STRAIGHT & LEVEU

Espie"Butch"Joyce
2 AlC NEWS
3 WHATOUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING/
H. C. Frautschy
4 ACLASSICTRIP IN CLASSIC AIRPLANES/
DipDavis
5 NAVIGATINGTHE CLOUDSOVER
SAN DIEGO BAY
MissIdaRoschmann
8 REMEMBERINGTHE BIRDBOY/
BillTruax
11 FROM THE ARCHIVES
12 PLEASANTTO FLY.. .WITHOUTTHE STING!!
WaltKessler
17 1938J-3C/
H. G. Frautschy
21 MYSTERY PLANE
H. G. Frautschy
23 PASS ITTO BUCK
.
E. E."Buck"Hilbert
~ .
~ .....
. .'.':. ': .. ..,',:,::: : ........ ,:.:>":-',i:

27 CALENDAR
29 WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
33 VINTAGE MERCHANDISE
Publisher TOM POBEREZNY
Editor-in-Chie! JACKCOX
Editor HENRYG.FRAUTSCHY
Ma' JagingEditor GOLDA COX
COlllribmingEditor JOHN UNDERWOOD
ComputerGraphicSpecialists BETH BLANCK
OLIVIA L. PHILLIP
PIERRE KOTZE
Photography Staff JIM KOEPNICK
LEEANN ABRAMS
KEN LICHTENBERG
MARK SCHAIBLE
AdvertisinglEditorialAssistant ISABELLEWISKE
SEE PAGE 30FOR FURTHER VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INFORMATION
ST AIGHT& LEVEL
by ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE
PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
April is here, and almosteveryonehasgottenouttheir
dust rags and polishto gettheirbirds up to speedand
readyfortheflyingseason.
Idon'twantto sound like a broken record, butpermit
me to onceagainsay,"Let'sbecareful outthere!"
We need to be verycautiousatall times,butthe during
the flight hours rightaftera long layoff, you shouldtake
extracare. It seemsthattheground is involvedwithabout
95% oftheaccidentreportsI see. You knowtheoldsay-
ing,"Itisn' tthespeedthatkills,butitis thesuddenstopat
the end. " Keepthinkingaboutit- you will live longer.
Therewill beagreatmanyofyou at Sun 'nFun this
year,andso will I. It'sremarkable howthisfly-in has
grownoverthepasttwoanda halfdecadesto becomean
internationallyrecognizedgatheringof aviationindividuals.
It is adirectresultofthededication and greatleadershipof
the managementteam,Officers,Directors,andVolunteers,
pastandpresent, thathavemadethissuccesspossible.
Ihave heardsomepeopletalk aboutthe locationofa
fly-in from time to time. In my humble opinion, thatis of
a lesserconcern,exceptfrom a weatherstandpoint. We
can use ouraircraftto go to almostany localitywithease.
Thinkabout it - who would haveeverthoughtthata
town in mid-eastern Wisconsin would be visited byso
many,justto lookatan airplaneortwo? Congratulations
to the Sun 'nFunEAAFly-Inonyour25th anniversary.
Mayyou continueto besuccessful in theyearsto come!
Hereare someofthe things you can look forward to
duringyourvisitat the 25thSun 'nFunEAA Fly-Inat
Lakeland, FL:
TheSeaplane Splash-InonThursday, notFridayas in
yearspast.
451 Antique, Classicand Contemporaryaircraft
parkedin the VintageAircraftarea lastyear- will
yoursbe oneofthemthisyear?
Checktheforums schedule, too - howaboutHenry
Holden's"TheFabulousFordTrimotor"(Sunday, I
p.m.,Tent8) orRobertCzego's"Bellanca-Champion
Club"Forum (Sundayat 11 a.m., Tent7). There's
plentymoreto takein. Check yourprogramwhenyou
arriveand register.
Besureandvisitwith the folks at the VintageAircraft
Headquarters building, locatedin the northeastcornerof
the Vintage Aircraftarea. Thisbuilding,completewitha
greatfront porch, is hostedbyChapter I oftheVintage
AircraftAssociation. Duringthe balanceofthe yearthis
building is homebaseforthe Chapter. Duringthefly-in
you can relax there, drinksome lemonadeoricedteaand
munch on somepopcorn. It'salsothe placetogoto regis-
teryouraircraft. Thesefolks also area greatsourcefor
information aboutalmostanythingyou need to know
aboutthe fly-in. JustwritingaboutSun 'nFun gets me
moreexcitedaboutgoingto the fly-in fortheweek! Ihope
to seeyou thereas well.
It waswithgreatinterestthatIread this pastmonth' s
articlewritten by Buck. Icanrelate to hisexperiencewith
acomputer,butdon'tcounthimoutbecauseit won'tbea
yearbeforehewill be puttingfloats on his one-eyed box!
Hangin there,Buck.
AfterSun 'n Funalmosteveryonewill beenjoying
quitea few local fly-ins. Someofthetypeclubswill also
be holdingtheirfly-ins at different locations in different
areasofthe U.S. You can checkthe dates for many of
these activities by reviewingthe Calendarsection of
yourVintage Airplane.
Joe Dickey,Vintage AircraftAssociationDirectorand
Type ClubChairmanforyourarea, haswrittento inform
me thathe is steppingdownas aDirectorandalso is giv-
ing up the Chairmanshipofthe TypeClubHeadquarters.
IfJoe was there to helpyou, you'll also recall thathis
wife, Julia, was righttheretoo.Theymakea powerful
team and I neverhad to worryaboutanyprojectthey
agreed to complete! It wouldbecompletedon timeand
witha high quality level. Thetypeclubheadquarters lo-
catedjustto the southofthe VAARedBarnontheEAA
AirVenturegrounds is oneofthemore importantareasof
service to yourmembershipthatweoffer, andtheyhelped
bring it up to the nextlevel ofparticipationandorganiza-
tion. On behalfofthe membership and theOfficers,
Directors,andAdvisorsofthe VAA, I'dlike to say:
"JoeandJulia,thankyouforgivingyourtimeandtalents
to beofserviceto the membership. You have beenagreat
help to mepersonally,andIthankyouforthattimeand
friendship. Bestwishesin yourfuture endeavors!"
Ask yourfriends tojoinup withthe VintageAirplane
Association. Let'sall pull in the samedirectionforthe
goodofaviation. Rememberwe arebettertogether. Join
us andhave itall! .......
I PI F
VAANEWS
compiled by H.G. Frautschy
1999 BIPLANE EXPO
The 1999 Biplane Expo, June
Bartlesville,OKhas announcedthat
BrigadierGeneral Paul W. Tibbets,Jr.,
famed pilot ofthe legendary B-29
EnolaGay has acceptedtheinvitation
oftheNational BiplaneAssociationto
be theirhonoredguest. General Tib-
bets, one thenation'sgreatheroesof
WW-Ilwilljoinaselect list offamous
aviators who havebeenhonoredby the
NBAfor theircontributionsto aviation
andto the USA.
General Tibbetsorganized,com-
mandedandpilotedthemostsignificant
singlemission in the history ofmilitary
aviation.The missionon August6,
1945 to Hiroshima,Japanto dropthe
first atomic bombeffectivelyended
WW-Il,savingan estimatedonemillion
livesofalliedforces who weregearing
up fortheplanned invasionofJapan.
TheBiplaneExpo is the largestgather-
ing ofbiplane in the world, annually
attracting400-500aircraft,ofwhich
130-\50are ofthe classicbiplanecon-
figuration.
Forinformation,calltheBiplane
Expo Information office at 9181
622-8400.
THE COVERS
FRONT COVER .. . Cubin', 1938 style
with John Meyer's 1938 J-3C Cub Sport. It
was restored to the original configuration by
John, Clyde Smith, Jr. , and John's cousin,
Sam Beach. EAA photo by Jim Koepnick,
shot with aCanon Eos1 nequipped with an
80-200mm lens. EAA Cessna 210 photo
plane flown by Bruce Moore.
BACK COVER . .. The only one of it's type
in the United States, Walt Kessler runs up
the Gipsy Major engine on his DeHaviliand
DH.87 Hornet Moth, which was restored by
Ed Clark of California. The Hornet Moth
now resides near Marengo, IL on Walt 's
home strip. The photo was taken by long-
time EAA volunteer Ted Koston, of Ted
Koston Photography in Melrose Park, IL.
2 APRIL 1999
A FEW QUESTIONS . . .
Oureasternsage,BobWhittier,
P.O. BoxT,Duxbury,MA02331
has a few items he'dlike toknow
more about, and I'mcertainthere
areafew ofyouwhocan help.
First, Cananyone accurate ly
explain why the Sti nson 108 se-
ries have verydifferentvertical
tail surfaces?
Wherecanhe find usefulread-
ingonthecharacteristicsofthese
THE GASTRONOMICAL
twodifferentformsoftailsurfaces:
m STORY OF AVIATION
byNicholas Frirsz,EAAChapter 1070
Newsletter"LeatherstockingFlyers"Editor
Thehistoryofaviation is closelytied to
thatofthe pancake breakfast. We are all fa-
miliarwith the events leading up to that
Decemberafternoon when the WrightBroth-
erstook to the airfor the first time. However,
few realizethattheirattemptswere basedon
theirintensedrive to reach thepancakehouse
on theothersideofKill Devil Hills.
So, with maple syrup in hand, young
Orvillebravelysetoutto where no manhad
gonebefore- the first fly-in breakfast!
Why were the magnetos
Newsofthis greatdevelopmentspread fast
mountedonthefrontoftheWright
acrossthe continents. Afew years laterafel-
J-5engine?
lownamed Louis Bleriot, tiredofcrepes
Whatis usuall y done tomake
suzetteandwithalongingto makeanamefor
the uprightmembersofwooden
himselfin theannalsofbreakfastfood,took
ribsfit thesparsproperlyin swept-
to the air, crossed the English Channel in his
backwings?
frail craft ,and in whathas becomea mile-
stone in aviation history, discoveredthe
bottomless cup of coffee.
I '\
In 1927,Lindberghaddedhis nameto the
listofgreats .Histransatlanticcrossingcre-
atedan instantmedia sensationbybecoming
f11[S2111t
themostexpensive breakfasthop in history.
Lindbergh also setupthe threegolden rules
ofthe fly-in breakfast:
I)the bestpancakesare alwaysthe fur-
thestaway;
RYAN DRAGONFLY
2) theywill alwaysbe in
Ourgood friend Dr. Harvey
theshortestfield; and
Paste l, 802 BoltonRd, Vernon
3) theywill alwaysbe
Rockville,CT06066is lookingfor
closingjustasyouarrive.
informationon the RyanYO-51
Thepostwaryears were
Dragonfly. Hehascopiesofthe
kind to general aviation,
April, 1940editionofAviation,
aviation in general and a
andFlyingReview,Feb., 1964,
fewcaptainsandlieutenants
buthas yetto beableto comeup
1111.
withagoodthree-viewdrawingof
'lJ,i
aswell.
Technologyblossomedin
the airplane.We'vecheckedhere
q ~ the 1940s, bringingnames
in theEAAAviation Foundation's
like AuntJemima,Hungry
Library,andwewereunableto
JackandBisquicktothefore-
addto thatinformation, butper-
front ofaviationscience-
haps oneofyou may be ableto ~
THE INSTANTPANCAKE
help.Youcanwriteto Harveyat ~ ~ ~
MIX HAS ARRIVED!
theaboveaddress. ...... ~
~ ~
WHATOURMEMBERSARE RESTORING
by H.G. Frautschy
ALASKANTAYLORCRAFT
Nestledin thetallgrassofan Alaskanwaterway,Robert
E. TaylorofKenai, AKuses his 1946TaylorcraftBC12Dto
visitpristinespots li ke thisall overthe USA's49thstate.
BasedinTexasafterbeingproducedintheAlliance, OHfac-
tory, itlaterwasmoved to theFairbanks,AKarea. Robert
purchasedthe"basketcase"projectin 1987,andspentthe
nexttwoyearsrebuildingitintoaall seasonflyer. It hasa
Lycoming 125 hp 0290DenginewithacustomPiper-like
cowl, newseats,extendedbaggagecompartment,andasky-
light. Ofcourse,shoulderharnesseswere installed,as well as
removable seatflotationcushionsand lowerdoorwindows.
FittedforFederal2000skis,and8.5x6in. tiresandtubes, itis
shown hereonitsEdo 1400floats withdual waterrudders,
splashrailsandcompartmentpumpouts. Anice medium
blueand yellowcolorschemetops offthejob.TheTaylor-
crafthas becomeanoldfriend overthedecadeBobhas
ownedit,andhewelcomesnotesconcerningflying inAlaska
orquestionsabouthis restoration.Youcan reachhimat:
RobertE. Taylor,2745 SetNetCt.,Kenai,AK99611 orrtay-
lor@ptialaska.net
RONPARKER'S
STINSON108
RestoredbyDennisMcCormackofYelm,WA, Ron
Parkeris tickledto ownandfly this 1947Stinson 108-2,
poweredbyaFranklin6A4165. Coveredwith Ceconitein
the mid-1980s, RonbasestheairplaneatHarveyFieldin
Snohomish,WA. He'slookingforward to flying itexten-
sivelythissummer,andspendinga littletimedetailingthe
little itemsthatstillneedto bedone.
