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VOL. 30, No. 9
SEPTEMBER
2002
STRAIGHT &
LEVELlButchJoyce
2
VAA
NEWS/H.G.
Frautschy
4 EAA VINTAGE AIRVENTURE
AWARD
WINNERS
6 MY FIRST AVIATION JOB
BEING
A MECHANIC IN THE EARLY
DAYS/JOhn
M.Miller
8 LETIING
GO
YOU LL
KNOW WHEN
IT S
TIM
ElNoel
llard
10 MEETING LINDBERGH
A
CHILDHOOD DREAM
COMES TRUE
/
Ev
Cassagner s
13
ONE MEYERS
IS NEVER ENOUGH
Budd Davisson
18 THE
FIRST
SCHEDULED AIRLINE
THE
ST.
PETERSBURG MUSEUM
OF HISTORY S
BENOIST 14B REPLIcA/H .G. Frautschy
22 NEW MEMEBERS
24 PASS IT TO BUCK/Buck Hilbert
26
MYSTERY
PLANE
27
CALENDAR
30 CLASSIFIED
ADS
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T
Y
ESPIE BUTCH JOYCE
PRESIDENT
VINTAGE ASSOCIATION
E
AirVenture-What
an
event!
For all of you who attended, what
a great
event
EAA AirVenture 2002
was
The Vintage area of the conven
tion
grounds
will be
remembered
as
having the greatest number
of
qual
ity aircraft
ever. We
had
a
terrific
number of antiques in attendance,
including the one-of-a-kind Pasped
Skylark, powered by a 165-hp Warner
and owned
by
Bob Penny of
Mis
souri. Tom Brown, one of the truly
great restorers, rebuilt the
airplane,
and it won
the Champion
Bronze
Age award.
Moving around the Antique parking
area [ was happily thunderstruck to see
three
G-model Staggerwings and one D-
model converted to
a
G-model
(a
Younkin conversion ) that is owned
by Larry Beck of Canby, Oregon. Larry
did
much
of the work
on
this aircraft
himself,
and
it
is
outstanding
. It
won
the Antique Champion-Customized
Aircraft, and [ will
bet that
you '
ll
be
seeing this
yellow beauty
at fly-ins
aroLind the country.
Our grand champions in all
three
categories were excellent examples of
what dedicated people can accomplish.
Be sure to review the entire list of award
winners starting on page
four.
Once again,
the
Red Barn was
the center of the activity during
the convention. One
of
the fea
tured
spots in the
Red Barn
was
your
Vintage merchandise sales area.
Magazine and websites are great,
but
filled with items that friends have
purchased. I am glad to do this, but it
has
made me
aware that
this
is
an
area
that
we can help.
The Red Barn
is
also a place where
YO i
can find informat ion, leave mes
sages
for
friends,
pick
up your
participant plaque and fly-in mug, and
look at the weather on the DTN com
puter. The Red Barn is also a gathering
place for the gang during the air show.
[n
front
of
the
Red Barn this year
for
everyone
to view was
Jim
Younkin's
Mr
Mulligan as was
Jim
Moss'
new
Laird Super Solution
replica.
What
a great sight it was to
see
both of
the aircraft in the air fly
-
ing together. Where else but at
Oshkosh during EAA
AirVenture
could you relive the golden age
of
air
racing with a scene like that?
Where
else
but
at Oshkosh
during
EAA AirVenture
could you relive
the golden age of
air racing
. . .
Eighteen years ago the Vintage
This year we had 29 returning air
craft,
which
really
adds to
the
quality of
aircraft
on
display. Seeing
these great airplanes adds to the en
joyment
of
the event for
both
the
general public
and
for all members.
This year the 50th anniversary
fly-
in
celebration
gave a palpable sense
of nostalgia for a great
many
mem
bers. Many
members
came
to
this
year's event precisely for that reason,
and it was said many times to me and
other
directors
and
staff how enjoy
able
the convention
was
this
year. I
couldn't
agree more.
I had a
meeting
with Tom back
in January concerning division busi
ness,
and during that meeting
Tom
expressed his interest
in
seeing
the
divisions
also
take
part
in
the an
niversary
celebration. At the
ribbon
cutting of the re-creation of the first
fly-in area, the Vintage Aircraft
As
SOCiation,
with Charlie
Harris
performing
the
master of ceremonies
honors, presented an original Pat
Packard painting of the first fly-in to
Paul.
Presented
to
him
as a way of
thanking
him
for
his vision and
ef
forts
to propel EAA to the huge
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V NE 5
COMPILED BY
H G FR UTSCHY
TYPE CLUBS
MEET
WITH FAA AT EAA AIRVENTURE
Various clubs representing a wide range of aircraft
types discussed several key issues during a meeting with
FAA
officials
at
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2002. Topics
included expanding the use of designated engineering
representatives
(DERs);
expanding the number of modi-
fications or additions to aircraft that will not require a
supplemental type certificate (STC); the Airworthiness
Concern Sheet (ACS) program; and the release of older
information and intellectual property laws as they per-
tain to maintaining and restoring older aircraft.
EAA
Washington
Office Director Doug
Macnair
hosted the meeting at EAA s Mini Museum with FAA
Small Airplane Directorate Manager Mike Gallagher
and FAA Small Airplane Directorate Assistant Manager
will be issued during the second half of 2002.
An
up-
date of
the
field approval guide for FAA inspectors
is
in the works, and the guide should make it easier for
FAA
inspectors to approve Form 337s.
Airworthiness Concern Sheet Program
Many type club members have participated in the
Airworthiness
Concern
Sheet (ACS) program com-
menting on maintenance issues that affect their
particular aircraft. About 60 percent of those mainte-
nance issues become
airworthiness
directives
AD),
with the other
40
percent becoming special
airworthiness information
bulletins
SAIB). In the
past, a
much higher
per-
centage of
maintenance-
related issues would have
become ADs.
Release of Older
Information and
Intellectual
Property Laws
Many of the attendees
representing
type clubs
expressed frustration
in
obtaining
field approvals
and
the pertinent
infor-
mation
including
factory
draWings, needed to maintain and restore
their respective airplanes. A frank discussion of the
issues
involving
the release
of
older information
and
the intellectual property laws that
mayor
may
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f J G
AIHVENTURE
O S KO S 2 2
E IRVENTUR
E
OSHKOSH
2 2
In
this
month's issue of
Vin-
tage irplane we've included
the
list of award winners from
EAA
AirVenture 2002,
and
we'll have
full-color coverage
of the hap
penings in the
Vintage area
in
the October issue.
During the annual business
meeting
of the Vintage Aircraft
Association,
President Espie
Butch
Joyce, Secretary Steve
Nesse, and directors Jeannie Hill,
John Berendt,
Robert Lumley,
Dean Richardson, Steven Krog,
and Geoff Robison were
re
elected to two-year
terms
.
In
addition,
advisers David Clark
and Steve Binder were elected as
directors
on
the
VAA
board.
2 2 RT MO RG N
V OLUNTE E RS
OF
THE YE R
Volunteers really
do
make the
Vintage area tick,
and
each year we
recognize
a few
individuals for
their
efforts. This year's
honorees
are
as
follows:
Flight Line
:
Tom Taylor,
Cherry Valley, Illinois
Behind the Scenes:
Sandy Perlman,
flew
more than
100
Young Eagles
during that time period
In addi
tion to being awarded with
a
commemorative
plaque of his
own,
Lloyd's
name
was
added to
the perpetual plaq
ue
kept
at
the
VAA Red
Barn.
COPIES OF
I N D I V I D U A L
A I R C R A F T
RECORDS
For
many
years,
the
records for
your
aircraft were available on mi
crofiche for a very reasonable fee.
Now
that
data
is
available on
a
more
modern media-a
CD-ROM.
The
FAA Aircraft Registration
Branch
maintains registration
records
on
individual
aircraft
and
also serves as a
repository
for air
worthiness documents received
from
FAA
field offices.
