Vintage Airplane - May 2010

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2010

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MAY 2010


2/44

R

ecently, EAA’s Office of In-

dustry and Regulatory Af-

fairs submitted nearly 50pages of comments to the

FAA regarding its proposed policy on

airport access, including the very hot

topic of “through-the-fence” autho-

rizations. This issue has proven to

be a “near to the heart” regulatory

potential game changer for many of

our members all over this country.The comments submitted as part

of the official record in the Federal

Register were developed by EAA’s

staff at the FAA’s invitation follow-

ing a meeting with the agency’s top

airport officials in Oshkosh this past

February. Three primary concerns:

1. Clarification of adjacent residen-

tial through-the-fence agreements.2. Accessibility to public-use

general-aviation airports by recre-

ational pilots and enthusiasts.

3. Improving support for aviation

activities, including availability of

ethanol-free premium autogas, sup-

port for owner self-service mainte-

nance, and clarification of airportreduced fair-market value rent op-

portunities for EAA chapters.

Of course we are all very hopeful

that we, EAA, can successfully influ-

ence the ultimate outcome of the

final rules related to these member

We need to start by dialing up our

attitude about the importance of the

existing rules. We need to reconsiderthe importance of these seemingly

small rules and change our attitude

about what level of compliance we

currently practice on a daily basis.

Airport security really is an impor-

tant and relevant issue to us all. If

we cannot be entrusted to follow the

most basic of these rules, how can wepossibly convince the federal gov-

ernment that we can be entrusted to

“operate through the fence?”

Very few of my pilot friends have

a bad attitude toward these simple

rules, but a fair number of them re-

ally do need to “dial it up a bit”

when it comes to respecting these

rules for what they are intendedto prevent. We all know that the

broader media virtually has a feeding

frenzy with any negative news story

involving general aviation. We are an

entity that truly enjoys an excellent

rapport with the FAA, and we really

have the potential to make a differ-

ence here. The Aircraft Owners andPilots Association (AOPA) Airport

Watch program (http://www.aopa.org/

airportwatch/ ) is a great model, and

we would all be wise to practice the

tools this model program preaches. If

we all take a proactive role in secur

pleasure in from private, personal air

transportation. So let’s all consider

“dialing it up a bit.” You can checkout the full content of EAA’s com-

ments filed with the FAA at http://

www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/

home.html#documentDetail?R=090

0006480acd6b7

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010

continues to develop into yet an-

other world-class event. The most re-cently announced arrivals include a

very early model of the Harrier Jump

Jet. This aircraft, the only civilian-

owned example of one in the avia-

tion community, is a BAe Sea Harrier

F/A2 owned by retired Marine Lt. Col.

Art Nalls. He bases this aircraft at St.

Mary’s County airport in Maryland.

The aircraft was purchased from a bro-ker who got it surplus from Britain’s

Royal Navy. Boy, imagine the pile of

paperwork the lieutenant colonel filed

with the FAA to get this bird in the

air! This aircraft should prove to be a

real crowd pleaser at this year’s event.

Be sure to bring your earplugs for this

one, especially for those young ears,because when they fire those Rolls-

Royce Pegasus Mk.106 engines, we’ll

all know what that noise is.

The other major recent announce-

ment was the news that we’ll have

something we’ve not had in the eve

GEOFF ROBISON

PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

Airport security


3/44

IFC Straight & Level Airport security

by Geoff Robison

2 News

4 One Gorgeous aylorcraft From Basket Case to Award Winner “America’s most modern low-priced airplane”

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

12 Te Douglas DC-3 75 years of service: Part 1

by Henry M. Holden

18

Light Plane Heritage Joseph L. Cato—Nearly a Legend by Owen S. Billman

22 My Friend Albert Vollmecke Part 5

by Robert G. Lock

28 Te Vintage Mechanic Continental W-670 main bearing failures, Part II

by Robert G. Lock

32 Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy

36 Te Vintage Instructor Landings—forced and otherwise

by Steve Krog, CFI

38 Classied Ads

A I R P L A N E M A YC O N T E N T S

S T A F FEAA Publisher Tom Poberezny

Director of EAA Publications Mary Jones

Executive Director/Editor H.G. Frautschy

C O V E R S

Vol. 38, No. 5 2010

FRONT COVER: Restorers Mark McGowan of Plymouth, Michigan, and Ken Kreutzfeld of Port Clin-

t Ohi t k 14 a t l t th i t ati f a 1940 Ta l aft BL 50 It’ a BC

4

22

12


4/44

VAA NEWS

VAA Flightline Safety OperationsBuilding Replacement

Thanks in large part to a gener-

ous contribution by a longtime

Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA)

member, this year’s upgrade to the

VAA facilities on the EAA AirVen-

ture Oshkosh grounds includes

a new building to accommodateone of the largest groups of volun-

teers during the convention, the

Flightline Safety crew. From the

moment an airplane exits the run-

way next to the Vintage area until

it is safely shut down in its park-

ing spot, the Flightline Safety vol-

unteers handle the aircraft and its

pilot every step of the way. Fromconfirming its eligibility to park

in the area using a combination of

computer lookup and radio com-

munications, to the dispatching

of scooter-mounted aircraft mar-

shalers who guide each airplane

into a parking location, there’s

plenty of coordinated activity toensure it all goes smoothly and

safely. For many years these vol-

unteers have operated out of a

small shack that has had to absorb

activities such as computer opera-

tions radio dispatch and a gath

end of the year, April 22-25. More

than 35 volunteers spent a cool

and sometimes rainy weekend

raising the walls and getting it un-

der roof before the rain set in later

on Saturday.

At the same time, a group of

electrically talented volunteersadded a donated set of high-bay

lighting fixtures to the Vintage

Hangar. Flashlights will no longer

be required equipment for the type

clubs during inclement weather!

Completion of the Flightline

100th Anniversary of the SeaplaneOn March 28, 1910, Frenchman

Henri Fabre flew his aeroplane Le

Canard for the fi rst t ime, taking of f

from the surface of the Golfe de

Pitcairn Autogiro, Sikorsky Top Antique Awards at Sun ’n Fun

According to reports from members who attended the event, Jack Tiffany

and Jim Hammond’s 1932 Pitcairn PA-18 Autogiro took top honors as the

Grand Champion Antique at the Sun ’n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, Florida, while

the Sikorsky S-39 restored by Dick and Patsy Jackson was selected as the

Reserve Grand Champion.

There was no Grand Champion Classic award presented at Sun ’n Fun. The

judges at the event chose to present an award that is not recognized within

the EAA Official Judging Standards Manual , the Sun ’n Fun Grand ChampionCustom Classic; it was given to an Aeronca 7AC Champ owned by Richard

Hardy of Lakeland, Florida. The same was true in the Contemporary category,

with the awarding of the Sun ’n Fun Grand Champion Custom Contemporary

prize. It was presented to a Piper PA-24-400 owned by W. Lee Hussey II, Mar-

tinsville, Virginia.

For the entire awards list, visit Sun ’n Fun’s website at www.Sun-N-Fun.org .

Click on the Fly-In tab at the top, and then look for the Event Activities tab to

locate the Aircraft Judging page.


5/44

Don’t wait for a mailing from VAA HQ before you send in your contribution—

to keep our administration costs as low as possible, we’re not sending out a mailing

to each VAA member. Please send your donation today, while it’s fresh in your mind!

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Close Auto Parking Full Week Full Week 2 Days

Two Tickets to VAA Picnic ★ ★ ★

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Please help the VAA and our nearly 500 dedicated volunteers make this an unforgettable experience for our many EAA AirVenture guests.

Your con tr ibu tion n ow reall y does m ake a d iff erenc e. The re are s ev en le vel s o f g ift s and gif t r eco gni tion. Tha nk you for wha te ver y ou can do.

Here are some of the many activities the Friends of the Red Barn fund underwrites:

•Red Barn Information Desk Supplies •Flightline Parking Scooters and Supplies •Breakfast for Past Grand Champions•Participant Plaques and Supplies •Volunteer Booth Administrative Supplies •Signs Throughout the V intage Area

• Ton i’s Red Car pet Exp res s Van and R adi os •Red Barn and Other Building Maintenance •And More!

