STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

BIGBROTHER- BIGNUMBERS- BIGSHAFT

It was 1969 when those of us in-
terested in the future of general aviation
were watching the progress of a new
aviation bill working its way through
Congress. We were involved in letter
writing, telephoning and appearing as
witnesses at various congressional
hearings at the stale and federal level.
This new legislation was designed to
generate the fund to build, equip and
maintain the airports and airways as set
forth in the new FAA Master Plan .
This new Airport and Airways bill was
to be the answer by establishing user
taxes. These taxes would accomplish
the goal of completely updating and re-
building our entire airport and airway
system according to the Master Plan .
The money to pay for this multi-billion
dollar program was to come from taxes
levied on avgas, jet fuel , aircraft tires
and tubes, airline tickets, air freight
shipments, international airport tax, and
a tax on civil aircraft . We can all re-
member when we paid a tax on our
airplanes of $25.00 plus 2 cents per
pound over 2500 Ibs. gross weight, and
it lasted for ten years.
In other words, if we used the air
space and/or the airway facilities, we
as users would pay the bill. Evidently
enough of us agreed to the Federal Use
Tax, and the legislation which was to be
all things to all aviation became law
under the Airport and Airways Develop-
ment Act of 1970.
The second bill to levy the taxes was
passed shortly thereafter and the new
taxes as established by the law were to
be placed in a trust fund with the official
name of Airport and Airways Trust
Fund. We all agreed this was a big step
in the right direction. Now we would
have the billions of dollars necessary to
modernize our airway system and to im-
prove and build additional airports. I am
sure you noticed I used the word billion
as it seems whenever we talk about
government projects, we hear the dol-
lars always expressed in billions.
Before I go any further, let me give
you Harry B. Shaffer's description of a
billion dollars, "One billion - one
thousand million dollars - is an amount
of money so large that it simply stag-
gers the imagination. Let me illustrate.
Suppose you had been born on the day
Christ was born, that you were still alive
today, and you had been able to save
at the fantastic a rate of 1 cent for every
second that you lived, that is 60 cents
for every minute, $36.00 for every hour,
or $864.00 for every day of your life dur-
2 NOVEMBER 1986
by Bob Lickteig
ing these past 2000 years. At that rate
it would take you another thousand
years to save one billion dollars. Another
example - one billion one dollar bills
(placed end-to-end) would circle the
earth four times at the equator."
For the government fiscal year of
1971, the tax money began to roll in
and our hopes ran high. This short con-
densed report covers the first 15 years
of our trust fund use.
Now I must admit that 15 years is a
long time and the intent and the best
interest of Congress always changes
when the bureaucrats within any gov-
ernment agency interpret the law their
way. The past few years we have read
and heard so much about the FAA raid-
ing the trust fund for their operation, and
raids they are. Congress, which wrote
the law, imposed the taxes, and created
the trust fund, looked upon the act as a
vehicle for securing a level of capital
investment in airport and airway
facilities far greater than could be sec-
ured through general taxation.
An impartial review of the history of
the act makes clear that the primary ob-
jective was capital development and
that the allowance for covering any FAA
operational costs was conditional upon
first meeting the capital investment re-
quirements, and the existence of any
surplus of money after that had been
done. So, if you don't spend it , you have
it for your own use.
In the period from 1971 to 1985, ap-
proximately $22 billion plus interest had
been generated for the fund . During
those 15 years, the FAA used $8 billion
plus for operation and maintenance and
$1 .5 billion for research and engineer-
ing at their discretion. So far the FAA
has used approximately 40% of all user
taxes for their own operation and
maintenance plus their pet engineering
project. Not bad for openers. Now we
have approximately $13 billion left to
build airports - well not exactly. Again
the FAA used $3.5 billion of the trust
funds for "Facilities and Equipment."
Now we come to the category,
"Grants In Aid for Airports." This is what
the new law and the trust fund was
enacted and established for. During the
past 15 years, $6 billion has been
spent. Sounds great - but wait - the for-
mula for "Grants In Aid For Airports" is
set at 50% for airline terminals based
on the number of enplaned passengers,
whether airports need the money or not.
Now did you ever see an airport com-
mission that wouldn't take it? At this
point , you can now see that over the
last 15 years, general aviation has re-
ceived approximately $3 billion in fed-
eral grants from the trust fund.
One item I must not overlook. During
these 15 years, our trust fund has re-
ceived $4.2 billion in interest earned.
This means that general aviation did not
receive as much as the interest the trust
fund received.
One research company summed it up
- the losers were those who paid the
users taxes and didn't get what they
were promised for accepting the addi-
tional tax burden.
I know my billions didn't add up.
That's because the trust fund received
transfers in the early days from the gen-
eral fund in the amount of $1.5 billion.
So where do we go from here? The
1987 FAA proposed budget is again
planning to spend the trust fund money
for their own operations plus other pro-
jects. Their proposed budget calls for
$2.1 billion of the trust fund to be used.
They are blaming this on the Gramm-
Rudman-Hollings law.
Admiral Engen, the FAA adminis-
trator, has said many times the lack of
concrete is fast becoming the number
one constraint on air commerce. If we
need concrete, and indeed we do, the
airport and airways trust fund as of June
30, 1986 has a balance of $8.4 billion .
This means we could encircle the earth
34 times with dollar bills. It seems to me
this would buy a lot of concrete.
My thanks to EAA Washington repre-
sentative David H. Scott, the National
Business Aircraft Association, AOPA
and the General Aviation Manufactur-
ers Association for their assistance in
the preparation of this editorial.
Welcome aboard - join us and you
have it all!.
T l ~
NOVEMBER 1986. Vol. 14, No. 11
PUBLICATION STAFF
PUBLISHER
TomPoberezny
DIRECTOR
MARKETING &COMMUNICATIONS
DickMatt
EDITOR
GeneR. Chase
CREATIVE ART DIRECTOR
MikeDrucks
MANAGING EDITOR/ADVERTISING
MaryJones
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Norman Petersen
DickCavin
FEATURE WRITERS
George A.Hardie, Jr.
Dennis Parks
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC
DIVISION, INC.
OFFICERS
President VicePresident
R. J. Lickteig M.C."Kelly"Viets
3tOO Pruitt Rd. Rt. 2,Box 128
Port St. Lucie. FL 33452 Lyndon,KS66451
305/335-705t 913/828-3518
Secretary Treasurer
RonaldFritz E.E."Buck"Hilbert
t540t SpartaAvenue P.O.Box 145
KentCity.MI49330 Union,IL60180
616/678-5012 815/923-4591
DIRECTORS
JohnS.Copeland StanGomoll
9JoanneDrive 1 04290thLane,NE
Westborough,MA01581 Minneapolis,MN55434
617/366-7245 6121784-1172
DaleA.Gustafson EspleM.Joyce,Jr.
7724ShadyHillDrive Box468
Indianapolis,IN46278 Madison,NC27025
317/293-4430 919/427-0216
ArthurR. Morgan GeneMorris
3744North51stBlvd. 115CSteveCourt,R. R. 2
Mi lwaukee.WI53216 Roanoke,TX76262
414/442-3631 817/491-9110
DanielNeuman RayOlcott
152t BerneCircleW. 1500KingsWay
Minneapolis,MN 55421 Nokomis,FL33555
6t2/571-0893 813/485-8139
JohnR.Turgyan S.J.Wittman
Box229. R.F.D.2 Box2672
Wrightstown,NJ08562 Oshkosh,WI54903
6091758-2910 414/235-1265
GeorgeS.York
181 Sloboda Ave.
Mansfield, OH 44906
419/529-4378
ADVISORS
TimothyV.Bowers Robert C. " Bob" Brauer
729- 2ndSt. 9345 S.Hoyne
Woodland,CA95695 Chicago.IL 60620
916/666-1875 312/779-2105
PhilipCoulson Robert D. "Bob" Lumley
28415SpringbrookDr. Nl04W20387
Lawton,Mt49065 Willow Creek Road
616/624-6490 Colgate. WI 53017
414/255-6832
S.H."Wes"Schmid W.S."Jerry"Wallin
2359LefeberAvenue 29804- 179PI. SE
Wauwatosa.WI53213 Kent .WA98031
4141771-1545 206/631-9644
Copyright ' 1986 by the EAA Antique/Classic Division.Inc.All rights reserved.
Contents
2 StraightandLevel
byBobLickteig
4 AlCNews
byGeneChase
4 BookReviews
byGeneChase
5 VintageLiterature
byDennisParks
6 "MISSCHAMPION"- Pitcairn-CiervaAutogiro
PCA-2
byGeneChase
13 MysteryPlane
byGeorgeA. Hardie,Jr.
14 RestorationCorner- AssemblyandRigging
byGeneMorris
16 ClipWingCub
byNormPetersen
19 ATourThroughtheContinentalMotorsPlant
byE.E."Buck"Hilbert
20 WelcomeNewMembers
21 TypeClubActivities
byGeneChase
22 TravelAir
byGeneChase
25 NewProducts
byGeneChase
26 LetterstotheEditor
27 CalendarofEvents
27 VintageSeaplanes
byNormPetersen
FRONT COVER . . . With the poli shed spinners and chrome valve
covers sparkling In the morning sunshine. father and son team of Page 22
Henry and Chuck Geissler (EAA 86004. NC 4179) lorm up on the
EAAphotoplaneoverLakeWinnebagoduringOshkosh'86.ThisReed
ClipWingCub.N2039M.SIN20807.wastotallyrebuiltduringthepast
threeyears by thiS fatherandson combination.See storyon page 16.
(Photo by Carl Schuppel)
BACKCOVER ... 1929Stinson SM-2AB "Junior"with 225 hp Wright
J-5.This is NC8444. Si N 1065. Ship NO.3 owned by the Naturaline
Co. of America. manufacturers of aviation fuel in Tulsa, OK. It was
widely used as a corporate aircraft by Naturaline.
(EAA Archive Photo- Walter Klose Collection)
Page6
Page 16
Thewords EAA,ULTRALIGHT.FLYWITHTHE FIRSTTEAM,SPORTAVIATION.andthelogosofEXPERIMENTAL
AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC.. EAA INTERNATIONALCONVENTION.EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION INC..
INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB INC.. WARBIRDSOF AMERICA INC.. are registered trademarks.THE EAA
SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION INC. and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are
trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above associations is strictly
prohibited.
Editorial Poli cy:Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles
are solely those of the authors. Responsi bility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. Material
should be sent to:Gene R.Chase. Editor.The VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Wittman Air1ield.Oshkosh,WI 54903-3086.
Phone:414/426-4800.
The VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by EAA Antique/Classic Division.
Inc.of the Experimental Aircraft Association.Inc.and is published monthly at Wittman Air1ield.Oshkosh.WI 54903-
3086. Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh, WI 54901 and additional mailing oHices. Membership rates for
EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. are $18.00 for current EAA members for 12 month period of which $12.00 is
for the publication of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE.Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation.
ADVERTISING - Antique/ClassicDivision does not guaranteeorendorseanyproductoHered throughouradvertis-
ing.We inviteconstructivecriticism andwelcomeanyreportofinferiormerchandiseobtainedthroughouradvertising
so that corrective measures can be taken.
Postmaster:Sendaddresschangesto EAAAntique/ClassicD;vision,Inc., WittmanAir1ield, Oshkosh,WI54903-3086.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
Compiled by Gene Chase
OLDEST FOKKER
After being stored in Poland for many
years, the oldest surviving Fokker, a
1913 Spin (Spider) was returned to the
Fokker company where it will be re-
stored for static display.
The tail group, wheels and propeller
are missing and will have to be repli -
cated, but the rest of the airframe is in
good condition. Power is a 70 hp Re-
nault. The public may be allowed to
watch the restoration work which will
take place at the Aviodome Museum at
Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam.
This particular Spin was made up
from components from several other
aircraft built in the Fokker factory at
A variant of the Fokker Spin.
Johannisthal , Berlin. After World War
One, Fokker himself took it to the
Netherlands where it was rebuilt for dis-
play in his company's headquarters in
Amsterdam. Following their invasion in
1940 the Germans returned the craft to
Berlin where it was displayed in the
great Deutsche Luftfahrt Sammlung
(German Aviation Collection). From
t ~ r it was taken to Poland with many
other aircraft from the collection.
It remained as part of the Polish na-
tional aviation and space museum's col-
lection in Krakow until this year, when
lengthy negotiations for its return were
completed.
When the final restoration is finished
the Spin will probably be displayed once
again in the Fokker Company's offices
in Amsterdam .
U()()kl2eview
IOWA TAKES TO THE AIR - Volume
Two 1919-1941, Aerodrome Press,
1986. 336 pages and 176 photo-
graphs.
This is an excellent account of avia-
tion activity in Iowa from the barnstorm-
ing days following WW I through the
"Golden Age" era of the '20s and '30s.
Noted pilot and author, Ann Pellegreno,
through extensive research has
documented the aviation events and
participants during these exciting years.
Except during the Great Depression,
aeronautical activity was at an all-time
high with Iowans designing and building
aircraft, winning races, performing at
airshows, operating flying services, etc.
Although the book is mainly about
Iowans, there are references to others
who partiCipated in flying activities in the
state. The names of several celebrities
will be recognized and the many
photos, some of them rare, are a valu-
able addition to the text.
This book is both entertaining and a
valuable historical account of flying in
the early years. It and its predecessor,
Volume I, should be in every aviation
buff's library ... G. R. C .
4 NOVEMBER 1986
by Dennis Parks
EAA Library/Archives Director
SKYWAYS
The interest in aviation developments
during the Second World War spurred
a large response from magazine pub-
lishers. Over 30 aviation titles were
available during the war, most of which
had begun during the war. Among the
new titles were: AIR AGE, AIR LIFE,
AIR NEWS, AIR PILOT AND TECHNI-
CIAN, AIR TECH, AIRCRAFT AGE,
AVIATlON NEWS, FL YING AGE and
FL YING CADET.
Most of these new titles did not sur-
vive the war or much beyond it. One of
them, AIR LIFEsurvived only one issue;
another, AIR PICTORIAL lasted only
one year. This month's subject, SKY-
WA YS, was able to continue until 1963.
SKYWAYS which first appeared in
November, 1942, was founded by J.
Fred Henry with Hendry Lars Bart as
managing editor. The first issue was of
good size with 84 pages and 16 feature
articles. There was quite a range of to-
pics covered besides the expected mil-
itary aviation. There was a retrospective
look at the commercial airlines, ''The
Airlines Carry On;" an article on stall de-
sign of new trainers, ''There's no Stal-
ling on Safety;" speed limits in aircraft
design, "Are Super-Sonic Speeds
Feasible?" and a look at future personal
planes, "Skyways of the Future" - a
preview of the 1952 "Flivers."
Among the authors appearing in the
magazine during the 1940s were: Han-
son W. Baldwin, famous military histo-
rian; Gill Robb Wilson, later the editor
of FL YING and Don Downie, now a
senior editor of KITPLANES and PRI-
VATE PILOT.