Aircraft registration records con
tain documents related to an
aircraft's registration history, such
as
applications for aircraft registra
tion, evidence
of
ownership,
security
agreements, mechanics
liens, lien releases, leases,
and
lease
terminations. The
airworthiness
portion
of the
file contains
items
such as
applications for airworthi
ness,
copies of
airworthiness
certificates, major repair
and
alter
ation reports,
and
related items.
Copies of
these
records
may
be
ordered
on
paper or CD-ROM.
One
aircraft record is
included
per CD,
and
it
can
be viewed
using
Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
The
most current
version
of
Acrobat Reader will be
included on
the
CD.
V STICKERS
f you've renewed or
joined
the
VAA
within the
last few
months, you've received our new
VAA Mylar
stickers. These
new
decals are
proving to
be
much
more
durable
and
fade resistant
than the
previous stickers, and as
an
added bonus, they are printed
on both sides, so they can be ap
plied to
either
the inside
of a
window or
any
outside
surface.
Please let
us
know wha
t
you
think
of
the
new decals
PAPER:
$2
search fee for each
aircraft record requested. Plus, 25
cents
for a
photocopy of the
first
page of records
on
paper, and 5
cents for each
successive
paper
page.
An average paper record
has
76
pages.
Plus,
as
appropri
ate,
$2 if
the
record
must
be
recalled
from
Federal Storage. $3
to
certify
the
record is true and
complete, again
generally only
required for
court
cases.
A billing letter will be
sent with
the
requested aircraft records.
Requests
for
copies of
an air
craft's records
may
be
sent to
the
Aircraft Registration
Branch
by
letter
(address below), online
https://diy.dot.gov),.or by fax
(405-954-3548).
Requests from outside the
https://diy.dot.gov%29%2C.or/https://diy.dot.gov%29%2C.or/
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AWA
Grand
Champion:
Vernon
Vick, Dublin,
OH
1942 Boeing
PT-17
Stearman
(N75SV)
Reserve
Grand
Champion:
Herbert Clark, Weirsdale, FL
1942
Boeing
Stearman (N55511)
Champion Replica
Aircraft:
Jim
Moss, Graham,
WA
Laird
Super Solution (N22ML)
Champion World
War
II
Military
Champion
Bronze
Age:
Robert
Penny,
Versailles,
MO
- 1935
Pasped Skylark
W1
(NC14919)
Bronze Age Runner Up:
David
Stark,
Weatherford,
TX
1937
Stinson SR-9F
(N18425)
Champion World
War
II
Era (1943-1945):
Steve Craig, Lawrence,
KS
1946 Beechcraft G-175 Staggerwing
(NC80321)
Outstanding Customized
Aircraft:
James
Hardie,
Heber
Springs, AR
IHVENTUHE
OS KOS
*
ZI I I IZ
iZ
Outstanding
Open Cockpit
Monoplane:
Car
lene
Mendieta , Pinole , CA
1936
Ryan Aeronautical
,
STA
(NC16039)
Outstanding
Closed Cockpit Biplane:
Les Chasmere,
McAleste
r OK
1936 Waco
ZQC-6
(N16203)
Outstanding Open Cockpit
Biplane:
none awarded
in
2002
WWII
Era (1942-1945)
Outstanding Open Cockpit
Biplane:
Jim Jones, Newton,
IA
1942 Meyers
OTW-145
(N34323)
Closed
Cockpit
Monoplane Runner
Up:
Raymond
Johnson,
Buffalo,
MN
1943
Boeing Stea rman (N6
5691)
Continuously Maintained Aircraft:
Bradley
Larson, Excelsior,
MN
1938 Ryan SCW-145 (NC18912)
Judges' Choice:
Arngrimur Johannsson, Iceland
1943
Piper
L-4/ J-3 (
TF-CUP
)
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Reserve
Grand Champion:
Stephen
Culler,
Winston-Salem, NC
Tri-Pacer
PA-22-150
N2311P)
Best
Classic
I (0-80
HP):
Raymond Cook,
Spring
Grove,
IL
Taylorcraft
BC12D
NC43645)
Best
Classic
II
(81-150 HP):
Mark Holliday,
Lake Elmo, MN
Swift Temco
GC-1B
N2353B)
Best
Classic III (151-235
HP):
Edward
Monoski, Kent,
CT
108-2 N9609K)
Best Classic
IV (236 HP
Up):
Charles Luigs, Bandera,
TX
Cessna 195
N4426C)
Best
Customized
Classic:
Marty
Lochman,
Newalla, OK
Cessna 140
NC773SH)
Customized Class
A 0-80
HP):
none awarded
in
2002
Customized Class B (81-150
HP):
Bob Reuther,
Nashville, TN
Luscombe NC144BR)
Customized Class C (151-235
HP):
Raymond Miller,
Taylors,
SC
Swift
GC-1B
N80856)
Customized
Class D (236 HP
Up):
Rod
Hill, Carefree,
AZ
- C-195A
N9869A)
Best Customized Runner Up:
Frank Sperandeo, Fayetteville, R
Pacer PA-22/20 N3383A)
Best Aeronca Chief:
Patricia Early, Palmyra, P
11AC NC3729E)
Best
Beechcraft:
Roland Schable,
Janesville, WI
Best Navion:
Luis
Olaguibel, Mexico
City,
Mexico
XB-BEM
Best
Piper
J-3:
Madonna McMahan,
Wausau,
WI
J-3 NC88456)
Best
Piper Other:
Eric
Presten, Vineburg,
CA
PA-16 NC5875H)
Best
Stinson:
Steven
Smith,
Santa Rosa,
CA
108-1 NC97979)
Best
Swift:
Donald
Woodhams, South
Haven, MI
GC-1B
N3866K)
Best Taylorcraft:
Lee
Bowden,
Independence, IA
BC12-D
N39911)
Best Limited Production:
Edward
Sweeney
Jr., Black Forest,
CO
Aerocar
Nl02D)
Preservation:
Donald
Claude, Poplar
Grove, IL - Taylorcraft BC-12D
NC96440)
Cessna
170/172/175:
Ed Wischmeyer,
Redmond,
WA
1959
Cessna
175 N59175)
Cessna
180/182/ 210:
Mike
Forney,
Lambertville,
NJ
1965 182-H N940W)
Mooney:
Donald McGettigan, Mesa,
AZ
1962 Mooney N6242U)
Piper PA-18 Super
Cub:
Jack Menier,
Coon
Rapids,
MN
1959 PA-18 N9796D)
Piper PA-24 Comanche:
William
and Susan
Harryman, Marion, WI
1965 PA-24-260
N8582P)
Piper PA-28 Cherokee:
Donald
Downin, Mesa,
AZ
1965
PA-28 N6874W)
Limited Production:
Robert Gutteridge, Santa Rosa, CA
1957
Champion
N7557B)
Best
Continuously
Maintained:
Jim Simmons, Nashville, TN
1962
Piper
PA-24-250 N8071P)
Most Unique:
Jan Christie,
Ft.
Atkinson,
WI
- 1958
Percival
N7
4 7
JC)
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eing a mechanic in the early days
JO N M
MILL R
In
May 1927 I
cut
classes at engi
neering school to witness the takeoff by
Lindbergh for his famous flight across
the Atlantic . The next month I graduated
with a degree
in
mechanical
eng
ineering;
I was then at loose ends for a while. The
licensing and regulation system for avia
tion
was
just beginning that year. I'd
had
some flying experience before, in 1923
24 , but now had no airplane no new
pi
lot certificate , no money, and I had not
been
flying in the interim wh i
le
in school.
Aircraft and pilots were being tested
under new Department of
Comme
rce reg
ulations during 1927, with such licensing
to become mandatory in
1928.
Many
of
the World War I surplus airplanes
in
use
were
in
bad condition and were being
re
jected and grounded by the new
inspectors. I decided that I could qualify
for one of the new mechanic's licenses
because of my experience working vo l
un
tarily for a barnstorming pilot
in
1923. I
had worked on his IN-4 Jenny, which
he later
gave
to
me in
bad condition. But
I reconditioned and flew it in
1923-24
,
son it was necessary to license mechan
ics as soon as possible, but they were
having difficulty finding men who could
pass the examinations. The ex-military
mechani
cs
by
that time had secure jobs
in other occupations , plus families, so
they
weren 't interested.