•Caps for VAA Volunteers • Tal l P ines Caf é D in ing Tent


6/44One Gorgeous


7/44

Itwas as brilliant as a

beacon on the flight-

line at EAA AirVenture

Oshkosh 2009, and

this exceptionally re-

stored 1940 Taylorcraft led apprecia-

tive admirers back to a time beforeWorld War II, when the lightplane

business was thriving and Taylor-

crafts were one of the top-selling

models. Restorers Mark McGowan

of Plymouth, Michigan, and Ken

Kreutzfeld of Port Clinton, Ohio,

happily answered questions about

the airplane, which they took 14years to restore. An original black

trim scheme accented its glossy ver-

milion finish, and the fine details of

this prewar airplane—from its Tay-

lorcraft compass right down to its

Boots nuts—denoted authenticity.

NC24371 was manufactured by

the Taylorcraft Aviation Corpora-

tion in Alliance, Ohio. On March18, 1940, the new flying machine

climbed aloft, powered by its hum-

ble 50-hp Lycoming O-145-A1.

Young William A. Crawford, a

company test pilot with about 570

hours of flying time, put the BL-50

through its paces for 45 minutes.

Satisfied that all was well with theairplane, he landed and taxied the

Taylorcraft trainer to the ramp. Busi-

ness was brisk that spring, and serial

number 1707 sold just three days

later to the Lubbock Aero Club of

Texas, where it was based until 1953.

In more recent times, an aviator

named John Munch acquired the

Taylorcraft in 1969 and re-covered

it in 1972. In 1984, his heir at lawsold the airplane to the EAA Avia-

tion Foundation, and the follow-

ing year, the foundation sold it to

Jun Morris and Kelly O’Brien. Ken

went with Jun to Hales Corners,

Wisconsin, and helped him haul

the airplane back to Ohio. “We put

it together and flew it for a year,and then Jun wanted to rebuild it,

so he took it apart—but then he

moved to California, so he sold the

airplane to Denny Wittenmeyer in

1988. Denny did some tubing re-

pairs and put it in his garage, where

it sat for quite a number of years

until Mark and I bought it,” recalls

Ken, adding with a laugh, “Denny‘inspired’ us to buy it—he worked

me for two or three years to buy it.

Mark and I divvied out the project

and started working on it.”

Though their restoration work

commenced immediately, they had

numerous stop-and-go moments

throughout the years, when they’dhad enough and simply pushed it

back in a corner. Later, with re-

newed interest, they’d drag it back

out and start working on it again.

They obtained drawings from the

Taylorcraft Foundation Inc. and me-

thodically documented the entire

process with photographs. In fact,

they worked on the project long

enough that technology progressedfrom film media to digital media.

By October 2007, Mark be-

came the sole owner of NC24371,

though Ken continued working

with him until the airplane was

fully restored. Its first flight was

June 22, 2009—and Ken gleefully

placed a phone call to Mark, whowas in Japan at the time, to tell him

the Taylorcraft was flying just fine.

Mark had to wait for two weeks un-

til he returned to the States for his

first Taylorcraft flight. “Ken did that

on purpose,” says Mark, laughing

good-naturedly.

Taylorcraft B SeriesThe Taylorcraft B series had simi-

lar airframes, but they were pow-

ered by different engines. The 1940

Taylorcraft was available with Ly-

coming 50 to 65 hp, Continental

50 to 65 hp, and Franklin 50 to

60 hp. The new trainer version of-

fered side-by-side seating and in-terchangeable wheel or stick con-

trols. The B models were priced

from $1,495 and up, according to

“America’s most modern low-priced airplane”by Sparky Barnes Sargent

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT


8/44

The diagonally painted stripes on the prop tips are original to this new-old-stock prop.

The “basket case” fuselage, in sad shape before

the restoration.

The five tuck spliced cable was fabricated by Andrew King

The aileron, with the fab-

ric removed.New ribs being installed

on the aileron.

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

M A R K M c G

O W A N

MARK McGOWAN

M A R K M c G O W A N

M A R K M c G

O W A N


9/44

a March 1940 ad. The approved

type certificates (ATC) for the B se-

ries were issued in 1938, and each

model had its own ATC. For ex-

ample, the BL (Lycoming) was built

under ATC No. 700 (9-22-1938),

the BF (Franklin) was built under

ATC No. 699 (9-19-1938), and the

BC (Continental) was built in ac-cordance with ATC No. 696 (8-24-

1938). NC24371 began life as a

model BL-50, and apparently some-

time during the late 1940s or early

1950s, a 65-hp Continental engine

was installed, since records show

it listed as a BC-65 model around

that time. Today, it is still poweredby a Continental A-65-8. (There

are 172 BC-65 models listed on the

FAA Registry to date, and no BL-50

models.)

The earlier B models still had ex-

posed cylinders but later models

Exploded view of the brake parts.

Newly fabricated control cables and restored control columns, ready to beinstalled in the cabin.

The assembled brake

parts.

The powder-coated fuselage, with

new wood stringers.

M A R K M c G O W A N P H O T O S


10/44

wings spanned 36 feet, and the air-

plane measured 22 feet in length.

Weighing 640 pounds empty, it had

a useful load of 510 pounds. A 12-

gallon fuel tank was inside the cabin

between the instrument panel and

firewall, and an optional auxiliary

6-gallon tank could be installed aft

of the seats. It lifted off the runway

in less than 400 feet and climbed

out at 620 fpm. It could cruise at 95mph (max speed of 105 mph) for

250 miles, and when it was time to

land, it touched down softly on its

rubber shock cord gear at 35 mph.

Those shock cords were installed at

the top of the landing gear struts

and were neatly faired to the fu-

selage—just one more example ofTaylorcraft streamlining. Mechani-

cal brakes, Shinn wheels, and a full-

swiveling tail wheel were standard;

a steerable tail wheel was optional.

A company ad in Aero Digest pro-

moted the Taylorcraft B series as

Above: Kreutzfeld overhauled this Continental A-65-8 engine.

Left: Mark McGowan and Ken Kreutzfeld took 14 years to restore

this 1940 Taylorcraft from a basket case to an award winner.

The instrument panel is dominated by the large tachometer/engine instru-

ment combination in the center.

S P A R K Y

B A R N E S

S A R G E N T

P H O T O S


11/44

and the increase of 50 lbs. in useful

load capacity . . . You’ll be amazed

by the cabin quietness resulting

from scientific sound-proofing and

the newly engineered single under-

cabin exhaust which reduces motor

noise to a smooth rhythmic purr…

Yes – and the quick, eager responseto the controls – the fine balance

and handling ease – the buoyant

lift and snappy pick-up will truly

delight you with Taylorcraft perfor-

mance . . . Add to all this the fact

that Taylorcraft’s safety record is first

in its class.”

Booming Prewar BusinessTaylorcraft Aviation Corporation

took orders for 1,017 airplanes in

1940—compared to 487 the previ-

ous year, according to the Aircraft

Year Book (1941) Since Taylorcraft

sq. ft. to about 72,000 sq. ft. Con-

siderable additional machinery and

equipment were added and the en-

larged plant laid out for more effi-

cient flow of production. The pro-

ductive capacity of the company

required some creative problem-

solving at times on the part of air-

craft companies. Aviation historian

Chet Peek, in his book The Taylor-

craft Story , stated, “Taylorcraft now

ranked second in lightplane pro-

duction, behind Piper. . . . One of

the problems facing Taylorcraft’ssales department was the delivery

of planes to dealers in the more re-

mote areas such as Texas, California

and the Pacific Northwest. On July

3, [1940] Carl Elkins, Sales Manager,

organized a history-making mass

flight that would deliver 20 planes

to the Los Angeles, California,dealer, West Coast Aircraft. Actually,

this was a sensible and economi-

cal way to deliver the planes. Most

of the young pilots would fly ‘free’

for the privilege of building up fly-

ing time Navigation was simplified

“Everything

was a challenge

on a prewar Taylorcraft!”

