STRAIGHT & LEVEL

byEspie"Butch"Joyce
Forthoseofyouwhomayhavemissed
the outstanding article by Jack Cox in
February's SPORT AVIATION
magazine on Contemporary Airplanes,
you need to pickup acopy andread this
article. It isayearby yearreviewofthe
Contemporary class of aircraft that the
Antique/Classic Division has voted to
recognizeasanothercategorywithinour
Division. This category covers years
1956 through 1960. I just can't say
enough good words about the time and
effortthatJackputintothisarticle. Jack,
you are to be commended for doing a
greatjob. OnbehalfoftheAntique/Clas-
sicDivision,thanks!
InFebruary,weheldthewintermeet-
ing of the Board of Directors of the
Antique/ClassicDivision. Therewerea
number of issues and concerns ad-
dressed during this meeting. I have
severalissuesthatIwouldliketo report
on: First, your Board ofDirectors has
appointed aHallofFamecommitteeof
Bob Lickteig, Director, Gene Chase,
Director and myself. The rough draft
for this program was presented to the
Board at the February meeting with
someadjustmentstobemade. Thefinal
draft will be presented to the Anti-
que/ClassicBoardinMay. ThisHallof
Fameprogram is to honorthosepeople
who have contributed to the anti-
que/classic movement, taking into ac-
count the Experimental Aircraft
Association and the Antique/Classic
movementasa whole. I will have fur-
ther details on this program after the
May meeting as the final details are
workedout.
I received a letter in the mail from
Dan Linn, Antique/Classic #16196.
Dan wrote me in regards to how much
he enjoys VINTAGE AIRPLANE and
howhelovesflying. Heisonly 18years
oldandownsaBC12DTaylorcraftand
sent me some photographs which you
will see next month in this magazine.
His letter has prompted me to comeup
withsomeideasfor acontest. Lookfor
moredetailsinnextmonth'sVINT AGE
AIRPLANE.
Your Antique/Classic Board again
voted to lend our support to Pioneer
Airport at the EAA Air Adventure
MuseumsincePioneerAirportdisplays
the type of aircraft that we are most
interested in. Wewill betalkingabout
this further at the next Board meeting,
but it is our idea to possibly lend our
supporttowardtheflying aircraftofthe
Pioneer Airport. We would like to see
asmanyoftheseaircraftaspossiblekept
in flying condition, to be flown at the
PioneerAirportontheweekendsforthe
education and entertainment of the
general public. Also, the Board voted
for the Antique/Classic Division to
financially support the Consolidated
PT-3 projectthatiscurrentlyunderway
by the EAA Aviation Foundation. A
very unusual aircraft, this aircraft was
donatedto theFoundationbyBuckHil-
bert, one of your officers of the Anti-
que/Classic Division. Welookforward
to seeing this aircraft flying at Pioneer
Airportinthenearfuture.
Justaremindertoallofthemembership
that this is the yearthat we will officially
recognize the Contemporary aircraft and
parkthose aircraft in the Antique/Classic
show plane area at EAA Oshkosh 1992.
(Judging starts next year.) Pass the word
we would like to have a good turnout of
theseaircraftsothepublicandthoseinter-
estedinthiseraofaircraftcanreviewthese
attheconvention.
As March goes along, we are fast ap-
proaching the Sun 'n Fun Fly-in at
Lakeland, Florida. I encourage all the
Antique/Classicmemberswhocan,toat-
tend this really good fly-in. I plan on
being there all week and hope to see as
manyofyouthereaspossible. Thisisone
fly-inthatIamabletoattendandnothave
to be that concerned about the everyday
managementoftheevent. Itgivesmean
opportunity to visit around the Anti-
que/Classicareaandtalkoneononewith
ourmembership. Ilookforwardtoseeing
you there.
During March a lot ofpeople will be
returning theiraircraftto theskies. As I
mentioned in the last Straight & Level
column, Iwant toencourageeveryoneto
beespecially safety conscious as we go
back to the air in the Spring of 1992.
Pleasebecareful.
Let'sall pullinthesamedirectionfor
thegoodofaviation. Remember,weare
bettertogether. Joinus and have it all!
.....
.!:
'"
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>-
Ii
Here's an added bonus to Butch's page. We'll bet you never expected to see one of
these in the air againl This is the just completed replica of the Gee Bee R-2, flown by
Delmar Benjamin. See the March issue of SPORT AVIATION for more on this exciting
project by Delmar and Steve Wolf.
c
EDITORIALSTAFF
Publisher
Tom Poberezny
March1992 Vol. 20,No.3
Vice-President,
MarketingandCommunications
DickMatt
Editor-in-Chief
JackCox
Editor
HenryG. Frautschy
ManagingEditor
GoldaCox
ComputerGraphicSpecialist
OliviaL. Phillip
Advertising
Mary Jones
AssciateEditor
NormPetersen
FeatureWriters
GeorgeHardie,Jr. DennisParks
StaffPhotographers
JimKoepnick MikeSteineke
CarlSchuppel DonnaBushman
EditorialAssistant
IsabelleWlske
EAAANTIQUE/ CLASSIC DIVISION,INC,
OFFICERS
President VIce-President
Esple' Butch'Joyce ArthurMorgan
604 HighwaySt . 3744North51st Blvd.
Madison.NC27025 Milwaukee,WI 53216
919/427.0216 414/422-3631
Secretary Treasurer
StevenC. Nesse E.E. ' Buck'Hilbert
2009HighlandAve. P.O. Box424
AlbertLea,MN56007 Union,IL60180
007/373-1674 815/923-4591
DIRECTORS
JohnBerndt RobertC.' Bob'Brauer
7645EchoPointRd. 9345S.Hoyne
Cannon MN55009 Chlcago,IL
007/263-2414 312/779-2105
GeneCha$e JohnS.Copeland
2159CarijonRd. 28-3WilliamsburgCt.
Oshkosh.WI 54904 Shrewsbury,MA01545
414/ 231-fiJ02 508/842-7867
PhilCoulson Geo<geDaubner
28415SpringbrookDr. 2448LoughLane
Lawton,M149065 Hartford,WI53027
616/624-6490 414/673-5885
Harris StanGomoll
3933SouthPeoria 104290thLane, NE
P.O. Box904038 MN55434
Tulsa,OK74105 612/784-1172
919/742-7311
DaleA. Gustafson JeannieHIli
7724ShadyHiliDr. P.O. Box328
Indianapolis,IN46278 Harvard,IL 60033
317/293-4430 815/943-7205
RobertUcktelg RobertD.' Bob' Lumley
1708SayOaksDr. 1265South 124thSt.
AlbertLea,MN56007 Brookfield,WI53005
007/373-2922 414/782-2633
GeneMorris Geo<geYork
11SCSteveCourt,R.R.2 181 SlobodaAv.
Roanoke.TX 76262 Mansfield,OH44906
817/ 491-9110 419/529-4378
S.H.' Wes' Schmid
2359LefeberAvenue
Wauwatosa,WI 53213
414/771-1545
DIRECTOR EMERITUS
S.J.WHlman
7200S.E.85thLane
Ocala,FL32672
904/245-7768
ADVISORS
JimmyRollison
823 CarrionCircle
Winters,CA95694-1665
916/795-4334
DeanRichardson GeoffRobison
6701 ColonyDr. 1521 E.MacGregorDr.
Madison,WI 53717 NewHaven,IN 46774
608/833-1291 219/493-4724
Straight& LevelJEspie"Butch"Joyce
2 AeroMaii
3 AlC News
4 VintageLiteraturelDennisParks
8 AircraftRestorationandFAR21.303/
H.G.Frautschy
10 GeorgeBushand"His" Stearman/
H.G. Frautschyand MaryJones
CONTENTS
Page 10
12 Bill andClaireNutting'sWacoSRE/
Norm Petersen
16 ContinentalDouglasDC-3/
H. G. Frautschy
21 Snap-on'sHintsForRestorers
22 WhatOurMembersAreRestoring!
NormPetersen
24 InterestingMember- L.W, Hammer/
JimHaynes
25 WelcomeNewMembers
26 PassItToBucklE.E. "Buck"Hilbert
27 Calendar
28 MysteryPlane/George Hardi e
30 VintageTrader
Page21
FRONTCOVER...Recalli ng an earlier dayin commerci alaviation,
the Continental Airlines Historical Society'sDouglas DC-3 lumbers
alongovertheWisconsin countryside. Photo byCarlSchuppel.shot
witha CanonEOS- 1equippedwi thanS0-200lens. 1/ 250sec.atfS.O.
EM photoplaneflownbyColinSoucy.
BACK COVER ...Bi ll and Claire Nutting's prettyWaco SRE was
awarded the ' Outstanding Closed-Cabin Biplane' prize during EM
Oshkosh '91. Phot o byJim Koepnick, shot with a Canon EOS-1
equippedwith an SO-200 lens. 1/ 500 sec. atf5.6. EMphoto plane
flownbyColinSoucy.
Copyright 1992 bytheEMAntique/ClassicDivision Inc.All rightsreserved.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Antique/Classic Division,Inc. of the Experimental
Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd" P.O. Box 3086,Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086.
Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices.The membership rate for EAA Antique/Classic
Division, Inc.is$20.00forcurrentEAA membersfor 12month periodofwhich$12.00isforthepublicationofVINTAGEAIRPLANE. Membership
isopentoallwhoareinterestedinaviation.
POSTMASTER:Sendaddresschangesto EAA Experimenter,P.O.Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.FOREIGNAND APOADDRESSES-
PleaseallowatleasttwomonthsfordeliveryofVINTAGEAIRPLANEtoforeignandAPOaddressesviasurlacemail.
ADVERTIStNG - Antique/Classic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising.We invite constructive
criticismandwelcomeanyreportofinferiormerchandiseobtainedthroughouradvertisingsothatcorrectivemeasurescan betaken.
EDITORIALPOLICY:Readersare encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those ofthe
authors. Responsibilityforaccuracy in reporting rests entirelywith the contributor.Norenumeration is made.Material should be sent to: EdHor,
VINTAGEAIRPLANE,P.O.Box3086,Oshkosh,W154903-3086. Phone4141426-4800.
The words EAA,ULTRALIGHT,FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM, SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EM,EAA INTERNATtONAL
CONVENTION,EMANTIQUE/CLASSIC DtVtSION,INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUBS,WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are registered
trademarks. THE EMSKY SHOPPE and logosofthe EMAVIATION FOUNDAnONand EMULTRALIGHTCONVENnON aretrademarks
oftheaboveassociationsandtheirusebyanypersonotherthantheaboveassociation isstrictlyprohibited.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE 1
MAIL
BONUSMYSTERYPLANE
Having been a member ofour Dan-
bury (CT) EAA Chapter 130for about
twentyyearsandofEAAformaybeten,
I come to you to seek some help and
information. I can't think of a place
whichcouldbemoreableandwillingto
tacklethis.
Enclosed is a photograph of my
Grandfather, boarding his aeroplane,
yet I know very little about it. It is
Austrian for sure, south of Vienna, I
suspectbeforeorduringthefirstWorld
War. Ihavebeenunabletodecipherthe
airplane wheel, resembling an actual
steering wheel. Notethelandinggear,
four wheelsandagreatamountofwire
bracing supporting the mono-wing.
Lookslikealube-oiltankaboveandan
enormouspropellerupfront.
Iwouldlovetogetalltheinformation
Icanonthisairplaneandpossiblybuild
areplica.
Sincerely,
MichelFithian
155 OscawanaLakeRd.
PutnamValley,NY 10579
After Dennis Parks and I researched
this inthe Boeing Aeronautical Library,
we were able to identify the aeroplane
as a Lohner-Etrich, probably around
1912, according to the definitive book
by Col. John de Vries, "Taube, Dove of
War". The name of the side of the
fuselage was the "serial number" ofthe
craft in the early days of the Austrian
Air Service. Later, in 1915,actual num-
bers were used. The distinctive tank
following the shape of the cabane strut
over the fuselage is most likely a
radiator/coolant header tank combina-
tion. (Note the cap on top ofafiller tube
near the very top.) If anybody else can
add to our knowledge about this
aircraft, please write to us here at
VINTAGE AIRPLANE, or to Michel at
the address in his letter. - HGF
2 MARCH 1992
YOUNGBLOOD
It's a thrilling day when my EAA
magazines come in. I really enjoy
VintageAirplane.
I went flying with my daughter Jina
andasshewaspre-flightingourPA-15-
17 (Continental 65) memories came
backwhenshelearnedtoflyinourFunk
- convertedto75hp. Jinagrewupwith
hand-propping and taildraggers. Her
agegrouparetheonesthatcanandwill
still enjoy the freedom of unspoiled
flightandto knowthatalloftheseAn-
tique and Classic airplanes will keep
increasinginvalueandprestige-
BudJury
AIC 123923
LAPine,OR
The photo ofJina and the Piper was
taken at Sun River, Oregon. As Bud
said, "What a way to have fun! "- HGF
CessnaOwnerOrganization receive an application or obtain more
P.O.Box337 informationonAirAcademy activities
lola,WI54945 and scholarship possibilities, contact
715/445-5000or800/331-0038 theEAAAviationFoundation'sEduca-
Fax715/445-4053 tionDepartment,EAAAviationCenter,
Magazine: Monthly P.O. Box 3065, Oshkosh, WI 54903-
UI'WS
compiledby H.G. Frautschy
PIONEERNEWS
As detailed in the March issue of
SPORT AVIATION, EAA 1, Paul
Pobereznyisspearheadingthebuilding
of a Consolidated PT-3 for the EAA
Aviation Foundation to be used at
PioneerAirport. OurownBuckHilbert
gottheballrollingafewyearsagowhen
hedonatedasetofwings,ailerons,tail
groupandcentersectionof aPT-I . For-
gottenbymanyovertheyears,thePT-l
andPT-3weretheprimarytrainersused
by the Army Air Corps in the time
period between the Curtiss Jenny and
theStearmanPT-17. Afullsizerecrea-
tion of a PT-3, using many of these
original partsdonated by Buck, is now
in the process of being constructed.