THEGOLDEN
BUZZARDS
Basedin OldBridge,NJatthe local airport,
these nine handsomegentsare the"Golden
Buzzards,"whoboughta 1940J-3 Cubto "re-
ally learn how to fly." So farthey'veputover
70hoursontheCub. In front, (L-R)wehave:
DickWebb, LewLevison,JackKurtz and
TonySchiano. In back, (L-R)are:JackMarin,
TomGoeddel, Rich Bielak,MartyMayand
PhilippeMarchal.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
A Classic
Trip in
Classic Airplanes
By W D. "Dip" Davis
Pen and Ink Artwork by Jim Newman
October, 1998
This story probably should begin with
the International Cessna 1201140 Associa-
tion convention of 1996 in Faribault,
Minnesota. Larry, Marc and I had planned
to fly our respective little Cessnas to the
event. Marc had recently completed the re-
pairs and restoration on his 140 and it was
in pristine condition to compete for best
original 140. Larry had acquired what
may be the lowest time 140 in existence
with less than 500 logged hours, and had
polished it carefully to the point that my
slightly ratty 120 would have to trail a
ways behind so as not to be associated
with them.
The night before we had planned to de-
part, Larry phoned with the news that the
weather prognostication was not conducive
to a VFR round - trip so he proposed that
we all pile in his Suburban and drive up.
As is so often the case, the weatherman
was overly pessimistic and we could have
flown without much strain. However, we
had a nice trip and, of course, a great time
at the convention.
The 1997 convention in Ona, West Vir-
ginia was our next target. This time Larry
had unbreakable commitments and Marc
had just sold rus shlny little 140 to liberate
funds for the completion of his even more
comprehensive rebuilding project, a 120.
My 120 was airworthy, although stHI laok-
ing an interior, so Marc condescended to
ride with me. His GPS navigation kept me
from deviating more than a few feet off of
a straight line all the way and we again en-
joyed the marvelous hospitality that this
.4 APRil 1999
group always affords.
All of which brings us to plans for the
1998 convention to be held in Chino, Cali-
fornia. California is a considemble distance
in a little 100 mph airplane and a great deal
of planning took place among the diehard
Midwesterners who gave thought to mak-
ing the trip. I was pleased to see the turnout
at a July session held at Cottonwood Air-
port in Rockford. Several of the members
had made the trip (in larger, faster air-
craft) and had interesting observations as
to routes and favorite stopovers. Marc
had done such a great job on the 120 that
someone came along before he was quite
done and made him an offer he couldn't
refuse. Larry convinced him that it was
too lake to back out of the journey though,
so Marc made tentative plans to borrow
another 140.
Exactly three weeks before our planned
departure, Larry taxied out of his hangar at
Campbell Airport in Grayslake to attend
another planning session at Poplar Grove.
As he descended the winding strip down to
the runway, the airplane slowly diverted
toward the gas pit and lightly struck a
pole. People in the operations office ran
out to see what the problem was and
found Larry unconscious at the controls.
They summoned an ambulance but he
died of a massive coronary before reach-
ing the hospital.
Two or three days after the funeral,
Marc and I received a conference call at
our homes from Larry's partner who in-
formed us that Larry's family would like us
to take rus airplane to the convention any-
how, since that had been such a fond dream.
They also asked if we would be willing to
take Larry's ashes with us and scatter them
over the Pacific Ocean.
What can you say?
Saturday, September 19 - Marc had
made the arrangements with his Dad to at-
tend a concert in Peoria, so he flew Larry's
140 loaded with enough gear to last a cou-
ple of weeks down there, and I met him at
Mt. Hawley on Sunday morning. I visited
with his parents for a few minutes and we
departed for Pittsfield, Illinois sometime
before noon. Pittsfield has a new, high
tech, credit card operated self fueling sys-
tem with reasonable prices. Good thing,
too, as the field was otherwise unattended
on a Sunday. We checked weather on the
phone and found that we must hustle a little
to beat a rapidly approaching front. It
looked kind of dark for just a short while
but got better as we motored southwest.
Two and half hours later we landed at Pt.
Lookout, near Branson, Missouri, a brand
new facility with an imposing terminal
building where we gassed up and gmbbed a
quick snack before we headed out for
McAlister, Oklahoma where we arrived
about 6:00 p.m .. Seven and half hours in
the air was plenty for one day for these old
bones, even though I was able to stick my
feet over onto the right rudder pedals for
half the trip. I was really glad I didn't have
a passenger. We had kept up a running
conversation on 123.4 mhz the entire time,
so it never seemed lonel y. The folks at
McAlister provided a courtesy car to a
nearby motel where we got a decent meal
and a good nights rest.
We decided we were on vacation so we
didn't set an alann clock any morning. We
left there about nine a.m., headed for Olny,
Texas where we arrived at noon. Olny is
the home of Leland Snow' s Air Tractor
and turbine powered Ag machines in vari-
ous stages of completion were all over the
field. We were also treated to a guided tour
of the CarterCopter by Carter's extremely
enthusiastic PR man, Rod Anderson. If this
machine should happen to fulfill its hype,
it will revolutionize aviation.
The Olny airport is considerable dis-
tance from town and there were no vending
machines for other than soft drinks, so
MaFc dug -down in his b ~ g of tricks and
produced a loaf of bread', a jar of peanut
butter and a jar of jelly. It made a surpris-
ingly satisfying lunch and we were able to
depart within a reasonable time frame. We
plugged along for another 2.8 hours to
Midland, Texas, across a not very exciting
landscape but without too much of a head-
wind for that part of the world.
Larry' s original, carefully planned itin-
erary, called for El Paso as the next stop,
but weariness and no great urgency to go
further dictated an overnight stop at Pecos
where we arrived about 6:30. Dennis Blan-
chard, the FBO at Pecos, made us glad we
had elected to do so. He treated us to a cold
drink and pointed us to his courtesy car
without being asked. A decent motel was
just a few blocks away, served an enjoy-
able dinner and gave us coupons for a
complimentary full breakfast.
The weather west looked just a trifle
iffy as we got ready to leave in the morn-
ing. We elected to have a look and headed
between two thunderstonns on either side
of the pass. It was raining a little in the pass
but we could see the hills on the other side
and made it through with only light turbu-
lence in just a few minutes. We called back
~
- - ~ -
< ~ .
to Dennis on the Unicorn to infonn him of
our progress and he expressed his thanks
for our doing so.
GPS groundspeed numbers in the low
80s were about the best we saw as we
slowly climbed towards Deming, New
Mexico. Got there shortly after noon (Cen-
tral time - we had crossed the first time
zone at the state line). Deming is an old
military field with long runways but a new,
modern terminal with a sharp FBO and
friendly folks. There were no food dis-
pensers but the line crew called the Grand
Hotel in town and they sent a van to pick us
up within minutes. We had a delightful
lunch and again a van ride back to the air-
port with a big smile and no charge.
On departure from Deming we discov-
ered why the runways were so long! Hot
day, high density altitude and 85 little
horses under the cowl. We circled the air-
~ .
~
port once before heading towards Tucson.
Tucson lies between two mountains, Inter-
state 10 runs right through the middle of
the city, and a major airport lies on either
side. Busy Davis-Monthan AFB on the
north and busier Tucson International on
the south.
Marc had found that his altitude encoder
didn ' t jibe with his altimeter, so he had
turned off his transponder while I left mine
on. He was in contact with ATC, calling us
a flight of two 140s as I kept my big mouth
shut. I mi sinterpreted one transmission
which had implied "hold short. " Marc
made a circling turn just as I put my head
down to check a frequency. When I looked
up, Marc was gone!
I didn't feel that I should wander around
that sky looking for a little airplane, espe-
cially when I heard center talking to two
F-16s coming out of Davis Monthan. I con-
tinued through the hornet's nest, saw the
fighters cross well in front of me just a little
lower and finally drew a breath when I got
through the pass at the west end ofthe city.
Our planned stop was at the Avra Valley
airport a few miles northwest of Tucson
and when I switched to the Unicorn fre-
quency Marc was called in for traffic
advisories. He had swung south of the
mountain and received a chewing out from
Center for the transgression. Being the
friend he is, he forgave my stupidity.
Avra Valley is another neat airport. Lots
of aerobatic activity and unusual airplanes
with several open sided plane ports as well
as lots of new looking tee hangars. We fu-
eled up and once more conned the operators
into the use of a courtesy car for the night.
It was a considerable distance to motel
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
now, all the way back to the edge of the
city. We got a comfortable room and ade-
quate dinner. Really dawdled in the
morning and got back in the air at 10:30 our
time. We pretty much followed Interstate
10 up towards Phoenix, cutting corners in
places where the mountains didn't look too
formidable, but stayed south of the control
zone til we were well west of it. Next stop,
across the Colorado River to Blythe, Cali-
fornia, an airport I was quite familiar with
though it had been several years.
We caught up with another 140 there,
Ken Liggett from Colorado, with whom we
had a nice visit while the only unpleasant
line person we encountered on the whole
trip fueled our airplanes. We ate machine
dispensed sandwiches (not bad!) in the air-
conditioned flight office before departing
on our last leg of the outbound trip.
Banning pass was as its usual sootiness,
though VFR. Marc contacted Palm Springs
approach and they were very helpful in get-
ting us pointed in the right direction,
picking up SoCal approach just beyond
Banning and they vectored us towards
Chino. We got a landing clearance as a
flight of two and as we got within a half
mile, the tower apologized for leaving us at
3,000 feet so close to the field and asked if
we needed to circle once. Marc informed
them that we were 140s and "could come
down like sewer lids" if required. Landing
in tandem, we were cheerfully welcomed to
Chino by ground control and directed to the
growing flight line at the base of the tower.
The excessive oil consumption I had en-
countered at the start of the trip seemed to
have been alleviated somewhat by a steady
diet of 100 LL with TCP added each time
and perhaps by a small amount of Marvel
Mystery Oil that Marc had loaned me. My
recording tach showed 24.9 hours for the
westbound portion of our journey.
After registering and being welcomed
6 APRIL 1999
by all our old and new
friends, we were shut-
tled off to the Ontario
Hilton, headquarters
for the convention.
The two hour time lag
was most welcome in
the morning!
Convention activi-
ties officially started
Thursday morning and
after a somewhat
pricey breakfast we
hopped a shuttle van
back to the airport
where we were
briefed for the fly-out
to Gillespie Field in San Diego. 1 climbed
in 95V with Marc since he had been able
to unload all the baggage, and we joined a
five aircraft formation - to use the term
very loosely.
The flight leader, Lloyd Sorensen, was
familiar with the area and did a good job of
threading through the hills, but the follow-
ing gaggle spread out so far that ATC called
with a warning that one of the group was
about to encroach on Miramar's Class B
airspace "and that would not be a good
thing!" That 140 got so far afield that the
pilot lost contact with the rest of us and ob-
tained an individual clearance into
Gillespie. The rest of us were cleared en
masse and landed without incident after a
really strange approach around the hills.
We were greeted cordially by the ground
controller and directed to the museum
hangar which houses the overflow from the
downtown S.D. Aerospace collection. John
Klien, a museum volunteer and aviation en-
thusiast from way back, gave us a very
entertaining lowdown on all the aircraft on
display. We then walked a few rows down
to the Confederate Air Force hangar where
those friendly folks prepared a barbecue
lunch for us, including all the trimmings.
They also had an interesting display of
airplanes and memorabilia which we had
adequate time to enjoy. I failed to mention
that there had been three or four other gag-
gles of 140s besides ours, so that the ramp
was filed with the little beauties. The return
trip broke down to smaller groups so that
we left as only a flight of three and the re-
sult was much less traumatic. We landed
tandem at Chino and headed back to the ho-
tel and an excellent dinner at Tony Roma's
Rib Joint just a block away.
Friday morning started off as nicely as
the previous day. Our convention host,
John Westra, had arranged with a Ford
dealer friend for the loan of two large ca-
pacity vans and we never had to wait more
than a few minutes for a ride back and forth
the entire time. Breakfast was scheduled for
Flo's Airport Cafe, a local institution, great
fun and good food at reasonable prices -
the adjoining pilot's supply shop is labeled
"Over Flo's." We then shuttled our full bel-
lies to the tower area where we were briefed
on today's fly-out to Catalina Island and is-
sued life vests, being assured that the US
Coast Guard was alerted and that we would
be in the water for only a few minutes in
case of a ditching. Again I accompanied
Marc in 95V - no sense getting both air-
planes wet, and, besides, he would need a
little assistance with the task before us.
