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STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

Fly-ins cover man y ac tivities including soc ial and co mpetitive fu nction s and just plain old togethern ess and relaxation. Many fly-ins are entirely social. Back in the late Thirties we had th e monthly breakfast fli ghts. Throu gh word of mouth we would all attempt to gather early on a Saturday morning and pick a d es­tination whi ch was compatible with the various typ es of aircraft, and away w e would go in a )-3 with an auto road map and a passenger who usually was also a pilot. Frequently it took the co ntents of two pocke t book s to finance the flight in cluding gas and food. Breakfast flights still ex ist today , but more often than not we are loaded into a " spam ca n" and we guide ourselves elec troni ca lly to the d esti nation .

Today, w e have our type club fly-ins wh ere antique or c lassic buffs gather for an annual w eekend , to swap stori es, have con tes ts, exchange ideas and gen­erally enjoy fun and exc item ent. Thes e fly-ins are both helpful and enjoyable as th e participants share a mutu al interes t in a single type of aircraft.

We also have the " Air Shows", which have been go in g on for some 70 years. Although not actually classified as fly-ins, people gather to see the partici­pants demon strate flight activities not normally seen in everyday aviation. Th ese exhibitors are continually bringing before us new routines and demonstrations of th e capabilities of both pilots and aircraft.

What is more tun than having an EAA Chapter fly-in on a Sunday afternoon, participating with your friends in spot landin g and flour-bombing contests, displaying your skill in a short cross co untry effi­ciency contest, and th en enjoying the fine ea ting of th e home-cooked food suppli ed by the wives and girl friends of th e loca l fellows. This is EAA!

Th en we have th e activities of the International Aerobatic Club, a Divi sion of EAA. The average per­son in th e United States sees a Pitts and immediat ely class ifi es th e pilot as an " air show" type who tak es hi s life in hand on every flight. How wrong they are!

The lAC has fly-ins which are contest oriented. We won ' t go into the actual details co ncernin g the rul es and regulations governing an lAC event , but res t as­

sured these co ntests are for pr ecision aerobatic fly­in g, done und er safe and stringent rul es, and are separated into classifications according to the exper­tis e of the individual pilot. Our hats are off to th e outstanding m en and women of the lA C. Through their organized effort to mak e aerobatics a safe, recr ea tional sport, we are privileged to witness some of th e finest precision flying to be seen anywhere.

Th ere is no doubt th at THE fly-in of each year is th e Annual EAA International Convention at Oshkosh. Here EAA members and guests are able to see all typ es of aircraft and participate in forum s, work­shops, social activities, ca mping, etc. Also there are all kinds of co mmercial displ ays including modern factory-built aircra ft, and of course, those fabulous daily air shows. This convention ha s it all.

Th ere is one fly-in during the year that deserves all the acco lades it receives from its participants. It is a typ e club known as the Staggerwing Club and it is superbly organized and managed . Under th e auspices of th e Staggerwing Club is the Staggerwing Museum Foundation, In c. The fo rmer was organized in 1962 and the Foundation was founded in 1974. What is so outstanding about the Staggerwing group is what they hav e accomplished, and the manner in which their annual fly-in is conducted.

Since its origin, the Staggerwing Club and Mus eum Foundation has manag ed to obtain for its members ju st about all of the remaining parts of the various Beechcraft Model 17s that exist. From th e Beech fac­tory they have obtained photos and all drawings of th e various models, including th e details and specifi­cations of each aircraft manufactured and other p erti­nent information. All of this is available to its mem­ber ship for us e in restoring and operating Stagger­wings. Within the museum itself are static displays of various part s, engines, hardware , photos dating from the 30's as well as current photographs of the flying restorations of the mem bers .

The annual Staggerwing Convention is held for its membe rs and their gues ts and currently is held in Tullahoma, Tenn essee. Thi s fly-in is uniqu e in many

ways and though its format may not work for all other fly-ins, the tremendou s amount of enthusiasm it gen­erates, its hospi tality and functional aspects should set an example for others. Generally the fly-in begins on a Wedn esday and concludes on the following Sunday. A safety committee functions to control fly­bys and pre-arranged formation work. Workshops and forums are scheduled to assist the Staggerwing or Travel Air res torer , owner or pilot in bringing the aircraft and individual pilot abilities up to the stan­dand s desir ed . Fli ght checks by ex perienced Stag ge rwing pilots are offered and even FAA biennial flight reviews can be scheduled during the Conven­tion!