— Mark McGowan

TYSON REININGER


12/44

Texas. These planes were for use in

the CPT Program at Texas Agricul-

tural and Mechanical College.”

Another interesting facet of the

company’s history is C.G. Taylor

himself, who started the company

in 1936. Peek characterized him in

this fashion: “[he] continued to be

liked, almost worshipped, by most

of the young employees. He would

occasionally take one of them for

a ride after work to demonstrate

the performance of the Taylorcraft

and explain his ideas on airplanedesign. Taylor was especially proud

of the inherent longitudinal stabil-

ity of the Model B. . . . C.G. Taylor

can truly be called the father of the

light airplane industry. At one time,

before WWII, his two famous de-

signs, the Taylorcraft and the Taylor

Cub, comprised well over half ofthe world’s light aircraft fleet.”

RestorationAlthough Mark and Ken lived in

different states, they worked on the

restoration as a team Their first or

wonderful project—it took at least

a year.” Ken made new boot cowls

and put the windshield on, then

installed the A-65-8 engine (which

he overhauled). With that accom-

plished, he began the tedious process

of hand-forming the lower cowl, de-

voting special attention to making

the louvers on the bottom portion of

the cowl. An aftermarket nose bowl

might have been timesaving, had it

fit well—instead, it required exten-

sive reshaping and reforming.

Ken, an airframe and powerplantmechanic with inspection authori-

zation, repaired the wings, which

had been in storage long enough

for mice to claim them. “We took

the wings out of the hangar and

took the fabric off,” recalls Ken,

“and the mice had eaten the left

spars out of the wing bay, way upby the tip. So we had a lot of issues

with the wings—such as corrosion,

half the ribs had been mangled

from previous ‘repairs,’ and a lot of

parts were missing.”

Ken installed the fabric on the

cause they found quite a prize on

eBay and just couldn’t resist using a

new old stock 1945 McCauley pro-

peller. “It had never been out of the

box, literally,” says Mark and with

a smile. “And we kept the original

box, which was shipped by rail

from the factory to Connecticut.

The prop had never seen the light

of day; it had just been stored in

a garage. We didn’t recognize the

McCauley decals, which were on

it, so I took a photo and sent it to

McCauley down in Dayton. Theyverified that logo, and they veri-

fied that the diagonally painted tips

were the way they painted them in

1945—usually, the stripes are at a

90-degree angle to the prop tip.”

Authentic Features

One of the aspects that made theprewar Taylorcraft such a challeng-

ing project was the rarity and scar-

city of available parts. “Prewars look

identical to a postwar Taylorcraft,

but there’s nothing interchange-

able For example the 6 gallon aux

Note the cast “TAYLOR” and “CRAFT” on the tail

wheel arms.

The prewar wheelpants feature a center-seam trim

crafted out of aluminum.

S P A R K Y

B A R N E S

S A R G E N T

P H O T O S


13/44

wobble pump is a real rarity—it

came with the plane, so we put it

back in—but you would never want

to use it—it’s too much work!”

Another unique feature is the

flipper trim system (Flettner tabs).

“The trim lever is on the pilot’s

side, and is placarded for nose-up

and nose-down. That plaque is sup-

posed to be mounted upside down,

because in theory, you have to look

down between your legs to read it,”

says Mark and laughs. “But in the

Taylorcraft, there’s no space for thepilot to lean over like that!”

A close look at the tail wheel re-

veals yet another unusual detail.

The tail wheel has “TAYLOR” cast

on the left arm and “CRAFT” cast

on the right arm. It was a Heath tail

wheel, but it was made exclusively

for Taylorcraft, according to Mark.Since that tail wheel isn’t steerable,

they plan to use a Scott tail wheel

for normal operations.

They found a decent set of pre-

war wheelpants advertised for sale

in the Taylorcraft newsletter and

When it came to hardware, Mark

and Ken used original-style fas-

teners. There are no sharp-edged,

plastic tie wraps anywhere on the

airplane—instead, they used rib-

lacing cord to do the job. They also

used brass safety wire and silver

cadmium-plated hardware. Along

the way, the two discovered that

white brass polishes to a sparkling

shine—just one look at the pitot

tube confirms this.

Upon close inspection, a discern-

ing eye may detect some rather un-usual self-locking nuts. “Those are

Boots aircraft nuts,” explains Mark.

“They are very early prewar nuts,

and are on the doors and hinges—

they are original to the airplane.

They have an ‘accordion’ on the

ends that compresses, so when you

install and tighten the Boots nut,the ‘accordion’ keeps the tension

on the threads. They work well, and

when they get loose, you just take

them off and put them in a vise and

squeeze them, or take a hammer and

tap them to compress them again ”

original-type Bedford cord cloth for

the seat, and wool for the headliner.

He had all the patterns for them; he

learned to fly when these airplanes

were new,” says Ken, “and we had

weekly phone calls with him to ask

him questions.”

Award Winner

Mark and Ken are happy and re-

lieved to have the 14-year project fi-

nally finished and flying. They were

faced with a momentary dilemma,

however, when they contemplatedflying it to Oshkosh. They had

a scheduling conflict, since they

had already made plans to attend

the annual Howard Aircraft Foun-

dation gathering just prior to Air-

Venture. But it wasn’t long before

they had a solution—they asked a

friend, John Maxfield, if he wouldbe willing to fly the Taylorcraft to

Oshkosh for them. John, after tak-

ing one look at the airplane, lost

no time agreeing, and Mark and

Ken met him on the grounds the

first of the week just in time to

The black handle is for the wobble pump, and the

brass handle is for the fire extinguisher.

A neatly fabricated kick plate surrounds the heel

brakes.


14/44

O

n D e c e mb e r 1 7 ,

1935, Donald Wills

Douglas witnessed

the first flight of his

DC-3. By 1939, 90percent of the air-

lines in the United States were fly-

ing DC-3s. It was the first airplane

that could earn a profit from flying

passengers and not rely on a U.S.

Air Mail subsidy. Four years prior to

that great day in 1935, events that

would change how airliners werebuilt and flown put the airline in-

dustry on the path that led to the

development of the DC-3.

On March 31, 1931, a TWA Fok-

ker F10A tri-motor crashed into a

Kansas wheat field killing the two

The Department of Air Commerce

initially said ice had broken a pro-

peller blade on the starboard engine,

causing the engine to overspeed,

which in turn transmitted enoughvibration to the wing to fracture it.

But investigations showed the air-

frame had 1,887 hours on it, and the

wing root had rotted away, causing

the wing to break off when the pi-

lot tried to climb above turbulence.

Fokker’s name was so well respected

that no provision had been made forinspection panels for critical parts of

the airframe. The crash ruined Fok-

ker’s reputation and his business.

The air transport business was

still in its infancy, and numerous

crashes had caused the public to

economic depression of the post-

World War I aviation development

by building military aircraft. Boeing

had developed an all-metal, open-

cockpit bomber design. However,

his design lost out in a government

The Boeing 247 was the answer to

the noisy, uncomfortable Fords and

Fokkers. The all-metal, twin-engine

monoplane reflected creature com-

forts unheard of in the other air-planes. The carpeted floors, reclin-

ing seats, steam heat, and a cabin

insulated from weather and noise had

led William Boeing to say, “This plane

is the airliner that will put us in the

Pullman business.” However, within a

year the DC-2 made it obsolete.

BOEING


15/44

The “Birth Certificate ofthe DC Ships”

On August 2, 1932, 38-year-old

Donald Douglas opened a letter

from Jack Frye, TWA vice presi-

dent of operations. TWA wanted to

purchase 10 or more all-metal, tri-

motor monoplanes. Douglas later

called the letter “The Birth Certifi-

cate of the DC Ships.”

The specs called for a gross

weight of 14,000 pounds, a range

of 1,000 miles, the capacity to carry12 passengers and two pilots, and

takeoff fully loaded on two of the

three engines. After the Douglas

engineering team developed a pro-

posal, Arthur Raymond, Douglas’

assistant chief engineer, and Harold

Wetzel, general manager, boarded

a train for New York to present theproposal to TWA.

“We traveled by train for two rea-

sons,” said Raymond to me in 1988.

