STRAIGHT & LEVEL

by Espie "Butch" Joyce

Returning home from the 1991 Osh­kosh Convention has been a let down for me. It is hard to leave those friends you work with during that time .. . some of whom you will not see again until next year. This event is made possible by the dedication and hard work of volunteers. In the Antique/Classic area alone I had 26 chairmen. Most of them had at least two co-chairmen. Working with these chairmen/co-chairmen are a number of volunteer helpers. These people pro­vide this help at their own expense.

Several times during the Convention someone approached me and asked how much I was paid for being president of the Division. I never really thought that anyone assumed I was paid to do my job. To clear the air on this, none of your officers or directors receive any pay for the work they do for your Division. They bear all of their travel and boarding expense of the Conven­tion out of their own pocket.

You can see that this is truly a volun­teer operation. Having managed the Antique/Classic area for the past three Conventions has been a great reward for me. Also, thanks to all those great people who helped in our area.

2 AUGUST 1991

We had 150 Antiques registered this year which is an increase of some 44 aircraft. The quality of the restoration on these antiques really caused some sweaty brows for our judges. The An­tique Grand Champion was a Pitcairn PA-4 owned by Harold Armstrong of Rawlins, MD. Harold's son used up three days flying this 1927 OX-5 powered airplane to Oshkosh. I might mention that this family has produced an Oshkosh Grand Champion before ­an Aeronca 7 AC, and a Reserve Grand Champion with a Waco 10. Harold, what secret project are you working on now?

We had 705 Classics registered. This is up almost 100 over last year. The Classic Grand Champion was a Beech 35 belonging to David Slovachek of Colgate, WI.

There's something I think is interest­ing about this airplane. For the past two years this Beech has been considered for the Grand Champion. The first year the judges pointed out that the engine com­partment was not up to speed. David then completely redid the engine instal­lation. Last year it was down to the wire between David's Beech and Tom Hull's 195. The judges went back and forth from one airplane to the other. Finally,

the judges looked up in the wheel wells of the Beech and found them not to be quite as clean and neat as they needed to be to take top honors.

Wel1, David took care of that problem during the past year. Perseverance pays! Many Grand Champion aircraft go through an upgrading process like this on their way to the top.

Next year at Oshkosh we will be parking our new class within the An­tique/Classic Division - the Contem­porary aircraft. These are the planes produced between 1956 and 1960. A judging committee will be formed to look the parking area over to determine what the different classes of judging will be for this group. JUdging of this class will begin at the 1993 Convention.

Your Division is now working with our insurance agent, AUA, Inc., and the underwriters to include this new class of aircraft in our group insurance program. You must be a member of the Anti ­que/Classic Division to participate in this program. Check it out ... call 1-800/727 -3823.

Overall the Convention was great and also a safe one. Let's all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation. We are better together. Join us and have it all. •

PUBLISHER Tom Poberezny

VICE-PRESIDENT

PUBLICATION STAFF

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Dick Malt

EDITOR Henry G. Frautschy

MANAGING EDITOR Golda Cox

ARTDIRECTOR Mike Drucks

ADVERTISING Mary Jones

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Norman Petersen Dick Cavin

FEATUREWRITERS George A. Hardie, Jr. Dennis Parks

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Isabelle Wiske

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jim Koepnlck Carl Schuppel

Mike Stein eke

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC.

OFFICERS President Vice-President

Espie "Butch" Joyce Ar!hur R. Morgan 604 Highway St. 3744 North 51st Blvd.

Madison. NC 27025 Milwaukee, WI 53216 919/427-0216 414/442-3631

Secretary Treasurer Steven C. Nesse E.E. " Buck" Hllber!

2009 Highland Ave. P.O. Box 424 Albert Lea, MN 56007 Union, IL 60 180

507/373-1674 815/923-4591

DIRECTORS John Berendt Rober! C. "Bob" Brauer

7645 Echo Point Rd. 9345 S. Hoyne Cannon Falls, MN 55009 Chicago, IL 60620

507/263-2414 312/779-2105

Gene Chase John S. Copeland 2159 Carlton Rd. 9 Joanne Drive

Oshkosh, WI 54904 Westborough, MA 01581 414/231 -5002 508/366-7245

Philip Coulson George Daubner 28415 Springbrook Dr. 2448 Lough Lane

Lawton, MI 49065 Hartford, WI 53027 616/624-6490 414/673-5885

Charles Harris stan Gomoll 3933 South Peoria 1042 90th Lane, NE P.O. Box 904038 Minneapolis, MN 55434 Tulsa, OK 74105 612/784-1172 918/742-7311

Dale A. Gustafson Jeannie Hill 7724 Shady Hill Drive P.O. Box 328

Indianapolis, IN 46278 Harvard, IL 60033 317/293-4430 815/943-7205

Rober!lickteig Rober! D. "Bob" Lumley 1708 Bay Oaks Drive 1265 South 124th St.

Albert Lea, MN 56007 Brookfield, WI 53005 507/373-2922 414/782-2633

Gene Morris George S. York 115C Steve Court, R.R.2 181 Sloboda Ave,

Roanoke, TX 76262 Mansfield, OH 44906 817/491-9110 419/529-4378

S.H. "Wes" Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa, WI 53213

414/771-1545

DIRECTOR EMERITUS S.J. Wiltman

7200 S,E. 85th La ne Ocala, FL 32672

904/245-7768

ADVISORS John A. Foger!y Jimmy Rollison 479 Highway 65 823 Carrion Circle

Roberts, WI 54023 Winters, CA 95694-1665 715/425-2455 9 16/795-4334

Dean Richardson Geoff Robison 670 1 Colony Drive 1521 E, MacGregor Dr. Madison, WI 53717 New Haven, IN 46774

608/833-1291 219/493-4724

August 1991 • Vol. 19, No. 8

Copyright © 1991 by the EAA Antique/Classic Division. Inc. All rights reserved.

Contents

2 Straight & Level by Espie "Butch" Joyce

4 Aeromail

5 A/C News/compiled by H.G. Frautschy

6 Good Old Days/by H.G. Frautschy

7 Vintage Literature/by Dennis Parks

11 NC-4/by Ed Williams

13 Ed Looker's Photo Album/ by Norm Petersen

16 Barnstorming With The Stinson Trimotor/by Dick Hill

Page 13 20 Charles and Brian Taylor's Ercoupe

by H.G. Frautschy

25 Pass It To Buck/by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

26 Antique/Classic Book Review by Jim Haynes

28 Calendar

30 Vintage Trader

33 Mystery Plane/by George Hardie Page 20

FRONT COVER, , . Cruisin' along in their 1946 415C Ercoupe, Charles and Brian Taylor enjoy the post-war version of open cockpit flying during Sun 'n Fun '91. Pho to by Jim Koepnick, shot with Canon EOS- 1 with 80-200 lens, 1/25Oth sec, a t F8 using Kodachrome 64, Photo plane flown by Bruce Moore,

BACK COVER, , , It was a dark and stormy night in New York , Artist William D, Deveikis ' artwork reflects an evening start to a flight for a United Airlines DC-3, More details on this piece in A/C News on page 5,

The wOfds EM . ULTRALIGHT. FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM, SPORT AVIATION, and the logos 01 EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC ,. EAA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, EAA ANTIOUEJCLASSIC DIVISION INC" INTERNATIONALAEROBATIC CLUB INC" WARBIRDS OF AMERICA INC, are registered trademarks, THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos 01 the EM AVIATION FOUNDATION INC, and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are trademarks 01 the above associations and their use by any person other than the above associatioos is strictly prohibited,

Editoriaf Policy: Readers are encouraged to subimit stOfies and photographs, Policy opinioos expressed in artictes are solely those 01 the authols, Respoosibility IOf aroJracy in reporting rests entirely with the OOOtributOf, Materiaf should be sent to : EditOf, The VINTAGE AIRPLANE. P,O, Box 3086, Oshkosh. WI 549Q3.3086, Phone: 4 t 4/426·4800,

The VINTAGE AIRPLANE (SSN 0091·6943) is published and owned exclusively by EM Antique/Classic Divisioo, Inc, 01 the Experimentaf Aircraft Associatioo, Inc, and is published monthly at EM Aviatioo Center, P,O, Box 3086. Oshkosh, WI 549Q3.3086, Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh, WI 54901 and additiooaf mailing offices.The membership rate lor EAA Antlque/Classic Division, Inc, is $20,00 lor current EAA members IOf 12 month period 01 which $12,00 is IOf the publicatioo 01 The VINTAGE AIRPLANE, Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation,

ADVIERTISING • Antique/Classic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product oHered through our advertising, We invite ooostructive criticism and welcome any report 01 interior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that COfrective measures can be taken.

POSTMASTER:Send address changes to EM Antique/Classic Divisioo, Inc, P,O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903·3086,

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

M,AIL

EARLY STALL? NO, EARL STAHL!

Dear Mr. Frautschy, VINTAGE AIRPLANE is improv­

ing! For example, I liked the mix of articles in the February 1991 issue. Keep reminding us, with good text and photos, of events such as the Pulitzer races. Also, us old-time modelers love to see three-views like those accom­panying the Lincoln PT-K feature.

Might I suggest you request your Library/Archives Director put together a review of the planes entered in the Guggenheim Safe Airplane Contest of the late '20's or possibly early '30's? Sincerely, Earl F. Stahl, Yorktown, V A A/C 11013

Your wish is our command, Earl. It just so happens that a recent donation to our archives will allow Dennis Parks, EAA Library/Archives Director to begin a series on the Guggenheim Con­test later in this year or early 1992. We won't start until we have enough to cover most, if not all, the airplanes entered in the competition. Thanks for the kind words about the magazine. It's encouraging to know that division mem­bersfeel they are getting what they are looking for! - HGF 4 AUGUST 1991

BOYHOOD MYSTERY PLANE

Dear Editor, For months, yea, even years, I've

been meaning to write about an aircraft I saw in the 1930's. The "Mystery Plane" shown in the May, '91 issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE finally trig­gered this letter.

The "Mystery Plane" appears to be a tricycle gear canard. First, I do not know anything about the aircraft pic­tured, but it is similar to the one from my childhood.

I grew up on a farm in Clark, N.J. and our property adjoined a typical 1920­30's airport with hangar facilities - two grass runways and some wide open spaces. Around 1933-35, an aircraft was constructed at that airport that at­tracted my attention, being an aviation buff, even in those tender years. The plane was a canard and it may have been a tricycle gear. We knew it as a FER­NICK, if the spelling is correct. It was flown at that Westfield Airport and I saw it in the air often, one summer.

My recollection is that it crashed at the Cleveland Air Races during a low level loop, resulting in the pilot's death.

