Vintage Airplane - Sep 1991

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    having interesting material to present toourmembershipthroughourmagazine.STR IGHT & LEVEL You do not have to be a polished

    by spie Butch Joyce

    A number of you who have been members for some time have heard me saybefore that fall is my favorite time of theyear to fly The flying weather from earlySeptember through early December hereis just great As your know, we areplagued with thunderstorms in this areaduring the summertime, which requiresyour attention, but in the fall, thethunderstorms are gone and the visibilityis a lot better. One thing we are concerned about here in the fall is a hurricane.We've already had one hurricane this year

    classic aircraft, believe it or not, with afew modems stuck around the comers.I ve made an observation during thislate summer that brings up a question inmy mind. I ve had a number of peoplecome by and visit at the airport, including some who are good friends that I

    haven t seen around the field in a number of years. These people were veryactive around the airport for severalyears, and were active flyers who hungaround the airport as much as I did.Then I didn t see them for quite a while.I have often wondered what t is thatcauses people with that kind of interestin flying to just walk away from it. I veseen this cycle in a good number ofpeople. They will be really active forseveral years, then inactive for a while.They show back up with as much enthusiasm as they had before. I d reallylike to know what causes this cycle inpeople.The Antique/Classic Division welcomes a new Chapter to our fold. EAAAntique/Classic Chapter 23, located inRichmond, Virginia is now up and running. Their first president is John Ficklin. His address is 605 Shrewsbury Rd.,Richmond, VA 23229. Anyone whowould like to join that chapter shouldcontact John. Welcome aboard Johnand Chapter 23

    Ijust received the division membership counts from EAA headquarters,and I am proud to announce that wehave 7,251 members at this time. Thatfigure is up almost 600 members fromthe same period last year Thats greatfor the division. Let s see if we can all

    writer to submit an article. H.G.Frautschy, our Editor, will be glad toclean it up. If its at all possible, typingit double-spaced is a big help. For morepointers on submitting an article, seeH.G. s column, "The Chief 's Logbook"in the December 1990 issue ofVINTAGE AIRPLANE. f you recurious how much material makes up anarticle, when I wrote this column, it took4 double-spaced pages.

    Some interesting figures alwayscome out of the EAA Convention. Hereare a couple: Over 5000 volunteersworked before, during and after the convention. They put in an estimated200,000 people-hours. 491 commercialexhibitors displayed their wares.12,000 airplanes visited the convention,and of that 12,000, 2,080 whereshowplanes. Within that number, almost 900 aircraft were hosted by theAntique/Classic division. During theweek, there were 41,228 air operations.It was stated that the airport was closedon Thursday afternoon, before the showstarted. What some people did not hearand understand was that the field wasclosed to non-showplane aircraft, notshowplanes. We got the report that theFlight Service stations were putting outthe word that the airport was closed.Whittman Field is never closed toShowplanes during the convention fornormal operations. If you hear the airport is closed next year, you may wantto keep that in mind.

    Also a special thanks needs to begiven to John Deere for providing all theJohn Deere vehicles, including 150AMT s, that are used at the convention.It s really a big help. Speaking ofvehicles, our thanks to the Buick Motorsdivision of General Motors for the use

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    PUBLICATION STAFFPUBLISHERTom Poberezny

    VICE-PRESIDENTMARKETING & COMMUN ICATIONSDick MattEDITORHenry G_Frautschy

    MANAGING EDITORGolda CoxART DIRECTORMike DrucksADVERTISINGMary Jones

    ASSOCIATE EDITORSNorman Petersen Dick Cav inFEATURE WRITERSGeorge A. Hardie, Jr. Dennis Parks

    EDITORIAL ASSISTANTIsabelle WiskeSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHERSJim Koepnick Carl SchuppelMike Steineke

    EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION, INC.OFFICERSPresident Vice-PresidentEsp ie "Butch" Joyc e Arthur R. Morgan604 Highway St . 3744 Nerth 51st Blvd.Madisen. NC 27025 Milwaukee. WI 53216919/427-0216 414/442-3631

    Secretory TreasurerSteven C. Nesse E.E. "Buck" Hilbert2009 Highland Ave. P.O. Bex424Albert Leo . MN 56007 Unien.IL60180507/373-1674 815/923-4591DIRECTORSJohn Berendt Robert C. " Bob" Brauer7645 Eche Peint Rd. 9345 S. HeyneCannen Falls. MN 55009 Chicago. IL 60620507/263-2414 312/779-2105

    Gene Chase John S. Copeland2159 Carlten Rd . 9 Joanne DriveOshkesh. WI 54904 Westbereugh. MAOl581414/231-5002 508/366-7245Philip Coulson George Daubner28415 Springbreek Dr. 2448 Leugh LoneLawten. MI 49065 Hartferd , WI 53027616/624-6490 414/673-5885Charles Harris Stan Gomoll3933 Seuth Pee rio 1042 90th Lone. NEP.O. Bex 904038 Minneape lis, MN 55434Tulsa . OK 74105 612/784-1172918/742-7311

    Dale A. Gustafson Jeannie Hill772 4 Shady Hill Drive P.O. Bex 328Indianapel is. IN 46278 HaNard. IL 60033317/293-4430 815/943-7205Robertllckteig Robert D. " Bob" Lumley1708 Boy Oaks Drive 1265 Seuth 124th St.Albert Leo . MN 56007 Breekfield. WI 53005507/373-2922 414/782-2633

    September 1991 Vol. 19, No. 9Copyright 1991 by the EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. All rights reseNed.

    ontents2 Straight & Levelby Espie "Butch" Joyce4 Aeromail5 A/C News/compiled by H.G Frautschy

    Page 106 Vintage Literatu rejby Dennis Parks10 Antiques/Class ics -EAA Oshkosh '91by H.G. Frautschy15 Second hance/by Dave Barnett18 "Floatflying " A Taylorcraft/by Dave Barnett19 orrosion Proofing For Float Flying!by Dave Barnett Page 1521 The J2K And Me/by Carlton Swickley24 Tails Of The Great Lakes/by Bill Madden27 Pass It To Buck/by E.E "Buck" Hilbert28 alendar32 Vintage Trader Page 2433 Mystery Plane/by George Hardie

    FRONTCOVER . .. Mitch Freitag 's Closs II Champien Award fremSun 'n Fun '91 brightens up the Fler ida skies as it cruises at 115mp h , thanks te all the neat little fa iringsthat clean up th is custembird. Phete by Jim Keepnick, shet with Canen EO S- 1 with 80-200lens. 1/25oth sec. a t 8 using Kedac hreme 64. Phete plane flewnby Bruce Meere.

    http:///reader/full/Unien.ILhttp:///reader/full/Unien.IL
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    EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSICCHAPTER 16The regular monthly meeting of A/CChapter 16 for July 20th was held at thehangar of member Bob Gandy on thefield at Olathe Johnson County Airport,Kansas. During the summer months weopt for cookouts and flying in place ofhot and stuffy meeting rooms. It seemsto work for us Shown in the picturesare:Left to Right) Mike Elder, M.W."Bill" Kirklin, Art "Doc" Lindquist,Lee Brown, Bob Gandy Jerry Gippner(Chapter 16 President), and Joe Ritch(Chapter 16 Newsletter Editor) . DocLindquist was showing the progress onhis Fokker D.VII.Harold Neumann in front of his

    Monocoupe "Little Mulligan", whichlooks like a miniature version of the"Mr. Mulligan" he flew when he wonthe 1935 Thompson Trophy race.Frank E BlascolC 5 78A/C Chapter 16 TreasurerKansas City, MO

    HERE COME THECONTEMPORARY CLASSAIRPLANESDear Butch,We are very glad to see the plans for

    Members of Antique/Classic hapter 6 investigate the progress on member DocLindquist's Fokker D.VII replica.

