JULY 2011

Remember, We’re Better Together!

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Mark and Mary purchased the Fleet (1930 Consolidated YPT-6A) as a project back in 2001. They spent the next seven years restoring it and now enjoy flying to various events around Florida.

The AUA team provided us top-notch service and a reasonable rate when writing a policy to insure our 1930 Consolidated YPT-6A Fleet. They were very professional and showed a genuine interest in providing coverage for antique and classic aircraft.

— Mark & Mary White

Mark & Mary White Vero Beach, Florida

■ Mark earned his pilot’s licence at age 17

■ Mary also has her pilot’s licence

■ EAA Vintage & Antique Aircraft Association members

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Come see us for a no-obligation quote at our booth during Air Venture Oshkosh, July 25–31.

2 Straight & Level Chapter success, the right recipe by Geoff Robison

3 News

6 A Waco Kind of Family The Applegate clan and their YKS-6 by Budd Davisson

13 Flashes of Purple Sparks by Daniel J. Demers

16 First Regular Airmail Flight by Lieut. H. Latane Lewis, II

20 To Follow the Line This was the way I had learned navigation: to follow the line by E. Jeff Justis

25 The Vintage Mechanic Early fi re-extinguishing system by Robert G. Lock

30 The Vintage Instructor Vintage fl ying is very much alive! by Steve Krog, CFI

32 Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy

38 Classifi ed Ads

40 Flying Outside the Fishbowl by S. Michelle Souder

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

A I R P L A N E J U L YC O N T E N T S

S T A F FEAA Publisher Rod HightowerDirector of EAA Publications Mary JonesExecutive Director/Editor H.G. FrautschyProduction/Special Project Kathleen WitmanPhotography Jim KoepnickCopy Editor Colleen WalshSenior Art Director Olivia P. TrabboldEAA Chairman of the Board Tom Poberezny

Publication Advertising:Manager/Domestic, Sue AndersonTel: 920-426-6127 Email: sanderson@eaa.orgFax: 920-426-4828

Senior Business Relations Mgr, Trevor JanzTel: 920-426-6809 Email: tjanz@eaa.org

Manager/European-Asian, Willi TackePhone: +49(0)1716980871 Email: willi@fl ying-pages.comFax: +49(0)8841 / 496012

Interim Coordinator/Classifi ed, Alicia CanzianiTel: 920-426-6860 Email: classads@eaa.org

C O V E R S

Vol. 39, No. 7 2011

FRONT COVER: The Applegates of Queen City, Missouri, use their Waco YKS-6 as the family aerial SUV, happily visiting fl y-ins and friends all over the Midwest. Read more about this re-markable aviation family and their favorite cabin biplane in Budd Davisson’s article starting on page 6. EAA/Mike Steineke photo.

BACK COVER: The EAA Library’s Grospitch Collection contains a number of photos that show life on the fl ightline during the early days of Air Mail and National Air Transport (eventually United Air Lines). Many of the shots like this one were taken at Hadley Airport, in New Jersey (outside of New York City). Men hustle the bags of mail into the mail bin of a Douglas M-3 Mailplane as an apparently happy armed guard watches over the operation. Hadley Field was the fi rst terminus for the eastbound Air Mail. EAA Grospitch Collection, negative number 400.

16

6

2 JULY 2011

By the time this month’s Vintage Airplane hits your mailbox we will be days away from the start of the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration, known to us all as EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. As I have stated repeatedly in this column, this is yet another year at Oshkosh you do not want to miss. The planning continues to evolve in spectacular fashion. If you haven’t re-cently visited the convention website, www.AirVenture.org, you really need to check out all the amazing events scheduled for this year’s event. There truly is something for everyone!

The monthly work parties at Osh-kosh in the Vintage area continue to experience great success. I want to personally thank everyone who has attended and invested their per-sonal resources in assisting us with this always-important task of prepar-ing the site for our annual fl y-in and convention. It is impossible for me to imagine how we could possibly ac-complish so much progress without the valued assistance of our many pre-convention volunteers. I also look forward to personally welcoming back the hundreds of Vintage volun-teers who assist us with all the critical responsibilities that make this event a safe and successful convention each and every year.

A few pages ahead in this month’s issue, board director Steve Krog’s Vin-tage Instructor column takes a break from the traditional form of aviation education to talk about one of the aspects of today’s aviation trends. I mention it here because it’s impor-tant to listen to these guys who work in the trenches nearly every day, truly promoting recreational aviation. Steve rightly points out that the nega-

tive “doom and gloom” that we all read in the GA magazines these days is absolutely the wrong message to expound upon. Relatively speaking, our vintage aircraft are as economi-cal and safe to operate today as they were 50 years ago. Everything in our lives is impacted by the value of our dollar today as compared to yester-day. If you think about the issue in a fair and impartial manner, it really is all relative. Yes, it is more expen-sive to operate the aircraft I own, but so is driving my automobile. When you do a complete analysis of what’s important in your life, fl ying will al-ways fl oat to the top as one of my top three things that gives me the most pleasure in life. My very best memo-ries are always going to include fam-ily, friends, and flying. Steve’s point of view is the right one. What are we doing individually to help grow the pilot population? Join Steve in selling the “fun” in aviation!

Let’s talk Vintage chapters for a minute. What are the key ingredients to creating and then maintaining a Vintage chapter? Every chapter, EAA or otherwise, will experience the nor-mal ebbs and flows of maintaining and attending to the many responsi-bilities of operating a chapter. If you leave out just one of the most key ingredients of the recipe of a strong chapter, the result will likely leave a bad taste in your mouth. So, the rec-ipe really is a critical factor to be con-sidered. Are you currently in a chapter that is fading or has lost the ability to attract membership? If so, then some-one needs to spice up the recipe. You have to fi gure out what that bad taste is all about. Sometimes, the problem is standing right in front of you, and

no one is willing to address the real issue of what will potentially lead to the demise of that chapter. Some-times the problem is that it’s the same small crowd of individuals who carry the full burden of operating the chap-ter, and it is way past the time to “re-vitalize.” Get your arms around those folks with the energy to help out. As-sign some of these individuals some real responsibility; then get out of the way and let them do their thing. They may really surprise you. Remember the recipe. It’s got to be fun, safe, and it better taste good!

I do have a bit of news that is of great concern about my immediate predecessor in this volunteer job, Butch Joyce. He’s one of my very best friends, and I’m very sorry to tell you he was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. The tumor was found to be malignant, and the surgical procedure to remove the tumor was less than successful. At the moment, Butch remains hospitalized at Duke University in North Carolina, where he will continue with physical ther-apy, and radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The only good news we’ve heard related to his illness is that the type of tumor he has can be success-fully treated. Butch is well-known in the vintage airplane community; his willingness to pitch in and help his fellow members has been a big part of his life’s story for decades. I would ask that each of you keep Butch and his wife, Norma, and their respective fam-ily members, in your prayers. Cards and letters are welcome at their resi-dence; the address is listed in the back of this publication.

GEOFF ROBISONPRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

Chapter success, the right recipe

VAA NEWS

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

To help members who fl y in to understand the layout of the convention area administered by the VAA, we’ve pre-pared this simplifi ed map. As you can see, camping starts at Row 74 on the east side of the main north/south road (Wittman Road), with the areas to the north of that line set up to handle display-only vintage aircraft. That’s why you may see open areas as you taxi south to your camping location.

Once you arrive, you’ll need to register your aircraft and/or campsite. In addition to roving registration vehicles, there is one main aircraft registration building, located just south of the VAA Red Barn (see map). The EAA conven-tion campgrounds are private campgrounds and are not open to non-EAA members. Each campsite must be reg-istered by a current EAA member.

Another immediate benefi t of VAA membership is your free VAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2011 Participant Plaque, which you can pick up in the rear of the Red Barn. EAA and VAA memberships are available at both aircraft regis-tration and the membership booth located under the VAA Welcome Arch, northeast of the Red Barn at the corner of Wittman Road and Vern Avenue as well as inside the Red Barn.

4 JULY 2011

Find Your FavoritePresentations andWorkshops Online

With hundreds of the world’s leading aviation authorities giv-ing close to 1,000 individual pre-sentations at nearly 45 locations spread throughout the AirVenture grounds, finding out who is pre-senting, where, and when can be, in a word, challenging. The EAA AirVenture website has an online tool that can make this task simple when you use the integrated Air-Venture schedule.

Located at www.AirVenture.org under “Attractions” and then un-der “Activities, Presentations & Workshops,” the database includes all the venues, subjects and top-ics, presenters, and events from not only Forums and Workshops, but also Warbirds in Review, Kid-Venture, Museum Speakers Show-case, Authors Corner, Theater in the Woods, special “at the aircraft” presentations on ConocoPhillips Plaza, and more. If it’s scheduled, you’ll fi nd it here. In addition, the web schedule is updated on a daily basis to reflect any changes or ad-ditions that might occur at the last minute. You can even create your own itinerary of various events of interest. You can save or print it out for future reference.

A quick link to this new schedule is www.AirVenture.org/schedule.

Fabric-Covering WorkshopLast month we mentioned that

Superflite covering systems would be presenting covering workshops in the VAA area. Changes in the company’s plans have required it to cancel its presentations in the tent near the Vintage Hangar. To learn more about fabric covering, we rec-ommend visiting the AirVenture workshops area, supported by Air-craft Spruce & Specialty. It’s located north of the FAA control tower in the Workshops Plaza area.

Flight Planning for YourEAA AirVenture Trip

As an EAA member (an impor-

tant part of your VAA membership), you can use the EAA Flight Planner to chart your trip to Wittman Field for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2011. Just click on the EAA Flight Planner link on the left side of the VAA home page at www.VintageAircraft.org, or ac-cess it through the members’ only section of EAA’s online community at www.Oshkosh365.org.

Grass Runways and FuelAlso on our VAA website, we

publish a list created by VAA mem-ber Kris Kortokrax.

Kris flies a variety of old bi-planes that are more pleasant to fl y when they are fl own from grass strips, and he and his buddies from Shelbyville, Illinois, do their best to keep the old biplanes happy (and keep tire wear to a minimum) by fl ying cross-country from grass strip to grass strip. Finding fuel facilities can be a challenge these days, and Kris has distilled this airport infor-mation to be useful for like-minded grass-runway-preferring pilots. This data was current as of the beginning of the year, and we’d suggest calling ahead to confirm fuel availability and hours of operation. If you have any changes or additions, drop us an e-mail here at VintageAircraft@eaa.org and we’ll forward it to Kris.

Our thanks to Kris for sharing his list. Let us know if you fi nd it useful!

VAA’s Portable Electronics Charging Station

Do your rechargeable personal electronics like your cellphone or computer go dead before AirVen-ture’s over? VAA has the solution to your problem!

Immediately west of the VAA Red Barn we will be providing the abil-ity to revitalize those indispensable cellphones, computers, iPods, etc. Turn off your item and bring it and its 120V AC charger to our charg-ing station. Leave it with the atten-dant—we’ll give you a claim check. Bring back the claim check in a few hours and receive your equipment all charged up and ready to go. VAA and its volunteers are providing this

service to EAA members for whatever donation you feel is appropriate.

Breakfast and a Briefi ngThe VAA Tall Pines Café will be

in operation again this year with an expanded schedule prior to convention, and fly-in-style pan-cake and egg breakfasts during EAA AirVenture. Starting on Fri-day morning, July 22, and continu-ing through Sunday, July 24, the VAA Tall Pines Café will be open for breakfast (6:30-9:30 a.m.) and din-ner (4:30-7:30 p.m.). Starting Mon-day, July 25, only breakfast will be served at the Tall Pines Café (6:30-9:30 a.m.) through Saturday, July 30. Just to the north, a Flight Ser-vice Station (FSS) trailer will be lo-cated near the café. At the trailer you’ll be able to check the weather for your flight and obtain a full briefi ng from FSS specialists with-out having to trek up to the FAA Building near the control tower. We’ll see you there each morning for “breakfast and a briefi ng.”

Are You a Friend of theVAA Red Barn?