I can't vouch 100% for the accuracy of these 55-56 years of memory, but would appreciate knowledge that some­one out there remembers when.

Finally, you and your staff deserve this member's appreciation for an excel­lent magazine. VINTAGE AIRPLANE is well written, not only by the staff, but contributors too. Interesting, informative, timely and more; and all those folks respon­sible should be congratulated.

EAA members have come to expect excellence from their organization and we get it! Thank you, Sincerely, Nelson Lawrence, N. Brunswick, NJ A/C 12626

You hit it right on the head, Nelson! Not only is it the staff that supports me in this effort, but the unselfish efforts of many, many volunteer writers who get the stories to us so that we all can be entertained and educated each time we pick up VINTAGE AIRPLANE. couldn't do it without them, and it would not be nearly as muchfun.

Now about that May Mystery Plane. Well, it is a . .. oh no, I'm not telling yet! You'll have to read this months' install­ment of George Hardie's MYSTERY PLANE on page 33. Nofair skipping to the back either. Read all the other good stuff that comes before, and save the dessert for last! - HGF •

I

compiled by H.G. Frautschy

PIONEER AIRPORT UPDATE The new hangar for the EAA Air

Adventure Museum has been com­pleted, and now houses some of the museum's aircraft collection that pre­viously had been kept in storage. With the completion of the hangar and the adjacent Airport Managers Office, more room can be devoted to displaying an even greater variety of vintage airplanes at Pioneer airport. Many of the items listed in last months issue are still needed for the Manager's Office. Ifyou have something to spare, contact Ron Twellman , Museum Collections Manager at 414/426-3093.

BIPLANE EXPO A BIG SUCCESS

Antique/Classic member Charlie Harris of Tulsa, Oaklahoma tells us that "Biplane Expo '91" went well, with 326 airplanes, (including 138 biplanes), at­tending the big bash in Bartlesville. Good weather and a record turnout helped make this year's event a big suc­cess. Charlie has consented to doing a story on the Fly-In for VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Look for it soon!

A/C DIVISION ANNUAL MEETING

During elections held during EAA Oshkosh '91, the Board of Directors of the Antique/Classic Division of EAA were reelected. Steve Nesse will con­tinue to serve as the Secretary, finishing the term vacated by George York during the spring board meeting.

OTHER OSHKOSH NOTES If you had not been to Oshkosh in a

year or two, the Antique/Classic area of the EAA Convention site showed off

some changes. First, the revised park­ing for antiques was a big hit, with many of the Antique owners commenting on the advantages of the new arrangement. (The first half of the grass south of the Theater in the Woods is now for non­camping Antique parking.) Other chan­ges included the construction of the Antique/Classic Flightline Operations building, a central Location for Art Mor­gan and his busy group of volunteers to work out of while handling the parking of the record number of Antique and Classic airplanes that came to attend.

Finally, a big round of applause for the construction firm of B.B.o.G. (Bob, Bob and the Other Guy), who showed up 14 weeks in a row prior to the con­vention to do all the construction work on the expansion of the Antique/Classic Red Barn. B.B.O.G.? Bob Brauer, Bob Lumley and George Daubner all worked like crazy to get the project finished in time. Our thanks to them for their efforts so that we all could enjoy an expanded Red Bam!

We'll have more on EAA Oshkosh '91 in the September issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE.

A/C MEMBERSHIP DRIVE As announced in the tan insert in last

month's issue, the Antique/Classic Division has started a membership drive to expand the ranks of our fine organiza­tion. You can earn ONE FREE YEAR on Antique/Classic membership and other valuable prizes just by signing up new members for the division. How about signing up that new man at the T-hangar with the newly restored Champ or the new fellow at the Chapter meeting? Don't forget the folks whose airplanes fall in the new Contemporary

Class. Sign 'em up and have the satis­faction of knowing you are helping the EAA's largest divison grow. This drive is scheduled to run until December 31, 1991, so don't delay. See the tan insert in the July 1991 issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Don't forget to list your sponsor information, even if you phone in your registration. That's very impor­tant if you are to receive proper credit.

As President Butch Joyce says "Remember, we are better together. Let's all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation. Join us and have it all!"

BACK COVER NOTES The DC-3 artwork on this month's

back cover was done by the talented William Deveikis of Hampton, Vir­ginia. A retiree from NASA Langley, William was urged to pursue his avoca­tion of airplane drawing by an old col­lege chum, Jay Wallace of Ashland, Oregon. Roommates at Parks Air Col­lege during 1943-44, they had not had contact with each other until 1984, when Jay read of Williams retirement. Jay recalled Williams talent for drawing aircraft, and was persistent in encourag­ing him to take his talent more seriously. The artwork he sent to share with us is one of the results. Based upon a photo in a book on commercial aviation he studied at Parks, it shows a United Air­lines DC-3 starting its engines on a stor­my night at New York 's LaGuardia Airport Terminal. He expanded the image area. The media he used? It's colored pencil! If any members have artwork they would like to submit for the Sport Aviation Art Contest, contact Ben Owen at EAA Headquarte rs , 414/426-4800.•

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

by H.G. Frautschy

One of the great things about working here at EAA is the access I enjoy on a day to day basis to the EAA Aviation Foundation Library. If you have something to research, feel free to talk to Dennis Parks, EAA Library/Archives Director, or Susan Lurvey at 414/426-4800 during normal business hours. You'll be amazed at the amount of material available. If you ever get a chance to visit, you won't be disappointed. While researching an article earlier this year, I ran across the

collection of aviation related catalogs kept in the library. Old catalogs are always interesting, for many times they will provide clues as to how a particular item was made or used. Occasionally, you run across something that catches your eye. The "Specialty Catalog of Aeronautical Supplies" from Supply Division, Inc. of Robertson, Missouri in 1940 con­tained a few such items, including this one, which I thought you'd all get a kick out of:

INSPECTION PLATES SAVE YOUR TEMPER

DOES YOUR C.A.A. INSPECTOR CARRY A KNIFE?

Save yourself time, a lot of grief, and money, by putting a set of these In­

spection PIa t e son YOU R airplane

NOW. Simple: just dope on the py­

ralin ring, and cut out inside. There's your inspection hole. Big enough to stuff your fist into. Then slide on

the neat aluminum cover. It fits tightly, practically flush with the surface

-but slides off as easily as it slides on.

Inspection Plate, complete as shown .. .... . ........... .. ....... ............. .. ... . SOc

It seems the proprietor of Supply Division had quite a sense of humor, for he also advertised a pilots handbook called the "Co-Pilot" with the boast "Does Everything But Cook!".

The prices in these pre-war catalogs can also make a young man stare in disbelief, but, then again, prices these days seem to cause the same reaction, but for a different reason!

Here is another example from the 1940 Catalog.

MARVEL MYSTERY OIL Specified by most engine makers. Used to reduce wear on valve stems, to free ti ght nuts, bearings, and to prevent rust. Pint Can Quart Can Gallon Can

.... $ .75 1.00

... ..... 4.00

Time marches on!

6 AUGUST 1991

THE NATIONAL AIR RACES THE GOLDEN AGE (Part 7)

1935 The 1935 National Air Races were

held at Cleveland August 30 to Septem­ber 2. The races continued the shor­tened four day format that began in 1933. Few new aircraft appeared, no records were broken and the most excit­ing racer was a four-seater . Even though the word "flak" did not yet ap­pear in our vocabulary, the races received a lot of it in the aviation press.

An example by J. B. Rathbun in the November 1935 issue of POPULAR A VIATION, "Well they pulled off another air race at Cleveland for the benefit of the aeronaut­ical sciences and one that was not so hot, according to all accounts.

"There was a big hub­bub and a lot of big noise immediately preceding the Cleveland air races this year and mighty was the talk about super-speeds and super-everything. But, so far as pure brute speed was con­cerned, it all dwindled down to practi­cally zero when the big airplane development boys got on the job."

In fact, Mr. Rathbun suggested that one should look elsewhere for advances in aviation. "Just a suggestion to our racing scientists, I propose that they take a few days off and look over a Lockheed Electra, Boeing 299 (B-17) bomber, a Douglas or some other com­mercial or military plane and learn a little about this speed thing."

DEBITS and CREDITS In a parody of A TALE OF TWO

CITIES, AVIATION for October, 1935 declared that it was the best of times and the worst of times for the National Air Races in their article "Air Race Audit" under the headings "Debits" and "Credits."

CREDITS "The 1935 National Air Races scored

the biggest popular success in American air show history.

by [)ennis Var-ks~

IAA Libr-arr/ Ar-chives [)ir-ect{)r­

"The crowds which paid admission to the grandstand - some 200,000 total ­were larger than those at any previous meet on record. More automobiles jammed the highways and parking areas. More kibitzers sat on more roof tops to nullify the 4-mile-Iong canvas fence .

"The showmanship was excellent. Events moved with the precision and timing of a musical movie extravagan­za. No sooner was one event finished than the signal mortar boomed and the next roared off from the end of the field . Jack Story and his staff kep their day­long chatter through the loudspeakers,

spirited, often amusing. Ifhard­boiled aeronautical visitors

grew bored over their groaning build-ups

Benny Howard's "Mr. Mulligan" in flight. (Radtke 611)

of the stunting , the Cleveland housewives loved it.

"AI Williams' troupe of individual stunters were excellent, as they always have been. Outside loops, passing the stands inverted a wing span above the ground, upside landings, were a dime a dozen. Gerd Achgelis, Milo Burcham and Michel DeTroyat went daily through remarkable demonstrations of coordination. Al Williams dug deep into his bag of tricks and pulled out an inverted barrel roll. Harold Johnson put his Ford Trimotor through loops, rolls and spins.

"The racing events were beautifully flown. Even those which strung out badly after the first lap, produced fre­quent well executed jockeying for posi­tions. More prize money than has been posted at previous meets prevented the pilots' grumblings that have sometimes marred things in the past, and enough starters competed in each event to keep up spectator interest. And no outcome

could have been more popular than the unprecedented sweep made by Benny Howard and Harold Neumann of the Bendix, Thompson and Greve Trophies. Together they garnered $18,335 of prize money."

DEBITS "The 1935 National Air Races were

the biggest disappointment in the his­tory of American airplane competition.

"Promoters of the annual shows make much of them as the Indianapolis Speedway of the aeronautical industry, comparing them to the annual automobile races which have some­times pioneered improvements in automobile engine designs. The in­ference is that the National Air Races themselves would furnish grueling tests and immediate publicity for

the successful. "Yet not a single event of this year's races produced a winning speed even as fast as last year's mark.