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    (3roW!iHere are the award winners fromEAA Oshkosh '91. t was a record year

    for Antique and Classic attendance (atotal of 855 antique and classic aircraftregistered) . Congratulations to all whoparticipatedANTIQUE AWARDSGRAND CHAMPION - Harold andBob Armstrong, Rawlings, MD, 1927Pitcarin PA-4, C-326 1.RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION- Bob Lindley, Zellwood, FL, 1936Stinson SR-8E, NC16164.Silver Age (1928-1932)CHAMPION - R. W. BuzzKaplan, Owatonna, MN, 1929 CurtissRobin, NC292E.

    RUNNER-UP - Bill Watson, Collinsville, OK, 1928 Kreider-ReisnerKR-31, NC7780.OUTST ANDING OPEN COCKPIT BIPLANE - Arlene Beard, Fresno,CA, 1928 Bird, N14K.

    OUTSTANDING CLOSEDCOCKPIT BIPLANE - Richard S.Grigsby, Pacific Palisades, CA, 1932Waco UEC, NC18613.OUTST ANDING CLOSEDCOCKPIT MONOPLANE - Robert J.Hedgecock, Barnesville, GA, 1929Stinson SM-2AA, NC8471.

    compiled by H.G. Frautschy

    T. Baker, Effingham, IL, 1941Taylorcraft, N29654.World War II Era (1942-1945)CHAMPION - Rick Atkins, Placerville, CA, 1942 Howard DGA, N67722.

    Customized AircraftCHAMPION - Jerry A. Brown,

    Franklin, IN, 1941 Waco UPF-7,NC32080.RUNNER-UP - Frank W. Kerner, St.Louis, MO, 1936 Monocoupe 90A,NC11793.OUTSTANDING - Dick Farina,

    Washington, DC, 1945 BuckerJungmann, NX21RF.Transport Category

    CHAMPION - Michae l Araldi ,Lakeland, FL, 1941 Lockheed 12A,N33650.RUNNER-UP - US Air, WinstonSalem, NC, 1942 Douglas DC-3, N44V.OUTSTANDING - Continental Historical Society, Dallas, TX, 1940Douglas DC-3, NC25673.

    WW-II Military Trainer/Liaison AircraftCHAMPION - Tom Dietrich,Kitchener, Ont., Canada, 1941 DeHavilland Tiger Moth, CF-CTN.RUNNER-UP - Jim Rahn, Guelph,Ont., Canada, 1941 DeHavilland Tiger

    BEST CLASS II (81-150 HP) - DickPedersen, Tony, WI, Luscombe T8F,N211G.BEST CLASS III (151 HP ANDABOVE) - Paul Doughterty and PaulDoughterty, Jr ., Warrington, PA,Cessna 195, N195PD.

    BEST CUSTOM CLASS A (0-80HP) - Donald E. Claude, Dekalb, IL ,Taylorcraft, N96440.BEST CUSTOM CLASS B (81-150HP) - Scott Cox, Ft. Lauderdale, FL,Cessna 120, N2460N.BEST CUSTOM CLASS C 151HP AND ABOVE) - D. Scott Anderson, Etowah, TN, Swift, N80555.

    Outstanding In TypeAERONCA CHAMP - Richard

    Lyon and Fred Price, Onalga, IL,NC81455 .AERONCA CHIEF - Wilbur Hostetler and Ray Johnson, Marion , IN,N3469E.BEECHCRAFT - Georgene and

    Don McDonough, Palos Hills, IL,Bonanza N5186C.CESSNA 120/140 - Jack Cronin,Denver, CO, 140A, N9405A.CESSNA 170/180 - Lerdy Geisert,Medford, NJ, 180, N1564C.

    CESSNA 190/195 RobertSkingley, Westland, MI, 195, N2126C.ERCOUPE - James Retzlaff, WestBend, WI, N94426.

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    V I ~ T A 3 ~ L I T ~ l 2 A T U l 2 ~by )ennis V a r k s ~

    Library/Archives)irect )r

    Sopwith Schneider racer of 1929 with450 p Jupiter radial engine

    THE N TION L IR R CESTHE GOLDEN GE (Pt. 8DIVERSIONS

    Though the National Air Races werethe highlight of what we consider theGolden Age of air racing, there wereother significant events. Among othersignificant events of the 1930 s era wasthe end of the Schneider competition in

    with his interest in hydroplane racingand when Schneider was no longer ableto compete in racing through an accident, he became a promoter of aviationsporting events. In an effort to promotethe development of seaplanes he established the Schneider Trophy contest.This seaplane competition was to bea contest between national aero clubs

    be declared its permanent holder and theseries of contests would be terminated.The first contest held in Monaco in1913 was won by Frenchman MauricePrevost who flew a Deperdussin to aspeed of 45.8 mph. Over the years therace was to see a wide variety ofseaplanes built by aviation companiesand entered for the competition. Along

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    Curtiss R3C 4 with 685 hp Curtiss V 1550 ngin . The Cu rtiss R3C2 with which Lt . Doolittle won the 1925Schneider Contest.

    among the winners as late as 1925 whenthe Curtiss R3C-2 with Jimmy Doolittlewon at a speed of 232.6 mph. However,it was the aerodynamically clean, highlypowered monoplanes which became thesymbols of the Schneider Trophy, withSupermarine and Macchi designspowered by Napier, Rolls-Royce, Fiatand Isotta-Franchini engines whichbrought racing seaplane performance toits peak, a peak which is still unsurpassed today as the world's speedrecord for seaplanes set in 1935 stillstands.

    THE LAST SCHNEIDERIt was 1931, the year of the SecondThompson Trophy and the first Bendixrace, that saw the twelfth and finalSchneider contest. Great Britain hadthe opportunity of retiring the trophy intheir possession having won in 1927 andin 1929. The winning speed in 1929was 328.63 mph. Comparing this to the

    winning speed of the 1931 Thompsonwhich was 236.24 mph by LowellBayles in the Gee Bee Z and the winningspeed of 223 .04 in the Bendix by

    Doolittle in the Super Solution showsthat the land planes still had a way to goto catch up with seaplane performance.There are several ironies involvedwith Britain's victory in 1931. The firstis that in spite of the fact of how wellknown the Schneider competition wasfor fostering the Spitfire fighter, SirHugh Trenchard, Marshal of the RoyalAir Force, three days after the 1929victory opposed any future involvementin the efforts to win and to retain theSchneider Trophy writing, I can see novalue in it.The British Cabinet did vote not toprovide any funds for the 1931 competition leaving private enterprise to provide the money for any venture.Fortunately for Britain funding didcome forth, mainly from Lady Houston,who provided around $485,000.Another irony was, in spite of all theeffort to redesign and build two newSupermarine S.6B racers to take thenew Rolls-Royce engines, the effortwas not needed as there was no competition. However, the effort did result innew closed course speed record foreither land or seaplane of 340.1 mph.

    The world's straightaway record forseaplanes was held with the Schneiderrace, though not part of it In this eventa Supermarine S.6B set a record averageof 407 mph with a fast lap flown at 409.5mph.Another irony is that the UnitedStates could probably have retired thetrophy in 1925 had it not cancelled the1924 contest for lack of competition.This would have ensured two victoriesfor the United States and in 1925 withforeign competition the United Statesblew the competition away with Doolittle and the Curtiss R3C-2.

    US ABSENTLike the British government in 1929,the United States decided in 1925 not tocontinue to pursue the SchneiderTrophy, but, unlike them, no privatefunds were sought or forthcoming. Inan article in the October 1931 issue ofAERO DIGEST, Frank Tichenor lamented the absence of Americanentries.The American situation with regardto this great speed contest is regrettablein the extreme. We were not repre

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    Supermarine S 6B winner of the last Schneider Contest in This Supermarine S6 won the 1929 Schneider Trophy1931petently would have cost money, yes;but it will cost us more, in the event ofwar, not to have behind us what participation in this race would havetaught.

