APRIL 2010

I s everybody out there ready for a brand new fl ying season? The weather around here has finally improved to a point

that we are well into beginning the annual spring ritual of exten-sive preflight preparation of all the airplanes in the hangar. One Chief needs the dust knocked off, some fuel, and it’s ready to go. The Lycoming-powered Aeronca TL is likely going to get a dif-ferent engine, a Continental, to make it a TC. The Cessna 120 is finally getting that interior you have heard me talk about in pre-vious columns. It’s also getting a rework of the panel and replace-ment of the skylights, along with an annual inspection. We’re sure it will be completed by the end of April . . . right!

The other Chief in the hangar is patiently awaiting its turn for an annual inspection, and my Cessna 170 is in annual and fl ight ready. (I cannot remember the last time I could say that in mid-March!).

In the midst of all this busyness we are still making progress on the Neumann Monocoupe, which we as a chapter are restoring for the EAA AirVenture Museum. On top of that, we have now com-pleted the expansion of the VAA Chapter 37 hangar; you can see we had a busy winter. I’m ready to do some fl ying for a change!

One interesting factor that has developed here at Vintage Chapter 37 has been an uptick of youthful participants. It seems as though the word has gotten out

that we welcome the opportunity to engage our local youth in our aviation activities.

Nothing is more fulfi lling to our mission than reaching out to these young folks. Having the oppor-tunity to engage these energetic participants in our activities has paid off in many ways. Our Young Eagles events continue to expand because we reach out and gather as many of our local youth as pos-sible. These busy young minds and hands pay huge dividends to the chapter experience in many ways.

Because of this single develop-ment, I see a bright future for this chapter. It will continue to thrive, since we consistently open more

and more doors for these young-sters. Here’s hoping that you are engaged in a local EAA chapter and it is experiencing similar growth.

Have you participated in an EAA webinar yet? You have to check out this latest member ben-efi t. I personally attended the fi rst two events and have come away absolutely enthralled. This is great stuff! It’s educational as well as in-formative—and even entertain-ing. If you are unable to attend the webinar fi rsthand, no worries, as they are also being posted on the EAA website for viewing at your leisure. It’s better to attend the ac-tual webinar because you have the opportunity to ask the presenters questions. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to engage yourself in these events. Check it out on the EAA website at www.EAA.org; just click on Oshkosh365.

May 15 is the fi rst International Learn to Fly Day, an observance fi rst announced at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009. EAA is urging all aviation groups and pilots to par-ticipate in the event, which seeks to spark interest in adults learning to fl y, similar to the success of Young Eagles over the past two decades. A new website has been unveiled at www.LearnToFlyDay.org, which will help serve as a clearinghouse of in-formation and events surrounding this new, focused effort in aviation.

VAA is about participation: Be a member! Be a volunteer! Be there!

GEOFF ROBISONPRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

Change in season, change in activity

Nothing is morefulfi lling to our mission

than reaching outto these young folks.

Having theopportunity to engage

these energeticparticipants in our

activities has paid off in many ways.

IFC Straight & Level Change in season, change in activity by Geoff Robison

2 News

4 Th e 1930 Kreider-Reisner Challenger D.J. Short’s tribute to aviator Bill Watson by Sparky Barnes Sargent

11 My Friend Albert Vollmecke Part 4 by Robert G. Lock

26 Light Plane Heritage Th e 1924 Mummert Sportplane by Jack McRae

18 Technical Tidbits FAA issues SAIB on circuit breakers

21 Th e Vintage Mechanic Continental W-670 main bearing failures, Part 1 by Robert G. Lock

26 Th e Vintage Instructor Hitting the mark: precision landings by Steve Krog, CFI

28 Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy

30 Mystery Plane Extra Th e Flying Dutchman Otto Szekely and his three-cylinder wonder by Wes Smith

36 Type Club Notes Handy Tip for Drilling Out Rivets by Gerry Sheahan

38 Classifi ed Ads

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

A I R P L A N E A P R I LC O N T E N T S

S T A F FEAA Publisher Tom PobereznyDirector of EAA Publications Mary JonesExecutive Director/Editor H.G. FrautschyProduction/Special Project Kathleen WitmanPhotography Jim Koepnick Bonnie KratzAdvertising Coordinator Sue AndersonClassifi ed Ad Coordinator Lesley PobereznyCopy Editor Colleen WalshDirector of Advertising Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertising Representatives: Specialized Publications Co.U.S. Eastern Time Zone-Northeast: Ken Ross609-822-3750 Fax: 609-957-5650kr40@comcast.net U.S. Eastern Time Zone-Southeast: Chester Baumgartner727-532-4640 Fax: 727-532-4630cbaum111@mindspring.com U.S. Central Time Zone: Gary Worden and Todd Reese800-444-9932 Fax: 816-741-6458gary.worden@spc-mag.com; todd@spc-mag.com U.S. Mountain and Pacifi c Time Zones: John Gibson916-784-9593 Fax: 510-217-3796johngibson@spc-mag.com Europe: Willi TackePhone: +49(0)1716980871 Fax: +49(0)8841 / 496012willi@fl ying-pages.com

C O V E R S

Vol. 38, No. 4 2010

FRONT COVER: Inspired by the late Bill Watson, this is the restoration of a 1930 Fairchild Kreider-Reisner KR-31 Challenger done by D.J. Short. With its Curtiss OX-5 engine popping at the exhaust ports, the KR makes a pass for the camera of Gilles Auillard. See the story by Sparky Barnes Sargent star ting on page 4.BACK COVER: This original illustration of the Bugatti 100 racer is on loan to the EAA Mu-seum thanks to the owner, Marc Boegner, a grandson of one of Ettore Bugatti’s employees. Other than the fact that the illustration was produced prior to the actual construction of the airplane, little is known about the ar tist, A. Lambert, or if the illustration was also repro-duced in print form. It cer tainly evokes the sensation of speed and streamlined purpose of the proposed racer!

4

11

18

VAA NEWS

2 APRIL 2010

Senate Approves FAA Reauthorization

Provisions to release abandoned type certifi cate data includedThe United States Senate passed

its $34.5 billion version of the three-year FAA reauthorization bill March 13, 2010 without user fees, maintaining the present system of (slightly higher) fuel excise taxes. The bill, passing on a unanimous (93-0) vote, would provide fund-ing for development of the Next Generation Air Transportation Sys-tem (NextGen) as well as $8.1 bil-lion for the Airport Improvement Program with a general-aviation fuel tax increase from 21.9 cents to 36 cents per gallon.

“This is a major milestone that puts our nation on a path to mod-ernization of the air traffic con-trol system,” said Tom Poberezny, EAA chairman/president. “We’re extremely pleased that user fees are not a part of this bill, but we also are vigilant and ready to act should user fees be proposed in this volatile economic climate.”

The House version passed last year with different language than the Senate version, meaning it needs to be reconciled in a House-Senate conference committee be-fore being sent to the president.

Both bills, however, do contain identical language to allow the release of abandoned type certif-icate data, a provision EAA has been seeking for years in an effort to assist vintage aircraft owners in safely maintaining their air-craft. If that provision emerges in the fi nal version, it represents a signifi cant win for vintage air-craft owners.

“We’re pleased to see this lan-guage included in the FAA reau-thorization bill. It’s a great first step toward the release of data that is critical for the restora-tion and maintenance of these aeronautical national treasures,”

notes H.G. Frautschy, executive director of EAA’s Vintage Aircraft Association. “While the number of abandoned type certificates is relatively low, and the actual amount of TC material main-tained by the FAA is not complete, giving the FAA the legal authority to release abandoned type certifi -cate data allows them to say ‘yes,’ rather than being constrained by outdated rules.”

EAA is asking type club members and vintage aircraft owners who know of someone who might ben-efi t from this provision to please let us know at vintageaircraft@eaa.org.

Learn to Fly DaySaturday, May 15, will be a day

where dreams of fl ight will become reality as the inaugural Interna-tional Learn to Fly Day brings to-gether aviators with those who have always wanted to discover fl ight.

International Learn to Fly Day, fi rst announced at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009 last July, is an avia-tion communitywide effort to help people take that “next step” to dis-cover the fun, freedom, and accom-plishment of flight. EAA is joined by numerous other aviation organi-zations and businesses in this effort, which features introductory fl ights, seminars, and open houses at air-ports and other locations through-out the nation and internationally.

“The joy, fulfillment, and sense of accomplishment of fl ying an air-craft is unlike anything else that one can experience,” said Tom Po-berezny, EAA chairman/president, who announced International Learn to Fly Day at Oshkosh last July. “We who fly want to share this unique freedom with others, as we know there are millions of people who have thought, ‘I would love to learn to fl y,’ but have never taken the next step. We are leading this effort and calling upon every aviation business and association to join us in opening the door for others to discover flight. EAA also asks every pilot to individually take someone fl ying on May 15.”

The information center for In-ternational Learn to Fly Day is the www.LearnToFlyDay.org website, which features the ability to find an event that encourages a person to discover more about flying, or allows a group or company to post an event that welcomes those inter-ested in fl ying.

EAA has taken leadership of this important effort because of the or-ganization’s extensive network of nearly 1,000 chapters, which sup-port and promote aviation on the local level. Those grassroots chap-ters offer resources for those in-terested in flight, whether it is through the chapter’s members or connections with flight schools and instructors.

As part of that ef fort , EAA chapters are urged to participate by organizing events in their lo-cal communities, and to let peo-ple know about those activities by posting them on the www.LearnToFlyDay.org website.

“EAA chapters offer a very im-portant link to growing the flight community, as chapters are the neighborly connection that wel-comes new aviators and those who want to discover more about fl ight,” Poberezny said.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

Gone WestAugust BellancaAugust Thomas Bellanca, 83,

died March 16 in Annapolis. The son of aviation pioneer Giuseppe M. Bellanca and his wife, Dorothy Bellanca, August became a noted in-dependent airplane designer and in-ventor and worked as a civilian Navy aerospace engineer, most recently in the U.S. Navy’s Conceptual De-sign Department in Patuxent, Mary-land. He’ll be remembered as well for his work in designing and build-ing the Skyrocket II, an early compos-ite aircraft that broke fi ve FAI world speed records for single-engine air-planes. August started working in aviation at his father’s aircraft fac-tory in New Castle, Delaware, and he held various positions at Douglas and Grumman before starting his own company. Our condolences to his family and friends.

William “Bud” FieldThe San Francisco Bay area lost

an aviation spark plug when Bud Field, the president of VAA Chapter 29, passed away after an extended illness. Bud was one of those guys who didn’t know the word no. He pressed on in his quest to make avi-ation a better industry and more fun. Reading his president’s col-umn in the chapter newsletter, you always got the feeling this fel-low was very bullish on aviation, and he was an aviation evangelist of the first order. Under his lead-ership, Bud helped elevate Chap-ter 29 into one of the most active EAA or VAA chapters in the coun-try, with plenty of social and com-munity service events throughout the year. A passion for aircraft resto-ration was also part of his makeup, with Bud overseeing and often par-ticipating in the restoration of a number of unique airplanes, from a Curtiss Robin to one of his most recent, a DC-3. We’ll miss his en-thusiastic messages and presence at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Our con-dolences to his daughters Nikki and Angelina, and to his hundreds of friends across the country.

DC-2 to Join Oshkosh DC-3 Celebration

A rare Douglas DC-2, the predecessor to the DC-3, will join the July 26 mass ar-rival of 40 airplanes at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010. The aircraft, owned by the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, will lead the group fl ight of DC-3s just be-fore the opening-day air show to usher in the DC-3’s 75th anniversary celebration.

Aviation luminary Clay Lacy, EAA Lifetime Member 285436, who was a driving force behind the airplane’s restoration, will pilot the DC-2 from its current home at Van Nuys Airport, California, to the group departure airport at Sterling/Rock Falls, Illinois (KSQI), then on to Oshkosh.

Painted in the classic TWA red and gray scheme of “The Lindbergh Line,” it is one of only two airworthy air frames left in the world. The aircraft has rarely been seen in fl ight at any air shows since 1985, and it has never been to Oshkosh. It will be available for viewing and photos at KSQI July 23-25 and will be on the ground at AirVenture July 26-31.

More than 40 DC-3s are expected to be on the grounds of Wittman Field during the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the famous aircraft, with more than a dozen parked in the Vintage parking area in at least two locations. For more on the DC-3 celebration, visit the EAA convention and fl y-in website at www.AirVenture.org.

EAA Features WebinarsIn March, EAA launched a

regular series of webinars as a new communications and learning service to members. (A webinar is a multimedia pre-sentation transmitted live over the Internet, viewed on a com-puter.) The presenter can use slides, audio, and video during presentations, while the audi-ence can ask questions, chat, or be polled for their opinion.

