STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

In the February 1982 issue of SPORT A VIATION, Paul Poberezny requested comments regarding the possibility that vintage aircraft restorers be able to sign off their restoration and maintenance work. In the March 1982 issue of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE, we offered sugges­tions regarding the project and its feasibility. Both articles were meant to attract the attention of the membership of EAA and our EAA Antique/Classic Division, to get them to consider the idea, and to solicit comments both pro and con regarding the suggestions. Comments were received, several hundred in fact, from restorers of both antique and classic aircraft.

Each letter received was acknowledged by headquar­ters and the comments were positive enough to begin formation of a committee to analyze the remarks contained in those several hundred replies. The committee studied each letter and began to formulate and categorize the thoughts of the respondents.

Space will not permit the final tally but it became obvious that there was a need to formulate a proposal to establish the future for restorers of antique and classic aircraft. Some of the comments were: "The A&P or IA performed work on my aircraft that rendered it unairwor­thy, and the corrective work was done by me." "The A&P or IA would not sign off my aircraft, purely because he did not relate to the era of antiques or classics." "Why should I have to pay an excessive fee for an A&P or IA to sign off my annual, when I did all of the work." "I have been unable to get an A&P to relicense my aircraft. No one in my area will attempt to relicense it." And on and on.

Many comments were received from A&Ps and lAs who understand the problems involved and fully recognize the skills and abilities of most restorers.

In October 1982 EAA forwarded to the FAA our pro­posal in detail. Basically it was stated that we were re­questing an exemption to the maintenance rules ofFAR 43, to permit certain owners of antique and classic aircraft who have restored the aircraft to an airworthy condition, under the supervision of an FAA Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, to be issued by FAA an Airman's Repair Certifi­cate (A&P) which would permit the holder to thereafter conduct inspections, including annual inspections, and minor repairs to his or her specific aircraft only. (Any major alterations or repairs would still have to be au­thorized by an IA before the aircraft could be returned to service.) Further, EAA offered to undertake an administra­ti ve program to handle the initial paperwork, if the FAA so desired, to aid in getting the program started. Also, the EAA Antique/Classic Division would assist these owner­applicants in obtaining necessary FARs, Advisory Circu­lars, ADs and any other technical information needed to enable the restorer to follow good maintenance and inspec­tion procedures while conducting work on their aircraft. The only restriction would be that the aircraft would not be permitted to be used for any commercial purposes. Finally, the choice will be voluntary and an option, not a requirement.

Those of us who have restored and continue to maintain our antique and classic aircraft know very well what is involved. For several years the builders of amateur built

2 FEBRUARY 1983

By Brad Thomas President

Antique/Classic Division

aircraft have been allowed to maintain and annual their own aircraft, for as long as they remain the owner. The basic concept would apply in our proposal, for those who completed their original restoration to the satisfaction of an A&P.

It should be noted that when an antique or classic aircraft as licensed in the above category, is sold, it would have to be relicensed by an A&P and signed offby an IA.

Ninety-nine percent of the responses received by EAA expressed approval or suggested a concept similar to that presented to the FAA by EAA. No concept is ever 100% accepted and we did receive about a 1 % negative response. Some misconceptions by respondees were: the original A.T.C . would be altered; that all antique and classic air­craft would be licensed in the experimental category, that many A&Ps would be out of work, etc., etc.

Our proposal was forwarded to the FAA in a letter dated October 20, 1982 and soon thereafter the proposal was assigned Petition Docket Number 23407 and was printed in the Federal Register. The time frame for com­ments was established by the FAA and was of a short duration. Each interested party who had originally for­warded comments to EAA were sent a summary of the proposal and again requested to forward their support to the FAA. We have received opposition to the proposal. The Antique Airplane Association had requested and received an extension of the comment period. This extension was granted through January 20, 1983. The objections of the AAA and its membership appear to be based on lack of information. Be as it may, anyone has the right to oppose any rulemaking proposal to the FAA, during the comment period as established.

If we cross checked the membership in both the EAA Antique/Classic Division and that of the Antique Airplane Association, I feel we would find a great number of dupli­cate memberships in both organizations. Fine! The purpose ofboth organizations is to restore, maintain, fly and exhibit our vintage aircraft at fly-ins, to enjoy the fellowship of a hobby of mutual interest and to preserve the past for those youngsters who will always be fascinated when a vintage aircraft flies by.

To work together for a common cause and to pave the way for the restoration and maintenance of our vintage aircraft should be the ultimate goal of each of us. Let us look not just to the end of our noses, but into the future where our efforts of today will be appreciated by all .

PUBLICATION OF THE ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC. OF THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION, INC.

P.O. BOX 229. HALES CORNERS. WI 53130 COPYRIGHT © 1983 EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FEBRUARY 1983 VOLUME 11 NUMBER 2

OFFICERS President

W. Brad Thomas, Jr. 301 Dodson Mill Road

Pilot Mountain, NC 27041 919/368-2875 Home 919/368-2291 Office

Secretary M. C. " Kelly" Viets Route 2, Box 128 Lyndon, KS 66451

913/828-3518 Home

DIRECTORS

BACK COVER •.. Dixie Jewett approaching a water landing at sunset in her modified Piper PA-12. See story on page 12.

(Photo courtesy of Dixie Jewett)

Ronald Fritz 15401 Sparta Avenue Kent City, MI 49330

616/678-5012

Claude L. Gray, Jr. 9635 Sylvia Avenue

Northridge, CA 91324 213/349-1338

Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Drive Indianapolis, IN 46274

317/293-4430

AI Kelch

Morton W. Lester P.O. Box 3747

Martinsville, VA 24112 703 /632-4839

Arthur R. Morgan 3744 North 51st Blvd . Milwaukee, WI 53216

414/442-3631

John R. Turgyan 1530 Kuser Road

Trenton, NJ 08619 609/585-2747

S. J. Wittman 66 W. 622 N. Madison Ave Box 2672

Cedarburg , WI 53012 Oshkosh , WI 54901 414/377-5886 414/235-1265

Robert E. Kesel George S. York 455 Oakridge Drive 181 Sloboda Ave.

Rochester, NY 14617 Mansfield , OH 44906 716/342-3170 419/529-4378

Vice-President Jack C. Winthrop Route 1, Box 111 Allen, TX 75002

214/727-5649

Treasurer E. E. " Buck" Hilbert

P.O. Box 145 Union, IL 60180

815/923-4591

ADVISORS

Ed Burns 1550-Mt. Prospect Road

Des Plaines, IL 60018 3121298-7811

John S. Copeland 9 Joanne Drive

Westborough, MA 01581 617/366-7245

Stan Gomoll 1042 90th Lane, NE

Minneapolis, MN 55434 6121784-1172

Espie M. Joyce, Jr. Box 468

Madison, NC 27025 919/427-0216

Gene Morris 27 Chandelle Drive

Hampshire, IL 60140 3121683-3199

Roy Redman Rt. 1, Box 39

Kilkenny, MN 56052 507/ 334-5922

S. H. " Wes" Schmid 2359 Lefeber Road

Wauwatosa, WI 53213 414/771-1545

Robert G. Herman Wl64 N9530 Water Street

Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 414/ 251-9253

PUBLICATION STAFF

PUBLISHER EDITOR Paul H_ Poberezny Gene R. Chase

ASSOC. EDITOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS George A. Hardie, Jr. Norman Petersen Pat Etter

FRONT COVER ... Jim Younkin flying his replica Travel Air Mystery Ship at Oshkosh '79. This is the plane that inspired the writing of the lead story on page 6.

(Photo by Randy Bennett)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Straight and Level ... by Brad Thomas. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

AlC News . . . by Gene Chase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4

Mystery Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5

The Travel Air Mystery Ship NR614K and Walter Hunter . . . by J oe Haynes, with Pauline Winthrop and Walter Hunter .. .. ... ........ .......... .... 6

A Ford Tri-Motor Limited Edition ... by George Hardie ... ... .. .. . ..... .. ...... ... 10

The Saga of Dixie Jewett's Big Porker . .. by Skeet Elpel ... ...... . ........ .... .. ...... 12

X-660-E . . . An Unusual Flying Machine . .. ... ...... 16

Calendar of Events .... . . ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 16

Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 17

Page 6

...,..--='~ ~ "-~ :.~

~.... ~;=:~:.e.. -~,,~ ~

Page 10 Page 12

Editorial Policy : Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. Material should be sent to : Gene R. Chase, Editor, The VINTAGE AIR­PLANE, P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130.

