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Remember, We’re Better Together!
www.auaonline.com
Aviation insurance with the EAA Vintage Program offers:
Lower premiums with payment options Additional coverages Flexibility on the use of your aircraft Experienced agentsOn-line quote request available AUA is licensed in all states
The best is affordable. Give AUA a call – it’s FREE!
Fly with the pros… fly with AUA Inc.
800-727-3823
AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. To become a member of VAA call 800-843-3612
Our L-4 was based in the US During WWII from 1943 to 1945. We bought
it early this year and have enjoyed every minute of it. The stearman was built
in 1942 during WWII and we have owned it since 1975.
Owning and operating antique aircraft has been a part of our family for 3
generations going back to 1963 when my father Tom bought a Piper Tri-
pacer. Our family has owned aircraft ever since. Our aviation roots run
deep in this family, and that is why we choose AUA as our agency. They
have a long distinguished record of service with the types of aircraft we
operate, and understand our problems and concerns.
— Mark Henley
The Henley’s Mark,Tanner, and Johnathan
■ Mark is an ATP and has beena pilot since 1976
■ Tanner is a student pilot whoflies every chance she gets
■ Jonathan is 18 and has beena private pilot for one year
a n s A U !
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2 Straight and Level Inspection time by Geoff Robison
3 News
5 21,000-514-2,625 Volunteers make EAA AirVenture fun by Steve Krog
6 VAA Board Appoints New Advisors
8 C3B Stearman Yet another Ron Alexander project by Budd Davisson
14 On Flying an Icon by Rich Davidson
15 The Triple Tree Aerodrome Fly -in Featuring phenomenal “fun, fellowship and hospitality” by Sparky Barnes Sargent
21 Light Plane Heritage Lessons from the Hawker Cygnet by Bob Whittier
29 The Vintage Mechanic Splicing a wood wing spar by Robert G. Lock
34 The Vintage Instructor Aborted takeoffs by Steve Krog, CFI
36 Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy
38 Classifieds
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1
A I R P L A N E A P R I LC O N T E N T S
S T A F FEAA Publisher Rod HightowerDirector of EAA Publications J. Mac McClellanExecutive Director/Editor H.G. FrautschyBusiness Manager Kathleen WitmanSenior Art Director Olivia P. Trabbold
Advertising:Manager/Domestic, Sue AndersonTel: 920-426-6127 Fax: 920-426-4828
Partner Relationship Manager, Heidi HammTel: 920-426-6565 Email: [email protected]
Independent Business Relationship Representative, Larry PhillipTel: 920-410-2916 Email: [email protected]
Business Relations and Classified Advertising Coordinator, Trevor JanzTel: 920-426-6809 Email: [email protected]
C O V E R S
Vol. 40, No. 4 2012
FRONT COVER: One of the most r ecognizable logos fr om the Golden Age of aviation is the
Western Air Express ar twork as featur ed on the side of Ron Alexander’s Stear man C3B.
Read more about the r estoration of this big biplane in Budd Davisson’s ar ticle star ting on
page 8. EAA photo by Chris Miller , Stear man C3B being fl own by Rich Davidson.
BACK COVER: From the EAA ar chives comes this illustration ar twork from the Cur tiss Aer o-
plane and Motor Company of Hammondspor t, New York. The color ful illustration depicting a
Curtiss Jenny in a countr y setting is par t of an br ochure about the company and its air craft.
8
For missing or replacement magazines, or
any other membership-related questions, please call
EAA Member Services at 800- JOIN-EAA (564-6322).
15
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As I write this on the 14 of
March, the temperature
here in northeast Indiana
reached 86 degrees. Oh,
how I have longed for the days
ahead that are certain to provide us
with soft warm breezes through theopen hangar door, along with re-
duced gas and electric bills that go
along with that March fantasy. Like
many of you in the northern half
of the United States, we have actu-
ally experienced a very mild win-
ter here in northeast Indiana, but
we are really looking forward to the
springtime, and some premium fly-
ing time. I will be all set to go once
I get the C-170 annualed and a BFR
entry in the logbook.With spring’s arrival it’s critically
important to again remind every-
one to perform an extensive pre-
flight inspection of your aircraft
prior to that first breakfast run. If
you’re like me, your aircraft will
lay idle in the hangar for months
throughout the winter, and it is
clearly susceptible to those fuzzy
little four-legged visitors nesting in
the most remote areas of your air-
frame. Taildraggers are particularlyvulnerable to these little critters,
so you have to get in there and do
a thorough inspection including
the tail cone, the wings, under the
floorboards, and behind the panel.
Pull the inspection plates and use a
mirror and flashlight to get a good
look all around. If you see an un-
usual stain on your headliner that
you can’t account for, you better
look into it! These critters can leave
behind very caustic materials that
over time will cause serious corro-
sion issues on your airframe. Even
if you have never seen any mice in
your hangar, it is always a very good
idea to set traps to keep their pop-
ulation to a minimum. Rock that
wing and sump a little more fuel
than normal to make certain you
have no contaminants in your fuel
system. Be sure to pop open the en-
gine baffles and check for nesting
materials. I could go on and on, but
you get the idea here. Be thorough
in your inspection prior to that first
flight, and don’t get in a hurry. It is
a real disconcerting feeling when
one of these critters tries to run up
your pant leg on your initial takeoff
run. Trust me, I know the feeling!The Monocoupe restoration con-
tinues with recent focus on strip-
ping and refinishing the numerous
metal parts and pieces that have to
be reinstalled on the airframe. We
are on track to having the 32-foot
one-piece wing reinstalled on the
airframe in mid-April during the
first spring work party in Oshkosh.
The ominous concept of user fees
continues to haunt certain operations
within the GA community. Even if
it doesn’t directly affect our personal
operations, we certainly don’t want
that camel to get his nose under the
tent flap! A $100 per flight user fee for
turbine-powered aircraft operating in
controlled airspace. Really?
We actually fought the good fightand were able to yet again get user
fees removed from the heavily nego-
tiated FAA funding bill that finally
emerged from the House and Sen-
ate and, after passage, was sent to
the executive branch for the presi-
dent’s signature. Now, where is the
sensibility in signing the reauthori-
zation bill and then submitting the
fiscal 2013 budget calling for this
new type of GA user fee, with the
supposed intent of reducing the def-icit? Thank goodness we continue
to witness a continuously growing
level of bipartisan opposition to any
user fees by the Congressional GA
Caucus (now 195 members strong).
Because of their efforts I am pretty
confident now that any attempts at
creating any new user fees on the
GA community will very likely fail.
If you were one those who chose to
speak out to your representatives
in the U.S. Congress on the issue ofuser fees, I thank you for your ef-
forts, but let’s all continue to fight
this good worthwhile fight. Please
consider engaging your congressio-
nal representatives on this pesky
initiative, and solicit their support
of no new user fees.
Just a reminder to all of our val-
ued Vintage volunteers that our
first spring work party is scheduled
for April 13, 14, and 15. Come join
2 APRIL 2012
continued on page 38
Geoff Robison
president, VAA
STRAIGHT & LEVEL
Inspection time
It is a r eal
disconcer ting feeling
when one of these
critters tries to r un up
your pant leg on your
initial takeof f run.
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VAA NEWS
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
AD Mandates Aeronca (Rogers) Sedan Wing Inspection
The FAA recently issued Airwor-thiness Directive AD 2012-04-10 re-
quiring owners of the Aeronca 15AC
Sedan to have initial inspections of
the exposed trailing edges on both
the upper and lower main spar cap
angles on both wings. The inspec-
tions are looking for signs of cracks,
intergranular exfoliation, and cor-
rosion. While a wing failure has not
occurred in any of the approximately
255 Sedans on the FAA registration
rolls, corrosion in the structure ofa few Sedans was discovered and
prompted the FAA to issue the AD.
The first inspection must be ac-
complished within 25 hours time-in-
service (TIS) after April 17, 2012 (the
effective date of the AD), or within
the next six months after that date.
If the wing has been repaired within
the past 10 years, different inspec-
tion intervals come into effect.
If significant corrosion is found,
the wing must be repaired by re-placement of the spar cap angles,
and no splicing of those compo-
nents is allowed.
