OCTOBER 2010

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

GEOFF ROBISON
PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Intense, fun, exciting, rewarding, and amazing

here did the summer go? It
seems as though I just got
done with B-17 training a
few weeks ago, and that
happened in late March! Thirty-plus
days on the B-17 tour (so far) took
me to tour stops from Washington
state to New Jersey. Then I attended
multiple work weekends in Oshkosh,
the spring board meetings, and multiple Young Eagles events; provided
transportation to the Air Academy for
some of our chapter-sponsored youth;
and spent two weeks in Oshkosh for
EAA AirVenture. What a whirlwind of
activity in a short few months.
It has also been a really interesting year for the Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA). The term intense
is appropriate, as well as the terms
fun, exciting, rewarding, and amazing. We are now into the fall of the
year, and with that comes the planning and execution of the VAA fall
board meetings.
Later this month we will meet and
discuss many aspects of the business
of the association, as well as the performance results of the 2010 AirVenture event. It is typical for the VAA
board to review and discuss newly
proposed capital projects for the future, as well as the areas in which we
can develop potential improvements.
We also discuss and review the highlights of the many new initiatives you
observed at AirVenture this year.
One of those new offerings at the
2010 event was the new personal electronics charging facility, which proved
to be a big hit with the VAA membership and other EAA guests and members. This enterprise was much more
successful than I ever imagined. We
are already discussing some improve-

ments to this area that would further

enhance this popular member benefit.
We had good reviews from the
Type Club representatives on the upgraded lighting and the wireless Internet service in the Vintage Hangar.
We are also working hard on a resolution to the noise levels in the hangar that are being generated from the
workshop area.
Many thanks to Paul Poberezny
for assisting our volunteers with the
gathering of some of his personal artifacts to create an old-time workshop
area in the Vintage Hangar. It looks
great, Paul.
As many of you know, the VAA
took on the responsibility of producing our own Awards Program last
year. With the new Vintage Hangar
being large enough to host the event
in the Vintage area, we saw a positive reaction from the membership
with a good number of AirVenture
attendees and award winners in attendance. Apparently the word got
out this year because we experienced
a large increase in attendance at this
special event. Almost 75 percent of
those members whose airplanes won
were personally able to accept their
reward, a wonderful increase over
the past few years when that number
hovered around 50 percent.
We are already planning a number of enhancements to this program
for the 2011 event. Its an enjoyable
program that the members seem to
greatly appreciate. You really need to
come and experience this event held
Saturday evening during AirVenture.
Many other committee meetings
are on our agenda for the fall board
meetings as well, such as Development, Executive Finance, Hall of

Fame, Convention, and Editorial. I

will be sure to report any significant
results of these many meetings to you
in a later edition of Straight & Level.
I am particularly excited about
these upcoming meetings because
it will be the first series of meetings
that the VAA board will experience
under the leadership of our new EAA
president and CEO, Rod Hightower.
I had the opportunity to meet Rod
just prior to the formal announcement of his selection as the first
non-Poberezny to lead this great organization. My immediate impression of Rod was very much positive.
He is one of those people who possesses a unique and engaging personality, and he is a genuinely nice guy.
One of the unique qualities the EAA
board was looking for in a candidate
was someone who has the culture of
EAA in his blood, and Rod certainly
possesses that qualification. Rod also
has a background in vintage aircraft
restoration (he restored a Stearman
PT-17), which will likely make him
particularly popular with the membership of the VAA. Welcome aboard,
Rod! Be sure to check out the EAA
video of Rods early days at the helm
of the EAA: www.EAAvideo.org/video.
aspx?v=605761337001.
I may have mentioned earlier that
we finally saw the finishing touches
completed on the C-120. It was a
long road, but we now have a completely refreshed panel; all new interior, including headliner and new
skylights; and recertified avionics.
Shes sure a pretty girl!
Join us and have it all.

A I R P L A N E
Vol. 38, No. 10

2010

OCTOBER

CONTENTS
IFC Straight & Level
Intense, fun, exciting, rewarding, and amazing
by Geoff Robison

News

Sparkys AirVenture Notebook

Conjuring camaraderie while preserving aviation history

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

12

One Classy Rearwin Cloudster

Carefully restored with character
by Sparky Barnes Sargent

16

Light Plane Heritage

The Sperry Messenger
by Jack McRae

20

Batman: The Prequel

French aviation pioneer Clment Aders Avion III
by Gilles Auliard

26

My Friend Frank Rezich, Part I

Growing up aviation
by Robert G. Lock

30

20

The Vintage Mechanic

Elementary weight and balance
by Robert G. Lock

34

The Vintage Instructor

A tale of three first flights
by Steve Krog, CFI

36

STAFF

Mystery Plane
by H.G. Frautschy

38

Friends of the Red Barn

39

Classified Ads

COVERS

12

FRONT COVER: The rare Rearwin Cloudster (there are 24 of them on the FAA Registry) is an attractive
high-wing monoplane that is sometimes called a Baby Howard. This wonderful example was restored
by Ed McKeown with help from Roger Shadick and Kent McMakin. Read more about it in Sparky Barnes
Sargents article beginning on page 12. The photo was shot during the annual members invitational flyin at the AAAs Antique Airfield near Blakesburg, Iowa. Photo by Gilles Auliard.
BACK COVER: This months Mystery Plane answer is the diminutive Sperry Messenger biplane. This
example, owned by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, was restored by the Museum
of the United States Air Force. The Air Force included the bracket and hook used to operate a Messenger from U.S. Army blimps during trials with the blimps TC-3 and TC-7 in 1923-24. U.S. Air Force
photograph.

EAA Publisher
Director of EAA Publications
Executive Director/Editor
Production/Special Project
Photography
Copy Editor
EAA Chairman of the Board

Rod Hightower
Mary Jones
H.G. Frautschy
Kathleen Witman
Jim Koepnick
Colleen Walsh
Tom Poberezny

Publication Advertising:
Manager/Domestic, Sue Anderson
Tel: 920-426-6127
Email: sanderson@eaa.org
Fax: 920-426-4828
Senior Business Relations Mgr, Trevor Janz
Tel: 920-426-6809
Email: tjanz@eaa.org
Manager/European-Asian, Willi Tacke
Phone: +49(0)1716980871 Email: willi@flying-pages.com
Fax: +49(0)8841 / 496012

Interim Coordinator/Classified, Alicia Canziani

Tel: 920-426-6860
Email: classads@eaa.org

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

VAA NEWS

H.G. FRAUTSCHY

EAA Announces All-Star

Fall Webinar Lineup

September 23 marked the 99th

anniversary of the first official airmail flight in the United States, and
in preparation for the 100th anniversary celebrations next year, the
1911 paint scheme used by Earle L.
Ovington has recently been added
to EAAs Type XI Bleriot reproduction. EAAs chief mechanic John
Hopkins reports that the aircraft
should fly within the next month.
The EAA Bleriot project has been
underway for the past four years
and includes an original threecylinder Anzani engine acquired
from a French museum, dated to
1910. Volunteers are making final
mechanical and paperwork preparations for the first flight.
This included the recent application of a paint scheme derived
from Earle Ovingtons famous
Queens Bleriot of 1911. Ovington
was sworn in as a postal carrier by
the postmaster general just before
he departed from Grand Estates,
New York, on September 23, 1911,
with a mailbag containing 650 letters and 1,280 postcards. He then
flew the 5-mile route to Mineola,
New York, where he made a perfect
drop on a predetermined spot outside the post office. However the
500-foot drop split the bag, scattering mail everywhere. Ground handlers were able to gather the letters,
and each piece of mail was sent on
its way with the Aeroplane Station

2 OCTOBER 2010

H.G. FRAUTSCHY

EAA Bleriot Project

Nears First Flight

No. 1 - Garden City Estates, N.Y.

postmark. The mail route was temporary, part of an air show going
on in Garden City Estates. Ovington spent the rest of the week delivering at total 37,470 pieces of
mail from the show to post office
in Mineola.
Hopkins said the conditions
have to be perfect for the first
flight, Well wait for a really, really, really nice day to fly itprobably from Pioneer Airport. Hopkins
said. In the meantime we hope to
have it on display in the AirVenture
Museum while we complete the required FAA inspections.
EAAs Bleriot will help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
first airmail flight during AirVenture 2011, which is planned to include a major gathering of historic
airmail aircraft. For more on the
EAA Bleriot project, see the article
in the July 2009 issue of Sport Aviation and view the videos on the aircraft and its unique original Anzani
engine at www.EAAvideo.org.

EAA webinars are back for a series of fall seminars. EAA webinars are offered free of charge to
EAA members, but space is limited to the fi rst 1,000 registrants
for each session. To view the webinars, your computer (Mac or
PC) must have audio speakers or
headphones, and a broadband
connection is recommended. Upcoming webinars, scheduled for 7
p.m., include the following topics
and presenters:
October 5Is Your Two-Stroke
Engine About to Fail?; Brian
Carpenter
October 14The Zodiac CH 650;
Sebastien and Mathieu Heintz
October 19Flying Marine One;
Lindy Kirkland
November 3Q&A With Kermit
Weeks; Kermit Weeks
November 9Just Say No to Useless Maintenance; Mike Busch
November 16AeroVee Engine
and AeroInjector; Jeremy Monnett
December 2Owning and Flying a Homebuilt; Joe Norris
December 16Flight Before the
Wright Brothers; Adam Smith
January 5, 2011Building a Bleriot XI; Fred Stadler
For more information about
EAAs webinars, visit www.EAA.org/
webinars.

Get Your Complimentary

AirVenture 2010 Souvenir
ProgramDigital Edition
EAA members can now view the
digital edition of the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010 Commemorative Souvenir Program. See 194
pages of exclusive features and
stunning photography, including
the DC-3, B-17, electric aircraft,
the history of AirVenture, and
much more, right on your computer screen! To view the AirVenture 2010 program now, visit www.
AirVenture.org/program.

EAA Calendar of Aviation

Events Is Now Online
EAAs online Calendar of Events is the go-to
spot on the Web to list and find aviation events
in your area. The user-friendly, searchable format
makes it the perfect web-based tool for planning
your local trips to a fly-in. We invite you to access
the EAA online Calendar of Events at http://www.
eaa.org/calendar/

Upcom ing M ajor F l y - I ns

COPPERSTATE Fly-In
Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ),
Casa Grande, Arizona
October 21-23, 2010
www.COPPERSTATE.org

Accreditation Puts EAA

AirVenture Museum in Top Tier
EAAs AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, one of the nations premier aviation museums, again earned accreditation from
the American Association of Museums (AAM), recognizing its commitment to excellence and high professional standards. The latest approval marks the third consecutive time the AirVenture Museum has
earned the AAMs seal of approval.
The EAA facility was the first aviation museum in the United States
to earn accreditation in 1988, and one of fewer than 10 aviation museums in the nation to hold the rating. The museum was accredited for
15 years, increased from the 10-year terms approved twice previously.
The AAM accreditation process took more than a year to complete.
It includes substantial documentation of a museums current programs
and operations, as well as a site visit by a national panel of museum
professionals. Among other characteristics reviewed by AAM are governance, collection stewardship, institutional planning, code of ethics,
mission, and risk management.
Among the publicly visible upgrades made by the AirVenture Museum over the past decade was the effort to make exhibits more interactive and family-friendly. In addition, exciting new exhibits have
been introduced in recent years, including such one-of-a-kind displays
as SpaceShipOne, the worlds first successful civilian spaceship.
The AirVenture Museum also became a major value for EAA members, as a free-admission policy for EAA members was established, and
the organizations 160,000 members could also visit several hundred
other science and technology centers nationwide at no charge as part
of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Passport Program.
EAA members and the Oshkosh community can be very proud of
the AirVenture Museum and the standards of quality that are maintained here, Museum Director Alan Westby said. This facility is not
only the home of EAAs history and the story of personal flight. It is a
resource for all to be used to discover more about aviation, and its a
showpiece for our community.