Daily social ga therings are held and tours of the in­dustrial and manufacturing facilities of the area are available. Evening meals and social hours are held on the site daily and an informal banquet concludes these activities on Saturday evening. Even though there are over ten different models flying, the Staggerwing Convention prese nts no trophies or awards! However, each Staggerwing or Travel Air prese nt at the Convention is presented with a unique plaque as re cognition of attendance.

In sho rt , th e Staggerwing Club ex hibits the love for a ce rtain type of aircraft , togeth er with th e expertise to organize, develop, maintain , re store and fly their beloved machines. Th ey have es tablished and they maintain a museum of top quality and during their brief hi story hav e dev eloped th e fellowship and sin­cere dedication we so need in sport aviation.

FAA ALERT BULLETIN - STEARMAN

~/c comp;~e!2~ LI~~ SHOULDER HARNESSES IN ALL

SMALL AIRPLANES

Several weeks ago the National Transportation Safety Board recommended to the FAA that shoulder harnesses should be made mandatory and retroactive on all small airplanes. One of the problems is that on older aircraft it is not possible to hook up a safe and effective shoulder harness. The FAA recognizes this problem and has been investigating what could be done in the broad area of additional cabin and seat safety. The fAA analysis has not been completed but we hope to have a report on this within a few weeks ... David H. Scott, Washington, D.C.

NO TCAs FOR ALBANY AND ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

The FAA has dropped its plans to establish terminal control areas at these locations. An analysis of traffic data and comments at public hearings has convinced the FAA that the existing terminal radar services pro­vide adequate safety.

However, new TCAs are still planned for Buffalo, Syracuse, Norfolk, Baltimore, and Dulles Airport at Washington, D.C., in the Eastern Region. Also, the existing TCAs at New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington will be altered.

VA FLIGHT TRAINING IN JEOPARDY

The House Veteran Affairs Committee voted to cut off the Veterans Administration flight training benefits program , and if Congress follows suit the program could end on October 1 of this year. Over 15,000 per­sons are enrolled in VA ftight training . General avia­tion interests have been very vocal in opposing th e committee's action.

CAPITOL DRIVE AIRPORT HAS 80 OCTANE FUEL

Wally and Lois Mitchell, owners and operators of Capitol Drive Airport on the northwest side of Mil­wau kee, Wisconsin, report that they have 80 octane avgas for EAAers enroute to Oshkosh '80. Telephone 414 /783-4515.

Boeing Model 75 Series (S tearman) Wood Control Stick Assembly, PIN 75-3362

An accident occurred after the wood control stick in the rear cockpit broke during flight . The failure oc­curred in the area between the retaining bolt and the upper end of the socket assembly.

The broken control stick was made of walnut. Boe­ing drawings specify that only hickory should be used ; preferably in a straight grained solid piece of wood. However, 3/16 inch laminated stock is also ac­ceptable for use in fabricating a replacement control stick . An aluminum control stick, PIN 75-3347, is in­terchangeable with the wood control stick.

... from the Stearman Restorers Association News­letter , "Outfit"

(Pharo b y Gene Chase)

E. M. " Mally " Laird, EAA 10118, visited the EAA Air Museum on June 17 to inspect th e Museum 's La ird Super Solution replica prior to its being covered. Here he beams his approval of the project while sea ted in the cockpit.

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Warren Dodson, EAA 81697, A/C 685, was killed in March in th e crash of a Cessna 185 near Shaktoolik, Alaska while flying three officials of a Spanish film

~i . tJeWS by Gene ChaseCompo /ed

LUSCOMBE PART AVAILABLE

AURORA, CO - Univair Aircraft Corp. has received a Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) from the FAA for the design and manufacture of a replacement fin attachment fitting for Luscombes.

Thi s part is applicable to Luscombe series 8 planes with round vertical stabilizers and is a 4130 steel re­placement for the original cas t aluminum Luscombe fitting (PN 28444 or 28453) which may be required to be scrapped and replaced according to AD 79-25-05. Univair's part number is U-28444 for the fitting.

