finding ofold aircraftthatcan be restored.

Additionally,
all type club newsletters previously sent to AI Kelch
shouId now be sent to Dave Gustafson at EAA Head-
quarters. Dave does plan to devote space to type club
news which is of general interest to the membership if
appropriate and sufficient information is forthcoming.
Dave would also like to expand the magazine's fly-in
coverage, but this can only be accomplished if fly-in
chairmen will assign photographers and writers from
their own organizations to the task of providing the
material for the magazine. Also, due to the lead time
necessary for publishing the magazine, articles must be
received within two weeksafter the fly-in so that they're
still reasonably currentwhen published.
For those of you who have a story to tell and have
some interesting pictures of your old bird, but are hesi-
tating because you are not sure of how to write for
publication, please just reread my column in either the
February, 1976, issue or the March, 1977, issue of this
magazine for a short course in magazine writing. It's
really very easy. If Ican do it, you can do it too.
THE RESTORER'S -CORNER
by J. R. NIELANDER, JR.
It is with great pleasure that we welcome our new
editor ofTHE VINTAGE AI RPLANE, David Gustafson,
who takes over with this issue from our very dedicated
Di rector, AI Kelch, and his lovely wife, Lois. AI and
April 16
Lois, who originally accepted theeditorship for one year
back in January, 1976, had expressed their desire to be
relieved of their editorial duties with the completion of
the December, 1977, issue. However, due to the fact
that Dave was not going to be available until January,
1978, plus the lead time required to put the magazine May 5-7
together, they agreed to edit the January and February,
1978, issues. Again we want to sincerely thank AI and
Lois for agreatjob beautifully done.
Thus it is thatwith thisMarch issue we welcome Dave I-
to our organization and wish him every success in his
endeavors. Dave has exciti ng plans for the improvement
of our magazine, and he anticipates a greater diversifi-
May 26-29
cation of the type of articles to be published. Hi s
immediate need is for more articles on classic resto
rations. He can also use articles on antique restorations
as well as arti cl es telling about the hunting down and

~
CHAPTER NEWS
The active people in our Florida Chapter have
come up with an idea that we think is worth
passing on:
ANNOUNCING THE
"TEN FORTWELVE"CLUB
We proudly and gratefully list below all present
members of The "TEN FOR TWELVE
n
Club.
These members have all generously pledged $10 a
month for 12 months toward the LAIRD SUPER
SOLUTION Restoration Project.
Betty Jones Bob Strahlmann
Leonard McGinty, Jr. Floyd McKahan
Bob White John Parish
Donna Bartlett Allan Wise
Ken Davis Toni Guay
E. A. Crosby Jim Swaney
Merl Jenkins Morris Bennett
Bill Ehlen Elsie Laird
Evelyn White Ralph Loos
Paul and Audrey Poberezny
If you're interested in joining, write to Florida
Sport Aviation Antique/Classic Association, Box
5292, Lakeland, FL 33803
CALENDAR ~ 9 B
Grand Prairie, Texas - Annual Fly-In
sponsored by EAA Chapter 34. Contact
George C. Sims, 817/292-4233 or
292-3798.
O1ino, California - 4th Annual Southern
California Regional Fly-In. Sponsored by
EAA Chapters 1, 7, 11, 92, 96, 448 and
494. Contact Gene Vickery, 1115 S.
Sierra Vista Ave., Alhambra, CA 91801 -
213/289-8944.
Harvard, Illinois - Monocoupe Fly-In.
Dacy Airport. Held in conjunction with
Ryan Fly-In. Contact Willard Benedict,
129CedarSt.,Wayland, MI 49348.
June 3-4
June2-4
General Motors Wildcat Test Pilot and
Ground Crew reunion. Contact Dick
Foote, P.O. Box 57, Willimantic, CT
06226 (Phone 203/423-2584) or Dan
Hanrahan, 470 Elmore Ave., Elizabeth,
NJ 07208 (Phone 201/254-4481) . Names
and addresses appreciated.
The Annual Fly-In ofthe Greater Kansas
City Chapter, Antique Airplane Associa-
tion will be held at Amelia Earhart
Memorial Airport, Atchison, Kansas.
Contact Dick Shane, 8315 Floyd, Over-
land Park, KS 66212 - 913/648-3139 or
Kermit Hoffmeier, 103 N.W. 64th Ter-
race, Gladstone, MO 64118 -
816/436-3459.
whic h
Editorial
Staff
Editor
David Gustafson
, RobertG. Elliott, AI Kelch, Edward D. Williams
to submit stories and photographs. Associate Editor -
to those writers who submit five ormorearticleswhich are
VINTAGE AIRPLANE during the current year. Associates
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and a free one-year
for their efforts. POLICY-Opi nions expressed in
the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in report-
Directors
Advisors
PRESfDINT
J_R.NIELANDER.JR".
P.O.BOX 2484 ' I
FT. LAUOEROALE,FL33303
YlCE.......QJWT
JACKWINTHROP
I f{T.1.SOX111
ALLEN,TX76002

W. &AII'D THOMAs,JR.
301 OODSONMtLL
PILOtMOUNTAIN. NC27041
TREASURER
E.E."BUCJ("HII.BERT
8102LeeCHRD.
UNtON.' lL80180
THe VI"'TAGI! A1 ....l.A"'E I.
_hIv.. _ pom.... WI
Co........ \53130. .....
I..... OliO .,4.00_ 12month
,lMmtMnh... i'I _ oil who
Will iam J. Ehlen AI Kelch
Route 8 Box 506 7018W. Bonniwell Road
Tampa. Fl orida 33618 Mequon, Wisconsin 53092
Claude L. Gray,Jr. MortonW. Lester
9635 Sylvia Avenue Box 3747
Northridge,California91324 Martinsville, Virginia 24112
Dale AGustafson Arthur R. Morgan
7724 Shady Hill Drive 513 North 91st Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46274 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226
Ri chard Wagner M. C. "Kell y"Viets
P. O. Box 181 RR 1 Box 151
Lyons, Wisconsin 53148 Stilwell, Kansas66085
Ronald fritz Stan Gomoll
1989Wilson, NW 104290th Lane, NE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504 Minneapolis,Minnesota 55434
Roger J.Sherron Robert E. Kessel
446-C Las Casitas 445 Oakridge Drive
Santa Rosa, California95401 Rochester , New York 14617
Robert A. White
1207 Falcon Drive
Orlando, Florida 32803
exct u sivel y by EAA Ant ique/ C l assic, D ivision, I nc ., and is publ ished
130. Second class Pos tage paid a t Hales Corners Post Office, Ha les
mailing o ff ices . Membership ra t es for EAA Antique/ Classic Division,
$ 10 .00 i s f o r I he publicat ion o f T H E V INTAGE A IRPLANE.
in avi ation.
1'12s1!1NTASEA/fJPIJlNE
OFFICIALMAGAZINE
ANTIQUE/ CLASSIC DIVISION
ofTHE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFTASSOCIA TlON
P.o. Box 229, Hales Corners, Wis. 53730
Copyright "' 1978 EAA Antique/ Classi c Division, Inc. , All Ri ghts Reserved.
MARCH1978 VOLUME6' NUMBER3
(Cover photoby Chris Sorensen: Frank Delmar' s Fleet)
The Restorer 'sCorner, by J. R. Nielander ............................ 1
An Extraordinary Fleet, by David Gustafson ....._................... 3
Cessna Profiles ........ ....... .................................. 6
J2 times8, by Bob Zedekar ........................_........_.... 7
BetterThan New, by Dorr Carpenter ........_..............._._.... 9
Vintage Album,by H. F. S. Wadman . ... . .... . . ... . ............._.. 11
Norseman Affair, by Byron (Fred) Fredericksen ...................... 13
Restoration Tips: Aluminum Surfaces, by David Gustafson .............19
Whistling in the Rigging, by Tom Poberezny ......................... 20
Letters . . .- . .- .......................... . .. . _................ 20
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP
ONON-EM MEMBER - $20.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/
Classic Division, 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year mem-
bership in the Experimental Aircraft Association and separate membership cards.
SPORTAVIATION magazine not included.
OEAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic
Division, 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and membership card.
(Applicant must be current EAA member and mustgive EAA membership number.)
Page 3 Page 7 Page 73
2
by: David Gustafson, Editor
"You're right, it' s not a stock Fleet. It's a unique
Fleet . . . in many ways." That's how Frank Del mar
answered a nit-picker last summer who thought he had
grounds for complaining that Frank's restoration didn't
deserve the trophies he was sweeping up. Frank had
done his homework, however, and usually carries a note-
book with xerox copies of over a hundred pages of
documentation, tracing the evolution of his special bird.