EAA’s webinar series will feature a range of speakers on a wide variety of aviation topics. The fi rst presentation—Design and Development of the B-17 held on March 3—was hosted by Sean Elliot, EAA’s director of aircraft operations, and a Flying Fortress pilot. Initial reaction to that inaugural presentation was positive.

Some of the topics to be discussed in future webinars include medical certifi cation, homebuilding skills, the Spirit of St. Louis, as well as several AirVenture-focused webi-nars as we approach the fl y-in.

EAA’s webinars are offered free of charge to EAA members, but space is limited to the fi rst 1,000 registrants. To view the webinar your computer (Mac or PC) must have audio speakers or headphones, and a broadband connection is recommended.

See the schedule of upcoming webinars and sign up at www.EAA.org/webinars.

4 APRIL 2010

The 1930

Kreid

Cha

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

ider-Reisner

hallengerD.J. Short’s tribute to aviator Bill Watson

BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

6 APRIL 2010

D.J. Short is a soft-spoken, me-ticulous craftsman with a serious, intent focus on his work. He thrives upon challenges—whether pro-fessional or personal—and strives for excellence along the way. His newly restored KR-31 is a fine ex-ample of that.

HappenstanceD.J. didn’t grow up around avia-

tion, nor did he foster aspirations to fl y. His introduction to aviation was quite by happenstance. Imme-diately after high school, he worked as a truck driver, moving houses across the country. “It was terrible work and no pay. Then I got an-other ‘quality’ job pouring concrete walls in Kansas City on commer-cial structures,” reflects D.J.. “And a gentleman I worked with at the

time was 64 years old—that was all he’d ever done. That scared me to death; I did not want to do that.” As time and income permitted, he enrolled in university courses to better him-self. He wanted to learn how to weld, so he took a basic airframe class. After a couple of weeks, the instructor recognized that D.J. had some poten-tial and hired him to start

working on airplanes. “I had never touched an airplane

before, and he pretty much men-tored me,” says D.J. “I stayed at the university for five years, and I got my BS degree. During that time, I learned to fl y sailplanes, and then I learned to fly a 40-hp E-2 Cub. Eventually I got all my ratings up through CFI and sailplane CFI. The guys I worked with owned old air-planes, and a J-2 came available, and they decided I needed that. So I bought the project, fi nished it, and probably logged about 300 hours a year in it—I fl ew that thing to work every day, and I still have my J-2.”

Once D.J. had his degree, his air-frame and powerplant certificate, pilot certificate, and ratings, he started his own restoration shop in 1994. Since then, Short Air has specialized in not-so-common proj-ects, including a Nicholas-Beazley

NB-3, an Anderson Greenwood AG-14, several Monocoupes, and numerous engine conversions. D.J. sometimes finds time to work on his own projects, as well—such as the KR-31.

Bit o’ HistoryLewis E. Reisner and Ammon H.

“Amos” Kreider formed the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company in 1927 in Hagerstown, Maryland. In De-cember that year, they received ap-proved type certifi cate number 19 for their Challenger C-2 (KR-31) bi-plane. In the early part of 1929, the company was acquired by Fairchild Aircraft Corporation. “Kreider and Reisner were influenced by Waco, and their KR-31 was very similar to the Waco 9 and 10 ships, but those were very heavy,” explains D.J. “So Kreider and Reisner made the KR-31 lighter by routing out the wing spars, and they went with the con-ventional straight-axle gear, which is much lighter than big oleo struts hanging out in the wind. Now that gear is a weak point, but it is light.”

The three-place, OX-5-powered Challenger had an upper wingspan of 30 feet 1 inch, a lower wingspan of 29 feet 2 inches, and four aile-rons. It measured 23 feet 9 inches from nose to tailskid, and tipped the scales at 1,236 pounds empty. Its useful load was 842 pounds with a gross weight of 2,078 pounds, and it carried 33 gallons of fuel and 4

ttdttinecosehoa bAfthethai l

Like many of its contemporaries, the airfoil of the wing on the KR-31 has undercamber.

Aviation March 1929

Aero Digest April 1928

A

Aero Digest April 1928t

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

gallons of oil to feed and lubricate its 90-hp engine. The Challenger would cruise at 85 mph for a range of 340 miles and land at a slow and easy speed of 37 mph. Its construc-tion was simple yet sturdy, with a

welded steel tube fuselage and wings of spruce spars and wood ribs.

According to aviation historian Joseph Juptner (U.S. Civil Aircraft, Vol. 1), “a ‘Challenger’ model C-2, powered with an OX-5 engine,

was flown in the Air Derby from New York to Los Angeles in the lat-ter part of 1928 by Amos Kreider. He finished in 17th place after a grueling contest with most of the country’s fi nest. There was a good

The OX-5-powered KR-31 has four ailerons, which are activated by push-pull tubes.

Modern Cleveland brakes have been installed.

The lower cowling is opened during prefl ight to permit access to the fuel drains.

There’s no mistaking the rounded tail of the KR-31. D.J. Short modifi ed the tailskid to make it steerable.

The instrument panel, circa 1930.

8 APRIL 2010

number of these C-2 (KR-31) type built during a production period that lasted through the best part of 3 years.” Today, there are 14 KR-31s listed on the FAA Registry, with “maybe only four that are still to-gether,” according to D.J.

In the April 1928 issue of Aero Digest, Kreider-Reisner advertised their biplane as “A Light Weight, High Speed Plane for Commercial Service—Embodied in the ‘Chal-lenger’. . . are all the recognized improvements in the design and construction of modern aircraft. Its remarkably light weight…is made possible by the use of chrome molyb-denum steel, duralumin and welded steel tubing—a distinct advance over the heavier types of construction.”

A March 1929 ad in Aviation touted the KR-31’s comfort and per-formance: “Challenger! Comet—OX5—Warner: Take your pick—step into the comfortably upholstered, roomy cockpit. Notice the com-plete instrument equipment and how conveniently they’re placed. See how the controls respond to the slightest touch. Give her just a short run, then up and away. Watch how swiftly and steadily she climbs—how quickly she obeys. Loop her and roll her—get all the fun that fl ying provides. Then put her down slowly—surely into the smallest fi eld. Trim of line—grace-ful as a bird—easily controlled—strong, sturdy, safe—the ship of ships for commerce or sport.”

Caretakers NC10290’s date of manufacture

was June 9, 1930. Fairchild Air-plane Manufacturing Corporation (a Division of Fairchild Aviation Corporation) sold the spiffy new Challenger to flight instructor Ar-thur C. Pottorff, who operated the nearby Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, airport. His was a familiar face at Kreider-Reisner, and by the follow-ing summer, he was also working at their fl ying fi eld. Pottorff kept the KR-31 in his care for four years be-fore selling it.

It went from owner to owner

through the decades, and then in 1957, Charles E. Woerner of Ge-neva, Ohio, acquired NC10290. The biplane went through an ex-tensive rebuilding process in the three years it was in his care, and a Curtiss OXX-6 was installed in place of the 90-hp OX-5. By Octo-ber 1970, serial number 358 landed in the hands of Sid Hess, who added it to his antique fl eet. He owned it for about eight years.

Fast-forward another decade or so to June 1998. That’s when D.J. heard that Roger Freeman of Texas had a KR-31 for sale. D.J. and his father, Jackson, took a road trip to look at the disassembled proj-ect. D.J. made the decision—which was really more of a personal com-mitment to himself (as you’ll read later)—to purchase the Kreider-Reisner and restore it. Father and son hauled the project back to War-

rensburg, Missouri, and work com-menced one step at a time.

RestorationYou won’t fi nd expensive, state-

of-the-art equipment in D.J.’s resto-ration shop—primarily because he likes to do things the way they were done back in the day. While he worked on myriad parts, his father spent numerous hours working on the wings. “He’s not an airplane guy, but he’s a good listener, and he spent a lot of time dry-rigging it,” says D.J. with a proud smile. “You can look at the ailerons and the trailing edges of the wings and see how well they line up compared to other old airplanes.”

Some pieces had to be reverse-engineered by enlarging factory photos to glean specifi c details and measurements. But the most chal-lenging aspect of the project was

The “naked” KR-31 before fabric covering.

Kreider-Reisner employees building wings in the late 1920s.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

finding time to continue working on it. The work itself, says D.J., “is not really hard. It’s all a piece at a time, and most everything was hand-built back then, except for certain castings. There were a lot of original parts, but most of them needed to be redone. The top cowl over the engine is original and was good enough to use after I did a lit-tle patch work on it.”

D.J. covered the airframe with Ceconite fabric and used Randolph nitrate butyrate dope. Color selec-tion was easy, he says, since “there was a little piece of fabric on one of the lower wing attach points when we got the project, and I cleaned it up to get the true color. I used that as my paint chip and then called the manufacturer and had them send the pigments—I enjoy blend-ing and mixing the colors myself. It’s an old plane, and I tried to keep it looking like one—it’s so easy to make them look new.”

Venerable OX-5Fortunately, D.J. had an OX-5 en-

gine core to start with—even if it did have three loose wrist pins and only two cylinders. “So I had to fi nd some cylinders and make my own guides and seats—but to me, that’s the normal fun part of it,” says D.J. “Those engine castings are very po-rous and diffi cult to weld, but I got it in the oven and annealed it and got everything lined up and tight, with new bearings for the crankshaft. The

oil comes through the camshaft fi rst and then to the crankshaft, and all the overhead oiling is external on that engine.”

The water-cooled OX-5 has its own special protocol for starting. “You have to flood the carburetor because it’s 2-1/2 feet below the engine. So you turn the fuel valve on, and sometimes the carburetor will fl ood itself, but sometimes you have to fl ood it. So when I pull the fuel valve open after turning the prop through a couple of times, I take the cover off the fl oat and pull the seat off to fl ood the carburetor myself,” explains D.J. “Then it gets enough through the wells that it can draw the fuel up to the height that it needs to get to, so it’ll start—and then I pull it through with the choke on. When you get it set up just right, it fi res off and does won-derful. The whole thing’s a process, so I’m still fi guring that out, too.”

Up in the AirD.J. is pleased with the KR-31’s

performance, especially since he anticipated that it might be rather sluggish on takeoff and climb-out. “It’s wonderful, better than I ex-pected! It took off the ground a lot quicker than I thought it would. It rolled down the runway, and in a couple of hundred feet it was in the air,” he says happily. “It runs great and has a fuel burn of 7 gph at 1400 rpm, which I think is fabu-lous. It is a little heavy on the aile-

rons, but that’s the way they were. [The cockpit] isn’t real comfortable, but there’s lots of room in there, and I wanted it to be how it used to be, because that’s part of it.”

Flying behind an OX-5 in an open-cockpit biplane is an expe-rience with which few pilots are intimately acquainted. D.J. has cul-tivated his own philosophy about flying the KR-31. “I don’t know airspeeds; I fly everything by feel. I don’t look at altimeters or tachs, and I don’t have a GPS. I just look at the little map and fi gure it out—that’s part of the process,” he de-clares. “You can punch a waypoint in a GPS and go—but if you’re not looking outside, why are you fly-ing? In the Kreider-Reisner, you’re looking through the radiator when you’re fl ying, and then looking off to either side to see if all of your cylinders are firing. The separate exhaust stacks on that aren’t origi-nal, because I learned from one of the old-timers that if you have the straight stacks, you can see which cylinder is having issues.”

On the GroundThe first flight after restora-

tion went pretty well . . . until the third landing. The KR-31’s original swiveling tailskid, along with its straight-axle gear, exerted combined torsional forces to create a bit of havoc during that ill-fated landing.

The first hop around the patch was successful, so D.J. landed and his father climbed in the front cockpit. That circuit went smoothly, as well. After his father climbed out, D.J. just couldn’t resist going around one more time. “Dur-ing the landing, the wheels started to give way, and the skid swiveled and continued to let me go around. I saw it coming and shut the en-gine and fuel off real quick,” de-scribes D.J., reliving the experience. “Then I started hearing spokes break, ‘twang, twang, twang!’ And then boom—it dropped down to the ground. When the spokes gave way, the wheel broke in half, and that piece made a wonderful ski—

Profi le of the OX-5-powered C-2 Challenger (KR-31).

10 APRIL 2010

it didn’t dig in. It didn’t break a gear leg, thank heaven. I got out and had a look—there was no fi re, and everything else looked okay. I cussed at myself a couple of times, then put my hand underneath the wing—no mud, no grass, so woo-hoo! I’m good to go.”