We embarked as a formation of six, Ken
Morris and Don Alisi in Don's 120 in the
lead. Again the formation deteriorated into
a gaggle and one member turned back in
horror. He showed up at the island later, ei-
ther alone or with a following group. The
trip was a delight, smooth air and somehow
less daunting than a flight across Lake
Michigan. The approach to the "Airport in
the sky" as it is billed, is a little hairy at first
glance. The runway was scraped off the top
of a mountain and looks like a carrier deck.
It's also quite wide which gives the illusion
of being shorter than it really is. The land-
ing was anti-climatic.
We explored the terminal area, which
has a restaurant and gift shop and gardens
with nicely done local history displays. An
hourly bus down to the town of Avalon is
available and most of us elected to do the
tourist routine. The road to Avalon is just
ten miles but requires nearly 30 minutes to
cover. It's a rough, narrow winding road
with a number of switch-backs so tight that
mirrors have been installed to view any on-
coming traffic - there is not room for two
vehicles to pass in the turns. I sat near the
back of the bus and the rocking motion plus
gnawing acrophobia from the view to the
side had my stomach in no mood for lunch
when we got to our destination.
I walked around for 45 minutes or so,
enjoying the holiday atmosphere of a some-
what typical tourist trap. It reminded me a
little of Mackinac Island. The bus tickets
are sold on a scheduled basis and Marc had
arranged for an earlier departure than I, so,
my queasiness gone, I was able to enjoy a
snack on the pier while being amused at the
antics of a couple of seals and flocks of
gulls conning diners into tossing them
scraps. The Avalon harbor is loaded with
lovely little sailboats and you could spend
all day without being bored.
I got a seat farther forward on the bus
for the ride back and it was much less un-
settling. Marc had had an hour to prepare
for the return flight and was all ready
when I got back to the airport. We left by
ourselves and swung around the cliffs to
get a view of Avalon from the air, then
headed back over the channel where I
held the airplane steady in slow flight
while Marc neatly spread Larry's ashes
over the blue Pacific.
We headed back to Chino with guidance
from SoCal approach and fell in behind
Jack Hooker in his 120 for the landing. Our
hosts had arranged an elaborate cookout at
one of the hangars and the annual business
meeting was conducted with the enticing
smell of beef roasting over hot coals assail-
ing our noses. New officers duly elected,
we settled down to the really serious busi-
ness of eating. A champagne cork shooting
contest was also in order with two winners
managing to hit the hangar wall 110 feet
across the ramp.
A full size bus got us back to the hotel
without delay and festivities continued at
the hospitality room a lot longer than I was
inclined to be up.
Saturday morning. The shuttle van ser-
vice, which was beginning to spoil us, ran
us back to the Chino airport where we had
planned again to breakfast at Flo's. We in-
advertently (honest!) walked into the
hangar where the club officers and new
members were having a breakfast buffet.
The bacon smelled so good I couldn't get
past it so we sat and ate with the newcom-
ers just as though we had been invited. A
short walk down the ramp brought us to the
Planes of Fame museum complex where
our convention member status earned us a
discounted admission price.
They have an impressive collection of
warbirds, including the only flyable origi-
nal engine powered Japanese Zero in the
world. We got to see it fly, along with an
early model P-40 and several more mun-
dane WW II era aircraft. Since I had been
up close and personal with the warbirds, the
earlier and scarcer airplanes of my youth
were of even greater interest.
The restoration of the Northrop N9M
flying wing was really impressive. Those
dedicated volunteers had converted a pile
of moldy sticks into a flying aircraft that
looks as though it had been carved from a
solid block of bright yellow plastic.
An area devoted to racing also turned
me on. There stood a Supermarine
Schnieder Cup racer which held the ab-
solute speed record for many years, a Curtis
R-I racer on floats from the same contests.
(Remember the picture of a young Jimmy
Doolittle in helmet and goggles, standing
on one of those floats?) Also in the same
collection is Benny Howard's DGA-5,
"Ike," and a long nosed Rider Special with
Tony LeVier's name on it that I remember
best as the Schoenfeldt Firecracker. There
were three or four others who are almost as
historic, but we didn't have all day. Out-
side, I was surprised to see, with wings
removed, the B-50 which was the first air-
craft to fly around the world nonstop. I
had all but forgotten the excitement of
that time.
We flagged down Carlos, the cheerful
line attendant who had kept our tanks
topped off each day (100 LL at 1.45 per
gallon!) and he ran us the considerable dis-
tance back to the tower area where we
sucked up some lemonade and allowed our
feet to cool. We had intended to ride the
shuttle van back to Ontario for the final
night's banquet but were surprised by the
appearance of a friend of a mutual friend
from home. Our buddy Greg had phoned
his buddy Sam and told him to look us up.
He drove his big Lincoln right out to the
tiedowns and introduced himself. After ad-
miring our airplanes and swapping a few
stories, he took us back to Ontario in high
style and made arrangements to take us to
breakfast Sunday morning.
The banquet was presented in a huge
dining room at the Hilton, decorated with
balloons and flowers. I felt slightly under-
dressed for the affair but this was Southern
California and everyone was casual, with
maybe a dozen neckties in evidence in the
whole place. After the umpteen course
meal and a few brief speeches, the awards
were presented. Marc was called up to ac-
cept the plaque for the "Best Original 140"
for 1695V. As he told Larry's story I noted
several people having a little trouble with
their eyeglasses. There were so many do-
nated door prizes to be awarded that folks
began to get a little restless and when the
festivities finally adjourned there was a
rush to the hospitality suite to imbibe a bit
more and swap even more lies.
Sunday morning and a painless check-
out from the hotel (the pain doesn't start 'til
the credit card bill arrives). Sam was at the
door five minutes early and took us to a de-
lightful home style restaurant where it
appeared half of the people in Southern
California liked to have Sunday breakfast.
He then delivered us right to our airplanes
where we said out good-byes and loaded
our bags for the return trip. Don and Mau-
reen Alisi had asked to accompany us on
the way home so we cleared out of Chino
as a flight of three.
Several of our friends had lauded the
beauties of central and northern Arizona
over the flat desert that we had crossed on
the way out, and said we shouldn't miss
seeing Sedona. We all agreed on that route
and after clearing Banning pass we angled
northeastward to Parker Dam and the air-
port on the Arizona side of the Colorado
River. There was a strip mall within easy
walking distance of the runway which
housed not only a McDonalds and Taco
Bell, but a gambling casino. We resisted
the slot machines in favor of tacos and
burritos. It was quite comfortable when
walking in the shade of the mall's over-
hanging canopy, but when you stepped
out into the direct sun you immediately
knew the temperature was crowding the
century mark.
The airport is less than 1,000 feet ASL
and the runway is plenty long so we had no
trouble getting back into the air after refuel-
ing. Next stop - Sedona and its renowned
red rocks. The scenery is, indeed, spectacu-
lar and I silently thanked our friends for
convincing us to come this way. The run-
way has been scraped off the top ofa mesa,
similar to that on Catalina, but even longer.
Of course the wind seldom blows in the di-
rection the runway is aimed and we had to
demonstrate our proficiency somewhat.
We had the airplanes serviced and tied
down, then walked to the Sky Ranch Lodge
at the edge of the airport. After checking in,
Marc grabbed his camera and departed for
scenic photo ops. I adjourned to the patio
with a libation, put my feet up and watched
the sun go down. After an appropriate ad-
justment time, I walked the couple of blocks
back to the airport cafe which is good
enough to draw even a non-flying crowd
from town and had dinner with Don and
Maureen, Carol and Mat Rybarczyk and
Doug Corrigan. The latter group had landed
at Flagstaff and brought a rental car to Se-
dona rather than miss the sights.
Marc had encountered some interesting
tourists and was having dinner with them. I
left the key under the doormat and Marc
showed up before I dozed off. In the morn-
ing I scarcely had one eye open when the
phone rang. The Alisis' wanted to know if
we were about ready to go! When Marc in-
formed them that he had promised a couple
of young ladies airplane rides at nine o'-
clock, they decided to depart by themselves
as they were more anxious to get home that
we were. Something about having to report
for work...
We had a leisurely breakfast at the air-
port cafe and got to the ramp at the same
- Continued on page 28-
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
T
he month is August, the year
1911 . A train has pulled into the
Soo depot in Minot, North Dakota
where it has discharged passen-
gers and goods of all sorts. The depot
itself, a two-story clapboard building with
four windows on its northwest fayade, is to
the right of the great locomotive and its
cars, the engine spewing steam which
lends a slightly surreal quality to the scene.
In an upper window of the depot can be
seen small children looking out over an as-
semblage which, while it may appear
B APRIL 1999
unremarkable, presages an event in avia-
tion history which has gone unremarked in
many quarters for nearly 90 years.
There is a horse-drawn ambulance
parked at the platform, its driver sitting on
his seat making some adjustments. Its
back doors are open, whether waiting to
receive or to discharge is unknown. On
the left-hand side of the ambulance is
parked a black hearse. It, too, has open
doors around which are standing several
men in hats, all looking in the same direc-
tion. Next to the ambulance is parked a
horse-drawn dray-wagon belonging to J.
B. Reed Storage, a family known to my
family in Minot long ago. The horse pa-
tiently stands waiting, perhaps for more
cartage to be loaded, or possibly to unload
the same box seen on the wagon.
On the platform there is an odd-shaped
crate mounted on a wheeled conveyance.
Having six sides and maybe ten to twelve
feet in length, the box seems to be an ob-
By Bill Truax
jectofcuriosity to some small boys
nearby,oneofwhomholdsthewagon's
tongueand looksdirectlyintothecamera
which is capturingthiseventandwhichI
surmisehasbeenplacedatopafreightcar
onthe siding.
Mostly it is men whoaregatheredon
the dockofthe depot. An occasional
womancan be seen,but it appearsthatit
is men'sworkwhich is beingdone on
this day.
Slightlyto the leftand severalfeet
from theodd-shapedcrateayoungman
stands,his whiteshirtfront standing
outfrom thedark-suitedmen,asoft
caponhis head, unlikethefairlyfor-
mal headwearofmostofthemenon
theplatformwithhim.
Onthecratearestenciledwords.
"CurtissAeroplane,"the word 'Cur-
tiss' spelledoutin the recognizable
logo scriptoftheday. Belowthatare
thewords,"Dixon'sHummingBird"
and"world'syoungestaviator."
Thefirsttime rsawthisphoto-
graphwasalmost20 yearsagowhere
it hung in the lawofficesofEllaVan-
Berkomin myhometownofMinot,
North Dakota. FortwoyearsIfound
myselfreturningtothe scenein my
mind, and I decided to explore a
meanstoacquirethe photograph. Af-
terhavingdoneso, Isubmitteditto
theeditorofmy local MontanaAn- Theyoung,dapperCromwellDixon, inapor-
tiqueAircraftAssociationnewsletter traittakenIn 1911 by "Pach, NewYork, NY"
for publicationin mymysteryplane
column. Tworepliescamebackiden-
trainingfrom theCurtissschool, and ob-
tifyingtheyoungman inthe whiteshirt
tained the FederationAeronautique
andsoftcheckeredcapas Cromwell
Internationalesporting licensenumber
Dixon,a 19-year-oldyouth from the
43 which was issuedtohim August31,
Midwestwhowastheflrstpersonto fly
1911,justa monthbefore his record-set-
acrosstheContinentalDivide.
tingflight from Helena,Montana.
I'veneverbeencertainwhythepho-
Thephotographwhich has so piqued
tographofCromwellDixon'spassage
mycuriosityovertheseyearswasun-
throughMinothas meantsomuchto
doubtedlymadeonDixon'strekfrom the
me. Ouraviationcareerswerecertainly
Midwestto Williston,NorthDakota,
vastlydifferent,butsomethingaboutthe
wherehemadenineflightsattheWilliams
youngman'sexperiencehasspokento
County fair. From Williston, Dixon
meoverthe years. WhereCromwell
shippedhisairplanebyrail to Helena,
Dixon'saviationcareerbeganinColum-
Montanawherehe setoutto crossthe
bus, Ohio in 1906with hisconstruction
ContinentalDivide,afeat whichwasre-
ofa flying bicycle, mine began in
markable, notonlyforhisyouth,butfor
Minot,NorthDakotawhenI was 17
the factthatso manyhad tried andso
flyingaJ-3 Cub. AndwhereCromwell
manyhadfailed.
Dixonmade the first flight across the
Asa pilotfor FrontierAirlinesand
Continental Divideatthe age of19, r
laterfor Continental,Ispentmanyyears
continueto fly overthe Divideas are-
flying the"highline,"aseriesofcities
tired captainwhonowpursuesthejoys
onthegreatnorthernplainswhich in-
and frustrations ofbuildingand flying
cluded manyofthose Dixoncameto
myownairplanes.