Sincethisaircraftisbeingbuiltwiththe
intentionofbeing used at PioneerAir-
port as a flying display airplane, the
decisionhasbeenmadetopoweritwith
a220hpContinental,asopposedtothe
hard-to-obtain WrightJ5thatoriginally
powered the PT-3. If any members
haveaContinental R-670 onhand that
they would be willing to part with,
either to donate orsell at a reasonable
price, contact Paul at EAA Head-
quarters, 414/426-4800. Tobeusefulto
theproject,theengineshouldatleastbe
in good enough condition to be over-
hauled. The Antique/Classic Board of
Directors voted during the last board
meeting to donate $4500 towards the
project. Generous donations have also
beenmadebyGaryLevitzofParkCity,
UT and Paul Poberezny. Wicks
Aircraft has donated streamline strut
materialforthewingandcentersection
struts,and RayStitshasgenerouslyof-
fered to provide the covering material
fortheproject,aswellasactuallycover
thewingsofthePT-3duringEAAOsh-
kosh '92. Ifyou would like to make a
tax-deductible donation to the project,
pleasemakeyourcheckouttothe"EAA
Foundation's PT-3 Project". You can
send it to EAA Headquarters, ATIN:
EAAFoundationOffice.
TWOMORETYPECLUBS
Apairoftypeclubsthatwemissedin
ourlistlastNovemberwerethesetwo:
Dues: $36.00peryear
PiperOwnerSociety
P.O. Box337
lola,WI54945
715/445-5000or800/331-0038
Fax715/445-4053
Magazine:Monthly
Dues:$36.00peryear
These two organizations cover the
entire spectrum of their respective
manufacturers output, from the early
Cubsand 140stothe206andMalibu.
CULVERREUNION
ATSUN'NFUN
If you have a Culver, and are
anywhere near the Lakeland, Florida
areaduring Sun 'nFun,you may wish
to takepartinaCulverget togetheron
April 8th. Contact Dan Nicholson
713/351-0114formoreinformation. '
PARKSATEAAOSHKOSH'92
AsParksCollegeof St.LouisUniver-
sitynearsits65thanniversary,plansare
being made to kickoffthe celebration
duringEAAOshkosh'92withadisplay
ofevery typeofairplanethatParkshas
used during flight training - a Travel
Air, Stearman, J-3 Cub, Ercoupe,
Cessna 150/152 and as their premiere
display,a 1929ParksP-l. Aneffortis
nowunderwaytoobtainthelastremain-
ing Parks P- l for permanentdisplay at
the College and to also be the center-
pieceofthecelebrationduringtheCon-
vention. Special recognition is being
made to donorsof$50ormore. Ifyou
haveanaircraftthatwasflownbyParks
College, are willing to allow your
airplane to be displayed as part ofthe
celebration, or if you would like to
donate to the Parks P-l fund, contact
Parks College, Cahokia, IL 62206,
phone618/337-7500.
EAAAIRACADEMY
Foryoungstersaged 15-17,theEAA
Air Academy is an unequaled educa-
tional experience. For two weeks just
priortotheEAAConvention,July 19 -
August4,participantswillbeimmersed
in aviation, learning new skills and
being presented opportunities for per-
sonal achievement within the field of
aviation. The application deadline for
the Air Academy is May 1st. To
3065orcall414/426-4888or426-4800.
TheEAACanadianCouncilwillad-
minister a $400 scholarship, provided
by theAVEMCOInsuranceCompany,
tohelpbringa15-17yearoldCanadian
aviation enthusiast to the EAA Air
Academy '92. For more information
contact EAA Canadian Council,
Walker, Chairman, 2348 Gamet St,
Regina,Sask. S4T3A2
EAGLESPASSING
Two elder statesman of aviation
passed away recently - Ole Fahlin and
BernardWiplinger.
OleFahlin(A/C 511), 90yearsold,
passed away in Gilroy, CA. Ole en-
joyed a lifelong career in aviation,
learningtofly in post-WWIGermany,
servinginthesmallSwedishRoyalAir
Force flying war surplus Albatrosses.
Aftercomingto Americain 1924,Fah-
lin barnstormed around the Midwest.
While barnstorming, he decided he
could make a better propeller, and a
company known for its fine props was
born. Aftermakingpropsforanumber
ofyears, Ole went to work for Lock-
heed, and retired in the late 1960's.
Renewedinterestinwoodpropsforthe
antique and homebuilt market resulted
in Fahlin restarting his propeller
manufacturing,andhispropswereonce
again sought after for their craftsman-
ship. Ole's propeller traditions are
beingcarriedonbyGuyWatsonofWat-
sonMarkCompanyofSanJose,CA. In
Ole'slateryears, hetrainedGuy in the
fineartofpropellermanufacture.
Bernard (Ben) Wiplinger, age 76,
wasthedesignerandbuilderofWipline
floats, popular with many float fliers
around the world. Hegrew up in East
St.Paul,graduatingfromHardingHigh
School andattendingthe University of
AfterservinginWWII, his
aucraft modification businessatFlem-
ingField,SouthSt. Paul,grew intothe
float business in the 1960's Wipaire
Inc. is now run byhisson, Bob,and
locatedontheMississippiriveratInver
Grove Heights, MN. Ben, who had
retired from Wipaire seven years ago,
wasanactivepilotfor60yearsandflew
his J-3 Cub on skis the day before he
diedofaheart attack. ..
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

by[)ennisVal"k.s
IAALibl"al"Y/.Al"chives
[)il"ectf)1"
THE GUGGENHEIM
SAFE AIRCRAFT
COMPETITION (Pt. 2) RESULTS
The opening date for receiving
entries for the competition was Septem-
ber 1, 1927. Entries were fmally closed
on September 1, 1929. The list of
entrants steadily grew until, when it was
fmally closed, no less than 27 entries
had been received and accepted. In the
end, 15 aircraft were actually delivered
to Mitchell Field to take part in the
competition.
It had been hoped that the entries
actually would be presented for tests
well before the closing date for their
arrival, the end of October 1929. In-
deed, it had been anticipated that it
would be possible to carry out most of
the tests during the spring and summer
of that year.
In fact , only one entry (the Handley-
Page) had been presented up to the end
of August and it was well on into the
month of October before the majority
arrived. Several competitors had dif-
ficulty in delivering their entries by the
closing date and a number of airplanes
that were a few days late were allowed
to have a try at the qualifying tests.
The tests in the competition were
conducted by the Guggenheim Fund's
pilots Thomass Carroll, former NACA
test pilot, Edward Rounds, Navy test
pilot, and Lt. Stanley Ulrnstead, Army
test pilot at Mitchell Field. The
Manager of the competition was Capt.
Walter Bender, Army Air Corps.
Of the 15 airplanes which were
pr esented at Mitchell Field, six
withdrew. These were the Alfaro,
Gates, Command-Aire, Bourdon and
Moth entries.
Six others, Handley-Page, Taylor
Brothers , Fleet, Cunningham-Hall,
Ford-Leigh and Brunner-Winkle, failed
to meet requirements of the competi-
tion. The entry of Burnelli failed to
arrive at Mitchell Field within the
4 MARCH 1992
specified time limit, even after this was
extended. It was thus eliminated. The
entry of James McDonnell was
damaged in a test flight while being
flown by McDonnell. His entry was
known as the "Doodlebug." The Cur-
tiss Tanager was the only entry to pass
all of the qualifying requirements, thus
is was not necessary for the Fund to hold
the final competitive tests which were
planned to ascertain the winner on a
point basis.
The January 11 issue of AVIATION
praised the Curtiss entry: "The passing
of eighteen qualifying tests by the not
unusually radical Challenger powered
Tanager, is generally regarded a high
tribute to Curtiss engineers and in par-
ticular Robert R. Osborn, the one most
responsible for the design. Wing slots
were placed on the Tanager along both
upper and lower wings, and the trailing
edges of both wings were equipped with
flaps. These flaps were controlled by a
crank operated from the pilot's cockpit.
Especially striking were the ailerons, of
full floating type which were placed at
the tips of the lower wing. It is reported
that the Curtiss company plans produc-
ing commercial craft with Tanager fea-
tures."
GENERAL COMMENTS
The report on the competition pub-
lished by the Guggenheim Fund
reported on its general fmdings, "As
stated in the Rules for the Daniel Gug-
genheim Safe Aircraft Competition, the
object of the Competition was to
achieve a real advance in the safety of
flying through improvement in the
aerodynamic characteristics of heavier-
than-air craft, without sacrificing the
good qualities of the present day
aircraft.
"Whether or not the above object was
achieved must be a matter of opinion,
but using the conditions as prescribed
by the rules as a measure, two airplanes,
the Curtiss and Handley-Page, ap-
proached very closely to the standard
desired.
"Certain features of the airplanes
competing proved themselves valuable
for specific purposes, but no oppor-
tunity was had to thoroughly investigate
their effect on performance at altitude
either in climb or level speed.
"It is believed that the following
devices, all of which are to be found on
either the Curtiss or Handley-Page
entries, are worthy of incorporation on
various types of aircraft or of further
study: 1. Automatic leading edge slots.
2. Flaps, either automatic or manually
controlled. 3. Floating ailerons. 4.
Long stroke oleo landing gear. 5. Ex-
treme range adjustable stabilizer. 6.
Brakes."
QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS
Of all the aircraft which actually ar-
rived at Mitchell Field during the last
few months before the closing of the
competition, only three met the require-
ments. These were the Curtiss, Hand-
ley-Page and Command-Aire entries.
The following comments are quoted
from the Fund' s report.
PERFORMANCE: "The maximum
speed requirement (110 mph at full
load) rather surprisingly proved to be
the stumbling block for seven out of the
ten planes tested, although this had no
direct bearing on the Safety Tests, and
any number of stock planes could have
met this condition.
"Those which passed this condition
were the Curtiss, Handley-Page and
Command-A ire entries. Neither the
Command-A ire nor those which failed
on the high speed test showed any pos-
sibility of being able to pass more than
a few of the Safety Tests and
Demonstrations.
"The rate of climb (400 feet per
minute at 1,000 feet) was easily met by
those entries tested for this item of per-
formance. The Curtiss, Command-Aire
and Handley-Page passed this test."
USEFUL LOAD: "All aircraft car-
ried the specified useful load of 5
pounds per horsepower. On several of
the entries it was necessary to increase
the useful load above this figure in order
to have sufficient fuel available for test-
ing."
ACCOMMODATION: "Only one
of the airplanes submitted was con-
sidered unsatisfactory as regards ac-
commodation for the pilot and observer.
The Handley-Page entry had cockpits
so narrow and small that it was impos-
sible to wear a parachute. Due to the
interest in the airplane and since it was
a foreign entry, this matter of accom-
modation was not stressed and the
Handley-Page entry was put through all
the Safety Tests and demonstrations.
"The two planes which satisfactorily
passed all the Qualifying Tests were the
Curtiss and Command-Aire. The
Handley-Page, on account of its
aerodynamic features, and the prob-
ability that it would approach very
closely to the standards set by the rules,
was permitted to remain in the Competi-
tion in spite of failure to provide ade-
quate accommodation for pilot and ob-
server."
SAFETY TEST AND
DEMONSTRATIONS
MINIMUM FLYING SPEED :
"Both the Curtiss and Handley-Page
entries were able to maintain level and
controlled flight at airspeeds below 35
mph. The Command-Aire entry, the
only other airplane to meet the Qualify-
ing Requirements failed on this test by
11 mph, a very considerable amount.
At the request of the competitors, mini-
mum flying speed was measured on the
Cunningham-Hall and Taylor entries.
Neither of them fulfilled the require-
ments, although they performed on this
item better than the Command-A ire. "
MINIMUM GLIDING SPEED:
"The Curtiss Tanager was the only
airplane to meet the minimum gliding
speed requirement. In addition to the
Handley-Page, the minimum gliding
speed was measured on the Cunning-
ham-Hall and Taylor, again at the re-
quest of the competitors."
LANDING RUN: "Only the Curtiss
and Handley-Page entries were tested.
Both airplanes met the requirements,
the Handley-Page being superior to the
Curtiss in this test, in spite of the fact
that the brakes were more readily
operated in the Curtiss entry."
LANDING IN CONFINED SPACE:
"The Curtiss and Handley-Page entries
both were tested. The Handley-Page
failed to meet the requirements while
the Curtiss was successful. One reason
for the failure of the Handley-Page was
the fact that the landing gear was not
rugged enough to permit landing from
the steepest glide."
TAKEOFF: "Both the Curtiss and
Handley-Page entries met the require-
ments, the Handely-Page being superior
to the Curtiss in both takeoff run and
distance to clear the 35 foot obstruc-
tion."
GLIDING ANGLE: "The Curtiss
and Handley-Page entries were both
successful in meeting the requirement
of flattest glide, the Curtiss being slight-
ly superior.
"Neither airplane was able to fulfill
the requirement of steepest glide, and it
was considered by the officials conduct-
ing the tests that the requirement was
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
too severe. For this reason the angle
specified was modified from 16 to 12
degrees by unanimous approval of all
Competition officials."
STABILITY: "Both the Curtiss and
Handley-Page entries were determined
to have reasonably satisified the condi-
tions of longitudinal stability, although
neither airplane was perfect under all
conditions.
"The Curtiss entry passed the general
stability requirements, but the Handley-
Page was only satisfactory when
trimmed at airspeeds of about 60 to 80
mph. At other speeds a slight distur-
bance would cause the airplane to even-
tually go into a steep left-land spiral
which gradually steepened with in-
creasing airspeed."
