r,

"' .
,'" .,
" t
DAVE JAMISON
1971-1972

E.E'. "BUCK" HILBERT -'
....
1972-1975
J.R. NIELANDER
1976-1978
. -ESPIE"BUTCH
N
JOYCE
1988 - PRESENT
January1996 Vol.24, No.1
CONTENTS
2 Straight& Level/
Espie"Butch"Joyce
3 AlC News/
H.G.Frautschy
5 Aeromail
Page8
6 TypeClubNoteslNormPetersen
8 AlC 25thAnniversary/
DobbieLickteig
10 FreedomFlightAmerica/
DickandJeannieHill
12 MysteryPlane/H.G. Frautschy
13 TheFirstCabinWaco/
H.G.Frautschy
17 InterstateL-6/NormPetersen
22 AnOldFriend/PeterBowers
Page 10
24 WhatOurMembers
areRestoring/
NormPetersen
26 PassittoBuck/
E. E. "Buck"Hilbert
28 WelcomeNewMembers
29 Calendar
30 VintageTrader
Page22
FRONTCOVER ... This 1932WacoQDCrestoredbyAlanBuchner.Fresno.CA
waspickedas theReserveGrandChampionAntiqueatEAAOSHKOSH '95.
Alan'sWacowasonceownedbyhis fatherin 1938! EAAphotobyMike
Steineke. Shotwitha CanonEOS-lnequippedwitha 70-200mmlens. 1/250
@f80nKodakLumierefilm. Cessna210photoplaneflownbyBruceMoare.
BACKCOVER ... EdwardClaySmithofAthens.ALhasjustcompletedthe
restorati onofIhis 1942Interstate L-6.whichhappensto bethefirstoffthe
productionline. ItwasselectedastheAntiqueWWII MilitaryTrainer/Liaison
Runner-up. EAAphotobyJimKoepnick. Shotwitha CanonEOS-ln
equippedwitha 70-200mmlens. 1/250@flOonKodakLumierefilm. Cessna
210photoplaneflownbyBruceMoore.
Copyright 1996 bytheEAAAntique/ClassicDivision Inc.All rightsreserved.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EMAntique/Classic Division, Inc. of the Experimental
Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EMAviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd. ,P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086.
Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at addrtional mailing offices. The membership rate for EMAntique/Classic
Division,Inc.is$27.00forcurrentEMmembersfor12monthperiodofwhich$15.00isforthepublicationofVINTAGEAIRPLANE. Membership
isopentoallwhoareinterestedinaviation.
POSTMASTER:Send address changes to EMAntique/Classic Division,Inc., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO
ADORESSES- PleasealiowatleasttwomonthsfordelivOlYofVINTAGEAIRPLANEtoforeignandAPOaddressesviasurfacemail.
ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We inviteconstructive
criticism andwelcomeanyreportofinferiormerchandiseobtainedthroughouradvertisingsothatcorrectivemeasurescanbetaken.
EDITORIALPOLICY:Readersareencouraged tosubmrtstories and photographs. Policyopinions expressedin articlesare solely those ofthe
authors. Responsibilityforaccuracyinreportingrestsentirelywiththecontributor.Norenumerationismade.
Materialshouldbesentto:Editor,VINTAGEAIRPLANE,P.O. Box3086,Oshkosh.WI 54903-3086. Phone414/426-4800.
The words EAA,ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM,SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EAA, EAA INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION,EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION,INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB,WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are registered
trademarks. THE EAASKY SHOPPE and logosofthe EAAAVIAnON FOUNDAnON and EAAULTRALtGHTCONVENTION aretrademar1<s
oftheaboveassociationsandtheirusebyanypersonotherthantheaboveassociationisstrictlyprohibrted.
EDITORIALSTAFF
Publisher
TomPoberezny
Vice-President
Marketing&Communications
DickMatt
Editor-in-Chlef
JackCox
Editor
HenryG.Frautschy
ManagingEditor
GoldaCox
ArtDirector
MikeDrucks
AssistantArtDirector
SaraA.Otto
ComputerGraphicSpecialists
Olivial.Phillip JenniferLarsen
Advertising
Mary Jones
AssociateEditor
NormPetersen
FeatureWriters
GeorgeHardie.Jr. DennisParks
StaffPhotographers
JimKoepnick MikeSteineke
CarlSchuppel DonnaBushman
EditorialAssistant
IsabelleWiske
EAAANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION, INC.
OFFICERS
President Vice-President
Espie'Butch'Joyce GeorgeDoubner
P.O. 80x3S584 2448LoughLane
Greensboro.NC27425 Hartford.WI53027
910/393-D344 414/673-5885
Secretory Treasurer
SieveNesse E.E. 'Buck'Hilbert
2009HighlandAve. P.O.80x424
AlbertLea.MN56007 Union.IL60180
507/373-1674 815/923-4591
DIRECTORS
JohnBerendt RobertC.'Bob' Brauer
7645 EchoPointRd. 9345S. Hoyne
CannonFalls. MN55009 20
507/263-2414
m
GeneChase JohnS.Copeland
2159CarltonRd. 28-3WilliamsburgCt.
Oshkosh.WI 54904 Shrewsbury.MA01545
414/231-5002 SOB/842-7867
Phil Coulson StanGomoll
28415SpringbrookDr. 104290thLane.NE
Lawton,M149065 Minneapolis.MN55434
616/624-6490 612/784-1172
Harris JeannieHill
7215East46thSt. P.O.80x328
Tulsa.OK 74145 Harvard.IL60033
918/622-8400 815/943-7205
DaleA.Gustafson Rober!D.' Bob'Lumley
7724ShadyHill Dr. 1265South 124thSt.
Indianapolis.IN46278 Brookfield.WI 53005
317/293-4430 414/782-2633
RobertUckleig GeneMorris
1708BayOaksDr. 115CSteveCourt.R.R. 2
AlbertLea.MN56007 Roanoke.TX 76262
507/373-2922 817/491-9110
GeoffRobison GeorgeYork
1521 E.MacGregarDr. 181 SlobodaAv.
NewHaven.IN46774 Mansfield,OH44906
219/493-4724 419/529-4378
S.H.'Wes Schmid
2359LefeberAvenue
Wauwatosa.WI 53213
414/771-1545
DIRECTOREMERITUS
S.J.Wittman
1904-1995
ADVISORS
JoeDickey DeanRichardson
55OakeyAv. 6701 ColonyDr.
Lawrenceburg.IN 47025 Madison.WI 53717
812/537-9354 608/833-1291
STRAIGHT & LEVEL
This past year has been a very active
one for the Antique/Classic Division.
We have been able to maintain a
steady growth over the past 12 months,
gaining some 2,000 new members.
While our membership has sur-
passed 10,000 members, we have
tried hard to continue to serve our
new and present members with a
quality maga zin e, VINTAGE
AIRPLANE, and membership
programs such as your Antique/
Classic insurance program. We
continue to receive good com-
ments from the membership con-
cerning the hard work tha t is put
forth by the Division officers, di-
rectors, advisors, chairmen, volun-
teers and staff.
For those individuals who do
not know, the officers and Board
of Directors are almost totally re-
sponsible for the operation of the
Division. The Antique/Classic Di-
vision also has the added responsi-
bility to oversee the Antique/Clas-
sic and show plane camping area
before, during and after the week
of the EAA Oshkosh Convention
each year. From the time that one
Convention is over until the next
Convention starts requires a good
deal of work year-round.
Although during the year the
Pioneer Airport operation is a to-
tally separate operation from that
of the Antique/Classic Division, a
good many of the Division's mem-
bers volunteer their weekends to
make this operation an aviation
2 JANUARY 1996
success story from both an educa-
tional and muse um viewpoint.
With the support of the member-
ship, volunteers and staff, Pioneer
Airport will continue to honor the
greats of aviation as well as the
history of aviation , to e ducate
those who do not know, and to re-
mind those of us who do know how
we have gotten to where we are
today.
Moving on here, as many of you
do know , your Antique/Classic
Board of Directors met in Novem-
ber 1995. There were a num ber of
things that happened at this meet-
ing. We had to do a few Articles of
Incorporation changes, as well as
some min or changes to our By-
laws . This was done so that we
could move ahead with an applica-
tion to the IRS for the Division's
50l(c3) tax exempt status as a non-
profit corporation. Hopefully we
will be awarded this status by the
IRS somet ime around mid-Febru-
ary 1996. Should the Division have
this status, it will be very beneficial
to all of the volunteers who help us
so much each year. The Board
voted to fill the vacant seat of Vice-
President with Director George
Daubner. I am very happy to have
George on board as VP and look
forward to having a productive
working relationship with him.
The Board th e n voted to ap-
point Advisor Geoff Robison as a
Director to fill George's vacant
seat. Geoff is a very dedicated in-
dividual to the Antique/Classic Di-
vision's movement and has been
by Espie "Butch" Joyce
the Security Chairman for the Di-
vision at Oshkosh for the past sev-
e ral years. Geoff carries out this
duty well as he has a background
in securit y by being the Police
Chi ef of New H ave n, Indiana.
Your Board also voted to donate
$20,000 (pledged as $4,000 per
year for the next five years) to
complete the Steve Wittma n
hangar located on the Pioneer Air-
port complex. Steve was always
an avid supporter of the Division
because of his personal ties and
contributions to the history of avi-
ation.
This, month is the kickoff of the
Division ' s 25th Anniversary.
There will be a number of things
happening this year that will be of
great interest to you. Director
Robert "Dobbie" Lickteig has
been appointed as the Chairman
of this activity and events for your
25th Anniversary. Dobbie will ex-
plain some of the comi ng year ' s
events in VINTAGE AIRPLANE
this month (see pages 8 and 9).
We are on the move. This year
will be a good time for you to ask a
fri end to join us and enjoy the
golden years of aviation. I have
not said so in the past , but the re
have been several things come to
pass in th e past several months
that made me realize not only can
we as a group enjoy older air-
planes, we also enjoy a great bond
as individuals. Let's all pull in the
same direction for the good of avi-
ation. Reme mber we are better
together. Join us and have it all! ....
A/CNEWS
NPRM COMMENT PERIOD
EXTENDED
The FAA has extended the comment
period for NPRM 95-11 which included
changes in pilot certification and flight
school regulations. the NPRM also in-
cludes EAA's proposal for recreational
pilot self-certification. (See the October
issues of both Sport Aviation and Vintage
Airplane for more information on the
proposed rule changes.) The original
deadline for public comment was Decem-
ber 1l. Comments will now be accepted
until February 12, 1996.
Any person may obtain a copy of this
NPRM by submitting a request to the
Federal Aviation Administration, Office
of Public Affairs, Attention: Public In-
quire Center, APA-220, 800 Indepen-
dence Av. SW, Washington, DC 20591 or
by calling 202/267-3484. Requests should
be identified by the NPRM number (No-
tice NO. 95-11) or docket no. (Docket
No. 25910).
Comments on the proposals may be
delivered or mailed in triplicate to: Fed-
eral Aviation Administration, Office of
Chief Counsel, Attention: Rules Docket
(AGC-I0) Docket 25910, 800 Indepen-
dence Av. SW, Washington, DC 20591.
For further information contact: John
Lynch, Certification Branch, AFS-840,
phone 2021267-3844.
FEBRUARY EAA ADULT
ACADEMY PROGRAMS FILLING
The EAA Adult Air Academy, teach-
ing basic aircraft maintenance, building
and restoration skills will be offered Feb-
ruary 19-23. Your $800 registration fee
covers lodging, food, local transportation,
and all elements of this educational pro-
gram upon arrival in Oshkosh.
The EAA/ZENAIR Aircraft Building
Academy is scheduled for February 24-
March 3. The goal of this academy will
be to construct an all metal ZENAIR Zo-
diac CH 601. The $800 registration fee
provides accommodations, meals, local
transportation, necessary supplies and
materials.
For further information and registra-
tion materials, contact the EAA Educa-
tion Office by calling 414/426-4888 or
writing P.O. Box 3065, Oshkosh , WI
54903-3065.
compiled by H.G. Frautschy
LYCOMING AD PROPOSED
An AD has been proposed requiring
inspections and possible replacement of
the crankshafts of Textron Lycoming 235
series, 290 series, and certain 320 and 360
series engi nes. The proposed AD would
require initial and repetitive inspections
of the crankshaft inner diameter (ID) for
corrosion and cracks, and replacement of
cracked crankshafts with a serviceable
part. This proposal permits operation of
engines with crankshafts that are found to
have corrosion pits but are free of cracks
provided repetitive inspections are per-
formed until the next engine overhaul or
5 years after th e initial inspection ,
whichever occurs first , at which time
crankshafts with corrosion pits but no
cracks must be repl aced with serviceable
cran kshafts.
There is a pretty short fuse on this
YOUNG EAGLE
MILESTONES
William Ammentorp one of our
volunteer pilots at EAA's Pioneer
airport, is show with the 500th Young
Eagle flown during Pioneer Airport
operations in 1995. Katie Long,
Bloomington, IN took her flight with
Bill July 17, 1995. Since that time,
nearly 1,000 youngsters received
Young Eagle rides with pilot volun-
teers at Pioneer Airport. Over 300 of
them were flown personally by Bill,
who along with his wife Mary spent
many hours of volunteer time helping
keep Pioneer open during the week-
days in the summer.
As 1996 wound down, the Young
Eagles program has flown nearly 180,000 kids. No matter how many you've
flown, from one to hundreds, each flight is important. Our thanks to all who
have participated so far in the program. Ifyou need more information on
how to get involved, contact the EAA Young Eagles Office at 414/426-4831
or you can write EAA Young Eagles Office, P.O. Box 2683, Oshkosh, WI
54903-2683. For a little inspiration, here are the top eight pilots who have
flown Young Eagles:
Robert Swanson
Ft. Washington, MD 798
Deborah Baugh
Old Hickory, TN 514
Thomas Snouwaert
Gladstone, MI 649
William Ammentorp
Oshkosh, WI 377
Steve Applebaum
Mt. Prospect, IL 623
Jim Jahnke
Green Bay, WI 352
Michael Ferguson
Helana, MT 597
Richard Coffey
Sandstone, MN 341
*Asagroup, the Civil Air Patrol has flown 1986 Young Eagles.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE3
Douglas Corrigan, 88, passed away December 12, 1995 in southern California.