Since there was no hangar or office
on the field , the inspector gave me the
exams in his government car. They took
much
of
the day.
He
would read a topic
from a manual,
and
then ask
me
to write
how I would solve the problem or do the
work. The morning was spent writing
my
answers, a paragraph at a time , or ver
bally answering on the
subject of
airplanes. The types in common use at
the time were the war surplus Curtiss IN
4 and
the
Standard J-1,
very
similar
World War I training airplanes.
The questions were about repairing
the woodwork and
the metal fittings
making up and splicing control and struc
tural cables , rigging and inspecting all
structures, controls, shock absorbers ,
etc., and how to recover wings and con
an aircraft shop before World War
II.
A short time later, the famous Gates
Flying Circus came to town to hop pas
sengers on that same little field, known
then as Poughkeepsie Airport, now long
gone. They were flying five airplanes
four Standards and one larger plane,
the World War I Curtis R-4, which had a
big noisy and powerful engine, the 400
hp Liberty. I introduced
myself to the
pilot of that airplane, telling him that I
was a licensed A P mechanic. He was
very
surprised to
find a
licensed
me
chanic in
an
area where there was only
one old, still unlicensed surplus Jenny.
At
the end of the very busy day of flying
on Sunday, he to ld me
that
there were
two severely blowing exhaust valves
on
the engine and asked me whether I
could repair them.
Of
course
I
said
I
could
do
so
al
though I had never before been within
shouting distance of a big Liberty engine,
but I had studied the manual carefully.
When I confirmed that I could have it
ready by the next Saturday, he hired me
to do it. I worked hard at it during the
week, removing the overhead camshaft
and
hand grinding the two valves, which
fortunately were on the same side.
When he
returned the next Saturday,
he was so pleased
that
he offered me
a job on the Circus to act as crew
ch
i
ef
on
that airplane.
He
was in a hurry to
fly to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where
the
Circus was
to
operate that week
end. Leaving my motorcycle
there
on
the field, I got into the airplane, without
even
a toothbrush
and
rode up to
Pittsfield. There was an enthusiastic
crowd, and they became even more so
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loads of four passengers at $2.50 each,
one
right behind the other
in
a tight circle
around the field.
Toward
the end of the
evening I was watching the
R-4
make its
unusually steep climbing turn when
sud
denly the engine quit Smoke, oil, and
small fragments of something trailed
be
hind
the curved path of the plane.
The
pilot,
Ive
McKinney,
who
was
a
re
ally skillful and colorful
pilot, easily
landed back
on
the field
and
rolled to a
stop
right
on
the
line in
front of the
crowd , as
if it
were a normal flight. Of
course I was alarmed about some mis
take I might have made
in
my work on
the engine, but it turned out that a piston
rod
had failed and wrecked the engine.
Ive
then said that I would stay
in
Pitts
field with a helper to change the engine,
with a replacement
to
be
shipped
up
from
Lodi ,
New Jersey,
near Teterboro Air
port.
The
job was done successfully
by
the time
Ive
returned the
ne
xt
Friday.
We
were then to fly west to
Troy, New
York
,
for the weekend circus operation at
an
airstrip owned
by
the Ford Motor
Com
pany at Green Island. This flight turned
out to
be
a rather scary one,
and
that is
one
reason I
am
telling this story.
Since Troy, New
York
, was some 25
nautical miles
northwest of
Pittsfield,
with hills in between, a low ceiling of
no
more than
800
feet at Pittsfield,
and no
weather reports available for Albany or
Troy
in those days, there was
an
obvi
ous problem. But that did not bother
Ive
McKinney. With only
an
ordinary road
map (there were
no
sectional charts
in
1927), he took
off
and headed north
west.
We
could see that the overcast
was
not too thick, since
we
could see a
through the murk. Ive knew absolutely
nothing about instrument flying but had
experience with zooming
up
through stra
tus layers , briefly, without any outside
vision. With
me and my
helper
and Ive
's
girlfriend
in
the front cockpit, he opened
the engine wide. After getting full speed
with the biplane, perhaps 115
mph
, right
under the base of
the
overcast
, he
zoomed upward into the
ce
iling. Finally,
the airplane staggered
and
fell
off
on one
wing
and
dived back out of the bottom of
the clouds, with the ground right
in
front
of the nose of the airplane
·C rr E S
lfl S
IR US
,
,
Amerloa .
King 1 the Air
CLYDE E
Upside Down
to help in holding the right angle of climb
and
one direction toward it,
he
was able
to stagger out of the clouds
up on
top.
Of
course , during all of this hazardous per
formance
I was just
about
scared
to
death. I was enough of a pilot to know
the danger
and
the long record
of
many
accidents
when
pilots got into the clouds
during that
era
(
and
even
today
.
Well, finally out of the clouds
and
in
the clear, with the
red
sun
just
about to
set, it was beautiful up
there-my
first
time But the clouds ranged far ahead.
How were we
to
know whe
n
we were over
Troy? Finally a hole in the clouds ap
peared, but
down
at the ground
level
the
sun had set and it was very dark down
there That didn 't disturb Ive.
The
sun
was
long gone. He made a beautiful
hel
i
cal descent with 45-degree banks ,
down
through that little hole,
and we
found our
selves flying
in
darkness. Fortunately the
lights of
Albany
and
Troy were
visible.
How
he
found that little airstrip at
Troy
in that darkness, I
don
't
know
. But
as
he
circled it,
we
could barely see the line of
four Standards tied down ,
and he
made
a beautiful landing
in
the dark.
He
su
rely
didn 't have any night vision problem .
Th
e
re
were
no
lights on eit her the air
plane or the airstrip.
No
one was there ,
for all the pilots had gone to the hote
l.
We
got a ri
de and
joined them
happily.
Af
ter a dinner I went to
bed
,
happy
with the
wonderfu l scary memories.
The
chief
pilot
of
the
Circus
was
Clyde Pangborn, who
later became a
very good friend of mine along with
Ive
and the other pilots , Lee Mason, Joe
James
, and Roy
Ahearn.
Pang
later
made the f irst trans -Pacific
nonstop
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
10/36
• •
This
story
is
not about
acquIrIng
some
wonderful new
thing but rather
about
l tting
This
is
me, this
is who
I am.
Letting go
of one
part of yourself is
hard.
Walking away from it makes
you feel less than you were. Some
how when
we acquire stuff, it makes
us bigger; when we let go, we feel di
minished. But
sometimes, you
just
have to let
go;
life changes. That's the
situation
I
found
myself in
with
my
airplane, my pride
and joy
my Chief,
when I made the decision to sell it
af-
ter
31
years of ownership.
To
me it
never was an Aeronca
11AC,
it
was
simply
The Chief We
n t cover the
entire
cost. Each
mem
ber, whether we flew
the
182
or
not,
was assessed $1,000, a whole lot of
money back then. My
wife
was
aghast. "You
could
own
your own
plane for what you spend."
I looked
at
a Cessna
140
at Buf
falo
and
then
met
two
on-strike
Northwest
mechanics, Cliff Bakko
and Roger Poore. Their Chief was for
sale. It was reasonably
priced
and I
bought
it
in
the
fall
of 1970. Cliff
and Roger nursed me around
the
pattern
for
a few
hours,
then
in
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
11/36
Left)
One of my favorite
photo-
graphs, taken on base leg to the
beautiful grass strip at Sky Harbor
Minnesota.
teeth at Southport, then Lake Elmo
when Southport closed. Sometime in
1976 I took t
apart
and brought
it
home to rebuild. I carefully pho
tographed
every area, and then
as
I
disassembled each component, drew
pictures of what it looked like before I
pulled it apart. I did the whole nine
yards, removed
the
fin strake, sand
blasted the fuselage, epoxy primed it,
fashioned all new
formers, stringers,
seats, etc. I labori
ously
spliced
new
tips onto the wing
spars, hovered over
the engine while it
was being majored
at the Minneapolis
Aviation Vo-Tech,
then using the Stits
process all the way carefully glued on
the
fabric
and
tapes
so
that
every
seam and line
was
absolutely straight.