Among the many people being dis-
charged in 1946 was Dilbert the Dope.
Well known to naval aviators as the car-
toon personification of "Pilot Error," Dil-
bert became a civilian and started ap-
pearing regularly in SKYWA YS with the
July 1946 issue. Dilbert was the crea-
tion of S. H. Warner and R. Osborn.
Today they are probably better known
for their Grandpaw Pettibone charac-
ters, the sage of flight safety in NAVAL
AVIA TlON NEWS.
One of the outstanding features of
SKYWAYS in the later mid-40s was its
"Evolution of the . . . " series. Each arti-
cle in the series featured the story of
the development and design of a par-
ticular aircraft. Along with the text was
a color photograph (marked "A Sky-
ways Plane Portrait") and an excellent
cut-a-way drawing done by Douglas
Rolfe.
One of the first articles covered was
the North American P-51 Mustang
which appeared in the January 1944
issue. The article was written by Edgar
Schmued, the designer of the Mustang.
Reflecting war time interests, all of the
early aircraft covered in the series were
warbirds, mainly fighters. Both U.S. and
foreign aircraft were presented, includ-
ing the Hellcat, Corsair, Havoc, Zero,
Lancaster and Fw-190.
The drawings were originally on two
pages folded in the binding, later the
format became a two-page drawing on
a three-page fold out, and finally it be-
came three full pages. These large fold-
outs had the photos on the back for a
three-page photo spread.
The first appearance of a light plane
in the series was in the April 1945 issue;
the Aeronca Super Chief being the sub-
ject. Other aircraft to appear in 1945
mixed in with the warbirds were the Er-
coupe and Luscombe Silvair.
The article on the Aeronca stated that
~ was a philosophy at the company that
In order to attract the non-professional
flyer, an airplane must be "something
they can handle without long schooling
.. . have a low landing speed . .. a low
stalling point, and a long glide angle."
After talking about the evolution of the
Aeroncas the post war planes were dis-
cussed. These included a four-place,
cross country plane for the "family
trade" intended to compete in price with
the average automobile.
The article closed with some remarks
about the current restrictive attitude of
the CAA. An Aeronca sales manager
said, ''They should place the monkey
on the individual's shoulder instead of
mothering sheep. If they put more re-
sponsibility on the individual , he should
be more careful. As far as the builder is
concerned, it is always a challenge to
him to make a plane that the average
guy can fly: he doesn't need to be told."
In the April 1945 issue the emerging
competition for the expected post-war
light plane boom was evidenced by the
full page ads from Piper, Culver, Lus-
combe (full color) and Stinson.
During 1946 the "Evolution" series
became the "Plane of the Month" seri es
and each covered a personallightplane.
These included the Stinson 150, Taylor-
craft BC-12D and the Funk F2B (later
B-85-C) . For some unknown reason the
cut-a-way drawings started slipping,
first going back to two page cut-a-ways
and then ceasing with the September
1946 issue.
SKYWAYS probably reached its pub-
lishing peak in December, 1946 with its
200-page "National Aircraft Show
Issue." This issue contained more than
100 pages of information, photos and
specs on new military, transport and
civilian planes. The civil plane section
was introduced by Henry Wallace, then
Secretary of Commerce.
Mr. Wallace saw a tremendous in-
crease in personal flying and said,
"Having learned to fly, I cannot imagine
the American public failing to take up
this new form of transportation." 1946
was indeed a boom year with 35,000
civil aircraft produced. But that first full
year without war was also the peak year
as production dropped to 15,617 in
1947.
The December issue had descrip-
(Continued on Page 24)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
Photo by Gene Chase
Steve Pitcairn wipes down "Miss Champion"
after arrival at Oshkosh '86.
"MISS CHAMPION"
Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro PCA-2
by Carl Gunther and Gene Chase
The ten-year period between 1925
and 1935 was an exciting time in avia-
tion history. Multi-passenger aircraft
were keeping regular schedules over
Europe; Charles Lindbergh, the "Lone
Eagle," had completed his first success-
ful non-stop flight across the Atlantic;
"barnstormers" and flying circuses were
thrilling large crowds all over America;
millions of eyes looked skyward in won-
der as huge lighter-than-air craft in the
form of dirigibles plowed their ponder-
ous paths through the atmosphere.
But few aircraft caught and held the
public attention as did the autogiro.
Called "flying windmills" by news repor-
6 NOVEMBER 1986
ters who had little understanding of the
principles of autorotational flight , these
strange-looking aircraft, invented by a
Spanish engineer named Juan de la
Cierva, captured the hearts and minds
of the air-minded public because of their
remarkable performance coupled with
a high degree of safety. These facts
made autogiros an ideal means to carry
out nation-wide advertising campaigns
by a number of American manufactur-
ers. The Champion Spark Plug Com-
pany was one of these.
Champion executives were not slow
to see the large amount of publicity au-
togiros drew wherever they performed
across the country. Nor was the fact
that many of the leaders of American
aviation. such as Charles Lindbergh,
Jimmy Doolittle, Frank Hawks, Amel ia
Earhart , Clarence Chamberlin, David
Ingalls and many others were beating a
steady path to Pitcairn Field near Willow
Grove, Pennsylvania where Harold Pit-
cairn was designing and building these
phenomenal aircraft .
It wasn 't long before Champion Vice-
President M. C. Dewitt showed up at
the Pitcairn Aircraft Company office,
prepared to do business. Pitcairn Vice-
President Edwin Asplundh promptly led
Mr. Dewitt out to the ramp in front of the
main hangar doors where stood an au-
togiro with its engine idling. In the rear
cockpit sat Jim Ray, Pitcairn's chief test
pilot , who motioned Dewitt to climb into
the front seat. As soon as Dewitt's
safety belt was fastened , Jim engaged
the clutch , bringing the rotor up to flight
speed, and executed a short steep
takeoff within the confines of the
fenced-in ramp area.
The demonstration of the autogiro's
characteristics to which Jim treated De-
witt included the usual aerial maneuv-
ers and then a throttled-back pass at
the field a mere fifteen feet above the
grass at a speed of less than thirty miles
per hour, yet under complete control.
and finally a vertical "dead-stick" land-
ing from 500 feet on the exact spot from
where they had departed ten minutes
earlier with a roll of only two or three
feet. Dewitt, who was no stranger to fly-
ing, climbed out on the wing as soon as
the engine stopped, and with a big grin
on his face said, ''I'm impressed, but
can our pilot do tha!?" "Who is your
pilo!?" Jim asked. "Captain Lewis A.
Yancey, if he can handle it," replied De-
witt . "I know Yancey," said Jim. "He'll do
fine ."
As a matter of fact , "Lon" Yancey,
famed for his trans-Atlantic flight in a
Bellanca in 1929 to Rome, Italy. had
already been receiving autogiro flight in-
struction from Jim and "Skipper" Lu-
kens, another Pitcairn pilot, for several
days. His handling of the autogiro was
quite acceptable. With more experience
he became an accomplished autogiro
pilot with the capability of handling the
routines autogiro demonstrations called
for.
Satisfied, Dewitt Signed the sales ag-
reement. On paper the agreement sim-
ply stated that "in consideration of the
sum of $15,125 in hand paid, we hereby
sell and transfer unto Champion Spark
Plug Company of Toledo, Ohio, one au-
togiro type PCA-2, Serial Number B-27,
Engine 12563, engine type Wright
Whirlwind J-6, R-975, 300 hp, Dept. of
Commerce number NC11609, man-
ufactured June 1931 free and clear of
liens and encumbrances of whatever
kind or nature this 29th day of June
1931." The signatures of Asplundh and
Dewitt appeared beside their respective
company names and titles.
Photo by Cart Schuppet
The markings were accurately reproduced from the original fabric, except for Steve's
name at the rear cockpit.
Thus was born "Miss Champion" -
the first rotary wing aircraft ever
selected to lead the Ford Air Tour. Two
days after the autogiro's delivery at To-
ledo, Ohio, Captain Yancey took oH
from Ford Airport with the 1931 National
Air Tour. The Champion autogiro was
the OHicial Tour Ship. During the tour,
"Miss Champion" visited 21 states and
38 cities and towns from London, On-
tario, Canada to New Orleans,
Louisiana; from Fort Worth, Texas to
Kalamazoo, Michigan. Total mileage
was well in excess of 6,500, with her
flight log showing more than 120 hours
aloft. Everywhere the autogiro landed it
at1racted wide at1ention, and easily won
the major share of newspaper and radio
coverage, a fact that visibily annoyed a
number of the other pilots on the tour .
After the Air Tour, the Champion
Company put "Miss Champion" to work
get1ing publicity for Champion dealers
from Maine to Florida. Her demonstra-
tions of controlled slow flight , unusual
maneuverability, and near vertical land-
ings at the annual National Air Races
brought national recognition to this new
and safer form of flight.
In January of 1932, "Miss Champion"
made a flight considered "risky" for any
aircraft, let alone an autogiro. Until then
no autogiro had ever flown more than
25 miles over water. On January 24th,
Captain Yancey flew the autogiro from
Miami to Havana Cuba, a distance of
over 300 miles. His arrival in Havana
was greeted by enthusiastic crowds,
and he was invited to the presidential
palace by President Machado.
But Yancey had even greater ambi-
tions. A wire to the Pitcairn Autogiro
Company brought him a week later a
specially designed auxiliary fuel tank
which he mounted in the front cockpit
ply. He then successfully began his
most miraculous flight of all from
Havana, over the Cuban wilderness,
across the wide and treacherous waters
of the Yucatan Channel (part of the Gulf
of Mexico), over the trackless expanse
of the Yucatan jungles to its capital of
Merida, a non-stop trip of nearly 500
miles, where he was welcomed by the
governor.
It was from the ancient city of Merida
that Captain Yancey made a number of
flights to the capital of the Mayan Em-
pire at Chichen Itza, even landing in
front of the famed "Temple of the Ser-
pents" - the great Mayan pyramid. The
ability of "Miss Champion" to fly slowly
and even "hover" over certain spots
helped the archeologists make new dis-
coveries that could have taken years on
the ground. Back in the U.S., sub-
sequent flights into the Yosemite Valley
in California and the crater of Crater
Lake, Oregon were a "piece of cake" by
comparison.
"Miss Champion" was not just a
curiosity of her era. Wherever she flew
she engendered confidence in the
method of flight as a truly safe form of
aerial navigation. She was a hard
worker, too, often towing advertising
banners over the cities she visited, at-
tracting valuable at1ention to the prod-
ucts her banner proclaimed. The Cham-
pion Company declared in a let1er to
Pitcairn Aircraft , builders of their auto-
giro, that the value of the aircraft in in-
creasing sales and goodwill toward their
products was beyond estimate.
"Miss Champion" was one of the first
of her type to appear in the United
States and was retired from active ser-
vice, after setting a new altitude record
on September 25, 1932 of 21 ,500 feet,
the highest a rotary-wing aircraft had
ever flown. In her way, "Miss Champi-
on" had been a miSSionary, her clumsy
appearance appealing to the imagina-
tion of the public and winning its confi-
dence through her ability to deliver the
goods with complete safety. She was
retired with honor as a permanent
exhibit of Chicago's Rosenwald
Museum of Science and Industry in the
spring of 1935.
After World War II , the museum had
to give up "Miss Champion" in favor of
more timely exhibits from the recent
The first flight demonstration ever of a Pitcairn autogiro at an EAA Convention. Steve
Photo by Carl Schuppel
of his PCA-2, thus doubling his fuel sup- flies his PCA-2 in the Parade of Flight" at Oshkosh '86.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
reinstalled , but a few items had to be
remanufactured, since replacement
parts did not exist. Fortunately the orig-
inal Pitcairn factory drawings were in
Steve's possession.
One of the most important tasks in
the restoration process was the rebuild-
ing of the rotor blades. Each main spar
had to undergo rigid x-ray inspection to
make sure there was no corrosion or
cracks in the steel tubes which served
as the backbone of these rotating
wings. Then each rib with its spar-at-
tachment collar had to be inspected and
very often replaced because of dam-
age, cracks or other defects.
It was during this tedious but crucial
part of the job that Townson noticed that
the airfoil curve of the ribs actually used
in the rotor blades was slightly different
from the curve called for by the Pitcairn
engineering specifications. According
to this official document, the airfoil used
was the Goettingen 429. But when
Townson placed one of the ribs he had
removed over the official drawing, he
saw immediately that the curve was just
slightly different.
Methodically he checked each rib
throughout the length of the spar but
found the same small but definite differ-
ence . Had someone made them all
wrong, or was this a planned departure
from the original specs? Knowing the
care with which the Pitcairn people did
their jobs, he reasoned that it was more
likely that this was a deliberate design
modification. He reached for the phone
and called Carl Gunther, the Pitcairn ar-
chivist, and after briefly outlining the
problem, asked him if he knew of any-
thing in the old Autogiro Company re-
cords that would confirm or deny his
suspicions.
Requests of this kind were not new
to Gunther, who had presided over the
records for more than 15 years. As a
matter of fact he had just recently set
Pitcairn Archive. Photo
Champion Spark Plug PCA-2 Pitcairn autogiro undergoing rotor run-up tests at factory
-1931.
world conflict, and this vintage lady was
released into the knowledgeable care
of Mr. A. K. Miller of Montclair, New Jer-
sey, who kept her in his own museum
for many years until he was forced to
close it down and move to other quar-
ters. Miller couldn't bear the thought of
giving up this magnificent relic of the
pioneering era in American aviation, so
he disassembled her and moved her
into a barn on his farm in Vermont,
where she gathered dust for many
years.
Meanwhile, Stephen Pitcairn, (EAA
109260, AlC 4080), 2410 Terwood
Drive, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009, son of
Harold Pitcairn, the aviation pioneer
and winner of the Collier Trophy for his
development of the autogiro in this
country, had begun the formidable task
of collecting and restoring examples of
his father's aircraft. The first to be com-
pleted by Steve was the PA-5 Mailwing,
originally built for his father in 1928.
Next was a PA-7 Sport Mailwing, which
won for Steve the Silver Age Champion
Award at the 1983 EAA Convention at
Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Somewhere along the line, Steve
heard about the autogiro owned by Mr.
Miller. After several attempts to com-
municate by mail, Steve went to Ver-
mont to visit Miller. then in his seven-
ties, and finally succeeded in negotiat-
ing for the PCA-2 autogiro, NC11609,
some five years later. Steve had it
trucked to his hangar at the Trenton-
Robbinsville Airport , New Jersey,
where the restoration process began in
October, 1982.