Understandably, D.J. decided some changes were in order. He installed a Cleveland disc brake system, modifying it a bit, and in-stalled bellcranks (interconnected with the rudder cables) to allow the tailskid to be steered. “The rudder bar pivots back and forth—there are no rudder pedals—and as I run out of rudder, it pulls the tailskid to the side to keep it straight, and then it also starts ap-plying the brake just a little bit,” explains D.J. “It took six months to f ind a good c l incher -bead wheel, and I also had some better spokes made. The original spokes and nipples were nickel-plated brass with cut threads and were very soft, so I had a friend make stainless steel spokes and nipples with rolled threads—they’re a lot better now.”

InspirationD.J.’s personal inspiration and

ensuing commitment to restore the Kreider-Reisner stemmed from his admiration of one particular aviator he met early on in his aviation career.

“A hero of mine was Bill Wat-son; he had an OX-5 Kreider-Reisner [1928 KR-31, NC7780] that

he fl ew—he was the nicest guy in the world, and I just wanted to be like him. Not because I knew him that well, but it was just what I perceived when I saw him—how he acted, how he behaved, and how he treated everybody. I was still young when I was watching him, and he’d fly the Kreider-Reisner to fly-ins and haul rides in that thing all day long with a smile on his face. I can’t imagine how many people’s lives were al-tered because he gave them that ride. And unfortunately, we were at Bartlesville when they had the midair—he was killed and we saw it off the end of the runway,” says D.J. in a refl ective tone. “So that set me to thinking, ‘Well, he’s gone now…maybe I need to work a little harder to be like him,’ so I dropped some of my attitude. Then this Kreider-Reisner came up for sale. I decided to buy it and re-store it in memory of Bill, and to remind myself to lighten up a lit-tle bit and be more like Bill. That’s how I came to get the airplane; that’s the underlying cause.”

For D.J. there has been a direct and fulfi lling parallel of simultane-ously working on the KR-31 and working on himself—his attitude and outlook, that is. He continually pushes himself to grow by seeking new challenges—whether aviation-related or not. “I’m a battalion chief for my fire district, and I’m also a medic—that’s fun for me,” he says and smiles. “I like helping

people when they’re at their worst. I enjoy doing that; it’s my monot-ony breaker.”

Through these experiences, he wants to be a positive role model within his family and his commu-nity. His wife, Margie, is supportive of his endeavors, and their young sons, 5-year-old Warner, 3-year-old Lambert, and 1-year-old Velie, are already showing an interest in avia-tion. “I don’t push them,” says D.J. “They just come and ask me to go flying in the 40-horse Cub. As for their names, there is a Monocoupe theme there, but we just liked the names because they all have his-tory behind them, and I just don’t want to follow the norm.”

The Challenger is perhaps the most aptly named of D.J.’s personal projects because the element of res-toration that is most satisfying to him is not the end result. “It’s the process,” he explains. “You think of a project as a complex thing, but an airplane’s a bridge—you build one piece, build another piece…and as long as all the pieces are together and properly in their place, you have a strong bridge. That’s what I love doing; that’s the fun part.”

NC10290 received several awards during the Antique Airplane Associ-ation’s national fl y-in in September 2009. It was selected as the Antique Pre-1936 Grand Champion and re-ceived the Fairchild Club’s Open Cockpit Award as well as the Lyle Hoselton Memorial Award for “best workmanship by owner.”

D.J. Short taxies the 1930 KR-31.

“You can puncha waypoint in a

GPS and go—butif you’re not looking

outside, why are you fl ying?”

—D.J. Short

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Everything Albert Vollmecke had to say was important, and I did not want to miss a word. So I purchased

a voice-activated cassette tape re-corder to capture every detail of his career during our talks. On one par-ticular visit with Albert and wife, Maja (pronounced My-ya), in Silver Spring, Maryland, I placed the re-corder on a coffee table to capture our conversation. Al left the room, and Maja asked what that black box was on her coffee table. I explained this device was recording the con-versation between the three of us. “Oh,” Maja said. “You don’t want to hear my voice; you just want to listen to Albert. I’ll keep quiet.” I assured her that the input she had was equally important. When Al-bert returned to his chair we be-gan the conversation again. Before long, Maja had forgotten about the recording device and continued with her timely comments.

Then there was a memorable ride with Albert to a local German restau-rant in the Silver Spring area where he lived. Maja had passed away, and Al lived alone in his townhouse. At the age of 90, Al still navigated his car around the area. Al drove to a little place where we had a marvel-ous German dinner complete with

beer. Then back at his place we had a small taste of Frangelico liquor, which he served in small German glasses on a beautiful silver tray. He was priceless, and it was such a plea-sure to be in his company. He kept current on local and world issues. He liked to discuss whatever was in Time or Newsweek magazine. One topic that stands out is a discussion we had on the legalization of drugs, such as marijuana. He was still a thinker of great magnitude.

When Albert visited me in 1982 to see the plane he had created 53 years previous, he flew from Monterey, California, to Reedley, California, in a Beechcraft Bonanza. He com-mented how nice the “instrument board” was designed. When the Bo-nanza entered into the long, fl at cen-tral San Joaquin Valley, he spotted the aqueduct that moves water from Northern California to the south-ern part of the state. It is a long and straight concrete canal directly adja-cent to Interstate 5, a major north-south highway. He looked to the left and right, finally asking, “What is that long, straight line down there?” I explained what he was seeing, and he said, “I have never seen any-thing that long and that straight be-fore in my life.” When we landed at the Reedley airport, I suggested

lunch, but Albert declined, saying he wanted to go immediately to see the Command-Aire. He was excited to see his airplane once again.

On November 18, 1978, Albert Vollmecke and I, the owner of a 1929 Command-Aire, were united and were to form a friendship that would

My FriendAlbert Vollmecke

Part 4

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Alber t and Maja Vollmecke out-side of their townhouse in Silver Spring, Maryland.

last until Al’s death on June 9, 1994. The friendship had many memora-ble events even though I lived on the West Coast and he on the East Coast. One such event took place on Octo-ber 26, 1982, when we undertook a search of the Federal Records Stor-age Facility in Suitland, Maryland, for Vollmecke’s Command-Aire ap-proved type certificate (ATC) draw-ings. His first copy ATC drawings were not to be found, but other data did turn up. He was disappointed as was I, but we pressed on with the res-toration project.

Knowing Al Vollmecke and his family was a pleasure and an honor for me. Al saw pre-World War I avi-ation; Charles Lindbergh fly non-stop solo from Long Island, New York, to Paris, France, in 1927; as-tronauts land on the moon; and the development of the space shuttle. He not only saw it all, but also was a part of the development of avia-tion. He was a brilliant but humble man. To have him as a consultant of an airplane he had designed in 1929 was a great experience for me. Albert A. Vollmecke is remembered as an American hero and a giant in the world of aviation.

Special Memories ofAlbert Vollmecke

I am including a few special stories that happened after I met Albert Vollmecke. Many of these stories are not documented by pho-

tographs or tape recordings, but rather from my memory.

When I was restoring my Com-mand-Aire, work progressed pain-fully slow because I had a family to raise and there never seemed to be money left over to spend on the airplane. Therefore many of the parts and supplies were scrounged or traded. The project had started in 1978, the year I met Al, and pro-gressed into 1989. Albert wrote me a letter and asked when the air-

plane would be finished, because he wasn’t getting any younger. We talked about taking it to Sun ’n Fun in Lakeland, Florida, in 1989. He indicated that he would be attend-ing and that I should have the ship there so he could be with it. Joe Araldi was constructing a replica Little Rocket racer, and it would be at the show, so I tried hard to make the schedule. However, it was just impossible to fi nish the ship, get it certifi cated, and fl y it there. Know-

12 APRIL 2010

From Popular Aviation, March 1929, this full-page ad-vertisement from Command-Aire Inc. touting the talent of Albert Vollmecke.

September 1982, the master designer and one of his original wings from the Command-Aire 5C3, NC997E. The fuselage can be seen in the background.

This was the fuselage assembly in late 1988, just four months before the 1989 Sun ’n Fun Fly-In. Completion of the airplane was impossible, so it was packed aboard a trailer and hauled 2,700 miles to Lakeland, Florida, to be with Albert.

14 APRIL 2010

ing this I called Al and told him my story, and he said he’d send me some money to get that airplane there. So I designed a trailer big enough to house the airplane and planned to haul it there during my spring break at college.

When Albert arrived by car from Orlando International Airport, he saw the Command-Aire together for the fi rst time. He was elated. In the foreground is a silver wingtip be-longing to Joe Araldi’s replica Little Rocket racer. We’ll have more on this in the next installment. So both Command-Aire ships were displayed next to each other, making it easy for Al to spend time with the ships. He and I sat next to 997E engaging in conversation, when a small group would gather near the Little Rocket. He would say, “Well, I think I’ll go over and talk to those ‘birds’ and see what they are interested in.” He used the term “birds” to identify people who he would engage in conversa-tion, but he was interested in con-versation that leaned only to the technical side; he didn’t want to just carry on a meaningless chitchat.

The OX-5ers sent a representa-tive down to the Command-Aire because they heard Al was in the area. They offered a golf cart to transport him to their building, but he declined. He said he could walk that far and would be down later. We walked to the building, and when he entered it was like a god from the past had returned. He was besieged with old-timers want-ing autographs and a conversation with him. He lasted about an hour, announced he was tired, and we re-turned to the Command-Aire to sit and rest. He was interested in the latest innovations of sport aviation displayed at Sun ’n Fun, particu-larly the “instrument boards.” “My, how they have changed,” he said.

Al stayed at a Holiday Inn in Lakeland; I would pick him up in the mornings and drop him off in the evenings. If he were not too tired we would have dinner to-gether at the Inn. One evening he came to Joe Araldi’s cabin at the

Green Swamp Aerodrome for din-ner. I was cooking chicken on the barbecue, and he came over to ask, “Bob, what are you cooking?” I ex-plained what I was doing, and he said he had never seen this done before. The chicken was very good, as were all the fixings that went with it. From that time on, when-ever he would call the fi rst thing he would say is, “Bob, are you cook-ing?” It was our special inside joke.

Joe arranged with a friend in the videotape world to come and tape Albert around his Little Rocket. When they were finished they of-fered to tape me conducting an interview with Al. It was a very improvised deal, but it turned out well. It is the only live interview I have of Al and me, and it was done about where he is standing in the above photograph, only we are sit-ting on chairs.

I had been trying to restore NC997E for some time, and each of my airframe and powerplant classes at Reedley College were well aware of the project. In my 1988-1989 air-frame class was a young lady by the name of Ellen Wickersham who did exquisite leaded glass work. She of-fered to build a leaded glass Com-mand-Aire for me, which of course

I accepted, except it would go to the designer, Albert Vollmecke, instead of me. She was elated and shortly produced a superior work of art that I carried to Sun ’n Fun. During Al’s visit I presented the glass Command-Aire to him, and he was thrilled.

In his letter dated April 14, 1989, Al writes, “I bet you had a nice sleep and you have fully recovered. I had an enjoyable flight home. Perfect weather, cruising at 37,000 feet. Everybody here loves the nice glass Command-Aire you gave me. Please tell the young lady how much it is being admired. Thanks again. I am attaching a small check –please accept it! You did a bang-up job which I appreciate and I do not need the money. I trust that it helps a little. Best Regards to all of you. Al Vollmecke” Al told me over the phone that he hand-carried that glass Command-Aire on his lap so nothing would happen to it. He ab-solutely loved it. It hung just inside the front door of his townhouse, and the sun would shine through the window and illuminate it bril-liantly in the mornings. He said he would just sit in his chair and admire it. The Command-Aire was just on the other side of the room from his favorite chair.

A special piece of artwork for a special friend.

In June 1924, Harvey Mummert had completed and was fl ying the third of his homebuilt airplanes at Roos-evelt Field, Long Island. It was to become the most suc-cessful of the three.

The 1924 Sportplane was quite different from his earlier efforts, which had featured streamlined wood monocoque fuselage construction, and was apparently designed more for structural simplicity and good pi-lot visibility. It was an airplane of unusual design for 1924—a cantilever low-wing type, of all-wood con-struction, with a wide-tread landing gear. The fuselage was of a rectangular cross section with plywood cover-ing. No stabilizer was used, as the fuselage extended aft full-width to a horizontal knife-edge. A single-piece “fl ying tail” elevator was installed, with a conventional fi n and rudder.

The thick cantilever wood wing used the Curtiss 35B airfoil at the root, tapering to a much thinner sec-tion at the tip, and it had had an area of 135 square feet. The wingspan was 26 feet; the gross weight of the

aircraft was 550 pounds. It was powered with an 18-hp, 74-cubic-inch Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine that gave the airplane a top speed of about 60 mph. The Sportplane was fi rst fl own with a direct drive to the propeller, but was soon changed to a chain-drive reduction gear to improve the takeoff.