My wife even got into the act, sewing
the top gusset triangle so per
fectly...wow was I proud of it when it
was finished.
My
day-by-day inspector was Rich
Klepperich, who got to be one of my
best buddies
and
let me
rent
half of
his hangar at Webster, Minnesota,
for the next ten years. He had re
stored a beautiful Stinson 108, and
the
two
airplanes were a
magnifi
cent pair. One day, Rich decided he
was
perfect-only fifteen
minutes
from home, a long grass airstrip, and
most always aligned with
the
wind.
But fate was not kind there either;
Tom bought another airplane.
The
next home was a little farther down
the strip, yet a similar fate eventu
ally
occurred.
I was evicted again.
New
owner
with more airplanes.
Certainly there were
other
hangars
in the realm. But all of them were
farther
from home. I had learned
over the years from many incidents
of
hangar rash, two
major
and sev
eral
minor,
that the only way to
own
an airplane
is
if you also
own
a
hangar.
It was
not
in
the
cards
for
me and the reality of the situation
was simply
that the
whole
thing
was
too much on my plate. My flying
hours
had
always been
too
few each
year to justify the time spent putter
ing,
the annuals, biennials,
medica Is and the expense of hangar
rent, insurance,
and
parts.
The
die
had been cast.
My wife
and
I had always enjoyed
canoeing. We own three, including
a
genuine
birchbark model. On a
beautiful Saturday, I would look up
over
to
Stanton, Minnesota, and
made
a landing on one
of
the
crossed runways, then another, and
another,
and
another, each from a
different direction.
As
I pulled away
I could see my wheel marks on each
runway,
starting
from nothing and
ending all at once,
as
if the machine
that
made them were only a phan
tom, here and
then
dissolved.
Another
early morning just after
the sun
was up, I circled
in
dead still
air
above
Cedar
Lake by Jordan,
Minnesota,
at
800 feet, looking into
the water
to
see what had enticed all
the local fishermen
to
be
up so early.
Ahead, I could see
a gaggle of pelicans
flapping across in
front of me
at
the
same altitude, just
on their way to
somewhere,
not
having
learned the
value of
tight
for
mation flying
like
geese. As
the
tailender
passed before
me,
on
a
lark I
turned
after them. My plane
shuddered, not unlike
passing
through a weak thermal. I was
moved with emotion. I had passed
through their turbulent wake. Have
you ever done
that?
There were as many moments as I
could count, sleeping under the
wing at Blakesburg, taking my
grandchildren for
airplane
rides,
mentoring
a high school student in
aviation and giving him his first air
ride, flying in formation with
other
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
12/36
r;:
--.
( '
CD
\ I
'
~ = h '
If :
hile this year, 2002, is
the
75th anniversary of
Charles
A.
Lindbergh's
incredible solo airplane
flight from New
York
to Paris in 1927,
it
is also a time for me to reflect upon
meeting
this
gentleman
many years
after his famous flight.
To get to
meet
and to know
this
flyer of all flyers,
and
his wife, Anne
Morrow Lindbergh, as well
as
other
family members, has been a highlight
of my life. How could such a meeting
be arranged, with this world famous
man,
who
traveled
the
globe so ex
tensively, and who was involved with
so many good projects covering so
many interests? Here
is
the story.
Having
begun
my research
into
the
history of
the
Ryan Aeronautical
C
ompany
of San Diego, California,
back in about 1957,
t was
kind of in
evitable that we might connect in the
future.
On May
18,
1957,
I
had
checked
out
in a rare 1936 Ryan
ST
classic airplane. This was the only
one
left of
the
original five that were
built. I became obsessed with the his
tory of
that
particular airplane,
and
then
of course,
with
all
the other
Ev
CASSAGNERES
As
I delved deeper into
the
subject,
many
questions
surfaced, some of
them even today unanswered
. So
how do I find the answers? I was fi-
nally convinced that
only
Lindbergh
could give me the correct informa
tion
I needed.
Oh
, sure,
now
how in
the
world do you
contact
this man ,
who lived
a
private
life,
although
only about 60 miles from my
home
at the time, here in Connecticut.
I n the early stages of
the
forming
of
the Connecticu t Aeronautical His
torical Association, and
as
one
of the
founders
of this first of
its
type in
the country,
I
became acquainted
with
some interesting
pioneers of
aviation
then
living
in
the
state. I
became
friends with such noted in
dividuals
as
Howell Miller
and Ed
Granville
of the
Granville
Brothers
Gee-Bee
fame,
Igor Sikorsky,
Sr.
and
Jr.,
and Carl Schory. Schory was
the
man who
installed the baro
graph
in
the
NYP
at
Roosevelt Field
before
the
flight to Paris. At that
time,
Schory
was
Secretary of the
Contest Committee of
the
National
Aeronautic Association.
I spoke
with
Carl
Schory
about
said that
if I needed any
help
around the world,
he would
put
me in contact with
offices
of the
United Aircraft Corporat ion
of
Hartford, Connecticut. He was
a
retired vice president of the firm.
Then , in 1968, after
intense
work
in
collecting material on Ryan, I
called
Mr.
Lyman
and made
another
date to
visit with
him
for an update
on
my work. Again,
he
was
appar
ently impressed, and said,
I think
it 's
time for you
to
make
contact
with
Lindbergh. He
suggested
I
write
a
simple and to-the-point letter, and to
be
sure to mention
his (Lyman's)
name. He even instructed me on how
to address the envelope, etc.
A few days later I
had lunch
with
Col. Richard Gimbel, (from
Gimbel
Bros. Dept. Store
in
New York),
an
aeronautical
historian who had an
office
at Yale
University.
At
that
meeting
I
asked his opinion on
meeting Lindbergh, who
was
his
friend as well. He also suggested a
letter. Gimbel was
retired from the
Air Force,
and
had one of the largest
aeronautical collections of any
thing
to do
with aeronautics
and
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
13/36
So
with that, I erased it all out of my
mind,
and as
they say ... went
on
with
life and forgot the whole thing.
On Tuesday evening,
the
27th, my
wife and daughter, Kirsten,
and
I were
having supper. At about 6:00 p.m.
the
telephone rang.
The male party
on
the other end,
with a sort of high-pitched voice and
Minnesota/Wisconsin accent, asked
for me by name,
pronouncing
Cas
sagneres (Casa-near) quite well. He
said he was Charles Lindbergh,
and
that
he had received my letter that
day (mail was a bit faster back then) ,
and
was
quite
interested
in my
proj
ect, and he offered his help.
Of course I
had
almost completely
forgotten my letter, and thought this
must be some joke by
one
of my pilot
friends, some of whom I knew would
pull off
such
a
thing.
I had
it
boiled
down to three of them. So I said, Is
this REALLY
C
ha r
les Lindbergh, or
some kind of joke? He laughed I am
sure he was kind of used to this) and
said he had spoken to Deac Lyman
about me and wished to be of help.
After
our extensive conversation
he suggested we get together some-
time
soon. I
thought to
myself
soon
could mean
anything,
considering
his schedule,
but
low and behold,
he
suggested that I come to his home for
supper,
with my
wife, and suggested
this for
the
very
next evening,
the
28th. He said that Deac Lyman and
his wife and
Frank
Delear and his
wife would be there. Delear was from
Sikorsky Aircraft,
and doing
a biogra
phy
on
Igor.
down.
However, by the next day I
had memorized it for security reasons
[Q: What kind of security reasons?
Was he told to
do
so?],
and
tore up
the
paper. I still reme
mber the
num-
ber. It's
amazing
what we
remember
in life.
Aft
er the
phone callI
went back to
the
kitchen
to
finish supper
with the
family, still in a trance, and my wife
said, Did
you
tell him we are vege
tarians? I hadn't even thought about
that
She suggested I call
him
back.
Just then the phone rang again , and
it was Lindbergh, who had forgotten
to mention to me that this first meet
ing would have
to be
cut short
as
f aiJp
(emu;
im
'
-;rifwere mu
; r p f t 1 1 p P ~ w ~
f l f Y t m a : P . f ~
~ W ~ ' I e a t
nal raia6i1itp;
m u ~
Anne
had
to be
at
the dentist in the
morning, and he wanted to be sure
she got to bed early.