And the Thompson Race was won in the slowest time

since 1930. Eighteen planes figured in the prize money of the closed-course races for men. At least 14 of them ap­peared in the 1934 races and a good half dozen took part in 1933. Possibly some entrants had souped-up last year's en­gines, but their speeds didn ' t show it.

"Where are the new departures in plane design? In the country which led the world in mounting retracting land­ing gear on transport ships, only one or two of the racers that turned up at the most important air-races of the year folded the landing gear out of the slip stream. Wing clipping obviously reached its limit without flaps a year or two ago, yet flaps are few and far be­tween. What advances were apparent in engine design had come from commer­cial, transport and military stimulus, not from special effort toward racing per­formance.

"It is true the Bendix transcontinental racers had wretched weather. It is un­fortunate that the Hughes racer was damaged in flight tests. But the fact remains that Howard's winning time (8

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

hours and 33 minutes) was slower than Turner's time to Cleveland on his transcontinental record breaking last year. And it was well over the record mark set in 1932. Howard did break new ground for Bendix technique by going over the top of the weather, crossing at 20,000 feet. But Wiley Post in the aging Winnie Mae had gone 100 miles past Cleveland in one of his sub-stratosphere attempts, then turned back with a limp­ing engine to land only eight hours and nine minutes out of Los Angeles.

"Had Turner not been forced out while leading the field by half-a- lap some 20 miles from the finish, the Thompson Trophy Race would have been disappointing enough, for his average speed was under 240 mph. Howard's Mulligan is a splendid ship. Any cabin plane capable of 247.73 mph in a straight-away dash deserves all the tribute bestowed on this one. But 220 mph for first in the Thompson Race! The winning time in 1931 was 236 mph and it has never been below that since.

"Wright Field could have sent a half dozen service types to top that. Caudron's racer with half the horse­power could beat it by 50 mph and second place went to a racing plane with a Curtiss D-12 in it. Even the Seversky amphibian, floats and all, which had entered merely for the demonstration effect, made off with prize money for fifth place.

"Beyond a doubt the people who turned out to see the last word in airplane and engine progress would have done better to visit the nearest air­line base. If succeeding race meets fai l to produce more new developments than this one, there seems to be little justification for their continuation."

MISTER MULLIGAN The 1935 National Air Races had

been referred to by some as the "Benny Howard National Air Races" as aircraft designed and built by Howard, then a United Air Lines pilot, took all three of the main races - the Bendix, the Thompson and the Greve. Howard flyi ng his four place cabin aircraft Mister Mulligan won the Bendix race and Harold Neumann won the Thompson Trophy in the same ship. Neumann also piloted the single place Mike to victory in all three 550 cubic inch events to win the Greve Trophy.

In the October 1935 issue of A VIA­nON, Benjamin O. Howard wrote about the development of Mister Mul­ligan.

8 AUGUST 1991

This large Seversky SEV-3 amphibian finished fifth in the 1935 Thompson at a speed of 193.6 mph. Later, with a 1,000 hp Wright Cyclone installed, the aircraft set a 3 km world 's record of 230.4 mph for amphibians.

Steve Wittman and his Curtiss V-12 powered Bonzo placed second in their first ap­pearance in the Thompson race.

The Brown B-2 Miss Los Angeles flown by Marion McKeen finished fifth in the Greve and sixth in the Thompson.

Keith Rider R-l with Roger Don Rae aboard finished second on the Greve Trophy and third in the Thompson.

The Pobjoy Special flown by Percy Chaffee won both of the 200 cubic inch races.

This Howard four-place high wing monoplane was the winner of the two main events of the 1935 National Air Races.

Northrop Gamma owned by Bernarr McFadden, owner of LIBERTY magazine, was flown to third place in 1935 by Russell Thaw.

~ ~ '" u o

Clarence McArthur placed second in both of the 200 cubic inch races with the Tilbury Flash.

"May I say, right at the beginning, that all my activities are shared with my good friend and associate, Gordon Is­rael, who by the way, comes nearer being a genius than anybody I know. Neither of us have had any engineering training. I was forced to stop school shortly after entering high-school. Gor­don finished high-school. This explains perhaps why we have so much fun in figuring things out for ourselves.

"We built Pete early in 1930 just for amusement. We learned a lot from Pete and since it paid for itself, we decided it would teach us a great deal to play around with the little fellows. We built racers instead ofordinary airplanes because they were the only ships we could build and pay for out of their earnings. Next carne Mike and Ike. We decided to do the job right and to build them in accordance with A.T.C. requriements, which we did.

"The data and drawings were sub­mitted to the Department and were ap­proved; the engineering inspection order was issued. At the last minute the A.T.C. races were scratched that year so we did not complete the flight tests and the A.T.c.s were never issued. But we learned that the little fellows could be built properly and still win races. Mike and Ike paid for themselves.

"Then came Mister Mulligan. We had found by studying ships and engines at the races that arithmetic was not always to be trusted in arriving at performance ofships of even slightly different types.

"We worried along for three years before we decided that we had found the answer. And Mister Mulligan was built to see if we really knew anything. What we wanted was an efficient four-place ship, but in order to have a chance at a little financial help from the Bendix Race, we had to lean toward the last possible 10 miles per hour, so we stuck some extra power into it and stepped-up the wing loading.

"In the latter respect we went right to the limit. With the overload for this year's Bendix Race (including 300 gallons of gasoline, 30 gallons of oil any oxygen equipment) our gross was 5,355 pounds. Our projected wing area is only 137 square feet which netted a wing loading of 39.1 pounds per square foot. At that, we got off with our load in 1,500 feet of runway, and climbed away from the field at close to 2,000 feet per minute without exceeding the allowable 550 hp limit.

"And we have learned that it is not necessary to build half an airplane to hit high speeds. Mister Mulligan will fly

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

IX

The husband and wife racing team of Benny and Maxine Howard.

rings around any current commercial ship in America with four people and gasoline for 1,200 miles aboard."

The ship was built to ATC require­ments except for the engine which was a highly supercharged Pratt & Whitney Wasp. The Wasp was supercharged with a 13.85: 1 blower and running at a 6.05 :1 compression ratio. It was rated at 550 hp at 1,000 feet. A Lycoming­Smith controllable pitch propeller was fitted with the pitch adjustment ranging from 18 degrees to 32 degrees.

Based on lessons learned from Mister Mulligan, Howard developed a design for commercial production designed to carry four with a range of 800 miles and a cruise close to 200 mph on 300 hp. This became the Howard DGA-8.

BENDIX The 1935 Bendix Trophy Race had a

large number of entries - nine; with all of them starting the race compared to three in 1934. But more unusual than the number of entries was the fact that of the five finishers in Cleveland, three were stock production aircraft and one, the winner, was a production prototype. The winner being the Howard Mister Mulligan, prototype of the DGA-8 four passenger aircraft. The production aircraft were a Lockheed Vega flown by Amelia Earhart, a Northrop Gamma flown, nonstop, by Russell Thaw and a Lockheed Orion flown by Roy Hunt.

Roscoe Turner had the only purely single-seat racer. This was a most power­ful racer being flown in America, propul­sion being provided by a 1,000 hp Pratt & Whitney Hornet. However, Turner was hampered by weather and the short range

10 AUGUST 1991

Benny Howard and his close friend and partner Gordon Israel, winners of the Ben­dix Trophy race in 1935.

of the racer forcing him to make three stops compared to Howard's one in Mister Mulligan, even though, with the great speed of his racer, Turner was only beaten by 23.5 seconds.

Unfortunately the Bendix also saw a fatality. Cecil Allen, flying the last of the Granville racers, a combination of the Rl and R2, crashed after takeoff from Burbank.

GREVE TROPHY This was the second year for the

Greve race for 550 cubic inch aircraft and like the first year it was based on an accumulation of points earned in three races. There were seven competitors for the 1935 Greve Trophy. They were: Rider: R-l (Roger Don Rae), Howard: DGA-4 Mike (Harold Neumann), Brown: B-2 Los Angeles (Marion Mc­Keen), Chester: Special (Art Chester), Miles/Atwood: Special (Lee Miles), Wittman: Chief Oshkosh (Steve Wittman) and the Wedell: Model 22 (David El­mendorf).

Even though Neumann won all of the Greve events, there was a good scramble for the other positions with three different pilots fmishing second and three different pilots finishing in third place. By points, Roger Don Rae finished second and Art Chester third.

THOMPSON TROPHY. There were seven entrants for the

Thompson, the favorite being Roscoe Turner in the Wedell-Williams No. 57 which had been almost totally rebuilt earlier in the year and was now powered by a 1690 cubic inch Hornet engine. A strange entry was the huge Seversky SEV amphibian with a Wright Cyclone

R-1820 and grossing 5,500 pounds. The Howard Mister Mulligan was entered this time flown by Harold Neumann in place of Benny Howard. This year saw the first appearance of Steve Wittman's Curtiss D-12 powered racer Bonzo. This was a genuine homebuilt effort designed to get the smallest airframe behind the ancient V­12 Curtiss engine. It was also the first liquid cooled racing plane since 1930.

The other three entries were six cylinder Menasco powered racers : Roger Don Rae in the Rider R-l, Joe Jackson in the Howard Mike and Marion McKeen in the Brown B-2 Miss Los Angeles. After four years of domination by Wasp powered aircraft, the lower displacement aircraft were starting to make their move on the Thompson and in 1934 outnumbered the higher displacement aircraft and equaled their numbers in 1935.

Roscoe Tumer, as expected with his superior horsepower, took a commanding lead in the race, leading by half a lap with 20 laps to go, when his engine began bel­ching a trail of black smoke. Tumer pulled up and out of the race and made a safe dead-stick landing, saving his aircraft.

Harold Neumann, in the four pas­senger Mister Mulligan, assumed the lead and flew on to win the race at a speed of 220 .2 mph, completing Howard's sweep of the major events at Cleveland. Steve Wittman, nursing an overheating engine, finished a close second at 218.7 mph. Turner had been averaging 238 mph until he dropped out. This was 10 miles an hour slower than his winning speed in 1934 .•

NC·4 by Edward D. Williams

(A/C 2839)

If a television quiz host were to ask "What historic connection is there be­tween the month of May, airplanes and the Atlantic Ocean,?" the answer might seem to be easy. However, if one says only, "The first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic was Charles A. Lindbergh's New York to Paris flight in May 1927," the answer is only half right. There's more to it than that.

Another significant accomplishment was recorded in May of 1919 - eight years before Lindbergh's flight - when the U. S. Navy made the FIRST transat­lantic flight, when one of three Navy seaplanes which made the attempt com­pleted the crossing.

The flight of a Navy Curtiss NC flying boat differed from the Spirit of St. Louis' in many ways, particularly in its route. The flight of the NC-4 was made from Newfoundland to Portugal, with a

stop at the Azores, a spectacular achievement for that time.