One of the men who built Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis," Doug
Corrigan was reportedly inspired to follow in his slipstream, and wished to fly the
Atlantic solo. Born in 1907, he was a pilot by the age of 18, and became an aircraft
mechanic, as well as an accomplished navigator. By 1938, he had acquired a run-
out Curtiss Robin and overhauled it, converting it to the }- 1 configuration with a
175 hp Wright }-6 Whirlwind installed in place of the original OX-5. He then flew
the airplane to New York from California intending to ask the U.S. Dept. of
Commerce for a permit to fly the Robin to Europe. When the inspectors looked at
his airplane, they denied his request.
The next time the Dept. of Commerce heard of Doug Corrigan, he was in the news-
papers, being quoted about "Making a mistake" and flying the wrong way home,
winding up in Ireland instead of California. Corrigan steadfastly stuck to his story
throughout his entire lifetime. He also kept his Robin, turning away offers to buy
the historic airplane. "Wrong Way" Corrigan became part of aviation fo lklore and
history with his flight.
information about the Illinois Midwest
Aviation Maintenance/Exhibit Seminar
contact Don Cramer at 217/785-5798 or
Paul McLaughl in at 618/337-7575 ext 364.
FAIRCHILD FANS NOTICE
Vintage Video, P.O. Box 551, Green-
castle, PA 17225, is offering a collectible
gift set that starts off with a copy of the
video "Fairchild PT-19 ' A Primary
Trai ner'''. This 25 minute long color film,
produced by Fairchild in 1941, shows the
PT-19 during production and in flight.
The gift set also includes an " I'm a
Fa ir child Employee" pin from the
Fai rchi ld Homecomi ng held Sept. 8, 1995.
you' ll also get an official commemorative
Fairchild Homecoming brass coin, and
copies of the Poem" Airplane Factory"
by Victor Conrad and a special edition 16
page program, "Pegasus - The people and
the Pl anes." The gift set cost is $29 post-
paid. You can also call 800/444-1942 for
ordering information. A video is also
avai lable of the U.S. Army Air Force
training fi lm on PT-19 and PT-23 first
echelon maintenance - the cost is $39.99.
ETBE APPROVED UNDER
EAA AUTO FUEL STC
NPRM - comments must be received by
January 29, 1996. Submit comments in
triplicate to the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration (FAA), New England Region,
Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel,
Attention,: Rules Docket No. 94-ANE-
44,12 New England Executive Park,
Burlington, MA 01803-5299.
PRECISION FUEL NOZZLE
SERVICE BULLETIN
Precision Airmotive Corp., 3220
100th St. SW Bldg E, Everett, W A 98204
has issued Service Bulletin MSA-8 cov-
ering the installation of carburetor 10-
4439 or 10-3237 installed on Continental
0-300 or C-145 engines. Precision Air-
motive has received sporadic reports
from operators who are experiencing
engine richness or roughness after in-
stalling the one-piece venturi into their
carbs. If you have not experienced any
of these conditions with your C-145 or
0-300, then the bulletin does not apply
to your engine.
Precision has determined that under
certain conditions, the new venturi alters
the fuel atomization characteristics of the
fuel nozzle. Improper installation of the
new venturi can also cause these symp-
toms. A new main fuel nozzle kit , PIN
666-946 is available. Warranty considera-
tion may be available to you if you can
prove that a genuine Precision Airmotive
one-piece venturi was installed in your
carbo Contact them at 800/838-8181 or
206/353-8181 for warranty information.
AVIATION MAINTENANCE
SEMINAR AT PARKS COLLEGE
The 22nd annual Ill inois Midwest Avi-
at ion Mai ntenance/Exhibit Seminar will
take place March 6-7 at the campus of
Parks College in Cahokia, IL. The Main-
tenance/Exhibit Seminar is open to all
A&P and I A technicians, pilots and
homebuil ders at no charge. Thi rty speak-
ers from the aviation maintenance indus-
try wi ll address topics related to main-
taining the general aviation fleet. Over
90 exhibit booths are also expected.
The Maintenance Seminar grows an-
nually due to the support of several dedi-
cated aviation organizations. This year's
sponsors include the Ill inois Department
of Transportation, Division of Aeronau-
tics , Federal Aviation Administration,
Parks Coll ege, and t he Professional Air-
craft Maintenance Association. For more
The FAA has iss ued an approval for
t he use of unl eaded automobile contain-
ing Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) in
aircraft operating under an EAA Auto
Fuel STC. ETBE is currently being added
in some areas as an additive intended to
increase the anti-knock index of the gaso-
line, as well as cut down the emissions as
re quired by the EPA. ETBE is made
from ethanol, but does not exhibit its bad
qualities - it does not have an affinity for
water , nor is it corrosive or have a ten-
dency to vapor lock. This approval is in
addition to the one previously granted to
EAA by the FAA concerning the use of
Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE).
STC users can continue to use " reformu-
lated" gasoline available in certain metro-
politan areas. The prohibition on the use
of alcohol additives is still in effect.
(Conti nued on page 29)
UNISON lASARTM IGNITION NOW FAA CERTIFIED
Unison Industries has an-
nounced that their electronjc igill-
tion system, dubbed "LASARTM"
and sold by Slick Aircraft Prod-
ucts, is now F AA/PMA approved
for installation on the Lycoming
0-320 series of engines, with other
aircraft/engine approva ls due
soon. For more information con-
tact Slick Aircraft Products,
815-965-4700.
4 JANUARY 1996
VINTAGE
A PLEASANT EXPERIENCE
Dear Mr. Frautschy,
I would like to relate a story to you about a special person in aviation.
My uncle, Swann D. Allen, a young man of 80 years, bought an American
Eagle (OX5) in 1936. He flew it from a hand hewn sod strip in Milford, Michi-
gan. The Eagle then languished on my grandfather's farm for many years. In
1968 Swann started the restoration, which is a story in itself. The restoration
was completed in 1989 (see VINTAGE AIRPLANE, April, 1990). Sadly, on
the second flight, Joe Callahan, the test pilot, had a severe heart attack and
crashed.
I have taken over ownership of 7157 A and started the second restoration.
Herein lies my reason for writing. While making many phone calls and running
down leads on parts and information, I was fortunate to connect with Doug
Dullenkopf, the owner of Screaming Eagle Aviation at Santa Paula airport,
north of Los Angeles.
Doug is in the business of selling and maintaining aircraft. One of the air-
craft he is currently trying to sell is American Eagle 3738. This aircraft was An-
tique Grand Champion at EAA OSHKOSH in 1976.
Doug allowed me to pour over the Eagle, taking pictures, measurements,
notes and multiple details. It was a tremendous boost to my restoration. He
also provided pictures, stories and information, knowing full well I wasn't buy-
ing anything. Aircraft people are a special breed joined with a golden thread. I
would hope anyone looking to buy a used aircraft, antique or otherwise, or
needing maintenance on their current airplane, would look up the good people
at Screaming Eagle.
Sincerely,
David W. Allen
Huntington Beach, CA
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
crowded skies of that era, inherent stability
of the Pl, and coupled with the fact that
there were far fewer tall towers around
probably enabled you to survive your let-
down procedure back then. I'm sure you'd
agree it wouldn't be a good idea (not to
mention illegal) to attempt it today. Those
were different times, were they not? - RGF
AN INTERNATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE
Dear Phil and Ruth,
And, you know, you guys who get to
go every year and can get involved up
to your armpits in EAA activity may
find it difficult to imagine just how im-
portant visiting OSHKOSH can be to
us who live half a world away. It is
partly a kind of pilgrimage to Mecca-a
visit to the Wailing Wall or the Vatican
or ki ssing the Blarney Stone. But it is
more. It is an opportunity to be reborn
by having all the spent enthusiasm revi-
talized and re-injected into the veins. It
is a chance to be surrounded for a time
by thousands of positive thinking avia-
tion oriented brains and being able to
tap their collective ideas. It is a history
book-a time machine-a crystal ball
in which the future may be glimpsed.
No matter how solitary or remote your
residential location, a visit to
OSHKOSH demonstrates convincingly
that you need never be alone again.
These are some of the reasons why
Australians are present in such num-
bers at each year's convention - we are
about as remote from the centres of
sport flying activity as you can get . A
regular visit to the Big 0 is necessary
(a) to convert more of the skeptics and
(b) recharge the converted.
I mean - 44 Wacos on the same field!
I thought I was one of the luckiest guys
alive back in 1981 when I flew in Harold
Johnson ' s one of a kind WACO and
Eric Heins CRG, BOTH the same day!
But 44!!!
King regards,
Margie and Brian
Morayfield, Queensland
AUSTRALIA
MORE ON THE PARKS/
HAMMOND AIRPLANES
Dear Editor,
As the owner of a Parks PI (NC616V)
back in the mid-1930s, I was interested in
Mr. Frautschy's article on the Hammond
100 in your September issue.
Apparently no two PIs were exactly
alike. My PI had a split gear with
Russco struts, 26 inch wire wheels with
clincher rims, tires 26 x 3.5, no brakes.
The tail skid was hinged with the upper
arm secured to a fuselage tube by sev-
eral wraps of shock cord-worked
great.
The PI was a most forgiving air-
plane. It was my practice, on cloudy
days, to attempt to climb through the
overcast and get out "on top. " Since
AeroMail
the PI was not blessed with a phenome-
nal rat e of climb, these efforts fr e-
quently ended in failure. When I be-
came totally di sori e nt ed, I would
merely move the stabilizer lever one
notch forward (nose down), chop the
throttl e, take my feet from the rudder
bar, turn loose the stick, fold my arms
and wait. Eventually we would break
out, always in a gentle right hand turn.
I had several other airplanes in thi s
time frame , but none generated the
same affection I felt for the Pl.
Sincerely,
Lee Spruill
Parachute, CO
I'm glad to hear you never had a prob-
lem with the Pl - it sounds as though it
was a nice flying airplane. Th e less
Type Club
NOTES
by Norm Petersen
Compiled from various type club
publications &newsletters
Ercoupe Wing AD
ErcoupeOwnersClub
MonthlyMagazine
Carolyn Carden - Editor
(919-477-1832)
NotesFrom theSwiss Wing FactoryShop
- byEddSmith, Tampa, FL
The Airworthiness Directive (AD) in-
volved with installing inspection panels on
the Coupe wings seems to have caused a
stir among some Coupe owners, prospec-
tive Coupe owners , and even a few
wannabe Coupe owners. Some disagree
with the AD. A few say they would rather
switch than fly. The truth is, even Fred
Weick didn' t think the Coupes would be
flying after forty years; he said so himself.
So, updating a 40-year-old Ercoupe wing
for a thorough examination , and even a
newer 28-year-old Alan Coupe, is certainly
not an unwarranted intrusion. It ' s already
proven to be good sense.
Installing the inspection holes and cov-
ers is not that hard, even though there are
16 per wing. Most of the Coupes I' ve
looked at seem to have them placed in logi-
cal order, so the additional inspection holes
are not really complicated.
Before we started, we discussed several
way to get the most work done for the least
amount of effort. The easiest of course was
to just talk about doing the work and then
have someone do it - that converts to
money. But of course, that would not be
much fun either.
In the end, we decided to pull the wings
off the two Alons. The Alons have metal
wings as original equipment. Two people
can pull the wings, although three is about
right.
At the very start , take off the cover
strips on both wings and examine the area
where the front main spar bolts pass
through the spar attach points. Then ex-
amine the rear spar attach bolts. The rear
bolts look a little puny compared to the
front. After everything is opened up, care-
fully examine the area with a bright light
and your friendly A & P. The reason of
course is the wings may never have been
off the airframe. So before rushing ahead,
this is a good time to look, examine, and
get familiar with the way things were put
together. Disconnect the wing wiring for
the Nav lights or strobes. It may be neces-
sary to cut the wires and install connecting
plugs for reassembly. Plan ahead. Discon-
nect the static line and pitot line and mark
which is which.
Finally, disconnect the ailerons, making
sure not to change the adjustments if possi-
ble. Check and examine the aileron bolts
and carefully examine the four Heim rod
ball joints for wear and tear. Don't fool
around with old junk. They are available
for about $9.00 each. The part numbers
are in the book.
After examining the four spar attach
bolts, remove the cotter keys. Then take
all four spar nuts off. With your associate,
apply lifting pressure on the wing tip. Care-
fully drive out the top front and the top
rear spar and lower rear spar bolts with a
smaller diameter drift pin. Lower the wing
tip slightly to allow for easier access to the
front lower spar bolt. Next, while standing
at the front leading edge by the fuel tank,
you can begin to drive out the lower front
spar bolt slowly and carefully. The wing is
light enough to hold with one hand , for a
few seconds anyway. Carry the wing and
place it upside down on a pair of well lay-
ered sawhorses or a long table. Belly but-
ton height for a work level seems to be the
best for most people.
Armed with the updated AD, complete
with corrected drawings, get a good chalk-
line to set out st raight lines. The chalk
lines allow for good measurement and ref-
erence points on the wings. Use a tape rule
to make the measurements. Pay attention
to the rivet locations (use the existing riv-
ets as reference points to determine where
the ribs are located). With a grease pencil
or felt tip pen, mark the center points for
the inspection holes. Always measure
once, walk away, come back and measure
again, and drill. You'll get a warm feeling
when you see the hole is where it is sup-
posed to be.
We found the easiest way to cut round
holes with no muss or fuss was to buy a 3-
112 inch hole saw at the lumber store. Get
the one that lets you use the 3/8 inch drive
drill. Ifnot available, buy a 1 inch hole saw
and use the 3/8 mandrel with the 3 1/2 inch
hole saw. Mark the center point for the in-
spection hole and use a center punch to
dimple the skin. This, of course, will keep
the drill bit from wandering around when it
gets started.
Let the drill do the work. Don't push it,
or force it, through the skin. Do try to hold
the drill vertical though. Once you see the
hole saw cutting through the skin, be pre-
pared to stop as soon as the drill cuts all the
way through. After all the holes in one
wing are cut, use a file or a deburring tool
to blunt the interior edges of the cutouts.
Make sure the edges are dull. Vacuum all
the metal shavings and any other trash out
of the bays (it won't really be that much of
a mess).
