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8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jun 2012
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june 2012
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The New 2013 Lin coln MKS
Exquisitely Crafed to Raise Eyebrows
The new 2013 Lincoln MKS delivers the performance and technology you’ll
appreciate in a luxury sedan The exclusive Lincoln Drive Control system makes
The Privilege o Partnership
EAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor Company
vehicles through Ford’s Partner Recognition Program To learn more on
L I N C O L N
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2 Straight and Level Your AirVenture Bucket List by Geoff Robison
3 Friends of the Red Barn
4 Aeromail
6 News
7 Book Review
8 T-Craft Tale With a Twist LSA meets vintage by Budd Davisson
16 Type Club Notes Oil leaks . . . where? Oh, where! by George Horn
17 The Hunter Brothers Part 1, A flying family from Sparta, Illinois by Robert H. Hayes
22 Nobody Whistles at Coveralls Adventure with the Curtiss crew by S. Michelle Souder
23 Light Plane Heritage Exploring Early Rotary Engines by Bob Whittier
28 The Vintage Mechanic Truss-type fuselage structures by Robert G. Lock
32 The Vintage Instructor Wind, takeoff, and traffic patterns, Part 1 by Steve Krog, CFI
34 Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy
A I R P L A N E J U N EC O N T E N T S
S T A F FEAA Publisher Rod HightowerDirector of EAA Publications J. Mac McClellan
Executive Director/Editor H.G. FrautschyBusiness Manager Kathleen WitmanSenior Art Director Olivia P. Trabbold
Advertising:Manager/Domestic, Sue AndersonTel: 920-426-6127 Email: [email protected] Fax: 920-426-4828
C O V E R S
Vol. 40, No. 6 2012
FRONT COVER: With a color scheme honoring a Taylorcraft used by Cliff
Henderson’s staff of the National Air Races of 1937, this bright little gem was
restored by Don Hernke of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, and is now owned and
flown by Michael Zidziunas of Lakeland, Florida, and Peter Van Spronsen. The
engine powering the T-Craft, a Lycoming O-145, may not have been as popular
as the Continental A-65, but it has a loyal following among antique aircraft afi-
cionados. EAA photo by Tyson Rininger.
BACK COVER:
The joys of flying a Cub are doubled with the addition of apair of EDO floats in this ink and watercolor illustration by Bob O’Hara, part of a
series of Young Eagles themed illustrations which we’ll be sharing with you in
the coming months. An enthusiastic young lady enjoys the sights, sounds and
smells of cruising the shoreline near Snug Harbor during her Young Eagles flight
in a Piper J-3 Cub on floats.
8
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Wow! As I write thisit ’s mid-M ay, and
AirVenture is a mere
nine weeks away. The
excitement continues to grow for
what I will yet again predict to be
another excellent year to attend Air-
Venture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. All
you really have to do is go to http://
bcove.me/w2grykdi and watch EAA’s
video titled “What’s on Your Air-
Venture Bucket List.” Be sure to turn
up the sound and click on the lower
right of the window to put the video
in full-screen mode. If you don’t feel
the energy and desire to pack up the
airplane or car and head to Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, for this event, then you,sir or madam, have nothing but ice
water running through your veins,
or you do not have a single aviation
bone in your entire body! Be pre-
pared to become obsessed! You just
have to be there . . . it will be wild!
I would also suggest that you give
some thought to volunteering withthe Vintage team of volunteers. Ev-
ery year the Vintage Division of EAA
attracts more than 450 folks who
will volunteer more than 22,500
total hours of sometimes hard but
always enjoyable work to this won-
we will be in need of some additionalpersonnel to assist us in making this
operation a real success. If you make
the decision to come join us, you can
feel free to contact the various chair-
men from the list below.
Convention ManagementGeoff Robison 260-437-5579
EAA AeromartPaul Kyle 262-844-3351
Judging/Chief JudgeDave Clark 317-839-4500
Computer OperationsEarl Nicholas 847-367-9667
Construction & MaintenanceMike Blombach 260-745-2339
Setup & Transportation
Phil Blake 507-256-4543Headquarters/SalesRuth Coulson 269-624-6490
VAA HQ Hospitality Jeannie Hill 815-943-7205
Interview CircleRay Johnson 765-664-2588
Merchandise
Bob Lumley 262-782-2633 Metal Working ShopSteve Nesse 507-373-1674
Aircraft Parking/SafetyKathy McGurran 303-671-9612
VAA SecurityTim Fox 260-486-8126
ing space at AirVenture each year.These returning Champions are al-
ways parked facing west on the east
side of the road in front of the Vin-
tage Red Barn and Vintage Hangar
area. These Grand Champion air-
craft represent the “best of the best.”
They’re among the finest examples
of why we as members of the Vintage
movement are dedicated to the pres-
ervation of the artifacts as well as the
history of these old flying machines.
It’s always nice to be able to check
out these fabulous aircraft and to take
a moment to appreciate the TLC that
is provided for these aircraft in their
routine upkeep and maintenance. I
oftentimes will target one of theseold birds and spend as much as an
hour just looking it over. It’s amazing
to me the number of little details you
will notice and pick up on when you
take an extra moment to give such a
great restoration a good look.
Geoff Robison
president, VAA
STRAIGHT & LEVEL
Your AirVenture Bucket List
VAA is about participation:
Be a member! Be a volunteer!
Be there!
Do yourself a favor and ask a
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VAA Friends of the Red BarnYour support is crucial to the success of
VAA’s EAA AirVenture activities and programs
BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY
VAA members like you are passionate about your affi liation with vintage aviation, and
it shows. You’re the most loyal of all EAA members, renewing your VAA membership each
and every year at a rate higher than any other group within the EAA family. We appreciate
your dedication! Each year about this time we give you another opportunity to strengthen
your bond with the VAA by inviting you to become a Friend of the Red Barn.
This special, once-a-year opportunity helps VAA put together all the components
that make the Vintage area of EAA AirVenture a unique and exciting part of the World’sGreatest Aviation Celebration. This special fund was established to cover a significant
portion of the VAA’s expenses related to serving VAA members during EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh, so that no dues money is used to support the convention activities.
This is a great opportunity for Vintage members to join together as key financial
supporters of the Vintage division. It’s a rewarding experience for each of us as
individuals to be a part of supporting the finest gathering of Antique, Classic, and
Contemporary airplanes in the world.
At whatever level is comfortable for you, won’t you please join those of us who
recognize the tremendously valuable key role the Vintage Aircraft Association has played
in preserving the irreplaceable grassroots and general aviation airplanes of the last 100
years? Your participation in EAA Vintage Aircraft Association’s Friends of the Red Barn will
help ensure the very finest in EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Vintage programs.
To participate in this year’s campaign, fill out the donation form below and return it
in the envelope included in this magazine or visit our website at www.VintageAircraft.
org/programs/redbarn.html to make an online contribution. And to each and every one
of you who has already contributed, or is about to, a heartfelt “thank you”
from the offi cers, directors, staff, and volunteers of the Vintage Aircraft Association!
VAA Friends of the Red Barn
Name______________________________________________________________________EAA #___________ VAA #___________
Address______________________________________________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip________________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone___________________________________________________E-Mail______________________________________________
Please choose your level of participation: Payment Enclosed (Make checks payable to Vintage Aircraft Assoc.)
____ Diamond Plus $1,500.00 ____ Gold Level Gift - $500.00 ____ Loyal Supporter Gift - ($99.00 or
✃
STEVE MOYER PHOTOS
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Cub Memories
Dear Mr. Handleman,
I read your article “Going Home
Again” about the history of the Cub
in the December 2011 issue of Vin-
tage Airplane. Thanks for the nice ar-
ticle; I, too, used to fly a Cub and can
identify very much with your senti-
ments. The part that really brought
back memories was your mention
of the rising “clatter” as you pushed
the throttle forward and accelerated
down the runway. Exactly! It sounded
like a farm tractor shifting into high
gear; each cylinder was heard quite
clearly. What a blast!You are indeed correct regarding
the origin of the “J-series” name for
the Cub line of aircraft. In 1986, I was
privileged to eat dinner with Walter
Jamouneau and Bill Piper Jr. This din-
ner was held at the lightly attended
trial run of the very first Sentimental
Journey Fly-in at Lock Haven, Penn-
sylvania, in the summer of 1986 (the
fly-in officially kicked off in 1987). My
wife, Margie, and I attended the fly-in
banquet one evening with about 20
other people in the back room of a
small local restaurant, and we got to
sistent legend. Walter’s assertion was
backed up by Bill Piper Jr., who was
sitting at the table as well.