    LONDON-MELBOURNE RACEWORLD'S GREATEST RACEUnlike the lack of interest that wasshown towards the Schneider Trophycontest after 1925, there was strong interest shown in the United States for theMacRobertson challenge.The idea of a race from London toMelbourne came from the Mayor ofMelbourne in 1932. The state of Victoria was planning to celebrate the centenary of its founding in 1834. TheMayor suggested that one of the eventsshould be an air race to show how airtransport had brought Australia closer toits mother country.The idea was taken up by a millionaire Australian sweets manufacturerSir Macpherson Robertson, or MacRobertson as he liked to be called. Theroute was from London to Melbournevia Marseille, Rome, Athens, Baghdad,Allahabad, Calcutta, Rangoon,Bangkok, Singapore, Darwin and otherintermediate stops.The race was quite an undertakingwith a course through eight countries,

    attempted by an aircraft - is the routethat over sixty airplanes, ranging fromsmall sportplanes to giant high-speedtransports, will take in the latter part ofOctober, when they vie for first honorsin the international MacRobertson race.An astonishing fact is that, of thesixty-odd machines entered in the flight,over twenty are American built - manyof them being flown by Americans,several by foreign pilots. All theses?ips of American origin have had verylittle altering or 'souping up. '

    No greater tribute could be paidAmerican aeronautical engineers thanwas when a number of foreign aircraftcompanies and pilots - all of them withaccess to the best flying equipment intheir home countries - placed their orders for standard American airplanesand announced that they would fly theseships against all the special long-distance racers that have been built byEuropean contestants.

    Lockheed and Douglas are theAmerican favorites. Wiley Post hasentered his 'Winnie Mae,' a three-yearold Lockheed Vega, and has altered hisship only to install a supercharger andspecial tanks. Finishing touches arebeing put on an Orion at the Lockheedfactory at Burbank which will be flownby Laura Ingalls, while Ruth Nichols is

    planning to race a Lockheed Altair.Foreign pilots who will fly Lockheeds are Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith,the Australian ace, who has just takendelivery on his Altair; James Woodsprominent English sportsman pilot willfly the late Glen Kidston's three-yearold Vega; and Michel Detroyat, Frenchace, who purchased a standard Orionlast year and will install a Hispano

    Suiza radial engine for the race.According to announced plans,Harold Gany, of the famous Post-Gattyround-the-world team, will fly a standard Douglas DC-2 in the event. AnotherDC-2 has been entered by the Dutchairline, K L M., and will be flown bytwo of that lines crack pilots.It was first thought that Col. RoscoeTurner would also fly a Douglas but heand Clyde Pangborn recently announced that they had altered their plansand have now teamed up to fly a Boeing247D airliner, identical to the ships nowin use on United Air Lines. Pangbornhad earlier announced his intentions ofpiloting a special Gee Bee in the race.

    The official entry list contained 64entries. t included 8 American, 7British, 12 from Australia and NewZealand, 7 French, 4 Dutch, 2 Italianand 1 each German , Portuguese,

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    the MacRobertson Race in the Boeing 247

    Swedish and Danish. The aircraft listedincluded 24 American planes and 27planes equipped with American engines.

    RULES AND REGULATIONSThere were two concurrent races inMacRobertson competition, a SpeedRace and a Handicap Race. The SpeedRace contestants were to land at sixpredetermined checkpoints along theroute. The winner would be the first

    races.THE VICTORSBlazing across the sky from Londonto Melbourne, the aptly named DeHavilland "Comet" of C W. A. Scottand T Campbell Black arrived at thefinish in Australia after 70 hours and 54minutes at an average speed of 159miles per hour. They had spent 53 hoursand 52 minutes in the air for an average

    of 180 mph.Britain's Comet was conceived,designed, built and tested in an amazingnine months - all for one purpose - to

    win the MacRobertson. Three of theseslick aircraft were built for the race, onewon, one placed fourth and the third wasforced out in Karachi. Beautiful, slimand fast the Comet caught the attentionof the world and its aerodynamics andwooden structure would lead directly tothe formidable World War II Mosquitobomber.Almost as surprising as the Comet'srecord was the second place finish of theDutch entered Douglas DC-2 flown byRoyal Dutch Airline pilots Paramentierand Moll. They did this while flying theregular K. L. M air route to Batavia,carrying passengers and 30,000 lettersfor an elapsed time of 90 hours and 13minutes. The response to this Douglastwin-engined transport was so great thatK. L. M. ordered ten more DC-2s.

    In a result that reinforced the state ofmodem air transport, the Turner andPangborn Boeing 247 of United AirLines finished third with an elapsedtime of 92 hours 55 minutes for anaverage speed of 121.5 mph.

    VICTORYThe British publication FLIGHT'seditorial of October 25, 1934 exaltedtheir country's victory in the MacRobertson.

    "We have won. Bravo Scott BravoCampbell Bravo DeHavillandsBravo all others who helped in the magnificent achievement

    "This has been the greatest longrace in the whole history of flying . Itmeans so much that for the momentthe brain almost reels in thinking outall that it does mean. Our first thoughtmust be that British design has onceagain been vindicated. When GreatBritain made the effort, she won the F

    Clyde Pangborn and Roscoe Turner third place finishers of

    aircraft to cross thefinish line near Melbourne. The Handicap Race alsorequired landings atcontrol points but allowed "time outs" tobe taken at stops at approximately 500 mileintervals along theroute.The Handicap Racewinner would be thecontestant with thelowest actual flyingtime less a handicapallowance time computed by the length ofthe race divided by aformula. The Handicap formula wasdevised to favor efficient airplanes carrying useful loads. Nineaircraft were enteredin the Speed Race, 27in the Handicap Raceand 28 entered in both

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    Harold and Bob rmstrong in theirwhite Pitcairn coveralls pose with theirAntique Grand Champion Pitcairn PA-4Fleetwing by H.G. FrautschyWow What a turnout There waslittle extra grass to be found after all theparking of the Antiques and Classicsthat came to EAA Oshkosh '91. Blessedwith good flying weather from thecentral midwest out to the west coast,many airplanes that had n the past beenstopped by the weather were able tomake it to the south half of Wittman

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    a0.0.:J

    ou

    Jimmy Younkin wowed em during thedaRy alrshow with his smooth aerobatlcroutine in t is Beech 18

    The proud aptain of the ChampionTransport Category aircraft, Mike Araldi.the National Waco Club, as One ofthe

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    8 ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ r = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~

    ot: Navions, Navions . . . The new parkingot= arrangements must have satisfied a numo: ber of aircraft owners, as a record 150antiques and 705 classics came to roosto within the friendly confines of theJohn MacPherson and his 1940 Harlow Sam James and David Solvachek rest on Antique/Classic parking area.PJC-2, Serial number 7. the wing o f their Grand hampion ClassicBeechcraf t C35 Bonanza.

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    a.:Js:ou The "Flagship of the Navion Fleet", Larry Woodfin's 1949 RyanNavion.

    5uTwo Porterfields from California Leroy Blum flew from Glenda le,CA. Glenn Peck kept him company with Lane stuart's Porter-field from San Luis Obisbo.rom Athol, Idaho, this rare Fairchild 45, named the "Lake CityLady" brought Roger Dunham and his friend Ray Fagre. Rogerflew the Fairchild to Oshkosh as part of a local fund raising effort

    Richard Lyon and Fred Price did it again with their "Outstanding inType" eronca 7 CChamp.