Montana Historical Society
Cromwell's
mother and sister
helpedhimto builda
flying bicyclewhich
he flewattheColum-
bus,Ohiofairand later
in 1907attheSt. Louis
Exhibition. Itwould
bejustfive yearsuntil
hishistoricflightover
theDivide,andduring
the interveningyears,
Dixon mademanyex-
hibitionflights,balloon
flights, received flight
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
Cromwell Dixon, aviator, at the Montana
State Fair, September 30, 1911 .
know. I've wondered if, like me,
Cromwell Dixon came to appreciate the
rugged, often unforgiving beauties of the
Dakotas and Montana, where he made
his historic flight. It is hard to imagine
on an early morning still air arrival from
the west crossing Mullan Pass with a
737, flaps 30 and the gear down and on
bug speed, that we were three minutes
from the end of the runway at Helena,
and Dixon's trip took 40 more minutes.
Coming only eight years after the
Wright brothers' feat, Dixon's achieve-
ment was as great in its way as was theirs.
Dixon flew his bamboo and fabric Curtiss
D-III biplane to an altitude of7,000 feet,
higher than man had flown previously.
Dixon's airplane appears to be a D-III ver-
sion of the Curtiss D model, the primary
difference being that the ailerons pivoted
from the rear interplane strut. The other
significant difference was the fabric cover-
ing on both top and bottom surfaces of the
wing. The engine on the D-III was a V-8
of 60 to 70 horsepower, and the wingspan
was 26 feet 3 inches. Taking off from He-
lena's fairgrounds on September 30, 1911
in the early afternoon, Dixon headed for
Blossberg, Montana, a 17 mile flight
through Mullan Pass where at 5,092 feet
above sea level, headwinds and turbulence
were the order of the day. Kind folks in
Blossberg set a large bonfire ablaze to sig-
nal to Dixon his point of arrival which he
reached at 2:34 p.m. He left the deep val-
ley location of Blossberg at 3: 16 p.m. and
after struggling for altitude, reached 7,000
feet and landed at Helena at 3:59 p.m.,
claiming the $10,000 prize offered for the
first successful flight across the Continen-
tal Divide. Cromwell had hoped that this
money would help him to support his
mother and sister who had given him so
much moral support in his search for avia-
tion fame. An account of Dixon's feat was
recorded in the Montana Daily Record. "It
was one of the most dangerous feats ever
attempted by man . Death was pitted
against daring and daring won. Treacher-
ous winds above, jagged peaks and
declivitous slopes below. It was a gamble.
Had for one instant fear crept into the heart
of the bird-boy- -the wind and rocks
would have claimed another victim."
It was not to be so. Two days later,
Cromwell Dixon's life came to an end as
his airplane crashed in Spokane during an
exhibition flight. He was just 19 years old
and lived scarcely long enough to enjoy
the fame and fortune he so richly deserved
for his achievements.
The State of Montana has chosen to
honor Cromwell Dixon through granite
memorials and murals at the Helena air-
port terminal, plus a historic marker high
above MacDonald Pass where highway 12
crosses the Divide near Blossberg. One
day, several years ago, I drove to Helena
from my home in Big Fork to attend a din-
ner meeting of the Cromwell Dixon
Society, a group founded here in
Montana whose members gather
each September 30 to commemo-
rate Cromwell Dixon's deeds and
keep alive the memory of the young
many who billed himself as the
"world's youngest aviator." I was
early and decided to try to find the
area where Dixon might have landed
on his historic flight. Blossberg as a
town no longer exists, and the rail-
road which Dixon landed near has
been relocated to accommodate to-
day's powerful locomotives. As I
looked at the scene, three small air-
craft flew over, Society members
paying homage to the young bird-
boy we were joining together to
celebrate that evening. ......
10 APRIL 1999
FROMTHEARCHIVES
by H.G. Frautschy
The next few editions of"From the Archives" will focus on the Flaglor collection, a donation of
negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville, WI.
The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe
fastest transports in existence when it was
constructed, and many feeder airlines used
it to haul passengers and mail. In produc-
tion from 1934 until 1941, its launch cus-
tomer was Northwest, who flew their fast
Lockheeds allover the Midwest.
Popular with Pan American Airlines, a
number of Central American operators
who were Pan Am affiliates also bought
Electras. This Mexican registered example
was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA.
SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C, it was delivered on
November 30, 1934. It crashed 30 miles
southeast of Playa Vicente, Veracruz,
Mexico on November 1, 1937.
Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E, a favorite of many a
boy in the 1930s. Here's another longtime favorite, based at the
same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit
Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit, MI. This is the Boeing P-
26C, built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March
of 1936. Flaps were lat er added to all the P-26 models in service.
Powered by a Pratt & Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33, it could reach a
maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28,000 ft .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE, or should I say ZS-
AOA, she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in
close to her bright blue fuselage. Yes, her wings do fold neatly back. She was in
the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California.
As a Tiger Moth owner of many years, I was visiting my friend, Ed Clark,
owner of the Moth Works, located a few blocks from the airport. Several
times over the past years, Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his
Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum. Ed displayed his
Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and
Hawthorne's one paved runway.
Although in a museum, he flew his Hornet Moth regularly ... one trip as far
away as Seattle, Washington. He and his wife, Connie, loved the Hornet.
Connie, as a matter of fact, picked out the colors when they restored it. By the
way, 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for
Ed and Connie.
Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for
over thirty years. For many years, he has been building five Gipsy Moths, the
predecessor of the Tiger Moth, and two have since been sold. Like many vin-
tage aircraft restorers, Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided
to sell his Hornet Moth.
Pleasant to Fly . . .
Without the Sting!
America sOnly Flying Hornet Moth
The upper landing gear fairings
By Walt Kessler
also serve as air brakes, giving
the D.H.87's pilot enhanced
speed and decent control.
Ted Koston Photography
12 APRIL 1999
74 EchoCharliewasbuilt
inHatfield,England, in 1938
andfirstflew onJuly9ofthat
year. Itwas thethirdtothe
lastonebuiltbythe deHavil-
landAircraftCompany. That
samemonth, itwas cratedand
packedforexportto South
Africa. ArrivinginAugust, it
wasreassembledandflown
onAugust23 atJohannes-
burg. It was registered as
ZS-AOAtoJohnR. Paget.
Several years later, in
1940, it wasimpressedinto
the SAAF(SouthAfricanAir
Force)as #1584. Itwasused
forcommunicationsworkand
duringits five yearsin the
SAAF service, clockingabout
600hours.
InApril 1959,shewasreg-
Roland SchableofJanesville,WI fliesWaltKessler'sDH.87 HornetMothovertheshoreofLakeGeneva, WI
isteredwithC. F. Streckerat
duringagloriousWisconsinfallseason. ThisshotbyTed KostonwastakenfromaStearmanflownbyTom
Rand. Then itwassoldto
Foreys ofWoodale, IL.
severalotherowners(here it
getsa littlesketchy) :a Mr.
Malherbe, thenJ. D. HauptandW. C.
WhitfieldatBenoniin 1968.
TheoriginalGipsyMajor 130hpen-
ginewasreplacedwithaGipsyMajorIC
engineratedat 145 hp. The newerengine
hadbeeninstorageforsometimeandthen
installedin theHornetin Aprilof1968.
DuringApril of1973,theenginehad312
hours sinceamajoroverhaul. OnOctober
5, 1978,theregistrationwascanceledas
ZS-AOAandtheHornetMothwasex-
portedto theUnitedStates. Shespent
considerabletimein storage in California
afterpurchasebyhernewowner. Robert
McJohnston,whosubsequentlysoldherto
Ed ClarkofHawthorne,California,inAu-
gustof1985. Clarkcompletelyover-
hauledtheenginein Septemberof1986.
Newguides,sodiumfilledvalves,cylin-
ders, rods,pistonsandringswereinstalled,
plusaccessoriesandmanyotherparts.
Sixtyweight,straightmineraloil is
used in theGipsyengineduringthe sum-
mermonths. Theairframehas 1,600hours
andis coveredwithlinen. Paintis Delstar
blueacrylicenameland Fleetwhitewith
Midnightblueforthestriping. The linen
wasputonabout12 yearsagoandthefab-
ric stillpassesthepunchtest. Although
I'vehad lotsofexperiencein taildragger
aircraft, including 17 yearsin theTiger
Moth,flyingtheHornetMothprovedto be
areal challengeforme. WhenIfirstgotin
theleftseat,taxiingprovedto beachore.
Iwasnotfamiliarwiththefull castering
tailwheelortheBendixmechanicalbrakes
andtheiridiosyncrasies.
Needlessto say,myfirstfewtakeoffs
and landingsonHawthorne'shardsurface
runwayremindedme ofsomeofmyfirst
flight lessonsyearsago. Theyweren'tthat
great! Ialsoheardall thesewildstories
abouttheHornetbeingtail heavy,which
sheisn't,andhowbadshe is in across-
wind,whichshe is. SeveralyearsbeforeI
boughttheaeroplane, Edhadwipedthe
rightgearoutatMojaveAirportinastrong
crosswindthatcaughthimoffguard. I
waspreparedfortheworst.
Afterall, this wasa56-year-oldbeau-
tiful antique airplane. To make
mattersworse- andto my knowl-
edge- it is the onlyHornetMoth
flying in North America, so it is avery
rare airplane, indeed,and Ididn'twant
to bend it. Plus, I wasto fly it back
from CaliforniatoIllinois.
Inadditiontothenormalpre-flight
andwalkaround,thereis oneveryim-
portantcheckwemake. Thewingson
theHornetMothfold backforstorage.
Bothsetsofwingsare hingedtothe
fuselage. Thehingesarelocatedthree-
Withitsleftwingfoldedforstorage,ZS-
ADA restsontheairportatLakeGeneva,
WI.That'snotanextrapairofwings
behindtheHornetMoth- Waltenjoys
Britishaircraft, and hisTigerMothsits
awaitingaflight.
14 APRIL 1999
Ted Koston Photography
Capetown, South Africa, Youngs Field Aerodrome, November 1966. Frank Wilson, who
took the photo, met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet
Moth, when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie
The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual
grip stick, and a pair of large toggle switches for
the magnetos mounted near the center of the
instrument panel. The horizontal trim across the
middle separates two panels. The instrument
board can fold down for easy maintenance, and
the lower board folds up for access to a small
storage area. The sliding panel on the left,
when opened, reveals a transponder and other
modern electronics.
quarters of the way back from the wing
leading edge. When the wings are in fly-
ing position, we make sure that four
spring-loaded pins, located at each lead-
ing edge, are securely locked into the
fuselage. After the pins are inserted,
leather straps extend over the pins and
snap ftrmly into place.
A jury strut is hinged to each top wing
spar near both sides ofthe fuselage. When
flying, both jury struts are held in place by
a metal bracket beneath each top wing.
Before the wings are folded back, the
jury struts are swung down and the lower
ends are positioned and attached to the
lower wing spar. They are locked in place
by turning them with your hand . This
gives added support to the wings before
folding them back.
At the top wing trailing edge, located at
both wing roots, a 32" by 18" section of the
trailing edge is hinged to the wing. This
section will fold up and forward to lie flat
on the upper surface of the wing. This
must be done before the wings can be
folded back. With the 32" section of the
trailing edge folded forward, the void cre-
ated allows the upper wings to fold back
partially over the top of the fuselage.
The lower wings, when folded back,
released around the same time.
are designed to allow the trailing edge to
slide beneath the fuselage. In the flying
mode, we make sure that both hinged
sections of the trailing edges of the up-
per wings are down in their normal
position and locked in place.
It is fairly easy to get in or out of the
Hornet. Once up on the left wing walk,
while crouching between the wings, you
swing your right leg in over the seat, then
you pull yourself across, putting all your
weight on your right leg. It helps to grab
the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin
overhead as you climb aboard.
The leather seats do not adjust but are
quite comfortable. The rudder pedals can
be adjusted to one of three positions, de-
pending on your height.
The cabin is simple and very elegant.
You are surrounded with brass, a walnut
wood instrument panel and bright, shiny
aluminum. The cabin roof overhead is all
clear window, which makes for great visi-
bility. When it does get too hot, one
merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun
shade forward that locks into place over-
head. There is even a rear view mirror that
makes it possible to see behind you while
taxiing or flying.
The art and the quality of the early
craftsmanship is evident throughout the
cabin's interior. Both walnut and leather
uphol stered doors actually bow outward,
which gives both occupants plenty of el-
bow room. The left door holds the large
brake handle and the throttle and mixture
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
AtKessler Field, Walt'sprivateairportwestofChicago, theHornetMothstrikesapretty
poseas itwaitsforWalttostarttheGipsyMajorengineandtakeofftoenJoythesmooth
eveningair.
controls. Above the left door pillar is the
elevator trim adjustment.
At the left side of the instrument panel
is a large aluminum lever called an air
brake. When pushed down, both landing
gear struts turnflat against the slipstream,
thus reducing the airspeed considerably.
The lower half of the walnut wood in-
strument panel is also on a brass hinge.
Lifting the panel toward you and upward,
reveals a large storage area. Also cleverly
hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder,
altimeter, amp gauge, intercom and Escort
II radio.