Actually, the lion's share of credit for art work and
craftsmanship currently in Frank's Fleet belongs to Walt
Scheibe, who took it on as his 36th complete restoration
project, but more about that later.
HISTORY
I n the beginn ing . .. the Fleet Aircraft Company of
Canada filed an Aeroplane I nspection Release Certificate
in 1939. The plane was given serial number FAL 262
and classified as a Fleet 16F. I t had a Warner Super
Scarab Series 50 Engine that developed 145 horsepower
at 2050 rpm . The airscrew was a Curtiss metal fixed
pitch job with an eight-foot diameter. There was an
upper wing tank that held 20 imperial gallons and a belly
tank held 23 more. A factory mod record states "This
aircraft departs from the standard Fleet 16F in the fol-
lowing respect: Fork Fixed Tail Wheel, Oil Tank, Engine
Cowling. " That 's all very curious since Frank can't find
any evidence of even a single "standard Fleet 16F." (Can
you?)
After the ob li gatory test hops, the plane was sold to
the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in San Di ego with
the marks NC20699. It was, and is today, 28 feet wide
at top and bottom wing, 22' 3 ~ long in flight and 7'
10" high. The records show that Consolidated refered to
the airplane as a 16F.
I n April, 1939, Consolidated sold the plane for a
buck "and other considerations" to the Brewster
Aeronautical Corporation of Long Isl and City, New
York. Shortly thereafter, Brewster applied for Registra-
tion and a Commercial Certificate and the form revealed
the plane had 82 hours on it. Three months later,
application was made for an Experimental certificate.
The form curiously classified the machine as a "New
Airplane". What made it "new" in the eyes of Brewster,
who now called it a B-1 (where have I heard that
before?) and gave it the number NX20699, was the swap
to a Warner 165 horsepower engine. They also installed a
single gas tank, capable of holding 33 u .S. gallons, and
completely refurbished the plane.
Brewster published the following specs on the aircraft
in 1939:
Span 28'
Length 22' 11"
Height 8' 0.5"
Wing area 202 sq. ft.
Power load ing 11.8 Ibs./hp.
Wing loading 9.7 Ibs./sq. ft.
Empty Wt. 1,227 pounds
Useful load 723 pounds
Gross Wt. 1,950 pounds
The plane was given serial number 1 and Brewster got
a license for flight tests. With the Warner 165, they came
up with the following performance goodies:
Maximum speed 122 mph
Cruising speed 105 mph
Land ing speed 52 mph
Service ceiling 14,000 feet
Rate of cl imb 900 ft./m in.
Range 350 miles
There were two "optional" engines; the Ranger
6-440B-2 which developed 175 hp. at 2,450 rpm or the
Kinner R-5 which cranked up 160 hp at 1,975 rpm.
Testing began early in 1940, but apparently didn't
Above: Walt Scheibe applies dope to the freshly recover-
ed fuselage. (Photo by Frank Delmar)
lead to any kind of impressive results in the military
marketplace. Probably in an effort to secure some gov-
ernment funding, the Brewster Corporation sold the
Fleet as a 16F, serial number 1, to the Penguin Flying
Club (i.e., a dummy corporation) for five bucks. I twas
sold without an engine, but it now had anew, detach-
able Motor Mount.
If you think it's getting confusing, you'd better get
your compass out.
The Penguin Flying Club filed for registration and
described the aircraft as a Brewster Fleet 10. They had
installed a 125 horsepower Kinner B5, a Hamilton
adjustable prop, and "47 pounds of ballast forward of
Firewall." Then an inspection report in 1943 notes that
the "fuselage was altered to conform to original print."
This meant it would conform to ATC No. 374.
George Hamill, a CAA inspector maintained the Fleet
while it was with Penguin. Max Goldstein became the
owner in 1946, which commenced hand-changing ex-
ercises between a long list of private owners. In the
process, someone added a Hawoodie Air Starter, some-
one else took it off; someone changed to a Curtiss prop,
then it went back to a Hamilton; and the engine changed
from a B5 to a B5R (sound familiar?). At one point the
aircraft was sold for $475. The buyer put down $300
and never got around to laying down the balance. Fi-
nally it came into the hands of Jack Mozian who put
seven hours on it in seven years. It was tail heavy and
badly out of trim.
Frank Delmar bought it from Jack in 1972 and the
work started on it shortly after that.
Above: Stretching new fabric over the Fleet's lower
wing. All internal parts are painted. (Photo by Frank
Delmar)
Below: The Fleet's ready for a tow to Providence Air-
port where it will be rigged and test flown. (Photo by
Frank Delmar)
A picture of Frank Delmar's
Fleet in 7939. It was called a
Brewster Fleet B-7 at the time
and had a Warn er "Super
Scarab" 765. Note the speed
cowl and rear view mirror.
THE RESTORATION
As Frank researched the plane, one obvious question
emerged: what do you restore it to? It was a Fleet 16F
in the beginning ..., well, sort of. Then it was a Brew-
ster B-1, then a Consolidated Fleet 10, then 10F for
awhile, then 10 again. The decision was made to rebuild
it as a Brewster Fleet lOw ith a 125 horsepower Kinner
B5 and a hand carved F ahl in prop.
The plane was moved into Walt Scheibe's shop and
broken down into a gazillion parts. All the metal parts
were stripped. The wings were denuded and in the
process they discovered nests from some rodent stow-
aways. In the past, fabric and dope dummys had tight-
ented the rag to the point that it pulled in the trail ing
edge and puckered the aft tips of all the ribs: "We had to
work on every si ngle rib and com pletely replace the ai-
lerons," notes Walt. "All the trailing edges were replac-
ed, then the round head rivets in the leading edges were
swapped for flush rivets." Old sheet metal was discarded
for new, a kinked push-pull rod went, the cabanes were
replaced along with one of the gear struts. The
instrument panel was restored to its original pattern and
was fitted with vintage instruments. In the three years
and 1,200 hours that Walt spent on the project, he also
did a total overhaul on the Kinner, including building a
new oil tank (the old one had rusted out around the
top), and replacing all the old copper oil lines with
modern flex lines.
Deviations from the original specs were kept at a
minimum. Stainless flying wires were installed in the
interest of safety, the sticks were chrome plated in the
4
serviced thousands of airplanes over the years. The
planes he's rebuilt from basket cases, or wrecks, include
an Arrow Sport, Kitty Hawk, KR-31, OX Robin, AW
Cessna, 5 )-3's, Luscomb 8A and TF, Aeronca C-3, two
Taylorcrafts, PT-19 and 26, Wildcat (only started),
Beech Queen Air, three Bonanzas, three Commanches,
three Cherokees, three Cessna 140's, a 172, four Tri-
pacers and Frank Delmar's unique Fleet 10. That adds
up to 36, pi us a wealth of knowledge that a lot of people
wish they could match. And Walt's really good about
sharing it.
HONORS
Finished and airworthy again in the spring of 1977,
the Fleet was ready for dress parade, and Frank was
eager to show it off. Later, he'd admit he really wasn't
aware of what a fabulous job the rebuild amounted to,
until he started dropping in on some fly-ins while
enroute to California. It didn't take long to become
convinced he had a winner. Last summer he flew 11,000 .
miles, logging 129 hours and during that time he picked
up 17 trophies, including 4 Grand Champion Awards. He
couldn't make Oshkosh last summer, but he's planning
on more long trips in '78, and you can be sure he'll be at
Oshkosh this summer. It's worth waiting for .
Having fun out over the Atlantic. (Photo provided by
Frank Delmar)
What goes through a man's mind when he taxis such an exquisite antique past a row of modern
look-alikes? (Photo by Paul Mezaro)
interest of cosmetics, and the original 8.50 x 10 tires
were put aside in favor of 6.50 x 10's.
The nose dish, of course, is anything but standard.
Brewster had redesigned the engine mount and when
they were finished with it, the plane had a swivel mount.
With the Penguin Club's new Kinner B5, an exhaust ring
was secured right behind the prop. The modified mount
and exhaust ring are a unique feature on N20699. (The
engine on it today is a B5R, or rear exhaust, but Walt
left the ring on for the appearance of originality as well
as for ballast.)
Walt covered the fuselage and wings with Grade A
and Frank, who put another 800 hours into the project,
reports they "screwed it down with 780 Y<t-inch screws."
Walt then laid on 6 coats clear, 2 coats aluminum, and 6
coats of pigmented, non-tuatening butyrate dope. Walt
reassembled the Fleet at Green Airport and paid close
attention to the rigging. Frank reported that the first
time he had flown the Fleet (before rebuilding) he
discovered that "the only way I could hold it level was
with nearly full left aileron and hard right rudder".