In 1923 and 1924 the English lightplane races had received much publicity and aroused interest in low-powered airplanes. At the Dayton Air Meet held in Oc-tober 1924, the fi rst lightplane races of national scope were held in this country. There were three events open to airplanes with engines of less than 80 cubic inches of displacement, and Mummert entered his Sportplane in all three events.

The first event was a 25-mile race for the Dayton Daily News Trophy, which was won by Jimmie John-

Light Plane Heritagepublished in EAA Experimenter December 1989

Editor’s Note: Th e Light Plane Heritage series in EAA’s Experimenter magazine often touched on aircraft and concepts related to vin-tage aircraft and their history. Since many of our members have not had the opportunity to read this series, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!—HGF

THE 1924 MUMMERT SPORTPLANE

by Jack McRaeEAA 93

Lead photo: The Mummert Sportplane waits on the line at the 1924 National Air Races in Dayton, Ohio. Note the unusual wheel chock device.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

16 APRIL 2010

This profi le shot was also taken at the 1924 National Air Races. It emphasizes the sturdy landing gear system and high tires.

son flying the Driggs Johnson DJ-1 monoplane. Mummert was forced out of the race after two laps due to engine failure. The second lightplane race, 50 miles for “speed and efficiency,” was won by Mummert; however, he again had a forced landing due to a bro-ken valve spring. Mummert replaced his valve spring with one taken from a motorcycle owned by George Ed-wards, who had ridden it all the way from New York City to see the races. Mummert was then able to take off again and fi nish the race in fi rst place with an average speed of 38 mph. All the other airplanes were still on the ground due to either engine trouble or excessively rough air.

The third event was a 140-mile cross-country race for the Ricken-backer Trophy, which was won by E. Dormoy in his Flying Bathtub. Mummert was consistent in having engine trouble, which again forced him to withdraw about 20 miles from the start.

The 1925 National Air Races were held at Mitchell Field, Long Island, and again Mummert entered his Sport-plane in the three lightplane events. He had removed the chain drive to the propeller, which had given him trouble the previous year, and had added an engine cowling. However, the direct-drive propeller was consid-erably less effi cient, and he was unable to place in any of the races. All three lightplane races were won by the Bris-tol Cherub-powered Powell racer.

After the 1925 National Air Races, Mummert advertised the Sportplane for sale for $850 complete, or $750 less engine. It was sold in 1927 to Homer W. Goodier, an engineer from Sol-vay, New York. Goodier spent about two years overhauling and rebuilding the ship and in-stalled a six-cylinder Anzani engine. The airplane was taken to the Amboy Airport near Syracuse, New York, after receiving the identifi cation number 520K and be-ing registered as the Mummert Sportplane serial num-ber 3. Goodier had learned to fl y during World War I but had not fl own since the war. He was checked out at the Amboy Airport and eventually took the Mummert Sportplane to his brother’s farm near Sauquoit, New York, where he fl ew it for some time. On the evening of August 6, 1930, while flying from the farm field, Goodier was killed when the ship spun in from an al-

titude of about 300 feet and was totally demolished.In late 1924 Mummert left the Curtiss company on

Long Island and became chief engineer for the Aerial Service Corporation in Hammondsport, New York. This company later became Mercury Aircraft Inc., and Mummert remained there, responsible for a number of interesting airplane designs, until his death in 1939.

References: Aviation magazine, October 13, 1924, and October 27, 1924, Aircraft Year Book, 1925 and 1926. Thanks to Owen Billman for research on the Goodier modifi cations to the Sportplane.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The Mummert Sportplane with the Anzani engine installed by Homer Goodier. This photo was taken at the Amboy Airport near Syracuse, New York, in 1930.

A close-up of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine installation show-ing the chain drive to the propeller.

18 APRIL 2010

Afew years ago, the FAA’s Small Aircraft Director-ate and Wichita State University undertook a

study concerning aging aircraft and how various systems and compo-nents deteriorated over time. Barry Ballenger of the Small Airplane Di-rectorate was actively involved in the study and briefed us last year about one of the interesting things that came to light during this effort.

While disassembling and in-specting an older aircraft, the group came to the realization that circuit breakers were prone to failure if they were not regularly exercised. Testing of the circuit breakers re-moved from a well-used Cessna 421 showed that some failed to trip properly when initially tested. When they were manually cycled (pulled out and then reset), some began to trip at the proper amper-age. Many of the breakers regained proper function just by simply be-ing manually cycled a number of times. At the very least, each re-settable circuit breaker should be cycled a few times during the air-craft’s annual inspection. This type of inspection will be part of the new ASTM specification concern-ing aircraft wiring, ASTM F39.

In a similar vein, the FAA has recently published SAIB CE-10-11R1, dated January 14, 2010. It gives both maintenance and opera-tional personnel guidance concern-ing tripped circuit breakers, aging wiring, and system maintenance. Recognizing that many pilot hand-books for older aircraft (indeed, if a handbook even exists) don’t have procedures for resetting circuit breakers, the SAIB also gives rec-ommended procedures for dealing with the electrical component.

You can download a copy of the

SAIB from the FAA Regulatory and Guidance Library at http://Rgl.FAA.gov. Just click on the Special Airwor-thiness Information Bulletins link on the right side of the page and you can enter the number above to download a PDF of the document.

This SAIB covers such a wide range of aircraft that we’re pre-senting it in its entirety. Here’s the FAA’s text:

IntroductionThis revised Special Airworthi-

ness Information Bulletin (SAIB) ad-vises pilots, owners, maintenance personnel, and operators of an air-worthiness concern on all 14 CFR, part 23/Civil Air Regulations (CAR 3) airplanes. It gives best practices regarding tripped circuit breakers (C/B), inspection and maintenance of systems, and aging wires. There is a potential hazard when resetting an opened circuit breaker.

This revision is based on public comments that were adopted.

At this time, this airworthiness concern is not considered an un-

safe condition that would warrant an airworthiness directive action under Title 14 of the Code of Fed-eral Regulations (14 CFR), part 39.

Background On a flight in the accident air-

plane, the day before an accident, a pilot had a weather radar failure and a burning smell in the airplane. In response, the pilot turned off the weather radar and manually pulled the related circuit breaker. The burning smell went away according to the pilot’s entry in the airplane’s maintenance discrepancy binder. The pilot continued the fl ight with the circuit breaker pulled for an-other hour.

The next day it is likely the pi-lots reset the weather radar C/B, restoring power to the weather ra-dar system wiring. This is consis-tent with routine or the “Before Starting Engines” checklist. Then 10 minutes after takeoff, they an-nounced a problem and crashed about 2 minutes later. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the most likely fail-ure was from the weather radar and its associated wiring, which would be possible only if that crew reset the weather radar circuit breaker.

Current guidance for part 25, Transport Airplanes in AC 25-16, Electrical Fault and Fire Prevention and Protection that has been accepted for small airplanes, is to recommend that no pilot should reset any circuit breaker more than once. In the acci-dent airplane, we do not know if the circuit breaker tripped on the last flight, but if it did, it was after an uncontrollable fi re was started.

RecommendationsWe recommend that all air-

plane owners and operators do

TECHNICALTidbitsFAA issues SAIB on circuit breakers

Testing of thecircuit breakersremoved from a

well-used Cessna 421 showed that

some failed to trip properly wheninitially tested.

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Dean and Lesle Thomas Sonoma, California

■ Airline pilots for a Major U.S. Airline for over 20 years

■ Both learned to fly with their fathers, who where WWII Airforce Pilots and CFI’s

■ EAA members and aircraft owners for over 10 years

20 APRIL 2010

the following: The rules, either CAR 3 § 3.691

or 14 CFR § 23.1357, require the C/Bs that are essential for safety in fl ight be located and marked so they can be reset in fl ight. The rules do not require segregation of non-essential C/Bs. This SAIB references the most current “best practices” for circuit breakers, the electrical system, and aging wiring. It is im-portant to note that many older air-craft may have little or no guidance on resetting policy in their airplane fl ight manuals.

1. Mark those essential for safety in fl ight.

2. “Essential” C/Bs should be re-set in flight no more than once, and only if the affected system and equipment is needed for the opera-tional environment.

a. after at least 1 minute;b. if there is no remaining smoke

or “burning smell.” 3. Do not reset any non-essential

C/Bs in fl ight.4. Revise the preflight checklist

to delete “Circuit breakers–In” if applicable and insert: “Check cir-cuit breakers and if a circuit breaker is not set, do not reset the circuit breaker if there is a related mainte-nance malfunction.”

Essential for Safety in Flight C/BsFor a Day VFR-Only approved

airplane, there may be no essen-tial functions that require electrical power. However, it may be neces-sary to supply power for certain communication capacities.

For other types of operating ap-provals, consider the following for providing power. Assuming opera-tions under IFR conditions for 14 CFR part 91 or part 135 operations, consider the following systems as essential for safety:

1. Any electrical loads unique for the airplane characteristics and needed for continued safe fl ight and landing for the intended operations.

2. If needed to comply with 14 CFR § 23.1323 and 23.1325, one air-speed indicator with a heated pitot tube and an altimeter with either a

heated static pressure source or an alternate static pressure source.

3. The magnetic compass and any display necessary for continued safe fl ight and landing that is suffi ciently illuminated for night operation.

4. One navigation system instal-lation appropriate to the ground facilities.

5. One communication installa-tion system.

6. One gyroscopic pitch and bank indicator.

7. Any display for the power-plant parameter necessary for con-tinued safe fl ight and landing.

The following items should be re-viewed by pilots during initial and recurrent training and fl ight reviews:

1. Review the circuit breaker re-set policy in Advisory Circular (AC) 120-80, In-Flight Fires.

2. A tripped circuit breaker should not be reset in fl ight unless doing so is consistent with explicit procedures specifi ed in an approved operating manual or airplane fl ight manual, or unless, in the judgment of the pilot in command, resetting the breaker is necessary for safe completion of the fl ight.

3. While on the ground, avoid re-setting circuit breakers without fi rst exploring reasons for them “trip-ping” in the first place, unless in-structed by the maintenance manual.

4. Review the indications of hid-den fi res and the importance of not arbitrarily resetting circuit breakers.

5. Review the actions required by 14 CFR § 91.213 dealing with inoperative instruments and equipment.

6. Include this SAIB in initial and recurrent training and fl ight reviews.

The following items should be re-viewed by maintenance personnel:

1. Conduct an electrical load analysis or make electrical measure-ments that account for all electri-cal loads in probable combinations when installing additional electri-cal devices.

2. Review standard wiring prac-tices including, but not limited to, wire size, splicing, routing/clamp-ing issues, loop bend radius, and terminal condition.

3. Replace wires that show evi-dence of damage due to chafing, fraying, contamination, moisture, dirt, cracks, overheating, or are crushed or kinked.

For Further InformationContact Leslie B. Taylor, Aero-

space Engineer, Federal Aviation Administration, Small Airplane Di-rectorate, 901 Locust Street, Room 301, Kansas City, MO 64106; phone: 816-329-4134; fax: 816-329-4090; e-mail: leslie.b.taylor@faa.gov.

This SAIB

references the

most current

“best practices” for

circuit breakers, the

electrical system,

and aging wiring.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

I started to do an annual inspec-tion of my Stearman biplane, after the airplane sat in the hangar for more than two years while I was fl y-ing in central Florida. I found more metal in the sump in my Continen-tal W-670-6A engine than in any other engine I’ve inspected in my entire career. It turned out to be pieces of the cage assembly for the rear main ball bearing; some of the fragments were 1-1/2 inches long!

So, right up front, let me give a tip to all you pilots who fly be-hind the Continental 220. Fashion a hook out of 1/16-inch-diameter welding rod, and use it to pull any foreign material out of the sump. These large fragments did not come out when the oil drained; I stuck my fi nger in the sump open-ing and felt them. I used some 0.040-inch stainless steel safety wire to fi sh them out.

The main oil screen had very few small fragments of carbon, but nothing out of the ordinary. There was no trace of bearing cage frag-ments in the main oil screen. When removing the cylinders, however, the number 5 cylinder was diffi cult to remove. There was a substantial amount of very small aluminum fragments lodged around the skirt of the cylinder, which forms the power case sump. This could be the aft bearing cage spinning against the aluminum case.

So the failure of a rear main ball bearing becomes this month’s subject. I sent a mostly complete

“lower end” of an engine to Al Hol-loway in California. Al’s business is Holloway Engineering, and he specializes in the overhaul of radial engines. He is FAA Repair Station OHYR527L, located at Gansner Field Airport in Quincy, California.

When I picked the engine up he was preparing a freshly overhauled Wright R-760-A (“greaser”) to be placed on the engine stand for a five-hour run-in. The engine was beautiful. Al and his staff are crafts-men of the highest quality.