“We had much ground to cover and

hundreds of details to lay out, and

I needed secluded time to work out

THEDouglas DC-375 years of service: Part 1

BY HENRY M. HOLDEN

The five seats on each side of the Boeing 247 cabin allowed passengers to

move in the aisle, with one minor inconvenience. Because of the low-wing,

cantilever design, the main wing spar ran through the cabin, interruptingthe aisle. Cabin insulation reduced the noise below the 110-decibel level

of the Ford Tri-Motors. Compare the narrow appearance of the 247 to the

DC-1 photo shown in this article. Even with its shortcomings, the Boeing

247 revolutionized coast-to-coast travel.

BOEING


16/44

only better. When Raymond boarded

the aircraft, he received the usual

“comfort pack,” which included cot-

ton for his ears, smelling salts for if

he felt faint, and an airsick cup.

The trip radically changed Ray

draulic failure.

For safety, the engineers decided

the wheels would not fully retract.

In the up position, the main gear

wheels protruded from the na-

celles about half their diameter In

The Douglas Commercial 1On July 1, 1933, at 12:36 p.m.,

332 days after Douglas received

Frye’s letter, the main gear of a

DC-1 left the ground. The takeoff

was perfect but the new Douglas

A Ford Tri-Motor, similar to the one Arthur Raymond flew

in, is shown here in the skies of Oshkosh, Wisconsin,

in 2005. The Ford Tri-Motor, nicknamed The Tin Goose ,

was first produced in 1925 by Henry Ford and contin-

ued in production until June 7, 1933. A total of 199

aircraft were produced.

This is a rare photo of the DC-1 with the rear wheel fair-

ing designed to improve its aerodynamics. This modi-

fication was soon removed because the improvement

was negligible. Some Douglas engineer kept trying to

get it adopted because it was tried again on the DC-2

and the DC-3.

The Ford was designed for comfort, with soft wicker

chairs and padded headrests. Seat belts had not yet

come into fashion. The air vent horns stick out from

each window frame, little comfort if the passenger be-

came airsick, which was often the case since the Fords

often flew around 7,500 feet in the turbulent lower alti-

tudes. Note the uniformed radio operator and the early

communications radio to his left.

This 14-passenger TWA DC-2 is 1 month old in this June

1934 photograph. Every passenger flew first class. On

TWA and American Airlines’ service to Los Angeles,

they typically offered three breakfast and dinner menus

served on genuine Syracuse china with Reed and Bar-

ton silverware. A flight attendant could serve 14 pas-

sengers in under an hour.

HENRY M. HOLDEN

HENRY M. HOLDEN

BOEING

C O U R T E S Y H E N R Y M .

H O L D E N

C O U

R T E S Y H E N R Y M .

H O L D E N


17/44

feet and started to pull the nose up. Again, the engines

sputtered and quit. He put the nose down, and the

engines came back to life. He knew he had to land im-mediately and safely. He couldn’t risk the airplane or

the life of his copilot.

Carl Cover earned his salary on that 12-minute ride.

He landed the plane and taxied into the hangar. They

quickly discovered the cause of the almost fatal flight;

the carburetors had been installed in reverse on each

engine, so that when the nose came up, the fuel flow in

each carb ceased, causing the engine to quit running.

Douglas Commercial 2The DC-1 went on to meet TWA’s requirements, and

it ordered 20 more airliners with suggested changes.

The DC-2 was born, and commercial airlines would

never be the same

The DC-1 is shown undergoing static tests. A dis-

tinctive feature of the DC-1 wing and one that had

its roots in Northrop technology was the straight-

chord center section with straight trailing edges

on the outer panels, but swept back 15 degrees

on the leading edges.

This DC-2 NC14285, c/n 1328, was delivered to the Standard Oil Corporation of California (now Chevron) in No-

vember 1934. It crashed in the Great Salt Lake, Utah, on October 6, 1935. The crew did not perish in the crash,

but did in an attempt to swim to shore.

BOEING

BOEING


18/44

In deciding to manufacture the

DC-2, Douglas took another calcu-

lated risk. The DC-1 had cost the

company more than $350,000.

TWA agreed to pay $65,000 for each

DC-2 (sans engines), and Douglas

was betting the DC-2 would catch

on so he could recoup his research

and development costs. When the

76th DC-2 rolled off the line, it put

Douglas in the black, clearing the

research development and losses

Douglas Sleeper Transport Douglas’ first real commercial

success began when American Air-

lines entered the picture. Thanks to

the acquisition of different airlines

as American expanded and grew, it

had a mixed fleet of Curtiss Condor

biplane sleepers and Ford and Fok-

ker tri-motors. It needed to mod-

ernize its fleet. American was losing

millions of dollars, and it wanted

a modern airplane with sleeper

of its performance characteristics.

It had the highest-rated engines

in use at the time, but they felt it

lacked power. It could not make

New York to Chicago nonstop, al-

though it was faster than any other

airliner on that route. They also

had pilot reports that it was diffi-

cult to land. It did carry 14 passen-

gers, two more than the DC-1 and

the Boeing 247.

Littlewood sat down with his en

The DC-1 belly-landed into the runway because no one

lowered the landing gear. What is not widely known is

that Douglas’ engineers felt that the landing gear did

not need mechanical down locks. Two embarrassing

gear collapses during taxiing at public demonstrations

convinced them to install the devices.

DC-2 NC13711, c/n 1368, at the Museum of Flight in

2008. It was previously registered as NC1934D. This

rare early airliner is expected to take part in the 75th

anniversary celebration of the DC-3 at EAA AirVenture

Oshkosh 2010.

The last DC-3 operated by the FAA, N34, is a “retired”

fl ight-inspection aircraft that is used as an aviation-

awareness static display at air shows around the

country. The N34 was used to check the national airnavigation aides.

American Airlines NC14988, Flagship Texas , was

the first DC-3 and was configured as the first Doug-

las Sleeper Transport (DST). You can see the small

windows installed above each sleeper bunk. It was

assigned c/n 1494 and was powered by two Wright

Cyclone SGR-1820-G-5 engines. On May 25, 1942, the

airplane was sold to the Defense Supplies Corp., then

to the War Department on July 21, 1942. It was given

U.S. Army Air Forces serial number 42-43619 andcrashed at Knob Noster, Missouri, October 15, 1942.

BOEING HENRY M. HOLDEN

FAA

NEW JERSEY AVIATION HALL OF FAME


19/44

airframes already manufactured,

and another 90 orders ready for the

assembly line. A new model meant

new tooling—an expensive gamble.

Littlewood’s drawings suggested

the new design would be wider and

have the DC-2 center section and

outer wing panels, but have a larger

cockpit and bigger tail surfaces than

the DC-2. When Douglas engineers

reviewed Littlewood’s drawings, they

estimated they would reuse about

first flight of the DC-3, American

Airlines had also doubled its ini-

tial order to eight Douglas Sleeper

Transports and 12 DC-3s.

The actual contract was signed

on April 8, 1936. In today’s busi-

ness environment the contract al-

ways precedes work, but in 1935,

American Airlines and Douglas had

such faith in each other’s depend-

ability, and integrity, that the con-

struction came first and the con

tlewood and Harry Wetzel lay down

in the mock-up berths to judge the

size and to find the best position

for the reading light, call button,

and airsick cup. When Wetzel felt

closed in, they decided to install

a small window (unique to the 38

DSTs manufactured) in the upper

berths to prevent claustrophobia.

What rolled off the assembly line

on December 14, 1935, was much

more than Littlewood had put on

Eastern Airlines’ DC-3s line up on the ramp in front of

the administration/terminal building. “The Great Silver

Fleet” consisted of Eastern Airlines DC-3s all burnished

to the silver-like finish of the base metal. The individual

planes were called “SILVERLINERS.” The aircraft in the

foreground survives today and is on display inside the

New England Air Museum, at the Bradley International

Airport, in Windsor, Connecticut.

In the late 1930s, airpor t security was a nonissue. In

this gate area at Newark Airport, the only thing keeping

the passengers away from the propellers on this DC-3

is a small iron fence. One passenger compared the

DC-3 to the other airplanes of the day: “It was like flying

from your living room. The windows even had curtains.”