Walter was very humble about his
work on the J-series, and I actually be-
lieve he would have refused the honor
if it had been offered to him. Bill and
Walter were very pleasant and gracious.
Both these men are gone now, but
even today I am thrilled that we got to
meet both these aviation legends.
I last flew a Cub in 1987 and then
flew our family Tri-Pacer hundreds of
hours until it was mothballed a few
years ago (needs cover and overhaul).
Hopefully I will get it flying againsometime. The J-3’s owners, a hus-
band and wife team, rebuilt their Cub
and have since flown it from Georgia
to Alaska and back and later wrote a
book about the journey. Happy flying!
Sincerely,
John A. Ritchie Jr.
Duluth, Georgia
The Vintage InstructorDear Steve,
Re: “Do You Know What You Don’t
Know?”
I look forward to reading your
instructing, and keep on writing for
Vintage Airplane!
Just for the LOVE of flight,
I remain,
Mr. Robert F. Zilinsky
Willowbrook, Illinois
Steve responds:
Dear Bob,
I received your note today and want
to thank you for your kind comments. I
thoroughly enjoy teaching people to fly in
a J-3 Cub. There is nothing more satisfy-
ing to me than stepping out of the cock- pit and telling a student to do three solo
takeoffs and landings.
And the second most satisfying mo-
ment is shaking hands the day they pass
their checkride.
I have been flying since 1969 and
teaching flying since 1973. Until 2008
I had been teaching tailwheel check-
outs nights and weekends while work-
ing full time. But I chose to take an early
retirement and open a flight school us-
ing Cubs in the spring of 2008. In the
past four years I’ve had the pleasure of
flying with nearly 300 people, many of
them “seasoned citizens” who once flew
but left aviation to raise families. Now
they’re ready to return to the love of fly-ing. Many of them are in their late 60s or
70s. I had one student that, at the age of80, earned a sport pilot certificate.
You mentioned in your note that you
have a J-3 Cub. Have you given thought
to participating in the 75th anniversary
of the J-3 and flying to Oshkosh? Our
plan is to have the Cubs meet at Hart-
ford, Wisconsin, and then fly in trail to
Oshkosh on Sunday, July 22. It would
be an honor to have you be a part of this
one-time event.
Thanks again for writing and shar-
ing your thoughts. It makes the effort
AEROMAIL
Send your comments and questions to:VAA, Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 3086Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086
Or you can e-mail them to: [email protected]
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Cubs 2 Oshkosh
Plans are shaping up to make
this year’s celebration of the 75th
anniversary of the Piper J-3 Cub
one of the most exciting events
in the Vintage area in many
years. We’ll have much more on
the program in the July issue. If
you’re even thinking about com-
ing to Oshkosh, please visit the
official Cubs 2 Oshkosh website
at www.Cubs2Osh.EAAchapter.org .
VAA Picnic and Cubs 2 Oshkosh
Dinner
A combined event with twodinner seatings will cap off the
celebration of the Piper Cub’s
75th anniversary as we combine
that celebration’s dinner with the
VAA Picnic dinner held in the
EAA Nature Center the evening
of Wednesday, July 25. Tickets go
fast once the convention begins,
so be sure to purchase your tick-
ets right away when you arrive
on the convention site. Jeannie
Hill will be available during the
pre-convention celebration in
Hartford, Wisconsin, so that Cub
VAA NEWS
VAA Director Jack CopelandLongtime VAA Director John
“Jack” Copeland passed away at the
age of 81 on Wednesday, May 16,
2012.
Jack, who joined EAA in 1971,has been a volunteer with the VAA
(then the Antique/Classic Divi-
sion) dating back to 1975, about
the same time he bought his first
airplane, a Cessna 140. He served
the membership as classic parking
co-chairman, manpower chair, and,
for more than two decades, the en-
thusiastic chairman of the partici-
pant plaques. Appointed an advi-
sor in 1979, he’s been a director of
the division since 1984. Jack was
one of the faces familiar to count-
less members as he headed up the
Jack served in the U.S. Air Force
as an aircraft maintenance officer
on active duty from 1955-58 and
later attained the rank of captain in
the USAF Reserve.
Our condolences to his many
friends, and to his wife, Jean, their
son Jeff and daughters Jerri and Jeannie, as well as their families,
and to Jack’s brother, William.
Jack’s services were held Mon-
day, May 20, at the Pine Grove
Cemetery in Westborough, Massa-
chusetts. In lieu of flowers, the fam-
ily asked that donations be made
to the Vintage Aircraft Association,
P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903.
AirVenture 2012With just more than a month to
go before the summertime celebra-
tion of flight that is EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh, we have a few items we’d
like to share with you as you pre-
pare to make your journey to Wit-
tman Field. We’ll have more in the
July issue of Vintage Airplane.
Type Club InformationType club representatives who
Jack Copeland
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will take place in the Vintage Hangar,
just south of the VAA Red Barn. The
ceremony, which will take place af-
ter the daily air show, starting at 6:00
p.m. on Saturday, promises to be a
great evening for winners and attend-ees alike. After the ceremony, we’ll
host a reception for all attendees and
the winners in the Vintage Hangar
with soft drinks and snacks. Plan on
being there to cheer on your friends
and enjoy some vintage camaraderie
before we all head home the next day.
VAA Judging CategoriesBut for those of you who are not
yet VAA members and are plan-
ning on bringing an airplane to
be judged during EAA AirVenture,
you’re strongly encouraged to join
the division. Why? VAA volunteers
spend hundreds of hours parking
aircraft, judging them, and mak-
ing the VAA area the best it can be.
VAA also covers the majority of the
cost of the actual awards, so we’d
appreciate it if you’d show your
support for the volunteers’ efforts
and VAA by becoming a VAA mem-
ber. So it’s one less thing to deal
with upon your arrival, give us acall at 800-843-3612 or join online
at www.VintageAircraft.org . Dues
are only $42 per year if you’re al-
ready an EAA member!
Each year we receive inquires re-
garding the effective years for VAA’s
judging categories. Here they are:
Antique
An aircraft constructed by the
original manufacturer, or its licensee,
on or before August 31, 1945, with
the exception of certain pre-World
War II aircraft models that had only a
small postwar production. Examples:
Required Equipment:EAA AirVenture NOTAM
I f y o u ’ r e
planning to fly
in to Oshkosh
next month,it’s imperative
that you obtain
a copy of the
FAA’s 2012 Air-
Venture Notice
to Airmen (NO-
TAM), which
contains arrivaland departure procedures for the 60th
annual fly-in convention. These pro-
cedures are in effect from Friday, July
20, through Monday, July 30. (The
event is July 23-July 29.)
While the overall procedures are
similar to past years, you should al-
ways review each year’s NOTAM and
be familiar with the procedures so
you don’t have to fumble around in
the cockpit as you head down the
railroad tracks from Fisk! You can
download a PDF version at www.
AirVenture.org/flying/2012_NOTAM.
pdf , or call EAA Membership Ser-
vices at 800-564-6322 and a printed
booklet will be mailed to you, free ofcharge. (You can also order a booklet
on the website noted above.)
Don’t Forget Your EAA PassportThis Summer
The EAA Museum Passport Pro-
gram, in partnership with the Associa-
tion of Science-Technology Museums
(ASTC), was launched a couple of years
ago. This member benefit provides free
admission to more than 300 partici-
pating museums around the world.
To use this benefit, you need to
display the ASTC logo on the back
i
i
t
t
BOOK OF
INTEREST
Dr. William Lloyd Stearman, the
son of famed aviation pioneer Lloyd
C. Stearman, has recently published a
memoir that should garner the atten-
tion of anyone who has any interestwhatever in early aviation, WWII in
the Pacific as a naval officer, life in the
diplomatic service in Europe during
the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and
the workings of the White House Na-
tional Security Council staff. This book,
entitled An American Adventure: From
Early Aviation Through Three Wars to the
White House, is published by the Naval
Institute Press and is available on Ama-
zon as well as other book sources.
Of particular interest to Stearman
enthusiasts are his recollections of
the lives and history of various mem-
bers of the Stearman family, of their
interactions, and of the many of
aviation’s famous personalities thathe encountered as a young boy at
his home, as well as at the Stearman
factory. He also describes how the
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (now
Lockheed Martin) came into being.
His father was its first president.
This volume displays his keen in-
sight into life from the 1920s to the
present, and his opinions and per-
spective on world affairs and leaders
is very insightful and persuasive. It
is one which should join the list of
required history reading. His elegant
prose and writing style makes for a
An American Adventure: From Early Aviation Through Three Wars
to the White House
by Dr. William Lloyd Stearman
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T-CraftTale With aTwist
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The ’39 T-craft came out of a
friendship Mike had formed with
one of his LSA students who hada similar taste in airplanes, Pete
Van Spronsen.