CONTROLLABILITY: "While
both the Curtiss and Handley-Page
entries were assumed to be controllable
at all throttle settings and were probably
more so than any other types, neither
could be controlled perfectly at the stall.
The Curtiss, due to the fact that the flaps
were manually operated, was better than
the Handley-Page in this respect.
"When stalled under power, the
former would drop the nose, pick up
about 3-5 mph and again return to the
stall, continuing this cycle apparently
indefinitely. Lateral and directional
control appeared good at the stall under
any slot or flap adjustment.
"The Handley-Page under power
would, when stalled, do one of two
things. If completely stalled so that the
nose dropped, the slots would close and
the flaps move up, which resulted in the
speed rising some 10-15 mph in a short
dive before sufficient control was
regained to again stall the airplane.
"When flown steadily just above
stalling speed, a slight disturbance often
caused the nose of the plane to swing,
usually toward the right. After stalling,
nothing could stop the tum and resultant
falling off until speed was picked up as
in the former case by a short dive ac-
companied by closing of the slot and
upward movement of the flaps."
AWARD OF THE PRIZE
It was expected that more than one
airplane would pass the Qualifying and
Safety Tests and that the award of the
first prize would depend upon points
made in comparative tests. Since only
one airplane reached the stage for award
of points, the comparative tests were not
conducted and the prize was awarded to
the Curtiss Tanager.
6 MARCH 1992
The Handley-Page passes by one of the observation towers during performance
testing. You can plainly see the deployed flaps and slats in this view.
BRITISH REACTION
In England there was some question
as to whether or not the Curtiss had won
the competition fairly. In fact, it was
suggested that without the Handley-
Page entry there would have been no
competition. The following editorial
comments were made by C. G. Grey,
Editor of THE AEROPLANE, taken
from the January 8, 1930 issue. "The
original rules certainly do seem to have
been stretched or varied very consider-
ably. One can quite understand that the
committee in charge of the competition
found themselves in a very difficult
positlon. Originally there were 20
entrants. The day before the last day
fixed on which competing machines
could arrive; the Handley-Page was the
only machine on the spot.
"Faced with the position that this
world advertised competition looked
---------------------
--- ----------
------------------------ - ---- --
-------------------------------
TABLE OF FINAL DATA
Mini- Landing Mini-
over Steepest Full Wing Power mum Take Flatt esr Maxi- Ilateof mum
obstruc- Take offover glide Empty Useful load Rated loading loading c1imo:lt hori- gliding Land- glide mum
(de- weight horse (Ibs.per tion off run obstacle (de- weight load speed 1000' zOlltal speed (Ibs'r,er n ~ run
(Ibs.) (eet) (feet) (feet) (feet) grees) (Ibs. ) (Ibs.) power sq. I. ) h.p.) (m.p.h. ) (m.p.h.) grees) (ft/ min) speed
(m.p.h.)
...,. 1,100 550 1,650 110 9.7 15.0 ....... ... .. . ......... ..... . I. Alfaro ........ .. .. 108.6 - . -.- -
7.1 .. . . ..-,. 1,179 486 1,665 90 18.5 ..... .. ...... ..... . .... . ...... 2. Bourdon... 103.3 - ..- . .
.. . . 451 1,656 90 6.5 18.1 .. . . ' . . . . 1,205 3. Brunner Winkl e. . 106.0
-
Field but wi t hdrew 4. Burnelli.... red at Appea
170 ... , .. .. . . . ... 1,482 851 2,333 9.5 13.7 ...... 5. Command-Aire. 114.8 900 46.0 .." . . .- . .
-
1,773 8.7 19.7 1,303 470 90 ...... 41.0 6. Cunningham.Hall. 94.2 44.0 ."
13.2 880 2,859 176 8.6 16.3 37.1 293 295 500 6 1,979 700 30.6 90 7. Curtiss .. 111.6
r--
500 1,600 90 8.1 17.3 1,100 8. Fleet......... ... 108.6 610
575 2,125 115 7.3 . .-,. . . . ........ 1,550 18.5 102.1 9. Ford-Leigh.... . . .. . -. - . . .
Field blit wit hdrew 10. Gates.. .... Appeared at
12.8 2,156 155.6 7.4 112,4 82 320 290 440 7.2 1,378 77'0 13.9 730 39.7 11. Handley-Page. ..... . 33.4
r--
n Ri ght hed in demonstrat io Airplane eras 12. McDonnell..... .- .
13. Moth...... .... ..., red at Fieldblit withdrew Appea
tnary Ri ght Airplaneerashed in prelim 14. Schroeder-Wentworth..
1,667 ... .............. .. . . 1,197 470 90 9.5 18.5 45.5 50.1 15. Taylor. ...... ... ... 108.5 .....
like being a fiasco except for one
Englishentry, thecommitteeevidently
relaxedthemostessentialrule,namely,
thatifamachinewasnotreadyintime,
itmustbeputout. Consequentlyanum-
ber ofaeroplanes which arrived a few
dayslate wereallowed to havea tryat
thequalifyingtests.
"Very soon the fact becameevident
thattheonlytwomachineswhichhada
hope of passing the conditions ofthe
contest were the two machines with
slots,theHandley-PageandtheCurtiss.
Between the two machines there was
the important difference that whereas
the flaps on the trailing edge of the
Handley-Page were interconnected
with theslots,andsoworkedautomat-
ically,theflapsontheCurtisswerehand
operated.
"The result was that the Handley-
Pagemachinewassettodothatpartof
thestabilitytestwhich,accordingtothe
original rule, included diving the
machineandlettinggoof thecontrolsto
provethatitwouldrightitself,theslots
closed, the flaps went up and thewing
assumed a nonnal shape, so that the
machinepassedthetest. Undersimilar
circumstances, when the Curtiss
machinewasdiving,theslotsclosedbut
the flaps remained down and the
machinebecameunstable.
"ThiswouldhaveputtheCurtissout
of competition altogether, and so ap-
parently, to prevent the competition
fromshuttingdownforthwith,thecom-
mitteealteredtheruleto read thatafter
diving the machine must right itself
without the controlsbeing handled, -
except those operating the safety
devices.
"As there happened to be only one
entrantwhom therulecouldeffect,the
alteration had the unfortunate look of
having been altered especially for the
benefit of the Curtiss entry, which
would otherwise have been put out of
thecompetition.
"Obviously unless these rules had
been altered, the competition would
have been a fiasco. Consequently the
committee of the Guggenheim Fund
haveunhappilyleftthemselvesopento
thechargethatthey alteredtherulesto
makean American machine win. One
feels surethatthetruereason for alter-
ing the rules was to save the competi-
tion, forsuchamagnificent prizefrom
beingacompletefiasco,andsodisclos-
ing the barren state of Aeronautical
Sciencesallovertheworldsofarasnew
andoriginalideasforsafeaircraftwere
concerned. Butonecannothelpregret-
ting the weakness of character which
allowedsuchalterationsmerelytosave
thefaceofScience."
HERITAGE
Slots,flapsandfloatingailerons,fun-
damentalchangesinwingdesignwhich
received marked attention during the
Safe Aircraft Competition were con-
spicuousby theirabsencefromproduc-
tion aircraft during the 1930s. The
Curtiss Company considered adapting
its floating aileron to commerical
modelsbutheldupitsplans.
Some designers considered the
devices as just so many gadgets that
neededmaintenancetobekeptinwork-
ing order. Others felt they offered a
distinctaerodynamicadvantagebutthat
themarketwasnotready.
Theimpactwassosmallthattheuse
of slotswasremarkeduponbyLeighton
CollinsintheJuly 1, 1939issueofAIR
FACTS in his flight testofthe Stinson
105 which used leading edge slots in
front oftheailerons. He remarked,"It
ishopedthatwhateverprincipalfeltthe
greatest disappointment as a result of
thebarrengroundonwhichtheGuggen-
heim Contest apparently fell in 1929
mayfrom thisshipgainarenewedcon-
fidence in theability ofmankindto ul-
timately returntothegroveofprogress
from ouralternate diversions, and that
incentiveevenaheadof fullcomprehen-
sionisnotwhollylost.".....
VINTAGEAIRPLANE7
AircraftRestoration
and
FAR21.303
The preparation of this article was
coordinated with the office ofthe Aircraft
Maintenance Division of the Federal
A viation Administration. Our thanks to
the FAAfor helping us clear up what has
become a confusing issue for many res-
torers during the past year.
A little over a year ago, an article
appeared in Aircraft Technician mag-
azine written by an employee of the
FAA in Washington, D.C. The contents
of that short article dealing with the
restoration of an Aeronca Champ wing
spar has caused a number of airplane
restorers quite a bit of trouble, as they
found that the interpretation of FAR
21.303 had apparently been changed.
They were taken by surprise when the
FAA appeared to reverse a long stand-
ing approval policy, and would not
allow the restoration of a spar using
aircraft quality wood and the original
spar as a guide. As it turns out, FAA
management never intended to change
their policy. Within this article, we will
clear up the confusion regarding what
you can and cannot do during the res-
toration of your aircraft.
Within the FAR's, there are many
regulations concerning the maintenance
of a Type Certificated airplane, but to a
restorer, nothing is more important than
FAR 21.303. To refresh your memory,
here is the applicable text of that FAA
regulation:
FAR 21.303 Replacement and
Modification Parts
(a) Except as provided in paragraph
(b) of this section, no person may
produce a modification or replacement
part for sale for installation on a type
certificated product unless it is
produced pursuant to a Part Manufac-
turer Approval issued under this sub-
part.
(b) this section does not apply to the
following:
(1) Parts produced under a type or
production certificate.
S MARCH 1992
by H.G. Frautschy
(2) Parts produced by an owner or
operator for maintaining or altering
his own product. (Emphasis ours -
HGF)
The key part of that regulation is
paragraph b. Without exaggerating,
that paragraph is the rule that makes
possible the restoration of older aircraft.
Without this FAR, it would be very dif-
ficult, if not impossible, to make re-
placement parts for antique and classic
aircraft. When an aircraft is restored,
there are times when the engineering
data is simply not available, for a variety
of reasons - the company may not exist,
copies are not available from the FAA,
or the current type certificate holder
may not be willing to allow the drawing
to be released. (These days, the current
holder of the Type Certificate generally
will claim they are unwilling to release
the drawing based on product liability.)
An interesting sidebar must be ad-
dressed at this point concerning the cur-
rency of an available drawing. Unless
an AD has been issued against the par-
ticular part in question, the individual
restoring that part is obligated to use
only the blueprint and any added notes
that were in effect at the time his aircraft
was manufactured. It would seem a bit
ridiculous to require a part to reflect all
the subsequent changes made to a
fuselage structure, for instance, that
were required when the Vne of an
airplane was later increased by almost
28 %. If an AD was issued against that
part, then any changes required would
also have to be incorporated during the
part's restoration. It would also be pru-
dent to review any service letters from
the manufacturer that deal the the part
in question.
The writer of the above mentioned
article further defended his interpreta-
tion in a letter to EAA's Washington
Representative, Charlie Schuck. He
stated that a restorer of a 7 series Aeron-
ca could not replace his spars without
using a PMA'd part based on his belief
that there was no proof available to
determine that the restored spar was
equal to or better than the original, un-
less the part could be compared against
the manufacturer's blueprint, which at
that time was believed to be unavail-
able. FAR 43.13 requires that:
43.13 Performance rules (general)
(a) Each person perfonning main-
tenance, alteration, or preventive main-
tenance on an aircraft, engine, propeller
or appliance shall use the methods, tech-
niques, and practices prescribed in the
current manufacturer's maintenance
manual, or Instructions for Continued
Airworthiness prepared by its manufac-
turer, or other methods, techniques, and
practices acceptable to the ad-
ministrator, except as noted in FAR
43.16. (Authors note: Emphasis ours.
For our purposes, 43.16 has little if no
additional impact.) He shall use the
tools, equipment and test apparatus
necessary to assure completion of the
work in accordance with accepted in-
dustry practices. If special equipment
or test equipment or test apparatus is
recommended by the manufacturer in-
volved, he must use that equipment or
apparatus or its equivalent acceptable
to the Administrator.
(b) Each person maintaining or alter-
ing, or performing preventive main-
tenance, shall do that work in such a
manner and use materials of such
quality, that the condition of the aircraft,
airframe, aircraft engine, propeller, or
appliance worked on will be at least
equal to its original or properly altered
condition (with regard to aerodynamic
function, structural strength, resistance
to vibration and deterioration, and other
qualities affecting airworthiness).
If I haven't lost you yet, here is the
point of all this FAR quoting: if you, as
an owner/operator ofan airplane, decide
to make a replacement part for your
airplane, such as a wooden spar, using
FAR 21.303 as the basis, you must show
your AI that it has been made in a man-
ner equal to, or better than, the original
in a way that is "acceptable" to the
FAA in accordance with FAR 43.13.
That part of the FAR is the area that is
generating the problem. For more than
40 years, it has been acceptable for an
aircraft restorer to use the old original
wood spar of his airplane as the pattern
to make a new one out of aircraft quality
spruce. Stating on the Form 337 that the
old spar was used as a pattern, that the
spar was made from aircraft quality
spruce meeting "XYZ" Spec and that all
the old fittings were cleaned and in-
spected was, in the past, considered a
manner that is acceptable to the Ad-
ministrator. Regardless of the state-
ments made to the contrary in the past
year, it is still an acceptable method of
repairing a wooden sparred light
airplane, according to Larry Kephart,
Manager of the General Aviation and
Commercial Branch.