I wanted to discuss main bearing failures with Al to get his take on the subject. I was always under the im-pression that the cause of most bear-ing failures is operating the engine with a Hamilton Standard 5404 prop installed. My assumption turned out to be false because Al reports he has replaced rear main bearings on en-gines that used all different types of props, including wood.

Al has an FAA supplemental type certifi cate (STC) that allows replac-ing the original front, rear main, and thrust ball bearings with roller bearings. That should cure the problem of main bearing failure. Obviously the Continental 670 en-gines were initially under-designed in the rear main bearing area.

I also spoke with Don Sanders of Sanders Airmotive in Mustang, Oklahoma, and he showed me a new original factory main ball bear-ing that was magnetized! Just think of what a magnetic bearing could attract in the way of steel fragments

carried by the oil. Don places every bearing in his demagnetizer on the magnafl ux machine in his shop be-fore installing.

Let me list the details of my en-gine installation and operation leading up to the failure of the bearing. This particular engine was installed in the airplane in 1992 and was zero hours since major overhaul (SMOH), with a total time estimated to be 1,725 hours.

A Hamilton Standard 5404 prop with 4350F blades was initially in-stalled. That prop was operated a to-tal of 218 hours. Due to oil leaks and paint chipping from all cylinders, I did a top overhaul at 211 hours SMOH and then installed a McCau-ley 41D5926 steel propeller at 218 hours to replace the Hamilton Stan-dard. The McCauley had operated a total of 234 hours when I discovered the failure of the rear main bearing. Therefore the engine had a total time of 452 hours SMOH.

The engine logbook is vague about the bearings, only stating that a new front main roller bear-ing and thrust ball bearing were installed. There is no mention of the rear main ball bearing. It could be an error in the logbook, or per-haps there was no replacement of the rear main bearing. Incidentally, the engine never had a generator or alternator installed.

So Al’s conclusion (and I agree) is that the Continental W-670 main bearings are under-designed for crankshaft loads. It’s inter-

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Continental W-670 main bearing failures Part I

THE Vintage Mechanic

22 APRIL 2010

esting to note here that the later W-670-23 engine (which drove a 20 spline constant-speed prop and produced 240 hp) used roller-type main bearings, so obviously the factory considered possible heavier crankshaft loads on that particular engine and made the conversion at the time of manufacture.

I have listened to several folks in the industry who have told me they can get only 400-500 hours before the rear main bearing begins to fail. So, obviously this is a problem that needs constant attention during

oil changes. Check the sump using the hook previously described for any metal that may have fallen and lodged there.

The bearing cage starts to fail first; fragments are from 1/8 inch to over 1 inch in length and 1/8 inch to ¼ inch wide. These frag-ments will fall into the sump at its aft mounting point (the power case), thus bypassing the main oil screen. So you probably won’t fi nd any fragments in the screen, only the sump.

I do not intend, at this time, to

tear down the lower end of this engine to deter-mine exactly how the rear main bear ing appears. . . maybe at a later date. The last time I flew this airplane the engine per-formance was normal. So, hopefully, the bear-ing assembly is still in-tact and only the cage holding the ball bearings in place has failed.

There are several theo-ries as to exactly why this bearing fails, but I be-lieve the primary issues are crankshaft loads and vibration. The issue of vi-bration is critical; a seven-cylinder radial engine has a lot of shaking going on during operation. A seven-cylinder engine has power lag, indicating that there is a time lag between cylinder firings. A nine-cylinder engine has power overlap, which indicates that a cylinder is always firing; therefore it runs smoother. The R-680 Ly-coming is the smoothest-running radial I ever fl ew behind. The two-cylinder Aeronca E-113 and the three-cylinder Jacobs were the roughest running.

Perhaps a brief discus-sion of vibrations would b e a p p r o p r i a t e h e r e . Things that rotate cause vibrations; to remove or

reduce vibrations, rotating things need to be balanced. The more accurately rotating parts are bal-anced, the smoother they operate. The older radial engines were not well-balanced. Some engines had crankshaft dampers, others did not. Vibrations are oscillatory move-ments above and below a mid- or neutral point, much like AC elec-trical current. There are three basic types of vibrations: normal, sympa-thetic, and harmonic.

Normal vibrations are caused

by rotating parts of the engine and propeller, and they are always there; balancing will help reduce the amplitude of these vibrations.

Sympathetic vibrat ions are caused by one part making another part vibrate, usually with direct con-tact between the parts. A propeller that is out of track or out of balance will cause the entire powerplant to vibrate, and that vibration will be transferred into the airframe.

Harmonic vibrations are caused by harmonization of several vi-brations, thus creating a highly pitched and dangerous vibration. Harmonic vibrations can cause structural failure over a period of time. In some cases an aircraft ta-chometer is marked with a yellow arc with an accompanying placard to not operate the engine for ex-tended periods in this yellow arc. This is due to a harmonic vibration.

A cycle is a complete vibratory movement above and below the mid- or neutral point. The time re-quired to complete a cycle is called a period. A cycle is also called “hertz.” The frequency is the rate of occurrence of the vibration. So we could have vibration caused by the engine operating at 1800 revolu-tions per minute (rpm). The crank-shaft runs at 1800 rpm and the prop runs at 1800 rpm (this would give 30 beats per second). The generator may be operating at 3600 rpm, etc. You get the point here. The ampli-tude is the intensity of the vibra-tion. It is actually the distance from one extreme of an oscillation to the mid- or neutral point.

Vibrations are classified as low, medium, high, and very high fre-quency. It depends on the rpm of the vibrating part. Helicopters have many rotating parts, and so they are subjected to a variety of vibra-tions during operation.

Low-frequency vibrations are normally related to the main ro-tor, which may turn 290-500 rpm, depending on the aircraft type and model. Medium frequency vi-brations are generally main rotor hub rocking or a loose component

(door, skid, etc.). High-frequency vibrations are normally the tail ro-tor, which turns at a high rpm. Very high-frequency vibrations may be harmonic in nature; a combination of several frequencies of vibrations combined into a troubling and dangerous situation.

The major sources for vibration in old airplanes are the engine and propeller. With some care, vibra-tion can be lowered but not elim-inated by careful balancing. A

propeller out of balance will cause a vibration at prop rpm.

I have had great luck with wooden propellers by balanc-ing with extra coats of varnish on the light blade. One way to “field check” your wood prop is to wrap a 1-inch-wide piece of aluminum tape around one tip of the prop, then run the engine. If the vibra-tion got worse you have the wrong blade; remove the tape and place it on the opposite blade. The vibra-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

24 APRIL 2010

tion should lessen. You have found the right blade. You can keep add-ing or subtracting small amounts of tape until the vibration is gone. Then remove the tape and start spraying varnish until the prop is balanced. It’s a slow process, but it works. If a ship with a wood pro-peller sits outside and there is any small opening in the varnish cov-ering the prop, moisture will en-ter and cause the out-of-balance condition.

If a propeller is out of track, an abnormal vibration will result. I have had great luck reducing vibra-tions caused by the prop by working to obtain the exact same pitch in both blades of a ground-adjustable Hamilton Standard propeller. The original factory manual indicates that the blades should be within one-tenth of a degree of each other for smooth operation. And they are right on! The best way to field-set prop pitch is with a prop protrac-tor, checking blade angle at the 36-inch or 42-inch station, whichever is appropriate for the propeller.

One problem I have with old pro-pellers is they have no operational history. It is not unusual to have Hamilton Standard aluminum pro-peller blades manufactured as early as 1929 that are still in use. You as the owner or mechanic have virtu-ally no idea if the blades were ever damaged and straightened, if they had minor repairs made at some time in their life, if the blades were shortened, or who did the work.

An overhauled prop indicates the blades meet manufacturer’s speci-fi cations dimensionally for length, width, thickness, and profi le.

All overhauled props must be balanced both spanwise and chord-wise, and blade pitch angles set

for the desired engine static rpm. Spanwise balance places the prop in a balance stand in the horizon-tal position. Weight is added to the butt end of the light blade until the prop balances (this is for ground-adjustable and constant-speed or two-position props).

When spanwise ba lance i s achieved the propeller is placed in the vertical position to check for

chordwise balance. The clamps of a ground-adjustable propeller are moved to change weight distri-bution, which affects chordwise balance. There is a limit to the po-sitioning of the clamps toward the trailing edge of the prop blades. This is beyond my expertise be-cause this type of work is done at the prop shop.

A case can be made that the more severe the vibrations from the en-gine, the more serious the load is on the crankshaft. And with the Conti-nental W-670 engine, that is a sub-stantial contributing factor to the failure of the ball bearing. So one of my secrets to reducing engine vibra-tion is to closely set the pitch angle of a ground-adjustable propeller and pay attention to propeller spanwise and chordwise balance.

I have found that vibration will cause the carburetor-mounting el-bow on the Wright R-760 engine to loosen over time. That could be critical because if it creates a gap between the carburetor/engine mounting, a loss of manifold pres-sure will occur, thus causing a loss (either complete or partial) of en-gine power. So during my prefl ight of the airplane I always shake the carburetor air box to feel for any looseness. During oil changes I always try to move all engine ac-cessories to check for security of attachment. I have found loose magnetos and starter and genera-tor/alternators that were not se-cured, a fault caused by vibration.

My assumption turned out to be

false because Al re-ports he has

replaced rear main bearings on

engines that used all different types

of props,including wood.

Much of the vibration of older radial engines comes from the fi ring of the cylinders. One can work on the prop blade pitch (if it is ground adjustable) and the bal-ance if it is wood. Some vibrations can be reduced while other vibrations will always be there. Many single-row radial engines have two-piece crankshafts. Figure 1 shows the two-piece crankshaft on the Continental W-670 engine. Upon assembly it is most important to align the crank properly so the counterweights are in precise alignment. Reducing vibrations will add to en-gine/prop and accessory life. To reduce crankshaft loads operate the engine at an rpm where the least amount of vibration is felt in the airframe. Every little bit helps!

Figure 1 is extracted from an old Continental R-670-4 parts manual and illustrates the complete crankshaft assembly. Item R-166 is the rear main ball bearing, item R-164 is the front main ball bearing, and item R-126 is the thrust ball bearing. Item R-169, the thrust nut, which can be seen on the engine crankshaft by looking directly behind the propeller spacer and thrust bearing cover plate. If this were a W-670-23 crankshaft these main bearings would be of the roller type.

Based on the following old AAF technical order (TO) shown in Figure 2, Continental had ball bearing prob-lems from the beginning and furnished heavier bear-ing components that were installed on overhaul and subsequent engine production. While this old TO is outdated, it provides an interesting insight into the Continental ball bearing problems we still have today.

Note the issue date of June 4, 1943, and application to the -4 and -5 engines, which correspond to civil-ian W-670-6A and -6N engines. However, note that this bulletin applies to only the front main and thrust ball bearings and not the rear main ball bearing. My point here is only to inform that these engines have had a history of ball bearing failures in the past and an attempt was made by the factory early to correct the problem. Also note that the front main and thrust bearings carry the same part numbers.

Let me complete this fi rst part of Continental W-670 main ball bearing problems with some fi nal thoughts. First, the installation of roller bearings in these en-gines requires a supplemental type certifi cate, which would be noted in the logbook upon overhaul. There should also be a copy of the STC in the overhaul pa-perwork that would provide updated inspection proce-dures and recommended overhaul life of the engine.

Also, there was no mandatory replacement of the ball bearings by the factory overhaul manual, just an “on condition” inspection of the parts by the over-hauling person or facility. So, if ball bearings are still in your engine, keep a close eye for fragments in the oil sump. If the ship is fl ying, a sudden rise in oil tem-perature accompanied by a change in vibration and a possible lowering of oil pressure may be experienced. Land immediately!

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

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26 APRIL 2010

The days are getting longer, outside temps are creep-ing well above freezing, the snow is fi nally melting (for

those of us in the northern cli-mates), and the hangar doors at the local airport are beginning to open. Another new fl ying season is here!

As the new season arrives and rekindles our love of flight, it also brings with it responsibility. Not only do we need to get our airplanes thoroughly prepped, but we also need to get ourselves prepped if we and our fellow pilots are to safely en-joy fl ying adventures during 2010.

When ready to dust off the cob-webs and improve your fl ying skills, in preparation for a fun and safe fl y-ing season, give some thought to the different airports to which you intend to fl y. Then plan for them by practicing simulated landings at ei-ther your airport or a nearby airport.

If I’ve had an extended winter-weather layoff, one of the exercises I like to do to get myself “tuned up” for safe flight is to practice what I call “precision landings.” No, they have nothing to do with instru-ment flight rules (IFR) related fly-ing; it’s all about fl ying the airplane precisely while shooting for a land-ing on a specifi c spot.