Mike says, “Pete learned to fly
with me a couple of years ago, get-
ting his sport pilot license [certifi-
cate] at age 53. Then he went on
to get his private. He and I became
partners in a 1940 BC-65 proj-ect and are still doing a complete
restoration on it. Pete is also the
president of our local EAA Chap-
ter 1178, and it was his idea to get
a flying T-craft so we could have
something to look at and fly while
we restore the ’40.”
When restoring an aircraft, it al-ways helps to have a “pattern” air-
plane as a source of information.
Mike says, “Pete found a ’39 T-craft
on Barnstormer and went up to see
it just before AirVenture 2011. I re-
member how excited he was when
he called to tell me what he found
in a makeshift hangar on a small
private strip south of Minneapo-
lis. After delivering my Breezer LSA
to be on display at EAA AirVenture
2011, I went to pick up the ’39 and
brought it to Oshkosh. My third
landing in it was at AirVenture. I
The prewar Taylorcraft’s panelis dominated by the largebackwards-turning tachometerin the center of the instrumentpanel. A nice, lightweight in-terior in the airplane keeps itsperformance sprightly.
Very thin plywood was usedas the headliner in the cabin.A pair of truncated triangularskylights keep the cabin brightwhile adding to the pilot’svisibility out of the aircraftduring turns.
The Lycoming O-145 wasn’t aspopular as the competing Con-tinental A-65. This examplewas found to be in excellentcondition after being pickledfollowing an overhaul in 1975.
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mote and conduct the 1937 Na-
tional Air Races at Cleveland. The
colorful little BL-65 had been re-
stored by Don Hernke of Cannon
Falls, Minnesota.
Don is a longtime airplane guywhose background parallels that of
many of us in sport aviation, with
the Taylorcraft being the latest epi-
sode in his long aviation life.
He says, “As a teen, and into my
early 20s, I used to hang around
an old WWII grass strip in Cannon
Falls and eventually started takingflying lessons. That was in the early
’60s, and I was flying Cessna 140s.
I started working towards my li-
cense [certificate] but had no idea it
would take 20 years to accomplish
that task.”
Don’s tale of the struggle to get
his certificate resonates with most
pilots: He started flying, but build-ing his life, career, and family side-
tracked his flying activities.
“I got into models and eventu-
ally motorcycles,” he says. “But air-
planes were always on my mind,
and eventually I got back to them.”
When he returned to aviation, it
was as a homebuilder.He says, “I’ve always liked work-
ing with my hands. It’s really sat-
isfying to take nothing and make
something out of it, so homebuild-
ing an airplane was a natural thing
to do for me. I started looking
around and ran across a set of Avid
Flyer wings that needed a fuselage
to make them into an airplane. So,
I scratchbuilt the fuselage, doing
all of the work myself. I worked on
that for four or five years, eventu-
ally getting it flying with a Subaru
EA81 in the nose. It flew really well,
of it and had a number of hangars.
I rented one of those and noticed a
pile of parts that looked like a Tay-
lorcraft in one of his other hangars.It turned out that he had taken
what he described as ‘a big box of
parts’ in on trade for one of his ul-
tralights. I asked him if it was for
sale, and at first it wasn’t. Then he
put a price on it. But I thought it
was too high, and I decided to wait
until he came to his senses.”Don continued flying his Avid
Flyer, all the time knowing that his
next airplane was piled up in the
back of one of the hangars he was
continually passing. All he had to
do was talk the owner out of it. Fi-
nally, when he retired in 2000, he
decided to get serious about becom-
ing the Taylorcraft’s new owner.
He says, “I looked it over, and it
appeared to all be there with the
exception of one strut. It was a
bare skeleton, with no cover, so I
could easily see into all the nooks
“it had been sitting in the hangar
for quite a few years, and the price
had slowly worked its way down to
where I thought it should be. So Ibought it. But then I noticed one
peculiarity with the paperwork.
The last entry in the logbook was
in 1966, when it said, ‘Needs com-
plete recover.’ And the title was in
the name of Acme Flight School,
but the bill of sale was signed
by a Mr. Morris Way. There wasno mention of the flight school,
which was the official owner as
far as the FAA was concerned. So,
in theory the guy I was buying
it from didn’t actually own it. In
fact, for something like 40 years,
the airplane had changed hands
repeatedly with a title that the FAA
wouldn’t accept, and they had said
so. This started a whole sequence
of events that, had it not been for
the Internet, probably couldn’t
have been solved: For the airplane
to actually be mine and licensable,
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then made some phone calls. The
effort paid off because I found his
cousin, who then put me in direct
contact with the last owner. This
was just before Oshkosh 2005, and
it turned out that we were both
going to be there. So, we met at
Oshkosh, he signed a new bill of
sale, the FAA accepted it with no
problem, and for the first time in
nearly half a century the airplane
was finally legal. More important,
I was now its official owner. What
a headache that could have turned
He made certain that everything I
touched was done right every step
of the way; his name was going to
be on the paperwork, and he didn’t
want something biting him, and he
didn’t want me to have problems
in the air. For instance, the wooden
Flottorp prop looked really good
with no cracks in the finish or any-
thing, but he wanted it inspected
and refinished. I found someone
working for a museum who had the
credentials to overhaul such a prop.
I sent it to him, and it came back all
Now owned by Michael Zidziunas of Lakeland, Florida, and Peter Van Spronsen, this 1939 Taylorcraftwas restored by Don Hernke of Cannon Falls, Minnesota.
“The wingstook a lot
k
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was well out on the tip, so I could
splice them. But one was bad enough
that we replaced it completely.
“One thing that made the spar
replacement easier was that some-
time in the far distant past, the
original BL-65 wood ribs had been
A never-ending problem with
lots of vintage projects that have
been shuffled from owner to owner
over the years is that the sheet
metal is generally nothing more
than lumpy sheets that can be used
only as patterns. That was not the
tally different situation than the
sheet metal; it had suffered the way
most instrument panels do over
nearly seven decades.
“It had been pretty chopped up,
which is a shame because the origi-
nal arrangement is classic and re-
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the original instruments and sent
them out for repair, but the over-haul station wouldn’t touch those
with radium dials. So some dials are
slightly larger but still look right.
“I did the interior more like a
boat, I suppose, than an airplane.
You can get by with questionable
brakes on a T-craft because they
land so slowly. In my case, how-
ever, I didn’t have to worry about
that because my brakes had brand-
new linings when I got it, and Iknew it was highly unlikely that I’d
fly it enough to use them up.”
When it came to the engine,
Don knew that even though the
logs said it had been overhauled
and never flown, over a quarter of
a century of just sitting could have
reduced it to a four-cylinder lumpof rust. Making matters much more
risky, O-145 Lycomings don’t have
separate cylinders, which can be re-
placed or repaired one at a time. On
an O-145 Lycoming the cylinders
themselves are integral parts of the
case castings with only the heads
bolted on and removable. So a bad
cylinder means a bad case half. Nota good thing!
“I gave the engine to my me-
chanic and he completely disas-
sembled it, checked everything,
and put it back together: I had as-
sumed that it had no internal rust
or problems, but was nice to know
that for sure.“I covered the airplane using a Ce-
conite envelope for the fuselage and
Poly-Fiber for the wings and tail. The
paint is Poly all the way through,
and yes, I used up a lot of masking
tape and paper shooting it.”
When it comes time to paint an
airplane after a complete rebuild, de-
cisions loom large and difficult. Thepaint is all most people see when they
look at an airplane, so it’s critical we
pick out something we like but at the
same time is unique enough that the
airplane stands out from the crowd
from the 1937 National Air Races in
Chet Peek’s Taylorcraft book. That
book is the bible for Taylorcraft
guys, and I loved that paint scheme.
It’s wild enough to be different, but
it is also easy to prove that it’s trueto the type of aircraft and the pe-
riod. When I finally got it in the air,
I was really pleased with people’s re-
actions to it.”
Don flew the airplane for nearly
five years before it showed up at
AirVenture 2011 with Mike Z and
Pete Van Spronsen.Mike says, “As soon as I saw the
pictures, I was in love! There are so
many Taylorcrafts floating around
that it’s really difficult to come up
with something that looks differ-
ent but at the same time is totally
original. And I liked that about
it. It really fits in with the fun at-
mosphere that surrounds our LSAflight-training operation. And ev-
eryone loves it down there. Actu-
ally, it’s a great conversation piece.
