Vintage Airplane - Jul 1999

8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1999

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STRAIGHT & LEVEU

Bspie "Butch" Joyce

2 AlC NEWS

4

AEROMAIL

5

THIRTY

FIVE

YEARS

AT THE

OUTER

MARKERI

Dutch Redfield

10

ST. LOUIS - CITY OF FLiGHT/

Scott Langa

14 PERSIMMON AND

SILVERI

H G

Frautschy

18

THE ADVENTURES

OF

YELLOW BIRD/

Cully Caldwell

22

MYSTERY PLANE

H

G Frautschy

5

PASS

IT TO

BUCK

B B "Buck" Hilbert

7

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

8

CALENDAR


3/40

T

EL

by

ESPIE

BUTCH JOYCE

PRESIDENT,

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION

It s the beginning

ofJuly,

and EAA AirVenture 1999 is

just

down the end of the runway , so to speak. This year

should be once again a great show the entire family should be

able to enjoy.

The weekend

of

June

2

were the dates for the first annual

Vintage Aircraft area work party.

The work weekend was headed up by Bob Brauer, your

new Convention VAA Maintenance Chairman. Bob and the

crew were able to install new windows at the V AA Head

quarters and build a foot bridge across the large ditch

just

south

of

the type club tent (just

to

the northwest

of

the shower

house). There were a number of other projects that got com

pleted during this weekend. My thanks go out to everyone

who helped during this work weekend.

If

you'd like

to

know

how you might be able to assist Bob Brauer in doing Mainte

nance and other projects of that nature, you can contact him

at 3121779-2105 or E-mail [email protected].

Steve Nesse has again put together a great workshop tent

area for your enjoyment and education, hosted by your Vin

tage Aircraft

Association

. Some

of

the most well

known

names in the metal forming and

shaping

industry will be

there. The tent

is

located just south

of

the V AA Headquarters

building. Should you like any further infonnation about this

activity, contact Steve at 507/373-1674.

Located next to the Maintenance tent is one of the most

popular services that the Vintage Aircraft Association pro

vides for its members - the Type Club Headquarters. In the

past this area had been chaired by Joe and Juila Dickey. They

The aircraft parking for the

Vintage

Aircraft area is

chaired by George Daubner, assisted by Geoff Robison, who

is also the Chairman

of

Security for our area . Should you

have

any parking concerns

you

can contact George at

414/673-5885 or [email protected]. You can contact Geoff

at 219/493-4724 or [email protected].

Volunteers are always needed to help us man the different

activities in the Vintage Aircraft area during AirVenture and

our Manpower booth is chaired by Anna Osborn. Anna will

open the booth on Sunday, July 25, for you early arrivals.

Should you like to contact Anna in advance

of the show you

can do so at 803/896-4614 or [email protected].

There will once again be an Association gathering Sunday

night

during EAA AirVenture

at the

EAA

Nature Center.

Tickets for this event can be purchased at the red bam in ad

vance ofthe gathering.

Should you need any assistance or need any information

any time during the fly-in, VAA Headquarters is the place to

come. During the day, there is generally someone there who

can help. Just stop at the information booth and say, "Help "

Should there be something that I might be able to help you

with, contact me at 336/393-0344 [email protected].

There are a couple of

items Tshould pass along

to

you for

information.

As

many of

you know,

each

year for over a

decade we have given out a Participants Plaque, featuring the

convention logo and a photograph

of

your airplane on the

AirVenture

flightline.

A great memento for

you

to take

home and hang on your hangar

wall

or in your den . For
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


4/40

VAANEWS

compiled by H

G

Frautschy

ELECTION REMIN

D

ER

Don't forget to mail in your ballot

for the election

of

Officers and Direc

tors

of

the

EAA

Vintage Aircraft

Association. Included in your June is

sue, just tear it out, fill in the appropriate

blank

s and

send

it on its way

with

a

stamp on it. To be counted, it must be

received no later than July 25, 1999.

PARKJNG AT

OSHKOSH?

We'd all like to make a volunteer's

job a little easier

as

they stand in an or

ange vest directing a line

of

airplanes to

the right spot for parking. You can do

your part by using the highly legible

sign included in this issue

of

Vintage

Airplane. Have it ready to hold up to

the Flight Line Operations volunteers

after you clear the runway at EAA Air-

TH

E C

OV

E R S

FRONT

COVER ..

Ron

Karwacky's

Cessna 195 has been

a

labor

of

love

for over 15

years.

Read how

he

keeps

it

so

bright

in

this month

's

feature,

Persimmon

and

Silver,"

starting

on

page

14 . EAA Photo by Mark

Schaible,

shot

with

aCanon

Eos 1

n

equipped with an 80-200

mm

lens on

Fuji 100

slide film .

EAA Cessna 210

Venture Oshkosh '99. If

you're

flying

an Antique (built prior to Sept. I 1945),

Classic

9/1

45 through 12-55) or Con

temporary (1955 through 1960) into the

Convention, these signs are just the

ticket you need to get

to

the right spot to

park. You can even use them when you

go to other fly-ins

NEED EAA

AIRVENTURE INFO?

If

you're planning to

attend

EAA

AirVenture by flying in , you'll need to

obtain a copy

of

the NOT AM issued by

the FAA. The easiest way is to simply

pull it out of

the June

iss ue of Sport

Aviation- it 's on pages 64A&B. You

can also access it via

EAA's Fax

On

Demand

service. Call 732-885-6711

and be ready to

enter

the Fax number

you wish

to

have a copy of the Fax-On

Demand Directory sent to. Follow the

voice

prompts

for

your

in

st ructions

.

The NOT AM (and the Fax-On-Demand

Dir

ec

tory) is also available on EAA

AirVenture's website at httpllwww ir-

venture.org

We strongly recommend you obtain

your copy

of

the

NOT

AM as

early

as

you can and familiarize

yourself

with

the instructions .

It's

not hard to fly in,

and many pilots consider

it

a lot

of

fun,

but there are a lot of aircraft inbound to

Oshkosh , and it

helps knowing what

yo u' re s

upposed

to be

doing

without

having to rustle through the papers in

the cockpit trying to find the NOT AM.

Keep your eyes outside and follow the

controller's directions , and

we'll

see

you at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

AIRVENTURE 1999

Plenty to do, and plenty to see The

1999 edition of EAA AirVenture

promises to be a humdinger , with the

Salute to Air Show Legends headlining

is always a sellout, so be sure and get

your tickets early. The picnic starts at 6

p.m. on Sunday, Aug.

1

at the EAA Na

ture Center. A scrumptious buffet-style

turkey dinner will be served. Tickets

cost $8.

VAA Workshops and Forums: In

addition to the regular forums held in

the Forums Plaza, special events will

also take

place

near the V

AA

Head

quarters building, located just east

of

the Theater in the Woods. Be sure and

visit the Type Club tent, where you can

learn

about your

favorite

type

of

air

plane. Right next door

is

the

V

AA

Workshop tent, which will be bustin ' at

the seams with all sorts

of

hands-in

metal shaping going on.

Also

, be sure to take you

children

over the EAA KldVenture, located next

to the new EAA Leadership Center at

the EAA AirVenture Museum. Model

rocketry, airplane models and all sorts

of other activities will take place. Get in

on the

fun

For more information on V AA hap

penings, be sure and stop by the V AA

Headquarters building, and pick up a

copy of the VAA's own daily newslet

ter, Aerograms.

EAA

AirVenture

-

i

t 's the

world

of

aviation

in a

single place

for

one

week a year."

NEW V AA CHAPTER

Congratulations to our newest chap

ter, V AA Chapter 35 in Graner, IN. A

brand new charter was issued to them

placing them in good standing. We look

forward

to

hearing

from

president

Randy Hunt concerning Chapter activi

ties, and remind all other V AA Chapters

that you can submit photos and articles

to

Vintage Airplane. Let us see what

you '

re

up to
http:///reader/full/venture.orghttp:///reader/full/venture.org


5/40

MOTHS

AT E IRVENTURE

One

of

the groups we look

forward to

seeing

at E

AirVenture 99 is the DH

Moth

Club,

who

plan on having about a dozen biplanes at the

Convention . Michael Maniatis, chairman

of

the club, sent in these

Moth

photos

to

help

whet

your appetite:

Bill

Weiss

Gerry Schwam

Watt Martin

GEORGE

YORK

1924 1999

George

York ,

EAA 11310, VAA

1085

passed

away

9

Ed

Katzen

Michael Maniatis

George flew the

standard

Navy trainers

of the

day, and

eventually served in the Pacific

theater of operations, first flying

the TBM, then the PBY Catalina

and

finally

he was

flying

the

Martin PBM Mariner out

of

Ok

inawa when the war ended.