If so, be sure to check in at the information desk at the VAA Red Barn. There, we’ll issue you a spe-cial name badge. We can also point out the location for the Ford Tri-Motor rides. If you have any ques-tions, feel free to ask for Theresa Books, the VAA administrative as-sistant. If you need to reach her in advance of your arrival, call her at EAA headquarters, 920-426-6110.

Our thanks to each of you who have contributed to the VAA Friends of the Red Barn 2011 cam-paign. We’ll have the list of con-tributors in the September edition of Vintage Airplane!

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

VAA Message CenterIf you would like to leave a

message for people you know who frequent the VAA Red Barn, stop by the information desk. You can write them a message in our “notebook on a string,” and we’ll post their name on the marker board so they’ll know there’s a message waiting for them. Sure, cellphones and walkie-talkies are great, but sometimes nothing works better than a hand-scrib-bled note!

VAA PicnicTickets for the annual VAA

picnic to be held Wednesday, July 27, at the Nature Center will be available for sale at the VAA Red Barn. Tickets must be purchased in advance so we know how much food to or-der. The delicious meal will be served from 5:30 p.m. until ap-proximately 7 p.m. If you need transportation, trams will be-gin leaving the VAA Red Barn around 5 p.m. and will make re-turn trips after the picnic. Type clubs may hold their annual banquets during the picnic. Call Jeannie Hill (815-245-4464), and she will reserve seating so your type club can sit together.

Shawano Fly-Out The annual fl y-out to Shawano

is Saturday, July 30. The sign-up sheet will be at the desk at the VAA Red Barn, and the briefi ng will be at 7 a.m. the morning of the fly-out. The community of Shawano, approximately an hour north of Oshkosh (as the Cub flies), puts forth a lot of effort to sponsor this event. Shawano’s residents do a great job of hosting us, and we hope you’ll help us thank Sha-wano by joining us on the fl ight.

VAA Red Barn StoreThe VAA Red Barn Store, chock-

full of VAA logo merchandise and other great gear, will be open all week long, Monday through Sat-

continued on page 34

6 JULY 2011

A WacoKind of Family

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

The Applegate clan and their YKS-6

BY BUDD DAVISSON

MIKE STEINEKE

8 JULY 2011

“I was about 6 years old, and Dad had taken us to a fly-in in Ottumwa, Iowa, in my dad’s Tri-Pacer. We were flying

home when we fl ew up alongside a cabin Waco. My brother took a pic-ture of it, and I looked at that pic-ture for years thinking, ‘I’d sure like to have one of those, but it’s prob-ably just a dream.’ I still have that picture and looked at it often, and remembered the dream.”

The speaker, Harve Applegate of Queen City, Missouri, has more than the aforementioned picture to

show for his youthful fascination with things that fly. He now has what he wished for when looking through the window of the family Tri-Pacer so many years ago, a cabin Waco. A YKS-6 to be exact.

It’s a little difficult to describe Harve Applegate’s aviation history because to do so, it is absolutely necessary that his dad be brought into the picture. And his mom, who also earned a private pilot cer-tifi cate. And his wife, Carolyn, who refers to their Cub as “her” Cub. And the three Applegate kids, Taryn (22), Matt (24), and Shalyn (15).

Aviation families are quite common within the sport aviation commu-nity, but few have made aviation to be something so consuming and genetic that is passed from genera-tion to generation.

Harve says, “I suppose it started with Dad. He was a B-36 crew chief in the Air Force, and when he got out, he used the GI Bill to get a pilot’s license. Eventually he was farming 1,500 acres, so it was only natural that he would put a runway in. Except it wasn’t just a runway. It was an airport in our backyard that was later named Applegate Air-

MIKE STEINEKE

The entire family enjoys fl ying the Waco all over the Midwest and beyond. The color scheme evokes the colors chosen by Wiley Post for his record-setting Lockheed Vega, the Winnie Mae.

port. That was in 1964. So, basically we’ve lived on an airport from just about the moment I was born. Now that I think about it, since I was born on the farm, it could be said I was born on an airport.”

With that kind of family back-ground, soloing when he turned 16 would be totally expected. How-ever, even his solo indicated that his aviation life was going to be a little different than most folks.

“When the day came for me to solo,” he says, “the weather was lousy. In fact, it was below mini-mums. And I was really bummed.

So was Dad. So, we called the FAA and got a ‘special’ VFR clearance. The last words my instructor said before I took off in the C-152 were, ‘Stay out of the clouds, come around, and land.’ So, I did.”

There he was, a certifi cated pilot and still riding the school bus to his little country school and living the life of a typical high school kid, in-cluding going to local fairs.

“It was at a local fair right after I graduated that I met Carolyn, and I asked her out for a date. On our second or third date I took her fl y-ing in Dad’s Decathlon. I guess that must have impressed her because we got married a year later.”

Carolyn says, “He’s such an avia-tion addict that our honeymoon had us stopping at various airports as we traveled. But, I’ll tell you what. I’d much rather he be out fl y-ing or hanging out at airports than out drinking.” And she laughs. She laughs a lot.

Often it is at this point in an avi-ator’s life story that the individual says his flying stopped while he built a business and a family, to be resumed as a later date. Harve, however, managed to sidestep that layoff. For one thing, he essen-tially lived on an airport, his wife liked fl ying (she says, “I decided if I couldn’t beat him, I’d join him and started taking fl ying lessons.”), and he’d grown up banging knuckles working on airplanes. So, where so many young fathers fi nd their avia-tion career has stagnated, he started building up his own airplanes, the fi rst being a Cessna 170B.

“The 170,” he says, “was actually a fl ying project. To say it was a fl y-ing airplane stretches the defi nition of airplane a little. Yes, it flew and it was a very straight airplane, but it was certainly not an eye-catcher. Carolyn was even a bit taken back at the suggestion of actually purchas-ing it. Its aluminum looked like an old galvanized tin building, and the interior reeked of mold and mildew. There was nothing good about it other than the straight sheet metal. So, little by little I rebuilt it.

“Because we live barely 40 miles from Blakesburg, getting hooked on vintage airplanes was unavoidable. Dad would take us to lots of fl y-ins, including Blakesburg, and from the very beginning, I actually liked vin-tage airplanes better than he did. And I loved working on them.”

Harve’s love of vintage mechan-ics showed through many years of polishing and restoration of the C-170. It went to Oshkosh for 16 years. At fi rst it was noticed because it looked dreadfully forlorn, but over the years it began to gain more attention and for better reasons. The judges were impressed enough in 2000 to give it the best 170/180 award. Then, it won Grand Cham-pion in its class at the AAA Fly-In at Blakesburg the next year.

“First, I have to say that I don’t build airplanes to win trophies, and I don’t go to fl y-ins to be judged. I build airplanes to go to fl y-ins. Pe-riod. We love going to fly-ins and attend at least 15 or 20 a year, and we do it as a family. Eventually, the kids got too big and we out-grew the 170 after putting a little over 1,200 hours on it.”

While Harve might say he was building a family, the truth is that Carolyn was the one having the babies and trying to build a career. And her schedule was more than just a little tight: She started col-lege right after Taryn was born and missed her own graduation because she was busy finishing her own homebuilt, Shalyn. Today she puts that diploma to work teaching sec-ond grade, while Harve farms 1,500 acres of soybeans and corn.

Besides their growing family, an-other factor driving their need for a bigger airplane is that 24-year-old Matt has special physical needs, and to guarantee his mobility and comfort at air shows means carry-ing more equipment.

Carolyn says, “Matt absolutely lives and breathes fly-ins and air shows. No one on the grounds is more enthusiastic than he is. If we go to a fly-in, he goes. He’s been going to shows with us for so long

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

10 JULY 2011

that he has made a huge number of friends out of the other partici-pants, and that’s good for all of us.”

“I was looking for a bigger air-plane when a friend of mine told me about a beautiful 195 with a blown engine sitting out on the ramp in Tullahoma, “ Harve says. “I contacted the airport to fi nd out info about the owner. I contacted him and discovered it not only had a bad engine, but the fi nance com-pany held the note, as the owner was going through bankruptcy. I fl ew down with my stepfather (who had become a pilot after marry-ing my mother…dad had died by then), and we looked it over.

“I put in a bid and got it. I sold the 170 to a wonderful friend, and fortunately, it stayed at our airport, where it is well tended. We put a new 330 Jake from Radial Engines Limited on the 195, and it won awards at both Oshkosh and Blakes-burg, as well. We kept the 195 for three years. But, it still wasn’t a Waco, something I just couldn’t get out of my head.

“When I started looking for Wacos,” he says, “like everyone else, I was assaulted by the incred-ible number of different varieties. But I wasn’t looking for something to rebuild, nor was I looking for a rare variety. I wanted an airplane that would serve our family well. The fact that it would be an incred-ibly cool antique was just a bonus. Because of that I passed on a lot of projects and focused on airplanes that were fl ying and needed a mini-mum of work and could be fairly easily supported. That meant an engine for which parts were plen-tiful and had a reputation for re-liability. If I was going to use it to carry my family around, both were absolutely necessary. I also wasn’t looking for one of the big-engine airplanes, like an SRE. Those were out of my price range, both to buy and to fly. So, basically I was looking for Continental 220-pow-ered aircraft or any of the Jacobs-powered birds. I leaned towards the Jakes because of my 195 experience.

“I looked at a few airplanes be-fore a friend, Doug Parsons, turned me on to N16249, a 1936 YKS-6. It was last restored by Pete Coving-ton in 1994, so it was in really good condition. In fact, well-known an-tiquer Morton Lester had owned it at the time of restoration. It was a good solid airplane that was due for some freshening up, not a rebuild. This was exactly what I was looking for. It had been through two own-ers since Lester owned it and was now part of an estate sale.

“I got it home in July of 2005 and began working on it,” he says. “Be-cause it had been restored nearly 15 years earlier and hadn’t been a han-gar queen for all that time, it was starting to show a little of its age. The seats, for instance, were worn, as were other parts of the interior, so we redid all of that. We went over the entire airplane, doing a lot of touch-up work, including repaint-ing the cowling and a few other panels. At the same time we added Cleveland wheels and brakes.

“By far the hardest thing we did was to change the entire firewall forward. The work itself wasn’t very

diffi cult, but the paperwork turned out to be a headache.

“The original engine was a Ja-cobs R-755-9, which is 245 hp, but I wanted more power. We have a pretty big useful load with this air-plane, but it needs the extra power when it’s heavy. So, I wanted to go up to the 755-B2M, which is 275 hp. I had Air Repair in Cleveland, Mississippi, build up an engine for me. Since it’s virtually identical to the original Jake, putting it on was nothing. At the same time, we in-stalled a new Sensenich wooden prop. But, then we started working on the paperwork.

“This shouldn’t have been nearly the problem it was because the YKS is exactly the same airframe as a ZKS, but sometimes things that look logical take more patience than you’d expect.

“Our local FSDO wouldn’t ap-prove the change because they said it was too much of a power in-crease. We argued back and forth for months that the ZKS, which was 285 hp, and the YKS were on the same type certificate. They just couldn’t get it through their heads that the

CRAIG VANDERKOLK

Most of the Applegate family during AirVenture 2010 from left to right: daughter Shalyn, Harve, Carolyn, and son Matt. The Applegates’ other daughter, Taryn, couldn’t make the trip.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

two airplanes were one in the same. Finally, we got a hold of Jeff Janus at the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Offi ce (ACO) who said it was a no-brainer and sent it back to the FSDO and told them to sign it off.

“We’ve been fl ying the airplane for fi ve years now, and it’s exactly what we wanted and what we thought it should be. First, for an airplane this big, it’s really easy to fly. In fact, it lands a lot like our Cub and even on pavement isn’t hard to keep straight.

“On takeoff, you can’t see any-thing straight ahead, which is okay because the view to the side is good. When the tail comes up, you can obviously see more, but you’re not on the ground long, and if there’s even a slight headwind, it literally fl oats off the ground.

“Once off the ground it has a re-ally solid feeling. I know it’s a big airplane, but it feels as if it is even bigger. But, I don’t know how much

A Lesson in the Learning: Caveats When DonatingAt one point Harve’s dad began having airport problems, and there’s a lesson

to be learned for a lot of us here.