When we had it in the Vintage area
at AirVenture 2011, it was amazing
how many people wanted to talk to
us about the paint scheme. And it’s
an absolute hoot to fly, althoughwe’d like a little more power.
“Fortunately, when Don rebuilt
the airplane he installed all the
stuff that’s required in the C-85 STC
for Taylorcrafts. So, if at some time
in the future we decide we want to
go with an 85-hp Continental, all
of the work is done except for the
actual engine installation itself. Ithas the right fuel tanks, fuel lines,
valves, etc. Everything! So, if we do
it, it’ll be an easy change.
“Peter Van Spronsen and I are
both enjoying the airplane. And
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Like most everyone, I’ve got an
engine covered in many areas with
anti-corrosion compound…namely,
AeroShell W100.
I’ve had a difficult time pinpoint-
ing the exact area of the leak. If I run
it a short time on the ground, theleaks don’t present themselves for dis-
covery. If I fly it around the patch and
land . . . the oil is everywhere, includ-
ing the firewall!
Where, Oh Where Is the Source?
So I went to AutoZone and picked
up its least expensive ultraviolet oil
leak detector kit, which consists ofan ultraviolet penlight, some dye
(careful…you want the oil/hydraulic
fluid leak-detector dye, not the Freon
or fuel dyes), and some yellow-lens
glasses (the better to see the ultravio-
utes at about 1000 rpm and then
pulled the plane back into the han-
gar, closed the doors, and turned off
the hangar lights to make it as dark as
possible. Then, while wearing the yel-
low glasses, I took a look at various ar-
eas of the engine that are always wetwith oil, illuminated only with the
ultraviolet penlight.
“Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!” —Gomer Pyle
I had thought the oil was leaking
from the engine through-bolts, but
the first surprise was the dipstick tube!
See the “without UV lighting versus
with UV lighting” photos.I was also surprised by the studs at
the tappet body covers.
An area of the No. 5 cylinder push-
rod rubbers stayed wet, but the rubbers
looked good, and I thought it would
and tappet body cover/stud with
solvent and electronics cleaner and
then apply Permatex No. 2 into the
crevices, to stop the oil leak. (I’ve suc-
cessfully used this technique on en-
gine through-bolts and cylinder base
nuts.) Let the Permatex dry overnightbefore operating.
Meanwhile . . . for those of you
who want to know the exact source
of oil leaks, you might wish to try one
of the ultraviolet leak detection kits
used and sold by automotive sources.
Even if I don’t actually stop the leaks, I
am reassured that the source of oil was
determined to not be a cracked case orother traumatic problem. I’m just glad
to know where that oil is coming from!
Hope this short article is helpful.
A note regarding the photographs: It
Oil leaks . . . where? Oh, where!BY GEORGE HORN,
CESSNA 170 CLUB PARTS/MAINTENANCE ADVISER
Reprinted with permission from The 170 News, Second Quarter 2011,
the quarterly publication of the International Cessna 170 Association Inc. www.Cessna170.org
Type Club Notes
There’s oil all around, but where is it
coming from? The pushrod tube rubber
seal without ultraviolet lighting.
The pushrod tube rubber seal with
ultraviolet lighting clearly shows the
source of the leak.
Tappet body covers.
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The Hunter
B r o t h e r s
PART 1
A flying
family from
Sparta, IllinoisBY ROBERT H. HAYES
In a photo that appears to
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At a young age they lost their
father. Since the family lived on a
farm, it became necessary for the
boys of the family to assume the
chores of operating the farm. Theynever lost that hard work ethic.
Albert, the eldest son, quit school
after the seventh grade and rode
a horse into Sparta to work at the
Ford garage. After several years, Al-
bert began working at a local coal
mine. In time the family moved
into Sparta, and the other three
boys joined their brother workingas coal miners.
Working as coal miners, the boys
purchased motorcycles for transpor-
tation and pleasure. In their free time
they would entertain the citizens of
port, they saw several biplanes
parked by the Robertson Aircraft
Corporation’s plant. They stopped
and inquired about the planes and
decided that rather than obtainnew motorcycles, they would buy
an airplane and learn to fly it.
Albert, the oldest Hunter brother,
assigned John, the second oldest
brother, to stay at the airfield for a
day and take flying instructions. Al-
bert and his two other brothers re-
turned to Sparta. John did just that,
and after 90 minutes of instruction,he flew the plane to Sparta, navi-
gating by following the roads they
had taken to St. Louis. When John
arrived in Sparta with the plane, he
landed the plane in a pasture across
joined them in Sparta and helped
John, Albert, Walter, and eventu-
ally Kenneth to become accom-
plished pilots. For the next several
weeks, Sparta residents witnessedan almost daily air show as the
Hunter brothers learned to perform
stunts with their plane.
Soon, the brothers bought a sec-
ond plane and sold it to Bud Gur-
ney. During the summer, Gurney
and the Hunter brothers would fly
to towns in southern Illinois and
southeast Missouri, selling peoplean airplane ride for a small fee.
Eventually they purchased a third
plane, started the Hunter Flying
Circus, and gave performances at
area county fairs.
This photo, taken in north suburban Chicago at Sky Harbor Airport, shows adding fuel to the plane Big Ben froma Deep Rock tanker truck. Deep Rock Oil company furnished the fuel for the 1930 endurance flight. Albert and
Walter Hunter flew fuel and supplies to John and Kenneth and the City of Chicago in the airplane Big Ben.
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also gave passengers a seven- to
10-minute ride, charging $3 for
each passenger. They used a field
just south of the local fair grounds
for a landing field. Herbert Budd, a
mechanic working for the HunterFlying Circus, performed the wing-
walking, parachute leaps, and
changing from one plane to an-
other in mid-air stunts. The Hunt-
ers advertised their flying circus
and hoped to get billings at other
fairs in the vicinity.
Bud Gurney was a young man
from Lincoln, Nebraska. He came to
St. Louis and was working for Rob-
ertson Aircraft Corporation Com-
pany. Robertson had hired Charles
A. Lindbergh Jr. as the chief pilot to
fly mail. Lindbergh hired Bud Gur-
ney to rebuild Robertson’s small
fleet of de Havilland DH-4 aircraft.
Lindbergh and Gurney met onApril 9, 1922, when both men sat
side by side in the front cockpit of
a Lincoln Standard Turnabout on
their first airplane ride. Gurney was
working at the Nebraska Aircraft
Corporation factory in Lincoln, Ne-
braska, to pay for his flying lessons.
Lindbergh had paid $500 to RayPage, the president of the Nebraska
Aircraft Corporation, for flying les-
sons. Both Lindbergh and Gurney
became close, lifelong friends.
In addition to performing in the
Hunter Flying Circus, the Hunters
used their airplanes to travel to air
shows, air races, and just barnstorm
around the United States. In Octo-ber 1924, the Hunter brothers flew
to Dayton, Ohio, for the air races.
On the way back to Sparta, Albert
and his passenger, Charles Exiter,
planned to stop at Brookville, In-
In May 1925, the Hunter
Flying Circus put on a big
demonstration at a field, about
five miles north of Chester,
Illinois. As part of that dem-
onstration, Kenneth Hunterperformed his first parachute
leap. Charles Hamilton, a lo-
cal boy from Chester, also
made a parachute leap. As
Hamilton attempted his leap
from the plane piloted by
John Hunter, the parachute
failed to release from the
case, which was attached to
the plane. Hamilton was sus-
pended at the end of a rope,
about eight feet below the
landing gear of the plane.
John Hunter had con-
siderable difficulty keeping
the plane from losing alti-
tude due to the aerodynamic dragof him hanging below the plane.
After about 30 minutes of circling
the field, Hamilton was able to
climb up to the bag and unlace the
mouth of it so the parachute would
release. Hamilton landed safely in
a wheat field about a mile south of
the landing field.After John Hunter landed the
plane, it was discovered that the
bag had almost torn loose from
the plane. Had the bag torn loose,
it would have prevented the para-
chute from opening. When Ham-
ilton returned to the field, he
declared that he was ready to make
another leap. John Hunter, morefrightened that Hamilton during
the episode, responded that he
would not permit another amateur
to drop from his plane.
The Hunter Flying Circus per-
in the grandstand.Beans was able to descend away
from the trees north of the grand-
stand and made a perfect landing
on his feet on top of the grandstand
roof. However, the wind caught his
partially open parachute, pulling
him from the roof to the ground,
40 feet below.Beans landed on his left hand
and side. He remained conscious
for a short time, but lapsed into un-
consciousness. He was carried to
the Red Cross Hospital where he
was examined by Dr. J.K. Gordon.