Home

to

Mansfield by the fall

of 1946, he enrolled

in

Ashland

College,

and

joined

the

Naval

Reserve. After two years

of

school, he

was employed

by the Gorman-Rupp

pump

company, working around his

class schedule for the last two years

of

college. He served Gorman-Rupp for 38

years , progressing from research engi

Greg

Ross

Bayard upont

the leadership positions, with Jim serv

ing as president and

George

as the

Secretary/Treasurer. George also pub

lished the Staggerwing

News,

and

continued to hold both positions until

his death.

Most

of

you will know George as the

untiring volunteer who for over 20 years

served as the Chairman of Classic judg

ing during the annual EAA Convention

in Oshkosh. A Director of the Division

since 1980, he served as an advisor to

the Board prior

to that.

George also

served

the

Board

as

Secretary from

1988-1991.

We ll miss Georges forthright obser

vations on the state of vintage airplanes,


6/40

RYAN

5T ADDITION

With Reference to page 1 1 of the

May issue of Vintage Airplane, and the

photograph of Ryan ST-A NC14955,

sin 111. In the caption

it

was stated only

four ST models were built, all of them

in

1934. To keep history straight, there

were actually five

of

the

ST's

built, all

with the

Menasco

B-4

(95 hp) from

1934 to 1937. The last one, serial num

ber

155 was sold to

Haller

Aviation,

Pretoria, South Africa,

in

1937.

It

car

ried registration number ZS-AKU.

Only one

of

the original five STs is

in existence. It is serial number 117, NC

14985, presently under restoration in

Dayton, OH. The ST -A in the photogra

phy

no

longer exists, other

than its

paperwork.

Best Regards,

Ev Cassagneres

EAA 311976, VAA 13785

Ryan Aircraft Historian

Cheshire, CT

Ev is right on the button. Joe Jupt

ner s

u s

Civil Aircraft only shows the

US registered Ryan STs but the exported

airplane does not appear.

- H.G. Frautschy

EAA

CAMARADERIE

DearEAA,

Last spring I brought a

neighbor

friend

of

mine , John Leiby, to Sun

'n

Fun '98 at Lakeland, Florida. We set

up a camper and spent about five full

days enjoying the convention, and fly

ing my PA-16 (N5674H), which was

parked in the Antique/Classic parking

area. This was not the first Sun

'n

Fun

for John, but the one that had the most

impact. To add to the excitement, I had

the opportunity

to

fly an air photo shoot

with Jim Koepnick in the EAA photo

ship. The pictures came out fantastic!

John was so impressed with the

EAA, and sport aviation that he asked

me to teach him to fly. Using a Cessna

150 from our local airport, John com

pleted his aviation training by taking his

private pilot check ride on 28 December

1998. The enclosed picture (below) is

John

(white

shorts)

and I

standing

in

front of my PA-16

Clipper.

Now

John plans on fmding an airplane of his

own and getting more involved

in

sport

aviation.

Thanks to the great impression made

by EAA, and all the friendly people in

volved with your organization, another

person has made a commitment to be

ing

involved

in

sport aviation and

attaining a pilot 's license. Next month

is

John's birthday and I have decided to

purchase him a membership

in

EAA.

Sincerely,

Mark W. Johnson,

EAA #327080, VAA 13450

Riverview, Florida

L 16 REBUILD

Dear Sir:

I see

in

April VINTAGE AIRPLANE

(Hooray for the new name) magazine

you printed A Few Questions." Per

haps you could print a few more.

I have restored USA NG L-16A 47

1271 and an starting on US NG L-16A

47-878, back to original factory colors

as best

as

I can determine.

1 Where does the factory data plate

belong?

2) Does anyone have any info on L

16

use

in

Korea?

3) Does anyone have info on these

SIN aircraft? 47-1271

started

in

the

Oregon Army National Guard and went

to CAP

in

Utah. 97-878 started

in

Army

NG

in Fargo,

North

Dakota went to

CAP in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and

was

wrecked. This

was

before CAP

used

N

numbers so this aircraft was

NEVER on the civil register and has no

Airworthiness Certificate.

4) What must I do besides rebuild it

to look like its brother in order to obtain

an Airworthiness Certificate?

Thank you,

Tony Mark!

EAA 377515, VAA 28854

P.O. Box 90

Marydel, MD 21649

Dear Tony

J'lllet the L-i6 experts out there an

swer your markings questions, but I can

add my

two cents worth on the airwor

thiness question. Since it has not been on

the civil register, you will need to have a

FAA inspector peiform a Conformity In

spection. Normally done in these cases

when the aircraft is completely restored,

it would

be

best you confirmed the

FAA s desires by contacting your local


7/40

l ve

ears

tt

Outer Marker

Part

in

our continuing series of Dutch Redfield s

early career

in

aviation

during the

heady years before

WW-II.

When

we

left Dutch last month, he had iust experienced

the thrill of his irst solo in a Bird biplane.

Chapter

Two

t

was during this very early phase

of

my flying career that Salt City A vi

ation began having financial problems

and a

former army pilot that had

no

commercial aviation experience took

over as company

manager

and com

pany pilot from Fred Mc Glynn, who

had resigned.

The flight instruction

that I re

ceived on the Kinner Bird

n

payment

for my work on the Buhl was mostly

given

by the company's new pilot,

Byron Glover, and the training under

standably was somewhat similar

to

that given

military

pilots

,

except

Glover had never instructed.

years was seldom flown.

For my

efforts

on the Buhl major

overhaul I was owed about four hours

flying time, and I was concerned with

the

company dissolving

that I

might

not

receive it.

For some

time I

had

hoped to be able to fly the beautiful

Buhl which I had been very close to.

Glover was aware

of my

longing and

I had let him know that I would trade

the four hours

of

owed flying time on

the Bird for one hour

of

dual instruc

tion on the Buhl, if it could possibly

be arranged.

One November morning he said to

me, Come,

let's

take the Buhl for a

ride ." I

thought perhaps he just

felt

Glover

pulled

the large propeller

through by hand.

Two extra long stacks directed en

gine exhaust far aft along the Buhl 's

belly.

The

exhaust sounds of the big

engine were always beautiful as

it

came to life and idled . Avoiding the

whirling prop, Glover walked around

the lower wing, climbed aboard and

slid into the right front seat

where

I

had previously installed the dual con

trols

in

hopes

I

might

get

a

few

minutes stick time. He said,

Okay,

let's go, you've always wanted to fly

this thing " I guess he had nothing to

lose because he too was soon to be

out

of

a

job,

as was Mc Glynn. But I


8/40

for its time; it was.

There was

a

strong

south

wind

blowing and the grassy field was wet

and green from an overnight

rain

.

The wind did much to mask the much

higher liftoff and landing speeds and

the wet grass covered my bumbling

efforts to achieve and maintain take

off and touchdown alignment. The

control forces and control inputs

necessary to handle this air

plane in the low level

lonely airplane but I was elated as we

jounced over the grassy field.

As we again climbed steeply

into

the increasing wind , I looked back

through the wing brace wires and

struts and down past the trailing edge

of the

shorter tapered lower wing

truck to the airport.

My brother Scotty had a flat-tired

and

battered

Model T Ford sedan

which I was able to buy from him for

$10.00. Barb and I stripped the body

from it, then drove the

chassis

, four

wheels and the engine (there wa s

nothing else left), while seated on a

wooden box that was nailed to an un

secured plank

laid

crossways

across the frame.

Our "car" had no fend

turbulence of the

Buhl Air Sedan CA-G NC8450

as it

was operated during 1933 by Salt City

ers or floorboards and,

Air Service at Amboy Airport near

Syracuse

NY.

s

trong wind,

I

just

flung back rain and

was not prepared

slush during bad

for. With my very

was

padded box.

weather. Also , re

limited experience

member

that

thi s

I

had

become ac

was in the days of

customed to the

horse-drawn milk

fingertip control

wagons with addi

pressures required

tional

hazards that

in flying the Bird

are unknown to the

and the feels

of

flight youth

of

today.

as obtained from a cock

There was room for

pit

position that

two of us to ride on the un

considerably

aft of, not for-

When there were

ward of, the airplane's wings. All

feels and forces

of

the Buhl were very

new

to

me.