When you are at this point, you're at
the very reason for the AD. Use a good
bright light and mirror, and with an 01'
glass eye, thoroughly examine the interior
of the wing. We were lucky, both sets of
wings we did, (the Star and Bar and blue
and white) were clean. The Star and Bar
wing, a full year newer and made in 1966,
was unbelievably clean and preserved.
You'd think the set was made within the
last two years.
The act ual round inspection panels
were bought and painted months ago.
Some will have to be touched up later with
trim color, but it sure saved time by pre-
6JANUARY1996
Water Flying
ASeaplanePilotsAssociation
publication
Bob Richardson - ExecutiveEditor
(301-695-2083)
David Quam (SPA #1) writes about a
special PA-18 Super Cub that attended the
Minnesota Seaplane Fly-In on August 12 at
Lake Vermilion.
Besides the Cessna 180-185 group, a P A-
l8A Super Cub on PK 2050 floats owned by
Dan Lindstrom of Hudson, WI, pulled up to
the beach looking different. The first thing I
noticed was the absence of the standard air
intake, which caused me to start asking ques-
tions. It turned out that Dan has made some
interesting changes when he rebuilt the
plane. The changes included no wiring or
switches in the wing roots , a large baggage
area and a "Gell Cell" battery up under the
front (instrument) panel. To charge the bat-
tery, he has mounted a 3.7 lb. , 8 amp alterna-
tor in the vacuum pump drive area. Without
a vacuum pump, there are no gyros, just a
good YFR plane. To keep the weight down ,
he tossed out the regular starter for a light-
weight one. On floats empty weight is 1214
Ibs., on wheels it 's at 10341bs. Dan said to
get the CG in (the proper range) , he had to
put a larger tail spring on.
After looking the seaplane over, he took
me up for a local ride. The lake was about
1400 MSL and with fuel tanks three-quar-
ters full, two 170 lb. pilots, a 160 hp engine
and a Borer prop, the takeoff was about six
seconds (!). For more information , write
Dan Lindstrom at 482 Blue Bird Drive,
Hudson, WI 54016 or call 715-549-6347.
painting. The IA looked at them and said
the paint job glistened.
Start the installation by sliding the
folded Tinnerman nut over the leading
edge of the inspection hole, towards the
leading edge of the hole, not the trailing
edge. Place the Tinnerman, mark the hole
witb a felt tip pen; remove the clip-on Tin-
nerman and drill the hole. Put the Tinner-
man back over the newly drilled hole.
On the inspection cover, drill a number
40 size hole approximately 114 inch to-
wards the inside edge of the inspection
cover. Put the inspection panel on, slide it
around , line up the Tinnerman , and put
the screw in. It 's that simple.
Put everything back the same way it
came off. Check the torque values for the
spar bolts; use new cotter keys. Before
placing the covers back on, test the Nav
lights and aileron movements.
Remember, when you either start or
finish , working under the direction of a li-
censed airframe mechanic, get him to in-
spect your work. After it's all done, in-
spected by the Glass eye, sanctified with
the holy oils of the FAA sprinkled upon
the logbook, test fly it.
New Gyros Need More Suction
The International
Cessna170Association
VelvetFackeldey- FlypaperEditor
(417-532-4847)
Jim Yates writes: rrecently decided to
update the gyros in my plane from the old,
big, AN gyros to the modern small gyros.
They are powered by a single 9- inch ven-
turi. I installed two freshly rebuilt gyros
and found that the suction was inadequate.
After some experimentation, I found that
the new horizon would work very well with
the old DG, but the new DG requires more
air (suction) than the venturi can supply, I
would like to know if there is a modern DG
that will work on a venturi system?
Bob Coats answers: I don't have much
experience concerning the vacuum and gy-
ros operation. However, on my airplane I
have three venturies which operate three
instruments. So you may have to put
more venturies on your airplane in order
to operate the gyros you need. I have had
excellent service from Century Instru-
ments in Wichita, KS (800-733-0116). Dis-
cuss your problem with them and if they
can' t help you or refer you to someone,
feel free to call me and we will try to work
together.
Trouble in Paradise
Antique/ClassicChapter10Newsletter
CharlieHarris - NewsletterEditor
(918-622-8400)
And speaking of the Feds, and the De-
partment of Transportation, and Secretary
Pena, tbe new Denver Airport had its first
light blizzard (6" of snow is not very much)
of the season on October 24th. The wheels
fell off the place. The roof leaked through
the tower ceiling, the computer got all wet;
one airliner took a wrong turn and got stuck
in a snowdrift and closed down the airport
for nearly an hour ; and if this weren ' t
enough, an airport operated ground support
vehicle DROVE ONTO AN ACTIVE
RUNWA Y causing a loaded scheduled air-
liner to do a go around to avoid the snow
removal truck! (They have not decided as
yet whether or not to discipline the driver!)
Maybe radio has not yet gotten to Denver,
This is all some place between the Three
Stooges and The Gang That Couldn't Shoot
Straight!
All of this from our little ' 01 Five Billion
Dollar Boondoggle that edged over budget
by THREE BILLION DOLLARS , three
years late, and still doesn't work right. Re-
member , this was Continental (Airlines)
home base until they simply packed up and
moved to Houston saying it was a JOKE,
and Continental isn't exactly a model of
how to run a railroad! How long, oh how
long! ..
VINTAGEAIRPLANE7
EAA Antique/Classic Division
25
th
ANNIVERSARY
by Robert "Dobbie" Lickteig
NC Division Past President (1984-1988)
Member, NC Board of Directors
Join us in celebrating the 25th An-
niversary of your EAA Antique/Classic
Division. 1996 is our Silver Anniversary
and it will be an exciting year with a salute
to our past , recognition of the prese nt ,
and our goals and dreams for the future.
During the coming year, you will read
th e updated history of your Division in
the July VINTAGE AIRPLANE, pre-
pa red and written by our editor H .G.
Frautschy. Your EAA Antique/Classic
Divi sion is the result of a small group of
EAA members who wanted to get a bit
better o rga ni zed so they could park to-
gether. At the annual EAA Convention
in 1969, there was a discussion about the
need for a separate parking area for An-
tique aircraft. The followin g yea r the
move was made to Oshkosh and your Di -
vision was formed in 1971.
Paul Poberezny, founder and chairman
of EAA, provided the fledgling Division
with the EAA umbrella for help and sup-
8 JANUARY 1996
port duri ng the formative years. Your
original list of officers and directors reads
like a "Who's Who" in the annuals of avi-
ation. From this humbl e beginning, the
small group of dedicated members has
grown to 10,000 plus today, and is the
largest Division with EAA. Your Divi-
sion has grown in stature, recognition and
the responsibility as spokesman for the
largest segment of general aviation.
Over the years, we' ve grown in scope
as well. First came the addition of the
Classic category (1945-1955) in the early
1970's. Since then, we have added the
Contemporary class of aircraft (those
manufactured from 1956 to 1960). This al-
lows your Division to represent all general
aviation aircraft through calendar year
1960. We accept this additional responsi-
bility and the original purpose of our Divi-
sion will be applied to these aircraft.
In our Division bylaws are written the
purposes of the Division. They are:
1. To encourage, aid and engage in re-
search, including that of a scientific nature,
for the improvement and better understand-
ing of aviation.
2. To encourage and aid in the retention
and restoration of Antique, historical, Classic
and Contemporary aircraft.
3. To establish and maintain a library de-
voted to the history of aviation and to the con-
struction, repair, restoration maintenance
and preservation of aircraft particularly An-
tique, historical, Classic and Contemporary
aircraft and engines.
4. To hold and conduct meetings, displays
and educational programs relating to aviation
with emphasis on restoration, maintenance
and care of these aircraft.
5. To bond together those persons inter-
ested in Antique, Classic and Contemporary
aircraft for their mutual pleasure, recreation
and education.
6. To improve aviation safety and aviation
education.
If anyone doubts the success of our col-
lective efforts, just look around the annual
EAA Convention. Yo u wil l see the re-
sults: the largest, the finest and the most
aut hentic coll ection of aircraft from this
exciting age of aviation. Throughout our
anniversary , yo ur monthly magazine ,
VINTAGE AIRPLANE, will run feature
articles on major events, interesting mem-
bers and our past successes.
During EAA OSHKOSH '96, we will
celebrate our Si lver Anniversary with
many events throughout Convention
week.
1. Founding members will be saluted
with a press conference and a recognition
program on stage at the Theater In The
Woods.
2. Two " Parade of Flight" events will
be scheduled. The first on Friday and the
second to follow on Monday. Special
awards will be presented for all partici-
pants.
3. Special parking will be reserved for
returning past champion aircraft and
awards will be presented to each aircraft.
4. The annual fly-out will be scheduled
for Saturday morning, with an anniversary
souvenir for all who participate.
5. A special 25th Anniversary partici-
pant plaque will be presented to all regis-
tered aircraft.
6. Our newest member, whose mem-
bership number sets a newall-time record,
will be honored.
7. A Young Eagle flight in a past cham-
pion aircraft will be scheduled with An-
tiq ue/ Classic member Number 1- Paul
Poberezny.
8. A special meet i ng will also take
place with the type clubs to recognize and
thank them for their past and future sup-
port of our Division.
9. The Convention souvenir button
will continue with our 25th Anniversary
logo on the button.
Please join us for this exciting year. It
is not only a tribute to our founding mem-
bers , but to all members who made our
Division what it is today. Through your
efforts we have attained a position of
leadership with international status.
We often talk about the EAA spirit
and the dreams we all have. Your EAA
Antique/Classic Division is an example
of our spirit and dreams. As the saying
goes "dreams come true when dreams
are reaL"
Your elected officers, directors and ap-
pointed advisors are well prepared to
serve you and continue our growth and
progress. This way we all follow our
dreams.
So, to all our members-we salute you.
Stand tall and take a bow for all our past
accomplishments. Together we can look
forward to the next 25 exciting years .
Come join us and have it all! ...
(Far Left) During the EAA Convention in 1981,
this is how the AlC "Red Barn" headquarters
looked. Gar Williams (left) stands next to his
newly restored AlC Antique Grand Champion
Cessna AW, while Jim Jenkins (right) is in
front of his Grand Champion Classic Piper
PA- 17 Vagabond.
This Ted Koston photo was featured on the
cover of the October 1981 issue of Vintage
Airplane.
(Above) The Division has always run on "Vol-
unteer Power" (not to mention a moped or
two!). During the 1981 Convention, here are
just some of the Flight Line safety volun-
teers. In the back row, are (L to R) Bill Hill,
Art Morgan, Dave Long, Richard Jenkins,
and Brian Garinger. In the old AlC point
building is Larry Agathen and resting on the
beach is Bob Wallace. The trio on the bikes
are (L to R) Jeff Alexander, Bill Buckles and
Paul Medendorp.
(Above right) The rank and file member is also part of the engine that keeps the Div-
sion going. In 1987, Stan Sweikar and his wife Sandy won the Silver Age runner-up
trophy with their Fleet Model 2.
(Below) Unusual aircraft are the norm in the Antique/Classic parking area during the
Convention. Steve Pitcairn brought his restored 1931 Pitcairn PCA-2, with Autogiro
veteran George Townson adding his considerable expertise to the restoration of the
aircraft in 1985. It was the 1986 Grand Champion Antique.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
FREEDOM FLIGHT
AMERIO\'9S
by Dick and Jeannie Hill
FREEDOM FLI GHT was a
flight of WW II vintage aircraft
made across America
commemorating the 50th
anniversary of V-J Day, the
end of WW II. It originated as
a salute to the veterans of
WW II, both civil and military.
We first heard of this idea during a
"hangar flying" session at the Phoenix
500 in 1994. Several of us were talking
about future events and someone men-
tioned that a group was being formed
to memorialize the 50th anniversary of
the end of the war. The flight was to
take place during the anniversary week
that the atom bombs were dropped,
when Japan finally capitulated. The
plan was to start the Freedom Flight in
California and gather warbirds along
the way, making several prescheduled
stops, culminating in a flyby past the
aircraft carrier Intrepid and the Statue
of Liberty. We immediately asked for
details and sent in our request for in-
formation.
Several hundred aircraft participated
in this event. After opening ceremonies
at Long Beach, California, Freedom
Flight America flew across the nation,
making its scheduled stops at various
airports and air bases around the coun-
try. At each stop we shared our air-
planes and the message of our mission
with the public, as well as hundreds of
veterans who turned out to see just what
Freedom Flight was all about.
After departing California on July
27th, the group made stopovers at
Phoenix, Arizona; EI Paso and Dall as,
Texas; Kansas City; Aurora, Illi nois;
Wright-Patterson AFB and Andrews
AFB at Washington, DC. T he fl ight
over the Intrepid and the Statue of Lib-
erty was staged from Andrews AFB.
As Freedom Fli ght progressed,
planes joined at the various stops and
flew as fa r as t hey could. Some fl ew
from as far as the st ate of Washington.
Others joined from almost every st ate
in the union. Many of t he pl anes went
t he full route and stayed for t he fi nal
weeke nd s how at McGuire AFB in
New Jersey.
We joined t he group at Aurora, IL
after leavi ng the EAA Convention in
Oshkosh. Jeannie and I flew our Cessna
T-50, the "Bimbo Bomber," along with
our friend Paul Ci letti who acted as
crew chief. As it worked out, Aurora
was the stop that had the most activity.
The largest and most diverse group of
planes participated that weekend.
The original pilot of the "Memphis
Belle," Colonel Robert Morgan, partici-
pated in FREEDOM FLIGHT, flying in
several different planes along the way.
He and his wife Linda ran a display of
Memphis Belle memorabilia at every
stop. Lots of happy folks returned home
with Bob's autograph under their arms.
His presence added a touch of reality to
the Flight that otherwise would have
been missed by much of the general
public.
The Flight completed its mission by
passing in review over the aircraft car-
rier Intrepid and the Statue of Liberty.
As a tribute and thank you to those who
fought the war for us, rose petals were
dropped from each plane as it passed
over the Intrepid. This was a very
touching moment for those of us who
truly understand and appreciate the
tremendous sacrifice those dedicated
men and women made for each and
everyone of us.