Fortunately, at this time, George
Townson, (EAA 251901 , AlC 9519) of
Delran , New Jersey, a former autogiro
pilot and mechanic, was available for a
full-time commitment. George's impres-
sive credentials include air frame and
powerplant certificate with an inspec-
certificate with most ratings. He holds
commercial fixed wing, helicopter and
autogiro ratings along with flight instruc-
tion ratings for these types. He is an
accomplished "practical engineer ." He
is a member of the Society of Experi-
mental Test Pilots, making "first flights
in several experimental rotor craft in the
1940s including the 'world's largesf"
(Piasecki XHRP-1, Tandem Rotor)
helicopter. He built, from scratch, a
small racing plane and a light, tandem
rotor helicopter.
Before joining Stephen Pitcairn he
had been chief inspector and director of
engineering for a regional air carrier.
Under his supervision, "Miss Champi-
on" was stripped of her original cover
(the logos and numerals were saved to
be copied) , and the painstaking process
of inspection began. Careful notation of
items to be worked on were listed in
order of priority. Eighty-five percent of
the original parts were refurbished and
Pitcairn Archives Photo
tion authorization, ground instructor This view shows the cable arrangement of the rotor blades.
8 NOVEMBER 1986
aside several engineering reports which
he thought might be helpful to Steve Pit-
cairn and his able restoration chief, and
in one of them he recalled seeing some
statements made by Paul Stanley, one
of the Autogiro Company's key en-
gineers, about the design of the rotor
blades used in the PCA-2 autogiros.
Within a few days, Townson was
holding in his hands the documents that
confirmed his belief that this was a de-
liberate design modification. The new
airfoil proved on testing to be smoother
and more efficient under flight condi-
tions, but the changes, coming on top
of so many others as the Pitcairn team
pioneered their way to new horizons of
knowledge, rated only a single sen-
tence reference in the official engineer-
ing report . That sentence, however, en-
abled Townson to properly rebuild the
four rotor blades that enabled this un-
usual old bird to fly.
Airfoils, critical as they were, proved
to be only one of the factors necessary
to the solution of the rotor problem.
Each blade had to be accurately
weighed and their weights brought to
within 2 ounces of each other and at the
same time keep the span wise center of
gravity of all blades within 1/8 inch of
each other. Inattention to these details
could cause, at least, an uncomfortable
ride from vibrations.
Finally, in the spring of 1985, "Miss
Champion" was rolled out of the hangar
to check her engine and rotor system.
As Steve Pitcairn climbed into the
cockpit to begin this initial testing proce-
dure, George Townson looked on
somewhat apprehensively. Steve acti-
vated the starter for the nine cylinder
J-6 Wright engine. The ground adjusta-
ble Hamilton Standard propeller swung
jerkily a couple of times and, as the en-
gine rumbled into a throaty roar, spun
into a full shiny disc of whirling blades,
blowing swirls of dust behind the giro's
Pitcairn Archives Photo
An Interested audience poses with "Miss Champion" at the Temple of Tigers, Yucatan,
February 1932.
upturned elevators.
Satisfied that all was well so far,
Steve looked over at George, who gave
a little shrug of his shoulders and made
a whirling sign with his forefinger. Steve
reached for the rotor clutch knob and
pulled it firmly toward him to its lock po-
sition. Slowly the four large overhead
blades began their counterclockwise
spin. Gradually Steve eased open the
throttle and the rotor increased the
speed of its rotation.
Soon the blades were standing
straight out at right angles to the hub.
80th men were looking for signs of in-
creasing vibration that would indicate
some problem with the rotor. George
noticed that one of the blades seemed
to be tracking a bit lower than the
others, so he gave Steve the sign to cut
power to the engine. As it slowed to idl-
ing speed and the rotor gradually
slowed down, George walked over and
told Steve to shut her down so he could
check the blade settings.
It was while this checking was going
on that a small wrench being used to
adjust one of the blades near its root
fell and punctured a hole in the fabric
on the wing below. Now a small wrench
is not a heavy object , and both men
thought it strange that a puncture would
result from this trivial event. George
went to his toolbox and brought back a
Maule fabric tester. Testing the area
near the puncture, he found it below al-
lowable tolerance. He then tested other
areas on the fabric-covered aircraft .
With only slight variations the result was
the same. The brand new fabric cover-
ing was definitely weak and would have
to be replaced! What a disappointment,
because it meant among other things,
that the autogiro would miss Oshkosh
'85, just one month away.
Although the fabric tested low, Steve
and George decided to make three
short test flights to 700 feet to check the
systems, rotor rpm in flight and control
response, etc. These short flights, the
first in 51 years for "Miss Champion"
proved the excellence of the original de-
sign and the painstaking care George
gave to the restoration. All systems
worked above expectations.
To determine the cause of the fabric
deterioration, samples were sent to a
testing laboratory, along with a descrip-
tion of what had happened. When the
report came back it indicated the par-
ticular nitrate dope formulation had an
excess acid condition which resulted in
the serious weakening of the Grade A
cotton fabric. The process of recovering
and painting "Miss Champion'" with a
new covering system was started in
September 1985.
Off to Oshkosh '86
Steve' would not be denied flying his
rare Pitcairn autogiro to Oshkosh '86,
however the trip wasn't certain until the
last minute. Having only a total of four
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
Pitcairn Archives Photo
Company pilot Lew Yancey operates "Miss Champion" out of a in the jungle
of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. This is the Temple of the Soldiers at Chlchen Itza, one
of the Mayan ruins then being reclaimed from the rain forest. At that time (1932) it was
100 miles from the nearest civilization.
Pitcairn Archives Photo
Captain Yancey was permitted to make two landings in Yosemite Valley, CA on May 22,1932. Here a newsreel cameraman is roped
into the front cockpit to film the event.
hours on the plane, he departed on
Thursday, July 31 , hoping to arrive at
Oshkosh August 1, opening day of the
EAA Convention.
He battled inclement weather as-
sociated with a warm front until crossing
the Allegheny Mountains when things
began to clear up.
The first leg of his flight was 1:45 to
a refueling stop at Carlisle, PA where
he would also check his calculated fuel
consumption. There he landed into the
wind across the runway utilizing the
STOL characteristics of the autogiro. Al-
though the plane carries 52 gallons of
fuel, Steve plans his cross-country legs
at a conservative maximum of 2 hours
15 minutes.
His next stop was at Beaver County
Airport, northwest of Pittsburgh and
from there he flew to Bluffton, Ohio (be-
tween Lima and Findlay) . Unbeknownst
to Steve at the time, a nut had loosened
allowing the oleo strut on the left landing
gear to separate. The wheel and its
"vee" axle were dangling from the N-
strut and although Steve was talking on
unicom with the folks at Bluffton, they
didn't recognize the problem as they
had never seen an autogiro before.
The touchdown on the runway was
on the side of the errant left wheel at an
Pitcairn Archives Photo estimated 8 mph ground speed . The
Captain Lewis Yancey is congratulated upon his successful landing by Don Tresidder, plane pivoted to the left, going down on
head of the Yosemite National Park and Curry Co., and by Chief Ranger Forrest
the left wing but fortunately not far
Townsley. Note newsreel cameraman in front cockpit. Date was May 22, 1932.
enough to ding the ground adjustable
Hamilton-Standard propeller. Due to
10 NOVEMBER 1986
centrifugal force holding them out , the
rotor blades didn't contact the runway
until they slowed and were suspended
by their respective droop cables. Only
the rotor blade tips touched very lightly,
doing minimal damage.
The airport owner and manager,
Harold Carey came out on his golf cart,
sized up the situation and said he'd call
a wrecker from town to hoist the plane
and move it off the runway. This was
accomplished and it was moved into a
hangar where it rested on some barrels
while the landing gear was repaired .
Steve contacted George Townson
back home and he came to Bluffton to
supervise the repair job. Thanks to the
assistance of some local folks and the
availability of a machine shop and weld-
ing facilities, the repairs were com-
pleted. In the meantime, Steve's good
friends Wayne Hays and his wife of
Robbinsville, New Jersey, left three
days early on their vacation and brought
to Bluffton the needed materials from
Steve's hangar, including covering ma-
terial, paint and an extra set of stream-
line wires which had to be replaced be-
tween the two landing gear N-struts.
Wayne worked all the next day
(Saturday) patching and painting the
wing and rotor blades and by that even-
ing, "Miss Champion" was ready for a
test flight. Everything checked out okay
and Steve departed on Sunday a.m. for
Oshkosh.
A refueling stop was made at Val-
paraiso, Indiana then on to Chicago
where Steve flew along the lake shore
with a breathtaking view looking up at
the city's skyscrapers! A final fuel stop
was made at Hartford, Wisconsin and
at 1 :30 on Sunday afternoon, August 3,
he touched down at Wittman Airfield -
Oshkosh at last! Time enroute was 10.5
hours.
Steve thrilled Oshkosh '86 Conven-
tion-goers with his demonstration flights
Photo by Gene Chase
When the autogiro is tied down, each of the four rotor blades is secured as well. Notes
lines from the two forward blades. The rotor drive shaft is shown ahead of the front
strut of the rotor mast. It's engaged for start-up only.
on Monday during the "Parade of Flight"
and again on Wednesday in the "Air-
craft Showcase" preceding the air
show. The short field take off and land-
ing capabilities of this 55-year-Old air-
craft were most impressive, as were the
extremely short radius turns while air-
borne.
It was interesting to watch the start-
up, taxi and take off procedure for the
autogiro. Taxiing is mostly conventional
even without a steerable tailwheel (it
still has its original skid) . Steering on
the ground is strictly by use of brakes,
a technique made somewhat easier be-
cause of the wide (13 ft . 3 in.) tread of
the landing gear.
Prior to take off the rotor blades are
started into rotation by the pilot pulling
a knob in the cockpit which engages a
clutch, gearbox and shaft driven by the
Wright J6-9. A separate tachometer in-
dicates the rotor speed and when 120
rpm is reached the rotor drive unit is
disengaged, full power is applied to the
Wright and the pilot takes off. No-wind
take off distance is 250' maximum; how-
ever, under certain conditions, it's pos-
sible to make a "jump take off" with zero
ground roll.
Normal landing approaches are
made at 20-25 mph forward speed, but
it is possible to slow the autogiro in the
air to zero forward speed and permit it
to descend vertically to a landing. In a
Champion Co. press release the verti-
cal descent speed was described as "14
feet per second, slower than a para-
chute." The beautifully restored Pitcairn
Autogiro would most certainly have
received an award at Oshkosh '86 but
Steve chose to not register it for judging.
After Steve's uneventful 9.5 hour
flight home from Oshkosh in "Miss
Champion" he began to do some things
that time did not permit earlier. The
plane was a little out of rig and that
needed to be corrected. The pitch of
the Hamilton-Standard propeller was
set too low, yielding a cruise speed of
only 80 mph instead of the 95-98 called
for in the specs.
Autogiro rotor blades "flap" (moder-
ately) up and down, each pivoting on a
pin in a bronze bushing and by the time
he got home the bushings were badly
worn. It was determined that the pins
were not getting enough grease and
possibly the bushings were made from
the wrong material.
New flying wires were ordered for the
rotor blades and the previously dam-
aged landing gear was taken apart to
have new pieces made to replace those
which had been temporarily repaired on
the flight to Oshkosh.
By now those problems are surely re-
medied and Steve is enjoying more fly-
ing than ever, going aloft the world 's
only flying example of a Pitcairn PCA-2
autogiro.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
Photo by Gene Ch ....
Steve Pitcairn taxies his Pitcairn PCA-2 autogiro at Oshkosh '86.
ABOUT THE PCA-2
Pitcairn Aircraft built twenty or more Model
PCA-2 autogiros in their plant on Pitcairn
Field, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. These
three-place utility aircraft quickly became
promotional tools for various well-known
companies including the "Detroit News"
newspaper, Champion Spark Plug Co.,
Standard Oil of New York, "Sealed Power"
Piston Ring Co. , Beechnut Packing Co., and
others. The "Detroit News" autogiro is on dis-
play at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn,
Michigan.
Listed below are speCifications and perfor-
mance data.
Wing span
Length
Height
Rotor Diameter
Rotor blade chord
Empty Weight
Gross Weight
Maximum Speed
Cruising Speed
Landing Speed
Rate of Climb
Service Ceiling
Gas Capacity
Oil capacity
Cruising range
Price (fly-away factory)
30'0"
231'
13'0"
45'0"
22"
22331bs.
3000 Ibs.
119 mph
98 mph
o mph
800 fpm
15,000'
52 gal
6.5 gal
290 miles
$15,000
Photo by Carl Schuppe/
The many ribs of one of the rotor blades are evident in this view. The weight of each
blade is critical - they must weigh within 2 ounces of each other.
12 NOVEMBER 1986
Bibliography
1. Aircraft Biography. "Miss Champion". by
Carl R Gunther .
2. Interview With Stephen Pitcairn.
3. "U.S. Civil Aircraft". Vol 5. by Joseph P
Juptner .
4. Pitcairn Aircraft Inc. brochure.
5. Champion Spark Plug Co. press releases
and brochure.
LEGACY OF WINGS
A Review by Gene Chase
Another new addition to the EAA Video
Aviation Series is "Legacy of Wings", the
story of Harold Frederick Pitcairn, an Amer-
ican aviation pioneer. whose eHorts and ac-
complishments are reflected In many facets
of aviation today. As a young boy he was
fascinated with manned flight and in his
teens was designing, building and flying
model airplanes. including a delta wing and
a rotary wing.
He took flight traming at one of Glenn Cur-
tiss's flying schools dunng World War I His
first airplane was a Farman Sport biplane
which he flew from the family farm . The farm .
near Bryn Athyn. Pennsyvanla. became the
original Pitcairn Field in 1924 and when it
was dedicated. some 20,000 spectators
showed up to witness the festivities. That
same year . Harold Pitcairn informed his wife
that he had made the deCISion to make aVI-
ation his career.
A quiet man. Harold Pitcairn shunned the
spotlight but he worked tirelessly to improve
both the scope and safety of aviation. His
senes of Pitcairn Mailwlngs were great Im-
provements over the machines being flown
by airmail pilots.
Pitcairn started his own airline which be-
came one of today's major carriers. Eastern
Airlines. He was intrigued with rotary-wing
craft and traveled to Europe to meet Juan de
la Cierva who had made rotary-wing flight a
realtiy.
In time. Harold Pitcairn developd his own
rotary-wing craft and his patents, which date
back to 1926, were purchased by Igor
Sikorsky and incorporated in the XR-4, the
world's first helicopter.
This video includes rare. historic footage
from amateur home movies showing flight of
many Pitcairn aircraft including autogiros.
Home movies and newsreel clips show the
autogiro performing loops and landing and
taking oH from unusual places including
Chicago's Soldier Field and the White House
lawn in Washington. DC.
Among Harold Pitcairn's many firsts was
the successful flight of a wingless autogiro.
His ingenuity and inventiveness enabled the
success of the modern helicopter.