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is owned exclusively by EAA Antique/ Classic Division, Inc., and is published monthly at 11311 W. Forest Home Ave., Franklin, Wisconsin 53132, P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130. Second Class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office. Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130, and additional mailing offices. Membership rates ~or EAA Antique/ Classic Division, Inc., are $18.00 for current EAA members per 12 month period of which $12.00 is for the publication of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation. ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through our advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

AIC REPAIRMAN CERTIFICATE UPDATE

At the request of several hundred EAA Antique/Classic Division members, EAA petitioned FAA for an exemption to the maintenance rules of FAR 43 to permit persons who have accomplished a complete restorat ion of an antique or classic airplane under the supervision of a FAA Airframe and Powerplant mechanic to thereafter do their own maintenance, repairs and inspections, including annual inspections.

EAA's petition was printed in the Federal Register on November 18, 1982 and assigned Petition Docket Number 23407. The FAA set a deadline of December 8, 1982 for receiving responses. The national headquarters of the An­tique Airplane Association of Blakesburg, Iowa objects to the issuance of Antique/Classic Repairman Certificates and they requested an extension of the deadline for receiv­ing responses. The FAA extended this deadline to January 20,1983.

The Antique/Classic Repairman's certificate would be very similar in concept to that now available to homebuil­ders in that it could be obtained only by persons who have done a complete restoration on a particular aircraft. Re­pairman privileges would be restricted to that aircraft ONLY . .. not even others of the same type and model. The Repairman Certificate program for homebuilders has been highly successful with no problems being encoun­tered.

FAA regulations currently permit the owner of an antique or classic aircraft to fully restore h is or her machine under the supervision of a FAA licensed A&P mechanic. If the Antique/Classic Repairman Certificate becomes a reality, the owner/restorer could at that point, apply for his certificate for his particular aircraft only.

Once the Repairman's Certificate was obtained, the owner could then accomplish all maintenance, repairs, alterations and inspections on the aircraft, including an­nual inspections. Major repairs or major alterations, as defined by F ARs, would require LA. authorization before the aircraft could be returned to service.

All work accomplished by the holder ofthe Repairman's Certifica te would be in accordance with F ARs, including the requirement for appropriate record keeping.

During the time the aircraft is being maintained by the holder of the Repairman's Certificate, it could not be used for any commercial purpose. At any time, the owner would have the option of returning the aircraft to normal service by the simple expedient of having it annualled by an A&P and signed off by an LA.

At no point would the Approved Type Certificate (ATC) of the aircraft be altered or rescinded. The only change would be the aforementioned operation limitation - that the aircraft could not be used for commercial purposes during the time it was being maintained by the owner/re­storer.

To present EAA's petition in its most elemental form, it is simply a trade-off in which the owner/restorer of an antique or classic airplane would accept the limitation of strictly non-commercial use of this ATCed aircraft in re­turn for the privilege of doing his own upkeep and annual inspections.

In order to facilitate getting such a program in motion, EAA has offered to assist FAA by doing some initial screen­ing of applications, which would consist essentially of verifying log book entries that prove the owner did indeed restore his aircraft. FAA would still approve and issue Repairman's Certificates.

EAA's justifications for an Antique/Classic Repair­man's Certificate are the obvious ones:

(1) A person who has fully restored an aircraft has obviously acquired the knowledge to perform simple maintenance and repairs on it.

(2) The A/C Repairman's Certificate could reduce the cost of owning an airplane.

(3) Experience with the similar Repairman's Certifica­tion for builders of amateur built aircraft, proves to EAA's satisfaction that no diminution of safety will occur as a result of the creation of an Antique/Classic Repairman's Certificate.

(4) Finally, EAA members want the program ... and we must respond to their desires.

FAREWELL TO TWO AVIATION PIONEERS

Emil Matthew "Matty" Laird (EAA 10118) died on De­cember 18, 1982 at Boca Raton, Florida at age 86. He was a member of the Quiet Birdmen, OX-5 Aviation Pioneers, Silver Wings, and was a past president ofthe Early Birds.

Matty has been closely associated with EAA over the past few years in conjunction with the building of the EAA Aviation Museum's Laird Super Solution replica, so his passing is a personal loss to all of us here at Headquarters and to our Florida members who initiated the project and were, of course, Matty's neighbors.

Matty taught himself to fly in a monoplane of his own design in 1913 and was already an internationally known exhibition pilot by the time he was 20 years old. He suffered severe injuries during World War I test flying another designer's airplane for Katherine Stinson, but recovered and moved from his native Chicago to Wichita to design and build the legendary Swallow biplanes. The Swallow was billed as "America's first commercial airplane" and Matty and his partners in the enterprise are credited with launching Wichita as the aviation manufacturing center

(Photo by Donna Morris) E. M. "Matty" Laird after flying with AI Kelch in his 1931 American Eaglet at the 1980 FSAACA Spring Fly-In, at Lakeland, FL. Matty's smile expresses his delight with the open cockpit flight.

4 FEBRUARY 1983

it has become. In 1923 Matty sold out, returned to Chicago and began

producing his highly prized "Commercial" series. In 1930 he stepped upon the stage of aviation immortality when Speed Holman won the first Thompson Trophy race in the Laird Solution. The following year, Jimmy Doolittle streaked to victory in the first Bendix Trophy race in the Super Solution ... and sped on to the east coast to set a new transcontinental speed record.

Matty continued to produce his Laird Commercials until the outbreak of World War II when he merged his company with another to become a successful subcontrac­tor of military aircraft. Following the war and over 30 years in aviation, he retired and moved his family to Florida ... and later began spending the summer in the mountains of North Carolina. A great many well deserved honors and accolades came Matty's way in his later life; however, two high points were the building of the Super Solution replica and the restoration just this past year of the Whirlwind Laird he and his wife, Elsie, used for their honeymoon trip in the fall of 1933. Current owner Ken Love of Chicago had the honor of taking Matty and Elsie for a ride in the Forrest Lovley-restored biplane during the Antique Airplane Association fly-in at Blakesburg, Iowa last August.

Although no one realized it at the time, this ride was

MYSTERY PLANE

This month's Mystery Plane comes from that glorious period in avia­tion history that occurred just before the U.S. entered World War I. These photos were furnished by Pat Pac­kard, Assistant Director, EAA Avia­tion Foundation. Evidently the "aviator" was demonstrating his machine for the well dressed mem­bers of some air show or fair commit­tee. Note the "zoot suit" apparel worn by the man on the right. Answers will be published in the Mystery Plane column in the April, 1983 issue.

an appropriate coming of full circle for one of aviation's longest and most distinguished careers.

Harlan A. "Bud" Gurney, Woodland Hills, California passed away on November 28, 1982 at the age of 77. His aviation career spanned from Jennies to DC-8s which he was flying when he retired as a United Airlines captain. Bud was one of Charles Lindbergh's close friends dating from their days together as pilots for Robertson in the twenties flying the mail out ofSt. Louis. He was a member of the QBs, OX-5s, Silver Wings, and the Angeles An­tiquers, the latter a group ofvintage airplane enthusiasts.

Bud's ashes were scattered by his sons, John and Har­lan flying his 1927 Gipsy Moth in the Mountains northeast of Los Angeles along the airway route h~ had flown so often. The Moth then joined a nine plane cross flying a final salute over the Santa Paula Airport. This gesture is a tradition carried out by pilots of vintage aircraft who fly out of that field.

HAROLD BEST-DEVEREUX HONORED

Well known EAAer, Harold Best-Devereux, 13 Stone­hills House, Welwyn Garden City, Herts, England has been elected chairman of the Royal Aeronautical Society's Light Aircraft Group.

The Mystery Plane in the December 1982 issue of The VINTAGE AIR­PLANE was no mystery to several of our experts. Two referred to the book, Sixty-two Rare Racing Airplanes by Major Truman C. "Pappy" Weaver, now curator of the Wedell-Williams Memorial Museum at Patterson, Louisiana. Quoting from the book:

"The Hunt Racer was built in 1930 by the Ranger Aircraft Co. of Okla­homa City. It was powered with a 90 horsepower Cirrus engine and may have been built for the Cirrus Derby. However, this name appeared nowhere on the entry lists. It carried a license number NR10421 and in later years wore the race number 16. The racer appeared at smaller races until 1934 but was never very impressive. Photo by Joe Durham."