Southeast Regional Fly-In

Middleton Field Airport (GZH),
Evergreen, Alabama
October 22-24, 2010
www.SERFI.org
U.S. Sport Aviation Expo
Sebring Regional Airport (SEF),
Sebring, Florida
January 20-23, 2011
www.Sport-Aviation-Expo.com
Sun n Fun Fly-In
Lakeland Linder Regional Airport
(LAL), Lakeland, Florida
March 29-April 3, 2011
www.Sun-N-Fun.org
AERO Friedrichshafen
Messe Friedrichshafen,
Friedrichshafen, Germany
April 13-16, 2011
www.AERO-Friedrichshafen.com/html/
en
Virginia Regional Festival of Flight
Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ),
Suffolk, Virginia
April 30-May 1, 2011
www.VirginiaFlyIn.org
Golden West Regional Fly-In and Air
Show
Yuba County Airport (MYV),
Marysville, California
June 10-12, 2011
www.GoldenWestFlyIn.org
Arlington Fly-In
Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO),
Arlington, Washington
July 6-10, 2011
www.ArlingtonFlyIn.org
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
Wittman Regional Airport (OSH),
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
July 25-31, 2011
www.AirVenture.org
Colorado Sport International Air
Show and Rocky Mountain
Regional Fly-In
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport
(BJC), Denver, Colorado
August 27-28, 2011
www.COSportAviation.org

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

Sparkys AirVenture Notebook

Conjuring camaraderie while preserving aviation history
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

As you walk toward the entranceway to the Vintage area and glance up toward the sky, youll see
the Vintage Aircraft Associations warm welcome, embracing all who venture into the Red Barn and
the grassy fields beyond. Pause for a moment to contemplate the message: Preserving Aviation History for Future Generations. Its a mission in which we all play a partwhether pilot, airplane owner
and/or restorer, or armchair enthusiast.
Without the devotion, talents, and energy of thousands of individuals who passionately treasure
vintage airplanes, current and future generations wouldnt be able to personally appreciate our collective winged roots by seeing and hearing these old airplanes fly or be able to walk right up to them
on the flightline and talk with the owners, pilots, and restorers.
Perhaps best of all, one of the most enjoyable perks of being involved with old airplanesbesides
flying themis experiencing the camaraderie conjured by gatherings of like-minded aviators. The vintage fields of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh provide a great opportunity for folks to swap flying tales, share
restoration tips, ogle airplanes, and enjoy the company of friends new and old.
This year, we again strolled through row after row of interesting aircraftall told, there were 635
vintage airplanes on the grounds. We stopped to chat with aviators by their planes, and we photographed many aircraft we hadnt previously seen. Some folks were busy cleaning and polishing their
airplanes, others had a gaggle of merry folks gathered around, and others were peacefully relaxing
beside their cherished flying machinesbut everyone we found was friendly and willing to share a bit
about themselves and their aircraft.
4 OCTOBER 2010

Jim Clark of Chapman, Kansas, flew his 1939 Waco EGC-8 to Oshkosh, accompanied by his grandson,
Brody. N61KS is powered by a supercharged 350-hp
hp Wright R-760E-2 and cruises at about 130 mph. When
originally owned by the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA), the airplane was based in Garden City,
New York. Three or four years ago, I star ted
looking for a cabin Waco, said Jim with a smile,
because I wanted a big flying SUV that could
carr y all my stuff! So I star ted going all over
the countr y looking and could not find one that
I wanted to buy or restore. This airplane was located only 15 miles from my home, and I knew
the owner, EAA member Chuck Hall. It hadnt
flown for about 18 years, but it had been stored
properly. I bought it, and Raven Aero Ser vice in
Junction City, Kansas, did the restoration.

Pilot Tim Cannady has been flying on and off for about 30 years and has been coming to Oshkosh since
1979. He was industriously cleaning N31346s wood prop as the suns beaming rays seemingly spotlighted his
already-glowing 1946 Aeronca 7AC Champ. Tim, who hails from Propwash Airport near Justin, Texas, described
his flight to Oshkosh: I made it as far as Watertown, Wisconsin, on Friday night, and nobody knew what was going on in Oshkosh with all the rain, so I spent Saturday at Watertown. I figured if I got out early Sunday morning,
some water would have dried up overnight. Even then, we were parked on the taxiway, and I just now [midday
TTuesday] moved it into the fieldso I want to clean
it up before I put a judge me sign on it. Ive only
h
had this airplane about four months; the previous
o
owner, Tom Hartman, passed away, and we wanted
tto keep the airplane on the airport. When Tom first
b
brought the Champ to Propwash from Seattle, eve
erybody encouraged him to take it to Oshkosh, but
[[he never did], so now its here for Tom. The airp
plane is about as original as you can getit even
h
has the non-sensitive altimeter without the Kollsm
man window, a non-recording tachometer, and the
o
original hubcaps and fuel cap. The engine has the
fforged rocker box covers instead of the stamped
ccovers. The judges took note of the Champs originality and awarded it the Class I (0-80 hp)-Bronze
n
LLindy in the Classic (September 1945-1955)
category.
c
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

John Maxfield of Northville, Michigan, was at AirVenture with a longstanding member of his family.
In fact, the 1948 Funk B85C was already part of his
family before he was a year old. This airplane belonged to Joe and Howard Funk for 10 years, and its
arguably the last serial number that they built. Dad
bought it from them when I was 10 months old in
1958. Its what I grew up around and learned to fly,
and I had my first solo in it, shared John, chuckling
and adding, My diapers were actually changed on a
table under the wing in the hangar! NC1654N was
restored in 1994 and was awarded Reserve Grand
Champion at Oshkosh in 1995. John joined the Antique/Classic Division of EAA back when Buck Hilbert
was president. This year, the judges presented John
with the Preservation
Small Plaque award in the Classic (Sept
(September 1945 through 1955) category.
Preservation-Small
Bob and Barb Perkins flew N20908, their recently
purchased Jacobs-powered 1939 Waco AGC-8, from
their home at Long Island Airpark (NC26), North
Carolina, to Oshkosh this summer. Bob is an EAA
volunteer, and he and Barb were busy polishing the
prop as rays from the morning sun continued drying the once-soggy field. Smiling happily, Barb commented, We got up early this morning to come out
and clean herit was all nice before the rain. Bob
chimed in, We came to Oshkosh a long time ago,
but our friends Margy and Ron Natalie encouraged
us to start coming back. This Waco is a 20-yearold restoration, and it was repainted about 10
years ago. It was about a year ago when I decided
I wanted a round-engine airplane, and Larry Harmacinski, who owns a Waco UEC, said, You have to
have a Waco! He found this for me on the Internet,
it. Larry taught me how to fly it.
and I went out and checked on it and bought it
Terry Bolger of Schaumburg, Illinois,
was all smiles as he shared a little bit
about NC788V, his Fleet Model 7. He
bases the airplane at the Walworth, Wisconsin, airport, and has owned it about
10 years. The restoration is 5 years old,
and after it was completed in 2004, it
was on the back cover of Vintage. Budd
Davisson wrote a nice article on it, commented Terry, adding, I like the Fleet for
a couple of reasons. Number one, its
unique. Number two, I restored the whole
thing myself. It took me five years, and
that makes it fun! It handles phenomenally, and it really is a neat little plane.
It doesnt go fastonly about 80 mph
but its really a hoot to fly. It was the first
airplane I restored; I did a Champ
Champ, and before that I built a kit Buccanee
Buccaneer amphibian. Ive learned a whole lot,
and fortunately there are a whole lot of guys at the airport and I was able to draw from their knowledge; they
really helped me out. The best thing about being at AirVenture is savoring the ambience of the vintage era, the
history of it all, and the wonderful camaraderiewe always have a great time here!
6 OCTOBER 2010

EAA Vintage members Phil and DeAnn Riter of Stryker,

O
Ohio, are regular attendees at AirVenture. Theyve been
ccoming since the early 1980s and have only missed a few
yyears. Phil explained why they came despite the weather,
This year was challenging! But if you restore airplanes
yyouve got to be here and see what the competitions doiingand you always pick up tips on how to do better.
He bought his 1948 Cessna 170 (N4182V) in Novemb
ber 1987, and DeAnn accompanies him on most of their
ccross-countries in the Cessna. We travel a lotIve
llogged about 2,800 hours in that airplane; shes probably
b
been in it at least 2,500 hours. Weve had it to Alaska
ttwice and to the Canadian Maritimes a couple of times.
IIn fact, this past February we went to the Turks and Caicos Islands with this airplane and two other 170s, which was kind of neat. Ive also got a Champ, and we do short
trips in it, and Ive got a Waco straight wing that we do really short trips in! They both enjoy flying to AirVenture and
camping with their airplane and reuniting with many friends whom they see only once a year.
Seventeen-year-old Zac Weidner grew up with airplanes,
and hes been going to Oshkosh with his family since
2007. He was often seen relaxing by his familys spiffy
cream and red Piper Tri-Pacer during AirVenture and was
happy to share a little bit about its restoration. His father,
Kevin, purchased the 1958 PA-22-160 as a basket case
three and a half years ago. It hadnt flown since 1968 and
had been sitting in a garage for more than 20 years. Father and son hauled it home to Bunker Hill, Illinois, from
Carbondale on a hog trailer, and together they restored it
to award-winning condition. Members of the Short Wing
Piper Club proved most helpful as they answered many of
the Weidners restoration questions via the clubs website.
Restoration takes a lot of determinationand sometimes ffrustrationbut
i
b iits
worth
h iit. W
We used
d the
h P
Polyl
Fiber process, with Poly-Tone on the fabric and Aerothane on the aluminum, explained Zac, adding matter-offactly, I soloed this airplane about two weeks ago, and Im going to finish my lessons in it. Ive got about 20
hours now. We fly out of a farm strip at home, and its just neat to be able to go up whenever you feel like it and
look around and have a view of everything.
As for the future, Zac said he sees aviation as a hobby. Im going to farm and fly out of our strip. This is a great
airplane for looking at crops and a pretty decent cross-country airplane as long as the suns out and its not IFR. The
first flight after restoration was June 10. Its a lot of fun to fly! And fly it they do. Before the restoration the aircraft
had only 354 hours; now it has more than 400. The Tri-Pacer is also fun to beholdthe judges awarded it the Class
I Single Engine (0-160 hp)-Large Plaque in the Contemporary (1956-1970) category.

Left: Ben Scott of Reno, Nevada, is devoted

tto preserving antique and vintage airplanes. He
le
left his 1930 Stearman 4E Speedmail Junior
a
and 1944 Howard DGA-15P at home to bring
N
N663G, his recently restored 1945 Grumman
G
G-44A Widgeon, to AirVenture for its debut this
s
summer. Powered by Lycoming GO-480 series
e
engines, it cruises at 160 mph and lands at
6
60 mph. This exquisitely detailed amphibian recceived the Gold Lindy in the seaplane category.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

A pilot since 1976, Jim Graham of Hilliard, Ohio,

was happily camping with his Ercoupe 415-C in the
south 40. A semi-retired U.S. District judge, hes
been going to AirVenture on and off for a long time.
Now that he has a bit more time on his hands and is
flying as a sport pilot, hes attended the show for five
years in a row. This is the second time Ive flown into
Oshkosh, and it was a great flight! It was a real thrill
flying through the VFR corridor around the lakefront at
Chicagojust a spectacular view. I made good time,
cruising about 105 mph and burning about 5 gph. AirVenture is the only reason Id ever camp, remarked
Jim, laughing heartily and adding, but I somehow got
myself in that little tent, and I also somehow went to
sleep! I like the camaraderie with the other airplane
here in fact,
fact I had breakfast this morning with a whole group of folks that just invited me in; Id never met
people herein
them before! Of course, we all have something in common that we can talk about, and thats fun, too. There are
also marvelous airplanes you see here, and the air shows great. I guess the thing that I get really excited about,
in addition to all these other things, is all of the vendors who are here. They choose AirVenture for announcing new
products, so Im always spending time in those big hangars looking at all the fabulous stuff.
Left: This 220-hp Continental-powered 1929 Curtiss Robin is owned and flown by David Mars of Jackson, Mississippi. N3277G was the leading aircraft
in the recently released and award-winning movie
Pearl. The movie was produced by the Chickasaw Nation and Media 13. Pearl Carter Scott, a daredevil
who dared to dream, grew up in the 1920s in Marlow, Oklahoma. As a young Chickasaw, she started
learning to fly in a Robin when she was just 12 years
old, and the next year, she became the youngest licensed pilot in the United States. A free screening of
Pearl was held on Friday night during AirVenture.

Left: NC15244 is an eye-catching, Jacobs-powered 1935

ccabin Waco YOC, emblazoned with the Phillips 66 logo. Its
owned by Jeff Skiles of Oregon, Wisconsinthe first offio
ccer during the Miracle on the Hudson US Airways flight and
EAAs current co-chair of the Young Eagles program.

Right: This pretty 1946 Stinson 108

8
(NC97607) is registered to Ross Sea-brooke of Clarksville, Michigan.

8 OCTOBER 2010

NX15429 is owned by H. Cam Blazer of Leawood, Kansas. Powered by a 165-hp Warner

(hence the X in the registration number), this 1936 Monocoupe 90A received the Silver Age
(1928-1936) ChampionBronze Lindy in the Antique (1903 through August 1945) category.

NC16522 is a 1939 cabin Waco YKS-6. Bearing

the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company logo on its fuselage, the Waco is registered to John Thomason of
Sonoma, California.

Talk about standing out in a crowdthis 1947 Consolidated Vultee L-13, N2538B, stimulated many conversations. Powered by a 300-hp Lycoming R680, its nose art
depicts a redheaded nurse and the words Intensive Care
Unit. Owned by Clu Colvin of Big Cabin, Oklahoma, it received the Outstanding Limited ProductionSmall Plaque.

Left: NC84149, a handsome

1946 Aeronca 7BCM, was selected
as Best Custom Runner-UpLarge
Plaque. Its owned by Kevin Bower
of Oldenburg, Indiana.

Left: This 1957 Piper PA-23

Apache is registered to N2287P
Inc. of Hudson, Wisconsin.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

Brett Lovett of Liberty, Missouri, had his 1948 Piper

PA-17 Vagabond, N4821H, looking pretty. Powered by
65 horses, this Vagabond cruises at 87 mph. It received
the Custom Class A (0 - 80 hp)Small Plaque in the
Classic (September 1945 through 1955) category.

Heres the Mister Mulligan

n replica built by Jim Younkin
of Springdale, Arkansas. NR273Y is powered by a Pratt &
Whitney R-1340.

NC9277K is a good-looking 1947 Stinson 108-2, registered to Lee Lane of Valparaiso, Indiana. According to EAA
volunteer Tim Fox, 54 Stinsons were originally signed up
for the camping area, but only 28 arrived on the grounds
due to the challenging weather-related conditions.

Leon Whelchel of Vinton,

Vinton Iowa,
Iowa brought his 1942
de Havilland Tiger Moth DH.82A to the convention.

The 1929 Hamilton Metalplane H-47 (N879H) is

registered
to Mr. Wrights Pole Pass Airways of SeBills Dream, a 1938 Beech F17D Staggerwing (NC18781),
attle,
Washington.
Restored by the late Jack Lysdale
is owned, flown, and maintained by the late Bill Morrisons
back
in
the
1970s,
it was last in Oshkosh in 1975!
sons, Mark and Ron. Powered by a fuel-injected Jacobs 330,
It
was
awarded
the
Antique
Transport Category
the biplane has quite a history, having been in the Morrison
ChampionBronze
Lindy
and
was on display in front
family for 35 years. It won a Bronze Lindy in 1991.
of the Red Barn.