"Legacy of Wings" should be in the video
collection of every aviation historian and all
who are even remotely interested in rotary-
wing flight. It can be ordered in VHS or Beta
from the EAA Aviation Foundation for $39.95
plus $3.00 shipping. Please specify VHS or
Beta format and include your name and ad-
dress, phone number and EAA number and
mail your check to: EAA Video, Wi"man Air-
field. Oshkosh, WI 54903-3065. Or, phone
1-800-843-3612 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00
p.m. (Wisconsin residents, phone 414/426-
4800). and use your VISA or MasterCard .
. ... . . . .. . .. ". . .. ..
by George A. Hardie, Jr.
This neat little biplane was produced
by a radio manufacturer in the late
1920s. The photo, submitted by Ed
Peck of Waddy. Kentucky, shows the
airplane in a restored state in its later
life at Lexington, Kentucky. It would ap-
pear to be an attractive subject for
today's homebuilders. Answers will be
published in the February 1987 issue of
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline
for that issue is December 10. 1986.
The Mystery Plane in the August
1986 issue was no mystery to Mike Re-
zich of Chicago. Illinois who writes:
"I watched the fellows build it. Two
old timers at Palwaukee airport who
were Bellanca dealers in those days,
Cliff Condit and Gus Palmquist , built the
ship known as the Conquist monoplane.
We called it the Baby Bellanca. It was
a two-place job powered with a Warner
engine. The ship at one time could have
been bought for less than $400.00 in
those depression days. The last time I
saw it was at Bill Strine's Stinson airport
in back of the hangar collecting dust. "
Cedric Galloway of Hesperia, Califor-
nia writes: "It was built by two men, Con-
dit and Palmquist, and was powered by
a Warner 125. The name came about
by taking the first half of one name,
'Con ', and the last half of the other
man's name, 'Quist' and they came up
with Conquist. As far as I know only one
example was built. "
Norman Orloff of San Antonio, Texas
wrote: "The terminal building in the
background looks just like the north end
of the old Chicago Municipal terminal
as seen from the airport side during my
early visits to Muny in 1934-1935." He
also identified the airplane as the "Con-
quist 1."
Ed Flannery, Park Ridge, New Jer-
sey, thought the plane was a "Cresent"
(Crescent?) built by Clarence Cham-
berlin at Teterboro Airport . He added,
"A Cresent is now at the bottom of a
lake in New Hampshire, flown in by a
bootlegger. "
VI NTAGE AIRPLANE 13
Restoration Corner
Editor's Note: "Assembly and Rigging "
is the title of this ninth installment of the
"Restoration Corner" series. Author
Gene Morris is an airline captain living
in Roanoke, Texas and he also serves
on the Antique/Classic Division Board
of Directors.
ASSEMBLY AND RIGGING
by Gene Morris
(EAA 81175, Ale 1877)
Now that you 've brought your
airplane up through all the various
stages of rebuilding/restoring, you have
probably learned all that you can absorb
about good working habits. You will, of
course, continue with these habits and
you will have gotten to know your A&PI
IA very well by now.
Hopefully he can be considered an
expert on your airplane. If not . I would
at least contact someone who has been
there before .. even if it's by tele-
phone, you can pick up a lot of good
ideas. This is not to say that your A&P
is not capable, but it's part of sharing
experiences and ideas with each other.
My restoration experience is limited
compared to some, but I have helped
several people where I could , and am
very happy and flattered to do so.
I once flew our old Travel Air 4000 to
Hartford, Wisconsin from our home
(then) near Chicago so the FAA could
compare it with Tom Hegy's to deter-
mine if they were constructed alike.
They were and they gave him his en-
gine installation STC on the grounds
that mine once had the same engine
installed in 1937.
If you are a newcomer to antique or
classic airplane circles you will find that
nearly everyone is eager to help you ,
especially if it doesn't cost anything.
Tail Surfaces
You can probably assemble the tail
feathers all by yourself so just continue
with your good habits and be sure to
use a level to get things nice and
straight.
Someone with past experience might
save you some work with horizontal
stabil izer adjustments for instance.
Some vintage aircraft require the instal-
lation of washers under the stabilizer
leading edge attach points or may have
more than one bolt hole for mounting
these pieces. Some knowledgeable tips
could prevent you from having to take
it apart after you've flown it and found
it out of rig . The same situation exists
for some vertical fins.
Believe it or not, I once saw a
turnbuckle tightened too tight to pivot
on an elevator "up" horn and the
turnbuckle failed during a landing flare
about four feet above the runway. What
a landing, but there was no damage' In
your assembly of movable items, they
must be allowed to move.
If the empennage is braced with
streamline wires, treat them carefully
using masking tape or similar protection
on the crescent wrench used to adjust
them. The tightness will be a consensus
between you and your A&P. Be sure to
guard against pulling the surfaces out
of plumb. Also, you will notice that one
end of the wire has right-hand threads
while those on the other end are left
hand. Your good working habits will in-
sure that you do not lose the left-hand
jam nut'
Most aircraft have specified limits of
control surface travel so you should use
your bubble protractor for that step.
Wings
Some folks get the urge to taxi their
pride and joy before installing the wings.
A word of caution is in order here. On
a tail dragger the wings represent a sig-
nificant amount of weight aft of the land-
ing gear. This translates into an air-
frame without wings that is very light in
the tail and even a slight appl ication of
brakes while taxii ng could result in a
sudden shortening of the propeller. How
do you suppose I would know that?
Up to now, you've slaved over your
airplane for months and probably are
still peeling dope off your fingers, your
wife has thrown away all your dopel
paint-laden clothes and I hope some-
where in all the laboring you have
planned to have a wing-raising party. If
you are prone to parties, this is another
for your list, but don't let anybody stum-
ble into your nice, straight stringers, etc.
Installing wings on an airplane can
vary all the way from a simple lift up and
put in two bolts (or is it four?) as on an
Ercoupe to hanging four wing panels on
a biplane.
To make it simple and very basic. I'll
start with the typical high wing monop-
lane like the Champ, Cub, T-craft , etc.
The wings attach to the fuselage with a
bolt at the front spar and one at the rear
spar. If it were not for your friend holding
up the wing tip, it would fall to the
ground. A real must for this operation is
three or four drift punches to get that
initial hold on the holes until you can
line them up for the bolts. Also, you
should have a fiber hammer to tap in
the bolts. Take care not to ruin the
threads during this process.
Before the wings went up in place,
you have have fastened the lower strut
to the fuselage. All that is required now
is to raise the strut up to the wing and
10 and behold, it will fit perfectly, and I
don't know of an airplane that will not
stand upright with just one wing panel
- unless it's Ken Hyde's Jenny. I know
for a fact that the old Travel Air stood
up, almost straight, with both wings on
one side.
After both wings are on and the ailer-
ons are in place, you will once again get
into the cable tension game. Thank
goodness for ball bearing pullies, be-
cause a little too much cable tension on
the old type pulleys can really make for
stiff controls.
A common error at this point is getting
the aileron cables crossed. Be sure that
you have them properly identified and
tied off correctly before putting the
wings on.
Sometimes, if the cables are crossed,
the movement one way will be heavier
than the other. Again, how do you sup-
pose I would know that?
There are a couple of things to bear
in mind when rigging the aileron cables.
Naturally you will want the control wheel
or stick to be centered when the ailer-
ons are even. That will be your job. On
most airplanes the ailerons should
droop just slightly, perhaps 118 inch or
maybe a little more. Rigged thusly the
air load will streamline them in flight. If
this is all done correctly, you should not
have to touch them again.
On this hypothetical airplane we are
assemblying, you will notice that the
length of the rear strut only is adjusta-
ble. This is to adjust the proper angle
of wash-out at the wing tip (when
specified). The length of the front wing
spar is fixed to maintain the angle of
14 NOVEMBER 1986
dihedral as designed into the aircraft.
After the two struts are attached to
the wing, stand at the tip and look to-
ward the fuselage, sighting down the
bottom of the wing. The wing panel
should have a slight twist in it, with the
trailing edge at the tip being about 1/2
inch higher than at the wing root. This
is called wash-out, and it's obtained by
increasing the length of the rear strut.
It's also a good idea to stand in front
of your airplane and eyeball for unifor-
mity of the wash-out on the left and right
panels, just like you did with your model
airplanes. Wash-in and wash-out
applies to all wings regardless of struc-
ture, i.e., struts, wires, or however they
may be attached.
Do not under any circumstances
allow the wings to be washed-in (trailing
edge at wing tip lower than root rib) .
This condition will cause the tips to stall
first and your airplane will be a real bitch
to fly. Conversely, when the wings have
wash-out the wing root stalls first giving
a straight ahead stall as well as retain-
ing aileron control for a longer period
of time.
Of course, you have seen that all fuel
lines are in place in that tiny little space
between the wing root rib and the fuse-
lage as well as the wiring to the wing
lights and the pitot/static lines.
Be sure the wing-to-fuselage fairings
(when used), are in good shape and
fastened securely to the airframe. We
once had a PA-12 in Alaska that nobody
could land decently. We finally deter-
mined that the wing fairing was loose
just behind the windshield and during
the landing flare that little bit of fairing
sticking up adversely affected the
airflow over the tail surfaces!
One more thing about and
wash-out. Since the ailerons nave the
same amount of droop with stick or
wheel centered, they will be a 1justed
correctly. Should your airpla" e fly
straight and level , hands off, and one
aileron is up and one is down, do not
re-adjust the ailerons! Correct the con-
dition by lengthening the rear strut to
the wing with the "up" aileron. Make
these adjustments in small increments
then test fly until the ailerons remain
even.
Don't be hesitant about asking ques-
tions and always be observant. For in-
stance, Cessna 140As and some others
with single struts have an eccentric at
the rear spar fitting to adjust for wing
heaviness. Some airplanes don't have
any wing adjustments. My 1940 Culver
Cadet is one of those and as you might
expect, it flew wing heavy. I did not want
to correct it by installing an adjustable
aileron tab so I flew it for months with a
large rubber band stretched between
Photo by Teel Koaton
Gene Morris flying his 1931 American Eaglet, NC548Y,
the stick and the landing gear lever. I
finally broke down and put a tab on it .
My 1931 American Eaglet has no
elevator trim system at all so we carry
the rubber band on cross country
flights, attached to the seat belt and
over the stick. The resulting back pres-
sure on the stick corrects a slight nose-
heavy condition. The price of staying
original!.
Biplanes
I only have experience with one bip-
lane, our old Travel Air 4000. On that
plane the center section is adjustable
fore and aft which changes the CG, for
example, for different engine installa-
tions, etc.
Most biplanes have center sections
and the sequence for installing the wing
panels is: 1) center section; 2) lower
panels; 3) upper panels. When the
lower panels are installed, the tips are
supported by the landing wires. The tips
of the upper panels are supported by
the outer interplane struts.
Rigging these birds can give one gray
hairs because when one wire is ad-
justed, one or more will probably need
re-adjusting. Rigging specifications are
available for most airplanes and these
instructions should definitely be fol-
lowed. I would guess that it's really a
good feeling to put a biplane together
and have it fly perfectly the first time
l
If the flying and landing wires aren't
"strearTllined" into the slipstream , they
may flutter during flight. This condition
should be remedied immediately, as
flutter can mean failure.
If you are not already familiar with the
rod terminals, you should know they
have a small opening called a witness
hole in the side of the shank. This is the
gauge to assure that the rod end is
screwed into the terminal at least that
far. The proper threading of each end
must be verified by inserting a piece of
safety wire into the witness hole.
Share your fun and problems. Once
again, you are doing this project for fun
or some sort of personal satisfaction
and nothing is more gratifying than to
share your fun , and problems, with the
rest of us. We all love airplanes and
airplane people so if this is your first
restoration project you have much to
look forward when you start flying it to
fly-ins, especially the greatest of them
all ... Oshkosh!
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
CLIV
W I ~ f
CUI3
Green grass and Cubs go together! Short wings and struts of Clip Wing conversion are
plainly visible along with large "NC" number on wing.
by Norm Petersen
(Photos by Carl Schuppel, except as
noted)
Although the title of this article is "Clip
Wing Cub", the actual true title should
in reality be "Clip Wing Cub with a Pur-
pose! " And the people involved are a
49-year-old father and his son, a 17-
year-old high school senior who is just
learning to spread his wings. Read on .
Henry Geissler, (EAA 86004, AlC
4179) , Rt . 1, Box 177C, Webster, Min-
nesota 55088, was born in Sharon,
Massachusetts in 1937 and grew up in
the area just south of Boston. At age
21 , he entered the Air Force and be-
came an Air Force pilot for the next 11
years, logging over 5000 hours in the
process. Leaving the Air Force in 1958,
he signed on with Western Airlines as
a pilot and spent the next dozen years
at several stations, including Seattle.
While in Seattle, Henry bought his
first airplane, a basket case Waco UPF-
7 that was being sold to settle an estate.
Diving headlong into the project , he re-
stored the Waco into a beautiful red and
white biplane, scrounging missing parts
and pieces from allover the country.
16 NOVEMBER 1986
When Western Airlines established a
base in Minneapolis in 1977, Henry
moved to the "Land of Sky Blue Waters"
and took up residency on a beautiful air
strip called Sky Harbor Air Park near
Photo by Norm Petersen
Tail feathers of the Clip Wing Cub are held together by new stainless wires. Note smooth
job of rib stitching.
With Henry in the rear seat and Chuck in the
front, the father-son team is ready to go out
and bore some holes in the sky. Shoulder
harnesses are standard procedure.
Webster. Minnesota. A home with a
hangar on an airstrip was just what he
was looking for . Henry'S oldest daugh-
ter helped him fly the UPF-7 from Seat-
tle to Webster on a memorable trip.
About this time, a cabin airplane
seemed a logical choice, so he pur-
chased a basket case Cessna C-34 Air-
master (N15463, SIN 302) in Oklahoma
and hauled it home in a trailer. It turned
out to be a very early C-34 (3rd produc-
tion model) with the narrow landing gear
and small rudder. An earlier owner had
upgraded from a 145 Warner to a 165.
As the Cessna was slowly rebuilt to
near new condition, the hangar was get-
ting crowded with Waco and Cessna in
every corner' This problem was solved
by selling the UPF-7 to Bill Knight (EAA
72394, AIC 4201) of Brodhead, Wiscon-
sin . The restoration of the Airmaster
was completed in 1984, and that year
it garnered the award for the "Outstand-
ing Closed Cockpit Monoplane - Con-
temporary Age" at Oshkosh.
Instrument panel ;,as been restored to standard layout. Henry has located "Cub"
airspeed and tachometer to Improve it some more! Note Inverted fuel selector on fuel
tank with sight gauge to the right.
oil. The Cub passed through several
owners including noted aerobatic pilot
Marion Cole when age began to take its
toll.
The previous owner, before Henry,
had started welding repairs to the fuse-
lage tubing, mostly around the tailpost.
These repairs were completed as well
as several new sections of longerons.
Once this was done, the Cub fuselage
was sandblasted and epoxy primed.