“The airport had never gotten huge,” Harve says. “It was just a nice, friendly

airport with a few hangars and some local tenants. But, it was the only airport in

the area, so Dad deeded it over to the city. I guess you could say he donated it.

For years this worked out really well, and all the aviation guys in the area loved it.

We host a fl y-in there each year, and that became something of a local event that

everyone looked forward to.

“Dad died suddenly in 1981, and we decided to build a house right near the

hangars on our adjoining land. Then, just as the house was all fi nished and we

were about to move in, the city announced that they were selling the airport. They

said they didn’t want the liability of it anymore. Plus, it was attractive to developers.

“That was a pretty scary time. Here we had a new house adjoining the property

where friends fl ew in and enjoyed hanging out, and then it was going to be sold.

“After some stressful conversations with city hall, we discovered that there was

a reversionary clause in the original donation documentation that said the property

would revert to dad’s heirs, if it was to be sold. So, we got it back. It was at that

time that the airport was offi cially named the Applegate Airport in honor of my dad.”

CRAIG VANDERKOLK

The Applegates camp every year just south of the VAA Flightline Opera-tions building so son Matt and the family can enjoy visiting with their many friends and watch the afternoon air show.

12 JULY 2011

bigger you’d want. The back seat is an honest three kids wide, and the two front seats are separated by nearly a foot. So, you feel as if you’re flying your own little air-liner. And how many airplanes to-day let you crank the side windows down and fly with you elbows up on the windowsill?

“It’s not a rocketship in climb, about 500-600 fpm, but it’ll give you that, or close to it, whether you’re loaded or not. Those big old wings can really carry a load.

“It’s also not a speed demon, but it’ll indicate 120 mph, give or take 5 mph, at about 14 gallons per hour and fly straight ahead with no help from the pilot until you’re tired of sitting there. It’s amazingly stable and comfortable on cross-countries. Of course your visibility isn’t the best, since you can barely see straight ahead most of the time, but if you stretch just a little, you can. Extra cushions help.

“On landing,” he says, “You’re over the fence at about 80 mph, but it decelerates in ground effect really quickly, and you just keep pulling to get the steep deck angle. In a three-

point, it touches down at about 50 mph. It also wheel lands, my pre-ferred landing method, super easy and is almost cheating. If you get it on straight, with no drift, it is liter-ally a pussycat on the runway. If you plant it crooked, it’s not a pussycat.”

Now that Harve has his childhood dream airplane safely in the hangar,

what else is there for him to do? “Well, our Vagabond is getting a

little tired looking, and I need to re-rag that. And I suppose the Cub could stand a few touches here and there.

We’d say the moral of this story is “Don’t ever give up on your childhood fantasies. Make them come true.”

MIKE STEINEKE

Another gorgeous picture of the Applegates’ plane fl ying over the Midwest.

CRAIG VANDERKOLK

The overhead skylight windows really add to the sight lines as your fl y the YKS-6, especially when you roll it into a turn.

The first wireless message sent from an airplane to a ground station wasn’t very imaginative or profound. The message, telegraphed in dots and dashes, by U.S. Army Lt. Paul W. Beck on January 21, 1911, was:

“Associated Press. Aviation Field. Scotford is not the only bird on the aviation board. Beck.”

The message didn’t have the hum-bling sense of Samuel Morse’s “What hath God wrought?” or the quaint-ness of Alexander Graham Bell’s “Mr. Watson—come here—I want to see you” or Neil Armstrong’s inspira-tional “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The rather mundane message was hastily scribbled by Associated Press reporter Guy Moysten, who was cov-ering the January 1911 air meet in San Francisco. Moysten asked Beck what message he intended on sending. Beck told Moysten to write the message for him and to fold it so that he could not read it without unfolding it.

The message had been sent over a distance of 1-1/2 miles to a ground station at the newly constructed avi-ation field next to Tanforan Race-track in San Bruno, California. On the receiving end was Sgt. 1st Class Henry Dunn of the Army Signal

Corps. Beck had been taken aloft by Philip

O. Parmalee, an early aviation pio-neer. The “purple sparks spluttered by the telegraph key” were also inter-cepted by navy wireless stations on Goat Island (now Yerba Buena Island) and the Mare Island Navy Yard.

Beck’s second message was, “Three hundred feet up and riding level. It is cold. It is bumpy.” The word “bumpy” wasn’t received because Beck’s fi ngers were so cold that they refused to, as Beck put it, “answer the nerve impulses.”

The word “Scotford” in the first message referred to Frederick E. Scot-ford, chairman of the Aviation Ex-ecutive Committee, which had conceived, planned, and set in mo-tion the air meet. The message re-ferred to a previous fl ight “around the course” in which Scotford had been taken up by Walter Brookins.

The meet was designed to show the world that San Francisco, which had been virtually destroyed by the 1906 earthquake, was back in the swing of things. Getting the War Department to actively participate in an air meet for the fi rst time added to the drama of the event. With the participation came marching troops and horse cav-alry displays and sham battles “re-pelling attacks from the skies.” The

army also “lent their band for daily concerts during guard mount or pa-rade”—all this to the delight of the crowds throughout the entire affair.

San Francisco was in heavy compe-tition with New Orleans for the exclu-sive rights to the 1915 Panama-Pacifi c International Exhibition (PPIE), a world’s fair, to celebrate the upcom-ing 1914 opening of the Panama Canal. The city desperately wanted to land the exhibition, believing it would confi rm San Francisco’s phoe-nix-like rise from the ashes of devasta-tion. The air show was thought of as the opening act.

Plans for the PPIE had already been complicated in 1910. Just six months earlier, California’s gover-nor had banned the Jim Jeffries-Jack Johnson fight scheduled for San Francisco—forcing the epic “Fight of the Century” to Reno—to placate church leaders who objected to in-terracial prize fi ghts. Nationally lead-ing church fi gures and congressional leaders had pledged to oppose San Francisco landing the exhibition if the fi ght went forward.

By the time Beck was able to send his historic message, the air show had already witnessed the dropping of ex-plosive bombs, air reconnaissance ex-ercises, and Eugene Ely’s landing and takeoff from a warship. Ely’s feat over-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Flashes of Purple SparksBY DANIEL J. DEMERS

Lt. Paul Beck, left, with the Western Wireless

Equipment Company A-4 wireless set in his lap

while seated in a Wright biplane during wireless

tests during the 1911 San Francisco Air Meet. The set weighed 29 pounds

and featured a telegraph key mounted on the top of

the mahogany box.

JOURNAL OF ELECTRICITY, POWER AND GAS

14 JULY 2011

shadowed all the other historic fi rsts achieved at the meet.

Beck described the sensation of fl y-ing at 800 feet like this:

“Whirring propellers, throb-bing pistons and machine-gun-like gasoline explosions deafened you, while tears, bit-ter tears, were forced from your eyes by the back rush of air, and you have a slight conception how it feels to rival the eagle in a Wright biplane.”

He had used, in his own words, “a rough, makeshift affair, weighing thirty-two pounds.” It consisted of a “small gap and interrupter, an or-dinary telegraph key, a small storage cell” and a shunt “to prevent over-charging of the cell.” The entire de-vice was contained in a wooden box that he carried on his lap. The aerial used for the experiment was a 120-foot bronze wire trailing the plane connected to the “sending appara-tus by a number sixteen copper wire.” The whole gizmo was grounded to a stay wire on the aircraft connected “to the sending apparatus.” Beck ex-plained, “The wave length measured by the wave meter at the receiving station was 575 meters in length. This is rather longer than we had thought it would be.”

Simultaneous to Beck’s experi-ment, Charlie Willard (another pioneer aviator) unsuccessfully at-tempted to send a wireless message using a different set. According to Beck, “His outfi t weighed a trifl e less than the one which I used and his antenna wire was a trifl e longer.” Ac-knowledging that Willard was not an experienced telegraph operator, Beck wrote that, “a special code had been arranged for him.” However, none of Willard’s “impulses” were recorded on the ground receiver.

An attempt to receive a message from the ground had been scrubbed 10 days earlier. Hubert Latham, a French aviator, had agreed to receive the “fi rst ever” message in his Antoi-nette monoplane. Latham’s mono-plane had been selected because its

“engine is practically noiseless when compared” with the other planes at the air meet. “Silence,” wrote Beck “is an essential factor to the successful reading of telegraphic codes or the successful undertaking of human speech by wireless telephone.”

Of great concern to the experi-ment’s sponsors was the fact that an “electrical discharge” was involved in the actual receiving of the message from the ground. Thus it was of “great importance that the gasoline tank be thoroughly insulated in order to pre-vent possible ignition from a spark.” Avoiding such an aerial catastrophe was to be overcome by using “one of the guy wires on the Antoinette ma-chine as the static ground and to drag from the tail of the airship an alumi-num wire of great capacity and weigh-ing less than two pounds though 130 feet in length as the antenna.”

Unfortunately, as Beck told it, “the god or gods of the elements” stepped in. On this particular day, being “aloft was dangerous to life and limb.” Latham’s beautiful Antoinette mono-plane was demolished in an accident. Latham survived the crash, but a mere 12 months later he died a mysterious death in the French Congo.

Beck understood that aviation was in its infancy and that “we must creep before we walk.” While the experi-ment to send a message had failed due to an air wreck, Beck concluded it had been “reduced to a mere ques-tion of providing mechanical devices for deadening the sound of the pro-pellers, shutting out the noise of the rushing wind and providing some simple means for placing the received message in written form on some sheet or sheets of paper.”

He knew this because of his own achievement of sending the fi rst ever wireless message from an aircraft to the ground. Receiving a message in-volved simply reversing the process.

Editor’s note: Some sources claim that Beck’s success with the wireless was fore-shadowed by a successful test by James McCurdy on August 27, 1910 while fl y-ing over the Sheepshead Bay Race Track in Brooklyn, New York.

Sources:

Chief Warrant Officer Mark J. Denger, Dominguez Inter-national Air Meet, California Aviation History, www.Military-Museum.org/Dominguez.html

Lt. Paul W. Beck, Aviation Meet From War Viewpoint, How Army and Navy Will Take Part, San Francisco Examiner, January 6, 1911, 5.

Lt. J.C. Walker Jr., War Prob-lems to be Solved In Air, San Francisco Examiner, January 7, 1911, 3.

Lt. Paul W. Beck, What Army Is Striving For, Opening Day a Big Success, San Francisco Ex-aminer, January 8, 1911, 76.

Lt. Paul W. Beck, Wreck Spoils Wire-less Experiment, San Francisco Examiner, January 11, 1911, 2.

Lt. J.C. Walker Jr., Biplanes in Wind Please Army Man, San Francisco Examiner, January 11, 1911, 2.

Lt. Paul W. Beck, Airplane Wire-less Experiments Today, War Expert Reviews the Aviation Meet, San Francisco Examiner, January 18, 1911, 2.

Lt. Paul W. Beck, Wireless Adds New Link To War Chain, San Francisco Examiner, January 22, 1911, 67.

Flashes of Purple Glint From Aeroplane in the Sky to Earth, San Francisco Examiner, January 22, 1911, 67.

Lt. Paul W. Beck, Novices Meet Mishap By Striving, Praised by Beck For Game Effort, San Francisco Examiner, January 23, 1911, 3.

Lt. Paul W. Beck, Aviation in War Advanced, Expert Reviews the Meet, San Francisco Examiner, January 26, 1911, 3.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

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16 JULY 2011

The world’s fi rst regular air-mail line was operated by the United States Army back in 1918, when a fl eet

of old Jennies were pushed back and forth between New York City and Washington, D.C., a distance of two hundred and twenty miles.

It is true that in 1911, Earle Ov-ington flew special mail for a dis-tance of three or four miles during a period of one week. But that was simply a stunt and was in no sense a regular airmail line. The Army’s route was later taken over by the Post Office Department and was the beginning of the great airmail system that we have today.

The planes used were slow, un-der-powered and usually over-loaded, and they operated out of

the fi elds that no self-respecting pi-lot would take a second look at in these times. But those were the days of wooden ships and iron men.