10 OCTOBER 2010

The Candler Field Express from Georgia and the Flabob Express from California were on hand to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of the DC-3 this year.

Past award winner N2988T, a 1966 Meyers 200D,

was looking sharp despite a few raindrops. The airplane
is owned by Ross Warner of Benton Harbor, Michigan.

This outstanding Lycoming R680-powered Stinson

Model O replica (NC12817) of the only open-cockpit aircraft built by Stinson is based largely upon photographs
of the original 1933 airplane. The replica was painstakingly engineered and built by Evergreen Aviation Services
and Restoration at the Scappoose Airport near Portland,
Oregon. This unique two-place parasol airplane received
the Antique Replica Aircraft ChampionBronze Lindy.

N6874W is one highly polished 1965 Cherokee PA28-140. Its shiny status attracted many a passerby.
Powered by a Lycoming O-320, the airplane is regisp of Chicago,
g , Illinois.
tered to Claene Corp.

N7557B is a perky 1957 Champion 7FC Tri-Traveler,

registered to Joe Wiegand of San Francisco, California.

Right: N77661, a 1947 Fairchild 24-R46

was featured on the cover of Sport Aviation in
November 1974. Its a former Antique Grand
Champion winner.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

One Classy Rearwin Cloudster

Carefully restored with character
article and photos by Sparky Barnes Sargent

n the early summer of 1940, Rearwin test pilot Billy

Miller gave NC25552 (s/n 828) a thorough preflight,
as sunlight glinted from its lustrous, hand-rubbed
vermilion and indigo-trimmed finish. Climbing
into the elegantly appointed cabin, the clean scent
of new wool upholstery enveloped him, and the gracefully
curved, chrome-plated control stick felt cool to his touch.
He engaged the electric starter, and the seven-cylinder,
120-hp Ken-Royce radial rumbled to life. Then he taxied
the three-place airplane out for takeoff, and the Cloudster
quickly climbed away from the runway. Miller gained sufficient altitude above the Fairfax Airport in Kansas City,
Kansas, to put the airplane through the prescribed series of
test maneuvers and recorded the data from his findings in
a detailed report.
A copy of that report, along with the build sheet from
the factory, filtered down through seven decades and now
rests in the hands of the airplanes current caretaker, Ed
McKeown of Village of Lakewood, Illinois. So when Rearwin Aircraft & Engines Incorporated advertised that the
Cloudster is built to last, its statement was a bit more prophetic than it might have imagined.
A brief glance at Rearwin history reveals that, in 1937,
Rearwin Aircraft acquired LeBlond Aircraft Engine Company and renamed it Ken-Royce Motors, after owner Raymond Andrew Rearwins two sons, Ken and Royce. In
1939, Rearwins companies came together as Rearwin Aircraft & Engines. By then Rearwin was already known for
several of its airplanes, including the Speedster and Sportsterin fact, it advertised the popular Sportster model in

12 OCTOBER 2010

the first issue of Trade-A-Plane Service in 1937. Rearwin

manufactured around 125 Cloudsters under Approved
Type Certificate No. 711, and today, serial number 828
is one of only 24 Rearwin Model 8135s listed on the FAA
Registry. By 1942, the company was sold to Empire Ordinance, which continued manufacturing operations as
Commonwealth Aircraft.

Cloudster Is Tops!
The Cloudster has sometimes been affectionately
dubbed a baby Howard, since its round engine and tall
vertical stabilizer are similar to the larger Howard DGA of
the same era. Rearwin had its own creative promotional
slogans, and one was by any yardstick you choose, the
Cloudster measures up. One such yardstick was that
of performance: The Cloudster is powered with the timetested, dependable Ken-Royce motor, which assures plenty
of power and pep for top-notch performance under all
conditions. . . . Just tap the throttle and the Cloudster is
off with full load in 700 feetup like a rocket, off like a
bullet! Another was economy: . . . sky-high in value,
yet down to earth in price . . . . And the Ken-Royce motor,
with its new automatic overhead rocker box oiling system
. . . eliminates hand greasing . . . . Yet another measure
was beauty: . . . see the flashing, streamlined styling of
the Cloudster. . . . Outside and in, the Cloudster has a
personality of its own, for its looks are as distinctive as
its performance.
Another ad touted the Rearwins features by describing:
Thrills for ThreeA real three-place airplane, with room

The 1940 Rearwin Model 8135 Cloudster taxies out for takeoff.
to spare and power to burn Cloudsters Go to Iran. . .
the Iranian Government picked Rearwin 120 hp Cloudsters twenty-five of them for its Aero Club. . . . These airplanes are being used half way around the world on fields a
mile or more above sea level and over high, mountainous
country. They have to be good . . . Service With a Smile
. . . The Cloudsters newly designed two-piece engine cowling can be raised in three minutes for quick and easy
engine servicing. Theres a special opening which saves
additional time in checking the oil level. . . . Appointment
with Beauty . . . Placement of sticks well forward enables
women fliers to wear conventional dresses with perfect
freedom . . . Inside and out, the Cloudster is tops!

Owner Ed McKeown and

Roger Shadick of Noble Aviation.

Washington, D.C., in March 1943. The Defense Plant Corporation was created by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation pursuant to Section 5(d) of the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation Act, as amended, to aid the government of the United States in its National Defense Program.
During the brief period of time it owned the Rearwin, it
was badly damaged during a forced landing.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Inspectors Report stated that the accident occurred at South
Coffeyville, Oklahoma, on July 6, 1943, at 4:45 p.m. The
pilot, Jack Howard Graham of Sioux City, Iowa, was an
instructor who was associated with the Coffeyville Airway

AERO CLASSIC

Construction and Specs

The Model 8135 measured 21 feet 6 inches from nose to
tail, and its fuselage was composed of welded steel tubing
with spruce fairing strips. Its wings had a span of 34 feet
1-3/4 inches and were built of spruce spars and truss-type
ribs with plywood gussets, with duralumin leading and
trailing edges. The ailerons were of metal construction,
and the tail group was composed of welded tubular steel
spars with steel channel ribs. Ball bearing control pulleys
were used throughout the flight control system, which
provided the pilot with smooth, fluid control. Its main
gear incorporated hydraulic shocks, and its tail wheel was
a combination full swivel/steerable with a hydraulic pneumatic shock absorber.
A 17-gallon fuel tank in each wing provided a 600-mile
range, since the seven-cylinder, 120-hp Ken-Royce engine
burned about 7 gph at a 120-mph cruise. The Cloudster
weighed 1,140 pounds empty and had a useful load of 760
pounds and a gross weight of 1,900 pounds. Its maximum
speed was 135 mph; its landing/stall speed was 50 mph.
The price at the factory started at $4,495.

Cloudster Chronicle
Serial number 828 went through a long chain of ownership, enduring a few mishaps through the years. Following
are just a few highlights gleaned from its aircraft records.
The Coffeyville Airway Corporation of Coffeyville, Kansas, sold NC25552 to the Defense Plant Corporation of

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Serial number 828 came from the factory with a

wind generator.

The original glove box neatly conceals a modern

transponder, radio, and engine analyzer.

company. The engine quit on the takeoff, necessitating a forced landing. Damage to aircraft: propeller broken; motor mount bent; right side landing gear buckled;
right lift struts bent; vertical fin and rudder demolished.
The inspector further reported: After intensive investigation, it was determined that a cotter key was missing from
the throttle arm on the carburetor and the retaining nut
was loose. This would allow the butterfly to operate independent of the throttle if the nut were loose enough.
The spring on the butterfly would then shut the butterfly
valve, causing the engine to drop back to idling speed and
be thought to be windmilling. The reason the butterfly
would close is because the spring is hooked up to work
in this manner. The spring should be arranged in such a
way as to open the butterfly instead of closing it. Since
the manufacturer overhauled the complete engine and its
[sic] accessories the last time, it is assumed that they attached the spring in this manner.
The Cloudster was repaired, and the Defense Plant Corporation sold NC25552 to James Emmett Combs of Kansas
City, Missouri, in April 1944. Omar Midyett of East St. Louis,
Illinois, purchased the Rearwin in June 1949 and sold it in
September 1950. Interestingly, Midyett was well-known for
operating a flight-training school and establishing Lakeside
Airport near Granite City in southwestern Illinois.
Those in the antique community may well remember
NC25552 (now N4404W) as Noel and Mary Gouldsmiths
airplane. Noel, of Independence, Missouri, owned the
airplane in the early 1960s and restored it. He also replaced the original Goodyear 3LNBM wheels by installing
800x4 wheels and Hayes brake assemblies from a PA-12.
Painted in an unmistakable Daytona white and forest
green scheme, the airplane was a regular visitor to the flyins at Ottumwa, Iowa, where it won several awards.
William Kloek of St. Paul, Minnesota, purchased the
Cloudster in May 1971, and Ed McKeown recalled, He
landed it in a tree after running out of fuel. Then Frank Hay
[of Nisswa, Minnesota] bought the airplane in April 1992.
Ed first learned about the availability of the airplane
from Roger Shadick, owner of Noble Aviation in Eagle
River, Wisconsin. Roger heard about this plane down
in Racine, Wisconsin, and I knew what it was, so I called

Frank Hay. He had it stored in a garage on his property,

and all the parts scattered around there, along with the
engine, said Ed. He was just plain tired of the project,
and it needed a lot of work. He also had another Cloudster, N25451, minus its prop and engine. I purchased both
airplanes from him in May 2002.

14 OCTOBER 2010

Restoration
Serial number 828s restoration began in earnest when
Ed and Roger moved both Rearwins to Eagle River, Wisconsin, in September 2002. Roger acquired NC2551 from
Ed, and Ed and Roger started a slow-but-sure restoration
on N4404W.
As sometimes happens with dormant airplanes, Ed discovered that his Cloudsters original CAA identification
mark, NC25552, had been forfeited when the registration
wasnt kept current. Frank Hay registered the airplane after
he bought it in 1992, and thus it received N4404W as its
new registration number. When Ed acquired the project,
he recalled with a chuckle, I found the original number
on a Piper Cherokee in Michigan, so I called the owner,
and he was willing to give me the N numberif I bought
the airplane for $35,000!
Roger fabricated all new sheet metal, which was a bit of
a challenge. The skins look relatively simple, but in fact
theyre really not, because one skin tucks into another one
to hold it together, he described, and the parts that Ed
had were wrinkled-up masses of junk. I rolled them out
flat to see if I could determine where the bend started and
ended, and the general shape of them, and then we went
from there.
Ed recalled, The cowl was unbelievably destroyed.
Roger reworked the original, because it was either do that
or try to get a new one. I thought that if he got it as good
as he could, it would look like it was original for the plane,
rather than a brand new pieceand that was good; we
wanted that kind of character in it. We did the same thing
with the wheelpants. We wanted to maintain some authenticity and the character of the plane.
The tail wheel assembly also offered a challenge. Its
original, except I made it all new, because it was corroded
and rotted, declared Roger. Thats the most complex tail

wheel system Ive ever seen in my life. There are cables going everywhere, an oil spring, and steel tubing.
Roger progressed steadily on the project for a while
or so they thought. Frank had covered the fuselage and
the wings while he owned it, and they looked okay, so
we assumed they were. We did all the finish coats and
sanding, wired in the lights, and were all set to go,
Roger explained, adding, and then we opened up the
inspection holes on the wing and started seeing some
really scary stuff in there. So then the wings had to be
redone, and my shop didnt allow the time for us to really tear into it.
Thats when they enlisted the services of Kent McMakin
of Rockton, Illinois, who repaired both wings by fabricating new components. He replaced a total of 11 cracked
ribs, as well as the left and right rear spars.
Roger re-covered the fuselage with Poly-Fiber and used
a high-volume, low-pressure system to apply the finish
coat of Poly-Tone to the entire airframe. One of his employees, Randy Block, completed the new wool headliner
and upholstery, and the control sticks, rudder pedals, door
handles, and other cabin hardware were freshly chromed.
Roger made a new instrument panel by forming metal
around a block of wood and welding it as needed; then it
was sent to a company in California to receive its walnut
veneer. The panel neatly conceals a transponder, radio,
and engine analyzer inside the original glove box. The
electric fuel gauges, Ford ashtray, and Carwil T61 wet compass also help retain the originality of the panel.

Ken-Royce
The Ken-Royce radial was overhauled by Dick Weeden
of Brodhead, Wisconsin. It has a few modifications, according to Roger, including an oil recapture system in
the lower rockers, which was added by a previous owner.
That works really well, and we also installed an Airwolf
filter. Plus we did the conversion to use Continental valve
springs, because there was a real issue with breaking valve
springs, explained Roger. This engine has an ignition
booster, which is operable, but really not necessary because the engine starts really nice without it.
Another mod was the installation of a J.P. Instruments
EDM-700 EGT-701 engine monitor
scanner, to simultaneously display exhaust gas temperature and cylinder
head temperature for all seven cylinders, as well as displaying oil temperature and system voltage. The wind
generator, which was a factory option,
is now in good operating condition,
and is used to power the wings retractable landing light.
Roger is pleased so far with the
Ken-Royce engines performance. I
flew down from Eagle River to Poplar
Grove to Blakesburg, he said, which
was about 330 miles, and it probably

used a quart of oilso it does really well.