"Handling was beautiful," Frank said of the first
flight at Green. His warm smile and sparkling eyes
endorsed his sincerety. Walt had rigged it right and had
also brought the c.g. forward over 4," placing it within
the envelope so for the first time in its history, the Fleet
balanced. The aircraft now cruises at 85 mph with 1,700
rpm at sea level. Stall occurs at 47 mph, but only with
an idle engine. Walt's observations of Frank's piloting led
him to say "Frank doesn't fly that plane, he wears it."
F rank ought to have the right touch with over 27 ,000
hours of flying time. He's a retired Allegheny Captain
and a former FBO, with forty years of piloting.
Walt Scheibe goes back fifty years to his first airplane
ride. He nearly ripped his britches crawling in behind the
pilot's seat in a C-2. He had to grow a bit before he
could pick up his ticket, however. Then he salted some
years as an FBO and has worked in nearly all phases of
aviation. For many years he's run Rhode Island Airways,
Incorporated at 58 Bunker Street in Warwick, RI. Walt's
5
Top: Cessna 720 . .. by Dick Stouffer.
Center: Cessna 770B . .. by Ted Kaston.
Bottom: Cessna 765 ... by Ted Kaston.
CESSNA PROFILES
From the photo files of EAA
EAA
MUSEUM NEEDS
The following items are needed to carryon the pro-
grams of the EAA Air Museum Foundation. If you can
help, please contact Gene Chase, Museum Director, at
EAA Headquarters, Telephone 414/425-4860. Dona-
tions to the Museum are tax deductible.
25 ton hydraulic press
Porta-power or body jack set (4 ton)
Cherry G-704 power riveter
Air operated automotive bumper jack
Automotive analyzer (Sun Machine)
Banding tool for straps W', %" and 1" wide
Cylinder base wrenches for 65 through 0-200 Conti-
nental engines
Cylinder base wrenches for 0-235 through 0-360
Lycoming engines (Hex and Allen head)
Cylinder base wrenches for Continental R-670 and
Lycoming R-680
Crankcase and crank for a Lycoming 0-235 through
0-360. Any condition - for display only.
High pressure cleaner (700 psi, 115 v.)
Aircraft tug
Engine slings for R-1820 and V-1650
Air compressor - 5 hp. or more
Prop (or blades) for BT-13 (R-985) or AT-6 (R-1340)
Belt sander
Floor sander
Sheet metal brake
Small band saw
Paint spray booth
Paint storage cabinets
Electric metal shear
Borescope
Old aviation books
Old photographs
Old blueprints
Old scrapbooks
6
"".
J"aCUB TIIBS 8
By: Bob Zedekar
(EAA 709778)
3300 Moorewood Court
Sacramento, CA 95827
(Photos provided by the author)
Airplanes have always fascinated me but, with WW II,
college, being gainfully employed and being married, air-
planes always seemed to come second. Accordingly, I
never logged more than 16 hours. As a 26 year employee
with United Airlines' sales department I have been priv-
ilaged to fly to all corners of the earth - but that's not
really flying. My only claim to fame in flying machines is
that I have restored one, and, since I work for United, I
like to think of myself as a poor man's Buck Hilbert!
As you already know, it's a very simple matter to
restore an antique. All you have to do is: 1. find one
hanging in a barn, 2. have the owner sell it, 3. have the
funds to buy it, 4. have space,. proper tools, know-how
and more funds. Since I had only vague ideas that such
axioms existed, I succeeded in restoring a 1936 J-2
Taylor Cub.
Looking back, I guess the antique syndrome manifest-
ed itself in the mid 50's when I was working in our
Seattle sales office. One of my chohorts, Jack Mitchell,
was a real antique afficianado - he could tell you how
many AN3-11 bolts were used in a Viele Monocoupe.
Anyway, Jack and I got to taking in the Watsonville and
Merced Airshows and the antique affliction hit.
In 1964 United transfered me to Sacramento and I
soon found a new circle of antiquers. I n the Spring of
'68 I made up my mind to ignore all of the stories of
"there ain't no more to be found" and started out on a
concerted effort to locate a rebuild project. Surprisingly,
I traced down several stored antiques within a 100 mile
radius. But, like some old girlfriends, they were either
too expensive or too big to handle!
Then, one fine day, I was bird-dogging Lind's Field
south of Sacramento. To the umpteeth person I asked,
"know of any antiques in any of these hangars?" This
time the response was, "Yeah. Tom Murphy, the A & P,
has some kind of a hulk in that hangar across the strip.
And Tom must be there because his car is parked out-
side." I thanked the kind man and proceeded to find
Tom. The subject hulk turned out to be a fuselage, tail
feathers, gear, 3 lift struts, a rusty looking A-40 and 2
right wings that had been last used as battering rams.
The nameplate confirmed Tom's contention that it was a
jen-u-wine J-2. It read: TAYLOR AIRCRAFT CO.,
BRADFORD, PA: MODEL J-2; SERIAL 886; DATE OF
MFG. Oct. 7, 1936; MOTOR CONT A-40-4.
Tom said he would reluctantly sell this assemblage of
parts because he was getting married and could use some
extra cash for his honeymoon. I hated to take advantage
of Tom's plight but we settled on a price. The next day I
went down in a pickup to retrieve the purchase. When
we pulled into our driveway it looked like a scene from
Sanford & Son!
Har-de-har-har No.1: "It's going to take at least a
year to get this bird back into the air." If someone had
even suggested eight years I would have quit right then.
7
Bob Whittier's 1966 articles in Sport Aviation, "The
Forty Horsepower Cubs," were extremely valuable in
putt ing No. 886 back into original configuration and
color schemes. Bob Thompson (Mr. A-40) from Dayton
sent me a lot of welcome advice regarding the engine.
And the FAA boys from OKC said that I could have the
original N number back 17220.
My son, Steve, and I soon learned that our meager
box of hand tools wouldn 't get the job done. Then two
turn of events got the project off dead center. One was
when I signed up for evening classes at Sacramento City
Colleges' School of Aeronautics and the other is when I
teamed up with John Peck in renting an old block build-
ing in the neighborhood.
John (EAA 026985) is an ex Air Force fly-boy with
an A & P ticket. He was co mpl eting a Starduster project
and starting on a J-5 rebuild. John is a Rembrandt with
an acetylene torch. If he has a fault it would be that he
so metimes forgets to remove hi s fingers from the back-
side of a piece of 2024 T3 while he sends the drill
through the frontside!
One pleasant surprise came when the engine was
opened up - she was as clean as a hound's tooth inside
and met all tolerances from the table of fits. After a
valve grind, new rod bearings, new rings, new gaskets and
a paint job the Mighty Forty ran and looked like the day
it left Muskegon.
Making new cowling and the %-inch sled that the
seats ride on was a bugger - patterns didn't mean a thing.
Then, too, the wings were time consuming (remember-
I had two right wings to start with). Every rib, wire and
bolt needed attention. After one of the right wings was
back in order I simply made a new left wing by heading
the spars back in the opposite direction and making a
mirror image - with new wood.
All instruments are original .. . all 4! Swede Johnson
sold me an original tach and altimeter. He also sold me a
beautiful new Fahlin prop. Since Wag-Aero was not
selling the old vane type airspeed indicators at the time I
made one from a pattern.
After listening to some lengthy arguments on Stits vs.
Grade A, I decided that Stits would be easier for an
amateur . By si mpl y reading a book and using a heat gun
I think the cover job looks great.
"Meanwhile, back at the ranch . .." 8 years later,
June 3, 1976 to be exact, the local GADO sent out a
representative to give the "OUT HOUSE MOUSE" a new
birth certificate. Don Horton dropped into Borges Field
early the next morning to test hop. Unless you have
actually experienced the feeling of seeing your labor of
love leave the ground there is no real way to describe it.
It certainly drai ns all emotions in one short moment.
The pl an was to leave immediately for the Merced
Antique Show. Two hours and six courtesy hops later,
Dan Shively and I took off and headed south. We were
hardl y out of sight when we noticed the oil pressure and
temp need les had started to r; reep toward the red line.
Rather than ruin a fresh engine Dan put her down on a
ranch - finis Merced 1976. Lesson No.1 001: S.A.E. 30
oil is okay for break-in and short once-around-the-patch
hops but it needs heavier stuff for sustained flight on a
warm day.
NCl7220 wound up with 31 hours in the summer of
'76. She's back in the barn for the winter getting
purtied-up for Watsonville and Merced. Or, who knows, I
might even enter the little beauty in a good blimp race-
if they'll give me a reaso nable handicap!