If the initial inspection does not
reveal cracks, intergranular exfolia-
tion, and corrosion, a more in-depth
inspection must be accomplished
within 12 months after April 17,
2012. The installation of inspection
panels and associated doubler plates
is needed to accomplish a visual in-
spection of the entire length of thespar. The inspection and installa-
tion of the panels and plates must
be done in accordance with Burl’s
Aircraft LLC Mandatory Service Bul-
letin No. 15AC06-08-10, dated June
8, 2010; Burl’s Aircraft LLC Manda-
tory Service Bulletin No. 15AC06-08-
10, Amendment A, dated June 23,
2010; or Burl’s Aircraft LLC Manda-
tory Service Bulletin No. 15AC06-
08-10, Amendment B, dated June
23, 2010, Rev. Original, September
15, 2011; and FAA Advisory Circular
(AC) 43.13 - 1B, Change 1, Chapter
6. (The aircraft is known to the FAAas the Burl A. Rogers 15AC Sedan,
since Burl’s Aircraft is the owner of
the type certificate previously held
by William Brad Mitchell, who had
acquired the TC from Aeronca, the
original manufacturer.)
You’ll note the identification
number of the three versions of the
Burl’s bulletin is the same; only the
revision letter changes. Rogers ad-
vised us that the inspection method
is identical in all three of the refer-ences. Some changes to inspection
intervals and additional language re-
quired by the FAA were added in sub-
sequent revisions. Service Bulletin
No. 15AC06-08-10, Amendment B,
dated September 15, 2011, is posted
on the company’s website at www.
burlac.com/Helps_and_Hints.html.
Frankly, it would have been simpler
to understand if only one reference
to the inspection service bulletin
were listed in the AD.After each of the inspections, it
is recommended that the spar be
treated with a corrosion-inhibit-
ing compound.
In the event the spar cap angles
must be replaced, the FAA estimated
that each wing could cost $8,000 to
repair, if the work were hired out to
a shop that charged $85 per hour for
the estimated 80 man-hours needed
to accomplish the job.
While we were under the im-pression that comments and pro-
cedures for an alternate method of
compliance (AMOC) were submit-
ted to the docket during the pub-
lic comment period, the FAA stated
that when it issued the AD a written,
detailed procedure had not been
submitted. The agency further men-
tioned it would consider an AMOC.
We understand that an inspection
procedure has been created using a
borescope to thoroughly inspect the
DiMatteo Named EAA Vice President of AirVentureFeatures and Attractions
Decorated U.S. naval aviator Jim Di-Matteo has joined EAA as vice pr esident,
AirVenture features and attractions. Di-
Matteo will be r esponsible for develop-
ing and coordinating the programs for
the annual EAA AirV enture Oshkosh fl y-
in, “The W orld’s Greatest Aviation Cel-
ebration.” DiMatteo led the successful
Centennial of Naval A viation Foundation
programs nationwide last year . He previ-
ously (2006-2010) ser ved as inter na-
tional race director for the Red Bull Air
Race World Series.During his 20-plus Navy car eer, Di-
Matteo flew more than 5,000 hours in
five different fighter aircraft, including
72 combat missions in suppor t of Op-
eration Deser t Storm. He also ser ved as
commanding officer for TOPGUN Adver-
sar y Squadrons in Florida and Nevada
(VFC-111 and VFC-13), wher e his squad-
rons earned the unprecedented “Triple
Crown of Naval A viation”—top honors
for operations, safety , and maintenance.
Following that achievement, DiMatteowas promoted to a position r eporting
directly to the commander of Naval Air
Forces, overseeing all TOPGUN Adver-
sary Programs.
“Jim DiMatteo is an excellent addition
to the EAA staf f,” said Rod Hightower ,
EAA president/CEO. “His backgr ound,
exper tise, and leadership will enable us
to make EAA AirV enture—alr eady ‘The
World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration’—
even better.”
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4 APRIL 2012
wing, but without the installation of
a large number of inspection holes.
We would also expect that some
may wish to submit an AMOC for
the installation of inspection panels
and doublers of their own design. In
most cases, Sedan owners will have
to repeat the inspection on an an-
nual basis after the initial in-depthinspection is accomplished. You can
download the AD from the FAA’s
website at http://rgl.faa.gov .
Beechcraft PilotProficiency Program
The American Bonanza Society
has rolled out a new online version
of its highly regarded Bonanza Pi-
lot Proficiency Program (BPPP). The
new plan allows pilots to complete
online a 13-module course contain-ing all of the material covered in the
normal BPPP course seminars. After
pilots complete the online course
they can schedule up to four hours
of flight review and instruction with
an approved BPPP CFI who is most
conveniently located to the airplane
owner. Cost of the course and flight
instruction is $495, and you must be
an ABS member.
Steve Wittman’s J-1 Standard Photo
On the back cover of the Febr uary issue of Vintage Airplane , we ran a wonder ful
black and white photo of Steve Wittman with his Standar d J-1. We do need to clarify
one point, and we can elaborate fur ther on the photo, thanks to the gener osity of a
few of our r eaders.
First, the “ANDERSON GARAGE, HAMIL TON, WIS” adver tised on the side of the
fuselage of the J-1 is not near LaCr osse, but is actually right near Steve’s home town
of Byron, Wisconsin. That Hamilton has never been incorporated, and does not ap-
pear on the state map, but it is indeed a little bur g just west of Highway 41, along
Highway 175. Our thanks to Rollie Olm (who is still fl ying a ’41 Cub), Nels Anderson,
and Carol Dodge for fi lling us in on the cor rect location for the Anderson Garage.
An early type of aerial adver tising was shown on the sides of the fuselage of
Steve Wittman’s Standar d J-1. The Anderson Garage of Hamilton, Wisconsin, wasa part of the small town until it r ecently closed. Typical of small businesses of the
1920s, the garage also had a side business selling Atwater Kent radios. The build-
ing still exists, along the west side of highway 175, just nor th of the entrance to the
west side of the Michels Materials Hamilton quar ry. The location is just a few miles
north of Steve Wittman’s home town of Byr on.
In addition, we also lear ned, with near cer tainty, the identity of the other fellow in
the photo; it’s Per ry Anderson, Steve’s par tner in the airplane (and later , his brother-
in-law). Jim Stanton, of Lake Havasu City , Arizona, reminded us of the chapter in The
Golden Age of Air Racing, written by Dr. Aaron King, in which Dr. King also points out
that the Standar d was Steve’s mount for his fi rst air race, which took place in Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, in 1926. He took second place.
From the Comfort of Someone Else’s HomeIf camping at EAA AirV enture Oshkosh just isn’t your
thing and other lodging is booked, or if you’d just rather
have a home away fr om home for your Oshkosh experi-
ence, a private r ental is the per fect option. Thousands
of people who come to AirV enture rent space in private
homes for their stay .
Along with hotel and dor mitory listings, www.VisitOshkosh.
com includes hundr eds of private r entals. Both entir e resi-
dences and individual rooms are available. Some r entals of fer
a full bed and br eakfast experience, and some even pr ovide
transpor tation to AirV enture.
Jack Morrissey, EAA 282894, r ented a bedroom for Air-
Venture 2011. The homeowner , Mark Cook, had been r ent-
ing his home for 25 years. One of his r egular renters, a
couple from Texas, has stayed with him for 20 years. “Mark
is at his local baker y by 6 a.m. to make sur e his doughnuts
and rolls ar e fresh and right out of the oven,” Jack said.
“Over the years I have hear d many tales fr om various
attendees regarding what a great family they ar e staying
with, and how gr eat the meals ar e,” Jack said. “One I r e-member is a family who r ents out rooms, and the father
is a retired airline captain and insists on feeding his r ent-
ers breakfast in his full airline unifor m.”
For private rentals, www.VisitOshkosh.com allows us-
ers to sear ch by number of rooms and for specifi c ameni-
ties, including Internet access, car r ental by homeowner,
and pet-friendly homes. The website pr ovides contact in-
formation for each listing, and some include photos and
even videos.
If you’re looking for somewher e to stay for EAA AirV en-
ture Oshkosh, a private r ental may be the per fect fi t.
J E A N E T T
E M E R T E N
H
G
F R A U T S C H Y
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
What are these numbers and whatdo they represent? No, these numbers
are not this week’s winning Powerball
numbers, nor are they the current na-
tional debt figures! They may mean
nothing to you presented in this con-
text. But they do represent a great
deal of dedication, toil, and sweat put
forth by very devoted Vintage volun-
teers during EAA AirVenture ’11.
Each year, several weeks before the
opening day of AirVenture, dedicated
folks from all over the country beginto arrive, offering their sweat equity
to make the fly-in a success, at least
in the Vintage Aircraft Association
(VAA) area. They come from all walks
of life: business owners, doctors,
teachers, architects, salespeople, car-
penters, plumbers, electricians, and
many other professions too numer-
ous to list. In some cases, entire fami-
lies volunteer. All have one purpose
in mind: Do whatever necessary to
make the Vintage area presentable,safe, inviting, and fun for all fly-in
attendees, especially VAA members.Each year more than 500 VAA
members step forward offering their
talents, whatever they may be, mak-
ing the weeklong event a memorable
experience for all. In 2011, 514 mem-
bers accumulated a total of 21,000
volunteer hours. That calculates out
to be the equivalent of 2,625 eight-
hour days, or an accumulated 7.2
years of volunteer time.