If you use material that is sold to you as
conforming to an accepted industry stand-
ard, say, for instance, a Military Specifica-
tion (Mil Spec) such as Mll..-S-6073, you
are under no further obligation to ensure
that the manufacturer or supplier has in-
deed complied with that specification. As
a matter ofpersonal information and in the
interest ofself-preservation, you will most
likely inspect your purchase as you do any
other part of your airframe, but you, as the
restorer, do not have to certify that the
product meets the Mil Spec, if it is so
identified. By using material that is
aircraft quality by virtue of it meeting an
accepted industry standard, you have met
the major criteria for your part to be ap-
proved for a return to service by your AI.
Remember, however, that no one
without a PMA can supply an individual
with a piece of wood described as a
"Spar". Unless the item was manufac-
tured under a PMA, you simply have a
piece of wood with which you may be
able to restore your spar. Also, unless it
is identified as meeting the Mil Spec for
wood, it is not even a piece of wood that
you can legally use on a Type Certifi-
cated airplane. Unless that airplane is
maintained with materials that conform
to the FAR's, its Airworthiness Certifi-
cate is in jeopardy.
By replacing the damaged spar, you
have executed a major repair, so your AI
must approve the repair, and he will
need to know that the material was
aircraft quality (it should be identified
on the material itself and on your in-
voice), and what criteria was used to
restore the part, i.e. original factory
drawings, the original part, and any
other supporting documentation. It
should be noted that one of the tests in
question, a "Brashness Test" (a test
determining the toughness of a sample
of wood), is currently included as a re-
quirement within MIL Spec MIL-S-
6073. (MIL-S-6073 superceded
AN-S-6 in 1950.) This test is called out
in later Champion specifications
detailed on the Champion, but not
Aeronca prints of the same part.
Supporting documentation can take a
variety of forms, including the original
part. Needless to say, the nature of the
part will determine if it can be safely
reproduced. It does not seem likely, for
instance, that anyone, even someone with
the knowledge, is going to be sandcasting
a new crankcase for his or her 65 horse-
power Continental. But based on the track
record of aircraft restorers for the past 40
or more years, it does not appear to be
unreasonable to expect that a new rudder,
or a new elevator, could be constructed
using the old one as a pattern, using the
same materials as the original as defmed
in the maintenance manual. The same can
be said for the wooden spar of an older
airplane. This type of repair has been
safely done on light airplanes for many,
many years. No one is going to be more
concerned with the safety of his or her
own airplane more than an aircraft re-
storer, and his or her expertise coupled
with the knowledge of his or her AI has,
for a number of years, been sufficient to
ensure the safe reconstruction of these
older airplanes. Many of these airplanes
were hand-built, necessitating the in-
dividual fitting of an elevator, for in-
stance, to a stabilizer. Certainly, as
production methods became more sophis-
ticated, parts were made that fit better and
allowed interchangeability, but the basic
fact that a human craftsman produced the
part has not changed for over a generation.
(Many may argue that only very recently
has that method begun to give way to
automation in light aircraft production.)
The FAA publishes a number of helpful
books on the subject, and one is con-
sidered one of the more comprehensive
manuals on the subject. Advisory Cir-
cular 43. 13-1A and -2A, Acceptable
Methods, Techniques, and Practices -
Aircraft Inspection and Repair was just
updated and reissued within the past
couple of years, and it contains a wealth
of acceptable methods to maintain your
airplane.
One additional item should be
clarified. It is not legal for an A&P or
an AI to manufacture a part and then sell
it to you for use on your plane - that
would violate the FAR governing the
issuing of Parts Manufacturing Ap-
proval. Paragraph (b) of FAR 21.303
was put in place to allow the restoration
of an airplane, but not as a method to
allow individual A&P's or AI's to cir-
cumvent the rules governing PMA's.
An A&P or AI can, however, supervise
the work done by a owner/operator
during the reconstruction of a part.
Remember that if the work constitutes a
major repair, a Form 337 must be
produced and signed off by an AI.
There have also been questions con-
cerning the "legality" of a part
reproduced in this manner. In the past,
the statement has been made that a part
made this way is a "bogus" part. A
bogus part is one the origin of which
cannot be traced, or is not made in ac-
cordance with the FAR's. Since the
construction and installation of the part
would have to be approved by an AI,
and then subsequently by the FAA if a
Form 337 was required, the part would
then be an approved part for installation
on that particular model and serial
number aircraft. The approval would
not extend to any other aircraft of that
model in the same manner as a PMA,
since it is a one time approval, but other
restorers could use the same informa-
tion to present to their AI for an ap-
proval of a similar installation.
To put all this in perspective, it should
be pointed out that the ability to restore
our aircraft using FAR 21.303 as the
basis for restoring a part is a right that
should be guarded by not abusing the
rule. By carefully producing a part for
your own airplane, and following ap-
propriate FAA and industry standards,
it seems reasonable that many parts for
your airplane can be safely restored.
Remember that in the first place, these
components were created by craftsmen
and are made up with few complicated,
difficult to manufacture parts. Be care-
ful though. It should be obvious which
parts are not appropriate to attempt a
recreation of. Most, if not all restorers,
would not give serious thought to
reproducing an engine part, for in-
stance. Using good judgment and tap-
ping the expertise of the FAA books,
suchasAC43.13-1Aand-2A will make
it possible to maintain an older airplane
in excellent condition, and FAR 21.303
allows us to use our collective
capabilities to properly restore a part to
better than new condition. ...
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
nd an Georg
byH.G. Frautschyand
MaryJones,
NBAExecutiveDirector
WhenGeorgeBushwaselectedPresidentin1988,hebecamethesecondU.S.
President tohavebeenanairplanepilot.(DwightEisenhowerhasthedistinction
ofbeingthefirst presidenttoholdacivilianPrivatePilotlicense.) Inspiredby
anarticle publishedin the"NavalAviationMuseumFoundation"magazine,
the National Biplane Association began a search for aircraft flown by the
PresidentduringhisfirstdaysasaNavalAviator. Sixoftheairplanesflown by
Mr.Bushhavebeenlocatedbythenewly-retiredExecutiveDirectoroftheNBA,
Mary Jones. Our thanks to her and NBA's Charlie Harris for providing the
photosandmaterialforthisarticle.
GeorgeBushbeganhisdaysasaWW
IINavalAviatior trainingwithprimary
training atNAS Minneapolis. As luck
(and some would say bad timing!)
wouldhave it, he beganhis training in
the late fall of 1943, which meant he
flew throughout most ofthe winter of
1943-44. Thatmusthavebeenachill-
ingexperienceforanybodyinvolvedin
flight training in opencockpitbiplanes
at thattime!
The National Biplane Association
has located 6 of the biplanes that the
Presidentflew,5Stearmansand1N3N-
3. TheN3Nwasflownonashortflight
byMr.Bushduringhisadvancedtrain-
ing in the SNJ, and is currently owned
by Dr. Richard Schmidt and his wife
Debbie of Del Mar, California. Dr.
Schmidthasall thelogstohisairplane
since it left the Naval Aircraft Factory
in 1941. Twoyearslater,GeorgeBush
and a Lt. Hammer flew the N3N for a
shorttwentyminuteflight.
Before he flew the N3N, though,
Bush flew a succession of Stearmans
and Spartans. He flew his first seven
hopsinanNP-l Spartan,andoneflight
in an N2S-3 Stearman. Aftera presolo
checkbyanotherinstructor,J.A. Boyle,
he wassignedofffor solowiththefol-
lowingcomments:
"Satisfactory check. Taxied a little
fast. Landings were average to above
withtheexceptionof onealmostground
loop. Safe for solo." With that, on
November21, 1943,Bushsoloedin an
NP-lSpartan,atotalof11.8hoursinhis
logbook.
Later,mostofhistrainingwouldtake
placein Stearmans. 33 differentN2S's
10 MARCH 1992
wereflownpriortohissuccessfulcom-
pletion of primary training after 82.5
hours,with61 flightsunderhisbelt.
Enter the National Biplane
Association's Mary Jones. A biplane
owner herself, (she owns and flies an
N3N), she began searching for the
planesthatBushhad flown during that
time. A notice was put in the NBA's
"Biplane News", and within a few
weeks, C.J.AlexanderofPhoenix, AZ
gaveheracall. "IthinkIfoundoneof
Bush'sbiplanes"wastheopeningMary
hadbeenlookingfor. Itwouldnotbea
quickreferencetotheFAAregisterthat
would confirm it, though. The Navy
assigneditsown serialnumberstotheir
airplanes,eventhoughthemanufacturer
hadalsogiventheplaneitsserialnum-
ber. Fortunately, Ken Wilson, the
Stearman Restorer's Association his-
torian, had published a cross reference
list in theSRA "Outfit" Newsletter that
includedboththeNavyBureaunumber
and the manufacturer's serial number.
With additional help from the FAA
Aircraft Registry office in Oklahoma
City,theNationalBiplaneAssociations
computerdatabase,andLarryWilsonof
theNational AirandSpaceMuseumin
Washington,five biplanesflown by the
Presidentwere found listedon thecur-
rentregister. Heretheyare:
N2S-3,N75032,SerialNo.75-6543,
Navy Bureau No. 05369. Currently
ownedbyretiredTWACaptainJohnW.
"Jack"ParkerofEssex, CT, the Stear-
man is flown all overthe Northeastat-
tendingairshows.
N2S-3, N1222N, Serial No. 75-
6782, Navy Bureau No. 05369 has
been owned by the same individual

co
z
>-
.,

o
"
U
As Air Force One taxis in at Springfield Regional Airport, Dave Coursaut and his
Stearman wait for the President's arrival .
President Bush looks over the Stearman
he flew during his training in 1943. "It
brings back a lot of cold memories ... I
flew it in Minnesota in January!" Mr. Bush
recalled. Later, he signed a copy of the
airplanes logbook with the notation "49
years later".
since 1946 - Charles Henderson of Junc-
tion City, OR. John has over 10,000
hours in that particular airplane per-
forming crop-dusting. The airplane has
been in storage since 1968, and he has
no definite plans concerning restoration
of it at this time.
N2S-1, N50061, Serial No. 75-1124,
Navy Bureau No. 3347 is owned by
Robert Hood of Carthage, MO.
N2S-3, N75032, Serial No. 75-6543,
Navy Bureau No. 05369 is owned by
Robert Meyland of Orlando, FL.
And finally, N2S-2, N54896, Serial
No. 75-1332, Navy Bureau No. 3555 is
owned and flown by Norman "Dave"
Corsaut of Greenfield, MO. A duster
after the war years, Norman purchased
the Stearman in 1983. Restored to the
Standard Category, it still has the 450 hp
Pratt & Whitney engine that powered it
during its duster days. He was still in
the process of doing the cosmetic res-
toration when he learned that he owned
an airplane flown by the President. He
was quite thrilled by that fact, but soon,
he was to be surprised with the news that
the President was stopping for a brief
visit in the Ozarks, and Dave and the
Stearman were to be part of his
stopover. Arranged by the Air &
Military Museum of the Ozarks and a
local Confederate Air Force chapter, the
meeting took place over this past 4th of
July at the Springfield Regional Air-
port. For fifteen minutes, Dave and the
President visited, and Mr. Bush was
delighted to see an old military acquain-
tance in the form of the Stearman, 49
years later. As he climbed up onto the
wing, the President said, "It brings back
a lot of cold memories . . I flew it in
Minnesota in January." After Dave ex-
c:
o

g
..
..

plained how the search for the biplanes
flown by the President had been pur-
sued, Mr. Bush was pleasantly surprised
when Dave produced a copy of the
Stearman's flight log signed by the
President. Mr. Bush then autographed
a copy of the NBA newsletter. He also
signed off the log copy with the notation
"49 years later".
If any of our readers have found that
their Stearman has been flown by the
President, please contact the National
Biplane Association, Jones/Riverside
Airport, Tulsa, OK 74132. I'm sure
they'd like to hear from you . ......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
.. ~ ~
!jillAndClair-e
by Nann Petersen
This is a story of a 22-year love affair
- not with a woman, but with an
airplane! The man is William (Bill)
Nutting (EAA 54248, AIC 283) of Pres-
cott, Arizona, and the airplane is Waco
SRE, NC1252W, SIN 5153 . The
woman in his life is Bill's lovely wife of
43 years, Claire, a true airplane
aficionado, just like her husband.
This air-minded couple brought their
beautiful yellow and black Waco E-
model cabin to EAA Oshkosh '91 to
complete a trip that had its actual begin-
nings in 1988! Perhaps justice
was admirably served when t h e ~
SRE garnered the Outstanding Closed
Cockpit Biplane Award during the final
evening awards program at the Theater
In The Woods. The story behind this
well deserved award goes back many
years.
Bill and Claire grew up together in
River Forest, IL, attending the same
high school, same family gatherings and
they even had the same dentist! Out of
high school, Bill went into Army Air
Corps cadet training and Claire went off
to Colorado University. With the end of
WW II, Bill entered Colgate University
for two years and then transfered to
Colorado U. He and Claire were mar-
ried in 1948 and Bill received his BA
degree in Business Adminstration In
1950 from Colorado University.
12 MARCH 1992
Their first move was to the San Fran-
cisco Bay area where Bill worked for
Rheem Manufacturing. In 1953, they
bought their first airplane, a 125 Swift
that had landed on its belly and needed
a great deal of work. In two years it was
flying and Bill was back in the air. He
had originally soloed a J-3 Cub back in
1945, so it was good to return to the wild
blue yonder.
Next on the agenda was a single-
place Mooney M18L "Mite", that Bill
enjoyed for a time before buying a
Mooney M20C (N6525U), which be-
Bill Nutting and his bride Claire share a
moment with their Waco SRE.
came the family "hack" for trips up and
down the west coast and into Mexico.
The three children were small enough to
fit into the rear seat and still remain
below gross weight. Claire took the
well-known "pinch hitter" course in this
Mooney so she could land it in case of
emergency. Both have many fond
memories of this airplane and the many
excursIOns.