1JETTER
GfHAN
~
By: Dorr B. Carpenter
(EAA 277 24L)
225 Saunders Road
Lake Forest, I L 60045
An old aircraft or antique, even when gone over and
rebuilt to the best standards, is never "better than new."
Any plane is only as good as its weakest component; like
a chain, it is only as strong as its poorest link. The state-
ment often heard at fly-ins is "that plane is rebuilt
better'n new!" On the surface, the fabric job or paint
may look better than factory work, but this is only
su perfi c ia I.
In reality there are many places where an old aircraft
can be very tired. Unfortunately, these weaknesses are
not always readily apparent and can go undetected
through repeated annual inspections. A few obvious
examples are crystalized metal parts, rust inside steel
tubing, and glue joints no longer holding in wooden
structures covered with fabric.
This situation was brought home forcibly to me a few
years ago in an incident in which no accident occured,
but could have very easily.
An old Ryan STM that I brought back from Australia
was being demonstrated to a prospective customer. The
plane was unusually solid and in "good" condition in
spite of its 30 years service. That is to say, it looked
good; it had a low time engine (35 hours since new), and
new fabric and paint on an airframe totaling only 350
hours over the years.
The prospective buyer sat back on the first flight
around the field and followed through on the controls to
get the feel of the plane. These Ryans have a fairly high
sink rate with the engine at idle and two pilots on board.
When it was h is turn, it became necessary to add power
Right: Ryan STA
No. 728 with a
Menasco C-4. Built
in 7935. (From EAA
photo file)
Above: Ryan STM-S2 N8746 in 7970. (Photo provided by Dorr
as he over-estimated the glide angle of the approach for
his landing. Again, the second time we came in too low
over the corn field. I have a great respect for what a corn
field can do to an aircraft, and I was not too happy
about these low power-on approaches over corn. Once
more power was needed and chopped when the thresh-
old was made. The landing seemed normal, but when the
plane slowed down, I could see something was wrong.
The throttle quadrant was moving, but the engine was
not responding! What if we had needed one more shot of
power to make the field?
After the Menasco was shut down, the trouble was
ascertained to be a broken push-pull rod. I t had snapped
where it passed behind the gas tank and was out of sight
of any inspection.
The point is that on closer scrutiny, the condition of
the aluminum rod on the outside seemed good, but had
corroded from the inside. The situation was th is: at the
time the plane was manufactured and the rod assembled,
a bug had crawled inside the aluminum rod and died.
The resulting chemical action of his remains over the
years had caused the failure.
I hope never to hear the "better than new" statement
again, and I am sincerely glad to see the antique aircraft
removed from the strain of acrobatic competion that
they were subjected to in the middle 1960's. Old air-
planes should be handled and maintained only with
gentle care and respect .
9
recorded with the aircraft file.
Modifying
a Certified
Aircraft
By: jim Peale
577 Ashby Way
Warner Robins, GA 37093
(Note: reprinted from The Slipstream, EAA Chapter 38
Newsletter)
When you own oneofthe Antiqueor Classic aircraft,
many times a modification becomes necessary to up-
grade the aircraft for safety or improve its performance.
One of the problems I've always had with the Bellanca
was poorbrakes. Going into shortstrips was a problem if
you had to really get on the brakes. The original equip-
ment brakes would heatup and fade ifyou laid on them.
Iwanted to upgrade the brakes and puton new modern
brakes, both for safety and also due to replacementparts
being cheaper and readily available. We'll use this as an
example of the proper "legal" way to get new equip-
ment installed on "Certified Aircraft" when no supple-
mental typecertificateexists. Well, here goes...
First, you get an A&P mechanic to install it. He then
fills out an FAA form 337 complete with sketches,
pictures of the modification, and mails it to the local
FAA GADO office. They'll look at the data presented to
check to see that it doesn'tdegrade the aircraftperform-
ance or compromise safety. If there's any doubt, they
send it to FAA Engineering for their review and
approval. Once the FAA has approved the 337, they
send it back to the owner or mechanic. The local A&I
then comes out to inspect the aircraft to see that the
new equipment was installed per sketches, drawings, etc.
After he signs the 337, it goes to Oklahoma City to be
Here's what I really did...First I bought some brake
kits that were built for a Cessna 180, same weight class
as the Bellanca. I removed the old brakes and fitted the
new brakeson the old axles. Theold axles were the same
size so that saved some work. The brake attachingplate
had to have two new bolt holesdrilled in it to match the
existing plate on the Bellanca. With the new brake
hooked up, it was time to retractthe gear and check for
interference. The new brake puck hit the retract links
upon retraction, so go back to step 1and turn the brake
puck to the forward side of the wheel. Retract thegear
again, this time no interference. Now for the taxi test.
Boy, they really do work. Now for the paperwork. I
filled out a 337, carried it up to the GADO office in
Atlanta along with a drawing of the modification,
pictures and data showingwhere it was approved for the
Cessna 180. Well, the GADO inspector wanted it
checked by Engineering because he had no experience
with brakes installed on theforward side ofthe wheels. I
drove across town to the Engineeringoffice to meetwith
the Engineer and after he gave it a quick look, he said
OK; then back across Atlanta to get the GADO inspector
signat ure, then home.
May I suggest that if you want to modify your
Antique or Classic aircraft you get with an A&I first ,
then talk it over with the GADO I nspector before you
start into the project. They may know ofagood reason
why it won'twork.
Back - Issues available: THE VINTAGE AI RPLANE
1973 - March, April, May, June,July, August,Sept.,
Oct., Nov. , Dec.
1974- All 12
1975 - Jan.thru June, July/Aug., Sept./Oct., and
Nov./Dec.
1976 - 10, all BUTJuneandJuly
1977 - All 12
Cost : $1.00each ppd with theexceptionoftheJuly
'77 "Spirit"issue @ $1.25.
Write: Experimental Aircraft Association
Box 229
Hales Corners, WI 53730
Vintag
Men and Theil
Above: Morane Saulnier MS.377 is a very famous French parasol-wing trainer with radial engine. Still in use at some
airfieldsasaglider-tug. Builtin the thirties. This wasat Luneville.
Below: Erla SA was recently restored and based at the airfield ofBirrfeld in Switzerland. This one (c/n.74) was built in
7934;andisofGerman origin.
Some of E.
Photographsby: H. S. F.
AIRNIE
Postbus
HOLLA
Above: Bucker 737 "Jimgmann". This one was built in S
from the famous BU.7 33 "Jungmeister"in having twoseaL
these Swissoneshave aContinentalboxerengine.
Below: Taylorcraft Plus D. Anotheroldie is this Taylorer,
Cote.
Album
tage Machines
Above: Klemm L.25-R 15 is a very old German prewar design; still owned by Mr. Kramer at Luxembourg-Findal airport
and in excellent condition.
s's finest
m
WTTERDAM
3004 GA Rotterdam-Airport
'and with the Swiss Dornier works at Altenrhein. It differs
Above: DH.82A "Tiger Moth" is in fact G-APCU and was painted in its original RA F markings for the film "A Bridge Too
Far". Based at Gilze-Rijen Air Force Base in Holland.
71al Jungmanns have an engine with hanging cylinders, but
Below: De Havilland DH 82A, one of the best preserved Tiger Moths in EUrope and seen here at Bern Belp. It has a bright
m World War II. It can be seen here at Nyon-Gland a la
red and white colour scheme.
By: Byron (Fred) Fredericksen
3240 W. Breezewood Lane
Neenah, WI 54956
(Photos by the author)
"You gotta have big feet, eh?" After hearing this
choice bit of information I thanked Dan Springer and
hung up the phone. Danny 's an FBO in Sault Ste. Marie,
Ontario and is qualified in many of the "bush planes"
used in the Canadian North country. Of particular in-
terest to me at that time was his knowledge of the
Noorduyn Norseman. Danny advised me of the take-off,
climb and cruise power settings, amount of fuel burned
per hour, as well as flap settings for take-off and landing.
The information was to prove invaluable.
A friend, Richard Scribner, of Pontiac, Michigan, had
purchased a Norseman on floats which was located on a
reservoir near Rock Hill, South Carolina. It needed to be
The author and Norseman taking a five at the Island
Airport Bridge, Knoxville, KY.
ferried to the Brennand seaplane base on Lake Win-
nebago, near Oshkosh , Wisconsin, where it was to be
disassembled and taken to the Brennand Airport for
recover and other maintenance.
