianapolis, Ind. 46234 Dallas, Texas 75229

DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRETARY DOROTHY CHASE , EAA HEADOUARTERS

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by Ant ique Classic Aircraft . Inc . and is published monthly at Hales Corners . Wisconsin 53130. Second Class Perm i t pend ing at Hales Corners Post Office. Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130. Membersh ip ra tes tor Ant ique Classic Aircraft. Inc. are $10.00 per 12 mOnlh period of which $7.00 is for the subscripllon to THE VINTAGE AI RPLANE . All Antique ClaSSIC Aircraft . Inc . members are requ ired to be members of the parent organi zation. the Expenmental Aircraft Association . Membership is open to all who are interested in aVI.ation.

Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc., Box 229, Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130

Copyright «> 1974 Antique Classic Ai rcra ft, Inc. All Rights Reserved

3

THE HOWARD STORY - PART TWO

The DGA-8 was built under ATC No. 612. With an empty weight of 2,330 pou nds and a gross weight of 3,800 pounds, true airspeed at 10,000 feet was around 190 mph - 187 to be correct. Rate of climb was 2,000 feet the first minute. Wing section, I believe, was a NACA 2R212 with 21/2 0 in­cidence and zero dihedral. Basic price was $14,500 F.A.F.

All th e material I once had on the DGA-15 is gone. I loaned it to a guy who was going to convert a 15 to a tri­gear and he never returned any of it. (Now I know why my brother Mike won't let me borrow any of his material! I don't blame hi m ... I lost a very precious photo collection because I let a supposed good fri end borrow them .) Inci­dentally, the photo of the original Flannigan on page 13 of the last issu e was not taken on the evening of the first test flight, but sometime later. That particular picture is in a locked vault in my brother's house or bank . .. and for good reason, as it is the only one taken that evening oth er than the ones taken by the Howard bunch.

About this time I left Bluebird Air Transport and went to work for American Airways at Chicago "Muni ." I never thought much of airline work, so I kept my regular visits to the Howard factory on a time clock basis a nd I would always remind Mr. Ewing and Mr. Purcell that I wanted a job with Howard. In the meantime I got to know th e "inards" and "ou tards" of the Howard and I made friends with all 24 employees. Then it happened!1

They sold two more airplanes and I was hired ... I was number 25. I went to work for "Red" Gross in the Finishing Department (dope and fabric) and I remained with Howard until July of 1944 when I (and about 20 other Howard men) entered the armed forces. When I left, I was plant super­intendent.

Working for Howard was a family affair. Everyone had the same goal . . . to build the best damned airplane in the world. Pride in workmanship just oozed all over the plant. If ever there was an airplane built to perfection, it was th e Howard. We had time cards and a payroll department ­4

REMINISCING WITH BIG NICK Nick Rezich

4213 Centerville Rd. Rockford, III . 61102

but that was on paper only. We worked overtime, Satur­days, Sundays and never received extra pay . .. and never expected it. It was either work and get the airplanes deliv­ered or shut th e doors.

Everyone was capable of working in all departments. If you were needed in the wood shop, you worked on wings, ribs, e tc. - or Assembly or Welding or any other place needed . Our engineers were mechanics ... when they designed a new part, they didn't send a blu eprint out to the shop, they ca me out and built it themselves to see if it would work. The same for test flights - the chief engineer, Gordon, or Walt or another engineer, would fly the air­planes th emselves or ride wi th the test pilot. I'll tell you a good story about Gordon Israel nex t month in the Model 18 story. The same a pplied to our sales people. They flew th e airplane and th ey knew the mechanics of it.

Other than factory demonstrators, all civi lian Howards were custom built. The order would come out from Sales as "Mr. or Mrs. Howard, Model 8, 9, 11" or whatever model and would list the eguipment, color, NC number, type of interior, panel and promised delivery date. From then on, we all referred to the ship by the owner's name. There would also be special notations, such as "soft back seat special", or "make s ure windows roll up and down guietly", or "wrap wheel half with leather to match" or "consult with pilot before installing radios".

Most company airplanes as well as private ones had their pilots at the factory from the time the fuselage went into the jig to completion. When the airplane was ready for delivery, it was inspected by Sales, then by Benny and if it was O.K., the department h ead of each department was on hand when the customer arrived. If the cus tomer had any changes, sguawks or whatever, the department head and his lead man would take care of it to th e customer's satis­faction. When B. D. DeWeese became president, he was the hardest man in the world to satisfy . .. he was the airplane inspector supreme! And he knew w here to look, BELIEVE YOU ME!!

During the early years at Howard, we built everything in the factory . The only thing we sent out for was coffee and sandwiches.

When the fuselage left the jig and all the clips were welded on, Mike Babco would take a torch and a rubber mallet and straighten all th e tubes by eye sight. The fus e­lage and tail group would then go to Inspection and Paint. We did not sandblast the tubing but, ins tead, cleaned and etched it by hand. We then painted it with two coats of zinc chromate - the second coat being a tracer which was silver. After Sub-Assembly it was back to the paint shop for cover. We would bring the whole airplane up through silver, then it would be moved to th e Sheet Metal d epar tment and fulty assembled. This served two purposes: first, it aged the dope for final paint and, second, a per fect fit of all the sheet metal was assured. All those fancy fairings with the double curves were all handmade, along with th e NACA cowl. Later on we bought th e wheel pants and nose cowls. Many fairings were two and three piece affairs welded to­gether to form the fancy curve.

After the sheet metal was all fitted, the ship would go back to th e paint shop - this time on the gear and with the engine in it - for final color. Many people think of the Staggerwi ng as having the best fini sh in those days . The Staggerwing did have an excellent fini sh, but not quite as good as the Howard. It was declared by NACA that th e Howard had the smoothest finish in the indus try.

During the construction of the DGAs, we used contour conformity jigs throu ghout and a few secrets that nobody else was using. Have you ever heard of putting nitrate dope over varnish? Can't be done, right? Wrong!! We did it. Let's leave the airplane in the paint shop for final color while I tell you how we built up to a perfect fini sh. The wings, as many of you know, were all-wood wi th plywood covering plus balloon cloth. Befor e the wing was covered it was checked for conformity with a wing secti on jig, th en the top layers of skin were attached. We did not use nailing s trips but, instead , drove the nails into the plywood, itself. We would have all th e panels laid ou t wi th the nails s tarted

only through the tip. Then they (the skins) were positioned on the wing with the glue holding them in place. Now the Wood Butcher's Symphony would begin! 6 wood butchers armed with their hammers would start the nailing proce­dure, which was the secret in making a two way curve wi th wood - with no wrinkles. They would strike each only once and each man knew the sequence of driving each nail. This same procedure applied to the flaps and ailerons. After the trimming and after the glue had set up, the wings went to the paint shop ~or 3 spray coats ot tull strength varnish. The first coat was sprayed at8:00 a.m., the second at noon and the third at 5:00 p.m. The masked-off bottom panels were also sprayed at this time. After the bottom panels were nail ed in place and trimmed, the wings went back to th e dope shop for covering a nd final paint.

The dope "slobberers" would use a power sander to grind all the nail heads down flush and shape the wing to a perfect contour. Next came the varnish. We would cut the varnis h 50-50 with Tolu ol and rub it into the "'ring to act as a sea ler. This was th e secret to perfectly formed wings .

Let me back-track here ... when we received the ply­wood, we would check it for proper moisture content, then s tore it in a homemade moisture control room. It was checked aga in before application to the wing. I have for­gotten the moisture content we used and myoid factory records were desh'oyed by an over-ambitious housekeeper . .. who shall remain nameless here.

After the varnish dried, we sprayed 2 cross coats of clear dope on the wood surfaces for bonding of the balloon cloth. After the wi ngs were brought up through silver, we let them age or dry along with the fuselage and ta il group for 2 weeks or more, depending on schedule. Now, the hard work s tarted. We would sand th e whole airplane down " fl at" so a ll the tapes were hidden. We had a hard time training and keeping sanders. We did not use sanding blocks as a sanding block ca n't feel sharp edges, tapes, rib­s titching, etc. As a result, the skin on a sander's fingers wou ld become so thin they wou ld bleed. BELIEVE-YOU­ME, [ know - many a Howard has my blood in it" We

(Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich)

Shell Oil 15. Pilot: Jim Wheeler. One of two bought by Shell. The other one is in Rockford, /II . owned by Ron Rippon. This wi/l be a super Howard when Ron finishes it.