Flying the Cloudster

The Cloudsters initial test flight was flown by Joe Norris of Oshkosh, and it was quickly evident that the airplane
wasnt rigged correctly. Then Ed and Roger received checkouts from Mike Weinfurter of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Ed,
a Stearman pilot who is no stranger to tailwheel flying,
recalled his turn in the left seat: I would say for me, during the first hour of flight, I found it to be the most squirrelly airplane I have flown. The takeoffs were every bit as
exciting as the landings, without a doubt! It has minimal
rudder authority at low speeds, he shared, adding with a
chuckle, so it was certainly fun to acquire the necessary
skills to get more confident. Now we know that some of it
was that its rigging just wasnt tweaked yet.
Roger explained, We got a hold of Gary Van Farowe,
who was the Cloudster guru, and I asked him if he had
any kind of setting [for the angle of incidence] on these
wings, because the build manual that I have says nothing
on that. We had set it up fairly neutral, and then started
adjusting the wings a little bit, trying to make the airplane
climb better. Gary couldnt find any information either,
but he measured a whole bunch of rear struts, and they
ranged in length from 100-3/4 inches to 101 inches. At
that point we felt we had a good number to go by, and we
were at the high end of that length, so I adjusted it by 1/4
inch less in the back of the strutand the airplane really
flies nicely now!
Ed said, I fly 80 mph on downwind and 70 mph on
final and across the threshold to a full three-point landing. Its really behaving beautifully now that all the bugs
have been worked out. At first, it was a learning experience, and right now I think were both very comfortable
with where we are and the performance of the airplane.
The control pressure is as smooth as you could hope for,
and you get almost 1 mile for horsepower out of this engine. I think those are two of the more impressive things
for me.
Congratulations to Ed and Roger for a job well done in
preserving a bit of Rearwin history for others, as well as
themselves, to enjoy.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Light Plane Heritage

published in EAA Experimenter May 1990

THE SPERRY MESSENGER

BY JACK

MCRAE

JIM MORROW/AMERICAN MODELER, JUNE 1962

he Sperry Messenger was the

best known of a number of
light airplanes procured by
the U.S. Army Air Services and the
U.S. Navy in the 1920s. The Messenger was designed by Alfred Verville
of the Engineering Division of the
U.S. Army Air Services at McCook
Field. It was reportedly designed in
response to a suggestion by Gen.

Billy Mitchel to substitute small airplanes for motorcycles for messenger duties and for training purposes.
Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company of Farmingdale, Long Island,
New York, was contracted to build
the airplane. Lawrence Sperry was
the son of inventor Elmer Sperry of
Sperry Gyroscope fame. James Fahey, in his book U.S. Army Aircraft

1908-1946, states that six of the M-1

model were purchased, 20 of the
M-1A, and six of the MAT, a modified
M-1, aerial torpedo, during the 192123 period.
The Messenger was a single-seat
biplane of 20-foot span, powered
with a three-cylinder Lawrance 60to 65-hp engine. Wood was constructed throughout the airplane.

Editors Note: The Light Plane Heritage series in EAAs Experimenter magazine often touched on aircraft and concepts
related to vintage aircraft and their history. Since many of our members have not had the opportunity to read this series, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!HGF

16 OCTOBER 2010

The two-seat Sperry Messenger.

Sperry Messenger P-152 on which performance tests were conducted.

The fuselage had four longerons
and was covered with mahogany
plywood. The wings, which were
the same upper and lower, were
braced by two lift struts of round
steel tubing on each side with
wood fairings and N-type interplane struts of wood. The USA 5
airfoil was used. The wing spars
were of spruce with mahogany
plywood webs and spruce caps.
The whole wing truss was intended for ease of assembly, and a
minimum of rigging was required.
Originally there was a single diagonal wire on each side running
from the lower front spar root to
the upper rear spar at the N-strut.
These seem to have been omitted
on later models. It was reported
that the wings were static tested

by the Army for a load factor of

7.0 positive and 4.0 negative.
Lt. J.A. Macready at McCook
Field did the test flying with the
following observations:
The flying qualities of the Messenger airplane are very good. It is
an exceptionally smooth and easily handled airplane. Although remarkably small, there is a feeling of
solidity and strength in the appearance and the handling in flight of
the airplane that lends confidence
to the pilot.
The airplane is easily taxied
even in a strong wing, is steady
and easily controlled for so small
an airplane, and has a quick getaway and good climb, considering
the comparatively low horsepower
of the engine. The controls are re-

sponsive and normal in action. Little effort is required to maneuver

quickly, smoothly and effectively.
The airplane is well balanced. It
side slips and stalls normally both
with and without power. The pilot
sits very comfortably with excellent
visibility. Instruments and engine
controls are within easy reach.
A number of maintenance troubles were encountered on both the
engine and the airplane, the experimental three-cylinder Lawrance
engine causing the majority of the
difficulties. The bolt in the master
bearing, weakened by drilling out
to lessen weight, broke, with a resultant breaking of the master bearing and all connecting rods.
Vibration of the engine
cracked the engine mounting
bracket. A stronger mounting of
new design effectively replaced
the one, which failed.
The Philbrin ignition system
did not function satisfactorily, causing constant trouble throughout
the test. With the exception of the
present ignition system, all parts
of the airplane are accessible and
easily repaired. The maintenance
is simple on both engine and airplane. The engine mounting gives
easy access to plugs, carburetor, etc.
Some trouble was experienced
with cracked fi ttings. A tendency
for the center section and landing
gear to weave because of looseness
of the strut sockets could be corrected by cross brace wires in the
center section and landing gear,
instead of the present diagonal
tubes, or by some other means
that would compress the struts
into the sockets.
The landing gear and centersection diagonal struts were subsequently replaced by wires to
prevent the looseness mentioned.
In 1921, Lt. C.C. Moseley, winner of the 1920 Pulitzer Trophy
Race, reported on a trip he made
in a Messenger from Washington
to Langley Field and back. The distance was 138 miles each way, and
two forced landings were made in
small fields due to cracked spark

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

plugs. Moseley said he flew at approximately 500 feet altitude, made

several other landings in good
fields, and examined the fishing
boats in the Potomac at close range.
The return flight took one hour and
45 minutes, using 7 gallons of gas
and 1 quart of oil.
Bert Acosta, winner of the 1921
Pulitzer Trophy Race, survived a
spectacular crash in a Messenger
on June 28, 1922. He made a dive
on Mitchel Field followed by a
roll at an altitude of about 50 feet.
The engine and its gravity-fed fuel
supply stopped in the inverted
position. Acosta, barely able to
complete the roll, hit the ground
hard enough to completely wreck
the airplane. He spent the next
several weeks in the hospital.
In April 1923, a fatal accident occurred in a Messenger at Langley
Field, which was officially attributed to a failure of the control stick
support, which made it impossible
to pull the airplane out of a dive.
The pilots seat, which acted as a
support for the control system, was
redesigned for greater strength.
Flight tests were made on a Messenger with several different wing
sections, and also with various high
lift devices.
Lawrence Sperryan experienced pilotsaw the possibilities
of promoting the Messenger as a
sport airplane. He obtained permission from the Air Service to use
the basic design for a commercial
airplane, and took every opportunity to publicize its use. One of
his exploits was to use the Messenger as transportation from his
Garden City home to the factory
in Farmingdale, a distance of about
11 miles. One publicity shot shows
Sperry receiving a ticket for landing on a street in Garden City. He
also built a two-seater Messenger
with tandem seating. This version
had a length 9 inches longer and a
span 4 inches greater than the single-seater. A slightly wider fuselage
caused the increase in span.
The April 10, 1922, issue of Aviation magazine carried a new item

18 OCTOBER 2010

Reproduction Sperry Messenger at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Mitchel Field,

Long Island, New York.
describing a Remarkable demonstration of the maneuverability of
the Messenger, in which Sperry
flew the airplane from New York to
Washington, D.C. He performed
short distance takeoffs and landings near the Munitions and Navy
Buildings, landing with only a 50or 60-foot run, and taking off again
after a run of about 75 feet with
a climbing turn. He then landed
in the long basin of the Reflecting Pool of the Lincoln Memorial,
which was dry at the time. After
disconnecting the ignition wires
on one of the three cylinders, he
took off to demonstrate that the
engine would run satisfactorily on
two cylinders. The following day
he landed on the Capitol Plaza and
paid a visit to Congress, taxiing the

Messenger part way up the steps of

the Capitol to show that it was capable of overcoming rough roads,
curbs, stones, etc.
Sperry flew a Messenger to the
St. Louis Air Races in October 1923,
placing fourth in the On to St.
Louis Race, and flying 900 miles
from Garden City, New York. He
evidently did considerable demonstration at the races as he was credited a total mileage of 2,500 miles,
the greatest of any of the 102 civilian contestants listed.
In November 1923, Sperry took a
Messenger to England for the purpose of promoting the airplane as a
sport plane in Europe. On December 23, 1923, he took off from Croydon Airport for a flight across the
English Channel. A few miles off

Specifications
Engine

3-cylinder Lawrance, 64 hp at 1880 rpm

Empty weight

623 pounds

Gross weight

862 pounds

Wingspan

20 feet

Chord

4 feet

Length

17 feet 9 inches

Wing area

152 square feet

Stabilizer area

11 square feet

Fin area

2.75 square feet

Rudder area

5.75 square feet

Maximum speed

96.7 mph at sea level

Landing speed

41 mph

Rate of climb

700 feet/minute

Ceiling

15,600 feet

the English coast, a successful water landing was made after engine
failure. Although the landing was
visible from shore and a rescue was
being organized, Sperry attempted
to swim to shore and drowned as
a result. The airplane suffered only
slight damage, was salvaged, and
was used by Clarence Chamberlin
for a lecture tour in 1928 after being sent back to the United States.
As early as 1921, Sperry had suggested to the Air Service the idea of
hooking a Messenger on to an airship for the purpose of using the
airplane for scouting. It was not
until October 1924, after his death,
that a Messenger was carried aloft
and released from a blimp. In December 1924, a Messenger was
hooked on to the TC-3 blimp in
flight. In order to accomplish this,
a special hook and support structure was added to the forward fuselage, which engaged a trapeze
extending below the blimp.
At the present time there is only
one known original Messenger. It
was previously on display at the
Museum of the United States Air
Force in Dayton, Ohio, and is now
back with the Smithsonian. The
Museum of the United States Air
Force completed a restoration/conversion of the aircraft to the singleseat M-1 version with a skyhook
after it was donated to the Smithsonian by WWI ace Eddie Rickenbacker. It is now on display in the
Pre-1920 Aviation exhibition station at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy
Center of the Smithsonian National
Air and Space Museum.
During recent years, there was
considerable interest in building reproduction Sperry Messengers. The
December 1974 issue of Sport Aviation
described a somewhat modified Messenger built by Ray Parker of Denver, based on general arrangement
drawings published in Air Progress
magazine. This ship had a steel tube
fuselage, an M-12 airfoil, a split-axle
landing gear, and a 150-hp Lycoming O-320 engine. It was described as
a satisfactory personal airplane with
a cruising speed of 115 mph.

Another homebuilt example is

that of Graham Hansen of Alberta,
Canada, whose 65-hp Continental-powered Messenger was completed and flown in 1985. This
airplane was built from drawings
published in American Modeler magazine in June 1962. [Weve included
that drawing by Jim Morrow in this
article.HGF]
Credit for making available complete construction information on
the Messenger must go to Lloyd S.
Gates of Norway, Maine. He wrote
a page on the Messenger fairly regularly in WW I Aero magazine from
1984 to 1988. Gates received two
rolls of microfilm of the original
Air Service Engineering Division
detail drawings of the Messenger
from Harry Owen of Omaha. And
after a huge amount of work, he reconstructed the 340 drawings into
readable shape and a usable size,
and made them available to Sperry
Messenger enthusiasts. He is in the
process of building a Messenger
himself from the drawings.

The Messenger built by Paul

Kotze and helpers at the Cradle of
Aviation Museum at Mitchel Field,
Long Island, New York, is most
likely the first reproduction to be
completed from these drawings.
This example is equipped with a
Lenape Papoose engine and would
be flyable except for the restrictions imposed by the museum. The
photo shows it on exhibition recently before the engine cowling
was installed. The Museum has a
Lawrance L-4 engine that, unfortunately, is not complete.

Stop worrying, Fred! I had the map printed on

Poly-Fiber. What could possibly go wrong?

References:
Air Service Information Circular,
Performance Test Report No.
61, (1921).
F a h e y, U . S . A r m y A i r c r a f t ,
1908-1946
Aircraft Yearbook 1923, 1924
Aviation, November 15, 1920,
April 20, 1922
World War I Aero, Issues No.
96-117.