These volunteers can be foundthroughout all VAA areas on the
EAA grounds from parking air-
planes, to popping popcorn in
Vintage headquarters, to serv-
ing breakfast in the Tall Pines
Café; some give hand-propping
instructions, while others host
the Vintage in Review area,
and still more volunteer their
time as representatives of type
clubs. It seems there’s practi-
cally no end to what thesemen and women seem to be
able to accomplish. It takes
a lot of people doing a lot of
things to keep thousands of
people satisfied while attend-
ing this annual event.Although the number
grows each year, the vast majority
of VAA volunteers are repeaters.
Once they offer their time, meet,
and work with other volunteers,
friendships are established. Fami-lies become acquainted and these
friendships become lifelong.
Each year it’s like a family reunion
except, unlike most family gather-
ings, everyone gets along. All have
one purpose: Do whatever it takes
to make attending EAA AirVenture a
fun, memorable experience for all.
Next year, why not give a few
hours or one day of your time and
volunteer? It could prove to be an ex-
perience of a lifetime.
21,000–514–2,625Volunteers make EAA AirVenture fun
BY STEVE KROG
PHOTOS COURTESY STEVE MOYER
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6 APRIL 2012
Joe NorrisOshkosh, Wisconsin
Joe grew up
on a cranberry
farm in cen-
tral Wisconsin.
Several neigh-
bors had lightaircraft, and
some had air-
strips on their
property, so it
was always easy to be around air-
planes and airplane people. A close
friend of the family was the ag pi-
lot Jim Miles (EAA 158), who intro-
duced Joe to EAA by taking him to
Oshkosh for the EAA convention
in 1970, where they camped under
the wing of Jim’s Piper PA-12 Su-per Cruiser. Joe joined EAA in 1976
and became a lifetime member in
2002. Joe is also a lifetime member
of VAA (VAA 5982).
Joe earned his private pilot cer-
tificate in 1978, and bought his first
airplane in 1979—a 1955 Piper Tri-
Pacer. He flew it for about a year
and then converted it to the PA-
20 Pacer (tailwheel) configuration.
During this time Joe helped form
EAA Chapter 706 in Wisconsin
Rapids, Wisconsin. Over time Joe
has earned commercial pilot and
flight instructor certificates with
airplane and helicopter ratings, as
well an A&P certificate with IA. Joe
also acted as a DAR for experimen-
tal aircraft for a number of years.
Joe has been actively involvedwith EAA, serving as a techni-
cal counselor and flight advisor,
and has been an officer in two
EAA chapters. Joe has volunteered
at the EAA convention for many
years and was one of the five origi-
nal members of the EAA Homebuilt
Aircraft Council.
In October of 2001 Joe was hired
as a senior aviation specialist in
EAA’s aviation services department,
a job previously held by longtimeEAA employee Norm Petersen. In
2008 EAA created the position of
homebuilders community man-
ager, and Joe was selected to fill
that role. In 2011 Joe decided to get
out from behind the desk and back
behind the stick, so he left EAA and
has been working as a flight in-
structor at Cub Air Flight in Hart-
ford, Wisconsin. Joe has served as
the lead presenter for a series of
vintage airplane maintenance sem-
inars that take place in the Vintage
Hangar during EAA AirVenture.
Joe currently owns and main-
tains three vintage aircraft—a
Cessna 180, a Piper Super Cub, and
a Waco UPF-7. He has previously
owned a Piper J-5A Cub Cruiser and
another Super Cub. Joe built andflew a Sonerai II homebuilt and also
owned a homebuilt Pitts S-1C.
Tim PoppLawton, Michigan
Tim Popp
joined EAA in
1988 and i s
now a lifetime
member. He
began taki ng
flying lessonsand attended
his first EAAconvention
that same year and has attended ev-
ery convention since. Tim earned
his private pilot certificate in 1989
and later added a tailwheel endorse-
ment and an instrument rating. He
joined VAA in 1994, about the same
time he began volunteering with the
VAA Contemporary Aircraft Judges.
He currently serves as the vice chair-
VAA Board
Appoints New Advisors
More than 30 years ago, the Vintage Aircraft
Association (back then it was known as the
Antique/Classic Division) board of direc-
tors began a program that would have long-
lasting benefits for the division and its membership.
They created a management environment that fosters
a better understanding of a potential board member’s
capabilities and interests. The new program, dubbed
the “Antique/Classic advisor,” gave men and women
who were interested in serving on the board the op-
portunity to learn more about themselves and thedivision, while giving the board the opportunity to
evaluate a potential board member over a period of
months or years. Many folks who have served the
division as advisors have gone on to serve as direc-
tors, and our most recent presidents, Butch Joyce and
Geoff Robison, both started their volunteer leadership
careers as advisors.
During the fall board meeting, three new advisors
were appointed to serve the VAA board in that capac-
ity. They are Joe Norris, Tim Popp, and Ron Alexan-
der. In June of each year, as we present the slate for
the board of directors’ election, we publish a short bi-
ography and photo. So you can come to know theseindividuals better, here are the biographies of our
three newest advisors.
TM
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
man of the group. He owns a 1958
Cessna 172, which he purchased in
1994 and has slowly restored over
the years. He is currently building a
Van’s Aircraft RV-7. He is an active
member and past president of EAA
Chapter 221 in Kalamazoo, Mich-
igan. He is an active Young Eagles
program participant, having flownmore than 500 Young Eagles over the
years. He earned his bachelor’s and
master’s degrees from the University
of Michigan and is an environment,
health and safety manager for a ma-
jor pharmaceutical company. He has
been happily married for more than
25 years to his wife, Liz, who also ac-
tively volunteers with the VAA.
Ron Alexander
Griffin, Georgia Ron Alexan-der learned to
fly at age 16 in
his hometown
of Blooming-
ton, Indiana.
He went into
t h e U n i t e d
States Air Force
in 1964, com-
pleting pilot training in 1965. He
served a total of five years in theAir Force including a combat tour
in Vietnam. After military service,
he was hired by Delta Air Lines.
After starting his career in 1969,
he retired as a captain in 2002 af-
ter 33 years of ser vice. Ron has
been involved with antique air-
planes since 1975 when he first
began restoring a P T-17 Stea-
rman. In 1979 he founded Alex-
ander Aeroplane Company, which
was later sold to Aircraft Spruce.Ron also developed the SportAir
Workshops program that is cur-
rently being presented as the EAA
SportAir Workshops program. He
lives in Griffin, Georgia, where
he has several antique airplanes,
including a Stearman Model 6
and a Curtiss Jenny that is un-
der restoration. He is developing
an antique airplane museum that
replicates the original Atlanta,
Georgia, airport.
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8 APRIL 2012
Yet another Ron Alexander project
BY BUDD DAVISSON
PHOTOS CHRIS MILLER
StearmanC3B
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
Ro n A l e x a n d e rdoesn’t believe in
leaving a lot of
white space in life:
If there is spare
time available, put it to use. He
appears to be a man who looks
back at each day and says,
“Did I invest it wisely and get
something accomplished?”
He could easily be selected as
the poster boy for the “Get ’er
done” generation.
His C3B Stearman that was
on display at EAA AirVenture
(to longtime fly-in warriors:
read that as “Oshkosh”) 2011
was yet another immaculate
example of how he likes to seehis time and money invested:
Take a basic concept, in this
case, a really worn out air-
frame, and turn it into some-
thing that is beautiful yet
meant to be flown. In fact, the
airplane is representative of a
lot of the business and personal
philosophies that have always
guided Ron’s way of thinking.
For several decades Ron has
had a pretty high profile in
sport aviation. So high that
it’s easy for the casual observer
to pigeonhole him as “one of
the high rollers” and look no
deeper. He didn’t develop thatkind of profile by accident, and
if someone feels driven to pi-
geonhole him (which is hard
to do), it should be as “one of
aviation’s serious achievers and
entrepreneurs.” He plays hard
(which is most visible), but he
works even harder and has a
natural flair for entrepreneurial-
ism: He sees a need and builds a
business around it. A lot of busi-
nesses, actually (see the sidebar).And then there is the C3B
Stearman. When Ron and his
partners combined Stits/Poly-
Fiber, Randolph, and Ceco-
nite, they were incorporated
into the Poly-Fiber operation
on Flabob Airport in Riverside,
California. A part of that op-
erated as Flabob Restoration,
and that’s where he took the
bedraggled C3B Stearman that
followed him home one day.
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10 APRIL 2012
The for ward cockpit has just enough instr umen-
tation to give a passenger/pilot enough infor ma-
tion to keep the Stear man pointed in the right
direction.
