GEOFF ROBISON PRES IDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOC IATON

Its AirVenture time

Its here For aviators around the globe the month of July always brings EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

to mind Most everyone of these aviators will wish he or she were goshying to be able to attend but for varshyied reasons many are never able to make it Heres hoping this is the year for you I still remember my first EAA convention in 1984 I reshyally thought it would likely turn out to be a one-time visit for me Fortushynately the proverbial Oshkosh bug bit me pretty hard So far I have not missed a single Oshkosh since my first and each of them has been very enjoyable But some members are not as fortunate as I am in beshying able to come to this great event every year Even if you can get here only once you really owe it to yourshyself to experience this amazing celshyebration of the Spirit of Aviation

One of the great benefits of memshybership is the opportunity to serve your fellow members as a Vintage volunteer during EAA AirVenture So as we typically do each year in July heres a partial list of names and contact information for many of the volunteer chairpeople for the Vintage area of operations Want to rev up your visit by installing some extra horsepower to your Oshkosh experience Just drop these folks a line and they will fill you in on these varied volunteer opportunishyties Hope to see you around the Red Barn

Please do us all the favor of inshyviting a friend to join the VAA and

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 the Worlds Greatest Aviation Celebration is July 28 through August 3 2008

VAA is about participation Be a member Be a volunteer Be there

Lets all pull in the same direc shytion for the good of aviation Re shymember we are better together Join us and have it all

Vintage Aircraft Association chairpeople

Convention Management Geoff Robison chairman chief7025aoi com 219-493-4724 Butch Joyce vice-chairman windshysockaoi com 336-427-0971 Convention Management Field Operations George Daubner Vice Chairman vaafyboymsncom

414-673-5885 Aerogram Rob Kamsch chairman 336-668-3410 VAA ludgingAwards Dave Clark VAA chief judge davepdiquestnet 317-839-4500 Computer Operations Earl Nicholas chairman eman4

ameritechnet 312-451-2930 Construction and Maintenance Bob Brauer chairman photopiiotaolcom 312-779-2105 Headquarters Ruth Coulson chairman rcouison516cscom 616-624-6490 HostActivities Jeannie Hill chairman dinghaoowcnet 815-943-7205

Merchandise Bob Lumley chairman iumperexecpc com 262-782-2633 Metal Forming Workshol) Steve Nesse chairman stnesdeskmediacom 507-373-1674 Parking and Safety Michael Kosta chairman cubfyrcomcastnet 303-673-9355 Participant Plaques Jack Copeland chairman copelandljunocom 508-393-4775 Past Grand Champions Steve Krog chairman sskrogaolcom 262-966-7627 Safe Flying Ken Morris chairman Taiidragger7Waoicom 815-547-3991 Security Tim Fox chairman timlyingshepherdscom 260-486-8126 Tall Pines Cafe Steve Nesse chairman stnesdeskmediacom 507-373-1674 Tonis Trolley Jim Brown chairman 414-895-6282 Tour Tram James LeFevre chairman 920-434-1656 Type Club Headquarters Steve Krog chairman sskrogaolcom 262-966-7627 Volunteer Center Steve Moyer chairman cavubiueverizonnet 215-362-0379 Volunteer-Hospitality Center Lorraine Eberle vice chairman 920-233-2324

help keep us the strong association MembershipChapter Info we have all enjoyed for so many Dave Bennett chairman years now antiquerinreachcom 916-645-8370 A~

J U L Y VOL 36 NO7 2008

CONTENTS I Fe Straight amp Level

It s AirVenture time by Geoff Robison

2 News

6 Aeromail

8 Vernons CAA Airmaster The Bronze Age Outstanding Closed Cockpit Monoplane by Nick Hurm

13 The Flight of the June Bug The centennial of Glenn Curtiss epic flight of July 4 1908 by HG Frautschy r-------_------_----__--

20 Light Plane Heritage Remember the Klemm by Bob Whittier

26 The Pratt amp Whitney Wasp The history of a most remarkable engine by Joe Haynes

32 Mystery Plane by HG Frautschy

34 The Vintage Instructor The IDA

by Doug Stewart

38 Classified Ads

39 Calendar

COVERS FRONT COVER The Cessna Airmaster was once billed as The Worlds Most Efmiddot ficient Airplane With sleek lines and a strutless cantilever wing this Airmaster was used by the FAAs predecessor the Civil Aeronautics Administration Vernon Heyrman was looking to buy a Fairchild 24 but he didn t wind up purchasing one instead he bought this 1940 C-165 Airmaster See Nick Hurms article starting on page 8 to find out why EAA photo by Phil High BACK COVER July 4th marks the 100th anniversary of Glenn H Curtiss awardshywinning flight with the Aerial Experiment Associations (AEA) June Bug Presented with the Scientific American trophy for the first officially recognized public ftight over one kilometer in length the June Bugs flight solid ly put Curtiss in the public eye as an aeronautical force to be reckoned with See the story about the flight of the June Bug starting on page 13 Photo courtesy the Glenn H Curtiss Museum Hammondsport New York

STAFF EAA Publisher Tom Poberezny Director of EAA Publications David Hipschman Executive DirectorEditor HG Frautschy EAA Art Director Olivia P Trabbold Executive Assistant Jillian Rooker News Editor Ric Reynolds Photography Jim Koepnick

Bonnie Kratz Advertising Coordinator Sue Anderson Classified Ad Coordinator Daphene VanHullum Copy Editor Colleen Walsh Director of Advertising Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertising Representatives Northeast and Southeast Chester Baumgartner Phone 727middot532middot4640 FAX 727middot532middot4630 emiddotmail cbaulll iiimilldsprillgCOIII

Cen tral Gary Worden Phone 800middot444-9932 FAX 816-74 1middot6458 emiddotmail garywordetlSpcmiddotmagcom

Moun tain amp Pacific John Gibson Phone 916-784middot9593 emiddotmai l joilllgibsollSpc-magcolII

Europe Willi Tacke

Phone +498969340213 FAX +498969340214 -mail williflyillgmiddotpagescom

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

I)

To help members who

Theater 1)fly in to understand In The West Side shy Woodsthe layout of the conshy ~r ))~ Vintage Aircraft ~

Antique Campingvention area administered by VAA weve prepared this simplified map As you ~ can see camping starts at 0

Row 74 on the east side of Type Club ~ s-

Parkingthe main northsouth road ~Startsat

(Wittman Road) with the --- Row 74

areas to the north of that ~ Tall Pines line set up to handle disshy--- Cafe shy

play-only vintage aircraft Near Ultralights

Thats why you may see open areas as you taxi south to your camping location

Once you arrive youll need to register your airshycraft andor campsite In addition to roving regisshy Row 78

~ EAST SIDEtration vehicles there is --shyVAA CAM PI NG AND PARKING

one main aircraft registrashy STARTS HERE CONTINUES TO ROW 150tion building located just

south of the Red Barn (see map) The EAA convention campgrounds are private campgrounds and are not open to non-EAA members Each campsite must be registered

Flight Planning for Your EAA AirVenture Trip

As an EAA member (an

important part of your VAA

membership) you can use

the EAA Flight Planner to

chart your trip to Wittman

Field for EAA AirVenture Oshshy

kosh 2008 Just click on the

EM Flight Planner link on the

left side of the members-only

home page at httpMembers

EMorg or you can log in at

wwwVintageAircraftOIg

Parking ~(I))

t~vo Type Club amp Showers Workshop Tents

ShowplaneCamper ( ( - Reg istration V V V Red

)Hangar D BarnCafe

- parked along road and in rows 60 amp 61

VAA Large Special

Interest Aircraft Ant iques

o VAA

VAA PARKING -No Camping

Operat ions Shack

Row 62 through Row 77

Past Grand Ch ampions

Rows 60 Row 50 amp 61 Anliqu

POint ------------------------ ---- shy

by a current EAA member Another immediate benefit of

VAA membership is your free VAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 Particishypant Plaque which you can pick

Get Your EAA AirVenture 2008 NOTAM Booklet

Printed copies of the EAA AirshyVenture Oshkosh 2008 Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) can be ordered by calling EAA Membership Sershyvices at 800-564-6322 or you can download it directly from the Web at wwwAirVentureorgI20081(lying

The NOTAM contains the special flight procedures in effect for Wittshyman Regional Airport and alternate airports from 6 am eDT on Friday July 25 to 1159 pm eDT on Sunshyday August 3 2008 All pilots who fly into the event are expected to know the special flight procedures prior to arrival EAA AirVenture Oshkosh runs from July 28 through August 3 For additional EAA AirshyVenture Oshkosh 2008 informashytion including advance ticketing purchases visit wwwAirVentureorg

D Comm Center

up in the rear of the Red Barn EAA and VAA memberships are available at both aircraft registration and at the membership booth located northeast of the Red Barn

o 2008 Itamp 1mVENTURE ~ OSHKOSH - -ffi)- shy

NOTAM The Worfcf 5 Greatest Aviation Celebration TU

FOI n (I09fol~ NOTAII~alEAAIII SampU3ll TO_ QI ~__~__NlM9-ot

--~-~-+

2 JULY 2008

Grass Runways and Fuel Also on our VAA website we

publish a list created by VAA memshyber Kris Kortokrax

Kris flies a variety of old biplanes that are more pleasant to fly when they are flown from grass strips and he and his buddies from Shelshybyville Illinois do their best to keep the old biplanes happy (and keep tire wear to a minimum) by flying cross-country from grass strip to grass strip Finding fuel facilities can be a challenge these days and Kris has distilled this airport information to be useful for like-minded grassshyrunway-preferring pilots This data was current as of the beginning of the year and wed suggest calling ahead to confirm fuel availability and hours of operation If you have any changes or additions drop us an e-mail here at vintageaircra(teaa org and well forward it to Kris

Our thanks to Kris for sharing his list Let us know if you find it useful

Breakfast and a Briefing The VAA Tall Pines Cafe will be

in operation again this year with an expanded schedule prior to convention and fly-in-style panshycake breakfasts during EAA AirVenshyture Starting on Friday morning July 25 and continuing through Sunday July 27 the VAA Tall Pines Cafe will be open for breakfast (630-930 am) and dinner (4 30shy730 pm) Starting Monday July 28 only breakfast will be served at the Tall Pines Cafe (600-930 am) Just to the north an FAA Flight Service Station (FSS) trailer will be located near the cafe At the trailer youll be able to check the weather for your flight and obtain a full briefing from FSS speCialists withshyout having to trek up to the FAA Building near the control tower Well see you there each morning for breakfast and a briefing

Are You a Friend of the VAA Red Barn

If so be sure to check in at the information desk at the VAA Red Barn There well issue you a special

name badge We can also point out the location for the Ford Tri-Motor rides If you have any questions feel free to ask for Jillian Rooker the VAA administrative assistant If you need to reach her in advance of your arrival call her at EAA headshyquarters 920-426-6110

Our thanks to each of you who have contributed to the VAA Friends of the Red Barn 2008 camshypaign Well have the list of conshytributors in next months edition of Vintage Airplane

VAA Message Center If you would like to leave a messhy

sage for people you know who frequent the VAA Red Barn stop by the information desk You can write them a message in our noteshybook on a string and well post their name on the marker board so theyll know theres a message waitshying for them Sure cellular phones and walkie-talkies are great but sometimes nothing works better than a hand-scribbled note

VAA Picnic Tickets for the annual VAA picniC

to be held Wednesday July 30 at the Nature Center will be available for sale at the VAA Red Barn prior to the start of EAA AirVenture Tickets must be purchased in advance so we know how much food to order The delicious meal will be served after 530 pm Trams will begin leaving the VAA Red Barn around 5 pm and will make return trips after the picnic Type clubs may hold their annual banquets during the picnic Call Jeannie Hill (815-943-7205) and she will reserve seating so your type club can sit together

Shawano Fly-Out The annual fly-out to Shawano

is Saturday August 2 The sign-up sheet will be at the desk at the VAA Red Barn and the briefing will be at 7 am the morning of the flyshyout The community of Shawano approximately an hour north of Oshkosh (as the Cub flies) is a big supporter of VAA and puts forth a

lot of effort to sponsor this event Shawanos residents do a great job of hosting us and we hope youll help us thank Shawano by joining us on the flight

VAA Red Barn Store The VAA Red Barn Store chockshy

full of VAA logo merchandise and other great gear will be open with expanded hours all week long Monday through Saturday 8 am until 6 pm Early-bird arrivals can shop on the previous weekend as well during limited hours Show your VAA membership card (or your receipt showing you joined VAA at the convention) and youll receive a 10 percent discount

When you first visit the Red Barn store check to see when there will be a special VAA members-only sale Bring your V AA card to the sale and save with additional discounts See you there

VAA Volunteer Opportunities Are you an ace pancake flipshy

per If youre not one yet we can help The VAA Tall Pines Cafe is looking for volunteers who can help provide a hearty breakfast to all the hungry campers on the south end of Wittman Field If you could lend a hand for a mornshying or two wed appreciate it If thats not your cup of tea feel free to check with the VAA volunteer center located just to the northshyeast of the Red Barn The volunshyteers who operate the booth will be happy to tell you when your help is needed each day It doesnt matter if its just for a few hours or for a few days-wed love to have your helping hands

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

VAA Judging Categories The VAAs internationally recogshy

nized judging categories are bull Antique Aircraft built prior to

September 1 1945 bull Classic September 1 1945 shy

December 31 1955 bull Contemporary January 1

1956 - December 31 1970 Any aircraft built within those

years is eligible to park in the Showshyplane parking and camping areas If you wish to have your aircraft judged let the volunteer know when you register your aircraft and camping area If you want your airshycraft to be judged by VAA volunteer judges you need to be a current Vintage Aircraft Association memshyber VAA contributes a significant portion of the costs related to the EAA awards that are presented to the award winners

Designated Smoking Areas Near Flightline

Smoking on the flightline at EAA AirVenture is prohibited because its a hazard to all aircraft There are several designated smoking areas with butt cans along the flightline well away from aircraft and refuelshying operations

Designated smoking areas will be south of the ultralight runway near the Hangar Cafe near the Warbirds area (northeast corner of Audrey Lane and Eide Avenue) the Wearhouse flag pole area the shade pavilion north of the control tower and near the Ultralight Barn Loshycations will be indicated on EAAs free convention grounds map The admission wristband also instructs visitors that smoking is allowed only in designated smoking areas

VAA Ballot If you have not sent in your VAA

election ballot we encourage you to do so as soon as possible

Due to a printing error the 2008 VAA Election ballot may lead you to believe that you should only vote for six candidates Thats incorrect As it states in the ballot introduc-

JULY 2008

Aeroplane Factory volunteer Ron Kempka shows (I to r) Roger White Beverly Cushman Sam James Reed McCall and Bruce Leighfield how to tie a knot

Find Your Favorite Presentations and Workshops Online With hundreds of the worlds leading aviation authorities delivering

close to 1000 individual presentations at nearly 3S locations spread throughout the expansive EAA convention grounds planning your week at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 can be in a word challenging Fret not eager aviation enthusiasts because you can plan your visit to the Worlds Greatest Aviation Celebration with EAAs integrated presentations and workshops schedule database and the preliminary version is now available at wwwAirVentureorgforums

The database will include all the venues subjects topics and preshysenters from not only forums and workshops but also Warbirds in Review KidVenture Museum Speaker Showcase Authors Corner Theshyater in the Woods special at the aircraft presentations on AeroShell Square and more You can search for activities by date interest level (such as Aerobatics or Homebuilding) name of presenter location or simply by keyword If its on a schedule itll be here allowing you to create custom searches to conveniently preplan your AirVenture stay

The process of confirming schedules making modifications and adding new presentations is continuing so check back often for the latest updates

tion please vote for two officers vice and information and 7 directors If youd prefer to Visitors can obtain general inshydownload a corrected ballot you formation directions exhibitor can do so by visiting the VAA webshy information or answers to virtushysite at wwwvintageaircraftorg ally all questions regarding EAA

or AirVenture The EAA Welcome AirVentures Member Village Center will continue to provide Becomes EAA Welcome Center EAAers a convenient place to reshy

EAAs organizational center of new their memberships get inforshyactivity at AirVenture Oshkosh mation on all EAA member proshyknown as EAA Member Village will grams see unique aircraft displays become the EAA Welcome Center check their e-mail at the Internet in 2008 While maintaining the Cafe and much more high service to EAA members the Visit the EAA Welcome Cen shyWelcome Center will be even more ter at the corner of the east-west inviting to all AirVenture attendees AeroShell Square taxiway and with an emphasis on customer ser- Knapp Street Road

4

VAA Judging Categories The VAAs internationally recogshy

nized judging categories are bull Antique Aircraft built prior to

September 1 1945 bull Classic September 1 1945 shy

December 31 1955 bull Contemporary January 1

1956 - December 31 1970 Any aircraft built within those

years is eligible to park in the Showshyplane parking and camping areas If you wish to have your aircraft judged let the volunteer know when you register your aircraft and camping area If you want your airshycraft to be judged by VAA volunteer judges you need to be a current Vintage Aircraft Association memshyber VAA contributes a significant portion of the costs related to the EAA awards that are presented to the award winners

Designated Smoking Areas Near Flightline

Smoking on the flightline at EAA AirVenture is prohibited because its a hazard to all aircraft There are several designated smoking areas with butt cans along the flightline well away from aircraft and refuelshying operations

Designated smoking areas will be south of the ultralight runway near the Hangar Cafe near the Warbirds area (northeast corner of Audrey Lane and Eide Avenue) the Wearhouse flag pole area the shade pavilion north of the control tower and near the Ultralight Barn Loshycations will be indicated on EAAs free convention grounds map The admission wristband also instructs visitors that smoking is allowed only in designated smoking areas

VAA Ballot If you have not sent in your VAA

election ballot we encourage you to do so as soon as possible

Due to a printing error the 2008 VAA Election ballot may lead you to believe that you should only vote for six candidates Thats incorrect As it states in the ballot introduc-

JULY 2008

Aeroplane Factory volunteer Ron Kempka shows (I to r) Roger White Beverly Cushman Sam James Reed McCall and Bruce Leighfield how to tie a knot

Find Your Favorite Presentations and Workshops Online With hundreds of the worlds leading aviation authorities delivering

close to 1000 individual presentations at nearly 3S locations spread throughout the expansive EAA convention grounds planning your week at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 can be in a word challenging Fret not eager aviation enthusiasts because you can plan your visit to the Worlds Greatest Aviation Celebration with EAAs integrated presentations and workshops schedule database and the preliminary version is now available at wwwAirVentureorgforums

The database will include all the venues subjects topics and preshysenters from not only forums and workshops but also Warbirds in Review KidVenture Museum Speaker Showcase Authors Corner Theshyater in the Woods special at the aircraft presentations on AeroShell Square and more You can search for activities by date interest level (such as Aerobatics or Homebuilding) name of presenter location or simply by keyword If its on a schedule itll be here allowing you to create custom searches to conveniently preplan your AirVenture stay

The process of confirming schedules making modifications and adding new presentations is continuing so check back often for the latest updates

tion please vote for two officers vice and information and 7 directors If youd prefer to Visitors can obtain general inshydownload a corrected ballot you formation directions exhibitor can do so by visiting the VAA webshy information or answers to virtushysite at wwwvintageaircraftorg ally all questions regarding EAA

or AirVenture The EAA Welcome AirVentures Member Village Center will continue to provide Becomes EAA Welcome Center EAAers a convenient place to reshy

EAAs organizational center of new their memberships get inforshyactivity at AirVenture Oshkosh mation on all EAA member proshyknown as EAA Member Village will grams see unique aircraft displays become the EAA Welcome Center check their e-mail at the Internet in 2008 While maintaining the Cafe and much more high service to EAA members the Visit the EAA Welcome Cen shyWelcome Center will be even more ter at the corner of the east-west inviting to all AirVenture attendees AeroShell Square taxiway and with an emphasis on customer ser- Knapp Street Road

4

More on the Web Visit wwwAirVentureorg for more

information on EAA AirVenture 2008

AirVenture Is Almost Here bullbull bull Are You Ready

Weve made it easy to learn the status of for example Oshkosh area accommodations with new pages on the Web

Just a few short weeks from now many of you will make the annual pilgrimage to Oshkosh for EAA AirVenture 2008 Are you ready Here are several handy online tools on the newly redeshysigned AirVenture website that can help you take care of any last-minute concerns

bull For pilots flying in wwwAirVenlure org200Blyingindexhtml

Arrival procedures ground opshyerations parking even a Special Offers for Pilots interactive map (wwwAirVentureorg200Blyingalshyternate_airportshtml) help get you here and take you home

bull For lodging wwwAirVenture org200Bplanningwhere_to_stayhtml

See area accommodations availshyability at a glance

bull Findoffer a lift wwwAirVenshylureorgrideshare

Sharing the load with a fellow EAAer can help make AirVenture more affordable

bull What to see and do at Air shyVenture wwwAirVentureorg200B planningdailyeventshtml

bull A quick rundown of major hapshypenings each day wwwAirVenture org200Beventsaircraft_attractions html

From the massive Boeing Dreamshylifter to the small but fast Nemeshysis NXT more military aircraft than youve ever seen outside an invasion including F-22 Raptors the V-22 Osprey and those great vintage warbirds and the iconic Goodyear blimp find out what youll want to see at AirVenture this year

bull wwwAirVentureorg200Bnews OB060S_presentationshtml Put more than a thousand presentashytions workshops and other schedshyuled events at your fingertips

SPOT to Offer Free Messengers for EAA Members Attending AirVenture

EAA members attending EAA AirVenture Oshshykosh 2008 are eligible to reshyceive a free SPOT Satelshylite Messenger through an exclusive offer from SPOT Inc

available only at Oshkosh

SPOT Inc will give away SPOT Satellite Messengers (a $169 99 value) to current EAA members when they subscribe to a one-year satellite service package for $14998 at AirVenture

SPOT uses the GPS network to pinpoint a users location then transmits that information to friends family or an emergency reshysponse center over a separate satelshylite network SPOT works where cell phones dont and communicates like GPS devices cant making it a real asset to pilots and their loved ones Users can even track and share their flying adventures online using Google Maps

This exclusive offer is available to current EAA members whether they join or renew before or during the convention For more informashytion on the special SPOT offer for EAA members at AirVenture go to wwwFindMeSpotcomeaa

Upcoming Major Fly-Ins

Arlington Northwest Fly-In

Arlington MuniCipal Airport (AWO)

Arlington Washington

July 9-13 2008

wwwNWEAAorg

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

Wittman Regional Airport (OSH)

Oshkosh Wisconsin

July 28-August 3 2008

wwwAirVentureorg

Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In

Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport

(MFD) Mansfield Ohio

August 23 amp 24 2008

wwwMERFIinfo

Southeast Regional Fly-In

Middleton Field Airport (GZH)

Evergreen Alabama

October 24-26 2008

wwwSERFIorg

Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In

(New Date)

Front Range Airport (FTG) Denver

(Watkins) Colorado

September 19-21 2008

Copperstate Regional Fly-In

Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ)

Casa Grande Arizona

October 23-26 2008

www Copperstateorg

uS Sport Aviation Expo

Sebring Regional Airport (SEF)

Sebring Florida

January 22-25 2009

wwwSport-Aviation-Expocom

Aero Friedrichshafen

Messe Friedrichshafen (EDNy)

Friedrichshafen Germany

April 2-5 2009

wwwAero-Friedrichshafencomlhtmllen

Sun n Fun Fly-In Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL)

Lakeland Florida

April 21-26 2009

wwwSun-N-Funorg

For details on EAA chapter fly-ins and other local aviation events visit

wwwEAAorgcalendar

VINTAGE AIR P L A N E 5

SEND YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS TO VAA LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PO Box 3086 OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086

OR YOU CAN E-MAIL THEM TO vintageaircrafteaaorg

Additional Information on while it was still owned by the Funk Serial Number 1 Funk brothers and while the bulk

Al Ball of Santa Paula Califorshy of it was rescued from the fire there nia who owned serial number 2 was significant damage done to it for 40 years called to tell us that According to evidence found on the airplane was built out of the the parts of serial number I it was salvaged parts of serial number 1 originally painted lemon yellow No1 was caught in a hangar fire with black numbers AI Ball says

the color was close to the color of a yellow writing pad-lighter in tone than Cub Yellow but not a light yellow He pointed out that when he restored the airplane he didnt repaint the airplane in its original yellow color but chose a dark-red-with-black-trim scheme that is closer to the production Funk airplanes

The split nosebowl seen on the first airplane was used on the secshyond version but the distinctive center divider was removed at some point so the opening appears very different than the original

Just prior to World War II the Northrop Technical Institute took ownership of the airplane and after the war it was sold to a Los Angeshyles-area pilot The pilot who purshychased it from NT flew it briefly but because the cooling system was so clogged with scale and rust after sitting for a number of years the engine would overheat soon after takeoff After Al Ball restored the engine and airframe he put about 500 hours on it before selling it to Fred Patterson and the Oakland Aviation Museum (also known as the Western Aerospace Museum) in Oakland California

Al is currently restoring an Air amp Space 18A autogyro and expects to have it flying within a year

WHAT OUR MEM BERS ARE RESTORING

Are you nearing completion of a restoration Or is it done and youre busy flying and showing it off If so wed like to hear from you Send us a 4-byshy6-inch print from a commercial source (no home printers please-those prints just dont scan well) or a 4-by-6-inch 30O-dpi digital photo A JPG from your 25-megapixel (or higher) digital camera is fine You can burn photos to a CO or if youre on a high-speed Internet connection you can e-mail them along with a text-only or Word document describing your airplane (If your e-mail program asks if youd like to make the photos smaller say no) For more tips on creating photos we can publish visit VAAs website at www vintageaircraftorg Check the News page for a

~~=~~ hyperlink to Want To Send Us A Photograph III For more information you can also e-mail

us at vintageaircrafteaaorg or call us at 920shy426-4825

JULY 2008 6

bull 700 mW loud audio with built-in BTL amplifier bull 18 hour Lithium-Ion battery pack 2000 mAh bull Side tone function and adjustable mic gain setting bull Low battery indication and low battery beep bull Military spec rugged body

Optional BC-179

bull Securely holds amp charges the radio

bull Light indicator tells when charged

bull ANL (Auto Noise Limiter) reduces noise components bull Water resistant to IPX4 standards

THE NAME PILOTS KNOW AND TRUST

AMATEUR I AVIONICS I LAND MOBILE IMARINE I RECEIVERS ISYSTEMS

Typical operationTx Rx stand-by=5590 -Protected against splashing water from all angles Airplane courtesy of Glasair wwwglasairaviationcom 0 2008 lcom America IncThe lcom logo is a registered trademark of Icom IncAll specifications subject to change without notice or obligation 40059

For anyone who s flown an older Cessna those rudder pedals sure look familiar

CustOD1 Colors NC21914 rolled out of the Wichshy

ita factory on February 21 1940 in Command-Aire green with white trim and a black pinstripe-a far cry from its current look-it now sports 181 square feet of international orshyange on the wing and jet black on the fuselage

That paint scheme came courshy

10 JULY 2008

tesy of the Civil Aeronautics Adshyministration (CAA) in 1943

The airplane was originally bought from the factory by Hanger Six a flying outfit based out of Stinshyson Field in San Antonio Two years later the aircraft was sold to the Deshyfense Plant Corporation and leased to the CAA With it came an abbreshyviated N-number change 237E as

Heres the Interior of the Airmaster complete with tan whipcord upholstery

well as the new paint scheme According to aircraft builder and

historian Gar Williams at least two Airmasters were used by the CAA and a number of others were imshypressed into the Army Air Force for the duration of World War II No pashyperwork is available indicating how Heyrmans Airmaster was used The CAA performed many duties durshy

ing the war including airway deshyvelopment which could have been a likely job for 237E

Airmasters were exceptional camera planes because of their rock-solid stability One former owner joked the Airmaster can cut through turbulence like a DC-3 Of the 186 built 23 were sold or converted by the factory for aerial photography N237E was not one of them on record however camshyera equipment was installed

I looked in the belly and the holes were still there in the wood for the big camera said West Coast antiquer Don Carter who owned the airplane from 1961 to 1970 lilt was all covered over but they were there II

As luck would have it Carter learned a little more history of the Airmaster on a trip to Oakland

I was doing some air show stuff during that time in a Bucker and Ryan ST I had Security Parachute Company in Oakland build me a chute When I got to the place there was a picture on the wall of an Airmaster So I got talking and pulled out a picture of mine and they informed me they used to own the airplane The guy said he used

VINTAGE A I RPLANE 11

to have an aerial photography busishyness he used the plane for

He claimed they went to 20000 feet doing high-altitude photograshyphy Thats with two guys-pilot and camera operator and one of those big Fairchild cameras I said How long did it take you to get there He said Well we brought our lunches along

The president of Security was avishyation and parachute pioneer John Maggi who owned the airplane from 1948 to 1955 Maggi was one of the first air show sky diversshywere talking the 1920s-and later flew Curtiss Helldivers in the Mashyrines during World War II He was voted into the Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame in 1998

The airplane went through a few owners before Carter bought the plane He said the airplane was in good condition except for one glaring problem Someone repainted it

It was a horrible yellow with light green trim Carter said I figshyured I could fix that Everything was straight on it I just painted it back to the CAA colors

Carter sold the airplane to Coe in 1970 Until June Coe had owned the Airmaster for more than 30 years and had logged 1300 hours in it He re-covered the fuselage in Irish linen in 1976 Rick Atkins of Ragtime Aero in Placerville California re-covered the wing in 1994 and maintained the airplane

Throughout the years Coe owned

12 JU LY 2008

it he was able to keep the airplane ding-free

You want to keep the thing going straight on landing and takeoff Coe said The tail is really heavy If you

~

]

I kept thinking Did I do someshything stupid When we were flying it back I

fell in love with it and knew I

made the right decision

get the thing out of alignment you can put it in the weeds really easy Im proud in the fact that all of the years I flew it I never put it in the weeds

Heyrman and Baeten also got some flying advice from another Airmaster expert 98-year-old Mort Brown who was Cessnas chief production test pilot from 1939 until 1972

I called Mort Brown and asked him if there were any quirks Baeten said He told me the airplane is pretty straightforward Come across the fence at 75 if you two-point it and 80-85 if youre going to wheel land it

Baeten said during the 22-hour trek back the 165 Warner sounded good burning 8 gallons an hour at 1850 rpm They averaged 120 mph Thats pretty good efficiency today from the airplane once deemed the worlds most efficient airplane

Back home Heyrman said everyshyone seems to be taking a liking to his new airplane

When we put it in the hangar it was like the new girl in town Heyrshyman said Everyone was coming up to look at it

Heyrman also got the thumbs up from the person who matters most his wife Cheryl

My wife wants to fly in this airshyplane I think she likes the looks of it

For a guy who doesnt have the worlds nicest Fairchild 24 it seems like hes done pretty well

BY HG FRAUTSCHY

It had been a long muggy summer day in upshystate New York The humid air hung in the valshyley southwest of Hammondsport until it could hold no more and the crowds assembled on

the grounds of Stony Brook Farm and the Pleasant Valley Wine Company had to endure a few rumshybling thunderstorms that afternoon Many had been there since dawn expecting to see a remarkshyable sight-a local man already famous for his exshyploits on bicycles and motorcycles was going to fly nearly a mile through the air

A few days before that hot muggy afternoon Glenn Hammond Curtiss had stepped aboard a train bound for Washington DC He and Thomas Selfridge were to meet with officials of the Aero Club of America He and Selfridge were members of the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) a small group of accomplished aeronautical experimenters that consisted of Dr Alexander Graham Bell Fredshyerick Casey Baldwin )A Douglas McCurdy Curshytiss and Selfridge They were sure they had licked the problem of lateral control that had plagued their earlier aircraft So sure of their accomplishshyment was Curtiss that he boldly told bystanders Well fly the June Bug on the Fourth of July Adshyvertise it Invite everybody interested in flight

Above Glenn Curtiss roars down the path of Harry Champlins Stony Brook Farm racetrack To the right is the temporary tent hangar tacked on to the side of one of the buildings of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company

A O BELL r W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O H CURTISS T E 8ELFRIDOE I IIUIIDII ADIIIU101 or r I IILraIDU DIO 1)

FLniB IUOBIRE LIOATIOI rlLlD API I 110 bull

1011 106 Patented Dec 5 1911 anu-un I

PHOT O S COURTESY GLENN H C U RTISS MUSEUM HAMMON DSPORT NY

V I NTAGE A I R PLA NE 13

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCURDY G H CURTISS amp T E SELFRIDGE pound lliLPlIDGZ AD_111101 or f E It LtIJDOt DJO D

FLYING liACHINEbull ampPPLIOiTIO (UD HI 8 1909

1011106 Patented Dec 5 1911 IIUTI- IBEET

J

I

I I X

~ lt)

~~ 10shy ~~o

~

~ 1 - -

~

I

-Rle 14 II Cl(ltrdL-~

The June Bug Is prepared for flight on a warm muggy Saturshyday the Fourth of July 1908 Glenn Curtiss stands with his hands on his hips garters for his shirt sleeves holding his cuffs above the elbow on the summer day

Draw a crowd to Hammondsport and prove to the world that we can really fly

In Washington Curtiss and Selfridge told the officials of the Aero Club that they intended to compete for the Scientific American trophy Established by the noted scishyence magazine the silver trophy was created in 1907 to stimulate aviation progress in the United States If a comshypetitor could complete a trio of trials in succeeding years (each years hurdle would become increasingly difficult thanks to standards determined by the Aero Club) the trophy would be permanently given to the competitor Curtiss and the AEA were confident that their new airshyplane the third powered fixed-wing aircraft they built was up to the first challenge of flying more than a kiloshymeter (3281 feet or 0621 mile) in a straight line After all theyd already flown it that far a week earlier Well at least once theyd flown it that far