A sliding door at the left of the panel
lets you access the radio for communicat-
ing and navigating, and viewing the
altimeter. The panel of instruments is au-
thentic 1938 and yet when you lift the
hinged panel, there are all the modem day
electronics hidden away from view.
I might add that Hawthorne Airport,
where the Hornet was based, is only a lit-
tle more than three miles away from
LAX. It's in Class B airspace, so all
these "modern electronics" were neces-
sary and convenient.
In between the seats is a velY comfort-
able leather armrest that also flips open for
an additional storage area for sunglasses,
plotters, pencils, or whatever will fit.
The "Y" stick, or control column, is po-
sitioned at the center of the cabin floor. It
is spring loaded to move forward to allow
easier entry and exit. The stick does take
some getting used to, as it does not sit di-
rectly in front of you.
It's a little difficult to pick the right po-
sition for the elevators before takeoff, but
after a while you do get the feel of it. You
have to sort of guess at a position before
the speed builds up to tell you if the nose
is too high or too low. Also, because of
16 APRIL 1999
the very wide cabin, the fuselage sides,
starting from the instrument panel for-
ward, angle sharply in toward the nose and
are not parallel with your direction of take-
off or landing.
The P 11 compass, which is five inches
in diameter, sits at the center of the cabin
just in front of the control column. Ithas
a neat little light that is positioned just
above it.
The fuel gauge is located between the
two leather seat back, at your right elbow.
The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever
that slides up and down, and is located
next to the fuel gauge. 74 Echo Charlie
does have a complete electrical system,
shielded ignition, nav lights and a strobe at
the bottom of the fuselage.
Starting the Gipsy Major engine is dif-
ferent. First you must "tickle" the
carburetor; that is, hold down a small but-
ton to flood it. At the
left. A push of the starter button on the
panel and it belches to life. The Gipsy
Major settles down and idles with that fa-
miliar sound that reminds one of a Model
A Ford engine. Recommended procedure
is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for
about four minutes. Oil pressure should
be between 30 and 40 Ibs. when cold.
Within the cabin, it is a little noisy but
not too bad. You can still hear and con-
versation can be carried on, however,
headphones are the order of the day.
The Bendix differential brakes, once
you get used to them, are easy to use .
Full rudder pedal is demanded in either
direction, or when the ratcheted hand
brake lever is pulled, both wheel brakes
function together.
The Hornet' s angular nose does sit high
while taxiing, which doesn't help with for-
ward visibility. Lined up into the wind,
we do our engine check and go through
our pre-takeoff checklist. There is no tem-
perature gauge, so after about four minutes
we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a
mag check, then full throttle for max
power check. The brakes hold well!
After checking the trim, throttle, brakes,
mixture, oil pressure, fuel selector lever,
compass, air brakes, doors and belts, and
we clear our area, we give her full power
for takeoff. Today, the wind is right down
our favorite grassy runway.
We set the stick position for neutral
while we build up our airspeed. We bring
the tail up as soon as we have elevator
control and hold the stick forward. Now
our view is much better. The takeoff run
- Continued on page 25-
same time, you reach
around the front of
the engine with your
right hand, to the left
side of the engine. A
lever attached to the
fuel pump is wobbled
up and down until
you hear the fuel start
to trickle and flow.
After buttoning both
cowl doors, we turn
the wooden prop
(made in Australia)
over about six or
eight times (all
switches off) . Re-
member, the British
engine turns the op-
posite from the
American - to the
SPECIFICATIONS
DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH
130horsepowerGipsy Major
Weight (includingstandard equipment) ..1,255Ibs.
Useful Load695 Ibs.
Length Overall ....................24ft. 11.5in.
Span ..........................31ft. 11.4in.
Span (with wingsfolded) ............9ft. 0.5in.
Height .........................6ft. 7.0in.
Maximumspeed atsea level .........121-124mph
Cruisingspeed at1,000ft./2,050 rpm ..103-105mph
Endurance (with normal tanks) ........6 hours
StallingSpeed ...................40mph
Takeoffrun in 5 mph wind ...........135-175yds.
Climbto5,000ft..................8.75min.
ServiceCeiling ...................14,800ft.
Glidingangle (airbrakeson) ..........1 in 8
Price ..........................L875
Built when a compass still cost
extra, the 1938Piper Cub
Sport could be had with all
sorts ofoptions.
ne lookatthefront halfofJohnMeyer's 1938 Cub
O
andyou knowsomethingdifferenthas been re-
stored. Certainly the PiperCubhas longbeen the
darlingoftheVintageAirplaneworld, soughtafter
bythousandshopingto enjoythe simplewaysof
the airplane so manyusedto learnaboutaviating. ButevenCubs
comein differentvarieties, andwith each year's modelsubtle
changeswere made. Mostobviouson theexteriorofearlyJ-3
Cubswerethe"barbedhook"fuselage stripeandthree-piece
windshield. Builtup withthreepiecesofplasticheldtogetherby
apairofmetal strips, itwouldbe acoupleofyearsbeforeaone
piecemoldedunitwas installed. Even thoughtheJ-3Chadmuch
in commonwiththeJ-2, thebiggestdifferencewasthe newCon-
tinentalA-50engine, a new,morepowerful engine meantto
replacetheground-breakingA-40.
John Meyer,ofHudsonville, MI, andhis
1938J-3C CubSport.
By R.G. Frautschy
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
Leslie Hilbert
The original steerable, non-swivel tailwheel was
tough to find. Originally an option on the Cub
Sport, one was finally tracked down, with a rare
tire found by Clyde.
The similarities were most appar-
ent in the wing structure. Basically
the same, except for the curved root
rib, the wing has built-up metal ribs
and wood spars. The ribs proved to
be quite a challenge for John (EAA
144458) of Hudsonville, MI and his
fellow restorers, his cousin Sam
Beach (EAA 550081) and the "Cub
Doctor ," Clyde Smith, Jr. (EAA
48316, V AA 20765).
Sam hails from Greenville, MI
and had some extra time on his hands
one summer while he was between
engineering jobs. Sam's two-week
trip down to Hudsonville, MI would
help solidify one more restoration
team member's hero status - John's
wife, Lois. During the time the Cub
was being restored, Clyde Smith
would spend extended periods living
with the Meyers, so the maximum
amount of time could be spent on the
project. Lois kept the restorers fed
and took care of so many other
chores that John says he really came
to appreciate his wife's patience with
all the extra traffic in the house, ex-
tra cleaning, etc. Certainly, her work
contributed to the success of the
restoration project as much as the
work done by the other folks . From
18 APRIL 1999
The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model. The uphol-
stered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model. The pre-war black
face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone
Instruments, Lock Haven, PA. The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety, changed
a year later after complaints about the switches came to Piper's attention.
John, Sam and Clyde, they all say:
"Thanks, Lois!"
When Sam arrived with his suit-
case, he sat down to build ajig so the
ribs that were so badly damaged
while the Cub sat in a chicken coop
could be rebuilt. None of the ribs
were usable, so a new set had to be
constructed using the thin corrugated
aluminum and small rivets. For two
weeks Sam was "the rib man." Prov-
ing his prowess with the lightweight
structure earned him the right to re-
build the ailerons, which were in
poor shape as well. He also spent a
lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle
in his hand, cleaning off the many
small parts so Clyde and John could
evaluate them for airworthiness.
John Meyer came to own the Cub
in a way that would not be one he
would choose, but it all worked out
fine in the end. A wayward grandson
of the owner sold the airplane with-
out his grandfather'S knowledge, but
thanks to a forgiving grandfather,
John was able to obtain clear title to
the airplane and the paperwork for it
as well, including the logs. Once it
was at his home shop, his check of
the airplane made him realize it was
a project he felt was beyond his level
of expertise. That's when he called
in the "Cub Doctor."
Clyde Smith, Jr., has been men-
tioned before in the pages of Vintage
Airplane, for a very sound reason.
Clyde's been around Piper airplanes
ever since he was born. His father,
Clyde Smith, Sr., worked in the Piper
plant in Lock Haven, P A for most of
the time the plant was open. Starting
in 1941, Clyde, Sr. was Piper's chief
test pilot during WW-II, and was the
head of the experimental test flying
department through the 1950s. He
retired from Piper in 1975. His son
was born in December of 1947 dur-
ing the heady days of the post-war
lightplane boom.
Dad didn't push junior into avia-
tion, preferring to allow the young
man to choose his own path. Still, as
he matured, he did enter aviation,
earning his A&P and an engineering
degree, and just a couple of weeks
after graduating from college, young
Clyde went to work in the drafting
department of Piper Aircraft.
In the early 1970s, his interest in
homebuilt aircraft led him to the an-
nual EAA member's Convention in
Oshkosh, WI, and as things turned
out, as Antique/ Classic Division
members discovered Clyde worked
at Piper, they began questioning him
about the correct configuration about
their various projects. He'd head
back to Lock Haven with a notebook
full of questions, and before he knew
it, he became "the man." He'd be the
first to tell you, how-
ever, that "the man"
is really his father,
especially in the be-
ginning, when he'd
ask his father to fill
in the missing details.
These days, Clyde
Smith, Jr. is kept
busy putting on Piper
restoration clinics,
where he shares his
20-plus years of Piper
experience with fel-
low restorers, and
each year at EAA
AirVenture, he puts
on the Cub Forum, one that has inter-
ested Piper fans spilling out of the
tent straining to hear each word.
The father and son team of Smith
and Smith have restored a number of
Pipers, including a Vagabond, a Clip-
per and a J-3, the same one formerly
owned by the Piper employees flying
club. For many, the crowning
restoration will long be the PA-12
Super Cruiser which earned a Grand
The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fair-
ings, and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
All of the side glass is thin Plexiglas, replacing the original but delicate 0.60 in. acetate win-
dows. The "peanut shell" wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as
an option on the Cub Sport, as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear. Both
were installed on the airplane when it was delivered, but brakes, another option, were not.
John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes.
Champion Classic trophy at EAA
Oshkosh '86, and previously at the
Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In. It seemed to
pick up the hardware everywhere it
went, and deservedly so.
With such a resume, it wasn't too
hard for John to know who to ask,
but would he come? Happily, they
were able to come to an agreement ,
and for the next three years, Clyde
would spend an extended period of
time working side-by-side with John
and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane
said to be in deplorable shape.
There was plenty to do! Once the
fuselage was cleaned up and ready
for paint, Clyde applied Randolph
Rand-O-Plate primer, followed by a
coat of white Fuller O'Brien epoxy
paint. "The white color," Clyde ex-
plained, "makes it look newer and
al so it's easier to inspect in the tail
where it is dark. You can see rust im-
mediately, and you can detect cracks.
It also gives me a good white base
coat for the tubes in the cabin which
are painted yellow."
Cub yellow is not the densest
color, but has poor hiding qualities.
Later, when it came time to paint the
Ceconit e 104 fabric and the sheet
metal , a base coat of white was used
again to make certain the yellow
would have the proper hue.
All sorts of little details put Clyde
20 APRIL 1999
to the test, including the engine oil
tank. Not your regular "kidney" tank,
this tank was a rolled piece of galva-
nized steel, soldered together and
then painted. The boot cowl had to
be replicated, as did the three-piece
windshield. A set of cast aluminum
engine valve covers had to be found
to replace the badly corroded parts
found in the chicken coop, and Cub
restorer Dave Henderson was able to
come up with those.
Each visit with the Meyers would
result in a little bit more of the Cub
being complete, and finally, nearly
three years after beginning with a
pile of parts that had been walked on
by chickens, John Meyer's J-3C was
ready to take to the air, restored to
exacting standards as it was the day
it rolled out into to sunshine in the
valley of the west branch of the
Susquehanna river. It first flew again
after its restoration on September 5,
1995. John Meyer was thrilled with
the final product of their labor, and
of his new friend, Clyde Smith, Jr.
"I can't say enough about his
workmanship," enthused John, "He
is an interesting guy to work with -
we have a lot in common . . . it was a
fun project for me."
The following summer, a trip to
Oshkosh was made, and the judges
and spectators got a gl impse of the
past. The week was spent answering
questions (when Dan Knutson was-
n't out looking at other Pipers with
Clyde Smith!) and when it was time
for the awards ceremony at the EAA
Theater in the Woods, the announced
winner of the Bronze Age (1933-
1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh
'96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport
NC21646, restored by John Meyer,
Clyde Smith and Sam Beach. Stick-
ing to the original script was the best
way to get just what John wanted,
and pretty Cub just like it was , al-
most 60 years ago. ......
Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the
road from John's boyhood home), John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat,
where thousands of new pilots first soloed.
Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restor-
er Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown,
OH sent in this month's Mystery Plane.
The photo was taken while he was a
student at Parks Air College in Cahokia,
IL, just south of East St. Louis, IL. In
1940, the large amphibian was flown in
to be serviced, then it hopped over
town to Curtiss-Steinberg field.