The aft pilot’s cockpit of the C3B.
The fuel tank for the C3B is in the center sec-
tion of the upper wing, so the fl oat-activated fuel
gauge is mounted on the bottom of the tank, so
the pilot can see it at a glance.
A brass venturi supplies vacuum to r un a pair of tur n & bank
indicators.
Well, not quite “W right.” In an ef fort to preser ve the look of
the Stear man, the Wright lettering is applied to the r ocker
boxes of the mor e-reasonable-to-maintain L ycoming R-680.
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
“There was no specific reason I
got the C3B. I just happened to
like the type, and the 1928 mod-
els are fairly rare. Plus the deal that
popped up made sense. A tornado
had dropped a hangar on my beauti-
ful PT-17, and his C3B was located
just a few miles away. The owner
of the C3B, a good friend, wanted
to restore the wrecked PT-17, so wetraded airplanes.
“This particular C3B had seen
some of life’s rougher roads and,
judging from some of the tubing
modifications in the front seat, may
have been a duster/sprayer at one
time. It was typical of a lot of the
big old biplanes that go through
a series of hard times, with each
owner making additional, and usu-
ally worse, modifications and Band-
Aid fixes. It was way past due for a
total rebuild.
“The original Wright J-5 had
been replaced with a Continental
220, and the front seat had been
raised 10 inches. Don’t ask why. We
don’t know. Plus it had 30 pounds
of lead in front: It had a very aft
CG. But, it was flying. Sorta! In fact,
I flew it that way for several years
before I couldn’t stand it anymoreand took it out to Flabob where I
turned Brian Newman, and his
helpers Hualdo and Nando Men-
doza, loose on it.
“All things considered,” he says,
“the wings weren’t too bad. We
didn’t have to do any major wood-
work, spars, etc., other than repair-
ing a bunch of ribs and replacing
the hardware and leading edges.
The fuselage was another story.
“About all we used from the fu-
selage was the tubing structure it-
self, and much of that had to be
replaced. The front tubing had
been cut and welded in a number
of places and had to be rearranged
to match factory drawings, a sure
sign that it had been a duster. And a
lot of it was corroded. That’s true of
all old airplanes, but dusters espe-
cially. The tail, being made of steel,was also badly corroded, so we did
a lot of cutting and welding.”
The landing gear not only wasn’t
original, but also was rusted be-
yond saving. They would have
been welding patches to patches, so
they opted to build an entirely new
one. The major struts and leg tub-
ing are all round but are faired ei-
ther with aluminum or balsa wood
glued to the back of the tube and
wrapped in two layers of fabric and
“. . . the lines visually flow from the spinner,
back up across the firewall to the fuselage.It’s very streamlined, in a clunky sort of way.”
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dope. Just the way they would have
done it back in the day.
Ron says, “The sheet metal was
essentially worthless. Barely good
enough for patterns and not even
good patterns. Brian did all of that,
and he really had his work cut out
for him. While it looks simple, it’s
really not. Especially with all thebeading, curves, and access pan-
els. And it had to be right. There’s
something about the airplane that
draws your eyes to the engine and
everything around it, and if some-
thing isn’t right, it would really
stick out. The spinner was spun in
Chino, California, and even though
that big old engine is between the
spinner and the sheet metal, it’s as
though it isn’t there because the
lines visually flow from the spinnerback up across the firewall to the
fuselage. It’s very streamlined, in a
clunky sort of way.”
It’s not too surprising to find
that the covering and finish on the
airplane is Poly-Fiber all the way
through: Poly-Fiber fabric painted
with Poly-Tone and Aerothane (six
coats of it) on the metal. What is
surprising, however, is to find that
there are no decals or vinyl mark-
ings on the airplane. All of theWestern Air Express air mail mark-
ings are paint with the wonderful
Western Air logo hand painted by
Louie Check of Little Louie’s.
One aspect of Ron’s plans for the
airplane that probably has hard-core
antiquers grinding their teeth was
that he actually wanted to fly the
airplane as if it were a regular air-
plane. He didn’t want to constantly
worry about things breaking down.
Especially when he knew there wereacceptable ways to improve on some
of the systems. Ron is all for origi-
nality but not when it compromises
the reliability, safety, and maintain-
ability of the airplane. At the same
time, he didn’t want to deviate too
far from the antique mold, and that
began with the engine.
“The original Wright J-5 is a
unique-looking engine,” Ron says.
“Being nine cylinders rather than
seven, it just looks busier than later
seven-cylinder Wrights like the J-6,
especially with all those long push-
rod tubes. But, it’s a tough engine
to support these days, so we wanted
to go with something that had the
same look but was more modern
because we planned on flying the
airplane a lot. The 220 Continen-
tal just doesn’t look right, eventhough it is much newer and eas-
ier to maintain. The only engine
that looked right was the much
later 300-hp Lycoming R-680. But,
we couldn’t be seen flying around
with a Lycoming engine on a C3B
Stearman, so we decided to camou-
flage it: We hand lettered ‘Wright’
on the rocker arm covers. Most
folks have to look twice, or three
times, to see it’s not a Wright.
“The Lyc is also a little heavier andcombined with the 2D20 Ham-Stan-
dard prop helps the CG problem.”
The fuel system was also rebuilt
in the interest of reliability. Instead
of having to use a wobble pump to
get fuel from the 28-gallon fuselage
tank up into the 46-gallon center
section tank so it would gravity
feed, both tanks are now plumbed
to gravity feed.
Antiques like the C3B were de-
signed to work off grass fields, sowhen they are put on pavement,
their manners are sometimes some-
what less than hospitable, which is
greatly aggravated by the marginal
tail wheels and brakes of the day.
Brian and the Mendozas solved
that for Ron by changing out the
old cable-operated brakes for Red
Line disc brakes and putting a steer-
able PT-17 tail wheel out back. It is
a Stearman part, so that’s not really
too awful, is it?The finished airplane is a classic
piece of aviation art. And, as so of-
ten happens, someone wanted that
airplane so badly that he was able
to talk Ron out of it. Where some
aviators are busy building replica
aircraft, Ron Alexander is too busy
building his Atlanta airport replica,
Candler Field, to fly it as much as
he would like. So, the C3B has gone
to a new, highly appreciative home.
And we’re all jealous.
Ron Alexander: Aviation Entrepreneur Born in Bloomington, Indiana,
Ron says, “I’ve just always been an
aviation guy. No one in my family
had the bug, but somehow I caught
it and joined the CAP when I was
14. In fact, my first airplane ride was
in the back of a C-119 on a CAP trip.
“I started flying a Champ,” he re-
members, “when I was 16 and just
kept going. By the time I got into
Air Force ROTC in college, I alreadyhad my commercial ticket and CFI.
Then, in ’64 I went into the Air
Force and completed flight training
at Reese AFB.”
Ron flew C-130s for a few years
before finding himself in Vietnam
flying the de Havilland C-7 Cari-
bou. “We did a lot of mission sup-
port for the special ops guys, most
of which was pretty ‘interesting.’”
He doesn’t mention it, but he re-
ceived a Distinguished Flying Crossfor some of the flying, which attests
to the “interest” level attached to it.
“I came out of the Air Force and
went right to work for the airlines, re-
tiring 33 years later, in 2002. I started
out in DC-9s and ended up in 767s.”
Ron worked for the airlines, but
he flew for himself. Almost imme-
diately upon joining the airlines, he
started looking around for a vintage
or antique airplane. “I really wanted
a Stearman, and there were lots of
12 APRIL 2012
P H I L
H I G H
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15/44VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
projects around, but at the time I
just couldn’t quite swing something
that big. So, I bought the next best
thing: a J-3 Cub. At the time it cost
$3,500. I was based at O’Hare and
kept it at Olson Field, west of there.
Four years later I was moved to At-
lanta, and the Cub came with me.
Unfortunately, it was tied down out-side, and a thunderstorm severely
injured it. It was resurrected and
continues to fly today.”
“The airplane that really got me
started on the business side of avi-
ation was a PT-17 Stearman proj-
ect I finally found. It was an uncut
duster from the Shreveport, Louisi-
ana, area, and I was determined to
finish it quickly. So, if I wasn’t in
an airliner cockpit, I was out in my
workshop. I averaged 12-14 hoursa day, every day that I wasn’t fly-
ing, on the project. I really loved
the work, and it was chosen as the
‘Best PT-17’ at Galesburg that year.
So, I felt good about that.”
A Stearman of any kind is a huge
project and entails every aspect of
building aircraft: wood, steel, fabric,
paint, aluminum. The airplane gave
Ron a crash course in aircraft build-
ing, from sourcing and ordering the
materials to developing the hands-on skills to put those materials to
work. In so doing, he clearly saw
what the amateur aviation crafts-
man was up against in every area.