Lindbergh, himself, put the flight into perspective when he said: "I had a bet­ter chance of reaching Europe in the Spirit of St. Louis than the NC boats had of reaching the Azores. I had a more reliable type ofengine, improved instru­ments and a continent instead of an is­land for a target. It was skill, determination and a hard working crew that carried the NC-4 to the completion of the first transatlantic flight."

Around the world the feat was heralded as a bold step forward for avia­tion. Although Lord Northcliffe and his London DAILY MAIL had offered a 10,000 pound prize for the first crossing of the Atlantic by airplane, the crew of the NC-4, as U.S. Navy personnel, could not accept it. Yet, the Navy men were rewarded in another way. Con­gress, on February 9, 1929, authorized a gold NC-4 medal for the crewmen for their "extraordinary achievement." In the order of precedence, it ranks just ahead of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal of 1928-30.

The NC-4's success gave a big boost to naval aviation, which was in a post­World War I slump. Prior to the NC-4

feat, Lt. Cdr. Albert C. Read, the aircraft commander, wrote: "If the flight were successful, not only would an immense amount of valuable and much desired information be obtained concerning long-distance oversea flying, but naval aviation, the Navy Department and the whole country would receive the plaudits of the entire world for ac­complishing a notable feat in the progress of the science; the mass of people would be made to realize the importance of aviation as a valuable arm of the naval service; and the way would be blazed for others to follow and thus act to promote a commercial transatlan­tic service."

The NC-4 gave the Navy a peacetime shot in the arm with an airplane intended for war: the NC-4 had its origins in the German submarine threat in World War I when long-range seaplanes were desparately needed.

The U. S. Navy Department, in Sep­tember, 1917, asked for a design of a seaplane that could fly the Atlantic and then be able to attack a U-boat on ar­rival. The Navy was able to solve this long-range problem with a design by Glenn L. Curtiss called the NC (for Naval-Curtiss). The NC was 67 feet

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

~ ~EWFOUNDLAND .~~ Trepassey

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" " .-­" .---­AZORES~ PORTUGAL

Route of u.s. Navy's NC-4 in transatlantic flight in May 1919.

12 AUGUST 1991

long, 22 feet high and had a giant wingspan of 126 feet. The NC weighed almost 28,000 pounds, with a load of 10,000 pounds offuel. It featured a short, 44 foot long hull, with outriggers from the rear of the hull back and upward to support frail looking rudders and elevators clear of the water. It was powered by four 12-cylinder, 400 horse­power Liberty engines, which gave it a speed ranging from 58 to 74 knots.

But creature comforts were nonex­istent. The roar of the engines and thrashing wooden propellers was so loud that the six man crew could not even hear shouting, and communication was accomplished by sign language and notes. The NC's two pilots sat in an open cockpit halfway between the bow of the hull and the leading edge of the lower wing and only a foot or two from the whirling propellers. They had only a crude set of instruments. The com­manding officer, who acted as navigator and anchor man, sat in a very small cockpit in the hull's bow. Two flight engineers, who could work on the en­gines in flight if needed, and a radio operator sat in a cockpit at the stem of the hull.

The NC design appeared to be a good one, and by early 1918 the Navy ordered four of the seaplanes, designated NC-l, NC-2, NC-3 and NC-4. World War I ended before the aircraft could be com­pleted, but they were ready to make their mark in peacetime. Although the historic transatlantic flight was planned in secret for all NCs, it had to be made without the NC-2 which earlier had to be cannabal­ized for parts for the other three.

NC-l, NC-3 and NC-4 left NAS Rockaway, New York on May 8, 1919 on a testing flight to Trepassey, New­foundland, jumping off place for the

, ,

" "

Horta Harbor, the Azores, May 1986 - The flight of the NC-4 is commemorated by Connie Edwards and crew and his Consolidated PBY-6 flying boat. Horta Harbor was also a stop for the NC-4 and her crew.

.Q o .c a. on () ·e o c l; "2.. ..c

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oversea attempt. Eight days later they took off from Trepassey Bay bound for the Azores 1,400 miles away, on the longest nonstop flight ever attempted. Since it was completely over water, the route was covered by a string of destroyers strung out at 50 mile inter­vals as a safety precaution. The ships also aided the NCs' navigation by emit­ting black smoke by day and flame by night.

The three planes took off in formation and passed the first dozen destroyers routinely, but the weather turned bad and the other ships were obscured by fog. The seaplanes lost sight of each other and had to grope blindly and alone toward the Azores hundreds of miles away.

NC-l soon lost its way and landed in high seas and was severely damaged. Hours later a passing ship picked up its crew, and the NC fleet was down to two

planes. NC-3 flew for 15 hours and 1,380 miles and landed in the water in fog and suffered irreparable damage to one of its engine mounts. With skilled seamanship, it was able to use its good engine to sail on the water for 40 hours, finally reaching the Azores.

The glory went to NC-4 as the sole aircraft to reach Horta Harbor in the Azores, 15 hours and 18 minutes after leaving Newfoundland. Ten days later, after a delay because of bad weather, NC-41eft to complete the 900 mile final leg to Lisbon, Portugal. Following a wild greeting at Lisbon, NC-4 flew on to El Ferrol, Spain and then Plymouth, England, for a total flight time of 52 hours from Rockaway to Plymouth. In addition to Lt. Cdr. Read, the NC-4 crew consisted of Lt. Elmer F. Stone,(the only Coast Guard member of the crew) Lt. James L. Breese, Lt. Walter Hinton, Ens. Herbert C. Rodd and Chief Machinist's Mate Eugene S. Rhoads.

The Navy has always been justifiably proud of that pioneer flight. During the 75th anniversary of naval aviation in May, 1986, the flight of the NC-4 was officially duplicated by another famous aircraft, a Consolidated PBY-6 Catalina. The PBY -6 was flown on the reenactment by its owner and pilot, Wil­son "Connie" Edwards of Big Spring, Texas. At the same time, a color paint­ing of the NC-4 was on display at the Air and Space Museum of the Smith­sonian Institution in Washington, DC. That, possibly, was the ultimate tribute to the six men who could rightly boast that they were the FIRST airmen to fly the Atlantic. •

ED LOOltEJR'S PHOTO ALBUM

by Norm Petersen

We are indeed thankful for the use of these priceless airplane photos from the album of Ed Looker (EAA 64901, A/C 5963) of Maribel, Wisconsin. Like so many Antique/Classic members today, Ed has been fascinated with airplanes since he was a small boy, building numerous aircraft models as a young lad (the photos in the album prove it!). In the late 1930's, Ed spent considerable time at Floyd Bennett Field in New York and the nearby Coast Guard Sta­tion, usually with his trusty camera along. The results of his early en­deavors are carefully preserved in an old style photo album which he so kindly brought to EAA headquarters for us to use. Read on.

A low angle photo of a Ryan ST A, NC17300, SIN 134, powered with a 125 hp Menasco C-4 engine was taken at Floyd Bennett Field (note the hangar in the background). The logo on the side of the fuselage features the United States in a serrated circle. Note the spinner backing plate is in place but the spinner has been removed. The tail be­hind the STA (NCI4793) belongs to a cabin Fairchild.

This particular Waco YMF-5, NCI4132, SIN 3957, was painted in a fancy scalloped design and delivered to noted sportsman, Henry J. Topping. The colors were blue and white. Juptner lists this aircraft as the first of 15 YMF-5 models produced by Waco in 1934­1935. (This would be the equivalent of the "Classic Waco" produced in Lans­

ing, MI today.) The FAA Register car­ries this aircraft today as a YMF-3, registered to Robert Wagner of West Milton, Ohio. It is one of two YMF-3's on the register, the other owned by veteran Waco pilot, Harold Johnson of Moraine, Ohio. This photo was taken by Ed Looker in 1938 at Floyd Bennett Field.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Taken by Ed Looker in 1938 at Floyd Bennett Field was this Vought SU-2 biplane, complete with what appears to be a parachute laying on the left wing. This model was powered with a Pratt & Whitney R-1690-40 engine of 600 hp and could top out at 171 mph. The rate of climb was 5,000 feet in 3.9 minutes. Approximately 60 of this model were purchased by the u.s . Navy and Marines. Note fancy border on the snapshot as featured by the processors in 1938.

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What appears to be a Lockheed Sirius in Army Air Corps markings is actually a (Detroit) Lockheed Altair YIC-23, which featured a metal fuselage and a P & W Wasp E engine. Used as a high­speed transport for senior Army offi­cials during the 1930's, the Altair would top 207 mph. Most of the time on this aircraft was flown by Capt. Ira Eaker and Lt. Pete Quesada, the two pilots making a total of five belly landings during their tenure! The Altair was flown until 1942 when it was scrapped with 1050 hours total time. This photo was taken by Ed Looker at Floyd Ben­nett Field in 1938.

Another one-of-a-kind is this Boeing XF6B-l pictured at Floyd Bennett Field. The last Boeing designed biplane, the XF6B-l was powered with a P & W R-1535-44 twin row Wasp of 625 hp and was of all metal construc­tion. Making its first flight in February, 1933, the XF6B-llost out to the Curtiss FllC. The plane in the background is a Consolidated PT-3. Note the carrier hook below the tail of the Boeing.

.. , ,. .J

14 AUGUST 1991

'A really rare aircraft is this photo of a Douglas X02D-1 Navy floatplane amphibian, taken in the hangar at Floyd Bennett Field in 1938. This one-of-a­kind biplane was powered with a P & W R-1340-12 of 550 hp and had a top speed of 162 mph. The single, center­mounted float (with retractable wheels) was assisted by wingtip floats while on the water. The design lost out to com­petitive Vought designs.

A standard Navy shipboard fighter of the early 1930's was the Curtiss BFC-2 "Goshawk" as pictured at Floyd Ben­nett Field in 1938. Note the large spatted wheels, the carrier tail hook and the aux. fuel tank between the landing gear. Originally labelled FllC-2, the Goshawk was powered with a Wright Cyclone of 750 hp and could top out at 176 mph. Note the exhaust stain on the left gear in this photo by Ed Looker.

This particular Aeronca K, NC18875, SIN K-139, was near the middle of the production run of over 350 aircraft. Ed Looker took this photo in 1938 in Connecticut. The Aeronca E-l13 engine of 42 hp is easily distinguishable with its "Y" type of exhaust from the two cylinders. The logo on the side of the fuselage is not identified. Consuming only three gallons of fuel per hour, the K was very popular with small schools and individuals.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

r, NC 11170

by Dick Hill (EAA 56626, Ale 629)

Crewing the Stinson Trimotor is one of our favorite annual events. If you have been to the EAA Oshkosh Convention in recent years, you have seen (and heard) the Stinson. Many of you have enjoyed riding in it. Some of the nicest compliments I've ever had concern rides in this great airplane. Many times conversations are interrupted when someone realizes that I was the pilot when he or she took that memorable ride and they take great pride in having shared that time with me.