    Jack Shahan pauses by his Reserve Grand Champion ClassicCessna 140A.

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    -____________________________________________

    aJo

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    SECOND CHANCE -

    ISLAND HOPPIN IN ATAYLORCRAFT

    In 1984, things were looking badlyfor 1946 Taylorcraft N96970. Aftermany years and approximately 3,000hours in the air as a floatplane - theequivalent of eight times around theglobe - the plane was bashed in the tailand severely damaged by a fishing boatat Sitka, Alaska. The insurance company totalled the airplane, but the ownerthought it deserved a second chance andkept it for a time before selling it to ahopeful new owner who never quitefound the funds to pay for it He did,

    by Dave BarnettEAA 350551, le 15585)where a rock fragment remained hiddeninside until the wing was recovered . Towind things up right, D.O.T. neglectedto tie it down, but, fortunately, there wasenough rainwater in the floats to keepthe plane from blowing over in thewind.

    It seemed as though someone haddecided 970 had no right to live; afterall, it had been under attack by sea, landand air. But things were about to turnaround for 970.Stits materials were barged up fromSeattle, and replacement tail surfacesrecovered in Juneau with DI03 fabricand painted Juneau White, using Stits

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    Poly tone. In Juneau, Paul Frantz, alocal lA, oversaw my work and lentencouragement while, in Wrangell,another lA, Joel Tegeler, inspected theplane and helped get a ferry permit. Joelhad a Taylorcraft of his own, N5057M,which had been in the family fordecades and he knew the planes well.His Taylorcraft was beautifully restoredlong before the work on 97 wasfinished.Most of the summer was spent ingetting the plane ready for that oneflight to Juneau, but by August theweather - always a factor in normallywet southeast Alaska - was turningsour and it wasn t until September 5that the flight was possible. Joel andanother mechanic helped move the

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    Not quite yet fully restored N96970 rests in the rain at the Wrangell Airport.

    With new tail feathers and one new strut 970 was rolled out for the launch ramp butweather delayed the flight.

    and home to Juneau, it was time to giveit a go.We shouldn t have sweated it; theplane flew off the water without a hitchand climbed steadily away from Wrangell Island, the C85 engine runningflawlessly - in part, thanks to the carburetor Joel had lent to the project forthis flight. The plane was slightly out ofrig, but otherwise a delight to fly. Thetwo hour flight was uneventful and uponarrival, I phoned Joel so he could uncross his fingers.Although I didn t know it at the time,Roy Cagle got a picture of 970 as itlooked that day in 1984. Roy is alongtime pilot and photographer. Aretired crop duster who made his livingwith Snow agplanes, he is veryknowledgeable about antique/classicsand seldom passes up a chance tophotograph one. We eventually became acquainted and have since flownseveral times in the Taylorcraft, but Ididn t see Roy s photo until 1990 whenhe happened to mention it Roy has afondness for Taylorcrafts, havingowned one himself.

    John Scott, another aviation enthusiast, helped disassemble 970 andstored the floats at his house. He eventually got his license and bought anairplane, proving that aviation is trulyinfectious. Over the next two years, 18months were spent - evenings andweekends - restoring 970. The effortand expense were discouraging, but myvery understanding wife was alwayssupportive and the plane was finallycompleted, both as a floatplane andwheelplane - the first time it had beenon wheels since 1956.

    t was my one and only aircraft restoration project. f I had it to do overagain, I d certainly change one thing:the tinted windshield. Tinting is an

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    Nine seven zero t rest in the shore of the Yukon river in far western Alaska near thevillage of Kaltag.waxed twice a year.After the restoration, 970 has beenflown about 300 hours in Alaska,British Columbia and the Yukon, mostlyon floats. The plane is noisy, cold,cramped and a lot of fun to fly . Itslongest trip was a three week jaunt thatstarted in Juneau, went up the Stikine

    and Pelly Rivers and covered most ofthe length of the Yukon River to farwestern Alaska and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Round trip took about 60hours of tach time. The only problemwith the plane was a broken bracket onthe single, over-sized rudder. Colin"Brownie" Brown, a floatplane pilot in

    Galena, fixed that in short order andwouldn't accept any payment. That'sone of the best things about flying, youmeet good people as well as get to goplaces.One day in Juneau, I compared noteson small floatplanes with Paul Wescott.Paul is the owner/builder of an AvidFlyer on floats (featured in EAA s "Experimenter" magazine), based - like970 - at Auke Lake. Paul liked theproven design of the Taylorcraft and thefour-cycle engine, while the foldingwings and spectacular performance ofthe Avid got my attention. Looking atthe two of them, you soon realize theyhave a lot in common - no surprisesince the Avid designer, Dean Wilson,has been known to commute to work ina plane designed by C. G. Taylor: aT-Craft.

    Of the two planes, 970 has a longerhistory, of course. Once a trainer atKenmore Air Harbor in Washingtonstate, 970 has been helping pilots tolearn float flying and simply takingpeople places now for 45 years. After atotal of something like 4,000 hours inthe air and three or four rebuilds, it 's stilla useful airplane and has surely provenit deserves a second chance.

    FLOATF'LYING TAYLORCRAFTAnlphlibitOUS OHer towers over theIn southeast Alas-

    boutfloatfigure doubles when a passenger isaboard, and 5 to 40 seconds is a typicaltime. A Taylorcraft pilot soon learns totravel light and avoid the smaller lakeswhen there's a passenger aboard; however, as Paul Frantz observed, it's a funplane to fly if the pilot will "work withthe airplane."When heavily loaded, standard prac

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    is carried on the seat next to the pilot.This keeps the c.g. well forward whereit must be for a water takeoff. Bulkyloads can be accommodated by removing the control yoke and U-joint (if notremoved, the U-joint might jam the controls) on the left side. Yes, that 's normally the pilot's side. Float equippedand without electro-mechanical starter,it makes sense to fly a Taylorcraft fromthe passenger side. That way, the passenger can stay seated on the left whilethe pilot back-props the engine and thengets in without disturbing anyone or thecargo, as the case may be.Hand-propping any airplane shouldbe approached with caution, but the little Continentals are usually among thevery easiest to start. Actually, withmodern handheld radios, there is nopressing need for an electrical systemwith starter and generator, but one canbe added to most T -Crafts alreadyequipped with an accessory case on theengine and a long motor mount. Thereis a weight penalty, and the parts arecostly . T-Crafts with short motormounts can be recognized by their pugnoses, about four inches shorter than theothers.Taylorcrafts are willing performers.One pilot of an 85 hp Taylorcaft told me- and I believe him - that he once gotaT-Craft airborne with 900 pounds init That's twice the normal, useful load.This was at sea level, of course, but thetakeoff run must have been somethingto behold. The simple fact is, the earlymodel Taylorcrafts with their huge baggage compartments will hold more thanthey ought to if the plane is to fly.In addition to existing flight conditions and pilot skill, several things in

    fluence performance besides the limitedhorsepower of the little Continental engines. The EDO 1320's are well madefloats that only knock off 10 mph, asopposed to cruise speed on wheels, butthey act more like water skis than floatswhen heavily loaded - and this seemsto make the takeoff effort go upgeometrically as the weight increases.EDO 1400's, although seldom seen,were certificated for 65 and 85 hpTaylorcrafts, and bigger floats wouldhelp reduce takeoff runs. By way ofcomparision, the F-19 Taylorcaft withthe 100 hp Continental-0200 is certificated with 1500's, and Aqua 1500 floatsare often used. The 115 and 180 hpLycoming powered Taylorcrafts apparently use Aqua 1500's or 1800's,according to the advertising brochuresput out by Taylorcraft Aircraft Corporation in Lock Haven, Pennslyvania. Latemodel Taylorcrafts should be excellentperformers on floats, well able to compete with the likes of Super Cubs, Christen Huskies and Artic Terns. It sgratifying to see this old favoriteupgraded at last.The propeller installed is also a factor, and a big one. The standardseaplane prop - McCauley 71 x 44, asused on 970 - limits takeoff RP.M. toonly a bit over 2300 RP.M. Since theengine is rated at 2575, the engine isonly developing 60 hp. A flatter pitchprop would get the RP .M up to a moreuseful range and probably wouldn't hurtcruise performance all that much. Theairframe makes efficient use to 85 hp,cruising at an indicated 85 to 90 mph at2200 to 2300 R.P.M. depending onloading and flight conditions, whileburning five gallons an hour of car gas.