The sad part of the whole event was
the lack of participation by the "heavy
iron." Itseemed that a lmost no one
with fighters or bombers had enough in-
terest to honor this event with the ir
presence. Two P-51s did stay right
through the salute to the Intrepid. The
sponsor of Freedom Flight even had to
impose on the owners of a B-17 to get it
to make a "flyby" with Colonel Morgan
as pilot. The B-1 7 was at an event in
New England and was going to Pennsyl-
vani a so the crew made a pass down the
r ive r on the way. Itwas necessary to
take Col. Morgan to the plane and then
pic k him up afterward beca use they
could not afford to make a stop at An-
drews or McGuire.
The commemoration armada was
made up of aircraft that flew for the Al-
lies during WW II. Several WW II vet-
erans flew their own planes in this event.
Groups of simi lar planes were flown in
formation. The leader of each group
had a "flight number" and used it for all
radio contacts.
When the cards were handed out at
the briefing, we drew number "45" and
remained flight 45 for the entire trip.
We thought it quite coincidental since
the war ended in 1945, the same year
that I soloed. Also, coincidentally, our
T-50 had made its first civilian flight on
August 7, 1945, 50 years to the day that
we departed Aurora to begin our seg-
ment of Freedom Flight.
The route of flight from Andrews
proceeded up the Chesapeake Bay past
Balt imore to Wilmington, Delaware
and along the waterway, passing east of
Philadelphia. Itpassed east of Trenton
and then west of Newark up to the
northeast corner of New Jersey. At the
approximate point where the New Jer-
sey and New York borders meet the
Hudson River, the flight turned south
along the river.
When each flight passed over the
George Washington Bridge, it de-
scended to 800 feet for the pass in re-
view. The course down the Hudson
passed Manhattan Island and cruised
along the dock area where ships have
arrived from all over the world for cen-
turies. One of those forgotten ships was
the liner named "Normandy." It burned
and sank in its slip while being con-
verted into a troop hauler during WW
II.
Those docks now host the WW II air-
craft carrier Intrepid, fitted out as a
memoria l to WW II and a wonderful
aviation museum. The flight passed the
carrier and made the petal drop. Min-
utes later, the fli ght passed Ell is Island
10JANUARY1996
and theStatueofLiberty. Tothe left,
afterpassingthelengthofNew York
.City,was the Battery,ConeyIslandand
FireIsland. Thenweflew outoverthe
bayfor an altitudechangeto1400feet,
approachingtheVerrazanoNarrows
Bridge.
Thegroupwasinconstantcontact
with eachoftheApproachControl fa-
cilitiesas theywerepassed. Altitudes
werechanged to accommodateeachof
theflight patternsalongtheway. The
VFRcorridordown theHudson was
NOTAMed"closed" duringthe hours
that the commemoration was in
progress,sotherewaslittleconflictwith
traffic.
A briefingwasheldeachmorningof
thetripand thatfinal briefingwas the
mostcomplex. It had moreradiofre-
quency and altitude changes than
would be necessaryfor an Atlantic
crossing.
TheFAAmadeit aboutas compli-
catedas it could be. My votewould
have beento"block airspace" for the
route andjustmonitoronefrequency
whileairborne. Butthatwould be too
simplefor a complex mind to under-
stand.
Leaving the NYCarea, the flight
crossed the bayand landedfor a week-
endairshowatMcGuireAFB in New
Jersey. While there,we made flybys for
thecrowd.
We flew homeon Monday, which
turnedout tobe theonlydayoftheen-
tireweekthatwould have permittedan
uninterrupted,onedayflight. Actually,
theweathergodsweresmilingon us
duringtheentireFreedomFlight. With
the exception of one unplanned
overnightatClarksburg,WestVirginia
onthewayout,goodweatherprevailed.
LeavingDaytonon thewayto Andrews
AFB,theweatherdeterioratedandwe
felt it advisable to makea stoprather
thanpush intobadweatheras evening
approached. It turnedouttobea very
gooddecision. Thefolks atClarksburg
werevery hospitableto us and we en-
joyedourstay.
The" BimboBomber"madetheen-
tiretripwithoutcomplaint. Infact ,she
neverflew prouder. It seemedheren-
gines ran a littlesweeterandshehad
an extrabuoyancyto herflights. She
evenseemed tofly in a "Hey,guys,get
a loadofthis!"attitude. And maybe
this is justthepilot'sinterpretation,
butwheneverwe flew overa military
cemetery,insteadofseeingthousands
ofsmall, white crosses, each cross
seemedtobea wavingarm anda smil-
ing face thatsaid, "You'r e looking
good . Thanksfor flying by!" It was
thefirst timewe ' ve everbeen ableto
passa militarycemeteryfeeling a ny-
thingbutextremesadness. Instead,
from nowonwe ' ll keepthatvisual im-
ageofacresofwavingarmsandsmil-
ingfaces with us.
Abouta dozen landingsanda littl e
over17 hourswere flown. Each ofus
spenta few hoursat thewheel andwe
a ll had a wonderful time. We came'
home feeling we had accomplished
somethingtrulymeaningful.
FREEDOMFLIGHTAMERICA
was a oncein a lifetimeexperience that
allowedus toat least partiallyexpress
ourundyi nggrat itudetothosewhogave
us this rare,often taken forgrant ed,
privilegeoffreedom. It allowed us to
thank all thosededicated,patrioticmen
andwomenwholost theirfriends, their
lives,theirlimbs,theirpeaceofmindso
wecould,withoutliftinga finger, live in
a freecountrywithout the threatofwar.
Wehope this tributetothem helpedto
showjusthowmuchwecare.
NOTE: For those who are interested,
Freedom Flight memorabilia is still
available through the sponsor if you are
interested in purchasing merchandise
such as hats and shirts. Contact Freedom
Flight America, P.D. Box 29253, Dallas
TX 75229. Phone 7-800/687-4800.
The gentleman who initiated the idea
sells parts for the restoration of North
American A T-6s. He made a huge com-
mitment and has taken a substantial fi-
nancial loss due to the lack of interest
shown by the aviation community as a
whole. ...
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
by H.G. Frautschy
This month's Mystery Plane really is just that - Dennis
Parks, EAA's Librarian has been digging though books and
papers left and right and hasn' t been able to pin
Lt. Col. Boardman C. Reed (USAF Ret.) , Brownsville, CA
sent in this answer:
"Your Mystery Plane for October is the one-only 1929 Hall-Alu-
minum XFH-1 experimental Navy Fighter, USN BuAer A-8009.
"It was all aluminum except for fabric covering, and had a unique
water-tight fuselage for emergency ditching at sea, in lieu of conven-
tional Navy flotation gear . .. (although I wonder about waves splash-
ing into the single open cockpit!).
Span 32 ft, length 22'6", height 11', gross weight 2518 lbs., max.
speed 152.6 kts, service ceiling 25,300'.
Engine a very early P&W R-1340 -8 "Wasp" of 450 hp.
(Reference U.S. Navy Aircraft 1921-1941, William T. Larkins)
"The Hall Aluminum Aircraft Corp. of Bristol, PA had as its pres-
ident Charles Ward Hall, a hands-on,working type. Hall is most re-
membered for his production of 24 biplane flying boats, the XPH-1
and PH-1s for the Navy and Coast Guard. (In 1939, I had a fun 2:45
flight in an old 1932 Navy Hall PH-1 , No. A-8691, over the Pacific,
with a crew of enlisted Naval Aviation Pilots and Chiefs out of NAS
North Island, San Diego) .
(Continued on page 21)
Hall-Aluminum XFH-l
this one down yet. The print came to us as part
of the Ken Cook/American Airman Collection,
and was also a photo collected by the late Tex
LaGrone. We're wide open to documentable
proof, so lets see what you aviation sleuths can
come up with. Answers need to be in no later
than February 25,1996, for inclusion in the
April issue.
For a one-of-a-kind biplane fighter that failed
to make it in U.S. Naval service during the 1930's,
the Hall Aluminum XFH-1 certainly didn't trip
up too many of our fellow members - 20 of you
sent in responses to the October Mystery Plane.
A bunch of answers hit my mailbox on Octo-
ber 23 - R.K. Alexander, Clifton Park, NJ; Frank
Hansen, Llano TX; Charley Hayes, New Lenox,
IL; Brain Baker, Farmington, NM; Larry Bei-
dleman, Granada Hills, CA; Herb DeBruyn,
Bellevue, W; and James Borden, Menahga, MN.
12 JANUARY 1996
The first
Cabin
Waco
"Honest
!
IReallyDidFind
itin a Barn!"
by H.G. Frautschy
Alan Buchner (EAA 151755, A/C
6276) , Fresno, CA has lived a fantasy.
Stories of airplanes in barns have be-
come a bit of aviation folklore, a "holy
grail" quest that more ofte n than not
ends in seeing a lot more chicken feat h-
ers than airplane bits and pieces.
He had heard about the possibility of
an airplane in a barn not too far from his
shop in Fresno, CA. Alan earns his liv-
ing in his own shop as an A&P/I A, aver-
aging over 50 annuals a year, mostly on
newer aircraft. After the day's work is
(Above) Backtothebasicswiththis
veryoriginalstylepanel. Oiltemp
andpressure,altimeter,rateofclimb
andtachometerareallthatisneeded
toconductVFR flight. Asmallelec-
tricalpanelhasbeenunobtrusively
addedontheleftsidewallnearthe
pilotsseat. You canseethepull-
overwindowshadeusedtokeepthe
sunfrombakingthepilotandfront
seatpassengerduringflightswiththe
sunoverhead. TheQDChasexcel-
lentinflightvisibility.
(Above) AlanBuchner,Fresno,CAandhisnewlyrestoredWaco
QDC. TheonlyotherflyingQDC, belongingtoTomAhlers,St.
Charles,MOisdirectlyabovetherudderofAlan'scabinWaco.
(Below) ThedistinctiverearwindowshapeoftheearlyWacoswas
bornoutadesirebytheengineersatWacotobuildacabinairplane
withinflightvisibilityasgoodasanopencockpitmodel.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE 13
done he then takes time out to work on
his own projects. That's just what he was
looking for that day back in 1969.
As he eased open the door of the bi g
barn, there was a sight sure to make the
hea rt of a ny airpl a ne enthusias t just
about leap out of hi s ches t - a fuselage
resting on its nose in the corner, with the
t ail rest ing on the wa ll and two wings
leaned up against the wall as well. What
a find ! What was it ? Who owned it ?
And most import antl y, would they se ll
it?
The old Waco was owned by a crop
duster, and he kept it stored in a barn
also used to shelt er threshing machines.
There wasn' t enough room in the hangar
to store the airpl ane compl etely assem-
bl ed, so the wings and engine came off.
It had been there since 1954, when it had
suffered an engine failure and landed in
an alfalfa field a short way fr om the local
ai rport.
Ala n knew the cr op dust er who
owned the airpl ane, and he pursued the
quest ion of selling the project for three
years. The fellow wouldn' t budge, and
he was doubly di sa ppoint ed whe n he
found out the duster had sold the Waco
to another man, a crop duster mechanic
who worked for a di ffe rent out fit. An-
other friend of Al an's, a duster mechanic
named Mr. Rasmussen, told Al an about
obt aining the project, and that he had
gotten started on the rebuild. You never
know how things will work out , and a
year later , Al an got a phone call. The
mechani c was moving to Wisconsin, and
didn ' t reall y wa nt t o t ake the project
with him. Did Alan want to buy the air-
plane? You bet!
What was it that Alan had seen lean-
ing up against the wall of that barn? A
1932 Waco QDC, the first product ion
model of Waco's series of cabin biplanes.
The bipl ane he fo und in t he barn was
completed January 18, 1932 and carri es
Seri al No. 3579. It was fi rst delivered to
H. C. Lippiatt , Grand Cent ral Air Ter-
minal at the Glendale, CA airport.
The QDC seri es of cabin Wacos was
based on the popul ar F-2 series of two-
pl ace open cockpit bipl anes. The Conti-
nental A-70 seri es of engines, wit h 165
hp, was selected to power the new air-
planes. A. Francis Arcier, chief engi neer
of Waco, se t out t o design a cabin bi-
pl ane that did not suffer from a lack of
visibility out of the cockpit. Good short
14 JANUARY 1996
field performance, a hallmark of earli er
Waco biplanes, was also important. In
every respect , the new airplane was to be
a Waco, built with no compromises. The
biplane configuration was retained for a
number of reasons, among which were
that the overall size of the airplane could
be kept small er for a given weight , and
the structural configuration of the bi-
plane offered great strengt h with a li ght-
weight structure. New features included
a set of corrugated aluminum ai lerons,
replacing the built-up wood ones used on
previous models. The F-2 and " Model
C," as the QDC was first named, also
shared a simi larly designed landing gear
and tail surfaces.
The cockpit glazi ng was quite expan-
sive. In addition to the full side windows
(the front ones could be cranked up and
down) , the top of the fuselage was cov-
ered in clear plastic, and the rear win-
dows were also formed from flat sheet
(molded Plexiglas windows were still a
few years in the future). The windshield
was built up with sheets of automotive
safety glass.
At the debut of the QDC during the
1931 Detroit Air Show, the new cabin
airplane was bi g news. Pilots were a bit
wary of the trend to enclose their cock-
pits - they liked the view out of the open
cockpit, and were loath to change their
ways . Predict ably, the visibility out of
the new Waco Mode l C was tout ed in
press releases: "Wide angles of vision are
emphasized in the new ship. Vision is
practicall y unobstructed in all directions
- above, to the front and sides and to the
rear quarters and tail."
Even the aviation press was im-
pressed. Dwight Huntington, writing for
Aero Digest in April, 1931, wrote: "The
cabin is roomy and comfortable and ex-
cellent vision rearward has been secured
by a clever and efficient arrangement of
the turtle deck. It may be safely said that
thi s ship has better visibility than any
other closed job."