Chief pilot on the line was a handsome youth just out of his teens, Lieutenant James C. Edger-ton, who had an unusual knack of finding his way about the sky un-der any conditions. Today, as he sits at his desk in the Department of Commerce, Edgerton still has a distinctly military bearing in spite of his civilian clothes. He is getting a little gray about the temples, but his eyes light up and a smile con-stantly tugs at his lips as his mem-ory takes him back to those hectic days of the fi rst aerial postman.

May fifteenth was the day that the experiment in mail carrying be-

gan. There were impressive ceremo-nies, political speeches, bouquets of fl owers for the fl yers, and the Presi-dent of the United States himself went down to the Polo Grounds and wished the pilot who was to carry the mail to New York, “God speed.” Almost as soon as he left the ground the youngster became bewildered, however, and finally came to earth twenty-fi ve miles in exactly the opposite direction.

Better luck was with Jim Edger-ton bringing the mail south. He landed on schedule, having aver-aged about 90 miles per hour on the flight. There was much hand-shaking and back-slapping and the young lieutenant came in for some of the ennui of a matinee idol.

The second day’s mail went

From the Archives: Reprinted from Popular Aviation, Dec. 1935

First RegularAirmail Flight

BY LIEUT. H. LATANE LEWIS, II

The pilot is receiving his last-minute orders before shoving off with the mail. Once more old Jenny makes history.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

through with considerable diffi-culty. The pilot scheduled to make the fl ight hopped off from Philadel-phia and pointed the blunt nose of his Jennie southward toward Wash-ington. The checkerboard fi elds and streams sliding beneath his wings soon became a jigsaw puzzle and one that he couldn’t piece together. The fl yer realized that he was hope-lessly lost. He barged around for awhile and fi nally decided to come down and ask directions.

Landing on the race track at Bridgeton, New Jersey, forty miles off his course, he became involved with a group of curious horses which cracked up the ship. The mail was sent back to Philadelphia by truck and started out in another plane with another pilot. About thirty miles out his engine began to miss and, as it was getting dark, he turned and high-tailed back to his home fi eld.

Jim Edgerton stepped forward and offered to save the face of the new service and take the mail on to Washington in spite of darkness and a bad engine. Night was coming on in earnest by this time. If his en-gine should conk on the trip down, there would be no fl ares for him to release and land by, nor would he be able to bail out with a parachute, for this was before the day of the Cater-pillar Club. And at Washington he would have no floodlights to illu-minate the Polo Grounds. It would mean coming into that narrow fi eld, which was surrounded by tall trees, in utter darkness.

But Jim was an impatient and adventurous young man, so he hopped off without a moment’s hesitation. Below him the earth looked like a canopy of black vel-vet set with diamonds.

Down at Washington there was considerable excitement. Word of the flight had quickly spread and a throng of people, wondering what kind of wild man this was who would pull the whiskers of death so nonchalantly, had gathered to see him break his neck. But Jim Edgerton had a habit of laughing at the morti-

cians all through his eventful fl ying career. He was the least perturbed of all as he came roaring down from the north and circled the inky pit into which he must bring his ship at the speed of an express train.

There were about half a dozen automobiles parked around the field and Jim estimated his ap-proach from their headlights. Spec-tators heard his engine stop, then the shrill scream of the wind on his struts and wires. Then they caught sight of a ghost-like silhou-ette against the night sky, coming down in a dizzy slideslip. An in-

stant later a gray phantom swept across the field and settled down to a perfect landing. The mail had come through!

Edgerton was the fi rst pilot who ever fl ew into a thunderstorm. Up to that time, fl yers all over the world looked upon electrical storms as a deadly menace and had avoided them as they would a plague. Or-ders had been issued that no mail pilot should take off if weather con-ditions were unfavorable.

At Philadelphia, one afternoon during the middle of July, Jim had his ship tuned up and was ready to shove off, but down towards the southwest storm clouds were gath-ering. It was against orders to fly under such conditions. Jim fumed about the hangars.

Mail flying was no fair weather job, he thought. To be of value it had to go through under all condi-tions. The motto of the later day pi-lots, “The mail must go!” was Jim’s motto then, too. He gave the or-der for the mail sacks to be loaded aboard the old Jenny. Mechanics shook their heads apprehensively as he roared down the fi eld and dis-appeared over the gray horizon.

He dodged the storm as far as

possible and then, as he came over the “Susquehanna River, he ran smack into it. It was a violent line squall, the storm most dreaded of all by aviators, and the kind that sent the mighty Akron and Shenan-doah down to destruction. On the ground, trees were being uprooted and houses damaged.

“It was the bumpiest ride I ever had, before or since,” chuckles Jim Edgerton today, as he recalls the vivid impression it left on him. “We were thrown all over the sky. The rain and hail were so thick that I couldn’t see the wingtips. The

propeller was all chewed up and I had to throttle

down the engine. But,” he adds modestly, “I came out right

on the course.”And the mail was landed in

Washington on time.That fl ight, and the others like it

that Edgerton made, probably did more than anything else to give the public confi dence in the reliability of the airmail. Frequently, he fl ew through dense fog and relied en-tirely on the crude instruments of those early days to keep him in the air. On one of these flights he es-caped death by as narrow a margin as was ever vouchsafed a pilot.

He shoved off in heavy rain and soon ran into thick weather. He barged on into it, flying blind for awhile and then climbing up on the top of the stuff. It was so thick that even the birds had to walk. Af-ter about an hour and a half, he decided to try to find the ground to check his course. He was com-ing down in a fast glide, when sud-denly he noticed that just ahead the mist appeared darker than the rest. He yanked the stick back hard and saw the swirling waters of the Chesapeake Bay miss his landing gear by a scant three feet.

It was a close call. Jim swung the nose of his ship around until the compass pointed northwest and hedgehopped along just high enough to clear the houses and threes that shot by under him in rapid succession. Even at that low

18 JULY 2011

altitude the fog was so thick it was like being submerged in pea soup, but occasion-ally there would be a break and Edgerton would catch a glimpse of the ground and know where he was.

As he passed over Havre de Grace, there suddenly loomed up dead ahead a church steeple. He was right on it before he saw it. He banked for all he was worth, standing the old crock right up on her ear, and missed the steeple by a miracle.

But the crowning thrill of the day came a little later as he passed the Army Proving Ground at Aberdeen.

“We were fl ying at an altitude of about 150 feet,” Edgerton recalls. “Visibility was practically nil. Sud-denly there was a terrifi c bump, al-most as violent as if the plane had struck something. That afternoon, Army authorities at Aberdeen called up and said that an airplane had flown over there and almost collided with a shell fired from a 16-inch gun!”

Is it any wonder that Edgerton’s hair has turned slightly gray?

On another occasion, Jim got caught in a vicious summer thun-derstorm over Baltimore. He was flying his faithful old mount, No. 38274. The turbulent air tossed the frail wooden Jenny about like a ship on a rough sea. One instant her nose would be pointed straight toward heaven and the next instant Jim would see the ground rush-ing up at him just over the engine cowl. He needed spurs and stirrups to ride that crate, for she was buck-ing like a bronco in a Wild West rodeo. Peals of thunder drowned out the roar of the Hisso engine and blinding flashes of lightning cleaved the sky about him.

Suddenly, he saw gasoline begin to leak from the tank which was carried just below the top wing be-tween the center section struts. In several places along the edge of the tank, streams of fuel about the size

of a lead pencil were spurting out. Soon the whole forward part of the fuselage was saturated.

Jim watched the lightning play-ing about the metal parts of the plane and waited for the spark that would blow him to shreds and splatter him all over Baltimore. But Lady Luck was riding with him again and the spark never came. He rode out the storm and brought those precious letters in right on the stroke of the clock.

Baltimore almost proved to be Jim’s jinx. A few days later he was pushing the mail over the Mary-land metropolis when suddenly above the steady drone of the en-gine, there was a high-pitched metal twang like a guitar player tuning his instrument. One of the drift wires, which extended from the nose of the plane to the struts to keep the wings from buckling,

had broken and was dangling al-most in the shining arc of the propeller. If it became entangled in the prop, it would shatter it to a million splinters and probably tear the engine loose.

Throttling down, Jim maneu-vered as best he could to keep wire and prop from that fatal embrace. Below him were plenty of flat broad fields into which he could have glided. But that would mean delaying the mail, so the plucky youngster kept go-ing and finally sat down safely in Washington.

Altogether Edgerton made fi fty-three trips and never failed

to bring the mail through on any of them. On only one did he have a forced landing.

He was over Camp Meade, Mary-land, when a magneto shaft broke. There was a terrifi c jolt that almost jumped the engine out of the ship. For once, Jim had to come down and come down in a hurry. He looked below him and his heart stood still. He was plunging straight towards the heads of hundreds of marching men on parade!

Lower and lower sank the help-less Jenny. Edgerton flattened his glide as much as he dared and tried to squeeze over the soldiers. He was almost knocking their hats off, but still the Yanks continued to hold their ground.

“I just skimmed over their heads and landed on the very edge of the parade ground,” Jim laughingly re-lates. “It was my old outfi t and they certainly gave me a welcome.”

It was just a bit demoralizing to the military discipline of the pa-rade to have an airplane drop down out of the sky and land in its midst. And then to fi nd that it was piloted by one of the old members of the organization indeed called for a rousing greeting. Jim got it all right, but immediately set about to repair his engine and then pushed on.

On August twelfth, 1918 the Ar-my’s airmail days came to an end and it turned the fl ying of the mail over to the Post Offi ce Department.

With the mail aboard, the pilot proceeds to warm up the OX-5 which animates the Jenny.

Authentic dope on the controversial subject,

“Who fl ew the fi rstairmail?” In spite of the

many claims to priority, by various pilots, we believe

that this is the realanswer to the problem.An old Jenny, as usual,

does the work.

AirVenture & Ford Together Again

REO Speedwagon Concert: Monday

6:00PM next to the Ford Hangar

Fly In Theater: Nightly Sunday –

Saturday 8:30PM @ Camp Scholler

Cruisin’ Legends: See Mustangs and

more @ Knapp Street near Warbirds

Model T Experience: Tour in a Model

T @ “Cruisin’ Legends”

“Blues Brothers” Tribute Party:

Saturday 6:30PM @ Ford “Hangar of Blues”

Free Ice Cream: Nightly in the camp-

grounds – from the Transit Connect

USS Henry Ford “Cat Launch”: Race

your friend on dual Zip Lines!

Bungee Burner: Leap to new heights

on this bungee-trampoline combo!

Free Top Gun Hat: At the Ford Hangar!

Blue Angels Edition Mustang:

One of a kind build for the Young

Eagles benefi t

Lincoln Legends and Heroes:

Autographs from living lengends

Rock Ladder: Climb to new heights!

20 JULY 2011

My son and I spent the better part of six years restoring an Aeronca 7BCM. Jeff was 13 years old when we started the project, and 19 when we fi nished in 1980. He earned his private pilot certificate in that taildragger. After years of enjoyment, the time fi nally ar-rived to fi nd a new home for N66361.

The occasion was bittersweet. I was sad this was probably the last time I would fl y the Aeronca 7BCM my son and I brought back to life in 1980, but happy I found a good home for the craft that had been a part of our lives for 14 years. It was 1994 . . .

She needs to be flown, and re-

sponds quickly to my urging as I push the throttle control forward to begin a low-level, no-radio, no-transponder fl ight from Charles W Baker Airport in Millington, Ten-nessee, to Eagles’ Landing Airpark, a fly-in community just south of Griffi n, Georgia.

My onboard navigational equip-ment is composed of an erratic com-pass and a sectional chart with a yellow line drawn to my fi rst refueling stop. I felt as if I was back in time, in 1953, when the miracle of flight be-came personal for me. This was the way I had learned navigation…to fol-low the line. In the 41 years since that

time, I admit to being spoiled: fi rst, by low-frequency “beams,” then VORs, DME, RNAV, LORAN, and now GPS. But for this fl ight, I left all that behind.

Turning to a heading of 120 de-grees, I wait for the compass to stop its oscillation; it continues to swing with each bounce and each yawing movement, but I average the swings and continue slowly en route. I move my fi nger along the line and look for checkpoints. I re-member how I used to “bracket” my position and once again realize the importance of the river or rail-road I would have to cross, thus as-suring at least one line of position.