The prognosis was that he was suf-
fering from shock, but not seriously
injured. A later examination by Dr.C.O. Boynton revealed a fractured
bone in his left wrist. Beans was
able to sit up the next day and was
unhappy that his doctor would not
permit him to fill an engagement
Bud Gurney
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and Chicago by way of Springfield
and Peoria. The Robertson Aircraft
Corporation hired Lindbergh, 24,
as chief pilot for the mail contract.
Lindbergh recruited a number of pi-
lots to assist in the service. John andWalter Hunter joined the Robertson
Air Mail service. It’s quite possible
their previous association with Bud
Gurney led to their recruitment.
Pilots flying mail had to fly in vi-
sual contact with the ground. They
flew in all weather, good and bad.
Weather reports were not reliable. Of-
ten, journeys started in good weather
would fly on into bad weather and
fog. Radio communication with air-
ports did not exist. The airports were
cow pastures with a windsock.
The Hunters became good friends
with Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. Lind-
bergh visited the Hunters in Sparta
on several occasions. On his firstvisit to Sparta, Lindbergh rode his
motorcycle from St. Louis to Sparta.
He flew to Sparta for later trips.
On October 13, 1927, John and
Kenneth Hunter flew home to
Sparta from Hackensack, New Jersey,
where they had spent the summer
providing passenger rides in theirplane. One of the most pleasant ex-
periences that occurred on that trip
was a flight in which a 19-year-old
boy had his hearing restored.
The boy had become deaf at 8
years of age. John Hunter gave the
lad a ride during which he made a
dive of several thousand feet. Upon
landing, the young man could hear.Several months later, the Hunters
again visited with the young man
and learned that he was still able
to hear. The Hunter Flying Circus
presented a performance to a large
Gurney was flying mail to Mem-
phis, Tennessee, in a Ryan mono-
plane, similar to Lindbergh’s Spirit
of St. Louis. Many people, thinking
it was Lindbergh paying a visit to
the Hunters, rushed to the field. Bythe time they arrived, Gurney had
resumed his trip.
John and Walter Hunter con-
tinued to fly mail on routes out of
St. Louis. John flew the St. Louis–Evansville, Indiana–Chicago route.
Walter continued flying the St.
Louis-to-Chicago route. Beans was
working at an airport in South
Bend, Indiana, as a flight instructor.
Throughout 1929, fliers in Fort
Worth, Texas, Cleveland, Ohio, and
California each surpassed the time
aloft set by their predecessors. In
July 1929, Dale “Red” Jackson and
Forrest “Obie” O’Brine remainedaloft for 420 hours and 21 min-
utes over St. Louis, Missouri, in a
Curtiss Robin monoplane named
St. Louis Robin 1. The Curtiss Rob-
ertson Aeroplane and Motor Com-
pany manufactured the airplane in
St. Louis, Missouri.
In August of 1929, John Hunter
participated in an attempt to break
the record set by Jackson and
O’Brine. John was the pilot of the
refueling plane, Big Ben, which car-
ried gasoline, oil, and supplies to
the endurance plane.
Starting at 6:52 a.m. on Septem-
ber 30, 1929, John and Kenneth
Hunter, piloting the enduranceplane, attempted to surpass the
Jackson–O’Brine endurance record.
They remained in the air 11 days
but had to discontinue their flight
when a heavy fog made it impos-
sible to refuel the endurance plane.
The endurance plane was a Stinson
SM-1 Detroiter named Chicago We-Will, owned by the Chicago We-
Will Corporation.
In early June 1930, John Hunter
purchased the Stinson SM-1 Detroi-
ter airplane and renamed it City of
Chicago. On June 11, John and Ken-
neth Hunter quietly took off from
Sky Harbor Airport at Northbrook,
Illinois, and began their record-setting endurance flight.
An article in the Chicago Daily
News on June 13 was the first men-
tion of the attempted endurance
flight. The support of the flight was
One of the
most pleasant
experiences
that occurred
on that trip
was a flight
in which a
19-year-old boy
had his hearing
restored.
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ery six hours. After more than a
week, refueling contacts were in-
creased to every three hours due to
a leak in one of the fuel tanks in
the endurance plane, City of Chi-
cago. At each contact with City ofChicago, Bi g Ben provided gaso-
line, oil, food, and clean clothes to
John and Kenneth. Their mother
and sister Irene did their laundry
and prepared their meals. John
and Kenneth took turns flying City
of Chicago and sleeping. On occa-
sions, Kenneth would leave the
cabin and scoot along a catwalk to
the engine in the nose of the plane,
where he would change spark plugs
and tighten bolts on the engine.
Communication between City of
Chicago and support on the airfield
was by exchanging notes. One note
from John and Kenneth to their
sister, Irene, complained the foodthey were receiving was not “he-
man enough.” The note continued:
“Give us more hot dogs and hard
boiled eggs, and less of the fancy
fixed duck and chicken.”
As the endurance flight continued
toward the record set by Dale Jack-
son and Forrest O’Brine, the flight ofCity of Chicago began attracting more
and more attention. Daily articles in
the Chicago newspapers caused large
crowds to visit Sky Harbor Airport
to witness the event. Many citizens
from Sparta made the long trip north
to Sky Harbor Airport to cheer the
Hunter brothers on. Will Rogers rode
along with Albert and Walter on Big Ben during a refueling contact with
City of Chicago.
On Sunday, June 29, 1930, City
of Chicago passed the O’Brine–
Jackson endurance record; John
On July 4, 1930, brothers John
and Kenneth Hunter landed City of
Chicago after having been airborne
for 553 hours, 41 minutes, and 30
seconds, establishing a new flight
endurance record. John and Kenneth had been ex-
periencing difficulty all day. In late
afternoon, an oil screen in the mo-
tor clogged. As oil was poured into
the motor, it was forced out into the
faces of John and Kenneth. The mo-
tor began to overheat due to the lack
of oil. John and Kenneth decided
to land the plane before the motor
failed. As City of Chicago touched
down and taxied down the runway,
the crowd rushed toward the plane.
John, recall ing Lindbergh’s ex-
perience in Paris, taxied the plane
around the crowd and into the
hangar. Inside the hangar at Sky
Harbor Airport, John and Kennethwere rushed to the microphones of
the national radio networks. They
reported that they were tired but
could have stayed in the air for sev-
eral more days had the oil screen in
the motor not become plugged.
Following the radio broadcast,
the Hunter family, including allfour brothers, their mother, and sis-
ter Irene were taken by a long auto-
mobile procession to the House on
the Roof at the Hotel Sherman in
Chicago. There they were guests of
the hotel management.
After arriving at the House on the
Roof, John and Kenneth enjoyed
their first bath in more than threeweeks. After bathing, they were re-
quired by their manager to sit at a
table and listen to long talks. When
the talks were completed, John and
Kenneth were finally permitted to
Sparta, the Hunter brothers, and
the endurance flight.
Many news accounts reported
that Albert was the only member
of the family who was married.
This was quite possibly amusing to John Hunter, who on May 7, 1929,
was married to Laura McCarey of
Sparta by a justice of the peace in
St. Charles, Missouri. Laura was
teaching school and chose to keep
her marriage a secret. In the spring
of 1930, John was flying mail and
planning an endurance flight.
Laura thought that announcing
their wedding then would attract
attention to her while John was a
national celebrity.
In the week following the endur-
ance flight, the Hunter family was
honored as guests at a number of
banquets in Chicago. The banquets
were hosted by Will Rogers, CharlesS. “Casey” Jones, an executive of
Curtiss-Wright, and members of
the Chicago Board of Trade. Their
sister Mabel was the only family
member not present during the en-
durance flight and subsequent fes-
tivities. Mabel was in a hospital,
suffering from tuberculosis.During that week, the Hunter
family appeared three times a day
on stage at the Chicago Palace The-
ater. After that week, the Hunter
brothers abandoned the stage to
work on their planes. The City of
Chicago had a new 300-hp Wright
J-6 engine, donated by the Curtiss-
Wright Corporation, installed to re-place the original 220-hp Wright
Whirlwind J-5 engine.
The Wright Whirlwind J-5 en-
gine was the same type of engine
that Lindbergh chose for his New
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When I first started flying I had no idea of the
plethora of different aircraft I would come in
contact with. Having a hangar beside an air-
craft builder/restorer has been quite an edu-
cation—and an interesting one at that.