Henry's son, Chuck, who was now 14,
really got into the rebuild with the cover-
ing job. Ceconite 102 was used
throughout with Randolph butyrate
dope. A total of 12 coats were put on
with Chuck doing all the sanding be-
tween each coat. The stark evidence of
his ability shows up in the nearly mirror-
smooth finish on the Clip Wing.
A large sky light was installed in the
roof of the cabin for better visibility while
doing aerobatics. In addition, Henry fab-
ricated a tiny wooden panel to hold a
Meanwhile, in 1981 , Henry caught
wind of a J-3 Clip Wing Cub that was
available as a basket case in the
Carolinas. Figuring that his 12-year-old
son, Chuck, would be about ready to
learn to fly in a few years, Henry pur-
chased the Cub, N2039M, SI N 20807,
-
from Carter Fairchild (EAA 256119) and
drove his pickup and trailer 10 the moun-
tains of South Carolina to retrieve the
project . Henry admits it was quite a trip,
having never been in that part of the
U.S. before.
The logbooks on N2039M reveal it
was built in October, 1946 and deliv-
ered to North Carolina. In September,
1947, it suffered major damage in an
accident with only 87 hours on the air-
craft. It next flew in 1958 as a Reed
Conversion, Clip Wing Cub, having
been dormant for 11 years. In 1965, a
Continental C-85 FHJ fuel injected en-
Jogging along at 1500 feet, the Clip Wing Cub makes a beautiful sight as Henry and
gine was installed with inverted fuel and
Chuck pull ahead of the photo plane. Very nice restoration work shows all over.
"G" meter which is suspended from the
two overhead tubes. This allows the in-
strument panel to remain "originaL "
The wings, which are 7 feet shorter
than a standard Cub - about the same
as a Vagabond or Clipper - were co-
vered and rib-stitched using the "hid-
den" method. The knots are pulled
below the surface and the inter-knot
cord is run under the fabric. The results
are pure beauty! Henry says that Chuck
could stitch a rib faster than he could,
because of his nimble fingers! All ribs
were stitched on 1-1 /2" spacing for aer-
obatic capability.
The tail feathers were cleaned and
primed before being covered in Ceco-
nite and carefully rib stitched at close
intervals, again for aerobatic work. The
only parts missing on the entire plane
were the tail brace wires and these
were promptly replaced by a new set of
stainless steel wires.
Cleverly built mount for a recording three-needle "G" meter used in aerobatics. Mag
switch seems farther forward than a standard J-3 Cub installation.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
Henry and Chuck kneel In front of their J-3 Clip Wing Cub. New, all-metal cowling was
purchased from Unlvalr and Installed to give that "new look".
Although the price of Cub brakes and
tires has increased beyond all rhyme
and reason , Henry elected to stay with
the original - and pay the price' He
readily admits they are not the world's
greatest brakes, but thankfully, on a
Cub, they aren 't that necessary. A pair
of Wag Aero fiberglass wheel pants
were added to dress up the aircraft and
keep the bottom of the wings clean .
New upholstery was done by the Up-
holstery Shop at Flying Cloud Field in
Eden Prairie and was one of the few
jobs farmed out by Henry. The work-
manship is absolutely first class - al -
beit a bit spendy. While this was being
done, the propeller was being over-
hauled at Maxwell Prop Shop and
Kenny Maxwell did a fine job on the 71
x 42 mirror finish prop.
The engine was installed as received
as it had been overhauled according to
the previous owner . However, oil con -
sumption is running a bit high, so Henry
expects to go through it this coming
winter - which is plenty long in Min-
nesota'
Although an honest effort was made
to have the Clip Wing at Oshkosh '85,
it didn't fly until late August of that year.
Final inspection was done by Wade
Lowry (EAA 138970, A.C 6253) of
Lakeville, Minnesota who signed off the
beautiful yellow Cub that had absorbed
nearly three years of work by Henry and
his son .
The restored Cub turned out to be an
excellent flyer and with the climb prop
on the Continental C-85, it really gets
off quick and climbs like a homesick
angel. Henry admits it is not a "wild"
aerobatic mount, but is a good aero-
batic trainer. Many Clip Wing Cubs
have won "Sportsman" Class awards at
lAC contests . Incidentally, the 12-gallon
fuel tank has a sealed cap on it for aer-
obatic work with a vent tube that runs
from the top of the fuel tank to the lower
gear leg and vents by the wheel. This
allows breathing in all attitudes. Fuel
level is monitored on a sight gage on
the tank itself . When going to air shows,
a standard J-3 gas cap with the cork
and wire gauge is put on for show.
When purchased, the Clip Wing had
short , straight exhaust stacks that were
unbelievably loud - both in the air and
on the ground. Scouting high and low,
Henry finally located a set of standard
exhaust pipes at American Aviation in
Eden Prairie which he promptly pur-
chased from owner Don Stuber. Henry
is quite vociferous in his praise of John
and Don Stuber, who have been a part
of the aviation scene in Minnesota for
nearly 50 years' (Henry calls them the
"Good Guys. ") The new exhaust system
really quieted things down and even the
neighbors at the Sky Park approve!
With Chuck turning 17 and a senior
in high school the hard work and sore
muscles are starting to payoff as he
has soloed the Clip Wing and is building
time towards his private license. Now
the true purpose of the Cub is coming
forth. Henry feels this is "the only way
to fly" (Western Airlines motto) and is
pleased that Chuck is learning how to
fly from scratch - in a tail dragger with-
out an electrical system'
And besides after flying a 8-727 air-
liner all day, it is most relaxing to come
home and fly the Clip Wing Cub around
the patch - throwing in a few rolls and
loops for spice! Perhaps this winter the
father and son combination will be able
to put a pair of skis on the Cub and
really have some fun . That's what Cubs
are all about!?
With the shimmering waters of Lake Winnebago for a background, we get an almost head on view of the Clip Wing Cub.
18 NOVEMBER 1986
A TOUR THROUGH THE
CONTINENTAL MOTORS PLANT
by E. E. "Buck" Hilbert
(EAA 21 . AC 5)
Many. many happy hours with a Con-
tinental engine providing the thrust. fos-
tered a desire to see the place where
they were made at that time. The oppor-
tunity presented itself one day several
years ago while my wife Dorothy and I
were driving through Muskegon. Michi-
gan on our way around Lake Michigan.
A preliminary call to the factory in-
sured a welcome. G. E. "Bud" Hanson
introduced himself and after the usual
visitor registration and safety briefing
the tour began.
Bud explained that his real job was
Coordinator of Sales to Beech Aircraft
and though he wasn 't an aircraft pow-
erplant mechanic he knew his way
around the plant . . . he then proved it.
First was the "case" line. Here rough
castings become finished matched
halves of an engine crankcase - the
milling. boring and machine finishing all
closely monitored by precision
machinists. A casting porosity test was
accomplished there. too. The matched
parts are pressure tested under water.
It was there. too. that the two halves
were permanently mated.
Next was the accessory case line.
The same precise care was evident
here as the various drive pads for the
accessories were machined and the
castings shaped into discernible parts
of an engine.
The gears. camshafts. drives and
shafts were all being manufactured right
next door in the machine shop. They
took great pride in the fact that the entire
engine was manufactured right there in
Muskegon - not just assembled from
shipments of sub-assemblies. We saw
blanks being cut and made into gears.
crankshafts being ground. bearings
being fitted , and the polished, carefully
wrapped pieces being racked for trans-
port to final assembly.
About this time the realization began
to dawn. What a precise product this is.
How clean and well organized the
facilities are. How skilled the workmen
with such high morale. The reliability
started back there where we came in
the door. Their pride in a superior prod-
uct was evident in each individual piece
that made up those engines. Next we
came to the crank assembly . Here the
crankshafts were being fitted with
matched sets of finished rods. This was
beautiful to watch. The meticulous hand
work and precise manner of assured fit-
ting fascinated Dorothy. And how clean
everything was l
Next station. There they were
'
The
finished engines
l
This was final assem-
bly. Look at all those beautiful engines
and all that gleaming hardware I And
what a variety of engine types. Almost
all the product line was in view . 0-200s
through the latest 10-520s. Here they
were receiving their accessories. . .
magnetos, carburetors, alternators. fuel
injectors, ignition harness, whatever it
took to complete the engine. Oh how I
wanted to take home a sample, like
maybe an 0-470 for a little project I just
thought up. I'm sure Bud Hanson must
have seen the gleam in my eye. He hus-
tled us out of the area down to his office.
Here we had a discussion about the
production and destination of the vari-
ous engines. Production rate was 45 to
60 engines a day, dependent on types.
with a peak production of 2190 reached
one month. Of the new engine de-
liveries Cessna was the largest cus-
tomer with 600 to 700 deliveries per
month. Beech was second. taking 150
to 180 per month.
Where was the remanufacturing en-
gine department? Mobile, Alabama was
Bud's reply. Whatever happened to the
A-65 and the C-85? Well, we've gone
over to the 0-200, but we still build one
to fill an occasional order for a new one,
but frankly the expense to set up a one-
engine production is a little hard on the
cusotmer's pocket book.
Some of the early history of the Con-
tinental Motors Corporation was the
next subject. The A-40 started it all.
There were 2,638 of the A-40s produc-
ed . Production began in July 1933. Por-
terfield was the first aircraft manufac-
turer to purchase them, followed by
Taylor, the predecessor of Piper.
The A-40 was the line until February
of 1939 when the A-65 was put into pro-
duction. The records here indicated
51,176 A-65s produced to date.
The recollection of the early A-70
which developed into the R-670 was a
little hazy. The A-70 was lost in the his-
torical files. The R-670 and W-670
series aircraft engine production was
terminated shortly after WW II with a
production run of 15.842 engines.
Next the E-185 series took over the
limelight and from the forties to date
some 10.000 of these had been built .
By the end of 1966. Continental Motors
Corporation had manufactured 202,645
engines of various types. 1966 produc-
tion was 13,200 aircraft engines -
about 65% of the total piston engine
production for that year.
An interesting sidelight was FAA
statistics showing over 90.000 Conti-
nentals flying at that time . This spoke
well for the reliability of Continental en-
gines, with nearly 45% of the total pro-
duction still flying . ConSidering the early
great names in aviation that predomi -
nate today, and a major reason for their
success is evident - the dependability
of the Continental engine.
My pre-airline logbooks show a little
more than 2,500 hours in aircraft pow-
ered by Continentals. Most of this is
working time, like crop-dusting and stu-
dent instruction. This took place under
all sorts of conditions. both IFR and
VFR . I very clearly recall the one forced
landing I had when a Continental A-65
quit. It was a newly overhauled engine
and it stopped during a spin demonstra-
tion for a student. The idle had been set
too low and after a successful landing
it started on the 2nd pull. It sure wasn't
the engine's fault. I'd just neglected to
check the idle RPM with the carburetor
heat on.
There is Army Aviation time in the
books too. The few hundred hours of
Army aviating was all trouble free, and
when the L -16 was replaced by the L -19
that Continental 0-470 put us Army av-
iators in a real Cadillac. In Korea, that
engine pulled me over many a tight ob-
stacle, hauled many a stretcher case.
supplied numerous ground bound units
and still passed Saturday inspection.
And those engines continued working
on into Vietnam .
Next time you 're tempted to cuss that
engine 'cause it's loaded up and won't
start, or cause the mag won't check. just
give a thought to all the many hours it
did run trouble free . Properly fed and
cared for, these Continentals will be
here to show our astronauts' grandchil-
dren some fun flying .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
WELCOME NEWMEMBERS
The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA Antique Classic Division (through July 28
1986).We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members'common interest is vintage aircraft .
Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additionalli stings of new members.
Barker, JohnD.
Heanor.Derby.England
Dyko, Lola
Marlboro. Massachusetts
Murphy, PatrickJ.
Jasper. Georgia
Dyer, TimothyJ.
Wadesville.Indiana
KepnerJr., Paul R.
Garland,Texas
Davis, WilliamT.
longBeach.California
Monaghan, PatrickW.
Baltimore.Maryland
Idell, Karl S.
Halifax, Pennsylvania
Riley, Burhl E.
Youngwood,Pennsylvania
Bakke, Stephen
Kalispell.Montana
Graves, Kenneth B.
Fayetteville, New York
StrUCk, Larry
Byron. California
Petersen, Wayne S.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Lawler, Glenn
Auburn, Alabama
Russo, Frank
laGrange,Illinois
Woodford,John
Madison,Wisconsin
Pierson, RogerO.
Bloomington,Minnesota
Singrey, Harold E.
Jonestown,Pennsylvania
Newberg,Wayne
South Bend,Indiana
Sweaney, JamesW.
Kent.Washington
Kosch, AndrewJ.
Fairfield,Connecticut
Culbertson Jr., Edward
Gradyville.Pennsylvania
Ferguson,Michael D.
Helena.Montana
Hansen, Carl I.
Melvin Vi ll age.New Hampshire
Johnson,Gary
Manawa.WisconSin
Toncray, Steve
Chicago, Illinois
Rehrig, Norman W.
Andreas.Pennsylvania
Wert, James A.
McClure.Pennsylvania
FinielloJr.,John G.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
MacFarlane,Ian
Ponteland, North England
Fillingim, Daniel C.
Nashua,New Hampshire
Glynn, Francis
Crofton, Maryland
Lemcke, Robert H.
Middletown,Wisconsin
Kolb, Norman
Cherokee.Iowa
Kolb, Homer
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
Landry, MichaelJ.
VirginiaBeach,Virginia
Starke, Richard A.
Burlington,North Dakota
Mayhall,James
Jerseyville,Illinois
Myers, Dean
Crescent ,Oklahoma
Damasauskas, Lucille
Chicago,Illinois
Harter,Mark
Belleville, Illinois
Heins, Pete
ludlowFalls,Ohio
Osterberg, Bruce
Niagara. Wisconsi n
Moore, Bill
Raymondville.Missouri
Kettles, Donald
lansing.Michigan
Stange, Robert
Chicago.Illinois
Datry, Eric Lee
Atlanta. Georgia
Crawford, William D.
Monticello, Kentucky
Roland, Ronald W.
Dallas.Texas
Olson,David E.
WaShington.Pennsylvania
Tanner,Claude H.
Boise,Idaho
Hayward, Ken
lynnwood,Washington
Steen Jr., WilliamH.
Shreveport,louisiana
Tomaine, JamesJ.
Endicott, New York
Rilling, Robert L.
Palmdale,California
Thorsen, Gunvald B.
Whittier,California
Griffin,Terry R.
Bangor.Maine
Mrazek,Jerry
Arlington.Texas
RennerJr., Robert L.
New Midway, Maryland
RossignOl, Fred
Tallevast. Florida
Vance, ElliottT.
Setauket Island, New York
Glabe,Larry
Omaha, Nebraska
Anderson, Donald R.
Stone Mountain,Georgia
Thompson, Lewis E.
Thornton.IllinOIS
Fobes, William E.
Madison.Wisconsin
Sohl, Kevin
Fargo.North Dakota
Cataline, GeorgeP.