Additional information comes from a newspaper clipping furnished by George Goodhead. The designer was Billy Tipton and the pilot on a test flight made on July 16, 1930 was Claude Seaton. The plane was damaged on a second test flight that day when the engine cut out at a height of 200 feet. Seaton was slightly injured. It was intended to enter the plane in the Cirrus Derby and the article states that it was hoped to be ready for departure to Detroit within three days. Sponsor of the airplane was Harry Houghton, President of the National Aid Life Assn. of Oklahoma City.

The following members correctly identified the airplane: J . Willard Vaughn, Radford, VA (he sent a reprint page of Weaver's book); H. Glenn Buffington, Memphis, TN; Jimmy Rollison, Jr., Vacaville, CA; Robert J. Armstrong, Bellevue, WA; Chuck Laird, Adelanto, CA; Jeff Sipes, Columbus, IN; and Charley Hayes, Park Forest, IL. •

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

Walter Hunter in cockpit of NR614K at Lambert Field, SI. Louis, MO in September, 1931. Standing in center, with back to camera is Herbert Bud.

air races and promoters had opened the popular open free-for-all 50-mile pylon race to all comers, military and civilian.

At Wichita, Kansas, two young engineers in the Travel Air company, Herb Rawdon and Walt Burnham, con­ceived a new racer design which they felt could top the speed of the 1928 winner by 20 mph. The design and development would have to be done at home because Travel Air was busy turning out the popular sport bi­plane and developing a cabin monoplane.

Walter Beech asked Herb his opinion of a new 300 hp engine and he commented it would be good to power the racer he and Walt were working on. Beech was well aware of the value of publicity to be derived from

company participation in air races, especially if you produced a winner. According to Walt Burnham the racer was designated as the Model R100, and was built in secrecy behind curtains in a corner of the Travel Air Factory. During the construction it became known as a "Mystery Ship" by the people of Wichita.

The racer was completed 10 days before the races and first test flights indicated the calculated performance of 205 mph would be easily exceeded. Beech selected Doug Davis from Atlanta to fly the sleek red and black racer. Mter a few familarization flights, Doug and the Model R were off to Cleveland where the airplane was rolled into a hangar and hidden from the press and spec­tators. Beech played the "Mystery Ship" drama to the hilt. Nothing creates more publicity than a little bit of mystery.

Event No. 26, the open free-for-all, was scheduled on the last day of the races. Thompson Products had added a trophy to go with the $400 winner's purse. On September 2 the Travel Air crew rolled the sleek red and black racer with race number 31 on its side out of the hangar and to the starting line. Doug and the R were faced with some pretty stiff competition. The Army and Navy had entered two stripped down, souped up Curtiss Hawks, a P-3A and F6C-6. Roscoe Turner confidently twirled his mustache in a Lockheed Vega and the re­mainder of the field was made up of a Cessna A, a Sim­plex, and a modified Travel Air 4000.

When the starters flag dropped, Doug and the R "Mystery Ship" were quickly off the ground, and the rest of the pack saw nothing but red and black tail feathers for the next 14 minutes and 5.9 seconds. Even though he had to re-round a cut pylon twice on lap 2, Doug aver­aged 194.9 mph over the 5 lap, 50 mile course and beat Lt. Breene in the Army P-3A by 8.1 mph. One lap was turned at a sizzling 208.69 mph and for the first time in American air racing history, a civilian airplane beat out the hottest pursuits of the military. With a winner and "Mystery Ship" publicity, this meant money in the bank for Walter Beech and Travel Air. The Travel Air name was spread in newspapers all over the country as the press demanded to know why a small four-year-old company in Wichita could produce an airplane that made a laughingstock of American air defense.

Shortly after the races Walter Beech sold the com­pany to the Curtiss-Wright Corporation which was formed in New York to take over the Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Co. , and the Wright Aeronautical Corp., as well and the Curtiss-Caproni Corp., Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Mfg. Co., Keystone Aircraft Corp., Moth Aircraft Corp. , Travel Air Co., and the Curtiss-Wright Flying Service, which included various organizations set up to market products, conduct schools, and operate airports. Doug Davis flew NR614K to Atlanta, Georgia to celebrate his victory before returning the airplane to the company. About this time the stock market did its flip and the airplane was pressed into service to promote Travel Air aircraft.

During the balance of 1929 and 1930, NR614K went on tour throughout the country with the Curtiss-Wright Exhibition Company, appearing in many air meets under the sponsorship of Gulf Oil Company. The air­plane was unchanged from its race appearance except for the addition of Curtiss-Wright and Gulf Oil insignias. Clarence Clark, who flew the initial test flights on the Model R, and Dale "Red" Jackson thrilled many people at air fairs performing aerobatics and speed runs during these demonstrations.

The airplane did not make an appearance at the 1930 National Air Races. Two of its sister ships, NR482N flown by Jimmy Haizlip, and NR1313 flown by Frank Hawks did race in the Thompson Trophy event. Jimmy

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

The Travel Air Mystery Ship, NR614K after it had been rebuilt at Curtiss Steinburg Airport, East SI. Louis, IL prior to the

Haizlip finished second by 2 mph to "Speed" Holman in the Wasp Jr. Laird and Frank Hawks dropped out in lap 3 when he was unable to develop full power on the engine because of tape covering the gas cap. Frank Hawks' NR1313 was modified for that race with the short racing wings built for NR614K.

In June 1931, NR614K was purchased by Walter Hunter from the Curtiss-Wright Exhibition Company, after it had been in an accident which damaged one wing and the center section. He had the airplane moved from Lambert Field to the Curtiss Steinburg Airport in East St. Louis and arranged with Parks Air College for his mechanic friend , Herbert Bud, to repair and an engineer named Thompson to modify the airplane to Walter's requirements.

The purse for the Bendix and Thompson races that year was very attractive and Walter was taking a leave of absence from his job with Universal Airlines to enter both the Bendix and Thompson races. The Model R was repaired by Parks and the modifications consisted of changes to the fuselage lines, addition of a solarium over the cockpit (hatch and clear side panels), two aux­iliary fuel tanks, and the color changed to black with orange wings and trim stripes. All struts and wires were filletted and streamlined. Walt used the Wright engine from the Hunter's endurance Stinson, "City of Chicago", for the first test flights in August 1931. The airplane had no engine cowl so these flights were all made with an uncowled engine like the original test flights by Clarence Clark in 1929.

Walt had made arrangements with Herb Rawdon and Walt Burnham for a new NACA engine cowl and with Wright for a new engine as they wanted the engine from the "City of Chicago". Walt flew the airplane over to Wichita where Rawdon and Burnham had the new cowl ready. They fitted the cowling and Walt had the new experience to test the airplane with the stream­lined engine cowling. This was very pleasant and he found that the addition of the cowl greatly improved the rudder and elevator controls. He was really surprised when pulling hard through a loop the airplane snapped out on top with him. He commented, "This airplane was born to fly rightside up."

With the testing complete, Walt and the Travel Air headed for Patterson, New Jersey and Teterboro airport where Wright had the new engine ready. This was a big R-975 which had been boosted up beneath the cowl. With the throttle linkage and instruments hooked up Walt tested the new engine. He recalled the airplane bounced about three times and was airborne with the engine over revving and him reducing throttle; the prop pitch had not been reset for the higher hp engine! Every­thing was hurry-up as the race was only a week away and he had to get to Los Angeles. 8 FEBRUARY 1983

installation of the NACA cowl. Note cockpit "solarium" modi­fication.

On the flight out, Walt stopped at his intended race stops arranging for fuel at St. Louis' Lambert Field, Amarillo and Albuquerque. Walt had chosen Amarillo as the Universal Airlines crew there knew him and he figured to get good, fast fuel service. Between Albuquer­que and Los Angeles Walt was dodging thunderstorms and decided to land at Winslow, Arizona to refuel before proceeding on to Los Angeles. This was another new ex­perience - landing at night on an unfamiliar 2800-foot hard strip, no brakes and no steerable tail skid. Direc­tional control came from a blast of the slipstream across the rudder. After refueling at Winslow Walt was off to Los Angeles and Burbank airport with just two days remaining before the start of the Bendix. That time was spent in a frantic series of flight tests to get the prop pitch set for the desired engine performance. With no sleep, Walt was on the verge of pneumonia.