On January 7, 1938, American Airlines’ Flagship Ken-

tucky dropped out of a pea soup fog and pouring rain to

find itself without enough runway to stop before it hit a

fence. The pilot executed a missed approach, overshot

the runway, and landed in the marshlands about a mile

from the runway. The five passengers, three crew, and

750 pounds of mail survived. The DC-3 was repairedand flew for various companies until 1972.

Eastern Airlines “351” DST-318 NC25650, c/n 2225,

was commandeered by the USAAF June 8, 1942. It re-

turned to Eastern July 1944, as NC25650. It was sold

on April 15, 1952, and registered N1300M and went

through almost a dozen owners. Its registration wascanceled in August 1988.

N E W J

E R S E Y A V I A T I O N H A L L O F F A M E

N E W J

E R S E Y A V I A T I O N H A L L O F F A M E

NEW JERSEY AVIATION HALL OF FAME

COURTESY HENRY M. HOLDEN


20/44

John Greenleaf Whittier might have had Joseph L.

Cato in mind when he wrote,“. . . of all sad words of

tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have

been!’” Throughout his lifespan, Cato was dedicated

to providing a small airplane and a dependable engine

years, after a market (for it) developed.”

It is difficult to understand how a talent such as Cato’s

had escaped recognition and renown except that he re-

ally appeared to have been one of those “hard-luck kids.”

Several times it appeared that he had a sure thing going

Light Plane Heritage

published in EAA Experimenter January 1990

JOSEPH L. CATONEARLY A LEGEND

O S. B

P P M C D W A, A H R C

The Model L L.W.F./Cato

Butterfly with Captain

“Jack” Foote (left) and

Joseph L. Cato.


21/44

flights before a resounding crash ended the project. Later,when his family moved to San Francisco, he enrolled for

a night-school course in engineering.

In 1908, at age 19, he submitted plans and specifica-

tions to the U.S. War Department, presumed to be receiv-

ing bids for a flying machine. He received little more

than an acknowledgement, but he continued his studies

and construction, producing three Curtiss-type biplanes

and a Bleriot-style monoplane between 1909 and 1915.

His activities during this period were accomplished afterhours out of necessity, as he was employed days as a ma-

chinist and gas engine repairman, good experience for

events to follow.

In 1914, Cato left California to join Captain Thomas S.

Baldwin’s team of exhibition aviators. The next year, he

returned to his first love, designing aircraft and engines,

this time with the Sloane Aircraft Company, Bound

Brook, New Jersey. He was dissatisfied with his assign-ments there, so after having started with Sloane in No-

vember 1915, he left in April 1916 to join the L.W.F. En-

gineering Company at College Point, Long Island. L.W.F.

was a well-respected company by then, and Cato soon

found himself with the title of experimental engineer

and assistant to the general manager.

Throughout his career, he was obsessed with the de-

sire to produce an aircraft that would be affordable and

simple enough to be maintained by the average man.

To achieve these requirements, he was convinced such

a plane would, out of necessity, be small, but adequately

powered by a simple, light engine that had the further

quality of dependability in adequate amounts, one that

could be counted on to keep running indefinitely or as

with their Model V (a large biplane) introduced severalinnovations for the time, one being the first fully mono-

coque, molded plywood fuselage, and balanced control

surfaces. Powered at first with the 135-hp V8 Thomas

engine, it was upgraded with the substitution of the Lib-

erty 6 and was flight-tested in January 1918. These planes

exhibited excellent performance and went on to make

many noteworthy flights.

In the summer of that year, Cato learned that the Mar-

lin-Rockwell Company of New Haven, Connecticut, wascontemplating the marketing of a small sportplane and

engine for postwar use, something that appeared to be

right down his alley. His work with L.W.F. had been en-

grossing and he had been of great value to that company,

but his first love and dream had seemed no nearer to frui-

tion, so it is not surprising that he left and soon found

himself hired and hard at work at Marlin-Rockwell.

While there, he was able to fly the requirements forhis pilot license. His design work progressed rapidly, since

he was able to spend full time on it, but quite soon it

became evident that the Marlin-Rockwell Company of-

ficials had changed their minds about putting his little

plane and engine into production. The following spring,

he left to return to the L.W.F. Corporation on the promise

that he could develop just such a lightplane while at the

same time assisting on the redesign of L.W.F.’s mailplane

candidate dubbed the Owl.

On leaving Marlin-Rockwell, he had retained the

rights to manufacture his small two-cylinder engine and

was able to design his new small lightplane around it

(now whimsically dubbed the “Butterfly,” as contrasted

to the much larger “Owl”)

The Butterfly in its original parasol configuration, summer 1919.


22/44

pounds of payload, and still get off at

30 mph.

The prototype, designated the

Model L by L.W.F, was extensively

tested at Hazelhurst Field, near Mine-

ola, Long Island, by the (then) well-known Army pilot Captain John

Foote in the autumn of 1919 and

again (the shoulder-wing version) in

early spring 1920. Captain Foote was

pleased with the new version, declar-

ing it a true pleasure to handle, both

on the ground and in the air. Landing

at 30 mph, he was able to consistentlydemonstrate that he could touch

down into a light breeze, estimated

at 6 mph, and come to a complete

stop in 60 feet. His takeoffs were eye-

openers, too, as he could get off reg-

ularly in 50 to 60 feet from a stand-

ing start. In those days, the biplane

was king and there were many scoff-

ers. But these scoffers were shownand fed the required information;

Foote was able to change frank dis-

belief to grudging acceptance that

such outstanding performance could

be had from a monoplane design.

The evidence was there and simply couldn’t be denied.

It became obvious that Cato had a good thing going.

The Butterfly was put through a very extensive pro-gram of flight tests for the next three months. Captain

Foote was so impressed that he urged company officials

to permit him to take the little plane on an extended tour

of the country, making flight demonstrations as he went,

stressing its ability to provide safe, low-cost, fun flying for

the weekend pilot. If certain unfortunate circumstances

had not intervened, it is quite likely that this little plane

and its dependable Cato engine would have marked an

early breakthrough in the marketing of the lightplane for

civil aviation.

The L.W.F. Company was so pleased with the perfor-

mance of the Butterfly that it started a campaign of ad-

vertising, quoting a price of $2,500 complete, F.O.B. Col-

lege Point New York The shoulder wing model looked

Several sales commitments were essential to ensure

profitability, as extensive investments would be nec-

essary for jigs in building the aircraft as well as heavyinvestments in tooling and casting required for manufac-

turing the new Cato engine.

The outlook was grim, but it reached disastrous pro-

portions on March 31, 1920, when Captain Foote was

killed in the Butterfly while demonstrating at Hazelhurst

Field. A large crowd, including several executives of the

Curtiss Company, were watching while Foote made a low

pass. As he pulled up sharply and started a left turn, the

right wing broke loose at the outboard life strut fittings

and rotated upward, wrenching that wing free of the

aircraft. As the wreckage struck the ground, the popular

“Captain Jack” was killed instantly.

Later it was proven that this crash, which dashed the

hopes of marketing the Butterfly was caused by an outra

Captain Foote and the L.W.F. Cato Model L Butterfly.

Sitting on the Butterfly’s back helped hold it down during high engine

rpm run-up.


23/44

over the tragedy, his enthusiasm

for the concept of a cheap, practical

lightplane wouldn’t be quelled. He

soon left L.W.F. and joined with G.

Elias & Brother Inc. of Buffalo, New

York, where he was able to continuehis campaign by designing a new

lightplane titled the Elias “Aircoupe.”

This plane seated two persons side-

by-side and featured a closed canopy

that might be removed for summer

flying, if desired. The seating arrange-

ment was well liked and several were

sold, but once more, it appeared thatfate intervened in the form of the

Stock Market Crash of 1929. And that

candidate, too, was withdrawn from

the market.