The part is ava ilabl e for immediate shipment at a price of $49.50. Univair also stocks numerous other parts for the Lu scombes.

Contact Univair at Rt. 3, Box 59, Aurora, CO 80011, 303/364-7661.

GREAT LAKES AIRCRAFT AVAILABLE AGAIN

The Great Lakes Aircraft Company is back in pro­duction again, turning out those ageless classic G reat Lakes Train ers. For information, contact Great Lakes Aircraft Company, Marketing Dept., P. O. Drawer A, Eastman, GA 31023 . Telephone 912/374-5535 .

(Photo by Ray Thompson)

Hurley Boehler on th e left , pres ident of Antique/Class ic Chapter 10 accepts the chapter charter from Gene Chase. This first meeting of th e new chapter was held in Tulsa, Oklah oma on May 28 with 40 people in attendance.

company while on location in the area. Warren was affectionately known as "Ace" and was one of the best known bush pilots in Alaska. His father , James Dodson , Jr., was considered one of the great aviation pioneers in Alaskan history. Warren was 44 and a pilot for Wien Alaska for 23 years. His pride and joy was a restored Stinson SR-8 Reliant. Several years ago he salvaged the abandoned remains of this gullwing which had been purchased new at the factory in 1936 by his father . Stinson aircraft were a very important part of Warren's life , and he helped many restorers with their projects. We will sorely miss hi s advice and enthusiasm and genuine friendship. Word of War­ To'

ren 's passin g was provided by the National Stinson Club Newsletter.

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by Merton A. Meade, Jr. fAA # 112009, A /C # 2994

2009 Victoria Drive Aquia Harbour

Stafford, VA 22554

Photos by the author

A great deal has been written about this most fan­tastic old aeroplane, but not a lot about flying it. I' m certain that just about every EAA and Antique/Classic Division member knows the machine still lives, and that it was restored by a singularly brilliant craftsman named Harold W. johnston who now resides in Texas. It is well known that Harold spent several years of his life, all of his money, and God-only­knows how much pain and suffering to get the machine back in an airworthy condition. just to call

the Vultee airworthy is really much too mild a phrase . It is, to paraphrase the Rolls Royce folks, not so much an aeroplane - more a way of life.

just a very brief history of this machine reads better than most novels. It was delivered to its original owner, William Randolph Hearst in April of 1937, and was used by Mr. Hearst at his ranch at San Simeon, California from that time until he disposed of it in july of 1940. The pilots of the "big" Hearst Vultee ("big" to differentiate it from the other Hearst Vultee that crashed at San Simeon and burned), were AI Russell and H. R. Earnest . These two men thought NC16099 was the most fantastic flying machine they had ever encountered. And they were quite right.

In the middle of '40, Mr. Hearst sold the machine to Marcos Gallabert who took it to Panama where he used it on a little airline he had going at the time. The day after Pearl Harbor, " Tito" Gallabert tangled with a U. S. Army truck in Panama, and all but de­stroyed the aeroplane . A year or so later , however , the machine was rescued from the breakers torch by

Lady Peace /I on th e grass runway at Shannon Airport.

a fellow named Sam Wilburn , and it was repaired and used by the Government. Later it was sold to TACA airlines and was landed , wheels-up , unfortunately, in Mexico. TACA didn 't figure the ship was worth fixing, so they sold it to the Kane Products Company in New England .

Kane sent a man named Tony Ross down to repair it and fly it back to New Haven, which he did. Kane kept the aeroplane for a couple years and then sold it to Welker Airways in Detroit. When Welker owned the Vultee, it was flown once in a while by Tony Bar­num .

Welker sold the machine back into Panama , and it stayed in Central and South America until the late ' 50s. It was flown from San jose, Costa Rica by " jungle" jody Gooding and " Charmin '" Charlie Hud­son with a load of monkeys and other exotic beasts in the back. The story of the trip back to California will almost fill a book , but that story will hav e to wait.

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Back in the States and re-registered with her origi­nal number, NC16099, it passed through a few own­ers before ending up sitting, in an absolutely junked condition, in the back lot of Johnston Automotive, Pueblo, Colorado. Harold decided to restore the Vul­tee, and devoted almost seven years to the project, finishing with the test flight on May 1, 1971.