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

The Prequel
French aviation
pioneer Clment
Aders Avion III
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY

G ILLES A ULLARD

20 OCTOBER 2010

he Conservatoire
National des Arts et
Mtiers (CNAM)National Conservatory
for Arts and Trades
is an establishment of
higher learning and of
fundamental and applied research. Located
in the heart of Paris, the CNAM and
the cole Polytechnique are two
creations of the French Revolution
designed to teach and promote engineering sciences.
Standing on the grounds of the
Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs,
a religious school built in 1060 by
decree of Henri the First, it is the
longest continually operating educational institution in Paris.
First proposed in 1794 by Abbot
Henri Gregoire as a depositary for
machines, models, tools, drawings,
descriptions and books in all the areas of Arts and Trades, the Muse
des Arts et Mtiers (museum of arts
and trades) displays the collections
of the CNAM. Since it opened in
1802, it has housed the collection
in the deserted priory.
The museum underwent a major renovation starting in 1990 and
reopened in April 2000, adding a
new building adjacent to the abbey,
while the larger artifacts stayed in
the former church itself.
The museum has more than
80,000 objects and 15,000 drawings
in its collection, of which 40,000 are
displayed at the Paris site. Amongst
its most noteworthy artifacts is an
original version of the Foucault pendulum, made famous in Umberto
Ecos eponymous novel.
Most fascinating is the Fardier
de Cugnot, the first automobile
ever, designed by Nicolas-Joseph
Cugnot, which, in 1770, propelled
itself into history at a whopping 3

mph under the power generated by

its own steam engine.
Amongst the marvels exposed,
four unique machines are of the utmost interest to the aviation enthusiast. Covering the pioneer era of
aviation, each one is authentic and
paints a much different picture of
this period than generally depicted.
The most intriguing exhibit is
Clment Aders bat-like Avion III,
displayed atop of the main staircase
of the museum.
Born in Muret, in the south of
France in 1841, Clment Ader was the
son of a carpenter and showed great
technical abilities at a young age. Fas-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

cinated with flight, he spent countless hours observing insects, birds,

and bats. Bats made the deepest impact, as he designed a flying machine
he named Eolefrom Eolus, the
Greek god of windsusing the structure and shape of the bat wing.
On October 9, 1890, Ader
achieved a flying hop at GretzArmainvilliers. The machine, powered by a surprisingly light steam
engine of Aders design, lifted off the
ground over a distance of 165 feet.
Apparently the Eole never flew
again, but this early success was
enough for Ader to land government funding for a military airplane. As the project was classified,
little fact is known, and most of the
information circulating on the Eole
II is, at best, contradictory. However,
one thing is certain: the design was
abandoned in favor of the Avion III,
a twin-engine version of the Eole.
The Avion III had a rudimentary
rudder system that could be controlled by pedals attached on both
sides of the flying machine. Each of
the four-bladed feather propellers was
powered by one steam engine weighing 37 pounds and generating 20 hp.
The visibility was absolutely horrible,
and its pilot had to lean sideways out
of the cabin to see ahead.
The maiden flight of the Eole III
was scheduled to take place on October 12, 1897, at the army camp
of Satory, near Versailles, in front of
representatives from the French war
ministry. Despite unfavorable conditions, Ader decided to attempt to
get his flying machine airborne. The
Avion III crashed, and was almost
entirely destroyed. After this accident, the French government with-

22 OCTOBER 2010

The Breguet RU.1,

is a military version
of the CU.1. This is
serial number 40,
built in 1911, and
was donated to the
CNAM Museum in
1912. It is believed
to be the oldest
military aircraft on
display in the world.
drew its support for Aders research.
Clemnt Ader never asserted that
he actually flew. The polemic surrounding his experiments started
when the Wright Brothers flight
was announced. A small group of
overpatriotic French individuals
made the claim that Ader flew some
13 years before the Wright brothers.
Their position was later discredited, as it was obvious that Aders
machine was a dead end, and his
initial success most likely a fluke. In
any case, it could not fit the notion
of sustained, controlled flight.
Nonetheless, Aders achievements
cannot be ignored, as even his worse
detractor, an Englishman named
Charles H. Gibbs Smith, conceded
in his 1968 book Clment Ader: His
Flight-Claims and His Place in History
that he succeeded in taking off with
a motorized machine for the first
time in recorded human history on
October 9, 1890.
In 1902, the Avion III was donated
to the Muse des Arts et Mtiers,
where it is now displayed after being
restored during the 1980s by a team
of the Muse de lAir et de lEspace,
under the watchful eye of General
Pierre Lissarague, its director.
In 1911, in honor of Aders work,

the term avion became the official French word for airplane, replacing the earlier aeroplane form
dating back to the 1850s.
Ader died in 1925 at the age of
84. Dubbed the father of French
aviation, another honor was posthumously bestowed upon him
when the gigantic assembly hall of
Airbus Industrie, in Toulouse, was
named after him.
Another amazing flying machine
can be found in the nave of the
church: the 1906 REP.1 (or R.E.P.1),
an experimental airplane designed
by Robert Esnault-Pelterie, another
fascinating pioneer.
Built during the winter of 19061907, the REP.1 was ahead of its
time, as, in a biplaneor worse
era, it was an internally wire-braced
monoplane. Its single-wheel, oleopneumatic landing gear was supplemented by outriggers at the wingtips.
It is also significant that it was the first
airplane to use a multi-axis control
stick, invented by Pelterie in 1905.
The REP made its first powered
flight on October 10, 1907, over a
distance of 350 feet and was donated
to the CNAM on June 20, 1920.
Another unique airframe hanging from the ceiling of the Abbey

of Saint-Martin-des-Champs is the
1911 Breguet RU.1 (c/n 40).
Breguet Aviation was created
in 1911 by aviation Pioneer Louis
Charles Breguet. In 1971, it merged
with Dassault Aviation to become
the Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet
Aviation (AMD-BA) group, which
still produces airplanes.
The first biplane designed and
built by Louis Breguet was featured at the 1909 Reims International Air Meet. Originally named
model III, the biplane became the
CU.1 when equipped with a 120hp 9-cylinder Canton-Unn engine. As such, Louis Breguet used
it in a 1910 daring nonstop flight
from Casablanca to Fs, Morocco,
crossing the Atlas Mountains.
The Breguet RU.1, a military version of the CU.1, was produced in
small numbers starting in 1911 and
delivered to several air arms before the
outbreak of World War I (WWI). Number 40, built in 1911, was donated to
the CNAM Museum in 1912, and is,
to our knowledge, the oldest military
airplane on display in the world.
Most amazing of all is the actual
Blriot XI flown by Louis Blriot during his July 25, 1909, English Channel crossing that forever changed
the face of history. Blriot left Les
Barraques, on the French coastline,
in the early morning in his Anzanipowered model XI, and he landed
in Dover, England, 36 minutes later.
Following this record-breaking
flight, the model XI became the first
commercial success in aviation, as
101 orders were passed in 1909 alone.
Well into WWI, Blriot XIs were produced in France and under license
around the world, and the design
was copied more or less legally by
countless fledgling manufacturers.
The original Blriot was donated
to the CNAM Museum in 1909
and has not been restored since. It
stands high in the nave, in its original state, with all its imperfections.
Seeing it in such a setting, so simple and yet so significant, is almost
a religious experience. This would,
in itself, justify a trip to Paris.
For more information on the lo-

cation of the museum, visit its website at www.arts-et-metiers.net.

The website does have an English language button on the upperright corner of the home page. We
found it to be a bit variable in its
effectiveness, and it never did successfully navigate to images of the

aircraft in the museum.

At http://www.bleriot.arts-et-metiers.net/, a block of photos of the
original Blriot can be viewed.
Click on the En coulisses link on
the left side of the home page for
access to photos and a French-language video.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

Billy Thompson
Heath, Texas
2,100 hours of flight time
75% in tail wheel aircraft

My dad taught me how to fly in a Luscombe. From that date, I have

owned three airplanes; two Champs and a Stinson 108-2. All three
were basket cases when I got them and I completely restored them to
flying condition.
I have talked to Pam at AUA many times and she, as always, is
helpful and not just trying to sell me something. When our grand kids
tell us they are ready to take the controls, I will call on AUA to get
coverage for the new aviators in our family. AUA will get my business
for years to come.
Billy Thompson

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24 OCTOBER 2010

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My Friend Frank Rezich, Part I

Growing up aviation
BY

ROBERT G. LOCK

PHOTOS COURTESY FRANK REZICH

n early 1980 I was collecting

needed parts for the restoration of my 1929 CommandAire 5C3 biplane. I purchased
a Wright R-760-8 engine for $50
that included all accessories except the starter, generator, and fuel
pump. My search was on for a Romec engine-driven fuel pump, and
I was having no success. A local FAA
representative gave me the phone
number of a fellow in nearby San
Miguel, so I called and asked if he
had any. He replied with an enthusiastic, How many do you need?
I told him just one, and he countered with, New, military, overhauled, or used? I felt like Id
discovered a gold mine, and he was
only a two-hour drive away. When
the box arrived there was a business
card inside (see it above). Naturally,
my curiosity was aroused when I
read OX-5 to Mach 3 Jets. How
could that be?

26 OCTOBER 2010

That was the first meeting with

my now longtime pal Frank Rezich.
As of this writing, Frank is recuperating from a lung illness in Templeton, a small city near where he
lives, just inland from the central
California coast. I flew west to visit
Frank and spent 13 days in the
area. I have always been fascinated
with Franks background and had
gleaned a few stories from him that
were both interesting and funny.
Franks older brothers Mike and
Nick have been profiled in print,
but to my knowledge, Frank has
remained in the background. I
wanted to change this, so with
Franks permission, Ill share with
you a multi-part series of articles
regarding this aviation icon. Ask a
young computer-oriented person
what is the definition of an icon
and they will most likely tell you it
is a symbol on a screen. But to us
old-timers, an icon is someone

who has achieved greatness in a

long careersomeone who is head
and shoulders above the rest of the
crowd. And that certainly describes
Frank Rezich.
Frank was born the youngest of
three sons to Rocco and Amelia
Rezich, immigrants from Croatia
who originally settled in the state
of Washington. Rocco was a stationary engineer working in steampowered saw mills. One night, he
won a large pot at a poker game.
ABOVE: Frank in the cockpit running
up the Wright R-760-E2 powered Pitcairn in front of Bluebird Air Service
hangars at Chicago Municipal. The
bright colors and trim were of Franks
design. He even painted his car to
match the ship. Photograph taken
around 1940. Frank indicated they
eventually took off the Kelsey wheels
and installed low-pressure air wheels
because of hard surface landings.

Travel Air 2000, NC661H, in the Chicago area. With 17-year-old Nick as his
flight instructor, Frank soloed in this ship in 1938 at the age of 14. Frank remembers that Nick was very demanding concerning Franks airmanship.
Above, (right to left), Mike, age 15;
Nick, age 10 (standing center); and
Frank, age 7 (standing left), with a
model of The Spirit of St. Louis at their
feet. This photo was taken in 1930 at
the family home on Laflin Street, just
three years after Lindbergh landed
in Paris. Obviously this flight made a
huge impression on the boys.
Guessing the lumberjacks would
not let him walk out with their
money, he snuck out the bathroom
window. He ran home, collected
his wife and newborn son, Mike,
and jumped on a freight train that
eventually took them to Chicago.
Rocco had relatives in the Chicago
area, and they settled on South Laflin Street, east of the Chicago Municipal Airport.
Franks older brother Mike was
born in 1915. Nick came along in
1919, and little brother Frank was
born in 1923. Since they lived so
close to Chicago Municipal, airplanes became of interest. Both
Nick and Frank entered the field of
aviation, but Mikes career took another path, as he was more businessoriented. As well see later, Mike
became the money man for the
aviation interests of Nick and Frank.
During the Great Depression, the
family lost their home on Laflin
Street and relocated to the prairie south of the Municipal Airport,

When asked why there

were two landing gears,
since the drawing only
showed one, which was
a right-hand gear,
Frank replied, Because
you need a right- and
left-hand landing gear.
You simply read the
drawing 180 degrees to
build the other side.
where some relatives had already
located. The families lived together
in the first house they built collectively, and then when they had
enough resources theyd build another home. Basements were handdug, and the house erection was a
group effort.
The Rezichs were fortunate to
have boys with an interest in airplanes. They knew of a brick hangar that had burned down at the

airport, a mere two blocks away.

So, after the basement was dug,
the boys would make nightly trips
with wheelbarrows to the airport
and bring back the bricks from the
burned hangar, sorting and cleaning them in the basement. Once
they had enough bricks, a flat cement pad was laid and a brick
house erected on it. The basement
would eventually be turned into
the boys airplane workshop.
Walking home from a nearby
high school, Frank would detour
slightly to walk through the airport.
As the boys grew up, big brother
Nick was working at Bluebird Flying Service, flight instructing and
doing some charter work. The year
was 1936 and the airplanes and aerial activities at the field fascinated
Frank. Instead of going directly
home, he would linger in the hangar, getting to know the mechanics.
Soon he was asked to go get
this or go get that, thus becoming the Bluebird gopher. It was there
he decided to become a mechanic
and began buying his own tools. His
wage was 50 cents per hour. Nick set
up an interview for Frank with Mr.
Malburg, Bluebirds chief, for a mechanic position at Bluebird.
Mr. Malburg asked, Do you have
your own tools? Frank answered in
the affirmative, and he was led into

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

A very young Frank Rezich has just soloed in 661H at the Harlem Airport, 5
miles southwest of Chicago Municipal. Frank does not recall how much instruction Nick gave him, but thinks it was five or six hours. And, fuel was just
25 cents per gallon!

The old Harlem Airport, where the Rezich boys kept their E-2 Cub and Travel
Air 2000 airplanes, on a cold snowy winter day. The Rezich fleet of airplanes,
now totaling two, was stored in the large hangar to the left in the photograph.