It was already the season where Wisconsin lakes
freeze over and since I had been unsuccessful in locating
anyone with a 'pontoon permit' who was also qualified
in a Norseman, I decided lowed myself th is trip. Years
ago I'd had the chance to sit in a Norseman. The closest
I'd come to flying that type was one take-off and land-
ing in an Otter on wheels, and two more in a Beech 18.
At the time, my partner, Chuck Andreas, and I owned a
Cessna 180 on floats. We also flew Gull Winged Stinsons
and Stearmans; however, it never hurts to listen to the
kind of experience that my friend Danny was willing to
share.
This Norseman had previousl y been operated in
South America so who knew what language was on the
instruments. I was sure the radio equipment was nil . I
had the log books but my Spanish is limited to
"Tequila".
Currently there are several Canadian and U.S. Flying
Services operatirig Norsemen today as people and cargo
haulers. The Norseman was design ed by ex Fokker Chief
Engineer, Robert Noorduyn and almost 1,000 were built
in his Montreal Plant beginning in 1934. The one I flew
was built in 1941. Most were designated UC-64S for the
U.S. Air Force and saw duty in several countries during
WW II. This old bird was capable, dependable and big.
I' m sure they will take their place in aviation history
along with the huge Bellancas, Fairchilds and Stinsons
that operated in the bush country all over the world for
the past fo ur decades. I remember watching Norsemans
pounding in and lifting out of the lake at Wawa, Ontario
on Tuesdays and Thursdays back in the 1950's before
Highway 17 was wrapped around Lake Superior. You
eit her flew back then or took the train to go shopping in
the Soo, and those planes were twenty years old at that
time. And the loads they would carry! I once saw a
disassembled caterpi li ar un loaded from a Norseman
along with some passengers and some loaded 55 gallon
drums.
Getting back to "my" Norseman, I thought about the
problems and equipment that would be involved in this
adventure. Since I'd already had some experience in buy-
ing and picking up airplanes I was wary of the phrase
"it's all gased and ready; all you have to do is get in it
and go ... " The only thing I was sure of before seeing
the plane was that I would not find any flat tires on it. I
made a check list of items I might need, including cash,
credit cards, maps, life jackets, rope, more rope, float
pump, gun boots, sack of tools, cloth tape, chamois, and
a helper. I called a pilot-buddy, Bill Olson, of Neenah
and asked, "how would you like an expense-paid trip
down South to help me man -handle this big float plane?
Be back in a day." He agreed and Delta brought us and
our gear to Charlotte the next day.
We rented a car, picked up the ferry permit from
FAA and drove another twenty miles into South Caroli-
na to see what this airplane looked like before dark. It
took some searching through the woods and hills but
once we found the reservoir it was not difficult to find
that big yellow airplane. The Norseman was practically
13
out of the water and it looked huge. Apparently, there
was a dam somewhere in this water system and someone
had recently turned a valve. So here sat the better part
of four tons of hulk on 'two huge floats which were
stuck in the mud. To add to our delight the thing was
parked in a cove facing directly at a boat house not more
than eighty feet away. This meant the airplane would
have to be turned ninety degrees to the right before it
could go forward in open water. At that point we didn't
think about how we were going to rotate it in the mud.
Perhaps the water level would be raised in the reservoir
the next day or so? I removed my boots, climbed up the
ladders and cowl and walked over the wing spars
inspecting the fabric for cracks, etc. The wings looked
okay, the fuselage had been converted to metal, but we
did wrap some 'high speed' cloth tape around the ver-
tical fin wh(;!re we found some cracks in the covering.
Next, I found the oil filler and checked its level. We 'd
brought oil, three gallons filled it to the neck. Then the
fuel was checked. The wings held 120 gallons and belly
tanks took forty-five and seventy-five. I was glad it had
some fuel as gas would have to be trucked in. We ran all
the quick drains we could find. We checked all the float
compartments for water, the float fittings and rear door
hinges for tightness; the engine for bird nests and the
rear outside baggage for snakes. I hate snakes. I found a
survival carton of dehydrated food with a Spanish label,
one 'Brzilia' kerosene lantern and a machete in a sheath.
I did not reach into any other dark corners.
The only thing left now was to start her up and listen
to her run. Only then did I think about a fire extinguish-
er. I like to have one when starting round engines. A
good backfire and a carb fire could ruin what was left of
our day. I carefully slipped into the left front seat
(which was a board) and located the primer and electric
energizer switch for the inertia starter, along with the
boast pump. After a half do ze n strokes on the primer we
each got on a float and turned the three-bladed prop
through a dozen times and I went back to the captain's
chair. I hit the master, boost energizer, mags and every-
thing else that looked important. Then I realized there
would be no fire here today.
Things were really taking shape now. Bill wanted to
know how I knew the battery was dead. I didn't answer.
I was saving my strength for the crank which I inserted
through the access door in the cowl so I could hand-
crank the inertia. I guess the crank was on board for
sentimental reasons. King Kong could not have turned
that crank. We found the huge twenty-four volt battery
under the co-pilot's seat, got the tool sack and removed
same. We took the battery back to an FBO at Charlotte,
who was just closing for the night and checked in at a
motel and then the bar. It started to rai n. "Good," I
thought, "maybe the water level will come up at the
lake."
The next morning we retrieved the charged-up bat-
tery and borrowed a fire extinguisher; then got soaked
loading these items in the car ... the rain had not
ceased. Back at the Norseman site everything was the
same; high and stuck on the beach. We installed the
battery, got all the switches, valves and levers where they
should be and had the 1340 running a few minutes later.
It ran smooth, sounded good, showed normal readings,
had two mags and a working propeller. I strut the thing
down. Since we were nice and wet already, we waded in
the water up over our boots and tried to move or turn
the airplane. Mind you, the floats are big and heavy, but
they can be damaged easily by pushing or lifting with
the tree limbs we were using. We left the scene and went
to a nearby tavern to seek help. Nobody around but the
innkeeper and she didn't want to accompany us. Back to
the airplane ....
I got to thinking about all the power that P&W had.
Soon, Bill took a position behind and under the fuselage
with a rope around a tree and the right front float. That
one seemed to have a little buoyancy. I got things run-
ning and warmed up. I was about to learn something
about a Norseman that would interest Springer. That
item is to never never have the pilot entrance door open
one hundred eighty degrees against the engine cowl
while adding power with one's upper torso out the door
open ing so he can peer aft. What happens is that about
the time the prop goes through roughly twenty inches of
manifold pressure the door comes flying shut as if Her-
cules was slamming it closed never to come open again!
I don't know if this crushing blow on my right elbow
caused it or not, but right after that I thought I heard
hollering from my assistant. I shut down and climbed
out nursing my elbow. I walked back to Bill who was
now sitting in the lake, mumbling something like : "why
don't you come along down South and we will fly this
nice big airplane back?" While looking for Bill's hat we
did notice the airplane had moved a few inches. Not too
bad for a day's work.
The only thing to do was keep trying. We again
attempted to dig some mud from around the floats with
some boards. We checked the ropes and kept the same
set-up, this time tying the right front tight to a tree
ninety degrees to it with Bill to take up the slack from in
between the two. I again started up, closed the door, and
eventually she came off the mud and onto the water.
The battery was beginning to weaken from all the starts
Fuselage was converted to metal sometime during 7960's.
Fuel stop on lake at Kalamazoo, MI.
so after dropping the water rudders I taxied around on
the lake to charge it up and gain practice turning the
thing. The rain had turned to mist in the late afternoon
and a fog was setting in. I saw a beer sign on the far end
of the lake and drove over to a dock on which stood this
friendly looking fellow who announced he had been
looking at that yellow airplane across there for a month
and had promised himself a ride in it before it left his
lake. I informed him "I never flew one of these before,
do you still wish to go?" "Yup." When I said let's go he
grinned, put on a life jacket, and soon we started down
the lake. We were in a valley which had an enormous set
of power lines hanging over it. Somehow, over the terrif-
ic engine noise in the cabin plus the distraction of a
two-hand flap crank and step position to reckon with,
his shouting and motions managed to indicate the
amount of open water out there and where the fog
covered hills would start to rise in front of us.
I looked out and down at the float wave as it came
forward and though I couldn't feel it, we had to be on
the step. I brought the big round wheel back and we
came unstuck right under the power lines with lots of
room ahead to turn around at the end of the valley. I
figured I had used 2 miles to get off. At 500 feet we
were at the cloud base. We made a few turns, cranked
the flaps and ailerons down and landed back at my co-
pilot's place and tied to his dock for the night. As we
relaxed at our new friend's bar, Bill asked him if he
enjoyed his ride. He said "ya atta wear ear plugs in that
thing."