As I’ve mentioned in previous ar-ticles, after a flying layoff my first flight will consist of getting reac-quainted with the airplane; me-dium and steep turns done with an emphasis on coordination and exact altitude control, followed by

slow fl ight and a few power-off and power-on stalls, then a minute of Dutch rolls, and then returning to the traffi c pattern for some work on precision landings.

There are many aspects to preci-sion landings. The more things that can be done right and with preci-sion while in the traffi c pattern, the fewer things that need correction or can go wrong on short fi nal.

Answer these questions of your-self as you read along. Upon entry into the traffic pattern are you at the exact traffi c pattern altitude ev-ery time? Or is plus or minus 200 feet “good enough”? An additional 200 feet of altitude at midpoint downwind is barely noticeable un-til turning final. Then the 2,500-foot runway on which you intend to land begins to look like the re-tired aircraft carrier Midway.

When turning downwind, are you also flying the same horizon-tal distance or separation from the landing runway each time? This leg should track parallel to the landing runway with about 1/2- to 1-mile horizontal separation, depending upon size and speed of the aircraft you are flying. A J-3 Cub is quite comfortable with a 1/2-mile separa-tion, but a Beech 18 is something quite different in speed, weight, and handling, so it does require a wider pattern.

In my opinion, a good landing begins at the downwind midpoint. As a flight instructor spending a lot of time in the traffic pattern, I

can usually predetermine the qual-ity of a student’s landing by where they’re at when at midpoint on downwind. Inaccuracies in alti-tude, speed control, and horizon-tal separation from the runway will usually make for a sloppy approach and landing.

Once established on the down-wind leg and with the prelanding checklist completed, it’s time for the next step in a “precision” landing. When abeam the numbers, reduce power and begin the descent. Trim is added, approach speed/nose atti-tude established, and when approxi-mately 45 degrees off the approach end of the runway, initiate a shallow to medium bank turn to base leg.

Note: It’s amazing to me, when giving biennial fl ight reviews, how many pilots are unfamiliar with the phrase “abeam the numbers.” They must all have taken the day off from fl ight school when it was defi ned. You are “abeam the num-bers” when your left shoulder is horizontally aligned with the run-way numbers (for left-hand traffi c).

Once established on base leg, there are three things to perform to continue toward a precision land-ing. Think ahead of the airplane by:

•Checking for traffic that may be making a straight-in approach (at a nontowered airport).

•Thinking about and checking your altitude—does it look or feel like you are too high or too low? A general rule of thumb under rea-sonably normal conditions is: If

BY Steve Krog, CFI

Hitting the mark: precision landings

THE Vintage Instructor

you are 500 feet above ground level (AGL) at midpoint of the base leg, you’re where you want to be.

•Planning and making the de-scending turn from base to final. (See the article in the February 2010 issue of Vintage Airplane.)

No two flying days are ever the same. Temperature, surface winds, and density altitude will differ, causing you to make minor adjust-ments to achieve consistent preci-sion landings.

After making three or four land-ings and getting the feel of your air-plane, it’s time to challenge yourself to improve your profi ciency, which will in turn make you a better and safer pilot. Some of you reading this article might be saying, “But gas is $5 per gallon, and I know I can get my airplane on the ground. Why spend the extra money?”

Let me explain via this exam-ple. Your airplane burns 10 gallons per hour and one extra hour in the traffi c pattern will cost $50. At the moment $50 seems like a good chunk of change just to fl y the pat-tern. But now put yourself in the airplane flying to your first pan-cake breakfast of the season. It’s a bit breezy, the destination runway is short, and there will be a lot of traffic in the pattern. Would you have rather spent $50 perfecting your landings back at home? Or are you prepared to make a spec-tacular, crowd-entertaining, tire-screeching, metal-scraping arrival at the breakfast? Your beautifully restored vintage airplane worth a thousand times more than one hour’s worth of fuel is being pho-tographed and e-mailed to all corners of the world! Put it in perspective, a $50 upfront invest-ment may save you $50,000 in re-pair bills.

One of the exercises I like to per-form to improve my skills is to prac-tice reduced power approaches. Years ago when all the airports were grass and one could land in most any direction, full power-off ap-proaches were quite common. To-day, we have “improved” airports

with designated hard-surface run-ways, established traffic patterns, etc., so rather than performing complete power-off approaches, we use reduced-power approaches “for safety.” Here’s where you can safely challenge yourself, improve your skills, and have a lot of fun.

To better define a reduced-power approach for the purpose of practicing landings, reduce power abeam the numbers and continue reducing as required throughout the approach and landing. Here’s the challenge: You can reduce power in this exercise, but you cannot add power. Now obviously if you need to add power because you’ll wind up short of the runway, then add it. But do your best to hone your skills so you don’t have to add power—unless required for safety. If you have fl aps, they may be added but not retracted when practicing—again, unless required for safety. This doesn’t mean you should fl y a 7-mile 747 fi nal. Fly a normal pattern.

Pick a spot on the runway on which you intend to touch down. For example’s sake, use the num-bers. Now look beyond the num-bers—approximately the distance equal to two runway lights or two runway centerline stripes—and note that point. With this dis-tance in mind, practice three or four reduced-power approaches and see if you can comfortably and safely get your airplane down in that distance.

Speed and altitude judgment are critical in order to touch down within the runway parameters you’ve established. At 70 knots you are traveling 118 feet per sec-ond, and at 60 knots, 101 feet per second. If your approach speed is supposed to be 60 knots and you are at 70 or greater, and if it takes five seconds to dissipate the ex-cess speed, you will have floated at least 500 feet down the runway, well beyond your desired point of touchdown. There is no hard and fast rule that applies, but generally for every 10 extra knots you carry

on fi nal approach, you will use at least 500 feet of additional runway.

Practicing three or four reduced-power spot landings at the conclu-sion of each pleasure flight will significantly improve one’s land-ing skills. Now go out and do the same when you have a light cross-wind. Also, if your runway length permits, pick different spots or touchdown points down the run-way. Then practice the reduced-power approach with the goal of touching down on the spot you’ve selected. This exercise will pay handsome rewards if fl ying to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

Many vintage airplane owners like to fl y their airplanes to Osh-kosh (OSH) for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. If you’ve not done it before, it can be a bit “nerve rat-tling,” but it’s a fun and worth-while experience, provided you’ve prepared for it. One practice em-ployed by the air traffic control-lers at Oshkosh is to direct you to land long and not touch down until on or after the large col-ored dot painted on the runway. That’s no problem, you might say to yourself; the runway in use is 8,000 feet long. What’s there to worry about?

Now visualize yourself in the OSH flight pattern. Keeping your head on a swivel, you see at least 15 airplanes in trail either ahead or parallel to you, all heading for either 36L or 36R. If there are 15 airplanes ahead of you, there are probably that many behind you that you cannot see. This certainly isn’t like landing at the old home airstrip! You’ve been directed to land long on or beyond the orange circle on 36L. Even though your palms are sweating, aren’t you glad you practiced midfield spot land-ings prior to arriving at OSH? Your landing was safe and uneventful, and your photo won’t be flashed worldwide for all to see! Now you can relax and enjoy the fly-in, knowing that you’re a better pilot thanks to your taking the time to enhance your fl ying skills.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

28 APRIL 2010

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 300 dpi resolution or greater.

You may send a lower-resolution version to us for our review, 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.

Our January Mystery Plane was a snappy- looking parasol wing monoplane.

Here’s our answer:The Mystery Plane in the January

issue of Vintage Airplane is the one-of-a-kind Jackson O-2, registration number X12875. This plane was built

Send your answer to EAA, Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs to be in no later than May 15 for inclusion in

the July 2010 issue of Vintage Airplane.

You can also send your re-sponse via e-mail. Send your answer to mysteryplane@eaa.org.

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

by H.G. FRAUTSCHY

MYSTERY PLANEThis month’s Mystery Plane comes to us from my old modeling buddy,

Dave Stott of Trumbull, Connecticut. We’ve seen a photo and an illustration of this unusual OX-5 powered buggy but have little

information on it beyond the buider’s name.

J A N U A RY ’ S M Y S T E RY A N S W E R

by Clifford C. Jackson in Marysville, Michigan.

Jackson had worked as an engineer for the Buhl Aircraft Company, also in Marysville, from 1927 until they closed in 1932. After Buhl Aircraft closed, Jackson built the O-2 as a train-ing airplane.

The O-2 had a 20-foot, 8-inch long steel tube fuselage, and the wood wings had a wing-span of 31 feet, both with fabric covering. It had full-span ailerons, and as can clearly be seen in the photograph, it had Handley Page style slots on the leading edges of the wings. The O-2 was powered by a 125-hp Warner engine. The useful load was 525 pounds. The fi rst fl ight was on January 23, 1933.

Clifford Jackson later went to work for Stinson Aircraft. In 1941 the O-2 was sold to Meyers Aircraft Company in Tecumseh, Michigan. Meyers in-tended to put the O-2 into production, but that never materialized. The plane was eventually scrapped.

On a related note, this Mystery Plane photo was taken in front of the main hangar at the Pontiac Municipal Airport in Pontiac, Michigan. Here is an inter-esting nighttime photo of this hangar full of period airplanes that was taken in approximately 1930. The Pontiac Mu-nicipal Airport was the first airport to receive an A-1-A rating from the U.S. Department of Commerce on February 11, 1930. Now called Oakland County International Airport (KPTK), the air-port is currently the sixth-busiest general aviation airport in the United States.

Lynn Towns, Holt, Michigan

Dave Cleavinger of Livonia, Michigan, adds this:

In the 1970s, Cliff Jackson retrieved what was left of his aircraft with thoughts of rebuilding it. Ultimately, he chose to construct an entirely differ-ent design. He died in 1992, and the fate of the O-2 is unknown.

Other correct answers were received

from Wesley R. Smith, Springfi eld, Il-linois; Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis,

Minnesota; and Jack Erickson, State College, Pennsylvania.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

COURTESY LYNN TOWNS OF PONTIAC AIRPORT

30 APRIL 2010

Otto E. Szekely (pronounced “say-kai”) was born in Hun-gary (then, the Habsburg dual monarchy of the Aus-

tro-Hungarian Empire) on June 17, 1889. He is said to have been educated in Europe at Budapest, Vienna, and Berlin. Szekely immi-grated to the United States in 1910, and by the time of America’s en-try into the Great War, he was liv-ing in Moline, Illinois (Rock Island County). His prewar and wartime activities are unclear, but by 1920 he was married to 37-year-old Mar-ian H. Szekely. By this time, the Sze-kelys had two children, Elizabeth (age 6) and Marjorie (age 4).

According to one source (Lom-bard, Gerald B. Szekely Aircraft and Engine Company. Skyways. No. 27, July 1993, pp 8-13), Szekely was em-ployed by the Velie Motor Vehicle Company (1909-1916) and the Velie Motors Corp. (1916-1928) in Moline. Velie was originally a well-known carriage manufacturer, and its first automobile, built in 1909, was pow-ered by a 30-35–-hp American and British Manufacturing Company (Bridgeport, Connecticut) four-cylinder engine. This same engine was advertised in several early Amer-ican aviation periodicals and was used as the powerplant of various early American aeroplanes, notably Thomas Wesley Benoist’s first Cur-tiss-type built in 1910 (Aero. Decem-ber 17, 1910, p 9). Velie was backed by the Deere & Company, and Velie automobiles were sold through John Deere dealers until 1915.

From 1914, a series of four- and six-cylinder Velie autos were offered, and in 1917, Velie began using Con-

The Flying Dutchman Otto Szekelyand his three-cylinder wonder

BY WES SMITH

MYSTERY PLANE EXTRA

From the 1930 Aircraft Yearbook

tinental engines. In 1918 Velie of-fered a handsome four-seat sports car with wire wheels and in 1922 began to make its own six-cylinder engines, which were supplemented by Lycom-ing “straight-eights” in 1927. While Velie ceased automobile produc-tion in 1928, the name was adopted in 1916 as a suburb of Shreveport, Louisiana, because of the local pop-ularity of Velie cars. Of course, Ve-lie would also build the 60-hp Velie fi ve-cylinder radial that powered the early Monocoupe designed by Clay-ton Folkerts and Donald Luscombe (also of Moline). The Velie Bear bor-rowed heavily from the Detroit Air Cat (but replaced the cylinder head with an aluminum type). The De-troit Air Cat had been designed in 1927 by Glenn D. Angle (teamed with Edward Vernon “Eddie” Ricken-backer) for the Monocoupe. Unfortu-nately, the company was dissatisfi ed with the reliability of the engine and delivery schedule. However, the Ve-lie was such a close copy of the Air Cat that the company was forced

to pay damages in a pat-ent suit. When the senior Velie family members died in 1928, the com-pany was incorporated into John Deere the next year. This engine was then turned over to a subsidiary and eventually evolved into the Lambert M-5.