To Follow the LineThis was the way I had learned navigation: to follow the line

BY E. JEFF JUSTIS

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

Down low it was fun once more watching the small towns pass, even being able to read the names on water towers.

In north-central Mississippi, there appears a vast forest spread-ing out beneath my wings, an il-lusory remnant of the glorious wilderness that once extended from the East Coast to the Great Plains. Now, clear-cutting scars are evidence of man’s meddling, graf-fi ti on our planet’s face.

I am surprised at the hills of North Mississippi; at higher al-titudes they flatten into the ter-rain, but here, at 1,000 feet above the ground, the hills are alive with depth and color.

My craft and I, intruders in his world, pass a circling hawk. I look down and try to see the tiny crea-ture I am sure he sees, but where he must perceive the slightest rus-tle of the brush, I see only patterns of green and brown and the bright blue of refl ected sky.

Enough of this sightseeing. I should have crossed this highway a couple of miles farther to the north. I make a slight correction. Highways! They criss-cross this land, cutting it into smaller and smaller bits; these scratches of man meant little when there were fewer men, but now they separate deer from deer and life from life.

At the edge of a fi eld, pebbled by round bales of hay, rests a red tractor awaiting direction by another of my species. He too enjoys the special re-lationship with machines that man, of all Earth’s creatures, strives for. There is a confl ict, however, between the spiritual aspect of controlling my machine to see in perspective the land below and the necessity to en-dorse the polluting technology that makes it possible. It is not quite the same confl ict that we experience be-tween a desire to cherish all life and the necessity to eat. That confl ict, I

Jeff Justis was just 13 when he and his family embarked on the restoration of a 7BCM Champ. The photo above is just one of the photos of him alongside his teenage years project. In just about every photo he has a grin on his face just like this. In the top photo, as he and his dad prepare to send The Champ to a new home, Jeff takes one last look at the landing gear

I felt as if I was back in time, in 1953, when the miracle of fl ight

became personal for me.

22 JULY 2011

suppose, is the essence of life.Soon the forward horizon bulges

upward as I approach old tectonic ridges aligned northeast-southwest near Birmingham. The dark green of the forested ridges contrasts with the lighter, verdant hues of man’s cultivation. Ahead, a sharp razor-backed ridge prompts a climb to 3,000 feet. I teeter across the top and slide down toward the broad valley on the eastern side. My first land-ing after one hour and 45 minutes is

welcome. As a no-radio aircraft, I am careful to follow the standard pat-tern and glide down fi nal, touching down on the much-too-long-for-The-Champ runway of Posey Airport.

Most cross-country flights in the ’50s were from grass strip to grass strip. A red gas pump would be brought into service by the col-orful operator/mechanic of these old aerodromes. Aeroncas and Luscombes were everywhere, and Cessna 195s were the elite air-

planes. Now, on this ramp, my Aeronca is an anachronism.

A King Air is being readied for cor-porate passengers, and my little tail-dragger is lost on the large apron. Fortunately, we modifi ed the 7BCM with a starter and generator so I do not have to fi nd someone to help me get started. In years past almost ev-ery lineman was profi cient in hand-propping, now it’s almost a lost art.

Soon I am on the way to my next stop, Lagrange, Georgia. I am fooled by the appearance of a large airport, an old military fi eld, at 12 o’clock on the horizon. Only when I get close enough do I realize this is not the fi eld I am supposed to over-fl y, and that I am 10 miles south of where I am supposed to be.

Sometimes it’s easy to fix on a point once fooled into thinking it is on the chosen course. Constant vigilance is required for this type of navigation. I overfly a multi-fingered lake, one of many man-made lakes fi lled by damning rivers and streams that once fl owed freely into the larger Tennessee or Sewanee rivers and on to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean.

I could fly on to my destina-Jeff and his dad, E. Jeff Justis, look over their covering handiwork in the backyard.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

tion, but I will have to locate an unfamiliar grass strip, and I want to fly around a little without wor-rying about fuel. Once again, the large runway at Lagrange ahead of-fers little challenge, a far cry from the tree-surrounded fields of the past that required a slip on fi nal to

steepen the approach, clearing the trees, the slip quickly straightened and the nose held high for the sat-isfying swish-swish of the wheels as they are brushed into motion by the grass. Now, with a slight crosswind I can approach the broad asphalt run-way diagonally, the long taxi to the

ramp taking nearly as long as the fl ight itself.

The cost of this slow fl ight is cer-tainly minimal, with fill-ups after two hours averaging 15 or so dol-lars. Besides, the trip has been fun so far, relearning old navigation tricks, and seeing the country down low.

Now I have only a few more miles to navigate to Eagles’ Landing. The fl y-in community strip is near Wil-liamson, Georgia, and just east of a northeast-southwest-oriented rail-road. I decide to proceed due east, find the railroad, and follow it northeast toward the destination.

I cross a highway but see no rail-road. A few miles further, still no railroad; I must have passed it. Af-ter a 180 I find the highway again but no…wait, what is that? That is an abandoned rail line for sure, and it does parallel the road. I continue northeast, scanning the horizon, passing pretty fi elds and houses.

I locate one airport with houses neatly lining both sides of the single runway, but it is not Eagles’ Landing. Soon I see Griffin, Georgia; I have come too far. I ease The Champ into a bank to try again, back down the rail line and…here’s a golf course…and yes, there are two grass run-ways meeting in a “V.” I circle and make a low pass over the northwest runway, watching my friends wave from their yard. “What a nice place to live,” I think, as I line up on fi nal.

I glide just above the grass and settle slowly onto a field that will surely make this little airplane of the ’40s feel at home. I hope so, because she started her rebirth in the ’70s when my children were small, I was younger, and my wife allowed eleva-tors and rudders and stabilizers to stay in the dining room.

This Aeronca has been a part of our family, but now, to stay happy, must move on to a place where she will be fl own. That is the true destiny of any airplane worthy of the name.

A foil tape antenna ground plane was just one of the nifty little touches added to The Champ as the two Jeffs restored their airplane.

Doesn’t ever yone use Champ tail sur faces as decorative ele-ments in their household dec-orating? Mrs. Justis is a ver y patient woman.

24 JULY 2011

CALIFORNIAHayward, CA, VIN 29Meeting: 2nd Thurs., 6:00 p.m.Hayward Airport: See website for hangar info.Gary Oberti, PresidentPhone: 510-357-8600E-mail: info@vaa29.orgWebsite: www.vaa29.org

CALIFORNIASacramento, CA, VIN 25Meeting: 2nd Sat., 9:00 a.m.See chapter website for location.Robert Opdahl, PresidentPhone: 530-273-7348E-mail: bopdahl@sbcglobal.netWebsite: www.Vin25.org

CAROLINAS, VIRGINIAWalnut Cove, NC, VIN 3Meeting: Contact PresidentSusan Dusenbury, PresidentPhone: 336-591-3931E-mail: sr6sue@aol.comWebsite: www.VAA3.org

FLORIDALakeland, FL, VIN 1Meeting: Contact PresidentBobby Capozzi, PresidentPhone: 352-475-9736E-mail: mx180a@aol.comWebsite: www.FSAACA.com

ILLINOISLansing, IL, VIN 26Meeting: Contact PresidentPeter Bayer, PresidentPhone: 630-922-3387E-mail: c180bayer@comcast.net

INDIANAAuburn, IN, VIN 37Meeting: 4th Thurs., 7:00 p.m.DeKalb County Airport (kGWB)Hangar A—VAA 37 ClubhouseDrew Hoffman, PresidentPhone: 260-515-3525E-mail: drewhoffman@vaa37.orgWebsite: www.VAA37.org

KANSASOverland Park, KS, VIN 16Meeting: 2nd Fri., 7:30 p.m.CAF Hangar,New Century AirportKevin Pratt, PresidentPhone: 913-541-1149E-mail: kpratt@vaa16.comWebsite: www.VAA16.com

LOUISIANANew Iberia, LA, VIN 30Meeting: 1st Sun., 9:00 a.m.LeMaire Memorial Airport Hangar 4Roland Denison, PresidentPhone: 337-365-3047E-mail: vaa30@cox.net

MINNESOTAAlbert Lea, MN, VIN 13Meeting: 2nd Thurs., 7:00 p.m.Albert Lea Airport FBOSteve Nesse, PresidentPhone: 507-373-1674

NEW HAMPSHIRENorth Hampton, NH, VIN 15Meeting: 2nd Sat., 11:00 a.m.Hampton Airfi eld 7B3Robert Drake, PresidentPhone: 603-942-9242E-mail: fl yer172h@comcast.net

OHIODelaware, OH, VIN 27Meeting: 3rd Sat. 8-10AM, May thru Sept.Delaware Municiple Airport (DLZ) Terminal BuildingWoody McIntire, PresidentPhone: 740-362-7228E-mail: wjmcintire@cs.comWebsite: www.EAAdlz.org

OHIOZanesville, OH, VIN 22Meeting: 2nd Fri.; 6:30 p.m.Perry County AirportJohn Morozowsky, PresidentPhone: 740-453-6889

OKLAHOMATulsa, OK, VIN 10Meeting: 4th Thurs., 7:00 PMHardesty South Regional LibraryNo meetings in July, Nov. & Dec.Joe Champagne, PresidentPhone: 918-257-4688Email: skypal@groveemail.com

TEXASSpring, TX, VIN 2Meeting: 4th Sun., 2:00 PMDavid Wayne Hooks Airport (KDWH)Fred Ramin, PresidentPhone: 281-255-4430Email: fredramin@sbcglobal.net

WISCONSINBrookfi eld, WI, VIN 11Meeting: 1st Mon., 7:30 PMCapitol Drive Airport Offi ceDonald Hyra, PresidentPhone: 262-251-1778Email: phs1@ww.rr.com

Vintage Chapter LocatorVisit the VAA chapter nearest you and get to know some great old-airplane enthusiasts! You don’t need to be a pilot to join in the fun—just have a love of the great airplanes of yesteryear.

Want to Star t a VAA Chapter?It’s easy to start a VAA chapter. All you need to get started is fi ve vintage enthusiasts. Then contact the EAA Chapter Offi ce at 920-426-6867 or chapters@eaa.org to obtain an EAA Chapter Starter Kit. EAA has tools to help you get in touch with all your local Vintage members, and they’ll walk you through the process of starting a new chapter.

Chapter 27 of Delaware, Ohio, hosts a monthly pancake breakfast where attendees enjoy the camara-derie among the airplanes.

When Albert Vollmecke joined Arkansas Aircraft Company in Sep-tember 1927 he brought fresh ideas from his native Germany regarding aircraft design, stability, and safety. He would, on occasion, return to Germany to bring back something new for the company. In 1928 Ar-kansas Aircraft Company changed its name to Command-Aire Incor-porated, and the production run of new ships increased in its Little Rock, Arkansas, plant.

After one such visit to Ger-many, Vollmecke returned with the rights to import and sell the PHYLAX fi re-extinguisher system patented (GB 0267542) March 10, 1926, and manufactured in Berlin by Phylax Feuerlosch-Automaten-Bau GmbH. The PHYLAX fire-extinguisher system consisted of a tank containing the extinguish-ing liquid. From the tank, which was usually installed in the pilot’s cockpit or control cabin, sprinkler lines led to the parts of the plane where fi res usually break out, such as the carburetor and oil sump on the engine. See Illustration 1.

The unit was manufactured in Berlin, Germany, and Command-Aire had the sole distribution rights in the United States, in-stalling them on planes it manu-factured. Illustration 2 shows an

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Early fi re-extinguishing system

THE Vintage Mechanic

Illustration 1

26 JULY 2011

advertisement from AVIATION, November 1928, using the OX-5 powered model 3C3 ship to dem-onstrate the system.

The PHYLAX system consisted of a pressurized tank of fl uid with associated lines and nozzles lead-ing to the engine compartment of the ship. Note here that the unit is manufactured in the United States by the Aero Supply Man-ufacturing Company located in Long Island, New York. The cost of the unit is $70 in this May 1929

advertisement in an aviation mag-azine. Illustration 2 shows the manufacturer’s advertisement for the product.