Other aircraft owned by the Nutting
family included a twin-engine
Cessna Skymaster (business pur-
poses), a Lake amphibian (amphibious
instruction) and a Slingsby Dart (single-
place sailplane). These varied types give us
a good insight into the unusual abilites
and varied interests of Bill Nutting.
A 1969 "For Sale" ad in Trade-A-
Plane for a basket case Waco SRE
brought Bill to Santee, SC where he met
Jack and Golda Cox (EAA's Sport
A viation team), who were working for
Wings & Wheels Museum owned by
Dolph Overton. After purchase, the
huge cabin biplane was carefully loaded
into a U-Haul truck - except the missing
engine, instruments, panel, flap actuator
and other small items. Bill Nutting and
his son, Craig, drove the truck from
Camden, SC to California. (The entire
story of this episode was written by Jack
Cox in the May, 1972 issue of SPORT
AVIATION.)
Working feverishly over the next two
years with Andy Anderson and Doc
Savage helping, the big Waco was to-
tally restored including new upper
wings, fuel tanks, a newly rebuilt Pratt
& Whitney R-985 engine and a
Ham/Standard propeller. The finish
was Ceconite fabric and butyrate dope,
done in bright yellow with black trim as
per the factory original paint scheme.
The interior was done by a specialty
shop in Cupertino, CA, and has lasted
for twenty years. Meanwhile, Bill
joined EAA in March of 1970 while
living in Menlo Park, CA.
About this time, a young man ap-
proached Bill Nutting with the idea of a
coin-operated TV screen game .
Together, they started "Nutting and As-
sociates" and went into the video game
business. For two years, the business
went wild. The young partner then
broke off to form his own company
called Atari! Bill promptly sold out and
retired.
Moving to Reno, Nevada in 1977, he
began flying aircraft charter, which led
to the next episode. While returning
(empty) to Reno late at night with a
Cessna 210, Bill had the misfortune of
having the engine quit cold! Attempts
at restarting were all for naught, so he
was forced to make a belly landing in
the dark - come what may! The plane
came down hard in the Yerington,
Nevada, city dump! Bill was badly
banged up with head and facial injuries
plus two broken ankles. Inthis condi-
tion, he walked two miles to a farm
house to summon help. He told the
officers the plane had crashed about 300
yards away, however, they could not
locate the wreckage. Only when they
walked over two miles did they fmd it!
After spending time getting all the
bones set in the hospital, Bill was on
crutches for several weeks before he
could get around properly. Three
months later, he was back flying charter
again! However, the accident had
started Bill and Claire thinking about
their purposes in life, so they flew to
Redlands, California to explore the Mis-
sionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF)
and its worldwide program. They spent
a year learning the administrative end of
the business and were assigned to the
MAF in Nairobi, Kenya, as ad-
ministrators from 1981 to 1985. Both
Bill and Claire admit this was a fascinat-
ing and extremely worthwhile ex-
perience for both of them.
InOctober, 1982, while on vacation
from their African assignment, Bill was
flying the SRE with his son, Craig, out
of the Redlands, CA airport. The dried
seals had allowed oil to leak onto the
windshield and the active runway was
directly into the sun. Bill brought the
big cabin Waco in for a landing with
forward visibility almost nil. The slight
.>< crosswind caused the airplane to drift
sideways, just off the runway. At
Q.
8 touchdown, the left gear caught in a hole
:.:
E which sheared the gear off the airplane.
=; The right gear went next and the SRE
went sliding down the runway apron on
its belly! Both lower wings were
wrecked along with the propeller. It
was not a good day.
The Waco was stored in a hangar
until Bill and Claire would return from
Africa in 1985, their assignment com-
pleted. The restoration was (again)
started at Redlands airport with Mike
Snow doing the critical fuselage and
landing gear welding. (Bill speaks very
highly of Mike Snow and his welding
ability.) In1986, Bill and Claire moved
to Prescott, Arizona, bringing the big
Waco project with them. Parts went
from their garage, to a shop and finally,
to a hangar at the airport (which they
were very fortunate to obtain.)
It was during this rebuild that Waco
HRE rebuilder, John Rice, of Spicer,
Minnesota (see March 1985 SPORT
VINTAGEAIRPLANE 13
A VIA nON) contributed the necessary
blueprints which were needed for the
job at hand. In addition, John helped in
many areas of the rebuild with timely
suggestions from his own I5 -year
rebuild experience - a service which
John and his lovely wife, Mary Jane,
cheerfully provided.
The engine crankshaft checked out
OK, so a new propeller was installed
and the airplane was covered in Stits
Poly dope fmish with the final colors
done in Stits Aerothane - again bright
yellow with black trim. The fuselage
was done in Stits D-I03 cloth and the
plywood wings were covered with Stits
HS-90X lightweight cloth. The final
14 MARCH 1992
finish on the Waco came out to a bril-
liant shine including the fiberglass
wheel pants, which were made by Miller
in Colorado. The "N" struts are not
identical nor were they marked, so Bill
guessed as to where they went. The
plane flew hands off, so he must have
guessed correctly!
The original Hayes wheels with ex-
pander tubes have been replaced by
1957 Cessna 310 wheels and brakes.
They bolt into position and work with
absolute authority according to Bill.
The SRE has a dual control yoke with
brake pedals on the left side only. The
righthand rudder pedals fold down when
not in use, competely out of the way.
One of the classiest Wacos
ever built, the Waco SRE is
elegant from every angle.
Ready to fly to the big EAA Conven-
tion in 1989, this author made arrange-
ments for Bill and Claire to stay with
Bill and Ellen Lewis in Oshkosh, WI,
knowing the two couples were close to
the same age. Further investigation
revealed the two couples were married
on the very same day!
Then the roof fell in! Bill Nutting
suffered a heart attack and was unable
to fly. The '89 trip was cancelled and
rumors were floating around that the
SRE was for sale. The future was, no
doubt, bleak.
Not one to sit around and mope, Bill
Nutting began an intense period of body
rebuilding with the aid of his doctors,
who quite frankly marveled at the stub-
bornness of this would-be pilot. Lucki-
ly, the heart attack was tempered by
Bill's excellent physical shape from ten-
nis and golf, but best of all - he had quit
smoking some ten years previous! The
doctors told him flat out that this saved
his life! Eventually, his third class
physical was reinstated (with a yearly
stress test) and preparations were made
to attend the 1991 Oshkosh Fly-In.
In late June of '91, Bill and Claire
flew the SRE from Arizona to Ohio to
attend the annual Waco Fly-In with all
its historical pomp and circumstance.
They readily admit it was a really fme
experience and they met both old and
new friends. From Ohio, the SRE was
flown to Oshkosh and placed in Dave
Jameson's hangar until the time came
for the EAA Fly-In. (Blessings on you,
Dave Jameson). Meanwhile, Bill and
Claire toured northern Wisconsin and
saw country they really enjoyed before
returning to the Heidel House at Green
Lake, WI for the duration of the conven-
tion.
During the fly-in, Bill and Claire
filled in the many details on the Waco
as it quietly posed among the many
beautiful antique airplanes on Wittman
Field. NC1252W was built in Septem-
ber 1941 as an HRE (Lycoming R-680
engine) and was subsequently con-
verted to an SRE with the R-985 engine
in 1946. There are presently four SRE
Wacos on the FAA register with a fifth
basket case in California. Only three
are flying out of the approximately 25
that were built in the pre-war period.
The normal cruise is 175 mph burning
20/21 gallons per hour of 80 octane fuel.
Bill also burns lOOLL when 80 is not
available. To date, the Waco has about
920 hours on the airframe and just over
100 hours on the engine. (This is a
lowtime airplane for 50 years of age!)
One sad note was when Bill and
Claire were invited for dirmer with Bill
Lewis of Oshkosh, they learned that Bill
Lewis' wife, Ellen, had passed away the
previous November, so they were un-
able to celebrate their mutual wedding
day with all four participants. How-
ever, the threesome had a most enjoy-
able time discussing the last 43 years!
With their oldest son, Craig, now a
Captain for American Airlines, perhaps
there is hope the magnificent yellow and
black Waco SRE will always be in good
caring hands, such as Bill and Claire
have given her during the past 22 years.
Long live the marque! ......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Not if Jim Minor and the Continental
Airlines Historical Society have their
way! After the DC-3s were retired, the
President and CEO of Continental, Joe
D. Corr, called Jim Minor and asked if
he would like to see something good
happen to the airplanes. Mr. Corr felt
that a project like the DC-3 would be an
effective way to bring together and unite
all the various organizations that had
become Continental Airlines. As an
FAA DC-3 designated examiner with
over 7,500 hours in the type, Jim cer-
tainly was qualified to fly a -3, but more
than just technical expertise would be
required to meet the challenge of restor-
ing and maintaining the airliner. After
Corr's inquiry, Jim went to meet with
company officials. He had no idea that
he would become the nucleus of the
organization, but he was their man, so
off he went to pick out three DC-3s as
possible subjects for restoration to the
Continental configuration. While he
was down there, two of the three he
chose were sold, so he wound up with
his third choice, NC25673. Manufac-
tured in 1940 by Douglas in Santa
Monica, it was delivered to American
Airlines and designated as Fleet Num-
ber 73. In honor of one of the cities it
served, the silver with orange and blue
trimmed Douglas was christened the
Flagship "Big Springs". After a stint
with the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945,
the DC-3 was returned to American,
who stored the Flagship until November
24, 1947, when it was sold to a small
start-up feeder airline then known as
Trans-Texas Airlines. Jim Minor re-
lated an interesting story concerning
airline operations in those days. When
Trans-Texas started after the Second
World War, to support its growing fleet
of DC-3's, it purchased 200 Pratt &
Whitney R-1830s surplus from the War
Assets Administration, and stored them
at their San Angelo, Texas maintenance
base. Originally intended for installa-
tion on B-24s, many were still in the
shipping cans, having never been in-
stalled on an airplane. During the years
to follow, whenever a Trans-Texas DC-
3 needed an engine change, one of the
new engines was bolted on, and away it
went. When Minor started flying for
Trans-Texas in 1959, he estimates they
still had at least 100 of the "new"
surplus engines left!
It took 22 years before the -3' s would
be considered too costly to operate on
the routes TTA was flying. The jet age
had long since arrived, and smaller jets
18 MARCH 1992
Preparing to depart on the photo mission during EAA Oshkosh '91, Tim Ruhl checks the
area around the right side of the Douglas prior to starting the No. 2 engine.
sized to the TTA route structure were
available. TTA (later Texas Interna-
tional Airlines, TIA) would fly 01' num-
ber 73 until its sale to an aircraft broker
in 1969. It would not fly again until 1975,
when it was added to the ProvincetownjBos-
ton Airlines (PBA) fleet. It then was
re-registered first as N130PB, and later
as N30PB. As the continuing shake-up
of the airline industry evolved, the air-
liner would eventually become the
property of Continental Airlines when it
acquired the merged PBAfBar Harbor
Airlines. Finally, it came to the Con-
tinental Airlines Historical Society in
1989.
What is the Continental Airlines His-
torical Society? A big group (over 300
now) of energetic and capable volun-
teers, that's what! After selecting the
Douglas to be restored, Jim Minor set
out to get some help putting the old
airliner back in the air. With a $5,000
donation from Continental Airlines as
seed money, the DC-3 was put back into
basic flight condition. It needed some
engine work and a new tail wheel (the
old one had been broken oft) but it was
soon airworthy and ferried from storage
in Florida to Houston's Hobby airport.
The exterior was stripped in New Iberia
and after some sheet metal replacement
and other structural fixes were made, a
new paint job was applied to match the
livery of Continental Airlines as they
flew them in the 1950s. It would be a
year before the silver and white Douglas
would fly again. That year was spent
dedicating an enormous amount of
volunteer time to restoring the Douglas
airliner to show condition, a process that
continues whenever time and resources
can be brought together.
It was then on to the interior, also
done in the style of the 1950s. All sorts
of other mechanical work had to be done
to the airplane, including one of the
more unusual items to be replaced. All
the Hamilton Standard propeller blades
had to be changed - the ones on the
aircraft had simply worn too thin!
Many times the work was performed
by the same mechanics who had worked
on the airliner when it was in scheduled
service. Both currently employed and
retired Continental personnel work on
the airplane, and many of them worked
on Number 73 when it was part of the
Trans-Texas fleet. Often a call for help
only has to hit the floor at the Con-
tinental Maintenance Base, and the
technical expertise to solve the problem
is available.
When we saw the DC-3 during EAA
Oshkosh '91, we were greeted by one
other lovely addition to the cabin, also
decked out in 1950's airlines fashion-
Sherrill Dickey, a current Continental
Airlines Flight Attendant! (She also
happens to be Captain Minor's wife!)
Sherrill shares the enthusiasm of the
crew who brought the DC-3 to the Con-
vention, and really enjoys sharing the
history of the airliner with the throngs
of admirers who climb the stairs to
glimpse into the cabin. She also under-
took the task of training current line
flight attendants to crew the airplane,
and also would retrain members of
Continental's "Golden Penguin" club to
work the airliner. The Golden Pen-
quins? That's the association of retired
flight attendants from the airline. (Pen-
guins can't fly, remember?) Many have
enjoyed crewing the plane for company
functions, and Sherrill has thoroughly
enjoyed hearing about how it was to fly
the line so many years ago.
When you look forward in the cabin,
what you will see is the result of
thousands of man-hours of reconstruc-
tion and restoration by the volunteers.
As Jim and his No. 1 Captain, Tim Ruhl,
walked me around the airplane, the
amount of work that had to be done was
staggering! Just polishing all that bare
aluminum must be an arm-aching,
messy job, but the results are worth it.
Later, in the cockpit, Jim Minor
talked about the work put in by the many
After participating in the Transport aircraft
fly-by during EAA Oshkosh '90, Tim Ruhl
and Jim Minor taxi in with the big Douglas.