Cato, pioneer plane builder, pi-

lot, and aeronautical engineer, was

a visionary who, from the first, had

enthusiasm for the mere possibil-

ity of flying. He, like so many of hiscontemporaries, was initially led to

build something that looked like an

airplane and then do his utmost to

coax it into the air. Unfortunately for

him and for us who love to fly, the

timing of his efforts seemed invari-

ably wrong. What might have been

the result of his efforts if . . . if . . . if!Cato left the Elias company in

1930 to become general superin-

tendent and production manager

at the Emsco Aircraft Corporation,

Downey, California, where he su-

pervised the redesign of three of its

planes and steered them through the

required Approved Type Certificate

test. During this period, he designed

another lightplane and engine on his

own time. The Emsco Aircraft Cor-

poration ceased operation, another

victim of the Depression, so Cato

started his own company hoping to

Cato 72-hp Aero Engine

In the original design laid down for this engine, all experimental and untried fea-

tures were eliminated, and only features which had been proven by the designer’slong experience were used.

Light weight was obtained by simplifying design rather than building light parts.

The engine was a two-cylinder, horizontally opposed, four-stroke, air-cooled, valve-

in-head type Bore, 5 inches; stroke, 6 inches; piston displacement, 263.63 cubic

inches; compression ratio -4.33 to 1; and weight complete ready to run 134

pounds, corresponding to a specific weight of about 1.86 pounds per horsepower.

The rated horsepower was 72 at 1,825 rpm.

The crankcase was a two-piece aluminum alloy casting split vertically. The engine

was bolted to the fuselage with eight 3/8-inch bolts set at a large pitch diameter at

the rear of the crankcase; the rear of the crankcase formed the gear-case housing.

The actuating mechanism consisted of one camshaft with two cams: one inlet cam

and one exhaust cam, operating four tappets, each connected to its valve push-rod.

The cylinders were machined from solid-steel forgings; 15 cooling fins were ma-

chined on the outside of the barrel. Two sparkplug bosses were provided, one on

each side of the cylinder head between the valves.

The crankshaft was also machined from a solid-steel forging and was of the double-

throw type. The flange for the propeller was machined integrally with the crankshaft.The oiling system was of the dry-sump noncirculating type. Oil pressure was

provided by a dual plunger-pump drawing oil from a tank in the fuselage, delivering

a small quantity to each of the cylinders every 7-1/2 revolutions of the crankshaft.

On the down stroke of the plungers, a small quantity of oil was delivered into the

gear case, lubricating the oil pump reduction gears and the valve-operating mecha-

nism. The main bearings, crankpin, and piston-pin bearings were lubricated from

oil spray in the crankcase.

Ignition was by Bosch magneto, carburetion by Zenith carburetor.Overall dimensions were: width 46-1/8 inches, length 23-1/10 inches, height

20-1/4 inches. Oil consumption was 2 pounds per hour.

This engine, driving an 86-inch propeller, provided a lot of torque at its takeoff

rating of 1,825 rpm and cruising rating of 1,650 rpm. The old truism, assuming

engines of equal displacement, holds: The old system of turning a large-diameter

ll t l ti l l id t th th t ti f


24/44

When we ended last month’s installment, we

were at the Sun ’n Fun Fly-In in 1989 (that

seems like yesterday to me) in the com-

pany of Albert Vollmecke. About the same

time that I discovered Vollmecke, my Florida friend

Joe Araldi discovered him, too. Araldi wanted to builda replica Little Rocket racer and was able to acquire a

copy of the original prints from Vollmecke. He had

given them to his son, Albert Jr., for safekeeping.

Vollmecke’s design was far advanced for its time.

The Little Rocket featured shock absorbers located in-

side the wheels. And it had a unique aileron control

system; a small crank on top of the control stick al-

lowed the pilot to crank both ailerons down 15 degrees

for landing, which increased the camber of the wing,

thus giving it more lift. The increased lift was needed

for takeoffs and landings in the high country of the

west, as the ship had only 88 square feet of wing area.

The Command-Aire Little Rocket was piloted by Lee

Gehlbach in the All American Cirrus Derby and won

My Friend

Albert Vollmecke

Part 5

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

My file copies of Albert’s Little Rocket prints given to

me by Al’s son, Albert Jr. The drawings are highly de-

tailed, providing data to make every part of the aircraft.

I asked Al if he ever made the drawings with some

details left out to be finalized upon manufacture, and

then drawn. He said it didn’t work that way and that hisdrawings were rarely revised. The factory built only one

Little Rocket.

The original Little Rocket racer under construction at the


25/44

Barbara Baron is the owner of this antique French/Belgian “Stampe.” Barbara, and her husband Bob,operated the fixed base at Martinsville Blue Ridge Airportfor 15 years. She later became the Chief Flight Instructorat Averett University, Danville, Virginia.

“AUA is the best! They are, and will remain my aviationinsurance company.”

— Barbara Baron

Barbara BaronMartinsville, Virginia

13,000+ hours: single- and multi-engine,flight instructor, commercial hot air balloon

FAA Pilot Examiner for nearly 40 years: began at Pittsburgh FSDO, currently

Richmond FSDO

Flew two All-WomenTranscontinental Air Races

Mom to six and Granny to 18


26/44

Company, Chicago, Illinois, dated March 15, 1932, to

Mr. Clarence Young, Assistant Secretary, Department of

Commerce, Aeronautics Division, Washington, D.C.,

the disposition of the Little Rocket is made very clear:

On or about May 28th or 29th the plane started from

Little Rock to the Birmingham races and stopped at Mem-

phis where the plane was laid up for repairs and was never

this company in the sum of $10,000, and later suit [was]

brought to recover $7,500. The claim was investigated by

the writer and the company denied liability and prepared to

defend the suit in the Federal Court in Little Rock, the case

coming up in the April term of court there.

Thus ends the story of the Little Rocket designed by

Vollmecke and built by Command Aire Incorporated

The license for the completed ship was issued July 7,1930, and number NR-10403 was assigned, with an

expiration date of September 18, 1930. The ship was

restricted for racing purposes only.

The men involved in the creation and racing of the first

Little Rocket. Left to right are Lee Gehlbach (pilot), Al-

bert Vollmecke (designer), Robert Snowden (presidentof Command-Aire Incorporated), and Charles E. Shoe-

maker Jr. (president of the Little Rock Racing Associa-

tion). The aircraft was designed to compete in the All

American Cirrus Derby, a 5,500-mile course beginning

July 21, 1930, starting at Detroit, Michigan, and end-

ing back at Detroit. The Little Rocket won and received

a cash prize of $15,000, a huge sum in 1930.Below: The completed Little Rocket racer out-

side the Command-Aire factory building.

Lee Gehlbach won the All Ameri-

can Cirrus Derby with an average

speed of 127.11 mph.


27/44


28/44

maintenance hangar at the Sun ’n

Fun site on the Lakeland airport.

Araldi and Bob Lock completed a

weight and balance of the Little

Rocket and adjusted the center ofgravity slightly by adding two bags of

lead shot inside the forward fuselage.

Both Command-Aire ships, my

model 5C3, NC997E, and Araldi’s

Little Rocket serial number MR-2,

were proudly displayed in the mu-

seum at the 1989 Sun ’n Fun Fly-In

at Lakeland, Florida.

Araldi completed and flew theLittle Rocket on April 13, 1990. On

April 17 he flew the ship with the

Vollmecke family present. Araldi

made a total of four flights on the

ship before it went on display in the

The construction of the second Little Rocket fuselage takes shape in Joe

Araldi’s hangar. Compare this fuselage to the original shown earlier in

this column. Note the small fuel tank contoured to fit the shape of the fu-

selage and the wood engine-mount structure. The fuel and oil capacities

were 31-1/4 gallons and 2-1/2 gallons, respectively.Joe Araldi fabricating an aileron

with the Little Rocket replica being

assembled in background. Note the

leading edge faired in with balsa

wood. The aircraft is constructed

mostly of Sitka spruce and mahog-

any or birch plywood, making the

ship very strong and light in weight.

Araldi decided not to try and dupli-

cate Vollmecke’s drooping ailerons

for low-speed control.

With Bob Lock look-

ing on, Joe Araldi

puts some ground

time on the newly

overhauled Wright

Gypsy engine. Soimpressed with the

project, Vollmecke

decreed that Araldi’s

Little Rocket was se-

rial number 2, and it

was so designated.