This was the first year which the Bendix Aviation Corp. sponsored the transcontinental race and first place was a lucrative purse of $7,750 with $3,750 for second. The winner was to be determined by his elapsed time from Burbank to Cleveland and an additional $2,500 would be awarded to the pilot, who on the same day, completed the flight from Cleveland eastward to Newark to establish a true trans-continental speed record.

With this purse in sight there were eight entries on the ramp at Burbank's Union Air Terminal on September 4,1931. Of the eight entries, six were Lockheeds (3 Altairs, 2 Orions, and 1 Vega) and the other two were special racers, Jimmy Doolittle and the Laird Super Solution and Walter Hunter in the modified Travel Air "Mystery Ship". There was quite a contrast between the larger, slower Lockheeds capable of making the distance non­stop and the two special racers which were faster, but must refuel along the way. The race developed many arguments as to who would get to Cleveland first.

At 1:20 a.m. PST, Larry Therkelsen dropped the flag on the first of the racers and Lou Reichers eased the Altair down the foggy runway. With the field be­coming fogged in Walter Hunter followed about fifteen minutes later in the 600 hp special Travel Air Mystery Ship. Walt was followed by Harold Johnson in his Con­tinental Airlines Orion and then Beeler Blevers in Asa Chandle's Orion. Doolittle was next in the Laird Super Solution and the remainder of the contestants followed within the next twenty minutes. Departure was timed so that the arrival at Cleveland would occur at the climax of the afternoon racing activities.

Walt Hunter recalls that the takeoff and climb out was almost on instruments. Breaking clear of the fog, he climbed the Travel Air to 18-19,000 feet to take ad­vantage of the tail winds and fuel economy. Unfortunately he was forced to land at Winslow, Arizona with mechanical problems and a painful ear block caused by his bad head

cold. With the problems cleared and refueled he was off for Amarillo, bypassing Albuquerque. The Universal crew quickly refueled him and got him out heading for St. Louis.

Over Kansas, the big Wright faltered and Walt realized the crew at Amarillo had failed to fill the main tank. He diverted into Ft. Riley and explained to the Army about the race and they refueled him and got him out for Lambert Field, St. Louis.

Pushing the Travel Air to make up time, Walt quickly landed at Lambert, refueled and was off for Cleveland. Over Terre Haute, Indiana, the engine faltered again and Walt nursed the Travel Air on to a turf field south of town.

After landing, the engine caught fire and Walt recalls an old firetruck racing out with a fireman armed with an axe. All he could think about was that beautiful NACA cowl being chopped up. Fortunately they got the fire out with no damage to the airplane, but the magnetos were burned. Wright got a man into Terre Haute with two new magnetos and he changed them and repaired some other engine damage. This put Walt and the Travel Air out of the Bendix, but he figured he could still save the day by getting to Cleveland and racing in the Thompson.

Doolittle had checked at Albuquerque on Walt's progress and was somewhat relieved to know he was be­hind him as the Travel Air offered the only serious com­petition. The Lockheeds were lumbering along with full fuel loads and wouldn't be picking up any speed until late in the race. Doolittle was the first into Cleveland with an elapsed time of 9 hrs., 10 min ., 21 sec., giving him an average speed of 223.038 mph in the Laird. Doo­little made a quick decision to refuel and proceed to Newark as he had a good chance to break the trans­continental speed record. When he streaked into Newark at 3:15 p.m., his elapsed time from Burbank to Newark was 11 hrs. , 16 min., 10 sec. at an average speed of 217 mph beating the 2,882 mile transcontinental record set by Frank Hawks in his Travel Air Mystery Ship earlier in the year by one hour and 8 minutes.

Only fi ve of the Lockheeds finished the race as the sixth ran out of fuel over Beatrice, Nebraska. Harold Johnson took second place when he landed his Orion at Cleveland over an hour behind Doolittle. Had Walt not had the engine problem at Terre Haute, he probably would have taken second place, in spite of the unsche­duled stops.

After 6:30 a .m. on the morning or-September 6, Walt lifted the newly repaired Travel Air off the strip at Terre Haute and an hour later he arrived over the fie ld at Cleve­land. He recalls he had decided to fly around the Thomp­son course to locate all the pylons because he might not have time to do it prior to the race. Mter a circuit around the course, Walt came down past the grandstand for a speed run at about 200 mph.

More bad luck dogged him as the engine caught fire and this time it was not in just the engine bay, but the cockpit was afire down between his feet. He banked around steeply then climbed for a few hundred more feet of altitude. With fire raging in the cockpit, Walt tried to trim the airplane for landing but the fire was burning his hand as he tried to crank the trim. He then decided to bailout because if he did land he felt he would probably be burned up in the airplane.

While getting the hatch off and his breast strap and seat belt loose, the airplane pitched down past vertical and Walt went out pulling the parachute ring. He esti­mates this could have been at no more than 400 feet. The chute opened and Walt immediately hit the ground only 15-20 feet from the airplane. Observers who witnessed the accident saw the airplane, with Walt leaving it, dis­appear behind a stand of oak trees which were 75-80 feet

high . They didn't expect him to survive as the parachute had not yet opened.

Walt recalls his hitting the ground was soft, com­pared to a previous practice jump he had made. He just stood there staring at the wrecked Travel Air and noting that it didn't even blow a tire. The airplane didn't burn as the force of the impact probably blew out the fire . Walt stood there in shock with blood and water dripping from his burned hands and face. Soon the ambulance arrived and whisked him off to the hospital. When the shock wore off, the pain was really out of this world, and had him climbing the walls. His successful bail-out was pro­bably the lowest on record at that time. His bums were treated and after about six weeks in Cleveland, his brother, Ken Hunter, flew him back to Sparta as Walt had to get back to work with the airline. Ken took a few pieces of NR614K back to Sparta where they were stored for a number of years. No one seems to remember what happened to these parts.

Walt Hunter describes Younkin's Mystery Ship as a very faithful reproduction and with brakes, tail wheel , CIS prop, and radios, it should be a joy to fly. Walt re­tired from American Airlines in March 1966 as a senior Boeing 707 captain and currently lives in St. Loui~.

Walter Hunter with a turbo-supercharged D.H.4 rigged for high altitude flight. Dayton, Ohio, September, 1924.

The disposition of the other Travel Air Mystery Ships is as follows: NR613K was modified with a Wright and sold to Pancho Barnes. It was also owned for years by Paul Mantz and used for movie work. Pancho's son, Bill was restoring the airplane at the time of his death in 1981. It is currently in the Barnes' estate and being restored by Phil Schultz of Lancaster, California. Frank Hawks' NR1313 hangs in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Doolittle bailed out of the Shell Travel Air NR482N in 1931, which is why he was flying the Laird Super Solution in the 1931 Bendix. The fifth Mys­tery Ship was sold to the Italian Air Force and never seen again. These were the only five Model Rs built by Travel Air. There is another replica under construction by the Staggerwing Museum at Tullahoma, Tennessee. Editor's Note: The Hunter Brothers, Walter, Ken and John were well known barnstormers in the Midwest in the late twenties and thirties. In June, 1930, Ken and John set a world endurance record when they remained aloft 553 hours and 41 minutes in their Stinson SM-1, "City of Chicago".

Another Hunter brother, Albert, is the father ofPauline Winthrop whose remarks inspired Joe Haynes to compile the preceding story for the January , 1982 issue of the Texas AAA Chapter N ewsletter and subsequent publica­tion here. Pauline's husband, Jack Winthrop is Vice President of the EAA Antique/Classic Division.

We are indebted to Joe, Pauline and Walter for this detailed account of NR614K when Walter Hunter owned it . . . G.R.C. •

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

January 8, 1983 was a big day in the continuing life By George Hardie, Jr. of EAA's Ford Tri-Motor NC8407 . The occasion was the first official "roll-out" of the nearly-completed airplane at EAA's Burlington, Wisconsin hangar . A FORD TRI-MOTOR

Since our last report in the August 1982 issue of SPORT A VIATION, much progress has been achieved. As can be seen in the accompanying photos, our goal of final comple­tion is now within reach. Much credit for this progress is due to the steady competency of Tom Soerens, our sheet metal genius. Supported by generous grants from a number of sources plus the continuing flow of donations to the Ford Fund, Tom has been able to work full time on the Ford project.

We have put together an attractive package of three rare items that will certainly be of interest to a ll aviation enthusiasts and collectors of aviation memorabilia. The first item in the package is the book "A Ford in EAA's Future" which contains a history of Ford Tri-Motors and a reproduction of a company brochure on the airplane. A personal certificate is included.