April MysteryPlane
by H.G. Frautschy
Our January Mystery Plane from
George Townson created a little stir of
interest from those who remember the
project, including Harry C. Luecke, of
Lexington, NC:
DearSir,
It is good to know that George
Townson is stillactive. Irememberhim
backin theearly thirties when hewas
workingat theNortheastPhiladelphia
Airportwhen I was learningtofly. He
mustbein hiseighties, sinceIam 84.
1haveenclosedtwophotos(one be-
low and on the nextpage) ofthe
JanuaryMysteryPlanethat weretaken
in theearlythirtiesattheBoulevard
Airportin Philadelphia. Ineversawit
fly,butithadtogetthere!
It looks like someone's nobleex-
periment.
Harry Luecke
(EAA 322834, V AA 24214)
Now we can answer Harry's
decades long question - who's "no-
ble experiment" is this?
TheJanuary "MysteryPlane"is
theHall-Aluminum "Monoped."
The Monopedwas thepersonalair-
craftof Charles WardHall, who was
dedicatedto theuseofaluminumin air-
craftstructuresata timewhen wood
andsteeltubingweretheacceptedma-
terials. Healsopioneeredtheconcepts
ofweightcontrolandofusingaerody-
namicforcesforstressrelief ortransfer.
Perhapsthisplanecan bedescribed
as looking like aporcineRearwin
Speedster. Itderivesitsnamefrom the
unusuallandinggear, asinglecentral
retractable Goodyear22 x 10.4 wheel,
supplementedbysmalloutriggerslo-
catedin asesqui-wingliftingstrut
combination. Byallaccounts theair-
plane was easytofly. Hallusedto
jokeaboutreadingthe newspaper
whileflyingdown to Washington,DC
from hisBristol, Pennsylvaniafactory.
The cockpitof the littleprivate
transportwas wellinstrumentedand
hada Learradio. The controlstick
was suspendedfrom an overhead
mountingin thecockpit, thusreducing
thenumberofcontrolcablepulleys
andlength ofcablerun required. The
aircraftstructurewas allaluminum.
Poweredbya 120hpRangersix
cylindermodel390engineswinginga
steelHamilton-Standardprop, the lit-
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
tle Monoped had a top speed of 130
mph. Wingspan was 32 feet; length
25 feet.
Hall lost his life in the Monoped on
21 August 1936, when th e airplane
struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell,
New Jersey. At the time of the crash
the plane had logged more than 530
hours. The Monoped was his next to
last design and probably his favorite of
the 31 aircraft ofseven different types
he created in his lifetime.
Hal/ 's concepts did not die with
him, however, and his pioneering use
of aluminum was adopted by many
other firms. He was an engineering
genius whose advanced ideas on metal
working eased the transition from
wood andfabric to all metal aircraft
for the u.s. Navy.
Starting his career as a building
contractor, Hall 's radical search for
improved methods got him into so
much trouble with the building trade
unions that he was forced to seek an-
other fie ld. He had his first airplane
ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909
and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF
flying boats at the Rodman Wana-
maker school in Washington, Long
Island, New York. By 1922 he had
built his first aircraft, a tiny 25 foot
wingspan biplane flying boat, con-
structed entirely ofaluminum except
for a wood spar upper wing.
The experience gave him sufficient
confidence in his skills to set up his
own engineering firm, and begin bid-
ding on Navy contracts. It was a move
that would keep him prosperous dur-
ing the Great Depression ofthe 1930s.
With good judgment and effici ent
management Hall kept his firm small
and prosperous during this period
when one major company after an-
other went bankrupt.
Charles Ward Hall's greatest legacy
was the pursuit of weight control, an
idea more important now than when he
was blazing new trails in structure.
Unfort unately no example ofHall' s
handiwork survives today.
Ref: Airpower, Sept . 72, Now
There's a rare Bird- Walt Boyne
Wings, June, 75, Th e Flying Hall-
marks-Walt Boyne
Keep 'Em Flying and Keep Us
Guessing, H.G,!
Cheers,
Larry Knechtel
EAA 391208, VAA 17648)
Seattle, WA
Correct answers were also received
from: Doug Rounds, Zebulon, GA ;
Harry O. Barker, Jr., West Milford, NJ;
Pete Bowers, Seattle, W A and Joseph J.
Tarafas, Bethlehem, P A. ......
Hany Luecke_
22 APRIL 1999
PASSIT TO BUCK
by E.E. "Buck"Hilbert
EAA #21VAA #5
P.O. Box 424, Union, IL60180
Little Rocket No. 2
1930 All American Fl ying
Derby - Little Rocket - Command
Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert
Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun 'n
Fun Museum - Lakeland, FL
Theyall cometogether, although
it is been manyyearssi ncetheAll
AmericanFlyingDerbyof1930.
TheAll AmericanFlying Derby
was sponsored bythe American
CirrusCorporation,makersofthe
Cirrus line ofaircraftengines.To
promotetheirengines,theyoffered
a 15,000doll arprize for the win-
ner. Theracecoursewassomefive
thousandmiles long, startingand
finishing in Detroit,MI. Theen-
trants hadto have AmericanCirrus
engines installed in theiraircraftto
beeligibletocompete.
Command Aire's "Little
Rocket"camehomewiththeprize!
Lee Gehlbachwas the winningpi-
lot,and Albert Vollmeckewasthe
little race plane'sdesigner. Joe
Araldi is the builderof"Little
Rocket#2"andafterflying it, he
has it on loan to the International
SportAviationMuseumontheSun
'nFungroundsin Lakeland,FL.
Thesignificanceofthisairplane,
TheLittleRocket,is somehowlost
Joe Araldi pil ots the Little Rocket No. 2, powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the ori ginal
American Cirrus Corporation engine. Albert concurred on the engine change, remarking that t he
Wright would have been the choi ce if the Rocket had gone into production. Purpose-built to
enter and win the All American Air Derby of 1930, the sl eek monoplane won the 5,541 mile race,
reaching speeds of up t o 200 mph on one leg. It's average speed of 127.11 mph.
Joe Araldi , builder of Little
Rocket No. 2, checks his
work on one of the eleva-
tors of the replica racer.
~ . . ............
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No.2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage. The lightweight but
strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck.
The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke, who did all he could
to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket. Each of the wheels also incorporates the
only shock absorbing in the landing gear. The skinny wheels and tires didn't help any on
the bump soaking-up department! Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up,
machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units.
in the shadow of the Gee Bees, the
Howards and the Big Iron growlers of
that era. But here was an airplane de-
signed and built from scratch in just
about four months for the sole pur-
pose of winning that race!
The four cylinder in-line engine
with supercharger put out about 110
hp. Installed in this super-light little
airframe it went like a streak! Eigh-
teen airplanes started the race, but
only ten finished. The Cirrus engines
had problems that were eventually
conquered, but their reliability in
those days was tongue-in-cheek.
Serial No.2 came about in an un-
usual way. Joe Araldi had to go and
open his big mouth to the original de-
24 APRIL 1999
signer, Albert Vollmecke during a
Cognac frontal passage they were im-
bibing, and Albert game him the prints
for the original aircraft on the promise
that Joe would build one.
Well, seven years, upteen trillion
dollars, a zillion phone calls to Albert,
and the labor of half of the Florida
aviation community, and there stands
Little rocket number two!
The story has been well told sev-
eral times - Skyways, Vol. 23, July
1992, and Vol. 26, April '93 feature
the No.2 airplane and the trials and
tribulations of its building. From its
start with Joe's admiration of his
Command Aire biplane and his de-
sire to meet its designer, to the
passing Cognac front, the revelation
of the Little Rocket plans, the germ
of an idea, and the culmination of
that first flight.
Aero Digest, Sept. 1930 had the
whole American Air race in great de-
tail, including the original National
Aeronautic Association record
sheets. Joe was born sixty two years
too late to be part of it, but believe
me, he's flown that race many times
in his mind after test flying serial
number two. His admiration for the
designer and the pilot, Lee Gehlbach
who flew it to victory are soon evi-
dent when you read or listen to his
story.
Little Rocket ushered in a number
of super-light racing planes in the
next few years. Howard's Mike and
Ike, Chester's Goon and Jeep, Folk-
erts' SK series, and The Miles &
Atwood racer were built after the Lit-
tle Rocket proved it could be done.
Still, the big growlers like the Laird-
Turner and the Marcoux-Bromberg
Special and their ilk were the big
crowd pleasers.
After flying this "built to win" air-
plane, Joe decided the best place for it
was in a museum, so it rests in a place
of honor in Lakeland, a tribute to the
man who designed it and the pilot
who flew it to victory.
When you come down for the Sun
'n Fun EAA Fly-In this year, drop
into the International Sport Aviation
Museum and join with other race
plane fans as they admire this beauti-
ful airplane. Reflect for a minute or
two on the pioneering victory it made,
back in 1930. f( Bc<ck ...
-Continued from page 16-
is short and the Hornet gets off in less
than 200 yards. We are lightly loaded
and are underway.
Aileron control is pretty good. At 70
mph we climb out at about 600 feet per
minute rate of climb.
The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as
my Cessna 182. It is a very stable plat-
form, easy to trim and we even have a
rudder trim . .. a ratcheted horizontal
bracket beneath the instrument panel that
is easy to adjust.
The Hornet Moth's nose really slants
downward below the horizon - more
nose down than other aircraft, which gives
it excellent forward visibility while in
cruise. There is a tendency at fITst to take-
off and climb too steeply. As a result
attention should be paid to the airspeed in-
dicator rather than the feel or aspect of the
Hornet. At 2,050 rpm, we do about 105
mph in cruise.
The Hornet handles beautifully for long
cross country trips. The stall, which oc-
curs at about 40 mph, is quite gentle.
Coming into the pattern, speed is easy
to dissipate as we can push down the air
brake lever at any speed, either for slowing
down or decreasing the float on landing.
The air brake reduces top speed about 35
mph. Without the air brake, the Hornet
tends to float and the glide is very flat.
On downwind we bring the power back
to about 1,700 rpm and about 80 mph.
Our pre-landing check is simple: brakes,
mixture, fuel, doors, belts on, look for traf-
fic . On final, at about 400 feet, I pull
down the air brake lever with my left hand
and the Hornet settles back to about 65
mph. Rudder and elevator control are fme
but aileron control is a little slow.
It takes a while to get used to the con-
trol column, especially in turbulent
conditions and not having it directly in
front of you. Over the fence we come in at
55-60 mph and do a wheel landing. Most
pilots land the Hornet using the wheel
landing technique.
The Hornet has a springy but very
strong gear that sometimes gives you
some excitement when you least want or
expect it. Landing run in a 5 mph head-
wind is supposed to be about 125 yards.
With wheel landings, however, the landing
roll is much longer.
Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad
with the Hornet as they are with most tail-
draggers . Anything over 8 to 10 mph
makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go
situation. As we taxi, the wings are very
close to the ground, so we must be in full
control all the way to shut down. At 1,000
rpm I close the throttle, switch off the
mags and then open the throttle. When the
engine stops, I close the throttle. Mag, ig-
nition switch and radio are turned off.
One thing I have learned flying the old
antiques, including the Hornet Moth . ..
they are all different. Each one has its
own moods and characteristics and most
handle differently from each other. Know-
ing how to fly one taildragger doesn't
make you an expert on all taildraggers. As
THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____
To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque, a stationary
mine - Roland Schable from Janesville, Wisconsin. Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the
out of the L.A. basin can be a zoo, especially flying an unfa- east ... this held us up for two days. Finally, early the
miliar 56-year-old airplane. As we departed Hawthome, our morning of the third day, we were ready to depart Coronado
intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport. During the runup, the engine started missing again.
fuel stop. This time it was the back cylinder's plugs that went bad. For-
The L.A. area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately, we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we
hundred freeways all going in different directions. replaced both fouled plugs.
When we landed at Blythe, the temperature was 110 With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City, we finally ar-
on the runway. After refueling and doing our runup, the rived about 8:30 p.m. at Topeka Airport, where we stayed
rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night. We did almost 800 miles this one day.
then the cable snapped. It really didn't affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 8:15 and made a fuel stop at
because, in anticipation of this happening, I had put a Ottumwa. What a wind! Roland got out and as I taxied in for
pencil mark on the throttle quadrant, indicating where fuel, he held the wings as best he could. (Our charts also
cruise power should be. blew out the open door.)
Upon reaching Phoenix's Deer Valley Airport, all of a sud- We launched from Ottumwa's 1,100 foot taxiway, instead
den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power. of the runway. The winds were blowing about 25 mph, gust-
We found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder. ing to 35. Several hours later we arrived over my strip near
Temperature was about 105, so with 25% of our engine Marengo, Illinois with a 90crosswind blowing right out of
power lost, we made a "porpoise" type landing. My friends, the west at 25 mph. So, we landed at my neighbor's strip
Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale, Al, took plenty of pic- which is an east/west runway. After the winds diminished,
tures and can prove it. we flew Echo Charlie back to my place, a short hop away.