So
I said that I
was about to call
him
about our food
preference. He said
that
was okay as
they had
friends
who
were vegetari
ans, so we both tried to come up with
me, just as we approached the door,
Are you sure this
is
the right place?
With that, the door opened, and there
standing in the
doorway was
l ind-
bergh, in
his suit, who said, Please
come in, I am Charles Lindbergh. I
thought to
myself, "Who else
in the
world would you be?
We
found the home very attrac-
tive,
simple,
cozy
and inviting,
with pictures
of nature,
and
a roar
ing fire in the fireplace. Soon
introductions were made with the
other
two couples.
While
Mrs. Lindbergh
offered
drinks to everyone, the men became
acquainted while discussing our mu
tual
aviation
interests. We were also
served cheese
and
crackers as good
discussions were in progress.
Lindbergh was of course quite tall,
with a receding gray hairline. He im
mediately showed an interest in my
work,
and wanted to
get right
into
the subject matter.
Dinner was served buffet style, and
after Charles
and
I
picked up our
trays of food
and
a glass of milk (we
were
the
only milk drinkers), we got
comfortable
on
a small couch in front
of
the
fireplace in
the
living room.
In
our telephone
conversation
he had suggested
that I
bring any
photographs
and
a list
of
questions
with me for discussion
and his
help,
which I did.
When we looked at the
photos
he
identified people and places, ·and in
some cases
the
circumstances. I
went
slowly
down
my list of questions
.
Two or three times
during our con-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
14/36
Sanders Allen, in reply to one of my
questions.
He offered
to
give
me
an
extra copy he had if I wished, which I
did accept.
He made many suggestions and
cleared up several questions and mis
conceptions,
some
rather
startling.
This
was
when
I heard for the first
time the true
story
of the meaning
We,
which
did NOT
mean he
and
the airplane. He made
it
clear that he
NEVER
meant
it to mean that.
At one
point I asked for permission
to inspect the NYP in detail, in order
to try
to determine the
correct serial
number, and study other
details
of
the
airplane. Permission was granted
and
he said that anything his friend
Paul
E.
Garber,
then
the long time cu
rator of the
National
Air
Museum's
collection,
would
agree to
he would
also, on my behalf. I shall never for
get the confidence it instilled
in
my
own
mind when
it came to his coop
eration in such matters.
In
the
course of our conversation I
brought up the
subject of
the
Japan
ese NYP-2 built by Ryan (the Japanese
were
planning
to fly the Pacific
with
it). He
had
only
heard
about
it
but
did
not
know
the
details, and wanted
to know
more.
He asked if I would
send him further information on
the
airplane, which I did.
I mentioned his
old
Monocoupe
NR211, and the deplorable condition
it
was in, Sitting
in
a lean-to
in
St.
Louis,
under
the care of
the
Missouri
Historical Society.
He
appeared quite
concerned, and mentioned that he
appreciated my concern also.
concerned.
He asked if I would
send
his
best wishes to
William
Wagner,
Walter Locke, Claude Ryan, and
Hawley Bowlus
of
the Ryan
Com
pany, with whom I was in
constant
contact
with.
I asked about Frank Hawk's Ryan
B-1,
the Goldbug
and
he
said it
did
not become the NYP; the NYP was
built up from scratch.
He asked
me
who the
two
pilots
were that flew the Standards for Ryan,
and
thought
one was Red Harrigan,
which was
correct.
The
other
was
Dick Bowman.
Soon it was time to leave,
at about
10:15 p.m., and
the
four of us
spent
some time talking about our children.
We showed them
a
couple
slides
of
our daughter, Kirsten.
They showed
much
interest.
Eline was
pregnant
with our son Bryan
at that
time.
While getting our coats on, Charles
mentioned the two
books, Th
e Spirit
ofSt.
Louis
and the Lockheed book by
Allen, and promptly disappeared for a
few minutes. Shortly he came back
with both
and handed
them
to
me
.
With many thanks I thought, 1 won
der
i f
I
should
ask him to
sign the
Spirit
book,
but then realized after
all, he entertained us
at
their home,
and was willing to
keep
in contact
with me to help in the Ryan project.
What more could I ask for, so gave up
the idea,
realizing
also that he had
been hounded by people
most
of his
life for his
signature. Good
I did, as
you will see.
We bid goodbye
and
arrived home
at about 11
:45
p.m.
I
climbed
into
black ink, and signed in his incredi
bly consistent signature. I never
expected this
and
was
happy
I had
not asked
him to
sign the
book
dur
ing
our visit. This
book
will become
an
heirloom
in
our family.
My wife, Eline, recalled at
the
time
that
she was the skeptic in our family,
and she said that if I ever received a
reply from Lindbergh
she
would pay
me
a
dollar,
which of course I col
lected not long after. She remembered
that
she wore a navy blue wool dress,
with a printed skirt and black shoes
that
night. She also remembered
that
the large
black
mailbox in front of
the
Lindbergh home did
not have
a
name or number on it. She found
the
house to be simple with
no
pretense.
Eline remembered
that we
had
goat cheese, which according to
Mrs .
Lindbergh, Charles liked very
much.
Eline
felt right at home, as
did I, and
found the atmosphere
very relaxing. The
view
into the
cove was lovely, with swans
and
many
birds flittering around.
She found Charles quite handsome
with piercing blue eyes, a gentleman,
who seemed
very much aware
of
other
people
and their feelings. She
found
Anne
a very warm person in
terested in
other
people and their
feelings. She was interested in what
other people had to say.
On April 7, 1968, Lindbergh wrote a
letter to me, three pages typed, in which
he followed up with remarks regarding
our discussion at
that
first meeting. t
was in this letter, on page three, that he
mentioned in a paragraph the real and
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
15/36
F
rst, a word
of warnin
g: jeal
ousy
is
a wasted emotion. Just
keep
that
in mind while we
tell
you the tale
of
Dennis
and Janeen Kochan
and
the latest
addition to their aerial menagerie.
Married for
11
years,
the
Kochans
make the rest of us realize
that
, yes,
you can live
your
dreams. And you
can fly your dreams.
And you
can
pretty
much
be who and
what
you
want to be if you have the determi
nation and, most
of
all, the right
partner to work shoulder to s
houl
der with to achieve those dreams. In
this case, there's no doubt Janeen
was made for Dennis and vice versa.
Their backgrounds are similar, their
goals compatible,
and their
taste in
airplanes identical
and
impeccable.
UDD DAVISSON
PH
OTOS
BY
JI
M K
OE
PNI
CK
you about the jealousy thing.
Dennis Kochan moved to Winter
Haven, Florida,
with
his family in
the
early 1950s. They
moved into
a
house
only
a short
distance
from
what
was then a
civilian-operated,
military-contract flight school that
was based
at Winter
Haven
airport
.
His father
was
a pilot, and it was
only a short time before young Den
nis found himself among instructor
pilots and other fliers that his father
had befriended.
Dennis took all of this in and be
gan his own climb toward being an
aviator via free-flight and radio-con
trol models. I started taking flying
lessons,
Dennis
says, at another
field ,
but
my
father
said
he'd pay
the difference if I'd go over to Jack
young pilot and soon-to-be-airplane
rebuilder to come
of
age.
Everyone was
rebuilding
some
thing, and I
made
it a point to help
where I could. I worked on a little of
everything and helped one group do
a complete restoration on a Cub.
That's when I really started learning
about,
and
appreciating,
older
air
planes. Even though I was young, I
just seemed to
identify
with the
older ones better than the more
modern ones, recalled Dennis.
At
the same
time Dennis was
doing a huge amount of flying,
building up ratings and beginning
to see
that
there actually was a ca
reer to be had in aviation.
At
about the
same time else
where in
the
state, Janeen , a
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
16/36
ing. Part
of
Janeen is
an
educator,
and
that
part merged with
her
background in
human
factors to
set her in a
slightly
different but
allied direction .