We completed about six landings

and they seemed to be getting better.

At

the end of

our

last

landing

roll

Glover unfastened his seat belt and

stepped aft in the cabin. I thought he

was looking for some matches from

his jacket draped over a back seat and

was incredulous when he stepped out

of the airplane. With the prop stream

flopping his pant legs he held the door

and shouted forward.

"Okay

,

she's

all yours. Go ahead and do it " The

door closed with a whump and I was

suddenly all alone as he stepped clear

and stood at the wing tip.

Why Glover took this responsibil

panel and

saw a small

gathering

near the gas

pump alongside Harry Ward's hangar.

News that "Glover was soloing Dutch

Redfield on the Buhl " had gotten

around the airport fast. Many more

experienced aviators

felt

the event

might be worth watching.

I flew a

couple

more "passable"

landings and then taxied back across

the airport toward my friends . As the

prop clattered

the

engine

to a stop I

set the parking brakes and was a very

proud guy. There was much back

slapping and a lot

of

wisecracks. I sa

vored them all.

I am certain that this was the great

three, we rigged a

longer plank

which the weight

of

the two inside oc

cupants held down for the unscheduled

extra passenger. Our grateful rider sat

on the end

of

this board which pro

jected

outside and beyond the frame.

Here he perched between the front and

back wheels with his feet dangling a

few inches above the pavement. This

was a most miserable position for our

extra passenger on sloppy days but he

was afforded some degree

of comfort

from the pants-scorching heat emanat

ing from the

exhaust pipe that

ran

close by.

Later we

were able

to fabricate

something out of wood framing and

chicken wire that vaguely resembled

the streamlining of a racing car body.


9/40

days, a favorite uncle presented me

with a tom and disintegrating raccoon

coat that had somehow stretched to at

least seven feet long. I used aircraft

rib-stitching cord and curved needles

and was able to baseball stitch it back

to a semblance of usability.

Barb

June's

mother somwhere

dug up a

fake raccoon

coat

that bore little re

semblance to the real thing.

With old discarded aviator s hel

mets and heavy gloves, we more than

once

battled our

way to the

flying

field

through wintry drifts

of

snow.

This

was done more , I guess , to be

able

to say that we had done it

and

perhaps prove to ourselves, at least, a

possible display of some kind of alle

giance to the unplowed, snow-drifted

airport, the

dormant hangared ai r

planes behind frozen

hangar

doors

and the snug at-home aviators.

Our

lo

yalty

was

seldom appreci

ated by anyone but o

ld

Bill Churchill,

who ran the airport lunchroom and al

ways seemed able to get there . We

would have a hot bowl of Churchill 's

soup, wa lk through co ld hangars and

then head home with a g low

of

ac

complishment.

A local aviator, Charlie Smith, flew

charters and hopped passeng ers in a

beautiful SM-8A Stinson monoplane.

In his s

pa r

e time he had given

me

some instruction and soloed me on a

Taylor Cub owned

by

Clayt

Welch.

This was in payment for some cleanup

work I had done for Clayt. I enjoyed

this and liked Charlie, but flying this

36-hp light airplane was ju st not like

flying larger plan

es

with the ir open

cockpits and bigger engines.

Charlie asked why I

didn't

talk to

Clayt about possibly looking after his

two airplanes, a Waco F and the Tay

lor Cub. I went to Clayt, he

was

would go back in a year or two, I never

did. May I again say that my com

plete happ in ess with aviation has

never

cause

d me regrets and I

know

now had I delayed a few years that at

later dates my age and

experience

level would have been a hindrance.

The Waco F was a new and lovely

graceful open cockpit biplane that was

far ahead of its time in looks and per

formance. Clayt was very proud of it

and Twas proud to be associated with

Clayt's operation. Thus began an un

ceasing and strong affinity for

Waco

airplanes and open cockpit biplanes. I

later

came

to

operate

three di fferent

Wacos

of

my own.

Flying the F was far different from

the

Bird

which I had been flying the

most, and far different from the Buhl,

the

Waco

10,

the Curtiss Robin

and

the deHaviliand Moth that I also had

some time in.

t

was nimble and very

light and sensitive on the controls and

a very stable airplane that hardly had

to be

more

than

w

ished around. It

would lift

off

the gro und and

fluff

to

flight with a very short roll and then

climb with unabated drive at a very

steep angle. To land the airplane was

pleasant and easy. The lift of its two

hi gh li ft

airfoils

and

th e drag

of

the

wing brac

in

g struts and wires perm it

ted steep

but

slow glides

and

s

hort

,

so f

t touchdowns, as very close to the

ground the wings smoothly and slowly

unloaded their lift.

The

Warner

radial

e ngin e

pro

vided far more power than needed . t

was by far the smoo the st and peppi

est e

ngine that

T

had

yet

flown

behind . The individual

short

stacks

emittin g ex hau s t

se

parately from

each of

the

seven cylinders were

a

delight to the

ears,

from idle to full

throttle

. At

night

the blue-flamed

the flowing airstreams and sounds and

feels of flight, just wasn't the same. I

tolerated it because any kind of flying

was fun and I wished to build up my

flying hours no matter what airplane I

was

flying . The

Cub

always seemed

to

be

going . t was one

of the first

ones built by Taylor Aircraft and the

first light airplane

on the field.

Tn

later years the Cub turned out to be a

very popular

trainer

because it

was

easy

to fly

and could

be

operated

at

low costs.

For Sunday afternoon passenger

hopping,

the

Waco

was an easy air

plane to

sell

rides for because

everybody

seemed to want to ride in

the snappy red and silver Waco. My

success

at

selling

tickets as I wan

dered among the parked cars made me

believe that I was a pretty good sales

man after all.

Clayt

Welch's

business was doing

well and I was wonderfully happy and

content and busy.

One of Cl

ayt's

students rented the

Waco

F

to fly north

to

Quebec

,

Canada, to visit some friends on vaca

tion, planning to

come

back the next

day for a

business

appointment. On

that morning, Clayt rece ived a phone

call from the Quebec airport manager

that hi s Waco had crashed and the pi

lot had been killed.

News got around quickly

and

the

whole airport was saddened and I was

crushed as preparations were mad e to

go

ge t what

was

left of thi s fine air

plane. Clayt, his wife, and I drove up

to Quebec in his 1930 Model A sedan,

towing a small

two-wheeled trail

er

because we had been told that was all

we would need to bring back the few

parts remaining.

t had been a damp, foggy morning

and the pilot was anxious to get back


10/40

Those at the airport could soon

tel

that

he was in real

trouble

by the

sounds

that were coming from the leaded sky.

The Waco s engine screamed, then la

bored,

as

the

airplane

was heard

to

several times dive steeply, apparently

recover, then climb heavily. It was be

ing terribly misflown as vertigo took

over, forcing the pilot into insane air

plane control as he responded to the

now totally misleading

feel

cues of

flight. The Waco could only contribute

spond to the pressures of flight di

rected to elevators, ailerons and rudder

as they are frantically

deflected

into

flowing airstreams. Spatial disorien

tation

compounds into exasperating

befuddledness despite frantic efforts

to

survive,

and the pilot no

longer

knows which way is up.

The Waco and the wide-open

Warner

engine could

be heard

through the

fog

in

screaming

dives

and faltering recoveries, each one

an

overloaded,

under-powered air

plane,

the Cub spun

out of a

low

wing-over. The pilot s passenger was

killed and the

airplane

was demol

ished. Clayt

Welch's

flying service

no longer was.

It

was only a short time following

the

demise of Welch Flying Service

that one ofClayt's former Waco stu

dents, Bill Heffernan, decided that he

might give the flying business a whirl.

Another Waco F was

purchased


11/40

aerodynamic alignment that produce a

good flying

airplane when

the

previ

ous

owner

had

put

it on its back in the

middle of the airport after nosing over

from a vicious ground loop.

We

never

were able

to rig

out

a

wearisome

left

wing heaviness.

Being

very

aware of what

had hap

pened to

Clayt's

Waco and why I was

determined to find out for

myself

a lit

tle

about flying by instruments.

The

second

F

was instrumented similar to

the one in Canada. I waited for cloudy

days with 2000 to 3000 feet

of

clear air

below and on these

days

I

would en

deavor to climb a few hundred feet up

into the

overcast while attempting

to

maintain control. Time after time

I

came falling out of the cloud base but

as soon as visual ground reference was

attained, recovery was simple; then

I

would try again.