Another friend, Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale, graciously She sure loves grass runways.
let us use his hangar for the night. Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1,840 miles,
morning, we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours. Over the mountains
fine again. and passes and through the valleys, we followed highways
Over Flagstaff (elevation 7,011 ft.), we were at 9,200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands. There
following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good
jutted upward to almost 12,000 feet. I wondered if 74EC friends, Don and Maureen Alesi. What a neat tool!
had ever flown this high before. With a fuel stop at Hol- It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always
brook, we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque, NM. remember.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
I said, they are all different. The key is to know your airplane in-
side and out. Know its good habits and especially its bad ones, if
it has any.
Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from
1934 to 1938, less than 40 remain. The original D.H.87A models
with the tapered wings are almost extinct; only one in Australia,
one in a museum in Edmonton, Canada and, I believe, several in
Great Britain.
Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world
with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America. She
is registered in the U.S. as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in
South Africa as ZS-AOA.
She has been featured in several Hollywood movies. In 1989
74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called "'Til We
Meet Again," based on the novel by Judith Krantz. She was also
in one segment of the "Designing Women" television series.
The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane, but, like some women I
know, does demand your undivided attention.
It's also an endangered species. Like other antique aircraft,
there aren't too many of them left. We need to preserve them all.
In order to do this, we need to get more tricycle gear pilots
and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or, in the future, the
only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday.
Let's fly! ....
1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet
Moth's logbooks, all ofthem at least 50 years old. 1 put a $1
bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information
on the Hornet.
Most thought I'd never hear from anyone. Four weeks
later, Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docu-
ments, pictures, schematics, etc. on the Hornetl
Would you believe it, his father owned it and his family
had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30
years I His father passed away 18 years ago. Jack was joy-
ous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis father's
beloved Hornet Moth. This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack
riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a "Baby Brownie"
Kodak camera when he was 12 years old.
He sent me the history ofhis father's aviation career and
was quite enthused. He also sent me copies ofhis father's
logbook.
1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she
looks today, and he wrote back and said the pictures now
hand in his pub.
He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa, and
the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum.
What a small world we really live in! - Walt Kessler
26 APRIL 1999
DEHAVILLANDHORNET
MOTH HISTORY
The Homet Moth D.H.87A was touted as a magnificent two
place cabin biplane. "Gone forever are the days of draughty
cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversa-
tions through voice tubes. The modem air tourist flies in the
comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin" ... so the
British ads expounded.
The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9,
1934, many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very
happy with its long tapered wings. Also, instead of a touring
ship, many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were
having problems with the sharp stall characteristics.
So, Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things. he
added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square.
Thus, the D.H.87B was bom.
The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand
aircraft. A pilot report in 1935 stated that, "The center of gravi-
ty was arranged so that, once the aircraft was in the air, there is
no necessity to use the rudders at all.
"Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by
the use of elevators and ailerons only. On a cross-country
flight, the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and con-
trol the machine entirely by the stick."
The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and
struts covered with plywood. On the outside of the plywood
are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric
covering. Inspection plates are located in the floor of the
fuselage - one large enough to put your head into, which
makes for easier inspections.
The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and, of
course, interplane struts are located on each side, joining the
top and the bottom wings. Ailerons are on the lower wings only.
The wings fold back for easy storage. Overall width when folded
back is only 9 ft. 10 in. In 1934, deHaviliand introduced the
trim tab to the Homet Moth, instead of the trimming gear for
the tail plane. The Homet is also equipped with a castering tail-
wheel. Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for
tools, extra oil and other flight gear. The battery is located
beneath the right seat.
Luggage area for 130 Ibs. is also provided right behind the
seats and over the fuel tank, which holds 35 Imperial gallons.
The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses
the standard instruments of the thirties: airspeed indicator, rpm
indicator, altimeter, tum and slip indicator, vertical climb indica-
tor, magneto switches and oil pressure gauge. The upper half
of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged. By unsnap-
ping a leather strap at the top of the panel, the entire instru-
ment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments,
wires and cables. The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you
and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall.
A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and
both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation.
Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows.
The control column is "Y" shaped so that each occupant can
use the controls.
Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard
equipment. Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet
bar located on the left door.
Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment, as the fuel
tank is such that it will not gravity feed. The Homet Moth was
originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine. In 1935
you could buy one for L875 or about $1,300.
Fly-In Calendar
months prior to the event date.
APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA -
9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at
HalfMoon Bay Airport, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Antiques,
classics, warbirds. vintage autos, tnlcks. Contact:
650/726-2328.
MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associa-
tion Annual Fly-1n '99 and Pancake Feed. Info:
785/263-3970.
MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURST/SOUTHERN PINES, NC -
Moore County Airport (SOP). EAA Chapter 3 Spring
Fly-In. Trophies, EAAfellowship, Friday golftour-
nament, Sat. banquet/guest speaker, Sunday poker
nm, YE.flights, vintageaviationfilms, HQ: Holiday
Inn, Southern Pines, 910/692-3212. Info: 910/947-
6896, -1853 (Fax) or the web: www.southern -
aviator. com/ad/
MAY 8 - ALPENA, MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021
"Spring Bust Out" Pancake breakfast, 8:00 AM to
12:00 noon. Aerobatics demonstration by a local
Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by
Alpena Soaring Club. For information phone
517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email
rbock@northland.lib.mi.us
MAY 15 -ALLIANCE, OH -Alliance-Barber Air-
port (2DI). Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl
Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day
Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and
military displays. Food being served all day. Sod
field - use caution. Info: Forrest Barber 330/823-
1168, jbarber@alliancelink.com; or check
www.taylorcraflorg
MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN, NY - (NY54) EAA
Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane
Fly-In. 7a.m. - noon. Info: 607/547-2526.
MAY 16 - WARWICK, NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual
Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72). 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Food available, trophies. Judging closes at 2 p.m.
Unicom 123.0 Info: Harry Barker, 973/838-7485.
MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE, IL - Lewis Romeoville air-
port (LOT) . EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast. 7
a.m.-Noon. Contact; Frank Goebel , 815/436-6153.
MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON, KS - Ameilia Earhart
Memorial Airport. KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd An-
nual Fly-In. Potluck dinner for registered guests
Fri. night, Awards banquet Sat. night. On field
camping, hotels, other accomodations available.
Info: Gerry Gippner, 913/764-8512 or Stephen
Lawlor, 816/238-2161.
MA Y29 - OGDEN, UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-
MTO Luscombe Fly- In. Luscombe judging and
awardsJonims and banquet. $50 cash to Luscombe
that flies the fartest to attend. Contacts: Jerry Cox,
217/234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim, 217/234-7120.
JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS, iL - Whiteside County
Airport (SQI). 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 Fly-
In/Drive-In. Pancake Breakfast, 7 a.m.-noon. Info:
Bill Havener, 815/626-0910.
JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN, NY - (NY54) EAA
Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane
Fly-In. 7a.m. - noon. Info: 607/547-2526.
JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR, MO - American
Waco C1l1b Fly-In. Info: Phil Coulson, 616/624-6490
or Jerry Brown, 317/535-8882.
JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE, MN - Lake Air Flying
Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast. 7:30-11:00 a.m. Info:
Larry Peterson, 218/485-4441.
JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO, CO - Animas Air Park.
31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association
convention. Bassed at the Doubletree Inn, 970/259-
6580. Info: David or Judy Mason, 409/369-4362.
JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH, WI- Bigfoot Field (W105).
Pancake breakfast/brunch. Aerobatic demo at 10
a.m., Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl,
warbirds and experimentals. 7a.m.-I p.m. Info: John
Anderson, 4/4/248-8748.
JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE, VIR-
GINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In. Contact:
Ron VanSickle, 832/932-4709, www.vaeaa.org.
JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT, CO - Vance Brand Air-
port (2V2,ji-eq. 122.975). Rocky Mountain Regional
Fly-In. Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both
days. For more info. see the RMRFI web page at
wwwgreeleynet.com/eaaregional/index.htm
JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON, NJ - (N81) EAA Chap-
ter 216 Red, White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In
Pancake Breakfast. Info: George Bigge, Jr. , 609/582-
5630.
JUNE 27 - NILES, MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport.
EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast. 7a.m.-1 p.m.
Info: Ralph Ballard, 616/684-0972 or Dick Haigh,
616/695-2057.
JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE, OH - Municipal Airport.
EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day. Fly-in,
drive-in breakfast 8 a.m. - 2p.m. Info: Darrell Todd,
740/450-8633.
JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE, PA - Footlight Ranch.
10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In. Info:
John Shreve, 7/7/432-4441 or Email
ShreveprtN@aol.com
JULY 5-8 - DENVER, CO - Centennial Airport. Short
Wing Piper Club annual convention. This year's
theme: "Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous. " Info: Kent
O'Kelly, 303/979-3012, (Headwinds@msn.com)or
visit the SWPC web site at htlp:wlVw.shortwing.com
JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON, WA - Northwest EAA Re-
gional Fly-in at Arlington Airport. Contact: Barbara
Lawrence-Tolbert, 360/435-5857, or wlVwnweaa.
org/nweaa/.
JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC, CA -15th annual West Coast
Piper Cub Fly-In. Info: Bruce Fall, 805/733-1914.
JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE, OH - Alliance-Barber
Airport (2DJ). 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club
Fly-In and Old Timer's Reunion. DisplaysJorums,
workshops, Sat. evening prog.ram. Breakfast Sat. and
Sun. served by EAA Chapter 82. Sunday worship ser-
vice. Info: Bruce Bixler, 330/823-9748, Forrest
Barber 330/823-1168,jbarber@alliancelinkcom;or
check www.taylorcrafl.org
JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE, MT - /3th an-
IlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In,
Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday
Inn Conference Center. Sponsored by local EAA
Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of
fice. Kit plane exhibitors and seminars. Contact: Jim
Cooney, FAA FSDO, 1-800/457-9917, wwwjaa.
govlfsdolhln.
JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN, NY - (NY54) EAA
Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane
Fly-In. 7a.m. - noon. Info: 607/547-2526.
JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE, OH - Parr Airport. EAA
Chapter 425 Airport. Fly-in, drive-in breakfast 8
a.m. - 2 p.m. Injo: Darrell Todd, 740/450-8633.
JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH, W1- 47th Annual
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh ' 99. Willman Regional
Airport. Contact John Bur/on, EAA, P. O.Box 3086,
WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at: www.airven-
ture.org
AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY, MO -12th annual Fly-In
at Applegate, Airport. Info: 660/766-2644.
AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN, NY - (NY54) EAA
Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane
Fly-In. 7a.m. - noon. Info: 607/547-2526.
SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE, PA - Footlight
Ranch. 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In. Info: Johll
Shreve, 717/432-4441 or Email
ShreveprtN@aol.com
SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO -
EAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In.
SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE, OH - Riverside Air-
port. EAA Chapter 425 Airport. Fly-in , drive-in
breakfast 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Info: Darrell Todd,
740/450-8633.
SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER, CALIFORNIA -
Golden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport. Contact:
Wltw.gwjly-in.org.
SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION, OHIO - MERFI
Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In. Contact: Lou Linde-
mall,937/849-9455.
SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE, IL - (IJX)
15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson
Reunion. Info:eSuzette Selig, 630/904-6964.
SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE, OK -
Frank Phillips Field. 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional
Fly-In, sponsored by EAA chapter 10, VAA Chapter
10, IA C Chapter /0, AAA Chapter 2, and the Green
County Ultralight Flyers. All types ofaircraft and
airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend. Ad-
mission is by donation. Info: Charles W. Harris,
918/622-8400.
OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA, ARIZONA - Copperstate
EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport.
Contact: Bob Hasson, 302/770/6420.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
The following list ofcoming events is furnished to
our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does
not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement,
control or direction ofany event (fly-in, seminars, fly
market, etc.) listed. Please send the information to
EAA, Au: Golda Cox, P.D. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086. Information should be received four
In, Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast.
Competitions. Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mu-
seum. lnfo: Jerry Taylor, 801/629-8251.
MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE, OH - Riverside Air-
port. EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in, drive-in breakfast 8
a.m. - 2p.m. 1nfo: Darrell Todd, 740/450-8633.
JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE, OK - Frank
Phillips Field. 13th Annual National Biplane Con-
vention and Exposition. Biplane Expo '99. Static
Displays, forums, seminars, workshops, exhibits.
Biplanes and NBA membersfree, all others pay
admission. Info: Charles Harris, Chairman,
918/622-8400 or Virgil Gaede, Expo Director,
918/336-3976.
JUNE 4-5 - MERCED, CA - 42nd Merced West
Coast Antique Fly-In. Info: Virginia or Ed Mor-
ford, 209/383-4632.
JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART, IN - EAA Chapter 132
Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow. Info:
616/699-5237.
JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON, iL - 3rd Annual
-Continued from page 7-
time the tourist ladies did. I visited with
each in tum while Marc gave the other a
bird's-eye view of the town and surround-
ing wonders. One was a schoolteacher
from Boston and the other a visitor from Is-
rael, both delightful to talk with.