At
first
she
started
casually giving flight instruction
to
people in their own aircraft and
working with
commercial
opera
tors on their certification processes
and training manuals.
In a
short
time
Janeen
had a
cockpit
training
business
that
catered
to everything from
tail
wheel transitions
to Gulfstream
II
small airline and freight operators.
The more of that she did, the more
she
began
to
know airline/freight
flying,
and
the more she found her
self drawn to it.
I liked
the
way
the
carrier
I'm
now
working for did
their training
,
so I applied for a job, Janeen says.
I started out
in
the right seat of a
YS-ll, flew captain
on the
DC-9 and
DC-8, and I'm now in the left seat of
B-767s.
She continued her education and
was working on
her
Ph.D., but as
is
on
floats
that Jon
Brown
owned
in
partnership with one of his instruc
tors a guy named Dennis
something or other. I asked Jon if I
could
fly
the airplane,
and
he said to
ask Dennis. I asked Dennis Kochan
if I could fly his airplane, one thing
led to
another,
and
you
can guess
the rest. That was in 1988, and we've
been together since.
Janeen says, We flew a lot of dif
ferent airplanes
and
ferried a
bunch
for commercial operators. At the
same time Dennis was flying a Gulf
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
17/36
Meyers,
although
I've always liked
them, Dennis says. This particular
one
belonged to
one
of
our
neigh-
bors who had lost his
medical.
I
offered to let
him
keep it in
our
hangar until I got time to ferry it to
Virginia for him.
Janeen says, It was sitting there,
and
we'd walk around it all
the
time,
and somehow it just seemed as if it
fit with
the
rest of
our
airplanes.
Be-
sides, it was a fairly modern airplane,
and we needed something more
Will you sell us the air
plane for that?'
And
we
became
the
proud owner
of a Meyers 200D.
Dennis says, I'm not
saying we always go at
things
the
right way, but,
for
instance, when
we
bought the Stearman, Ja
neen said it was
because
she had this great helmet
and headset and needed
an
open cockpit
biplane
to go with it. We heard of
this Stearman
for
sale,
walked
in,
fell in love ,
and
bought
it in about
five minutes.
We did
about the
same
thing with the
F-
normal
for
transportation. t
was a
really good airp lan e
with
decent
paint
and
radios,
but
it hadn 't flown
in something like five years.
We kept walking around it, and
one
day
I coul dn
't
take it
any
longer, so I
told
the owner, 'We
have this
much
money
in
the bank.
Dennis explains, Most of
the
air
planes we've bought have been out
of
annual. Some
of
them for a
long
time.
Both
Janeen
and I are A&Ps
and lAs, so where an airplane that
hasn
't flown for a while normally
hurts its sales val ue,
that
doesn't
mean much to us because our labor
is
free. We can
put
them back into
the air
for
much
less
money
than
most people can.
Some
of the air
planes, like the Fairchild, haven't
needed
much except a good bath
and some flying.
Others like
the
200D needed a lot
of
cosmetic work
and
some
small
mechanical
stuff
like re-bushing the landing gear.
And this brings us up to
the
Mey
ers 145. Dennis says, We belong to
the Meyers (Owners) Association
and
have for a few years. In
one
of
the newsletters, we saw an
ad
that
had
a 145 Meyers being offered as
part of an estate sale. t had not
been
advertised
anywhere else, so
most people didn't even know it was
for sale.
We contacted the estate and
found
the
price
was
entirely too
high for us. Apparently it was too
high for everyone because after a lit
tle while the price came down.
The airplane
hadn't
flown for
two years
and, in fact,
had
only
flown about 20 hours
in
the last 15
years .
That
was
the
bad
news. The
good news was that it only had 950
hours
on it since new. The airplane
had been built in 1956 and was
the
last
of 20
145s that were built. The
last
owner
bought it in
1960 and
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
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of airplane, that's pretty rare. It had
been repainted
in 1990,
but in
its
original colors.
Dennis adds, Although he didn't
fly the
airplane very much, the
owner
was careful to come out and
run it up fairly regularly. His widow
told us she'd come out with him
and sit
in
the car
while
he got the
engine up to temperature.
Janeen and I talked about
it
for a
few
minutes
, Dennis says, then
decided we'd
buy
it
and
restore it to
original configuration.
We
negoti
The 145
is the
product of
l
Mey
ers,
who
moved to Tecumseh,
Michigan, in
the
early 1940s
to
take
advantage of the labor base that
hovered around the
automotive in
dustry. He wanted to build airplanes,
and
that's exactly what
he
did. He
and his fledgling company built the
Meyers OTW (Out
To
Win)
primary
trainer that, although it was a minor
player in
the
wartime
training
pro
grams, was still a profitable product
for him.
At the
end of World
War
II he,
and
Globe/Temco, producers of
the
Swift. Meyers was apparently much
more of a bUSinessman,
and
he was
n't going to build what he
didn't
know was sold.
Meyers' approach to building air
planes
meant
two
things, both of
which were revolutionary
within
aviation:
he
would only build to or
der and he
purposely
kept his
airplane manufacturing small so he
could control it. If you wanted one
of
his
airplanes,
you had to
drop
a
check
on
his desk and then go stand
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
19/36
While not exactly a T-shaped panel this Meyers
145
has the original instru
ment panel
intact without
the usual
cutouts
made
for
more modern
equipment.
tion.
He designed a top and
subsequently
sold a reported
25,000 of them.
The
Meyers 145 was origi
nallya 125,
but the
1,700
pound
(gross) airplane was
found to be underpowered, so
a 145-hp Continental was in
stalled. The resulting 950 fpm
climb and 145 mph cruise
speed was impressive, but im
pressive or not, in 1948 there
was still a
limited
market for
such
an airplane.
The
orders
didn t
come in, so he
didn t
build the airplanes. Globe as
sumed the
sales would be
fuselage were
aluminum,
the main
fuselage
and
wing center-section
were welded steel
tube that
carried
all of the land gear and main flight
loads. The airfoil was typical for the
period, a 24015 at the root tapering
to
a 24009
at
the tip; loosely trans
lated that means the airplane had a
relatively sharp
stall,
but nothing
the
returning
fighter jocks couldn t
handle.
One thing
Meyers did
change
early
on to
make
the
air
plane more docile was
the
addition
of a
very tall
tailwheel
strut. The
original
was so short and the deck
angle so steep that the airplane was
terribly blind and really easy to stall
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
20/36
~ f J M i
1
Scheduled Airline
The
st
Petersburg Mus
umof
History's Benoist 14B replica
H.G.
FRAUTSCHY
I
f you' re visiting the west coast of
Florida, a
stop in
the
Tampa/St
Petersburg area holds a special
treat for antique airplane en thusiasts.
At
the
base of
the
li he Pier in down
town St Petersburg, Florida,
is the
St.
Petersburg Museum of History. The
centerpiece of its
many
exhibits
is
a
beautifully constructed replica of
the
Benoist
fl
yi
ng boat
used
in
the
establishment of
the
first
scheduled airline service in
the United States.
Members
of the Florida Aviation
Historical Society
built this
remark
able craft The endeavor was a
widespread
volunteer
effort. A high
school
shop
class
band
sawed
the
wing ribs while other volunteers engi
neered a
propeller/engine
drive
system to replicate
the 7S hp
Roberts
inline six-cylinder installation. Hank
Palmer
built
a mock-up
of the
drive
train
and the replica's engine, a six
cylinder Chevrolet that was tested
along with the chain
drive and pro-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
21/36
Suspended in the First Flight gallery the Benoist Model
4B
flying boat is a faithful replica
of
the biplane used for
the first flight
of
a scheduled airline
in
the United States. Along the wall
in
the back framed by the floor to ceiling win
dows is a chronology
of
the airline industry.
peller. Ed Hoffman , a well-known
Florida aircraft builder and seaplane
pilot, was one of the many volunteers
and served as the replica's pilot.