29/44


30/44

Since the first installment in a

previous issue on the subject of rear

main bearing failures in Continen-

tal W-670 aircraft engines, I am re-

minded of another such incident in

a Boeing Stearman here in central

Florida. The bearing began to fail atapproximately 380 hours after en-

gine major overhaul, at about the

same operating time my bearing

failed. The logbook showed the en-

gine had been overhauled by a very

reputable facility in 1994, and both

front and rear bearings had been re-

placed with new parts. So here wego again with the same old problem,

which, if not caught early, can have

catastrophic results for both pilot

and airplane. This particular airplane

had a Sensenich wood prop installed;

therefore, it would be my conclusion

that bearing failures can occur on

engines with either wood or metal

props, just as Al Holloway had statedto me several months ago.

Unlike other small seven-cylinder

radial engines such as Wright, Ly-

coming, and Warner, the Conti-

nental W 670 was manufactured

is obvious that they knew the ball

bearing would not hold up with

the Hamilton Standard 2B20 prop,

and the higher compression ratio

placed more stress demands on the

crankshaft. With a constant-speed

prop, the engine drives a governor,which may also place additional

stress on the crankshaft.

To understand what must be

done to the front and rear main

ball bearings during overhaul, one

must consult the W-670 overhaul

manual. The overhaul manual calls

for only an inspection of the bear-ing, not for mandatory replace-

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Continental W-670 main bearing failures

Part II

THE VintageMechanic

Figure 1 shows a typical front and rear ball bearing as used in the Con-

tinental W-670 radial engine. These bearings are the only suppor t for the

crankshaft, which produces only 15 hp less than the Wright R-760 bearings

shown in Figure 2.

On the left is the thrust and on the right is the rear main ball bearing

Figure 1


31/44

ment at the overhaul cycle. If the

engine logbook doesn’t specifically

state that the bearings were re-

placed with new parts, you must as-

sume used bearings were installed

at overhaul with an unknown totaltime on them.

Again it becomes obvious to me

that the condition of these highly

stressed main bearings is a judg-

ment call by the overhauling fa-

cility or the individual mechanic.

Therefore total operating hours on

these bearings is unknown, yet it

is these bearings that are the cause

of several failures of Continental

W-670 aircraft engines. Some fail-

ures are found during the begin-

ning stage as the cage that holds the

steel balls in place begins to disinte-

grate. Continued operation of the

engine beyond this stage will even-

tually lead to complete failure ofthe rear main bearing and damage

to the crankshaft, necessitating an

immediate emergency landing of

the airplane in terrain that may not

be too hospitable for such an event.

In the event the bearing completely

fails, the crankshaft rear main is

free to move wherever loads willtake it. Think of what this move-

ment would do to the master rod,

link rods, and moving parts in the

accessory section. Remember the

old saying: “Flying is many hours

of boredom separated by a few mo-

ments of stark terror!”

I have a friend in Lodi, Califor-

nia, who has lot of experience over-hauling and operating Continental

W-670 engines. His name is Peter

Precissi, and for many years, the

family owned and operated the larg-

est fleet of Travel Air 4000 dusters

operated under CAR Part 8 (nowFAR Part 137), and modifications

were somewhat easier to accom-

plish when an aircraft was certified

in the Restricted Category than on

an airplane certified in the Stan

My Travel Air 4000, NR3670 serial number 288, with a Precissi over-

hauled engine and prop.

Figure 3 shows replacement Con-tinental W-670 front and rear main

roller bearings. An STC is required

to install these bearings, since this

modifi cation is an alteration to the

original engine type cer tificate On

Figure 2 shows the Wright R-760 main bearing arrangement. Note that

the Wright has (from left to right) a front thrust ball bearing, a center main

roller bearing, and a rear solid main bearing. The crankshaft size for the

Wright is SAE 30. That’s rather substantial when compared to the Conti-

nental W-670 with its smaller SAE 20-sized crankshaft.

Alignment of the three bearings in the Wright is critical; therefore the

rear main bearing must be line-

bored to fit the rear main journalin the crankshaft. Replacement of

main bearings in a Wright engine is

much more difficult than in a Conti-

nental. The Wright main bearing ar-

rangement is built like a brick out-

house!

Figure 3

Figure 2


32/44

It is my firm belief that all W-670

engines should have the rear main

ball bearing replaced with a supple-

mental type certified roller bearing as

soon as possible, or at least when the

engine is due an overhaul. To installthis bearing in the engine requires

an FAA supplemental type certifi-

cate (STC), since it is a modification

of the original engine type design.

Only holders of an STC should per-

form this task; don’t allow anybody

to install a bearing without an STC

approval. An entry in the engine log-

book and an FAA Form 337 should

accompany the engine when it re-

turns from the overhaul facility.

Make sure the FAA Form 337 is filled

out completely; then send the origi-

nal copy to the FAA records branch

and place the second copy in the air-

craft records file.

Since STC approvals for installa-tions of roller-type rear main bear-

ings are a recent occurrence (within

the past 10 years), many engines

are in service with original ball-

type rear main bearings. If a per-

son is looking to buy an airplane

powered by a Continental W-670

engine (other than a W-670-23),check logbooks and paperwork to

see if this modification has been

accomplished. If no record can be

found, then you must assume that

the modification has not been ac-

complished during the last over-

haul or engine disassembly. If this

is the case, an owner must pay

particular attention for any frag-ments that may appear in the en-

gine oil sump. I always change oil

every 25 hours of operation and

always drain the oil sump. I have

previously described how to check

Figure 4 shows a portion of the Continental rear main ball bearing as-

sembly. I’ve tried to show the bearing cage assembly in some detail. It is

this cage assembly that holds the steel balls in place, and fragments of

this portion of the bearing will be found in the sump. Fragments may not go

to the oil screen because the scavenge pump will not draw them out of the

sump; therefore, no fragments will likely be found in the main oil screen.When my bearing failed, fragments up to 1 inch in length were found in the

oil sump when the plug was removed.

Figure 4

M i ith i b i t f il! H l it t k th t d i th i i f th


33/44

My experience with rear main bear-

ing failures shows me that:

•The rear main ball bearings do

not suddenly fail, rather the sup-

port cage begins to disintegrate,

leaving the unsupported bearingballs still in place between the in-

ner and outer races. As the engine

continues operation, the bearing

will catastrophically fail, requiring

an immediate emergency landing

in whatever terrain the airplane is

flying over. It has been reported

to me that a pending bearing fail-

ure will show an increase in the

oil temperature with an associated

drop in pressure. If the bearing

fails completely, there will be no

true support on the crankshaft rear

main journal and the engine will

begin internal disassembly, which

will lead to failure of the engine.

Heavy vibrations will accompanythe failure mode.

• It makes no difference what

type of prop is installed—Hamil-

ton Standard, McCauley, or wood.

If the bearing is going to fail, it’s

going to fail! How long it takes the

bearing assembly to fail after the

cage fails is anybody’s guess. How-

ever, let me state that if fragments

of the bearing cage are found in the

engine sump, do not operate the engine again!

•If I were operating a Conti-

nental W-670 radial engine (and

I have a W-670 engine installed

in our Stearman), I would imme-

diately check the records to see if

the engine had been previously

modified to incorporate a rear main

roller bearing in accordance with

an STC. If not, I would have the en-

gine torn down and a roller bearing

installed. That will eliminate the

problem. If the engine is low time

since overhaul, the cylinders can

be removed and inspected with as-

sociated disassembly of the power

section and installation of the newroller bearing. I would think the in-

vestment for the installation of a

roller bearing would far outweigh

the consequences of waiting for the

ball bearing to fail. I would be inter-

ested in the opinions of others on

the subject of Continental W-670

rear main ball bearing failures. The

more this is discussed, the better off

we’ll all be.

Review the photos and their ex-tended captions for a closer look at

the bearings.

It is my mission, through this

column, to identify this potential

engine problem with operators of

Continental W-670 (R-670) 220-hp

radial engines. I would appreciate

receiving input from the field re-

garding any experience with rear

main bearing failures. I would

guess that most Continental W-670

220-hp radial engines are installed

on Travel Air, Waco, and Boeing

Stearman aircraft, with other types

of aircraft representing a smaller

number of engines in use at this time.