In a letter dated April 10, 1929, Mr. Wiley Wright, assistant sales director for Command-Aire Incor-porated, wrote:

“Command-Aire, Incorporated acquired the exclusive franchise rights for PHYLAX automatic fi re extinguishers in the United States, Mexico and Central America. This extinguisher is the only automatic

fire extinguisher available and is standard equipment on many Eu-ropean lines. It is manufactured by PHYLAX Bau of Germany and is receiving great response in the United States at the present time.”

In this factory Illustration 3 and from the fi les of Albert Voll-mecke is a 110-hp Warner engine mounted in the Command-Aire model 3C3-A ship. Note the en-gine cowling being neatly fitted around cylinders and associated tubes. The 3C3-A had a very long nose due to its light weight, ne-ce s s i t a t ing a longe r a rm fo r weight and balance control. In this photo the PHYLAX sprinkler heads are visible behind the mag-netos, down near the carburetor and behind the oil inlet hoses on the accessory case of the engine. Illustration 3 is an original fac-tory photograph of the PHYLAX system installed in the nose of a model 3C3-A.

Illustration 4 is the same photo-graph with some details removed and other details added, princi-pally the identifi cation of the PHY-LAX automatic fuse that fi red the bottle of extinguishing fluid and the sprinkler heads. These illustra-tions taken from a Command-Aire original factory brochure from the fi les of Albert Vollmecke.

Illustration 5 on page 27 is a sketch from the PHYLAX patent 0267542 dated March 10, 1926. A general description of the PHY-LAX system is contained within the patent and states, “The inven-tion relates to a fi re extinguishing device intended for use particu-larly with motor-cars, aeroplanes, motor boats , and the l ike, in which extinguishing fl uid released under the control of fuse cords or cables ignited by the fire, is con-veyed to the seat of the fi re auto-matically through the flame.” In the sketch the discharge line into the engine compartment is shown as item “o.” Line “b” comes from the automatic fuse located in the engine compartment down near the carburetor. The patent does Illustration 2

not indicate what type of extinguishing fluid was contained within the tank; however, soda-acid was widely used in those days, and carbon tetrachloride was invented in 1912 by the Pyrene Company.

In a communication from Command-Aire Pres-ident Robert Snowden regarding the purchase of stock options in the company, he states, “Our ex-clusive franchise for the sale of Phylax automatic fi re extinguishers should, if the War Department ap-proves this extinguisher as standard equipment at a test to be made next week, net the corporation more than $50,000 annually. This extinguisher has been approved in all the European countries and the War Department has admitted to us that this is the only automatic fi re extinguisher for airplanes in America and our patent rights on this will hold in this coun-try and Mexico.”

What is not mentioned in any publicity regarding PHYLAX automatic fire-extinguishing equipment is that it was brought to Command-Aire Incorporated by chief designer Albert Vollmecke. Vollmecke visited his

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

Illustration 3

Illustration 4

Illustration 5

28 JULY 2011

homeland on a regular basis and always brought back some new in-vention or new ideas on design and safety. This system was certainly ahead of its time safety-wise and a credit to Vollmecke’s focus on sta-bility and safety for his designs.

Above, in this original factory photograph (Illustration 6) of a Command-Aire 3C3-T fuselage on the assembly line at the Little Rock plant, the PHYLAX system can be seen mounted in the rear cock-pit just behind the front seat, in the center of the photograph. The chemical bottles with two lines tied to the side tubes run forward to the engine compartment. One line is the automatic fuse, and the other is the extinguishing fluid. Considering this is the year 1928, it’s a remarkable achievement in the advancement of safety by Al-bert, chief designer for Command-Aire Incorporated.

The factory also installed Py-rene hand fire extinguishers in the rear cockpit. The Pyrene unit was more adaptable to existing ships as was the PHYLAX system.

Illustration 6

Pyrene fi re extinguishers

were made of brass and

were nicely polished.

They were not high-pressure units

but required the use of a hand pump

to generate pressure to expel

liquid from the cylinder.

Pyrene fire extinguishers were made of brass and were nicely pol-ished. They were not high-pressure units but required the use of a hand pump to generate pressure to expel liquid from the cylinder. These extinguishers were gener-ally mounted in the rear cockpit to be accessible to the pilot of the ship. Command-Aire would in-stall a Pyrene fi re extinguisher for $7 in 1928 and 1929. It was a “fac-tory extra.” Illustration 7 shows a Pyrene fi re extinguisher.

Pyrene had been around for some time, having invented the carbon tetrachloride extinguisher in 1912. Fire was and is still a large concern for aviators, but not as much as back then. All the early ships were covered with cot-

ton or linen fabric, and the only dope available was cellulose ni-trate that burned like a torch when lit. Watching nitrate dope burn reminded me of a Fourth of July sparkler, very intense and hot. If a nitrate-doped ship caught fi re in the air, there was no extinguisher that would put out the flames. The PHYLAX system had an auto-matic sensor that would trigger the bottle’s valve open and send the chemical into the engine compart-ment. The Pyrene extinguisher was more for ground use because you could not operate the bottle and fl y the airplane at the same time.

By today’s standards these ex-tinguishing systems seem ar-chaic, but for the time back in the 1920s, they were the thing to have in your automobile, boat, or airplane.

Editor’s Note: WARNING! An-tique carbon tetrachloride fi re extin-guishers like the Pyrene occasionally

show up either contaminated with the original agent or, worse yet, with the full charge of agent still inside. Carbon tet is treated as a hazard-ous substance (its use was banned in consumer products in 1970) and should be dealt with accordingly. In fact, carbon tetrachloride, when heated by a fi re, will create poison-ous phosgene gas (World War I’s “nerve gas”), something that would defi nitely ruin someone’s day if the fire hadn’t done so already! In its standard form, this substance is very toxic to the liver, and a single signifi -cant exposure can result in sickness or death.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

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1903: Samuel Pierpont Langley’s “Aerodrome”attempts to take off from a floating platform.

800-362-3490

Have a comment or ques-

tion for Bob Lock, the Vintage

Mechanic? Drop us an e-mail at

vintageaircraft@eaa.org, or you

can mail your question to Vintage

Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Osh-

kosh, WI 54903.

Illustration 7

30 JULY 2011

Author’s Note: We held a small open house at the flight school hangar this past Saturday. Though the weather was not conducive to give many rides, we still had about 60 people show up, enjoy a brat or ham-burger, and talk about fl ying or learning to fl y. Interest in fl ying is not dead! One of my pet peeves is how we, in general aviation, go about attracting individuals to learn the pleasure of fl ight.

Nearly every aviation publication I read carries ar-ticles and editorials about the downward spiral of gen-eral aviation. Flight schools are having a hard time attracting new students. “Doom and gloom” reigns, with little positive to report on the horizon. This al-ways reminds me of the proverbial three wise mon-keys who embody the principle “See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.” We all complain about the problem, but no one ever offers solutions. It seems as though by not doing anything about the challenge, it will eventually go away and right itself.

Many of the aviation organizations are wringing their respective hands, giving great lip service to the drop in pilot numbers. Some, like EAA, have launched activities to attract new pilots, such as the Young Ea-gles program. This has been a good start, but it will not fi ll the ever-increasing void for more pilots.

What are we all missing? FUN!Four years ago I chose early retirement from a 38-

year career in marketing. My dream was to establish a small fl ight school using Piper J-3 Cubs for all fl ight operations. Thanks to a lot of moral support from my wife, Sharon, I launched the flight school with two Cubs. My thought was, if I could share my passion for FUN fl ight with a half-dozen or so new students each year, I would be doing my part to help attract individu-als to the joy of general aviation/pleasure fl ight.

I opened the door on April 1, 2007. After one week I had 22 new students appear from nowhere and sign up for fl ight lessons in a Cub. Four and a half years later the trend continues, 20-24 new students sign up each spring.

The student make-up is a real cross-section of Amer-ica. My youngest student to date began fl ight lessons at age 14 and the oldest was 77 years young. I’ve men-tioned some of my students in previous articles. At year’s end 2010, while converting our student files from paper to computer, I was amazed to discover that in the previous two years, I had given instruction to more than 200 individuals. Some were new students, others were individuals in search of a tailwheel en-dorsement, and many were older individuals who had pursued fl ight training early in their lives but gave it up to raise a family. Now they had the time and still re-tained the burning desire to get back into fl ying. What attracted these individuals to the fl ight school? FUN! And the fun challenge of fl ying J-3 Cubs!

Here’s a small cross-section of this year’s group of students:

•A retired U.S. Navy lieutenant who fl ew F-4 Phan-toms off carriers in Vietnam. He hasn’t done any fl y-ing in more than 10 years, but he’s been building a Skybolt, which will soon be fi nished, and he’s return-ing to his lifelong love—aviation. He also has two young sons who want to fl y and will soon be joining the group of student pilots.

•A young CPA from Iowa whose grandfather was a friend of Bernie Pietenpol and who has built two Piets. The CPA used two weeks of his vacation time to learn to fl y so that he can fl y the airplane(s) that his grandfa-ther built and take his grandfather for a ride.

•A career military person, semiretired from his sec-ond career in Chicago real estate. He’s always wanted to fl y powered aircraft. Years earlier he obtained his private pilot glider rating as did his son as a father-son experience.

•An electrical engineer employed by the largest medical equipment manufacturer. He’s previously flown a lot of radio-controlled (RC) airplanes. After a job transfer and relocation, and following a break-fast fl ight ride with a friend, he decided to pursue his dream of learning to fl y.

•A 30-something auto repair service manager who has wanted to learn to fl y for years. After seeing the

BY Steve Krog, CFI

THE Vintage Instructor

Vintage fl ying is very much alive!

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

Cubs fl ying every day, he decided to pursue his pas-sion for fl ight.

•A national chain hardware store employee who has had a dream of flying, driving nearly two hours each way to learn to fl y in a Cub.

•An aviation writer/video producer who already has a sport pilot certifi cate but desires to obtain a private pilot certifi cate, and do so in Cubs.

•A 30-something young family man who sells construction equipment attachments. While deer hunting a year ago he learned one of his hunting friends had recently learned to fl y in Cubs. For three days they talked airplanes and fl ying, rather than do-ing much hunting. Upon his return from the hunt-ing trip, he drove to the airport and signed up for lessons in the Cub.

•A professional musician from the Chicago area who always wanted to learn to fl y. Although not yet old enough to have a true “bucket list,” learning to fl y a Cub was number one on his list.

With two exceptions, these individuals had never before fl own or fl own in tailwheel airplanes but always had a dream of learning to fl y in a Cub—just like dad or granddad did many years ago.

Although no one in this group comes from simi-lar backgrounds or professions, there is one common denominator among every student—FUN! None of these students are learning to fly to pursue a career in aviation (although I’ve worked with a couple who have done so). Rather, they are learning to fl y, or get-ting back into fl ying, for the FUN and CHALLENGE of fl ight. They all have a true love of fl ight and seeing the world from 500 feet with the door and window open.

I have also worked with a number of students who began taking flight lessons but quit after a period of time. They still had the passion for fl ight but gave it up. When asked why, the responses fell into one of the following four categories:

•I began taking lessons but after three or four les-sons, I’d be assigned to a different instructor. After 30 hours of dual, three instructors, and still not having soloed, I quit.

•The instructor wasn’t teaching me anything. He was more interested in building time than teaching.

•The fl ight school’s personnel was taking advantage of me. I was on a budget, and they kept trying to con-vince me to take lessons in a more expensive airplane.

•The fl ight school atmosphere was very unfriendly. I was treated as a lowly student, and employees acted like they were doing me a big favor just talking to me.

Certainly not all fl ight schools can be categorized by one of the four responses above. There are many good schools out there that truly do offer good value in a friendly atmosphere. If you know someone who has had a bad experience with a fl ight school, you might suggest he or she try another school before giving up on the dream of being able to fl y for FUN.

Take a moment and think about how you fi rst be-came interested in airplanes. What triggered your pursuit of learning to fl y? Did you have a buddy or maybe a family friend who encouraged you? Or even became a mentor? Do you remember your fi rst fl ight lesson? Do you remember the day you made your fi rst solo fl ight?