The society had voted in 1980 to
build and fly the replica to commem-
orate the historic
first
scheduled
airline flight , which
took
place on
New Year's Day in 1914. The push
was on to
complete the project
St. Petersburg
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
22/36
Like many pioneer-era
aircraft
, the Benoist
was found to
be
lacking in directional stability, so
a rectangular section of fabric was installed be
low the horizontal
tail
and
the top
of
the
aft
fuselage. When the replica was readied
for
per
manent display, the temporary fin was removed.
process. Thanks to the
hard work of so many vol
unteers, the airplane was
ready to be test flown by
the
fall
of 1983.
Teething problems
with
the drive
system
were
dealt
with,
and
a
few other
corrections
were made to the Benoist
replica before
it
was
flown to St. Petersburg.
Seventy
years
to the
day
and
time, Ed Hoffman
took off from the harbor
which required two years of research
before
th
e first
structures could
be
built . A
seemingly simple airframe
was built, using measurements and
photographs
tak
en
of
the
Model 12
Benoist in
the
Smithsonian s collec
tion of aircraft. The research revealed
that even for a relatively simple air
plane, constructing it as closely to the
original as possible was a painstaking
waters of St. Pete and
flew to the other side
of
Tampa
Bay,
averaging
55 mph.
Overall,
the replica
flew
a total of four
hours and
24
minutes,
including a
stint
in front
of
the
IM X
cameras
for the
National
Air
and
Space Mu
seum s movie n the Wing
If you re
unable
to make the trip,
we re pleased to show you
just
a
few
of
the details you d see at the
excellent display
in
the
St. Peters
burg Museum
of
History. There s
quite a
bit
of historical data
on th
e
many aspects
of
the Benoist flying
boat and
the
St. Petersburg-Tampa
AirBoat Line. Also, when you re fin
ished viewing the Benoist, be sure
to visit the rest of the museum-it
has a fascinating
and
well-presented
collection
of
artifacts, both modern
and
ancient.
If you'd like
to
read more about
the
history
of the
St. Peters-
burg/Tampa AirBoat Line and the
replica's
creation,
we've
repro-
duced
an
article entit led
The
World's First Airline f irst pub-
lished in
the
March 1984
issue
of
Vintage Airplane.
You
can view
the
article
on
our
web page
at
www vintageaircraft org Click on
Publications,
and then
select
Interesting Past Articles from
the menu.
peclaliles ervices
CR NKSH FTGRU HNG
ROCKERAR ST RTER D PTERS
CR NKSH FT
B L NCING
T PPET BODIES
ULTR SONICINSPECnoNS
C MSH FT
GRINDING
COUNTERWEIGHTS CUSTOM M CHINING
CONNECnNG RODS
M GN fLUXING PL nNG
http://www.vintageaircraft.org.click/http://www.vintageaircraft.org.click/
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Sep 2002
23/36
The actual survival material
went to
the
Smithsonian
in Wash
ington.
Other
parts
from
the
NYP,
that
made the flight from New York
to Paris, went to the
Lindbergh
In
terpretation Center
in Little Falls,
Minnesota. The
rest of
the
material
went to the San Diego Aerospace
Museum
in San
Diego, California,
all of which was
eventually
lost
and
has never been found.
I still own part of the original NYP
artifacts, and have since had
them
professionally mounted in a specially
built wooden case for protection, dis
play, and possible sale.
Over the next two or three years
Lindbergh and I were
in contact
by
phone, and
by letter,
and
a couple of
times
in person
. I
have developed
some questions since his death that I
never
thought
of during that time, so I
may never learn the true answers.
I always found him to be friendly,
gracious,
and
quick with his carefully
thought out answers, and detailed re-
marks,
and
suggestions. I also
found
him to
be
sincere
and
soft spoken,
with an unassuming dignity, with
great natural ability, and genius. He
had high values, virtues, and spiritual
ity (the latter often discussed with his
close friend, Igor I Sikorsky,
Sr. .
He was a whole
man,
honest with
others
as well as
with
himselC
and
a
true gentleman of the old school. He
practiced and believed in well-organ
ized
hard
work. He
had the
will to
achieve and succeed, but
not
at the
project with Mrs. Lindbergh. t was al
ways a
pleasure, spending
relaxing
time in healthy inspiring conversation
on many different topics.
I never thought much about asking
for her Signature on any of her books.
However, on one of
our
visits my wife
had asked, Mrs. Lindbergh, of all the
books
you have
wr i
tten,
which
one
did you enjoy the
most
from an au
thor's
standpoint?
After
careful
thought Mrs. Lindbergh said, Listen
to
the
Wind. So I thought
if
the time
was okay
and
I felt comfortable about
it, I
would
ask
her
to sign my copy.
So, on our last
viSit,
January 17, 1979,
and as we sat before a warming fire in
the
fireplace,
she agreed
to
sign the
book
. To Eline
and
Everett
Cassag
neres,
in appreciation and
with
all
good wishes, Anne Morrow l ind
bergh with the date.
That was the last time we visited
her in
Darien, and
in
reflection, we
cherish this friendship,
and
miss her
very much.
Since
the
passing
of
Anne Morrow
and Charles A.
Lindbergh,
I
have
found it to be a pleasure, and
an
inspi
ration to continue a friendship with
some
of
the members
of
the l ind
bergh family.
I
wish to take this opportunity
to thank Reeve Lindbergh Tripp,
their
daughter, for
answering my
many questions, and for her offer
of
help
and encouragement
over
so
many
years.
I
have been further encouraged
There is something strangely
sacred
about
the
fact
that
there
is
salt
water
in
both
tears
as
well
as
the sea.
ABOUT
THE
AUTHOR
Ev Cassagneres
is
the
interna
tionally respected Ryan Aircraft
historian,
pilot, author,
and the
world's
foremost
and preeminent
specialist
on
the Ryan-built and
Lindbergh-flown Spirit ofSt.
Louis
After
more
than
35 years of
intensive and
dedicated
re
search and writing,
he has
just
completed
the
very
first
book
ever attempted on
the
history
of the
Spirit
of
St.
Louis The
book was released in July of
this
year,
the 75th anniversary
of the famous 1927 flight from
New York to
Paris.
The
title is
The Untold Story
of
the Spirit
of
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24/36
NEW MEMBERS
John Kite . . . . . .
Clyde, AB,
Canada
Elizabeth Murphy . . . . Calgary,
AB,
Canada
Ian
G.
Smith .
Calgary,
AB
, Canada
Darian
Wayne Swartz
. . . Vernon,
BC,
Canada
Marian Du Toit . . . . . . .St. Mar ys, ON , Canada
Keith
Kunder
. . . . . . . .Gravenhurst, ON, Canada
Steven]. Lubczuk . . . .Kitchener,
ON,
Canada
Hugh Shields .
St. Thomas,
ON,
Canada
Michael Wotherspoon . . .
Barrie, ON,
Canada
Ernie
Amadio
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Falls,
ON , Canada
Emmanuel
Rollier
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France
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L Wickens
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England, Great
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an
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D. Ander
son . . . . . . . . . .
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Ko
ng
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c of South Africa
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Meier
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es
tern Australia
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AK
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eve
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AL
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AR
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Smith,
AR
Billy
Dulles
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AZ
Robert
A.
Martino .
Camp Verde, AZ
Donald M. McGettigan . . .
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Allen Struthers . . . . . . . .Tucson,
AZ
Alan Trabilcy . . .
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Valley, AZ
David C. Blyth
e .
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Bernardino, CA
Sheldon O. Bres
in
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Cummings,
III
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Gordon
D. Dani
elson . . . . .
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Damon
Duree
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CA
Marty Eisenmann . . .
. . Alta Loma, CA
Kenneth R. Finch .
.
Paso Robles,
CA
Kenneth
J.
Frank . . . . . . .Nevada City, CA
Robert
L
Graves . . . .
Palo Alto
, CA
Tom
Harper
. . . . .
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William Helve
y .
.
. . . . . . .
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Altos
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Elvin W
Hurst .
. . .
Santa
Rosa
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Darrel E.
Jones .
.
.
Sonoma, CA
Marc Pell
etier . . .
. . .
Daniel son, CT
Norman Ross . . . . .Putnam, CT
Calvin J.
Arter,
Jr. . . .
.
.
. . Mulberry,
FL
Thomas Karrer . . .
. . .
. .