Oliver Pa rks of Parks Air College,
East St. Louis, IL, was so impressed by
the airplane that he pl aced an order for
one immedi ately. In June 1931, the col-
lege took delivery of what must have
been a sharp looking airplane. The Parks
QDC was painted gree n with a crea m
stripe, and silver wings. It takes but a
few minutes to review the list of 37 Waco
QDCs built during the 1931-32 produc-
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
tion run to see that they were far from a
drab, dreary bunch. Perhaps in an ef-
fort to escape the disturbing news of the
Depression, those who were well heeled
enough to order a new Waco (and deal-
ers hoping to find someone willing to
buy) had a little fun with the color
schemes - colors like Stinson maize,
commandaire green, drift wood smoke
and vesta yellow were used on Model C
Waco's ordered by the likes of Tex La-
Grone, Kenny Flying Service, and Mid-
west Airways. What fun it would be to
have color pictures of so many of these
airplanes from that time.
For Waco NC 12438, SIN 3579, when
it was first delivered, it must have been
beautiful parked on the ramp, with the
fuselage painted black, and the wings
and tail surfaces painted silver. A pol-
ished aluminum ring cowl finished off
the engine installation of the 165 hp
Continental.
Vern's Wing shop in Bakersfield,
CA had already been tasked with re-
building the wings. They were able to
use some of the wood in the wings, but
new wingtip bows, false spars, and most
of the ribs needed to be replaced.
The fuselage and tail surfaces were
all to be done by Alan, and it was a long
project in coming. After he acquired
the project in 1972, he didn't begin
work on it in earnest until 1980. In the
meantime he had joined the Waco Club
and gotten a list of the airplane's previ-
ous owners. In the list was a big sur-
prise - Alan's father had owned the air-
plane for a while. One of the early
FBOs in California, Les Buchner flew
this very Waco as part of his charter
service at Bakersfield, CA in 1938. A
16 JANUARY 1996
pilot since 1927, Les had worked for a
small airline called Cardiff & Peacock,
sweeping out hangars to earn twenty
minutes of flight time. He later built up
a flight school and charter service, fly-
ing hunters in and out of the mountains.
His father's reaction at first was a bit
nonchalant - since there were many, he
couldn't remember exactly which air-
planes he had owned, but as the air-
plane came together, excitement
mounted.
The late Kendall Thomas was a good
friend and an excellent model builder.
He offered to help Alan with the wood-
work on the fuselage. Accustomed to
working with model tolerances, the
woodwork was done to a 1132 inch or
less. One of the most difficult projects
on the fuselage was the rear windows.
The fairing and window frames are built
up out of wood. Before Tim could be-
gin on the new woodwork, some "work"
that had been done by a prior owner
needed to be corrected. In a misguided
effort to make the QDC look like a
later model Waco, someone had used
3/8 inch water pipe to extend the fuse-
lage line from the tail to the upper wing
root. The water pipe, threads and all ,
was removed and proper airworthy re-
pairs were made to the fuselage using
4130 steel tubing.
The front end of the fuselage also
was not standard. In 1946, a 220 hp
Continental was installed, and a long
Waco bump cowl was mounted. Nearly
three feet long, it extended aft to the
windshield. Alan never tried to install
it, but instead, one of the first parts he
had built up for the airplane was a new
speed ring. Jim Allen of Fresno did the
wheel pants. The new metal aileron
skins were built up by noted Waco re-
storer Tom Flock, and the seats were
upholstered by Terry's Upholstery
Shop. Alan did the rest of the interior
work.
When it came time to finish the air-
plane and cover up all of that beautiful
woodwork, Alan chose the Stits (now
Poly-Fiber) process and used
Aerothane as the final finish coats, to
duplicate the fine rubbed dope finish
originally installed on the airplane.
Alan came to work on airplanes nat-
urally enough - as soon as his dad would
let him, at age 14 he went to work at his
dad's flying school, doing whatever his
was needed. He started doing charter
work in 1962, flying for a corporation.
When they didn't want to put him on
salary, Alan opened his own aircraft
maintenance shop. Throughout many
of the ensuing years, Alan's steadfast
supporter has been his wife Connie,
whose care of the homefront while Alan
labors on the airplanes has enabled him
to create some beautiful airplanes, in-
cluding a Rearwin Speedster he has re-
built twice since he bought it in 1951. It
has a special tug on his heart, for it is
the airplane he bought to learn to fly in.
After flying it for a year or so, it needed
to be recovered. It was then flown for
15 years before it was grounded and
fully restored back to original.
There are only four Waco QDC's
left on the FAA registration rolls, and
only two of them are currently flying -
the QDC restored by Tom Ahlers of St.
Charles, MO many years ago, and the
newly restored Waco by Alan. Two
more are registered but not flying, yet.
With just four hours entered in the log-
book of the newly restored Waco, Tom
and Connie headed off to EAA
OSHKOSH, a trip that used about 24
hours of flight time, with side trips to
Branson, MO and Troy, OH. Once at
EAA Oshkosh '95 Tom and Alan
parked their airplanes side-by-side,
among the 44 other Wacos that flew in
as part of the American Waco Club fly-
in within the EAA Convention. Fifteen
years of hard but enjoyable work paid
off handsomely with the selection of
Alan's 1932 Waco QDC as the Reserve
Grand Champion Antique of 1995.
Alan says that after his return home, he
put on a couple dozen more hours, so
that he now has 72 hours on the air-
plane, and he even added a few items
that were not on the airplane during his
trip to the Midwest - each flying wire
has a neat little streamline fairing cov-
ering the wire terminal. He says it has
been fun taking it to various west coast
fly-ins where it has been gathering oohs
and ahs, not to mention a few more tro-
phies. A pretty neat start to a new
career for NC 12438. ...
by Norm Petersen
L e glint from a rather large piece of
plastic caught my eye as I looked down
the long row of airpl anes at EAA
Oshkosh '95. Always one to take a
closer look, I cautiously made my way
down the row to locate the source of the
brilliant reflection. As I came closer to
the reflected rays of the late afternoon
sun, I spied the culprit - it was the large
upper plastic window of an Interstate L-
6. It bore the "N" number of N47093
and on the tag under the tail, it read: Se-
rial Number 2.
The owner was sitting in the shade of
the wing talking with various aviation peo-
ple who were asking questions as fast as
he could answer them. Most wanted to
know what kind of airplane it was - and
when would it go into production? The
looks soon turned to amazement when the
owner explained it was a 1942 airplane
and this was the first airplane off the pro-
duction line - fifty-three years ago!
In just a few minutes I was able to meet
the owner, Edward Clay Smith (EAA
284382, AIC 11322) of Athens, Alabama,
who goes by the name Clay, and is, in-
(Left) Head-on view of the L-6 reveals
the large area of glass, especially above
the cockpit. Dual brace wires are used
on the tail surfaces.
(Below) Clay Smith's son, Tom, on the
left with rebuilder, Robbie Vajdos, on the
right, ready to get aboard the L-6 for an
air-to-air mission with EAA's photo
plane. There is a great deal of aircraft
restoration experience represented by
this pair.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
The instrument panel was restored with only the tachometer being re-
placed (for the 150 Lycoming) along with an hour meter. The spartan
interior, the huge seatbelt and the old primer with a lock over it are all
reminders of the L-6's military past. The yoke on the floor is off center
to the left so the control stick is actually bent to the right centering the
grip. The toe brakes are located above the rudder pedals.
(Above) " Office" of the L-6 observer is the rear seat where
the person faces backwards and does his paperwork on the
small table behind the seat. The small 00 pouch is the
"desk drawer" used to hold all drafting necessities.
(Left) Complete radio stack is built into the upper left cabin
area where the original U. S. Army radios were located. It
includes a transponder, comm, Loran and intercom. With
the area all open, the pilot can see the main wing bolts dur-
ing his pre-flight as well as the aileron operating cables.
18 JANUARY 1996
deed, a serious student of aviation. Born
the year Lindbergh flew the Atlantic
(1927), the young Clay was "eaten alive
with aviation" and soaked up everything
he could learn about the subject. He
soloed in a Piper J-5 Cub Cruiser at the
age of 15 (they had to fudge on his age)
and WW II came along, so he applied for
and took the Army Air Corps examina-
tion. Although he scored one of the high-
est grades ever achieved, his eyes didn't
pass, so he walked down the street and
joined the Navy V-6 program and wound
up as an aviation electronics technician.
Separated from service, Clay couldn't
find a job, so he went back to school and
earned a degree in industrial manage-
ment. He then hired on with Worthington
Corporation as their corporate manager
of engineering. From there he moved on
to Alcoa, Whirlpool , Ohio Quaker, Math-
ews Industries, Air Temp Corporation
and finally with Borg-Warner as Vice
President of Advanced Facilities.
Clay retired from Borg-Warner and
soon discovered he couldn't live with him-
self! He then took a job as a Construction
Superintendent for a friend whose com-
pany was building the new terminal build-
ing at the Nashville, TN airport. The
man's entire crew had gotten into a fight
and the job was stopped - the construction
of the terminal was at a standstill. As a
matter of fact, he told Clay, "All of my
crew is either in jailor the hospital, and
some of them both!" Into this tenuous sit-
uation, Clay introduced his highly in-
grained "Let's get the job done" attitude
and before long, the crews were back at
work and the terminal building was com-
pleted.
Over the years, Clay has accumulated
over 12,000 hours of flight time and ad-
mits that all the companies he worked for
allowed him to fly his own airplane on
company business - a very fortunate cir-
cumstance. As he says, "Aviation has
been very kind to me."
About ten years ago, Clay had a bas-
ket-case Interstate L-6 that needed com-
plete restoration. Through a friend, he
learned of the existence of the first pro-
duction L-6. Intrigued by the thought,
Clay began tracking it down - like a hound
dog on a fresh trail. Completed at the EI
Segundo, CA, plant in 1942, the L-6 had
flown around California for a spell before
being transferred to Lafayette, Indiana,
and an Army Air Corps school at
Lawrenceburg. Eventually, the L-6 was
surplused and a Mr. Donnermeyer pur-
chased the airplane from the Reconstruc-
tion Finance Corporation in late 1944.
He sold the L-6 to LeRoy Berg, who was
the registered owner when Clay started
tracing the airplane.
" We chased Mr. Berg all over the
world. At one time we were close to him
at Pontiac, MI, but he disappeared until
we just missed him in Detroit. I was able
to talk with him a couple of times on the
phone, but that was it. He was a very re-
served person."
Time passed, until one day on a grass
strip near Athens, AL, a tall gentleman
walked up to Clay and introduced himself
as Mr. LeRoy Berg. Encouraged to talk
about the L-6, Clay asked him if it was for
sale. Mr. Berg clammed up and vanished
again. Clay later learned he lived in or
near Huntsville, AL, but efforts to find
LeRoy Berg proved fruitless.
A year or so later, someone told Clay
about an old man who lived outside of
Tanner, AL, on a farm, who had an old
airplane in a barn. "If I hear a rumor of
an airplane in a barn, I'm gone! What I
found at this particular place, 10 and be-
hold, was Mr. Berg again. He had retired
and bought a 20 acre farmette, was living
in a mobile home and had built a nice
barn with a loft - a beautiful loft that held
the L-6."
Clay talked with LeRoy Berg more and
he seemed a little more interested in sell-
ing the airplane, but not quite yet. A year
later, he called Clay and asked if he was
still interested in the L-6. Clay and his
son, Tom, drove over to the farm and
were interviewed regarding the L-6.
Three more trips with continuing inter-
views would be conducted before the sale
was finally consummated.
Mr. Berg explained that he was selling
the airplane to Clay and his son, Tom, be-
cause they got along well together. He
had had a terrible experience with his own
son who was not into aviation and had
gone off in a different direction. It turned
out that Berg had flown the L-6 four times
and had three forced landings. He found
it incapable of sustained flights with the
Franklin geared engine and sternly cau-
tioned Clay and Tom about flying the L-6.
From Alabama, the pieces of the Inter-
state L-6 were carefully hauled to a shop
in Louise, Texas (southwest of Houston) ,
where the next part of our story takes
place. This particular shop is the home of
Robert (Robbie) Vajdos, Jr. (the name is
of Bohemian origin) who happens to be
the very same person who built up Clay
Smith's Stearman A-75Nl which garnered
the Champion WW II Military Trainer
Award at Oshkosh ' 94.
Robbie Vajdos (EAA 298296, AI C
22684) grew up in Louise, and was in-
volved with airplanes from the very start.
His father was a B-25 pilot in WW II and
really moved things along regarding avia-
tion. At age 14, Robbie's father bought
him an Aeronca 7AC Champ project
which he proceeded to slowly rebuild.
When Robbie was old enough to fly, his
father bought him a flying 7 AC Champ to
learn in. After high school, Robbi e at-
tended Texas State Technical Institute
(TSTI) in Waco, TX, learning the ins and
outs of an A & P course while working
part time for a crop dusting outfit. As
soon as he graduated from A & P school ,
Robbie moved back to Louise and set up
shop in a 50 x 70 foot hangar. The first
project he finished with his new A&P was
his high school project Champ.
Since then, Robbie has built up about
25 airplanes at his shop of which nine have
been Stearmans - including the '94 award-
winner at Oshkosh. (Not too shabby for a
man who has just turned thirty years of
age.)
Work soon began on the Interstate L-6
and several surprises were in store. It had
a basically good airframe except for a few
pinholes on the topside of the lower
longerons. Both longerons were replaced
from the landing gear back. The tail feath-
ers were OK and the wings were good.
Even the wing spars checked out fine.
The biggest job was cleaning out the huge
pile of pecans and shells the squirrels had
left inside the wings! Much of the original
fabric was on the airplane and after nearly
fifty years, it still tested out as serviceable!
(No, they didn't tempt fate and keep it on
the airframe.)
Many of the missing parts such as door,
bootcowl and firewall forward were lo-
cated in many different places. Bill Diehl
of Anchorage, AK, who has owned the In-
terstate Type Certificates for years under
the name Arctic Aircraft, was very helpful
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
in supplying parts plus drawi ngs where the
parts were not avai lable. With the deci-
sion made to use a Lycoming 0-320 en-
gine of 150 hp, it was discovered that J. E.
(Jim) Soares of Rocky Mountain Air-
frame in Belgrade, MT, had drawings for
a 150 mount and he proceeded to bui ld
one for the L-6. (Jim Soares has flown a
125 hp Interstate L-6 for over thirty years.)