The June Bug was the logical evolution of the AEAs two earlier efforts in fixed-wing airplanes The AEA had built a glider of fairly standard layout and also a tetraheshydral kite of Dr Bells design The gilder gave them valushyable experience while the kite proved to be an aeronaushytical dead end Aerodrome Nos 1 and 2 the Red Wing and White Wing respectively were biplanes that featured tapered wings whose wingtips were pulled toward each other with the lower wing curving upward as the top wings ends described a gentle downward arc creating a squashed oval shape with the ends clipped off

After JA Douglas McCurdy crunched the White Wing on May 231908 (hed run afoul of windy conditions that

14 JULY 2008

day) the AEA made the decision to go ahead with a new design similar in appearance but refined by Curtiss The five flights made with White Wing told them they were on the right track but that both structural and aerodyshynamic changes needed to be made It would be easier to build a new airplane than to rebuild the White Wing with the changes incorporated

Aerodrome No3 which would be dubbed the June Bug by Dr Bell would feature the wingtip lateral controls first installed on the White Wing The triangular movable control surfaces were a revelation to the team They alshylowed the AEAs aircraft to be controlled laterally so the pilot could regulate his turns or recover from upsets that caused the airplane to roll to one side or the other The June Bugs wingtips as the controls were called by the AEA were controlled by a yoke that was worn over the shoulders of the pilot If you leaned into the turn in the same manner as when riding a motorcycle your lower shoulder would be on the lower or inside of the turn while your higher shoulder would be pointed away from the ground The yoke was rigged to move the wingtips so that the trailing edge on the wingtip of the wings you wished to lower would tilt upward and the wingtip on the opposite wings would tilt in the opposite direction

Curtiss design for the June Bug created a biplane with the familiar AEA-style wings although the design of the structure created a straight line down the leading and trailing edges as viewed from in front each side more like a long truncated triangle than the curved wing of its preshydecessor (Later Curtiss would dispense with the tapered wings maintaining a rectangular box structure for his airshycraft wing designs) With a longer forward structure which allowed the builder to move the engine back 5 inches the pilot sat further forward than on the White Wing The total length of the June Bug was 27 feet 6 inches with a wingspan of 42 feet 6 inches The lightweight structure of the third AEA aerodrome had an empty weight of 473 pounds and a gross weight of 615 pounds the engine alone weighed nearly 200 pounds The White Wing and June Bug had one other pioneering feature that would become a standard in aviation many decades later-they had a tricycle landing gear

The 40-hp air-cooled V-8 Curtiss engine and the proshypeller that had powered both the previous biplanes was again used on the June Bug With that part of the aircrafts construction dispensed with the airframe could go toshygether quickly

One discovery made while building and testing White Wing was the effect the weave of the fabric had on the amount of lift generated by the airplane The White Wing had been coated with varnish after Dr Bell suggested that the porosity of the fabrics open weave was the reason the airplanes lift was not as high as they expected In the spring in upstate New York it worked like a charm on the White Wing but when they used varnish in the early summer on the June Bug the finish proved to be troubleshysome It may have been because the June Bug lasted lon-

J O BELL r W BALDWIN 1 A D I4 CORDY O B CURTIBU T E SELFRIDGE I A leUllDOI JDWIIIITUUI or T E ULnUIbull DEOD

FLYlJO IUOQlWE UPLIOJIIOi run API I UOf

1011106 Patented Dec ~ 1911 lIun-IIln

ger than the White Wing which had a lifespan of only six days from its first flight to its last

It took just slightly less than a month to build the new airplane The airframe was completed by June 19 1908 and it was given a few ground tests before the wings were installed and it was pronounced ready for a test flight The summer heat and humidity caused the varnish to crack and peel so it had to be refinished Pioneering aeroshynautical enthusiast and engineer Octave Chanute had suggested coating it with a mixture of paraffin gasoline turpentine and yellow ocher That must have been a rather odoriferous coating

The yellow ocher was not meant for sealing the pores but to make the light-colored cotton fabric show up betshyter in photographs In its brief lifetime the White Wing had shown itself to not photograph well due to the poor contrast between it and an overcast or hazy sky It was important that the photographic record of the AEAs exshyperiments show as much detail as possible not to menshytion the benefits of a well-defined photograph when published in newspapers or magazines In researching this article Louis Caseys wonderful book Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 states that the new coatshying was applied after three unsuccessful attempts at fly-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

The June Bugs eight-cylinder 40-hp engine was a Curtiss product Each cylinder had its own carburetor Curtiss already well-known for his companys engine-building prowess was one of the spark plugs of the Aerial Experiment Association

ing the June Bug yet other research would lead one to believe the varnish coating was used first on the White Wing and then the June Bug In either event the coatshying is believed to have been the first use of a sealing coating or dope used on a fixed-wing aircraft

Flight testing began on June 21 with three short flights the longest of which lasted 255 seconds covershying just more than 1200 feet in length By the seventh test flight onJune 27 Curtiss kept the airplane in the air for 60 seconds covering more than 3000 feet and landshying only when the boundary of the field at Stony Brook Farm was reached

Curtiss and his compatriots were convinced-they had an airplane that could win the Scientific American troshyphy Wiring Dr Bell who had left Hammondsport on a less than direct trip home to Nova Scotia they told him of their plans and at the same time informed the Aero Club of their intentions

Augustus Post the secretary of the club was surprised by the news that the AEA was ready to make an attempt Like many in the Aero Club he expected the Wright brothers would claim the prize since they had been makshying regular flights at Huffman Prairie near Dayton

But the Wrights unwilling to change their aircraft to suit the requirements of the rules set forth by the Aero Club (which included installing a wheeled landing gear instead of using the catapult the Wrights preferred for use on the unimproved grounds of the Ohio prairie) and still

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCU RDY G H CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE E bull UFlIDGE ADKII18rUtOI or r t IELrllDGE DEO D

FLYING IICHINE APfLI OATIOI rtLpoundD H II UOV

Patented Dec 5 1911IOll106 6 BEE1I- lHtEf 4

16 JULY 2008

certain their rights as inventors would be better served by not taking part in such a public event were not drawn out by the trophy

By July 1 it was clear to the secretary that the AEA meant to claim the prize and since the rules allowed the competitor to name the place and time of the attempt it would be accomplished in a valley in the wine country of the Finger Lakes region of New York and not in Washingshyton or any other major population center

The day before the public officially sanctioned event was to take place Curtiss and the members of the AEA who were in Hammondsport along with Curtiss assistant Henry Kleckler decided to test the June Bug one last time Using the horse racetrack owned by winery owner Harry Champlin as a runway Curtiss roared off on a dry run of the next days record attempt but due to his (and evshyeryone elses for that matter) inexperience and the chalshylenging handling characteristics of a pioneer-era aircraft gusty winds put him in the ground wrecking one wing and busting a wheel But Curtiss was undeterred and with the help of the others they rebuilt the June Bug in only half a day

As the sun rose that steamy Saturday hundreds of spectators began to spread out blankets and settle in for what they thought would be a few hours on the hillshyside of the valley near the Pleasant Valley Wine Comshypany Expecting the flight to take place early in the day when normally the weather was calmest the crowds were forced to wait in the increasingly uncomfortable weather At one point in an effort to put a cheery face on an otherwise tedious day the owners of the winery opened their doors to the public for a repast complete with the local vintners creations

As the day dragged on Curtiss kept eying the weather After his experience the previous day he wasnt about to take a chance on blowing the opportunity to make hisshytory by being impatient Finally after the afternoon showshyers had passed and the weather calmed down he gave the word he was ready to fly

As the sun began to draw lower on the western ridge of the valley Curtiss and his associates pulled the June Bug from its tent hangar With the hour now past six in the evening even with the longest summer day only 12 days before there wouldnt be a great deal of extra time if meshychanical or other difficulties arose

As the official starter deSignated by the Aero Club Charles Manly pioneer aircraft engine designer and builder who had once served as Samuel Pierpont Langleys assistant during the Langley Aerodrome flights measured off the I-kilometer distance Manly was told by Curtiss that hed not follow a straight course to the I-kilometer flag since there were vineyards and trees in the way Curshytiss wouldnt get credit for traveling in a circuitous path and it turned out he didnt seem to much care-he would fly the route he chose and still set the record

His first attempt at 7 pm fell short a victim of the rear horizontal stabilizer being set incorrectly with an ex-

A O BELL F W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O B CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE I 1 tELlIIDQE 10111 1111-101 or T J lurllDGE DtU D

FLYING IIACHINE JPPLICJTI0M f iL ED Pl 9 U~

1011106 Patented Dec 5 191 I

~t~

-RuxJ~ J4I lI7l4ff~l

HM Bemmers photo of the June Bug in flight on July 4 1908

cessive angle of negative incidence After takeoff Curtiss couldnt keep the June Bug from climbing at too steep an angle With the engine making full revolutions he couldnt force the nose down and he had to cut the power so he could recover from the excessive pitch attitude Pullshying the power did the trick and Curtiss landed safely but well short of his intended mark

After the June Bug was pulled through the clover back to the mud racetrack Curtiss and the AEA members had a discussion about the cause of the excessive climb and

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the two flights on July Fourth Might this be the shot taken by the photographer whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer marks red flag

as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting Quickly putting it right they had time for another attempt to win the Scientific American trophy

At 730 Manlys starter flag dropped and the roar of Curtiss V-8 echoed up and down the valley It must have been a fantastic sight the yellow wings of the June Bug must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July summer day the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight

Just before takeoff annoyed at the naysayers Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination A phoshytographer intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by set up h is camera short of the finish lines red flag Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didnt think he could make it the full distance (I think the photographer just wanted a shot in the air and not one as the June Bug touched down After all for a historic flight who wants a photo of an airshyplane on the ground)

The crowd then got to witness one of the most amazing flights ever made up to that point in time and one that would actually be the longest flight ever made with the June Bug Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and

vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company roaring by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near the edge of the fie ld He covered nearly 6000 feet in disshytance flying 1025 seconds Hed won Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all placing himself and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of every newspaper in the nation and around the world

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6 W6 COH611

~ rAiLW~EELS

18 J U LY 2008

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

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The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

ing the war including airway deshyvelopment which could have been a likely job for 237E

Airmasters were exceptional camera planes because of their rock-solid stability One former owner joked the Airmaster can cut through turbulence like a DC-3 Of the 186 built 23 were sold or converted by the factory for aerial photography N237E was not one of them on record however camshyera equipment was installed

I looked in the belly and the holes were still there in the wood for the big camera said West Coast antiquer Don Carter who owned the airplane from 1961 to 1970 lilt was all covered over but they were there II

As luck would have it Carter learned a little more history of the Airmaster on a trip to Oakland

I was doing some air show stuff during that time in a Bucker and Ryan ST I had Security Parachute Company in Oakland build me a chute When I got to the place there was a picture on the wall of an Airmaster So I got talking and pulled out a picture of mine and they informed me they used to own the airplane The guy said he used

VINTAGE A I RPLANE 11

to have an aerial photography busishyness he used the plane for

He claimed they went to 20000 feet doing high-altitude photograshyphy Thats with two guys-pilot and camera operator and one of those big Fairchild cameras I said How long did it take you to get there He said Well we brought our lunches along

The president of Security was avishyation and parachute pioneer John Maggi who owned the airplane from 1948 to 1955 Maggi was one of the first air show sky diversshywere talking the 1920s-and later flew Curtiss Helldivers in the Mashyrines during World War II He was voted into the Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame in 1998

The airplane went through a few owners before Carter bought the plane He said the airplane was in good condition except for one glaring problem Someone repainted it

It was a horrible yellow with light green trim Carter said I figshyured I could fix that Everything was straight on it I just painted it back to the CAA colors

Carter sold the airplane to Coe in 1970 Until June Coe had owned the Airmaster for more than 30 years and had logged 1300 hours in it He re-covered the fuselage in Irish linen in 1976 Rick Atkins of Ragtime Aero in Placerville California re-covered the wing in 1994 and maintained the airplane

Throughout the years Coe owned

12 JU LY 2008

it he was able to keep the airplane ding-free

You want to keep the thing going straight on landing and takeoff Coe said The tail is really heavy If you

~

]

I kept thinking Did I do someshything stupid When we were flying it back I

fell in love with it and knew I

made the right decision

get the thing out of alignment you can put it in the weeds really easy Im proud in the fact that all of the years I flew it I never put it in the weeds

Heyrman and Baeten also got some flying advice from another Airmaster expert 98-year-old Mort Brown who was Cessnas chief production test pilot from 1939 until 1972

I called Mort Brown and asked him if there were any quirks Baeten said He told me the airplane is pretty straightforward Come across the fence at 75 if you two-point it and 80-85 if youre going to wheel land it

Baeten said during the 22-hour trek back the 165 Warner sounded good burning 8 gallons an hour at 1850 rpm They averaged 120 mph Thats pretty good efficiency today from the airplane once deemed the worlds most efficient airplane

Back home Heyrman said everyshyone seems to be taking a liking to his new airplane

When we put it in the hangar it was like the new girl in town Heyrshyman said Everyone was coming up to look at it

Heyrman also got the thumbs up from the person who matters most his wife Cheryl

My wife wants to fly in this airshyplane I think she likes the looks of it

For a guy who doesnt have the worlds nicest Fairchild 24 it seems like hes done pretty well

BY HG FRAUTSCHY

It had been a long muggy summer day in upshystate New York The humid air hung in the valshyley southwest of Hammondsport until it could hold no more and the crowds assembled on

the grounds of Stony Brook Farm and the Pleasant Valley Wine Company had to endure a few rumshybling thunderstorms that afternoon Many had been there since dawn expecting to see a remarkshyable sight-a local man already famous for his exshyploits on bicycles and motorcycles was going to fly nearly a mile through the air

A few days before that hot muggy afternoon Glenn Hammond Curtiss had stepped aboard a train bound for Washington DC He and Thomas Selfridge were to meet with officials of the Aero Club of America He and Selfridge were members of the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) a small group of accomplished aeronautical experimenters that consisted of Dr Alexander Graham Bell Fredshyerick Casey Baldwin )A Douglas McCurdy Curshytiss and Selfridge They were sure they had licked the problem of lateral control that had plagued their earlier aircraft So sure of their accomplishshyment was Curtiss that he boldly told bystanders Well fly the June Bug on the Fourth of July Adshyvertise it Invite everybody interested in flight

Above Glenn Curtiss roars down the path of Harry Champlins Stony Brook Farm racetrack To the right is the temporary tent hangar tacked on to the side of one of the buildings of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company

A O BELL r W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O H CURTISS T E 8ELFRIDOE I IIUIIDII ADIIIU101 or r I IILraIDU DIO 1)

FLniB IUOBIRE LIOATIOI rlLlD API I 110 bull

1011 106 Patented Dec 5 1911 anu-un I

PHOT O S COURTESY GLENN H C U RTISS MUSEUM HAMMON DSPORT NY

V I NTAGE A I R PLA NE 13

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCURDY G H CURTISS amp T E SELFRIDGE pound lliLPlIDGZ AD_111101 or f E It LtIJDOt DJO D

FLYING liACHINEbull ampPPLIOiTIO (UD HI 8 1909

1011106 Patented Dec 5 1911 IIUTI- IBEET

J

I

I I X

~ lt)

~~ 10shy ~~o

~

~ 1 - -

~

I

-Rle 14 II Cl(ltrdL-~

The June Bug Is prepared for flight on a warm muggy Saturshyday the Fourth of July 1908 Glenn Curtiss stands with his hands on his hips garters for his shirt sleeves holding his cuffs above the elbow on the summer day

Draw a crowd to Hammondsport and prove to the world that we can really fly

In Washington Curtiss and Selfridge told the officials of the Aero Club that they intended to compete for the Scientific American trophy Established by the noted scishyence magazine the silver trophy was created in 1907 to stimulate aviation progress in the United States If a comshypetitor could complete a trio of trials in succeeding years (each years hurdle would become increasingly difficult thanks to standards determined by the Aero Club) the trophy would be permanently given to the competitor Curtiss and the AEA were confident that their new airshyplane the third powered fixed-wing aircraft they built was up to the first challenge of flying more than a kiloshymeter (3281 feet or 0621 mile) in a straight line After all theyd already flown it that far a week earlier Well at least once theyd flown it that far

The June Bug was the logical evolution of the AEAs two earlier efforts in fixed-wing airplanes The AEA had built a glider of fairly standard layout and also a tetraheshydral kite of Dr Bells design The gilder gave them valushyable experience while the kite proved to be an aeronaushytical dead end Aerodrome Nos 1 and 2 the Red Wing and White Wing respectively were biplanes that featured tapered wings whose wingtips were pulled toward each other with the lower wing curving upward as the top wings ends described a gentle downward arc creating a squashed oval shape with the ends clipped off

After JA Douglas McCurdy crunched the White Wing on May 231908 (hed run afoul of windy conditions that

14 JULY 2008

day) the AEA made the decision to go ahead with a new design similar in appearance but refined by Curtiss The five flights made with White Wing told them they were on the right track but that both structural and aerodyshynamic changes needed to be made It would be easier to build a new airplane than to rebuild the White Wing with the changes incorporated

Aerodrome No3 which would be dubbed the June Bug by Dr Bell would feature the wingtip lateral controls first installed on the White Wing The triangular movable control surfaces were a revelation to the team They alshylowed the AEAs aircraft to be controlled laterally so the pilot could regulate his turns or recover from upsets that caused the airplane to roll to one side or the other The June Bugs wingtips as the controls were called by the AEA were controlled by a yoke that was worn over the shoulders of the pilot If you leaned into the turn in the same manner as when riding a motorcycle your lower shoulder would be on the lower or inside of the turn while your higher shoulder would be pointed away from the ground The yoke was rigged to move the wingtips so that the trailing edge on the wingtip of the wings you wished to lower would tilt upward and the wingtip on the opposite wings would tilt in the opposite direction

Curtiss design for the June Bug created a biplane with the familiar AEA-style wings although the design of the structure created a straight line down the leading and trailing edges as viewed from in front each side more like a long truncated triangle than the curved wing of its preshydecessor (Later Curtiss would dispense with the tapered wings maintaining a rectangular box structure for his airshycraft wing designs) With a longer forward structure which allowed the builder to move the engine back 5 inches the pilot sat further forward than on the White Wing The total length of the June Bug was 27 feet 6 inches with a wingspan of 42 feet 6 inches The lightweight structure of the third AEA aerodrome had an empty weight of 473 pounds and a gross weight of 615 pounds the engine alone weighed nearly 200 pounds The White Wing and June Bug had one other pioneering feature that would become a standard in aviation many decades later-they had a tricycle landing gear

The 40-hp air-cooled V-8 Curtiss engine and the proshypeller that had powered both the previous biplanes was again used on the June Bug With that part of the aircrafts construction dispensed with the airframe could go toshygether quickly

One discovery made while building and testing White Wing was the effect the weave of the fabric had on the amount of lift generated by the airplane The White Wing had been coated with varnish after Dr Bell suggested that the porosity of the fabrics open weave was the reason the airplanes lift was not as high as they expected In the spring in upstate New York it worked like a charm on the White Wing but when they used varnish in the early summer on the June Bug the finish proved to be troubleshysome It may have been because the June Bug lasted lon-

J O BELL r W BALDWIN 1 A D I4 CORDY O B CURTIBU T E SELFRIDGE I A leUllDOI JDWIIIITUUI or T E ULnUIbull DEOD

FLYlJO IUOQlWE UPLIOJIIOi run API I UOf

1011106 Patented Dec ~ 1911 lIun-IIln

ger than the White Wing which had a lifespan of only six days from its first flight to its last

It took just slightly less than a month to build the new airplane The airframe was completed by June 19 1908 and it was given a few ground tests before the wings were installed and it was pronounced ready for a test flight The summer heat and humidity caused the varnish to crack and peel so it had to be refinished Pioneering aeroshynautical enthusiast and engineer Octave Chanute had suggested coating it with a mixture of paraffin gasoline turpentine and yellow ocher That must have been a rather odoriferous coating

The yellow ocher was not meant for sealing the pores but to make the light-colored cotton fabric show up betshyter in photographs In its brief lifetime the White Wing had shown itself to not photograph well due to the poor contrast between it and an overcast or hazy sky It was important that the photographic record of the AEAs exshyperiments show as much detail as possible not to menshytion the benefits of a well-defined photograph when published in newspapers or magazines In researching this article Louis Caseys wonderful book Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 states that the new coatshying was applied after three unsuccessful attempts at fly-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

The June Bugs eight-cylinder 40-hp engine was a Curtiss product Each cylinder had its own carburetor Curtiss already well-known for his companys engine-building prowess was one of the spark plugs of the Aerial Experiment Association

ing the June Bug yet other research would lead one to believe the varnish coating was used first on the White Wing and then the June Bug In either event the coatshying is believed to have been the first use of a sealing coating or dope used on a fixed-wing aircraft

Flight testing began on June 21 with three short flights the longest of which lasted 255 seconds covershying just more than 1200 feet in length By the seventh test flight onJune 27 Curtiss kept the airplane in the air for 60 seconds covering more than 3000 feet and landshying only when the boundary of the field at Stony Brook Farm was reached

Curtiss and his compatriots were convinced-they had an airplane that could win the Scientific American troshyphy Wiring Dr Bell who had left Hammondsport on a less than direct trip home to Nova Scotia they told him of their plans and at the same time informed the Aero Club of their intentions

Augustus Post the secretary of the club was surprised by the news that the AEA was ready to make an attempt Like many in the Aero Club he expected the Wright brothers would claim the prize since they had been makshying regular flights at Huffman Prairie near Dayton

But the Wrights unwilling to change their aircraft to suit the requirements of the rules set forth by the Aero Club (which included installing a wheeled landing gear instead of using the catapult the Wrights preferred for use on the unimproved grounds of the Ohio prairie) and still

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCU RDY G H CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE E bull UFlIDGE ADKII18rUtOI or r t IELrllDGE DEO D

FLYING IICHINE APfLI OATIOI rtLpoundD H II UOV

Patented Dec 5 1911IOll106 6 BEE1I- lHtEf 4

16 JULY 2008

certain their rights as inventors would be better served by not taking part in such a public event were not drawn out by the trophy

By July 1 it was clear to the secretary that the AEA meant to claim the prize and since the rules allowed the competitor to name the place and time of the attempt it would be accomplished in a valley in the wine country of the Finger Lakes region of New York and not in Washingshyton or any other major population center

The day before the public officially sanctioned event was to take place Curtiss and the members of the AEA who were in Hammondsport along with Curtiss assistant Henry Kleckler decided to test the June Bug one last time Using the horse racetrack owned by winery owner Harry Champlin as a runway Curtiss roared off on a dry run of the next days record attempt but due to his (and evshyeryone elses for that matter) inexperience and the chalshylenging handling characteristics of a pioneer-era aircraft gusty winds put him in the ground wrecking one wing and busting a wheel But Curtiss was undeterred and with the help of the others they rebuilt the June Bug in only half a day

As the sun rose that steamy Saturday hundreds of spectators began to spread out blankets and settle in for what they thought would be a few hours on the hillshyside of the valley near the Pleasant Valley Wine Comshypany Expecting the flight to take place early in the day when normally the weather was calmest the crowds were forced to wait in the increasingly uncomfortable weather At one point in an effort to put a cheery face on an otherwise tedious day the owners of the winery opened their doors to the public for a repast complete with the local vintners creations

As the day dragged on Curtiss kept eying the weather After his experience the previous day he wasnt about to take a chance on blowing the opportunity to make hisshytory by being impatient Finally after the afternoon showshyers had passed and the weather calmed down he gave the word he was ready to fly

As the sun began to draw lower on the western ridge of the valley Curtiss and his associates pulled the June Bug from its tent hangar With the hour now past six in the evening even with the longest summer day only 12 days before there wouldnt be a great deal of extra time if meshychanical or other difficulties arose

As the official starter deSignated by the Aero Club Charles Manly pioneer aircraft engine designer and builder who had once served as Samuel Pierpont Langleys assistant during the Langley Aerodrome flights measured off the I-kilometer distance Manly was told by Curtiss that hed not follow a straight course to the I-kilometer flag since there were vineyards and trees in the way Curshytiss wouldnt get credit for traveling in a circuitous path and it turned out he didnt seem to much care-he would fly the route he chose and still set the record

His first attempt at 7 pm fell short a victim of the rear horizontal stabilizer being set incorrectly with an ex-

A O BELL F W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O B CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE I 1 tELlIIDQE 10111 1111-101 or T J lurllDGE DtU D

FLYING IIACHINE JPPLICJTI0M f iL ED Pl 9 U~

1011106 Patented Dec 5 191 I

~t~

-RuxJ~ J4I lI7l4ff~l

HM Bemmers photo of the June Bug in flight on July 4 1908

cessive angle of negative incidence After takeoff Curtiss couldnt keep the June Bug from climbing at too steep an angle With the engine making full revolutions he couldnt force the nose down and he had to cut the power so he could recover from the excessive pitch attitude Pullshying the power did the trick and Curtiss landed safely but well short of his intended mark

After the June Bug was pulled through the clover back to the mud racetrack Curtiss and the AEA members had a discussion about the cause of the excessive climb and

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the two flights on July Fourth Might this be the shot taken by the photographer whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer marks red flag

as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting Quickly putting it right they had time for another attempt to win the Scientific American trophy

At 730 Manlys starter flag dropped and the roar of Curtiss V-8 echoed up and down the valley It must have been a fantastic sight the yellow wings of the June Bug must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July summer day the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight

Just before takeoff annoyed at the naysayers Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination A phoshytographer intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by set up h is camera short of the finish lines red flag Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didnt think he could make it the full distance (I think the photographer just wanted a shot in the air and not one as the June Bug touched down After all for a historic flight who wants a photo of an airshyplane on the ground)

The crowd then got to witness one of the most amazing flights ever made up to that point in time and one that would actually be the longest flight ever made with the June Bug Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and

vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company roaring by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near the edge of the fie ld He covered nearly 6000 feet in disshytance flying 1025 seconds Hed won Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all placing himself and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of every newspaper in the nation and around the world

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6 W6 COH611

~ rAiLW~EELS

18 J U LY 2008

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

Bubullbullets bounce right oft the Poy-FIberbullbull sec

W e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship with the toughest easiest-toshyrepair fabric known to man Its easy to apply too even Over There and itll see our boys through the most arduous dogshyfighting theyll face Poly-Fiber will never let them down so dont you either Help put Liberty Bond sales over the top for all our gallant doughboys

Friendliest manual around Toll-free technical support

800-362-3490 polyfibercom

B uy Y OU R WAR B O NDS AT THIS C I NEM A infopolyfibercom Aircraft Coating_

e 0 t1J 19f 9 - 1949 cfatlol1al clElt qucefj

The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

to have an aerial photography busishyness he used the plane for

He claimed they went to 20000 feet doing high-altitude photograshyphy Thats with two guys-pilot and camera operator and one of those big Fairchild cameras I said How long did it take you to get there He said Well we brought our lunches along

The president of Security was avishyation and parachute pioneer John Maggi who owned the airplane from 1948 to 1955 Maggi was one of the first air show sky diversshywere talking the 1920s-and later flew Curtiss Helldivers in the Mashyrines during World War II He was voted into the Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame in 1998

The airplane went through a few owners before Carter bought the plane He said the airplane was in good condition except for one glaring problem Someone repainted it

It was a horrible yellow with light green trim Carter said I figshyured I could fix that Everything was straight on it I just painted it back to the CAA colors

Carter sold the airplane to Coe in 1970 Until June Coe had owned the Airmaster for more than 30 years and had logged 1300 hours in it He re-covered the fuselage in Irish linen in 1976 Rick Atkins of Ragtime Aero in Placerville California re-covered the wing in 1994 and maintained the airplane

Throughout the years Coe owned

12 JU LY 2008

it he was able to keep the airplane ding-free

You want to keep the thing going straight on landing and takeoff Coe said The tail is really heavy If you

~

]

I kept thinking Did I do someshything stupid When we were flying it back I

fell in love with it and knew I

made the right decision

get the thing out of alignment you can put it in the weeds really easy Im proud in the fact that all of the years I flew it I never put it in the weeds

Heyrman and Baeten also got some flying advice from another Airmaster expert 98-year-old Mort Brown who was Cessnas chief production test pilot from 1939 until 1972

I called Mort Brown and asked him if there were any quirks Baeten said He told me the airplane is pretty straightforward Come across the fence at 75 if you two-point it and 80-85 if youre going to wheel land it

Baeten said during the 22-hour trek back the 165 Warner sounded good burning 8 gallons an hour at 1850 rpm They averaged 120 mph Thats pretty good efficiency today from the airplane once deemed the worlds most efficient airplane

Back home Heyrman said everyshyone seems to be taking a liking to his new airplane

When we put it in the hangar it was like the new girl in town Heyrshyman said Everyone was coming up to look at it

Heyrman also got the thumbs up from the person who matters most his wife Cheryl

My wife wants to fly in this airshyplane I think she likes the looks of it

For a guy who doesnt have the worlds nicest Fairchild 24 it seems like hes done pretty well

BY HG FRAUTSCHY

It had been a long muggy summer day in upshystate New York The humid air hung in the valshyley southwest of Hammondsport until it could hold no more and the crowds assembled on

the grounds of Stony Brook Farm and the Pleasant Valley Wine Company had to endure a few rumshybling thunderstorms that afternoon Many had been there since dawn expecting to see a remarkshyable sight-a local man already famous for his exshyploits on bicycles and motorcycles was going to fly nearly a mile through the air

A few days before that hot muggy afternoon Glenn Hammond Curtiss had stepped aboard a train bound for Washington DC He and Thomas Selfridge were to meet with officials of the Aero Club of America He and Selfridge were members of the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) a small group of accomplished aeronautical experimenters that consisted of Dr Alexander Graham Bell Fredshyerick Casey Baldwin )A Douglas McCurdy Curshytiss and Selfridge They were sure they had licked the problem of lateral control that had plagued their earlier aircraft So sure of their accomplishshyment was Curtiss that he boldly told bystanders Well fly the June Bug on the Fourth of July Adshyvertise it Invite everybody interested in flight

Above Glenn Curtiss roars down the path of Harry Champlins Stony Brook Farm racetrack To the right is the temporary tent hangar tacked on to the side of one of the buildings of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company

A O BELL r W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O H CURTISS T E 8ELFRIDOE I IIUIIDII ADIIIU101 or r I IILraIDU DIO 1)

FLniB IUOBIRE LIOATIOI rlLlD API I 110 bull

1011 106 Patented Dec 5 1911 anu-un I

PHOT O S COURTESY GLENN H C U RTISS MUSEUM HAMMON DSPORT NY

V I NTAGE A I R PLA NE 13

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCURDY G H CURTISS amp T E SELFRIDGE pound lliLPlIDGZ AD_111101 or f E It LtIJDOt DJO D

FLYING liACHINEbull ampPPLIOiTIO (UD HI 8 1909

1011106 Patented Dec 5 1911 IIUTI- IBEET

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The June Bug Is prepared for flight on a warm muggy Saturshyday the Fourth of July 1908 Glenn Curtiss stands with his hands on his hips garters for his shirt sleeves holding his cuffs above the elbow on the summer day

Draw a crowd to Hammondsport and prove to the world that we can really fly

In Washington Curtiss and Selfridge told the officials of the Aero Club that they intended to compete for the Scientific American trophy Established by the noted scishyence magazine the silver trophy was created in 1907 to stimulate aviation progress in the United States If a comshypetitor could complete a trio of trials in succeeding years (each years hurdle would become increasingly difficult thanks to standards determined by the Aero Club) the trophy would be permanently given to the competitor Curtiss and the AEA were confident that their new airshyplane the third powered fixed-wing aircraft they built was up to the first challenge of flying more than a kiloshymeter (3281 feet or 0621 mile) in a straight line After all theyd already flown it that far a week earlier Well at least once theyd flown it that far

The June Bug was the logical evolution of the AEAs two earlier efforts in fixed-wing airplanes The AEA had built a glider of fairly standard layout and also a tetraheshydral kite of Dr Bells design The gilder gave them valushyable experience while the kite proved to be an aeronaushytical dead end Aerodrome Nos 1 and 2 the Red Wing and White Wing respectively were biplanes that featured tapered wings whose wingtips were pulled toward each other with the lower wing curving upward as the top wings ends described a gentle downward arc creating a squashed oval shape with the ends clipped off

After JA Douglas McCurdy crunched the White Wing on May 231908 (hed run afoul of windy conditions that

14 JULY 2008

day) the AEA made the decision to go ahead with a new design similar in appearance but refined by Curtiss The five flights made with White Wing told them they were on the right track but that both structural and aerodyshynamic changes needed to be made It would be easier to build a new airplane than to rebuild the White Wing with the changes incorporated

Aerodrome No3 which would be dubbed the June Bug by Dr Bell would feature the wingtip lateral controls first installed on the White Wing The triangular movable control surfaces were a revelation to the team They alshylowed the AEAs aircraft to be controlled laterally so the pilot could regulate his turns or recover from upsets that caused the airplane to roll to one side or the other The June Bugs wingtips as the controls were called by the AEA were controlled by a yoke that was worn over the shoulders of the pilot If you leaned into the turn in the same manner as when riding a motorcycle your lower shoulder would be on the lower or inside of the turn while your higher shoulder would be pointed away from the ground The yoke was rigged to move the wingtips so that the trailing edge on the wingtip of the wings you wished to lower would tilt upward and the wingtip on the opposite wings would tilt in the opposite direction