After working for Ve-lie, Szekely became an en-gineering consultant and established a piston ring manufacturing business at Moline. He also worked with the Maytag Wash-ing Machine Company, and his talents came to the attention of the Vac-A-Tap Washing Machine Company, a competitor to Maytag. In 1925, Sze-kely moved his piston ring business to Vac-A-Tap’s lo-cation in Holland, Mich-igan. When Vac-A-Tap failed, Szekely stayed in Holland (Ottawa county),

Michigan, and formed the Sze-kely Aircraft and Engine Company. On May 28, 1928, Aviation maga-zine announced the new SR-3 (i.e., Sky Roamer three-cylinder) engine (Vol. 24, No. 22. The Szekely SR-3 Air Cooled Engine, pp 1516, 1517, 1551). This was predated by an ar-ticle that appeared in the February 1928 issue of Aero Digest (Vol.12, No. 2. Szekely Aero Engines, p 200). A more detailed account followed in the June 1928 issue of Aero Digest (Vol.12, No. 6. Szekely Sky-roamer, pp 970, 972).

Early Szekely engines comprised several types. The fi rst three-cylinder radial was of under-head valve de-sign (Smith, Herschel. Aircraft Piston Engines, p 157). This was followed by L-headed three-cylinder and fi ve-cylinder radials (Rice, M.S. Guide to Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines, pp 49-50). There was also a two-cylinder design (SR-2. Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 1930) and a seven-cylinder type (SR-7. Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 1929) of unknown confi guration that were

probably never built. The initial SR-3 was an overhead

valve (later an L-head), three-cylinder, air-cooled radial of com-pact design. The bore was 4.125 inches, and the stroke was 4.75 inches, yielding a displacement of 190.4 cubic inches. “Slipper-type,” drop-forged, heat-treated connecting rods that fl oated on a bronze-backed babbitt-lined bearing were held to-gether with aluminum bronze con-necting rod lock rings that were held in place with four heat-treated nickel steel bolts. The piston end of each rod was bronze-bushed. The coun-terbalanced, single-piece crankshaft was drop-forged and machined and was made of S.A.E. 3140 nickel steel. It was 1-37/64 inches in diam-eter, and the connecting rod bear-ing was 1-7/16 inches by 2 inches. Crankshaft rotation was counter-clockwise, viewed from the front of the engine. It was mounted on deep-groove radial ball bearings to absorb the thrust and radial loads. The com-pression ratio was 4.8:1, and the op-erating speed of 1500 rpm to 1800 rpm gave the SR-3 an output of 40 hp. (Aero Digest states that the orig-inal SR-3 produced “over 42 hp,” and states that it developed 40 hp at 1725 rpm, which was guaranteed at 1800 rpm.) The SR-3 weighed 117 pounds dry and 142 pounds com-plete. (Aero Digest states that the pro-totype weighed 153 pounds, but that production engines weighed 148 pounds. The SR-3 Models O and L weighed 135 pounds.) Lubrication was accomplished by a duplex gear-type pump, with duraluminum teeth of special shape that were cast in-tegrally with the aluminum (later, magnesium) front cover. The upper pump supplied pressurized oil to the crankshaft and bearings, via a dural-uminum ring in front of the forward main bearing. The lower pump scav-enged the excess oil. Oil pressure was normally 40-60 psi, with a recom-mended gauge pressure of 4-10 psi. The scavenged oil was delivered to a storage tank via a 3.8-inch line.

Overall, the SR-3 was 29.5 inches in diameter. (The latter SR-3 Model O

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

Good-quality photos of the Flying Dutch-man are hard to come by. Here’s an ad-vertisement from the August 1929 issue of Aero Digest.

32 APRIL 2010

had a diameter of 36 inches, and the SR-3 Model L had a diameter of 30 inches.) Oil consumption was 0.016 pounds/hp-hour, and the fuel con-sumption was 0.60 pounds/hp-hour. Ignition was supplied by dual Scin-tilla PN-3-D or Bosch FU 6/3 magne-tos, and two B.G. plugs per cylinder (later, B.G. or Bosch plugs). The mag-netos ran at 1.5 times the crankshaft speed. The cylinders were originally made of close-grained nickel iron (Aero Digest states that they were “chrome nickel gray iron”) but were later changed to a chrome molyb-denum cast iron alloy on the SR-3 Models O and L, with integrally cast heads being replaced by bolt-on alu-minum heads that were attached by six studs and nuts. The cylinders were attached to the crankcase by four studs and nuts, with the cylin-der skirt extending 2.5 inches into the crankcase. Carburetion was origi-nally supplied by a balanced Zenith 1.5-inch venturi carburetor. On the latter Models O and L, Stromberg NA-R3 or NA-S3 carburetors were used. The one-piece cast aluminum (magnesium alloy on the Models O and L) crankcase had a circular in-take manifold molded integrally, with an opening for the carburetor at the bottom. The intake system also consisted of pipes and fl exible tubing that ran between the manifold and cylinder inlet valve. The cam gears and tappet arms were assembled with the rear cast aluminum (later, mag-nesium) crankcase cover. The rear end of the crankshaft carried the tim-ing gear that drove the three separate cam gears. An extension shaft that plugged into the crankshaft drove the magnetos through spur gears.

It would appear that only a small number of Sky Roamer engines were produced, just enough to supply the limited number of Szekely Flying Dutchman monoplanes (the subject of December 2009’s “Mystery Plane”) and perhaps a few Williams mono-planes that were constructed in 1928 to 1929. The main production vari-ants were the SR-3 Models O and L (ATC 70 and 53, respectively). The original SR-3s had the intake for the

cylinder head located on the rear side of the cylinder, and the exhaust lo-cated on the front side. On the Mod-els O and L, these were moved to the rear side of the detachable alumi-num head. Likewise, the spark plugs were relocated from the side of the cylinder to the head on the Models O and L. The cylinder fi ns were cast integrally into the cylinders, but no SR-3 variants ever had cooling fins on the dorsal side of the head be-tween the plugs, as this was accepted practice by that point in time. The valves were set at a 45-degree angle and were of the “mushroom” type, made of Silchrome. Each valve was 1-13/16 inches in diameter and had a lift of 11/32 inch. The total gas fl ow area was 2.5 square inches per valve. Valve seats were made of bronze, screwed and shrunk into the head. Pistons of the SR-3 were aluminum and had two compression rings and one oil scraper ring at the base. The steel piston pin was held in place by soft aluminum plugs at each end,

which were allowed to float within the piston and connecting rod. The rings were 1/8-inch thick, and the piston skirt was solid.

The unique triple valve train of the SR-3 consisted of three cam-shafts and gear assemblies that ran at one-half the crankshaft speed. There were two tappet arms and two tappets per cylinder. The sin-gle cam lobe on each camshaft op-erated both the intake and exhaust tappets. These in turn operated the hollow pushrods (with hardened ends) and actuated the valves. There was a minimum of change in this system between the original Sky Roamer and the latter O and L types, only the tappets being altered. Con-ventional valve springs and drop-forged (bronze-bushed) rocker arms were used. Adjustment of the tap-pets was by a screw and lock nut on the rocker arm. An Alemite Zerk fi t-ting was used to lubricate the rocker arm, but all other external parts re-quired periodic manual oiling with

The pilot standing next to the airplane isn’t identifi ed, but his stat-ure gives some clue as to the size of the Flying Dutchman.

Otto Szekely and his Flying Dutchman.

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an oilcan. The engine was mounted to the airframe by six through bolts. These ran through the front case cover, main crankcase, rear cover, and mounting fl ange, locking every-thing together. In addition to the in-tegrally cast provisions for the cams and valve gears, the rear case had external provisions for mounting the dual magnetos, oil pressure reg-ulator, tachometer, and breathers.

As the SR-3 evolved, some other features changed. The Models SR-3-O and SR-3-L of 1931 had slightly differ-ent horsepower ratings and compres-sion ratios. The Model L developed 30 hp at 1750 rpm, and the Model O was rated at 45 hp, also at 1750 rpm. Aircraft that used the SR-3 se-ries included the American Eagle Ea-glet, Rearwin Junior 3000 and 3100, Alexander Flyabout D2, Lincoln Ea-glet B-31, and Taylor H-2 Cub. How-ever, the greatest numbers of SR-3s were used by the Curtiss-Wright Ju-nior (280), and the Buhl LA-1 Bull Pup (100-plus).

Introduced to the public a few months after the SR-3 engine was the Szekely Flying Dutchman, an attractive single-place, low-wing monoplane that was first displayed at the 200,000-square-foot pavilion in Mines Field during the 1928 Los Angeles National Air Races and Aero-nautical Exposition (Boone, Andrew R. Inside the Exposition Building. Aviation. Vol.25, No.13. September 22, 1928, pp 932, 933, 962, 964, 966, 970, 972, 976, 978). It is diffi cult to tell much from the photo that ap-peared on page 972 of the article, and a full description of the Szekely Fly-ing Dutchman did not appear un-til the following spring of 1929 (The “Flying Dutchman” - Single Place, Low Wing Monoplane Powered With 40 Hp SR-3 Engine Now Being Produced by Szekely Aircraft Corp. Aviation. March 2, 1929, pp 640-641).

While beyond the scope of this article, the 1928 U.S. National Air Races was the first of these an-nual events that proved so central to American aviation from 1928 to 1939. Organized by Clifford Hender-son, the 1928 exposition displayed

36 different types of aircraft, includ-ing a Hanriot HD.1 that was said to have been flown by Charles Nung-esser during the Great War, and the Travel Air Woolaroc for which Goe-bel and Davis had recently won the Dole prize for their flight to Hono-lulu. In addition to the races that were held over the nine-day period (September 8-16), performances by the military included aerobatics by the USN Seahawks and the USAAC’s Three Musketeers. Unfortunately, Lt. J.J. Williams was killed when he suf-fered an engine failure at 200 feet. He was buried the next day, and Charles A. Lindbergh, who was pres-ent at the event, took over for Wil-liams, having trained with the Three Musketeers at Rockwell Field several years beforehand. Just how the Fly-ing Dutchman was displayed outside of the pavilion is not known; how-ever, several photos exist (National Air and Space Museum laser video-disc 1, side B, frames 43,450-43,455) of one marked with the race num-

ber 11, registration NC9450. This aircraft has a checkerboard pattern painted on the cowl, vertical rudder, ailerons, and elevators. Interestingly, the fi nal frame of the sequence shows the aircraft under the right wing of a Ford Tri-Motor. Just where and when the photos of NC9450 were taken is, unfortunately, unknown.

The little Flying Dutchman dis-played two types of vertical stabiliz-ers and rudders. It is unclear which came fi rst, but the more pointed de-sign seems to have predated the more rounded shape shown in the 1929 Aviation article. The aircraft was of conventional design; however, the design was obviously intended to be an aerobatic airplane. The wing was a fully cantilevered design with box spars. The spar cap strips were spruce with mahogany plywood sides. The cap strips were tapered and spaced with spruce spacer blocks along the spar. The mahogany was two-ply with the grain being arranged at 90 de-grees to each layer for added strength.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

34 APRIL 2010

Wrap fi ttings of cold-rolled half-hard steel plate that were wrapped entirely around the spar and were attached with chrome nickel steel bolts that ran completely through the wing spar. The eight compression mem-bers were made of steel tube arranged as a Warren truss. The wing ribs were made of spruce and were also in the form of a Warren truss.

Each rib was gusseted to the spar with plywood and was said to have been capable of withstanding a 350-pound load. Each rib was spaced at 10.5-inch intervals along the span of the wing. Steel tie rods of square cross section were used in place of wire drag braces. Each rod was insu-lated against vibration. The wingtips of the Flying Dutchman were of a patented welded steel tube frame.

They were designed to give the wings a dihedral effect to promote lateral stability. Welded in a jig, the wingtips were designed to be exactly the same and to be capable of ab-sorbing “hangar rash” from contact with other aircraft and hangar doors. A most noteworthy feature of the wings was their attachment to the fuselage. They completely encircled the spars and were designed for a safety factor in excess of 13!

The fuselage of the Flying Dutch-man consisted of welded mild steel tubing. All joints were placed in com-pression or shear and were arranged in the form of a Warren truss. The tubing was painted with red oxide primer for corrosion-proofing. The engine mount was made of steel tubing, welded to a cold-rolled steel plate. According to the 1929 Aviation article, four nickel steel bolts were used in “double shear” to attach the engine to the airframe.