5

would repeat this process after the final coat. Now came the "finish perfection." From 1936 through

'37 we hand rubbed our surfaces to a super gloss, but from late '37learly '38 we buffed them with a 2-speed buffer. This was a tricky operation as it was really easy to bu rn the finish when you used the high geqr. Brother, you had better know your business or you bought yourself an airplitne. We also applied the wax with the buffer. The mas ter buffer was Eddie Brooks. He was th e one who checked me out on the buffer even though I was th e fore­miln. Eddie and I put the final finish on all th e Howards up to late 1940 when we checked out a couple more men. This buffing operation was not only tricky, but somewhat dangerous. In the hi gh-speed mode it generated a vacuum between the surface and th e pad. You had to make sure there was nothing in the path of thi s vacuum.

I learned the hard way ... I was a cocky young show-off. I had ju s t fini shed buffing a fuselage and was standing back admiring my work - and decided to put ju s t a little more gloss at the tail end of the fuselage. I sprinkled the fuselage with th e compound and started in \,vith quick sweeps. then it happened l

I sucked in the nav lig ht wire hanging out the back of th e fuselage. I tore hell out of everything - fabric, v-,,;re and metal bulkhead. Well , needless to say, that took care of my cockiness l I shook for two days after that, but my first thought was that of getting fi.red. Cutting off my arms would have been less painful than being fir ed from Howard Aircraft. To make a long story short, I stayed at the plant all night and repaired my damage so th e airplane could go into final assembly by morning. TIl ere was no Watergate co\'er-u p .. , the whole plant knew it and I got ribbed about it for il long time, That buffer was dangerous and that's wi1\' \\'e didn't check anybody else out for a long time,

We built the production airplanes just like Benny built th e Flannigan. We would assemble everything but the wings ,1 t the factory, then truck the wings and tow the fuse­l'lgC to the fined ilssembly and flight test.

The hangar we used for final assembly was myoId alma mater, Bluebird Air Transport, which, in turn , had taken o\ 'er the Texaco hangar, In the early days only a couple of men went with the airplane for flight tes t, but as we built more airplanes, the hangar became a full size department. My younger brother, Frank, worked on final assembly as a foreman at the plant and the hangar.

VVe had our ups and downs, financially, from the day the plant opened until the day it closed, The year of 1939 was bad, so bad that it looked like it was going to close, One day the word came down that we were shutting down until 3 or 4 orders were received. I knew some people at Beechcraft, so 4 other guys and myself took off for Wichita in my new Dodge, ,only to find that Beech and Cessna were in the same shape as Howard Aircraft. Cessna was building manure spreaders to stay open! We w ent to Stear­man and here I go t hired, but not my buddies. I had a cou pIe of days to get moved so I drove back to Chicago that night. During the drive, we talked about Howard, Beech, etc., and we decided th ' hell with Wichita, we were sticking wi th Howard. When we arrived back home, my mother said, "Howard is looking for you to come back to work,"

When I arrived at the plant, it was a ll hustle and bustle, "Sl im" Freitag and J. D, Reed of Houston , Texas had come in with a fistful of orders, J, D, has sold just about every oil company in Texas a Howard l This was the break Howard needed. From then on, HOWill'd was on sound footin g . B, D. DeWeese left Stinson and came on as manager and late r became president. He was responsible for converting many Stinson customers to Howards,

We expanded th e plant and production went from one a

month to one a week. I was promoted to assistant plant superintendent at this time and George Lyons became plant superintendent. Mr. Earl Ewing, the original plant

superintendent, went with Bell Aircraft in Buffalo, N, y, Then came the nightmare, the Model 18, the low wing trainer. I will devote a separate chapter to the "18" story,

Working for Howard Aircraft was rewarding in many ways. Most rewill'ding was the privilege of working with the su p er star craftsmen of the indush-y. I met all of th e top people in the aircraft manufacturing business, famous people in government, movie stars and many of the country's leading business men . I'll never forget the day I m et Wallace Beery. Mr. Beery was en route to Detroit to purchase a new Stinson Reliant and as he was changing planes in Chicago, h e saw Walt Diaber taking off on a test flig ht with a new Howard, Beery turned to one of th e air­port employees and asked, "What's that?". The fellow replied, "That's a Howard,"

What ath'acted Beery's attention was the angle of dimb, Diaber, like Benny Howard, had a pattern for every take­off. With Walt it was break ground and climb at about a 45° or 50° angle up to about 3,000 or 4,000 feet.

Beery watched the Howard go out of sight, then went in and cancelled his flight to Detroit. In a few minutes he anived at th e factory and just walked into the Sub Assem­bly d epartment and s tarted looking around. Before the day was out, Mr. Wallace ordered a Wasp powered Model11 .. , and Stinson had lost another sale, thanks largely to the per­formance of a Howard, A short time later Beery 's pilot anived at the plant to follow the building of his new air­plane, Wallace Beery was an excellent pilot but his movie contracts requir ed that he have a professional pilot on board. When he took delivery of his new 11, he threw a huge party for the whole plant. He really loved the Howard a nd when the new Model 15 was available, he traded the 11 for a 15. His 15 was a special airplane that later helped us secure th e Navy contract,

Beery loved to hunt. He wanted an airplane that he could camp in and with room enough to fly home his catch, This meant some kind of fold-down seat that could be con­verted into a bed, The final version was a fold back seat, which was later used as a stretcher in the ambulance Navy Howards, When th e new airplane was completed, Beery came to the factory for a check -ou t a nd he a nd Benny wen t riding in his new 15.

That was the last airplane Benny Howard delivered as president of the company. Mr. B, D, DeWesse became president after that delivery. Benny never recovered finan­cially after the Mulligan accident. As I sa id earlier, the plant was running on bo rrowed money right from th e beginning , It Still' ted out as Ben O. Howard and Associates, then the Paul H. Dilvis group got involved and it became Howard Aircraft Company, One of the early investors and good friend of Benny's was Mr. Dan Peterkin, Jr., President and now Chairman of the Board of Morton Salt. Dan bought one of th e eMly 8s and it was fancy - special paint, a flock­ed instrume nt panel, e tc. , th e works. We later used this same airplane to develop th e 11. Howard Aircraft was slow getting off the ground and we made some marketing mis­takes.

We built a bunch of airplanes that many people are not aware of. The 15P was the most popular and the one we built the most. We also built a 15 with a 330 Jake. We built the 8, 9, 11 , 12 and 15 as civilian airplanes. The 12 was a Jake powered 11 - we built 2 of them. We built an economy 9 with a 225 Jake and a Curtiss-Reed prop. We built a 12 with a Jake and a Curtiss-Reed prop. We were trying to keep the price down and be competitive with Beech and Waco and I believe that was our mistake,

6

(Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich)

This company publicity photo depicts Benny Howard 's last delivery of an aircraft as president of the company.

7

The Howa rd had a reputa ti on as bein g a super per­formance ilir plane - which they were with the Wri g ht or the Was p. When these economy models hit the ma rke t, th ey changed our image . Those 300 Jakes al most put us out of business by repu tation. The engines were junk. We had problems with th em even in tes t.

The airpl ilnes tha t so ld were th e Wasp 11 " nd 15 and they were th e most ex pensive . Every time we built an economy model we were ea ting up Benny's precious money with a n airpla ne tha t wo uld no t sel l. As a result, we had more fac tory demo nsh·a tors th an Beech.

Mis take num ber two was tha t we d id n' t put fancy pai nt jobs on some of the economy jobs a nd thi s hurt be­ca use we hild the rep utation of hav ing th e bes t fini sh in the indush·y. But all th at changed with th e 15 - w hen we we nt 100% Was p, delu xe fini sh inside and out il nd a wide gear.

The fi rs t 8, or "Flan niga n", had a typica l Howard gear ­hi gh il nd narrow. Th is was a throw-back fro m th e rilcers. If you are a n old tes t pil ot, you will unders ta nd the reason­ing behind thi s type of gear, that is, to be abJe to rota te th e wing to the max a ngle of a ttack for short take-offs a nd landings . Flaps were new to mos t pilo ts and the Howard fl aps were drag fl aps (even th o ugh the Fowler tl ap was aro und the n). Wh en Walter Brownell ca me o n as chi ef engineer, the fir st thi ng he did WilS to lower th e gear a nd add steering to the ta il w heel. He also desig ned a new set of tlippers for better control and lig hter fee l. This was soon foll owed by an even lower a nd wider gear and still later the 15 had a completely new gear. The bigges t mis take - and th e most frequ en t - in tl ying a Howard is trying to do wheel landings - whoopsl The landing gear was des igned and buil t with a set of taxi springs and an oleo s hock s trut

. the shock sh·ut for la nd ing a nd the spri ngs for taxiing . So when yo u put it on the springs for landing, you ju s t set u p a booby tra p tha t mi g ht ju s t bite yo u! La nd th em 3- point a nd you won' t have any problem - crosswind, up wind, downwind or no wind.