Franks first airplane, an elephant-ear Travel Air 4000, NC9946. Because it

had been used for skywriting, it had an extended exhaust pipe on the Wright
J-5 engine.
the hangar to a bench where landing
gear parts were laid out, along with
a drawing of the assembly. He was
told to assemble the landing gear so
it could be put on the airplane. About
four hours later, Frank went to Mr.
Malburg and said he was finished.
When Mr. Malburg returned to the
bench he found that Frank had as-

28 OCTOBER 2010

sembled two landing gears. When

asked why there were two landing
gears, since the drawing only showed
one, which was a right-hand gear,
Frank replied, Because you need a
right- and left-hand landing gear. You
simply read the drawing 180 degrees
to build the other side.
Mr. Malburg said, Go into the of-

fice and get the paperwork for me to

sign. Youre hired! Frank was only 17
years old, but the boss was probably
never told. That was the end of high
school for Frankhe did not complete his senior year. Airplanes and
work were more important to him.
Mike Rezich was the boys financier when it came to purchasing airplanes. The first was a Taylor E-2 Cub,
purchased in 1934 and based at the
nearby Ashburn Airport. The second
airplane was a Travel Air 2000, purchased by Mike Rezich from a man in
Fredericksburg, Maryland.
The owner agreed to deliver the
ship to Chicago. Upon reaching
southwestern Pennsylvania, however, the airplane suffered an engine
failure and crashed into a mountain
just east of Pittsburgh, causing some
structural damage. The owner offered
to refund the $400 purchase price,
but Mike said to fix it and let him
know when it was done.
Frank remembered, Nick went to
Maryland about a year later, the ship
was rebuilt, even with an overhauled
engine, and flew the repaired Travel
Air back to Chicago. It was painted
silver with red trim. Nick was just
17 years old at that time. With Nick
as his flight instructor, at the age of
14, Frank soloed the Travel Air in
1938. When asked how he felt, he
said, Elated! And I got the airplane
back on the ground without damaging anything.
Frank recalled, Harlem Airport
had about a half-mile dirt square so
you could land in any direction, depending on the wind direction. The
airplane had a tailskid and no brakes.
After the solo Nick gave me more instruction on slow flightstay away
from the spins; avoid stalls and what
will cause the airplane to stall. I got
a little cross-country training from
Nick. In those days Chicago to Lake
Michigan was a long cross-country
flight. You always flew where there
were open fields, because of the OX-5
engineit had some inherent problems, like the rocker arms, water
pump, and leaking water lines. The
water would boil and steam would
come outso you had to get it on

the ground immediately. I had many

forced landings flying to another airport. After the landing I had to go get
some water, pour it in the radiator,
start the engine, and continue. And
the magneto wasnt very good.
Frank describing his solo in the
Travel Air as being exhilarating is
the same feeling of solo flight that I
felt in 1959 in a Cessna 120. Frank
continued to gain experience as a
mechanic and eventually obtained
his aircraft mechanics license from
the CAA.
Mike was working at the Ashburn
Airport for Matty Laird but moved
to the Harlem Airport, where there
were large storage hangar facilities
available. He continued to purchase
airplanes, adding a Pitcairn PA-7M,
NC876M, to the fleet.
Frank remembered, The ship was
used by Eastern Air Lines as an instrument trainer. It was sold to Monarch Air Service and Pierce Scotty
OCarroll to be used for instrument
flight training. However, OCarroll
quit the instrument training and sold
the airplane to Mike.
Mike flew the airplane to Chicago
Municipal and moved it into the
family shop for overhaul.
Franks said, We stripped the airplane, re-covered and painted it in
a bright scallop trim. We even overhauled the Wright R-760-E2. We took
it to Bluebird and assembled it in their
hangar and got it ready to go. The airport was being expanded to double
its size, so all the city people were out
there to see the progress. Nick was
going to test fly it, and he asked me
if it was ready to go, and I said just
get in and go! So Nick cranked it up
and taxied to the end of the runway
and warmed the engine up. We had
a small radio installed because there
was a tower there, and eventually he
was cleared for takeoff. With 350 hp,
the airplane climbed until it was over
the center of the field and, before the
crowd of local dignitaries, the engine
quit! Nick dead-sticked the ship back
in and we towed it to the hangar.
Nick asked, What the heck did you
do to the airplane? So I checked everything in the fuel system and every-

James OBrien in the front cockpit and Frank sitting in the rear cockpit of
Travel Air D4000, NC8115, and the second Travel Air purchased by his
brother Mike in 1940. At age 17 the familiar cigar is in his mouth. This was a
Wright J5 powered ship. Photo taken at Chicago Municipal Airport in 1940.
thing was okay. Then I noticed that
we had changed the gas cap to a nice
new shiny chrome model that was
not vented. When the new cap was
removed, a large gush of air went into
the tank; that [a non-vented cap] had
caused fuel starvation to the engine.
The boys flew the airplane around
the areaIndiana, Iowa, and Illinois.
Frank remembered, When we put
the air wheels on the airplane, you
would just be in love with it. When
you pulled the power off, with those
air wheels, when the oleos touched
the ground that was it. Forget it. Its
all done. We eventually had to put a
tail wheel on it; then we moved it out
to Willie Howells strip, where we had
the other two Travel Airs hangared.
The family home was just a block
away from a 50-foot gate that opened
onto 63rd Street, and there was a
shop building at the house. That is
where much of the restoration and
repair work took place. I asked Frank
what the neighbors said about airplanes taxiing down the street. He
said, We never asked. We just did it!
At this time Frank also recalled,
There was a weather guy, Harold
Alford, who owned two J-5 Travel
Airs. Every night around midnight he
would strap an instrument box to the
outer strut, take off, and go straight
up to around 10,000 feet above the
airport; then he would come back
down and they would take the

weather box in to analyze it. Well,

one night he fell asleep and spun in.
He survived and later became assistant chief pilot at Eastern Air Lines.
Frank recalled details of the old
Chicago Municipal Airport; In the
early days it had a little tower down
on the east side, and we used to talk
to them. Everybody knew the guys
in the tower. Like when we brought
our airplanes over to store em, we
saw them [the tower guys] in the saloon and we told them, Hey, were
coming over in the morning so they
could watch for us.
Frank bought his first airplane at
age 19 from a guy on the north side
of Chicago. I paid about $325 for the
ship, which included a spare engine
and prop. It was a Wright J5 powered
Travel Air 4000, NC9946. It flew very
nice, and it was used for smoke writing. It was an elephant-ear airplane.
The J-5 was a big improvement over
the OX-5. I used to like the sound of
the engine on takeoff because it was
putting out power, but you needed
a long prop. In the photograph of
NC9946 the photograph of NC9946
on page 28, you can clearly see the
extended exhaust tail pipe on the J-5
engine. NC9946 still belongs to Frank
and is registered as NC9946H.
Next month, read about Franks
move to Howard Aircraft at Chicago
Municipal, where he experienced
even more challenges.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

Vintage
Mechanic

THE

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Elementary weight and balance

This edition will feature a discussion of an important subject: weight and balance. Its of particular
importance when it comes to aircraft stability and
safety. Ill focus on those issues that will aid in understanding the dynamics of the subject. We will not
discuss how to actually compute the empty weight
and center of gravity location at this time. That data
is readily available in many publications. The one I
like to use is FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 43.13-1B,
Chapter 10. In fact, I use the sample weight-andbalance report, including the equipment list and
loading schedule as shown on pages 10-22 and 10-23
of the AC.
First on the agenda is a brief discussion of longitudinal stability. This stability can be defined as
movement along the longitudinal axis and around
the lateral axis of the airplane, or stability in PITCH.
Positive stability is when an aircraft tends to return
to the state of initial equilibrium position (trimmed
level fl ight) following a disturbance. Neutral stability is when an aircraft remains in equilibrium in a
new position following a disturbance. Negative stability is when an aircraft tends to move farther in the
same direction as the disturbance that has moved it
from the initial position. A good reference for stability tests is FAA AC 90-89A, Chapter 5, Sections
1-3. This publication is titled Amateur-Built Aircraft
& Ultralight Flight Testing Handbook. Reference data
on weight and balance, test flights, and other pertinent material is included. Figure 1 shows three types
of static stability. Sketch (a) shows positive static
stability; the marble tends to move toward the center and will fi nally come to rest as each oscillation
gets smaller. Sketch (b) shows negative static stability. Once disturbed, the marble rolls off the surface.
Sketch (c) illustrates neutral static stability, as the
marble will move but will assume another position.
Dynamic stability is the time history of the movement of the aircraft in response to its static stability

30 OCTOBER 2010

FIGURE 1
tendencies following an initial disturbance from
level flight. Figure 2 shows positive longitudinal dynamic stability.

FIGURE 2
Dynamic stability is positive when the aircraft is displaced and tends to return to its original flight path in
a reasonable amount of time. Sketch (a) shows the aircraft displaced along its longitudinal axis, and Sketch
(b) shows the aircraft returning to its original patch
with minimal oscillations. Compare this to negative
longitudinal dynamic stability as shown in Figure 3.

Here the aircraft is displaced, and the oscillations tend

to move it away from its original flight path as the oscillations increase over time.

FIGURE 4
FIGURE 3
Good static and dynamic longitudinal stability depends on the size and location of the horizontal stabilizer, its location (distance) from the lateral axis, and
a slight NOSE HEAVY condition of the aircraft. That
NOSE HEAVY tendency is a most important factor in
weight and balance.
Center of gravity location is given in inches within the
center of gravity envelope established by the manufacturer. The datum is an imaginary vertical plane selected
by the manufacturer from which all horizontal measurements are taken with the aircraft in its level flight attitude. An example of the datum of a biplane could be the
lower wing leading edge. Items of equipment forward of
the datum would be measured with a minus (-) number,
and aft of the datum would be measured with a plus (+)
number. A NOSE HEAVY airplane would be expressed as a
minus (-) moment, and a TAIL HEAVY airplane would be
expressed as a plus (+) moment.
The center of gravity forward and aft limits (CG envelope) is referenced to the datum line, but is actually a
measurement on the mean aerodynamic chord (MAC).
On a biplane, the MAC is an imaginary airfoil located
between upper and lower wings that, if the airplane were
a monoplane, would exhibit the same pitching and rolling tendencies as the biplane. Center of gravity ranges
may be 27 percent to 34 percent MAC depending on the
airfoil shape, but when translated to the datum line, it
might be something like -3 inches to +4 inches relative
to the datum line. If the datum line were the lower wing
leading edge, then a typical center of gravity range would
be 3 inches forward to 4 inches aft of the leading edge.
Figure 4 shows the MAC of a biplane.
When weighing an aircraft for the purpose of computing the empty weight center of gravity (EWCG),
all items of required and optional equipment must be
installed, and all other equipment must be removed.
With the aircraft on scales and leveled laterally and

longitudinally, the fuel should be drained, leaving only

the residual fuel, or that fuel in the system that will
not come out with the airplane in level flight. The oil
should be drained, leaving only residual oil. The scale
weights can then be recorded. Measurements taken
should be the distance of main wheel centerline to
datum, and main wheel centerline to tail wheel centerline. The aircraft is then removed from the scales,
and the tare (any extraneous material such as chocks)
weighed and recorded. Then, using AC 43.13-1B pages
10-22 and 10-23, compute the EW and EWCG location.
Occasionally the manufacturer will provide an EWCG
range, and if the EWCG falls within this range, no further
forward and aft computations need be made. An example
is the Boeing Stearman Model 75 aircraft. The CG range
is (-1.5 inches) to (+7.1 inches). The empty weight CG
range is (-1.0 inch) to (+0.5 inch)when EWCG falls
within this range, computation of critical fore and aft CG
positions is unnecessary. However, most older airplanes
do not have an EWCG range, so critical forward and aft
CG locations must be computed. Again AC 43.13-1B
page 10-23 shows how to compute critical forward and
aft CG locations. At this point one can compute on paper
the entire weight-and-balance scenario for any loaded
condition. I computed every loaded condition for the
New Standard D-25 biplane I have been flying recently:
full fuel/solo, full fuel/two passengers, full fuel/four passengers as well as minimum fuel/solo, minimum fuel/
two passengers, and minimum fuel/four passengers. By
doing this, a pilot can see what the CG location is for
each condition. You can also load the airplane to maximum capacity, and if the weight goes over the maximum
allowed, a loading schedule can be established. When I
loaded the New Standard (on paper) to maximum gross
weight, it exceeded the published limit. Therefore, I had
to provide loading instructions within the operations
limitations. The loading instructions read: Maximum
baggage weight is 60 pounds. Under certain loading
conditions, no baggage may be carried. Restrictions for
maximum gross weight (3,400 pounds) loading: When

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

carrying 4 passengers, maximum fuel is limited to 31 U.S.

gallons and no baggage is allowed.
A sample loading schedule is shown in AC 43.13-1B
page 10-23.
Once the EW and EWCG have been computed along
with the critical forward and aft loading, the equipment
list should be established. Again, AC 43-13-1B page 10-23
is a good source for information.
When I do a weight and balance, critical forward and
aft loading, loading schedule, and equipment list, I use
AC 43.13-1B as a guide for my paperwork.
If any of my computations dont fall within the center
of gravity range established by the manufacturer, it may
be possible to ballast (if the aircraft is nose heavy). Here,
AC 43.13-1B paragraph 10-22 and Figure 10-16 show
how to compute for installation of permanent ballast in
the aircraft. Here, ballasting a nose-heavy condition is
easier than a tail-heavy condition.
Weight and balance is of great importance for establishing good longitudinal stability for the aircraft. To
have good stall/spin recovery tendencies, the CG must
be located forward of the center of pressure (lift). When
this relationship is established, if the airplane is stalled,
the nose will fall below the horizon and recovery will be
normal. If the CG is aft of the center of pressure (CP), it
may not be possible to lower the nose to effect a positive
recovery from the stall/spin. The aft CG is the most dangerous, because it is almost impossible for ballast to move
the CG forward because the minus (-) arm is so short.
The tail-heaviness tendency of an aircraft must be dealt
with during the restoration process. However, for slight
tail-heaviness tendency, one can adjust the stagger of the
wings aft (decrease stagger), in an attempt to move the
CP aft of the CG. But this is usually not effective because
of the limited movement of wing stagger.
In my days of antique airplane restoration, Id say
that many of the airplanes produced in the early days by
the factory were tail heavy. Its nice to know this when
the airplane is completely disassembled. Probably the
most important factor in a good-flying airplane will be
the length of the engine mount, which will locate the
weight of the engine and prop far enough forward of the
datum line to set the EW where it should be located. This
is particularly true with the Travel Air 2000/3000/4000
series that were modified from the original engine to the
Continental 220-hp radial. In observing Travel Airs that
have been modified to the Continental W-670 engine, I
find various lengths of engine mounts; its almost like the
original modifier took a shot in the dark. Thrust lines also
vary considerably. I always think that if the airplane is
slightly nose heavy, I can easily ballast the tail post with a
small amount of weight. But if the airplane is tail heavy,
then I have a real problem on my hands, particularly if
the airplane has just been completely restored.
When I was restoring my 1929 Command-Aire 5C3 I
knew that the original factory airplane was tail heavy. You
could tell because the large baggage compartment located

32 OCTOBER 2010

aft of the pilots seat was restricted to only 5 pounds of

baggage. So I moved the engine mount forward 1 inch and
installed a Wright R-760-8 engine, which moved the CG
even farther forward. A preliminary weight-and-balance
check with the airplane (fuselage uncovered) on scales and
leveled showed the CG toward the forward limit.
The photograph below (Figure 5) shows the weighing
of the Command-Aire with the fuselage uncovered to
establish the preliminary EWCG location. So I placed the
battery aft of the baggage compartment, which acted as
ballast. Locating the battery box and battery aft helped
move the EWCG to a better position. Figure 5 shows the
location of the battery box in the aft fuselage.