Jim says it was one of the greatest thrills in
his aviation career to participate in the
world's largest airshow.
volunteers, and the efforts of one man in
particular, Tim Ruhl. "Tim's done
more work on this airplane than any
other pilot, and that is why he is my
number 1 Captain." Tim and Jim have
known and flown with each other for a
number of years - when Jim moved up
to Captain in 1964, he was assigned a
new co-pilot, Tim Ruhl. They put a lot
of time on -3's in the years that fol-
lowed, and the years of working
together show. When it's time to fly,
they communicate with a series of hand
gestures and finger movements that
have been honed by years of non-verbal
expression in a noisy cockpit. I'm not
so sure that if you clamped a pair of
noise-cancelling headsets on their heads
and plugged them into an intercom, that
they would quite know what to say to
one another when flying the Douglas!
Both are now senior Captains for Con-
tinental, Jim flying intercontinental
routes with the DC-lO, and Tim flying
transcontinental flights with the A-300
Airbus.
One of the ways that Continental sup-
ported the Historical Society in the past
was to carry the DC-3 operation on the
company insurance policy, with the
stipulation that 1 regular line pilot be in
the cockpit (he is, of course, type rated
in the DC-3). The crew normally con-
sists of two Continental pilots. Another
of the Captains on the volunteer staff is
retired DC-3 Captain Norman Mc-
Gowan. All the pilots must go through
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
!
a.
"
.t:
jl
o
u
Cruising serenely over the east side of Lake Winnebago, the Continental Airlines Historical Society's Douglas DC-3 reminds us all of
the days when point-to-point transportation was done at an altitude when you could still make out the cars on the highways and
the cows in the barnyard.
DC-3 school.
Both Tim and Jim look forward to a
restoration of the cockpit, but don't look
for a major revision to the layout or
design - they like it pretty much the way
it is, and I agree. When you climb into
the cockpit, you're immediately com-
fortable. Oh sure, there's a hydraulic
fluid drop here, and a bit of chipped
paint there, but this isn't a fresh new
automobile, it's a DC-3, an airliner, a
working machine. You step back a few
years, when it might have been the place
to hang your new hat with three stripes,
waiting for the man with the four stripes
on his sleeve sitting in the left seat to
give you that shot at landing the big
taildragger. You can sense the aura that
new co-pilots must have felt when they
were assigned to their first airplane after
graduation from ground school. In-
timidating but comfortable, all at the
same time. You just knew you'd like
this plane.
Captains Ruhl and Minor are no
strangers to the EAA, having been avid
supporters for a number of years. In
addition to the DC-3, Jim flies a Piper
Cub and a PT-13 for more aerial recrea-
tion. He is quite grateful for the support
the EAA has given the Continental Air-
lines Historical Society during the Con-
vention - "We're a pretty poor
organization, and it takes a lot of sales
of T-shirts and a lot of hats to keep this
thing going. Tom Poberezny was very
20 MARCH 1992
helpful in allowing us to sell these
things under the wing of the airplane,
which made it possible to bring it up
here," Tim said.
Other organizations have helped the
Society with their bills, including a
generous donation of 20,000 gallons of
fuel from the British Petroleum com-
pany. The Society also enjoys strong
support from the highest levels within
Continental Airlines, although financial
support from the airline has had to be
curtailed in recent months as Continen-
tal struggles with the aspects of Chapter
11 bankruptcy. N25673 spent the winter
months at the Lone Star Aviation
Museum in Galveston, Texas, resting in
comfort as the next airshow season ap-
proaches. It is hoped that this summer
the shiny Douglas airliner will again
visit many airshows, as well as make
appearances on behalf of Continental
Airlines.
What's new on the horizon for the
Society? How about the restoration of
the documented highest time aircraft in
the world, N 18121, (formerly
N136PB)? This aircraft also served
with PBA, and has held the distinction
of being the highest time aircraft in the
world for a number of years. it now
shows a total of 91,355 hours in the
logbook, the equivalent of 10 1/2 years
in the air! (Readers may remember the
DC-3 of North Central Airlines, No.
728, that had a total of 83,454 hours
when it was donated to the Ford
Museum in 1975.)
The Society has again been allowed
to lease the DC-3 from the parent com-
pany for a meager amount of cash
(how's a buck a year grab you?), and the
ex-Eastern Airlines aircraft will soon be
leaving New Iberia to be tackled by a
crew of enthusiastic volunteers.
Will we see the Continental DC-3
again at Oshkosh? If Jim Minor and
Tim Ruhl can make it happen, you can
bet that they will be there. Perhaps Jim
will be able to visit Oshkosh with his
two sons, Mark and Cris. Both are
pilots for USAir, Mark the Captain of a
DC-9 and Chris a First Officer of a
737-400. Jim's face lit up as he said
"I've been an airline pilot for 32 years,
and never in my life did I think that I
would be an airshow participant in the
largest airshow in the world ... we felt
the greatest joy in all of us!" I'll bet if
they can, we will all get to hear the
rumble of those 1830's again. I can't
wait! ......
If you would like to know more
about the Continental Airlines His-
torical Society, contact them at :
Continental Airlines
Historical Society
c/o Captain Jim Minor
4123 Hockaday Dr.
Dallas, TX 75229
Fuel Tank Testing
By Bruce Patten
EAA37956
RFD 2 Box 2980
Oakland, ME 04963
While attempting to pressure test my
Taylorcraft wing tanks, I was unable to
find a filler cap that would seal airtight.
My solution was to install a surgical
glove secured with a rubber band over
the filler neck, rather than pressurize
the tank through the outlet. The fitting
shown here is a device I had made
previously for blowing down
automobile cylinders. (The pressure
gauge you see on Bruce's fitting is not
absolutely necessary when using the
glove.-HGF) The key part of it is a
tire valve brazed to a pipe bushing.
The surgical glove is a cheap substitute
for a difficult-to-find sensitive pressure
gauge, and provides a very visible
indication at the low pressure necessary
to prevent damage to the tank. (2 to 3
psi is all that is needed to leak check a
tank - any more and you risk deforming
it. - HGF) seams by brushing on soapy water and
This system holds pressure for ample looking for bubbles. In fact, it is tight
time to throughly inspect the tank enough that the glove will deflate when
the workshop cools down at night, and
reinflate itself when the woodstove is
stoked up the next morning.
Readers are invited to submit entries to EAA, Hints For Homebuilders, Att: Golda Cox, EAA Aviation Center, P.O. Box
3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Entries will be reviewed by a panel of EAA judges. Readers whose hints are published in
any EAA magazine will be awarded one of three monthly prizes by Snap-on Tools - a 3/S" Drive Socket Wrench Set, a
114" Drive Socket Wrench Set or a
Nine-piece Long-Handle Com-
bination Wrench Set. Members are
also invited to submit hints of an
electrical nature. Any electrical
hint used will receive a Fluke
Model 23-2 Multimeter with Holster
from the John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
The contest will run from August
through July of each year with a
Grand Prize of a Snap-on Tools
KR657 Roll Cab and KR637 Top
Chest being awarded the best
entry for the year. A Grand Prize
will also be awarded by the John
Fluke Mfg. Co. These awards will
be presented during the EAA
Convention. Our thanks go to
Snap-on Tools and John Fluke
Mfg. Co. for providing these
awards.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
WI-tAT()UI2
by Veteren
Dr. Ed Garber's Fairchild 22 C7B
A recent addition to the flyable ranks
of antique airplanes is this 1932 Fair-
child 22 C7B, NC12670, SIN 1500, res-
tored by Dr. Ed Garber (EAA 38078,
A/C 162) of Fayetteville, NC. Finished
in an original paint scheme of Bermuda
Tan and brown, the parasol Fairchild
features full length ailerons, 6:50 X 10
wheels with mechanical brakes and a
Menasco D4-87 engine of 134 hp pull-
ing a wooden Sensenich propeller. Dr.
Garber reports the project required eight
years (on and off) to complete and the
entire cover job was done in Stits
Polydope and Aerothane.
NC12670 was the factory prototype
C7B with a Menasco C-4 engine of 125
hp, the first of nine manufactured.
There are five remaining on the FAA
register. This airplane had been con-
verted to a 145 Warner engine and was
being flown by (a young) Jim Franklin,
who had the wing break loose in a roll.
He had to bailout of the cockpit, and the
resulting crash left few good pieces from
which to commence the rebuild. How-
John Frisbie's Cessna 120 on floats
A most unusual combination is this
highly polished Cessna 120, N73034,
SIN 10242, mounted on a set of polished
Edo 1400 floats and flown by FAA
Seaplane Examiner John Frisbie (EAA
109724, A/C 2934) of Round Lake
Seaplane Base at Hayward, Wisconsin.
Discovered at Sky Harbor Airport on
Duluth's Minnesota Point, the airplane
was sitting on a floatplane dolly that
John wanted to buy. When offered "the
dolly and everything on it", John bought
the whole works, which included a set
of skis!
The Cessna 120 apparently came
with a float kit installed and had been
flying in Minnesota for over 20 years on
Edo 1400 floats. Being somewhat
lighter than a 140 Cessna (no flaps, no
fancy interior, etc.), the 120 gets off the
water nearly as fast as a J-3 Cub, yet
cruises about 7-10 mph faster. It has a
C90-12 engine with only the starter.
John uses a trickle charger to bring up
the battery, which is good for many
22 MARCH 1992
ever, Dr. Garber, along with the help of ber reports the Fairchild is a most
his good friend, Giff Gillingham, stub- delightful flying airplane, light on the
bornly persisted for the eight year span controls and well worth every minute of
it took to complete the rebuild. Dr. Gar- the rebuild time.
starts. The Cessna is used for float and renter's insurance. The polishing is
training ($85/hr) and is available for done with Rolite polish and makes for a
rental after proper checkout ($60/hr) very nice looking combination.
"Dobby" Licktieg's Piper Super
Cub "lOS" Special
Posing for its portrait in the morning
sun is Piper Super Cub N197T, SIN
18-2311, recently restored by R. J.
"Dobby" Lickteig (EAA71468, AIC
2433) of Albert Lea, Minnesota. As-
sisting "Dobby" in the two-year restora-
tion was A & P (with AI) Gary
Underland of Medford, MN. This par-
ticular Super Cub was one of 79 "105
Specials" that were built for the Civil
Air Patrol in 1952-53 featuring toe
brakes. It was built on January 7, 1953,
and assigned to the South Florida CAP.
The airframe had logged over 7,000
hours and had been recovered twice
before being damaged in 1981. When
Dobby bought the basket case in 1988,
it was still equipped with a bevy of
marine radios for CAP Search and Res-
cue. During the restoration, the Lycom-
ing 0-235 was replaced with a
Lycoming 0-290-D2 of 135 hp and
Cleveland wheels and brakes were in-
stalled. Making its first flight on
November 20,1991, the Super Cub gets
into the air "very quickly" and climbs
like a "homesick angel" according to
Dobby. It is one of 118 Piper PA-I8
"105" Specials remaining on the FAA
register. .....
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
BYJIMHAYNES
In thenottoodistantpast,theDirectors
ofthe Antique/ClassicDivisiongraced
these pages with short biographies of
interestingmembers. Itwasagoodfea-
ture and afforded the membership an
opportunitytogetto knowthosemem-
bers who had some memorable ex-
periences and backround that couldbe
shared.
L.W.Hammerisaninterestingmem-
ber. My wife Anne and I met the
gentleman the first day ofthe 1991
Convention, when we were on our
way to the "TheaterIn The Woods"
program that evening. He and Paul
Stevenson were putting the John
Deere vehicles to bed by chaining
them together. After introductions,
wefell intoconversations,Annewith
Paul and I with L.W. I first learned
thathe goes by "Mike".
Mike serves as a Judge in the
Antique/Classic Division at the Con-
vention, and is fromPhoenix,Arizona.
He owns a Boeing PT -17 Stearman
andaGoldenLabradorthatgoesbythe
name "Gunder". Thedog only under-
standscommandsspokeninNorwegian.
TotalktoMikeistounderstandwhy. He
isofthatbackground.
MikeandGundersetoutonJune29,
1991 in the Stearman from Phoenix
bound for Oshkosh. His plans were to
spendJulyhelpingpreparetheConven-
tion grounds for the big event. While
cruisingalongnearOakley,Kansasthe
bottompistonontheenginepartedcom-
panywiththecylinderandasuccessful
"offairport" landingbroughtthemtoa
stop in a plowed wheat field. After
securingtheplaneattheclosestairport,
Mike and Gunder continued their
sojourn by other means oftransporta-
tion, and afterarrival, Gunder took up
residenceinalocalkennelandMikein
oneofthedormitoriesattheUniversity
ofWisconsin,Oshkosh.
When Mike related this tale of his
bizarre experience, it seemed it was in
an almostcasualmanner. Moreimpor-
tant to him at thetimewashow he and
Gunder were going to get home. I
learnedthatnoticeshadbeenplacedon
bulletin boards around the grounds in
the hopes that someone flying would
have room for two, and was bound for
Arizona.
MywifeandIalsostayedoncampus,
andonmostmorningswewouldstopby
Hardee's near the campus for a quick
biscuitandcoffeebeforeheadingoutto
thegrounds. Everymorningwewould
seeMikeandPaul as theyalsostopped
24 MARCH 1992

...

f. L..-....,.;:=-______________
Gunder with his master, L.W. Hammer, get set
to fly off on another adventure. You can just
see a bit of the harness that secures Gunder
in the cockpit when he flies.
byforaquicktake-outaswell. Natural-
ly, we would inquire as to the return
transportationsituationandofthegood
healthofGunder.
By the first ofthe week, it was an-
nouncedat Hardee'sthatGunderhada
ride to Phoenix on a private airplane.