The McCauley propeller came from a
172 which was repitched to 52 inches so
with a 76 x 52 prop, the L-6 performs very
well with a short takeoff run. Clay still
has the original wooden U.S. Propeller
that came with the airplane, however, it
uses a four-bolt hub on the geared
Franklin engine and is not compatible
with the 150 Lycoming. Eventually, Clay
wants to have a wooden prop made to use
for displaying the aircraft.
One lucky find was the original pair of
Interstate wheel covers (Shinn) that
needed a substantial amount of work to
bring them up to show quality, however,
when fastened onto the wheels with new
screws, they really make the 7:00 X 6
wheels and tires look original. The brakes
were changed to Bodell as the original In-
terstate brakes were entirely inadequate,
Swinging into a left turn, Robbie Vajdos
gives us the complete silhouette of the
L-6 with its gracefully rounded wingtips.
The tailwheel swings with the input of
left or right rudder. Original wheel cov-
ers are chic. Aileron mass balances are
visible which give the controls a near
velvet feel in roll.
especially with the 150 hp engine.
Clay was unable to locate any of the
original L-6 radio packages so he built up
a package that is mounted in the same lo-
cation as the original. With no visible an-
tennae outside, the installation looks very
chic, yet serves the purpose for communi-
cation and navigation. The large, wide,
military seatbelts came from Banaire in
California. All of the neat woodwork on
the door, the rear table and the floor-
boards was done by Robbie's father,
Robert Vajdos, Sr. He is retired from the
electrical business and thoroughly enjoys
woodworking. (We strongly suspect he
also enjoys watching Robbie work his
magic on a 50-year-old airplane.)
All covering on t he L-6 was done in
Ceconite fabric and Randolph dope using
The steerable tailwheel encom-
passes its own tailspring in com-
pression. A rather substantial
tailskid is built into the lower rud-
der post in case the tailwheel
fails. Vajdos Aviation plate adds a
certain amount of class to an
award-winning airplane.
Original brakes were replaced
with Bodell units to handle t he
higher horsepower of the Ly-
coming engine. You can see how
nice they f it inside the wheel for a
very clean appearance.
about 40 coats. The metal parts are fin-
ished in DuPont acrylic enamel. The wing
fabric is fastened to the metal ribs with
metal fabric clips that were an original In-
terstate patent. With these clips, you fas-
ten the front, then the rear, and then the
whole length of the rib snaps down. It is
very fast.
The huge windows were all replaced
with Lexan that Robbie made up him-
self. He likes to work with Lexan as it
forms easily and doesn't crack when you
put a little pressure on it. The upper win-
dows (eight) were made in one piece to
simplify the installation and it worked out
well. A close examination of the glass-
work reveals the touch of the artist.
With the exception of the tachometer,
all instruments were overhauled and in-
stalled in the panel. The old tach for the
geared Franklin would not work for the
Lycoming engine, so a new one was se-
cured.
As far as Clay Smith can deduce, there
are about 370 hours total time on the In-
terstate with the last flight before the
restoration being made in 1954. That's
when Mr. Berg had his last forced landing!
To run off with the Runner-Up Trophy
in the WW II Military Trainer/Liaison cat-
egory is quite an achievement in itself.
For this, we add our sincere congratula-
tions to Clay Smith, his chief rebuilder,
Robbie Vajdos, and all the other people
that had a hand in the restoration of the
Interstate L-6. It is a remarkable piece of
work and to save the first production
model of any airplane is a rare treat. Like
Clay says, 'The story of an old airplane in
a barn is still true and can happen!" ...
20 JANUARY 1996
MysteryPlane
(Continued from page 72)
"As a fascinating historical footnote, those two dozen big Hall bi-
plane flying boats were the final development of the 1914 Curtiss
"America", built to cross the Atlantic (but the war interfered). The
design developed into the British Royal navy "Felixtowe" F-Boats in
"the World War". Then the design recrossed the Atlantic to become
the U.S. Navy F-5L ("L" for two Liberty V-12 engines). This same
basic Curtiss flying boat design, with constant improvements and
various engines, became the U.S. Navy's PN- series of patrol boats
(the PN-9 made a valiant but unsuccessful attempt to fly non-stop to
Hawaii in 1925). Douglas, Keystone and Martin all built modifica-
tions of the PN-12, still using the old F-5L sponsons. Last of all,
Hall-Aluminum built refinements of the PN-ll (without sponsons)
designated PH-1 through PH-3 (some PH-3s lasted until 1944), the
final end of the Line for the historic old original basic 1914 Curtiss
design!"
For further detail , here's Larry Beidleman's letter:
"f wouLd like to identiftj the Mystenj Plane shown in the Vintage
AirpLane issue Vol. 23, no. 10 dated October 1995.
"Your photo is a picture of the Hall XFH-1. This was a fighter
design submitted to the Namj by the Hall-Aluminum Co. The model
was submitted to the Navy in June of 1929 for their evaluation. The
Aircraft had a gross weight of 2517 lbs. and was powered by a Pratt
The October Myst ery Plane was the Hall-Aluminum XFH-1 , shown
here during 1929 after the upper wing structure was modified after
a partial structural failure.
Another Hall design had much better staying power - the PN series
of flying boats, whose ancestry could be traced back to the Curtiss
series of 1914, was in production for many years. In 1925, this Hall
PN-9-1, commanded by John Rogers, attempted to f ly from San
Francisco to Hawaii , but Rogers and his crew were forced down at
sea 600 miles short of their goal when their fuel was exhausted.
An epic 10 day sailing journey to the last island in the chain, Naw-
iliwili, ensued after ships stationed along their route searched the
wrong area and never found the airplane or its crew. They were fi-
nally taken in tow by a Navy submarine when they were within
sight of the island of Kauai, and lived to tell the tale. In this photo,
Rogers and his crew show off the barrels of the 1,350 gallons of
fuel they carried on their flight - it wasn't enough without a healthy
tailwind, which never materialized.
& Whitney R-1340B engine.
"The aircraft was designed by Charles Ward Hall , formerly with
Curtiss, who designed the F-4-C-1 aircraft. The Navy wanted a de-
sign using an all metal fuselage design, watertight, to withstand a
water landing. The XFH-1 also featured a jettisonable Landing gear
to achieve a successful emergency water landing.
"The prototype aircraft delivered to the Navy was assigned
BuAer. No. 8009. Prior to its first flight, inspections reveaLed some
st ructural weaknesses. The Navy began to realize the aircraft was
not going to be able to meet the standards of a Navy fighter.
Trial flights reveaLed serious buffeting that damaged the plane. In
October 1929, the aircraft was being tested in a vertical power dive
when the rear spar of the top wing buckled, partially jamming the
aileron.
"The watertight fuselage was inadvertently tested when an emer-
genClj landing in water had to be made due to engine fai lure. On this
occasion the landing gear was not jettisoned. The aircraft settled
about 40 nose down with about 2 feet of freeboard at the cockpit.
The XFH-1 stayed afloat for forty minutes before it was hoisted out
of the water.
"The Navy reported the aircraft was heavy on the cont rols and
nose heavy with power off. They concluded while a waterproof fuse-
Lage was certainLy possible to achieve, it was not practicaL because of
construction costs and maintenance.
"An so, the Charles Hall designed XFH-1 faded from the scene in
March 1930.
The information is found on pages 42 and 43 of "Unit ed States
Navy and Marine Corps Fighters 1918-1962" published in 1962 by
Harley Ford Publications Limited, Letchworth Herts, EngLand. LI-
brary of Congress Card no. 62-19914, compiled by Paul R. Matt ,
edited by Bruce Robinson."
The XFH-l had an unusual wing structure geometry. The
lower wing was swept forward 4 degrees, with the upper wing
swept aft 6 degrees. (According to the book mentioned above
by Larry Be idleman, this was done to give the pilot better
sight lines during carrier operations.) All of this aerodynamic
work did littl e to give the airplane acceptable handling quali-
ties - it was sluggish on the controls, and when power was ap-
plied it was tai l heavy, and would become nose heavy with the
power off.
Other correct answers were received from Steven McNicoll ,
De Pe r e, WI ; Bob O' Hara, Geor ge town , CA; Wayne Van
Valkenburg, Jasper, GA; T.A. Watson, Corona, CA; Rowland
L. Ha ll , Northfield, IL; Frank Abar, Livonia, MI; William
Rodgers, Jacksonville, FL; Edward Wyka, Clifton, NJ; Bob Nel-
son, Bismarck, NO; and Ralph Nortell , Spokane, W A. ...
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
AN OLD
FRIEND
by Peter Bowers
AI Nordgren1s Widgeon has been
photographed before...
I found an old fri end on page 18 of the August, 1995 issue of Vintage Airplane.
The N number of Al Nordgren' s beautiful restored Grumman G-44 Widgeon
didn't ring a bell at first , but mention of Lana Kurtzer' s name in the text did. That
sent me rushing to my photo fil es - I couldn' t check my log books, they had been
lost in a fire a few years ago. NC69058 was there - Lana Kurtzer's G-44, the Wid-
geon in which I got my multi-engine sea rating in 1950.
It still had the inverted Ranger L-440 engines then, but metal Curtiss-Reed pro-
pell ers instead of wood props. My main memory of it was trying to hold a steady
airspeed while trying to synchronize the two engines.
The photos show me flying it during my rating check ride. The photos were
taken by my fri end Victor Seely out of my Luscombe 8E seapl ane flown by one of
Kurtzer' s instructors.
The color scheme of the Widgeon was all white with dark blue trim, including
the registration numbers. You' ll note that the registrati on is NC69058 even though
it was supposed to be N-only from late 1948. Peopl e had 10 years, or until the air-
craft was repainted, to keep the old NC prefix in the regi stration. I've even got
pictures of an airpl ane with NC numbers on the wing and tail and N on the fuse-
lage after the 12-inch fuselage numbers became mandatory in 1966. ...
22 JANUARY 1996
(Above) 1950 - Pete Bowers, nattily dressed in shirt and tie
for his multi-engine sea rating check ride, above the waters
of Seattle, WA in Lana Kurtzer's Grumman G-44 Widgeon.
(Left and below) Steady as she goes on the approach. After
touchdown, Pete eases the control wheel back to allow the
Widgeon to settle nicely into the still harbor waters.
(Left) Peter slips the Widgeon into the water at the famous
Kurtzer seaplane base in Seattle. Watch out for that bit of
flotsam ahead off the starboard bow, Captain Bowers! The
amphibious twin was painted overall white with dark blue
trim, including the registration numbers.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
WHATOURMEMBERSARERESTORING
_______________________________ by Norm Petersen
Bud Cook's Frankl inSport90
Thesephotosofa freshly rebuilt FranklinSport90,
NC13271,SIN 106,werecontributedby the airplane's
owner,Cleland " Bud" Cook(EAA215148,AIC 18369)
ofEaton Rapids,Michigan. Poweredwith a90 hpLam-
bert R-266e ngi ne,thea irpl a ne was ma nufactured in
Franklin,PA,onSeptember27, 1933. Number106was
the las t of14aircraftbuiltby the Franklin Company.
Budbroughtthe"basketcase"home in April,1987,from
Sidney,Ohio,andcommenced the res toration. Eight
yearslater,the Franklin flew onJune 5,
1995. AsofOctober,thecutelittlebiplane
hadaccumulatedover30hours. Thecov-
eringwasdonein Stitsprocesswiththefi-
nal colors ofBa ha ma Blue and Lemon
Yellowdonein Aerothaneto match the
lastknowncolorscheme. Bud'swife,Ann,
made th e sea t covers from dee r hide
lea th erin a starbur st pattern a nd con-
tributed a largesupplyofe ncouragement
duringthe longrebuild. Theairplanelogs
goback to dayone andoftheoriginal 14
airplanes,fourarestill known tobe fl ying.
TedHerlihy'sCessna180B
Sittingonthe main wheelofhishighly polishedCessna180B,
N5077E,SIN 50377,isTedHerlihy(EAA415506, AIC 19564)of
Fallbrook,CA. Tedpurchased the pai nted180B in 1992and
spent the nextmonthstrippingand polishingthebird. He then
proceededtoput200 hoursofflight time on theairplanebefore
takingonaloadofcontaminated fuel (the lOOLL plusjetfuel
scenario) . Afterafactoryfr esh remanufacturedenginefrom
TCMContinentalwas install edin late 1994,Ted has flown the
airpl ane toSpokane,WA,three times tovisit hi sfellow antique
airplaneenthusiasts ,Addi sonand WendyPemberton (EAA
154948, AIC 6679). Thephotoofthe sharp looking180was
takenatthe FlyingFlannigan'sranchat Chowchilla,CA.
Bruce Bixler'sTaylorcraft DC-65
This ratherra re 1941 Taylorcraft DC-65 "tandem
trainer, " NC36263,SIN 4035,was restored by Bruce
Bixler(EAA76406, AIC 1655) and MarvinSpringerof
Alliance,OH. ThisparticularDC-65 (one of200built)
featured metalsparsandribs andflew over2,000hoursin
theCAPandCPTprogramsduringWWII. Coveredwith
StitsP- L06 fabric, theT-craftis fi ni shed in originalmetal-
lic blueandyell owfactoryscheme. TheContinentalA65-
8e nginewas majored and finished offwitha setofSlick
magsanda stainlesssteelexhaustsystem. Thefirst test
flight wasdone byForrestBarber,whose fat her,the late
AI Barber,madethefirst flight on this airplane, October
]5, 1941. Thereare60 DC-65 Taylorcraftsremainingon
theFAAregister.
24 JANUARY 1996
Richard Starke's Stinson SR-SA
That ' s ownerlrebui lder Richard Starke (EAA
155224,AIC10538) of Burlington, ND, standing in
front of his pride and joy, a 1934 Stinson SR-5A, N-
13872, SIN9251-A, powered with a 225 hp Ly-
coming R-680-13. Richard, who has owned the Stin-
son for thirty years, completely rebuilt the big cabin
job in 1986 after retiring from the Air Force as a
Major. The rebuild took abo ut seven months of
diligent work, however, the results are quite evident
and the red and black paint scheme is most compli-
mentary. When he flew the Stinson into Oshkosh,
the tower controller referred to the airplane as "the
big red tail dragger" - not being able to identify a
Stinson SR-5A. Richard reports the airplane is cur-
rent ly housed in the Dakota Territory Museum at
the Minot, ND, airport and is one of only five SR-
5A Stinsons remaining on the FAA register.