Curtiss design for the June Bug created a biplane with the familiar AEA-style wings although the design of the structure created a straight line down the leading and trailing edges as viewed from in front each side more like a long truncated triangle than the curved wing of its preshydecessor (Later Curtiss would dispense with the tapered wings maintaining a rectangular box structure for his airshycraft wing designs) With a longer forward structure which allowed the builder to move the engine back 5 inches the pilot sat further forward than on the White Wing The total length of the June Bug was 27 feet 6 inches with a wingspan of 42 feet 6 inches The lightweight structure of the third AEA aerodrome had an empty weight of 473 pounds and a gross weight of 615 pounds the engine alone weighed nearly 200 pounds The White Wing and June Bug had one other pioneering feature that would become a standard in aviation many decades later-they had a tricycle landing gear

The 40-hp air-cooled V-8 Curtiss engine and the proshypeller that had powered both the previous biplanes was again used on the June Bug With that part of the aircrafts construction dispensed with the airframe could go toshygether quickly

One discovery made while building and testing White Wing was the effect the weave of the fabric had on the amount of lift generated by the airplane The White Wing had been coated with varnish after Dr Bell suggested that the porosity of the fabrics open weave was the reason the airplanes lift was not as high as they expected In the spring in upstate New York it worked like a charm on the White Wing but when they used varnish in the early summer on the June Bug the finish proved to be troubleshysome It may have been because the June Bug lasted lon-

J O BELL r W BALDWIN 1 A D I4 CORDY O B CURTIBU T E SELFRIDGE I A leUllDOI JDWIIIITUUI or T E ULnUIbull DEOD

FLYlJO IUOQlWE UPLIOJIIOi run API I UOf

1011106 Patented Dec ~ 1911 lIun-IIln

ger than the White Wing which had a lifespan of only six days from its first flight to its last

It took just slightly less than a month to build the new airplane The airframe was completed by June 19 1908 and it was given a few ground tests before the wings were installed and it was pronounced ready for a test flight The summer heat and humidity caused the varnish to crack and peel so it had to be refinished Pioneering aeroshynautical enthusiast and engineer Octave Chanute had suggested coating it with a mixture of paraffin gasoline turpentine and yellow ocher That must have been a rather odoriferous coating

The yellow ocher was not meant for sealing the pores but to make the light-colored cotton fabric show up betshyter in photographs In its brief lifetime the White Wing had shown itself to not photograph well due to the poor contrast between it and an overcast or hazy sky It was important that the photographic record of the AEAs exshyperiments show as much detail as possible not to menshytion the benefits of a well-defined photograph when published in newspapers or magazines In researching this article Louis Caseys wonderful book Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 states that the new coatshying was applied after three unsuccessful attempts at fly-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

The June Bugs eight-cylinder 40-hp engine was a Curtiss product Each cylinder had its own carburetor Curtiss already well-known for his companys engine-building prowess was one of the spark plugs of the Aerial Experiment Association

ing the June Bug yet other research would lead one to believe the varnish coating was used first on the White Wing and then the June Bug In either event the coatshying is believed to have been the first use of a sealing coating or dope used on a fixed-wing aircraft

Flight testing began on June 21 with three short flights the longest of which lasted 255 seconds covershying just more than 1200 feet in length By the seventh test flight onJune 27 Curtiss kept the airplane in the air for 60 seconds covering more than 3000 feet and landshying only when the boundary of the field at Stony Brook Farm was reached

Curtiss and his compatriots were convinced-they had an airplane that could win the Scientific American troshyphy Wiring Dr Bell who had left Hammondsport on a less than direct trip home to Nova Scotia they told him of their plans and at the same time informed the Aero Club of their intentions

Augustus Post the secretary of the club was surprised by the news that the AEA was ready to make an attempt Like many in the Aero Club he expected the Wright brothers would claim the prize since they had been makshying regular flights at Huffman Prairie near Dayton

But the Wrights unwilling to change their aircraft to suit the requirements of the rules set forth by the Aero Club (which included installing a wheeled landing gear instead of using the catapult the Wrights preferred for use on the unimproved grounds of the Ohio prairie) and still

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCU RDY G H CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE E bull UFlIDGE ADKII18rUtOI or r t IELrllDGE DEO D

FLYING IICHINE APfLI OATIOI rtLpoundD H II UOV

Patented Dec 5 1911IOll106 6 BEE1I- lHtEf 4

16 JULY 2008

certain their rights as inventors would be better served by not taking part in such a public event were not drawn out by the trophy

By July 1 it was clear to the secretary that the AEA meant to claim the prize and since the rules allowed the competitor to name the place and time of the attempt it would be accomplished in a valley in the wine country of the Finger Lakes region of New York and not in Washingshyton or any other major population center

The day before the public officially sanctioned event was to take place Curtiss and the members of the AEA who were in Hammondsport along with Curtiss assistant Henry Kleckler decided to test the June Bug one last time Using the horse racetrack owned by winery owner Harry Champlin as a runway Curtiss roared off on a dry run of the next days record attempt but due to his (and evshyeryone elses for that matter) inexperience and the chalshylenging handling characteristics of a pioneer-era aircraft gusty winds put him in the ground wrecking one wing and busting a wheel But Curtiss was undeterred and with the help of the others they rebuilt the June Bug in only half a day

As the sun rose that steamy Saturday hundreds of spectators began to spread out blankets and settle in for what they thought would be a few hours on the hillshyside of the valley near the Pleasant Valley Wine Comshypany Expecting the flight to take place early in the day when normally the weather was calmest the crowds were forced to wait in the increasingly uncomfortable weather At one point in an effort to put a cheery face on an otherwise tedious day the owners of the winery opened their doors to the public for a repast complete with the local vintners creations

As the day dragged on Curtiss kept eying the weather After his experience the previous day he wasnt about to take a chance on blowing the opportunity to make hisshytory by being impatient Finally after the afternoon showshyers had passed and the weather calmed down he gave the word he was ready to fly

As the sun began to draw lower on the western ridge of the valley Curtiss and his associates pulled the June Bug from its tent hangar With the hour now past six in the evening even with the longest summer day only 12 days before there wouldnt be a great deal of extra time if meshychanical or other difficulties arose

As the official starter deSignated by the Aero Club Charles Manly pioneer aircraft engine designer and builder who had once served as Samuel Pierpont Langleys assistant during the Langley Aerodrome flights measured off the I-kilometer distance Manly was told by Curtiss that hed not follow a straight course to the I-kilometer flag since there were vineyards and trees in the way Curshytiss wouldnt get credit for traveling in a circuitous path and it turned out he didnt seem to much care-he would fly the route he chose and still set the record

His first attempt at 7 pm fell short a victim of the rear horizontal stabilizer being set incorrectly with an ex-

A O BELL F W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O B CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE I 1 tELlIIDQE 10111 1111-101 or T J lurllDGE DtU D

FLYING IIACHINE JPPLICJTI0M f iL ED Pl 9 U~

1011106 Patented Dec 5 191 I

~t~

-RuxJ~ J4I lI7l4ff~l

HM Bemmers photo of the June Bug in flight on July 4 1908

cessive angle of negative incidence After takeoff Curtiss couldnt keep the June Bug from climbing at too steep an angle With the engine making full revolutions he couldnt force the nose down and he had to cut the power so he could recover from the excessive pitch attitude Pullshying the power did the trick and Curtiss landed safely but well short of his intended mark

After the June Bug was pulled through the clover back to the mud racetrack Curtiss and the AEA members had a discussion about the cause of the excessive climb and

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the two flights on July Fourth Might this be the shot taken by the photographer whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer marks red flag

as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting Quickly putting it right they had time for another attempt to win the Scientific American trophy

At 730 Manlys starter flag dropped and the roar of Curtiss V-8 echoed up and down the valley It must have been a fantastic sight the yellow wings of the June Bug must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July summer day the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight

Just before takeoff annoyed at the naysayers Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination A phoshytographer intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by set up h is camera short of the finish lines red flag Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didnt think he could make it the full distance (I think the photographer just wanted a shot in the air and not one as the June Bug touched down After all for a historic flight who wants a photo of an airshyplane on the ground)

The crowd then got to witness one of the most amazing flights ever made up to that point in time and one that would actually be the longest flight ever made with the June Bug Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and

vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company roaring by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near the edge of the fie ld He covered nearly 6000 feet in disshytance flying 1025 seconds Hed won Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all placing himself and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of every newspaper in the nation and around the world

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6 W6 COH611

~ rAiLW~EELS

18 J U LY 2008

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

Bubullbullets bounce right oft the Poy-FIberbullbull sec

W e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship with the toughest easiest-toshyrepair fabric known to man Its easy to apply too even Over There and itll see our boys through the most arduous dogshyfighting theyll face Poly-Fiber will never let them down so dont you either Help put Liberty Bond sales over the top for all our gallant doughboys

Friendliest manual around Toll-free technical support

800-362-3490 polyfibercom

B uy Y OU R WAR B O NDS AT THIS C I NEM A infopolyfibercom Aircraft Coating_

e 0 t1J 19f 9 - 1949 cfatlol1al clElt qucefj

The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

BY HG FRAUTSCHY

It had been a long muggy summer day in upshystate New York The humid air hung in the valshyley southwest of Hammondsport until it could hold no more and the crowds assembled on

the grounds of Stony Brook Farm and the Pleasant Valley Wine Company had to endure a few rumshybling thunderstorms that afternoon Many had been there since dawn expecting to see a remarkshyable sight-a local man already famous for his exshyploits on bicycles and motorcycles was going to fly nearly a mile through the air

A few days before that hot muggy afternoon Glenn Hammond Curtiss had stepped aboard a train bound for Washington DC He and Thomas Selfridge were to meet with officials of the Aero Club of America He and Selfridge were members of the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) a small group of accomplished aeronautical experimenters that consisted of Dr Alexander Graham Bell Fredshyerick Casey Baldwin )A Douglas McCurdy Curshytiss and Selfridge They were sure they had licked the problem of lateral control that had plagued their earlier aircraft So sure of their accomplishshyment was Curtiss that he boldly told bystanders Well fly the June Bug on the Fourth of July Adshyvertise it Invite everybody interested in flight

Above Glenn Curtiss roars down the path of Harry Champlins Stony Brook Farm racetrack To the right is the temporary tent hangar tacked on to the side of one of the buildings of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company

A O BELL r W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O H CURTISS T E 8ELFRIDOE I IIUIIDII ADIIIU101 or r I IILraIDU DIO 1)

FLniB IUOBIRE LIOATIOI rlLlD API I 110 bull

1011 106 Patented Dec 5 1911 anu-un I

PHOT O S COURTESY GLENN H C U RTISS MUSEUM HAMMON DSPORT NY

V I NTAGE A I R PLA NE 13

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCURDY G H CURTISS amp T E SELFRIDGE pound lliLPlIDGZ AD_111101 or f E It LtIJDOt DJO D

FLYING liACHINEbull ampPPLIOiTIO (UD HI 8 1909

1011106 Patented Dec 5 1911 IIUTI- IBEET

J

I

I I X

~ lt)

~~ 10shy ~~o

~

~ 1 - -

~

I

-Rle 14 II Cl(ltrdL-~

The June Bug Is prepared for flight on a warm muggy Saturshyday the Fourth of July 1908 Glenn Curtiss stands with his hands on his hips garters for his shirt sleeves holding his cuffs above the elbow on the summer day

Draw a crowd to Hammondsport and prove to the world that we can really fly

In Washington Curtiss and Selfridge told the officials of the Aero Club that they intended to compete for the Scientific American trophy Established by the noted scishyence magazine the silver trophy was created in 1907 to stimulate aviation progress in the United States If a comshypetitor could complete a trio of trials in succeeding years (each years hurdle would become increasingly difficult thanks to standards determined by the Aero Club) the trophy would be permanently given to the competitor Curtiss and the AEA were confident that their new airshyplane the third powered fixed-wing aircraft they built was up to the first challenge of flying more than a kiloshymeter (3281 feet or 0621 mile) in a straight line After all theyd already flown it that far a week earlier Well at least once theyd flown it that far

The June Bug was the logical evolution of the AEAs two earlier efforts in fixed-wing airplanes The AEA had built a glider of fairly standard layout and also a tetraheshydral kite of Dr Bells design The gilder gave them valushyable experience while the kite proved to be an aeronaushytical dead end Aerodrome Nos 1 and 2 the Red Wing and White Wing respectively were biplanes that featured tapered wings whose wingtips were pulled toward each other with the lower wing curving upward as the top wings ends described a gentle downward arc creating a squashed oval shape with the ends clipped off

After JA Douglas McCurdy crunched the White Wing on May 231908 (hed run afoul of windy conditions that

14 JULY 2008

day) the AEA made the decision to go ahead with a new design similar in appearance but refined by Curtiss The five flights made with White Wing told them they were on the right track but that both structural and aerodyshynamic changes needed to be made It would be easier to build a new airplane than to rebuild the White Wing with the changes incorporated

Aerodrome No3 which would be dubbed the June Bug by Dr Bell would feature the wingtip lateral controls first installed on the White Wing The triangular movable control surfaces were a revelation to the team They alshylowed the AEAs aircraft to be controlled laterally so the pilot could regulate his turns or recover from upsets that caused the airplane to roll to one side or the other The June Bugs wingtips as the controls were called by the AEA were controlled by a yoke that was worn over the shoulders of the pilot If you leaned into the turn in the same manner as when riding a motorcycle your lower shoulder would be on the lower or inside of the turn while your higher shoulder would be pointed away from the ground The yoke was rigged to move the wingtips so that the trailing edge on the wingtip of the wings you wished to lower would tilt upward and the wingtip on the opposite wings would tilt in the opposite direction

Curtiss design for the June Bug created a biplane with the familiar AEA-style wings although the design of the structure created a straight line down the leading and trailing edges as viewed from in front each side more like a long truncated triangle than the curved wing of its preshydecessor (Later Curtiss would dispense with the tapered wings maintaining a rectangular box structure for his airshycraft wing designs) With a longer forward structure which allowed the builder to move the engine back 5 inches the pilot sat further forward than on the White Wing The total length of the June Bug was 27 feet 6 inches with a wingspan of 42 feet 6 inches The lightweight structure of the third AEA aerodrome had an empty weight of 473 pounds and a gross weight of 615 pounds the engine alone weighed nearly 200 pounds The White Wing and June Bug had one other pioneering feature that would become a standard in aviation many decades later-they had a tricycle landing gear

The 40-hp air-cooled V-8 Curtiss engine and the proshypeller that had powered both the previous biplanes was again used on the June Bug With that part of the aircrafts construction dispensed with the airframe could go toshygether quickly

One discovery made while building and testing White Wing was the effect the weave of the fabric had on the amount of lift generated by the airplane The White Wing had been coated with varnish after Dr Bell suggested that the porosity of the fabrics open weave was the reason the airplanes lift was not as high as they expected In the spring in upstate New York it worked like a charm on the White Wing but when they used varnish in the early summer on the June Bug the finish proved to be troubleshysome It may have been because the June Bug lasted lon-

J O BELL r W BALDWIN 1 A D I4 CORDY O B CURTIBU T E SELFRIDGE I A leUllDOI JDWIIIITUUI or T E ULnUIbull DEOD

FLYlJO IUOQlWE UPLIOJIIOi run API I UOf

1011106 Patented Dec ~ 1911 lIun-IIln

ger than the White Wing which had a lifespan of only six days from its first flight to its last

It took just slightly less than a month to build the new airplane The airframe was completed by June 19 1908 and it was given a few ground tests before the wings were installed and it was pronounced ready for a test flight The summer heat and humidity caused the varnish to crack and peel so it had to be refinished Pioneering aeroshynautical enthusiast and engineer Octave Chanute had suggested coating it with a mixture of paraffin gasoline turpentine and yellow ocher That must have been a rather odoriferous coating

The yellow ocher was not meant for sealing the pores but to make the light-colored cotton fabric show up betshyter in photographs In its brief lifetime the White Wing had shown itself to not photograph well due to the poor contrast between it and an overcast or hazy sky It was important that the photographic record of the AEAs exshyperiments show as much detail as possible not to menshytion the benefits of a well-defined photograph when published in newspapers or magazines In researching this article Louis Caseys wonderful book Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 states that the new coatshying was applied after three unsuccessful attempts at fly-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

The June Bugs eight-cylinder 40-hp engine was a Curtiss product Each cylinder had its own carburetor Curtiss already well-known for his companys engine-building prowess was one of the spark plugs of the Aerial Experiment Association

ing the June Bug yet other research would lead one to believe the varnish coating was used first on the White Wing and then the June Bug In either event the coatshying is believed to have been the first use of a sealing coating or dope used on a fixed-wing aircraft

Flight testing began on June 21 with three short flights the longest of which lasted 255 seconds covershying just more than 1200 feet in length By the seventh test flight onJune 27 Curtiss kept the airplane in the air for 60 seconds covering more than 3000 feet and landshying only when the boundary of the field at Stony Brook Farm was reached

Curtiss and his compatriots were convinced-they had an airplane that could win the Scientific American troshyphy Wiring Dr Bell who had left Hammondsport on a less than direct trip home to Nova Scotia they told him of their plans and at the same time informed the Aero Club of their intentions

Augustus Post the secretary of the club was surprised by the news that the AEA was ready to make an attempt Like many in the Aero Club he expected the Wright brothers would claim the prize since they had been makshying regular flights at Huffman Prairie near Dayton

But the Wrights unwilling to change their aircraft to suit the requirements of the rules set forth by the Aero Club (which included installing a wheeled landing gear instead of using the catapult the Wrights preferred for use on the unimproved grounds of the Ohio prairie) and still

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCU RDY G H CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE E bull UFlIDGE ADKII18rUtOI or r t IELrllDGE DEO D

FLYING IICHINE APfLI OATIOI rtLpoundD H II UOV

Patented Dec 5 1911IOll106 6 BEE1I- lHtEf 4

16 JULY 2008

certain their rights as inventors would be better served by not taking part in such a public event were not drawn out by the trophy

By July 1 it was clear to the secretary that the AEA meant to claim the prize and since the rules allowed the competitor to name the place and time of the attempt it would be accomplished in a valley in the wine country of the Finger Lakes region of New York and not in Washingshyton or any other major population center

The day before the public officially sanctioned event was to take place Curtiss and the members of the AEA who were in Hammondsport along with Curtiss assistant Henry Kleckler decided to test the June Bug one last time Using the horse racetrack owned by winery owner Harry Champlin as a runway Curtiss roared off on a dry run of the next days record attempt but due to his (and evshyeryone elses for that matter) inexperience and the chalshylenging handling characteristics of a pioneer-era aircraft gusty winds put him in the ground wrecking one wing and busting a wheel But Curtiss was undeterred and with the help of the others they rebuilt the June Bug in only half a day

As the sun rose that steamy Saturday hundreds of spectators began to spread out blankets and settle in for what they thought would be a few hours on the hillshyside of the valley near the Pleasant Valley Wine Comshypany Expecting the flight to take place early in the day when normally the weather was calmest the crowds were forced to wait in the increasingly uncomfortable weather At one point in an effort to put a cheery face on an otherwise tedious day the owners of the winery opened their doors to the public for a repast complete with the local vintners creations

As the day dragged on Curtiss kept eying the weather After his experience the previous day he wasnt about to take a chance on blowing the opportunity to make hisshytory by being impatient Finally after the afternoon showshyers had passed and the weather calmed down he gave the word he was ready to fly

As the sun began to draw lower on the western ridge of the valley Curtiss and his associates pulled the June Bug from its tent hangar With the hour now past six in the evening even with the longest summer day only 12 days before there wouldnt be a great deal of extra time if meshychanical or other difficulties arose

As the official starter deSignated by the Aero Club Charles Manly pioneer aircraft engine designer and builder who had once served as Samuel Pierpont Langleys assistant during the Langley Aerodrome flights measured off the I-kilometer distance Manly was told by Curtiss that hed not follow a straight course to the I-kilometer flag since there were vineyards and trees in the way Curshytiss wouldnt get credit for traveling in a circuitous path and it turned out he didnt seem to much care-he would fly the route he chose and still set the record

His first attempt at 7 pm fell short a victim of the rear horizontal stabilizer being set incorrectly with an ex-

A O BELL F W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O B CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE I 1 tELlIIDQE 10111 1111-101 or T J lurllDGE DtU D

FLYING IIACHINE JPPLICJTI0M f iL ED Pl 9 U~

1011106 Patented Dec 5 191 I

~t~

-RuxJ~ J4I lI7l4ff~l

HM Bemmers photo of the June Bug in flight on July 4 1908

cessive angle of negative incidence After takeoff Curtiss couldnt keep the June Bug from climbing at too steep an angle With the engine making full revolutions he couldnt force the nose down and he had to cut the power so he could recover from the excessive pitch attitude Pullshying the power did the trick and Curtiss landed safely but well short of his intended mark

After the June Bug was pulled through the clover back to the mud racetrack Curtiss and the AEA members had a discussion about the cause of the excessive climb and

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the two flights on July Fourth Might this be the shot taken by the photographer whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer marks red flag

as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting Quickly putting it right they had time for another attempt to win the Scientific American trophy

At 730 Manlys starter flag dropped and the roar of Curtiss V-8 echoed up and down the valley It must have been a fantastic sight the yellow wings of the June Bug must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July summer day the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight

Just before takeoff annoyed at the naysayers Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination A phoshytographer intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by set up h is camera short of the finish lines red flag Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didnt think he could make it the full distance (I think the photographer just wanted a shot in the air and not one as the June Bug touched down After all for a historic flight who wants a photo of an airshyplane on the ground)

The crowd then got to witness one of the most amazing flights ever made up to that point in time and one that would actually be the longest flight ever made with the June Bug Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and

vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company roaring by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near the edge of the fie ld He covered nearly 6000 feet in disshytance flying 1025 seconds Hed won Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all placing himself and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of every newspaper in the nation and around the world

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6 W6 COH611

~ rAiLW~EELS

18 J U LY 2008

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

Bubullbullets bounce right oft the Poy-FIberbullbull sec

W e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship with the toughest easiest-toshyrepair fabric known to man Its easy to apply too even Over There and itll see our boys through the most arduous dogshyfighting theyll face Poly-Fiber will never let them down so dont you either Help put Liberty Bond sales over the top for all our gallant doughboys

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800-362-3490 polyfibercom

B uy Y OU R WAR B O NDS AT THIS C I NEM A infopolyfibercom Aircraft Coating_

e 0 t1J 19f 9 - 1949 cfatlol1al clElt qucefj

The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCURDY G H CURTISS amp T E SELFRIDGE pound lliLPlIDGZ AD_111101 or f E It LtIJDOt DJO D

FLYING liACHINEbull ampPPLIOiTIO (UD HI 8 1909

1011106 Patented Dec 5 1911 IIUTI- IBEET

J

I

I I X

~ lt)

~~ 10shy ~~o

~

~ 1 - -

~

I

-Rle 14 II Cl(ltrdL-~

The June Bug Is prepared for flight on a warm muggy Saturshyday the Fourth of July 1908 Glenn Curtiss stands with his hands on his hips garters for his shirt sleeves holding his cuffs above the elbow on the summer day

Draw a crowd to Hammondsport and prove to the world that we can really fly

In Washington Curtiss and Selfridge told the officials of the Aero Club that they intended to compete for the Scientific American trophy Established by the noted scishyence magazine the silver trophy was created in 1907 to stimulate aviation progress in the United States If a comshypetitor could complete a trio of trials in succeeding years (each years hurdle would become increasingly difficult thanks to standards determined by the Aero Club) the trophy would be permanently given to the competitor Curtiss and the AEA were confident that their new airshyplane the third powered fixed-wing aircraft they built was up to the first challenge of flying more than a kiloshymeter (3281 feet or 0621 mile) in a straight line After all theyd already flown it that far a week earlier Well at least once theyd flown it that far

The June Bug was the logical evolution of the AEAs two earlier efforts in fixed-wing airplanes The AEA had built a glider of fairly standard layout and also a tetraheshydral kite of Dr Bells design The gilder gave them valushyable experience while the kite proved to be an aeronaushytical dead end Aerodrome Nos 1 and 2 the Red Wing and White Wing respectively were biplanes that featured tapered wings whose wingtips were pulled toward each other with the lower wing curving upward as the top wings ends described a gentle downward arc creating a squashed oval shape with the ends clipped off

After JA Douglas McCurdy crunched the White Wing on May 231908 (hed run afoul of windy conditions that

14 JULY 2008

day) the AEA made the decision to go ahead with a new design similar in appearance but refined by Curtiss The five flights made with White Wing told them they were on the right track but that both structural and aerodyshynamic changes needed to be made It would be easier to build a new airplane than to rebuild the White Wing with the changes incorporated

Aerodrome No3 which would be dubbed the June Bug by Dr Bell would feature the wingtip lateral controls first installed on the White Wing The triangular movable control surfaces were a revelation to the team They alshylowed the AEAs aircraft to be controlled laterally so the pilot could regulate his turns or recover from upsets that caused the airplane to roll to one side or the other The June Bugs wingtips as the controls were called by the AEA were controlled by a yoke that was worn over the shoulders of the pilot If you leaned into the turn in the same manner as when riding a motorcycle your lower shoulder would be on the lower or inside of the turn while your higher shoulder would be pointed away from the ground The yoke was rigged to move the wingtips so that the trailing edge on the wingtip of the wings you wished to lower would tilt upward and the wingtip on the opposite wings would tilt in the opposite direction

Curtiss design for the June Bug created a biplane with the familiar AEA-style wings although the design of the structure created a straight line down the leading and trailing edges as viewed from in front each side more like a long truncated triangle than the curved wing of its preshydecessor (Later Curtiss would dispense with the tapered wings maintaining a rectangular box structure for his airshycraft wing designs) With a longer forward structure which allowed the builder to move the engine back 5 inches the pilot sat further forward than on the White Wing The total length of the June Bug was 27 feet 6 inches with a wingspan of 42 feet 6 inches The lightweight structure of the third AEA aerodrome had an empty weight of 473 pounds and a gross weight of 615 pounds the engine alone weighed nearly 200 pounds The White Wing and June Bug had one other pioneering feature that would become a standard in aviation many decades later-they had a tricycle landing gear

The 40-hp air-cooled V-8 Curtiss engine and the proshypeller that had powered both the previous biplanes was again used on the June Bug With that part of the aircrafts construction dispensed with the airframe could go toshygether quickly

One discovery made while building and testing White Wing was the effect the weave of the fabric had on the amount of lift generated by the airplane The White Wing had been coated with varnish after Dr Bell suggested that the porosity of the fabrics open weave was the reason the airplanes lift was not as high as they expected In the spring in upstate New York it worked like a charm on the White Wing but when they used varnish in the early summer on the June Bug the finish proved to be troubleshysome It may have been because the June Bug lasted lon-

J O BELL r W BALDWIN 1 A D I4 CORDY O B CURTIBU T E SELFRIDGE I A leUllDOI JDWIIIITUUI or T E ULnUIbull DEOD

FLYlJO IUOQlWE UPLIOJIIOi run API I UOf

1011106 Patented Dec ~ 1911 lIun-IIln

ger than the White Wing which had a lifespan of only six days from its first flight to its last

It took just slightly less than a month to build the new airplane The airframe was completed by June 19 1908 and it was given a few ground tests before the wings were installed and it was pronounced ready for a test flight The summer heat and humidity caused the varnish to crack and peel so it had to be refinished Pioneering aeroshynautical enthusiast and engineer Octave Chanute had suggested coating it with a mixture of paraffin gasoline turpentine and yellow ocher That must have been a rather odoriferous coating

The yellow ocher was not meant for sealing the pores but to make the light-colored cotton fabric show up betshyter in photographs In its brief lifetime the White Wing had shown itself to not photograph well due to the poor contrast between it and an overcast or hazy sky It was important that the photographic record of the AEAs exshyperiments show as much detail as possible not to menshytion the benefits of a well-defined photograph when published in newspapers or magazines In researching this article Louis Caseys wonderful book Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 states that the new coatshying was applied after three unsuccessful attempts at fly-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

The June Bugs eight-cylinder 40-hp engine was a Curtiss product Each cylinder had its own carburetor Curtiss already well-known for his companys engine-building prowess was one of the spark plugs of the Aerial Experiment Association

ing the June Bug yet other research would lead one to believe the varnish coating was used first on the White Wing and then the June Bug In either event the coatshying is believed to have been the first use of a sealing coating or dope used on a fixed-wing aircraft

Flight testing began on June 21 with three short flights the longest of which lasted 255 seconds covershying just more than 1200 feet in length By the seventh test flight onJune 27 Curtiss kept the airplane in the air for 60 seconds covering more than 3000 feet and landshying only when the boundary of the field at Stony Brook Farm was reached

Curtiss and his compatriots were convinced-they had an airplane that could win the Scientific American troshyphy Wiring Dr Bell who had left Hammondsport on a less than direct trip home to Nova Scotia they told him of their plans and at the same time informed the Aero Club of their intentions

Augustus Post the secretary of the club was surprised by the news that the AEA was ready to make an attempt Like many in the Aero Club he expected the Wright brothers would claim the prize since they had been makshying regular flights at Huffman Prairie near Dayton

But the Wrights unwilling to change their aircraft to suit the requirements of the rules set forth by the Aero Club (which included installing a wheeled landing gear instead of using the catapult the Wrights preferred for use on the unimproved grounds of the Ohio prairie) and still

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCU RDY G H CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE E bull UFlIDGE ADKII18rUtOI or r t IELrllDGE DEO D

FLYING IICHINE APfLI OATIOI rtLpoundD H II UOV

Patented Dec 5 1911IOll106 6 BEE1I- lHtEf 4

16 JULY 2008

certain their rights as inventors would be better served by not taking part in such a public event were not drawn out by the trophy

By July 1 it was clear to the secretary that the AEA meant to claim the prize and since the rules allowed the competitor to name the place and time of the attempt it would be accomplished in a valley in the wine country of the Finger Lakes region of New York and not in Washingshyton or any other major population center

The day before the public officially sanctioned event was to take place Curtiss and the members of the AEA who were in Hammondsport along with Curtiss assistant Henry Kleckler decided to test the June Bug one last time Using the horse racetrack owned by winery owner Harry Champlin as a runway Curtiss roared off on a dry run of the next days record attempt but due to his (and evshyeryone elses for that matter) inexperience and the chalshylenging handling characteristics of a pioneer-era aircraft gusty winds put him in the ground wrecking one wing and busting a wheel But Curtiss was undeterred and with the help of the others they rebuilt the June Bug in only half a day

As the sun rose that steamy Saturday hundreds of spectators began to spread out blankets and settle in for what they thought would be a few hours on the hillshyside of the valley near the Pleasant Valley Wine Comshypany Expecting the flight to take place early in the day when normally the weather was calmest the crowds were forced to wait in the increasingly uncomfortable weather At one point in an effort to put a cheery face on an otherwise tedious day the owners of the winery opened their doors to the public for a repast complete with the local vintners creations

As the day dragged on Curtiss kept eying the weather After his experience the previous day he wasnt about to take a chance on blowing the opportunity to make hisshytory by being impatient Finally after the afternoon showshyers had passed and the weather calmed down he gave the word he was ready to fly

As the sun began to draw lower on the western ridge of the valley Curtiss and his associates pulled the June Bug from its tent hangar With the hour now past six in the evening even with the longest summer day only 12 days before there wouldnt be a great deal of extra time if meshychanical or other difficulties arose

As the official starter deSignated by the Aero Club Charles Manly pioneer aircraft engine designer and builder who had once served as Samuel Pierpont Langleys assistant during the Langley Aerodrome flights measured off the I-kilometer distance Manly was told by Curtiss that hed not follow a straight course to the I-kilometer flag since there were vineyards and trees in the way Curshytiss wouldnt get credit for traveling in a circuitous path and it turned out he didnt seem to much care-he would fly the route he chose and still set the record

His first attempt at 7 pm fell short a victim of the rear horizontal stabilizer being set incorrectly with an ex-

A O BELL F W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O B CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE I 1 tELlIIDQE 10111 1111-101 or T J lurllDGE DtU D

FLYING IIACHINE JPPLICJTI0M f iL ED Pl 9 U~

1011106 Patented Dec 5 191 I

~t~

-RuxJ~ J4I lI7l4ff~l

HM Bemmers photo of the June Bug in flight on July 4 1908

cessive angle of negative incidence After takeoff Curtiss couldnt keep the June Bug from climbing at too steep an angle With the engine making full revolutions he couldnt force the nose down and he had to cut the power so he could recover from the excessive pitch attitude Pullshying the power did the trick and Curtiss landed safely but well short of his intended mark

After the June Bug was pulled through the clover back to the mud racetrack Curtiss and the AEA members had a discussion about the cause of the excessive climb and

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the two flights on July Fourth Might this be the shot taken by the photographer whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer marks red flag

as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting Quickly putting it right they had time for another attempt to win the Scientific American trophy

At 730 Manlys starter flag dropped and the roar of Curtiss V-8 echoed up and down the valley It must have been a fantastic sight the yellow wings of the June Bug must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July summer day the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight

Just before takeoff annoyed at the naysayers Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination A phoshytographer intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by set up h is camera short of the finish lines red flag Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didnt think he could make it the full distance (I think the photographer just wanted a shot in the air and not one as the June Bug touched down After all for a historic flight who wants a photo of an airshyplane on the ground)

The crowd then got to witness one of the most amazing flights ever made up to that point in time and one that would actually be the longest flight ever made with the June Bug Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and

vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company roaring by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near the edge of the fie ld He covered nearly 6000 feet in disshytance flying 1025 seconds Hed won Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all placing himself and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of every newspaper in the nation and around the world

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6 W6 COH611

~ rAiLW~EELS

18 J U LY 2008

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

Bubullbullets bounce right oft the Poy-FIberbullbull sec

W e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship with the toughest easiest-toshyrepair fabric known to man Its easy to apply too even Over There and itll see our boys through the most arduous dogshyfighting theyll face Poly-Fiber will never let them down so dont you either Help put Liberty Bond sales over the top for all our gallant doughboys