After

a

while

I

was able to inter

pret and

mange

the instruments long

enough to fly

straight and level

and

make straight climbs

and

descents of

short

duration . Later I was able

to

make shallow turns of varying

amounts

by

timing with

the

sweep

hand of my wristwatch.

Should some of to

day's

aviators be

aghast at this possible lack

of

concern

for other air traffic, please note

that

there was no airport control tower no

radios

or airways traffic control, and

no one flew

cross-country

on instru

ments anyway. I had the clouds all to

myself because no one else wanted

any part of them.

One winter afternoon

when

practic

ing I

found myself doing pretty

well

and ended

up

climbing

5000 feet

through the thick clouds. We broke on

top and the Waco streaked through the

wispy white

of

the

cloud

tops

and

into

trailing elevators, and the black verti

cal fin

and

its trailing

rudder, now

responding to

trial

movements of my

feet the

empennage

surfaces geomet

rically tied together by the streamlined

tail brace wires.

For 30

or 40 minutes I cavol1ed up

there

alone

in

another world of

un

be

lievable beauty.

I would

roar down

dark valleys with the

Waco's

wing tips

brushing the sides then steeply banked

swooping pull-ups

up

and over the

white

of the billowing

peaks,

with

a

plunge down into the dark valleys on

the other side. Tightly banked

turns

around mountain peaks and loops and

wing overs and stalls close to the peaks

falling

down

the mountain sides on re

covery. And as I looked down, the

plane's

faithful

shadow cavorted

with

us, always

completely

circled by

a

small but

perfect bright rainbow

of

many brilliant

hues.

Such

a

jo y

what

sense of speed, such appreciation of

nimble, responsive

airp

lane being

tightly

maneuvered

in close proximity

of the yielding wispy clouds.

But

the

sun

was getting low and

the cloud tops

below were

changing

to ominous and gray. There had been

no

breaks

and I had not seen

the

ground

for

a

long

time.

When we

had climbed into the clouds, the base

of

the overcast

had been at 2,000

feet. I

was now at 7,000

feet

and

re

alized

that there was 5,000 feet of

cold and wet

cloud to descend

through

. I

was also

acutely

aware

that

[

had to maintain contro

l

of the

airplane while also keeping the en

gine

running smoothly

at

reduced

descent

rpms

in

probable

icing

con

ditions. As we

entered

the cloud

tops

I

swallowed

a

few times as my

attention riveted to the turn needle,

descent heading

and

the pesky left

wing heaviness was

very

bother

some. This was the longest stretch

that

I

had

ever

flown

solely

by

in

struments and my descent was being

made purposely slow.

The

forces

and the feels

of

flight that were send

ing

signals to my

body were

becoming

more and more difficult

to

ignore as the needles

of

flight seemed

to

be telling me one thing, my

body

strapped to the pilot's seat, another.

I

had

to concentrate

very

hard, forc

ing my

control inputs

to

be

in

response

to

the needles

flickering be

fore

me

and not

to

what

my

senses

felt. I

was

not

sure how much longer

I

could

do so and the air was

getting

more turbulent and

upsetting.

I felt

alarm as

I

neared

2,000

feet still

in

the

enveloping cloud mass.

But now

it seemed getting

lighter

and

I

stole

a

glance

over

the

cockpit

coaming. The wings and

struts

could

now

be seen

slicing

through

whiter

wisps of cloud. Suddenly

I

was un

derneath the heavy overcast and in

the clear.

t was snowing

lightly

and

through the reduced visibili ty

I

looked down at roads and buildings

that

appeared

familiar,

yet I

was un

able to identify

them nor my

position.

Here

I was but where was

I?

and

which

way was

the airport? I

was confused because

I

thought

I

should be west of

town,

but nothing

below fit this supposition.

I

circled and circled

trying

to

sort

things

out. t

was with incredulous

disbelief

that

I

finally concluded that

we

had

descended out of

the

overcast

many

miles from

where

I had started

my

climb

and were

now actually east

of

Syracuse instead

of

west. Powerful

upper

air winds had drifted the slow


12/40


13/40

out to gawk at the latest aeronautical technology, to marvel at at

tempts to harness the air, and to take inspiration from the heroic

achievements

of

the aeronautical pioneers.

t

was

St

Louis at its

most engaging.

Seemingly oblivious to the danger, Lindbergh climbed into

the Spirit

of

St. Louis in

New

York on the morning

of

May

5,

1927, taxied across the field, and flew toward the Atlantic Ocean

for the longest and most difficult flight up to that point of his ca

reer. His completed plane was 27 feet, 8 inches long, 9 feet, 10

inches tall, and 46 feet wide from the tip of one wing to the tip of

the other. Although he could fly it as fast as 129 miles per hour,

Lindbergh flew slower over the ocean to conserve fuel.

En route, the plane encountered high winds and an electrical

storm and Lindbergh endured the

agony

of keeping himself

awake and alert through

33

grueling hours

of

flight. But when

Lindbergh landed in Paris a day and a half after taking off from

New York, there was enough fuel left in the tanks to fly a thou

sand more miles and Lindbergh announced that the Spirit

of

St.

Louis had flown perfectly. Immediately, Lindbergh and his little

silver plane were surrounded by thousands of fans cheering for

him in his triumph. Together, he and his plane had successfully

completed a flight many had thought impossible.

Today, the original Spirit

of

St. Louis

is

on display at the na

tional Air Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution

in

Washington, D.C But St. Louisans can see a replica of Lind

bergh s plane much closer to home - at the Missouri History

Museum

in

Forest Park. The Missouri Historical Society, Trans

World Airlines, Inc. and Save A Connie, Inc., an organization of

retired TWA pilots and other personnel, have teamed up to re

store

the

replica that

has

been

on loan

from

the Historical

Society to Lambert International Airport since 1975 . Now re

stored, it is on

display

at

the Missouri History Museum and

hangs

in

the Grand Hall

of

the Emerson Electric Center.

THE ORIGI L SP R IT

OF ST LOU S

When Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly solo

from New York to Paris in 1927, he was instantly heralded as a

hero throughout the world . But Lindbergh insisted that his air

plane, the Spirit

of

St. Louis, receive its fair amount

of

praise for

the feat, because he believed that he could not have made it

if

it

hadn't been for this very special plane.

In deciding to attempt the flight , Lindbergh knew he was un

dertaking a very dangerous task . The

journey

would be long;

Years

of

display in

the

Lambert International terminal

not

to

mention

the

many years before

that

when

the

replica

had been

flown

all combined

to

make a replica in sore need

of

TLC.

The fabric peeled back on

the

wings revealed some

damaged ribs and

the

warped plywood you

see

here.


14/40

To make the Spirit even lighter, Lindbergh directed the

plane's body to be built of welded steel tubes covered with

cloth, and its wings to be built of wood, wire and cloth. He

also

vetoed

the

inclusion

of

many

items found in

some

other planes of the period, including navigation lights, fuel

gauges and a radio. He even decided to make his historic

flight

without

a

parachute.

All

of

these

measures con-

tributed to a plane whose weight was less than the planes of

rival pilots who were anxious to be the first transatlantic

solo flyers . They also made the flight more dangerous .

The replica is accurate in a wide variety

of

ways including the

use of

a wicker seat

for

the aft Lindbergh seat.

The nose of the replica features a second cockpit, used during filming

of the

movie The Spirit

of St

. Louis, starr ing Jimmy Stewart.

The Standard Steel prop

is mounted on

the

crankshaft

of the Wright J-

5 engine, complete

with

the distinctive front-mounted magnetos.

BOUT THE REPLICA

The 2,850 pound airplane that became the replica of the

Spirit

of

St. Louis was built in 1928 by

B

F Mahoney Air-

craft Corporation, the successor to the company which built

the original Spirit of St. Louis, Ryan Airlines of San Diego.

One

of

several Ryan Broughams (this one

is

SIN 153) built

that year by Mahoney, the model was similar in design to

Lindbergh's plane.

The plane was the property

of

several owners before be-


15/40

Loaded

up

on a dolly sans landing gear, wings

and tail, the Spirit of st. Louis replica is rolled

into the Grand Hall of the new Emerson

Electric Center at the Missouri Historical

Society's museum in

St

Louis's Forest Park.

behalf

of

the donors by Wooster Lam-

bert, an investor in the original Spirit

of St. Louis, at a ceremony at Lambert

Field. Almost immediately, the His-

torical Society agreed

to

lend the

replica to the New York World's Fair

commission to exhibit in the Missouri

Pavilion, but plans to fly the plane to

New York City were thwarted.