FIGURE 5
When I was finished and test flew the airplane, the
CG was perfect. In level flight the trim handle was in
the center of its travel. The photo below shows one of
the first of many test flights of my Command-Aire over
central Floridas green swamp. Note the position of the
horizontal stabilizer, with the elevators streamlined,
which indicated that the center of gravity location is
where it should be.

FIGURE 6
My efforts paid off with the finished product. The
chief designer of Command-Aire, Albert Vollmecke,
told me that the tail post of the fuselage structure was
oversized so as to accept a window sash weight in case
ballast was needed to restore the proper CG location
on new airplanes. They used a single aircraft design
and then installed different types of engines, whatever
was available. That made weight and balance a critical
issuehow does one get the correct arm on the various
engine and prop installations? Sometimes they got it
right, and sometimes they didnt.

The center of gravity location is so important to me

that I do a check of the EWCG location before covering the fuselage if I have any doubts as to its position.
When I restore my Travel Air 4000 Ill do the same
thing and get the CG located in the correct place on
the MAC.
Next, a rare view of an aircraft being hoisted for a
landing gear retraction check at Fantasy of Flight. The
landing gear is about 4 inches off the ground at this
point. Note how the ship is balanced.

FIGURE 7
Above, the Grumman Duck with its landing gear
retracted by means of a hand crank in the left side
of front cockpit. Note how the retraction of the gear
did not change the center of gravity. These photos are
courtesy of Andy Saulter. If anybody wondered how a
ship would appear if balanced like a model airplane,
these are the photographs that graphically demonstrate weight and balance! Thanks, Andy. I guess one
could call this Duck on a rope, or Dangling duck.

TERMINOLOGY:
Center of gravity (CG)The point where the aircraft,
if suspended, would balance perfectly.
Empty weight center of gravity (EWCG)The point
where the aircraft, if suspended, would perfectly balance
minus its useful load.
Center of gravity rangeThe distance between
most forward and most aft center of gravity location established by the manufacturer.
Useful loadThe aircrafts empty weight subtracted
from the maximum gross weight.
Maximum gross weightThe maximum loaded
weight of the aircraft, as specified by the manufacturer.
Empty weightThe aircrafts weight that includes all
fixed equipment, weight of the entire aircraft, fixed ballast, hydraulic fluid, and residual fuel and oil.
DatumThe line established by the manufacturer
from which all horizontal measurements are taken.
ArmThe horizontal measurement from the datum
to the center of an item. A plus sign (+) is used when

I recall in my early days of building flying models, I

was taught to check the balance of a model by placing
my fingers at about one-third (about 30 percent) the
wing chord and raising the ship. If it was nose heavy
or tail heavy it was very apparent. You are doing something similar when computing weight and balance of
a real airplane.
In conclusion I would like to throw in a little theory
of fl ight. Longitudinal stability is stability in pitch.
The aircraft is designed to be slightly nose heavy in
level flight. This slight nose-heavy tendency is offset
by a lifting force down (download) on the horizontal
stabilizer. When the aircraft is in cruise and trimmed
for level flight, the amount of download exactly offsets the nose-heaviness tendency. If the aircraft is
pitched up, airflow over the aircraft is reduced and
downward lifting force on the horizontal stabilizer is
also reduced. With a slight nose-heaviness tendency,
the nose will fall below the horizon, airspeed will
increase, and the downward lifting force on the horizontal stabilizer will increase, raising the nose. When
these pitch oscillations decrease and the aircraft returns to level cruise flight without input from the
pilot, the aircraft displays positive static and dynamic
stability. Thats what we really want for the best flying
qualities. Extremes in forward or aft CG locations will
alter the stability tendency toward neutral or negative
stability, which is what we dont want. For further information on weight and balance, consult the Aircraft
Weight and Balance Handbook, FAA-H-8083-1A. Its
very good.
So, folks, we need to get the center of gravity location on the money for good control. Pay attention to
the details during restoration for best results.

an item is aft of the datum, and a minus sign (-) is used

when an item is forward of datum line.
MomentThe product of the weight of an item multiplied by its arm.
Mean aerodynamic chord (MAC) Established by the
manufacturer, a chord line of an imaginar y air foil that
has a leading and trailing edge.
Weighing pointA ver tical line passing through the
object (usually the wheels) that locates a point on the
scales where all weight is located. When measuring the
arm of installed equipment, such as a radio, measure to
the center of the item.
TareThe weight of excess material placed on scales
to secure or level the aircraft for weighing purposes. Tare
is deducted from the scale reading to obtain actual aircraft weight.
Minimum fuelThe weight of fuel in pounds used
when determining critical for ward and aft CG locations.
METO (maximum except takeoff horsepower) horsepower
divided by 2.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Vintage
Instructor
THE

BY Steve Krog, CFI

A Tale of Three First Flights

ve had the pleasure of serving as an EAA Flight
Advisor since the inception of the program nearly
a decade ago. During that time Ive enjoyed working with a number of pilots who successfully completed their first flight in a newly built, newly restored,
or newly owned aircraft. Id like to share with you a
couple of experiences, but first Ill give a bit of background on the Flight Advisor program.
Several years ago the EAA, in a proactive move,
launched the EAA Flight Advisor program. Statistics
at that time indicated an inordinate number of accident/incidents were occurring on the first flight of
newly built, newly restored, or newly owned aircraft.
The EAA, with the blessing of the FAA, launched the
Flight Advisor program. It is designed to review with
the pilot:
+ the pilots overall flight experience
+ the pilots recent flight experience
+ the pilots familiarity with the plane to be flown
+ the flight and handling characteristics of the plane
to be flown
+ the aircrafts speeds and power settings
Should the pilot be found to lack experience in a similar aircraft, the Flight Advisor will usually recommend
receiving some dual instruction to prepare the pilot for
the first flight. As a long-time flight instructor, I then
take my Flight Advisor hat off and provide the necessary
dual instruction in preparation for that first flight.
The first pilot tale deals with an older gentleman
whom Ill call Tom. He had spent three years building
an experimen kit-plane and was within days of making
the first flight. Tom didnt have a lot of flight time but
had flown both tailwheel and tricycle-gear airplanes,
accumulating about 250 hours of total time. However,
it had been more than 10 years since he had last flown
a tailwheel airplane.
Toms airplane was built in the tailwheel configuration, and although he hadnt flown any airplane
in nearly two years, everything he had read about it
indicated that it would be quite easy to fly. Several of
his airport friends began suggesting that it would be

34 OCTOBER 2010

wise to get a couple of hours of dual instruction in a

tailwheel airplane before attempting the first flight. At
first Tom balked at the suggestion, but then he gave in
to the idea and came to see me.
We reviewed the speeds of his airplane and found
them to be quite similar to that of my Piper J5 Cruiser,
so off we went. After reviewing some slow flight and
stalls, we headed back to the airport to try some takeoffs and landings on a slightly frozen turf runway.
Toms first two landings were picture perfectbeautiful approach, great speed control, and a nice touchdown with good directional control. I began to think
that maybe Tom was as good of a pilot as he thought
he was. When it was time for takeoff and landing number three, I altered the pattern and asked that he fly
it at 800 feet rather than the normal 1,000 feet above
ground level (AGL).
Almost immediately Tom was behind the airplane,
struggling to catch up and fl y it correctly. The turn
to final was sloppy and altitude control was the
same. He was behind it all the way, the J5 bounced
once, and Tom was at a loss for what to do. When it
touched down the second time, he didnt have the
nose aligned with the runway, and the plane began
sliding sideways on the turf. The J5 is a rugged airplane and our speed was now quite slow, so I let him
go to see what he would do. When we fi nally came
to a stop, we had completed a beautiful slow-motion
ground loop to the right, and we were now facing
north rather than south.
I let Tom sit there silently and think about what had
just happened. Finally, he said, What did I do, and
why did it do this? Before I could respond he added,
I guess the guys were right, I could sure use some dual
instruction before attempting to fly my airplane.
Over the next several days Tom and I flew together
for three or four hours, at which point I pronounced
him ready to make the first flight in his newly built
airplane. Following the EAA Flight Advisor guidelines,
I assisted him with his first flight; it was both exhilarating and uneventful.

The second pilot tale involves Dick, a U.S. Air Force

trained pilot who hadnt flown in more than 10 years.
As Dick was nearing completion of his experimental kitbuilt aircraft, he stopped by and wanted as much dual
as was necessary to be both a safe and competent pilot.
We flew a Piper J3 Cub and worked on all maneuvers,
including a lot of cross-wind landings. After nearly 12 hours of dual
accompanied by a fair amount of
ground instruction, I pronounced
him safe and current and signed
him off for both a tailwheel checkout as well as a flight review.
It took several extra weeks before
Dicks airplane was finally signed
off by the FAA. During that time
Dick continued to fly the Cub to
remain competent. On Friday, after
flying the Cub, he stated that early
Sunday morning would be the designated first flight. Prior to that, he
planned to do some additional taxi
tests. I firmly reminded him NOT
TO FLY the airplane until I could
assist him with the first flight. He
wholeheartedly agreed.
On Saturday evening after I had left the airport,
Dick proceeded with the taxi tests. All went well, but
the little devil sitting on his shoulder kept saying,
Go ahead and fly it.
Dick gave in and decided to try flying his newly built
airplane. The takeoff was uneventful as were two or
three overhead circles around the airport. But when it
was time to land, the nerves took over and he stalled the
airplane about 20 feet above the runway. When the dust
settled Dick realized he wasnt hurt, but his airplane suffered major damage. It will take him another two years
to undo and repair his now not-so-new airplane.
There are two lessons to be learned from this mishap. First, never make a first flight without having
someone on the ground to observe what youre doing,
and second, dont let that little devil on your shoulder
convince you to do something for which you are not
prepared. Had Dick waited until Sunday and worked
with a Flight Advisor, the mishap may never have occurred, or at least it would have caused no more than
a hard landing.
Tale number three has a very happy ending. Harry
bought a used airplane, but before ever attempting to
fly it, he came to me and wanted to get some dual instruction. We began a program that involved about 15
hours of flight time covering all maneuvers, all types of
landings, and all types of balked takeoffs, followed by a
number of simulated engine failures in the pattern and
on landing. Harry soloed in the Cub and flew a couple
more hours before we agreed he was ready to try flying
his airplane.

The day of the first flight was beautiful; bright sunny

sky with light and variable surface winds. We talked
about the first flight at length and finally it was time
to fly. I equipped Harry with a handheld radio and
headset and did several radio checks with the airplane
engine running.
Harry taxied to the end of the
runway, completed his pretake-off
checklist, and did one high-speed
taxi run. Everything checked out.
I positioned myself about halfway
down the runway while he aligned
the airplane with the centerline of
the wide turf runway and moved
the throttle slowly to full power.
The takeoff was uneventful, and
he climbed to 500 feet AGL before
attempting a shallow turn back to
the airport. I then instructed him
to climb to 1,000 feet AGL and fly
three left-hand circuits around the
airport. While doing so he read
back to me the power settings, airspeeds, and temps. With everything
in the normal operating range, I
had him fly three more overhead
circuits, making right-hand turns to get the feel of the
airplanes handling characteristics.
After completing the circuits, he re-entered the lefthand traffic pattern and reduced power to establish the
desired approach speed and rate of decent, leveling off
and making a go-around at 500 feet. As agreed to on the
ground, he then made two approaches to land but executed a go-around at 100 feet. He reported that everything
felt good to him, and he was ready to make a landing. I
had him call out his power setting and approach speed to
me every five to 10 seconds while on the approach.
Three successful takeoffs and landings were made before calling it a day. It was time to celebrate over a cup
of hot coffee while reviewing flight characteristics, airspeeds, and power settings. Unlike Dicks unfortunate
experience, Harrys flight was exhilarating and successful!
If you have built, restored, or purchased an airplane youve never before flown, youve invested a lot
of money and sweat equity. Take a long moment or
two and think about all youve invested before convincing yourself that you can make that first flight. Tom
learned a good lesson without it costing him anything
but a bruised ego. Dick learned a hard and expensive
lesson. Harry had a great experience and thoroughly
enjoyed his newly acquired airplane! Theres no room
in our beautiful skies for macho pilots. Respect your
airplane and what it can do while candidly reviewing
your own capabilities.
Remember the old pilots saying: A good landing is one
you can walk away from (like Dicks), but a great landing
is when you can use the airplane again tomorrow.

Dick proceeded with

the taxi tests.