We had 95V topped off again and left
for points east about noon.
Once more across the desert, but as ad-
vertised, a lot more scenic than further
south. The meteor crater was a command-
ing sight; if it had struck just a little to the
north it would have wiped out those build-
ings! Much further to the east, we landed at
Albuquerque's Double Eagle n airport out-
side the ABQ control zone for fuel. A
brand new looking corporate aviation facil-
ity with nice amenities, but no restaurant.
We settled for snacks from the vending
machine and headed out again, skirting
north to miss the tall terrain. We had tenta-
tively planned to make Borger, Texas our
next and overnight stop, but nightfall began
to catch up with us and we decided to cut it
VINTAGE
TRADER
~ 7
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and your credit card number to 920/426-4828. Ads
must be received by the 20th ofthe month for inser-
tion in the issue the second month foll owing (e. g.,
October 20th f or the December issue.)
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Newsletters for Arctic/Interstate (6 Back issues/$9.00),
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accepted. Dave Neumeister, Publisher, 5630 South
Washington, Lansing, MI 48911-4999. 800/594-4634,
517/882-8433. Fax: 800/596-8341, 5171882-8341.
a few rniles short by going to Dumas. I had
lived there for a time long, long ago and
thought it would be fun to see again any-
how. The field has been relocated since my
era, has two paved runways and a neat little
flight office. The place was deserted for the
evening but a telephone on the porch with
the operator's phone number prominently
displayed brought a prompt response.
The jovial manager soon appeared and
presented us with the keys to the courtesy
car along with good advice for dinner and
overnight accommodations. After stuffing
ourselves at the Steak House and unloading
our stuff at the motel, I picked up the local
phone directory to see if there were any
names I still recognized after 47 years ab-
sence. Sure enough, J. L. Kennedy still
lived at the address I dimly remembered. I
gave him a call and asked if he would have
time to meet us at the airport the next morn-
ing. Said he'd make time.
1. L. and his dear wife Zelma were there
when we arrived. He had found some old
snapshots and had posted them on the of-
fice refrigerator before we got there. An
hour's reminiscences ensued while we
got the airplanes fueled and loaded,
and I promised to see them again in
another 40 some odd years.
Marc tried to contact our former as-
sociate, A. C. Cooper, who had
returned from the Chicago area to his
home town of Stillwater, Oklahoma
and was working at the FBO there, but
was unable to reach him by phone so
we decided we'd just surprise him. A
couple of hours through sunny skies
and we did, indeed, surprise A.C. He
was delighted to see us and took time
to give us the grand tour, including an
aviation museum in the terminal
building comprised mostly of WW II
military aircraft parts from the sur-
plus bombers that were stored there,
then scrapped after the war. They
also had an impressive display of
photographs and models of all the
different machines that had ended
their careers there.
We rolled out again on the runway
with a 90+ degree temperature and
were again pleased with the perfor-
mance of the little C-85s. Northeast
across the Oklahoma landscape, towns
began to appear closer together and it
even looked as though something
might grow in the soil down there. We
intercepted our outbound map lines
and landed again at Pt. Lookout, Mis-
souri.1t was Marc's turn for a nostalgia
trip so we rented a car and drove down
to the lake where the Mills' summer place
had been and Marc shot up a bunch of film
for old-times sake. He also remembered
where a lovely lakeside restaurant was and
we had a delightful dinner before retiring
to a lakeside cottage for the night after
picking up some breakfast provender at a
local store.
Wednesday morning after a breakfast of
bacon and eggs fixed the way we liked
them, we headed back to the airport, plan-
ning to take our own sweet time departing
since it was an easy flight home from here,
but a check of the weather put a burr under
our blanket. A front was rapidly approach-
ing and we made haste to depart. We
skirted that storm for over two hours- a
good escape route to east was always pre-
sent but we hung to our direct line without
incident. We landed again for fuel at Pitts-
field, Illinois. This time the field was
attended even though we utilized the credit
card operated do-it-yourself pump system.
Visiting briefly with the pleasant city em-
ployee who does all the airport chores, we
grabbed a quick snack and departed again
for the last leg.
Big weather was still present off to our
west but we proceeded without having to
deviate from course. Just north of Peoria it
began to darken in front of us and we de-
scended to below a thousand feet AGL
where the visibility was unlimited. We re-
alized that we were beneath a thunder
buster when the shock hit. By the time I
could throttle back and slow to an unbreak-
able speed, it was all over and we were in
relatively smooth air again. We had passed
the cold front and the temperature and dew
point were nearing the same number.
In front of us little sausages of very thin
fog began to appear; weather to the east of
us was reported as deteriorating although
still VFR. To the north we could see clouds
begin to gather and it looked as though we
might not get home in our airplanes this af-
ternoon. As we approached Earlville, it
appeared we could make DeKalb and Marc
said it was about quitting time for friend
Steve who worked there and we could pre-
vail on him for a ride home if we had to
give up at that point.
Passing DeKalb the clouds to the north
didn't appear to be any closer so we pressed
on without any problem. A few miles fur-
ther and I diverted from Marc's trajectory,
heading for the Funny Farm while he went
on to The Landings; we both announced
entering the pattern at the same time.
After tieing down, I tried to remember
when I had had that much fun in any two
week period. I had to give up. .....
Greg1. Stevenson... .... ... ........ .. ...... ..... BobA. Smith........... . Tallapoosa,GA DavidG. Diedrichs... .....Morrow, OR
... ....Ashrnore,Queensland,Australia
Kevin E. Kipper..... .. .. New Lenox, IL Steven Stultz.... ..... .. ... Columbus, OH
Tom Schweiger.... ........ .... ... ............. ..
.. ... ........... .. .. .....PettnauiTelfs,Austria Gary Kozak.... ..... DownersGrove,IL MarkMcPeek... ........ ... Coos Bay,OR
BrentA. Burford.... ..... .... .. ... .. ............ Ryan Mueller...... ...... ....Belvidere,IL RichardA. Sewell..... Terrebonne,OR
... ... ..... .. ... .... ... ... Calgary,AB,Canada
Glen M.Abrahamson... ....Pfeifer,KS Paul D.Dougherty,Jr....... . Bethel, PA
AtliThorottsen... .. Reykjavik, Iceland
Frank1. Rosato, Jr. ...Mandeville,LA DavidA. Mankamyer....... ... ...... .........
AnthonyGerard Charlton...... .. .... ..... . ..... .... ......... .... .. .. ........Davidsville, PA
.. . ... .. .. ..... .... .. .... . . Riyad, SaudiArabia MikeDemattia........Bellingham,MA
Greg Otterson.. ..ChesterSprings,PA
ClasBergstrand.... .... Malmo, Sweden GeorgeT. Foster.. .... . Somerville,MA
Scottyoung.. ...... ............... . Butler,PA
Paul G.Shultz..... .. .. .... Fairbanks,AK RossH.Phipps.... ..Framingham,MA
A. JamesAnderson.. ... ...... .... ...... ...... .
Robert E.Taylor... ...... ...... .Kenai,AK Dana N.Griffin... .... .. ... ...... .... ... ......... .... ......... .. ... .......... .. Shady Shores,TX
.. .. ..... ...... ....... ........ SilverSpring,MD
W. H. PierceUSN(Ret)...... ........ .... .. . AlanS. Bradford... ...........Euless,TX
.... ..... .... .............. ... . Montgomery,AL GeorgeL. Fox...SterlingHeights,MI
Michael Graham.... ...... . Houston,TX
GeorgeW. ClarkeIII..... ...... ... ..... ...... . WalkerHill......... ... ........Flushing,MI
..... ...... ......... ..... ..... ... SierraVista,AZ RobertMay..... ... ..... .... ..Houston,TX
James G.Knight..........Waterford, MI
EdwinA. Davis......GreenValley,AZ RichardA. Turner...... .. .. .. .............. ....
DavidA.Symanow.... .. Plymouth,MI ...... .. ............ ............Friendswood,TX
LarryD. Rallens.................Mesa,AZ
A. Hans Friedebach......Victoria, MN FrankR.C. Bacon.... ...ParkCity, UT
MichaelD.Bell..........ElkGrove,CA
Melvin1. Huber.........Perryville,MO RegA. Hubley..........FreeUnion,VA
John Lampe.... ........ SanLorenzo,CA
Dr.JohnW. Nelson,Jr.... Liberty,MO MarkA. Miller.. ...... .. ..Yorktown,VA
MaxNorris...... .... .. .. Sacramento,CA
GregVaughn...... . .Independence,MO G. HarperBeal....... ....HydePark,VT
DavidNye.. .. .. .... ..SantaBarbara,CA
EdwinA. Moore........ .... ..Nesbit,MS
Lee F. Morelli .......... .................. .. .... ..
.. ...... .......... . Middletown Springs,VT
Ryan C. Saul.. .... .. ...... . Lancaster,CA
DonaldA. Dodge.........Dupuyer,MT
ChipW. Davidson.. .....Kenmore,WA
RobertD.Ashman............Tampa, FL
Bo Gamble .......... .. .... Goldsboro,NC
Warren R.Baier.....FondDuLac, WI
Wesley Bacon.... .. .... .. ......Tavares,FL
Steven R. Smith.. ...... w. Millford,NJ
StephenBetzler...... .. .... Delafield,WI
Christopher1. Burklund.......... .. ...... ...
.. .......... .. ...... .. ...... ..SafetyHarbor,FL SteveT. Cawthon.... ..Henderson,NV
ThomasJ. Kretschman....Verona,WI
Joseph H.Hughes.Milledgeville,GA WalterThorne.. ........ ... NewYork,NY
JeffreyN. Rinka.... .. .. ..Waukesha,WI
RobertL. Lanier.... ..Cartersville,GA JuliusJ. Thurn........... ....Dunkirk,NY
DaleWilliams...........Whitewater,WI
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29
VINTAGE
AIRCRAFT
ASSOCIATION
OFFICERS
President Vice-President
Esple'Sutch' Joyce GeorgeDoubner
P.O. Box35584 2448LoughLane
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910/393-<J344 4W673-5885
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Treasurer
Secretary
ChanesHorns
SteveNesse
7215East46thSI.
2009HighlandAve.
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AlbertLea. MNfHfJ7
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01532
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1002HeatherLn. 321-1/2S. BroadWay#3
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103346.I772@Compuserve.com antiquer@softcom.net
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
avai lable for$50peryear(SPORTAVIATIONmag-
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EAA
azine not included). (Add $10 for Foreign
Inc. is$40foroneyear,including 12issuesofSPORT
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tional$10annually. JuniorMembershi p(under 19
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year membership in the Warbirds Di vi sion
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magazine notincluded) .(Add$7for For ei gn
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zineforanadditional$27 peryear.
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EAAEXPERIMENTER
and oneyearmembershipinthe EMVintageAir-
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craftAssociat ion isavailabl efor$37 peryear
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Copyright e 1999bytheEMVintageAircraftAssocialion
Allrightsreserved.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE(ISSN 0091-6943) ispublished and owned exclusivelyby Ihe EMVinlageAircraft Associalion ollheExperimentalAircraft Associalionand is published monlhlyat EMAviationCenter.3000 Poberezny Rd"P.O.
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30 APRIL 1999
..
The West's Premier EAA Event
OMEBUILTS ANTIQUES
ULTRALIGHTS
CLASSICS HELICOPTERS
WARBIRDS
Flyhighwitha
qualityClassicinterior
Complete interior assemblies for dO-it-yourself installation.
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Cushion upholstery sets
Wall panel sets
Headliners
Carpet sets
Baggage compartment sets
Firewall covers
Seat slings
Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line.
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and
styles of materials: $3.00.
INC.
259 Lower Morrisville Rd., Dept. VA
Fallsington, PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
Gr
G. Leslie Sweetnam
Woodstock, CT
Began flying
July 1997
Joined VAA
March 1998
AHends fAA chapter
fly-ins - Favorite fly-in :
Tail Wheel Fly-In
at Robertson Farm,
Connecticut
AUAis
approved.
To becomea
memberofthe
VintageAircraft
Associationcall
800-843-3612
G. Leslie Sweetnam rolls out his '52 Cessna 1708 for another flight.
"Mywife gaveme an introductory
flying lesson formy fiftieth birthdayand
Ipassed my Private Pilotcheckride 10
months later. During my training, the
aircraftthatalwayscaughtmy attention
werethe older, conventional-gear
classics.IknewIneededan insurance
companythatunderstoodthe special
problemsand costs ofkeeping the older
birdsflying."
- G. Leslie Sweetnam
The bestis affordable.
GiveAUAa call - it's FREE!
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Fly with the pros.. .fly with AUA Inc.
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Medicalpayments included
Fleetdiscountsformultipleaircraft
carryingall risk coverages
Nohand-propping exclusion
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carrying all risk coverages
Remember,
We'reBetterTogetherl
AVIATION UNUMITED AGENCY
SM-XL
2X
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Natural/NavyTrim SM-XL V41250 $63.99*
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