Friendliest manual around Toll-free technical support

800-362-3490 polyfibercom

B uy Y OU R WAR B O NDS AT THIS C I NEM A infopolyfibercom Aircraft Coating_

e 0 t1J 19f 9 - 1949 cfatlol1al clElt qucefj

The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

day) the AEA made the decision to go ahead with a new design similar in appearance but refined by Curtiss The five flights made with White Wing told them they were on the right track but that both structural and aerodyshynamic changes needed to be made It would be easier to build a new airplane than to rebuild the White Wing with the changes incorporated

Aerodrome No3 which would be dubbed the June Bug by Dr Bell would feature the wingtip lateral controls first installed on the White Wing The triangular movable control surfaces were a revelation to the team They alshylowed the AEAs aircraft to be controlled laterally so the pilot could regulate his turns or recover from upsets that caused the airplane to roll to one side or the other The June Bugs wingtips as the controls were called by the AEA were controlled by a yoke that was worn over the shoulders of the pilot If you leaned into the turn in the same manner as when riding a motorcycle your lower shoulder would be on the lower or inside of the turn while your higher shoulder would be pointed away from the ground The yoke was rigged to move the wingtips so that the trailing edge on the wingtip of the wings you wished to lower would tilt upward and the wingtip on the opposite wings would tilt in the opposite direction

Curtiss design for the June Bug created a biplane with the familiar AEA-style wings although the design of the structure created a straight line down the leading and trailing edges as viewed from in front each side more like a long truncated triangle than the curved wing of its preshydecessor (Later Curtiss would dispense with the tapered wings maintaining a rectangular box structure for his airshycraft wing designs) With a longer forward structure which allowed the builder to move the engine back 5 inches the pilot sat further forward than on the White Wing The total length of the June Bug was 27 feet 6 inches with a wingspan of 42 feet 6 inches The lightweight structure of the third AEA aerodrome had an empty weight of 473 pounds and a gross weight of 615 pounds the engine alone weighed nearly 200 pounds The White Wing and June Bug had one other pioneering feature that would become a standard in aviation many decades later-they had a tricycle landing gear

The 40-hp air-cooled V-8 Curtiss engine and the proshypeller that had powered both the previous biplanes was again used on the June Bug With that part of the aircrafts construction dispensed with the airframe could go toshygether quickly

One discovery made while building and testing White Wing was the effect the weave of the fabric had on the amount of lift generated by the airplane The White Wing had been coated with varnish after Dr Bell suggested that the porosity of the fabrics open weave was the reason the airplanes lift was not as high as they expected In the spring in upstate New York it worked like a charm on the White Wing but when they used varnish in the early summer on the June Bug the finish proved to be troubleshysome It may have been because the June Bug lasted lon-

J O BELL r W BALDWIN 1 A D I4 CORDY O B CURTIBU T E SELFRIDGE I A leUllDOI JDWIIIITUUI or T E ULnUIbull DEOD

FLYlJO IUOQlWE UPLIOJIIOi run API I UOf

1011106 Patented Dec ~ 1911 lIun-IIln

ger than the White Wing which had a lifespan of only six days from its first flight to its last

It took just slightly less than a month to build the new airplane The airframe was completed by June 19 1908 and it was given a few ground tests before the wings were installed and it was pronounced ready for a test flight The summer heat and humidity caused the varnish to crack and peel so it had to be refinished Pioneering aeroshynautical enthusiast and engineer Octave Chanute had suggested coating it with a mixture of paraffin gasoline turpentine and yellow ocher That must have been a rather odoriferous coating

The yellow ocher was not meant for sealing the pores but to make the light-colored cotton fabric show up betshyter in photographs In its brief lifetime the White Wing had shown itself to not photograph well due to the poor contrast between it and an overcast or hazy sky It was important that the photographic record of the AEAs exshyperiments show as much detail as possible not to menshytion the benefits of a well-defined photograph when published in newspapers or magazines In researching this article Louis Caseys wonderful book Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 states that the new coatshying was applied after three unsuccessful attempts at fly-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

The June Bugs eight-cylinder 40-hp engine was a Curtiss product Each cylinder had its own carburetor Curtiss already well-known for his companys engine-building prowess was one of the spark plugs of the Aerial Experiment Association

ing the June Bug yet other research would lead one to believe the varnish coating was used first on the White Wing and then the June Bug In either event the coatshying is believed to have been the first use of a sealing coating or dope used on a fixed-wing aircraft

Flight testing began on June 21 with three short flights the longest of which lasted 255 seconds covershying just more than 1200 feet in length By the seventh test flight onJune 27 Curtiss kept the airplane in the air for 60 seconds covering more than 3000 feet and landshying only when the boundary of the field at Stony Brook Farm was reached

Curtiss and his compatriots were convinced-they had an airplane that could win the Scientific American troshyphy Wiring Dr Bell who had left Hammondsport on a less than direct trip home to Nova Scotia they told him of their plans and at the same time informed the Aero Club of their intentions

Augustus Post the secretary of the club was surprised by the news that the AEA was ready to make an attempt Like many in the Aero Club he expected the Wright brothers would claim the prize since they had been makshying regular flights at Huffman Prairie near Dayton

But the Wrights unwilling to change their aircraft to suit the requirements of the rules set forth by the Aero Club (which included installing a wheeled landing gear instead of using the catapult the Wrights preferred for use on the unimproved grounds of the Ohio prairie) and still

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCU RDY G H CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE E bull UFlIDGE ADKII18rUtOI or r t IELrllDGE DEO D

FLYING IICHINE APfLI OATIOI rtLpoundD H II UOV

Patented Dec 5 1911IOll106 6 BEE1I- lHtEf 4

16 JULY 2008

certain their rights as inventors would be better served by not taking part in such a public event were not drawn out by the trophy

By July 1 it was clear to the secretary that the AEA meant to claim the prize and since the rules allowed the competitor to name the place and time of the attempt it would be accomplished in a valley in the wine country of the Finger Lakes region of New York and not in Washingshyton or any other major population center

The day before the public officially sanctioned event was to take place Curtiss and the members of the AEA who were in Hammondsport along with Curtiss assistant Henry Kleckler decided to test the June Bug one last time Using the horse racetrack owned by winery owner Harry Champlin as a runway Curtiss roared off on a dry run of the next days record attempt but due to his (and evshyeryone elses for that matter) inexperience and the chalshylenging handling characteristics of a pioneer-era aircraft gusty winds put him in the ground wrecking one wing and busting a wheel But Curtiss was undeterred and with the help of the others they rebuilt the June Bug in only half a day

As the sun rose that steamy Saturday hundreds of spectators began to spread out blankets and settle in for what they thought would be a few hours on the hillshyside of the valley near the Pleasant Valley Wine Comshypany Expecting the flight to take place early in the day when normally the weather was calmest the crowds were forced to wait in the increasingly uncomfortable weather At one point in an effort to put a cheery face on an otherwise tedious day the owners of the winery opened their doors to the public for a repast complete with the local vintners creations

As the day dragged on Curtiss kept eying the weather After his experience the previous day he wasnt about to take a chance on blowing the opportunity to make hisshytory by being impatient Finally after the afternoon showshyers had passed and the weather calmed down he gave the word he was ready to fly

As the sun began to draw lower on the western ridge of the valley Curtiss and his associates pulled the June Bug from its tent hangar With the hour now past six in the evening even with the longest summer day only 12 days before there wouldnt be a great deal of extra time if meshychanical or other difficulties arose

As the official starter deSignated by the Aero Club Charles Manly pioneer aircraft engine designer and builder who had once served as Samuel Pierpont Langleys assistant during the Langley Aerodrome flights measured off the I-kilometer distance Manly was told by Curtiss that hed not follow a straight course to the I-kilometer flag since there were vineyards and trees in the way Curshytiss wouldnt get credit for traveling in a circuitous path and it turned out he didnt seem to much care-he would fly the route he chose and still set the record

His first attempt at 7 pm fell short a victim of the rear horizontal stabilizer being set incorrectly with an ex-

A O BELL F W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O B CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE I 1 tELlIIDQE 10111 1111-101 or T J lurllDGE DtU D

FLYING IIACHINE JPPLICJTI0M f iL ED Pl 9 U~

1011106 Patented Dec 5 191 I

~t~

-RuxJ~ J4I lI7l4ff~l

HM Bemmers photo of the June Bug in flight on July 4 1908

cessive angle of negative incidence After takeoff Curtiss couldnt keep the June Bug from climbing at too steep an angle With the engine making full revolutions he couldnt force the nose down and he had to cut the power so he could recover from the excessive pitch attitude Pullshying the power did the trick and Curtiss landed safely but well short of his intended mark

After the June Bug was pulled through the clover back to the mud racetrack Curtiss and the AEA members had a discussion about the cause of the excessive climb and

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the two flights on July Fourth Might this be the shot taken by the photographer whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer marks red flag

as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting Quickly putting it right they had time for another attempt to win the Scientific American trophy

At 730 Manlys starter flag dropped and the roar of Curtiss V-8 echoed up and down the valley It must have been a fantastic sight the yellow wings of the June Bug must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July summer day the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight

Just before takeoff annoyed at the naysayers Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination A phoshytographer intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by set up h is camera short of the finish lines red flag Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didnt think he could make it the full distance (I think the photographer just wanted a shot in the air and not one as the June Bug touched down After all for a historic flight who wants a photo of an airshyplane on the ground)

The crowd then got to witness one of the most amazing flights ever made up to that point in time and one that would actually be the longest flight ever made with the June Bug Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and

vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company roaring by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near the edge of the fie ld He covered nearly 6000 feet in disshytance flying 1025 seconds Hed won Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all placing himself and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of every newspaper in the nation and around the world

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6 W6 COH611

~ rAiLW~EELS

18 J U LY 2008

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

Bubullbullets bounce right oft the Poy-FIberbullbull sec

W e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship with the toughest easiest-toshyrepair fabric known to man Its easy to apply too even Over There and itll see our boys through the most arduous dogshyfighting theyll face Poly-Fiber will never let them down so dont you either Help put Liberty Bond sales over the top for all our gallant doughboys

Friendliest manual around Toll-free technical support

800-362-3490 polyfibercom

B uy Y OU R WAR B O NDS AT THIS C I NEM A infopolyfibercom Aircraft Coating_

e 0 t1J 19f 9 - 1949 cfatlol1al clElt qucefj

The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

The June Bugs eight-cylinder 40-hp engine was a Curtiss product Each cylinder had its own carburetor Curtiss already well-known for his companys engine-building prowess was one of the spark plugs of the Aerial Experiment Association

ing the June Bug yet other research would lead one to believe the varnish coating was used first on the White Wing and then the June Bug In either event the coatshying is believed to have been the first use of a sealing coating or dope used on a fixed-wing aircraft

Flight testing began on June 21 with three short flights the longest of which lasted 255 seconds covershying just more than 1200 feet in length By the seventh test flight onJune 27 Curtiss kept the airplane in the air for 60 seconds covering more than 3000 feet and landshying only when the boundary of the field at Stony Brook Farm was reached

Curtiss and his compatriots were convinced-they had an airplane that could win the Scientific American troshyphy Wiring Dr Bell who had left Hammondsport on a less than direct trip home to Nova Scotia they told him of their plans and at the same time informed the Aero Club of their intentions

Augustus Post the secretary of the club was surprised by the news that the AEA was ready to make an attempt Like many in the Aero Club he expected the Wright brothers would claim the prize since they had been makshying regular flights at Huffman Prairie near Dayton

But the Wrights unwilling to change their aircraft to suit the requirements of the rules set forth by the Aero Club (which included installing a wheeled landing gear instead of using the catapult the Wrights preferred for use on the unimproved grounds of the Ohio prairie) and still

A G BELL F W BALDWIN J A D McCU RDY G H CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE E bull UFlIDGE ADKII18rUtOI or r t IELrllDGE DEO D

FLYING IICHINE APfLI OATIOI rtLpoundD H II UOV

Patented Dec 5 1911IOll106 6 BEE1I- lHtEf 4

16 JULY 2008

certain their rights as inventors would be better served by not taking part in such a public event were not drawn out by the trophy

By July 1 it was clear to the secretary that the AEA meant to claim the prize and since the rules allowed the competitor to name the place and time of the attempt it would be accomplished in a valley in the wine country of the Finger Lakes region of New York and not in Washingshyton or any other major population center

The day before the public officially sanctioned event was to take place Curtiss and the members of the AEA who were in Hammondsport along with Curtiss assistant Henry Kleckler decided to test the June Bug one last time Using the horse racetrack owned by winery owner Harry Champlin as a runway Curtiss roared off on a dry run of the next days record attempt but due to his (and evshyeryone elses for that matter) inexperience and the chalshylenging handling characteristics of a pioneer-era aircraft gusty winds put him in the ground wrecking one wing and busting a wheel But Curtiss was undeterred and with the help of the others they rebuilt the June Bug in only half a day

As the sun rose that steamy Saturday hundreds of spectators began to spread out blankets and settle in for what they thought would be a few hours on the hillshyside of the valley near the Pleasant Valley Wine Comshypany Expecting the flight to take place early in the day when normally the weather was calmest the crowds were forced to wait in the increasingly uncomfortable weather At one point in an effort to put a cheery face on an otherwise tedious day the owners of the winery opened their doors to the public for a repast complete with the local vintners creations

As the day dragged on Curtiss kept eying the weather After his experience the previous day he wasnt about to take a chance on blowing the opportunity to make hisshytory by being impatient Finally after the afternoon showshyers had passed and the weather calmed down he gave the word he was ready to fly

As the sun began to draw lower on the western ridge of the valley Curtiss and his associates pulled the June Bug from its tent hangar With the hour now past six in the evening even with the longest summer day only 12 days before there wouldnt be a great deal of extra time if meshychanical or other difficulties arose

As the official starter deSignated by the Aero Club Charles Manly pioneer aircraft engine designer and builder who had once served as Samuel Pierpont Langleys assistant during the Langley Aerodrome flights measured off the I-kilometer distance Manly was told by Curtiss that hed not follow a straight course to the I-kilometer flag since there were vineyards and trees in the way Curshytiss wouldnt get credit for traveling in a circuitous path and it turned out he didnt seem to much care-he would fly the route he chose and still set the record

His first attempt at 7 pm fell short a victim of the rear horizontal stabilizer being set incorrectly with an ex-

A O BELL F W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O B CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE I 1 tELlIIDQE 10111 1111-101 or T J lurllDGE DtU D

FLYING IIACHINE JPPLICJTI0M f iL ED Pl 9 U~

1011106 Patented Dec 5 191 I

~t~

-RuxJ~ J4I lI7l4ff~l

HM Bemmers photo of the June Bug in flight on July 4 1908

cessive angle of negative incidence After takeoff Curtiss couldnt keep the June Bug from climbing at too steep an angle With the engine making full revolutions he couldnt force the nose down and he had to cut the power so he could recover from the excessive pitch attitude Pullshying the power did the trick and Curtiss landed safely but well short of his intended mark

After the June Bug was pulled through the clover back to the mud racetrack Curtiss and the AEA members had a discussion about the cause of the excessive climb and

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the two flights on July Fourth Might this be the shot taken by the photographer whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer marks red flag

as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting Quickly putting it right they had time for another attempt to win the Scientific American trophy

At 730 Manlys starter flag dropped and the roar of Curtiss V-8 echoed up and down the valley It must have been a fantastic sight the yellow wings of the June Bug must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July summer day the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight

Just before takeoff annoyed at the naysayers Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination A phoshytographer intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by set up h is camera short of the finish lines red flag Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didnt think he could make it the full distance (I think the photographer just wanted a shot in the air and not one as the June Bug touched down After all for a historic flight who wants a photo of an airshyplane on the ground)

The crowd then got to witness one of the most amazing flights ever made up to that point in time and one that would actually be the longest flight ever made with the June Bug Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and

vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company roaring by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near the edge of the fie ld He covered nearly 6000 feet in disshytance flying 1025 seconds Hed won Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all placing himself and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of every newspaper in the nation and around the world

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6 W6 COH611

~ rAiLW~EELS

18 J U LY 2008

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

Bubullbullets bounce right oft the Poy-FIberbullbull sec

W e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship with the toughest easiest-toshyrepair fabric known to man Its easy to apply too even Over There and itll see our boys through the most arduous dogshyfighting theyll face Poly-Fiber will never let them down so dont you either Help put Liberty Bond sales over the top for all our gallant doughboys

Friendliest manual around Toll-free technical support

800-362-3490 polyfibercom

B uy Y OU R WAR B O NDS AT THIS C I NEM A infopolyfibercom Aircraft Coating_

e 0 t1J 19f 9 - 1949 cfatlol1al clElt qucefj

The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

certain their rights as inventors would be better served by not taking part in such a public event were not drawn out by the trophy

By July 1 it was clear to the secretary that the AEA meant to claim the prize and since the rules allowed the competitor to name the place and time of the attempt it would be accomplished in a valley in the wine country of the Finger Lakes region of New York and not in Washingshyton or any other major population center

The day before the public officially sanctioned event was to take place Curtiss and the members of the AEA who were in Hammondsport along with Curtiss assistant Henry Kleckler decided to test the June Bug one last time Using the horse racetrack owned by winery owner Harry Champlin as a runway Curtiss roared off on a dry run of the next days record attempt but due to his (and evshyeryone elses for that matter) inexperience and the chalshylenging handling characteristics of a pioneer-era aircraft gusty winds put him in the ground wrecking one wing and busting a wheel But Curtiss was undeterred and with the help of the others they rebuilt the June Bug in only half a day

As the sun rose that steamy Saturday hundreds of spectators began to spread out blankets and settle in for what they thought would be a few hours on the hillshyside of the valley near the Pleasant Valley Wine Comshypany Expecting the flight to take place early in the day when normally the weather was calmest the crowds were forced to wait in the increasingly uncomfortable weather At one point in an effort to put a cheery face on an otherwise tedious day the owners of the winery opened their doors to the public for a repast complete with the local vintners creations

As the day dragged on Curtiss kept eying the weather After his experience the previous day he wasnt about to take a chance on blowing the opportunity to make hisshytory by being impatient Finally after the afternoon showshyers had passed and the weather calmed down he gave the word he was ready to fly

As the sun began to draw lower on the western ridge of the valley Curtiss and his associates pulled the June Bug from its tent hangar With the hour now past six in the evening even with the longest summer day only 12 days before there wouldnt be a great deal of extra time if meshychanical or other difficulties arose

As the official starter deSignated by the Aero Club Charles Manly pioneer aircraft engine designer and builder who had once served as Samuel Pierpont Langleys assistant during the Langley Aerodrome flights measured off the I-kilometer distance Manly was told by Curtiss that hed not follow a straight course to the I-kilometer flag since there were vineyards and trees in the way Curshytiss wouldnt get credit for traveling in a circuitous path and it turned out he didnt seem to much care-he would fly the route he chose and still set the record

His first attempt at 7 pm fell short a victim of the rear horizontal stabilizer being set incorrectly with an ex-

A O BELL F W BALDWIN J A D MoCURDY O B CURTISS T E SELFRIDGE I 1 tELlIIDQE 10111 1111-101 or T J lurllDGE DtU D

FLYING IIACHINE JPPLICJTI0M f iL ED Pl 9 U~

1011106 Patented Dec 5 191 I

~t~

-RuxJ~ J4I lI7l4ff~l

HM Bemmers photo of the June Bug in flight on July 4 1908

cessive angle of negative incidence After takeoff Curtiss couldnt keep the June Bug from climbing at too steep an angle With the engine making full revolutions he couldnt force the nose down and he had to cut the power so he could recover from the excessive pitch attitude Pullshying the power did the trick and Curtiss landed safely but well short of his intended mark

After the June Bug was pulled through the clover back to the mud racetrack Curtiss and the AEA members had a discussion about the cause of the excessive climb and

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the two flights on July Fourth Might this be the shot taken by the photographer whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer marks red flag

as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting Quickly putting it right they had time for another attempt to win the Scientific American trophy

At 730 Manlys starter flag dropped and the roar of Curtiss V-8 echoed up and down the valley It must have been a fantastic sight the yellow wings of the June Bug must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July summer day the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight

Just before takeoff annoyed at the naysayers Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination A phoshytographer intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by set up h is camera short of the finish lines red flag Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didnt think he could make it the full distance (I think the photographer just wanted a shot in the air and not one as the June Bug touched down After all for a historic flight who wants a photo of an airshyplane on the ground)

The crowd then got to witness one of the most amazing flights ever made up to that point in time and one that would actually be the longest flight ever made with the June Bug Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and

vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company roaring by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near the edge of the fie ld He covered nearly 6000 feet in disshytance flying 1025 seconds Hed won Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all placing himself and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of every newspaper in the nation and around the world

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6 W6 COH611

~ rAiLW~EELS

18 J U LY 2008

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

Bubullbullets bounce right oft the Poy-FIberbullbull sec

W e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship with the toughest easiest-toshyrepair fabric known to man Its easy to apply too even Over There and itll see our boys through the most arduous dogshyfighting theyll face Poly-Fiber will never let them down so dont you either Help put Liberty Bond sales over the top for all our gallant doughboys

Friendliest manual around Toll-free technical support

800-362-3490 polyfibercom

B uy Y OU R WAR B O NDS AT THIS C I NEM A infopolyfibercom Aircraft Coating_

e 0 t1J 19f 9 - 1949 cfatlol1al clElt qucefj

The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the two flights on July Fourth Might this be the shot taken by the photographer whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer marks red flag

as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting Quickly putting it right they had time for another attempt to win the Scientific American trophy

At 730 Manlys starter flag dropped and the roar of Curtiss V-8 echoed up and down the valley It must have been a fantastic sight the yellow wings of the June Bug must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July summer day the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight

Just before takeoff annoyed at the naysayers Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination A phoshytographer intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by set up h is camera short of the finish lines red flag Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didnt think he could make it the full distance (I think the photographer just wanted a shot in the air and not one as the June Bug touched down After all for a historic flight who wants a photo of an airshyplane on the ground)

The crowd then got to witness one of the most amazing flights ever made up to that point in time and one that would actually be the longest flight ever made with the June Bug Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and

vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company roaring by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near the edge of the fie ld He covered nearly 6000 feet in disshytance flying 1025 seconds Hed won Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all placing himself and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of every newspaper in the nation and around the world

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6 W6 COH611

~ rAiLW~EELS

18 J U LY 2008

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

Bubullbullets bounce right oft the Poy-FIberbullbull sec

W e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship with the toughest easiest-toshyrepair fabric known to man Its easy to apply too even Over There and itll see our boys through the most arduous dogshyfighting theyll face Poly-Fiber will never let them down so dont you either Help put Liberty Bond sales over the top for all our gallant doughboys

Friendliest manual around Toll-free technical support

800-362-3490 polyfibercom

B uy Y OU R WAR B O NDS AT THIS C I NEM A infopolyfibercom Aircraft Coating_

e 0 t1J 19f 9 - 1949 cfatlol1al clElt qucefj

The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

It must have been a very sweet celshyebration that Fourth of July 1908 With the Great Western champagne flowing from the winery it must have been quite a night Glenn Curshytiss once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess had set himself on a new path one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements but one that would try his very soul

July Fourth will mark the 100th annishy

versary of Glenn Curtiss flight in the AEPls

Aerodrome No3 June Bug winning the

Scientific American trophy for the first ofshy

ficially observed public flight of more than

1 kilometer in length

The Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hamshy

mondsport New York is dedicated to the

memory of the pioneer aviator The mushy

seum contains a priceless collection relatshy

ing to early aviation and local history In

addition to seeing the museum displays

and exhibits visitors are welcome to viSit

the Restoration Shop talk with volunteer

craftsman and watch them work on hisshy

toric aircraft such as the recent project

the Curtiss America flying boat

Glenn H Curtiss Museum

8419 State Route 54

Hammondsport NY

6075692160

wwwgennhcurtissmuseumorg

Open

May - October Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5

November - April Mon-Sat and Sun 10-4

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life I recomshymend the following books Unlocking the Sky Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Inshy

vent the Airplane by Seth Shulman published in 2002 Hell-Rider to King of the Air Glenn Curtisss Life ofInnovation

by Kirk W House published in 2004 Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915 by Louis Casey

published in 1981 Glenn Curtiss Pioneer ofFlight by CR Roseberry published

in 1972

Bubullbullets bounce right oft the Poy-FIberbullbull sec

W e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship with the toughest easiest-toshyrepair fabric known to man Its easy to apply too even Over There and itll see our boys through the most arduous dogshyfighting theyll face Poly-Fiber will never let them down so dont you either Help put Liberty Bond sales over the top for all our gallant doughboys

Friendliest manual around Toll-free technical support

800-362-3490 polyfibercom

B uy Y OU R WAR B O NDS AT THIS C I NEM A infopolyfibercom Aircraft Coating_

e 0 t1J 19f 9 - 1949 cfatlol1al clElt qucefj

The only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes and

the pilots who flew themRose Dorcey EAA Sport

a positive addition to the aviation historian s

video collection Jerri Bergen American Aviaion Historical Society

I highly recommend this interesting video Tim Savage Warbird Digest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Light Plane Heritage ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN EAA Experimenter NOVEMBER 1991

Remember the Klemm BY BOB WHITTIER

This nostalgia-evoking photo shows a 20-hp Klemm in flight over the German countryside Bulge atop engine cowling covers the single magneto Most Klemms were done with unpigmented finshyishes allowing natural wood and fabric colors to show Note wingtip skids and the unusual pivoting wingtip ailerons

Thousands of young men learned to fly during World War I Upon being dis shycharged from their respecshy

tive air forces at its conclusion many of them sorely missed the great senshysations and satisfactions of being in command of a machine able to break the bonds of gravity and roam the vast skyways Some thus searched for ways to continue flying

In the United States a great many took eagerly to barnstorming in surshyplus two-seater Jenny and Standard training planes There was some barnstorming in Britain with Avro 504 trainers but the comparatively small land area of the British Isles limited this activity compared to the States A few pilots used surplus SE-5 Single-seaters to develop the advertising form known as skywritshy

ing Some joined flying clubs Yet others saw a future in offering fast frequent and hopefully reliable air services across the English Channel from London to Paris flying surplus bombers outfitted with makeshift cockpit enclosures

In those days Britain and France had dominions and colonies in farshyaway parts of the globe The need to transport people mail and light

Editors Note Longtime aviation enthusiasts will recognize the byline of Bob Whittier Bob has been a regular conshytributor to EAA publications since the founding of the organization as well as a knowledgeable author for other aviashytion and boating magazines Bobs Light Plane Heritage series in EAAs Experimenter magazine often touched on aircraft and concepts related to vintage aircraft and their history Since many of our members have not had the opportunity to read this series we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members Enjoy-HGF

20 JULY 2008

but valuable cargo to and from these places more swiftly than could be done by ship spurred yet others to use modified single- and twinshyengined bombers to make incredshyibly long and daring exploratory flights to South Africa India IndoshyChina and even Australia Out of these adventures there eventually developed a vast airline system

But pilots in defeated Germany found themselves in a very differshyent situation The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles called for the destruction of Germanys military equipment Only a handful of warshysurplus planes escaped the bonfires The manufacture of new military aircraft was forbidden and severe restrictions were placed on the manufacture of and performance capabilities of civilian aircraft

On top of that their country was in the throes of runaway inflation These daunting factors combined to spark a strong interest in gliders and gliding

Many and sometimes strangeshylooking gliders appeared The method of launching them in those very early days was to find a large grassy field on the side of a hill and yank the glidshyers aloft with stretched bungee cords Flights were simply short downhill glides Soaring came later

Inevitably some pilots began to install whatever they could find in the way of very small light moshytors in their gliders so they could get airborne without having to call together enough people to form launching crews or so they could fly over their countrys relatively flat farming regions

Attaching motors to airframes not originally intended for them soon spurred the design and conshystruction of more suitable airframes Then using powerplants originally designed to really suit the requireshyments of flight led to the develshyopment of small but real aviation engines This in turn prompted deshysigners to come out with airframes designed to get the best out of these new and better powerplants Its worth noting that many years later

The Klemm monoplane was powered by this 20-hp Daimler-Mercedes two-cylinder engine Circular shape behind the propeller hub is the housshying for the 3-to-1 reduction gear Note two exhaust stacks per cylinder an outcome of the engines having four valves per cylinder Single magshyneto is mounted atop the crankcase The engine had a 75 mm bore and 100 mm stroke

A derivation of the original Klemm was this very handsome KL-35 trainer powered with a 150-hp Hirth engine Thats Hans Klemm standing beside the fuselage Wing was of inverted gull design Front cockpit has been covered over

our own ultralight movement went through the same process

In 1921 an affluent gentleman from Milwaukee named William Pohl made a trip to Germany He tracked down the German World War I ace Ernst Udet (62 conshyfirmed victories) and made a busishyness proposition Hed put up the money if Udet would use his flying skill and prestige in Germany to orshyganize a company to mass-produce a light sport plane for sale in the United States

Being one of the many German

fliers who at the time werent at all sure how theyd pay next months rent Udet agreed and so Udet Flugshyzeugbau was organized in Munich

The companys first effort was an all-wood cantilever lOW-Wing sinshygle-seater of rather squarish lines Construction was started in July of 1921 in their three-person facshytory Hardly had they gotten down to serious work when some nosy ofshyficial somehow got word that someshybody was building an airplane At that time the people in charge of enforcing the treaty strictly forbade

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

any and all aircraft construction but the Udet crew apparently didnt realize this

One of Udets employees was collared by this official liquored up and questioned The employee promptly told Udet that officialdom was after their little company The little crew went into a huddle and decided To hell with the treaty In the dark of night they loaded evshyerything into a wagon made their furtive way well out into the hinshyterlands and resumed work in a chicken coop

Just a few days before their plane was finished in May of 1922 they were very happy when word reached them that the ban on construction of civil aircraft had been lifted So they proudly rolled the ship out for its maiden flight It was powered by an opposed twin-cylinder air-cooled Haacke engine of 30 hp This mill vibrated so badly that Udet wrote of the planes first hop thusly

The motor shakes the plane so badly I cant even recognize the aileshyrons Everything vibrates as though the road in the air were paved with cobblestones But I am flying-for the first time in two years

The Udet crew must somehow have improved on this situation for by 1923 the little company had also developed a similar two-seater powshyered by an upgraded 3S-hp Haacke The hoped-for mass market in the United States never materialized due to the insurmountable competishytion caused by the thousands of war surplus American military planes available at flea market prices But modest production was carried on for the European market

Its reasonable to deduce that allshywood construction was used for the good reason that in the Germany of the early 1920s such things as round and streamlined aircraft-type steel tubing and streamlined tie rods were difficult if not impossible for a very small company to obtain

The reason why the low-wing configuration was chosen began with the fact that a cantilever wing was wanted During the war Gershy

22 J U LY 2008

This American Aeromarine-Klemm sports the 4O-hp Salmson nine-cylinder rashydial engine built in France and a set of floats designed by Harold Kantner

This American-built Aeromarine-Klemm with a LeBlond engine was photoshygraphed at Floyd Bennett Field in New York around 1937 Fat airwheel tires were standard and allowed operation on rough fields sandy beaches etc Rudder top was raised to better control added horsepower

man deSigners like Junkers had pishyoneered this form of wing design so Udet had a precedent This type would need no external struts or tie rods in addition to offering the low drag necessary to get decent perforshymance from low power Making it in one piece from tip to tip would save the cost and weight of the steel connecting fittings necessary in a wing built in two or more secshytions The Druine lightplanes deshyveloped in France after World War II used this same line of reasoning by the way

Also to obtain the necessary strength the spars in the central portion of the wing would have to be fairly deep If it were attempted to mount this wing on top of the fuselage there would be problems with the weight of the necessary supporting structure and headroom for the occupants If you have ever wriggled into the front seats of a

Cessna C-38 Airmaster you will understand this perfectly The lowshywing configuration allowed the deep central portions of the Udet planes wing spars to pass under the seats andor knees of the occupants The open cockpits were easy to get into had no headroom problem and afforded excellent visibility

In the town of Bbblingen not far from the city of Stuttgart in southshywestern Germany was located the rather substantial Mercedes-Daimler works This name is well-known to all who are familiar with automoshytive and aeronautical history By around 1924 it had developed its own version of a small economishycal two-cylinder air-cooled lightshyplane engine

Like the Haacke it was of the horizontally opposed type but was rated at an almost unbelievably puny 20 hp Its cylinder displaceshyment was only S4 cubic inches and

you can best appreciate this tinishyness by recalling that the original four-cylinder 1200 cc Volkswagen engine has 73 cubic inches displaceshyment But it had excellent breathshying characteristics by reason of having two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder So what else is new you modern automobile enshygine deSigners

Also its peak-rated rpm was 3000 quite high for aircraft engines of its time It was fitted with a 3-to-1 reshyduction gear so as to drive the proshypeller at a maximum speed of 1000 rpm which was comparable to the rotational speeds of World War I rotary engines A large-diameter propeller could thus be used and this threw back a correspondingly large diameter thrust-producing column of air So it was in fact a well-thought-out approach to light airplane engine design that was quite advanced for its time And by the way the engineer in charge of its development was Dr lng hc (doctor of engineering) Ferdinand Porsche whose skill at designing small and reliable air-cooled enshygines later created the Volkswagon and Porsche automobile engines

The well-financed MercedesshyDaimler company decided to develop an airplane of its own to use this enshygine They put the project into the hands of an aeronautical engineer named Hansjurgen Hans Klemm The resulting airplane was originally called the Daimler L20 A separate organization was established to manufacture it and named Leightshyflugzeugbau Klemm GmbH or roughly Klemm Lightplane Manshyufacturing Corp The planes this firm produced thus eventually came to be known as Klemms The factory was at B6blingen