Escondido. California
Owings, J.Randall
Warrensburg.Ill inOIS
Williams, Dick
Bertram,Texas
Nokes, Robert K.
Highland,Indiana
McGrew, JamesC.
APO,New York, New York
Binford,Chris R.
McCall ,Idaho
Bendig,JohnB.
Waterford.Pennsylvania
Stanley, Oswald
lahti, Finland
Smith,FrederickM.
lindenhurst ,New York
Kuntz, Reinhart, O.
lilburn. Georgia
WamegoIII, William O.
Glenpool. Oklahoma
Stahl, Bradley
Tulsa. Oklahoma
Mash, DonaldE.
Paisley,Florida
McCombs, Evan
Peyton,Colorado
Rogers, Edward W.
Aurora.Illinois
Tuppers, Susan W.
laramie.Wyoming
Slatkin, AndrewBrett
losAngeles, California
Stzok, David F.
Superior,Wisconsin
20 NOVEMBER 1986
, I ClubActivities
Compiled by Gene Chase
RED FACE DEPARTMENT
The best laid plans . .. etc. We inad-
vertently omitted the following three
Type Clubs from the annual listing in
the September, 1986 issue of THE VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE. We apologize for
any inconvenience this may have
caused .
Buckeye Pietenpol Association
Frank S. Pavliga, Newsletter Editor
2800 S. Turner Road
Canfield, OH 44406
216/792-6269 (day)
216/792-6269 (eve.)
Newsletter: Quarterly
Dues: $7.50 per year
Seabee Club Int'l
Capt. Richard Sanders
4734 N. W. 49th Court
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33319
305/485-5769
Newsletter: Quarterly, plus phone con-
sultation
Dues: $12.00 U.S. and Canada
$18.00 Elsewhere
National Stinson Club
108 Section
George and Linda Leamy
11 7 Lanford Road
Spartanburg, SC 29301
803/576-9698
Newsletter: Quarterly
Dues: $15.00 per year


--------<c-
180
-i (
-;;.-------
185
CLUB
INC.
INTERNATIONAL 180/185 CLUB
The 1986 annual Convention of the
International 180/185 Club held July 26-
30, was one of the best ever. It was
held in Northern Michigan at the Boyne
Mt. Lodge within walking distance of
Boyne Mt. Airport near Boyne Falls.
Over 60 land planes attended plus four
float planes utilizing facilities on Lake
Charlevoix, three miles from the lodge.
Fly-outs were made to Washington
Island, Mackinac Island and Sault Ste.
Marie.
On July 31 most of the members pro-
ceeded to the EAA Convention at Osh-
kosh, Wisconsin. The event was so suc-
cessful that it will probably be a club
get-together every year . It was hosted
by midwest director of the International
180.185 Club, John Hintermeister of
Muscatine, Iowa.
For information on the International
180/185 Club. Inc.. contact the presi-
dent , C. E. Bombardier, 4539 N. 49th
Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85031. 602
846-6236.
TWIN BONANZA ASSOCIATION
The First Annual Twin Bonanza As-
sociation Convention will be held at
Jekyll Island, Georgia on May 22-23,
1987. Headquartered at the Hilton Inn,
a variety of events will include a techni-
cal seminar for those interested in the
operation and maintenance of their air-
craft . The program will also include so-
cial activities, golfing and island touring.
The Twin Bonanza Association, now
one year old, is open to all persons in-
terested in joining together to share ex-
periences and assist in documenting
this classic aircraft so that it takes its
rightful place in aviation history.
For further information contact Mr.
Richard I. Ward, Twin Bonanza Associ-
ation, 19684 Lakeshore Drive, Three
Rivers, M149093, phone 616/279-2540.
AMERICAN BONANZA SOCIETY
The Board of Directors of the Amer-
ican Bonanza Society at the Society's
Annual Convention in Boston, MA an-
nounced its position on the FAAITSC
Phase I Study of the V-Tail Bonanza.
The FAA Report stated "The study
identified no immediate safety con-
cerns, provided the airplane is operated
within the approved flight envelope."
Following this conclusion. however,
the FAA made three recommendations
for further action that the ABS Board
felt needed immediate response:
First that Phase II of the study deter-
mine definitively the tail failure
mechanisms, establish the structural
strength of the tail. and the
aerodynamic loads on the tail by flight ,
static and wind tunnel tests. These tests
began in March of 1986, with the wind
tunnel tests completed in June, with
flight testing to follow. Tests continue at
this date with the full support of the ABS
Board, the FAA and Beechcraft .
Second the FAA Small Airplane Em-
pennage FAAllndustry Loads Working
Group is currently reviewing the Airwor-
thiness Standards requirements for the
V-Tail configuration, again with the full
support of the Board.
And third, the ABS Board announced
that it is vigorously pursuing the final
recommendation of the FAA report by
upgrading and expanding its already
highly acclaimed Bonanza Pilot Profi-
ciency Program to include video taped
Pilot Proficiency seminars, as well as
an expanded schedule of regionally
conducted flight seminars and the addi-
tion of an advanced flight seminar for
instrument flight proficiency.
In so doing, the Board reemphasized
its goal is the safety of its members as
well as all Bonanza flyers, and it be-
lieves that this goal is best met by its
full support of the results of the FAA
study and by the participation of all
Bonanza pilots in a pilot training pro-
gram designed specifically to enhance
their ability to safely operate high per-
formance aircraft .
For information on the American
Bonanza Society, contact Cliff R.
Sones, Administrator, Mid-Continent
Airport , P.O. Box 12888, Wichita, KS
67277, phone 316/945-6913.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
A PLANf ~ o Vny PUflPOSf
by Gene Chase
Photo by Carl Schuppel
Bob Winchester joins up on the photo plane in his 1928 Travel Air E4000 over Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh. It was named "Silver
Age Champion" at Oshkosh '86.
(Photos by the author except as noted)
As a "kid on the airport fence" while
growing up in Michigan, Bob Winches-
ter (EAA 18878, AlC 9321) , R.R. 2, Box
331 -A, Charlevoix, MI 49720 was in-
trigued with airplanes and especially a
Travel Air biplane. At that young age he
developed a fondness for the aircraft
now considered antique and those feel -
ings never waned, nor did he ever
forget that Travel Air he watched fly
from the local airport.
Over the years Bob has owned quite
a variety of airplanes, mostly taildrag-
gers, including a 1934 Cessna Airmas-
ter and a Pitts Special he built in the
60s and sold just last year. But visions
of that long-ago Travel Air kept reap-
pearing and in 1984 he began to ear-
nestly look for one. One of the Rezich
brothers (well-known Travel Air ex-
perts) told him of one that was available
Most of the instruments are the originals installed at the factory - all antique. Note-
pad and pencil are handy navigation aids.
22 NOVEMBER 1986
in Columbia, California. The owner had
lost his medical and decided to sel l.
The Travel Air had been restored by
well-known Joe Pfeifer in 1972 and was
powered with a 220 hp Continental W-
670 swinging a ground adjustable
Hamilton Standard propeller. A deal
was consumated and Bob Winchester
became the proud owner of NC9048 in
May of this year.
In visiting with Bob during Oshkosh
'86 he hadn't had a chance to research
all the plane's history but he does know
it was originally built as a Model W4000
with a 110 hp Warner engine and deliv-
ered to its first owner in Los Angeles in
December, 1928. NC9048 was used as
a duster for part of its career and con-
verted back to a two-holer by a Mr. Lar-
son in the 1960s.
Unfortunately Bob doesn't have all
the original logs for the plane but he
learned some more of the Travel Air's
previous history at Oshkosh '86 from a
man who had more than a passing in-
terest in NC9048. Boardman C. Reed
(EAA 85470, AlC 1069) from
Brownsville, California informed Bob
that he flew this same plane in 1936
when it had a 225 hp Wright J-5 for
power.
NC9048 is currently registered as a
model E4000 and is finished in the col-
ors as described in a factory brochure:
Travel Air Blue and International
Orange. The color scheme is authentic
but Bob is not positive the blue is the
exact shade. The covering is Grade A
cotton with nitrate dope and it's holding
up well after 14 years. The plane has
always been hangared during these
years, including each night during Bob's
flight in it from California to Michigan.
Its first nights out-of-doors since Bob
owned it were those at Oshkosh '86,
where it was named "Silver Age Cham-
pion." This is an award for antiques built
during the 1928-1932 period.
All the instruments (seven total) are
not only antique, but most are the fac-
tory-installed originals.
(L-R) Boardman C. Reed and Bob Winchester. Mr. Reed flew this same Travel Air in
1936 when it was powered by a Wright JS. The two had much to talk about at Oshkosh
'86.
Rear cockpit has two throttles - this is the one on the right.
Left side of rear cockpit showing trim lever below throttle. Typical fuselage construction is visible here with welded steel
Cockpit is plenty wide enough for neat radio installation beside tubes forward and wire bracing aft of the rear cockpit instrument
pilOt's seat. panel.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
Travel Air NC9048, SIN 849, is registered as a model E4000 with its 220 hp Continental. Colors are Travel Air Blue fuselage with
International Orange wings and tail.
An unusual sight is the installation of
two throttles in the rear cockpit - one
on each side. Bob said that many Travel
Air enthusiasts aren't aware this was
standard on the model 4000s. The front
pit has a throttle on the left side only.
Typically, the front cockpit has no in-
struments or brakes - only stick and
rudder controls.
Bob loves the nostalgic feeling he ex-
periences while flying NC9048. It's very
light on the controls, fully predictable
with gentle stall characteristics, and
he's pleased that it is reasonably fast.
At 1775 rpm it indicates 115 mph. He
recently checked the speed while flying
with another plane so feels the air
speed indicator is reasonably accurate.
Bob's wife has a private license and
enjoys flying with him in the Travel Air.
She hasn't checked out in it yet but
eventually she will.
Every1ime Bob flies NC9048 he
realizes why they were so popular in
their day (and still are) . Even the first
models powered with the 90 hp Curtiss
OX-5 engines were considered by
many to be the "best of the OX-5 pow-
ered aircraft." While he was looking for
a Travel Air, everyone he talked with
who had flown them had nothing but
kind words for the handsome old bip-
lanes.
Expecting the most when he made
his first flight in a Travel Air, he was still
pleasantly surprised that a plane could
be so delightful to fly. And when pow-
ered with a round engine, "They really
let you know you're flying ." .
tions of over 40 new civil aircraft. Do
you recognize some of these names?
American Ensign ; Bunyard Sportsman,
Eschelman Wing let; Hockaday Comet ;
Ross Sportplane?
The competition for the new personal
plane market was demonstrated in the
full-page ads by the manufacturers:
PIPER - "New 1947 Piper Cub Super
Cruiser - 50% more people . . . 17%
to 33% more 'horses"'; AERONCA -
"Anybody can fly Aeronca"; GLOBE -
"The Swift 125 ... making aviation his-
tory in the personal plane field "; STIN-
SON - "The proved plane - improved
for '47. "
Gradually the contents of SKYWA YS
changed . Less and less attention was
given to light aircraft and more to jets
24 NOVEMBER 1986
and executive aircraft. The last year of
pilot reports for light aircraft was 1950.
The year of 1951 saw pilot reports on
business aircraft such as the Twin-
Bonanza, the Aero Commander and the
DH Dove.
The September 1951 issue saw two
new columns added to the contents.
These were : "Skyways for Business", a
section on air operations for corporate
aircraft ; and "Aircraft for Business."
On the magazine's 10th anniversary
it added the subtitle, "Flight Operations"
to its masthead. In the anniversary's
editorial , the founder, J. Fred Henry,
stated that SKYWAYS "Dedicates itself
... to specialization in one of the most
important branches of aviation - Flight
Operations." He also said that the deci-
(Continued from Page 5)
sion was made after two years of study
of the trends in air progress.
The new slant was reflected in arti-
cles such as a pilot report on the Martin
4-0-4; an article on TV for Corporate
planes; and one on the maintenance of
the DC-3.
The September 1956 issue saw the
name change to SKYWAYS FOR BUS-
INESS. At this time it became the offi-
cial publication of the National Business
Aircraft Association . From then to its
last issue in June 1963 SKYWAYS be-
came a rather thin newsletter of narrow
interest to the business aviation com-
munity.
The EAA Aviation Foundation's Boe-
ing Aeronautical Library has a nearly
complete set of SKYWA YS .
Compiled by Gene Chase
Sheet Metal Tools
Of interest to restorers of antique and
classic aircraft are two new products
manufactured by U.S. Industrial Tool &
Supply Company. Added to its line of
sheet metal tools is a new model bench
type metal shrinker and stretcher.
Unlike other bench model shrinker
and stretchers, the TP-395 comes with
a large frame. It has a 8" throat depth
which allows larger sheets of metal to
be formed.
It is manually operated with a simple
lever arm and is easily mounted to a
bench or stand.
Because of the increased demand,
U.S. Industrial Tool & Supply Company
is now manufacturing an air operated
sheet metal planishing hammer that
was discontinued by another manufac-
turer approximately 20 years ago.
r
Floor model planishing hammer.
This unit can be used as a portable
tool or a floor model. It removes ir-
regularities in a metal surface by con-
tinuous hammering of the sheet be-
tween a slot and moving head. It can
also form various shapes in metal.
Using an air regulator , a greater flow
of air will allow it to hammer harder. The
pedestal model stands 46". Both mod-
els have a 18" throat depth and are ac-
tuated by a simple mechanical pedal.
Portable planishing hammer.
Complete literature is available from
U.S. Industrial Tool & Supply Company,
15143 Cleat Street , Plymouth, MI
48170, phone 1-800-521-7394. Outside
of the U.S. phone 313/455-3388.
New bench type metal shrinker and stretcher.
Piper PA-18 Fabrication and Repair
Among the many items they fabricate
J. E. Soares, Inc. (FAA Repair Station for PA-18s are:
D65-21) maintains a complete shop for 1) Complete tail post section from the
the repair and fabrication of aircraft tube jack screw tower aft, ready to weld to
assemblies. They specialize in the fab- your frame.
rication and repair of Piper PA-18 fuse- 2) Complete tail section from the bag-
lages in their two precision fixtures. gage compartment aft, including the tur-
Their shop equipment includes 1/4" x tle deck arch assemblies.
8' shear, 10' x 180 ton pressbrake, 3) Set of six turtle deck arches.
Whitney 315 duplicator punch press, 4) Elevator hinges with brass bush-
Heath magnetic panagraphic machine, ings.
three wire feed welders and one tig wei- 5) Set of five elevator and rudder ribs.
der. Phone or write : J . E. Soares, Inc.,
They can do your welding whether it 7093 Dry Creek Road, Belgrade, Mon-
be ox-acetylene, mig or tig. tana 59714, 406/388-6069.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
ship numbers is the opportunity the Type
ClubHQgivesustobet1erserveourexisting
Letters To Editor members. Nothing beats working out prob-
Dear Gene.