Remember that passion and sense of accomplish-ment? Don’t hesitate to share it with anyone express-ing an interest in learning to fl y.

At Cub Air Flight we sell FUN. When individuals visit the airport to inquire about learning to fl y, we know they have made the commitment in their own mind. It then becomes our responsibility to make the visit friendly. A friendly environment is a FUN environment. Kids are always welcome. If a prospec-tive student has children with him or her, we invite the kids to sit in the planes. At the conclusion of our discussion we emphasize the following statement: If you learn to fl y with us, it will be FUN, CHALLENG-ING, and SAFE!

I don’t believe there is a shortage of pilot prospects, but there is a shortage in how we all go about attract-ing these people to become active participants in plea-sure flying. Remember, flying is FUN. Let’s make an effort to help others share in that FUN!

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32 JULY 2011

We enjoy your suggestions for Mystery Planes—in fact, more than half of our subjects are sent to us by members, often via e-mail. Please remember that if you want to scan the photo for use in Mystery Plane, it must be at a resolution of 300 dpi or greater. You may send a lower-resolution version to us for our re-view, but the fi nal version has to be at that level of detail or it will not print properly. Also, please let us know where the photo came from; we don’t want to willfully violate someone’s copyright.

The April Mystery Plane was no mystery for many of you north of the U.S./Canada border. Here’s an exten-sive answer by a fi rst-time responder, Mr. Lynn Goyer of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada:

The Mystery Plane photograph ap-pearing on page 36 of our April 2011 copy of Vintage Airplane is a Superma-rine Stranraer. I believe the actual air-

craft in the photo is of Canadian civil registry, CF-BXO, formerly Royal Cana-dian Air Force (RCAF) 920. This photo-graph would have been taken at some time between 1962 and 1967 after an overhaul at Abbotsford, British Colum-bia (BC), and possibly while in service with Stranraer Aerial Enterprises. The location strongly resembles the Fraser River dockings at the Vancouver air-port. The aircraft had undergone a re-spray with a bright red cheat line. The aircraft had also been re-engined with Wright R-1820 by Queen Charlotte Air-lines (QCA) replacing the original en-gines of British design and manufacture, the 920-hp Pegasus X. The aircraft was constructed with an all-metal hull and metal-framed fabric-covered wings in addition to a fabric-covered empennage.

The Supermarine Southampton, as it was first known, (Stranraer) was de-signed by the famed R.J. Mitchell at the Supermarine Aviation Works as a coastal general reconnaissance flying boat

(beaching gear required) for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1933. The prototype fi rst flew in October 1934 with two Bristol Pegasus IIIM engines rated at 820 hp. The production aircraft were delivered to the RAF with Pegasus engines delivering 920 hp, entering service in April 1937. The British-built machines, of which 23 were ordered and only 17 being built, were all delivered by April 1939.

In Canada, Canadian Vickers Lim-ited of Montreal, Quebec, produced 40 examples, and [they] were delivered to the RCAF. The fi rst Canadian-built air-craft fl ew on 14 October 1938 with pilot Herbert Hollick-Kenyon at the controls. Production ceased in 1941 after delivery of the 40th example. The aircraft was deployed to the Canadian east coast for convoy patrol, while in the west it was tasked with prowling the coastal waters and reaches for Japanese intruders. The aircraft began to be phased from RCAF service in favour of the Consolidated Canso by 1944.

Send your answer to EAA, Vin-tage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Osh-kosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs to be in no later than August

20 for inclusion in the October 2011 issue of Vintage Airplane.

You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your answer to mystery

plane@eaa.org. Be sure to include your name plus your city and state in the body of your note and put “(Month) Mystery Plane” in the subject line.

This month’s Mystery Plane comes to us from Bruce Voran.

MYSTERY PLANEby H.G. FRAUTSCHY

A P R I L ’ S M Y S T E RY A N S W E R

QCA began buying several examples and was instrumental in convincing the Canadian Department of Transport (DOT) to issue a civilian Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A). One of the fi rst aircraft so issued was CF-BYI, which be-gan passenger service from Vancouver north to the Queen Charlotte Islands and Prince Rupert on 5 March 1946. The air-craft was certifi ed for 20 passengers. CF-BYI, also known as the Haida Queen, flew until 24 December 1949 when it crashed in Belize Inlet, some 240 miles north of Vancouver, BC. The accident claimed the lives of two passengers, with two passengers and the three crew mem-bers being rescued; however, the aircraft was wrecked. The remains of the air-craft were abandoned on the beach. In

1980 the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation in BC salvaged the wreck for possible restoration. As late as April 1952 QCA still had two Stranraer in service, CF-BXO and CF-BYM. Pacifi c Western Airlines (PWA) also operated the type throughout its aerial network in western Canada and the Northwest Territories.

Stranraer CF-BXO began its civilian life in 1944 with Labrador Mining and Exploration in eastern Canada and later entered service with QCA as the Alaska Queen. Eventually removed from ser-vice, the aircraft was resurrected in 1962 and overhauled. It once again provided yeoman service until 1967. CF-BXO was obtained by the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon, United Kingdom, for display.

Two RAF Belfast freighters were dis-patched, and the disassembled aircraft was transported to the United Kingdom where the machine is currently one of the centerpieces of the collection.

The aircraft type had many names. The most familiar (and printable) were Stranny, Strainer, and Flying Meccano Set. The least affectionate was the Whis-tling S***house, as when the lid to the throne was lifted there was direct access to the great outdoors and there emitted a loud whistling noise.

Other correct answers were re-ceived from Hillis Cunliffe, Mill-brook, Alabama; Brian Baker, Sun City, Arizona; Wesley R. Smith, Springfield, Illinois; John White-head, Cheyenne, Wyoming; Scott Church, Cochrane, Alberta, Can-ada; Jay Broze, Walla Walla, Wash-ington; Jerry Paterson, Kent , Washington; Jamie Patterson, Mi-ramichi, New Brunswick, Canada; Dennis L. Bedford; Peter Lubig, Shanty Bay, Ontario, Canada; Toby Gursanscky, Clontarf, New South Wales, Australia; Larry Knechtel, Se-attle, Washington; Werner Gries-beck, Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada; Jack Erickson; State Col-lege, Pennsylvania; Gerry Norberg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Lars Gleitsmann, Anchorage, Alaska; Thomas Lymburn, Princeton, Min-nesota; and Lane Older, Belling-ham, Washington.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Bill Bishop of Mulgoa, New South Wales, Australia, sent along this photo of the surviving Supermarine Stranraer.

David Nixon supplied us with the April Mystery Plane shot of CF-BXO, a Canadian Vickers-built Supermarine Stranraer.

34 JULY 2011

urday, 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Early-bird arrivals can shop on the pre-conven-tion weekend as well, during limited hours. Show your VAA membership card (or your receipt showing you joined VAA at the convention), and you’ll receive a 10 percent discount.

VAA Volunteer OpportunitiesAre you an ace pancake flipper?

If you’re not one yet, we can help! The VAA Tall Pines Café is looking for volunteers who can help provide a hearty breakfast to all the hungry campers on the south end of Witt-man Field. If you could lend a hand for a morning or two, we’d appreci-ate it. If that’s not your cup of tea, feel free to check with the VAA Volunteer Center, located just to the northeast of the VAA Red Barn. The volun-teers who operate the booth will be happy to tell you when your help is needed each day. It doesn’t matter if it’s just for a few hours or for a few days—we’d love to have your help-ing hands! There is no need for you to contact us ahead of time; you can talk with us when you arrive.

VAA Judging Categoriesand Awards

The VAA’s internationally recog-nized judging categories are:

•Antique: Aircraft built prior to September 1, 1945

•Classic: September 1, 1945 - De-cember 31, 1955

•Contemporary: January 1, 1956 - December 31, 1970

Any aircraft built within those years is eligible to park in the Show-plane parking and camping areas. If you wish to have your aircraft judged, let the volunteer know when you register your aircraft and camping area. If you want your air-craft to be judged by VAA volunteer judges, you need to be a current Vintage Aircraft Association mem-ber. VAA contributes a significant portion of the costs related to the EAA awards that are presented to

VAA NEWScontinued frpm page 5

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35

the award winners. Judging closes at noon on Friday, July 29. The Awards Ceremony will be held Saturday evening, July 30, at 6 p.m. in the Vintage Hangar just south of the VAA Red Barn.

Designated Smoking Areas Near FlightlineSmoking on the fl ightline at EAA AirVenture is prohib-

ited because it’s a hazard to all aircraft. There are several designated smoking areas with butt cans along the fl ight-line, well away from aircraft and refueling operations.

Designated smoking areas will be south of the ultra-light runway; near the Hangar Café; near the Warbirds area (northeast corner of Audrey Lane and Eide Av-enue); the Wearhouse fl ag pole area; the shade pavil-ion north of the control tower; and near the Ultralight Barn. Locations will be indicated on EAA’s free con-vention grounds map. The admission wristband also instructs visitors that smoking is allowed only in desig-nated smoking areas.

More on the WebVisit www.AirVenture.org for more information on

EAA AirVenture 2011.

EAA AirVenture Is Almost Here . . .Are You Ready?

Just a few short weeks from now, many of you will make the annual pilgrimage to Oshkosh for EAA Air-Venture 2011. Are you ready? Here are several handy online tools on the AirVenture website that can help you take care of any last-minute concerns.

Visit www.AirVenture.org and fi nd out what you need to know about The World’s Greatest Avia-tion Celebration.

Admission, Parking, Hourswww.AirVenture.org/planning/admission.html

Find or Share a Ride to Oshkoshwww.AirVenture.org/rideshare

Site Mapwww.AirVenture.org/planning/schedules_maps.html

Where to Staywww.AirVenture.org/planning/where_to_stay.html

AirVenture NOTAMwww.AirVenture.org/fl ying

Alternate Airports and Waypointswww.AirVenture.org/fl ying/alternate_airports.html

Get Your EAA AirVenture 2011 NOTAM Booklet

Printed copies of the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2011 Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) can be down-loaded directly from the web at www.AirVenture.org/fl ying. It can also be ordered by calling EAA member-

EAA’s online community

Participate... Access... Connect..in group discussions personalized news, with like-mindedand forums weather & events aviation enthusiasts

R E G I S T E Rat www.oshkosh365.org

You’re cleared to stay connected.

36 JULY 2011

ship services at 800-564-6322, but given the time from when you read this until AirVenture, it may not ar-rive in the mail in time for your de-parture. We suggest downloading the NOTAM.

The NOTAM contains the special fl ight procedures in effect for Witt-man Regional Airport and alternate airports from 6 a.m. CDT on Friday, July 22, to 12 p.m. CDT on Mon-day, August 1, 2011. All pilots who fly into the event are expected to know the special fl ight procedures prior to arrival. EAA AirVenture Os-hkosh runs from July 25 through July 31. For additional EAA AirVen-ture Oshkosh 2011 information, visit www.AirVenture.org.

Call for VAA Hall ofFame Nominations

To the left is our information for nominations for VAA’s Hall of Fame, which is presented each year during a special dinner. This year’s dinner will be held Friday, October 28. We’ll have more on this year’s inductee, John Under-wood, in a subsequent issue of Vin-tage Airplane. If you are interested in purchasing tickets to attend the dinner to honor the inductees, contact EAA’s Matt Miller at 920-426-6886 or mmiller@eaa.org.

We would like to take this op-portunity to mention that if you have nominated someone for the VAA Hall of Fame, nominations for the honor are kept on fi le for three years, after which the nomi-nation must be resubmitted.

To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little reminiscing on your part.

Mail nominating materials to:

Remember, your “contemporary” may be a candidate; nominate someone today!

www.VintageAircraft.org

CALL FOR VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATIONNominations

There’s plenty more . . .

and other goodies atwww.vintageaircraft.org

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Wittman Regional A i rpor t (OSH)Oshkosh, W isconsin Ju ly 25-31, 2011www.AirVenture.org

Colorado Sport International Air Showand Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-InRocky Mountain Metropol i tan A i rpor t (BJC)Denver, ColoradoAugust 27-28, 2011www.COSportAviation.org

Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-InGrimes F ie ld A i rpor t ( I74)Urbana, OhioSeptember 10-11, 2011http://MERFI.com

Copperstate Fly-InCasa Grande Munic ipal A i rpor t (CGZ)Casa Grande, Ar i zonaOctober 20-22, 2011www.Copperstate.org

Southeast Regional Fly-InMiddleton F ie ld A i rpor t (GZH)Evergreen, A labamaOctober 21-23, 2011www.SERFI.org

For details on hundreds of upcoming avia-tion happenings, including EAA chapter fl y-ins, Young Eagles rallies, and other local aviation events, visit the EAA Calendar of Events lo-cated at www.EAA.org/calendar.