Argentine Focke-Wulf 44)
This photo (below) of a bright yellow Focke-Wulf FW-44J "Stei-
glitz" registered in Argentina, LV-ZAS, was sent in by its owner-re-
storer, Alfred Jobke (EAA 435648, AIC20349) of Buenos Aires, Ar-
gentina. Alfred reports he started with a "basket case" and finally
finished the restoration in 1994. The Steigli tz (which means Gold
Finch in German) is powered with a Siemens & Halske SH-14A
"Bramo" engine of 160 hp and equipped with dual carburetors for in-
verted flight. (This is the same engine as used on the Bucker Jung-
meister.)
Argentina is home to a surprising number of antique airplanes and
is the only country outside of the U.S. to have its very own
AntiquelClassic Chapter 12.
Workingona projectof yourown?
Sendyourphotosalongwitha shortstory
onyourairplaneto:
Attn: H.G. Frautschy
EAAHeadquarters
P.O. Box3086
Oshkosh,VV154903-3086
VINTAGEAIRPLANE25
BUCK
by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert
EAA #21 NC #5
P.O. Box 424, Union, IL 60180
J'm really happy with the filter and
yes , I have used the magnetic particle
pick-up as well as the chip detector. As a
matter of fact, for a while I had a home-
rnade magnetic pickup in the drain plug
of my A-65, but it gave way to an easier
oiL change when I put in a quick drain.
The chip detectors were standard of the
L-19's as an afterthought when the CAP
was using them. Thanks for your Letter
Captain, and
Over to you!
Hi,
Hopeall is well with youfolks!
IsureenjoyPassit toBuck! Octo-
ber' 95 issue is righton! Toooften,
fo lksdon'tunderstanddirectsupervi-
sion. TheFAAreads thatas notby
phone, not on theothersideofthe
field, etc.! Both theowner/operator/
and the A&Pand IA can have real
heartburnoverthis! Yourarticlesare
a greatservice to all workingwith
aeroplanes.
Thanks.
HaroldA.Lossner
41158thPlace
DesMoines, IA 50313-3303
Harold, you don't know how
DearBuck,
Ienjoyed your recentthoughtsonoil
filters. Allmy mechanical life I have
been heavyon lubricati on and filtration.
It is cheapertochangeoil thanan en-
gine!
Haveyou ever useda magneticdrain
plug? Youwill be amazedat theamount
ofmetal thesecoll ect,particularlyfrom
fresh engines.
OvertheyearsI haveused thesesim-
ple filters in automotive, aviationand
marineengineswithgreatsuccess.
Keep up thegoodwork.
I.W. StephensonGC
Capt.BA,retired
Box481
Menominee,MI 49858
(Below) One more lookattheSedan'sfil-
terinstallation. Thecowlingproprodwith
a littlerubberbumperon theend, men-
tioned in Charles Grauer's letter, is
mountedon thebackoftheenginebaffle.
Idon'thaveit up in thisshotbecausewe
neededtoholdthecowlopensowecould
takephotos. It simplyswingsup and
propsopenthecowlsoyoudon'tneed
threehandstoaddaquartofoil! It was
builtup usingapieceofaluminumtubing,
anafew otherhardwareoddsandendsI
hadaroundtheshop.
PASS db
much your comments mean to me.
You, my friend, are one of the
"best!" When itcomes to aircraft
maintenance, your background as
an antiquer, your accomplishments
as an educator, your willingness to
help anyone and evenjone to maint-
ian and fly their airplane and your
support, this aLL adds up to more
than words can express.
I enjoy and appreciate your
friendship and counseL, Harold.
What more can I say, except Over
to you.
DearBuck:
Re: Sedanoil filter
Isureenjoyyourarticlesin VIN-
TAGEAIRPLANEand thisoneon
youroil filterinstallation hithome. I
have a '48SedanN1115H, SIN 135,
and have wantedtoinstallanoil filter,
butJjusthaven'tbeen readytopart
withthecashorhassletogetit on. Do
you haveanoilcooler? If so,didyou
justputtheoil filter between theoil
cooler adapter output and the oil
coolerinletport?
Ijustmajored my0-300Aandhave
12hoursonit now. I had thesame
kind ofstuffin myscreen (lint,gasket
particles,a few flecks ofvariousmet-
als, etc.) as you described. If you
would, I would appreciateanyhelp
(guidanceingettingthepaperthrough
FAA)youcouldgive me. Wouldit be
possibletogetacopyofyourapproved
337? Thatis whatittakeshere in Wi-
chitatogettheFAAto approvea one
timedeal.
Inyourpicture I noticed a rod by
your"scat " tubeon the backofyour
baffling; is thisa rod tohold up the
cowl halfwhen lookingin theengine
compartment?
If thefilterdoesin fact maketheoil
runcooler,did youeliminatetheoil
cooler?
Doyou have twoshockcordson
eachmain as theservice lettersug-
gests,ordo you have three as was
original? J havejustthetwo 10 inch
ringson butthegearstaysopenjusta
littlewhen on theground. J noticed
otherSedansseemtodothisaswell. I
plan toreplace thecordsthiswinter
and haven'tdecided whetherto put
on twoorthreecords. Theoriginal
complaintwith threewasthegearwas
toostiff.
Isureenjoyyourarticlesand keep
up the goodwork. If everyonecan
26 JANUARY 1996
helpeachother,we all benefit. We
juststartedanEAAchapterherein
ourairport(SmokyHill EAAChapter
1127) in Ellsworth, Kansas. 1have
wantedtodoitforyearsbutcouldn't
getenoughpeopleinterested. Thishas
generatedmoreinterestatourairport
than anything else we have done.
Whenweweregoingaroundlastsum-
mertopromoteourchapterforming,
wegeneratedinterestattwootherair-
portsandtheyarenowstartingchap-
ters also. I guess they thought if
Ellsworth(smalltown) coulddoit,so
canwe!
We'rehappyfor themandtryingto
helpandsupportthemevenifwewill
losesomeofourmembersin thosear-
eas. But1know from myexperience
thatiftheChapteris toofar away,you
justdon'tgetto reallybea partofit. 1
hope tobeable toseeyou at EAA
OSHKOSH'96; I talkedbrieflywith
you atEAAOSHKOSH '94buthope
togetacquaintedbetter.
Sincerelyyours,
CharlesGrauer
P. O.Box506
Wilson,KS 67490-0506
Hey, Charles,
Thanks for the letter and the compli-
ments. It ' s great to hear from a fellow
Sedan owner. I'll take your questions in
order.
If you look at the specification sheets,
the oil cooler is only required for the sea-
plane. I took mine off. It didn't seem to
make any difference with the old engine,
which ran a little hot. The newly over-
hauled C-145 D-2 was never run without
the oil filter, so I can only tell you that it's
running very cool in this fall weather. The
old one always peaked out at about 195F,
with and without the cooler. The new en-
gine was well up there, about 205, until we
got the temperature break (break in indica-
tion) and it is now running about 140 to
160F. I'm sure the filter installation does
help with the cooling; after all, there are
about 60 inches of hose and the filter body
is finned.
I'll enclose copies of the paperwork if
you intend to use them. Like you, I labored
men tally a t spending the five-hundred
bucks for the installation, but when I com-
pared it to the cost of overhauling the en-
gine, it was the deciding factor .
The rod you saw is indeed a cowl hold
open device. I have one on each side. They
sure make it easier to add oil, etc., but they
are not restrained and occasionally the
wind will upset me by picking up the cowl
and depositing it on my head!
I have the two shock cords and, yes, the
airplane is a little "spraddle" legged and
STILL stiff legged. Putting on a Scott
pneumatic eight inch tail wheel helped a
lot, but with just me in there it's a real
"hopper."
I'm passing along your letter to Bob
Mackey up at EAA. I'm sure he'll be very
interested in your chapter organizational
efforts. I'm also passing the letter onto
H.G., our editor. He is a devoted and dedi-
cated Aeronca man. He just brought
1048H back home Friday after Thanksgiv-
ing. I was going to South Africa on Na-
tional Aeronautic Association business,
and after much cajoling I allowed him to
take it. He flew it about 19hours last
month. (Ithink1got mostofthe hops
outofitbynow - justask theguyshang-
ingontheairportfence! - HGF)
'Enuf for now. I'll FAX your informa-
tion. Over to you, Charles.
t"(
Parked among arow of biplanes at the September MAAC Fly-In at Brod-
head, WI, was this immaculate Waco UPF-7, N39714, SIN 5847,that has been
totally restored by George "Bud" Hays (EAA 142642,AIC 19751)of Lowell, In-
diana, and his lovely wife, Mary Lou. Painted in amedium light blue paint
scheme with black trim, the Waco features a Waco emblem carefully painted
on the top side of the center section along with a full bump cowling and wheel-
pants. The Continental R-760 engine of 220 hp swings aground adjustable
Hamilton Standard propeller that Bud located in Florida. The "basket case"
UPF-7 was found in aswamp near Norwood, MA and hauled home in bits and
pieces. It was restored over nine years. Ed Sampson, Belview, MN, rebuilt the
wings and Bud had much help from Dan Vermuelen, Jim Overland, Nick Kuck
and Dick Cain. The covering was done in Stits with final coats in Aerothane.
That's Mary Lou and Bud kneeling in front of the pretty Waco.
ANew
Waco
Restoration
by NormPetersen
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
Dominick J. Fazio Smithtown, NY Daniel F. Neuman, Jr. Tucson, AZ
Salvatore Filippone Irving, TX Floyd D. Newton Phoenix, AZ
Robert C. Finley Washington, OK Herman Noort The Netherlands
Robert D. Fitts Independence, OR Patrick O'Neill Las Vegas, NV
Fred Fortin Peacham, VT Leon E. Olds Scarboro, ME
John D. Fradet Sheridan, WY Lee R. Oliver Amarillo, TX
Howard J. Fulton Batavia, IL Lawrence G. Olson
Joseph D. Gauvreau Glenn Dale, MD Palos Verdes Penn, CA
John J. Gifford, Jr. North Bellmore, NY John J. Palesh North Tonawanda, NY
Jim Griffin Lebanon, OR Leonard A. Palmer Port Ludlow, WA
C. A. Hair McKinney, TX Robert D. Patrick Coleman, TX
Gary L. Hall Fayetteville, GA Boyd T. Payne Blairsville, PA
New
James c. Hamilton Orcas, WA Edward L. Peterson Hummelstown, PA
Bob Hansberger Phoenix, AZ David H. Pflegl Oregon City, OR
Todd Harders Wood River, NE Paul J. Phelps Fredericksburg, VA
Ron Harris Cedar Rapids, IA James A. Pittman, Jr. Birmingham, AL
Thomas Hatton Hopatcong, NJ Graeme Charles Planck
Ed Hemmingson Albany, OR Warregul, Victoria, Australia
Thomas T. Hinshaw Tucson, AZ James W. Pugh Mineola, NY
Michael J. Holm Glendale, AZ Dagley M. Reeves Fountain Hills, AZ
Moses J. Acee Westmoreland, NY Ray N. Hopkins Scott Depot, WV Dan G. Reid Klamath Falls, OR
Ted R. Apeland Belfair, WA Ronald E. House Mesa, AZ Lester F. Reinig Sun Lakes, AZ
William T. Arnesen Olympia, WA Wayne A. Huser Morton, IL Christopher P. Renkel Fairview Park, OH
Gerald F. Arnold Sun City West, AZ Bobby J. Irby Paris, TN Clark C. Rice Newtown, PA
Janis M. Babcock Walnut Creek, CA William H. Jacobs Boulder, CO Gordon T. Richardson Burns, WY
Frank Baccelli Elk Grove, CA T. E. Jaggers Woodinville, WA Robert W. Robinson Lebanon, TN
John E. Baker Brookings, OR David C. Johnson Cheyenne, WY Willard Ray Rosvall Fillmore, UT
Walt Baldwin Brighton, CO Wilbur Johnston Port Angeles, WA Harley V. Sargent Strong, ME
Walter Barke Seattle, WA Herbert B. Kaehler Fairfield, CT LeRoy Seidenspi nner Deer Park, NY
Harry O. Barker, Jr. West Milford, NJ Christopher J. Kalishek Madison, WI Steven H. Shockley Marietta, GA
James Bartolome Albany, CA Robert Katz Encino, CA David B. Sirota Tucson, AZ
Robert J. Bastin Hopkinsville, KY Gordon E. Kaye Garrison, NY Karl Smalley Dearborn, MI
Jim Bentley Lopez, WA Dennis E. Kelsey Connell, WA Hugh E. Smith Groveland, CA
Members
L. William Benton Batavia, NY James Killian Lexington, IL Sandy G. Sowders Knoxville, TN
William Bihrle, Jr. Jericho, NY Paul Kimball Exter, NH Allen J. Starr Erie, PA
Russell C. Bingley Chico, CA John W. Knight Jackson, MI Dennis J. Steed Salt Lake City, UT
William N. Blatt Sedona, AZ Robert Knight Albuquerque, NM John J. Steele Coraopolis, PA
John Bonvin Vucherens, Switzerland Mark Kohl Fairborn, OH Tom Steers West Hills, CA
Richard J. Bovey West Pawlet, VT Richard Kornhiser Centerville, MA Bobby Stender Jacksonville, AR
John G. Braband Medford, NY William P. Lambing Greenwood, IN C. D. J. Strachan Waterbeach, England
Victor Bravo Milpitas, CA Calvin Laughinghouse Columbia, SC Timothy B. Styles Orangevale, CA
R. J. Britton Tukwila, WA Richard L. Leighton Spokane, WA David Swagler Aurora, CO
David C. Brunner Colden, NY Thom Leslie Unionville, Ontario, Canada Malcolm Sykes South Windham, ME
Calvin A. Bugbee Issaquah, WA George Levin Seattle, WA Thomas T. Tabar Pittsgrove, NJ
Gerry Bukurak Edward R. Lindgren Guifford, CT Dennis R. Tabler Knoxville, TN
Colonsay, Saskatechewan, Canada Gary E. Livesay Lizella, GA James W. Tarbox Sanford, ME
B. T. Bullion Memphis, TN John C. Lorenz Tijeras, NM Roland E. Taylor Sun City, AZ
Robert L. Burke Fontana, CA William J. Losey Cochranville, PA Burton H. Tekippe, Jr. Mason City, IA
James P. Caire Hillsboro, OR Raymond A. Marineau Gales Ferry, CT Jay H. Theder Coppell , TX
Michael R. Carpenter Desoto, TX Joseph Marlo Walnut Creek, CA Alan N. Timmerman Tucson, AZ
Thomas S. Carr Hillsboro, OR John W. Mattingly Pueblo West, CO Michael E. Todd Mc Kenna, WA
Robert D. Chambers Springfield, TN Tom Mayo Fredericksburg, TX John S. Tokar Pompton Plains, NJ
Thomas B. Cochran Lake Worth, FL Wally Menckel Sun City, AZ Richard Toler Moberly, MO
Morton Collins Princeton, NJ John H. Metzger Grand Island, NY A. G. Tomson Prescott, AZ
Lee A. Coltrin Westminster, CO William J. Meyerriecks Ridge, NY Keith D. Trombly Plattsburgh, NY
Bruce L. Curran Bristol, CT Dr. John D. Miller Seattle, WA Guy N. Ullman Narberth, PA
Jack L. Curtin Lewiston, ID Chuck Milton Independence, OR Frank Varnum Roseburg, OR
Don B. Davidson, Jr. Rome, NY George E. Mitchell Bayport, NY Lee V. Way, Jr. Perkins, GA
Ricky Davidson Evergreen, CO Stuart Mitzel Tyth Valley, OR Wayne R. Weiker Clyde, OH
Vernon S. Davies Deerfield, NH William A. Monroe San Diego, CA Earnest F. Wei ser Erie, PA
Kenneth Davis Flushing, MI Patrick J. Mooney, Sr. Gilbert, PA Marshall Welch Williamsport, PA
Thomas A. Decker Kirkwood, NY C. Wesley Moore West Chester, PA James Wendt Durango, CO
H. A. Dier Poway, CA Clifford Moore Dallas, TX Donald A. Westerberg Bellevue, WA
Howard A. Dillon Sutherlin, OR Thomas L. Morris Martinez, CA Kathleen A. Wilson Page, AZ
John T. Dove Missoula, MT Hugh A. Murray Murrysville, PA Gene Wolstenholme Warminster, PA
James S. Elder Windham, ME Arthur R. Myers Camp Hill, PA Paul N. Woodruff Salt Lake City, UT
Orlo Thomas Ellison Lakewood, CO Morris R. Nacke Louisville, KY Glen Word Anthony, NM
Don B. Erchinger Seattle, WA Jim Nelson Vacaville, CA Curtis Wyborny Sand Point, ID
Thomas F. Ewing Woodridge,lL Norwood Nelson New London, NH Frank H. Youngquist Tucson, AZ
28 JANUARY 1996
----------
A/CNEWS
(Continued from page 4)
MINNESOTA SPORT AVIATION
CONFERENCE
The eighth annual Minnesota Sport
Aviation Conference and Flight Expo wi ll
be held February 24-26 at the Minneapoli s
Convention Center in downtown Min-
neapolis, MN. Dedicated to recreational
flight of all sorts, its motto is "Flying is
Fun."