This refers to your Septemberback cover
picture of the Alexander Eaglerock. It is in-
deedasmallworld.Thatveryaircraftismost
likely the one that Ifirst flew in.Ihave used
that same picture in lectures for years. Ido
not know who the pilot is.
The Union Oil Company of Californiawas
one of the first to have a business fleet,
mostlyTravel Airsand Eaglerocks,with OX-
5s, Klnners and WrightJ-5s.They did aerial
photographyandsurveyingforoilandferried
company executives. Carl lienesch, a pet-
roleum chemistassociateofmyfather'swho
was well knownin WestCoastaviation,took
me on that first ride out of Monrovia Airport
Dear Butch.
Our $25.00 worth of the security for the
Type Club Headquarters is enclosed.
Thanks for the service. We arehappyto pay
ourshare.Be sureto let usknow if you need
more. As soon as the AERONCA AV-
IATORS CLUB treasury recovers from the
summer's expenses, another check will be
forthcoming as a contribution to help oHset
expenses for the tent.
TYPE CLUB HEADQUARTERS has
quickly become avaluable assetto the EAA
Convention.The word is get1ing around that
information is to be had there.Thisyear we
foundourselvesfieldingallsortsofquestions
about subjects other than Aeroncas, and
were happytodoso. Mostofuswhooperate
typeclubshavevaried experiencewithother
aspectsoftheConventionandwithsportavi -
ation. We enjoyed assisting all EAAers in
any way we could.
Our own members have come to expect
to find us at Type Club Headquarters, and
very much appreciate the facility. We, of
course,makesuretheyunderstanditisthere
as a result of the eHorts of the Antiquel
Classic Division of the EAA, and strongly
suggestthey say thanksby becoming mem-
bers of the Division.
ThankstoTypeClubHQ. ourmembership
on Thanksgiving Day, 1927, as is my best
recollection. That depletes my memory.
Llenesch told the story that Iwas so thrilled
I fell asleep in the front cockpit. It is not
easy to be "vintage."
Ihave been told that the Union Oil Com-
pany is writing acompany aviation history.I
am sure that they can give you details on
their fleet and that particular airplane.
Thanks for apleasant memory.
Regards
A.Scot1 Crossfield
(EAA 161363)
12100 Thoroughbred Road
Herndon,Virginia 22071
increased by 30-plus during the week. We
alsopassedoutoverahundredmembership
packets, some of which are now being
mailed in. Iwould guessour participation in
1986will produceover60 new membersfor
the Aeronca Aviators Club. Such numbers
may not be significant by EAAnationalstan-
dards, but to a type club 60 new members
are very significant indeed.
But of greater importance than member-
lems and answering questions face to face.
1986 was an extremely productive year in
this regard.We can'timagineabetterforum
for a member with aproblem to find asolu-
tion. With all the expertise on hand at Osh-
kosh,problemsjust don't stand achance.
We want to thank you again for the great
jobyou and the Antique/Classic Divisionare
doing.We plan to be back in TypeClub HQ
in 1987.See you there.
All the best ,
Julie and Joe Dickey
(EAA 62186, NC 4169)
The Aeronca Aviators Club
511 Terrace Lake Road
Columbus,IN 47201
DearGene,
We just got our copy of the September
1986 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE
withtheAristocratonthecover.Manythanks
for the article. Enclosed is a more recent
photo now thatthe ring cowl is in place.We
think it really makes the airplane.
The Aristocratis homesafeinthehangar.
Franny Rourke delivered it on August 1,the
daythe enclosed photowastaken. Dad and
Ihave both flown it and we likeit. We're still
working out the little bugs, but hope to fly it
to the Tulsa Fly-In at Tahlequah, Oklahoma
(October 3-5).
With the 220Continental it cruisesat 110
mph at 1800 rpm. I haven't found any1hing
in itsclassthatwilloutclimbit!It'sverystable
and flies a lot like other cabin monoplanes
of that era.
Keep the antiques flying,
Brent Taylor
Executive Director
Antique Airplane Association
Rt .2,Box 172
Ottumwa,IA 52501
Brent is the son of Robert L. Taylor (EAA
839, AlC 330) , Founder and President of
the Antique Airplane Association with head-
quarters at Antique Airfield, located between
Blakesburg and Ottumwa. Iowa . ..G.R.C.
26 NOVEMBER 1986
This uncaptioned photo is one from a collection of World War Two photos recently
donated to the EAA Photo Archives. It shows a badly damaged Beech Staggerwing
somewhere in the Pacific Theater according to the background. Do any readers have
knowledge of the incident?
The Air Force serial number of the C-47 is 293245. Eight Gis can be seen pushing
the big Douglas while four others watch.
CALENDAR OF
EVENTS
MARCH 15-21 - LAKELAND. FLORIDA - 13th
Annual Sun 'n Fun EAA Flyln. Contact: Bonnie
Higbie. P. O. Box 6750. Lakeland. FL 33807.
MA Y 22-23 - JEKYLL ISLAND. GEORGIA -
First Annual TWin Bonanza Association Con
vention with headquarters at the Hilton Inn
Technical seminars and social activities. Con-
tact : Richard I. Ward. 19684 Lakeshore Drive.
Three Rivers. MI 49093. 616279-2540.
JULY 19-24 - SAN DIEGO. CALIFORNIA - 19th
Annual Convention of the International Cessna
170 Association at Montgomery Field. Primary
motel is the new Holiday Inn on the airport.
Contact: Duane and Prieta Shockey. 714/278-
9676.
JUlY 24-26 - COFFEYVILLE. KANSAS - Funk
Aircraft Owners Association Annual Fly-In.
Contact : Ray Pahls. 454 South Summitown.
Wichita. KS 67209.
JUlY 31-AUGUST 6 - OSHKOSH. WISCONSIN
- World's Greatest AViation Event. Experi -
mental Aircraft AssoclallOn International Fly-In
and Sport AViation Exhibition. Contact : John
Burton. EAA Headquarters. Willman Airfield.
Oshkosh. WI 54903-3086. 414426-4800 .

Photo by Norm Petersen
Floating gently in the water at the Brennand Seaplane Base on Lake Winnebago, Oshkosh, Wisconsin during the 1986 EAA Convention
is a 1942 Aeronca 65-CA "Chief" N36917, SI N 18102, mounted on EDO 1320 floats. This 65hp pre-ware Chief is flown by Weldon
(Willie) Ropp (EAA 12331) of Rt. 1, Box 324R, Delray Beach, FL 33446. Note small auxiliary fins on top of stabilizer.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet...
25C perword, 20 wordminimum. Send youred to
TheVlnlegeTredef,Wlttmen Airfield
Oahkoeh,WI 54903-2591.
AIRCRAFT:
StlnllOn LS-E, N5624V. Partially restored. Parts.
manuals complete. Two engines. Fuselage and
controlsfinished.Hardworkdone.N.Howell ,2t31
3175646or 805/4889353. $6500.
Rare 1948 Emigh Trojan, 1640 n . C90, 460
SMOH.Recentannual. $11,900or$12.500wIKX
170AKT78, etc.Excellent. 503/838-1292. (13)
PLANS:
POBERPIXIE- VWpoweredparasol- unlimited
in low-cost pleasure flying. Big, roomy cockpit for
the over six foot pilot. VW power insures hard to
beat 3'/2 gph at cruise setting.15large instruction
sheets.Plans- $60.00.InfoPack- $5.00.Send
check or money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC.,
Box462,HalesCorners,W153130.414/529-2609.
ACROSPORT- Singleplace biplanecapableof
unlimited aerobatics. 23 sheets of clear, easy to
follow plans includes nearly 100 isometricaldraw-
ings, photos and exploded views. Complete parts
and materials list. Full size wing drawings. Plans
plUS 139 page Builder's Manual - $60.00. Info
Pack- $5.00.SuperAcroSportWing Drawing-
$15.00. The Technique of Aircraft Building -
$10.00 plus $2.00 postage. Send check ormoney
order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales
Corners,WI 53130.414/5292609.
ACROII - The new2placeaerobatictrainerand
sportbiplane.20 pages of easy to follow,detailed
plans. Complete with isometric drawings, photos,
exploded views. Plans - $85.00. Info Pac -
$5.00. Send check or money order to: ACRO
SPORT, INC., P.O. Box 462, Hales Corners, WI
53130. 414/529-2609.
ENGINES&ACCESSORIES:
CONTINENTAL A-40-4 Complete, Engine
$635.00. Also Taylorcraft 146 Wing Parts; OX-5
CurtissEnginePiston Rod Assemblies$75.00set.
OPALACK, 1138 Industrial ,Pottstown, PA 19464.
(12-2)
MISCELLANEOUS:
BACKISSUES...Back issuesofTHE VINTAGE
AIRPLANE (and other EAA Division publications)
are available at $1.25 per issue.Send your list of
issuesdesiredalongwithpaymentto:BackIssues,
EAAWittman Airfield,Oshkosh,WI 549032591 .
FUEL CELLS - TOP QUALITY- Custom made
bladder-type fuel tanks and auxiliary cells, any
shape orcapacityforWarbirds,Experimental ,Vin
tage, Sport and Acrobatic aircraft. Lightweight ,
crashworthy,baHledandcollapsibleforinstallation.
Typicaldelivery23weeks.Callorwritefordetails:
1-800-526-5330,AeroTeclabs,Inc.(ATl) ,Spear
RoadIndustrialPark,Ramsey, NJ07446.(C5/87)
WANTED:
Wanted - 1940 T-craft front lift strut needed to
completeantiquerebuild.DickEllis,Bozeman,MT,
406/586-5419. (11-2)
Wanted - Operation and Construction plans for
1927 Buhl Airster, two-cockpitbiplane, Model CA-
3A, Wright J-5 motor. GeorgeW. Polhemus,P.O.
Box1208,Pembroke,NorthCarolina28372.(3/87)
VINTAGE TRADER AD fORM
Send check or moneyorder with copyto Vintage Trader - EAA,Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh,WI 54903-3086.
TotalWords____ Number of Issues to Run ______ _________________
Total$,____
Signature _______________________ ___ ______
Address
28 NOVEMBER 1986
MEMBERSHIP
INFORMATION
EAA
Membership in the Experimental
Aircraft Association. Inc. is $30.00
for one year. including 12 issues of
Sport Aviation. Junior Membership
(under 19years ofage) is available
at$18.00 annually. Family Member
ship is available for an additional
$10.00 annually.
ANTIQUE/CLASSICS
EAA Member - $18.00. Includes
one year membership in EAA An-
tique-Classic Division. 12 monthly
issues ofThe VintageAirplaneand
membership card. Applicant must
be acurrent EAA memberandmust
giveEAAmembershipnumber.
Non-EAA Member - $28.00. In-
cludes one year membership in the
EAA Antique-Classic Division. 12
monthly issues ofThe Vintage Air-
plane, one year membership in the
EAA and separate membership
cards.SportAviationnotincluded.
lAC
Membership in the International
Aerobatic Club, Inc. is $25.00 an-
nually which includes 12 issues of
SportAerobatics. AlllAC members
are required to be membersofEAA.
WARBIRDS
Membership in the Warbirds of
America, Inc. is $25.00 per year,
which includes a subscription to
Warblrds. Warbird members are
requiredtobemembersofEAA.
LIGHTPLANEWORLD
EAA membership and Light Plane
World magazine is available for
$25.00 peryear(SportAviationnot
included). Current EAA members
may receive Light Plane World for
$15. 00peryear.
FOREIGN
MEMBERSHIPS
Please submit your remittance with
a check or draft drawn on a United
States bank payable in United
Statesdollars.
Make checks payable to EAA orthe
division in which membership is
desired. Address all letters to EAA
or the particular division at the fol-
lowingaddress:
WITTMANAIRFIELD
OSHKOSH, WI549033086
PHONE(414)426-4800
OFFICEHOURS:
8:15-5:00MON. FRI.
WWl THEJOURNALOF
THE EARLY AEROPLANE
T ~ mostauthoritatlYe
journalon~ \\ibn<krful
hyingMachines 1900-1919
WORLDWAR I ~ INC.
15CrescenlRoad. Poughkeepsie. NY 12601. USA
[ E A ~ ~
~ ..................
FLYING AND GLIDER MANUALS
1929- 1931 - 1932
Price:$3.50e8. ppd.
SENDCHECKOR MONEYORDER TO:
EAA AVIATIONFOUNDATION, INC.
WITTMANAIRFIELD-
OSHKOSH, WI54903-3065
Allow4-6 Weeks for Delivery
Wisconsin Residents Include 5% Sales Tax
BYU-HAUL
CallOurToll FreeReservationLine
1-800-821-2712
InArizonaCallCollect1-263-6679
AskforOperator70
Motr /t;rtpll/'IHOMj
atyourU+lAUlCenter
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29


pO\\/h& (IUjU IllIa,"",
" r.lllu lllwl'..-uISfIItIt
For the
products.
CLEAN
SHINE
PROTECT
discriminating Pilot and F.B.O.
who demand excellence in performance
RACE GLAZE Polish and
Sealant is EAA'schoice.
Easy To Use
.
Reduces Drag
Removes ExhaustStains
leo\oot
CAUTION Protect Leading Edge
Removes Oxidation
Resists UV Fading
CannotYellow
'- p .....
Unbelievable"Gloss"
The EAA Aviation
List: $12.00 per bottle
Center's staff
uses RACE GLAZE EAA Price: $9.95 per bottle
to preserve and
EAA Case Price (12): $72.00
protect the
Above prices include shipping for Continental U.S.A.Only.
museum's price
Send $9.95 for each 16 oz.bottle or save an extra $3.95 per bottle and send $72.00
less collection of
for each case of 12 - 16oz.bottlesto:
aircraft.
EAA.Wittman Airfield.Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086
Wisconsin Residents Add 5% Sales Tax
WT. 16
STITSPOLY-FIBER
COVERINGMATERIALS
FOR OVER 20YEARS
THE CHOICE OFTHE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
* PROVEN DURABILITY ON THOUSANDS OF AIRCRAFT.
* FAA-STC AND PMA FOR OVER 630AIRCRAFT MODELS.
* ALL COATINGS DEVELOPED ESPECIALL Y FOR AIRCRAFT
FABRIC.
* WILL NOT SUPPORT COMBUSTION.
* LIGHTEST COVERING METHOD APPROVED UNDER
FAA-STC AND PMA.
* MOST ECONOMICAL COVERING METHOD CONSIDERING
YEARS OF TROUBLE-FREE SERVICE.
WRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE.

*SAMPLE OF HIGH STRENGTH, VERY SMOOTH, 1.7OZ.
POLYESTER FABRIC DEVELOPED ESPECIALLY FOR
AIRCRAFT COVERING.
*MANUAL1WITHDETAILED INSTRUCTIONSFOR FABRIC
COVERING,REFINISHING FABRIC SURFACES, AND
PAINTING AIRCRAFTFOR CORROSION CONTROL.