The owner ofthe airplane would first
have to fly to Indianapolis beforecon-
tinuing the journey westward, but
Gunder probably wouldn' t mind. Not
that he was tired ofOshkosh kennels,
but home is where the heart is. So, it
was learned that the departure was
scheduled for the crack of dawn on
Tuesday, and that Gunder would have
tobedeliveredatthattime.
After retrieving Gunder from the
kennel on Monday night, Mike faced
thedilemmaofwheretheLabwasgoing
Gunder, cruising at 11 ,000
feet, seems to be enjoying
himself as he and L.W. fly
over eastern Arizona.
to beddown. Sodevoted was Mike to
hisdog,thatheelectedtosleepwithhim
in the rental car. In stepped Paul
Stevenson,Mike'sroommate,and per-
suaded him to sneak Gunder into the
dormitory and up the elevator to their
room. Itwasprobablynotthefirsttime
that adog has spentthe night in ador-
mitoryroomonthecampus,northelast
ifcollege kids are the same as when I
wenttoschool.
Eventually, Mike found a way back
to Phoenix himselfand I am happy to
reportthatboth madeitbacksafely. In
late September, I received the accom-
panying photos from Mike and a note
sayingthatheandGunderwereaboutto
depart for Oakley, Kansas to overhaul
the Stearman and then find a place to
beddownfor thewinter. ....
WELCOMENEWMEMBERS
Milton B. Abercrombie
Apple Valley, California
Scott Ackersen Bloomington, Indiana
Mark Albery Rivoli, Torino, Italy
Donald R. Alme Brooklyn, Wisconsin
Merl Aschenbach Bay City,Michigan
James W. Askegren Sterling, Virginia
Robert H. Ball Vienna, Virginia
Gregory H. Bange Newark, Delaware
W. C. Barkley
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Larry Bartlett
Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Bruce M. Barton Henderson, Nevada
Bob Beecher Chicago, Illinois
Glenn Botsford Bellevue, Washington
Phyllis Ackerson Bower
Goshen, Indiana
(Sponsor: Scott Ackerson)
Shelby L. Bowles Waldorf, Maryland
Randall C. Braddock
Syracuse, Kansas
Mike Brauer Ozark, Alabama
Earl R. Brightbill Roswell, Georgia
J. R. Brown Jackson, Mississippi
Steven E. Brown
Paynesville, Minnesota
Mark Burns Ballwin, Missouri
Robert S. Burton
Yankton, South Dakota
Jeffrey W. Byerhof Malta, Illinois
Neville L. Cameron
Coromandel, New Zealand
Scott Camp Snellville, Georgia
Gary W. Capps
Cumberland Gap, Tennessee
Cassa Rurale Ed Artuguana Di
Colombo, Italy
James Cear, Jr.
Long Beach, New York
Todd Christensen Delta, Utah
Peter Clark
Kirbymoorside, Yorks, England
Mark Clonts Sugar Land, Texas
Walter Congdon
New Britain, Connecticut
James H. Cooper, Jr.
Kinston, North Carolina
Billy Copeland Sumner, Texas
Lonzo N. Cornett Lanexa, Virginia
Hugh L. Cox, III Anchorage, Alaska
David Dalfonso Grosse He, Michigan
Thomas R. Dallman
Richfield, Minnesota
Denis A. Darida Grayslake, Illinois
Gerald W. Davidson
Woodbridge, Virginia
Peter De Sanctis Manhasset, New York
Rocco Desimone
Johnston, Rhode Island
Philip N. Dell Lincolnwood, Illinois
Allen Drozs Decatur, Illinois
Bret Dunkley
Bakers Mills, New York
John Durdin
Ottawa, Ontario Canada
David Duman
Sommerville, Massachusetts
Jules Gilbert Engle Les Gray, France
Rudy Eskra Pueblo, Colorado
Russell L. Farris
Charlotte, North Carolina
Richard B. Ferguson
Redding, California
Robert Fischer
Spearfish, South Dakota
Jay Fisher Clark, New Jersey
Steve FordFayetteville, North Carolina
Mark Freese Bonneterre, Missouri
Robert L. Gall
Morgantown, West Virginia
John Goforth Salem, Oregon
Frank P. Haas Hollywood, Florida
Carl A. Haglund
Powassan, Ontario Canada
James M. Hathley Linden, Michigan
R. L. Hawks Durango, Colorado
John Henry Hess
Manhim, Pennsylvania
David R. Hevia Westbury, New York
Robert E. Hodges Houston, Texas
Arthur S. Hollenbeck
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Lonnie C. Hood Beaumont, Texas
George R. Huff Rockwell City, Iowa
John A. Hurley
Drayton Valley, Alberta Canada
Malcolm R. Jantzen
Indianapolis, Indiana
Roger W. Jaworski Mesa, Arizona
David F. Johnson Henderson, Texas
Allan P. Jones Porter Texas
William M. Jones
Ellensburg, Washington
Ray L. Keck Tucson, Arizona
K. Ronald Keesling
Seattle, Washington
Robert A. Kohrs
Lake City, Minnesota
Anthony Krutsch
Puyallup, Washington
George Kuppler Brooklyn, New York
Leo J. Langevin Fort Worth, Texas
Dennis A. Lanier Columbus, Georgia
Howard A. Leadbetter
Carlisle, Massachusetts
David M. Liebegott
Duncanville, Pennsylvania
Dennis D. Lister Springfield, Illinois
Glen T. Lowery Mobile, Alabama
Andy Manganaro Xenia, Ohio
Paul D. Mann
Stinson Beach, California
John J. Mason Sargent, Georgia
Donald P. Maynard Dallas, Texas
John W. Mcarter Canada
Worden L. McCallum
Peterborough, Ontario Canada
John N. McCullough
Etobicoke, Ontario Canada
Arch McGregor
Canoga Park, California
George H. Melter Warsaw, Kentucky
Metro Toronto Library
Toronto, Ontario Canada
Richard L. Miller
Lewistown, Pennsylvania
William K. Miller
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Lee Frank Mitchell
Rockwell City, Iowa
Keith J. Moody Oswego, New York
Geryl L. Mortensen Dallas, Texas
Warren M. Nelson
Woodbury, Minnesota
N. H. Nodwell
Biggar, Saskatchewan Canada
Edward F. Nolan Palm Coast, Florida
Terence O'Brien
Rancho Mirage, California
Charles A. O'Brien
Ft. Jones, California
Steven F. Ondra Hammond, Indiana
(Sponsor: Victor Casey)
Capt. William J. Oscroft
Exeter, New Hampshire
Tom Patton Martinez, Georgia
Dean A. Phelps
Spencerport, New York
Sharon K. Powell
Minnetonka, Minnesota
Kirk S. Reynolds
Skaneateles, New York
William Riggs Bumpass, Virginia
Alan L. Roath Madison, Ohio
Richard G. Robinette
Beaverton, Michigan
Stephen Robinson Davenport, Iowa
Gary R. Rogers
Los Angeles, California
Bruce Rosander Tecumseh, Michigan
Paul D. Roth Fort Wayne, Indiana
Richard E. Russell Sparks, Nevada
Peter N. Sanstead Titusville, Florida
Lester Schrage Allison, Iowa
Bob Sidman Fort Morgan, Colorado
Jerry W. Springer
Collinsville, Oklahoma
(Sponsor: Chris McGuire)
(Continued on Next Page)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
5
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
(Continued from Page 25)
Lee Sprvill Parachute, Colorado
James R. Streeter
Columbia, South Carolina
Richard E. Studebacker
Bow, Washington
Robert S. Susman Midvale, Utah
Rolland Swanson
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Bill Terry Edmond, Oklahoma
Michael J. Tiano Westland, Michigan
Richard F. Waldren Newberg,Oregon
Hal E. Walter
New Bern, North Carolina
Joe Warnstedt Inverness, Illinois
John Weigel Natick, Massachusetts
Barry Wells Vacaville, California
Jack Wells Angie, North California
Donald Wendeln Kettering, Ohio
Wilfried Werner Troisdorf, Germany
Phillip F. Wesner Ashland, Wisconsin
William West
Mammoth Lakes, California
Bill Whelchel Auburn, Alabama
David Whitlock Monett, Missouri
Mark Wilkie Modesto, California
Eric Williams Vandalia, Ohio
Michael Williams
West Carrollton, Ohio
(Sponsor: John Estridge)
Phil Williams Julian, North Carolina
Richard Dale Williams
Panama City, Florida
Robert A. Williams
Corpus Christi, Texas
Warren Wilson Bolton, Massachusetts
Donald Winter Jacksonville, Florida
Herbert Wood
Peterstown, West Virginia
John Wootress Seattle, Washington
Norman F. Wright
Cochenour, Ontario, Canada
Joseph W. Yon, Jr.
Anderson, South Carolina
John Yost Hampshire, Illinois
(Sponsor: Robert Helmchen)
Romain Young Venice, Florida
(Sponor: John Yurosko)
Terence Young
Midwest City, Oklahoma
Ted Zarate Aledo, Texas
Eryn P. Zeak
Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Edmond Zeibari
Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Clifford Zeiger
Ridgefield, Conneticut
Don Zordan Lombard, Illinois
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PASS IT TO
--rJd
An information exchange column with input from readers.
by Buck Hilbert
(EAA 21, Ale 5)
P.O. Box 424
Union, IL 60180
It sure is nice to know that there are
people out there willing and able to help
us with our antiques and classics. I have
been pushing the type clubs for the past
several issues, as you well know, and
now I'm getting letters from individuals
who are trying to render services in a
similar way but not necessarily within
the type club framework. These people
have found that there is a need and they
are trying to fulfill that need.
As with any endeavor, there is
dedication. Sometimes there is an ex-
pense involved and they have to pass it
on to whomever they help. Just like our
own EAA Library. Dennis Parks has on
file reams of information of such varied
and voluminous content that I can't
even begin to tell about it, but for him to
answer requests for historical and tech-
nical data takes research and the use of
the copier along with the mailing ex-
pense. That is why there has to be a
charge. It defrays the expense. You can
contact Dennis for historical and other
data at the EAA Library, EAA Aviation
Center, P. O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086; 414/426-4800.
I want to talk about one service that
came across my desk just this week. Al
Fitzgerald, one of our Florida members
who happens to be an A&P and AI and,
incidentally, a real help to the members
in his area with antique and classic
airplanes, and his wife have come up
with a service they call ADs FAST.
Using their computer they can access
all the ADs pertinent to your particular
airplane or engine either in an ab-
breviated or complete form . They will
either FAX it to you or send it first-class
as she receives the request. They will
also come up with a list of owners com-
plete with serial numbers, "N" numbers,
etc. for most airplanes. Wanta know
where and who has all the Aeronca
C-3s?... Brenda has them. This may turn
out to be a real service to the guy who
wants to know something about his
airplane and doesn't know where to get
the information. Contact Brenda and Al
Fitzgerald at P. O. Box 591, Panacea,
FL 32346, phone 904/984-5190 or to
order 800/854-5575. FAX 904/984-
5460.
Also, almost in the same mailing is
Jim Beisner who is starting OX-5 Parts
and Service. For years there has been
a need for this kind of service. As parts
and pieces of Curtiss OX engines have
become more scarce, it has become in-
creasingly more difficult to pinpoint
their location. Now Jim has come up
with a newsletter and a catalog of ser-
vices that will help those people who
want and need OX parts. Contained in
this little publication are stories, want
and disposal ads, and tidbits on
propellers and people who are inter-
ested in OX engines and airplanes.
Contact Jim Beisner at OX-Parts & Ser-
vices, P. O. Box 134, Troy, OH 45373.
Incidentally, Troy is where the Waco
factory was.
Guess what? I got another letter from
Nigeria, from a student named
Okechukrou Akwara. This one is from
a different city than the other two and
again with a request for magazines and
membership information.
Meanwhile, I'll see you guys at
FLABOB's Open House, Casa Grande
mail, and Brenda will do it just as fast or Sun 'N Fun. Over to you! .....
26 MARCH 1992
The following list of coming events is
furnished to our readers as a matter of
information only and does not constitute
approval, sponsorship, involvement,
control or direction of any such event. If
you would like to have your aviation event
(fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed,
please send the information to EAA, Att:
Golda Cox, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
53093-3086. Information should be
received four months prior to the event
date.
April5-11 Lakeland,FL- Annual
Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In. Make your
planstojoinus forthe wannweather!
For more information call 813/644-
2431.
April 25 Levelland, TX - EAA
Chapter 19 Fly-In Breakfast at Level-
landMunicipalAirport. Call806/793-
7889formoreinfonnation.
May 1- 3 Burlington,NC Annual
EAA Fly-in for Antique, Classic and
Contemporary Aeroplanes, sponsored
by EAA A/C Chapter 3. Major
speaker, vintage films, good EAAfel-
lowship;awardsinallcategories. Con-
tact: R. Bottom, Jr., 103 Powhatan
Parkway,Hampton,VA23661
May 1 - 3 Camarillo,CA - EAA
Chapter723 and CAFWing 12th An-
nual Fly-In and aircraft exhibit.
Homebuilts, classics, antiques, war-
birds and more. Pancake breakfast on
Saturday and Sunday, Dinner Friday
andSaturdaywithaband,seminarsand
more. Contacts: Bob Koeblitz
310/443-8056 or Larry Hayes,
805/496-3750
May 2 - 3 Winchester, VA -
WinchesterRegionalEAASpringFly-
In. Trophiesfor winningshowplanes.
Pancake breakfast Sunday. Conces-
sions and exhibitors. All welcome.
ContactAlorJudySparks,EAAChap-
ter 186. Call703/590-9112.
May 3 Bloomington, IL - Fly-In,
Drive-In pancake and sausage break-
fast sponsored by the Prairie Aviation
Museum and ClarkAviation. 8:00am
til 12:00pmintheClarkAviationhan-
gar. Contact: P.O. Box 856,
Bloomington, II 61702 or phone 309-
663-7632.