In order to secure FAA experimen-

tal flight certification so that the plane

could be flown,

the plane

was first

successfu lly test flown at Lambert

Field, explained Smith. After land-

ing, however, winds caused the plane

to tip over,

damaging its nose. As a

result

, it

was

recommended

that

the

plane not be flown.

Despite this setback, the replica was

displayed for a year at the New York

World's

Fair before returning to St.

Louis in November 1965 on a flatbed

truck.

t

was then stored briefly at the

home

of

Joseph Desloge in Florissant,

Missouri.

n

1967, the Missouri His-

torical Society authorized aviation

company

Remmert-Werner

to repair

the replica at a cost of $79,000, and it

was flown downtown in commemora-

tion of the 40th anniversary of

Lindbergh's transatlantic flight.

Following the commemorative

flight , the plane

was

housed in a

hangar

at

McDonnell Douglas

until

Lambert Airport completed its new in-

ternational wing. The replica became

a part of the airport's display in 1975

and has been on loan , annually

re

newed, ever since.


16/40


17/40


18/40

I

t

)

I

t

)

)

N

,

I

t

)

-

.

m

B

J

U

L

Y


19/40

o

U

l

P

f

N

l

P

I

U

l

P

l

P

.

m

V

N

T

G

E

A

R

P

A

E

C


20/40

1

6

U

L

Y

1

9

9

9


21/40


22/40

(Top) Long and sleek, the Cessna 95 was intended

to

give the busi-

nessman pilot retractable plane performance without the hassles of

maintaining the retraction mechanism. The

trim

color

of

Ron s 95

is

Persimmon.

(Right)

Ron

Karwacky (center)

with two

of

his airport

buddies, Bryan

Rosen

(left) and Mark Holmes.

Big

Ron's Backhoe Service

in the Los

Angeles basin is Ron's business, and to

get away

from the grit of everyday

mak-

ing a living, Ron

heads

out to

the

airport

Cherokee, or any

thing, let alone a

long-legged, tail

wheel equipped


23/40

ofthe 195 , ready and signed off to fly it all

by himself. Most people look at him in

credulous

ly

when he describes the events

after he bought the 195, but to him it was

no

bi

g deal, du e in large part to the attitude

he went into learning how to fly the air

plane and the du al he received from Ted.

While the 195 does not

jump

to the fore

front when you' re thinking of trainers,

it

worked well for Ron, who went on to fl y

the fas t (165 mph),

comfort

able " Busi

nessliner." H

is

taming of what some have

dubbed a beast" proved once aga

in

th at

many airplanes are give n undeserved sec

ond-hand reputation s, rath er than th e

respect they deserve.

Based at the legendary Flabob Airport

near Los Angeles, the 1

95

has been a con-

stant "work in progress" for Ron, never

spend ing much time at a

ll

out

of

service,

even when the dec ision was made to

change out the Jacobs for a new rebuild,

one

of

the last done by Jim McCorklin, Ja

cobs' then shop foreman

ip

Payson, AZ.

This particular 195 actually started out

as

a 190 , powered by a 240 hp Continen

tal. The only difference between the two

models is the engine insta

ll

ed at the fac

tory, and seeing one converted to the 195

is no big surprise. First delivered as a cor

porate airplane,

it

shuttled between the St.

Louis and Kansas City areas for the first

14

years. In 1971 , Norm Goyer, then the

proprietor

of

an FBO in New York state,

did the conversion after a skilled airline

pilot, Edson Raymond, neatly executed a

forced landing with the airplane. The prop

decided

to

depart the engine while

in

YFR on top" flight over the Berkshire

mountains. Landing upillll on a beginners

ski slope during the summer, the damage

done to the Cessna was a small wrinkle

put near the top

of

the rudder when a tree

branch caught

it

as the airplane was swung

around at the top

of

the illll, and a pair of

During

all

of th e

timen he has owned it,

Ron kept polishlng and

maintaining the Cessna,

polishing it first with a

couple

of

brands before

settling on the Nuvite ,

which his friends Kent

and Sandy Blankenburg

a lso

prefe

r to u

se

on

their polished airplanes.

Th e in te rior has re

ceived an equal amount

of

work, much

of

it the

handi wo rk of Ma rk

Holmes. Mark 's bee n

wi th the proj ect for so

long he has done a cou

ple of items twice, like

the seats. The

fi

rst go

a round had vi ny l

covers, bu t n

ow

the

smell

of

cushy leather

upholstery greets you

when

yo

u poke yo ur

nose in th e cabin. Oh,

the creature comforts

Cessna

used

to ad

vertise the

19 195

to

the we ll hee led

busi

nessman:

For those

whose choice

is

unre-

stricted . .. " and

in

other

promotional material

they gushed: The 190

and

195

are all metal,

high wing, single en-

gine planes which

off

er

the utmost n personal

comfort and pleasure

n

cross-country flying.

You can almost smell the leather as you peer inside the sumptuous

cabin

of

the

195 Mark Holmes gets much of

the

credit for how

the

interior looks, including the 3/4 ca rpet and carefully applied

trim

.

The panel of the 195

has

plenty of room for round d ial goodies. As

with so many vintage airplanes, radio placement can

be

a

bit

of

a

challenge ( Now where'd I put that

GPS

? ) but as

the

so lid state

radios available today seem to get smaller and smaller (and run cool-

er) it seems to get a

bit

easier to f ind a spot to shoehorn in a couple

of Com radios and a transponder.

These planes are built of thefinest materi-

als throughout, and in no cas e is any

sacrifice

of

quality madefor price. Instead

they are built with the main thought in

The 195 may have gained a less than

sterling reputation due to the perception

that its size and somewhat limited visibil

ity over the nose combine to make it

a

beast," but

if

you take the time to speak


24/40

~ ~ ~ ~

,

-

-

. .

F

or years I have read with

envy

the articles of pi-

lots

who fly their

light

planes around

the world.

Like

most

who

love flying I

really

enj oy heading out to some dis


25/40

(Photos 1, 2

3 As

you

can see,

it's quite simple to pack

the

Cub

away. The wings and struts hang in carpet slings.

The

tail wheel is removed and the spring is bolted to

an

angle bracket which

is

secured

to the floor

. The

motor

mount

is

bolted

to

a frame which

is

lag bolted

own

. We

attached our engine come-along

to the

u-bolt welded

to

the

top

of the door opening.

In 1987 a

good buddy

of

mine

talked me

into rebuilding our old family Super Cub that

had been sitting for years in the back

of

the

hangar. We were both easing into retirement

and the idea of flying Cubs to Alaska sounded like just

the thing we

needed

to do .

The

following summer

my

wife Marilyn

and

I

had

a

wonderful time exploring

Western Canada and Alaska. Unfortunately my friend

was not able to join us.

When we returned from that trip we rolled the little

plane, now christened Yellow Bird, to its spot in our

hangar. At that

point we

had no further plans

that

in-

all have their special attributes. Taking into consideration

the

performance

requirements as well as other special

needs, we felt we had the perfect aircraft for the task at

hand. Fortunately, when we rebuilt the Cub, we made the

decision to trick it out utilizing certified modifications

which were

available

from Cub Crafters

of

Yakima,

Washington and Atlee Dodge

of

Anchorage. Some

of

the

modifications we made included installing a 160 hp Ly-

coming, beefing up the fuselage and main spar, an

IFR


26/40

costs somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000.

Shipping agents will quote the cost

of

trans-

porting a container to any spot in the world.

They can also provide a container on a per

diem basis.

When an

aircraft

is

flown

in

to

another

country it s normally

just

standard

every

day

procedure. When one s shipped in, that s an-

other

story, as

a totally different group of

bureaucrats and rules must be dealt with. The

shipping agent on the other end takes care of

most

of

the details . The majority

of

the coun-

tries require payment of a temporary import

fee which is calculated on the value you put

on

your

plane.

This

is

supposed

to be re

funded if the plane s shipped or flown out of

the country within a year. Once

you re

there

Most

of the EAA

members at

the 992

Siljansnas Fly-In in Sweden are pictured here,

you can fly to neighboring countries, clearing

along

with

Marilyn and I in the

front

row. There were

also

a

few other

members

n and out just like anybody else. Some places

from other

Scandinavian countries. It was a most hospitable event

require local liability insurance . As to hull

coverage on the plane, that can be a problem.