All went well, but the

little devil sitting on his

shoulder kept saying,

Go ahead and fly it.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35

by H.G. FRAUTSCHY

MYSTERY PLANE
This months Mystery Plane comes from
Duffy Thompston of Lakeland, Florida.
Send your answer to EAA,
V i n t a g e A i r p l a n e , P. O . B o x
3086, Oshkosh, WI 549033086. Your answer needs to be
in no later than November 15
for inclusion in the January
2011 issue of Vintage Airplane.
You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your
answer to mysteryplane@eaa.org.
Be sure to include your name
plus your city and state in the
body of your note and put
(Month) Mystery Plane in the
subject line.

J U LY S M Y S T E R Y A N S W E R
e enjoy your suggestions
for Mystery Planesin
fact, more than half of
our subjects are sent to
us by members, often via e-mail.
Please remember that if you want
to scan the photo for use in Mystery Plane, it must be at a resolution of 300 dpi or greater. You may
send a lower-resolution version to
us for our review, but the final version has to be at that level of detail
or it will not print properly. Also,
please let us know where the photo
came from; we dont want to willfully violate someones copyright.
Julys Mystery Plane came to us
from EAAs archives, and it was a
toughie, as the foreign crates can
be. This one was identified by just
one of our regular contributor/readers. Wes Smith of Springfield, Illinois, identified this one for us as the
Lior et Olivier LeO 6.2 (H-6). He
dug up the information on it in Les
Prototypes de Transport Civils Francais
(Minidocavia No.8, by Pierre Gail-

36 OCTOBER 2010

The LeO 6.2 was built in 1919

by the French firm founded by
Fernand Lior and Henri Olivier.
It was a tri-motor aeroplane powered by one 260-hp Salmson CM9
and a pair of outboard 180-hp engines built by Hispano-Suiza, the
model 8Ac.
lard). This photo in his book
is sans undercarriage, and with
tip floats. It is correctly pronounced Lwray a Oliviay or
something to that effect. Gaillard also wrote Les Multimotors
de Servitudes Francais (Minidocavia No. 14). Both are great
little books.

Friends of the Red Barn - 2010

Thank you for your generous donations!

Our thanks to every member who stepped up and made a donation to help make the VAA area one of the
highlights of AirVenture Oshkosh 2010. Your selfless contributions benefited your fellow VAA members and
volunteers, as well as the general public who came to be educated and entertained. The contributors are listed
H.G. FRAUTSCHY
on this page, and we thank you all!

Diamond Plus Level

Silver Level

Gordon Anderson
Jonathan Apfelbaum
Charlie Harris
Espie Butch Joyce
Norma Joyce
Robert Bob Lumley
Mark Morrison, MD
Bill & Saundra Pancake
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Walter Ross
Wes Schmid
Ronald Tarrson
John Turgyan
VAA Chapter 10, Tulsa, OK

Ronald R. Alexander
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Tom Hildreth
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Foundation
Larry Nelson
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Diamond Level
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Platinum Level
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Gold Level
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Raymond Bottom
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C.E. Tom Thompson

38 OCTOBER 2010

Bronze Level
Lloyd Austin
L. Tom Baker
Lt. Col. (Ret)Hobart Bates
Logan Boles
Gary Brossett
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Thomas Buckles
Robert Rob Busch
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Cheryl and Chris Drake

James E. Fischer
David G. Flinn
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Red & Marilyn Hamilton
Richard Heim
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Carl Higgins
Allan Janes
Bob Kellstrand
Rich Kempf
Lynn Larkin
RAF GR 45 L LC;
Jimmy Leeward
Ballard Leins
Barry Leslie
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Mary and Donald Toeppen

Butch and Pat Tortorige
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Supporter Level
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Arthur Green
Red Halloway;
Louisiana Midland Transport Co.
Keith Howard
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Glenn Kinneberg
James Lockwood
Charles Luke
Don Nelson
Keith Plendl
Bob Staight
Major Dick Starke
Alan C. Thiel
Constantine Vlahakis
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VINTAGE TRADER
S o m e t h i n g t o b u y, s e l l , o r t r a d e ?

Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum,

with boldface lead-in on first line.
Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167 inches) by 1,
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frequency discounts.
Adver tising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to
desired issue date (i.e., Januar y 10 is the closing date for the
March issue). VAA reser ves the right to reject any adver tising
in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one inser tion per issue.
Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must
accompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828)
or e-mail (classads@eaa.org) using credit card payment (all cards
accepted). Include name on card, complete address, type of card,
card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA.
Address advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified
Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.

AIRCRAFT
Stinson 108-2, Restoration. New Interior, oil cooler etc.
Float fittings $22,500. Ph/Fax: 218-723-1126. Duluth
MISCELLANEOUS
Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit www.
flyingwires.com or call 800-517-9278.

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION (Required by 39 U.S.C.

3685). 1. Title of Publication: Vintage Airplane 2. Publication No.:062-750. 3. Filing Date: 9/30/10. 4.
Issue Frequency: Monthly. 5. No. of Issues Published Annually: 12. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $36.00 in
U.S. 7. Known Office of Publication: EAA, 3000 Poberezny Road, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3806.
Contact Person: Kathleen Witman, Telephone: 920-426-6156. 8. Headquarters or General Business Office
of the Publisher: Same as above. 9. Publisher: Rod Hightower. EAA, 3000 Poberezny Road, P.O. Box 3086,
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3806. Editor: H.G. Frautschy, EAA, 3000 Poberezny Road, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3806. Managing Editor: None. 10. Owner: Experimental Aircraft Association, 3000 Poberezny Road,
P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3806. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders
owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amounts of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None. 12.
Tax Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months. 13. Publication Title: Vintage Airplane. 14. Issue
date for circulation data below: September 2010. 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation (Average No. Copies
Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months/ No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date): a. Total
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of Mail Through the USPS (e.g., First-Class Mail) (136/136). c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b (1), (2),
(3), and (4)) (6,507/6,483). d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail): 1. Free
or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 (0/0). 2. Free or Nominal Rate In-County
Copies Included on PS Form 3541 (0/0). 3. Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the
USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail) (18/18). 4. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other
means) (379/7). e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3), and (4) (397/25).
f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e) (6,906/6,508). g. Copies not Distributed (See Instructions to
Publishers #4 (page #3))(359/346). h. Total (Sum of 15f and g) (7,265/6,854). i. Percent Paid (15c divided
by 15f times 100) (94.71%/99.61%). 16. Publication of Statement Ownership: Publication required. Will be
printed in the October 2010 issue of this publication. 17. I certify that all information furnished on this form
is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form
or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including
fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties). Executive Director/Editor: H.G.
Frautschy, 9/30/10. PS Form 3526, September 200

AIRPLANE T-SHIRTS 150 different airplanes

available. WE PROBABLY HAVE YOUR AIRPLANE!
www.airplanetshirts.com or call 1-800-6457739. We also do Custom T-shirts and Caps for
Clubs.
www.aerolist.org, Aviations Leading Marketplace.
PARTS
Parting out Piper J5. Wings and other parts fit J4.
Ph/Fax 218-723-1126 Duluth
SERVICES
Always Flying Aircraft Restoration, LLC: Annual
Inspections, Airframe recovering, fabric repairs and
complete restorations. Wayne A. Forshey A&P &
I.A. 740-472-1481 Ohio and bordering states.
Biplane Builder Ltd. Restoration, fabric, paint,
fabrications, paperwork with 53 completed projects,
Wacos, Moths, Champs, Pitts etc. Test flights and
delivery. Indiana 812-343-8879 mike@biplanebuilder.
com, www.biplanebuilder.com.
WANTED
POBJOY ENGINE PARTS WANTED. Any restorable
items considered for Niagara series 1 especially
BTH M.1/2 magnetos. Please contact John on (27)
12 460 8337 or john@boyshigh.com
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39

VINTAGE
AIRCRAFT
ASSOCIATION
OFFICERS
President
Geoff Robison
1521 E. MacGregor Dr.
New Haven, IN 46774
260-493-4724
chief7025@aol.com

Vice-President
George Daubner
N57W34837 Pondview Ln
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
262-560-1949
gdaubner@eaa.org

Secretary
Steve Nesse
2009 Highland Ave.
Albert Lea, MN 56007
507-373-1674
stnes2009@live.com

Treasurer
Dan Knutson
106 Tena Marie Circle
Lodi, WI 53555
608-592-7224
lodicub@charter.net

DIRECTORS

Steve Bender
85 Brush Hill Road
Sherborn, MA 01770
508-653-7557
sst10@comcast.net

Dale A. Gustafson
7724 Shady Hills Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46278
317-293-4430
dalefaye@msn.com

David Bennett
375 Killdeer Ct
Lincoln, CA 95648
916-952-9449
antiquer@inreach.com

Jeannie Hill
P.O. Box 328
Harvard, IL 60033-0328
815-943-7205

Jerry Brown
4605 Hickory Wood Row
Greenwood, IN 46143
317-422-9366
lbrown4906@aol.com
Dave Clark
635 Vestal Lane
Plainfield, IN 46168
317-839-4500
davecpd@att.net
John S. Copeland
1A Deacon Street
Northborough, MA 01532
508-393-4775
copeland1@juno.com
Phil Coulson
28415 Springbrook Dr.
Lawton, MI 49065
269-624-6490
rcoulson516@cs.com

Espie Butch Joyce

704 N. Regional Rd.
Greensboro, NC 27409
336-668-3650
windsock@aol.com
Steve Krog
1002 Heather Ln.
Hartford, WI 53027
262-966-7627
sskrog@aol.com
Robert D. Bob Lumley
1265 South 124th St.
Brookfield, WI 53005
262-782-2633
lumper@execpc.com
S.H. Wes Schmid
2359 Lefeber Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
414-771-1545
shschmid@gmail.com

DIRECTORS
EMERITUS
Robert C. Brauer
9345 S. Hoyne
Chicago, IL 60643
773-779-2105
photopilot@aol.com

Charlie Harris
PO Box 470350
Tulsa, OK 74147
918-622-8400
cwh@hvsu.com

Gene Chase
2159 Carlton Rd.
Oshkosh, WI 54904
920-231-5002
GRCHA@charter.net

E.E. Buck Hilbert

8102 Leech Rd.
Union, IL 60180
815-923-4591
buck7ac@gmail.com

Ronald C. Fritz
15401 Sparta Ave.
Kent City, MI 49330
616-678-5012
rFritz@pathwaynet.com

Gene Morris
5936 Steve Court
Roanoke, TX 76262
817-491-9110
genemorris@charter.net

John Turgyan
PO Box 219
New Egypt, NJ 08533
609-758-2910
jrturgyan4@aol.com

TM

Membership Services Directory

Enjoy the many benefits of EAA and
EAAs Vintage Aircraft Association

TM

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

Phone (920) 426-4800

Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Sites: www.vintageaircraft.org, www.airventure.org, www.eaa.org/memberbenefits E-Mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org

EAA and Division Membership Services (8:00 AM6:00 PM

MondayFriday CST)
membership@eaa.org
800-564-6322
FAX 920-426-4873
www.eaa.org/memberbenefits
New/renew memberships Address changes Merchandise sales Gift memberships
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
888-322-4636
www.airventure.org
Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft Hotline 877-359-1232
www.sportpilot.org
Programs and Activities
Auto Fuel STCs
920-426-4843
EAA Air Academy
920-426-6880
www.airacademy.org
EAA Scholarships
920-426-6823
Library Services/Research
920-426-4848
Benefits
AUA Vintage Insurance Plan
800-727-3823
www.auaonline.com
EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan
866-647-4322
www.eaa.org/memberbenefits
EAA VISA Card
800-853-5576 ext. 8884
EAA Hertz Rent-A-Car Program
800-654-2200
www.eaa.org/hertz
Editorial
920-426-4825
www.vintageaircraft.org
VAA Office
920-426-6110

airventure@eaa.org
sportpilot@eaa.org
dwalker@eaa.or
airacademy@eaa.org
scholarships@eaa.org
slurvey@eaa.org

membership@eaa.org
membership@eaa.org
vintage@eaa.org
tbooks@eaa.org

EAA Members Information Line

888-EAA-INFO (322-4636)
Use this toll-free number for: information about AirVenture Oshkosh; aeromedical and technical aviation questions;
chapters; and Young Eagles. Please have your membership number ready when calling.
Office hours are 8:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Monday - Friday, CST)

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
EAA
Membership in the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Inc. is $40 for one year, including 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. Family
membership is an additional $10 annually. All
major credit cards accepted for membership.
(Add $16 for International Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS
Please submit your remittance with a
check or draft drawn on a United States
bank payable in United States dollars. Add
required Foreign Postage amount for each
membership.

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Current EAA members may join the
Vintage Aircraft Association and receive
VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an
additional $36 per year.
EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE
magazine and one year membership in the EAA
Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46 per

year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included).

(Add $7 for International Postage.)

WARBIRDS
Current EAA members may join the EAA
Warbirds of America Division and receive
WARBIRDS magazine for an additional
$45 per year.
EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magazine and one year membership in the
Warbirds Division is available for $55 per
year (SPORT OficAVIATION magazine
not included). (Add $7 for International
Postage.)

IAC

Current EAA members may join the

International Aerobatic Club, Inc. Division and receive SPORT AEROBATICS
magazine for an additional $45 per year.
EAA Membership, SPORT AEROBATICS magazine and one year membership
in the IAC Division is available for $55 per
year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $15 for Foreign Postage.)

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

Copyright 2010 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine,
is $36 per year for EAA members and $46 for non-EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane,
PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. PM 40063731 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Pitney Bowes IMS, Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES Please allow
at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the
advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.
EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with
the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800.
EAA and EAA SPORT AVIATION, the EAA Logo and Aeronautica are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and
service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

40 OCTOBER 2010