The second item warrants detailed description because of its rarity. This is a faithful reproduction of a promotional brochure that was furnished to each purchaser of a Ford Tri-Motor. Copyrighted in 1927, the book reflects the state of the art as the Ford Company promoters endeavored to convince skeptical investors of the great opportunities in the future of air transportation. A few quotes from the book will illustrate:

"With the practicability of commercial aviation now definitely established, men of vision in industry and com­merce are speculating as to the ultimate achievements of the potentially great industry - what it will mean to civili­zation . . .

"Although yet in its infancy, the rapid growth of com­mercial aviation is presenting to men of vision one of the most remarkable and one of the soundest opportunities that the world has ever known . ..

"Much of the safety ofaviation at this time rests with the pilot. It is essential, therefore, that pilots selected should go through a special course of training at the Ford Airport, to prove their fitness for the work . . .

"Great care should be exercised in selecting a site for the landing field. The surface of the landing field should be hard enough to support the plane during all seasons and so smooth that a motor car can be driven at fifty miles an hour without throwing the passengers out ofthe seat . ..

"All the data pertaining to commercial aviation which has been collected by the Ford Motor Company is available to air line operators who purchase Ford planes. Every valuable experience that the Ford Motor Company has on its own air lines is immediately passed along to the air lines using Ford equipment."

The third item in the package is a unique wall plaque with a reduced reproduction of the 15 inch Ford emblem that appeared on the side of every Tri-Motor, mounted above an actual piece of corrugated aluminum from NC8407 and an etched photo of the airplane, together with a plate attesting to the authenticity of the piece of corru­gated metal.

This attractive package is a special LIMITED EDI­TION that should be a part of every aviation memorabilia collection. It will be mailed postpaid to each person who donates $100 or more to our Ford project. Send your con­tribution to the Ford Tri-Motor Limited Edi tion, P. O. Box 469, Hales Corners, WI 53130. All donat ions are tax deduc­tible. Checks should be made payable to the EAA Aviation Foundation. 10 FEBRUARY 1983

photo of Ford Tri-Motor NC8407 was taken just minutes before a wind storm severely damaged it at Burlington, WI on 6/16/73.

Raettig Photo)

bimitetbCllitiolV

(Raettig Photo)

The dismal results of the wind damage. This was the condition of the Ford when EAA received title to it.

The "roll out" on 1/8/83 to celebrate the Ford finally resting on its own gear. (Gene Chase Photo)

Tom Soerens and his mammoth rebuild project at the EAA Aviation Foundation's Burlington, WI facility. (Gene Chase Photo)

The pilots' flight controls. Note toe brakes on the left side only replacing the original Johnson bar system. Center console con­tains the three throttles (top) and mixture controls (below).

(Gene Chase Photo)

George Hardie, Pat Packard, AI Kelch and Gene Chase inspect the Ford's left wing panel. (Raettfg Photo)

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

The Saga of Dixie Jewett's ~OG

Dixie Jewett (EAA 80575) and her highly modified 1947 super Super Cruiser, N78449, SIN 12-1959.

By Skeet Elpel 504 West Spring Creek Drive

Bozeman, MT 59715

(Photos by Dixie Jewett except as noted)

The waves in the Tongass Narrows were mean and choppy, visibility was down to minimums and yet dozens of float planes kept doing business as usual in Ketchikan where poor flying conditions are commonplace. Sun­shine and optimum conditions are a rarity in this land which gets a hundred and fifty inches of rainfall per year.

Then into this fogged-in, turbulent environment appeared an amphibian which made even seasoned Alaskans stop in their tracks, toss the ponchos back from their heads and follow it with their eyes.

"What is it?" they said then, and other Alaskans have asked since from Petersburg to Kotzebue when Dixie Jewett flew her custom, souped-up Super Cruiser on various missions around the Far North. Observers who did not personally know the unconventional South­east Alaska pilot were not sure what type of aircraft they were seeing. The multi-colored amphibian stood tall on reinforced legs like an overgrown sandpiper, testing the water, bobbing and nodding in almost gleeful amusement to acknowledge all the stares from store­fronts, docks and plexiglass windows of other seaplanes. Dixie's artistic talent shows in this "Bitchin' Eagle" hand Then the real surprise came when it hauled its enor- painted on Big Porker. 12 FEBRUARY 1983

Big Porker over glaciers in Alaska.

mous pair of pontoons with their extra two-hundred­fIfty-pound payload in landing gear in what appeared to be an almost vertical lift out of the channel. Sturdy wheels peeked out from their retraction shelter inside the EDO floats.

The plane which made its debut amid the tough competition of seaplanes in the watery Alaskan pan­handle was put in the experimental category for twenty hours by preliminary FAA inspections. But in short order it earned the legitimacy of normal certifIcation and it became the commercial workhorse Dixie had strived so hard for over a period of four years in the mid-seventies. From the splashy "Bitchin' Eagle" and roses she hand­painted on the fuselage to the last wire in the instru­ment panel which was equipped to fly IFR, Dixie had put together the kind of airplane she wanted for her own use.

"Only ten sets of floats with wheels were made for planes this small," Dixie said, referring to the custom 339-JHS, 2250s which were actually made for Piper PA-18As. "Fish spotters in the Carribean were out there circling all day at low speeds and low levels and they thought of the floats for safety and convenience. As it turned out, the extra weight required extra fuel and they ended up not staying out so long. So they gave up and the floats were sold on the used market."

Dixie purchased one set of the amphibious floats in 1972 to install on the PA-12 she was building in the hangar at Todd's Air Service in Ketchikan where she was air taxi pilot by day and airplane hobbyist by night plus all her spare time. The project was termed "an odd­ball installation" by J. Frey at EDO who communicated with her concerning proposed extensive and heretofore untried modifIcations to beef-up the 12 to carry the pay­load. Frey did his best to try to persuade Dixie to stick with a Piper PA-18 and go from there with the 180 horse­power Lycoming engine, model 0-360, noting there was not at that time an approved STC for installation of that engine on a PA-12.

In addition to these apparently prohibitive factors, Frey cited an estimated three hundred hours of engin.eer­ing ahead on stress work and design of struts and fIttmgs alone. Then there were steps to take for flight test certi­fIcation and the studies of engine cooling stability, direc­tional control and other flight test requirements. He concluded the scope of the project was out of sight.

If there was ever a challenge to further pursue a dream, this was it. The flak she had received from several sources saying she would likely encounter stability problems with floats of this size only served to defIne the problem. The need to fully modify the plane to get

directional and lateral stability simply enlarged the project rather than becoming a deterrent.

"When I started rebuilding planes, I didn't even know there were two kinds of screwdrivers. All I knew was horses," Dixie admitted in an interview recently. At fIrst when she envisioned a powerful , versatile Super Cruiser to conquer land and sea from the freedom of the air, it seemed like an obvious and innocuous enough idea. However, the total overhaul eventually led to some creative solutions to old aerodynamics puzzles and lots of coordination with the powers that be in the realm of floats and custom aircraft designers. Throughout the project, Dixie relied most heavily on "those nice pic­tures that show you everything" in the Parts Book that was her bible and sole source of confIdence for the job ahead.

Idea, challenge, obsession, defIance - all became elements in the one woman battle against man, nature and machine.

"As far as I know, it's the first time this has been done with a PA-12," Cal Center of Crosswinds Stol in Anchorage said recently. Center was intrigued enough by the undertaking and Dixie's interest in using his wingtips that he made two trips to Ketchikan to help her out.

"I knew it would a tough challenge to get approval of such an aircraft," Center recalls. "There was not just the job of building a plane, but the job of certificating a highly modifIed aircraft which is another whole chal­lenge. The plane had enough modifications to qualify for homebuilt aircraft. In fact, about everything on it was modifIed."

Adapting design as she went along, Dixie saw the amphib she dubbed with the curious moniker of Big Porker emerge from a nondescript infancy to become something like the rangy, spirited horse named Cactus she used to ride in Montana. Long before her legs would reach the stirrups, she would climb on the gatepost and pull the cowhorse near enough so she could make a flying leap onto his bare back. She says she hasn't leaped off any gateposts yet for Big Porker, but by the time she had fInished it she sacrifIced "a zillion hours" of work on it.