“First, I was having trouble find-
ing supplies of all kinds, but espe-
cially covering materials. Although
there were sources out there, they
just weren’t convenient, and one
thing led to another and I wound up
buying a Stits distributorship. And,
since I was suddenly in the businessof selling aircraft-covering materi-
als—when I wasn’t flying for the air-
lines, that is—I found I was going to
need to both form a company and
come up with a catalog. The busi-
ness was Alexander Aeroplane Com-
pany, and we put the first catalog
together on my kitchen table.
“As we started marketing the
Stits products, I decided to expand
the product lines we were selling
and, amongst other things, became
a Randolph dope distributor. Then
it was other types of aircraft parts
and hardware. Before I knew it the
company had grown into a sizable
project of its own, and marketing
was central to it.
“In ’91 I thought it would be a
good marketing move to have a dis-
tinctive aircraft of our own to taketo fly-ins, so we bought a $50,000
DC-3 that was sitting at Tamiami,
Florida. We put about six months’
worth of elbow grease into it in-
cluding painting ‘Alexander Aero-
plane Co’ on the side and have
been using it to go to fly-ins since.”
Although Ron knew airplanes
really well, that original Stearman
reminded him of all the things he
didn’t know, and his entrepreneur-
ial mind reasoned that he wasn’t theonly airplane guy in that position.
“To me, it seemed as if there was
a real need for hands-on education
in aviation. When we got the Aero-
plane Company going, that be-
came even more obvious because I
had to run classes for my salespeo-
ple. Most of them had come to us
from outside of aviation, so we had
to train every one of them on how
to use the stuff they were selling. I
felt that they had to be more thanorder takers. For a company to be
successful in this field, they had to
be able to answer the tough ques-
tions. A good percentage of our
customers had never worked on an
airplane before and were naturally
looking to us for advice. So, as part
of building our customer service,
I had to formalize training for the
salespeople. From there it was a
simple and logical move to make
that same kind of training avail-able to our customers, and an en-
tirely new product line was born:
the SportAir Workshops.
“Since so many of the skills we
were teaching were very portable,
we began setting up traveling road-
shows, and that program took on
a life of its own and continued to
grow. Eventually, the EAA took over
the workshops, which I think was a
good move for all concerned. The
EAA’s charter is based on education,
and ours was selling aircraft prod-
ucts, so the SportAir Workshops
concept works better in an educa-
tional environment.”
Actually, staying up with all of
Ron’s various aviation bus iness
dealings can get a little daunting.
For instance, he sold Alexander
Aeroplane Company to Jim Irwin,owner of Aircraft Spruce, who re-
opened it as the eastern branch
of his own California-based com-
pany. Ron had also purchased Poly-
Fiber from Ray Stits and left it based
at Flabob Airport in So-Cal. He
merged Poly-Fiber with Ceconite
and bought Randolph Paint Co., a
leading manufacturer of dope and
aircraft finishes, and brought that
out to Flabob as well.
Are you losing track? This is un-derstandable. Us too.
Ron had always wanted his own
museum that would be a true flying
museum where every aspect of it not
only displayed aviation’s roots, but
also would put most of those aircraft
back in the air. He has sold out of all
of his various companies and now
concentrates on the Candler Field
Museum located in Williamson,
Georgia, just south of Atlanta.
The Candler Field Museum isnot exactly a museum. At least not
the way you think of museums. It
is to be an accurate re-creation of
the original Atlanta airport as it
existed in the 1920s when it was
still known as Candler Field. It
was named after Asa Candler, the
founder of Coca-Cola, who had
originally developed the land to be
a racetrack and sold it to Atlanta
to be its airport. Little by little Ron
is re-creating all of the buildingsthat were on the airport at the time
(the American Airlines hangar and
Barnstormer’s Grill are finished,
and others are under construction).
Some house museum airplanes and
cars, while others will have unique
uses including apartments for avia-
tion retirees. The replica of the art
deco Candler Field terminal will
house a hotel and banquet facility.
It can never be said that Ron Al-
exander doesn’t think big.
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14 APRIL 2012
The very first C series Stearman
was delivered to its owner the samemonth Lindbergh flew the Atlantic
and the last Model T drove off the
line. One year later, construction
on the C3B, seen here, began.
If you want to know how the
Stearman may fly, study it with its
history in mind. As a biplane you
know it will have great lift. Mounted
with an improved and slightly larger
powerplant than original, you
would also expect it to perform to
or exceed the standards of its peers.Sitting tall on sturdy outrigger gear
and large diameter wheels with
high-pressure tires gives the aircraft
an impressive stance. Yet its pres-
ence is only a byproduct of engi-
neering. Designed to handily carry
weight, driven forward by large di-
ameter props, over wildly varying
landing surfaces, the gear accounted
for many design concerns of the
day. In terms of flying, though, you
should also see that P-factor and pre-cession, along with a high center of
gravity, are things to be considered
during takeoff and landing. The fact
it was originally constructed with
a tail skid offers you the final crit-
ical piece; the plane was designed
and built to be flown to and from a
three-point attitude. Honor the de-
sign and it will honor you.
Equipped with minimum instru-
mentation and nothing extra in
terms of flight controls, from the pi-lot’s seat this aircraft feels surpris-
ingly refined. Once comfortably
inside, the small cockpit opening
feels made to fit. This is partially
due to the rakish windscreen that
envelopes a large part of it. Inside,
though, the cockpit feels huge. Be-
low the panel, mounted well for-
ward, rudder pedals hang just in
front of a seemingly identical set
of pedals that come up out of the
floor that are actually the brakes.
These pedals are the most com-
monly asked about item in the cock-
pit, but they are surprisingly easy to
use, which is odd for aircraft of the
period. In the middle, a tall control
stick implies that leverage is critical
to the movement of the control sur-
faces. As for fuel, the selector offers
the options of off, main, and fuse to
control a supply of 72 gallons of gas.
Finally, left of the pilot’s seat, withthe control lever sticking forward, is
the stabilizer trim control that was
obviously sourced from or inspired
by Farmall, Oliver, or John Deere.
Taxiing the C3B requires the
same S-turn method used for most
vintage aircraft. Safely taxiing the
C3B requires it be exaggerated.
Despite having enough visibility
for takeoff and landing, the for-
ward view, compromised by the
small cockpit opening, is restrictedenough to require extra attention.
Takeoffs in the “B” are fun and
easy. Push the throttle forward and
hold the stick neutral. Thanks to
the steerable tail wheel and outrig-
ger gear, little effort is required to
keep her straight. Yet, even if she
wanted to wander, your ground-
speed increases, the controls come
alive, and she lifts off so quickly
there is little time for you to screw
it up. Once in the air keep pull-ing back until your airspeed is sta-
bilized at 55-60 mph and you are
on your way to vintage nirvana. A
look at your wingtips excites you.
In the B a 30-degree deck angle and
a 1,000-plus foot per minute climb
is not uncommon. Not every old
bird climbs like this, and still the
Stearman has more surprises.
Level flight is something the
C3B seems to have been made for.
Although some owners of other
C3s report just the opposite, Serial
number 241 is a dream traveler. Asif on a mission to go somewhere,
straight and level is how she wants
to fly. But that can also be an issue
for prospective owners. The plane’s
controls are a mix of effective rud-
der and elevator with ailerons that
seem at times to not exist. There-
fore, if you dream of your own C3B
for short pleasure flights, it is not
the plane for you. The meandering
path of a local flier would quickly
exhaust anyone flying this machine.On the other hand, if you dream of
filling the tanks and taking off for a
weekend destination, and for some
reason you think it should be done
in a vintage aircraft at 100 mph, you
could not find a better machine.
Landing the C3B is an exercise in
vintage flying that starts a mere few
hundred feet laterally from the end
of the runway. Pulling the power
to idle, the remainder of the ap-
proach involves lowering the noseto maintain 70 mph and starting a
turn. Done correctly, you will roll
wings level roughly 200 feet from
the runway with an option to slip
off the remaining altitude. Touch-
down happens in a three-point at-
titude with a speed south of 45,
and the rollout, like the takeoff, is
almost too short for you to screw
it up. There’s only one catch: the
Stearman airfoil. Flare 3 mph fast
and you’ll float 1,000 feet; do it 3mph slow and you will touch down
with the grace of a rock.
It’s a terrific airplane, and I’m
privileged that Ron allowed me to
be his pilot at AirVenture 2011 be-
cause I truly love the B.
Rich Da vi ds on and Gin ger, hi s
aviator wife, are the proprietors of
Lee Bottom Flying Field in southern
Indiana, hard on the nor th bank of
the Ohio River. Visit their website at
www.LeeBottom.com .