"WELCOME ABOARD CEN­TURY AIRLINES FLIGHT FIFfEEN, GLAD YOU COULD COME ALONG WITH US. WE WILL BE TAKING OFF IN A FEW MINUTES. LEA V­ING DETROIT, WE'LL FOLLOW THE DETROIT RIVER TO LAKE ERIE.

"WHEN WE REACH OUR CRUISE ALTITUDE OF FIFfEEN HUNDRED FEET, OUR CO-PILOT WILL SERVE 16 AUGUST 1991

COFFEE AND SNACKS. RELAX AND ENJOY THE SCENERY.

"WE'LL CROSS THE LAKE, PASSING OVER THE BASS IS­LANDS ABOUT MIDWAY. YOU MIGHT NOTICE WHAT LOOKS LIKE A TALL SMOKE STACK ON THE ISTHMUS OF SOUTH BASS IS­LAND, WHERE IT WRAPS AROUND THE BOAT HARBOR.

"THAT'S NO SMOKE STACK; THAT' S THE MONUMENT TO COMMODORE PERRY AND HIS SAILORS WHO FOUGHT THE BAT­TLE FOR SUPREMACY OF THE GREAT LAKES AND MADE FAMOUS THE QUOTE:

'WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS OURS.'

"THE COMMODORE AND SEVERAL OF HIS OFFICERS ARE INTERRED THERE.

"WE WILL BE MAKING SHORE NEAR CLEVELAND AND SHOULD BE LANDING IN ABOUT TWO

HOURS. " Century Airlines, a forerunner of

American Airlines, did indeed fly this plane on that route during its years of airline service. The line flew from Cleveland to Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis, with several intermediate stops. This particular Stinson started service for them in 1931, direct from the factory at Wayne County Airport, Michigan. In the years before World War II, NC11170 went on to becom e a barnstormer. During the war, it was used as a freighter by Noel Wein (Wein Alaska Airlines) in Alaska. My first ac­quaintance with the Stinson Trimotor occurred the year the EAA Convention moved permanently to Oshkosh (1970). During a visit to Brennand Airport that year, I met Byron Fredericksen, who took me into a storage hangar and showed me the sad remains of NC11170. Here was a forty-year-old airplane that had spent over half of its existence, forlorn and abandoned on a

From this dejected looking mess of parts and pieces, the long rebuilding process began.

field in Alaska. It had been trucked back to the "lower 48 " by Byron Fredericksen, Bill Olson, Mike Weust and Harold Wolff; all from the Neenah, WI area. (The saga of this unbelieveable adventure is related in the June 1977 VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine) Bill Brennand, Chuck Andreas and Byron Fredericksen had fonned a com­pany to purchase the huge bird. Several years were to pass while research was done and necessary contacts were made. After several more years of painstaking and diligent work, the plane was brought to a point where assembly could begin. The restoration work had been done at Brennand Field, which is lo­cated 15 miles north of Oshkosh. Even­tually, the fuselage, wings, tail feathers and engines were hauled to Wittman Field in Oshkosh for assembly. Late in 1981, the Stinson was moved outdoors for the first time. The engines were run and the taxi testing began. When these were complete, the plane was flown to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, for the ap­plication of the finish coats of black and gold by Dan Springer and his crew. From there, it went on to Florida's Sun 'n Fun Fly-In. In the warm sun­shine, at fifty years of age, it was judged Grand Champion Antique of the show. We had watched the

progress of the restoration and had been present during some of the taxi tests, but this was the first time we or anyone else had ever seen the complete restoration. It flew in several shows in the southeast that spring, as it worked its way north to attend the EAA Oshkosh Convention. There, it was voted "Reserve Grand Champion Antique". Our first intimate association with the plane came the fol­lowing year when the decision was made to expand the pilot staff. Bill Brennand called to ask if! would like to enter the program. This was just the phone call I had been waiting for, so I accepted without hesitation. We met at Wittman Airport, where Bill walked me through the pre-flight and into the left seat. We buckled up and started locat­ing the various switches, valves and controls. Bill is a very precise and patient instructor, so I had a very nice introduction. After several trips around

the patch, Bill pronounced me "ready for service" and a short while later, we were on our way to one of the nearby weekend air meets. During flight operations either Bill Brennand or Chuck Andreas is in attendance to keep track of the fuel and other operational duties. The pilots were chosen for their flying abilities and the emphasis was on experience. The insurance companies wanted pilots with high-time, multi-en­gine, tail wheel experience. There are only about two types of commercial aircraft that give that kind of ex­perience, the Douglas DC-3 and the Beech 18. Bill Brennand is the spiritual leader of the pack. He keeps us all together and makes sure the plane has the best of everything. The hard main­tenance is done by Chuck Andreas in concert with Bill. Wynn Baker takes care of the chief pilot duties including scheduling. During Oshkosh, he sorts

out the requests that we make for time to visit the Fly Market. He then makes up a duty sheet and we all try to share the "load" of flying this great old plane. There are usually four pilots for the plane at large eventslikeOshkosh. That way, no one has to spend the entire time with the plane. Wynn Baker, Hassen Cal­The three purchasers wonder what they have bitten off as they survey the remains

on the trailer and pickup. From left to right: Chuck Andreas, Byron Fredericksen loway and starting and Bill Brennand. Remember, this was 21 years ago! this year, Joe Shep-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

-g oc:c: ! '" iii .2 >

Chuck Andreas works on the "spaghetti" connections in the nose of the Stinson. Note the sanitary workmanship, especially

It seems like the fuselage is covered by the square acre rather than the square yard! Here the side blanket is applied to the fuselage on a somewhat larger scale than a Piper Cub. around the cockpit door.

pard and Gene Chase will be my team mates. Our operation is blessed with a fine group of volunteers on the ground, also. Yes, volunteers! The pilots volun­teer as do the owners who hope from year to year that the plane will haul enough passengers to pay for her keep and possibly make a small dent in the note that is held against her. The volun­teer staff includes Bill Bohannon, who did the overhauls on the Lycoming R­680 engines. You can fly all day behind that "nose" Lycoming and not have to wipe oil from the windshield. That is really saying something for an old round engine and the guy who services it. Several local pilots who assisted in the restoration follow the plane to shows and donate time while pulling in the crowd and selling tickets for the rides. The crew members are most often ac­companied by their ladies, who volun­teer to work the ticket counter and keep track of loading. They also make sure there is a ready supply of refreshments and at lunchtime, something to gnaw on. The pilots just fly and get in the way around the ticket counter. We have

grown to be an extended family, ex­changing phone calls and letters during the year and have "Old Home Week" every year at Oshkosh. One evening during the convention, after the plane is put away for the night, we have a family picnic. Usually, there is more food than can be eaten, more liquids than can be consumed - and then the band starts! Quite often we are minus one member. If there is a weak magneto or tire that needs changing, Chuck Andreas will be burning the midnight oil and we have a party without him. In 1985, Jeannie and I were privileged to crew the old gal at quite a few airshows. We started with the week of Sun 'n Fun, followed by a four day show at Pompano, Florida. We then enjoyed two days at a huge auto show in lola, Wisconsin, a Sunday show at Shiocton, WI and four days at Es­canaba, Michigan. This was followed by a full week at EAA Oshkosh, four days at the Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg Festival at Auburn, Indiana, and fmally, two days at a car rally held at Lake Geneva, WI. Add the foregoing agenda to a full schedule as an airline Captain,

who had to commute from home to Chicago, then catch a flight to Min­neapolis to start his trip, and you have a pretty full year! By the end of 1985, we had all enjoyed several good years with the Trimotor, years in which we all at­tended several activities during the season . Then came the insurance crunch. We were'effectively out of ser­vice. One year the plane hardly moved and the next year the only action was when we took her to an auction to try to sell her. Happily for the volunteers, but not as happy for those who were saddled with the bills, the reserve bid was not reached and the plane returned home. The insurance rates eased in 1988 and once more the Stinson Trimotor was on the go - and has been ever since. Every year we are able to fly NC 11170 is a rare priviledge and a unique gift. She is a living museum. Once you step inside and close the door, you have entered a veritable time machine where you're able to lose yourself in the sights, sounds and smells of that wonderful, by-gone era of airline transportation. In 1990, she attended three events: the

Much work was needed in the huge metal wings prior to cover­ing. Note the welded tubular truss in the main spar, much like a bridge. The wide rib tops of the first four ribs go over the fuel tank. The entire wing used an incredible amount of welding.

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Ready for the first engine runs in the front yard of Chuck Andreas' shop. That's Chuck on the ladder and Bill Brennand lending encouragement.

18 AUGUST 1991

An extremely rare photo of the two remaining high wing Stinson Trimotors in the world, with a Stinson V-77 Gullwing between, was taken at the Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg gathering at Auburn, Indiana.

EAA Oshkosh Convention, the Model sic Car Show in Auburn, Indiana during year. Not bad for a sixty-year-old! You Airplane Convention at Ida Grove, Iowa Labor Day weekend. The schedule for know where we'll be so . . .. and the Auburn-Card-Dusenberg Clas- 1991 is pretty much the same as last .... WELCOME ABOARD! •

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

"'Z

20 AUGUST 1991

Jim Koepnick

--Ercoupe-­The first thing that comes to mind when you see the Ercoupe that belongs to the father and son team of Charles R. and Charles B. Taylor is "Who masked off all that striping?!" It looks spec­tacular, and shows that with a little thought and careful preparation, an al­ternate to any airplane's original color scheme can be created. Ron Trusdell of Orlando, Florida did the painting of the airplane, along with "sweat equity" provided by the Taylors.

Father and son projects have been around for some time now, and many of the new generation of airplane restorers are men and women who learned the craft from their parents. Charles B. (the B. stands for Brian, the name by which he is known around the neighborhood)

is one of the youngsters who has learned by doing alongside his father.

Charles and Brian bought N99543 in Youngstown, Ohio in 1989. She was in need ofsome TLC, as well as some plain old fashioned cleaning up. When they

by H.G. Frautschy

began their ferry flight back to their home base of Kissimmee, Florida, it would be a very VFR flight, as the airplane had no radios, (no big deal there, that's what sectionals are for) but the clinker was the fact that the panel had two compasses, both reading about 15 degrees apart from one another! The 'Coupe made it home fine, and the two Charlies began a closer inspection of the their new treasure. First off the airplane were the Goodyear brakes, replaced with a new set of Clevelands. Next, a new exhaust, and one rebuilt magneto were installed.