Miami
,
FL
Charles Nickerson . . . . . . . .Bonita Spring
s, FL
John W. Preiss . . .
. . . . . . .
Da
ytona Beach ,
FL
Donald M. McBride . . .
Roswe
ll
, GA
Wayne Bausch . . . .
Ames
, IA
Thomas
W
Gillum . . . . . . .Davenport, IA
Craig T. Martin . .
.
. .
Des
Moines, IA
Aaron
Dwayn
e
Siegfried
. . .
.
. . .
.
Anken
y, IA
David Bona . . . . . . . .joliet,
IL
Bob
Brandt . . . . . . Schaumbur
g, IL
Brian
Cummings .
.
.
.
Naperville,
IL
Donald
R. Ev
ersman .
.
. . . . . . . . . .
Lisle
,
IL
Brett M. Lecy . . . . . Chicago,
IL
Douglas
L
Mays . . . .
. .
. Chenoa,
IL
Michael Monreal . . . . . . .
. . .
.
. .Mar engo ,
IL
C.
Jud Nogle . . . . . . . . . .
Sav
oy, IL
Joseph
K.
Russe
ll
.
.
.
Kankak
ee, IL
Edward]. Turner,
III
. . . . Mokena ,
IL
Jim
Hartlage . . . .
Lanesville,
IN
Stephen
Him es
.
. . .
. .
Bristol,
IN
Gordy L
ee
. . . . . .Indianapolis, IN
Emmett
L
Owens . . . . Madison, IN
Gregory
A.
Smith . .
North
Web
ster, IN
Ronald G. Wright .
. . . .
. . .Austin , IN
Maurice
Brand
.
. . . .
.
Valley
Cente
r,
KS
Kenneth Joy . . . . . . . .Wichita, KS
Bobby].
Newsom
. . . . Wichita, KS
James T. O'
Dani
el .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .De
rb
y,
KS
Arch
E.
Pat
er
so
n . . .
.
Leawood, KS
John
H.
Plumb .
. . .
.
.
.
Delia
,
KS
Michael Scott
Bursk
. . . . .
.
Wild
e
r,
KY
Rob
Dorsey
. . .
. . . . . . . . . . Florence,
KY
Robin Dorsey . . . . .Florence, KY
Charles
R.
Huff .
.
. . . . Prospect, KY
Lowell
G. Sharkey . .
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.
. .Manitou ,
KY
John
Hall
.
. . . .Northborough, MA
Tim
O'Neill . . .
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.
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.Bradfo
rd
, MA
Daniel J. Schwinn . . . . . . . . .
. . . Lincoln,
MA
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Kenneth j Jasorka . Minneapolis, MN
Don
Kerkhoff . Good Thunder, MN
Julius
Salinas
. . .
Esko, MN
Jerry Woodstrom Hugo,
MN
David
L.
Alexander . . . St. Cha
rles,
MO
Harry Linn .
.
Vanzant,
MO
Duane Oosterhuis . . . . . Ozark,
MO
Matthew Pierce . .
.
. . Florissant, MO
Kari Pierce . .
. Florissant, MO
Dwight E. Lee . Macon, MS
David L. Andrews . .
Ca
ry,
NC
Stephen
R.
Culler . . .winston-Salem,
NC
David
Culp .
. .
Wilmington, NC
Peter Inglis
. Chapel
Hill, NC
Larry Weida
.
.
.
Fuquay-Varina,
NC
Erick
S. Corbridge . . . . . .
Seward,
NE
Michael
Mitche
lle
. . .
.
Wilber,
NE
Donald
J.
Stoops . . . Peterborough, NH
Marie Stoops . . . . Peterborough, NH
Kurt M. Wien . .
. . . West
Ossipee,
NH
Harvey
B.
Hasl
ett .
. . . . . . Galloway, NJ
Stephan Koenig . .Ringoes,
NJ
James
Dudley .
. . .
.
Albuquerque, NM
Maynard
H.
Ingalls .
.
.
Dayton, NV
Gerald
J. Bainbridge . . . . . .
Buffalo, NY
Stuart
W.
Felberg . . .
.Chichester,
NY
Clifford
L.
George . . . Geneseo,
NY
William Richard
s . . . . Gardiner,
NY
George Stahl . . . . .Long Island City,
NY
Jerry Anderson . . . .Ca nton, OH
David Brickner
. . .
Fostoria, OH
Jay
J. Gleason . Maumee,
OH
H.
Thomas Griffing . . . . . Sandusky,
OH
Brooke
Ha
yes
.
.
.
Worthington,
OH
Thomas
Howen
stine .
.
Hicksville,
OH
Ted
Kelley
. . Lyndhurst,
OH
William Leff .Dayton, OH
Paul
Lutz
.
.
Wadsworth,
OH
Alan Peters .
. . .
Blacklick, OH
Kenneth L.
Sto
ck
er
.
.
.
New
Philadelphia,
OH
Douglas M.
Frantz . . . . . .
Mustang, OK
Will
N.
Harris
.
.
.
Edmond, OK
Rand
y W. Harrison .
Sitgler, OK
Ca
r
ey
Johnson .
.
Lawton,
OK
Max Mcdermott . . . . . Alva, OK
James
L.
Williamson .
. . . . .Sand Springs, OK
Eric
L.
Graham . . . . .Gresham, OR
Bill Hall .
. . . . . . Portland, OR
Chuck Milton .
Indepe
nd
e
nce
,
OR
Daniel Owen
. .
. . Portland, OR
Steven
E.
Zimmerly . . .
Hill
sboro, OR
John
Hess
.
.
. .jonestown,
PA
James
L.
Freeman .
.
. . Anderson,
SC
Tom Lewis
.
.
. . . Franklin,
TN
Bob Reuther . Nashville, TN
Olga Cassella . . . .
Rutland, VT
John K Desm o
nd
. .
S Burlington, VT
John
A. Birney
. . . . . .
Lake
Stevens, WA
Ken
Co
uch .
Arlington, WA
J.
Scott Haywa rd . . . .
. . .
Aub
urn,
WA
Stephen L. John
so
n .
. . . . . Arlington,
WA
Michael D.
Latta
. . . .
.Auburn,
WA
Steve
Albert
Smith . Buckley, WA
j F Vallee .
. Vancouver, WA
Jan Christie . . Ft. Atkinson , WI
Kent R. Crain . . Gr
ee
n Ba
y,
WI
Randy
Erickson
. .
. Mosinee, WI
Alan j
Georgia . . . . . . . . . .Green
Bay,
WI
Leslie
L.
Gore
.
.
.
Sheboygan, WI
William M.
Gore
. . . .Sheboygan, WI
David
M. Henry . . . . . Hartland,
WI
Kenneth
Hodg
es
.
. . . .
Edge
rton,
WI
David
L.
Hotzfeld . . . . . .
.
Merrill,
WI
John H. Kass . . Holman, WI
William S. Knight .
. .
.
. . Brodhead, WI
Thomas Knutson . . .
. . . Chetek, WI
Michael Levono
wich
. .
Kenosha,
WI
Robert J. Pernic .
Williams Bay, WI
Alan
Reschenberg .
.
.
Oconomowoc, WI
Alex F Ro
ss
ul
ek .
.
. . .
. . . . .
Ferryville,
WI
David K. Schmitz . . . Spooner,
WI
Don ald Shine . . . . . . . .
Waterford,
WI
Bradley
W.
Stellrecht . . . . . . . . . Clintonvill
e,
WI
Jam
es
j Thomp
so
n . . Bristol, WI
David Bennett Tomich . . .
. . . .Sheboygan, WI
Dax
D. Wanl
ess
. . .Middleton, WI
William
G.
Waring . . .Green
Bay
, WI
Ernest P C
la
y .
.
Huntington, WV
EAA Celebrates a
Century of
Powered
Flight
with the most exciting and most
loved
aircraft
designs
of the century!
Q:
Looking for
a
fun way
to
support
EM programs, plan your month and enjoy some
of the
finest
examples of
aviation ph
otography?
A: World of
Flight 2003
accomplishes
all
three.
8/20/2019 Vintage Air