For the next six years, Harold used the Vultee, now named ,the Spirit of Pueblo, as his personal aero­plane. He took it to Oshkosh where it was enthusias­tically received, and also to Antique Airfield at Blakes­burg, Iowa, where she looked like a mother hen , tow­ering over the smaller aeroplanes.

For severa l years Sidney Shannon, owner of the Shannon Air Museum, had been watching with in­terest the movements of the Vultee, and finally, in very early 1977, he and Harold Johnston ca me to an agreement, and Harold flew the machine to Virginia. The name was changed to Lady Peace II, in honour of Museum Curator, Captain H. T. "Dick " Merrill, who flew a similar machine across the Atlantic in Sep­tember of 1936. The big Vultee now sits in the center of the Museum, on the green Astro-turf hangar floor, watching over her brood of sma ller an tiques.

But, on to flying the ship. A walk-around inspection is about like you 'd expect on a DC-9. It's big! Also, there are a couple of things that are quite unusual. It mu st be remembered to turn on the brake shut-off valves located on each landing gear leg . These valves prevent fluid from running through the big multi-disc Goodyear brakes and out onto the ground. If you forget to tu rn on these valves, you obviously have no brakes, and since the tailwheel n either steers nor locks, you have a big, wiggly salamander and no way to control it.

Once inside , more interesting things take place . The oil shut-off valve mu st be opened to allow the oil from the 19-9allon tank to get to the engine. Prime­wobble-prime-wobble is the next order of business. When the down-draught carbureter is properly primed and the fuel pressure is up , the starter switch is pushed over to the " Engage" side and a long , laboured whine begins as the inertia wheel starts to turn . When it's wailing like a banshee, and the throt­tle is set right and the mags set to the booster side, the switch is flipped to the " mesh " side and the big Hamilton-Standard 3D40 jerks through. The R-1820 Cyclone comes to life with all the clouds of smoke and intoxicating smells associated with big radials , and all the dials spring into their proper places . With the Wright running - sitting there throbbing and sending powerful vibrations through the entire machine , you are reminded that this is not a machine

The Vultee 's front office.

to be trifled with. It is an airliner, and an old one at that.

When the pressures have all settled down to where they belong, and the oil temperature has started up, you can start to taxi to the runway. The old Goodyear brakes let out the most delightful moans and groans, which serve to remind you that they are not to be over-used . Run-up isn't unusual; about what you'd expect for a big radial. With the run-up complete, switch on the " No Smoking" and "Fasten Seat Belts " signs, and you're ready for a real experience.

Normal take offs are made without flaps, but up to ten degrees can be used for short fields or particu­larly heavy loads. I always let the Vultee roll forward a few feet before coming up with the power, just to make certain the tailwheel is absolutely straight. To have an 8,000 pound lizard go squirming off into the toolies just doesn 't sound like this old man 's idea of a lot of fun. Anyway, up with the power to 37" of man­ifold pressure (this isn 't anywhere near wide open ­red line is 41"), and if the rudder trim is set right she' ll track just about straight down the strip. If she's light, the tail will hop up just like a Cub, but if she's slrghtly aft-loaded, you'll have to help it up with a lit­tle forward stick.

The prop govenor will settle the rpm in at the red­line of 2,200 and the Wright will make more noise than any, and I mean any, propeller driven aeroplane I've ever heard . Inside the sound isn't really too bad,

The Vultee as she sits today - surrounded by other an­tiques,

but outside it is painful. In just a few seconds the airspeed is nudging 80, and a slight tug on the big, round wood-rim wheel will unstick her and up you'll go.

Holding an initial 37" for a few seconds, retract the wheels and the speed will jump to a hundred or more right away. After the wheels are up, pull in the flaps if any are out. To do this means moving the transmission shift lever from "Gear" to " Flaps", and then moving the motor switch from its normal place in neutral to "Up". After the flaps are in, move the motor switch back to " Neutral" , and then put the shifter back down to the " Gear" position. Sound complicated? You darn well better believe it!

I like to reduce manifold pressure just as soon as possible, and pull it back to 30" and 2,000 rpm. As soon as a little altitude is on, a further reduction to about 25" and 1800 is made, and if you then want to climb more, just pull the nose up to 120 miles per hour and go on up, being ever-mindful of the oil temperature. The oil cooler is mounted inside the cowling, behind the row of cylinders, so the Vultee is very sensitive to pitch attitude.