Because what actually took place happened so long ago and so far away we cannot be positive about this but its reasonable to assume that other German deSigners took note of the Udet approach to lightshyplane design Its a fact that when any designer sets about to create a new airplane he studies similar deshy

signs from other engineers draftshying boards to learn whatever he can about their poor and good ideas

Like the Udet the Klemm was of all-wood construction and was a low wing of the cantilever type But where the Udet had a modshyest span of 29 feet 1 inches the new Klemm had a long span of 40 feet 2 inches and had 215 square feet of wing area Later American lightplanes of the Cub type had around 170 square feet of wing area so you can see that the Klemm was definitely a floater Very light airplanes tip easily when landing in crosswinds so the low wing on the Klemm did much to minimize this problem If wind did tip a Klemm one wingtip skid simply contacted the ground and bumped the ship back to level position

Because of this appreciably greater span Hans Klemm decided to build the wing in three pieces a center section and two outer panshyels He paid a small penalty in the

form of the cost and weight of the necessary steel connecting fittings but gained much in convenience Each wing panel was attached with two vertical bolts and could quite readily be removed and hung snug and secure against the fuselage sides by means of small fittings proshyvided for the purpose This enabled the Klemm to be housed in a fairly narrow and inexpensive storage shed or to be towed along a road behind an automobile The rudder and horizontal tail were removed so as not to catch the wind or foul the tow car

Making light and easily managed wings removable rather than foldshyable saves a lot of complication cost and weight Some Klemm owners came to value this feature very highly

The reason for the long span had to do with a concept known to enshygineers as span loading Basically the idea is that if good takeoff and climbing ability and high ceilings

WeD for falJJI1o~R airplanes anyway we got the idea from Ponce

Its called rejuvenation and it works great with real dope finishes Spray our rejuvenator overageddope it soaks in and restores flexibility for years ofadded life It can even hide hairline cracks And no finish has the foot-deep luster of authentic polished dope

Roll back the calendar on your planes finish

800-362-3490 RandolphAircraftcom

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

but valuable cargo to and from these places more swiftly than could be done by ship spurred yet others to use modified single- and twinshyengined bombers to make incredshyibly long and daring exploratory flights to South Africa India IndoshyChina and even Australia Out of these adventures there eventually developed a vast airline system

But pilots in defeated Germany found themselves in a very differshyent situation The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles called for the destruction of Germanys military equipment Only a handful of warshysurplus planes escaped the bonfires The manufacture of new military aircraft was forbidden and severe restrictions were placed on the manufacture of and performance capabilities of civilian aircraft

On top of that their country was in the throes of runaway inflation These daunting factors combined to spark a strong interest in gliders and gliding

Many and sometimes strangeshylooking gliders appeared The method of launching them in those very early days was to find a large grassy field on the side of a hill and yank the glidshyers aloft with stretched bungee cords Flights were simply short downhill glides Soaring came later

Inevitably some pilots began to install whatever they could find in the way of very small light moshytors in their gliders so they could get airborne without having to call together enough people to form launching crews or so they could fly over their countrys relatively flat farming regions

Attaching motors to airframes not originally intended for them soon spurred the design and conshystruction of more suitable airframes Then using powerplants originally designed to really suit the requireshyments of flight led to the develshyopment of small but real aviation engines This in turn prompted deshysigners to come out with airframes designed to get the best out of these new and better powerplants Its worth noting that many years later

The Klemm monoplane was powered by this 20-hp Daimler-Mercedes two-cylinder engine Circular shape behind the propeller hub is the housshying for the 3-to-1 reduction gear Note two exhaust stacks per cylinder an outcome of the engines having four valves per cylinder Single magshyneto is mounted atop the crankcase The engine had a 75 mm bore and 100 mm stroke

A derivation of the original Klemm was this very handsome KL-35 trainer powered with a 150-hp Hirth engine Thats Hans Klemm standing beside the fuselage Wing was of inverted gull design Front cockpit has been covered over

our own ultralight movement went through the same process

In 1921 an affluent gentleman from Milwaukee named William Pohl made a trip to Germany He tracked down the German World War I ace Ernst Udet (62 conshyfirmed victories) and made a busishyness proposition Hed put up the money if Udet would use his flying skill and prestige in Germany to orshyganize a company to mass-produce a light sport plane for sale in the United States

Being one of the many German

fliers who at the time werent at all sure how theyd pay next months rent Udet agreed and so Udet Flugshyzeugbau was organized in Munich

The companys first effort was an all-wood cantilever lOW-Wing sinshygle-seater of rather squarish lines Construction was started in July of 1921 in their three-person facshytory Hardly had they gotten down to serious work when some nosy ofshyficial somehow got word that someshybody was building an airplane At that time the people in charge of enforcing the treaty strictly forbade

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

any and all aircraft construction but the Udet crew apparently didnt realize this

One of Udets employees was collared by this official liquored up and questioned The employee promptly told Udet that officialdom was after their little company The little crew went into a huddle and decided To hell with the treaty In the dark of night they loaded evshyerything into a wagon made their furtive way well out into the hinshyterlands and resumed work in a chicken coop

Just a few days before their plane was finished in May of 1922 they were very happy when word reached them that the ban on construction of civil aircraft had been lifted So they proudly rolled the ship out for its maiden flight It was powered by an opposed twin-cylinder air-cooled Haacke engine of 30 hp This mill vibrated so badly that Udet wrote of the planes first hop thusly

The motor shakes the plane so badly I cant even recognize the aileshyrons Everything vibrates as though the road in the air were paved with cobblestones But I am flying-for the first time in two years

The Udet crew must somehow have improved on this situation for by 1923 the little company had also developed a similar two-seater powshyered by an upgraded 3S-hp Haacke The hoped-for mass market in the United States never materialized due to the insurmountable competishytion caused by the thousands of war surplus American military planes available at flea market prices But modest production was carried on for the European market

Its reasonable to deduce that allshywood construction was used for the good reason that in the Germany of the early 1920s such things as round and streamlined aircraft-type steel tubing and streamlined tie rods were difficult if not impossible for a very small company to obtain

The reason why the low-wing configuration was chosen began with the fact that a cantilever wing was wanted During the war Gershy

22 J U LY 2008

This American Aeromarine-Klemm sports the 4O-hp Salmson nine-cylinder rashydial engine built in France and a set of floats designed by Harold Kantner

This American-built Aeromarine-Klemm with a LeBlond engine was photoshygraphed at Floyd Bennett Field in New York around 1937 Fat airwheel tires were standard and allowed operation on rough fields sandy beaches etc Rudder top was raised to better control added horsepower

man deSigners like Junkers had pishyoneered this form of wing design so Udet had a precedent This type would need no external struts or tie rods in addition to offering the low drag necessary to get decent perforshymance from low power Making it in one piece from tip to tip would save the cost and weight of the steel connecting fittings necessary in a wing built in two or more secshytions The Druine lightplanes deshyveloped in France after World War II used this same line of reasoning by the way

Also to obtain the necessary strength the spars in the central portion of the wing would have to be fairly deep If it were attempted to mount this wing on top of the fuselage there would be problems with the weight of the necessary supporting structure and headroom for the occupants If you have ever wriggled into the front seats of a

Cessna C-38 Airmaster you will understand this perfectly The lowshywing configuration allowed the deep central portions of the Udet planes wing spars to pass under the seats andor knees of the occupants The open cockpits were easy to get into had no headroom problem and afforded excellent visibility

In the town of Bbblingen not far from the city of Stuttgart in southshywestern Germany was located the rather substantial Mercedes-Daimler works This name is well-known to all who are familiar with automoshytive and aeronautical history By around 1924 it had developed its own version of a small economishycal two-cylinder air-cooled lightshyplane engine

Like the Haacke it was of the horizontally opposed type but was rated at an almost unbelievably puny 20 hp Its cylinder displaceshyment was only S4 cubic inches and

you can best appreciate this tinishyness by recalling that the original four-cylinder 1200 cc Volkswagen engine has 73 cubic inches displaceshyment But it had excellent breathshying characteristics by reason of having two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder So what else is new you modern automobile enshygine deSigners

Also its peak-rated rpm was 3000 quite high for aircraft engines of its time It was fitted with a 3-to-1 reshyduction gear so as to drive the proshypeller at a maximum speed of 1000 rpm which was comparable to the rotational speeds of World War I rotary engines A large-diameter propeller could thus be used and this threw back a correspondingly large diameter thrust-producing column of air So it was in fact a well-thought-out approach to light airplane engine design that was quite advanced for its time And by the way the engineer in charge of its development was Dr lng hc (doctor of engineering) Ferdinand Porsche whose skill at designing small and reliable air-cooled enshygines later created the Volkswagon and Porsche automobile engines

The well-financed MercedesshyDaimler company decided to develop an airplane of its own to use this enshygine They put the project into the hands of an aeronautical engineer named Hansjurgen Hans Klemm The resulting airplane was originally called the Daimler L20 A separate organization was established to manufacture it and named Leightshyflugzeugbau Klemm GmbH or roughly Klemm Lightplane Manshyufacturing Corp The planes this firm produced thus eventually came to be known as Klemms The factory was at B6blingen

Because what actually took place happened so long ago and so far away we cannot be positive about this but its reasonable to assume that other German deSigners took note of the Udet approach to lightshyplane design Its a fact that when any designer sets about to create a new airplane he studies similar deshy

signs from other engineers draftshying boards to learn whatever he can about their poor and good ideas

Like the Udet the Klemm was of all-wood construction and was a low wing of the cantilever type But where the Udet had a modshyest span of 29 feet 1 inches the new Klemm had a long span of 40 feet 2 inches and had 215 square feet of wing area Later American lightplanes of the Cub type had around 170 square feet of wing area so you can see that the Klemm was definitely a floater Very light airplanes tip easily when landing in crosswinds so the low wing on the Klemm did much to minimize this problem If wind did tip a Klemm one wingtip skid simply contacted the ground and bumped the ship back to level position

Because of this appreciably greater span Hans Klemm decided to build the wing in three pieces a center section and two outer panshyels He paid a small penalty in the

form of the cost and weight of the necessary steel connecting fittings but gained much in convenience Each wing panel was attached with two vertical bolts and could quite readily be removed and hung snug and secure against the fuselage sides by means of small fittings proshyvided for the purpose This enabled the Klemm to be housed in a fairly narrow and inexpensive storage shed or to be towed along a road behind an automobile The rudder and horizontal tail were removed so as not to catch the wind or foul the tow car

Making light and easily managed wings removable rather than foldshyable saves a lot of complication cost and weight Some Klemm owners came to value this feature very highly

The reason for the long span had to do with a concept known to enshygineers as span loading Basically the idea is that if good takeoff and climbing ability and high ceilings

WeD for falJJI1o~R airplanes anyway we got the idea from Ponce

Its called rejuvenation and it works great with real dope finishes Spray our rejuvenator overageddope it soaks in and restores flexibility for years ofadded life It can even hide hairline cracks And no finish has the foot-deep luster of authentic polished dope

Roll back the calendar on your planes finish

800-362-3490 RandolphAircraftcom

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

any and all aircraft construction but the Udet crew apparently didnt realize this

One of Udets employees was collared by this official liquored up and questioned The employee promptly told Udet that officialdom was after their little company The little crew went into a huddle and decided To hell with the treaty In the dark of night they loaded evshyerything into a wagon made their furtive way well out into the hinshyterlands and resumed work in a chicken coop

Just a few days before their plane was finished in May of 1922 they were very happy when word reached them that the ban on construction of civil aircraft had been lifted So they proudly rolled the ship out for its maiden flight It was powered by an opposed twin-cylinder air-cooled Haacke engine of 30 hp This mill vibrated so badly that Udet wrote of the planes first hop thusly

The motor shakes the plane so badly I cant even recognize the aileshyrons Everything vibrates as though the road in the air were paved with cobblestones But I am flying-for the first time in two years

The Udet crew must somehow have improved on this situation for by 1923 the little company had also developed a similar two-seater powshyered by an upgraded 3S-hp Haacke The hoped-for mass market in the United States never materialized due to the insurmountable competishytion caused by the thousands of war surplus American military planes available at flea market prices But modest production was carried on for the European market

Its reasonable to deduce that allshywood construction was used for the good reason that in the Germany of the early 1920s such things as round and streamlined aircraft-type steel tubing and streamlined tie rods were difficult if not impossible for a very small company to obtain

The reason why the low-wing configuration was chosen began with the fact that a cantilever wing was wanted During the war Gershy

22 J U LY 2008

This American Aeromarine-Klemm sports the 4O-hp Salmson nine-cylinder rashydial engine built in France and a set of floats designed by Harold Kantner

This American-built Aeromarine-Klemm with a LeBlond engine was photoshygraphed at Floyd Bennett Field in New York around 1937 Fat airwheel tires were standard and allowed operation on rough fields sandy beaches etc Rudder top was raised to better control added horsepower

man deSigners like Junkers had pishyoneered this form of wing design so Udet had a precedent This type would need no external struts or tie rods in addition to offering the low drag necessary to get decent perforshymance from low power Making it in one piece from tip to tip would save the cost and weight of the steel connecting fittings necessary in a wing built in two or more secshytions The Druine lightplanes deshyveloped in France after World War II used this same line of reasoning by the way

Also to obtain the necessary strength the spars in the central portion of the wing would have to be fairly deep If it were attempted to mount this wing on top of the fuselage there would be problems with the weight of the necessary supporting structure and headroom for the occupants If you have ever wriggled into the front seats of a

Cessna C-38 Airmaster you will understand this perfectly The lowshywing configuration allowed the deep central portions of the Udet planes wing spars to pass under the seats andor knees of the occupants The open cockpits were easy to get into had no headroom problem and afforded excellent visibility

In the town of Bbblingen not far from the city of Stuttgart in southshywestern Germany was located the rather substantial Mercedes-Daimler works This name is well-known to all who are familiar with automoshytive and aeronautical history By around 1924 it had developed its own version of a small economishycal two-cylinder air-cooled lightshyplane engine

Like the Haacke it was of the horizontally opposed type but was rated at an almost unbelievably puny 20 hp Its cylinder displaceshyment was only S4 cubic inches and

you can best appreciate this tinishyness by recalling that the original four-cylinder 1200 cc Volkswagen engine has 73 cubic inches displaceshyment But it had excellent breathshying characteristics by reason of having two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder So what else is new you modern automobile enshygine deSigners

Also its peak-rated rpm was 3000 quite high for aircraft engines of its time It was fitted with a 3-to-1 reshyduction gear so as to drive the proshypeller at a maximum speed of 1000 rpm which was comparable to the rotational speeds of World War I rotary engines A large-diameter propeller could thus be used and this threw back a correspondingly large diameter thrust-producing column of air So it was in fact a well-thought-out approach to light airplane engine design that was quite advanced for its time And by the way the engineer in charge of its development was Dr lng hc (doctor of engineering) Ferdinand Porsche whose skill at designing small and reliable air-cooled enshygines later created the Volkswagon and Porsche automobile engines

The well-financed MercedesshyDaimler company decided to develop an airplane of its own to use this enshygine They put the project into the hands of an aeronautical engineer named Hansjurgen Hans Klemm The resulting airplane was originally called the Daimler L20 A separate organization was established to manufacture it and named Leightshyflugzeugbau Klemm GmbH or roughly Klemm Lightplane Manshyufacturing Corp The planes this firm produced thus eventually came to be known as Klemms The factory was at B6blingen

Because what actually took place happened so long ago and so far away we cannot be positive about this but its reasonable to assume that other German deSigners took note of the Udet approach to lightshyplane design Its a fact that when any designer sets about to create a new airplane he studies similar deshy

signs from other engineers draftshying boards to learn whatever he can about their poor and good ideas

Like the Udet the Klemm was of all-wood construction and was a low wing of the cantilever type But where the Udet had a modshyest span of 29 feet 1 inches the new Klemm had a long span of 40 feet 2 inches and had 215 square feet of wing area Later American lightplanes of the Cub type had around 170 square feet of wing area so you can see that the Klemm was definitely a floater Very light airplanes tip easily when landing in crosswinds so the low wing on the Klemm did much to minimize this problem If wind did tip a Klemm one wingtip skid simply contacted the ground and bumped the ship back to level position

Because of this appreciably greater span Hans Klemm decided to build the wing in three pieces a center section and two outer panshyels He paid a small penalty in the

form of the cost and weight of the necessary steel connecting fittings but gained much in convenience Each wing panel was attached with two vertical bolts and could quite readily be removed and hung snug and secure against the fuselage sides by means of small fittings proshyvided for the purpose This enabled the Klemm to be housed in a fairly narrow and inexpensive storage shed or to be towed along a road behind an automobile The rudder and horizontal tail were removed so as not to catch the wind or foul the tow car

Making light and easily managed wings removable rather than foldshyable saves a lot of complication cost and weight Some Klemm owners came to value this feature very highly

The reason for the long span had to do with a concept known to enshygineers as span loading Basically the idea is that if good takeoff and climbing ability and high ceilings

WeD for falJJI1o~R airplanes anyway we got the idea from Ponce

Its called rejuvenation and it works great with real dope finishes Spray our rejuvenator overageddope it soaks in and restores flexibility for years ofadded life It can even hide hairline cracks And no finish has the foot-deep luster of authentic polished dope

Roll back the calendar on your planes finish

800-362-3490 RandolphAircraftcom

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

you can best appreciate this tinishyness by recalling that the original four-cylinder 1200 cc Volkswagen engine has 73 cubic inches displaceshyment But it had excellent breathshying characteristics by reason of having two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder So what else is new you modern automobile enshygine deSigners

Also its peak-rated rpm was 3000 quite high for aircraft engines of its time It was fitted with a 3-to-1 reshyduction gear so as to drive the proshypeller at a maximum speed of 1000 rpm which was comparable to the rotational speeds of World War I rotary engines A large-diameter propeller could thus be used and this threw back a correspondingly large diameter thrust-producing column of air So it was in fact a well-thought-out approach to light airplane engine design that was quite advanced for its time And by the way the engineer in charge of its development was Dr lng hc (doctor of engineering) Ferdinand Porsche whose skill at designing small and reliable air-cooled enshygines later created the Volkswagon and Porsche automobile engines

The well-financed MercedesshyDaimler company decided to develop an airplane of its own to use this enshygine They put the project into the hands of an aeronautical engineer named Hansjurgen Hans Klemm The resulting airplane was originally called the Daimler L20 A separate organization was established to manufacture it and named Leightshyflugzeugbau Klemm GmbH or roughly Klemm Lightplane Manshyufacturing Corp The planes this firm produced thus eventually came to be known as Klemms The factory was at B6blingen

Because what actually took place happened so long ago and so far away we cannot be positive about this but its reasonable to assume that other German deSigners took note of the Udet approach to lightshyplane design Its a fact that when any designer sets about to create a new airplane he studies similar deshy

signs from other engineers draftshying boards to learn whatever he can about their poor and good ideas

Like the Udet the Klemm was of all-wood construction and was a low wing of the cantilever type But where the Udet had a modshyest span of 29 feet 1 inches the new Klemm had a long span of 40 feet 2 inches and had 215 square feet of wing area Later American lightplanes of the Cub type had around 170 square feet of wing area so you can see that the Klemm was definitely a floater Very light airplanes tip easily when landing in crosswinds so the low wing on the Klemm did much to minimize this problem If wind did tip a Klemm one wingtip skid simply contacted the ground and bumped the ship back to level position

Because of this appreciably greater span Hans Klemm decided to build the wing in three pieces a center section and two outer panshyels He paid a small penalty in the

form of the cost and weight of the necessary steel connecting fittings but gained much in convenience Each wing panel was attached with two vertical bolts and could quite readily be removed and hung snug and secure against the fuselage sides by means of small fittings proshyvided for the purpose This enabled the Klemm to be housed in a fairly narrow and inexpensive storage shed or to be towed along a road behind an automobile The rudder and horizontal tail were removed so as not to catch the wind or foul the tow car

Making light and easily managed wings removable rather than foldshyable saves a lot of complication cost and weight Some Klemm owners came to value this feature very highly

The reason for the long span had to do with a concept known to enshygineers as span loading Basically the idea is that if good takeoff and climbing ability and high ceilings

WeD for falJJI1o~R airplanes anyway we got the idea from Ponce

Its called rejuvenation and it works great with real dope finishes Spray our rejuvenator overageddope it soaks in and restores flexibility for years ofadded life It can even hide hairline cracks And no finish has the foot-deep luster of authentic polished dope

Roll back the calendar on your planes finish

800-362-3490 RandolphAircraftcom

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

are wanted in a plane powered by a small engine wingspan must be quite long Read the article Wing Span - The Vital Factor in the July 1988 issue of EAA Experimenter

In early models the leading edges of the wings had false ribs between the main ones Later the leading edges were sheathed with thin plyshywood back to the front spars and in a later (1929) license-built Amershyican version to the rear spars

An odd feature was the use of pivoted wingtips for aileron conshytrol The tips pivoted in response to control stick movement You can see this clearly in the in-flight photo accompanying this article Regular ailerons were also used and the result must have been a somewhat complicated control linkage system The exact reason for the use of pivoted tips is obshyscure but could have involved the problem of adverse yaw in a light airplane of considerable wingspan The writer recalls reading someshything many years ago to the effect that it was hard to get good control stick feel with tip ailerons They were very sensitive to the location of their pivoting pOint and at high angles of deflection they could beshycome overbalanced so as to take the stick away from the pilot This feature was in time dropped in fashyvor of conventional ailerons only The wing used the thick high-lift Gottingen 387 airfoil very similar to the Gottingen 386 used in the American Ford Tri-Motor of notable load-carrying capability

Early Klemm fuselages employed wooden longerons and cross-braces the whole held true and rigid by the use of many crisscrossing wires and turnbuckles This framing was fabricshycovered The wires and many small fittings called for much hand labor so it was not long until a change was made Crosspieces were increased in number and spaced closer together and the flat-sided fuselage was sheathed with thin glued-on plyshywood that served to gusset the frame members together and impart rigid-

continued on page 37

24 JULY 2008

Cessnas fitted with retractable-wheel amphibious twin floats are nothing new in the aviation world Back in 1929 Aeromarine-Klemm in New Jershysey experimented with exactly the same idea

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Oshkosh 2008 July 28-August 3

~)EAA

The Spirit ofAviation AirVenture01g

The tt amp ltne

The history of a most remarkable engine

BY JOE HAYNES

WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE

PUBLISH CORPORATE HISTORY

PUBLISHED IN 1950 THE PRATT amp WHITNEY AIRCRAFT STORY

As antiquers we all like to talk about our particular antique or classhysic Stearman Waco Beech Cessna Stinson Howard Spartan and so on into the evening Sometimes during these stories someone will ask What engine is in herI

If theres not much of a response then the answer is a Lycoming or Continental But when the answer is a Pratt amp Whitney you have their attention What is so magishycal about that name Generally the answer is Well its an old engine company and Ive heard the name for years They build big radicalsI True but the name Pratt amp Whitshyney goes back to 1860 when two

26 JULY 2008

skilled machinists who had both worked at the Colt Pistol Factory and formed a partnership after meeting at the Phoenix Iron Works in Harfshyord Connecticut started a precishysion tool company that grew into a major tool company When they began the tool manufacturer they certainly did not envision engine production much less aircraft enshygines But their companys dedicashytion to precision gave the firm the basis for the preciSion manufacturshying they would need 65 years later

Then one day in 1925 Fred Rentshyschler a former president of Wright Aeronautical walked into Pratt amp

Whitneys Hartford Connecticut office with a letter of introduction and a proposal claiming that for $250000 he could produce a team to design and build an efficient airshycooled aircraft engine in the 400- to 500-hp range He said he knew the Navy was in the market for engines to equip 200 aircraft to outfit two aircraft carriers being built the Sarashy

toga and Lexington Rentschler beshylieved that the best airplane could only be designed around the best engine second best didnt count

At that point aircraft engines were still based on World War I deshysigns What made him think an airshycooled engine could be developed in this horsepower range and comshypete with the big Curtiss D-12 and the water-cooled V-12s being develshyoped by Wright and Packard Well the story goes back to an engineer

named George Mead George Mead was a Massashy

chusetts Institute of Technology graduate who had worked on an

aircraft engine design for the US Army Air Sershyvice during World War I and didnt believe that liquid-

cooled engines were ideal for aircraft

Those types of required enshy

gines carried too much weight

He had worked for Rentschler when

Rentschler had formed Wrigh t -Marshy

tin (later reshyorganized into

Wright Aeronautical Corporation) and produced the Hisshy

panso-Suizas and the 575-hp Wright liqshy

uid-cooled T On a side note before Rentshy

schler resigned from Wright Mead was talking of air-cooled

radial engines and was charged with redesigning the Lawrence engine Wright had brought because Lawshyrence could not produce it for the Navy George selected Andy Willshygoos an engineer who had been with him at Crane-Simplex and who had that rare ability to think with his fingertips and sense the rightness in a design Together they quickly recognized the problem with the Lawrence and redesigned it That engine evolved into the fashy

mous Wright J-5 which later powshyered the Ryan NYP Spirit of st Louis from New York to Paris in May of 1927

Mead knew more about getshyting more horsepower per pound than anyone in the engine busishyness but the Wright directors still backed the liquid-cooled designs a stance that caused Rentschler to reshysign Mead and Willgoos told Rentshyschler they would go with him if he ever got back in the engine busishyness Meads foresight was the key to any rapid expansion of aircraft engine development but he got bogged down by Wright manageshyment and their insistence on stickshying with the liquid-cooled design to challenge the Curtiss D-12

Pratt amp Whitney management reviewed Rentschlers proposal with their board of directors and looked at the market The War Deshypartment reports were negative in tone The National Advisory Comshymittee for Aeronautics Report to President Coolidge was blunt in its assessment There was no civil avishyation development following the war They consulted with Chance Vought a well-known outspoken aircraft designer who replied Hell if you can even produce an engine of 350 hp and weighing less than 650 pounds there will be a marshyket Two days later Pratt amp Whitshyney management called Rentschler and told him he had his money produce your team and we will work out a contract

Rentschler called Mead who resigned from Wright along with Willgoos They said they would come to Hartford Rentschler asked them to stay in New Jersey for the time being because he had no fashycilities as of yet They procured two drafting tables and moved them into Willgoos garage and started the design with a clean piece of paper They came up with a new engine of 400 hp that was to weigh less than 650 pounds They knew the design of the 325-hp Wright Sishymoon was complete and they had to pack in 75 more hp and not ex-

The solid master rod with one of the other eight connecting rods Installed

ceed 650 pounds A generation later when the highest-powered radial air-cooled engines delivered power almost 10 times the 400 hp Mead and Willgoos were seeking in 1925 aircraft engine men would speak of the configuration and design that emerged from that piece of paper as clean as a hounds tooth

The foremost problem facing Mead and Willgoos was solving crankshaft speeds A basic limitashytion of previous radial engines had been a maximum crankshaft speed of 1800 rpm Solid crankshafts had been used with split masshyter rods At shaft speeds beyond 1800 rpm the master rod tended to pull apart and damage the bear-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 2 7

PHOTOS EAA LIBRARY PRATI amp WHITNEY

Three of the first aircraft equipped with the Wasp were the Wright F3W-l Apache The Curtiss F6C-4 Hawk and the Boeing XF2-B-l fighter The Wright was built by Wright Aeronautical and equipped with their Wright P-l engine which soon proved to be unsatisfactory Since the airframe was already built to accept a radial engine the Apache was modified to test the brand new Pratt amp Whitney Wasp

ing and then the engine would than the 120 pounds that was reshydisintegrate Mead knew he had garded as good under the designs to come up with a way of achievshy of the period Mead and Willgoos ing a considerably higher brake decided that the required guaranshymean effective pressure coverage teed power they were aiming for (pressure force against the piston) could be achieved with an engine

2 8 JULY 2008

The two-piece crankshaft of the Wasp Combined with the one-piece master rod and the industry-leading metallurgical engineering that created long lasting bearings and valves the Pratt amp Whitney Wasp raised the bar for all aircraft engines that were to follow after it s introduction to the industry in 1926

of 1344 cubic inches displacement on the basis of 125 pounds brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) and 1900 rpm That meant the average engine would have to be capable of 420 hp or 130 pounds BMEP to assure a safe margin above the 400-hp guarantee They also had to consider that for military use the engine would be forced in dives to run at 2400 rpm as there were no controllable-pitch propelshylers in 1925

In 1920 Mead had designed an engine the R-1 for the Army Air Service on which he had reversed the usual procedure splitting the crankshaft and employing a solid master rod He decided on this proshycedure because it meant less weight to counterbalance He also thought it might hold the key to permitting the higher crankshaft speeds He also decided to change the crankshycase from a casting to a forging and split it through the plane of the cylshyinders so the same forging could be used for both halves With the two halves they could be slipped over the ends of the crankshaft when the master link and rods were asshysembled This resulted in a strong light construction but more imshyportantly the load was divided unishyformly between the front and rear main bearing The higher power could be obtained with higher roshy

The two-piece crankcase

tational speeds and sturdier conshystruction for dependability and the l344-cubic-inch displacement would weigh no more than the Sishymoons l176-cubic-inch engine A cylinder design was developed usshying an all-steel barrel with the coolshying fins machined from the solid casting General practice up to this time had been to integrally cast an aluminum cylinder head and barrel with a shrunk-in steel sleeve Mead devised a rotary induction system that made possible the use of one carburetor instead of three and by gearing up the impeller the engine could later be supercharged

Mead put Willgoos to work on the arrangements for the valves finning rocker boxes and pushshyrods He used Meads tulip valve design which had solved the valve burning on the Lawrence engine and designed the rocker box as an integral part of the cylinder head casting along with telescoping pushrod covers Mead had Willgoos design the rear accessory section which made it possible to service the accessories without disassemshybling the engine They called this the modern tri-section engine consisting of the nose power and accessory sections This design was entirely developed on two drafting tables in Willgoos garage in New Jersey during May while he was waiting to hear from Rentschler about facilities in Hartford

In Hartford Rentschler was working with Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company to obtain shop space for the engine that Mead and Willgoos

The power section of the engine was built as a separate unit from the accessory section giving the engine greater maintainability

were designing in Willgoos garage in Montclair New Jersey The only space available was in the Pope Hartshyford building that Pratt amp Whitney had leased to local tobacco growshyers for storage Rentschler spent the month of June getting tons of tobacco moved and succeeded in clearing a 3OOO-square-foot space where they would put their modest office and layout the experimental machine shop where the first enshygine was built

On July 14 1925 Rentschler summoned Mead and Willgoos to Hartford Several old metal cutshyters who had previously been with Wright recognized them as they arshyrived in town and were curious as

to why these engine men were in Hartford Mead let them know that something was up but he needed their silence He told them they would be the first to know when the news broke They were in the market for workers but they still had to formalize a contract with Pratt amp Whitney That afternoon a formal contract was signed between Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company as a subsidiary of Niles-Bement-Pond and the new Pratt amp Whitney Airshycraft Company with Rentschler as president and Mead as vice presishydent of engineering Their objective was the designing constructing testing and experimenting with aeroplane engines aeroplanes hyshydroplanes and if successful to proshyceed with the production thereof The spelling of aeroplane was not the choice of Rentschler or Mead but of the lawyers

The financial details closely folshylowed those originally proposed by Rentschler $250000 to carry the work through the testing of the first engine and if the engine was promshyising $1 million for further develshyopment and production tooling Rentschler insisted in the contract that neither Niles-Bement-Pond nor Pratt amp Whitney Tool could have any voice in the management of the new company In addition to Rentschler and Mead three outshyside directors Col Leonard Horner Sanford Etherington and Edward Deeds were chosen They had been key aviation figures in World War I and recognized the need for nashytional air power

Mead contacted the engine men he had met at the train station and along with a couple of engineers he called from Montclair and a tool factory man who wanted to join the new company work was begun on the new engine Mead cut a hole in his office wall which served as the drawing release to Don Brown who would run the shop The designshyers were polishing up the design that had emerged from Willgoos garage Brown and the engine men took handcarts and started the sur-

VINTAGE AIRPLA N E 29

vey of Pratt amp Whitney Tool which they found very well-equipped It appeared that only certain gears would require subcontracting for the first engine

John Burrop was one of the old metal cutters from the train stashytion meeting and Brown put him in charge of the machine shop Beshytween them they secured two lathes two big milling machines a Lucas boring mill external grinders intershynal grinders benches drills layout plates etc The routine was simple Mead released the drawing through the hole to Brown who doubled as purchasing agent who then passed them to Burrop who had built a platform in the center of the shop and assigned the tasks for building the various engine parts By October the blueprints were flying through the hole as several more designers had left Wright and joined Mead and Willgoos

Willgoos brother Bill Willgoos joined them and was in charge of the assembly of the first engine No name had been selected for the engine Mrs Rentschler thought it should be in the bee line as the place resembled a beehive She seshylected Wasp which stuck Bill and his small crew set Christmas as the target date for completing the assembly Several days earlier Col Deeds had cabled from Havana saying that if the engine was comshypleted by Christmas he would give each member of the organization a turkey There were still some parts to be fabricated and the engine was far from assembly When the lunch hour came the day the cable arrived the little shop emptied and everyone went into the Hartford market and ordered a turkey with all the trimshymings and charged it to Col Deeds They then called on Rentschler and told him what they had done They were grinning and so was Rentshyschler when he reminded them that the colonel had stipulated that the engine must be completely assemshybled Later the turkeys were turned over to Mrs Rentschler and Mead who prepared the trimmings Late

30 JULY 2008

at night on December 24 they passed out the baskets as the men left the shop Sitting on the engine stand was the first Wasp all assemshybled and ready for the test stand In just six months the engine had progressed from scratch to a comshypleted assembly