All Howards were good stable tl ying mac hin es. Th e only goofy ones are th e twis ted wing Navy jobs . I perso na lly like th e 11 over all the res t as it is the bes t performer of all and had the bes t fee l. The basic structure remained vir tua ll y unchanged fro m the 8 through th e 12 and were built like a brick outho use. All the w hil e the fac tory was in o pera ti o n, the civilian Howards were never invo lved in a fa tal acci­de nt. Oh , they broke 'em up, but no one was ever killed or seriously injured .

I reme mber a few good ones . We had an 8 that belong­ed to a furnitur e compa ny in India na that we nt on its back so hard and so fas t that is did not scra tch the wheel pants. Damage amounted to windshi eld, cabin roof a nd verti ca l fin - no bent tubes in the fu selage. We had a no ther bea ut ... a bra nd new 15 that belo nged to a pea nut ma n in Min­neapolis . Thi s was a bea u tiful two- to ne red job wi th a w hite pin stripe. This guy was flyin g it home from the ractory and got into some weather between Lone Rock and La Crosse, Wisconsin a nd tl ew it, full bo re, into the ground at a nearly level attitude. He knocked off the gear and went sliding on th e be ll y. Wh en the noise s topped , he a nd his lady fri end got out, ca lled th e factory a nd sa id come ge t it and fi x it. They go o n a nd on . We had a black and gray 15 which we ni ckn amed "The Hearse. " This g uy was sho w­ing his ranch to some fri ends a nd fl ew it into a tree . H e ca me out of it with a broken ankle. The airplane needed tw o new wings , new tlippers, new gas ta nks, a ll new meted, new mo to r mount and pro p. We fixed it.

Th e "fu zz" got into th e act, a lso. We sold 3 Ho wards to the CAA - all these were loaded "'lith special radio gear a nd w ith all that on board a n inspector couldn ' t find Kan­

sas C ity! H e put it down in a fie ld a nd proceeded to bus t it:­all to h ell, but we fi xed that o ne, il lso.

This same CA A Ho ward almost cos t me my I ife. We were waiting for th e s pecia l radio gear to be returned to the factory after the acc ident so tha t we could finish assembling the airpla ne a nd we were short o f factory space, so we d ecided to ha ng th e fu selage fro m the ceiling until the radios ca me in. As we were ho is ting it in pl ace, a cable bro ke and the fu selage rolled over and ca me down invert­ed. I was standing to o ne side during the hois ting, but whe n th e fu selage rolled, I wa s directl y undern ea th and the cabin roof kn ocked me to th e ground a nd out. Wh at saved me from beco ming a pa nca ke was a bench a nd th e mo to r mou nt lu gs. As the fu selage was coming down, the motor mo unt lugs ca ug ht th e edge of the bench a nd s topped it from cru shing m e. When I recovered and found out tha t the cable th ey were using was rope ins tead of aircra ft cable, I s tormed into Steve Sanyard 's o ffice and proceeded to tear he ll ou t of him. As purchas ing age nt he boug ht the ro pe cabl e as a mo ney saver ins tead of aircra ft cabl e . Needl ess to say, we put it back up wi th aircra ft cable'

We had very few wo rking accid ents a nd very littl e absentee ism. We trained our own fir e brigade and they saved th e f<lc to ry twice. It seems to me that all a ircraft fac tori es a re the sa me . .. they always place the welding d epar tment a nd th e dope shop back-to-bac k. Howard was no exception. Th e south wall of the dope sho p was the div ider betwee n the welding d epartment fitting welders and th e spray boo th . The welders would ha ng their lighted to rches o n hangers whil e turning over parts .. . with the flame pointed toward the wall! Well, one fine day one of these to rches burned a hole in the wall and WHOOM! We had a fire!

Whe n I fir s t saw it, th e tlame was abo ut the size of a baske tba ll. By the time I sounded the alarm, which was at my desk, th e whole wes t wall of the spray room was a tlame fro m tl oo r to ceiling. Behind that wa ll on the outside we had s to red about 20 barrels o f dope thinner. All I could thin k abo ut was tha t soo n w e wo uld have Rom an candles go ing off all over the pl ace w hen those barrels went, and that wo uld take care of the factory.

This is ha rd to believe, but BELIEVE-YOU-ME, the fac­tory fir e brigade grabbed their assigned extinguishers and rushed in and put out that nitrate dope fir e . .. jus t as they ra n out of extinguishers and the sprinklers went off. While thi s was going o n, we had one complete airplane in there being s prayed w ith silver dope which was removed , believe it or not, withou t fir e damage. Wh en the fir e department arri ved , we were in the process of cleaning up and were back in productio n th e next morning. If that fire brigade had taken 30 seconds longer to respond, we would have los t the fac to ry. Tha t fir e taught me a lesson ... I needed more protec tion. First, I turn ed th e welder 's benches 180", nex t I moved the do pe s torage area, I doubled the number of ex tinguishers and cut explosio n doors in the roof.

The next fir e took place while I was in Florida on the Gulf Oil Tour and the Miami Air Races. It happened on the second shift. Mike Bernat, the foreman, was spraying a set of wings with black nitra te d ope whe n h e noticed the black turning to ora nge. Wh en he turned around, the whole dope room was in tl ames . Aga in, the trained fir e brigade exting uis hed th e fir e and saved the factory. The wings? Oh, they were O . K. - no fir e damage! Yes, we were lucky . . . but the answer to some of that luck was a good and well trai ned fir e brigade who were no t scared to go into the potential bl as t area. Speedy res pon se a nd the proper type o f exting ui shers were th e keys. As I said earlier , every­bod y a t How ard was super.

8

Above (Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich)

Jake powered 15. The ship is now in Minnesota.

The economy 12. Note the Curtiss-Reed prop and the long motor mount.

We built a super airplane with super people and then we built some super, SUPER jobs ... like the 15P that went to G eorge Mason, president of Nash Kelvinator. This was the most expensive Howard ever delivered. It had everything super special - paint, interior, radios, two doors - the works. Another super specia l went to Merrill C. Meigs when he was in Washington, D .C. with the War Department. The company ordered a scale model of this airplane to be delivered along with the airplane. My brother , Mike, built the model and I must say it was super super. Detail was so fine - it even included miniature maps in the seat pockets. It was mounted on a simulated runway with grass sides enclosed in glass.

We built some super Howard ISs for the du Ponts, Shell Oil bought two, Texaco one, Pure Oil two and Humble

Oil one. Several governors bought Howards; Mr. Putman, presiden t of Chicago and Southern Airways bought one; and th e Free French bought some. The list goes on and on. 1941 was our banner year ... then BAM! the war. Wh at could we build for the war effort? The gutless 18 was going to C.P.T., but it was not accepted as a primary trainer by the Army.

About the time it looked like the end for the 15, 10 and behold if ol' "Sl im" Freitag, vice president a nd top sa lesman, didn't come up wi th the answer. He returned from Washington with an order from the U.S. Navy for 30 custom built Howard DGA-15Ps. These first 30 airplanes were built the same as custom jobs, including a high-gloss silver finish and plush interior. This now paved the way for o th er military orders, which included the ambulance and

9

the instrument trainer. Later came a sub-contract to build the Fairchild PT-23.

This was when B. D. DeWeese and the Navy decided to twist the wing on the 15 and goof up a good airplane. We stepped up production to one a day and received the Navy "E" Award ... and I was promoted to plant superintendent.

In the meantime we were building a plant in West Chi­cago next to the St. Charles airport (now the Du Page Coun­ty airport). The new plant would build PT-23s on one side and NH-ls on the other. The army was in a hurry and want­ed PT-23s before the new plant could be finished. I was sent to St. Charles to get the 23 program roLling as well as the NH-l. I used my Culver Cadet, which I bought the year before, to commute the 15 miles or so between Muni (pre­sent Chicago Midway) and St. Charles (Du Page County).

The first PT-23 was built in an old warehouse in Geneva, llIinois and assembled at the St. Charles airport. The next six were built at the airport. We then moved into the new factory and used the hangar as the fly-away hangar. It was here in St. Charles that we had our first fatal crashes. The airport then had two grass runways - a long EIW and a short SWINE. Two Navy aviators were picking up two NH­Is; the wind was W-SW about 15, gusting to 25. The pilots were ins tructed to take-off west. As they taxiied out, one pilot decided to take off SW vvithout informing the other pilot or the hangar. The airplane taking off west was air­borne firs t ... the one taking off SW met the west bound plane at the intersection and he Hew right through it. The west bound craft crashed and burned and the other landed on fire - the pilot survived. Surprisingly, the sur­viving aircraft did not suffer much collision damage.