After getting a quote I decided to take the risk myself.

In September of 1988 we met Yellow Bird in Nairobi.

After putting the plane back in one piece we spent seven

wonderful weeks touring Kenya and Tanzania with side

trips to Rwanda and Eastern Zaire . Like all trips of that

duration you have to expect some

weather

days and un-

foreseen

problems. We were

fortunate

that

everything

went pretty well according to plan and the Cub performed

flawlessly. In places like Africa where the road systems

are not so great, virtually every lodge

or game camp has a

strip right next to their facility, from my point of view a

pilot s paradise.

The

trip to Africa was such a success that we decided

to ship the Cub on to Australia and meet it there the fol-

lowing year. When a plane is shipped in this manner a

contact on the other end must receive it and make arrange-

ments

to

store

it

at

suitable airport. This

is

when

I

discovered that the EAA was much more than a bunch of

enthusiastic pilots here in North America. When I have

contacted the EAA chapter presidents in other countries,

not only did I make new friends, I also had a very reliable

individual representing me. We have found that pilots the

world over, for the most part, are wonderful individuals

and especially those who belong to the EAA.

Now fully retired,

Marilyn and

I

decided

to meet the

Cub once

a

year

some place

in

the world where

it

was

practical and safe to fly a private plane. What followed

were trips to New Zealand, South Africa (where we vis-

ited five adjoining countries), then Chile and Argentina.

In 1992 we

gave our

faithful but

somewhat

rusty con

tainer to the flying club in Valparaiso, Chile and headed


27/40

There have been times I could have used a pacifier during my flying, too

bensen, who at that time was head of

the Danish

Chapter of

the EAA , to

ask for advice on sending the plane

n

to Scandinavia . The outcome was

that we shipped the plane to Bent

who lives in Esjberg, Denmark, then

met it there this

past

July and spent

six weeks touring Denmark, Norway,

Sweden, Finland and Lapland. I ve

never seen so many enthusiastic

EAAers . Everyone went out

of

his

way

to see that we

had

a

good time

and saw as much of

their country

as

possible.

We attended a

fly-in held

at

Sil

jansnas, Sweden which was put on by

local pilots and EAA Chapter 222 out

of

Copenhagen. The weather

was

great and well

over

100 planes were

n attendance. The EAA is definitely

alive

and

well in

that part

of

the

world. One thing that makes it nice

for visitors like us s that Scan-

dinavians communicate among

themselves

in English.

Air

control

is also in

English.

Most every pilot had been to

Oshkosh

or

said they planned

to go in the near future.

Yellow

Bird now

sits

in a

hangar at the Esjberg Air Port

with my

good buddy Bent

looking after it for me. Down

the way

in

another hangar

is

his Aeronca 7C which looks

like it was just delivered from

the

factory

. We plan

to be

back over there in June

with

Russia , Estonia , Latvia ,

Lithuania and Poland

on our

itinerary. No doubt we ' ll have

the chance to meet more nice

EAA members.

If

not, at least

we can spread the word ......

The flight line

of

the Siljansnas Fly-In, with the Yellow Bird in the center.

Recreational aviation

is

alive and well in Scandinavia

The 150 watt Single Side Band HF radio under the

panel was necessary in Africa and

the

Australian

Outback.

In

South America we were often assigned

HF

frequencies when on instrument flight plans. We

also carry an handheld transceiver and

GPS


28/40

l lJtly Mystery Plane

by H.G. Frautschy

That

amphibian

from Bob

Hol -

lenbaugh s past pu b

li

shed in

our

April issue sure didn t stump many

of you

One

of my

favorite aspects

of

this

column is getting letters from regu-

lar

contributors

as well as

people

who

have some personal connection

with the airplane

in

question. In this

Cyclone engine

and

longer wings.

It

was then sold to

one

o f

the

Vander

bilts

. The

third Fokker

amphibian

had

a conventional retractable land

ing

gear

and wing

jloats,

and was

powered by

a

Pratt &

Whitney

Hor

net B

engine, changing the

d esignation

to

a

F-11 AHB.

This

model was

sold

to Mr.

Gar

Wood,

The July Mystery Plane

has

th t

vague 1 think it's a feeling

bout

it.

See

if you can't make

th t

feeling

go

away by looking

it

up

and

then dropping

us

a

note

here t EAA. Send your

answers to:

EAA

Vintage

Airplane,

PO

Box 3086,54903-

3086.

You answers need to be in

no later than August 25 1999

so

they can

be included in

the

October

issue.

famous for speed boat racing

in

the

D

etroit area

in

the

l

ate '20s

and

'30s.

This

plane was the one

dis

pl

ayed

in the April issue.

Mr. Wood traded it in on a large

Grumman amphibian, the dealer be

in g located

at the Detroit

City

Airport

in 1936.

A friend o fmine, Thomas O '

Ma ll

ey

in Warren, OH learned

that

the Grumman

dealer had

this

Fokker

.

Wejlew over

to

Detroit

to

examine this amphibian. It

had

been

very'

we

ll maintained.

A short

time l

ater

Mr.

0

'Malley

purchased the plane and the docu

ments

disclosed

that it had

been

owned

by

Mr. Wood. Upon

arrival

in

Warren,

I

conducted

a very

through inspection

andfound

that

it

had

been very well

cared

for.

I continued to

maintain the

plane

for

a period o f time.


29/40

Here's another view of the April Mystery Plane, Fokker F11AHB , NC 127M. The F-11

identif

ied the 11th model in the American Fokker series

the A meant that

it

was an amphibian ( rather than showing sequence of development, A

B

etc.), and the HB meant that it was powered by

a 575 hp Pratt & Wh itney Hornet B engine. The photo was taken at the same time and place as Bob Hollenbaugh's photo, but from a different

angle. Note the PARKS name on the hangar. Could either of the individua

ls

at the extreme right and left

of

the photo be Bob? Both seem to

be

winding film

in cameras . . . Pete Bowers.

The whereabouts o this plane

today

is

unknown to me.

Roy Williams

McAllen,

TX

And from Kaz Grevera, Sunny

vale, CA,

quoting the wor

ds

written

in

Fokker- The

Man And

The Aircraft

written by Henri

Hegener and published

in

1961:

When Fokker displayed his lat-

est models at the Chicago

Thanks

to

Rich Allen

Lewiston 10 we have this

listing

of the F-11A amphibians built:

In 901

NC7887

Fokker demonstrator, flown with P&W Wasp 400, and Wright Cyclone 500

hp

engines, tested in

both tractor

and pusher configurations, and

as

a

twin

"push-

pull

pair. Sold

to

Harold

G.

Vanderbilt

of

New York. 1929

1937. Used as a flying yacht. Sold and last used for passenger-hopping

at

Revere Beach MA. Destroyed in 1938 hurricane.

In 902 NC148H

Demonstrator. Dismantled.


30/40

c---- - - - - -5O -7

--j

f -----4Z-11 -

- - -

J

FOKKER AIRCRAFf CORP. OF AMERICA

NEW YORK

"F-ll AMPHIBIAN" 6 PASSENGERS

ENGINE - PRATT & WIllT Y "HORNET" OR WRIGHT

"CYCLONE"

rom "The Aircraft Yearbook - 1929"

From 1930

Jane's All

The

World's

Aircraft

Span:

Length:

Wing

Area:

Empty

Weight:

Gross Weight:

High

Speed:

.

Cruise Speed:

Initial Climb:

Range:

A

number of other tidbits

came

in

notes

from

other

members,

including a

men

tion

by

Frank

Goebel

of

Joliet,

IL that the

airplane

was de

signed by Alfred A Gassner,

who later designed

the

Fairchild Baby Clipper

am

phibian. (See

Volume

3,

ATC

222, of Joe Juptner's

U.S.

Civil Aircraft.) Larry Knech

tel wrote

to tell us

that

a

wingless fuselage to one of

the

five

built

was found in

Canada in the '70s, and

was

returned

to

Holland where

it

is

now n

the A viodrome

Mu

seum

at Schiphol Airport,

Amsterdam,

on

loan from the

Western Canada Aviation

Museum

in Winnipeg. The

airplane is c!n 906,

NC339N.

According

to

data sent

in

by

Marty Eisenmann, Alta

59

ft.

.45

ft.

.500

sq. ft.