In cruising flight, the machine is a delight. She's fast; at about 50% power she'll indicate right around 150 miles per hour at, say, 8,000 feet. Sure, she'll go faster, but you sure pay the penalty in 100 octane. My good friend General Ben Kelsey accompanied me from Shannon Airport to Antique Airfield last year,

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and he described the Vultee as a "drifter". She just won ' t sit there absolutely hands off and perfectly hold a heading. No great deal of effort has to be made, but you've got to pay attention. She's basically very stable, and incredibly strong. It's hard to believe an airliner stressed 12 positive and 4 negative, bu't them's the numbers for the Vultee V-1A Special.

Landing the big Vultee is sheer delight, if your idea of sheer delight is being as busy as a one armed paper hangar with the hives. On downwind, slow her down to around 130 or 140 and put out the wheels. That ' s easy; just make sure the shifter is in the "Gear" position, and move the motor switch to "Down". With almost no effort from the pilot, the airspeed will settle at about 120. Make certain the wheels are out by checking the indicator gauge, the green light, and also by peeking out the window to see if you can see the " weedcutter " gear door . If you happen to have the wireless turned on and ear­phones on your head, you ' ll know when the wheels are out. The old motor makes such a horrible screeching and shrieking through the headset, the re­lief is so great when it stops you just know the wheels are down .

Next move the shifter up and the motor switch down to start the flaps out. I usually don't worry with looking at the flap indicator. When I start getting a pronounced pitch change, I stop the flaps, set the airspeed on about a hundred, and begin the ap­proach . Fairly close in, 100 is a good number , and on short base or long final I put out the rest of the flaps.

As soon as all the flaps are out , make certain the motor switch is in neutral and the shifter back in the landing gear position. This is done so that if you have to make a go-around, you can get the wheels in first. With the shifter in the gear position, you can crank in the flaps with the hand crank , and with the shifter in the flap position , the same crank works the undercar­riage. Sort of like rubbing and patting at the same time, ain ' t it? Remember, no more than 30" if the airspeed is less than a hundred; the rudder just won't hold direction.

Here we are, now, on short final , wheels down, flaps down, shifter down and the runway coming up to you. A touch of power holds the rate of descent just right and the speed should be about 80. As the runway comes up to you , just ease up the nose a bit, reduce the power and she'll settle nicely onto the main trucks with a little squeak. No need to keep watching the airspeed indicator ; she' ll tell you every­thing you want to know.

Wheel landings are easiest, mainly because you can see. I've three-pointed her several times, but the big fuselage has a way of blanking out the rudder. She slows down so quickly once on the ground , wheel landings just seem to work out best. I remember landing at Blakesburg last year with the General in the right seat. I must say that little runway looked short. As we rolled onto final and I started to really slow her down, General Kelsey leaned over and asked me if I wanted him to call our airspeeds. I al­lowed that as slow as I THOUGHT I'd have to bring her in, I didn't even want to hear what the airspeed indicator was saying. The General courageously re­mained silent , and after we were on the ground and taxiing in, he told me the thing was just about a nee­dle width under 70 mph over the fence. As I said , I didn't even want to know how slow it was! As a mat­ter of fact, though , the aeroplane felt just as solid as it looks, with complete control.

Once you 're on the ground with the V-1A , just sit there and leave things alone until you ' re off the run­way and ready to taxi in. Make absolutely certain the motor switch is in neutral, move the shifter to the flap position and retract them. When they're all the way up again, put the motor switch in neutral and move the shifter back to the gear position. If you're not extremely careful, you can pull the wheels up while taxiing. Sitting still, with the full weight of the ship on the gear, the micro switches won 't allow the undercart to come up, but taxiing lightens the load enough , what with the long oleo travel, that the switches will not do their jobs and you can actually bring in the wheels. That could be a very embarras­sing and expensive situation.