We also had a PT-23 crack up. This time an Army pilot was taking delivery of a PT and the engine quit on take-off. He just kept on climbing and turning until he spun in. The company test pilots never put a scratch on any airplanes all during the production days of Howard Aircraft.

The only near mishap with a Navy Howard came when the NACA wrapper cowl came loose and tore up the air­plane. This was really funny when it happened. You would have to know Walt Diaben, the test pilot, to fully appreciate this story. This was GH-2 built by the main plant and Walt was west of Muni putting the airplane through final Hight test - which included a dive to 280 plus mph. It was during this dive that the cowl came loose. It took the windshield out, that big chunk of tin then took out the compass, and the stabilizer adjustment handle (all on the roof). The rest of the cowl went over the wing tak­ing out part of the left wing, Hap and left nipper. In the meantime 01' Walt got on the radio and called a May Day to the Muni tower - which we could hear on our hangar moni tor.

Well, he never turned off the mike after the first call and all we kept hearing was, "Whoa, you #?1&/!$! Whoa, you #ii?&(!$1! Whoa, you #!!$&?0/#!1!" He landed with full power to control the ship. Later, he told us his only worry was whether the fuselage rib stitching would hold. He said the fuselage sides bulged ou t like a balloon and he was glad that fabric was stitched! Walt was killed after the war while working for International Harvester - by a B-23 propeller.

Howard continued to grow with the military contracts and the new plant. Everything was going fine until 1944, the power struggle was on which ended with the plant closing down before the war was over. Only two aircraft plants were shut down during the war - Howard and Brewster.

With our growing production, we sub-contracted many parts and assemblies in the Fox River Valley area just west of Chicago. I became president of Valley Aircraft along with my duties at Howard.

When the power struggle was under way, the first order of the day was to eliminate the old original staff and I be­came a tiHget - and a good one. I was slated for plant manager and the new group didn't want this. They wanted to milk th e government dry with bootleg sub-contracts, phoney pay roLls, phoney consultants, etc. I was one of their biggest obstacles .. . so I had to go. But how? Well, I was single with only my mother as a dependent. Those (expletive deleted) went to the Draft Board and told them they had a new plant manager and I could be taken off the deferred list. When the word came down to Howard Aircraft that I was re-classified to lA, the stuff really hit the fan. The president, Mr. B. D. DeWeese, went to the Draft Board and wanted to know why. He was informed that his office had directed the Board in its action. DeWeese then went to the U.S. Navy contract representative, a Captain. He went to Washington to stop the action, but it was too late. By the time he got the red tape untangled, I was on my way to Fort Sheridan along with about 20 other faithful Howard employees. That was in July of 1944 and Howard closed its doors less than a year later.

End of story?? No!! Before I left Howard, I took with me all the phoney

records, phoney sub-contracts, etc. When the war was over and I was operating the Pylon Club, I was paid a visit by the FBI which was investigating the defunct Howard Air­craft Corporation. I was still mad at those (expletive deleted) and was ready and willing to spill my guts to the FBI. Before I testified, I called my boss who was president of Howard when it closed. I told him I would keep my mouth shut if it would hurt him. He told me to tell every­thing and he would back me all the way. I thanked him and spilled my guts ... end of story ... end of Howard Aircraft.

Next - the Model 18 Howard.

Oshkosh '74 is about a week away for most of you living in the USA and Canada. Now that the fuel crisis has settled down, all indicators point to the largest Fly-In ever. A 20% increase in attell­dance is predicted. With 20% more aircraft, campers and autos , EAA is stepping up the safeh) program by 200%. In order to main­tain our respected safety record, we need the co-operation of roery­one on the site.

Remember, when you arrive at Oshkosh you will be at the world's busiest airport. Approach Oshkosh as you would Chicago O'H are. Before you leave home, pick up a copy of the letter of operation from your local FSS. Study the letter and adhere to it. Plan your trip carefully, giving yourself ample time. Take your time, don't push weather. The Fly-In is a week long and it is a lot more fun flying your airplane during the Fly-In than spellding the week picking it out of a farmer 'S field and trucking it home.

I have asked Paul to establish a Division Safety Trophy. This Trophy will be awarded to the EAA Division with the best overall safety record at the Fly-ln.

I believe the Antique-Classic Divisioll can win this award sim­ply by helping each other. Example: If a buddy needs a wing walker, jump in and wing walk; a buddy needs a cockpit minder for a start, jump in and help. Here are some "don'ts" - do not pull any props you can't handle, let the owner handle it. Don't let a stranger fly your airplane with out a proper check out. We get many Lind­bergh's at Oshkosh - so watch Olll'! If YOIl have a car or trllck in the immediate area for children or someone sleeping in a bag. Keep an eye on smokers. If YOIl see a smoker by an airplane, ask them to pllt it alit. An accident is an accident whether it be an airplane, auto, bicycle or whatever. They all can rllin a good time and be costly.

Beliroe-you-me, being safe is no accident. One last word, be sllre to sign up for at least one days voilln teer work.

Enjoy the Fly-In from the ground lip!! Fly and drive safely.

10

(Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich)

The Nash Kelvinator Howard, the most expensive one ever made. George Mason was president. Photo taken just south of Muni (Midway Airport in Chicago).

(Photo Nick Rezich) The Pure Oil 8 .. . before and after.

(Photo Nick Rezich)

The ghost of Howard - made by the paint shop when a lay-off was announced.

11

(Photo by J. D. Reed) Humble Oil 's red and white 15, one of many Howards sold to the oil companies.

(Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich)

Left

A Jacobs powered 15.

(Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich) A production Navy job - built by the main Howard factory in Chicago.

. at "".....

.' . .. ~

.: 1" ,,:~~ : .... -;. '~~ .. ' ,...... -:. ~ #

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TWEETY BIRD

By Dave Hamilton (EAA 48226, Ale 15)

905 Slack Drive Anderson, Indiana 46013

It all began in 1968. I started out the summer looking for a "basket case" Cub. On every trip throughout the summer a little time was put aside for nibbing around airports in the areas we were visiting. With no luck I was about to give up on an antique or classic Cub and build a homebuilt, then in September I heard about an Aeronca LC just 20 miles southeast of us . I went down to check on it only to find it was not for sale. A fellow at this airport told me about a J-3 in Greenfield, Indiana, just 25 miles south of my home. He gave me the name and address of the fellow who owned it. The following Saturday I drove down to take a look at this Cub. TNr man's name was Bob Willis. I found him to be a very int1 esting fellow; he is an avid antiquer

(Photo by Jim Mahoney)

Dave Hamilton and Tweety Bird about ten minutes after she was finished. 15 minutes later she was in the air.

and is a storehouse of information on antiques and classics. He was one big help to me later in rebuilding the Cub.

Well, to get on with this story, I looked over his Cub and found it was built in November 1945. I asked Bob if it was for sale and it wasn't at that time. He was planning on re­building it himself. After many more visits with the Willis family, our family and their's became very good friends . I pestered Bob many times about the Cub but he said he wanted to see it restored as she came from the factory . That was the point we saw eye to eye on, we both had the same idea in mind, being to put her back in original configuration . The following February, Bob and his family came to visit and he gave me the good news, that he would sell the Cub to me.

We got a duce flatbed and hauled the Cub to my house the following weekend. I completely disassembled the plane and had the fuselage sandblasted. Upon inspection I found some pits in the lower longerons. The inspector came over to look at it and condemned it. My bubble burst. He said it would be best to part it out or get a new fuselage . The problem was where do you find a Cub fuselage in better shape than the one I had? Bob and I decided that

13

we would rebuild the o ne I had . I built a jig to fit the old fuselage a nd s tarted cutting out th e old tubes . I had to re place bot h lo w er lo ngero ns fr o m cen ter o f the gear httmgs to the tailpos t, all cross and diago nal tubes on the bo ttom, fo ur vertica l tubes betwee n upper and lower long­erons, and r ear gear fittin gs. I found aD air die grinder wIth a bUrrIng tool was the bes t tool for thi s; it kept th e heat down to a minimum. I had abo ut 200 hours in thi s job fro m s tart to fmlsh. I go t a ll th e new tubing tacked into place a nd the n Bob s pent quite a few ho urs welding it up. Atter z lIlC ch roma ting it I received the O.K . to go ahead . . Atter abo ut three weeks of pains taking work putting th e IIlter~o r and ba.ggage co~partment in and bringing the IIlteno r up to sil ver, I notIced that what once were good sharp corners were now pulling awa y and becoming fill ets due to the taute lllng of the dope. After looking at it for about a week I deCIded to start all over. This time every­where I wanted a sharp corner I sewed a piece of pinked ta pe a nd wrapped It around the tube or channel in the co rners. By doing this I was abl e to obtain the corners I was a fter. At the time I put the interior in I also put the rIg ht SIde on the fu selage. This was to make sure the side and interior fabric were bonded well to each other at the doo r opening. I was now ready to finish the interior with new fl oo rboa rds, black trim, e tc.