    f 85 mph on 85 hp doesn't sound veryspeedy, c'onsider the Cessna 150 onEDO 1650 s once owned by PaulFrantz. It cruised at 105 mph on 150 hp .John Buck of Kinetics, Inc. in Britt,Iowa has been trying for some time toget FAA approval to use the Roby, acontrollable pitch prop, on 970. Thiswould allow the engine to develop fullpower. Unfortunately, the Roby wasnever certificated with the 85 hp Continental in this application, although itwas approved on Taylorcafts with the65 hp Continental and the 85 to 100 hpContinentals in other applications. Thisvery interesting propeller was designedfor tapered crankshafts, and an adapteris available to make them usable onmost small Continental engines evenwith the flanged crank. f and when theForm 337 is approved, a Roby prop willgo on the nose of 970. It should increaseperformance dramatically.

    Late production Taylorcrafts with115 or 180 hp Lycomings and flaps arebound to be outstanding performers onfloats, but the older models with Continental engines of up to 100 hp offerreasonable performance at lower cost.For sport flying - provided the pilotknows his own and the plane's limitations _.. the older Taylorcrafts are goodbets. you know how to go about it andare willing to work with the airplane, theContinental powered Taylorcrafts willget you where you want to goAnyone interested in Taylorcraftswould be smart to contact the type club,a great source of information :Taylorcraft Owner s Club, 12809Greenbower, N. E., Alliance, OH44601.

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    After the damage to the aft fuselage was repaired the entire area was sandblasted.1/8 holes and filling them with poprivets after adding the oil. It s less convenient this way, but the welding, whichwould have bumed off some of the existing aluminumizing, was avoided.Incidentally, spraying Aerothane orany other urethane can be damaging toyour health, and its toxic effects arecumulative. A respirator wasn't available, so I tried scuba gear, which JohnScott generously let me use. t was a bitawkward but worked very well.The stabilizers were coated in thesame way as the fuselage, including inside oiling, using corks to close the openends and keep the oil inside. The trailing edge of the elevators is made up of

    Usual practice is to then install thebrackets and glue the fabric right to thebrackets, but, in a saltwater environment, this invites corrosion cutting ofthe metal under the fabric as soon as theglue loosens and takes the protectivecoatings with it This was the case withevery one of the existing brackets. On970, a hole was cut around each bracketin the aluminum skin just big enough towrap the fabric through. This keeps thefabric away from the magnesium andprolongs the life of the brackets byyears.AN fasteners were coated with greaseto inhibit rust. Open gear lube workswell, especially if the fastener is under

    corrosion of exposed metal, the boarding steps were first given the usual coatings and then heavy heatshrink tubingwas applied where your foot falls. Theflying wires were treated in a similarway, except for top-coating them withurethane and sealing them inside clearheat-shrink tubing. This provides someprotection against stone damage, andthe wires can still be closely inspectedover their entire length. Of course, thetop wires are exposed to sunlight and theheat shrink will deteriorate sooner orlater, but it does no harm when it simplycracks and falls off. Stainless flyingwires weren't available but would havebeen preferable.

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    Editors Note: These days, CarlSwickley is the Director of the EMAviation Foundation's Air AdventureMuseum His involvement in antiqueand classic aircraft goes back a fewyears, as told in this article he submittedover 15 years ago. At that time he wasthe Commander of the U S CoastGuard Air Station at Port Angeles,Washington. We recently rediscoveredthis article during our office move, andare happy to present it to you now. Hiswords ring true today as they did backwhen this was written. Surprise, CarlHGF

    The Interest Germinatesf someone had told me a year ago that

    by Carlton W. SwickleyEAA 99734)members) came to town in Barrett'sN3N. A fascinating evening was spenthangar flying and hearing them talk ofrestoring their N3N. I was exposed tothe world of antique aircraft. Their enthusiasm made an indelible impression.Here was a facet of aviation I had neverbeen close to. The more they talked, themore I began to feel a rapport with thevarious goals, attitudes and sense ofreward which were apparently a part ofthe mystique of the "antiquer." Theyhad a simple solution to what I thoughtwas a complex question - "How doyou decide what plane to buy?" "Justgo to a few air shows and fly-ins," theyadvised, "and sooner or later, you'll seesomething that will strike a nerve deep

    and Fairchild PT-19's painted up in theold Army Air Corps and Navy colorswere also very appealing and hadthe advantage of being financially possible.As I continued to pour over the reading material, I began to notice that theredidn't appear to be any old Coast Guardrestorations. Now this was to me, withmy Coast Guard background, an unfortunate omission. My reading showedthat in the 1930-1940 era, the CoastGuard operated a number of interesting,economical small aircraft in addition tothe multi-engine patrol planes. Suchmarques as Waco, Stinson, Fairchildand Lockheed were among those represented. Curiosity led me to place an ad

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    Eg( )

    .,;:;;These two pictures inspired Carl Swickley to begin his search for a Coast Guard Fairchild. The aircraft on the left, a J2K-l USCG No.160 was purchased in March, 1937 and was destroyed in a crash in August, 1940. The aircraft on the right, a J2K-2, USCG No. 163was purchased in May 1937 and lost in May, 1941.though it has a long and proud aviationhistory (did you know surfmen from thenearby Lifesaving Station helped theWright brothers launch their first flight?Or that a Coast Guard Officer copilotedthe famous NC-4? , it never hasreceived much publicity. I resolvedthat, if I did get involved in this foolishantique aircraft thing, the world wasgoing to have a Coast Guard restorationto behold. The SearchWell, the air show season finallystarted and at my second show, I saw IT.IT was a Fairchild F24R46 (N81234)sporting a FOR SALE sign. The buybug hit hard Now all those maliciousmental mechanisms which workwonders to convince us we ought to goahead and do - no, MUST do - thosethings which in practical moments ofsanity we know we shouldn ' t do, set in .For a reasonable price, I rationalized, Icould show the family all the joys sofamiliar to birdmen but not even imagined by mere earthlings as well as ownthe world's first Coast Guard restorationreplica antique. And since F24s wereappreciating, wouldn't it be a good investment?

    Now I've never been the sort to beeasily taken in by snake oil salesmen orshifty swampland developers and wasnot about to leap into this unknown tooquickly. Getting a "feel" for the usedFairchild market seemed to be in order.Investigations were made, mostly byphone, into Trade-a-Plane F24s fromChicago to California and a"WANTED" ad was placed in WesternFlyer. As this self-education processwent on through the winter, negotiationscontinued with the owner of N81234including a ride (first impression: a realwell mannered queen; great control feel)and an inspection by my mechanic (excellent condition, no detectableproblems). While the haggling processwas going on, I decided to build theGuillows model of the Fairchild. Theobject was twofold: to see the F-24 inthree dimensions and to try out the CoastGuard color scheme. The results werepleasing and served to solidify my plans.I was amazed at the good advicefriends and members of the local EAAChapter freely gave. In particular, Dr.Rod Nixon (EAA 27725) served as confidant, chief of inspiration and general

    morale booster throughout the project.It was a tough decision to resolvewhether to go Ranger or Warner. TheRanger won out for two reasons: (1)scarcity of Warner parts and 2) theCoast Guard J2K-l was Rangerpowered. Two F24Rs were bought outfrom under my nose when I delayednegotiations pending an inspection by amechanic representing me. Lesson:good deals do not last long.