On Flying anIcon BY RICH DAVIDSON
C H R I S M I L L E R
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Flanked by lakes, trees, and
pastoral fields in a scenic
area near Greenville, South
Carolina, Triple Tree Aero-
drome seems like something out of
a dream. Its expansive, emerald-
velvet runway stretches nearly to
the horizon from pattern altitude,
and it’s rather awe-inspiring to be-
hold, especially during Triple Tree’s
annual fly-in, when hundreds of
airplanes migrate to the field in
well-orchestrated arrivals.
The pilots of those planes have
the uncommonly delightful op-
portunity to touch down and roll
out on a 7,000- by 400-foot grass
airfield, and they are heartily wel-
The Triple TreeAerodrome Fly-in
Featuring phenomenal “fun, fellowship and hospitality”
BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT
DON LOVINGOOD
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16 APRIL 2012
comed to enjoy the
best amenities a fly-in has to offer.
The Triple Tree Fly-in is quickly
becoming popular in the mid-southeast region, as evidenced by
the 450 aircraft that flew in last
year. Aviation-minded people are
encouraged to attend and camp
on-site in the virtually manicured
camping areas.
Triple Tree has had flying ma-
chines ranging from powered
parachutes and gliders to a Corsair
and DC-3, including a wide variety
of classic, vintage, and experimen-
tal airplanes, fly in to the field. A
volunteer group of profes-
sional air traffic control-
lers give traffic advisories
from their lofty perch in
Triple Tree’s refurbished
World War II-vintage
control tower ( which
was previously the active
tower at Donaldson Air-base in Greenville).
Lou Furlong of Geor-
gia has attended sev-
eral hundred fly-ins
throughout the past
50 years, and while
he’s enjoyed all of them,
Triple Tree immediately
became his favorite when he at-
tended its fifth annual fly-in in
September 2011. “The arrival pro-
cedures are well-thought-out andsafe. Definitely first class! Once on
the ground, I was impressed by the
orderly flow of traffic, thanks to
the many trained volunteers,” Fur-
long explains, adding with a smile,
“there is shaded camping, and hot
showers and hot food available for
breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They
even have a ‘cook your own’ steak
night, and a centrally located pa-
vilion has flat-screen HDTV for
the weekend football games! I was
most impressed with the positive
attitude of the many volunteers.
They went out of their way to en-
sure we were having a good time.
Once I met Triple Tree Aerodrome
owners Pat and Mary Lou Hartness,
and event organizer Pat Derrick, I
understood where all the enthusi-
asm comes from. They aren’t happyuntil you are happy!”
Genesis of Triple TreeThe Hartnesses first bought the
nearly 405 acres of neglected farm
property in 1997, and commenced
a tremendous amount of clearing,
moving earth, and grooming—with
a vision of creating a site for people
to enjoy aviation. All told, it took
them nine years to get the runway
to 7,000- by 400-feet wide and us-able before they would invite the
public to a fly-in. Pat Hartness says:
“When we bought the land, we
wanted to create as fun a place to
come fly as humanly possible, with
the lakes and the hiking trails and
the things that we claim makes
Triple Tree a different kind of fly-
in.” He adds, “In the interim, while
we were working on the land, we
established probably the largest
radio-control event on earth—we
Myriad airplanes on the fl ightline, and a tether ed hot air balloon in the backgr ound.
Pa t and Mar y Lou Har tne
s s.
MARTIN BETTS
L O U
F U R L O N G
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19/44
bring 6,000 to 8,000 people in to
Triple Tree each year to participate
in our large-scale, radio-control
event, which is called the ‘Joe Nall
Fly-in.’ But we could not have full-
scale airplanes until we had a run-
way that we felt that would be safe
on approaches, and have plenty of
room for people that maybe aren’t
as gifted as someone else to land.
That was part of our ambition to
make the runway long, plus it was
possible to make it that long be-
cause of the way the land was pre-
sented to us.”
The funding for the Aerodrome
improvements are derived partially
from the modest amounts charged
for camping and registration during
the Triple Tree fly-in, as well as the
Joe Nall Fly-in (a world-renowned
large-scale radio-control model-air-
craft event), and from Pat Hartness
himself. “The Nall,” as it is some-
times called, was named in mem-
ory of Joe Nall, who was Hartness’
college roommate at Furman Uni-versity in Greenville.
Derrick explains, “Joe later be-
came the spokesman for the NTSB,
and he was an emcee at the R/C
events that Pat held before Joe was
killed in a plane crash down in
South America.” (The 30th annual
Joe Nall Fly-in will be held in May
2012—for more information, visit
www.JoeNall.com.)
Pat Hartness and the volunteers
have personally been leveling andsanding the earth with heavy ma-
chinery and getting the runway set-
tled for several years. Next, they’ll
be sprigging 419 Tifton Bermuda
grass along 4,800 feet of the run-
way in early June 2012, so it will be
ready for the sixth annual fly-in in
early September. Hartness says:
“We are making the runway
where it will be equivalent to a re-
ally fine fairway for golfers—similar
to the ‘Augusta National’—exceptit will be for full-scale aircraft. You
can walk barefooted at Triple Tree,
and it feels like you’re on a carpet.
I think that’s a vast difference be-
tween our field and others. Why are
we so inclined this way? We want
the place to be discovered, and we
want it to be able to perpetuate it-
self. Once our foundation is estab-
lished, it will own the property. Our
board of directors will be charged
with the responsibility of makingit work, in perpetuity. If it doesn’t
work, the worst thing that can hap-
pen is that 405 acres will be a real
nice piece of green land forever. But
we want it to be aviation; we want
aviation written all over it!”
Pat Hartness says his inspiration
for the Triple Tree Fly-in was nur-
tured by a desire he shared with
several friends:
“We wanted to have a culture of
people that had the right attitudeVINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
Airplanes everywhere!
The pavilion, surrounded
by aircraft.
Four hundred fifty aircraft flew in for the fifth annual fly-in.
PAT HARNESS
DON LOVINGOOD
JIM MARLAR
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18 APRIL 2012
to host people and allow them to
have the best time that they could
have—and for us not to be the
bosses, but to be the best hosts and
hostesses we could be. That was re-
ally the incentive, and then with
the beauty of the place, we said,
‘How can we make it special, so
that it will catch on to the mag-
nitude that people will come in
greater numbers, and we can be
very successful?’ The actual mo-tivation behind that was to have
the best of the best, and really
work diligently to make it be that.
Pat [Derrick] is the first person I
talked to about dreams and aspira-
tions for Triple Tree, and then we
shared it with our other 30 base
members who help us in the full-
scale as well as the model events
that we host, which are numerous.
My wife, Mary Lou, is also very in-
volved and supportive.”
In fact, the Aerodrome was chris-
tened by Mary Lou. “There were
three huge oak trees that were on
this piece of land that was previ-
ously farmed with cotton, pump-
kins, and watermelons for many
years,” recalls Hartness, adding,
“then the farm became kind of der-
elict, but the three big oak trees re-
mained, and my wife named it Tri-
ple Tree. One tree died in a recent
drought, but we planted anotherone in its place.”
Aviators at Heart
Part of Triple Tree’s success is the
fact that both Pats hail from a family
background in aviation, and have
been flying for years themselves.
Hartness, who soloed a Cessna 172
when he was 18 and has been flying
for 50 years now, fondly recalls his
earliest memory of aviation. When
he was just 4, his pilot parents took
him to visit Paris Mountain Air-
port in Greenville, South Carolina.
“My mom and dad owned a Piper
Cub then, and just seeing and be-
ing around the airplanes, I could tell
that’s exactly what I wanted to do,”
Hartness explains, adding, “my dad
was a captain with the Civil Air Pa-trol, and my mother was a lieuten-
ant teaching cadets to fly during the
second World War.”
As for airplanes, Hartness likes
them all. He’s owned a 1938 Spar-
tan Executive for 40 years, which
he recently restored to a pol-
ished, mirror finish. It shares a
10,000-square-foot hangar with
his 1946 J-3 Cub, 1944 BT-13, Ex-
tra 330 LT, and a 1942 Stearman.
A Volksplane, which Hartness stillenjoys flying, represents his entry
into the world of homebuilding. “I
built that back in 1971 and flew it
400 hours. It was my early experi-
ence with building and becoming
an EAA member, and I also have a
Phantom ultralight from that era
which I still enjoy flying—that’s re-
ally flying!”
Fly-in President Pat Derrick was
also introduced to aviation when
he was a child. His father had anairplane, and Derrick started fly-
ing gliders in 1973 in Virginia. He
earned his power rating the next
year, when he was 21. After op-
erating his own flight school and
flying for some companies in the
Greenville area, he’s currently the
company pilot for Hartness Inter-
national. Additionally, Derrick en-
joys flying Hartness’ BT-13 during
a sunrise “dawn patrol” each morn-
ing during the fly-in.