Nex t was the big job o f the ex terior o f the fu se lage. A ft er 12 coa ts of cl ea r do pe then 6 coats of silver and fini sh­ing up wi th 4 coa ts of color, the job was done. The wors t part W ,lS the wet sa nding between a ll coa ts of dope, but thI S 15the o nl y way to obtain a super slick fini sh. The wings were tinis hed in mu ch the same w ay .

Ross Gresley, the president o f Ch apter 226 at that time, was a t my ho me every nig ht helping me ribs titch. There we re many other members in th e chapter on hand at vari­ous tImes to lend a ha nd w hen needed.

To put thi s Cub into the sha pe I was looking for , I re­placed a lot ot parts. Jus t to name a few: new tires, landing gear vees, shock cords, lo ng a nd short shock cords struts, one ex pa nder tube, bra ke fairings, brake cy linder dia­phragm, brake lines, hu b ca ps, brake blocks, all new glass, llls trument panel, boot cowling, s tabilizer yoke and screw, a ll new cables, turnbuckles, new landing edge aluminum, a ll new fairings, new s tringers, three wing ribs, pulleys, throttl e plates, th ro ttl e ca bles, new fa irleads, every bo lt, nut and screw replaced, s ti ck grips, new gas tank, one rI ght rear strut, ti e rod nipples, gascola tor, engine rebuilt, p ro p rebuilt a nd e ngine cowl. This was something in itself. Bob Fros t, a fri end in G reenfield , had been sa ving this engin e cowl for abo ut 12 years for ju s t such a r ebuild . Bob Willis managed to scrounge up a comple te set of white faced Cub ins truments over th e years. These two additi ons helped ma ke it original a ll the way.

I had scrounged for an orig inal all the way. J had scrounged fo r a n origina l Sensenich prop for abo ut

2 years w he n I hea rd abo ut som e props at C lpital Drive Air­port in Milwa ukee.

My wife Ph yllis spent many hours doing the sea ts o n th e Cub . Sh e hunted until she found some expanded vinyl WIth the sa me gralIl pattern as the original buttons off the old sea ts and repainted them. Th e old seats were ta ken a part and used for patterns, and the new sea ts were stitch­ed exac tly the way the old ones were. Except for the foa m rubber ins id e, yo u ca n' t te ll th e m from th e origina ls . Ph yllls had many bro ke n fin gernails and thread burns from sewing up the seats, but witho ut her work th e "ole Cub" wo uldn ' t have been near the res tora tio n it turned out to be.

Ross Gresley a nd I s pent about two weeks a fter wo rk every night putting it all together. We didn ' t think to much o f th e s tring -from-tip - to-tip - to -rig -th e -wings ­

m ethod, so bei ng a pattern maker, I made a s traight edge. H ave you ever seen a 36 foot straight edge? This made the job much easier.

"TW EETY BIRD", as N-42621 h as a ffectionately become known, was inspected on S unday, July 16, 1972 and passed with flyin g co lors .

We worked the following w eek putting fairings on and do uble checking every thing . The fo llowing Sa turday, Ross a nd I took her up for her firs t flight. As I taxi ed down to the end o f the runway, I wondered about this bolt and tha t bolt . . . had I tightened the m all? Well, we were ready to take o ff, the big moment was here. As we we nt dow n the runwa y, I figured the minute she left the gro und I wo uld ha ve to give her le ft or ri ght s tick to compen sa te for rigging. " WOW", s he was rigged perfectl y, the s tick was rig ht in the center' After 3 yea rs and 5 month s my drea m had come tru e. I was in the air in my own original J-3 C ub. Ross and I fl ew around for quite a whil e doing some lazy 8's, chandelles, s ta ll s ... "s he" fe lt bea utiful.

After about a n hour of flight we returned to the airport and were ta xiing up to th e gas pump a nd noticed a big crowd around a littl e Taylorcra ft. Anderson was hav ing a n air show the nex t day a nd the Cole Bro thers were to be the performers. Dua ne Cole had alread y arrived and was o n the ramp; I noticed him looking a t the Cub and soo n ca me w alking over to take a closer look. H e sa id he had bo ught a Cub in 1945 and my registrati on number ca ught his eye; la ter he checked hi s log book and hi s number was jus t two different than mine - mine was NC-42621 , his was NC­42623. Duane a nd I ta lked about the Cub for quite awhile. He looked it over very closely, as ked if I was going to Osh­kosh '72 and said I should do well. I didn ' t think I had a chance as that is the big one.

Ph yllis a nd our d a ughter, Miche ll e, took the tru ck camper and ou r son, Derek, and I fl ew the Cub to Oshkosh. After arriv ing, w e looked a t every Cub tha t arrived a ll w eek and finall y thought maybe we had a chance for the " Bes t·Cub." On Friday of that week we were asked by the judges to s ta y for the awards Saturday night. After we did n' t get the " Bes t Cub" award or the " Bes t 65 H .P.", I fig ured they had cha nged their mind and one of the la te­comers took it. Then the bigges t moment of all - G RAND CH AMPION CLASSIC AIRCRAFT FOR 1972, NC-42621, owned by Dave Hamilton, Anderson, Indiana' I could hard­ly believe my ea rs. "She" won the big one. Since that big moment, she has taken 3 more firs t place awards a nd one second. It doesn't take a big, rare, one-of-a -kind to win a t air s hows. With work and a lot o f T. L.c. - even a C ub ca n do it.

14

ey)

Tweety Bird the day Dave brought it home from Bob Willis ' Spraying the wings. (Photo by Jim Mahoney)

strip.

BEL OW, LEFT - A gaggle of Cubs. ABOVE - An angular old Stinson axle deep in fescue.

BELOW, RIG HT - A Franklin-powered Cub on a father­ABOVE, RIGHT - " Old Black Joe" and-son tour.

NOSTALGIA - AGEORGIA ODYSSEY!

" Backward, Tu rn bac kwa rd, Oh Time in Th y Fl ight "

The grass under my feet was a bluish green with the fescue, ryegrass, and common bermuda sprawling over each other in riotous splendor. The clover was there if you had time for s uch things. The tiny yellow buttercup under my feet smi led up at me. I was sixteen years old walking back to the hangar wi th my 6-foot white Modelcraft Spook 72 gull wi ng model with Ohlsson 60 Cus tom engine and large flashlight batteries inside jauntil y held on my left s houlder. The other six foot gassie, the bright yellow Berk­ely Buccaneer C Special with the "S kyc hief" engine was wa iting near the hangar to be flown next. Ah, I had been chasing these big gassies throug h the lush g rass of this o ld field for two years now, a nd it was wonderful to experi­ence th e ex hiliration of yo uthful exubera nce so dearly loved in the summer of 1942.

But that was no Bucca n ee r w ith a S kyc hi e f in front of that hangar. That is a yellow Cub - a real one­with a 65 Franklin. That is no Ritz Super Thrust on the nose. That is a brand new woode n Sensenich, or is it a Fahlin propellor?

... This isn' t a childhood friend, its Dr. Ed Garber of Fayetteville, N.C., walking beside me up to the Doug Rounds' hangar at Zebulon, Georgia, 50 miles south of Atlanta. It isn' t really 1942 - just 32 years later now, April 27, 1974, as we arrive a fter a n hour and 15 minutes je t flight to Atlanta and a Hertz Rental drive on south to Zebu­lon. My mind is playing tricks on me. No, time hasn't really turned backward. There is "Old Black Joe", the 1928 Stinson SM-2 s tanding in front of the ha ngar that I sold Bob Jenkins in - was it 1966? There's Bob himself with that cigar clamped tightly in his teeth grinning . H ere comes

By Evander M. Britt (EAA 13,137)

Britt and Britt, Attorneys At Law P.O. Box 458

Lumberton, N.C. 28335

(Pho tos By Author)

Dou glas T. Rounds, the ge nial owner of thi s nostalgic ai r­port that Bonni e le ts him keep only beca use it is cl ose to his hea rt.