In 1911 Eugene Ely flew a Curtiss Pusher onto and from
a ship in San Francisco, California. That was the beginningof U.S. naval aviation, although the process to fully incor-
porate aircraft took some doing.
Fast-forward 100 years to a small airport in New Market,
Virginia, and a man named Bob Coolbaugh. In honor of
the Navy centennial he, a former Navy aviator, and sev-
eral airplane cohorts built a replica of the Curtiss Model
D that Mr. Ely flew. Their intention was to participate in a
number of centennial shows with the Navy and introduce
people to some little known aviation history. (See the May2011 issue of Vintage Airplane.) Watching for three years as
the overgrown ultralight-looking contraption took shape,
I could not help but look at the “sticks and wires” and
think, “You’re going to do what ?!”
Since Bob and his wife are more like family than neigh-
Many a conversation
was started by those coveralls with the
name emblazoned on the back. Nobody whistles at cover-
alls, but many opportunities were provided to share about
the airplane—which was as it should be.
My job while crewing consisted of manning the sup-port tent, folding oodles of T-shirts, helping move the
airplane, and of course, talking to lots of people. Being
the babe (in the aviation experience sense) of the group,
I was a bit hesitant to take a place beside the airplane to
talk about it. I needn’t have worried. While I couldn’t re-
late the actual flying experience of it, I could answer most
folks’ questions and share their amazement. Any positive
connection was worthwhile.
The rest of the crew graciously shared their space and re-sponsibilities with me. We laughed, sweated, and occasion-
ally grumbled together. We ate too much “show” food and
went to bed tired just to get up and do it again the next day.
Crazy, yes probably, but for some of us it was a once-in-a-
lifetime experience to share that kind of aviation history.
Nobody Whistles at CoverallsAdventures with the Curtiss crew
BY S. MICHELLE SOUDER
H.G.FRAUTSCHY
S. MIC HE LLE SOUDE R
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In the years following World War
II, it was easy to find service-
able 65-hp lightplane engines
at attractive prices. These pow-
erplants, so important to the popu-
and they’re increasingly expensive to
recondition thoroughly. At the same
time, engines of more recent manu-
facture tend to be of higher power,
and this has led to the development
now active in sport aviation literally
grew up with them and know them
well. Younger enthusiasts are thus of-
ten surprised, amazed, and puzzled
when they encounter strange old
Light Plane Heritage
published in EAA Experimenter January 1994
EXPLORING EARLY ROTARY ENGINESBY BOB WHITTIER
EAA 1235
This amazing model of a Gnome rotary engine was on display at the Hays engine tent at Oshkoshyears ago. Younger EAA folks who have never heard of rotary engines are often amazed the first timethey see one running. The Turkish towel draped behind this model was to catch oily exhaust.
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ent-day experimental work.
Therefore, this and articles to ap-
understandable that some aeronauti-
cal pioneers tried to adapt these en-
fore light supply of fuel was adequate.
For the most part, early gasoline
engines created for use in cars and
boats were too heavy for their power
output to be suitable for aircraft use.
One writer described attempts to
fly under their power as being like
“trying to imitate the kangaroo.”
To achieve usefully low weight, the
Wright brothers built their own en-
gines around a cast aluminum crank-
case. It delivered 12 hp and weighed
179 pounds. We have to remember
that their flights of December 17,
1903, were made with an appreciablehead wind.
A very early European aero en-
gine was the Anzani, made by a firm
having a motorcycle background. To
make his 21-mile English Channel
Left, cutaway of pre-1913 Gnome rotary. Note inlet valve in piston head. Magneto and oil pumpmounted on anchorage plate did not rotate. A brush-and-ring arrangement which sent current toplugs had to be kept clean. Because heat and oil deteriorated rubber insulation, bare wires that
carried current to plugs often broke. Top right, enlarged view of intake valve. From 1913 onward,“Monosoupape” Gnomes used the less troublesome inlet system shown at lower right.
Left, the reason for using an odd number of cylinders on rotaryengines was to achieve a smooth running firing order. Right,counterweight on valve ends of rocker arms overbalanced ten-dency of centrifugal force on rods to hold valves open.
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were named after the daughter of one
of the firm’s principals.
A vast step forward for aviation
took place in 1908 with the intro-
duction of the Gnome engine which
weighed 165 pounds and delivered 50hp. In French folklore, a gnome is a
sturdy little worker, hence the name.
At the Rheims air meet in August of
1909, pioneer fliers such as Henri
Farman and Louis Paulhan surprised
the aviation world by demonstrating
how very ably this new combination
of power and lightness could fly big,
box kite-style biplanes.
The Gnome was a “rotary” engine,
and we should point out that it was
nothing at all like the much later
Wankel having an internal rotor. One
way of making a lightweight engine is
to start with a single-throw and there-
fore very short crankshaft, fit it into a
ringlike and similarly short and lightcrankcase, and arrange several cyl-
inders radiating out from the crank-
case in a starlike fashion. The Gnome
crankshaft and case were substantially
lighter than the longer equivalent
components of engines having four
or six cylinders in a row.
The rear portion of the crankshaft
was made quite long so that it could
be affixed to suitable brackets or bulk-
heads built into an aircraft’s fuselage.
Of course, it projected appreciably
from the back side of the crankcase.
Downward pressure on piston heads
pushing against connecting rods cre-
ated side-pressure on the cylinder
walls, which thus made the crankcaseand cylinder assembly revolve swiftly
while the crankshaft remained mo-
tionless. Clamp the projecting crank-
shaft end of a junked lawn mower
motor into a vise, rotate the rest of
brothers Laurent and Louis Seguin
of Paris belonged to a family which
had long experience building lo-
comotives and heavy machinery.
They had experience with and the
machinery for working in steel. Acrankcase machined from a solid bil-
let of forged steel would be easier for
them to produce than one of cast
aluminum, which at that time was
a relatively new and unfamiliar ma-
terial. Similarly, for air-cooled cyl-
inders it would for them be quite
routine to put billets of steel into a
lathe and turn the cooling fins.
But a problem! Because of the
shapes necessary it would be hard
to produce cylinder head fins with
a lathe. Some combination of fussy
drilling, broaching, and planning
work would be necessary. Even then,
the resulting fins might be too lacking
in number and area to dissipate com-bustion chamber heat.
Thus they hit upon the rotary idea.
Cylinder heads located at the outer
edge of a revolving engine would
travel through the air at considerable
velocity and thus cool as well as possi-
ble, considering their skimpy finning.
The Sequins did not invent the rotary
engine; they adapted the idea to aero
engine use. A mopedlike, two-wheel
vehicle built late in the 19th century
had a five-cylinder rotary engine built
into its rear wheel. A few early auto-
mobiles also had rotaries. For Gnome
engines, solid steel billets weighing
67 pounds were machined into cylin-
ders weighing about 8 pounds. Wallthickness was only 1.5 millimeters,
or about 1/16 of an inch. Steel parts
for the later Le Rhone rotary engines
were machined down to 184 pounds
from billets totaling 1,160 pounds.
War I in 1914 caused governments to
swamp rotary makers with orders sim-
ply because these quirky engines were
available and the need was urgent.
Well-known French makes were
the Gnome, Le Rhone, and Clerget.The British built some of these under
license and developed their own 230-
hp Bentley, the most powerful rotary
to be built. Gnomes had been built
under license in Germany prior to the
war, and modified versions continued
to be made there under the Oberursel
name. There were numerous less-well-
known makes.
Details of rotary engines were often
outlandish by today’s standards. But
we should not laugh at them, for they
exhibited a degree of designing imagi-
nation not often seen today.
Carburetors as we know them, for
example, were not used. It would
have been practically impossible tocontrive one that would work while
whirling around at 1200 rpm. Besides,
air and fuel were thoroughly mixed
and vaporized as they sped past crank-
shaft cheeks and connecting rods in-
side crankcases.
Very crude air and fuel metering
valves and jets were mounted at the
rear ends of hollow crankshafts. De-
tails varied from make to make, but
in general pilots had to be skilled at
manipulating air and fuel controls to
keep their engines running.
Also, it would have been impos-
sible to keep a supply of recirculat-
ing oil within a whirling crankcase.
Oil was thus pumped into the hol-low crankshafts, and airflow swept it
along into crankcases. Because main
bearings were of the ball bearing type,
pressure lubrication was not needed.
Oil mist served them adequately, just
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coatings to build up on hot surfaces.
And this combined with quite light
construction gave early rotaries 10 or
20 hours of flying between overhauls.The best of them produced late in
the war could be run for perhaps 50
hours. Because of limited supplies of
castor oil, the Germans made less use
of rotaries than did the Allies.