    The PurchaseIn the spring, N81234's owner and Ifinally got together on a price. Actingon a friend's advice, I had AOPA makea title search. What a sound move thatwas Title to N81234 was about asclean as a Ranger oil strainer after 25hours of operation. (That's not veryclean to you non-Ranger types.) All theramifications of clearing a messy titleseemed insurmountable to a first timeplane buyer. The services of a lawyerseemed wise at this point. One washired and although the title could not beentirely cleared, we were able, with theowner's full cooperation, to tidy thingsup to where my interests were adequately protected. The sale was then con

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    sumated. Now I experienced anotherinteresting thing. Those practical andcautious mental mechanisms which hadso long been suppressed by the buy bugforces now surged to the front and myfeet suddenly felt very cold. Oh, wellThe papers were signed and the onlychoice available was to press on with theproject.

    The RestorationOnly six days were available to get thefeel of this bird before the annual expiredand the restoration work undertaken .Four hours were enough to take a fewlaps around the field and safely complete

    22 landings, no small feat after 17 yearsaway from taildraggers. Then it wasinto-the-hangar-and-open-it-up for anintense look-see by my trusty A&E. Ialready had a short work list preparedand, as things were disassembled andopened up, new items were added to thelist. "Friends" dropped by for a look andhelpfully - often it seemed gleefully pointed out items which should be corrected. The list grew longer and longerwith each passing friend; my spirits fellsteadily lower. The practical andcautious mental mechanisms were nowlaughing at me, I told you so." Oh, howit hurt After four days of friendly inspections, I rebelled by offering to leteach kibitzer fix anything he felt neededix in . The results were amazing. Nomore discrepancies were noted and thelist stopped growing.Now it was just between the A&E and

    me - his advice I was paying for Theannual revealed absolutely no major discrepancies and I was made to feel veryfortunate about this fact. Yet, to aneophyte the existing list of 48 itemsseemed overwhelming. Many of thetasks required parts and information research = time, time and more time.Removing an assembly for repair oftenrevealed a new area in need of attention.All these surprising insights are wellknown to the experienced antiquer. As

    extension f) refinish and balancepropeller (g) replace cracked cabindeck (h) gyro inoperable (requiredoverhaul) (i) loose aileron bellcrank (j)birdnests in wingCorrecting of these and other minorproblems presented no great technicaldifficulties. The main requirement wasthe investment of large man-hour doses.Volunteer help came and was greatlyappreciated.By this time word had gotten around asto the momentous project that was underway in the 01 hangar and an interestingthing began to happen. Greybeard aviation people, especially retired Coasties,frequently dropped by to have a look at anold friend of days gone by. Meaning theF-24, not me. A retired Coast Guardmechanic announced one day, to my greatsurprise, that he had worked on the I Ksat St. Petersburg Air Station back in 1936and he had brought me something I mightfmd of interest. He then handed me asmall yellowing booklet. My eyeballsstrained at their moorings when I saw thewords on the cover - "Instructions ForPainting USCG Aircraft - 1936." Manyhours of research in a friend's aviationlibrary had given me a fairly good idea ofthe color scheme, but this was too muchHere was the detailed information neededto properly paint a I2K-1 replica exactlyright. For an encore, he liberated a stackof manuals from basement storage andbrought them to me. Covered were partscross-reference manuals, starters, generators, general repair methods for woodfabric aircraft, etc. All from the 1930-40era.

    N81234 was already covered withgrade A and butyrate dope. After sanding extensively, which in this case wasthe most time consuming part of theproject, and an all hands family evolution, Stits Aerothane was applied. It

    would be well to point out that thesquare feet needing sanding ran out justabout the same time as the family's collective fmgertips. I found the Stits factory people very cooperative andhelpful and the paint turned out to be asadvertised. Thus far it is holding upwell though some of my friendly advisors expressed concern about applying polyurethane over dope .The Rewards

    At exactly twice the estimated timefor doing the annual restoration, the official roll-out took place followed by asuccessful run up. Next came an uneventful test flight which served to giveme an ever-so-small taste of the feelinga homebuilder must get on the maidenflight of his creation. (It is amazing howsoon the blood returns to one's knucklesand the self-congratulatory basking setsin.) N81234, now known as 12K-1V160, and I go t further acquainted in theair and it was time for the round ofsummer air shows and fly-ins in thenorthwest. The Coast Guard paint jobcaused comments wherever we went butthe high point was a 1st place categorytrophy at the Northwest Antique AircraftClub annual fly-in at Evergreen,Washington. There were other resultstoo. Working on the Fairchild gave mean insight, as no written words could, ofaviation technology of the 1930s, an agewhere custom craftsmanship still meantsomething. This beautiful workmanship, as well as an aircraft quality wecould call "character," has apparentlybeen sacrificed to the pressures of lowerproduction costs. Some would call thatprogress. Such serious philosophicalmatters are better set aside for now as itis suddenly 1936 again . . . the 12K andI fly off into the sunset having completedanother lifesaving mission for the CoastGuard

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    :TAILS OF THE GREAT LAKES

    As the title to this piece suggests, itwas inspired not so much by the originalMystery Plane article in the February99 issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANEbut by the answers published in the following May issue. Since the materialthat appears in the Mystery Plane seriesis likely to be used as a reference byothers, we owe it to them to be as accurate as possible. It appears that a lot

    by ill Madden(EAA 8827, Ale 4949)has been fortunate enough to be able todo a side-by-side comparison of thecomponents from two original GreatLakes Trainers. One aircraft is NC915N, Serial Number 145. This is anoriginal, basically unmodified, "smalltail" ship while the other is NC 11324,a "big-tail" model Serial Number 241.So, if you are a devotee of the GreatLakes, dig out your February and May

    straight edge along the top wing in thephoto of our Mystery Plane you will seethat a trace of the dihedral is still visible.the camera had been just a little higherthe illusion would have been complete.Let's now assume that the readerdoesn't buy the above explanation. Hemust then tell us why the airplane in thephoto is sporting a set of tail feathersthat hasn't been invented yet. There are

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    P OTO

    inches at the root, adding a rib betweenthe root rib and the old second rib andchanging the tail brace wire attach pointso that the wire length did not change.Photo 2 shows how close the two matchfrom the tip to the bend in the front spar.Notice also that the ribs in the late stylewere beefed-up by either riveting twoold-style ribs back-to-back or going to aheavier gauge aluminum. In ourMystery Plane, the outer four ribs showthis back-to-back treatment while S N24 only has three done this way.