.4,100Ibs

.63501bs

.112mph

.95

mph

.700

fpm

. .425 miles

started his first year at the school,

following his graduation from high

school

in

the spring of 1939. It spent

the entire winter of '39-'40 in the

hangar being worked

on,

and didn't

flyaway until

later

in

the

year

of

1940, its

destination unknown. (In

the photo from Pete

Bowers

you can

see it is a warm day, with a

couple

of the young men

in

coveralls that

have

the sleeves cut

off.

The

trees

are

in full leaf, too.) The

scuttlebutt

around

the school

was

that

it

was

destined for Catholic missionary

work

in

the Yukon, but that was

never confirmed.

Other correct answers

were re

ceived from:

M .

Bub Borman, D allas, TX;

Charles F. Schultz,

Louisville,

KY;

John

Beebe, White Stone,

VA;

James

T. Rogers, Lynchburg, VA;

William Knox, Woodstock

, GA;


31/40

PASS T TO BUCK

ODDS

N

ENDS

Dear Buck,

t

is with great pleasure

that

I

sit

down to write this letter to you.

My name

is

Walter Jazun and I am a

captain on the 727 for United Airlines

and very glad to report that all those

pretty pictures

of old

airplanes you

left hanging on the walls

of

the ops of

fice all over the Midwest are still there.

Yeah, they have painted some walls

but the frames seem to survive the "en

thusiasm of young managers

throughout the

system

and are

sti II

proudly decorating the otherwise dull

environment. I've

been with United

since 1989

on

different airplanes and

seats and checked out back in 1997 on

the 3-holer.

I

enjoy your writing and

hard work for the Antique division and

have been following your

activities

with EAA for awhile now and can only

thank you for it and encourage you to

keep doing it with the same energy

But the purpose

of

this letter is first

to congratulate you on your recent pur

chase of a Helton Lark and to give you

a couple

of

pictures I have taken

over

the years of the bird.

I am the proud owner of a 1940 Cul

ver Cadet, SIN 141 , NC29272, which

by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

EAA

#21

VAA #5

P.O.

Box

424,

Union,

IL

60180

of

Houston. Dan

is

a wealth

of info

about the Culver and derivatives and

very enthusiastic fellow. He runs the

Culver club and, indeed, ferried my air

plane from Ocala, FL to Houston, then

Gainesvi lle where I met him and flew

horne with

the

award. He

can be

reached at 281/351-0114 and

he'll

be

glad to talk Culver with you . Please tell

him I sent you.

r

have a box of material I'd be glad

to send you to copy so you can learn

about the bird.

Al

Mooney

sure knew what he was

doing.

I

get my little Culver in that

sweet spot

and cruise a

ll

day long

(between refueling) at 120 mph, all with

75 HP

Someday when you find yourself in

Tucson, stop at the Pima Museum. They

have a pretty light blue Helton Lark

hanging off the rafter.

As you may know, Bob Short, who

worked with Al Mooney on the design,

is still around and has some material , as

well as Mr. Jamison who lives in De-

land, FL, and is the corn roast CEO at

Sun ' n Fun. The museum at Columbus,

OH airport

is

worth a visit also,

in

mem

ory of Foster Lane.

Dear Buck,

I was pleasantly surprised

when

I

opened the

March

issue of Vintage to

see a photo

of

the prototype Aeronca

Champ. This brought back many mem

ories as I helped construct the airplane

in the Aeronca Experimental Shop in

1943 and '44.

The entire airplane was hand built in

the Aeronca Experime ntal

Shop

in

much the same

manner

as homebuilts

are

constructed today . The

fuselage

was built up using the plumb bob and

piano wire technique on a layout table,

cutting

and fitting one tube at a time .

Production jigs and fixtures came later.

The one piece, formed sheet metal

wing ribs characteristic

of

the Model 7

and II were first used on the prototype

and

were

hydropress formed on hand

made Masonite form blocks. Forming

was

done on

a

50

ton Lake

Erie hy-

dropress which is still in

use

in the

Aeronca plant.

Fabrication of the windshield for the

prototype Champ is an interesting


32/40

of Plexiglas was hung on it using fablic

spring clamps. The furnace was closed

and the temperature run up to the form

ing temperature for Plexiglas. Several

of us

ex

perimental mechanics were

standing by with gloves on

our

hands

ready to hand form the Plexiglas over

the form.

The

furnace door was

opened and much to our surprise, there

was our sheet of Plexiglas on the floor

of

the furnace, like a wet dish rag. The

heat had

caused

it to slip out

of

the

spring clamps holding it to the wire.

For a few seconds we all were frozen

in

dumbfound

sh

ock but one

of

the

mechanics standing by had presence

of

mind

to

jump into the furnace, pick up

the hot sheet

of

Plexiglas and slap it on

the form. The rest

of

us immediately

went to

work

pressing it to the form

and s

moothin

g it

out.

Beli

eve

it or

not, that became the windshield for the

prototype 7 AC and we sti ll had

one

sheet

of

Plexiglas left over. This was

quite a learning experience for all of

u

s

The fabrication

of

the nose bowl for

the prototype Champ was another in

teresting experience. A large block

of

white pine

was glued together. We

had a very talented woodworking per

son, "

Doc

Santoro. You can tell by

his name that he was Italian.

I ll

never

forget his attack on the block

of

wood

with a

vengeance.

Broad

chisel

and

mallet

in

hand as he sang Italian opera,

a nose bowl form block took shape.

By the end of the day he was knee

deep in shavings and two days later we

had a completed form block for form

ing

the prototype nose

bowl

on

our

hydropress. Only

a few nose bowls

were formed on this wood block prior

to

production draw dies.

Examining the photo

of

the proto

type

closely one

can

see a slight

Here s Capt. Jazun and his 1940 Culver Cadet. The

other two

shots are of another Helton Lark, one

Walter considered purchasing before deciding upon

the

Culver.

days. I share your opinion regarding

computers.

I'm

still a hold out.

Best regards,

Bob Hollenbaugh

Middletown, OH

The Champ has been a winner for

over 50

yea

rs now, and

shows

little

signs of

letting

up . Thanks for the

into that little cockpit. His problem

was that his feet got pretty hot.

Those guys really enjoyed their avi

ation. Benny Howard had a great heal

of

fun

and humor with

his

airplanes

and

seemed always in good

spirits.

And he kept his good humor even after

he and Mike nearly bought the farm in

the Mr. Mulligan "hard landing" as he


33/40

Fred Morgan .......Nanango, Australia

Lloyd Shepherd..... ... .............. .... ... .... .

..

..

.

..

.. ... .... .....Mulgoa NSW, Australia

Robert Carlson.............

...

...... ... .......

..

.

.

..

.. .

..

.... .Fort McMurray, AB, Canada

Douglas D. Kruger.. ...... ... ........ ........ .

.................. .

..

Edmonton, AB, Canada

Dr. Pat McIver .................................. .

.................

..

...

..

Camrose, AB, Canada

Dennis W N evett .. ....... .... ................ .

...... ..

.

.

.. ..

.

...

.Abbotsford, BC, Canada

Chris Bryant .Mountain, ON, Canada

Jori Aaltonen ....... .Lempaala, Finland

Gilbert Stimpflin .. .... ... .. ..... ... ........... .

.... .... ..... ..... ... ... .... Battenheim, France

Dennis Jankelow ............................... .

.... Sandton, Republic of South Africa

James Gebhard

.

...........

...

... ............ ... .

..

...

.. ........ ..

...

..

...

Singapore, Singapore

Andy Anderson

..

...... ..... Yellville, AR

Charles Niederhaus .... .....Tucson, AZ

Byron G. Cannon ...Apple Valley, CA

Joseph J. Devlin, Jr ................... ........ .

..................... ........Garden Grove, CA

Alan Fischer

..

.........Los Angeles, CA

Leonard

R.

Duncil ....... Titusville, FL

Tom Robson ........... .Jacksonville, FL

Tommy E. Tomaszewski ........ ........... .

. ..

......

..

......................... Sebastian, FL

Howard L Wellins .Coral Gables , FL

Brian

J.

Holte ................Newnan, GA

Tracy M. Martin

..

.........Comelia, GA

John E. Beck ....... ....... .. .. .Newton, IA

Richard Beinhauer .. ....Naperville, IL

Gerald Buttitta ................ Chicago, IL

Geoffrey M Lagioia .

..

....... ............... .

.. ........ .. ................... Morton Grove, IL

George Nathaus ..... .. ..... ..Chicago, IL

Glenn Lightner. .......... .....Wabash, IN

Carl L Schoolcraft ...........Fishers, IN

Tim R. Jones .................Leawood, KS

Ronald Shank ... .... ....Greensburg, KS

Robert Wallace ......