Incoming castor oil lubricated
briefly, and then airflow and cen-
trifugal force carried it into the fir-
ing chambers. Some of it burned and
created a smoky exhaust. That which
didn’t burn flew out with the exhaust.
Many early rotary-engined planes
were of the pusher type so that only
the tail surfaces would be coated with
the resulting film. Castor oil gave ex-
haust fumes a pungent, penetrating
odor suggestive of ether or automo-tive starting fluid.
When tractor-type engine instal-
lations came into favor, it quickly
became apparent that sheet metal
shields would be needed to keep the
ble to fit exhaust manifolds. Even if
one were contrived, it would still exit
the exhaust in pinwheel fashion. Ex-
haust flame exiting from rotaries weresomething to see at night. It is said
that pilots wore long, flowing scarves
not to appear dashing but to have
ready at hand goggle-wiping cloths
that would not blow overboard.
One old book states that 85 pounds
of centrifugal force acted on the fairly
small valves of a Le Rhone. Because
centrifugal force pulled outward on
pushrods with such force, overriding
counterweights were built into the
valve ends of rocker arms. Because of
low compression ratios and running
speeds, words such as “thundering”
wouldn’t apply to the sound emitted
by a rotary. Various writers have de-
scribed it as being a moderately loudbut pleasant hum, a soft but strong
buzz, or a low growl.
Early Gnomes had inlet valves
built into the piston heads. They
opened and closed by pressure differ-
drilled around the lower ends of cylin-
der walls. Shortly before reaching bot-
tom dead center, pistons uncovered
them and the fuel/air mixture flowedinto combustion chambers, as in a
two-cycle engine. It took practice to
learn to run a Monosoupape. Because
they had doubts about the legitimacy
of these strange engines, English-
speaking pilots took to pronouncing
the name as “Minus-a-pops.”
Le Rhones used intake and ex-
haust valves mounted in the cylin-
der heads. Copper intake pipes ran
from the crankcase to each cylinder
head, and centrifugal force helped
the mixture get out to the heads.
The single rocker arms were double-
acting. Single pushrods operated by
complicated cams alternately pushed
up and pulled down on these rods.The tortuous and restricted intake
route of the Gnomes caused them
to burn about 10 gallons of gas and
2 gallons of oil per hour for an out-
put of 80 to 110 hp. Le Rhones used
Left, piston side-pressure on cylinder walls made theengines revolve. Big ends of connecting rods hadcrutchlike, curved pads that ran in grooves in main bearing. Center,80-hp Le Rhone engine. Right, a double-acting rocker arm actu-ated by a push-pull rod operated both valves. Cams were complex.
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vise jaws, install the piston, and then
slide the cylinder up and down on
the piston to visualize this action. But
in the air, rotaries also experiencedpronounced gyroscopic effects. Find
the front wheel of a bicycle and a
wooden shaft. Drill the end of the
shaft so you can force-thread it onto
one end of the wheel’s axle. Hold
the wheel at right angles in front of
you and get it to spinning. Then ex-
perience for yourself the gyroscopic
forces with which rotary pilots had
to cope. In a steep right turn, the pi-
lot of a nimble single-seater would
use hard left rudder to keep the nose
from being pulled down into a spiral.
In a steep left turn, he’d apply hard
left rudder to keep the nose from be-
ing pulled skyward.
The German Siemens-Halske thatappeared late in the war is a prime
example of engineering imagination
bordering on the weird. Designed to
produce 160 hp, its creators realized
that a mean amount of gyroscopic
To taxi and to descend for a landing,
a pilot pressed a thumb button on top
of the control stick to short out the
ignition. He’d release it before the en-gine died. This was called “blipping
the engine.” Le Rhones had more so-
phisticated admission devices and
could be slowed down usefully by pi-
lots who were deft with the controls.
Planes powered by Clergets and Bent-
leys had a set of switches by means
of which these nine-cylinder engines
could be run on seven, five, or three
cylinders. This meant that unburned
fuel and combustion flames exited
into the cowlings at the same time.
Apparently only the steady rush of air
into and out of the cowlings kept the
planes from being torched.
An assortment of factors brought
on the end of rotaries. They were in-herently quirky and messy, never
very safe, and expensive to operate
and maintain. The gyroscopic effects
killed many pilots, both students
and experienced. Fuel consump-
cent military experience used rotaries
for a few years after the war simply
because they could be bought so very
cheaply from war surplus outlets. Butgasoline was so expensive there that
the high fuel consumption of rotaries
soon led to their being retired.
In the United States, some Le
Rhone rotaries had been manufac-
tured in 1917 to 1918 for use in mili-
tary training and scout airplanes such
as the Thomas Morse. In the early
postwar years one company man-
aged to convert surplus Le Rhones
into fixed radial engines. But the sta-
tionary V-8 Curtiss OX-5 engine was
much more plentiful here, and while
it had its faults, it didn’t have the
nasty vices of the rotaries. And it, too,
was cheap. So it became “the” engine
for private and modest commercialflying in the 1920s.
It thus had the effect of discour-
aging the development of lower-
powered aircraft engines here. But
from the early 1920s onward, the
Left, pilots had to learn how to operate Gnome fuel and oil supply systems. Because oil was usedbriefly and then expelled in exhaust, a large supply had to be carried. In crashes, systems employ-ing air pressure often sprayed gasoline and aggravated the fire hazard. Right, because the volumesof heat generated in larger cylinders would have overtaxed marginal cooling systems, Gnome re-sorted to using standard cylinders to build up this 14-cylinder, 160-hp, double-row rotary engine.
THE V t ge
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BY ROBERT G. LOCK
Truss-type fuselage structures
THE VintageMechanic
The primary fore and aft load-carrying members are
called longerons. Illustration 1 shows both Pratt and
Warren type structures. The Pratt truss can be identi-
fied by longeron cross-bracing being placed at 90
degrees to one another, with either wire or tube brac-
ing for rigidity. The Warren type structure has cross-bracing at varying angles to the longeron.
Examples of truss-type frames are shown above right
in Illustration 2.
As is the case of most early aircraft designs, there
were no maintenance or overhaul manuals written by
the factory. On occasion the factory would produce a
sketch detailing repairs to primary structural compo-
nents. Such is the case with New Standard Aircraft Cor-
poration of Paterson, New Jersey, and its model D-25.The factory provided a detail drawing of how to splice
aluminum angle longerons, which could be adapted to
other angular components.
Perhaps the oldest aircraft structure is the truss-type fuselage, which dates back to the Wright brothers. Over the years truss
fuselages have been manufactured from wood, aluminum, and steel. The truss-type fuselage st ructures evolved into two basic
types—the Warren truss and the Pratt truss. Illustration 1 shows a wire-braced, truss-type fuselage.
Illustration 1 Illustration 2
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Illustration 4 shows a 1929 Command-Aire 5C3,
NC998E, the factory entry into the Guggenheim Safe
Flight Contest, 1927 to 1929. This photo was taken at
Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York, at the start of the
contest in October 1929. NC998E eventually became a
crop duster in Fort Pierce, Florida, and has miraculously
survived throughout the years. It is in the author’s pos-
session and will be used in this column to describe re-pairs to a steel tube truss-type fuselage frame.
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Illustration 4
Saving an Original Truss Fuselage Frame
Illustration 5 shows NC998E, modified to crop dust-
ing, displaying major damage to the forward section
and internally rusted lower longerons necessitating
entire replacement, both left and right. Before starting
the repairs a mechanic must make a determination as
Illustration 5
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Illustration 8 shows some of the damage detected
in the Command-Aire frame. If detail and assem-
bly drawings can be secured from the FAA or other
sources, then dimensions will be available, along
with tubing diameter and wall thickness. If there
are no drawings (as is the case with the Command-Aire), then it will be necessary to make detailed
sketches of the fuselage structure complete with
accurate dimensions as the frame will have to be
cut apart to make necessary repairs. A background
in mechanical drawing comes in very handy in
One will be amazed how easy and quick this step
takes. Just invert the frame and tap all the tubes, longe-rons, cross and diagonal tubes, etc. In the case of this
Command-Aire, the lower longerons are rusted inter-
nally to a point that they are unairworthy. In fact there
are a few holes that emanate from the inside of the
tube all the way through the wall thickness. When this
step is completed and the frame found to be airworthy
by using the tap-test, a more thorough inspection may
be needed in certain critical areas.