The rain had stopped by the next morning but it was
extremely hazy as the car rental agency man drove us
down to Rock Hill. Flight Service had said they had 3
miles with haze and it should improve this A.M.
"Supposed to be good at 6,000," they said. The hills on
either side of the lake were hidden in the murk as we
taxied. I explained to Bill about how he should watch
for boats during the take-off run and hold the prop lever
full forward as the lock wouldn't hold. I cranked
some flaps down and told Bill I'd talk to him again when
15
we throttled back after take-off. Once more it took me
two miles to get it flying. At five hundred feet I came
back to cruise settings and could see nothing out front
but that huge cowl jumping around. You could only see
straight down and even that was very hazy. I wanted to
get above the layer of haze so we began to climb. At
twenty-five hundred all I got was a glimpse of the
ground now and then. I'd already lost our position on
the map and knew there were better than 6,000-foot
hills up north of Charlotte. So I brought the power back
on the old bear and began S-turning, looking for that
foolish river I'd lost. We had been in the air an hour
now.
It was raining again when I found a bridge, dam and
river all at the same time. With both hands Bill got the
flaps and ailerons down, while I made a step landing in a
wide stretch of the river. We'd passed over some kind of
a building near the dam so we turned around and taxied
about a mile back to where it was and saw this figure
drinking beer and waving us in. The floats hit the sandy
bottom twenty feet from shore so we shut down, got a
rope on the floats and walked through a foot of water to
get there. Right about now I was wishing the airplane
would go over the dam. Two and a half days were shot.
After learning we were in Hickory, North Carolina,
about 80 miles from where we had taken off we phoned
the FSS . They said the weather was not going to break
as fast as they'd forecast, but if we could get to Charles-
ton, West Virginia, we'd be in the clear and over the
river. Going cross country in a seaplane is a real problem.
Seaplane bases are scarce. I knew there was one that's
man-made at Dayton, Ohio. I got the phone number
from my trusty guide book and had a talk with the
Dayton man. "How much of a water runway do you
have?" "Four thousand feet." "Do you know what a
Norseman is?" "No." He pointed out that he'd got his
float rating in a Champ. He added that a Cessna 195 on
floats had come in the other day "and he got out." He
also mentioned there was this power line at one end,
"however, it's marked with orange balls." Just what I'd
expected, I thanked the man and hung up.
We took on three hours of fuel and the nice young
fellow with the beer (I wish I could remember his name)
held us in the river current with a boat until I got the
engine started. We took off in the haze once again know-
ing we would have to go through a 6,800 foot pass. At
four thousand we were in clouds, couldn't see "anything
and with no radio and undependable gauges it was loud
and clear we should go back from whence we came.
Pabst Blue Ribbon was there again and after helping
us tie to the shore insisted we come with him to his
home, meet his wife and family and have supper there.
His home was a lovely little ranch type layout on the
side of a lush green hill and we were glad to play guitar,
sing and enjoy a swell meal of corn bread, blackeyed
peas, ham and grits. Our host drove us back to a motel in
town with one hand on the wheel, the other holding a
beer... he had a beer in his hand the entire time I knew
him . Said he would have his own marina some day and
there would always be beer in the fridge. I thought to
myself - three days gone - should have been home by
now.
The next morning the weather was really sour. Fog
and rain. Bill then decided he should get back home to
his business. He took a jet out of town and I went to the
FSS and learned this weather pattern was going to
remain stationary for at least one more day. Two days
later I took off under a 6,000 foot broken layer. The
boys at Flight Service had asked me to fly low across the
airport so they could see this Norseman. After that I
went to 9,500 feet and headed across the hills toward
Kalamazoo, Michigan, where there is a seaplane base on
a big lake.
By flying north for an hour and thirty minutes I got
a feel for the airplane. Then I became aware that there
had been no holes down below for the past half-hour . I
went to 10,000 feet where I could see for a hundred
miles. Everything was solid at 7,000 feet and there was
this oil that began to appear from an access door in the
firewall. A little oil is one thing, but soon my feet were
sliding in it as more and more came. The stuff began
running out of the front office onto the rear cabin floor
and it continued until I knew for sure that a couple
gallons had gone by. Another 45 minutes elapsed with
no holes in the clouds so I turned around to go back
where I'd last seen some. I fully expected that engine to
run out of oil and seize right there in front of me. It was
difficult to watch anything but the oil pressure gauge. I
really did condition my mind that I'd have to let down
through the clouds over this country where everything
stands on edge. If there was no water I simply had to
land keeping the front end between the trees as the
wings came off. If I'd had a parachute I'd have jumped
out. I could tell the owner it went over the dam and
disappeared at Hickory. I lit what I knew was my last
cigarette when I suddenly saw this hole 3,000 feet
below. I'd been out three hours and fifteen minutes
now. Since I knew the wing tanks had been almost full I
should have another hour besides what was in the belly
tanks. I saw another hole to the southwest, went to it,
saw an airport below and let down, but no water. The
map showed some water north of Knoxville so with my
oily feet I steered that way and sure enough, I found
water.
I landed on this nice big lake half wishing it was too
small to get back out of. I taxied to a sand beach, got
the tool sack and removed all the engine cowling. Jgot a
pail of gas from a drum stored on board and washed the
oil out of the airplane. After the engine had cooled I
poured ten gallons of gas on it as there was oil all over. I
was going to clean the engine; fly it five minutes, land
and find out where the oil was coming from. After soak-
ing it with gas I thought "here's another chance, it'd
burn good now."
While the engine was drying off I walked to a house a
half mile away. I called the local airport and was inform-
ed their gas truck had no license tags. Knoxville, thirty
miles south, was the closest place for aviation gas. I call-
ed the Beech dealer there at I sland Airport and was
informed that if I would land in the river and taxi west
to the Island Bridge in back of the airport they would
bring a gas truck and gas me from the bridge. However,
the river was narrow there.
I thought good, maybe a low tree branch would tear a
wing off and I could jet home. I then called the Island
Tower, told them of our plan and was advised to come
along and watch for a light signal. Back at the lake I
reinstalled the cowl, emptied my drum into the wings,
pushed a stick into the oil filler neck - found some,and
flew down to Knoxville. After that hop I thought I'd
find out where the oil leak was. I got a green light,
landed, heard someone shout (with a megaphone) that
there is a three knot current. It was a pleasure to see
someone come with a boat to tow me to the bridge after
I got stuck in the trees.
One fellow handed the hose down from the truck
while others sat on the edge of the bridge pushing
against the cowl with their feet to keep the prop from
getting damaged. The airplane was as slippery as a
greased hog as it really had gotten an oil bath. But I got
the four tanks and extra drum filled without falling in
the river. I now had 1,800 Ibs. of fuel. Only a very slight
amount of oil had been lost on the last thirty mile flight.
A stick showed a good amount of oil in the tank so I
16
figured the 23 gallons I had in it at the start was just too
much. It just plain coughed out about three gallons as it
heated and foamed up. Later I learned 16 gallons is
plenty, but I never did find the dip stick.
I paid the good people, got towed out into the main
stream with tile boat and taxied down a mile for take-
off. I saw a green light from the tower and hoped that
any boater tearing around the bend in the river from the
south would have good brakes because I was going to be
right at the corner at lift off. I got off and headed north,
hoping to make Lake Michigan before dark; perhaps
even Meigs at Chicago. An hour later Lexington went by,
then Cincinnati and finally I was out of those blasted
hills and a man can see where he is going. What I saw was
lots of black in the north and Dayton had their lights on
as I pounded on by.
Midway between Dayton and Fort Wayne is a little
town called Celma. Next to it is a large lake or flowage.
It was raining now, getting dark, and a good south wind
was at work. I could see white caps on the water as I
circled low over the town and lake looking for wires. I
saw this building with a beer and food sign and on whose
roof was the word motel. Next to it was a sea wall and
manmade breakwater. Just what old Fred ordered. I
came in low and slow on the heels with everything back
in my lap. This water was not deep and stumps could be
anywhere, so I wanted to stop 'quick'. I did, turned, and
headed for the breakwater openi ng with the wind push-
ing hard on my back. I watched the waves roll into the
harbor, hitting against the concrete wall where I would
have to go. I decided not to sail in backwards without an
observer on the back end somewhere.