Walkway to the pavilion.
The roadside entrance to T riple Tree.
DON LOVINGOOD
JIM MARLAR
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
Activities Abound!
While activities abound at this
first-class airfield and its associ-
ated facilities, there is one activity
that isn’t part of this fly-in—there
isn’t any aircraft judging. That, Pat
Hartness explains, is simply be-
cause “We just feel like if you come,you’re a winner!” And those who
do arrive at Triple Tree will very
likely feel like winners, indeed. The
scenic acreage is accentuated by a
stately pavilion and gazebos, which
provide gathering places for avia-
tors and their friends to relax and
enjoy each other’s company.
An aviator who flew perhaps the
longest cross-country to arrive at
Triple Tree this past September was
Presley Melton of Little Rock, Ar-kansas. He reflects, “Triple Tree is
the best organized regional fly-in
I’ve ever attended, and it’s abso-
lutely a wonderful place for a fly-
in. The facilities and hospitality are
‘over the top.’ From the 7,000-foot
sod runway, to the steak cookout
on the patio, to the bathhouses
with built-in hairdryers, this place
is first class all the way. Pat Hart-
ness has done everything he can
to make Triple Tree the best fly-inairport. He built this airfield and
all its wonderful facilities because
he wants people to have a place to
come together and enjoy aviation.”
Overall, Hartness describes a visit
to Triple Tree as being “di fferent
from going and landing at an as-
phalt runway, where you wonder
what to do next. There’s plenty to
do here! It’s set up to help enter-
tain and give the people a unique
destination. One thing that hashelped us do that, is that we’ve
learned a lot from the people that
have been coming here for the 29
years that we’ve run the Joe Nall
Fly-in—we have lots of experience
with hosting public events,” says
Hartness, elaborating, “Triple Tree
is like a really fun park, but it’s bet-
ter than a park. We have the Enoree
River running right by one end of
our property, and we’ve created a
grassy beach area from a sandbar,
where supervised kids can wade in
the river.”
There is also a 50-acre lake and
an eight-acre lake, where people
are welcome to catch fish and
have them for dinner if they like.There are about seven miles of na-
ture trails as well, which are neatly
maintained and wide enough for
golf carts, though most people
enjoy just strolling or jogging on
them. A large patio with an outdoor
fireplace offers a place where people
can sit in the shade of an umbrella
and watch planes landing and tak-
ing off. There’s no problem getting
from one end of the airfield to the
other to enjoy all these amenities;
ground transportation is available
in the form of school buses, which
are driven by volunteers.
Additionally, visitors can tour
the beginning of Triple Tree’s mu-
seum hangar, and see their collec-tion of airplanes and model air-
craft. Aviation-related seminars and
workshops are held during the fly-
in, and the Military History Club
of the Carolinas brings Jeeps and
other military vehicles for display.
Some of the volunteers arrange
tours of the magnificent downtown
Greenville area, while kids enjoy
their skateboards and bicycles, and
others enjoy camping with their
airplanes on the carpet of closely-
Aerial view of T riple Tree Aerodrome.
PAT HARNESS
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20 APRIL 2012
cut grass. Campers may indulge
themselves in the fully equipped
bathhouses—which, in the wom-
en’s area, boast granite counter-tops surrounding the sinks, with
eight thoughtfully designed private
showers and stalls.
One first-time attendee from
North Carolina described his expe-
rience at Triple Tree in this manner:
“There are many impressive
things about the Triple Tree Fly-
in, but perhaps the most impres-
sive is their theme of ‘Fun, Fellow-
ship, and Hospitality.’ That is just
what this fly-in is all about, and it
shows everywhere you
look—from the organized
arrival procedures pub-lished on their website
and the traffic adviso-
ries, to the folks directing
ground traffic and wel-
coming pilots and taking
care of their arrival needs
(such as fuel, camping,
registration, food). Sim-
ply put, it’s a low-stress,
just-for-fun event in a
beautiful setting, with
taxiways through thewoods to camping sites,
fishing ponds for kids of
all ages, free transporta-
tion from one end of the
field to the other, and lots
of aviation-minded folks
to mingle with. Where
else is all this available,
plus a 7,000- by 400-foot grass strip?
Many thanks to Pat Hartness for
sharing his aviation enthusiasm this
way with the public!”
You’re Invited!
Even as the variety of activities
and attractive accommodations at
Triple Tree continues to broaden,
the Aerodrome’s lush, natural
beauty is perhaps the most dis-
tinctive draw for this fly-in—en-
hanced, of course, by the con-
tagious enthusiasm of the hosts
and volunteers. Simply stated, Pat
Hartness’ favorite aspects of the
fly-in revolve around the friend-
ships and relationships it has al-
lowed him to make:
“These people are among the
finest people that I have ever met
in the world, and I look forward
to them making their pilgrimage
back to either the Nall or the Triple
Tree Fly-in. Beyond question, en-gines and pistons are nice, but the
smiling faces and relationships are
what it’s really all about.”
Derrick echoes that sentiment,
adding, “you would not believe
the amount of preparation for
the event in terms of the man
hours and the work involved, but
it’s something that we really look
forward to. We continually try
to make Triple Tree the Augusta
National [Golf Club] of airfields,and we really look forward to see-
ing those friends that we get to
see once a year. When they leave,
we always have a tear in our eyes
when we wave them goodbye.”
Pat Hartness cordially extends
an open invitation to aviators,
whatever type of aircraft they fly.
“We have quite a variety, and ev-
erybody who is a pilot, a mem-
ber of an aviation organization,
or a sincere aviation enthusiastis welcome to attend. Come and
discover a different kind of fly-
in! And when we say ‘different,’
we’re not saying anybody else’s
isn’t good; ours is just different .
We don’t want to be the biggest
fly-in; we just want it to be as
good as it can be. That’s what we
want aviation people to discover
about Triple Tree—our ‘Fun, Fel-
lowship, and Hospitality’!”
Note: Triple Tree Aerodrome(SC00) is located in Woodruff, South
Carolina (near Greenville, KGMU).
The dates for the sixth annual fly-
in are September 5-9, 2012. Fuel is
typically available on the field dur-
ing the fly-in. For more informa-
tion, visit www.TripleTreeFlyin.com
and www.Facebook.com/pages/Triple-
Tree-Aerodrome/282990699292. To
watch some videos of Triple Tree,
tune in to www.YouTube.com/user/
TripleTreeAerodrome.
. . . beyond question,
engines and pistons
are nice, but the
smiling faces and
relationships are whatit’s really all about.”
—Pat Hartness
Relaxing on the landscaped patio.
JIM MARLAR
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
If a type of lightplane called
the Hawker Cygnet were to
show up in the ultralight sec-
tion of a future fly-in, it’s very
likely that most spectators
would assume that it was another
interesting new design in this rap-
idly growing field of sport aviation.
In fact, because of its nicely
rounded wingtips, fairly clean-
lined fuselage, and curvy rudderoutline, many would remark that
it had more eye appeal than some
other more straight-lined and an-
gular types. It would therefore be
very amusing to stand to one side
and watch the expressions on their
faces as they read the descriptive
placard standing in front of it—and
found out that this design was cre-
ated in long-ago 1924!
Once that surprising information
had soaked into their gray matter,
many a younger aviation enthusi-
ast might be prompted to ask, “Say,
just how much progress has there
been in small aircraft design over
the last six decades?”
Part of a well-thought-out replyto that legitimate question would
have to be that the Cygnet was the
creation of a professional and very
competent design office. In addi-
tion to that, it was very carefully
conceived to have the best possible
chance of scoring high in a light-
plane design contest.
In 1923 there had been a con-
test at the airfield of Lympne (pro-
nounced Limm ) in the south of
England intended to encourage
the development of light and eco-
nomical aircraft suitable for private
Light Plane Heritage
published in EAA Experimenter April 1993
Editor’s Note: The Light Plane Heritage series in EAA’s 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 se-
ries, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!—HGF
LESSONS FROM THE HAWKER CYGNETBY BOB WHITTIER
EAA 1235
Above: The sole r emaining Hawker
Cygnet in flight, ar ound 1950, af-
ter being restored. Spot on fuselageside below fr ont cockpit is sunlight
shining through the clear-doped fab-
ric. Tiny windshields wer e typical of
early 1920s airplanes. One r eason
could be to minimize drag and to let
pilots feel airfl ow on their faces in
slips, etc.
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22 APRIL 2012
owners. While war-surplus military
planes were still in good supply,
they were fitted with powerful and
very fuel-hungry engines.