    t needs to be mentioned here, so asnot to mislead a future restorer, thatthere appears to be a 62 year-old factorymistake on the stablizer for Serial Number 145. In Photo 1 the holes drilled inthe rear spar for the inboard elevatorstrap hinge missed the wood filler blockinside the tubular spar. The block isactually located between the two blacklines just inboard of the holes. A comparison with a second set of small tailsurfaces, which the author once had,indicated that the filler block location

    was probably correct but that the holelocation was wrong on this particularstab. It is interesting that even thoughthese spars are aluminum, the bolt holesdid not enlarge any more than they didin almost 900 hours of logged flighttime.Photo 3 shows a comparison of theelevators from the same two aircraft.The late style elevator is basically astretched version of the early type inwhich the outer half has been movedoutboard and an extra rib added to fillthe resulting void in the middle. Thechord remained the same, however, thestrength of the late style rib was improved by nesting two of the old styleribs face-to-face, one inside the other, toform a box cross section. Again, thelocation of the inboard hinge on thesmall elevator is probably incorrect dueto the apparent error on the stabilizer.At this point we should bring up thedifference in the tail surface hinges.Note that the late style used the pintleand-gudgeon system that is seen on

    most all Great Lakes today. All of thesmall tail control surfaces that theauthor has seen to date have used straphinges. These wrap around the controlsurface spars and bolt to the fin or stabspars with phenolic spacers separatingthem and acting as bearing blocks .These small rudders and elevators haveall had steel spars instead of aluminum,no doubt to resist the wear inherent inthe strap type hinge system. The introduction of the newer hinge on the latestyle tail allowed a weight saving bypermitting the use of aluminum spars inthe rudder and elevators.By now the reader has, hopefully,taken a hard look at the Mystery Planephoto and concluded that this is a bigtail version based on the number of ribsand the presence of the pintle-andgudgeon hinge system. If not, let's lookat the fin and rudder. Take a magnifying glass and note where the tail bracewires join the fin in relation to the toptwo fin ribs which are just visible on theleft side of the spar. This point appears

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    PHOTOSto be about midway between where theribs join the spar. Photo 4 of this articleshows a comparison of the large andsmall fins and you can see that it is thebig-tail version in which the brace wiresintersect the spar midway between thetwo ribs. The brace wire attach point onthe small-tail fin is a strap welded acrossthe top of the steel reinforcing sleeve atthe spar junction. Only the sheetaluminum fin cap and a bit of the rudderextend above this point. There is far toomuch fin and rudder sticking above thislocation in the Mystery Plane photo for

    it to be a small-tailplane.Photo 5 is included for the sake

    of completeness. tis interesting to seethat the change tothe late style rudderwas done by auniform stretchstarting at the bottom rib. No extraribs were added norwere the rib dimensions changed.Both rudders havethe same maximumchord. In the caseof SIN 241, only thefirst and third ribfrom the top werefound to have thebox cross sectionwhile the secondand fourth were ofthe earlier style.Again the earlystyle used strap hinges and had a steelspar. Sorry about the tailwheel steeringarms. Modem airports, you know.Having beaten the tail feather issue to

    death, there are a few other features inthe Mystery Plane photo that would nothave appeared on a straight-wingaircraft. To begin, notice that the frontset of flying wires attach at their normallocation at the landing gear outrigger inthe Mystery Plane photo. This outrigger is located at the firewall station onthe swept wing models. Now refer tothe excellent photos of the straight-wingaircraft on pages 33 and 34 of the May

    issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE thatPeter Bowers submitted and notice thatthe wires terminate at the lowerlongeron at the firewall station. Notealso that the landing gear outrigger islocated a few inches behind the firewallstation with drag bracing running up andforward under the engine instead of upand to the rear. All the photos of thestraight-wing airplanes that this writerhas seen to date have had this nonstandard arrangement.To wrap this up, refer again to theMystery Plane photo and note the engineexhaust stacks rising up to the left of theexposed rocker arms (the cowl has beenleft off). These are the type used on thebig-tail model. The early models had amanifold that led back along the left sideof the engine, then down through thebottom of the cowl (see both photos onpage 34, May issue) . Note also that theplane sports a headrest and that the rearcockpit coaming terminates about midway down the rear cockpit former instead of curving around behind thepilot's neck. Finally, the plane has beenset up for nav lights. The wires runningout to the wing tips are visible just behind the front spar of the lower wing andthere appears to be a mounting pad forthe taillight on the tip of the fin. Noneof these last items would likely be foundon the straight-wing Great Lakes.I rest my case. Any comments orrebuttals would be most welcome. Theauthor would be interested in hearingfrom anyone with information on theserial number break points for any andall of the design changes mentionedabove. For example, old photos show asmany as four different combinations ofcockpit opening shape and headrest.Some models had crash pads on the frontand rear instrument panels. There is oneexample, and evidence that there were

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    P SS IT- -1]An information exchange column with input from readers

    Type Clubs Invaluable to the owneror enthusiastSince being put on the mailing lists, Ihave had a real education in aircraftmaintenance. The peculiarities inherent to the various types are broughtout every time I pick up one of thesenewsletters. For the guy or gal whoowns, flies and wants to maintain his orher airplane the best way he knows how,club membership is of the utmost im

    by Buck HilbertEAA 21, le 5P.O. Box 424Union, IL 60180

    Good reading, good thoughts. CharlieNelson has always had my admiration,his interest is in helping fellow Swifties,and that's what it s all about.Similar tips and thoughts show up inall these communications. Sometimesthere is a seeming conflict of interestshown when we have one or more TypeClub newsletters for the same typeairplane. Two, or in some cases, threenewsletters publish information on the

    get the airplane manuals, maintenanceand pilot, and in some cases erectionand engine manuals as well. Also, thoseof you looking for mods can accesscomplete lists of all the STCs applicableto your airplane.you haven't gotten the message yet,I ll spell it out Join your Type ClubOver to you,Buck

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    September 29 (Rain date: October6 - Simsbury Airport, Simsbury, CT.Antique Aeroplane Club ofConnecticut's Annual Fly-In. Antiques, classics, Warbirds, awards Foodand refreshments available. Co-sponsored by EAA Chapter 324. For info,call 203/623-1823. Rain date: October6

    October 4-6 - Reading, PA. Bellanca/Champion Club Third AnnualEast Coast regional Fly-In featuresworkshops and factory participation forCitabrias Vikings DecathlonsCrusiairs Scouts Cruisemasters.Workshops. Guest Speaker: AugustBellanca. Pre-registration is desirable.Contact: Tom Witmer, CAP Aviation215/376-5447 or Pat McGinn, Bellanca/Champion Club, 414/352-5804.

    October 4-6 - Prescott, AZ. 20thAnnual Copperstate Fly-In. For moreinformation, call 1-800-477-0046.October 4-6 - Santa Ynez, CA.1991 Western Waco Reunion BanquetBarbeque Saturday night, Pancakebreakfast Sunday morning . Basiccamping, motels in Solvang, CA.October 4-6 - Camden, SC. Annual Fall EAA Fly-In for Antique andClassic Aeroplanes. Sponsored byEAA A/C Chapter 3. major speaker,vintage aviation films; awards in all

    major catagories. Contact: R BottomJr., 103 Powhattan Parkway, Hampton,VA 23661October 5-6 - Sussex Airport, Sussex NJ. Quad Chapter Fly-In and Fly

    October 6 - lola WI, CentralCounty Airport. Annual Fall ColorsChili Dinner Fly-In. Serving lOam3pm. Come and enjoy the beauty ofCentral Wisconsin in autumn. Info,414/596-3530.October 6 - Tunkhannock, PA.Skyhaven Airport Fly-In Breakfast.

    Camping, Showers. Come and spendthe weekend. 19 miles from LHY VORon the 289 radial. Unicom 122.8 Contact: Steve Gay, Skyhaven Airport,717/836-4800.October 10-14 - Tullahoma, TN,Regional Airport. Staggerwing, TravelAir, Howard Club, Spartan Owners

    Twin Beech Assoc., and Twin-Bonanza Association National Convention.For information, write: StaggerwingMuseum, P.O. Box 550, Tullahoma,TN 37388 or call 615/455-1974.October 19 - Kerrville, TX 27th Annual EAA Southwest RegionalFly-In. Contact: 800/221-7958

    October 19 - Evergreen AL.Evergreen regional EAA Chapters FlyIn. Aircraft camping, R.V. Groundsnearby, motels. Dinner Sat. night.Breakfast both Sat. and Sun. A/C Judging and static displays. Contact: BubbaHamiter, P.O. Box 1551, Monroeville,AL 36461 or Evergreen Airport205/578-1274.