Even at a very slow idle something as big as this air-
plane gets moving pretty good in a big wind. I shut down
at the harbor entrance moving much faster than I would
have liked . The big ox started to turn 180 degrees into
the wind. I went to the rear of the cabin, grabbed the
paddle and was out through the right rear door and onto
a float in three seconds. I would have had as much
success trying to paddle the Queen Mary. But suddenly
some kind soul called out from the crowd that had
gathered on the wall saying if I wanted some tires he had
two in the trunJ< of his car. I said, "yes sir, get'em." Five
people caught the tail as it came in over the wall. The
tires appeared as the airplane swung parallel to the wall
and the floats slammed against them. I was parked. My
nerves were shot and I was tired from the day's events. I
went to the cockpit, tied the yoke, and came back to the
rear door, intending to climb down with some rope
when I slipped on the top rung of the oily ladder and
landed on my right knee right on the edge of the
concrete wall four feet below. The lights went out.
As I started to come to I was aware of how good the
cold wet concrete felt. Someone had put a jacket under
my head. From somewhere came a thought "maybe my
feet are not big enough for this airplane." I also reached
down with my sore right arm and felt a big tear in my
trousers. I discovered the same size tear in my right
knee. I wanted to cry but instead I found myself listen-
ing to this voice saying "you can't land on this lake,"
and, "I would like to see yours and the airplane's
papers. " The voice's owner was wearing a cap and jacket
with stars pinned on each. He then went to his car and
picked up a radio mike.
My leg was really hurting as I tried to help some folks
tie the float struts to the wall. I don't believe the officer
knew I had hurt myself until I came dragging over to his
After rebuild and assembly a crane lowers airplane onto floats.
Huge Norseman wing ready for new cover.
17
I
Norseman owner, Richard Scribner, Pontiac, MI.
car with my bleeding leg. I opened the door, sat down
and announced that "right now and in this order" I was
going to that motel, right there, get a room, get my
bloody wet clothes changed, get a doctor to sew up my
knee, come back to th is restaurant, eat and then proceed
to drink all the beer in the place. "And after that if you
want to come and get me, I'll give up." Then I added, "if
you would Ii ke to have an airplane you can have that
yellow one, free!" He asked if I wished to go to a
doctor. I told him I could manage okay. He said "I'll be
back about 8 o'clock."
During the next couple of hours I accomplished all
the things I told the officer I would do. He showed up at
8:00 in the restaurant. I had brought in the airplane
papers and ferry permit. For the first time in the twenty
years I've had one, I was asked to produce my pilot's
license and medical certificate. It turned out the officer
was an ex-military pilot and knew about such things.
Next I got a lecture about how dangerous it was to land
on this lake with all the stumps out there. Furthermore
the lake was restricted to seaplanes and I had violated
that code. The city fathers had even called the police
station to find out what was going on out there with
that airplane. The officer was really a nice guy. After
hearing my adventures of the past few days and my
promise to remove myself and that float plane in the
morning come hell or low water he decided to forget the
whole thing. I put my aching bones to bed.
Four days now.
At dawn there was no more than a 300 foot ceiling
with rain. I untied the Norseman, kicked it with my left
foot, checked the oil and quick drains, and dragged it to
the mouth of the harbor. I tied it to a post there, started
it and let it run for 20 minutes. It was cold out. It was
too early for most folks to be up but I knew they would
be soon, as I had to take off right over the town. I tried
to hold back a grin .
The floats of an airplane leave a track in the water for
some time, same as a boat. I taxied way across the lake,
dodging stumps. On the take-off run one can follow his
track on the water which I did. I flew at 200 feet watch-
ing for towers and finally broke out in the clear right
over the Goshen, I ndiana Airport (all I needednow was
to be reported for flying too low).
Believe it or not the balance of the trip was made in
good weather with no further problems as I pounded
across the lower end of Lake Michigan right up to Meigs
Field 50 feet off the water. I had to have some fun on
th is trip. As I flew by some of the tallest and newest
buildings in the world on the Chicago lakefront
thought about the mud huts this old airplane probably
cast its shadow on over the Amazon or wherever else it
went. Two hours later we were on Lake Winnebago at
Oshkosh. Four days enroute, fourteen hours flying time,
and just under 500 gallons of fuel to fly a thousand mile
trip!
I didn't intend to tell a hairy story here. As it happen-
ed, I encountered bad weather. Being alone to man-
handle the airplane on the water did not help. I know
the Norseman is not a big airplane to the transport pilot.
I t is an easy airplane to fly once you get it in the air and
it would be fun to have up north where you can find
seaplane bases made for equipment like this. i will
probably never get a chance to fly one again.
I have not checked, however, there may be as few as
30 or 40 of these models flying at this point in time.
Aside from the DC-3's, Beech 18's and a handful of
Lockheed 10's and 12's the Norseman is about the only
other "antique" airplane operating commercially today.
I wonder how many readers have even seen a Norseman
on floats other than while on a Canadian or Alaskan
hunting or fishing trip. This airplane could cease to exist
in my time. It's a lot of airplane for the average antiquer
to buy, rebuild and fly.
My adventure took place in 1973. During '74 and '75
the airplane was disassembled, inspected and serviced.
All fabric surfaces were recovered with Ceconite. The
huge wood spars were sanded and varnished. Many parts
were replaced: glass, instruments, cables, etc. The overall
airplane was still in remarkably good condition after
more than thirty years of service. The Edo 7170 floats
were cleaned up and painted. The finish paint colors are
red, white and yellow. Dick took the airplane over to a
lake near Pontiac this past summer.
For my part, I'll have to oe content now and then to
look at the lantern, I removed from the baggage
compartment, which is hanging in my home. I like to
guess about all the places it and the Norseman visited.
It is quite a seaplane .
~
I": ~
18 - 01 - -.- .
7. Budrubsin the2025... .
3. 5wirllinesare evident ... .
_. _
Articleandphotosby:
David Gustafson, Editor
(Note: This will be the first in a series of Tips. If you've
got any secret methods or tools for refurbishing aircraft
materials please share them with us. Photos or diagrams
will help a lot.)
Bud Labutski (548 W. Chestnut, Burlington, WI
53105) has pretty much traded in his free time options
to lead the restoration work on the EAA's B-25J. Bud's
dedication, and that of his fellow volunteers, has
contribut ed to the steady progress on the project and his
experiments to restore the finish of the bomber have
produced some glittering results.
Granted, shining up the thick hide of a B-25J won't
be a very common event in the Antique/Classic world ,
but the technique may work nicely on something made
of thinner stuff, say a Swift for example. Naturally, you
shou ldn't attempt any method on a large scale without
some ex perimentation in a small remote area.
Bud' s process on the B-25 J started after he'd stripped
off four to seven coats of paint. He was left with a dull
surface of aluminum oxide, broken only by occasional
islands of corrosion that were easily identified by
.chromate primer which wouldn't come off.
To penetrate the dullness, Bud starts with a liberal
hand ap plication of Dupont's 202S (orange) Lacquer
Rubb ing Com pound. The paste is aggressively rubbed
over the entire surface and into seams and the spaces
between rivets. Let it dry thoroughly, then take an auto
body buffer with a sheep's wool polishing disc and apply
the disc at a sharp angle. Flatten the pad when passing
down a row of rivets or a seam. Keep it moving or you'll
burn the alu minum . It may be necessary to make a
couple passes, but it won't take long to get some shiny
results. Now buff again with a clean pad, make sure that
all th e 202 is off, th en rub on 303S (orange) Machine
Polishing Compound, which is a finer grit. Again, you'l l
need two pads and several passes. The final pudding is
number 101 S (whi te) Rubbing Compound. Remove the
first coat with your auto buffer and take off any sub-
seq uent coats with a twin disc buffer which will remove
the swirl marks left from the larger discs.
No, you will not have factory new surfaces, but if the
skin wasn't deeply gouged in the first place, it'll look
remark ably decent in the end. Ce rtai nly , everyone who's
seeri the work on the B-25 J has been pleasantly
surpri sed, including hard workers like Cletus Ehler, John
Gadeikis, Jon Lawrence, Andy McClelland, Andy Gel-
ston, and Bill Pau I.
2. Andbuffsthedriedcompound ....
4. Butsomedaysoon....
WHISTLING IN THE RIGGING
By Tom Poberezny
Each year the Experimental Aircraft Association has
grown, both in size and in stature. EAA has become the
recognized and respected leader of the sport aviation
community. An important part of the EAA growth has
been its divisions ... the Antique/Classic, Warbirds of
America and the International Aerobatic Club.
EAA Headquarters has worked closely with division
leadership in providing the services necessary for sound
growth. For example, EAA handles memberships, inquir-
ies and purchasing for the Antique/Classic Division. The
expertise ofour Headquartersstaffallows your Board to
concentrate on mattersofpolicy as well as taking advan-
tage of the sources ofsupply we have developed over 25
yearsofexperience.