A little investigation into what they had netted the following : they owned a 1946 Erco Ercoupe 415C, serial number 2166, converted to a D model with the

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

addition of rudder pedals. Originally produced with fabric covered wings, N99543 would have metal ap­plied to the wing structure during 1966, while it was kept in North Carolina.

Next on the "do" list was the instrument panel. Most of the instruments in the plane when they bought it were old and unserviceable or simply did not function at all. A full Terra radio package including a 720 com, a Terra Tri-nav with digital display, a transponder with encoder, plus an Apollo 604 Loran and Sigtronics TSO'd panel mounted intercom rounded out the electronics portion of the panel. The flight instru­ments took the next bite out of the checkbook. A new DG, artificial horizon, electric tum coordinator, instantaneous vertical speed indicator, Hamilton vertical compass (; and new engine instruments ~ filled all the appropriate holes .~ in the panel. The neat installa- ~ ti.on ?fbthe kelectricdal s~sthem :> ....O-n-e-o-f-t-h-e-m-e-s-s-ie-s-t-jO-b-s-i-n-a"":'ir-c-ra-ft~re-s-:-to-r-a-:-tio-n--=-=-s-:-tr:-ip"':p=:-in-9-th--'e CIrCUIt rea ers an SWltC es old paint from the Ercoupe. highlights the attention to detail that was paid during the entire restoration. Finally, new engraved plastic placards identify the panel items.

After all the panel work was com­pleted, a new tan interior was installed by Duncan Interiors of Lakeland, Florida. That was all they had planned for the plane at that time, so flying began again in earnest. But as luck would have it, while Brian was on final for

Taylors decided that the entire plane should be restored.

The engine was gone over in detail and many parts replaced. The cylinders were bored .015 oversize, and fitted with new pistons and rings. The rest of the engine compartment received a similar treatment, with baffles cleaned and repainted, and a few little touches, such as having the valve covers chrome plated. Everything under the cow I was stripped, cleaned, inspected and repaired where needed and then reassembled. As they worked on the various parts of the airplane, Charles and Brian found the folks at Univair to be a big help with suggestions and parts, including the double fork nose landing gear and other miscellaneous items.

Now it was time for the big­gest project of all - the entire plane would be hauled off to the shop of Ron Trusdell, where it was stripped, sanded and then inspected for cor­rosion. Brian and his dad were glad to find very little cor­rosion in the airframe. After that inspection, any suspect hardware was replaced, in­

runway 15 at Kissimmee, the drive gear cluding some rivets. Finally, the entire on the back of the magneto that had not plane was chemically etched and then yet been overhauled came off the shaft alodined to minimize corrosion in the and dropped into the rear case. That's future. Then it was time for the paint to not the best spot for a gear to come to be applied. A coat of epoxy primer was rest, so it caused extensive damage to sprayed, to be followed by the cream the camshaft, crankshaft and many Alumigrip. Brian and Ron worked on other parts inside the Continental C-85- the design of the color scheme. The 12. It was major overhaul time for the stencils for the fuselage were cut by a little four-banger. At this time the local signmaking shop. The decision

>~-----~~~~..~ _iI.....-'.....J> The Continental C-85- 12 fits neatly within the confines of the cowling.

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A slick new bubble windshield is installed.

22 AUGUST 1991

E

=> Equipped for some advanced VFR flying, the new panel for the Taylor's Ercoupe sports some of the latest lightplane avionics.

was made to have eight 1/4 inch stripes run down the side of the fuselage, with the two inner stripes being Toyota dark pearl blue, and the outer stripes being Volvo dark pearl red. The stripe pattern is repeated on the wings and rudder, as well as a little winged flourish on the rudder and cowl. The net effect is very pleasing to the eye, and seems to en­hance the lines of designer Fred Weick's brainchild.

I noticed one neat little detail on the wing of the airplane, and asked Brian

about it. How did they come up with wing walks that matched the trim paint color? "Ron (Trusdell) thought it up. You take the red Deltron (the trim paint) spray it on and then evenly sprinkle sand on it. Then you paint it red again, and follow it with the clear coat," replied Brian. Ron had done this on his own airplane the previous year, and it seemed to hold up just fine, according to Brian.

After being reassembled back in Kis­simmee, the engine was first run in Sep­

tember of 1990. After that, the series of little details that always follows a major project would be taken care of. The little Ercoupe's public debut came at Sun 'n Fun '91, where it got double­takes from people on the flight line all week long. The proof is always in the level of personal satisfaction one feels after restoring a plane, and jUdging by the smiles that were on the Taylor's faces during our air-to-air session, they're pretty happy with the results! •

Ifyou're interested in the Ercoupe and would like to learn more about them, contact the Ercoupe Owners Club, P.O. Box 15388, Durham, NC 27722. Dues are $20.00 per year for membership that includes a monthly newsletter.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

~PA~SS~IT~T~'huck An information exchange column with input from readers.

OSHKOSH! What a time! Dorothy and I arrived

a couple days later than usual, the 9th of July to be exact, and dove right in with the rest of the early birds in getting things ready for the convention. I am always impressed with the number and scope of the volunteer forces. How can you ever recognize, much less believe, a number like 4700 volunteer EAAers, all working to serve their fellow mem­bers? It's unbelievable; one has to see it to believe it!

The full-time employees at South Maintenance, the aircraft maintenance people at the Kermit Weeks facility ­these guys work their hearts out for EAA, you and I to be exact, trying to get all the little things in place to make OUR convention as pleasant and happy as possible.

Who needs "Stormin' Norman" when we have our "Stem Vern" Lich­tenberg down at South Maintenance? And then we have "Do it!" Darryl in Aircraft Maintenance. These guys ram­rod the troops, volunteers and full-time employees, and despite all the seeming­ly impossible odds, put it all together. I just marvel at their way of getting the job done.

Then during the Convention itself, the Editorial staff, Photo and Video hustle around covering their assign­ments so that all of us can see and enjoy all that went on around us in the pages of SPORT AVIATION, Vintage Airplane, EAA Experimenter, Sport Aerobatics and Warbirds. All the ac­tivity, the hustle and bustle, the excite­ment, will all be spread out over the next twelve issues of these publications and videos, and they'll be superb!

Let's not forget Tom Poberezny! Tom was, and is, everywhere, en­couraging people and allowing them to do their job. With an occasional sug­gestion and a friendly smile, and a pat on the back, he makes everyone he

comes in contact with a part of the fami­ly . You WANT to work just for that reason.

We stayed for the wind down party Friday afternoon, and there is where you get a chance to see and meet many of these volunteers. Here is where the enormity of the volunteer group begins to sink in. There were maybe two thousand people there, less than half of the total! Many had already headed for home in the rain to pursue their daily living obligations. The food and the chance to socialize mellowed us all, and when the time came to leave, it was with some reluctance. Dorothy dropped me off at the Cessna 120 and then headed for home. All the way home all I could think of was EAA and the Dream. We are all part of it! We live it, we breathe it, we wallow in it and next year is coming, fast!

When I got home my mail was piled waist high. There are letters and phone calls waiting to be answered, and I'm somewhat embarrassed that some of them have been here for all the weeks I was "having fun" at Oshkosh. I'll get to them, and there are a few here in the column that I have already talked with. Carmen Perotti sent me some more in­formation on my Fleet. Bob Taylor of the Antique Airplane Association also sent information and a nice letter. The Fleet is on hold until I return from my annual Canadian fishing trip; I'll hit it hard this fall and maybe we'll get it flying before spring. The Champ is flying and now that the bugs are out of it we'll make up some new fairings, finish the paint scheme, take some pitch out of the prop for better takeoff perfor­mance, and begin some "fun" flying .

Had a call from Ted Rose who bought Les Steen's Aeronca C-3. Ted was fer­rying it home to Topeka when the en­gine suddenly decided to quit; this was only about 30 miles from where he bought it. Unable to get it running

by Buck Hilbert (EAA 21, AIC 5) P. O. Box 424 Union, IL 60180

again, he went home, got the pickup and then trucked it the rest of the way. The culprit was the needle valve seat in the carburetor; it had somehow loosened up and closed off the fuel flow. The airplane is now licensed and flying, and they are having a great time with it.

Had another call from one of my co­captains at United Airlines. Seems he has acquired a Champ and he was just ecstatic about how wonderful it was to get back to basics. He is tooling all over the Little Rock, Arkansas area and was feeling so good about it he just had to tell me all about it. Hugh Hensley is his name, so if you see a grinning hillbilly from Arkansas tooling around in a Champ, that's him!

A bit of humor came in this morning. Two of Bill Rose's pilots were sharing adjacent port-a-potties at Oshkosh. A young boy rattled the door of the first one and was told to "Go next door." When he rattled that one, also occupied, he was again told, "Go next door." He turned to his parents and said, "Talking outhouses!"

One more airline type is Bob Pfaff. He was at the highest ofhighs telling me all about his recent "Airmail Route" coast to coast flight from San Francisco to New York. He did the entire route stopping at all the old "Mainline" mail fields, VFR, no radio, no Navaids ­strictly pilotage in an open cockpit. Here is another case of "back to basics" and how much fun it can be to meet the challenge the early pioneers faced. Bob will be writing a story of his experience in the near future .

I am loading up the back of the airplane with all the Type Club newslet­ters. This will keep me in reading mat­ter when the fish aren't biting, and after I glean all that good stuff I ought to be the most educated guy around. Tell you one thing, I am really impressed with the quality and the content of these publica­tions. Some are slick cover profes-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

sional, and some are one cut above the old mimeograph, but they all have one thing in common - real quality and a real source of information for the airplane you own and love. Hey, I'm outa here. Over to you, and I'll see you after Canada.

Dear Buck, I'm sorry that we didn't have more

time to talk at Sun 'n Fun. We both have to admit that that is one busy place when you are more than just a spectator. I really enjoyed the Classic Aircraft judg­ing this year. I learned a lot and look forward to more of it in the years to come.

Enclosed is a photograph of Jack Vilas' 1937 Fairchild F-24 G taken in 1944 right after he sold it to Max Aulick. This is NC19173, sIn 2958 that Jack flew all over the Great Lakes as a CAP courier in 1942 and 1943. The gent in the picture is Max Aulick when he was Sales Manager for Scott Aircraft Products.

Enclosed, too, is a chronological his­tory of the aircraft as compiled from the log books and maintenance records.

As I mentioned, I am in the process of restoring this F-24 for my personal use and display and would be willing to donate copies of my records and photos to the CAP display in the Eagle Hangar insomuch as this plane flew in the Il­linois Wing. I understand it is they who are building the display.