Remember, if your engine log-book does not show installation of

roller bearings and if there is no FAA

Form 337 showing this major altera-

tion, then you have to assume that

ball bearings are installed.


34/44

Send your answer to EAA,

Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086,Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your

answer needs to be in no later

than June 20 for inclusion in

the August 2010 issue of Vintage

Airplane.You can also send your re-

sponse via e-mail. Send your

answer to [email protected] .

Be sure to include your name

plus your city and state in thebody of your note and put

“(Month) Mystery Plane” in the

subject line.

by H.G. FRAUTSCHY

MYSTERY PLANE

This month’s Mystery Plane comes to us from the EAA archives.

F E B R U A R Y ’ S M Y S T E R Y A N S W E R


35/44

The February Mystery Plane came to us

via Wes Smith of Springfield, Illinois.

Here’s the answer from Jack Erickson of

State College, Pennsylvania.

The February 2010 Mystery Plane seems to be the

first of the two Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada) 45-

80 Sekani, c/n 101, CF-BHD, light transport sesqui-

planes for 10-12 passengers to be built. A second was

built as c/n 102, CF-BHE. Both were powered by a pair

of nine-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Jr. SB

engines of 400 hp each. The information here is princi-

pally from the Putnam book Canadian Aircraft since

1909 by K.M. Molson & H.A. Taylor. The same photo-

graph of CF-BHD as yours is in this reference, as well

as a photo of CF-BHE on wheel-mounted skis. There is

a photo of a Sekani on floats on the Aerofiles.com

website as well, but I could not tell of which aircraft.The aircraft were designed and built in 1936-1937

by a team under new Fairchild chief engineer and gen-

eral manager Nathan F. Vanderlipp. The factory and

its airfield were in Longueuil, Quebec. Both aircraft

were first flown by Alexander Schneider. The aircraft

was unsuccessful for its planned usage as a light pas-

senger transport and aerial photography platform

for several reasons. The aircraft were overweight andlacked the desired rate of climb and ceiling. Also, the

handling qualities were not good, and the structure

exhibited some weakness. Finally, neither civilian cus-

tomers nor the Royal Canadian Air Force saw them as

being useful aircraft for their mission requirements.

Lars Gleitsmann, of Anchorage, Alaska, and

Tom Lymburn of Minneapolis, Minnesota, both

pointed out what is a rather humorous story thatgoes along with the shortcomings mentioned

above. It probably wasn’t very funny at the time,

but today…

Lars wrote: “After its first flight, the companytest pilot Alec Schneider chased the designer and

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THE Vintage


38/44

It was too rainy and foggy to

do any flight training today, so

I started scanning through a

foot-tall stack of tagged articles

set aside to read in the future and

came across the most recent FAAPreliminary Accident Data. I find it

to be a good source for giving me

reminders on what I should rein-

force with students during their pi-

lot training.

The accident data reviewed

covered just the first nine days of

March, in which there were 91 pre-

liminary accident reports on file—

that included 21 forced landings

and 25 landing accidents. One-

half of all accidents reported in

the nine-day period involved ei-

ther forced landings or landing ac-

cidents. Quite a startling statistic!

As we begin the activities of

a new flying season and enjoythe pleasures of our vintage air-

planes, we need to prepare not

only the airplane for a summer

of fun, safe flying, but also our-

selves especially for the poten

students are adequately trained to

deal with the situation.

rationed. Traveling cross-coun-

try was sometimes a hair-raising

event, as many airports would al-

low only an 8-gallon purchase of

avfuel per engine. Trying to de-

liver a fuel-hungry Cherokee Six-300 from eastern South Dakota to

southern California was a series of

takeoffs, short hops, and landings

after exhausting the fuel supply

taken on at the departure-point

fixed base operator. It doesn’t take

long to consume 84 gallons at 17

gallons per hour! During this pe-

riod of time there was a rash of

forced landings due to fuel star-

vation. The FAA took note and

renewed the effort to teach indi-

viduals about forced landings.

Since that time, avfuel avail-

ability hasn’t been a problem and

many pilots have become lax in

understanding and executing sim-ulated forced landings. Skills di-

minished, and today we’re seeing

growing numbers of forced-landing

accidents. The cause is twofold:

fuel starvation followed by lack

BY Steve Krog, CFI

Landings—forced and otherwise

THE VintageInstructor

Even after taking

all the preflight

cautions, the potential

exists that you could

have to land your

airplane away from

an airport, or at the

very least land at

an airport within

lidi di

review have you demonstrate a 4. When items 1-3 have been ac- ment and ask yourself this:


39/44

simulated forced landing? And

if so, how did you do? Had the

forced landing been real rather

than simulated would you have

been able to safely get your air-plane on the ground?

One of the best lessons I learned

was taught to me by an old-time

barnstormer and crop duster just

after receiving my private pilot

certificate. During the checkout

in one of his airplanes, he taught

me situational awareness long be-

fore the FAA ever grabbed on to

that phrase. While checking me

out, every two to three minutes he

asked where I would land if the en-

gine quit at that given moment. It

was an exercise that has stuck with

me ever since, and I’ve shared it

with every student of mine over

the past 35 years.A forced landing can definitely

ruin an otherwise great flying day.

Even after taking all the preflight

cautions, the potential exists that

you could have to land your air-

plane away from an airport, or at

the very least land at an airport

within gliding distance. How have

you prepared yourself to handle

this potential problem?

There is very l i t t le writ ten

about forced landings in most

primary flight-training manuals.

Other than reminding you to pick

a field, establish the best glide

speed for the aircraft being flown,

and land, little more is offered. Tofind more information, one needs

to look through years of aviation

magazines or conduct an exten-

sive Internet search for additional

helpful data

complished, try to identify

why the engine is causing you

to execute a forced landing.

a. Is the fuel selector valve

ON?b. Is the fuel selector prop-

erly positioned on the

fullest tank of fuel?

c. Move the mixture con-

trol to FULL RICH, i f

your airplane has a mix-

ture control.

d. If the engine is still par-

tially producing power,

apply carburetor heat.

e . Conduct a magneto

check. You may have

experienced the partial

failure of one magneto

causing the engine to run

quite rough.

If you have been able to com-

plete all of the checks and the

problem still exists, it’s time to

prepare for the forced landing.

While continuing with and/or ad-

justing your approach to the se-

lected field, you’ll want to do the

following:

1. Move the mixture control to

FULL OFF.

2. Shut the fuel OFF.

3. Shut the master switch OFF.

4. Position the magneto switch

in the OFF position.

5. UNLATCH the cabin door.

The ultimate goal now is to con-tinue to fly the airplane and touch

down in your selected field with

the airplane flying as slowly as

possible but still well under con-

trol! Tube fabric and aluminum

1. If the engine quits before leav-

ing the ground, what would

I do?

2. If the engine quits just after

takeoff, what would I do andwhere would I go?

3. If the engine quits before

reaching at least 500 feet

above ground level, where

would I go?

Refamiliar ize yourself with

not only your home-base field,

but also every field in the area to

which you regularly fly. Referring

back to the old-timer who taught

me a valuable life lesson when fly-

ing, I regularly ask students where

they would land at different points

during and after takeoff as well as

in the traffic pattern. For training

purposes we do practice forced

landings from all of the points.The goal here is to break the au-

tomatic thought of attempting to

return to the airport via the im-

possible 180-degree turn. (There’s

an article on that topic in the April

issue of Sport Aviation , along with

a spirited discussion in the Flight In-

structor HQ forum on EAA’s www.

Oshkosh365.org website.—HGF)

During the training (or local

pleasure) flight, remain aware of

the surface wind direction. If the

wind was from the south when de-

parting for the hour-long flight,

it will probably remain from that

direction during the flight. Hav-

ing good knowledge of the surfacewind will help when selecting a

field for a forced landing.

When flying cross-country it is

fairly easy to remain aware of the

surface wind direction through

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40/44

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Documents

Vintage Airplane - May 2010