Tap-testing a modern-day advanced composite struc-
ture is practiced by gently tapping the structure with a
dense metal object (usually a coin made from a section
of brass bar stock) and listening for a metallic ring or
a solid sound (Illustration 6). If the structure has de-
laminated, the sound will be dull or dead. You can do
the same thing with steel tube; just tap the structure
and listen for a metallic ring. Take a new piece of tub-ing and support both ends, then tap and listen to the
sound. Practice this, then move to the structure and
begin tapping on the bottom or lower portion of the
tubes. If internal rust has eaten away the wall of the
tube, the sound will change to a dull tone, indicating
that the wall is thin. Do the entire frame, making notes
on a sketch or marking with masking tape if you find
tubing suspected of internal rust.
Illustration 7
Illustration 6
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Saving a rare old aircraft is a passion, and one I
wish to share with any who are interested. There
will be more on this restoration in future articles.
When designing and conducting repairs to any
primary structure, alignment of the hard points
are very critical. The fuselage frame sets the geom-etry of the landing gear, engine thrust line, lower
wing angle of incidence, cabane strut location,
horizontal and vertical stabilizer location, and tail
wheel mount point. When an airframe is damaged
from an accident, many of these points can be af-
fected, so close examination must be completed
before a decision is made to either repair or replace
the frame. The upper longerons are straight, so the
top of the fuselage is flat. If one laterally levels the
upper cross tube at station 1 and then checks the
level at the aft cross tube, any twist in the frame
will be evident.
Once a decision is made to repair the frame,
detailed sketches of the structure must be created
in order to place the structure back to its original
dimensions. I have a background in mechanical
drawing, so with drawing board, tee square, tri-angle, and scale, suitable sketches can be made of
the structure complete with dimensions. Back in
1982 a search of FAA files and the Federal Records
Storage Center turned up no ATC drawings. One
FAA official suggested that the original drawings
What Our Members Are RestoringAre you nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it done and you’re
busy flying and showing it off? If so we’d like to hear from you Send
Illustration 9
THE Vintage
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How do you fly the traffic pattern, especially if you aregoing to do two or three takeoffs and landings? “Never
much thought about it,” is the reply most often offered
when I’m conducting a flight review. “It sort of comes
natural,” they add.
“Is that why we were about one-quarter mile south
of the runway centerline during the climb-out,” I offer?
“Geez, I never realized I was doing that,” the pilot re-
sponds, “Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”My reply is, “To prevent a midair collision, and so that
you can make a good landing.” “What does my climb-out
have to do with my landing?” Everything! Precision in the
traffic pattern usually leads to a good landing.
Takeoff and Climb-out
NOTE: Assume in the following example that we are expe-
riencing a 45-degree crosswind from right to left at 12-15 mph.
After completing the pretakeoff checklist but before
every takeoff, what do you do? Align the airplane with the
centerline and push the throttle to the stop? Or do you
take a few seconds and think about the takeoff? Do you
ever ask yourself the “What if” questions? What if the en-
gine sputters and quits before liftoff? Just after liftoff? Do
you remember to take a quick peek at the engine gauges as
the power is added? What is the surface wind doing justbefore adding power?
If these questions are answered honestly, most would
agree that the airplane, engine, and pilot inputs are often-
times taken for granted. Maybe we could and should all
pay a bit more attention and run through the “What if”
found yourself adding power, beginning the takeoff roll,and then found that the airplane decided to take you on a
cross-country tour through the tall grass on either side of
the runway? It catches you by surprise as you apply cor-
rective control inputs, but the question comes to mind,
“What was that, and what did I do wrong? The wind was
right down the runway when I last looked (7-10 minutes
ago).” When working with students, I insist that they take
one last look at the windsock before applying power.Beginning with the takeoff roll, the control stick or
yoke should be all the way back in your lap and turned or
pushed near fully to the stop in the direction from which
the wind is coming. A crosswind from the right requires
the stick to be pushed or turned to the right. The right
aileron is deflected to the up position, preventing the right
wing from generating more lift than the left.
With the stick or yoke in the full back or aft position,
the prop blast and the relative wind cause a downward
load on the tail, keeping the steerable tail wheel firmly
planted on the ground as power is applied. Directional
control for the first four of five seconds of the takeoff roll
is maintained by the tail wheel and proper rudder pedal
application. Generally, several soft taps on the right rudder
are needed in a calm or light head wind situation. But in
this particular situation one may need to tap the left rud-
der to offset the crosswind that is attempting to push thetail to the left and the nose to the right.
As groundspeed increases, pressure on the elevator can
be felt in the control stick. At this point, gently move the
stick slightly forward, lifting the tail about a foot off the
ground. A mistake commonly made at this point is raising
BY Steve Krog, CFI
THE VintageInstructor
Wind, takeoff, and traffic patternsPart 1
position, causing the aileron to assume a neutral position turn about 10 degrees early to establish a slight crab angle
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position, causing the aileron to assume a neutral position
as well. Oftentimes a pilot will continue holding aileron
deflection during the liftoff, causing the wing to dip in
the direction of the wind. Simultaneously, some pilots will
then add and hold left rudder causing a slip/skid configu-
ration. Correct this by glancing at the space between thebottom side of each wing and the horizon line. In a low-
wing airplane, look at and balance the space between the
top of the wing and the horizon. Level the wings and take
your foot off the left rudder pedal.
Once airborne, even in a light crosswind, I like to
climb to about 15-20 feet, then level off and neutralize
the rudder and ailerons if you’re still holding the wind-
ward wing down. Depending on the crosswind velocity,
the airplane will “weather vane,” basically establishing itsown crab angle. When the crab angle stabilizes, resume
the normal climb-out attitude while maintaining the
crab angle. Don’t forget to apply light but constant right
rudder during the climb to offset torque and P-factor.
This will allow you to climb on a straight line off the end
of the runway. Continue the climb until reaching at least
500 feet above ground level (AGL), and then lower the
nose to a level attitude.Depending upon the level of activity in the flight pat-
tern and airport traffic area, you may want to vary your
climb attitude and airspeed for safety. Traffic volume may
dictate a more gradual climb angle so that you can more
easily see over and around the nose and spot any potential
traffic conflicts.
A designated pilot examiner (DPE) friend, for whom I
have a great deal of respect, recommends making gradual
S-turns passing left and right through the imaginary ex-
tended centerline during the climb. This will allow seeing
whatever is in front of the airplane (i.e., to better see other
traffic). This is an especially good practice when flying an
airplane like the J-3 Cub, as the nose blocks all forward vis-
ibility when in a normal 60-mph climb attitude.
Just because your airplane will climb out in a steep at-
titude, there is no need to demonstrate this feature when
departing a fly-in. Wait until you are clear of the airporttraffic area, then play. It may someday save a near miss or
even worse.
Head wind or Tail wind on Crosswind LegAfter lowering the nose and clearing the area for
turn about 10 degrees early to establish a slight crab angle
to the right, offsetting the wind’s push. The increased
groundspeed will necessitate initiating the turn to down-
wind a bit more quickly than you may have anticipated.
The crosswind leg of the traffic pattern is the leg that is
most often abused by students and certificated pilots alike,based on my experience. Frequently, neither the wind
direction nor the velocity is taken into account. In turn, a
sloppy crosswind leg leads to an equally sloppy downwind
leg, which then leads to a bad base leg.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll state it again. If I’m
flying with an individual who is flying a sloppy pattern,
I’ll challenge that person to a contest. I will predict, while
on downwind leg, if the landing will be good or not. A
student will almost always accept the challenge. I’ll writethe letter “G” or “B” on my hand—“G” for a good landing
and “B” for a less than good landing. I can truthfully say
that I’m correct well more than 90 percent of the time.
The more things are done properly and correctly while fly-
ing the traffic pattern, the fewer things have to be fixed on
either the base leg or final approach. The fewer things to
fix, the better the landing.
Note: In the next issue I’ll explain the downwind, base,
and final legs of the traffic pattern and what I look for to
help make a better, more comfortable, safer, smoother,
and uneventful landing.
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Send your answer to EAA, Vintage Airplane, P.O.
Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer
needs to be in no later than July 10 for inclusion in
the September 2012 issue of Vintage Airplane.
You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your
answer to [email protected] . Be sure to include your
name plus your city and state in the body of your note
and put “(Month) Mystery Plane” in the subject line.
This month’s Mystery Plane comes to us from the
EAA archives/Cedric Galloway collection.
MYSTERY PLANE
by H.G. FRAUTSCHY
M A R C H ’ S M Y S T E R Y A N S W E R
Our March Mystery Plane
came to us from the Ce-
dric Galloway collection
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Aircraft Company and the adjunct
Braley School of Flying (211 E.
Douglas Ave. and 6400 E. FranklinRd., Wichita