May3Rockford,IL- EAAChapter
22 Annual Fly-In Breakfast. Mark
Clark's Courtesy Aircraft, Greater
Rockford Airport.7am til noon. ATIS
126.7. Formore infonnationcallWal-
laceHunt,815/332-4708.
May 15-17 Columbia, SC - EAA
Chapter2422ndAnnualSpringFly-In
at Owens Field. Contact: Feaster
Coleman, 803/779-6562 or 657-5864,
orJohnGardner803/796-2400or796-
5808.
May 17 - Benton Harbor, MI -
EAAChapter5856thAnnualpancake
breakfastFly-InatRoss Field.Classic
car show, aviation art and equipment
exhibits. Contact: Al Todd, 616/429-
8518orRandyHunt,616/428-2837.
May23-24- Decatur,AL(DCU)-
EAAChapter941 andDecatur-Athens
Aero Service'sfourth annual Reunion
andFly-In. Homebuilts,Classics,An-
tiques, Warbirds and all GA aircraft
welcome. Balloon launch at dawn.
Camping on field, hotel shuttle avail-
able. Contact: Decatur-Athens Aero
Service,205/355-5770.
June5- 6,Bartlesville,OK- Frank
Phillips Field, Sixth Annual National
Biplane Convention and Expo. "Old
Time Airshow", forums, seminars,
workshops. Biplanesand NBAmem-
bersfree; allotherspayadmissionfee.
Contact: CharlieHarris,918/742-7311
orVirgil Gaede,918/336-3976.
June7- DeKalb,IL- EAAChapter
241 28th Annual Breakfast Fly-In at
DeKalb-Taylor Municipal Airport.
Contact: 815/895-3888.
June12 - 14 - Middletown, Ohio,
SixthAnnualAeroncaConvention,in-
cluding tours of the Aeronca factory
and the U.S.A.F Museum, Aeronca
forum. BanquetonSaturdaynightwith
speakers and judged aircraft awards.
ContactNationalAeroncaAssociation,
Box 2219, Terre Haute, IN 47802,
812/232-1491.
June13NewportNews,VA- EAA
Chapter15620thAnnualColonialFly-
In at NewportNewsfWilliamsburgIn-
ternational Airport. Contact: Bob
Hamill, 123 Robinson Rd., Hampton,
VA23661,804/928-0107
June20 - 21 Coldwater,MI- 8th
Annual Fairchild Fly-In. Branch
County Memorial Field. Contact:
Mike Kelly, 22 Cardinal Dr.,
Coldwater,MI 49036,orcall517/278-
7654
June27 - 28 Orange, MA - New
England Regional Fly-In with antique
steam and gas engine show, flea
market, food. Trophies both days for
Homebuilts, antiques, classics war-
birds. Chapter726,OrangeMunicipal
Airport,Orange,MA01364.
June25- 28MountVernon,OH-
33rd Annual National Waco Reunion
Fly-In Wynkoop Airport. Make your
reservationsat the Curtis Motor Hotel
1-800-828-7847 or (in Ohio) 1-800-
634-6835. Foradditionalinfonnation,
contact the National Waco Club, 700
Hill Av., Hamilton, OH 45015 orcall
513/868-0084.
July 8-12 Arlington, WA
NorthwestEAAFly-In. Info:206-435-
5857.
July 10 - 12 Minden, NE - 14th
Annual Stinson National Fly-In and
meeting. Pioneer Village Airport,
Minden, NE. Call 303/744-8048 for
moreinfonnation.
July 11-12 Emmetsburg, IA -
Fourth Annual Aeronca Fly-In spon-
soredbytheTailDraggerClub. Camp-
ing, Flight Breakfast on Sunday, with
free breakfast for pilot and copilot.
Serving 6:30am til 12:30pm. Contact:
KeithHamden,Box285,Emmetsburg,
IA50536.
July 25 -26 New Berlin, IL -
Flying "S" Fann. Midwest gathering
ofTaylorcrafts. Contact: AlandMary
Smith,217/478-2671.
July26- 31 Marion,IA- 24thAn-
nualInternationalCessna170Associa-
tion Convention. Contact Lee Reedy,
319/322-0665.
July31-Aug.6Oshkosh,WI- 40th
AnnualEAAFly-InandSportAviation
Convention. Wittman Regional Air-
port. ContactJohnBurton,EAAAvia-
tionCenter,Oshkosh,WI 54903-3086,
414/426-4800.
August 22-23 Bloomington, IL -
EighthAnnualAirShowsponsoredby
thePrairieAviationMuseum. Contact:
P.O. Box 856, Bloomington, II 61702
orphone309-663-7632.
September5-7,LakeGuntersville,
AL - Aerodrome '92. World's largest
WW I Aviation Fly-In Convention.
Contact: Ryder International Corp.,
205/586-1580.
September19- 20,RockFalls,IL
- 6thAnnualNorthCentralEAA"Old-
Fashioned" Fly-In. Workshops,
forums, exhibits, swap meet, and
awards. PancakebreakfastonSunday.
Contact GreggErikson, 708/513-0642
orDaveChristianson,815/625-6556.
.....
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
MYSTERYPLANE
This month's Mystery is a rare one
that will require some extra effort by our
enthusiastic researchers. The photo
was submitted by Owen Billman of
Mayfield, New York. Answers will be
published in the June issue of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE; deadline for
that issue is April 20.
The responses to the December 1991
Mystery Plane set a record. There are
many World War I enthusiasts among
our readers. Ralph Nortell, Spokane,
Washington sent a comprehensive
response. He writes:
"The Mystery Plane for December is
the Caudron G-III, one of the planes
with which France went to war in in
1914. It strongly resembles the prewar
G-I1, but differed in having more wing
area, and accommodating two in the
nacelle instead of one.
"Variations in production G-Ills ap-
pears to have consisted mainly in the
variety of engines used. There was a
reconnaissance version with uncowled
100 hp Anzani radial. There were
reconnaissance and trainer versions
powered by rotary Gnome, LeRhone or
Clerget engines of 80 hp. Most rotary
powered versions were equipped with
the open bottom type cowling as used
by many other makes of rotary engined
craft of the period. One intermediate
type between the G-II and the G-III, the
28 MARCH 1992
by George Hardie
G-IIB, appeared in 1915 with the 160 hp
Monosoupape Gnome motor. It had a
span of 33 feet 9 inches and a top speed
of 85 mph, but was otherwise similar to
the G-Ill.
"Most G-Ills had been withdrawn
from front line service by August, 1917,
but continued on with training
squadrons. The type was widely used
for training in England and France
throughout the Great War. It was used
to train many U. S. airmen in France,
and a special clipped-wing version of
the G-II was produced in which a stu-
dent airman could lift into the air for his
first brief solo hop.
"Caudron G-III specs: Dimensions:
Span 43 feet 5 inches; Length 22 feet 6
inches; Height 8 feet 5 inches. Wing
area: 304 square feet. Performance (80
hp Gnome): Max. speed, 66-71 mph at
sea level; climb to 6500 feet, 20
minutes; service ceiling, 10,000 feet;
endurance, 4 hours.
"Reference sources: THE FIRST
WAR PLANES by William E. Barrett
and AIRCRAFT OF THE 1914-1918
WAR by O. G. Thetord and E. J.
Riding."
Pete Bowers of Spokane,
Washington sent in a photo showing
two crashed G-IIIs which give good
detail of color and markings. He notes:
"The G-Ills were as fragile as they
looked, as shown by the accompanying
photo of two that made hard landings on
the same airfield at the same time. The
December photo shows an A. E. F.
trainer with a LeRhone engine and rud-
der stripes in the American order with
blue at the trailing edge. The American
insignia is on the upper surface of the
warping upper wing. Some also had the
insignia on the underside of the wing as
used by French G-Ills. The crash photo
shows an Anzani G-III with rudder
stripes in the American sequence but
underwing French insignia called
Cocardes."
Answers were received from Henry
Hellert, Vincennes, Indiana; Leo Op-
dycke, Poughkeepsie, New York; Char-
ley Hayes, Park Forest, Illinois; Robert
Wynne, Mercer Island, Washington;
Richard Gleason, Austin, Minnesota;
Emil Cassanello, Huntington Station,
New York; Roy Cagle, Prescott, Arkan-
sas; John B. McMaster, Kansas City,
Missouri; Chuck Palmer, San Bernar-
dino, California; Elmer Cunningham,
East Alton, Illinois; Robert J. Clark,
Channel Islands, California; Ted Wales,
Westwood, Massachusetts; Bob
Louderback, Cincinnati, Ohio; H. G.
deBruyn, Bellevue, Washington;
Wayne Van Valkenburgh,Japser, Geor-
gia; and Capt. H. J. Dielwair, Hornell
Heights, Ontario Canada.
-
GIlL
0 ..
As part of his answer to the December
Mystery Plane, Henry Hellert of Vincennes,
IN sent in this pen and ink rendition of the
Caudron Gill.
Peter Bowers was kind enough to share
these two photos of the Caudron G III.
Note how the wing failed upon impact the
same way on both the G Ill 's in the center
photo.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet...
3 5 ~ perword,$5.00minimumcharge.Sendyourad to
TheVintageTrader,EAAAviationCenter,P.O.Box3086,Oshkosh,WI 54903-2591.
AIRCRAFT
" Now It's a Classic' Meyers 200A - Mfg.
Dec. 1959.820hrs.TT, 545 hrs.on zerotime
engine.15hrs. onzeroprop. Beautifullymain-
tained. IFR plus lots of extras. Call 6 p.m.to 9
p.m.,414/336-2356.(5-3)
MISCELLANEOUS:
CURTISS JN4-D MEMORABILIA - You can
nowownmemorabiliafromthefamous"Jenny",
asseenon"TREASURESFROMTHEPAST".
We have posters, postcards, videos, pins, air-
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tation exclusive to this historic aircraft. Saleof
theseitemssupportoperatingexpensetokeep
this "Jenny" flying for the aviation public. We
appreciate your help. Write for your free price
list.VirginiaAviationCo.,RDv-8,Box294,War-
renton,VA22186.(cf5/92)
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 Dry Creek Rd.,
Belgrade, Montana. 406-388-6069. FAX
406/388-0170.RepairstationNo. QK5R148N.
Parachutes- TollFree1-800-526-2822,New
& Used Parachutes. Wetake trade-ins, 5-year
repairorreplacementwarranty, manystylesin
stock. Parachute Associates, Inc., 62 Main
Street, Sui te A, Vincentown, NJ 08088,
609/859-3397. (cf7/92)
ANC-19 Bulletin- Wood Aircraft Inspection
and Fabrication, 1951 edition, now available
asreprint.EarlyaircraftServiceNotes,rigging
data, other titles available. Send SASE for
listing andprices.JohnW.Grega,355Grand
Blvd., Bedford,OH44146. (c-3/92)
VINTAGEAIRCRAFTANDENGINES- Out-
of-printliterature: history: restoration;manuals;
etc. Unique listof 2,000+ scarce items, $3.00.
JOHN ROBY, 3703V Nassau, San Diego, CA
92115.(Established 1960)(c-10/92)
information on current projects
newsofmuseumsand airshows
technical drawingsand data
photographs
scale modelling material
newsof current publications
C-26 Champion Spark Plugs - New and
reconditioned. New - $14.75, reconditioned -
$5.75to$9.75.Newwireends,$4.75.EagleAir,
2920 Emerald Drive, Jonesboro, GA 30236,
404/478-2310. (c-10/92)
GEE BEE R-2, MONOCOUPE 110Spl., Hall
"BULLDOG",topscalerated modelPLANS
usedbyReplicaBuilders.PlusothersbyVern
Clements, EAA9297,308 PaloAlto, Caldwell ,
ID83605. ExtensiveCatalog$3.00. (3-3)
OX-5 Partsand Service- Free ads to sub-
scribers.Subscription $18.00yearly. P.O. Box
134,Troy,OH45373.(7-6)
1930's Kollman "Bubbleface" compass, have
several,N.O.S.,$225each.Manyothervintage
items- 44-pagecatalog, $5. JonAldrich, Air-
port Box706, Groveland,CA95321,209/962-
6121.(c-12/92)
AeroncaChamp/Chiefwings,fullycoveredand
painted,with Grimeslights and aux.Fueltank.
$2400forthe pair.414/727-9632.
PLANS:
Great Lakes TrainerGuru - Harvey Swack
will helpyou buyorsell a GreatLakesTrainer
or a Baby Lakes. The only source for COR-
RECTED and UPDATED ORIGINAL Great
Lakes drawings. Welded partsavailable.Write
to P.O. Box 228, Needham, MA02192 orcall
days617/444-5480. (c-10/92)
WANTED
Wanted - ServiceableAeroncaE113engine.
Wm. J. Rausch, R.R.1, Box 11OH, Alex. Bay,
NY13607,315/482-3558. (3-1)
Wanted- Heath16x4wheelsandbrakes.Ed.
Garber,919/484-6316,1810LakeShoreDrive,
Fayetteville,NC28305.(3-1)
~ . . . . . - - - - -
Wanted - Vol. 2 & 5, U.S. Civil Aircraft by
Joseph Juptner, L.K. Gardner, 800 Madison
Street,Apt.6, Martinsville,Virginia24112.
historical research
workshop notes
information on paint/color
aeroplanes. engines,parts
for sale
yourwants and disposals
WW1 AERO (1900-1919) andSKYWAYS (1920-1940)
For the restorer,builder,& serious modellerof earlyaircraft
1year subscrip1ion $25 Overseas$30 Sample issues $4each
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974pagesofpractical ,proven
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BY:TONY BINGELIS
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MAKE GREAT GIFTS FOR THE
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POLY-FIBERCOVERING
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