Do ug is a pretty good boy' He's been dow n South from Michiga n way 10 - m aybe 15 years now. We may decide to keep him a nd le t him s tay. We ju s t aren't sure yet. Things move s lowly in Georg ia. Didn't we drive by Jonesboro on the way down from Atlanta - the home of "Tara" Planta­tion which w as the nos talgic site of "GONE WITH THE WIND"? Yeah, but remember those hickory axe handles he brought to Ottumwa or Blakesburg fo ur years ago ­personally e ndo rsed by Lester Maddox - then Governor of Georgia. Jus t one more caper like th at and back you go to Yankeeland for sure , Doug'

But there, hiding in her hangar in front of a pris tine Yellow Cub is the one he ca lls "?&# ([.vii !!([.v& ole &# (u, !'?!" - - tha t beautiful "origi nal" 1931 Stinson JR-S , affec­tionately known throu ghout our na ti on as "Raggedy Ann", but some folks call her "Patches". Perhaps this Flagship of BTB Airlines will be hi s passport to stay down South after all.

One of the recent songs inquired: " Wh ere have a ll the you ng gi rl s gone?" I know for sure tha t the brigh t yellow J-3 Cubs have all disappea red from the airports I've been to in the last few years: Raleigh-Durha m, Indianapolis, Chi ­cago. Not a Cub in sight a t a ny of th ose Jet-X brand pl aces. Of course not' They all fl ew off to Georgia some winters ago, a nd they are s till there . Count th em on both sides of the hangar, lined up as far as th e eye can see over th e curving pasture that was for cows until a cow made the mis take of ea ting half th e fabric off a Cub two yea rs ago and now it's airport only - count them -14 bright yellow Cubs on one field at one time. On Sunday, you'll see all 14 in the air at once merrily chasing each other's tails until

16

ABOVE, RIGHT - George Hefflinger's Waco . ABOVE - Kelly Viets stops to admire a rare 1933 Fair­Child CBA. BELOW, RIGHT -John Parish 's " Big Red."

you get dizzy watching those little yellow birds come tum­bling by doing nea rly 60 miles an hour. Not since 1946 h ave I ever seen this many - oh, why lie about it? I never saw )-3's together in my life. Not even parked side by side at Oshkosh. But here they were a living dream of noise bub­bling happily by just out of reach over head. Probably the happies t of the carefree aerial creatures with their doo rs and windows wide open with 2 sets of grinning white teeth staring down at us below from each of them.

Ca n thi s be Blakesburg? Gastonia? Oshkosh? No, its Zebulon for rea l. Twe nty-si x hundred feet of beautiful green grass strip 300 fee t wide with 2 metal hangars and severa l open shed type hangars. Even an outside "privy" with a real half moon cut in the door, appropriate signs in­side about "pilots with low manifold pressure please taxi close to th e ramp", and yes, even a Sears-Roebuck catalog. Man, the de tails o f thi s place are amazing for reality!

Jus t ins ide the big hangar th ere is a Bellanca Skyrocket on her outrigger gear with wings overhead. A Cessna Air­mas ter o f Jenkins' in th e opposite corner not fini s hed either. An extra Airmaster cowl hanging on the wall, and overhead - the Travelair 6000 wi ngs as well as the front nose cowl of a Hellcat F-6-F with faded yellow paint is just another goodie to make visitors drool.

Stinsons.. . Lord, but Eddie would be proud of hi s de­pression children if he cou ld be here today: 1925 Stinson SM-2, 1931 Stinson JR-S , 1930 Stinson SM-SA, and the only other remaining SM-2 le ft in the world (I think)- the last remaining SM-2AA with 165 hp. Wright )-6-5. And if Ed Garber and Dolph Overton had brought their respective JR-S and SM-SA (Old Yellow Puke), it wou ld be the largest coll ection of Straight Wing Stinson Detroiter , )r.'s left in th e world. Still probabl y the record with 4 . And then the plumb younguns! Three 1944-1946 Staggerwing Beeches. God, how th ey growled th rough those grinning cowls.

a few gallons of SO octane and ca mp under the wing. A leisurely tlight down and back teaching a young boy the beauties of the South from the open windows of a slow moving C ub - LAUGH I G ALL THE WAY - as Bclrbara Howar wrote of her Was hing ton , D.C. ex peri ences.

White with red trim, th e New York Daily News 1940 Waco ARE with 330 Jacobs sa t nes tling in the fescue in front of th e hangar, only an hOUl' and forty minutes ou t of Greensboro, N.C. with a beaming Dick Austin proudly s ta nding nearby.

Could that be the head of the Ercoupe Club, Kelly Vi e ts from Stilwell, Kansas standing beside the 1933 Fairchild 24-CSA 110 Warner powered with the immaculate black fuselage and red trim with original silver wings? Sure is, on his way to Coca Beach, Florida a nd found it hard to turn down a good Fly- In with his lovely wife Edna.

But old Kelly "ain't" the furth erest travelled o ne to get to thi s tly-in, not by a " damsite. " There sits a dirty - mo th eaten, riltty, working airplane - orange a nd creilm with checkerboard cowl: an English DH Tiger Moth, tired some­what from years of towing gliders. Adjacent to it is a beau­tiful rebuilt si lver and blu e French, or is it Belgian -Stampe aerobatic biplane. Transversely ac ross the fi eld sit two Bueckers - A )ungman n and a Jung meister - all the way from Germany. Even fu giti ves from Adolph's Luft­waffe eagerly seek the lush green grass of the State of G eorgia.

May I present yo u ladies: Bonnie Rounds, Mrs . Bob Jen­kins, and Mrs. Rounds, Sr., Doug's mother visiting from Michiga n! And now, that we've formallv m et, may I please have another hot-dog? Forty-eight dozen hot-dogs with roll s, chilli, and more than s ixty cases of Coca-Cola were served over th e two days by these three lovely South­~rn Bell es. There was a volunteer kitty container that you could feed if yo u felt like it. A real good idea, Doug sa id, for after feeding hundred s of hung ry people time after time, the kitty was lea ner, bu t broke exactly even.Imagine - what would a New York based 1941 Franklin Now that's what I ca ll southern gentlemen who pay th ei rJ-3 Cub with pretty green stripes be doing here? Oh, noth­was as they go . Of course Doug had a few co ld-ones arounding much. Just a father and son who sawall the pretty

airplanes lined up below and s topped las t night on their th e corner of th e hangar, but rea lly, beer isn' t lega l dow n

way back to New York from Disney World in Florida to gulp h ere in God's Country... unless you know th e Sheriff.

17

And overhead, a dusty old Waco ASO with 220 Con­tinental conversion had the hiccups and kept doing tlip­tlops till we got sore necks watching him. Reminded me of the 1939 airshow when I saw a fifty horse Cub doing about 50 consecutive loops.

Then on Sunday, those Cubs began chasing each other's tails - just like a bunch of hound dogs-until the sheer delight of it all made you dizzy just watching. And to walk behind that 1933 Fairchild 24 and see those span ailerons, and then see exactly the same full span ailerons on top of Big Red - the 1946 G-17S Staggerwing Beech.

Surely not? Oh yes, here comes a real live Grumman F-6-F Hellcat with wheels down grinding down to­ward the grass until the wheels strummed the clover and fescue and back up into the sky. Neither foolish nor fool hardy - just touching his wheels in fond salute to all the antiquers present. Had it not been for the large White arrow painted and pointing forward under his left wing as he howled by, we wouldn't have been sure in which direc­

tion he was flying. Yep, a few minutes later, here came a DC-3 roaring down to touch his wheels and then slithering right back up again. 2600 feet is a wee bit short - even for a -3, if you're out of practice. Just visiting trom the Air Academy over at Griffin, Georgia. 139 airplanes in two davs. Tens of doze ns of Antique fri ends. Bob and Brent Taylor all the way from Ottumwa, Iowa. George Heitlinger and wife along with Tony Tobiason from the State ot Michigan. .

These, and a whole lot of the Good Lord's Georgia Crackers made my weekend backward to nostalgia most meaningful and memorable. Why don't you ti-y it: Oshkosh, Blakesburg, Ottumwa, Gastonia? The names are dif­ferent. The entertainment is always the same. Just good people and fine old birds, which, like fine wine, just k eep on improving with age. May I invite each ot you, my frIends and fellow Antiquers and EAA'ers to come join me in Osh­kosh July 31 - August fl, 1974, to continue thi s Odyssey in a few short weeks from now.

Doug and Bonnie Rounds.

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GEORGIA ODYSSEY ... CONTINUED

by Joseph Jup!ner

Hard cover

Volumes 1 Ihru 5 $9.95 each.