Mead now had to put into practice the adage of this old engine professor of MIT to start her up and see why she didnt go The Wasp weighed in at just under 650 pounds and as he and Andy looked at her they knew it looked right

Mead wanted to start an immedishyate informal test prior to the Navy test and felt it should start at 360 hp He was finally coaxed into going for 380 hp if it started The Wasp started all right It took the 380 hp in stride and so smoothly that all skepticism vanished Why not go for 400 hp Again under an informal test the Wasp delivered 410 hp On the third test the Wasp hit 425 hp and ran clean

During the next two months the Wasp underwent continual informal runs in preparation for the formal Navy qualification test In the meanshytime the second Wasp was almost assembled and four more were movshying from rough to finished parts to asshysembly Also during this time Mead and Willgoos were far along with the design of a new engine the Hornet which displaced 1690 cubic inches and was aimed at 525 hp at 1900 rpm Many parts of the Wasp were intershychangeable with the Hornet which was remarkable in those days

The Navy qualification test started March 4 1926 with Willgoos seshylected as the company observer In those days a qualification type test was set for only SO hours compared to the 150 hours of continuous inshytensive type testing required later It could also be run in a series of perishyods at the end of any of which you could go into the cell and inspect the engine change plugs make adshyjustments or repairs or even tear the engine down The only requirement was that after SO hours of running time the engine would still be in fairly good shape

The No1 Wasp swept through the SO-hour test measuring at full throtshytle between 410 and 420 hp The fishynal reading taken by the observers their 221st showed 1890 rpm and 415 hp The Navy sent its congratulashytions and asked that this Wasp be earshymarked for an earthbound existence It was retired and placed on permashynent exhibit in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia where it resides toshyday It has never flown In later years Mrs Mead remarked that it was a pity this Wasp was never allowed to fly after performing so well and being the engine that ushered in Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft and its slogan Deshypendable Engines She also said that the engine still smelled of the toshybacco that hung in the air of the exshyperimental shop that Christmas Eve when the engine sat gleaming and finished on the engine stand

On May 11 1926 the Navy issued Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft a check in the amount of $1538592 as payshyment for the first Wasp On April I Pratt amp Whitney Tool advanced the $1 million to proceed with proshyduction tooling as they had risked only $202713 29 on the experishymental engines Rentschlers plan and Meads design offered a fertile investment opportunity The secshyond Wasp took to the air in a Wright Apache (F3W-l) which had been modified by Chance Vought Within six months the Wasp was flown in planes never designed to take its power and the Wasp demonstrated power that made possible the aircraft speed rate of climb performance at altitude and reliability that revolushytionized American aviation

The very first Pratt amp Whitney Wasp engine proved to be capable of producing 380 hp on its first test run On its third test run it easily proshyduced 425 hp Upon completion of its SO-hour test run for the US Navy the service asked that the prototype engine be preserved It was shipped to the Franklin Institute in Philashydelphia in its short test lifetime it never flew on an airframe but thoushysands of its brethren did on commershycial and military aircraft

Oshkosh 2008 July 28-August 3

~)EAA

The Spirit ofAviation AirVenture01g

The tt amp ltne

The history of a most remarkable engine

BY JOE HAYNES

WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE

PUBLISH CORPORATE HISTORY

PUBLISHED IN 1950 THE PRATT amp WHITNEY AIRCRAFT STORY

As antiquers we all like to talk about our particular antique or classhysic Stearman Waco Beech Cessna Stinson Howard Spartan and so on into the evening Sometimes during these stories someone will ask What engine is in herI

If theres not much of a response then the answer is a Lycoming or Continental But when the answer is a Pratt amp Whitney you have their attention What is so magishycal about that name Generally the answer is Well its an old engine company and Ive heard the name for years They build big radicalsI True but the name Pratt amp Whitshyney goes back to 1860 when two

26 JULY 2008

skilled machinists who had both worked at the Colt Pistol Factory and formed a partnership after meeting at the Phoenix Iron Works in Harfshyord Connecticut started a precishysion tool company that grew into a major tool company When they began the tool manufacturer they certainly did not envision engine production much less aircraft enshygines But their companys dedicashytion to precision gave the firm the basis for the preciSion manufacturshying they would need 65 years later

Then one day in 1925 Fred Rentshyschler a former president of Wright Aeronautical walked into Pratt amp

Whitneys Hartford Connecticut office with a letter of introduction and a proposal claiming that for $250000 he could produce a team to design and build an efficient airshycooled aircraft engine in the 400- to 500-hp range He said he knew the Navy was in the market for engines to equip 200 aircraft to outfit two aircraft carriers being built the Sarashy

toga and Lexington Rentschler beshylieved that the best airplane could only be designed around the best engine second best didnt count

At that point aircraft engines were still based on World War I deshysigns What made him think an airshycooled engine could be developed in this horsepower range and comshypete with the big Curtiss D-12 and the water-cooled V-12s being develshyoped by Wright and Packard Well the story goes back to an engineer

named George Mead George Mead was a Massashy

chusetts Institute of Technology graduate who had worked on an

aircraft engine design for the US Army Air Sershyvice during World War I and didnt believe that liquid-

cooled engines were ideal for aircraft

Those types of required enshy

gines carried too much weight

He had worked for Rentschler when

Rentschler had formed Wrigh t -Marshy

tin (later reshyorganized into

Wright Aeronautical Corporation) and produced the Hisshy

panso-Suizas and the 575-hp Wright liqshy

uid-cooled T On a side note before Rentshy

schler resigned from Wright Mead was talking of air-cooled

radial engines and was charged with redesigning the Lawrence engine Wright had brought because Lawshyrence could not produce it for the Navy George selected Andy Willshygoos an engineer who had been with him at Crane-Simplex and who had that rare ability to think with his fingertips and sense the rightness in a design Together they quickly recognized the problem with the Lawrence and redesigned it That engine evolved into the fashy

mous Wright J-5 which later powshyered the Ryan NYP Spirit of st Louis from New York to Paris in May of 1927

Mead knew more about getshyting more horsepower per pound than anyone in the engine busishyness but the Wright directors still backed the liquid-cooled designs a stance that caused Rentschler to reshysign Mead and Willgoos told Rentshyschler they would go with him if he ever got back in the engine busishyness Meads foresight was the key to any rapid expansion of aircraft engine development but he got bogged down by Wright manageshyment and their insistence on stickshying with the liquid-cooled design to challenge the Curtiss D-12

Pratt amp Whitney management reviewed Rentschlers proposal with their board of directors and looked at the market The War Deshypartment reports were negative in tone The National Advisory Comshymittee for Aeronautics Report to President Coolidge was blunt in its assessment There was no civil avishyation development following the war They consulted with Chance Vought a well-known outspoken aircraft designer who replied Hell if you can even produce an engine of 350 hp and weighing less than 650 pounds there will be a marshyket Two days later Pratt amp Whitshyney management called Rentschler and told him he had his money produce your team and we will work out a contract

Rentschler called Mead who resigned from Wright along with Willgoos They said they would come to Hartford Rentschler asked them to stay in New Jersey for the time being because he had no fashycilities as of yet They procured two drafting tables and moved them into Willgoos garage and started the design with a clean piece of paper They came up with a new engine of 400 hp that was to weigh less than 650 pounds They knew the design of the 325-hp Wright Sishymoon was complete and they had to pack in 75 more hp and not ex-

The solid master rod with one of the other eight connecting rods Installed

ceed 650 pounds A generation later when the highest-powered radial air-cooled engines delivered power almost 10 times the 400 hp Mead and Willgoos were seeking in 1925 aircraft engine men would speak of the configuration and design that emerged from that piece of paper as clean as a hounds tooth

The foremost problem facing Mead and Willgoos was solving crankshaft speeds A basic limitashytion of previous radial engines had been a maximum crankshaft speed of 1800 rpm Solid crankshafts had been used with split masshyter rods At shaft speeds beyond 1800 rpm the master rod tended to pull apart and damage the bear-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 2 7

PHOTOS EAA LIBRARY PRATI amp WHITNEY

Three of the first aircraft equipped with the Wasp were the Wright F3W-l Apache The Curtiss F6C-4 Hawk and the Boeing XF2-B-l fighter The Wright was built by Wright Aeronautical and equipped with their Wright P-l engine which soon proved to be unsatisfactory Since the airframe was already built to accept a radial engine the Apache was modified to test the brand new Pratt amp Whitney Wasp

ing and then the engine would than the 120 pounds that was reshydisintegrate Mead knew he had garded as good under the designs to come up with a way of achievshy of the period Mead and Willgoos ing a considerably higher brake decided that the required guaranshymean effective pressure coverage teed power they were aiming for (pressure force against the piston) could be achieved with an engine

2 8 JULY 2008

The two-piece crankshaft of the Wasp Combined with the one-piece master rod and the industry-leading metallurgical engineering that created long lasting bearings and valves the Pratt amp Whitney Wasp raised the bar for all aircraft engines that were to follow after it s introduction to the industry in 1926

of 1344 cubic inches displacement on the basis of 125 pounds brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) and 1900 rpm That meant the average engine would have to be capable of 420 hp or 130 pounds BMEP to assure a safe margin above the 400-hp guarantee They also had to consider that for military use the engine would be forced in dives to run at 2400 rpm as there were no controllable-pitch propelshylers in 1925

In 1920 Mead had designed an engine the R-1 for the Army Air Service on which he had reversed the usual procedure splitting the crankshaft and employing a solid master rod He decided on this proshycedure because it meant less weight to counterbalance He also thought it might hold the key to permitting the higher crankshaft speeds He also decided to change the crankshycase from a casting to a forging and split it through the plane of the cylshyinders so the same forging could be used for both halves With the two halves they could be slipped over the ends of the crankshaft when the master link and rods were asshysembled This resulted in a strong light construction but more imshyportantly the load was divided unishyformly between the front and rear main bearing The higher power could be obtained with higher roshy

The two-piece crankcase

tational speeds and sturdier conshystruction for dependability and the l344-cubic-inch displacement would weigh no more than the Sishymoons l176-cubic-inch engine A cylinder design was developed usshying an all-steel barrel with the coolshying fins machined from the solid casting General practice up to this time had been to integrally cast an aluminum cylinder head and barrel with a shrunk-in steel sleeve Mead devised a rotary induction system that made possible the use of one carburetor instead of three and by gearing up the impeller the engine could later be supercharged

Mead put Willgoos to work on the arrangements for the valves finning rocker boxes and pushshyrods He used Meads tulip valve design which had solved the valve burning on the Lawrence engine and designed the rocker box as an integral part of the cylinder head casting along with telescoping pushrod covers Mead had Willgoos design the rear accessory section which made it possible to service the accessories without disassemshybling the engine They called this the modern tri-section engine consisting of the nose power and accessory sections This design was entirely developed on two drafting tables in Willgoos garage in New Jersey during May while he was waiting to hear from Rentschler about facilities in Hartford

In Hartford Rentschler was working with Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company to obtain shop space for the engine that Mead and Willgoos

The power section of the engine was built as a separate unit from the accessory section giving the engine greater maintainability

were designing in Willgoos garage in Montclair New Jersey The only space available was in the Pope Hartshyford building that Pratt amp Whitney had leased to local tobacco growshyers for storage Rentschler spent the month of June getting tons of tobacco moved and succeeded in clearing a 3OOO-square-foot space where they would put their modest office and layout the experimental machine shop where the first enshygine was built

On July 14 1925 Rentschler summoned Mead and Willgoos to Hartford Several old metal cutshyters who had previously been with Wright recognized them as they arshyrived in town and were curious as

to why these engine men were in Hartford Mead let them know that something was up but he needed their silence He told them they would be the first to know when the news broke They were in the market for workers but they still had to formalize a contract with Pratt amp Whitney That afternoon a formal contract was signed between Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company as a subsidiary of Niles-Bement-Pond and the new Pratt amp Whitney Airshycraft Company with Rentschler as president and Mead as vice presishydent of engineering Their objective was the designing constructing testing and experimenting with aeroplane engines aeroplanes hyshydroplanes and if successful to proshyceed with the production thereof The spelling of aeroplane was not the choice of Rentschler or Mead but of the lawyers

The financial details closely folshylowed those originally proposed by Rentschler $250000 to carry the work through the testing of the first engine and if the engine was promshyising $1 million for further develshyopment and production tooling Rentschler insisted in the contract that neither Niles-Bement-Pond nor Pratt amp Whitney Tool could have any voice in the management of the new company In addition to Rentschler and Mead three outshyside directors Col Leonard Horner Sanford Etherington and Edward Deeds were chosen They had been key aviation figures in World War I and recognized the need for nashytional air power

Mead contacted the engine men he had met at the train station and along with a couple of engineers he called from Montclair and a tool factory man who wanted to join the new company work was begun on the new engine Mead cut a hole in his office wall which served as the drawing release to Don Brown who would run the shop The designshyers were polishing up the design that had emerged from Willgoos garage Brown and the engine men took handcarts and started the sur-

VINTAGE AIRPLA N E 29

vey of Pratt amp Whitney Tool which they found very well-equipped It appeared that only certain gears would require subcontracting for the first engine

John Burrop was one of the old metal cutters from the train stashytion meeting and Brown put him in charge of the machine shop Beshytween them they secured two lathes two big milling machines a Lucas boring mill external grinders intershynal grinders benches drills layout plates etc The routine was simple Mead released the drawing through the hole to Brown who doubled as purchasing agent who then passed them to Burrop who had built a platform in the center of the shop and assigned the tasks for building the various engine parts By October the blueprints were flying through the hole as several more designers had left Wright and joined Mead and Willgoos

Willgoos brother Bill Willgoos joined them and was in charge of the assembly of the first engine No name had been selected for the engine Mrs Rentschler thought it should be in the bee line as the place resembled a beehive She seshylected Wasp which stuck Bill and his small crew set Christmas as the target date for completing the assembly Several days earlier Col Deeds had cabled from Havana saying that if the engine was comshypleted by Christmas he would give each member of the organization a turkey There were still some parts to be fabricated and the engine was far from assembly When the lunch hour came the day the cable arrived the little shop emptied and everyone went into the Hartford market and ordered a turkey with all the trimshymings and charged it to Col Deeds They then called on Rentschler and told him what they had done They were grinning and so was Rentshyschler when he reminded them that the colonel had stipulated that the engine must be completely assemshybled Later the turkeys were turned over to Mrs Rentschler and Mead who prepared the trimmings Late

30 JULY 2008

at night on December 24 they passed out the baskets as the men left the shop Sitting on the engine stand was the first Wasp all assemshybled and ready for the test stand In just six months the engine had progressed from scratch to a comshypleted assembly

Mead now had to put into practice the adage of this old engine professor of MIT to start her up and see why she didnt go The Wasp weighed in at just under 650 pounds and as he and Andy looked at her they knew it looked right

Mead wanted to start an immedishyate informal test prior to the Navy test and felt it should start at 360 hp He was finally coaxed into going for 380 hp if it started The Wasp started all right It took the 380 hp in stride and so smoothly that all skepticism vanished Why not go for 400 hp Again under an informal test the Wasp delivered 410 hp On the third test the Wasp hit 425 hp and ran clean

During the next two months the Wasp underwent continual informal runs in preparation for the formal Navy qualification test In the meanshytime the second Wasp was almost assembled and four more were movshying from rough to finished parts to asshysembly Also during this time Mead and Willgoos were far along with the design of a new engine the Hornet which displaced 1690 cubic inches and was aimed at 525 hp at 1900 rpm Many parts of the Wasp were intershychangeable with the Hornet which was remarkable in those days

The Navy qualification test started March 4 1926 with Willgoos seshylected as the company observer In those days a qualification type test was set for only SO hours compared to the 150 hours of continuous inshytensive type testing required later It could also be run in a series of perishyods at the end of any of which you could go into the cell and inspect the engine change plugs make adshyjustments or repairs or even tear the engine down The only requirement was that after SO hours of running time the engine would still be in fairly good shape

The No1 Wasp swept through the SO-hour test measuring at full throtshytle between 410 and 420 hp The fishynal reading taken by the observers their 221st showed 1890 rpm and 415 hp The Navy sent its congratulashytions and asked that this Wasp be earshymarked for an earthbound existence It was retired and placed on permashynent exhibit in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia where it resides toshyday It has never flown In later years Mrs Mead remarked that it was a pity this Wasp was never allowed to fly after performing so well and being the engine that ushered in Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft and its slogan Deshypendable Engines She also said that the engine still smelled of the toshybacco that hung in the air of the exshyperimental shop that Christmas Eve when the engine sat gleaming and finished on the engine stand

On May 11 1926 the Navy issued Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft a check in the amount of $1538592 as payshyment for the first Wasp On April I Pratt amp Whitney Tool advanced the $1 million to proceed with proshyduction tooling as they had risked only $202713 29 on the experishymental engines Rentschlers plan and Meads design offered a fertile investment opportunity The secshyond Wasp took to the air in a Wright Apache (F3W-l) which had been modified by Chance Vought Within six months the Wasp was flown in planes never designed to take its power and the Wasp demonstrated power that made possible the aircraft speed rate of climb performance at altitude and reliability that revolushytionized American aviation

The very first Pratt amp Whitney Wasp engine proved to be capable of producing 380 hp on its first test run On its third test run it easily proshyduced 425 hp Upon completion of its SO-hour test run for the US Navy the service asked that the prototype engine be preserved It was shipped to the Franklin Institute in Philashydelphia in its short test lifetime it never flew on an airframe but thoushysands of its brethren did on commershycial and military aircraft

The tt amp ltne

The history of a most remarkable engine

BY JOE HAYNES

WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE

PUBLISH CORPORATE HISTORY

PUBLISHED IN 1950 THE PRATT amp WHITNEY AIRCRAFT STORY

As antiquers we all like to talk about our particular antique or classhysic Stearman Waco Beech Cessna Stinson Howard Spartan and so on into the evening Sometimes during these stories someone will ask What engine is in herI

If theres not much of a response then the answer is a Lycoming or Continental But when the answer is a Pratt amp Whitney you have their attention What is so magishycal about that name Generally the answer is Well its an old engine company and Ive heard the name for years They build big radicalsI True but the name Pratt amp Whitshyney goes back to 1860 when two

26 JULY 2008

skilled machinists who had both worked at the Colt Pistol Factory and formed a partnership after meeting at the Phoenix Iron Works in Harfshyord Connecticut started a precishysion tool company that grew into a major tool company When they began the tool manufacturer they certainly did not envision engine production much less aircraft enshygines But their companys dedicashytion to precision gave the firm the basis for the preciSion manufacturshying they would need 65 years later

Then one day in 1925 Fred Rentshyschler a former president of Wright Aeronautical walked into Pratt amp

Whitneys Hartford Connecticut office with a letter of introduction and a proposal claiming that for $250000 he could produce a team to design and build an efficient airshycooled aircraft engine in the 400- to 500-hp range He said he knew the Navy was in the market for engines to equip 200 aircraft to outfit two aircraft carriers being built the Sarashy

toga and Lexington Rentschler beshylieved that the best airplane could only be designed around the best engine second best didnt count

At that point aircraft engines were still based on World War I deshysigns What made him think an airshycooled engine could be developed in this horsepower range and comshypete with the big Curtiss D-12 and the water-cooled V-12s being develshyoped by Wright and Packard Well the story goes back to an engineer

named George Mead George Mead was a Massashy

chusetts Institute of Technology graduate who had worked on an

aircraft engine design for the US Army Air Sershyvice during World War I and didnt believe that liquid-

cooled engines were ideal for aircraft

Those types of required enshy

gines carried too much weight

He had worked for Rentschler when

Rentschler had formed Wrigh t -Marshy

tin (later reshyorganized into

Wright Aeronautical Corporation) and produced the Hisshy

panso-Suizas and the 575-hp Wright liqshy

uid-cooled T On a side note before Rentshy

schler resigned from Wright Mead was talking of air-cooled

radial engines and was charged with redesigning the Lawrence engine Wright had brought because Lawshyrence could not produce it for the Navy George selected Andy Willshygoos an engineer who had been with him at Crane-Simplex and who had that rare ability to think with his fingertips and sense the rightness in a design Together they quickly recognized the problem with the Lawrence and redesigned it That engine evolved into the fashy

mous Wright J-5 which later powshyered the Ryan NYP Spirit of st Louis from New York to Paris in May of 1927

Mead knew more about getshyting more horsepower per pound than anyone in the engine busishyness but the Wright directors still backed the liquid-cooled designs a stance that caused Rentschler to reshysign Mead and Willgoos told Rentshyschler they would go with him if he ever got back in the engine busishyness Meads foresight was the key to any rapid expansion of aircraft engine development but he got bogged down by Wright manageshyment and their insistence on stickshying with the liquid-cooled design to challenge the Curtiss D-12

Pratt amp Whitney management reviewed Rentschlers proposal with their board of directors and looked at the market The War Deshypartment reports were negative in tone The National Advisory Comshymittee for Aeronautics Report to President Coolidge was blunt in its assessment There was no civil avishyation development following the war They consulted with Chance Vought a well-known outspoken aircraft designer who replied Hell if you can even produce an engine of 350 hp and weighing less than 650 pounds there will be a marshyket Two days later Pratt amp Whitshyney management called Rentschler and told him he had his money produce your team and we will work out a contract

Rentschler called Mead who resigned from Wright along with Willgoos They said they would come to Hartford Rentschler asked them to stay in New Jersey for the time being because he had no fashycilities as of yet They procured two drafting tables and moved them into Willgoos garage and started the design with a clean piece of paper They came up with a new engine of 400 hp that was to weigh less than 650 pounds They knew the design of the 325-hp Wright Sishymoon was complete and they had to pack in 75 more hp and not ex-

The solid master rod with one of the other eight connecting rods Installed

ceed 650 pounds A generation later when the highest-powered radial air-cooled engines delivered power almost 10 times the 400 hp Mead and Willgoos were seeking in 1925 aircraft engine men would speak of the configuration and design that emerged from that piece of paper as clean as a hounds tooth

The foremost problem facing Mead and Willgoos was solving crankshaft speeds A basic limitashytion of previous radial engines had been a maximum crankshaft speed of 1800 rpm Solid crankshafts had been used with split masshyter rods At shaft speeds beyond 1800 rpm the master rod tended to pull apart and damage the bear-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 2 7

PHOTOS EAA LIBRARY PRATI amp WHITNEY

Three of the first aircraft equipped with the Wasp were the Wright F3W-l Apache The Curtiss F6C-4 Hawk and the Boeing XF2-B-l fighter The Wright was built by Wright Aeronautical and equipped with their Wright P-l engine which soon proved to be unsatisfactory Since the airframe was already built to accept a radial engine the Apache was modified to test the brand new Pratt amp Whitney Wasp

ing and then the engine would than the 120 pounds that was reshydisintegrate Mead knew he had garded as good under the designs to come up with a way of achievshy of the period Mead and Willgoos ing a considerably higher brake decided that the required guaranshymean effective pressure coverage teed power they were aiming for (pressure force against the piston) could be achieved with an engine

2 8 JULY 2008

The two-piece crankshaft of the Wasp Combined with the one-piece master rod and the industry-leading metallurgical engineering that created long lasting bearings and valves the Pratt amp Whitney Wasp raised the bar for all aircraft engines that were to follow after it s introduction to the industry in 1926

of 1344 cubic inches displacement on the basis of 125 pounds brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) and 1900 rpm That meant the average engine would have to be capable of 420 hp or 130 pounds BMEP to assure a safe margin above the 400-hp guarantee They also had to consider that for military use the engine would be forced in dives to run at 2400 rpm as there were no controllable-pitch propelshylers in 1925

In 1920 Mead had designed an engine the R-1 for the Army Air Service on which he had reversed the usual procedure splitting the crankshaft and employing a solid master rod He decided on this proshycedure because it meant less weight to counterbalance He also thought it might hold the key to permitting the higher crankshaft speeds He also decided to change the crankshycase from a casting to a forging and split it through the plane of the cylshyinders so the same forging could be used for both halves With the two halves they could be slipped over the ends of the crankshaft when the master link and rods were asshysembled This resulted in a strong light construction but more imshyportantly the load was divided unishyformly between the front and rear main bearing The higher power could be obtained with higher roshy

The two-piece crankcase

tational speeds and sturdier conshystruction for dependability and the l344-cubic-inch displacement would weigh no more than the Sishymoons l176-cubic-inch engine A cylinder design was developed usshying an all-steel barrel with the coolshying fins machined from the solid casting General practice up to this time had been to integrally cast an aluminum cylinder head and barrel with a shrunk-in steel sleeve Mead devised a rotary induction system that made possible the use of one carburetor instead of three and by gearing up the impeller the engine could later be supercharged

Mead put Willgoos to work on the arrangements for the valves finning rocker boxes and pushshyrods He used Meads tulip valve design which had solved the valve burning on the Lawrence engine and designed the rocker box as an integral part of the cylinder head casting along with telescoping pushrod covers Mead had Willgoos design the rear accessory section which made it possible to service the accessories without disassemshybling the engine They called this the modern tri-section engine consisting of the nose power and accessory sections This design was entirely developed on two drafting tables in Willgoos garage in New Jersey during May while he was waiting to hear from Rentschler about facilities in Hartford

In Hartford Rentschler was working with Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company to obtain shop space for the engine that Mead and Willgoos

The power section of the engine was built as a separate unit from the accessory section giving the engine greater maintainability

were designing in Willgoos garage in Montclair New Jersey The only space available was in the Pope Hartshyford building that Pratt amp Whitney had leased to local tobacco growshyers for storage Rentschler spent the month of June getting tons of tobacco moved and succeeded in clearing a 3OOO-square-foot space where they would put their modest office and layout the experimental machine shop where the first enshygine was built

On July 14 1925 Rentschler summoned Mead and Willgoos to Hartford Several old metal cutshyters who had previously been with Wright recognized them as they arshyrived in town and were curious as

to why these engine men were in Hartford Mead let them know that something was up but he needed their silence He told them they would be the first to know when the news broke They were in the market for workers but they still had to formalize a contract with Pratt amp Whitney That afternoon a formal contract was signed between Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company as a subsidiary of Niles-Bement-Pond and the new Pratt amp Whitney Airshycraft Company with Rentschler as president and Mead as vice presishydent of engineering Their objective was the designing constructing testing and experimenting with aeroplane engines aeroplanes hyshydroplanes and if successful to proshyceed with the production thereof The spelling of aeroplane was not the choice of Rentschler or Mead but of the lawyers

The financial details closely folshylowed those originally proposed by Rentschler $250000 to carry the work through the testing of the first engine and if the engine was promshyising $1 million for further develshyopment and production tooling Rentschler insisted in the contract that neither Niles-Bement-Pond nor Pratt amp Whitney Tool could have any voice in the management of the new company In addition to Rentschler and Mead three outshyside directors Col Leonard Horner Sanford Etherington and Edward Deeds were chosen They had been key aviation figures in World War I and recognized the need for nashytional air power

Mead contacted the engine men he had met at the train station and along with a couple of engineers he called from Montclair and a tool factory man who wanted to join the new company work was begun on the new engine Mead cut a hole in his office wall which served as the drawing release to Don Brown who would run the shop The designshyers were polishing up the design that had emerged from Willgoos garage Brown and the engine men took handcarts and started the sur-

VINTAGE AIRPLA N E 29

vey of Pratt amp Whitney Tool which they found very well-equipped It appeared that only certain gears would require subcontracting for the first engine

John Burrop was one of the old metal cutters from the train stashytion meeting and Brown put him in charge of the machine shop Beshytween them they secured two lathes two big milling machines a Lucas boring mill external grinders intershynal grinders benches drills layout plates etc The routine was simple Mead released the drawing through the hole to Brown who doubled as purchasing agent who then passed them to Burrop who had built a platform in the center of the shop and assigned the tasks for building the various engine parts By October the blueprints were flying through the hole as several more designers had left Wright and joined Mead and Willgoos

Willgoos brother Bill Willgoos joined them and was in charge of the assembly of the first engine No name had been selected for the engine Mrs Rentschler thought it should be in the bee line as the place resembled a beehive She seshylected Wasp which stuck Bill and his small crew set Christmas as the target date for completing the assembly Several days earlier Col Deeds had cabled from Havana saying that if the engine was comshypleted by Christmas he would give each member of the organization a turkey There were still some parts to be fabricated and the engine was far from assembly When the lunch hour came the day the cable arrived the little shop emptied and everyone went into the Hartford market and ordered a turkey with all the trimshymings and charged it to Col Deeds They then called on Rentschler and told him what they had done They were grinning and so was Rentshyschler when he reminded them that the colonel had stipulated that the engine must be completely assemshybled Later the turkeys were turned over to Mrs Rentschler and Mead who prepared the trimmings Late

30 JULY 2008

at night on December 24 they passed out the baskets as the men left the shop Sitting on the engine stand was the first Wasp all assemshybled and ready for the test stand In just six months the engine had progressed from scratch to a comshypleted assembly

Mead now had to put into practice the adage of this old engine professor of MIT to start her up and see why she didnt go The Wasp weighed in at just under 650 pounds and as he and Andy looked at her they knew it looked right

Mead wanted to start an immedishyate informal test prior to the Navy test and felt it should start at 360 hp He was finally coaxed into going for 380 hp if it started The Wasp started all right It took the 380 hp in stride and so smoothly that all skepticism vanished Why not go for 400 hp Again under an informal test the Wasp delivered 410 hp On the third test the Wasp hit 425 hp and ran clean

During the next two months the Wasp underwent continual informal runs in preparation for the formal Navy qualification test In the meanshytime the second Wasp was almost assembled and four more were movshying from rough to finished parts to asshysembly Also during this time Mead and Willgoos were far along with the design of a new engine the Hornet which displaced 1690 cubic inches and was aimed at 525 hp at 1900 rpm Many parts of the Wasp were intershychangeable with the Hornet which was remarkable in those days

The Navy qualification test started March 4 1926 with Willgoos seshylected as the company observer In those days a qualification type test was set for only SO hours compared to the 150 hours of continuous inshytensive type testing required later It could also be run in a series of perishyods at the end of any of which you could go into the cell and inspect the engine change plugs make adshyjustments or repairs or even tear the engine down The only requirement was that after SO hours of running time the engine would still be in fairly good shape

The No1 Wasp swept through the SO-hour test measuring at full throtshytle between 410 and 420 hp The fishynal reading taken by the observers their 221st showed 1890 rpm and 415 hp The Navy sent its congratulashytions and asked that this Wasp be earshymarked for an earthbound existence It was retired and placed on permashynent exhibit in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia where it resides toshyday It has never flown In later years Mrs Mead remarked that it was a pity this Wasp was never allowed to fly after performing so well and being the engine that ushered in Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft and its slogan Deshypendable Engines She also said that the engine still smelled of the toshybacco that hung in the air of the exshyperimental shop that Christmas Eve when the engine sat gleaming and finished on the engine stand

On May 11 1926 the Navy issued Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft a check in the amount of $1538592 as payshyment for the first Wasp On April I Pratt amp Whitney Tool advanced the $1 million to proceed with proshyduction tooling as they had risked only $202713 29 on the experishymental engines Rentschlers plan and Meads design offered a fertile investment opportunity The secshyond Wasp took to the air in a Wright Apache (F3W-l) which had been modified by Chance Vought Within six months the Wasp was flown in planes never designed to take its power and the Wasp demonstrated power that made possible the aircraft speed rate of climb performance at altitude and reliability that revolushytionized American aviation

The very first Pratt amp Whitney Wasp engine proved to be capable of producing 380 hp on its first test run On its third test run it easily proshyduced 425 hp Upon completion of its SO-hour test run for the US Navy the service asked that the prototype engine be preserved It was shipped to the Franklin Institute in Philashydelphia in its short test lifetime it never flew on an airframe but thoushysands of its brethren did on commershycial and military aircraft

toga and Lexington Rentschler beshylieved that the best airplane could only be designed around the best engine second best didnt count

At that point aircraft engines were still based on World War I deshysigns What made him think an airshycooled engine could be developed in this horsepower range and comshypete with the big Curtiss D-12 and the water-cooled V-12s being develshyoped by Wright and Packard Well the story goes back to an engineer

named George Mead George Mead was a Massashy

chusetts Institute of Technology graduate who had worked on an

aircraft engine design for the US Army Air Sershyvice during World War I and didnt believe that liquid-

cooled engines were ideal for aircraft

Those types of required enshy

gines carried too much weight

He had worked for Rentschler when

Rentschler had formed Wrigh t -Marshy

tin (later reshyorganized into

Wright Aeronautical Corporation) and produced the Hisshy

panso-Suizas and the 575-hp Wright liqshy

uid-cooled T On a side note before Rentshy

schler resigned from Wright Mead was talking of air-cooled

radial engines and was charged with redesigning the Lawrence engine Wright had brought because Lawshyrence could not produce it for the Navy George selected Andy Willshygoos an engineer who had been with him at Crane-Simplex and who had that rare ability to think with his fingertips and sense the rightness in a design Together they quickly recognized the problem with the Lawrence and redesigned it That engine evolved into the fashy

mous Wright J-5 which later powshyered the Ryan NYP Spirit of st Louis from New York to Paris in May of 1927

Mead knew more about getshyting more horsepower per pound than anyone in the engine busishyness but the Wright directors still backed the liquid-cooled designs a stance that caused Rentschler to reshysign Mead and Willgoos told Rentshyschler they would go with him if he ever got back in the engine busishyness Meads foresight was the key to any rapid expansion of aircraft engine development but he got bogged down by Wright manageshyment and their insistence on stickshying with the liquid-cooled design to challenge the Curtiss D-12