So much stress was placed onfuel economy, in fact, that the rules
specified that engines that powered
entries must have cylinder displace-
ments of not more than 750 cu-
bic centimeters. That’s about the
displacement found in today’s in-
termediate-weight motorcycles, so
you can understand that such en-
gines were quite small for aircraft
use. [ Editor’s note: The two-cylinder
Aeronca E-107 engine of 28 hp, which
powered the Aeronca C-2, displaced107 cubic inches, or 1753 cc—that
equates to more than twice the max-
imum displacement allowed by the
contest organizers!—HGF ]
In fact, because no aircraft en-
gine manufacturer at that time
produced such a tiny aero engine,
those who wanted to enter this con-
test had to turn to the air-cooled
and therefore reasonably light mo-
torcycle engines then being manu-
factured. Even the best of these, ofcourse, represented what was avail-
able in 1923 in the way of metals,
bearings, valves, and other things,
which means they were really not
at all the equal of today’s Harleys
and Hondas.
What engines they had to choose
from they modified as well as they
could to suit them—they hoped!—
for flight. But because these mills
in many cases were forced to run
at as much as 50 percent over rated
power in order to coax planes aloft
in a useful manner, persistent en-
gine trouble plagued everyone. By
the time the 1923 competition was
over, everyone agreed that it hadbeen a mistake to place so much
stress on fuel economy. After all,
the cost of gas—er, petrol—for
weekend flying is but a small per-
centage of the overall cost of buy-
ing and owning an airplane.
Early in 1924 new rules were is-
sued for the second Lympne con-
test to be held late that September.
They called for two-seat designs
suitable for training and cross-
country flying in an island nationthe size of Britain. Engine size was
increased to 1100 cc. [ Editor’s note:
Still significantly smaller than even
the smallest of the Aeronca engines,
the E-107.—HGF ]
The new rules also laid stress on
achieving as wide a spread as pos-
sible between minimum and maxi-
mum speeds. They hoped thereby
to gain the ability to travel from
point to point at speeds temptingly
higher than the 30 mph averagethen possible by motorcars on the
narrow, twisting roads of the 1920s.
And because they also wanted
these planes to be able to operate
out of small, unimproved fields
conveniently near to owner’s
homes and destinations, quick
takeoff and good obstruction-
clearing capability was specified.
To eliminate both the “floaters,”
too light and slow to be manage-
able in ordinarily windy weather,
and the “brick,” too fast and tricky
for inexperienced pilots, the rules
specified a cruising speed of not less
than 60 mph and a landing speed
of not more than 45 mph.As a result, where most of the
1923 entrants had been mono-
planes for the sake of achieving
lowest possible drag in order to at-
tain the maximum possible miles
per gallon of fuel, biplanes predom-
inated among the 1924 entries for
the sake of lightest possible weight
on one hand combined with great-
est possible wing area on the other
hand in order to score well on take-
off and landing tests. Some of the1923 entrants had been so carefully
designed to be fuel-stingy that they
achieved as much as 87 miles per
gallon of fuel.
Much use was made of wing
flaps—the first serious use of this
feature—not to help faster designs
to approach and land at accept-
able speeds, but to enable mod-
estly powered planes to take off
and climb out acceptably well. And
once aloft, to cruise at useful speedswith the flaps retracted.
A number of prominent aircraft
manufacturing companies were at-
tracted to the 1924 competition be-
cause of the possibility that success
with two-seaters might open up a
worthwhile civilian market. One
of these firms was the H.G. Hawker
Engineering Company Ltd., which
had emerged from the famous Sop-
with Company that had closed
down in 1920.
Oh what fun it is to taxi thr ough the grass and dan-
delions in a Hawker Cygnet! Restor ed around 1950,
G-EBMB is the sole r emaining example and is on dis-
play at the R.A.F . Museum, Hendon.
Rear view of the same shows the double ailer on horns
used to minimize twisting of the light, full-span aile-
rons. Cockpits wer e a tight fi t, and the front one is awk-
ward to get into.
THE AEROPLANE LEO KOHN
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
During World War I, Sopwith
had specialized in fighter aircraft in
which both light weight and high
strength were vital qualities. TheLympne two-seater project was put
into the hands of a young engi-
neer named Sydney Camm. He had
joined Hawker in 1923, and this
plane—named the Cygnet—was his
first aircraft design project.
Of course, Camm drew on the
experience of others at Hawker, but
clearly he was a capable designer
and learned much from the small
but well-thought-out Cygnet. Proof
of this lies in the fact that he wenton to design the fast Hawker Fury
fighter biplane of the mid-1930s and
then created the memorable Hawker
Hurricane fighter of World War II.
The Cygnet (which means “a
young swan”) was a smallish air-
plane in that it weighed only 373
pounds empty and grossed at 730
pounds. But it wasn’t exactly tiny
by reason of having a wingspan
of 28 feet and total wing area of
165 square feet. While it wouldn’t
qualify as an ultralight under the
current U.S. empty weight limit
of 254 pounds, it was still very
much a lightplane. It helps tograsp this by pointing out that
the Aeronca C-3 two-seater light-
plane of 1931 was considered to
be a very light aircraft by Amer-
ican pilots. It had a 113 cubic
inch (1852 cc), 36-hp engine,
weighed 461 pounds empty and
875 pounds gross, and had 142
square feet of wing area.
The twin-cylinder, horizontally
opposed four-cycle engines used
on the Cygnet weighed from 95to 105 pounds. In contrast, today’s
two-cycle ultralight engines in the
27- to 38-hp range typically weigh
between 42 and 62 pounds.
Beginning with an assumed en-
gine weight of about 100 pounds,
Camm was left with only 273
pounds for the complete airframe.
To create a two-seater of fairly
generous proportions within that
weight limit with the materials and
construction techniques available
in 1924 called for engineering work
of a high caliber.
All or most of the spruce fuse-
lage longerons and cross-memberswere routed to I-shaped cross sec-
tions to achieve stiffness with mini-
mum weight. The fuselage frame
employed the efficient Warren truss
and was assembled with plywood
gussets riveted and screwed into
place. That’s something that simply
is not approved of today. To save
a small amount of weight, the fu-
selage was made less than two feet
wide. As a consequence, the cockpits
were a tight fit for all but thesmaller pilots.
The wing spars were of the box
type, with spruce upper and lower
flanges separated by plywood webs.
This called for much more hand la-
bor than the flat, solid spruce spars
typically used in later American
lightplanes. To make such spars,
rough lumber is merely fed through
a planer to achieve desired cross-
sectional dimensions, and com-
paratively little labor is involved.
Designed specifically to scor e as high as
possible in a 1924 design competition, the
Hawker Cygnet amounted to a specialized
airplane. The landing gear looks comically
small, but it gave the smaller pr opeller am-
ple ground clearance and helped keep the
plane’s weight to a minimum.
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24 APRIL 2012
But these box spars put the spruce
where it would handle loads tobest advantage, and so this type of
construction saved a worthwhile
amount of weight.
The wing interplane struts were
also of spruce, each being made in
two pieces, routed out, and then
glued together to create hollow struts.
Both weight and drag were reduced.
Because the stabilizer spar was
made the same way, it was strong
enough to serve its purpose without
external struts or tie rods. Through-out the plane an effort was made to
keep the number of metal fittings
to a minimum.
The vertical tail consisted of a
balanced rudder only, with no fin.
Since this rudder was able to stand
by itself, the weight of a fin and its
brace wires was saved.
Because of the plane’s overallproportions, there was not much
gap between the top of the fuse-
lage and the underside of the top
wing’s center section. Also, the cen-
ter section support struts were held
true with crisscrossed brace wires
that would have been in the way
of cockpit entry. So the front cock-
pit was located a little ahead of the
center section. Overall balance was
retained despite this forward posi-
tioning of that seat, thanks to theengine’s light weight in the nose.
Getting in to and out of the front
cockpit called for some wriggling,
but once a person was in it, forward
visibility was superb.
The landing gear had an almost
comically undersized look to it, but
its design made good engineering
sense. Because of modest propellerdiameter, it did not have to be long
to offer adequate propeller ground
clearance. Since a plane as light as
the Cygnet would not usually be
flown on more blustery days, the
gear did not have to be particularly
wide. The short, straight axle was
light in weight and automatically
lined up right and left wheels. It
was lashed to the landing gear vee
struts with rubber shock cord. Be-
cause these struts were short, theywere light and also stiff, as a result
of which they could be made of
spruce instead of steel tubing. The
only shortcoming of the low-riding
straight axle was that it could drag
through tall grass when operating
from an unmowed field.
This drawing by retired Boeing engineer Geor ge Visk illustrates ef fect of air foil thickness on inter ference in airfl ow
between the two wings of a