There will be sessions of general inter-
est as well as seminars on homebuilding,
Antique/Classic, aerobatics, hot-air bal-
looning, sai lpl anes, ultralights, skydiving,
helicopters, the '99s and aviation youth
activities. A three hour long Cockpit Re-
source Seminar wi ll be held, as will a four
hour Teledyne-Continental engine semi-
nar. Speakers include NASA astronaut
Pamela Melroy, Cirrus Design president
Alan Klapmeyer, original Tuskegee air-
man Col. Kenneth Wofford, and a host of
other regionally and nationally recognized
speakers. A pilot safety seminar hosted
by Chas Harral will take place Saturday
evening.
A large display area will be set up fea-
turing aircraft, commercial exhibitors and
other displays. Open to all pilots and the
public, admission is $5 per day. Call the
Minn. DOT, Wayne Petersen if you need
more information. 612/296-9853.
MONTANA AVIATION
CONFERENCE
February 28-March 2 are the dates for
the Montana Aviation Conference at the
Colonial Inn, Helena, MT. There wi ll be
workshops, seminars, nationally recog-
nized speakers and a trade show. For
more information, contact the Montana
Aeronautics Division, Box 5178, Helena,
MT 59604, or call 406/444-2506.
AIR SERVICE CARAVAN
For many years, a company known as
Air Service Caravan of New Bedford,
MA supplied copies of o lder aircraft
manuals and other aircraft maintenance
material that have been out of print.
That company had closed it doors in the
recent past, and a new firm, Air Cara-
van of New Bedford has now acquired
the company and is now open for busi-
ness. A large library dating back to the
1920's is avai lable. You can obtain a
printed li st for $2.00 (refundable with
an order over $10) by writing Air Cara-
van of New Bedford, P.O. Box 50727,
New Bedford, MA 02745-0025. They
are in the process of compiling their list
of General Aviation manuals, so if you
don't see what you are looking for, give
them a specific request and they'll look
to see what they have.
Fly-In

The following list of coming events is furnished to
our readers as a matter of information only and does
not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement,
control or direction of any event (fly-in, seminars, fly
market, etc.) listed. Please send the information to
fAA, Att: Golda Cox, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086. Information should be received four
months prior to the event date.
FEBRUARY 4 - KINGSLAND, TX - EAA
Chapter 889 Spot Landing Contest.
975/388-3397.
FEBRUARY 10,1996- MERRITT ISLAND,
FL - Merritt Island airport. Aviation Day
'96, sponsored by Alpha Eta Rho, Sigma
Alpha chapter, Florida Institute of Tech-
nology. Aircraft rides and tours with
F.I. T. 's NIFA precision flight team, the Fal-
cons, as well as landing and bomb drop
competitions. Ca ll 407/ 242-4949 for
more info.
FEBRUARY 24-25 - RIVERSIDE, CA - EAA
Chapter 7Annual Open House/Fly-In.
Flabob Airport. 25th Anniversary of the
Marquart Charger. 909/686-7378.
FEBRUARY 24-25- MINNEAPOLIS, MN -
Minnesota Sport Aviation Conference and
Flight Expo, Minneapolis Convention
Center, 9 a. m. - 70 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.
- 6 p.m. Sunday. Aviation speakers,
exhibits, workshops. Sponsored by the
Minn. Office of Aeronautics, FAA and
Minnesota pilot groups and associations.
Call 672/296-8202.
FEBRUARY 25 - WARROAD, MN - 18th
Annual Ski-Plane Fly-In/ Breakfast.
27 8/386-7 8 7 8.
MARCH 1-3 - CASA GRANDE, AZ - 38th
Annual Cactus Fly-In, sponsored by the
Arizona Antique Aircraft Association. For
more information ca ll John Engle
602/830-9670 for more information.
MARCH 6-7 - NASHVILLE, TN - Tennessee
Mid-South Aviation Maintenance Semi-
nar. Contact TN Dept. of Trans. , Office of
Aeronautics, P.o. Box 77326, Nashville,
TN 372 77. Call 675/741-3208.
APRIL 14-20 - LAKELAND, FL - 22nd An-
nual Sun ' n Fun EAA Fly-In and Conven-
tion. 813/644-2431.
JUNE 12 - KINGSLAND, TX - EAA Chapter
889 Spot Landing Contest . 915/ 388-
3397.
JUNE 30-JULY 1 - SHERBROOKE, QUE.,
CANADA - 2nd Conseil Regional RAA
Quebec Convention - Grass and Daisy
Roots aviation event.
AUGUST 1-7 - OSHKOSH, WI - 44th
Annual fAA Fly-In and Sport Aviation
Convention. Wittman Regional Airport.
Contact John Burton, fAA, P.O. Box
3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.
414/426-4800.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE29
MEMBERSHIP
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lAC
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Current EAA members may join the EAA
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EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magazine and
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FAX(414)426-4873
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ITSDIVISIONSARENOTTAX
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Something to buy, sell or trade? An inexpensive ad in the Vintage Trader ~ ~ be
just the answer to obtaining that elusive part. .40 per word, $6. 00 mInimum
charge. Send your ad and payment to: Vintage Trader, fAA Aviation Center, P.O.
Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, or fax your ad and your VISA or MasterCard
number to 414/426-4828. Ads must be received by the 20th ofthe month for
insertion in the issue the second month following (e.g., October 20th for the
December issue.)
AIRPLANES
1939 STINSON SR-10 (Reliant) - 10434
TT, 598 SMOH, 265 SPOH, KX 175B
Trans., KI208 OBS, KT-76A Xponder, ELT.
Call John Hopkinson 403/637-2250, FAX
403/637-2153. (3-3)
1943 G-44 WIDGEON - 3000 TT, 200
SFOH, 200 SPOH, Oshkosh "Outstanding
Achievement :" Award winner . John
Hopkinson & Associates Ltd ., 403/ 637-
2250, FAX 403/637-2153. (3-3)
1938 MILES MAGISTER - Fine collection
piece in perfect flying condition. For sale or
trade. Call 5461-445089, FAX 5461-272059
or 54623-44007, or write Mario Cardama,
Alem 202, (5577) Rivadavia, Mza, Argentina.
(1-1)
450 STEARMAN PROJECT - Includes
ribs, wing and center section wood, engine,
flying surfaces, ailerons, etc. Add some
elbow grease and few bucks and you'll be
flying! $24,500.00 or trades considered on
small taildragger, flying or project. Greg
Davis 803/882-5900 days or 803/882-5255
evenings. (1-1)
MISCELLANEOUS
Babbitt Bearing Service - Camshaft re-
gri nding - cam followers reground - piston
ri ngs - piston pins - valves. For shippi ng
inst ructions: 1-800-233-6934. Jack H.
Bunton, Machinist, Vintage Engine Machine
Works, N. 604 Freya, Spokane, WA 99202.
(1/alt)
Flying Field - by James Haynes can be
purchased by mai ling your check to Robins
Nest Company, 21 Sunset Lane, Bushnell ,
IL 61422-9739. Flying FIeld is about the
hi storic Monmouth, Illinoi s airport, "the old-
est continuously operated airport in Illinois."
And, does it ever have good stori es! 250 pp
- 133 photos. $19.00 includes tax, shipping
and handling. An excell ent gi ft anytime of
the year. (1-1)
Pl ans - Ragwi ng Repl icas - Ultralight
legal Pi etenpol , Pitt s, Heath , Church
Midwing. Plans $70. Brochure $3. 312
Gilstrap Drive, Liberty, SC 29657. (9/96)
Ultraflight Magazine - Hear our "FAST
ACTI ON CLASSI FI EDS." Call 1-800-411 -
0042. Buy, sell , trade, kit built , fixed wing,
powered parachutes, rotor, sailplanes,
tri kes, balloons and more. Stories galore!
Sample issue $3.00. Annual subscription
$36.00. INTRODUCTORY OFFER OF ONLY
$24.00. Ultraflight Magazine, 12545 70th
Street, Largo, FL 34643-3025. 813/539-
0814.
SUPER CUB PA-18 FUSELAGES - New
manufacture, STC-PMA-d, 4130 chromoly
tubing throughout, also complete fuselage
repair . ROCKY MOUNTAIN AIRFRAME
INC. (J . Soares, Pres.), 7093 Dry Creek
Road, Belgrade, Montana 59714, 406/388-
6069, FAX 406/ 388-0170. Repair station
No. QK5R148N.
(NEW) This & That About the Ercoupe,
$14.00. Fly-About Adventures & the
Ercoupe,$17.95. Both books, $25.00. Fly-
About , P .O. Box 51144, Denton, Texas
76206. (ufn)
FREE CATALOG - Aviation books and
videos. How to, building and restoration
tips, historic, flying and entertainment titles.
Call for a free catalog. EAA, 1-800-843-
3612.
Curtiss JN4-D Memorabili a - You can
now own memorabilia from the famous
Curtiss "Jenny," as seen on "TREASURES
FROM THE PAST. " We have T-shirts,
post ers, postcards, videos, pins, airmail
cachets, etc. We also have RIC documen-
tati on exclusive to this historic aircraft. Sale
of these items supports operati ng expenses
to keep this "Jenny" flying for the aviation
publ ic. We appreciat e your help. Send
SASE to Virginia Avi ation, P.O. Box 3365,
Warrenton, VA 22186. (ufn)
WANTED
Wanted - A usabl e, serviceabl e, or
rebuil dabl e wooden cent er sect ion for
Fairchild PT 19/23/ 26 Type Aircraft. Chris
Polhemus, 41 2/966-7719. (1-1)
30 JANUARY 1996
"Out of the clear blue of the western sky... "
tio'W availablethrough tAA-thecompletecollectionofJkyKi ng televi.sion dram0.5containedon 16.
t'Wo hourvideoca.s.sette.s. tachco.s.sette contain.sfouruncutepi.sode.s complete'With tiabi.sco.spot.
Action.drama..su.spen.se and high flying thrill.s arepartofeveryJky King adventure.
Jingletapeprice.$24.95(a content.summaryforeachvolumei.s available upon
reque.st). Completecollection(16 tape.s/64epi.sode.s) price.$.355.95-Javeover
.$40.00.Majorcreditcard.s accepted.
What'sAComet
MadeOf?
DoLy-pmER...plus
r genius,perseverence,
dedication,perspiration,
andaloveotclassicaircraft.
GeoffreydeHavilland
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TomWathen's replica
chosePoly-Fiberfor its
Jan 13& 14 Feb 10 & 11 March9 & 10 March23& 24
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CustomerService:
800-362-3490
OtherStuff: 909-684-4280
PostOffice Box 3129
Riverside,California 92519
Formerly Stits Aircraft Coa."t:in.gs
easy applicationandunri-
valedaurability, andPoly-
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thesat infini sh ofthe'30s.
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Customqualityateconomicalprices.
Cushionupholsterysets
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Freecatalogof completeproductline.
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and
stylesofmaterials:$3.00.
INC.
259LowerMorrisvilleRd.,Dept.VA
Fallsington,PA19054 (215)295-4115
VINTAGEAIRPLANE31
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Give AUA a call - it's FREE!
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liability and hull premiums
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