Upcoming MajorFly-Ins

WIN

Only 2000 tickets will be sold1 ticket $50

3 tickets $125

Piper Tri-Pacer Airplane!Free Flying Lessons!Free Pilot License!

Country Legend Roy Clark’s Personal Proceeds from this raffle

SAVE AMERICAN KIDS LIVES!

www.wingsofhoperaffle.org

38 JULY 2011

MISCELLANEOUS

www.aerolist.org, Aviations’ Leading

Marketplace.

Rare find Lycoming 0-145 parts

inventory, blocks, bearings, rings,

shafts & much more. $20,000

at 1970 prices, $5,000. Six four

cylinder case aircraft magnetos,

$300. Call for more details, (FL)

863-494-6749, Hal

SERVICES

Always Flying Aircraft Restoration,

LLC: Annual Inspections, Airframe

recovering, fabric repairs and

complete restorations. Wayne

A. Forshey A&P & I.A. 740-472-

1481 Ohio and bordering states.

VINTAGE TRADER

Someth ing to buy, se l l , o r t r ade?

Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10

words, 180 words maximum, with boldface

lead-in on fi rst line.

Classifi ed Display Ads: One column wide

(2.167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at

$20 per inch. Black and white only, and no

frequency discounts.

Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second

month prior to desired issue date (i.e.,

January 10 is the closing date for the March

issue). VAA reserves the right to reject any

advertising in confl ict with its policies. Rates

cover one insertion per issue. Classifi ed ads

are not accepted via phone. Payment must

accompany order. Word ads may be sent via

fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (classads@

eaa.org) using credit card payment (all cards

accepted). Include name on card, complete

address, type of card, card number, and

expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA.

Address advertising correspondence to EAA

Publications Classifi ed Ad Manager, P.O. Box

3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.

What Our MembersAre Restoring

Are you nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it done and you’re busy fl ying and showing it off? If so, we’d like to hear from you. Send us a 4-by-6-inch print from a commercial source (no home printers, please—those prints just don’t scan well) or a 4-by-6-inch, 300-dpi digital photo. A JPG from your 2.5-megapixel (or higher) digital camera is fi ne. You can burn photos to a CD, or if you’re on a high-speed Internet connection, you can e-mail them along with a text-only or Word document describing your airplane. (If your e-mail program asks if you’d like to make the photos smaller, say no.) For more tips on creating photos we can publish, visit VAA’s website at www.vintageaircraft.org. Check the News page for a hyperlink to Want To Send Us A Photograph?

For more information, you can also e-mail us at vintageaircraft@eaa.org or call us at 920-426-4825.

nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it do

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39

Copyright ©2011 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved.VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Avia-

tion Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $36 per year for EAA members and $46 for non-EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. PM 40063731 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Pitney Bowes IMS, Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES — Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING — Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800.

EAA® and EAA SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aeronautica™ are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

EAAMembership in the Experimental Aircraft

Association, Inc. is $40 for one year, includ-ing 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. Family membership is an additional $10 annually. All major credit cards accepted for membership. (Add $16 for International Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPSPlease submit your remittance with a

check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars. Add required Foreign Postage amount for each membership.

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATIONCurrent EAA members may join the

Vintage Aircraft Association and receive VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an additional $36 per year.

EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine and one year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46 per

year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $7 for International Postage.)

WARBIRDSCurrent EAA members may join the EAA

Warbirds of America Division and receive WARBIRDS magazine for an additional $45 per year.

EAA Membership, WARBIRDS mag-azine and one year membership in the Warbirds Division is available for $55 per year (SPORT OficAVIATION magazine not included). (Add $7 for Interna-tional Postage.)

IACCurrent EAA members may join the

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

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

VINTAGEAIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

DIRECTORS

DIRECTORSEMERITUS

PresidentGeoff Robison

1521 E. MacGregor Dr.New Haven, IN 46774

260-493-4724chief7025@aol.com

Vice-PresidentGeorge Daubner

N57W34837 Pondview LnOconomowoc, WI 53066

262-560-1949gdaubner@eaa.org

Steve Bender85 Brush Hill Road

Sherborn, MA 01770508-653-7557

sst10@comcast.net

David Bennett375 Killdeer Ct

Lincoln, CA 95648916-952-9449

antiquer@inreach.com

Jerry Brown4605 Hickory Wood Row

Greenwood, IN 46143317-422-9366

lbrown4906@aol.com

Dave Clark635 Vestal Lane

Plainfi eld, IN 46168317-839-4500

davecpd@att.net

John S. Copeland1A Deacon Street

Northborough, MA 01532508-393-4775

copeland1@juno.com

Phil Coulson28415 Springbrook Dr.

Lawton, MI 49065269-624-6490

rcoulson516@cs.com

Dale A. Gustafson7724 Shady Hills Dr.

Indianapolis, IN 46278317-293-4430

dalefaye@msn.com

Jeannie HillP.O. Box 328

Harvard, IL 60033-0328815-943-7205

Espie “Butch” Joyce704 N. Regional Rd.

Greensboro, NC 27409336-668-3650

windsock@aol.com

Steve Krog1002 Heather Ln.

Hartford, WI 53027262-966-7627

sskrog@aol.com

Robert D. “Bob” Lumley1265 South 124th St.Brookfi eld, WI 53005

262-782-2633rlumley1@wi.rr.com

S.H. “Wes” Schmid2359 Lefeber Avenue

Wauwatosa, WI 53213414-771-1545

shschmid@gmail.com

Robert C. Brauer9345 S. Hoyne

Chicago, IL 60643773-779-2105

photopilot@aol.com

Gene Chase2159 Carlton Rd.

Oshkosh, WI 54904920-231-5002

GRCHA@charter.net

Ronald C. Fritz15401 Sparta Ave.

Kent City, MI 49330616-678-5012

rFritz@pathwaynet.com

Charlie HarrisPO Box 470350Tulsa, OK 74147

918-622-8400cwh@hvsu.com

E.E. “Buck” Hilbert8102 Leech Rd.Union, IL 60180

815-923-4591buck7ac@gmail.com

Gene Morris5936 Steve Court

Roanoke, TX 76262817-491-9110

genemorris@charter.net

Membership Services DirectoryEnjoy the many benefi ts of EAA andEAA’s Vintage Aircraft Association

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873

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

EAA and Division Membership Services (8:00 AM–6:00 PM Monday–Friday CST)800-564-6322 FAX 920-426-4873 www.eaa.org/memberbenefi ts membership@eaa.org

•New/renew memberships •Address changes •Merchandise sales •Gift memberships

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 888-322-4636 www.airventure.org airventure@eaa.orgSport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft Hotline 877-359-1232 www.sportpilot.org sportpilot@eaa.org

Programs and ActivitiesAuto Fuel STCs 920-426-4843 stc@eaa.orgEAA Air Academy 920-426-6880 www.airacademy.org airacademy@eaa.orgEAA Scholarships 920-426-6823 scholarships@eaa.orgLibrary Services/Research 920-426-4848 slurvey@eaa.org

Benefi tsAUA Vintage Insurance Plan 800-727-3823 www.auaonline.comEAA Aircraft Insurance Plan 866-647-4322 www.eaa.org/memberbenefi ts membership@eaa.orgEAA VISA Card 800-853-5576 ext. 8884EAA Hertz Rent-A-Car Program 800-654-2200 www.eaa.org/hertz membership@eaa.orgVAA Editorial/Executive Director 920-426-4825 www.vintageaircraft.org vintage@eaa.orgVAA Offi ce 920-426-6110 tbooks@eaa.org

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

TM

TM

EAA Members Information Line 888-EAA-INFO (322-4636)Use this toll-free number for: information about AirVenture Oshkosh; aeromedical and technical aviation questions;

chapters; and Young Eagles. Please have your membership number ready when calling.

Offi ce hours are 8:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Monday - Friday, CST)

SecretarySteve Nesse

2009 Highland Ave.Albert Lea, MN 56007

507-373-1674stnes2009@live.com

TreasurerDan Knutson

106 Tena Marie CircleLodi, WI 53555608-592-7224

lodicub@charter.net

John TurgyanPO Box 219

New Egypt, NJ 08533609-752-1944

jrturgyan4@aol.com

40 JULY 2011

If you’ve ever watched fish in an aquarium, you’ve probably no-ticed how they respond differently to their surroundings. There are those that zip around the tank in a mad dash to nowhere. Some seem to sit and not go much of any-where, and some will swim from one end to the other, turn around, and do it again.

The latter are the ones that remind me of myself. I seem to fly in a fish-bowl. I go from one end of our val-ley to the other and back and forth between the mountain ranges. That’s the extent of most of my travels . . . fl y so far, bump my nose on the glass, turn around, and go back the other way. The Valley is a beautiful place to see, but that’s not what keeps me here. Besides the time factor in getting places, there’s a comfort zone that I tend to stay close to.

I don’t think I’m alone. As hu-mans we are comfortable with what we know. As pilots that can make us

proficient by practicing things we know over and over, or it can make us lazy. When something becomes so ingrained that we do it from habit only, we may not be thinking about what we’re doing.

On a night cross-country some time ago I found out just how easy it is to forget things that I hadn’t used in a while. While night may be a little more challenging, it still re-quires the basic pre-fl ight planning of any cross-country and following the same procedures to get into the airports. It was an excellent learning experience and a great trip, but get-ting the rust knocked off my pilot-ing skills took a little while.

It was absolutely beautiful (even though very cold) to fl y that night. I love the view from the sky after dark. I enjoy going places away from the Valley. The world doesn’t end at the mountains. I only choose to make it so. Maybe that needs to change.

One thing I do know is that

whether I go far or stay in the com-fort zone I can’t let complacency take over. Those skills and experiences need to be stretched from time to time regardless of where I fl y. An un-expected situation or emergency is a bad time to fi nd out I don’t remem-ber how to do something.

Complacency also allows fear to creep in where it doesn’t belong. Some fear (I think) is a natural part of flying, but it can also unnecessarily keep us grounded because we won’t get past our self-imposed limits and become better pilots through experi-ence. (Note: experience does not re-quire taking stupid chances.)

Are you flying in a fishbowl? . . . If so, maybe it’s time to climb up and get out a little. If staying in your comfort zone is where you’re go-ing to be, at least challenge yourself from time to time, or have someone else (even an instructor) make you stretch a little. Don’t let the fish-bowl make you lazy.

BY S. MICHELLE SOUDER

FlyingOutside

the Fishbowl

For more information and to buy your advance tickets visit AirVenture.org. But hurry, the advance purchase discount ends on June 15.

Advance tickets made possible by

It’s gonna be a big year at Oshkosh.

The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration

July 25-31 | AirVenture.org/attractions

B-29 Superfortress “FIFI”The fi rst visit since 1995 for the world’s only airworthy B-29 Superfortress

Tribute to Burt RutanHis aircraft designs changed theface of AirVenture–and aviation. Special air show on Thursday

REO SpeedwagonOshkosh rocks Monday during the opening day concert, presented by Ford Motor Company

Tribute to Bob HooverTuesday afternoon air show featuring aircraft and maneuvers he made legendary

Super SaturdayPresented by Southwest Airlines featuring the Night Air Show, Daher-Socata Fireworks, and the “Wall of Fire”

eVentureInnovation will be on display and in the air with the Electric Flight Prize Competition

Salute to VeteransGary Sinise & the Lt. Dan Bandcourtesy of Disabled American Veterans on Friday

Join us for a week-long celebration of the Centennial of Naval Aviation, including a special air show Wednesday. See the hottest naval aircraft in historic colors all week on ConocoPhillips Plaza.