Streamlined, drag-reducing forms were placed fore and aft of the cock-pit. These consisted of a series of steel arches welded to the frame that were designed to protect the pilot in the event of a nose-over.

The headrest was heavily padded, and the interior of the cockpit was up-holstered with weatherproof fabric.

The pilot’s seat was made of cane and mounted at an easy angle to the

fl oor. The windscreen was made of a heavy celluloid, and the control stick had a rubber grip handle. The throt-tle had a ball attachment knob de-signed so as not to snag on a pilot’s clothing. Instruments were of the “Department of Commerce” type.

Aft of the cockpit was a small bag-gage compartment. A fi rst aid kit and fire extinguisher were included in the equipment. Aft of the metal fi re-wall and in the upper part of the fu-selage was a 10-gallon fuel tank made of terneplate, supported on padded steel mountings. In the lower part of the fuselage was a terneplate oil tank of 2.5 gallons. All piping that passed through the fi rewall was grommeted, and the electrical conduits were of the flexible “loom” type to prevent breakage from vibration. The engine aluminum cowling could easily be removed by use of “snap clamps.”

The fabric covering for the air-frame was cut to shape and sewed before being installed. It was at-tached by “hand stitching to tape wrapped on the longerons, and then taped.” The plane was then given fi ve coats of “high-grade aircraft fi n-ish, hand dressed with pumice and varnished.” The colors used are not known, except that a dark color seemed to predominate.

The landing gear was of the split-axle type, the shock absorbers consist-ing of rubber rings to provide equal tension. The two axles were made of chrome molybdenum tubing, and the wire wheels were covered with fabric, doped and painted to match the color of the airplane. Tires used on the Flying Dutchman were of a specially made 24-inch by 3-inch de-sign. The tail skid consisted of a steel leaf spring fi tted with a steel shoe. All

control surfaces were made of jig-welded steel tubing, covered with fab-ric. The controls were operated by a conventional stick attached to cables. In the case of the ailerons, they ran to bellcranks that operated a push-rod connected to a control horn. Alu-minum alloy rudder pedals operated the vertical rudder via cables. Panels at each wingtip allowed easy inspec-tion of the internal aileron linkage, and the other controls were visible throughout their entire length.

The span of the Flying Dutchman was 26 inches, and the chord was 4 feet 8 inches. The length was 18 feet and the height was 6 feet. The wing utilized a Gottingen 387 airfoil, and the total wing area (including aile-rons) was 108 square feet. Wing load-ing was 7.3 pounds/square feet, and the power loading was 19.4 pounds/hp. The aspect ratio was 6.5. The area of the ailerons was 14 square feet, and the vertical stabilizer and rudder had an area of 7 square feet (although this appears to have been for the more curved type). The horizontal stabiliz-ers and elevators had an area of 20 square feet, the empty weight of the Flying Dutchman was 540 pounds, and the useful load was 215 pounds, giving a gross weight of 735 pounds. In this condition, the aircraft could take off in 75 to 100 feet and land in less than 300 feet at 25 mph. The VC was 75 mph, and the VMAX was 80 mph. Maximum ceiling of the Fly-ing Dutchman was 12,000 feet. The fuel consumption of the SR-3 was 3.5 gallons/hour, giving an endurance of 2.86 hours. In a zero-wind condition (at cruise), this yields a range of about 214.5 miles. The propeller type fi tted to the Flying Dutchman remains un-known to this author.

With the pilot in the cockpit, the moderate size of the Flying Dutch-man is apparent.

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35

A check of the available registration numbers for the Szekely Flying Dutchman indicates that as many as 16 may have been built. The fi rst two were apparently reg-istered 10027 (subject of the Vintage Airplane photo) and 10028. These are also listed as Szekely 4 and 26, respectively. NC8089-8091 are listed as Szekely 19-21. Seven others were registered as NC9450-9456 (Szekely 12-18). Three Flying Dutchmen are registered as 3088 (Flying Dutchman No. 7) and 9355 and 9356 (Flying Dutchmen Nos. 10 and 11). And fi nally, 120E (Flying Dutchman No. 5).

Szekely’s subsequent activities now become some-what less clear. The 1930 census shows that the Sze-kely family had grown to four children: Elizabeth, 16; Marjorie, 14; Mary Lee, 7; and Charles, 2-1/2. A Joanne Jansen, 24, is also listed as a member of the Szekely household at Holland, Michigan. The success of the developed SR-3 Models O and L was short-lived. The peak year for SR-3 production, 1931, was long after the Flying Dutchman had passed from the scene. The com-pany fi led for bankruptcy on March 9, 1932.

Extant views of Szekely vary wildly. One account has him being too liberal with his spending, and another states that he was good to his employees, but that they were infrequently paid. Three engine types are listed for Szekely in the 1932 Aircraft Yearbook (3-35, 3-45, 3-55); however, the only other Szekely engine to actually be built was the five-cylinder, 315-cubic-inch SR-5 of 70 hp. The cost of developing this engine is what may have caused the company to fail. According to a newspaper account (New Firm to Produce Engines in Plant Here. The Holland Sentinel. June 17, 1936), the plant was still “semi-idle” in 1936. A year later in 1937, Szekely ob-tained a U.S. patent for a “variable ratio transmission.” Szekely’s activities during the Second World War are unknown to this author, but in 1951 he obtained two other U.S. patents: one for a three-wheel vehicle with all-wheel steering and one for a “rotary impact tool.”

Otto Szekely passed away at Palm Beach, Florida, on November 4, 1971, at the age of 82. However, that isn’t the end of the story. The late (and legendary) Pe-ter M. Bowers, while working for Boeing, had what he called a “nodding acquaintance” with the engineer in the next offi ce. One day, Bowers noticed his surname and asked if he was related to Otto E. Szekely. The man not only corrected Mr. Bowers on the proper pronun-ciation of his Hungarian surname, he told him that Otto E. Szekely was his uncle. It is worth noting that there is a small group of Hungarian-speaking folk in eastern Transylvania (Carpathian Mountains—today, part of Romania) known as the Székely, that have their own fl ag and have recently been seeking a renewal to their autonomy. The history is rather complex, and at one time or another, the area has been either fully au-tonomous or has been part of the Austro-Hungarian (Habsburg) Empire, Hungary, or Romania. The name of the place—Székely land.

36 APRIL 2010

Type Club Notes

I can’t remember the first time I watched someone drill out an airplane rivet, but it was decades ago. That shade-tree mechanic would drill down

through the rivet head and into the shank of the rivet, until the drill would go through both the entire rivet and the pieces of metal the rivet was joining together. While this method was quick and effec-tive, it usually had the undesir-able result of enlarging the original hole. If any of the pieces were to be reused (and they usually were), the original-sized rivet would of-ten then be undersized in that hole. Even as a kid, I remember thinking. “Isn’t there a better way?”

Turns out, there is. Years ago, when I was doing some metal re-pairs on my Luscombe, I was being helped by an airframe and power-plant mechanic from a local airline who was a sheet metal specialist. He taught me that you don’t drill through anything. Instead, you partially drill into the rivet head, but only far enough to weaken the head, not remove it. You then hit the side of the rivet head with a hammer and small chisel and (hopefully) shear it off. The good news is you don’t damage any of the metal underneath the rivet.

But there’s also bad news; it’s an inexact science. Because of either the force used when the rivet was originally driven or minor incon-sistencies in the alloys that make up the rivets, similar rivets vary in hardness. Even after practice you will often find yourself with rivet heads that have too much material

remaining in the head to be sheared off easily. You then either mash the head sideways or have to re-drill…or both. Or, despite thinking you aren’t that far into the rivet head, you accidentally drill the head off and go into the metal underneath anyway. Oops.

There’s more bad news. Us-ing this method, even when done properly, the shearing action will usually produce a burr in the rivet shank that remains. This burr makes separating the two pieces of

aluminum diffi cult and can still re-sult in a slightly elongated hole.

Those of you who have done lots of sheet metal work might be thinking, “Just buy the rivet re-moval tool from Aircraft Spruce” (or some similar aviation supplier). This tool comes with four different-sized drill bits and guides, and the theory is, it accurately drills the depth of the center of the rivet head, with no damage to the ma-terial underneath. According to Aircraft Spruce’s 2009-2010 cat-alog, this tool with the accesso-ries costs $59.95, plus shipping. I don’t have one.

But here’s the good news, and no person taught me this tip; my variable-speed DeWalt rechargeable drill taught me this one.

A couple of weeks ago I was de-riveting the horizontal stabilizer on a 1939 Model 8 Luscombe project I recently purchased. Interesting project—my dad used to own the airplane when I was a kid, and it’s the fi rst airplane I remember riding in. Anyway, I was using the drill-and-chisel method, and my battery pack was running low on charge. Even with the trigger pulled on full, the low charge allowed the drill to turn at only a snail’s pace. While it was a fl uke, this turned out to really work in my favor.

Something else was working in my favor I also didn’t consider. At Oshkosh this year I had purchased a short tube of 1/8-inch drill bits; I think there are 10 of them in the tube. They are about 3 inches long and double-ended—a bit at both ends. I knew I’d be doing a

Handy tip for drilling out rivetsFrom the Luscombe Association Newsletter No. 202, 2009

BY GERRY SHEAHAN

“…that sharp bit was still

reallydigging into the

rivet head and

throwingoff a nice

curly shaving.”

lot of metal work on this project, and you can never have enough 1/8 bits, right? I assumed because they weren’t very expensive that they probably weren’t very good or wouldn’t last very long. Wrong! Drilling only aluminum, they wear like iron and are sharp as razors, which is also important to this drilling method.

So, there I was almost done de-riveting for the evening with a drill that is barely turning. But that sharp bit was still really digging into the rivet head and throwing off a nice curly shaving. I bore down a bit harder on the dying drill, and as I was watching, suddenly the rivet head spun and stuck to the drill bit. I pulled it away, and what remained was perfectly smooth and fl at; there was no burr anywhere. I did it again, and again, and again with the same result. And the pieces of metal sim-ply popped apart with no effort, no damage, and no elongated holes.

I swapped out my dead battery pack for a recharged one and kept on going, but I changed my tech-nique by bearing down a bit harder and drilling as slowly as possible, instead of the medium to high speed I had always been using. And the results were the same as when I was using the drill with the nearly dead battery. What is happening is, those sharp bits at a slow speed are digging into the rivet head and forcing it to fail in shear just before it gets to the metal underneath. Lis-tening closely, I could actually hear the rivet shank snap as the rivet head started to turn. I haven’t used my chisel since.

Try this instead of the drill-and-chisel method:

1. Make sure you’re using a drill size equal to the shank of the rivet.

2. Establish the start of the hole with a couple of revolutions of the drill to make sure it’s in the center of the rivet. If not, make adjust-ments in the angle you are holding. You need to be in the center.

3. Drill as slowly as possible.4. Bear down on the drill to

make that sharp bit really dig

into the head.5. Watch the rivet head, and

when it turns, stop! You’re done!There might be experienced met-

alworkers who have been using this method for years, but I doubt it. A friend pointed out that it re-quires a variable speed drill capa-ble of turning at a slow speed with good torque. Those types of drills haven’t been around that long. And if your rechargeable drill gives you the choice of “high speed” or

“high torque,” use the latter.

A Couple of Final ThoughtsThis method does not work on

countersunk rivets.When done correctly, the remain-

der of the rivet head will be jammed on the end of the drill bit. It is very sharp; resist the temptation to re-move it with your fi ngers. If you use a pliers instead, your thumb won’t have a series of small painful slices . . . like my thumb did.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

38 APRIL 2010

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Steve Krog1002 Heather Ln.

Hartford, WI 53027262-966-7627sskrog@aol.com

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

262-782-2633lumper@execpc.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

E.E. “Buck” Hilbert8102 Leech Rd.Union, IL 60180815-923-4591

buck7ac@gmail.com

Gene Morris5936 Steve Court

Roanoke, TX 76262817-491-9110

genemorris@charter.net

John TurgyanPO Box 219

New Egypt, NJ 08533609-758-2910

jrturgyan4@aol.com

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–7:00 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 dwalker@eaa.orEAA Air Academy 920-426-6880 www.airacademy.org airacademy@eaa.orgEAA Scholarships 920-426-6823 scholarships@eaa.orgFlight Instructor information 920-426-6801 www.eaa.org/nafi tdeimer@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.orgEAA Enterprise Rent-A-Car Program 877-421-3722 www.eaa.org/enterprise membership@eaa.orgEditorial 920-426-4825 www.vintageaircraft.org vintage@eaa.orgVAA Offi ce FAX 920-426-6579 tbooks@eaa.org

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

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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

40 APRIL 2010