My plans are to put the plane back into CAP colors as depicted in the enclosed photo and would very greatly appreciate being put in touch with any of Jack Vilas' family or relatives who might have knowledge or artifacts of this plane or his use of it.

Thanks very much for your help and I hope to see you again this summer at Oshkosh. I love your page in the Vintage Airplane; keep it up.

Sincerely, George R. "Joe" Hindall EAA 216658, AIC 14532

Dear Buck, A few weeks ago you and Jim Dier

stopped at my house. If you remember, I am rebuilding the only remaining tri­gear 140. At that time all you saw was a fuselage. Work is moving along nicely, but behind my timetable. The gear and engine are installed. All AN hardware is being replaced and interior work has now begun. It won't be at Oshkosh this year but I am hopeful for next.

26 AUGUST 1991

You mentioned something about an antique or classic club in this area. I am getting to the point where it would help to join. Any information on such would be very helpful.

Thanking you in advance. Cary Dennen EAA 128146

Dear Buck, Was looking forward to visiting with

you at Oshkosh Fly-In but have a family matter to attend to.

Maybe you can help me. On Septem­ber 5th we are going to Sydney, Australia. Was wondering if there are any antique members in Sydney . Would enjoy visiting with them and seeing their aircraft. If there are any, is a list available? Would appreciate hear­ing.

Have to go to Two Rivers, Wisconsin at the end of September. Hope to make a connection with you then.

Thank you. Bob Engels

EAA 278307, AlC 12507

Dear Buck, In the April issue of Vintage Airplane

Cary Dennen's very rare Cessna 140 with a tricycle gear! Wonder how it will handle on the ground? Hope it's bet­ter than a 7FC Champion in a quarter­ing tailwind! We'll expect a full report from Cary as soon as he gets her flying.

I read your article on the Aeronca. I tried to get in touch with Bill Mor­

risey of Las Vegas but my letter was returned because the forwarding had ex­pired.

If you have his current address, I would appreciate it if you would send it to me; also, the address of John Under­wood of Glendale, California.

I bought a bag of bones that at one time was an Aeronca T, 1940 vintage SIN 1490T NC 27336. If you have any interior or exterior pictures, I would ap­preciate them.

I am in the progress of restoration and need some pictures to help me along with this project.

Thank you for your time and trouble. Sincerely,

William W. Martin EAA 35710, AIC 12186

Here's the address we have for Bill Morrisey:

P.O. Box 27889 Las Vegas, NV 89126-1889

To contact John Underwood, write him at:

2054 W. Mountain St. Glendale, CA 91201

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC BOOK REVIEW

by Jim Haynes (EAA 285970, AIC 12099)

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CURTISS-WRIGHT? by Robert W. Fausel, Sunflower University Press, Box 1009, Manhattan, KS 66502­4228, 88 pages.

Occasionally, a compact volume is presented to the aviation public that will run the risk of being overlooked because of the narrow focus of the title. This title directs the reader right to the point of the book, however there is also a subtle feature not frequently found in works on such a compressed subject. The author approaches his subject with history recited, although disclaims it as "not strictly a history, but rather a reminis­cence -" Don't be fooled. Amateur aviation historians will consider this book a must in their libraries. It has a good bibliography, is well documented with explanatory notes by the editor, all contained in the body of the text. If there is a weakness, it rests in the lack of adequate illustrative photos. Cer­tainly the P-40 and C-46 were among the best known products of Curtiss­Wright, but it would have been helpful to view and study the rest of the Curtiss­Wright built airplanes discussed in the book.

Fausel sent a "form" inquiry to some 30-40 people whom he knew in his years with Curtiss-Wright from 1937­45. He posed the question - what caused the demise of Curtiss-Wright? Almost all responded to his inquiry. Thus quotations from the respondents interlaced with the author's own analysis weaves together an interesting discussion of the causes of the decline of the largest aircraft and engine manufacturer of its time. Interestingly, almost all respondents tended toward the same conclusions although none had prior knowledge of the opinions of the others.

Fausel's book is divided into two parts. Part I deals with the rise of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation that cul­minated with the organization of the company in 1929. He traces briefly the beginnings with a review of the early groundwork laid by the Wrights and Glen Curtiss. He then describes the ac­complishments made by the Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company while Wright Aeronautical Corporation was

gaining a monopoly in the air cooled engine field during the years following WWI and through the 1920s.

The years 1928-29 saw many major mergers in the aeronautical world and Curtiss-Wright was the largest. Its cor­porate headquarters was located in New York City, a choice that would prove a poor one in later years. Fausel and his former associates end Part I by showing the weaknesses created by the merger including taking away control from the field and placing it on Wall Street.

Part II is entitled "The Fall." By the end of WWII, it is evident that Curtiss­Wright was behind the rest of the in­dustry in design and powerplant technology and, although the company had a fat bank account resulting from its wartime contracts, it failed to utilize its assets in order to maintain its leader­ship.

Fausel ends his book by summarizing the conclusions of the research and out­lines the failures of the company. The

reader will find this an interesting analysis.

About the author: Robert W. Fausel graduated from Kelly Field in 1936 and found himself a year later assigned to be test pilot at Curtiss plants and eventually became Assistant Chief Test Pilot. During WWII he was advanced to Military Liaison Manager, supervising military aircraft requirements at Curtiss plants in Buffalo, New York, St. Louis, Missouri, Columbus, Ohio and Louis­ville, Kentucky. He also had HQ Staff Authority over all Flight Test and Ser­vice Departments at all plants of the Division and flight checked all the ex­perimental aircraft after the local test pilots had wrung them out.

After WWII he held various managerial positions in the aircraft and engine manufacturing industry even­tually retiring to become an investment broker. He now lives in full retirement in Winter Park, Florida. •

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS These are just some of the new members who signed up to join the Antique/Classic

Division of EAA during EAA OSHKOSH '91. We'll have more names to add to the list next month, as well as those who join us in the future. Remember the tan insert in your July issue: Use the forms provided to sign up your friends, and earn one free year of Antique/Classic membership when you sign up three new members!

From EAA Oshkosh '91. our new members are:

Baeten, Jay DePere, WI Brooks, Ray and Kathy Deep River, CT Bronson, Richard Manitowoc, WI Brown, Mike Caesar, Fred Chrisman, Larry Colbert, Ray Dekko,Toby Dewey, Charley Dobbs, Mauuel Duca,Jim Ely, Larry Fiedler, Timothy Fink, Richard Ford, Don Garner, Hans Gladson, Rod Gomez, Claudia Hahn, Thomas Heckman, Ted Hein, Phillip Hendry, David Holtvoigt, Michael Hunt, Beverly Jenkins, Ron Joy, Richard

Oshkosh, WI Fort Wayne, IN

Newark,OH Oroville, W A

Golden Valley, MN Mukwonago, WI

Manvel, TX Rdwood City, CA

Williams, AZ Naperville, n..

East Hartford, cr Lowell, IN

Langnau, Switzerland Dwight, IL

Valdivia, Chile Green Bay, WI

Allegan, MI Cedarburg, WI Bellevue, W A

Dayton,OH Lake Placid, FL

Jackson, TN Granger, IN

Keith, Ed Coffeyville, KS King, Mike Kerikeri, New Zealand Kinney, Jack Gaylord, MI Lachendro, Ed Beaver Dam, WI Lamarre, Paul Milwaukee, WI Legath, Joe Falls Church, VA Mackey, Keith Edmond, OK McPeak, Bion Midland,MI Novak, Randy Oshkosh, WI O'Connor, John Kansas City, MO Omar, Susan Livonia, MI Rohmweer, Bill Kewadin,MI Sammis, Stu Palm Bay, FL Scharnhorst, Chris Hyannis,MA Shepherd, Joe Fayetteville, GA Simpson, Curtis Elmwood,n.. Thomas, Joan Rockwell City, lA Watz, Richard Saginaw, MI Wells, Dick Pickerington, OH Wheeler, Paul EI Paso, TX Willhite, Elmer Mikado,MI Williams, Densel Jackson,MI Williams, John Elm City, NC Zillmer, Ken Rock Hill, SC

Welcome aboard to all of our new members!

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

September 7 - Chico, CA Municipal Airport. Chico Airshow and Antique Fly-In commemorating 50th Anniversary of the Flying Tigers. Hospitality package to all registered pilots includes Friday evening BBQ, Dance tickets, Saturday Pancake break­fast. Antiques, homebuilts, military & all others welcome. Chico Airshow and Antique Fly-In Committee, 236-A W. East Ave., Box 166, Chico, CA 95926, 916/894-3218 .

September 13-15 - Eagle River, WI. Union Airport. Flying Apache Fly-in and general membership meet­ing. Contact: Flying Apache Associa­tion, 715-479-7333.

September 13-15 - Tahlequah, OK Municipal Airport located 50 miles east/southeast of Tulsa. 34th Annual Tulsa Fly-In. Contact Charlie Harris, 3933 South Peoria, Tulsa, OK 74105, 918/742-7311. ALSO lIth Annual Na­tional Bucker Fly-In. Contact: Frank Price, Route 1, Box 419, Moody, TX 76557,817/772-3897 or 817/853-2008.

September 14-15 - Rock Falls, IL. 5th Annual North Central EAA "Old Fashioned" Fly-In . Workshops, forums, exhibits, swap meet, and awards. Camping on field, Pancake Breakfast Sunday only. Contact: Dave Christianson, 815/625-6556.

September 20-22 (Note the date change) - Jacksonville, IL. Seventh Annual Byron Smith Memorial Stinson Fly-In and Reunion. Seminars on Stin­son 108s and Franklin engines, Satur­day banquet. Fly-outs, contests, camping at field. Contact: Loran Nordgren, 4 W. Nebraska, Frankfort, IL 60423, or call 815/469-9100.

September 20-21 - Coffeyville, KS. Funk Aircraft Owners Reunion, celebrating 50 years of Funk Manufac­turing Company history in Coffeyville. Contact: Ray Pahls, 316/943-6920.

September 21-22 - Mercedes (BA) Argentina. 10th National A/C Fly-in, 28 AUGUST 1991

sponsored by A/C Chapter 12. Contact: Abel Debock - c.c. 275 2930 San Pedro - Argentina, or phone 0329-24307

September 29 - Simsbury Airport, Simsbury, CT. Antique Aeroplane Club of Connecticut's Annual Fly-In. Antiques, classics, Warbirds, awards! Food and refreshments available. Co­sponsored by EAA Chapter 324. For info, call 203/623-1823. Rain date: Oc­tober 6.