..

.......Carver,

MA

Robert Hampton ..... Grand Blanc, MI

Richard D. Hensley .. .......Livonia, MI

Arman L Kearfott .... ......Onaway, MI

Michael

D.

Laverty

..

..... Harrison, MI

Thomas Lind ........... .. .

..

.Midland, MI

Donald E. Moore ..... .....Brighton, MI

Joseph R. Myers .....Roscommon, MI

Daniel T. Sire ...........Greensboro, NC

Terry P Bryn..................... Dazey, ND

Richard Aaron ..

..

.........

...

..Sussex,

NJ

Charles E. Pittman ...Little Silver, NJ

George T. Meenach ...Los Lunas, NM

Richard P Woodsum ........ ...... ........... .

.............. Truth or Consequences, NM

Michael D. Scott .... ...Smithtown, NY

Richmond A. Gooden ... .......Ada, OH

Scott A. Harbaugh ....Bellevalley, OH

Lisette Roy ................ ...... Burton, OH

Billy

G.

Zumsteg ............Toledo, OH

Keith Wright ......Oklahoma City, OK

Joseph H. Clarke ..... .... .....Dallas, OR

Tom Kingsley .......... .. .. ..Portland, OR

Alan C. Lail. ................ Hillsboro , OR

John Erickson ........State College, PA

Dwight J. Allenson

..

......

...

.Bristol, RI

Jeff

DeGange .................. ..Aiken, SC

Bruce D. Berry ......... San Angelo, TX

Thurmond R. Boyd ...................... .... .

.. ...... .. ... .... .. ...........Lake Jackson, TX

James S. Dixson II ..................... ..

..

.

..

.

...... .... .................. Corpus Christi, TX

Thomas H. Emerson ..Carrollton, TX


34/40

Fly

In

alendar

The following list

of

coming events is furnished

to

our readers as a matter

of

information only

and does not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control or direction ofany event

fly-in, seminars,

fly

market, etc.) listed. Please send the information to EAA Au: Golda Cox,

P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. In formation should be receivedfour months prior to

the event date.

JULY 16-18 - COTTAGE

GROVE,

OR - Oregon An

tique Classic Aircraft Club Bi-Annual

Fly-In.

Contact: 5411746-3246.

JULY 16-18

WEST YELLOWSTONE,

MT - 13th an

mull Northwest Mou

ntain Region

Family Fly-

In

,

Safety Conference

and Trade Show at the

Holiday

Inn Conference Center. Sponsored by local EAA

Chapters and the FAA

Flight

S t a n d a r d ~

District

Of

fice. Kit

plane exhibilOrs

and

seminars.

Contact:

Jim

Cooney.

FAA FSDO, 1-800

/

457-9917. www.faa

.

govlfsdolh

ln.

JULY 17 -STURGIS,

SD

- EAA Chapter

39

Fly-In.

Pancake Breakfast and Young

Eagle

rides. Info:

605/347-3356.

JULY 17

-

COOPERSTOWN, NY

- (NY54)

EAA

Chapter 1070

Pan

cake breakfast

and old

Aeroplane

Fly-In. 7a.m. - noon. Info

:

607/547-2526.

JULY 23-25 - WAUSAU, WI - '40s Wing Ding. Events

Sat., Camp starting Friday and stay

'ti

l

Sunday.

Showers

available

. Breakfast at 7a.m.,

Swing-Big

band Dance 6-11 p.m .. DC-3 rides, Air R a / ~ y after

noon and evening concessions. Fly-out to

Tomahawk, WI on Sun.

Info

: John Chmiel 715/848

AUGUST J5

-

BROOKFIELD ,

WJ -

CapilOl Airport.

16th Annual Vintage Aircraji display and Ice Cream

Social. Noon - 5 p.m. Midwest Antique Airplane

Club monthly meeting, and model aircraft will also

be

on

di,play. Y

ou

can purchase a

ride

on

EAA s

Ford

Tri-Motor,

too

Funfor the entire

family.

Info:

Capitol Airport, 414/ 781-8132 or George

Meade

,

Fly-in Chairman, 414

/

962-2428.

AUGUST2

COOPERSTOWN,

NY- (NY54)

EAA

Chapter 1070

Pan

cake breakfast

and old Aeroplane

Fly-Itl.

7a.lI1. - noon. Info: 607/547-2526.

AUGUST 21-SPEARFISH, SD - EAA Chapter 806

Annual

Fly- In . Camping on field.

Cream

Can

Din

ner. Awards.

Poker

run on

Saturday.

SD Aviation

Hall of Fame Induction

Sat.

Email:

[email protected]

SEPTEMBER 3-5 - PROSSER,

WA

-

EAA Chapter

391

16th

Annual Labor Day Weekend Fly-Ill.

Info:

509/786-1034.

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE,

PA

-

Footlight

Ranch.

10th annual Labor Day F ~ y I n . Inf

o:

John

Shreve, 717/432-4441 or Email ShreveprtN@aol.

com

SEPTEMBER 5 - MONDOVI, WI - 14th Anllual Fly

III Lag Cabin Ai/port. Info: 715/287-4205.

SEPTEMBER

5 -

NAPPANEE, IN

- EAA

Chapter

938

Sunday

for a

Sundae fee Cream

Social. 12 10 3

p.m.

SEPTEMBER IO-12 TWA

TER

, CALIFORNIA

-

Golden

West

EAA

Fly-In at Castle Airport.

Con

tact: www.lJlljly-in.org.

SEPTEMBER

11-

OSCEOLA , WI -

19th

Annual

Wheels

Wings

Fly-In. Antique car show, book

sale,

pancake breal.fast.

Info: 800

/

947-0581.

SEPTEMBER

1I-12-MARlO

N, OHIO-MERFI

Mid-Eastern Regional Fl

y-

In. Contact: Lou Linde

man,

937/849-9455.

SEPTEMBER

11-12

- EASTON, PA -

EAA

Chapter

70

FAA

Safety Seminar. Annual

Fall Fly-In.

Fly

Market,

plaques

jor

01

aircraft.

Inf

o:

610/588-0620.

SEPTEMBER

12

- MT. MORRlS,

IL

- Ogle County

Airport

(C55). Ogle Co/lIlty Pilots

Association alld

EAA

Chapter

682 Fly-In

Breal-fast,

7a.m. - Noon.

Injo: Bill Sweet

8151734-4320

or the airport phone.

815/734-6136.

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE, OK

Frank Phillips Field. 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional

Fly-In, sponsored by EAA

Chapter

10

, VAA

Chapter

10,

lAC

Chapter

10, AM

Chapter 2 and

the

Green

County Ultralight Flyers.

All

typ

es

of

aircraft

and

airp lane e

nthusiasts

are

encouraged

to attend. Ad

mission is by donation. Info: Charles

W.

Harris

,

918/622-8400.

SEPTEMBER 17-19

-

JACKSONVILLE,

IL

(IJX)

1

5th Annual

B

yro

n Smith

Memorial

Midwest

Stinson

Reul/ion . Info:

Suzelle Selig, 630/904-6964

SEPTEMBER 18 - COOPERSTOWN, NY- (NY54)

EAA

Chapter 1070

Pancak

e breakfast and old Aero

plane Fly-ln. 7am-noon. Info: 607/547-2526

SEPTEMBER 18-19 - ROCK FALLS,

IL

-North

Centra

l EAA

Old Fashion

ed F ~ v - I n . Forums, work

shops,j1y-market. Camping and Air Rall

y.

Inf

o:

630/543-6743 or check our websiste at http://

mem

bers.aol.

com

/nce

aa

SEPTEMBER 25 - HANOVER, IN - Wood, Fabric

and

Tailwh ee

ls Fly-In. Contact

Rich

Davidson

812

/866-5654.

SEPTEMBER

25-26 -

ZANESVILLE, OH -John s

Landing. 8th

al/I/ual

Vintage Aircraft Chapter of

Ohio Fall Fly- II/. Hog roast

Sat.,

Breakfast and

lun

ch both days. Info: Virginia, 740/453-6889 or

call the airport at 740/455-9900.

OCTOBER

1-3 -

HA

YW

ARD,

CA -

West

Coast

Travel

Air Reunion. Hosted

by

Antique aircraft collector

Budfield.

Private

Museum tour,

San Francisco Bay

Documents

Vintage Airplane - Jul 1999