*LATEST CATALOG AND DISTRIBUTOR LIST.
STITSPOLY-FIBER
AIRCRAFTCOATINGS
P. o.BOX30B4-V RIVERSIDE, CA92519
PHONE(714) 684-4280
Classic owners!
Interiorlookingshabby?
Finish itrightwithan
airtexinterior
Complete interior assemblies for doityourself installation.
Custom Quality at economical prices.
Cushion upholsterysets
Wall panel sets
Headliners
Carpet sets
Baggage compartment sets
Firewall covers
Seat Slings
Recover envelopesanddopes
L:J
Don'tflya dog
FreeCatalogofcompleteproductline.FabricSelectionGuide
showing actualsample colors and stylesof materials:$3.00.
t - ?
Qlr exproducts, inc.
259lowerMorrisvilleRd., Dept. VA
Fallsington, PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
,t1::
Newbook''briefings'' froIDR.A.
OF THE THIRD
REICH, Green. This is the most com
plete and comprehensive reference of
the combataircraftofthe German Luft
waffe,t933through 1945.Coversevery
plane from experimental prototype, its
development, specifications, varients
and operational use.Over 700 photos,
300 drawings, cutaways, colors, mark
more. 2,000 iIIus., 672 pgs,
WAS $40.00..........1951A $19 .95
Lloyd. The most
detailedlookyetalthefirstall-jetbomber
thatSAC lIewduring thecoldwar. Detait
ed account of the history and develop-
mentfrom XB47to B27E.Detailsofthe
structure,landinggear,engines, intenor
and armament. 189 illustrations.8pages
of color, 64 pgs.8'h"xlt ". sfbd
RPLANES
ings and
9" x 11", hdbd.
B47 STRATOJET,
..1:::::::::=;;;:=---11 AIRCRAFTVSAIRCRAFT,Franks.A
crisis. Over
detailed charts
development
PLANE,
design,
characteristics of all
and
Fw
hdbd. 8'12'xlt"
of WWII.
ovens. 385
pgs., 8
'
/2
.......... .. .......... ...... .. ....1058A $7.95
1987 CALENDARS - 1987
new look al the evolution of air warfare,
Aviationenthusiasts,historians,pilots
from dogfightingofWWI andWWII.tothe
and anyonewhowouldrather be fly-
sophisticatedweaponryusedin theMid-
ingwillenjoytwelve beaulifulphotos
dleEast. Vietnam warsandtheFalklands
of theirfavorite warbird orhomebuilt
60 full-color panoramas,
in full color.
and diagrams trace
of combat tactics, GHOSTS,ATIME REMEMBERED-
maneuvers and results. SE5 vs Fokker,
WWII warbirds, including Corsair,
Sp,t vs Me 109,F4F vsZero. PSl vs Me
P-51, B-25, P-82B, P-38, Bearcat.
262. Sabrevs MIG. F4D vs MiG 21. 192
Helical , and olhers 17"x12" photo
.hdbd
size ...........9501A $11.95
................ .................31270 $19.95
HOMEBUILT AIRPLANES - 12
THE WINDMILL
Townson . Now, the first
dramatic14"xl0" fullcolorphotosof
complete book on the autogirol Acom
your favorite homebuilt: VariEze,
prehensiveponrayalofthedevelopment,
ThorpT-18,ChristenEagle,Sequoia
construction and flight Falcon, Dyke Delta, Sonerai , and
the Pitcairn and more!
Kellettautogiromodelsthatwereproduc ...................... .... ....9504A $8. B5
ed andflown.ttophotos,29 scale3-view
drawings. t80 pgs.,7 x 1t, hdbd.
....1193A $19.95
LUFTWAFFEAIRCRAFT, Mason.A
portfolioofover125 illustrationsbyartist
MichaelTurnerwith 54 in full color .Ger-
man aircraft featured in dramaticaction
IncludeEindeker.Albatross,FokkerDVII
Triplane. Ju 87, He III. Me t09.
1988. Het77 and lots more. most
published hereforthe first time.159pgs,
....... 1957A $10.95
THE SPITFIRE: 50YEARS, Bowyer.
The sound of the Merlinengine and the
ellipticalsweepofitswingmadetheSpit-
fire one of the most memorable aircraft
Examines the "Spit " at war ,
especiallytheBattleofBritain,itsdesign.
and what it was like to fly. Packed with
anecdotes.mfo. drawingsand 77photos
(26 in color) 144 pgs. 6'1."x8'12'.slbd.
32820 $9.95
CONVAIRB58,Miller.Hereisthemost
completehistoryyetoftheHustlerfrom
designstudiesallthewaytothesmelter's
B & W photos, 14 color
photos, and dozens of drawings, never
beforepublisheddetailviewsofcrewsta
tions and pods. Foldout pages of side
views and 3-view scale drawings. 136
x II,sfbd...3255C $19.95
ILLUSTRATEDENCYCLOPEDIAOF
HEUCOPTERS,Apostolo.Comprehen
sivehistorytracesthedevelopmentofthe
helicopterfrom earlyEnglishCiervaand
American Pitcairn and Kellettautogiros.
More than 500 color and b &w iIIustra
tionsand3-viewdrawings.t40 pgs., 10'/2
A-1D
Fll 1........................1303C F/A18 Hornet.........1307C
Phantom,Sweetman.. .. .......2375C $10.95
F4 Phantom............1304C F14 Tomcat.............1308C
HerculesGaines.... .. ........2381C $12.95
x 12%, hdbd ........3425C $12.95
IN DETAIL & SCALE S7.95 EACH
F4 Phantom II Part 1...1041B 829 Supertortress,.......105OB p38............ 140tB $6.95 826 ...t411B $12.95
817FlyingFortress(Pt. 1)1042B 8-17 Flying Fortress,Part 21051B P39....... .....1402B $6.95 F4U.. ........14t2B $7.95
F16 A&8Falcon........t043B F4Phantom,Part 3 ......1052B p40............1403B $6.95 F-6F ..........1413B $7.95
Fll l AanivariL............t044B F l 06 Delta Dart........... 1053B P47............1404B $6.95 FM2..........1414B $10.95
F5E&FTi ger 1I .......... l045B F15 Eagl e. .......1054B P51 ...........2006B $9.95 ATs' .........1415B $7.95
F18HomeL...............1 046B F9F Panther................1 055B P61 ............1405B $7.95 Spitfire .......1416B $3.95
F-4 PhantomII Part 2... 1047B F9F Cougar.. ............ ...t056B p63............1406B $7. 95 Hurricane ....1417B $3.95
Fl 05 Thunderchief.......1 048B Fl1FTiger...................1057B F82............ 1407B $7.95 Mosquito.....14t8B $3.95
F14A Tomcat...............1049B Al0Warthog........... .t059B 817... ....... 1408B $8.95 Me262.. ...1419B $7.95
Fl 0l Voodoo...........t0618 824...........1409B $10.95 F80.. ....... t420B $7.95
MODERN FIGHTING AIRCRAFT SJ I.95 EACH 825...........1410B $10.95 8-29 .. 1436B $10.958
F-15 Eagle ...............1301C The Harrier............1305C
JANE'S SERI ES
F16 Falcon.............1302C Al0Thunderbolt II...1306C
Harrier. Sweetman.. .. .....2374C $10.95
F15 EAGLE, Splck. Proven in the
MiddleEastby Isreal.SaudiArabia,and
Japan,theU.S.'sfrontlineairsuperiority
lighter has Mach 2+ performance.
devastat ing firepower and remarkable
agility. Details design. performance,
cockpitphoto.andcolor3viewlonepain-
tings.48 pgs,8 in full color, 41 photos,
comprehensive data tables,7"xl0", sfbd ,
... ... ............... ..............4581A $7.95 file'll" \ .. !i ."
F/A18HORNET,Peacock.Thisprolile LJ ....
portraystheU.S. Navy'snewestaddition .&1' '..
to its carrier-borne arsenal, one of the tie""
world's most advanced warplanes. now
inserviceinCanada,SpainandAustralia.
Details design, performace, cockpit
photo. andcolor3-viewlonepaintings.48
pgs. 8 in color. 42photosanddiagrams,
7"xlO". slbd..............4582A $7.95
MAY DAY, Beshloss, Eisenhower ,
Krushchev, the U-2affairandhowasum
mit meeting was scuttled. Now the
mysterybehind Gary Powers flight over
Sovietterritory, and hisbeingshotdown
and its Impact on US - Soviet relations
can be revealed and long-standingques-
tions answered. 43 photos, 494 pgs,
7"xl0". hdbd ..........2932C $19.95
VIETNAM WARBIRDS IN ACTION,
Dana Bell. A spectacular photographic
overview of the aircraft involved in the
Vietnam conflict, from helicopters to
B52s,andfrom SkyraiderstoF4Es.this
fine edition combines 3 earlier publica-
tions of Air War Over Vietnam, and is
notablefor thecarefulselectionofits378
photos t36 in color. 68 pgs.. 7';' xl0,
sfbd............................4531B $8.95
WINGEDWONDERS:THE STORYOF
THEFLYINGWINGS,E. T.Wooldridge.
Hereforthe firsttimeisthegamutoffly.
Inllwingsandtaillessaircraft, fromearly
failures to the magnificent Northrup
bomber designs of the ' 40s. More than
200photos,thestoryoftherestorationof
the Smithsonian's Northrop NlM
several appendices, and an extensive
bibliography.Autographedbyauthor.230
pgs., 8 x 10V., sfbd... 4308C $15.95
CRISIS IN THE COCKPIT, Sleypan.
Dramaticfirsthand accountsofemergen-
cy situations, told by the pilots
themselves,with an analysis of thepro-
blem and corrective action. Deals with
adverseweather ,icing,Wind hazardsand
equipment failure. For pilots both new
and old who want to increase their sur-
Vivalskills. Illustrated.299 pgs.6"x9".
hdbd.. . ... 31280 $19.95
Pilot Manuals
THECUTTINGEDGE,C.J.Heatley,II.
A book of sensat ional full
photographs of a Day of
Operations-fromthecockpittotheflight
deck.' Heatley'sphotosweremymodels
and inpiralion for all the jet and carrier
photography in TOPGUN... Navy jets
leap from every pageof THE CUTIING
EDGE."TonyScott .Director,TOPGUN,
Paramount Pictures. Reference section
of specs, 3-viewdrawings, 116largefull
color photos, t52 pgs. hdbd..
4957C
PIONEERING THE SPACE FRON
TIER,ThePresidentialReportbytheNa
tional Commission On Space, designed
to formulatean aggressivespaceagenda
forthenext50 years.Thenewfrontierof
space provides humanity's
challenge and richest rewards. Howwill
we meet thischallenge? Here aresome
of the answers by the nations foremost
authorities.72 magnificentphotos,pain-
tingsanddiagrams...andpackedwithex-
Citing reading.211 pgs. 8'12"xlt",sfbd
...... 1955C
WINGSTOTHEORIENT,Cohen. Pic
torial history of the great Clipper flying
boatsusedbyPanAmtoopenthePacific
and Orient to air travel in the 1930's.
CoverstheSikorskyS42, MartinMt30,
and Boeing B314 with many
before-seen photos. Three views, plus
details of engines, interiors, beaching,
repairs, island bases and construction.
Rich in nostalgia.300 photos, 224 pgs.,
8'/2 x II,sfbd............4410B
CASTLESINTHEAIR,Bowman.Story
oftheB-17crews ofthe8thAirForcewith
awealthoffirsthandnarrativesofEaker,
LeMay, Tibbetts, and surviving
members along with 178 photos make
this a stand-out book. 2tO pgs. , 7 x 9,
sfbd. ...................4523C
FIGHTINGMUSTANG:CHRONICLE
OF THE P51, Hess. Writ1en by the
historian of the American Fighter Aces
Association, this account
Mustang from designto today's record
setting unlimited racers. All
theaters arecovered, as well asforeign
service. t94 pgs., 6 x 9, sfbd.
.. .............. .........150SC
BOEING B17FLYING FORTRESS,
Bowers. 50th Anniversary guide to the
designanddevelopmentofthe airplane
thathelpedwinWWII .Awealthofdata,
179 rare photos, a
seriallistings,unitmarkingsguide,post
war civil registrations, and an excellent
colorselectionof 16paintingstraCingthe
BI7'shistory.99 pgs., 1t X 8V"
.......... .. .. 3503C
THE HUNGRY TIGERS,
firsthand look at what it takes to be a
modernfighterpilol.Authordescribesthe
air-to-ground war, the
enemy transport , close air support for
friendlys, standoff missiles,
technology,and MachThreefighters. II
lustrated, 308 pgs, sfbd.1132A
THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE
AERODYNAMICS.Smith.Sourcebook
provides basic knowledge
aerodynamics with hundreds of photos
and diagrams. Written in
understand language for the novice,yet
providingasolidreferencemanualforthe
homebuilder and serious student. 227
pgs. 7'12" x9'13" sfbd.. 4284A
BUILDING,OWNINGANDFLYINGA
COMPOSITEHOMEBUILT,Clarke.A
indispensablesourcebookofhow-toinfo
for the homebuilder . Tips on
FAA requirements, construction techni
ques, fiberglass materials and methods
alongwith maintenance& repai.r.
ly illustrated with photos and diagrams.
166 pgs, 7'12" x9';'''.sfbd
.......4287A
AEROFAX MI NIGRAPH 55.95 EACH
Vol . 1: Lockheed SR71 ...................3256C
Vol. 2: McDonnell Douglas F15 Al8
Vol. 3: Grumman F 14 Al8 .............
Vol. 4: McDonnell F-4D Phantom .... .. 3259C
Vol. 5: McDonnell F-l0l8tF ........... 3260C
Vol. 8: 80elng P26 Variants............3263C
Vol. 13:McDonnell RF4Vari ants.....3268C
Vol. 24: Rockwell 8 1A18 ................ 3279
color
Carrier
greatest
$14.95
never
$12.95
crew
$12.95
covers the
combat
$8.95
"spotter's guide",
sfbd.
$14.95
O'Brien. A
interdiction of
"Stealth"
$14.95
TO
of
easy-to-
$14.95
sources,
Heavi-
$15.95
_3257C
_3258C
I.
His
to 14DAY MO NEYBACKGUARANTEE
nc , , , '1'$-' '-' Call usToll Free
Pplre $ 3 00 i natse Handling
ft'y. - --- --- 800-225-557
5
- ----'- TotalEnc '
Name $ __ _ US Funds,
3850 GCORONATION RD. EAGAN MN 55122
MN,AK, andforeigncountriesuse1-612-454
Address,___________________________________________
Charge: 0 VISA 0 MasterCard 2493(not toll free). Charge VISA or Master-
Accl.No.___________
Ci l y_ ___ ___________________ Card.MN residentsadd6%salestax.
Exp.Date _____________ Dealersinvited.Aut horsmanuscriptsinvited.
Slale________ Zip,_______Counlry_____