The long hours of tedious labor on the half dozen Super Cruisers she rebuilt were relieved by a bit of humor and some creative offshoots. She built Little Porker and painted it in a checkerboard pattern on nose, tail and wingtips. And there were Porky Bean Pie I, Hot Dang, Jack Flash and Fearless which was named after Todd. Maybe it was the three offour winters in the hangar with penetrating fumes of airplane dope, but Dixie, an

Super Cruiser before it was converted to an amphibian, tied down at Annette, Alaska.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

A familiar scene in every restorer's shop . .. zillions of freshly painted flHlngs on a drying rack of sorts.

Dixie displays her working gloves.

accomplished artist, did some of her most spectacular oil paintings of, what else, but seaplanes with a back­drop of magnificent Alaskan mountains and lakes. She also illustrated and published a child's coloring book of airplanes depicting the earliest flying machines to the latest jets, all with humorous captions.

This eye for the line and form of aircraft has aided Dixie in the design and building aspect of her projects. One of the distinctive features of her planes is the long, graceful wingspan since she opens up the wing ends to add eighteen-inch spar extensions which give that much more surface for lift. The larger engine meant, of course, a corresponding beef-up: larger cowling, motor mounts and a change in the leading edge cuff and wing tips as well as addition of two fifteen-gallon auxiliary fuel tanks.

Dixie shows off the old fabric and the newly epoxied fuse­lage.

The plane weighed in at 1615 pounds empty and had a gross weight of 1935 pounds.

"Cal Center does absolutely incredible work," Dixie said of the well known Alaskan who did the cowling and wingtips and helped her rig the plane on the floats to get the proper angle of struts. "He is the best designer of custom airplane parts around. Most wingtips go either up or down, but Cal's incorporate four different theories of design," she laughs at what must be as much a signa­ture design among aircraft as Calvin Klein's are in the fashion world.

The innovations were hers, Center insists, and she was "pretty persistent" to get the type of plane she wanted though Crosswind's engineering consultant then, Gor­don Mandrell, "just shook his head".

"She wanted to use my tips which had been approved for a PA-18," Center said. "She put them on and tested them herself. The use of the engine, wingtips and leading edge cuff all had to get field approval. She also had to modify the length of the struts for stability. We had to run basic load tests, but there wasn't any doubt about the plane being strong enough."

Much of the strength came from the extra tubing she welded in on the left side from the front attach point of the gear to the front wing attach points, the area she had experienced getting broken frequently on seaplanes. She added a seven-foot reinforcing tube inside the lower longerons which helped to cushion the shock when the plane lands and exerts pressure on the whole front land­ing apparatus and puts stress on the cabin section of the fuselage. Next, she ran reinforcements right up along the front side of the door and up overhead in the cabin sec­tion. Extra tubing was inserted from the attach point

Dixie and "LiHle Porker", another of her beefed-up

Piper Super Cruisers.

14 FEBRUARY 1983

of the gear to the firewall top which she felt was essen­tial for the larger engine installation. She said she had $12,000 in all new construction back to the firewall, then she reinforced the tail section which is another weak area on seaplanes.

This approach to start from the very basics and do the job right prompted high praise from Ed Todd who had introduced Dixie to flying in the first place. In 1968 Dixie was a cab driver on Ketchikan's one main street that meanders along the waterfront. Her cab passengers who often quizzed her about the stack of self-help books she kept on the seat beside her later became her most loyal air taxi customers. They'd ask for "the good look­ing pilot," Todd said, even when Dixie's 15,000 hours logged merited a more professional title.

"She did a better job on some of the planes she's re­built than they did at the factory," Todd claimed many times before his death in October, 1978. "She's a per­fectionist in everything she does."

Dixie was interested in the comfort and recreational aspects of her plane also. She particularly liked en­larging the baggage compartment and installing a Cessna 150 seat in the front which folds forward and lies flat. This, combined with a unique door that lifts up, permits more room to load luggage, or haul her St. Bernard, or just to make a place for sleeping when she camped.

St. Bernard pup " Splash" grins from the enlarged baggage compartment of Big Porker.

"The St. · Bernard pup, Splash, made a nice flying partner until she wanted to lie down and stretch out," Dixie said. "Then she would knock the throttle back. I'd be there just listening to my country western music with the headphones on when down we'd go! That sure brought me out of it in a hurry!"

Splash, now double her weight then, retired to a royal, if less adventureous life in Montana where she has be­come a first-rate porcupine chaser. So probably no more pitching, rolling airplane rides from Texas to over the Arctic Circle are in store for her.

Other features Dixie enjoyed installing were the round rear windows and chromed controls. Not so easy or enjoyable was dealing with wheels and brakes, most of which were designed to operate off hard surface strips. These were not acclimated to life in saltwater baths either. She found aluminum substitutes for the mag­nesium wheels, but there don't appear to be a lot of vi­able options for this type of amphibious landing gear.

"They're hell to maintain," Dixie says. "It sits in the water and rusts and saltwater corrodes the metal and ruins the brakes. They have to be worked on constantly, but they are worth the trouble and expense if you want the choice of landing strips."

Corrosion-proofing the rest of the plane was a must. All the basic structure was done from sandblasting to get rid of all the rust to priming, then it was given several coats of epoxy and painted over all tubes, which had been wrapped with electrical tape, with Plyobond ad­hesive. Clusters where tubes came together were painted with silicone seal. Linseed oil was poured inside the tubing.

Despite painstaking requirements of building the amphibian and troublesome upkeep, Dixie favored the plane for its utility. It was designed for very slow land­ing speeds and the ability to land on unimproved sur­faces which in Alaska means wilderness beach heads, fields or rough roads. She spent several fishing seasons fish spotting in Bristol Bay and often camped out around a circuit of Alaskan ports, or hired out as pilot with plane to mining and fishing companies.

While on a job or out on a bush pilot holiday, Dixie pursued another craft with professional acumen. Alaska's strikingly rugged beauty and technicolors proved to be richly rewarding for her as an aerial photographer. From her vantage point over glaciers, the "rivers of ice", Dixie could maneuver in for some especially exciting shots. Once it was almost too close. When she sat down on the water at the base of a glacier in Glacier Bay and taxied in toward a tiny strip of beach, the mass of ice "calved" off a chunk which crashed into the Bay creat­ing monstrous waves.

"I nearly lost my plane," Dixie said matter-of-factly of this and other near-misses. She always places the loss of plane above potential loss of her life. But Big Porker holds a favored spot in her corral of Super Cruisers and it rode out the waves just like so many of the hurdles imposed by the FAA. It was this amphibian that earned the STC for the PA-12 with a 180 horsepower engine that veteran Cal Center had worked on and was so intent in seeing its approval.

"License Normal Category" was a particularly mean­ingful achievement for the "oddball installation" which became Big Porker, a one-of-its-kind flying machine. Editor's Note: Dixie Jewett (EAA 80575J Star Route, Virginia City, MT 59755, has been flying air taxi and charter work in Alaska for more than 14 years, accumu­lating some 16,000 hours of flight time. She also owns two Cessnas, a 180 and a 185 which she leases to other operators. Dixie flew "Big Porker" to Oshkosh '82 and both she and her unique classic aircraft attracted a lot of attention . .. G.R.C. •

(Photo by Gene. Chase) Big Porker stands tall at Oshkosh '82.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

X-660-E • • • An Unusual Flying Machine

Editor's N ote: When this photo arrived at EAA Headquarters I immediately wrote to the sender, Dale Glossenger asking for additional information. His letter follows . If any reader can supply more details, we would greatly appreciate hearing from them . . . G.R.C.

Dear Gene: In answer to your letter, I'll try to fill you in on the

"unusual flying machine". About eleven years ago, a friend and I flew a 1946

Luscombe out of what we called the "Granger Air Force Base" which was no more than a cow pasture along-side a railroad track. At one time there was a '41 T-craft, a Cessna 140 and the Luscombe tied down there.

It was on one ofthose evenings my friend, Bill McComb, showed me a small picture of X-660-E. I took the picture and had it enlarged to an 8 x 10 just to try to figure out how and why the aircraft was put together as it was.

Bill told me he got the original photo from someone (whose name he couldn't remember) and the photo was taken somewhere in California. On the first test flight, the machine somehow got to an altitude of about fifty feet and apparently one of the cables jumped off the drum and the "plane" subsequently crashed. Nothing was mentioned about the fate of the pilot.