Dave Gustafson has been added to our staff so that
each division has a direct contact at Headquarters who
can work with them in solving problems. In addition,
Dave will be assuming the important position of Editor
of the VINTAGE AIRPLANE Magazine. We are striving
to provide and insure stability and planned growth for
each division so that as leadership changes, continuity
remains.
Not only have the divisions provided tremendoussup-
port at the annual EAA convention, but they also work
closely with EAA in dealing with government. Many
times EAA has been asked by FAA to provide input
concerning regulations and programs. The specialized
expertise of the divisions allows us to provide accurate
information on questions that relate to their area of
interest. This self-policingapproach is most importantin
our continuing efforts to protect our rights to fly . ..
both safely and economically.
EAA has received numerous requests from various
organizations within the sport aviation community,
asking for divisional status. Your EAA Board of
Directors has given these requests serious consideration
and have decided thatexpanding the numberofdivisions
would not be possible at this time. Expansion would
greatly tax our available manpowerand would only serve
to dilute the services that we are capable of providing.
This situation will be reviewed again in thefuture.
:::;:::::::::::::;::
....................:.;.;:::>::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;:::::::=:;.;...
Dear Mr. Kelch,
Your October 1977 number is the finest. Ihave had
the pleasure of reading about the Old Johnson Mono-
plane. You appreciate fine mechanical work and know
what you are writing about - too bad that all the
Johnson family is dead. They never had proper recog-
nition.
I witnessed most of the flights made at or near Terre
Haute - but had nothing to do with the building ofthe
plane - nor the motorused in it.
I married the sister of the Johnson Brothers in 1910
and moved to the country not far from where the 1911
to 1913flights were made.
Iwas agood friend ofRoss L.Smith (Smitty) and last
saw him in 1933 where he was a reporter on the Wash-
ington Post.
I helped the Brothers start the Motor Wheel Company
at South Bend and later the OB Motors - both Harry
(continued next page)
tAe YELLOW J-3 CUB
....<a1
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OfANYTOWN 400
AnytOWf'l. u.s.....
,,,
I. LA R5
': 0 I I >... SE, 7': ,,' I I SE,,,'
PLANE CHECKS
A NEWWAYTO IDENTIFYWITH "YOUR THING"
Regular bankchecksemblazoned withaflyingyellowJ3 CubI
Complete the order form, and write out your check. I\ow, get a
deposit slip from the same account, and clearly indicate any
changes or other notations as you wish ittoappear on the checks.
(These twodocumentswill furnish usall thedata we need tomake
your checks compatible with your bank's computer, and Amer.
Bank Ass' n specs.) On gift orders, send your check and mark his
check VOlD. Please allow 3weeks fordelivery.
StartUsing Plane ChecksNow!
Yourold checkswillalwaysbe good.
IdentityCheck Co. Box 1490 Park Ridge, III. 60068
"Activate" myorder forPlane Checks, starting No. _____
0300$7.50 0 600$12.75 0 900-$17.75
Plane Check.s are top part deposit slips and registersare .ncluded In each order.
__Checkbook cover $.50 $
oYellowJ -3 Cub
n PIPER Assortment n BeeCH Assortment o NORTH CENTRAL DC 9
oCherokee o Sundowner o CONTINENTALDCl0
D Arrow [lV Bonanza o HELICOPTER IBELLI
tJ Seneca II rJ Baron- [] P51 MUSTANG
[] BREEZY' U CURTISSJENNY' rl NATIONALDCl0
n CESSNA Assortment o TWA L-1011 o AMERICAN DCl0
n Hawk [J PSA 727 U EASTERN L l0ll
n210Centurion" fl BD5 [] WESTERN DC-l0
0 310 U MOONEY
[] PITTSSPECIAL' U UNITED DC l0
Pl eo$e allow 10extra days to process the5e checks.
All check backgroundsare blue (exceptJ 3 Cub)
Shipvia 0 UPS (insured) 0 Parcel Post 0 WEST COASTadd
onedollar- we'll fly it!
ShipTo: _____________________
Address
City State Zip____
2C
Johnson and I retired in 1935and Harry was my closest
neighbor here on the farm until his death.
I do have a lot of old Johnson printed matter clip-
pings, magazines, photographs, slides, etc., so if you
want to ask any questions about the early plane - that
may not be tooclear to you, justfire away and Iwill try
my best to help you.
Sihcerely,
Warren M. Conover
Route1 Box 108
Culver, IN 46511
Dear Mr. Kelch,
Thank you very much for the coverage ofthe Johnson
Brothers aircraft in THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Tode-
vote an ent ire issue to one subject seems to me to be a
very good idea.
Shall prize it very much. One thing I miss is a cut
away drawing such as the oneofthe EAA Biplane in the
1965 copy of the Light Pl ane Guide published by
Superior Publications, 14 West Superior Street, Duluth
2, MN,atthat time.
Understand Headquarters has a copy of, OF MONO-
COUPES & MEN by Underwood. Enclosed please find
check for $10.00 to cover purchase of copy of this
book. Whatever's leftgoes to the museum.
Is there any information available on the Huntington
H.12 - Motorcycle engined monoplane as published in
1919 in aerial age mag? The article is by Wes Farmer.
Mr. Dwight Huntington was a draftsman during World
War Iatthe Curtiss Pl antin Buffalo, New York (i n Light
Plane Guide).
Sincerely,
AlbertNeumann
1350Davine Drive
Glendale Heights, IL 60137
'-
Fairchild 77 Built in 7928
Dear Paul,
I thought Iwould drop you a line and let you know
that I saw the Spirit ofSt. Louison TV lastweek flying
over Chicago. You were doing the talking in the show.
You mentioned in your letter that you will have a
Stinson SM8A for a chase plane. That brought old
memories back, Iflew one ofthose high wing Stinson'sa
lot in the 30'sand 40's, but Idon'tremember for sure if
it was a SM8A or a 7A. The man that owned it had a
450 hp Wright hung on the nose of it, but I guess it
originally came out with a 220 hp engine. The bush
pilots in these mountain areas hung big engines on those
old airplanes to be able to operate in short and high
altitude fields.
Irecall this Stinson was pretty nose heavy when you
were flying it without aload.You didn'tdare get on the
brakesvery hard when landing.
I am sending you a picture ofa Fairchild "71"that I
used to own when Iwas in the bush flying business.
It was a 7-place, with the pilot sitting up front along
and with a stick, same as the B-1 Ryan was. The rudder
pedals were located so your feet hung straight down
when flying it. Icould haul up to aton offreight in it.
Sincerely,
Tom Ki iskila
Box 352
Profino, 10 83544

A()
ADVERTISING CLOSING DATE: 10THOFTHE SEC-
OND MONTH PRIOR TO PUBLICATION DATE.
(THAT IS: MARCl;f 10TH IS CLOSING DATE FOR
MAY ISSUE) CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATE: -
Regular type per word 35c. Bold face type: per word
40c. ALL CAPS: per word 45c. (Minimum charge
$5.00). (Ratecoversone insertion one issue).
CASH WITHORDER
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MANAGER, THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE, Box 229,
HalesCorners, WI 53130.
Make all checks or money orders payable to EXPER-
IMENTAL AIRCRAFTASSOCIATION.
1936 J-2 CUB 90% restored. New Piper cowlings, new
ribs and spars, seats, tires, brakes. Plane is unassembled.
Highest offer over $4,000. Bud Huff, 623 Western Ave-
nue, Anehime, CA 90820
MOONEY M 18 series service instruction manual.
Includes aircraft specifications, equipment lists, rigging
information, parts list with drawings. $15.00 pd"stpaid.
Flite-Comm Electronics, 3605 E. Spring Street, Long
Beach, CA 90806
ERCOUPE 415-C service manual. Includes aircraft
speeifications, equipment list, rigging information,
inspection procedures, drawings and repair instructions.
$15.00 postpaid. Flite-Comm Electronics, 3605 E.
SpringStreet, Long Beach, CA 90806
AERONCAS - How to buy, rebuild, operate. Free
details, send stamped addressed envelope. AeroncaClub,
14100 Lake Candlewood Court, Miami Lakes, FL 33014
MISe. FORSALE
Antique aircraft wind generator. Streamlined. British
manufacture - $150.00. e.Seaborn, R.R. No.9,Calgary,
Alberta T2J 5G5.
COMPLETE SET OF THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE for
sale. Issue one to the present. John Eney, 115 S. 8th
Street, Quakerstown, PA 18951. Phone 215/441-2591
days.
21
\
Are you restoring a Classic?
CUSHION UPHOLSTERY SETS
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22