Vol. 6 $11 . 95

Complete word and picture story of each certificated airplane since # 1 of 1927. 600 classic airplanes are presented in the 6 volumes available . (Additional volumes in preparation) .

o Vol. 1, 256 pages. 316 photos , A TC # 1, Buhl-Verville " Airster " thru ATC #100 Trave l Air "6000", 1927-29. $9.95

o Vol. II , 300 pages, 316 photos , A TC #101 " Bird " biplane thru ATC #200 , Park s P-2 . 1929. $9 .95

o Vol. III , 301 pages , 316 photos , ATC #201 " Monocoach " thru ATC #300 Lockheed "Sirus", 1929-30. $9.95

o Vol. IV, 320 pages , 334 photos , A TC #301 " American Eagle " thru ATC #400 Emsco B-3-A. 1930-31 . $9.95

O Vol. V, 294 pages, 320 photos , ATC #401 "Travel Air 12" thru ATC #500 . Boe­ing 247. 1931 -33. $9 .95

o Vol. VI , 365 pages , 373 photos , ATC #501. CoW "Condor " thru ATC #600 , Fairchild 24-CB E, 1933-35. $ 11.95

Racing Planes and Air Races Complete story of Air Rac ing, its planes and pilots . Each paperback volume has over 100 pages. up to 200 photos and sca le drawings . by Reed Kiner! o Vol. 1, 1909-1923. $3.00 o Vol. 2, 1924-1931 , $3.00 o Vol. 3, 1932- 1939: $3.00 o Vol. 4, 1946-1967. $3.00 o Vol. 5, 1969 Annual , $3 .00 o Vol. 6, 1970 Annual , $3 .00 o Vol. 7,1971 Annual , $3 .95 o Vol. 8, 1972 Annual . $3 .95 o Vol. 9, 1973 Annual . $3 .95 o THE NATIONAL AIR RACERS In 3-Views, 1929-1949 by Mendenhall 90 3-views of the race planes of the Golden Era with notes about the racer - pilot - race results BY2 x 11 $3.95

o THE GOLDEN AGE OF AIR RACING - pre 1940 by EAA. Histories of the racers , stones about their pilots and designers with race results and 3 views. Hundreds of pictures make this a must volume for the racing enthUSiast $4 .00

o THE ART CHESTER STORY by Caler. The life and feats of Art Chester-barnstormer. race pilot and designer. 75 photos & plijns $295 o RACING PLANES GUIDE by Chflsty $2 .95

HISTORIC AVIATION prints and books fo r the collector

3850·8 Coronation Rd . Eagan, Minn. 55122

Ene$ ______ (Minn . res . add 4 % tax) Name _________________________

Address _______________________

City ___________________________

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Postpaid 14 day Money·back Guaran tee 75¢ Handling on Orders Under $10.00

19

Golden Oldie Of The Month

The Travel Air Mystery Ship

By Gar W. Williams

9 S. 135 Aero Dr. , Rt. 1 Naperville, III . 60540

(Photos Courtesy The Author)

Travel Air - this name brings to mind visions of OX-5's, biplanes barnstorming low and slow - but SPEED - not really.

Mystery Ship - now there's an image of speed - marry . the two - Travel Air Mystery Ship and you have the image

that the Army would like to have forgotten back on Sep­tember 2nd, 1929, in the free-for -all race at the National Air Races. In this race, Doug Davis and his Travel Air R, NR­614K attained a high speed of 194.9 mph which was several miles per hour greater than his nearest military competitor. This win was in spite of Doug's missing a pylon and an additional circle of said pylon to insure his com­pleting the race without error.

This remarkable performance was obtained without any revolutionary design concepts. The airplane was aero­dynamically conventional - a low wing, wire braced monoplane. Practically every known drag reduction method was employed. Gose examination of the pictures will show to what degree the designers stressed stream­lining. Wheel fairings, tapered wings with fillets, wind­shield, all carefully done to keep a clean ship.

Two young Travel Air engineers, Herb Rawdon and W . Burn~am designed the 'R' as a sport and racing airplane. A reVIew of the stress analysis handbook, which is now on file in the Smithsonian Archives, points out that the design was far from 'eyeball' and it is not surprising that initial test fligh ts showed performance which equaled or bettered all predictions.

The original plane, NR-614K, was powered by a modi­fied version of the Wright J-6-7 (R975) 300 horsepower Whirlwind. According to early records, the modificati ns consisted of a higher compression ratio and a faster super­charger. Those changes upped the horsepower to 400 at 2300 fpm . Travel Air stated that the modifications gave better fuel economy with 13 gallons per hour at 1550 rpm and an indicated airspeed of 150. Behind this 400 horse­power was a 1940 pound gross weight airplane for a power load ing of only 4.6 poundslhorsepower! That model 'R' was designed to have either of two different sets of wing panels mounted dependent upon the task at hand. The short wings, total span of 29' 2" with a 5' chord, were for the 'racing' version. The resultant wing area was 125 square feet with a wing loading at gross of 15.5 poundsl per square foot. The long wings, 30' 6", had two inches more chord with a resultant lower wing loading and were to be used for longer, higher flights. As flown in the National Air Races, NR-614K used the shorter wings. The ship had a length of 20' 2", height was 7' 4" and an empty weIght of 1475 pounds. Design load factors were plus 8, minus 4.

Leslie Neville, who was the Technical Editor of Aviation in 1930, gives the following description of the construction: . "~ternally the wing structure is generally conventional In deSIgn. Spruce and Haskelite three-ply 1/16 in. mahogany plywood are used in the construction. Spars are built up

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of two spruce beams glued together and not routed. Ribs are built up of 5116 in. square spruce strips with 1116 in. mahogany plywood gussets at the joints and are secured to the spars by the use of glue with a nail at each point of con­tact to maintain position during the glue drying process. A filling strip is placed between the ribs on the top and bottom of the spar and parallel to it, producing an even contour along the entire length. Compression ribs are built up of spruce trussing boxed with plywood webs, nailed and glued in place on the spars with angle block. In addition to the plywood covering the rods are employed in the drag bracing. The leading edge is covered with 2-in. tape to pre­vent the plywood from breaking out over the bend, while the ·trailing edge is of spruce. All fittings are of chrome molybdenum steel and are enclosed. The wing ·is covered with plywood. _ .

Maximum chord of each wing is 60 in. and the total area of the wings is 125 sq. ft. Ailerons are built up of chrome molybdenum steel and covered with fabric. Each aileron is attached to a false spar by three inset hinges. They are controlled by a steel torque tube actuated by a differential push and pull tube system, providing an angu­lar travel of plus 35 to -25 deg. The span of each aileron is 6 ft. and the chord is 1 ft. 1 1/2 in. The total aileron area is 12.3 sq. ft.

In order to provide a desirable compromise between cockpit capacity and frontal area the fuselage is made wedge-shaped. Structurally it is built up of welded steel tubing with an absence of internal wire bracing. Long­erons are of 7/8 in. x 0.035 in. and 1 in. x 0.049 in. tubing. The finished fuselage is faired out to a nearly elliptical cross section through the use of a spruce superstructure covered with 1116 in. mahogany plywood. Metal cowling extends from the engine compartment back as far as the

cockpit on all sides. One of the unique features of the Travel Air Mystery

plane is the landing gear. The method of mounting the shock absorber and of attching the landing gear to the air­plane is quite unusual. The shock absorbing device, in con­formity with Travel Air practice, is a combination oil and coil spring mechanism with the oil cylinder used to absorb the initial landing load and the spring for the purpose of taxiing. Vertical " N" struts are used to attach each unit of the landing gear to the ends of the wing stubs and each wheel is braced laterally by streamline wires attached to its wing and to the opposite wing stub, the former con­s tituting the external wing bracing wires. The shock absorbing device consists of two oil cylinders and four coil springs with the wheel slung between. It is located at the lower end of the " N" struts. The entire mechanism and most of the wheel are enclosed in a streamline cover of 0.040 in. aluminum. Wheels are 24 in. x 4 in. Bendix. Brakes and tires are the same size.

In conformity with the attempt to reduce parasite resistance to a minimum and extremely short tail skid, fitted with a shoe and completely streamlined, is employed. An oil spring shock absorber is fitted to the upper end of the tail skid beam which is hinged to the lower member of a bulkhead. When the tail skid is on the ground, the thrust line makes an angle of 13 deg. with the horizontal.

Both horizontal and vertical tail surfaces are construct­ed of steel tube spars and stamped steel ribs and all are covered with fabric. The stabilizer span is 8 ft. 10 in. and the maximum chord 2 ft. 3 5116 in. Each elevator has a span of ~ ft. 2 in. and a maximum chord (hinged to trailing edge) of 1 ft. 5 1/2 in. The stabilizer is adjustable in flight through a range of plus 2 to -4 deg. and its area is 14.1 sq. ft. The elevators are not balanced and the distance from their

21

hinge line to the center of gravity of the airplane is 13 ft. 2 in.