Now about the craft itself: I don't know if the FAA would have records showing who X-660-E was registered to or not. By the looks of the surroundings in the photo, and the old car sitting there, I would guess the machine was built back in the late twenties or early thirties. If the wing, drum, etc. did move as I guess it does, then the designer may have been close .. . back then ... to VTOL as we know it today. The drum, the propulsive mechanism, borders on fan.

There appears to be an absence of any type or kind of elevator system. The wing lets below the wings are a bit puzzling . . . the vertical stabilizer section seems to be in line with everything, but the "rudder" section seems to be curved at the top. The two tailwheels might just be steerable and fitted with oleo struts.

(Photo courtesy of Dale Glossenger)

The fuel system appears to be gravity feed as the fuel line and shut-off valve can be seen below the tank. The engine looks like a five or seven cylinder radial. Perhaps the cockpit is two place but with only one "wheel" which looks like an automobile steering wheel. The drum seems to be fabric covered.

Well , that's about all I can tell you about 01' 660-E. Whoever designed and built it had more imagination than most, and to the guy that flew it ... he should have been awarded the medal for "Test Pilot of the Century" for even getting in the machine. They did have some rather unique ideas in this contraption.

Sincerely, Dale Glossenger (EAA 189173) 70185 Beach Drive Edwardsburg, MI 49112 •

CALENDAR OF EVENTS We would like to list your aviation event in our calendar. Please send information to the Editor, The VINTAGE AIRPLANE, P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130. Information must be received at least two months in advance of the issue in which it will appear.

MARCH 13-19 - LAKELAND. FLORIDA- 9th Annual Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In. Plans and site improvements being made to make '83 an even greater success than 1982. Contact Sun 'n Fun Fly-In. Box 2246. Lakeland, FL 33803 or Ann McKee. 813/688-8214 or 688-6280.

APRIL 29 - MAY 1 - ROANOKE RAPIDS, NORTH CAROLINA - EAA Antique/Classic Chapter 3 Fly-In. Antiques, Classics and Homebuilts wel­come. Contact Geneva McKiernan, 5301 Finsbury Place. Charlotte, NC 27211.

APRIL 30 - MAY 1 - BOLIVAR, TENNESSEE - EAA Chapter 763 Annual Spring Fly-In and Air Show. Contact Billy Whitehurst, Hardeman County Airport. Bolivar. TN 38008. 901 /658-6282.

MAY 1 - ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS - EAA Chapter 22 Annual Fly-In Breakfast. Eastern Aviation, Greater Rockford Airport. 7 a.m. 'til noon. For information call 815/332-4708.

MAY 27-29 - ATCHISON, KANSAS - Greater Kansas City Area Chapter. Antique Airplane Association Annual Fly-In at Amelia Earhart Airport. Early arrivals will be served supper Friday evening with awards banquet on Saturday night. Dormitory accommodations are available and camping is allowed. 80 and 100 octane gas is available. Contact Bill Hare. 6207 Riggs, Mission. KS 66202 or George Hefflinger. 3510 North 99th Street. Kansas City. KS 66109.

16 FEBRUARY 1983

JUNE 3-5 - MERCED. CALIFORNIA - 26th Annual Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In at Merced Municipal Airport. For information contact Dee Humann, Registration Chairman, Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In. P.O. Box 2312, Merced. CA 95344. 209/358-3487.

JUNE 5 - DE KALB, ILLINOIS - EM Chapter 241 Annual Fly-In. Drive-In Breakfast 7 a.m. 'til noon at DeKalb Municipal Airport. Contact Marlin Crown, 159 Thomas Street, Sycamore, IL 60178. 815/895-6856.

JUNE 10-12 - DENTON, TEXAS - Texas Chapter Antique Airplane Associ­ation Fly-In. For information contact Bob Landrum, Rt. 4, Box 140. Roanoke. TX 76262, 817/430-3387 (after 6 p.m.) or Jack Winthrop. Rt. 1, Box 111 , Allen . TX 75002. 2141727-5649.

JUNE 10-12 - MIDDLETOWN. OHIO - Aeronca Fly-In. Tour of Middletown Aeronca Factory. banquet and tour of U.S. Air Force Museum at Dayton. You must contact Jim Thompson. Box 102, Roberts , IL 60962, 217/395­2522 to make arrangements to participate in this fly-in.

JULY 2-4 - BLAKESBURG. IOWA - Second Annual Aeronca Fly-In at Antique Airfield . Aircraft judging. awards, forums and meetings of several type clubs. For further information contact Aeronca Club. 1432 28th Ct. . Kenosha, WI 53140. 414/522-9014 or Antique Airplane Association, Rt. 2. Box 172, Ottumwa. IA 52501. 515/938-2773.

JULY 29-31 - COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS - 6th Annual Funk Fly-In. Antiques, classics. homebuilts invited. Contests, trophies. dinner. Contact Ray Pahls, 454 Summitlawn, Wichita. KS 67209. 316/943-6920.

JULY 30 - AUGUST 6 - OSHKOSH. WISCONSIN - 31st Annual Fly-In Convention. Start making your plans now to attend the World's Greatest Aviation Event. Contact EAA, P.O. Box 229. Hales Corners, WI 53130.

OCTOBER 14-16 - CAMDEN. SOUTH CAROLINA - EAA Antique/Classic Chapter 3 Fly-In. Antiques, Classics and Homebuilts welcome. Contact Geneva McKiernan. 5301 Finsbury Place. Charlotte, NC 27211.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Paul Poberezny President, Experimental Aircraft Association P.O. Box 229 Hales Comers, WI 53130

Dear Paul: Enclosed are a couple of photos from Denmark, taken

at KZ and Veteran Klubben fly-in at Stauning Luft­haven (airfield) June 3-6, 1982 near Ringkobing, Den­mark.

This was the greatest number of Tiger Moth aircraft I have seen assembled at one spot.

Homebuilts and antiques had assembled from Nor­way, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, France, England and I know, several other countries but I did not find time to meet everyone.

Ringkobing had clear skies but unusually high tem­peratures - so high in fact the local schools dismissed classes due to the heat.

We were pleased to meet Charles and Janet Schuck the official EAA visitors. EAA can be proud to have such fine representation.

Jens Toft, his son Eric, the whole family and their committees were very gracious hosts and loaned us a tent and sleeping bags for our overnight stay.

Stauning Airfield is a perfect fly-in location and the club has assembled a very interesting museum on the field.

Aircraft in aHendance included this Piper PA-18-95 Super Cub, OY-EFA, SIN 18-1477, from Denmark and two good looking Jodels from Great Britain.

Two pigs were barbequed at the fly-in. The aircraft is a 1.946 Danish KZ III.

It was pleasant to make an international fly-in and find you have the same spirit, friendship and common interests found at Oshkosh.

Sincerely, Waren and Clemma Wiggett (EAA 2479) 512 W. 26 Street Rifle, CO 81650

Editor's Note: The Annual KZ and Veteranfly Klubben Fly-In is sponsored by EAA Chapter 655, based at Spjald, Denmark. This event was designated the 1982 EAA Europe Fly-In, and was held in conjunction with the Fifteenth International KZ Rally . . . G.R.C.

Dear Mr. Chase: As a new member of EAA and new subscriber to

The VINTAGE AIRPLANE, may I express my pleasure with my first issue, that of December 1982.

In the "Mr. Mulligan at Oshkosh" story, mention was made of Paul Matt's "Historical Aviation Album Volume XIV." Is this still in print? Can you suggest any possible source for the series . .. whether it is in or out of print?

Your help in this matter will be sincerely appreciated. Very truly yours, Merle H. (Mickey) Mishne (EAA 199661, NC 7390) 4700 Manufacturing Road Cleveland, OH 44135

Editor's Note: The series of Paul Matt's "Historical Avia­tion Album" which is still in print (including Volume XIV are available from: Historic Aviation, 3850 Corona­tion Road, Eagan, MN 55122, and Zenith Aviation Books, P.O. Box 1, Osceola, WI 54020. Write for free catalogs. Also, the June, July and August 1974 issues of The VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE containing the "Howard Story" in Nick R ezich's articles, "Reminiscing With Big Nick" are avail­able at $1 .25 each, postpaid from : EAA Antique/Classic Division, P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130.