Pratt amp Whitney management reviewed Rentschlers proposal with their board of directors and looked at the market The War Deshypartment reports were negative in tone The National Advisory Comshymittee for Aeronautics Report to President Coolidge was blunt in its assessment There was no civil avishyation development following the war They consulted with Chance Vought a well-known outspoken aircraft designer who replied Hell if you can even produce an engine of 350 hp and weighing less than 650 pounds there will be a marshyket Two days later Pratt amp Whitshyney management called Rentschler and told him he had his money produce your team and we will work out a contract

Rentschler called Mead who resigned from Wright along with Willgoos They said they would come to Hartford Rentschler asked them to stay in New Jersey for the time being because he had no fashycilities as of yet They procured two drafting tables and moved them into Willgoos garage and started the design with a clean piece of paper They came up with a new engine of 400 hp that was to weigh less than 650 pounds They knew the design of the 325-hp Wright Sishymoon was complete and they had to pack in 75 more hp and not ex-

The solid master rod with one of the other eight connecting rods Installed

ceed 650 pounds A generation later when the highest-powered radial air-cooled engines delivered power almost 10 times the 400 hp Mead and Willgoos were seeking in 1925 aircraft engine men would speak of the configuration and design that emerged from that piece of paper as clean as a hounds tooth

The foremost problem facing Mead and Willgoos was solving crankshaft speeds A basic limitashytion of previous radial engines had been a maximum crankshaft speed of 1800 rpm Solid crankshafts had been used with split masshyter rods At shaft speeds beyond 1800 rpm the master rod tended to pull apart and damage the bear-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 2 7

PHOTOS EAA LIBRARY PRATI amp WHITNEY

Three of the first aircraft equipped with the Wasp were the Wright F3W-l Apache The Curtiss F6C-4 Hawk and the Boeing XF2-B-l fighter The Wright was built by Wright Aeronautical and equipped with their Wright P-l engine which soon proved to be unsatisfactory Since the airframe was already built to accept a radial engine the Apache was modified to test the brand new Pratt amp Whitney Wasp

ing and then the engine would than the 120 pounds that was reshydisintegrate Mead knew he had garded as good under the designs to come up with a way of achievshy of the period Mead and Willgoos ing a considerably higher brake decided that the required guaranshymean effective pressure coverage teed power they were aiming for (pressure force against the piston) could be achieved with an engine

2 8 JULY 2008

The two-piece crankshaft of the Wasp Combined with the one-piece master rod and the industry-leading metallurgical engineering that created long lasting bearings and valves the Pratt amp Whitney Wasp raised the bar for all aircraft engines that were to follow after it s introduction to the industry in 1926

of 1344 cubic inches displacement on the basis of 125 pounds brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) and 1900 rpm That meant the average engine would have to be capable of 420 hp or 130 pounds BMEP to assure a safe margin above the 400-hp guarantee They also had to consider that for military use the engine would be forced in dives to run at 2400 rpm as there were no controllable-pitch propelshylers in 1925

In 1920 Mead had designed an engine the R-1 for the Army Air Service on which he had reversed the usual procedure splitting the crankshaft and employing a solid master rod He decided on this proshycedure because it meant less weight to counterbalance He also thought it might hold the key to permitting the higher crankshaft speeds He also decided to change the crankshycase from a casting to a forging and split it through the plane of the cylshyinders so the same forging could be used for both halves With the two halves they could be slipped over the ends of the crankshaft when the master link and rods were asshysembled This resulted in a strong light construction but more imshyportantly the load was divided unishyformly between the front and rear main bearing The higher power could be obtained with higher roshy

The two-piece crankcase

tational speeds and sturdier conshystruction for dependability and the l344-cubic-inch displacement would weigh no more than the Sishymoons l176-cubic-inch engine A cylinder design was developed usshying an all-steel barrel with the coolshying fins machined from the solid casting General practice up to this time had been to integrally cast an aluminum cylinder head and barrel with a shrunk-in steel sleeve Mead devised a rotary induction system that made possible the use of one carburetor instead of three and by gearing up the impeller the engine could later be supercharged

Mead put Willgoos to work on the arrangements for the valves finning rocker boxes and pushshyrods He used Meads tulip valve design which had solved the valve burning on the Lawrence engine and designed the rocker box as an integral part of the cylinder head casting along with telescoping pushrod covers Mead had Willgoos design the rear accessory section which made it possible to service the accessories without disassemshybling the engine They called this the modern tri-section engine consisting of the nose power and accessory sections This design was entirely developed on two drafting tables in Willgoos garage in New Jersey during May while he was waiting to hear from Rentschler about facilities in Hartford

In Hartford Rentschler was working with Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company to obtain shop space for the engine that Mead and Willgoos

The power section of the engine was built as a separate unit from the accessory section giving the engine greater maintainability

were designing in Willgoos garage in Montclair New Jersey The only space available was in the Pope Hartshyford building that Pratt amp Whitney had leased to local tobacco growshyers for storage Rentschler spent the month of June getting tons of tobacco moved and succeeded in clearing a 3OOO-square-foot space where they would put their modest office and layout the experimental machine shop where the first enshygine was built

On July 14 1925 Rentschler summoned Mead and Willgoos to Hartford Several old metal cutshyters who had previously been with Wright recognized them as they arshyrived in town and were curious as

to why these engine men were in Hartford Mead let them know that something was up but he needed their silence He told them they would be the first to know when the news broke They were in the market for workers but they still had to formalize a contract with Pratt amp Whitney That afternoon a formal contract was signed between Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company as a subsidiary of Niles-Bement-Pond and the new Pratt amp Whitney Airshycraft Company with Rentschler as president and Mead as vice presishydent of engineering Their objective was the designing constructing testing and experimenting with aeroplane engines aeroplanes hyshydroplanes and if successful to proshyceed with the production thereof The spelling of aeroplane was not the choice of Rentschler or Mead but of the lawyers

The financial details closely folshylowed those originally proposed by Rentschler $250000 to carry the work through the testing of the first engine and if the engine was promshyising $1 million for further develshyopment and production tooling Rentschler insisted in the contract that neither Niles-Bement-Pond nor Pratt amp Whitney Tool could have any voice in the management of the new company In addition to Rentschler and Mead three outshyside directors Col Leonard Horner Sanford Etherington and Edward Deeds were chosen They had been key aviation figures in World War I and recognized the need for nashytional air power

Mead contacted the engine men he had met at the train station and along with a couple of engineers he called from Montclair and a tool factory man who wanted to join the new company work was begun on the new engine Mead cut a hole in his office wall which served as the drawing release to Don Brown who would run the shop The designshyers were polishing up the design that had emerged from Willgoos garage Brown and the engine men took handcarts and started the sur-

VINTAGE AIRPLA N E 29

vey of Pratt amp Whitney Tool which they found very well-equipped It appeared that only certain gears would require subcontracting for the first engine

John Burrop was one of the old metal cutters from the train stashytion meeting and Brown put him in charge of the machine shop Beshytween them they secured two lathes two big milling machines a Lucas boring mill external grinders intershynal grinders benches drills layout plates etc The routine was simple Mead released the drawing through the hole to Brown who doubled as purchasing agent who then passed them to Burrop who had built a platform in the center of the shop and assigned the tasks for building the various engine parts By October the blueprints were flying through the hole as several more designers had left Wright and joined Mead and Willgoos

Willgoos brother Bill Willgoos joined them and was in charge of the assembly of the first engine No name had been selected for the engine Mrs Rentschler thought it should be in the bee line as the place resembled a beehive She seshylected Wasp which stuck Bill and his small crew set Christmas as the target date for completing the assembly Several days earlier Col Deeds had cabled from Havana saying that if the engine was comshypleted by Christmas he would give each member of the organization a turkey There were still some parts to be fabricated and the engine was far from assembly When the lunch hour came the day the cable arrived the little shop emptied and everyone went into the Hartford market and ordered a turkey with all the trimshymings and charged it to Col Deeds They then called on Rentschler and told him what they had done They were grinning and so was Rentshyschler when he reminded them that the colonel had stipulated that the engine must be completely assemshybled Later the turkeys were turned over to Mrs Rentschler and Mead who prepared the trimmings Late

30 JULY 2008

at night on December 24 they passed out the baskets as the men left the shop Sitting on the engine stand was the first Wasp all assemshybled and ready for the test stand In just six months the engine had progressed from scratch to a comshypleted assembly

Mead now had to put into practice the adage of this old engine professor of MIT to start her up and see why she didnt go The Wasp weighed in at just under 650 pounds and as he and Andy looked at her they knew it looked right

Mead wanted to start an immedishyate informal test prior to the Navy test and felt it should start at 360 hp He was finally coaxed into going for 380 hp if it started The Wasp started all right It took the 380 hp in stride and so smoothly that all skepticism vanished Why not go for 400 hp Again under an informal test the Wasp delivered 410 hp On the third test the Wasp hit 425 hp and ran clean

During the next two months the Wasp underwent continual informal runs in preparation for the formal Navy qualification test In the meanshytime the second Wasp was almost assembled and four more were movshying from rough to finished parts to asshysembly Also during this time Mead and Willgoos were far along with the design of a new engine the Hornet which displaced 1690 cubic inches and was aimed at 525 hp at 1900 rpm Many parts of the Wasp were intershychangeable with the Hornet which was remarkable in those days

The Navy qualification test started March 4 1926 with Willgoos seshylected as the company observer In those days a qualification type test was set for only SO hours compared to the 150 hours of continuous inshytensive type testing required later It could also be run in a series of perishyods at the end of any of which you could go into the cell and inspect the engine change plugs make adshyjustments or repairs or even tear the engine down The only requirement was that after SO hours of running time the engine would still be in fairly good shape

The No1 Wasp swept through the SO-hour test measuring at full throtshytle between 410 and 420 hp The fishynal reading taken by the observers their 221st showed 1890 rpm and 415 hp The Navy sent its congratulashytions and asked that this Wasp be earshymarked for an earthbound existence It was retired and placed on permashynent exhibit in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia where it resides toshyday It has never flown In later years Mrs Mead remarked that it was a pity this Wasp was never allowed to fly after performing so well and being the engine that ushered in Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft and its slogan Deshypendable Engines She also said that the engine still smelled of the toshybacco that hung in the air of the exshyperimental shop that Christmas Eve when the engine sat gleaming and finished on the engine stand

On May 11 1926 the Navy issued Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft a check in the amount of $1538592 as payshyment for the first Wasp On April I Pratt amp Whitney Tool advanced the $1 million to proceed with proshyduction tooling as they had risked only $202713 29 on the experishymental engines Rentschlers plan and Meads design offered a fertile investment opportunity The secshyond Wasp took to the air in a Wright Apache (F3W-l) which had been modified by Chance Vought Within six months the Wasp was flown in planes never designed to take its power and the Wasp demonstrated power that made possible the aircraft speed rate of climb performance at altitude and reliability that revolushytionized American aviation

The very first Pratt amp Whitney Wasp engine proved to be capable of producing 380 hp on its first test run On its third test run it easily proshyduced 425 hp Upon completion of its SO-hour test run for the US Navy the service asked that the prototype engine be preserved It was shipped to the Franklin Institute in Philashydelphia in its short test lifetime it never flew on an airframe but thoushysands of its brethren did on commershycial and military aircraft

PHOTOS EAA LIBRARY PRATI amp WHITNEY

Three of the first aircraft equipped with the Wasp were the Wright F3W-l Apache The Curtiss F6C-4 Hawk and the Boeing XF2-B-l fighter The Wright was built by Wright Aeronautical and equipped with their Wright P-l engine which soon proved to be unsatisfactory Since the airframe was already built to accept a radial engine the Apache was modified to test the brand new Pratt amp Whitney Wasp

ing and then the engine would than the 120 pounds that was reshydisintegrate Mead knew he had garded as good under the designs to come up with a way of achievshy of the period Mead and Willgoos ing a considerably higher brake decided that the required guaranshymean effective pressure coverage teed power they were aiming for (pressure force against the piston) could be achieved with an engine

2 8 JULY 2008

The two-piece crankshaft of the Wasp Combined with the one-piece master rod and the industry-leading metallurgical engineering that created long lasting bearings and valves the Pratt amp Whitney Wasp raised the bar for all aircraft engines that were to follow after it s introduction to the industry in 1926

of 1344 cubic inches displacement on the basis of 125 pounds brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) and 1900 rpm That meant the average engine would have to be capable of 420 hp or 130 pounds BMEP to assure a safe margin above the 400-hp guarantee They also had to consider that for military use the engine would be forced in dives to run at 2400 rpm as there were no controllable-pitch propelshylers in 1925

In 1920 Mead had designed an engine the R-1 for the Army Air Service on which he had reversed the usual procedure splitting the crankshaft and employing a solid master rod He decided on this proshycedure because it meant less weight to counterbalance He also thought it might hold the key to permitting the higher crankshaft speeds He also decided to change the crankshycase from a casting to a forging and split it through the plane of the cylshyinders so the same forging could be used for both halves With the two halves they could be slipped over the ends of the crankshaft when the master link and rods were asshysembled This resulted in a strong light construction but more imshyportantly the load was divided unishyformly between the front and rear main bearing The higher power could be obtained with higher roshy

The two-piece crankcase

tational speeds and sturdier conshystruction for dependability and the l344-cubic-inch displacement would weigh no more than the Sishymoons l176-cubic-inch engine A cylinder design was developed usshying an all-steel barrel with the coolshying fins machined from the solid casting General practice up to this time had been to integrally cast an aluminum cylinder head and barrel with a shrunk-in steel sleeve Mead devised a rotary induction system that made possible the use of one carburetor instead of three and by gearing up the impeller the engine could later be supercharged

Mead put Willgoos to work on the arrangements for the valves finning rocker boxes and pushshyrods He used Meads tulip valve design which had solved the valve burning on the Lawrence engine and designed the rocker box as an integral part of the cylinder head casting along with telescoping pushrod covers Mead had Willgoos design the rear accessory section which made it possible to service the accessories without disassemshybling the engine They called this the modern tri-section engine consisting of the nose power and accessory sections This design was entirely developed on two drafting tables in Willgoos garage in New Jersey during May while he was waiting to hear from Rentschler about facilities in Hartford

In Hartford Rentschler was working with Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company to obtain shop space for the engine that Mead and Willgoos

The power section of the engine was built as a separate unit from the accessory section giving the engine greater maintainability

were designing in Willgoos garage in Montclair New Jersey The only space available was in the Pope Hartshyford building that Pratt amp Whitney had leased to local tobacco growshyers for storage Rentschler spent the month of June getting tons of tobacco moved and succeeded in clearing a 3OOO-square-foot space where they would put their modest office and layout the experimental machine shop where the first enshygine was built

On July 14 1925 Rentschler summoned Mead and Willgoos to Hartford Several old metal cutshyters who had previously been with Wright recognized them as they arshyrived in town and were curious as

to why these engine men were in Hartford Mead let them know that something was up but he needed their silence He told them they would be the first to know when the news broke They were in the market for workers but they still had to formalize a contract with Pratt amp Whitney That afternoon a formal contract was signed between Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company as a subsidiary of Niles-Bement-Pond and the new Pratt amp Whitney Airshycraft Company with Rentschler as president and Mead as vice presishydent of engineering Their objective was the designing constructing testing and experimenting with aeroplane engines aeroplanes hyshydroplanes and if successful to proshyceed with the production thereof The spelling of aeroplane was not the choice of Rentschler or Mead but of the lawyers

The financial details closely folshylowed those originally proposed by Rentschler $250000 to carry the work through the testing of the first engine and if the engine was promshyising $1 million for further develshyopment and production tooling Rentschler insisted in the contract that neither Niles-Bement-Pond nor Pratt amp Whitney Tool could have any voice in the management of the new company In addition to Rentschler and Mead three outshyside directors Col Leonard Horner Sanford Etherington and Edward Deeds were chosen They had been key aviation figures in World War I and recognized the need for nashytional air power

Mead contacted the engine men he had met at the train station and along with a couple of engineers he called from Montclair and a tool factory man who wanted to join the new company work was begun on the new engine Mead cut a hole in his office wall which served as the drawing release to Don Brown who would run the shop The designshyers were polishing up the design that had emerged from Willgoos garage Brown and the engine men took handcarts and started the sur-

VINTAGE AIRPLA N E 29

vey of Pratt amp Whitney Tool which they found very well-equipped It appeared that only certain gears would require subcontracting for the first engine

John Burrop was one of the old metal cutters from the train stashytion meeting and Brown put him in charge of the machine shop Beshytween them they secured two lathes two big milling machines a Lucas boring mill external grinders intershynal grinders benches drills layout plates etc The routine was simple Mead released the drawing through the hole to Brown who doubled as purchasing agent who then passed them to Burrop who had built a platform in the center of the shop and assigned the tasks for building the various engine parts By October the blueprints were flying through the hole as several more designers had left Wright and joined Mead and Willgoos

Willgoos brother Bill Willgoos joined them and was in charge of the assembly of the first engine No name had been selected for the engine Mrs Rentschler thought it should be in the bee line as the place resembled a beehive She seshylected Wasp which stuck Bill and his small crew set Christmas as the target date for completing the assembly Several days earlier Col Deeds had cabled from Havana saying that if the engine was comshypleted by Christmas he would give each member of the organization a turkey There were still some parts to be fabricated and the engine was far from assembly When the lunch hour came the day the cable arrived the little shop emptied and everyone went into the Hartford market and ordered a turkey with all the trimshymings and charged it to Col Deeds They then called on Rentschler and told him what they had done They were grinning and so was Rentshyschler when he reminded them that the colonel had stipulated that the engine must be completely assemshybled Later the turkeys were turned over to Mrs Rentschler and Mead who prepared the trimmings Late

30 JULY 2008

at night on December 24 they passed out the baskets as the men left the shop Sitting on the engine stand was the first Wasp all assemshybled and ready for the test stand In just six months the engine had progressed from scratch to a comshypleted assembly

Mead now had to put into practice the adage of this old engine professor of MIT to start her up and see why she didnt go The Wasp weighed in at just under 650 pounds and as he and Andy looked at her they knew it looked right

Mead wanted to start an immedishyate informal test prior to the Navy test and felt it should start at 360 hp He was finally coaxed into going for 380 hp if it started The Wasp started all right It took the 380 hp in stride and so smoothly that all skepticism vanished Why not go for 400 hp Again under an informal test the Wasp delivered 410 hp On the third test the Wasp hit 425 hp and ran clean

During the next two months the Wasp underwent continual informal runs in preparation for the formal Navy qualification test In the meanshytime the second Wasp was almost assembled and four more were movshying from rough to finished parts to asshysembly Also during this time Mead and Willgoos were far along with the design of a new engine the Hornet which displaced 1690 cubic inches and was aimed at 525 hp at 1900 rpm Many parts of the Wasp were intershychangeable with the Hornet which was remarkable in those days

The Navy qualification test started March 4 1926 with Willgoos seshylected as the company observer In those days a qualification type test was set for only SO hours compared to the 150 hours of continuous inshytensive type testing required later It could also be run in a series of perishyods at the end of any of which you could go into the cell and inspect the engine change plugs make adshyjustments or repairs or even tear the engine down The only requirement was that after SO hours of running time the engine would still be in fairly good shape

The No1 Wasp swept through the SO-hour test measuring at full throtshytle between 410 and 420 hp The fishynal reading taken by the observers their 221st showed 1890 rpm and 415 hp The Navy sent its congratulashytions and asked that this Wasp be earshymarked for an earthbound existence It was retired and placed on permashynent exhibit in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia where it resides toshyday It has never flown In later years Mrs Mead remarked that it was a pity this Wasp was never allowed to fly after performing so well and being the engine that ushered in Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft and its slogan Deshypendable Engines She also said that the engine still smelled of the toshybacco that hung in the air of the exshyperimental shop that Christmas Eve when the engine sat gleaming and finished on the engine stand

On May 11 1926 the Navy issued Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft a check in the amount of $1538592 as payshyment for the first Wasp On April I Pratt amp Whitney Tool advanced the $1 million to proceed with proshyduction tooling as they had risked only $202713 29 on the experishymental engines Rentschlers plan and Meads design offered a fertile investment opportunity The secshyond Wasp took to the air in a Wright Apache (F3W-l) which had been modified by Chance Vought Within six months the Wasp was flown in planes never designed to take its power and the Wasp demonstrated power that made possible the aircraft speed rate of climb performance at altitude and reliability that revolushytionized American aviation

The very first Pratt amp Whitney Wasp engine proved to be capable of producing 380 hp on its first test run On its third test run it easily proshyduced 425 hp Upon completion of its SO-hour test run for the US Navy the service asked that the prototype engine be preserved It was shipped to the Franklin Institute in Philashydelphia in its short test lifetime it never flew on an airframe but thoushysands of its brethren did on commershycial and military aircraft

The two-piece crankcase

tational speeds and sturdier conshystruction for dependability and the l344-cubic-inch displacement would weigh no more than the Sishymoons l176-cubic-inch engine A cylinder design was developed usshying an all-steel barrel with the coolshying fins machined from the solid casting General practice up to this time had been to integrally cast an aluminum cylinder head and barrel with a shrunk-in steel sleeve Mead devised a rotary induction system that made possible the use of one carburetor instead of three and by gearing up the impeller the engine could later be supercharged

Mead put Willgoos to work on the arrangements for the valves finning rocker boxes and pushshyrods He used Meads tulip valve design which had solved the valve burning on the Lawrence engine and designed the rocker box as an integral part of the cylinder head casting along with telescoping pushrod covers Mead had Willgoos design the rear accessory section which made it possible to service the accessories without disassemshybling the engine They called this the modern tri-section engine consisting of the nose power and accessory sections This design was entirely developed on two drafting tables in Willgoos garage in New Jersey during May while he was waiting to hear from Rentschler about facilities in Hartford

In Hartford Rentschler was working with Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company to obtain shop space for the engine that Mead and Willgoos

The power section of the engine was built as a separate unit from the accessory section giving the engine greater maintainability

were designing in Willgoos garage in Montclair New Jersey The only space available was in the Pope Hartshyford building that Pratt amp Whitney had leased to local tobacco growshyers for storage Rentschler spent the month of June getting tons of tobacco moved and succeeded in clearing a 3OOO-square-foot space where they would put their modest office and layout the experimental machine shop where the first enshygine was built

On July 14 1925 Rentschler summoned Mead and Willgoos to Hartford Several old metal cutshyters who had previously been with Wright recognized them as they arshyrived in town and were curious as

to why these engine men were in Hartford Mead let them know that something was up but he needed their silence He told them they would be the first to know when the news broke They were in the market for workers but they still had to formalize a contract with Pratt amp Whitney That afternoon a formal contract was signed between Pratt amp Whitney Tool Company as a subsidiary of Niles-Bement-Pond and the new Pratt amp Whitney Airshycraft Company with Rentschler as president and Mead as vice presishydent of engineering Their objective was the designing constructing testing and experimenting with aeroplane engines aeroplanes hyshydroplanes and if successful to proshyceed with the production thereof The spelling of aeroplane was not the choice of Rentschler or Mead but of the lawyers

The financial details closely folshylowed those originally proposed by Rentschler $250000 to carry the work through the testing of the first engine and if the engine was promshyising $1 million for further develshyopment and production tooling Rentschler insisted in the contract that neither Niles-Bement-Pond nor Pratt amp Whitney Tool could have any voice in the management of the new company In addition to Rentschler and Mead three outshyside directors Col Leonard Horner Sanford Etherington and Edward Deeds were chosen They had been key aviation figures in World War I and recognized the need for nashytional air power

Mead contacted the engine men he had met at the train station and along with a couple of engineers he called from Montclair and a tool factory man who wanted to join the new company work was begun on the new engine Mead cut a hole in his office wall which served as the drawing release to Don Brown who would run the shop The designshyers were polishing up the design that had emerged from Willgoos garage Brown and the engine men took handcarts and started the sur-

VINTAGE AIRPLA N E 29

vey of Pratt amp Whitney Tool which they found very well-equipped It appeared that only certain gears would require subcontracting for the first engine

John Burrop was one of the old metal cutters from the train stashytion meeting and Brown put him in charge of the machine shop Beshytween them they secured two lathes two big milling machines a Lucas boring mill external grinders intershynal grinders benches drills layout plates etc The routine was simple Mead released the drawing through the hole to Brown who doubled as purchasing agent who then passed them to Burrop who had built a platform in the center of the shop and assigned the tasks for building the various engine parts By October the blueprints were flying through the hole as several more designers had left Wright and joined Mead and Willgoos

Willgoos brother Bill Willgoos joined them and was in charge of the assembly of the first engine No name had been selected for the engine Mrs Rentschler thought it should be in the bee line as the place resembled a beehive She seshylected Wasp which stuck Bill and his small crew set Christmas as the target date for completing the assembly Several days earlier Col Deeds had cabled from Havana saying that if the engine was comshypleted by Christmas he would give each member of the organization a turkey There were still some parts to be fabricated and the engine was far from assembly When the lunch hour came the day the cable arrived the little shop emptied and everyone went into the Hartford market and ordered a turkey with all the trimshymings and charged it to Col Deeds They then called on Rentschler and told him what they had done They were grinning and so was Rentshyschler when he reminded them that the colonel had stipulated that the engine must be completely assemshybled Later the turkeys were turned over to Mrs Rentschler and Mead who prepared the trimmings Late

30 JULY 2008

at night on December 24 they passed out the baskets as the men left the shop Sitting on the engine stand was the first Wasp all assemshybled and ready for the test stand In just six months the engine had progressed from scratch to a comshypleted assembly

Mead now had to put into practice the adage of this old engine professor of MIT to start her up and see why she didnt go The Wasp weighed in at just under 650 pounds and as he and Andy looked at her they knew it looked right

Mead wanted to start an immedishyate informal test prior to the Navy test and felt it should start at 360 hp He was finally coaxed into going for 380 hp if it started The Wasp started all right It took the 380 hp in stride and so smoothly that all skepticism vanished Why not go for 400 hp Again under an informal test the Wasp delivered 410 hp On the third test the Wasp hit 425 hp and ran clean

During the next two months the Wasp underwent continual informal runs in preparation for the formal Navy qualification test In the meanshytime the second Wasp was almost assembled and four more were movshying from rough to finished parts to asshysembly Also during this time Mead and Willgoos were far along with the design of a new engine the Hornet which displaced 1690 cubic inches and was aimed at 525 hp at 1900 rpm Many parts of the Wasp were intershychangeable with the Hornet which was remarkable in those days

The Navy qualification test started March 4 1926 with Willgoos seshylected as the company observer In those days a qualification type test was set for only SO hours compared to the 150 hours of continuous inshytensive type testing required later It could also be run in a series of perishyods at the end of any of which you could go into the cell and inspect the engine change plugs make adshyjustments or repairs or even tear the engine down The only requirement was that after SO hours of running time the engine would still be in fairly good shape

The No1 Wasp swept through the SO-hour test measuring at full throtshytle between 410 and 420 hp The fishynal reading taken by the observers their 221st showed 1890 rpm and 415 hp The Navy sent its congratulashytions and asked that this Wasp be earshymarked for an earthbound existence It was retired and placed on permashynent exhibit in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia where it resides toshyday It has never flown In later years Mrs Mead remarked that it was a pity this Wasp was never allowed to fly after performing so well and being the engine that ushered in Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft and its slogan Deshypendable Engines She also said that the engine still smelled of the toshybacco that hung in the air of the exshyperimental shop that Christmas Eve when the engine sat gleaming and finished on the engine stand

On May 11 1926 the Navy issued Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft a check in the amount of $1538592 as payshyment for the first Wasp On April I Pratt amp Whitney Tool advanced the $1 million to proceed with proshyduction tooling as they had risked only $202713 29 on the experishymental engines Rentschlers plan and Meads design offered a fertile investment opportunity The secshyond Wasp took to the air in a Wright Apache (F3W-l) which had been modified by Chance Vought Within six months the Wasp was flown in planes never designed to take its power and the Wasp demonstrated power that made possible the aircraft speed rate of climb performance at altitude and reliability that revolushytionized American aviation

The very first Pratt amp Whitney Wasp engine proved to be capable of producing 380 hp on its first test run On its third test run it easily proshyduced 425 hp Upon completion of its SO-hour test run for the US Navy the service asked that the prototype engine be preserved It was shipped to the Franklin Institute in Philashydelphia in its short test lifetime it never flew on an airframe but thoushysands of its brethren did on commershycial and military aircraft

vey of Pratt amp Whitney Tool which they found very well-equipped It appeared that only certain gears would require subcontracting for the first engine

John Burrop was one of the old metal cutters from the train stashytion meeting and Brown put him in charge of the machine shop Beshytween them they secured two lathes two big milling machines a Lucas boring mill external grinders intershynal grinders benches drills layout plates etc The routine was simple Mead released the drawing through the hole to Brown who doubled as purchasing agent who then passed them to Burrop who had built a platform in the center of the shop and assigned the tasks for building the various engine parts By October the blueprints were flying through the hole as several more designers had left Wright and joined Mead and Willgoos

Willgoos brother Bill Willgoos joined them and was in charge of the assembly of the first engine No name had been selected for the engine Mrs Rentschler thought it should be in the bee line as the place resembled a beehive She seshylected Wasp which stuck Bill and his small crew set Christmas as the target date for completing the assembly Several days earlier Col Deeds had cabled from Havana saying that if the engine was comshypleted by Christmas he would give each member of the organization a turkey There were still some parts to be fabricated and the engine was far from assembly When the lunch hour came the day the cable arrived the little shop emptied and everyone went into the Hartford market and ordered a turkey with all the trimshymings and charged it to Col Deeds They then called on Rentschler and told him what they had done They were grinning and so was Rentshyschler when he reminded them that the colonel had stipulated that the engine must be completely assemshybled Later the turkeys were turned over to Mrs Rentschler and Mead who prepared the trimmings Late

30 JULY 2008

at night on December 24 they passed out the baskets as the men left the shop Sitting on the engine stand was the first Wasp all assemshybled and ready for the test stand In just six months the engine had progressed from scratch to a comshypleted assembly

Mead now had to put into practice the adage of this old engine professor of MIT to start her up and see why she didnt go The Wasp weighed in at just under 650 pounds and as he and Andy looked at her they knew it looked right

Mead wanted to start an immedishyate informal test prior to the Navy test and felt it should start at 360 hp He was finally coaxed into going for 380 hp if it started The Wasp started all right It took the 380 hp in stride and so smoothly that all skepticism vanished Why not go for 400 hp Again under an informal test the Wasp delivered 410 hp On the third test the Wasp hit 425 hp and ran clean

During the next two months the Wasp underwent continual informal runs in preparation for the formal Navy qualification test In the meanshytime the second Wasp was almost assembled and four more were movshying from rough to finished parts to asshysembly Also during this time Mead and Willgoos were far along with the design of a new engine the Hornet which displaced 1690 cubic inches and was aimed at 525 hp at 1900 rpm Many parts of the Wasp were intershychangeable with the Hornet which was remarkable in those days

The Navy qualification test started March 4 1926 with Willgoos seshylected as the company observer In those days a qualification type test was set for only SO hours compared to the 150 hours of continuous inshytensive type testing required later It could also be run in a series of perishyods at the end of any of which you could go into the cell and inspect the engine change plugs make adshyjustments or repairs or even tear the engine down The only requirement was that after SO hours of running time the engine would still be in fairly good shape

The No1 Wasp swept through the SO-hour test measuring at full throtshytle between 410 and 420 hp The fishynal reading taken by the observers their 221st showed 1890 rpm and 415 hp The Navy sent its congratulashytions and asked that this Wasp be earshymarked for an earthbound existence It was retired and placed on permashynent exhibit in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia where it resides toshyday It has never flown In later years Mrs Mead remarked that it was a pity this Wasp was never allowed to fly after performing so well and being the engine that ushered in Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft and its slogan Deshypendable Engines She also said that the engine still smelled of the toshybacco that hung in the air of the exshyperimental shop that Christmas Eve when the engine sat gleaming and finished on the engine stand

On May 11 1926 the Navy issued Pratt amp Whitney Aircraft a check in the amount of $1538592 as payshyment for the first Wasp On April I Pratt amp Whitney Tool advanced the $1 million to proceed with proshyduction tooling as they had risked only $202713 29 on the experishymental engines Rentschlers plan and Meads design offered a fertile investment opportunity The secshyond Wasp took to the air in a Wright Apache (F3W-l) which had been modified by Chance Vought Within six months the Wasp was flown in planes never designed to take its power and the Wasp demonstrated power that made possible the aircraft speed rate of climb performance at altitude and reliability that revolushytionized American aviation

The very first Pratt amp Whitney Wasp engine proved to be capable of producing 380 hp on its first test run On its third test run it easily proshyduced 425 hp Upon completion of its SO-hour test run for the US Navy the service asked that the prototype engine be preserved It was shipped to the Franklin Institute in Philashydelphia in its short test lifetime it never flew on an airframe but thoushysands of its brethren did on commershycial and military aircraft

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THIS MONTHS MYSTERY PLANE IS ANOTHER GOODIE COMING TO US FROM THE COLLECTION OF TED BUSINGER SALEM ARKANSAS

Send your answer to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box You can also send your response via e-mail Send 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Your answer needs your answer to mysteryplaneeaaorg Be sure to include to be in no later than August 10 for inclusion in the your name city and state in the body of your note and October 2008 issue of Vintage Airplane put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subjectline

APRILS MYSTERY ANSWER

32 JULY 2008

BY HG FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTHS MYSTERY PLANE IS ANOTHER GOODIE COMING TO US FROM THE COLLECTION OF TED BUSINGER SALEM ARKANSAS

Send your answer to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box You can also send your response via e-mail Send 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Your answer needs your answer to mysteryplaneeaaorg Be sure to include to be in no later than August 10 for inclusion in the your name city and state in the body of your note and October 2008 issue of Vintage Airplane put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subjectline