October 4-6 - Reading, PA. Bellan­ca/Champion Club Third Annual East Coast regional fly-in features workshops and factory participation for Citabrias, Vikings, Decathlons, Crusiairs, Scouts, Cruisemasters. Workshops. Guest Speaker: August Bellanca. Pre-registration is desirable. Contact: Tom Witmer, CAP Aviation 215/376-5447 or Pat McGinn, Bellan­ca/Champion Club, 414/352-5804.

October 4-6 - Prescott, AZ. 20th Annual Copperstate Fly-in. For more information, call 1-800-477-0046.

October 4-6 - Santa Ynez, CA. 1991 Western Waco Reunion Banquet Barbeque Saturday night, Pancake breakfast Sunday morning. Basic camping, motels in Solvang, CA.

October 4-6 - Camden, Sc. An­nual Fall EAA Fly-IN for Antique and Classic Aeroplanes. Sponsored by EAA A/C Chapter 3. major speaker, vintage aviation films; awards in all major catagories. Contact:R. Bottom Jr., 103 Powhattan Parkway, Hampton, VA 23661

October 5-6 - Sussex Airport, Sus­sex NJ. Quad Chapter Fly-In and Fly market sponsored by EAA Anti­que/Classic Chapter 7, and EAA chap­ters 238, 73 and 891. Construction demonstations. Contact: Konrad Kun­dig 201/361-8789 or Paul Steiger 201/702-9719.

October 5-6 - Titusville, FL. Ar­thur Dunn Airpark. Smilin' Jack Fly-in, sponsored by 'EAA Chapter 866. Clas­

sics, antiques, homebuilts, ultralights, food, fun. Contact: Sam Beddingfield, 407/267-4262.

October 6 - lola, WI, Central Coun­ty Airport. Annual Fall Colors Chili Dinner Fly-In. Serving 10am-3pm. Come and enjoy the beauty of Central Wisconsin in autumn. Info, 414/596­3530.

October 6 - Tunkhannock, PA. Skyhaven Airport Fly-In Breakfast. Camping, Showers. Come and spend the weekend. 19 miles from LHY VOR on the 289 radial. Unicorn 122.8 Con­tact: Steve Gay, Skyhaven Airport, 717/836-4800.

October 10-14 - Tullahoma, TN, Regional Airport. Staggerwing, Travel Air, Howard Club, Spartan Owners Twin Beech Assoc., and Twin-Bonanza Association National Convention. For information, write : Staggerwing Museum, P.O. Box 550, Tullahoma, TN 37388 or call 615/455-1974.

October 19 - Evergreen, AL. Evergreen regional EAA Chapters Fly­In. Aircraft camping, R.V. Grounds nearby, motels. Dinner Sat. night. Breakfast both Sat. and Sun. A/C Judg­ing and static displays. Contact: Bubba Hamiter, P.O. Box 1551, Monroeville, AL 36461 or Evergreen Airport, 205/578-1274.

October 19 - Bellanca/Champion Club Regional Fly-In and meeting for members living in the southwestern U.S. If you plan to attend, please notify in advance: Joe Field, P.O. Box 3729, Kingman, AZ 86402 602/753-7654 (evenings)

October 26-27 - Hickory, North Carolina, Municipal Airport. 6th An­nual Fly-in, sponsored by EAA Chapter 731. A wards for homebuilts, antiques, classics and warbirds. Static display of military aircraft, fly-bys, and banquet. Contact Doug Teague, days 704/751­3598 or evenings, Norman Rainwater, 704/328-5807.

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AIRCRAFT:

1928 Fairchild KR-31, NC5796, Serial No. 175, 1917 Curtiss OX-5 engine, log books. Completely assembled, needs rigging and recovering. Displayed at Fairchild Aircraft, museum quality, remarkable condition. Offered by the estate of colorful aviation pioneer, Ernie Buehl, "The Flying Dutchman." Rare oppor­tunity to own a part of aviation history. Inquiries to: Sylvia Buehl Elliman, 92 Crystal Springs Road, San Mateo, CA 94402, 415/343-6495. (8-1)

1946 Cessna 140-1580TTAFE, 330 STOH, 210 since bottomed OH, 210 SPOH, 210 hrs. on '90 Slick mags/wires. Metal wing , 150 muffs/heater, elec . T&B, DG , strobe. Clevelands. Wheel extenders. EAA Autogas, ALT, A/S & ROC O/H'd 1990. Narco 810 comm. 150 TXP w/850 mode C (certified) and Flightcom 1110 NEW 1990. LORAN. All AD's complied. White, black trim 1975. Federal skis. Bought bigger. We have complete logs. Asking $14,900. Bob Betz, 3240 Philmore Avenue, Caledonia, NY 14423, 716/538-4258. (8-1)

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EXCELLENT REFERENCE SOURCE ­MAKE GREAT GIFTS FOR THE

NOVICE OR EXPERIENCED BUILDER - DON'T BUILD

WITHOUT THEM!

Information every builder needs, with all the right answers at one's finger­tips. Prepared by Tony Bingelisspecifically for EM and SPORT AVIATION, these publications are profusely illustrated with photos, cutaway drawings and easy to understand descriptions that clearly resolve the most compli­cated problem. Invaluable material for anyone designing, building, restoring or maintaining sport aircraft. Order your copies today. SPORTPLANE BUiLDER.. . ...$17.95 IAircraft Construction Methods - 320 pagesI SPECIAL FIREWALL FORWARD... • .• ,$19,95 OFFERIEngine Installation Methods - 304 pagesI

.. .order all three for iustSPORTPLANE CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES ..............$20.95 $52.97 IA Builder's Handbook - 350 pages I Add S6 .95 postage and handling. Send check or money order - WI residents add WI residents add 5% sales tax. 5% sales tax. Add S2.40 postage and handling lor each oublication ordered .

Order immediately by calling EAA's Toll Free Number 1-80Q.843·3612 or call (414) 426-4800 Major cred~ cards accepted.

EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION EAA Avialion CenteT Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

NOW AVAILABLE 11

MOLTTAYLOR'S AEtROC:AR vVGliVliNG THE AUTOMOJBliLE liTS WliNGS vv

Buy your copy of this outstanding video­tape, available exclusively from the EAA A viation Foundation.

This 30-minute video chronicles the 40-year history of one the best-known

flying automobiles--the AEROCAR. Produced in cooperation with designer/ inventor Moulton B. "Molt" Taylor, this video features rare test flight footage, exclusive interviews, scale models, drawings, significant photographs and press clippings of all four models of the AEROCAR--the "roadable" airplane.

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"AEROCAR, GIVING THE AUTOMOBILE ITS WINGS" IS AVAILABLE BY CALLING

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ASK ABOUT ADDITIONAL SAVINGS THROUGH THE EAA AIR ADVENTURE VIDEO CLUB!

*PLUS $3 SHIPPING/HANDLING MOST MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED

MYSTERY PLANE By George Hardie

Here's another Mystery Plane from the Golden Age of Aviation. The photo was submitted by Jim Wainwright, Gig Harbor, Washington. Answers will be published in the November, 1991 issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline of that issue is September 25th.

The May Mystery Plane is the Fernic T-lO "Cruisaire". Charly Hayes sent in the first answer. Nelson Lawrence, N. Bruswick, New Jersey, also sent in a correct answer, a recollection from his childhood. His letter is included in AEROMAIL on page 4. Herb deBruin, Belleville, Washington writes:

"It was designed by a former lieutenant in the Romanian Air Force, George Fernic. There was also a larger twin-engine version that apparently did not fare so well. Fernic was killed at the 1930 Chicago Air Races while attempt­ing a loop, and struck an airplane that

had just landed." Marty Eisenmann, Garrettsville,

Ohio sent a copy of a page from the June, 1930 issue of Aero Digest with an article on the Fernic with interesting details (note the tricycle landing gear!). Excerpts from the article follow :

"The design of the Cruisaire, accord­ing to Mr. Fernic, has eliminated the following disadvantages ordinarily resulting from the tandem arrangement if wings; loss of the efficiency of the celulle because of the downwash of the forward wing and excessive stresses existant in the structure of the fuselage between the wings. These disad­vantages, according to the designer of the Cruisaire tandem monoplane, result only in tandem wings with equal span placed without regard to elevation on the same base chord line.

"The arrangement of the wings of the Cruisaire results in negative delcalage,

the front wing being set at minus two degrees in relation to the main wing. This front wing meets the air at an angle higher than apparent in this setting of the two wings as the result of the up­wash of the main wing. The downwash of the front wing prolongs the efficient range of the main wing by a slot-like action due to its setting. "

"The Cruisaire is powered with a Rover four-cylinder in-line, air-cooled inverted aircraft engine of 75 horse­power.

FI"Ont .""'1. meets the QI" Q.t a. "'9her a.."9 '*

Aerodynamic action of Fernic wings

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

THE FERNIe "CRUISAIRE"

TANDEM PLANE

EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION BOEING AERONAUTICAL LIBRARY

The EAA Aviation Foundation's Boeing Aeronautical Library is a research collection devoted to acquiring, preserving and sharing the heritage of aviation in general and personal flight in particular.

HOURS Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Phone: 414-426-4848

SERVICES Reference, Copying, Picture Searching, Photographic Reproduction,

Bibliographies, Faxing. PUBLICATIONS

Library Handbook and User Guide - Free SPORT AVIATION Aircraft Article Index Journal List - $2.00 (195301989) - $12.00

Radtke Photo Collection Catalog - $3.00 THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Airplane Index to Scale Aircraft Drawings - $15.00 Article Index 1973-1989 - $5.00

WRITE: EAA Aviation Foundation Boeing Aeronautical Library P.O. Box 3065 Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3065

Q) c: -," Q) "Ol

is o Q; ..:

Antiques & Classics­You're Welcome Here! I s there a pilot among us whose heart doesn't swell when a WACO, Stearman or a pretty little Jenny flies overhead? On the wings of these airplanes, we all experience the leather helmet days before radios, nosewheels and controlled airspace. We're fortunate your EAA is dedicated to keeping our flying heritage alive.

Keeping antique and classic aircraft flying means investing substantial money as well as time. AVEMCO's antique and classic air­craft coverage provides protection of your financial investment at a surprisingly reasonable cost. In ad­dition to liability and hull coverage, you can be compensated for your labor if you make repairs yourself. After all, who knows your airplane better than you do?

Stop by and see us at Oshkosh. Your antique and classic aircraft, as well as your enthusiasm, is welcome here.

CALL DIRECT TOoA Y FOR AN IMMEOIAT( NO OBLIGATlON QUOTE.

1-800-638-8440

This is intended as a brief description of the coverage INSURANCE COMPANY offered. Certain exclusions and limitations apply. We

will be glad to send you a sample policy for your review.

By Aviation People .. .For Aviation People AAA04-0 (6/90)