Dear Gene: In your "Letters to the Editor," I must respond again,

as I did in the EAA magazine to Mr. Poberezny, calling for the elimination of Third Class Medical Certificates. Mr. Poberezny has apparently forgotten the fact that there is no medical certificate required for driving on the highway and some medications that would be fine for driving on the highway would not be the same while flying, particularly with the added ingredient of alti­tude. For example, being an FAA physician, I saw a gentleman who was thirty-five years of age in my office, with blood pressure of 170/130 and I ask you, do you think that he should fly an airplane and not carry a Third Class Medical Certificate if nonnal range is 120/80. The answer is best answered "no" or "yes". No, with blood pressure that high he would not be safe for himself or his passengers, as pilot in command of an aircraft. But yes if he is able to have blood pressure maintained or appropriate medication, the FAA would allow that.

Another example would be a person who takes medi­cine for sinus conditions, such as cold medicines, even over-the-counter medicines. The medicine I am think­ing of would most likely have an antihistamine and decongestant in it. My questions is, should he fly an air­plane while taking this medication. The answer most assuredly is no. The side effect of the antihistamine is drowsiness and would make him unsafe as a pilot and that also possibly could be aggravated by altitude; the hyposia effect of the lack of oxygen associated with an airplane ascending in altitude.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

l2~LIV~ IRe WL()~~ ~l2A 01 AVIATI()~

Jecket - unlined tan poplin with gold and white braid trim. Knit waist and cuffs, zipper front and slash pockets. Antique/ Classic logo patch on chest. Sizes - XS through XL .. ........ . $28.95 ppd

Cep - pale gold mesh with contrasting blue bill , trimmed with gold braid. Antique/ Classic logo patch on crown of cap. Sizes - M and L (adjustable rear band) .. ... .. .. .. $ 6.25 ppd

Antlque/Clualc Petche. Large - 4Vi' across . .. ... .. ...... $ 1.75 ppd Small - 3V ..' across .. ... .. . ...... $ 1.75 ppd

Antlque/ Cle.alc Decell ­4" across (shown left) ... .. .... . . $ .75 ppd

Avelleble Beck IHue. of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1973 - March through December 1974 - All are available 1975 - All are available 1976 - February through April , August through December 19n - January through June, August through December 1978 - January through March, August, October through December Send check to : 1979 - All are available EM Antlque/ Cle.ate Division, Inc.

1980 - January, March through July, September through December P.O. Box 229, Hele. Comera, WI 53130 1981 - All are available Allow 4-6 Weeks for Delivery 1982 - February, May through December Wisconsin Residents Include 5% Sales Tax

Per Issue ....... . ........... . . ...... . .. ............ . .......... $1.25 ppd Lindbergh Commemorative Issue (July 19n) .. . . . . . . .. . . .. . ... $ 1.50 ppd

I could give many other examples of things that have happened in my office personally in regard to screening people for FAA examinations. An accurate rating would say that there is not probably but one or two in one hun­dred applicants that really would be totally unsafe for flying, but there might be fifteen or twenty who would have to have appropriate medication for other things done in order to make him legal for flying.

I am with Mr. Poberezny in bringing down the cost of aviation and I would like to make a suggestion that would be somewhat of a compromise and that would be to let Third Class Medical Certificates last for three years.

If there are any questions, please address them to me personally at the address below.

I certainly appreciate your publishing this letter. I do so only in the interest of air safety.

Sincerely, Guy D. Baldwin, D.O. (EAA 117693, AlC 6062) 11445 East 20th Street Tulsa, OK 74128

Greetings From The Director! Each year about this time, when thoughts should

be on the holidays, I start to feel anxiety over the coming convention. The Board of Directors of Sun 'n Fun taken on very ambitious plans for expansion and improve­ment for the 1983 event. These include an entirely new 15 acre ultralight area, an additional shower house, a country store, a permanent building for the news office, a new facility for fly-in headquarters and 3000 feet of permanent fencing.

As you can tell it will require a great deal of work as well as many different types of tools and talent. If 18 FEBRUARY 1983

you can give a hand at any time, it would be appreciated. We will be doing carpentry, electrical, plumbing, putting up fencing, pruning trees and shrubs and the like.

You can camp on the site to work. A number of folks are already doing this on weekends.

Starting on January 1, we are working every week­end until the gates open. PLEASE PITCH IN!

Billy M. Henderson Director, Sun 'n Fun '83 P.O. Box 2246 Lakeland, FL 33803

Dear Gene: The events of 1982 have now been filed for posterity

and we now eagerly await the 1983 issues of The VIN­TAGE AIRPLANE for more excellent photos and articles by you and your staff and the many contributing writers.

It would take too long to list all the names of people who I believe did an excellent job of digging into the past so I will mention only a few and apologize to those not mentioned. George Hardie could dig into his files for many years and come up with something different every time; keep up the good work, George. Al Kelch has done it again with his 3-part series on the Thomas­Morse Aircraft Corp . .. . , few realize the time spent in research to do such articles.

Last but not least, Mike Rezich has caused me to spend many hours looking through my files to come up with the answers (sometimes) to his "Mysery Plane" photos.

Keep up the good work, Gene. Yours truly, Chuck Faber (EAA 135542, AlC 4591 ) 655 Poplar Creek Drive Waukesha, WI 53186 •

~

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FLYING AND GlI DER MANUALS

1929,1930,1931 1932,1933

2.50 ea. EO UCA I N

SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO:

EAA Aviation Foundation, Inc. Box 469 Hales Corners, WI 53130

Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery Wisconsin Residents Include 5% Sales Tax

THE JOURNAL OF THE EARLY AEROPLANE

SAMPLE ISSUE $4 15 CRESCENT RD. POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. 12601

CLASSIFIED ADS Regular type, 45c per word; Bold Face, 50c per word; AlL CAPS, 55c per word. Rate covers one insertion, one issue; minimum charge, $7.00. Classified ads payable in advance, cash with order. Send ad with payment to Advertising Department, The VINTAGE AIR­PLANE. P.O. Box 229. Hales Comers, WI 53130 .

ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of un­limited aerobatics. 23 sheets of clear, easy to follow plans, includes nearly 100 isometrical drawings, photos and exploded views . Complete parts and materials list. Full size wing drawings . Plans plus 88 page Builder's Manual - $60.00. Info Pack - $4.00. Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing - $15.00. Send check or money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/ 425-4860.

ACRO II - The new 2-place aerobatic trainer and sport biplane. 20 pages of easy to follow, detailed plans. Com­plete with isometric drawings, photos , exploded views. Plans - $85.00. Info Pack - $4.00. Send check or money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., P.O. Box 462, Hales Cor­ners, WI 53130. 414/425-4860.

POSER PIXIE - VW powered parasol - unlimited in low. cost pleasure flying. Big, roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot. VW power insures hard to beat 3lj2 gph at cruise setting. 15 large instruction sheets. Plans - $45.00. Info Pack - $4.00. Send check or money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/ 425-4860. TRAVEL AIR 2000 - If.! scale replica display. Non-flyable . Easily dismantled for transportation. R. F. Donnini, 15 Wayne Avenue, Jeannette, PA 15644. 4121523-3538.

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION EAA

ANTIQUE­CLASSIC lAC WARBIRDS

UL TRALIGHT

• Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association , Inc. is $25.00 for one year, $48.00 for 2 years and $69.00 for 3 years. All include 12 issues of Sport Aviation per year. Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $15.00 annually. Family Membership is available for an additional $10.00 annually.

• EAA Member - $18.00. Includes one year membership in EAA Antique-Classic Division. 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airplane and membership card. Applicant must be a current EAA member and must give EAA membership number.

• Non-EAA Member - $28.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division. 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airplane. one year membership in the EAA and separate membership cards. Sport Aviation not included.

• Membership in the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. is $20.00 annually which includes 12 issues of Sport Aerobatics. All lAC members are required to be members of EAA.

• Membership in the Warbirds of America. Inc . is $20.00 per year. which includes a subscription to Warbirds Newsletter. Warbird members are required to be members of EAA.

• Membership in the EAA Ultralight Assn. is $25.00 per year which includes the Ultralight publication ($15.0!1 additionaifor Sport Aviation magazine) . For current EAA members only, $15.00, which includes UltralIght publicatIon .

• FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS: Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars or an international postal money order similarly drawn.

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO EAA OR THE DIVISION IN WHICH MEMBERSHIP IS DESIRED. ADDRESS ALL LETTERS TO EAA OR THE PARTICULAR DIVISION AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:

P.O. BOX 229 - HALES CORNERS, WI 53130 - PHONE (414) 425-4860 OFFICE HOURS: 8:30 - 5:00 MONDAY-FRIDAY

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19