The vertical fin is adjustable on the ground and has a maximum length of 2 ft. 1/4 in. Its mean height is 2 ft. 8 112 in. and its area 4.1 sq. ft. The height of the rudder is 4 ft. 5 in. and the maximum chord (hinge to trailing edge) 1 ft. 7 1/2 in. The rudder has a range of travel of plus or -35 deg. and an area of 5.7 sq. ft. The distance of its hinge line from the center of gravity of the airplane is 13 ft. 8 in. As in the case of the elevators, the rudder is unbalanced.

Cable control is employed for both rudder and elevators.

As in the case of a number of contemporary commer­cial airplanes, the welded steel tube engine mount is de­tachable. The mounting ring is 11/4 in. x 0.083 in. Two fuel tanks are provided. One, the main tank, in the fuselage supported on the longerons, is constructed of 0.040 in. aluminum ' sheet. A five-gallon reserve tank is located be­hind the main tank and connected to it only by a whole pump. The capacity of the main tank is 42 gal. and gravity feed is employed between it and the engine, 1/2 in. gaso­line tank is located exactly on the center of gravity of the airplane which is located 24 percent backward along the chord. Inasmuch as the gasoline constitutes nearly all of the variable load, the static balance is practically constant.

The fire wall is 0.040 aluminum alloy sheet. This same thickness of stock is used in the inner and outer engine cowlings as well as the cowling of the forward portions of the fuselage behind the firewall. The Venturi cowling has no cooling baffles between the cylinders. The inner cowling extends back to the cockpit. An oil radiator is mounted in the wing stub and the cooling fins form the walkway. An 8 ft. diameter Standard Steel propeller is used set at a pitch of 22.6 deg.

The usual instrument equipment as well as a safety belt and fire extinguisher are included in the pilot's cock­

pit and the engine control bracket consisting of throttle, spark plug and mixture levers is located at the. pilot's left. The specifications according to the manufacturer are as follows:"

Length Overall ............................ 20 ft. 2 in. Height Overall ............................. 7 ft. 9 in. Airfoil (Wing Section) ...................... R.A.F. 34 Span, Each Wing ........ ... ............ ... 29 ft. 2 in. Chord, Each Wing ............................. 60 in. Area of Wings, Total ........... . ..... ...... 125 sq. ft. Area of Ailerons .......................... 12.3 sq. ft. Area of Horizontal Stabilizer . .. ..... ... ... . 14.1 sq. ft. Area of Elevators .......................... 9.4 sq. tot. Area of Fin ................................ 4.1 sq. ft. Area of Rudder ............................ 5.7 sq. ft. Weight Empty ........ . ..................... 1,475 lb. Disposable Load .............................. 465 lb. Gross Weight Loaded ....................... 1,940 lb. Power Plant ......... Special R-975 400 hp at 2300 rpm Wing Loading ............................... 15.5 lb. Power Load ................ .. ..... ..... ...... 4.6 lb.

After the performance display of the Travel Airs 614K and 613K, it was obvious that more would be built. Shell and Texaco each placed orders for a Mystery Ship. As a result NR482N and NR1313 were built during 1930 and fin­ished in time for entry into the National Air Races . Some­time later the 5th and last Travel Air R was built for the Italian Government.

Today, two of the original airplanes are still intact. NR 613K, which carries a serial number of RB002, was pur­chased at the Tallmantz auction in 1968 by "Pancho" Barnes, the original owner, with hope of restoring it to at least display condition. NR 1313, the famous Texaco No. 13, is hanging on display in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

Around The Antique/Classic World

Dear Sir: I've been an EAA member for 1 1/2 years wi th my main

interest lying in the vintage field. I don't own an aircraft at present however I am negotiating to buy a Ryan STM wreck. Unfortunately there are not a large number of vintage types in Austral ia and this is worsening as air­craft are exported. We are sti ll trying to establish a vintage movement in Australia and as more people are becoming interested this could shortly be a reality. I am therefore joining your division to learn a bit about vintage aircraft and the runni ng of th e club. Please accep t enclosed draught for $15.00 to pay for one years membership and 10 back issues of The Vintage Airplane. Thank you .

Yours faithfully, Graham Orphan AIC No . 1155 20 Tallaroon St. Jindalee 4074, Brisbane, Qld. , Australia

Dear Buck: In The Vintage Airplane, May, 1974, page 10. I believe the background airplane to be a Thunderbird. In 1930 I worked on one down at the Warren School

and we re-assembled it at the Old Western Airport out on Crenshaw Blvd. - long since a housing development.

The airplane was never certified, as anything over two turns it went flat. I tried to get the owner to increase the

Calendar Of Events

JULY 20-21- SHIRLEY, N. Y. (LONG ISLAND)-12th Annual Fly-In of the Antique Airplane Club of Greater New York at Brookhaven Town Airport. Dinner dance on Saturday night. Contact Harry E. Geddes, Sec. , 374 Latham Rd ., Mineola, N. Y. 11051 (516) 746-3453.

JULY 31· AUGUST 1 - FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN - Antique/Classic Division Participation in EAA/IAC Aerobatic Con test. Spin, Loop and Roll Competition on August 1. Contact: Don Taylor, Contest Chairman, 2 Chandelle Drive, Hampshire, Ill . 60140, (312) 683-2244.

JULY 31· AUGUST 6 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - NEW DATES - 22nd Annual EAA International Fly-In Convention. Largest and best Antique and Classic gathering anywhere. Make your plans and reservations early.

AUGUST 10-11 - ALBERT LEA, MINNESOTA - Skyrama 7 4. Airport dedi­cation. Contact R. J. Lickteig, Box 731, Albert Lea, Minn.

AUGUST 25 • SIPTEMBER 2 - BLAKESBURG, IOWA - Fourth Annual National Invitational AAA-APM Fly-In - Antique Airfield.

AUGUST 30· SIPTEMBER 2 • OTTUMWA, IOWA - Ottumwa Antique Airplane Convention. Ottumwa Airport. Sponsored by Antiq~e Air­men, Inc. Contact: J. C "Chuck" Weber, 441 Berry Rd., BarrIngton, Ill. 60010.

SIPTEMBER 13-15 - GALESBURG, ILLINOIS - 3rd National Stearman Fly-In. Contact: Jim Leahy, 445 N. Whitesboro, Galesburg, Ill . 61401­OR Tom Lowe, 823 Kingston Lane, Crystal Lake, Ill . 60014.

aspect ratio of the tail surfaces to get more of them out in the wind, as the fuselage was bulky a t the tail.

H e was too busy getting the airplane ready to go up to Utah. Besides, I believe by that time the company had gone broke, and apparently he could care less about certifying ONE airplane.

In closing, if I'm right - good ! If I'm not-1930 is a long way back! Besides, you are doing a real fine job on the magazine and I look forward to each issue.

Yours truly, W. A. Reynolds, A IC No. 792 Rt. 1, Box 33 La Feria, Texas 78559

Dear Gene: . Do you plan to have your E-2 Cub flying at Oshkosh

this year? I am toying with the idea of trailering mine so as to have something to fly there and was wondering if yours might be there too?

Is there anything you can do to get the grapevine asking people where I can get a 40 hp Cub cowling? My ship has a J-3 cowling on it and I'd much prefer an authentic J-2 cowl with lace wires if I could find one.

Sincerely, Bob Whi ttier Drawer T Duxbury, Mass. 02332

'.'

CLASSIFIEDS FOR SALE

FOR SALE - Antiuqe Piper J-SA Cruiser, 1940, 3-place, fancy paint, fresh OH & license, leopard interior. $4,600. Draws crowds wherever it goes. Oassie Fairchild 24R '46. Fresh license, beautiful paint and interior . Aeromatie prop. Runs p"erfectly. $8,900 includes load of extras plus 2 engines. Photos and detail info upon re­quest. L. Jennings, 2280 Aloma Ave., Wmter Park, Fla. 32789. Ph . 305-644-000 anytime.

",

'J .~

Back Issues Of The Vintage Airplane

Limited numbers of back issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE are available at .5Oc each. Copies sti ll on hand at EAA Headquarters are:

MARCH 1973 JU NE 1973 SEPTEMBER 1973 NOVEMBER 1973 JANUARY 1974 APRIL 1974 APRIL 1973 JULY 1973 OCTOBER 1973 DECEMBER 1973 FEBRUARY 1974 MAY 1974 MAY 1973 AUGUST 1973 MARCH 1974 JUNE 1974

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