    October 19 - Bellanca/ChampionClub Regional Fly-In-and meeting formembers living in the southwesternU.S. you plan to attend, please notifyin advance: Joe Field, P.O. Box 3729,

    WELCOMENEW MEMBERSThese are just some of the newmembers who signed up to join the

    Antique Classic Division of EAAduring EAA OSHKOSH '91. We'llhave more names to add to the list nextmonth, as well as those who join us inthe future. Remember the tan insert inyour July issue. Use the formsprovided to sign up your friends, andearn one free year of Antique/Classicmembership when you sign up threenew membersFrom EAA Oshkosh '91, our newmembers are:Markel L Albrecht Aurora, ILWilliam F. Brega North Augusta , SCWilliam M. Costello Chicago, ILRichard Fleming Bensalem, P ARobert L Graham Highland, CABruce A. Heideman Minneapolis, MNSam E. Holloman Odessa, TXDonald R. Howard Phillipsburg, OHNancy J. Ketchum Naperville, ILRobert T. KewThamesford, Ont., CanadaEdward Kozlowski Holly, MIPhil L Lewallen Berkeley Hts., NJEdward McConnell Seneca, ILCecil E. McLemore Dixon, CAJeffrey D. McKeeverParadise Valley, AZPaul E. Morse Zephyhills, FLRichard D. Noah St. Charles, MO

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    OSHKOSH '91Aviation At Its Best

    SHARE THE EXCITEMENTEnjoy the est aviation has to offerat EAA OSHKOSH '91. The annualFly-In Convention is one of the highlights of the aviation year. "EAAOSHKOSH '91, Aviation At Its Best"features all the activities includ-ing a salute to the Flying Tigers;

    famous air racers of the 1930s;and a patriotic tribute to the alliedair power of Operation DesertStorm. See the latest homebuiltdesigns plus antiques, classics,ultralights, warbirds and muchmore. Makes a great gift, too

    39.95*(*plus 3 shipping/handling)ORDER TODAY1-800-843-3612(outside U . call 414-426-5900)FAX orders accepted (414) 426-4873

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    Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet25 per word, $5.00 minimum charge. Send your ad toThe Vintage Trader, fAA Aviation Center, Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591 .

    AIRCRAFT:1928 Fairchild KR-31. NC5796, Serial No . 175, 1917 Curtiss OX-5engine, log books. Completely assembled, needs rigging and recovering.Displayed at Fairchild Aircraft, museum quality, remarkable condition .Offered by the estate of colorful aviation pioneer, Ernie Buehl, "The FlyingDutchman . Rare opportunity to own a part of aviation history . Inquiriesto : Sylvia Buehl Elliman, 92 Crystal Springs Road , San Mateo, CA 94402,415/343-6495. (8-1)1946 Cessna 140 -1580 TIAFE, 330 STOH, 210 since bottomed OH,210 SPOH, 210 hrs . on '90 Sl ick mags/wires. Metal wing, 150muffs/heater, elec. T&B, DG, strobe. Clevelands. Wheel extenders. EAAAutogas, ALT, A/S & ROC O/H 'd 1990. Narc0810comm. 150TXP w/850mode C (certified) and Flightcom 111 NEW 1990. LORAN. All AD 'scomplied. White, black trim 1975. Federal skis. Bought bigger. We havecomplete logs. Asking $14,900. Bob Betz, 3240 Philmore Avenue,Caledonia, NY 14423, 716/538-4258. (8-1)HANGARS:AIRPLANE HANGARS/STEEL ARCH BUILDINGS - made in USA,factory direct. Compare prices and options, then see. some buildingcompanies distribute buildings that are made in Canada Or Japan. Oursis 100% American made. (we will not be undersold.) ATLAS STEELBUILDINGS CORPORATION 1-800/338-8457.

    MISCELLANEOUS:CURTISS JN4-D MEMORABILIA - You can now own memorabilia fromthe famous "Jenny", as seen on "TREASURES FROM THE PAST". Wehave posters, postcards, videos, pins, airmail cachets, etc. We also haveR/C documentation exclusive to this historic aircraft. Sale of these itemssupport operating expense to keep this "Jenny" flying for the aviatio public.We appreciate your help. Write for your free price list. Virg inia Aviation Co.,PDv-8, Box 294, Warrenton , VA 22186. (c/11 -90)SUPER CUB PA-18 FUSELAGES - New manufacture, STC-PMA-d,4130 chrome-moly tubing throughout, also complete fuselage repair .ROCKY MOUNTAIN AIRFRAME INC. (J . E. Soares, Pres.) , 7093 DryCreek Rd ., Belgrade, Montana. 406-388-6069. FAX 406/388-0170.Repair station No. QK5R148N.Parachutes - Toll Free 1-800-526-2822, New & Used Parachutes. Wetake trade-ins, 5-year repair or replacement warranty , many styles instock. Parachute Associates, Inc., 2 Linda Lane, Suite A, Vincentown, NJ08088, 609/859-3397. (c/7/92)C-26 Champion Spark Plugs - New and reconditioned. New - $14.75,reconditioned - $5.75 to $9.75. Eagle Air, 2920 Emerald Drive,Jonesboro,GA 30236, 404/478-2310. (10-3)INTERCOM - New low-cost design. Two headsets and control unit allfor $125. Ideal for non-radio electric planes. Brochure. Don Halloran, 801South Lincoln , Marshfield, WI 54449. (9-1)

    WANTED:Wanted - EVEREL ONE BLADED PROP (MODEL 1-38-A) for A40Continental. Buy outright or have stuff to trade. Don Sitta, P.O. Box 993,Farmington, NM . 87499-0993, 505/327-4660. (8-1)

    x RT . 22 WESTPORT , N.Y . 12993Attn . Departm ent V TELEPHO NE: 5 8-962-2323VINTAGE SUPPLIES,and PATTERNS ,

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    MYSTERY PLANEBy George Hardie

    This month's Mystery will challengeour racing fans. The photo is from theEAA archives. Answers will be published in the December, 1991 issue ofVINTAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline forthat issue is October 20,1991. Yes, thedeadlines have been moving back as Iget the issues on the correct printingschedule.- HGF)The June Mystery Plane brought acomplete answer from the area of its

    a single place with a cargo bay replacingthe front cockpit for mail carrying purposes. Following the death of GeorgeWilliams, the design passed the theTexas Aero Company of Dallas, Texas,who failed to continue production afterthe stock market crash.

    Jerry Fernal of Temple Texasrecently completed a replica Templemonoplane and displayed it at the Denton and Kerrville Fly-ins in 1990 after

    The June Mystery Plane is probablythe prototype 'Texas Temple'. Many ofthe airframe components appear to befrom a Curtiss IN-4D while the enginemay be a six-cylinder, two-row Anzani.I flew behind this rare engine in a SiouxCoupe (Kari-Keen) when it was latercalled a Brownbach 'Tiger'. The manpictured with the prototype is most likely George Williams, the designer, head

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    TH RCHIVESJ ~ tn ~ J ~ ~

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    Antiques Classics-You'reWelcome Here!I s there a pilot among us whoseheart doesn t swell when a WACO,Stearman or a pretty little Jennyflies overhead? On the wings ofthese airplanes, we all experiencethe leather helmet days beforeradios, nose wheels and controlledairspace. We re fortunate your EAAis dedicated to keeping our flyingheritage alive.

    Keeping antique and classicaircraft flying means investingsubstantial money as well as time.AVEMCO s antique and classic air-craft coverage provides protectionof your financial investment at asurprisingly reasonable cost. In ad-dition to liability and hull coverage,you can be compensated for yourlabor if you make repairs yourself.After all, who knows your airplanebetter than you do?

    Stop by and see us at Oshkosh.Your antique and classic aircraft, aswell as your enthusiasm, is welcomehere.

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