APRILS MYSTERY ANSWER

32 JULY 2008

Aprils Mystery Pla n e also came to us from Ted Busingers collection Our answer comes from Wesshyley Smith

liThe April 2008 Mystery Plane is the 1927 MartinshyBoyd (Parasol) Monoplane The aircraft was built by Edward Martin of San ta Ana California and was deshysigned by Millard Boyd The aircraft incorporated a parasol wing using a symmetrical NACA No 81 airshyfoil which at the center was 22 inches thick It was powered by a 180-hp Wright-Martin Hispano-Suiza engine The aircraft is notable for having been flown in the 1927 International Aviation Peace Jub ilee which was sponsored jointly by the Santa An a Air

Club and The Aero Club of Hollywood It was held at the Eddie Martin Airport at Santa Ana California Ju ly 2-4 1927 This event incorporated various aerial events including races and parachute jumping A rear view of the Martin-Boyd appears in Aviation (Internashytional Aviation Peace Jubilee Draws Large Attendance Stunting Parachute Jumping and Air Races Make Up Interesting Program July 25 1927 Page 203) I reshygret t hat I have been unable to unearth any further deta ils on this attractive and interesting monoplane however many years later Millard Boyd was involved with the design of the Ryan SCM

Wes response was the only one we received

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V IN TAGE A IRPLAN E 33

c

The abbreviation DA means different things to different folks For people who get involved with court proceedings it brings to mind a state or county prosecutor For those who grew up in the 50s it might evoke a hairstyle resembling the posterior of a waterfowl But for pilots it should mean only one thing density altitude

Unfortunately I have foundshynot only as an examiner asking an applicant to describe what density altitude is during a practical test but also as an interested pilot peshyrusing the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reshycords-that many pilots really dont understand what density altitude is And without that understanding many are getting themselves into bad situations because they fail to recognize the ramifications of highshydensity altitudes

Its true that many pilots can give the official II definition of density altitude pressure altitude adjusted for nonstandard temperature But when asked how they might deshyscribe DA to a young child they are at a loss Before I offer my simple description of DA lets look at the definition first

Well begin with pressure altitude The easiest way to explain pressure altitude is to say that it is indicated altitude on the altimeter when the altimeter is set to the standard presshysure of 2992 inches Hg Thus the higher the atmospheric pressure the lower the pressure altitude and

34 JULY 2008

BY DOUG STEWART

The DA vice versa We now adjust this altishytude for nonstandard temperature You will remember that standard temperature is 15degC (59degF) As the temperature rises above this stanshydard so will the density altitude

And without the

understanding

many are getting

themselves into

bad situations

But what if you are as numerishycally challenged as I am or not of a scientific bent We certainly dont want to see our aircraft get bent but it (your airplane) might very well end up rolled up in a ball if you fail to comprehend this important conshycept and its impact on aircraft pershyformance (You will on the other hand recognize its impact on the ground) So I offer this simple exshyplanation that even a young child could understand

Density altitude is the altitude that

your airplane thinks its at If an aircraft were a sentient beshy

ing capable of thoughts and feelshyings it would factor in the mean sea altitude it was at the barometric pressure the temperature and the humidity (which plays a major part in affecting aircraft performance even though it is not factored into denSity-altitude calculations) and come up with a feels like altitude The higher this feels like altitude the more cautious we as pilots need to be

I hope we all know that the higher we go the less dense the air gets and the less dense the air gets the poorer the aircraft performance gets especially when it comes to takeoff landing and climb perforshymance This is really aeronautical knowledge 101 That being said why is it that over the last five years (May 2003 through May 2008) the NTSB records show that there were 138 airplane aCCidents including 79 fatalities in which density altishytude played a major part (Im sure if you asked an insurance undershywriter whether he concurred with these numbers he would come up with even more claims as many acshycidents that might involve density altitude do not necessarily have to be reported to the NTSB)

As I looked at mentions of probashyble cause in the NTSB reports I came up with the following statistics

- In 41 (297 percent) of these acshycidents poor pilot planning (in many cases no planning whatsoshy

ever) was a contributor to the event eTwenty-eight of the reported acshy

cidents (202 percent) occurred at airshyports or in high mountainous areas

eTwenty-three of them (166 pershycent) happened in vintage (manshyufactured before 1968) airplanes

eThirteen (94 percent) of them happened during the attempted go-around

bull In 11 cases an instructor was on board

e In 10 of them the aircraft exshyceeded the maximum certified gross weight

It was interesting to note several recurring themes in these accidents Many times pilots neglected to conshyfigure the airplane appropriately Improper use of flaps was often a contributing factor There were nushymerous takeoff and go-around accishydents where pilots failed to properly lean the engine But the thing that most stood out was that in many instances pilots had sufficient time to take proper action-such as aborting a takeoff initiating an early go-around or turning before they impacted a mountain ridgeshybut failed to do so

Lets look at a couple of them The first was the crash of a Taylorcraft BC12-D which caused one fatality

According to several witnesses in the area the pilot had been atshytempting to land to the west on a grass strip The pilot had made approximately five attempts to land prior to the accident During the sixth approach the airplane touched down approximately midshyfield the pilot added power and the airplane became airborne again Witnesses stated that the airplane struck a road embankment at the end of the runway continued in a steep climb and then struck several 60-foot-high aspen trees approxishymately 150 feet west of the end of the runway The airplane rolled off hard to the right and impacted the southbound lane of a county road in a nose-low attitude Airport eleshyvation was approximately 7800 feet mean sea level Density altitude was calculated to be 10063 feet The airshy

port runway is surrounded on every side by vegetation and terrain elshyevation rises dramatically in all dishyrections According to the owner of the airport it is recommended that pilots land to the east and depart to the west due to the obstacles and terrain near the airport

The second accident involved a Stearman and led to two minor injuries

The pilot reported that he was concerned with the field elevation airplane weight heat and humidity

It was

interesting

to note several

recurring themes

in these

accidents

before the flight During the takeoff roll the airplane had a slower accelshyeration and longer takeoff roll than normal The pilot considered abortshying the takeoff twice but was conshycerned that there was not enough available runway to land and felt that he would be able to out-climb the terrain located at the end of the runway After bouncing twice on the runway the airplane began to climb in ground effect about 100 feet per minute When the pilot reshyalized that he would not clear the terrain he lowered the nose in an attempt to gain airspeed He loshycated an area of lower terrain made a shallow right turn and attempted to fly through the area however the airplane sank into the trees and rolled The pilot stated that the enshygine sounded as if it was producing full power and that he was unfamilshy

iar with the airplanes high-densityshyaltitude performance capabilities

It would appear that not only in these two aCCidents but also in so very many others the pilot rather than relying on sound decisionshymaking and preflight performance planning relied more on hope Now hope is a wonderful thing It certainly has its place in presidential campaigns But there is absolutely no room for hope when it comes to aviation Hope will not inshycrease airplane performance as the departure end of the runway gets closer and closer and the airplane still wont rotate Hope wont inshycrease an airplanes rate of climb as obstacles loom in the windscreen Hope wont get an airplane flyshying again when one has waited too long before initiating a go-around Hope wont save the life of someshyone who has been fatally injured in an airplane accident

However I do hope that the folshylowing suggestions will help preshyvent you from having an accident in which density altitude plays a role You dont have to be at high field elevations to become a victim of this Anytime the density altishytude is 2000 feet or more above your field elevation its time to pay attention Its time to have as much information available as possible

Certainly the first place to look for information is in your airplanes pilots operating handbook (POH) (Unfortunately for many vintage aircraft a POH might not even exist) Find out the manufacturshyers recommendations for aircraft configuration and engine-leanshying requirements in high-densityshyaltitude environments Refer to the takeoff climb and landing perforshymance charts to get an idea of exshypected performance Keep in mind that the performance figures in the POH were obtained in a brand-new aircraft flown by a highly qualified test pilot Factor that in as you adshyjust the figures to reflect an accushyrate and realistic expectation of the performance you will get in your airplane with you at the controls

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35

Come to the Vintage Red Barn for great aviation merchandise

for the whole family

36 JULY 2008

If the density altitude is at 5000 feet or higher leaning the engine for maximum power is highly recshyommended Again the POH will rule on this but in the absence of a POH here are some suggestions For start-up and taxi lean at 1000 rpm (all propeller combinations) until the rpm peaks then enrich slightly

Before takeoff go to full throttle and lean the mixture With a fixedshypitch prop lean to maximum rpm and then enrich slightly With a variable-pitch prop on carbureted engines lean to engine smoothshyness If you have an EGT gauge lean to +100degF on the rich side of peak With a fuel-injected engine lean to the correct fuel-flow setting accordshying to the POH for your specific airshyplane (often though not always marked on the fuel-flow gauge) To ensure maximum available power in the event that you need to make a go-around at a high-altitude airshyport do not apply full rich mixture as part of your landing checklist

Keep in mind that departures will have a greater rate of success when made during cooler times such as early in the morning or late in the evening Remember that you might have to reduce your takeoff weight by draining fuel or leaving behind the mother-in-law (she ll tell you to leave behind the big bucket of chicken and the cooler filled with beverages) Dont forget that what worked in the depths of the winter or at the seaside airport might not work at all at the height of summer or in the mountains

Now that its summertime please be especially aware of the DA No not when you have a court appointshyment No not when you re going to have your hair cut Be aware of the density altitude every time you are beckoned aloft by blue skies and tail winds

Doug Stewart is the 2004 National CFI of the Year a NAFI Master Inshystructor and a designated pilot exshyaminer He operates DSFI Inc (www DSFlightcom) based at the Columshybia County Airport (lBl)

ever) was a contributor to the event eTwenty-eight of the reported acshy

cidents (202 percent) occurred at airshyports or in high mountainous areas

eTwenty-three of them (166 pershycent) happened in vintage (manshyufactured before 1968) airplanes

eThirteen (94 percent) of them happened during the attempted go-around

bull In 11 cases an instructor was on board

e In 10 of them the aircraft exshyceeded the maximum certified gross weight

It was interesting to note several recurring themes in these accidents Many times pilots neglected to conshyfigure the airplane appropriately Improper use of flaps was often a contributing factor There were nushymerous takeoff and go-around accishydents where pilots failed to properly lean the engine But the thing that most stood out was that in many instances pilots had sufficient time to take proper action-such as aborting a takeoff initiating an early go-around or turning before they impacted a mountain ridgeshybut failed to do so

Lets look at a couple of them The first was the crash of a Taylorcraft BC12-D which caused one fatality

According to several witnesses in the area the pilot had been atshytempting to land to the west on a grass strip The pilot had made approximately five attempts to land prior to the accident During the sixth approach the airplane touched down approximately midshyfield the pilot added power and the airplane became airborne again Witnesses stated that the airplane struck a road embankment at the end of the runway continued in a steep climb and then struck several 60-foot-high aspen trees approxishymately 150 feet west of the end of the runway The airplane rolled off hard to the right and impacted the southbound lane of a county road in a nose-low attitude Airport eleshyvation was approximately 7800 feet mean sea level Density altitude was calculated to be 10063 feet The airshy

port runway is surrounded on every side by vegetation and terrain elshyevation rises dramatically in all dishyrections According to the owner of the airport it is recommended that pilots land to the east and depart to the west due to the obstacles and terrain near the airport

The second accident involved a Stearman and led to two minor injuries

The pilot reported that he was concerned with the field elevation airplane weight heat and humidity

It was

interesting

to note several

recurring themes

in these

accidents

before the flight During the takeoff roll the airplane had a slower accelshyeration and longer takeoff roll than normal The pilot considered abortshying the takeoff twice but was conshycerned that there was not enough available runway to land and felt that he would be able to out-climb the terrain located at the end of the runway After bouncing twice on the runway the airplane began to climb in ground effect about 100 feet per minute When the pilot reshyalized that he would not clear the terrain he lowered the nose in an attempt to gain airspeed He loshycated an area of lower terrain made a shallow right turn and attempted to fly through the area however the airplane sank into the trees and rolled The pilot stated that the enshygine sounded as if it was producing full power and that he was unfamilshy

iar with the airplanes high-densityshyaltitude performance capabilities

It would appear that not only in these two aCCidents but also in so very many others the pilot rather than relying on sound decisionshymaking and preflight performance planning relied more on hope Now hope is a wonderful thing It certainly has its place in presidential campaigns But there is absolutely no room for hope when it comes to aviation Hope will not inshycrease airplane performance as the departure end of the runway gets closer and closer and the airplane still wont rotate Hope wont inshycrease an airplanes rate of climb as obstacles loom in the windscreen Hope wont get an airplane flyshying again when one has waited too long before initiating a go-around Hope wont save the life of someshyone who has been fatally injured in an airplane accident

However I do hope that the folshylowing suggestions will help preshyvent you from having an accident in which density altitude plays a role You dont have to be at high field elevations to become a victim of this Anytime the density altishytude is 2000 feet or more above your field elevation its time to pay attention Its time to have as much information available as possible

Certainly the first place to look for information is in your airplanes pilots operating handbook (POH) (Unfortunately for many vintage aircraft a POH might not even exist) Find out the manufacturshyers recommendations for aircraft configuration and engine-leanshying requirements in high-densityshyaltitude environments Refer to the takeoff climb and landing perforshymance charts to get an idea of exshypected performance Keep in mind that the performance figures in the POH were obtained in a brand-new aircraft flown by a highly qualified test pilot Factor that in as you adshyjust the figures to reflect an accushyrate and realistic expectation of the performance you will get in your airplane with you at the controls

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35

Come to the Vintage Red Barn for great aviation merchandise

for the whole family

36 JULY 2008

If the density altitude is at 5000 feet or higher leaning the engine for maximum power is highly recshyommended Again the POH will rule on this but in the absence of a POH here are some suggestions For start-up and taxi lean at 1000 rpm (all propeller combinations) until the rpm peaks then enrich slightly

Before takeoff go to full throttle and lean the mixture With a fixedshypitch prop lean to maximum rpm and then enrich slightly With a variable-pitch prop on carbureted engines lean to engine smoothshyness If you have an EGT gauge lean to +100degF on the rich side of peak With a fuel-injected engine lean to the correct fuel-flow setting accordshying to the POH for your specific airshyplane (often though not always marked on the fuel-flow gauge) To ensure maximum available power in the event that you need to make a go-around at a high-altitude airshyport do not apply full rich mixture as part of your landing checklist

Keep in mind that departures will have a greater rate of success when made during cooler times such as early in the morning or late in the evening Remember that you might have to reduce your takeoff weight by draining fuel or leaving behind the mother-in-law (she ll tell you to leave behind the big bucket of chicken and the cooler filled with beverages) Dont forget that what worked in the depths of the winter or at the seaside airport might not work at all at the height of summer or in the mountains

Now that its summertime please be especially aware of the DA No not when you have a court appointshyment No not when you re going to have your hair cut Be aware of the density altitude every time you are beckoned aloft by blue skies and tail winds

Doug Stewart is the 2004 National CFI of the Year a NAFI Master Inshystructor and a designated pilot exshyaminer He operates DSFI Inc (www DSFlightcom) based at the Columshybia County Airport (lBl)

Come to the Vintage Red Barn for great aviation merchandise

for the whole family

36 JULY 2008

If the density altitude is at 5000 feet or higher leaning the engine for maximum power is highly recshyommended Again the POH will rule on this but in the absence of a POH here are some suggestions For start-up and taxi lean at 1000 rpm (all propeller combinations) until the rpm peaks then enrich slightly

Before takeoff go to full throttle and lean the mixture With a fixedshypitch prop lean to maximum rpm and then enrich slightly With a variable-pitch prop on carbureted engines lean to engine smoothshyness If you have an EGT gauge lean to +100degF on the rich side of peak With a fuel-injected engine lean to the correct fuel-flow setting accordshying to the POH for your specific airshyplane (often though not always marked on the fuel-flow gauge) To ensure maximum available power in the event that you need to make a go-around at a high-altitude airshyport do not apply full rich mixture as part of your landing checklist

Keep in mind that departures will have a greater rate of success when made during cooler times such as early in the morning or late in the evening Remember that you might have to reduce your takeoff weight by draining fuel or leaving behind the mother-in-law (she ll tell you to leave behind the big bucket of chicken and the cooler filled with beverages) Dont forget that what worked in the depths of the winter or at the seaside airport might not work at all at the height of summer or in the mountains

Now that its summertime please be especially aware of the DA No not when you have a court appointshyment No not when you re going to have your hair cut Be aware of the density altitude every time you are beckoned aloft by blue skies and tail winds

Doug Stewart is the 2004 National CFI of the Year a NAFI Master Inshystructor and a designated pilot exshyaminer He operates DSFI Inc (www DSFlightcom) based at the Columshybia County Airport (lBl)

Light Plane Heritage continued from page 24

ity to the structure Read the article about the Loughead S-l in the October 1991 issue of EAA Experimenter [Vinshytage Airplane Editors Note Well be running the Loughead article in a future issue of Vintage Airplane]

Powered with the 20-hp Daimler engine the bigshywinged lightweight Klemm was able to take off quickly and landed at the surprisingly low speed of about 20 mph Empty weight was 485 pounds useful load 420 pounds and gross weight 905 pounds Top speed was claimed to be 62 mph with cruising speeds in the 50s depending on load aboard Some Klemms were later fitted with the 40-hp French-built nine-cylinder Salmshyson engines with useful gain in performance

One such Klemm was entered in the 1928 French Light Plane Trials held at Orly airfield near Paris and won over stiff competition from the planes of other well-known European manufacturers In the efficiency event it sco red 150 more points than did the wellshyknown English de Havilland Gypsy Moth of greater power The Moth was a biplane whose wings used a thin World War I type airfoil Watching monoplanes like the Klemm is what spurred British designers to cool their longstanding love affair with biplanes

By 1928 incidentally the Klemm had become Gershymanys first mass-produced lightplane with from 15 to 20 examples coming out of the Bbblingen factory each month But this is getting ahead of the story

To combat the then (and still) widespread feeling that lightplanes are only able to operate in fair weather in late February and into March of 1926 two men from the Klemm works undertook a most remarkable jourshyney Now remember it was at that time still very much winter in the Alps mountains the plane they were flyshying had only 20 hpJ and they rode in open cockpits What they did would today make a bunch of FAA offishycials faint dead away

And this is what they did-they made a 1500 mile flight from Sindelfingen near Stuttgart to Vienna Ausshytria and then on to Budapest in Hungary and then home by a different route Get out a good world atlas turn to pages that show southern Germany Austria and Hungary and follow the route they took as deshyscribed herewith

The route called for stops sometimes at established airfields and just as often in randomly chosen meadshyows From Sindelfingen they hopped to Augsburg Mushynich and Salzburg then headed south to Austria to a little town called Zell-am-Zee then easterly and northshyeasterly to Hermagor Villach Klagenfurt Voitsberg Graz and Vienna From the latter city they headed easterly to Budapest The return trip took them back to Vienna from whence they headed westerly to Melz Kinz Frankenmarkt Salzburg and home

Simple in a modern bizjet perhaps But not long

after the start of the trip wind swirling through the cockpits caught and blew away their carefully prepared maps They flew the rest of it using cyclists maps The weather was always cold and dished up mostly low ceilings rain and snow

The landing near Zell-am-Zee was made on a meadow that was covered with a foot of snow The Klemms thin high-pressure tires cut grooves through it instead of bulldozing it so forcibly as to cause a noseshyover The vee-type landing gear helped here too for if the Klemm had used a World War I style landing gear having a straight axle this would also surely have caught in the snow

And by the way in getting across the Alps they coaxed their little puddle-jumper to vault over jagshyged mountains ranging from 9000 to 12450 feet in height This was indeed quite an accomplishment and it is regrettable that most of todays private pilots have never read of such an amazing early-day flight Admitshytedly it wasnt exactly a pleasure hop but it did make a lot of people change their minds about the capashybilities of lightplanes And if you too think this 1926 aerial cruise was remarkable then be sure to read this column next month

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fltl tl1H q)1 )IlBt) h 610 tHi llhl ~ 3 (11 fhJ 111) (II I I l l ()J[lf)

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

GET THE SKILLS TO GET IT BUILT AT EAA SPORTAIR WORKSHOPS

GET YOUR HOMEBUILDING PROJECT OFF THE GROUND BY SIGNING UP FOR EAAS SPORTAIR WORKSHOPS

Complete 2008 Schedule online VISIT WWWSPORTAIR(OM OR WL 1-800-967-5746 FOR DETAILS

EAA SponAir Sponsors

Something to buy sell or trade

Classified Word Ads $550 per 10 words 180 words maximum with boldface lead-in on fi rst line

Classified Display Ads One column wide (2 167 inches) by 1 2 or 3 inches high at $20 per inch Black and white only and no frequency discounts

Advertising Closing Dates 10th of second mo nth prior to desired issue date (ie January 10 is the closing date for the March issue) VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its policies Rates cover one insertion per issue Classified ads are not accepted via phone Payment must accompany order Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (cassads eaaort) using credit card payment (all cards accepted) Include name on card complete add ress type of card card number and expiration date Make checks payable to EAA Address advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

MISCELLANEOUS

Dick Proberts Fleet-Phillips -Ceconite paint

windshields upholstery instruments and tires are in great condition 3 spare engines $95000 or a realistic offer will be carefully considered by the Proberts at 707-886-5175 in Annapolis California

For more information or photographs contact 209-531-3095 or danshan1

sbcgobanet

Flying wires available 1994 pricing Visit www flyingwirescom or call 800-517-9278

REAL ESTATE Hangar site suitable for 5Ox 50 hangar

Located at a growing Orlando Apopka Country Airport in central Florida This airport has a newly expanded runway Site is close to the FBO and runway

Airport has a newly formed EAA Chapter with numerous homebuilts $135K OBO Call Pilot Properties at 407-268-4950

SERVICES

Always Flying Aircraft Restoration LLC AampP IA Annual 100 hr inspections

Wayne Forshey 740-472-1481 Ohio - statewide

EA A

~WORKSHOPS wwwpoIyflbercom WWWoAlrcraftsprucecom

--~--

38 JULY 2008

This VAA Calendar of Events is a fraction of those posted on the newest page on the EAA website To submit an event or to view the most up to date list please visit the EAA website at wwweaaorgjcalendar During 2008 well publish this calendar as we transition to an all-web based calendar for 2009 This list does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction of any fly-in seminar fly market or other event

July 11-13 - Alliance OH - Annual Taylorcraft-Aeronca Ry-In Barber Airport (2Dl) All grassroots aircraft welcome Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday by EM Chapter 82 Contact Forrest Barber Phone 330-823shy1168 Email fbarberalliancelinkcom

July 11-13 - Lompoc CA - West Coast Piper Cub Ry in Lompoc Municipal Airport (LPG) 24th annual West Coast Cub fly-in here in the beautiful Lompoc Valley Contact Bruce Fall Phone (805) 733-1914 Email brucefalmsncom

July 12 - East Tawas MI - Dawn Patrol ampCommunity Festival losco County Airport (6D9) Local Summerfest Car Show Pancake Breakfast Brats for lunch Taildraggers especially welcomed 7-12 noon Contact Marvin Poland Phone 989-362-5832 jalexanderglrcapgov

July 13 - Middleton WI - EM Chapter 1389 Pancake Ry-in Morey Airport (C29) Rain or shine Ry or drive Event is part of Middleton weekend City Celebration Start Time 7-12 noon Contact Roman Bukolt Phone 608-848-4108 conceptmodestdsnet

July 19 - Delaware OH - EM Vintage 27 Ry In Breakfast (DLZ) Ry In Breakfast Start Time 0800 End Time 1000 Contact Woody Mcintire Phone 6145652887 Email wjmcintirecscom

July 19 - Houston TX - Wings amp Wheels - Raffle Day 1940 Air Terminal Museum (HOU) In July of last year we began selling raffle tickets for our beautiful award-winning polished aluminum 1947 Cessna 140 Admission is $10adults and $5children fee waived for all Cessna 120140 arrivals 10-5pm Contact Megan Lickliter Phone 713-454shy1940 info1940airterminalorg

July 19-20 - Independence OR - Independence Ragwing fly-in Independence State Airport (7S5) First Annual Ragwing Ry-In at Independence (7S5) Start Time 0800 PDT End Time 1000 PDT Contact Andy Duncan Phone 503838 9870 Email kiaoranaWVicom

July 19-20 - Mulino OR - 52nd Annual Blueberry Pancake Ry-In Breakfast Mulino Airport (4S9) Mulino Chapter of the Oregon Pilots Association 52nd annual pancake breakfast and fty-in drive-in Motorcycles antique cars and vintage airplanes Admission adults $7 children $6 0730-1300 Contact Steve Millar Phone 503651 3802 Email cmillarweirstercom

July 20 - East Troy WI - East Troy Airport Open House East Troy Municipal Airport (57C) Fly-inDrive-in breakfast Pancakes eggs amp more 0700-1300 Airplane amp Helicopter rides Homebuilts warbirds and antique aircraft antique amp classic cars model trains Skydiving demonstration raffle with cash prizes Sponsored by Friends of East Troy Airport Contact Ken Klima Phone 414-425-7991 Email beerguy5738yahoocom

July 20 - Hanson MA - EM Chapter 279 Ry-in Breakfast Cranland Airport (28M) EM Colonial Chapter 279 Cranland Airport (28M) 0800-1100 All you can eat for a $6 donation Children through 12 years of age half price if accompanied by adult parent Ry drive ride or walk in rain or shine Antiques Classics Homebuilts Ultralights 0800-1100 Contact Carl Patturelli Email eaa279comcastnet

July 23-26 - Wausau WI- 2008 National Ercoupe Convention (AUW) Food fun fellowship with Ercoupers Includes factory tours Young Eagle flights a picnic dinner a corn roast poker fly spot landing contest flour bomb drop aircraft judging and an awards banquet Ercoupes Forneys Alons amp Mooney M-l0s welcome Start Time 8 am End Time 10 pm Contact Syd Cohen Phone 715-573-7063 Email sydloischarternet

July 25-27 - Brodhead WI - Hatz - Pietenpol Ry-In Brodhead Airport (C37) Annual Pietenpol Ry-In and Hatz Ry-In at Brodhead Airport Seminars and forums for builders and enthusiasts Free camping on field Food for purchase each day as well as nearby restaurants Contact Mike Weeden Email blueleaderwekznet

July 26 - Abingdon VA - Abingdon Kiwanis Club historic Wings amp Wheels

Ry-in amp Cruise-in for vintage aircraft and automobiles from l0-4pm Saturday No registration fee but entrants must register For info and registration form visit IWMabingdonkiwanisorg or call Bob Craig 800shy818-4393 or Gary Crane 276-224-9510

August 2-3 - Norridgewock ME - EM Chapter 736 12th annual Everything that Ries Ry-in Central Maine Regional Airport (OWK) Pancake breakfast airplane rides Young Eagle flights Saturday model airplane demos food concessions free admission primitive camping Start Time 7am End Time 6pm Contact Michael Watson Phone 207shy968-2587 Email psifairpointnet

Aug 10 - Queen City MO - Applegate Airport 21st Annual Watermelon Ry-in and BBQ 200 PM -Dark Come and see grass roots aviation at its best Info 660-766-2644 or 66O-B65-0210 or ccphanemrnet

August 10 - Chetek WI - Chetek Municipal Southworth Airport (Y23) Annual BBQ Charity Ry-In 1030 - 330 pm Modern Antique Unique planes and Warbirds Antique and Collector cars Chi ldren activities and airplane ride raffle Water ski show to follow IWMhydrofiitescom Contact info Chuck Harrison 715-456-8415 charleytangoyahoocom Tim Knutson 651-308-2839 n3nknutcitizens-telnet

August 10 - Chetek WI - Annual BBQ Charity Fly-In (Y23) Modern Antique Unique planes and Warbirds Antique and Collector cars Children activities and airplane ride raffle Water ski show to follow wwwhydroflitescom 1030-330 pm Contact Chuck Harrison Phone 715-456-8415 charleytangoyahoocom

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39

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ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

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orthborough MA 01532 508-393-4775

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Phil Coulson 28415 Spri ngbrook Dr

Lawton MI 49065 269-624-6490

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Dale A Gustafson 7724 Shady Hills Dr

Indianapolis IN 46278 317-293-4430

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Jeannie Hill PO Box 328

Harvard IL 60033-0328 815-943-7205

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Espie Butch Joyce 704 N Regional Rd

Greensboro C 27409 336-668-3650

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Dan Knutson 106 Tena Marie Circle

Lodi WI 53555 608-592-7224

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Steve Krog 1002 Heather Ln

Hartford WI 53027 262-966-7627

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Robert D Bob Lumley 1265 South 124th St Brookfield WI 53005

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SH Wes Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue

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DIRECTORS EMERITUS

Robert C Brauer EE Buck Hilbert 9345 S Hoyne 8102 Leech Rd

Chicago IL 60643 Union IL 60180 805-782-9713 815-923-4S9 1

pllOtopilotaolcom bllck7acgmaii(om

Gene Chase Gene Morris 2159 carlton Rd 5936 Steve Court

Oshkosh WI 54904 Roanoke TX 76262 920-23 1-5002 817-49 1-9 1 IO

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Ro nald C Fritz John Turgyan 1540 I Sparta Ave PO Box 219

Kent City MI 49330 New Egypt NJ 08533 6 16-678-5012 609-758-29 10 ~

MembershiR Services Directory ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND ~ EAAs VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

EAA Aviation Center PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Sites wwwvintageaircratorg wwwairventureorg wwweaaorgmemberbenefits E-Mail vintageaircrateaaorg

EAA and Division Membership Services

800-843-3612 FAX 920-426-6761

(800 AM-700 PM Monday-Friday CSn -Newrenew memberships EAA Divisions

(Vintage Aircraft Association lAC Warbirds)

National Association of Flight Instructors

(NAFl)

-Address changes

-Merchandise sales

-Gift memberships

Programs and Activities

Auto Fuel STCs 920-426-4843

Buildrestore information 920-426-4821

Chapters locatingorganizing 920-426-4876

Education 888-322-3229

- EAA Air Academy

- EAA Scholarships

Flight Instructor information 920-426-6801

Library ServicesResearch 920-426-4848

Medical Questions 920-426-6112

Technical Counselors 920-426-6864

Young Eagles 877-806-8902

Benefits

AUA Vintage Insurance Plan 800-727-3823

EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan 866-647-4322

Term Life and Accidental 800-241-6103

Death Insurance (Harvey Watt amp Company)

1-800-JOIN-EAA

EAA Platinum VISA Card 800-853-5576 ext 8884

EAA Aircraft Financing Plan 866-808-6040

EAA Enterprise Rent-A-Car Program

877-GA1-ERAC

Editorial 920-426-4825

VAA Office FAX 920-426-6579

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION EAA

Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc is $40 for one year includshying 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION Family membership is an add itional $10 annually Jun ior Membersh ip (under 19 years of age) is available at $23 annually All ma jor credit cards accepted for membership (A dd $16 for Foreign Postage)

EAA SPORT PILOT Cu rrent EAA members may add EAA

SPORT PILOT magaZine for an additional $20 per year_

EAA M e mb ers hi p and EA A SPORT PILOT magaZine is ava ilable for $40 per yea r (SPORT AVIATION magaZin e n ot inshycluded) (Add $16 for Foreign Postage)

VINTAGE AIRCRAFf ASSOCIATION C u rre nt EAA m e m be rs may jo in th e

Vintage Airc raft Assoc ia tio n a n d receive VINTA GE AIRPLANE magazine for an adshyditional $36 per year

EAA Membersh ip VINTAGE AIRPLANE magaZine and one year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46 per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not in shycluded) (Add $7 for Foreign Postage)

lAC Curren t EAA mem bers may join the

Inte rna tio n a l Aerobatic Club Inc Divishys io n and rece ive SPORT A EROBATICS magaZine for an additional $45 per year

EAA Mem bership SPORT AEROBA TshyICS m agazine a nd one year m em bership in the lAC Div isio n is ava ilable for $SS per year (SPORT AVIA TION magazine n o t incl ud ed)_ (A dd $18 f o r Fo re ig n Pos tage)

WARBIRDS Current EAA mem bers may join the EAA

Warbi rds of America Division an d receive WARBIRDS m agazine fo r an add itional $45 per year

EAA Mem bersh ip WA RBIRDS m agashyzi n e and o n e year members h ip in the Warb irds Division is ava ilable fo r $55 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazin e no t inshycluded) (A dd $7 for Foreign Postage)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS Please submit your remittan ce with a

ch eck or dra ft drawn o n a Uni ted States bank payable in United States dollars Add requi red Foreign Postage amount fo r each membership

Membership dues to EM and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

Copyright ()2008 by the EM Vintage Aircraft Association All rights reserved VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750 ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vinlage Aircraft Association of the Experimenlal Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM

Aviation Ceoter 3000 Poberezny Rd PO Box 3086 Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 e-mail vinlageaircrafteaaorg Membership to Vinlage Aircraft Association which includes 12 issues of Vinlage Airplane magazine is S36 per year for EM members and 546 for non-EM members Periodicals Poslage paid at Oshkosh Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Send address changes to Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 PM 40063731 Retum undeliverable Ganadian addresses to Pitney Bowes IMS Slation A PO Box 54 Windsor ON N9A 6JS FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow al least Wo months for delivel) of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail ADVERTISING - Vinlage Aircraft Association does nol guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising We invite constructive criticism and wfficome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken

EDITORIAL POLlCY Members are encouraged to subm~ stories and photographs Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contribulor No remuneration is made Material should be sent to Ed~or VINTAGE AIRPLANE PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone 920-426-4800

EMreg and EM SPORT AVIATIONreg the EM Logoreg and Aeronauticamiddot are registered trademarllts Irademarllts and service marllts of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc The use of these Irademarllts and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc is strictly prohibited

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