Shut down is fairly simple; just turn off the fuel and let it run out of gas. All switches off, firewall oil shut-off turned off and then get out and shut off the brake fluid . You ' re now all done.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Vultee V-1A Special is the most fascinating aeroplane I 've ever been involved with. If ever an aeroplane has been. destined to survive, it 's this very one. It has had more opportunities to " die" than most ships and has side­stepped all of them. Remember , it crashed in Panama back in the early forties, but survived. It ran out of gas with a load of monkeys on board back in the fif­ties, but just happened to be right over an airport. The pilot got her on the deck without tearing any­thing up, even though the wheels were still winding down as he rolled them on the runway. It was sitting on a field in Central America one time when a hor­rendous hailstorm came through. The hail beat up every aeroplane on the field except one, and I don' t have to tell you which one that was. It wasn't even touched, though it was sitting right with the rest of them. Why didn ' t Harold Johnston just let it die after sitting in his back lot for a few years? It has had a few problems over the years that would have " killed" les­ser ships, but NC16099 has survived, and I believe it always will.

(Pho to b y Chris Sorensen)

A large cumberso n a irplane. its eng ine th e p ow erful Wright Cyclone 1000 hp gives it a speed of well over 780 mph . It made history wh en Di ck M errill flew it to England with Harry Richman. It was res tored to its present condi­ti on b y H aro ld Johnsto n of Pu eblo , Co lorad o . Now owned by Sh annon Air Museum, it is the only one of its kind.

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A project, a project - Antique/Classic Chapter 7 needed a project! During its first four months of exis­tence, Chapter 7, based at Flanders Valley Airport in New Jersey, had managed to get itself chartered, started a newsletter, hold a square dance , plan a fly-in and recover a Stinson 108-1 . Yet , our ambition was to get our teeth into a full scale project ; a com­plete restoration. With some of the funds collected from our previous efforts , the Chapter was ready to search seriously for such a project.

The original organizers of Chapter 7 were fortunate in being able to attract some fifty individuals, both men and women into membership by their en­thusiasm and willingness to work. This provided a pool of talent, energy, and interest which found the opportunity to flow together upon discovery of the Reluctant Lady.

It all started with a phone call one Friday evening . The voice of one of our members sounded like a 33 rpm record played at 45 rpm speed . He had located a wrecked Fairchild PT-26 which had flown only 23 ,hours since a complete restoration. The fuselage and other handy parts could be ours with the purchase of

!the instruments. There was only one catch; the fuse­Ilage was in a swamp near Ellenville, New York. But, the price was only $800! This was certainly worth looking Into, and immediate action would be neces­sary. I was able to get in touch with two other mem­bers, including a mechanic, and by 7 A.M . the follow­ing morning, we were bound for Ellenville .

Upon our arrival, we located our contact who showed us the engine and instruments . The engine looked good, and the instruments looked like new which aroused our interest more than ever. We asked our contact to take us to the aircraft. Once we as­sured him that we had brought plenty of warm cloth­ing , he , agreed to lead us on. It seemed as if we had left civilization behind as we moved higher and higher into the mountains and further and further into the woods. Finally , we were signaled to pull over to the side of the road. " She 's down there," he said, as he pointed to some trees. "Down there?", I asked . " Ya , right on the other side of the trees, there's a swamp and a pond ."

We bundled up and took off in the direction he had pointed. About 100 yards from the road we saw the pond and swamp; we still had another 50 yards to go. And then , we spotted her , glistening in the sun despite being partially submerged in ice. We ap­proached for a closer inspection. One wing was bro­ken at the center section and folded under ; the lead­ing edge of the other wing showed evidence of hav­ing taken some nasty blows on the way down . With the exception of some broken stringers , the fuselage looked good, but we were unable to determine the extent of damage to the underside.

A project? In our excitement we were afraid to voice the question . We trudged back through the packed snow to th e truck and left word with our con- ' tact that we would be in touch as soon as we re­ceived an answer from the membership .

. by Wa lt A hlers, Pres ident f AA Antique/Class ic Chapter # 7

fAA # 92795, A /C # 3974 60 Main Street

Flanders, NJ 07836

Photos courtesy of th e auth or

On the way home we discu ssed the pros and cons of taking on the PT-26 as a chapter project. We were trying very hard to maintain our objectivity. Our biggest question was " would the chapter be willing to undertake a project of this magnitude? " Just then , our discussion was interrupted by the weather fore­cast which added a sense of urgency for reaching a decision . The five day forecast called for a warming trend and rain - a January thaw? Once the ice thawed , the PT would sink deeper into the swamp . If that happened she would be impossible to retrieve, and our search for a project would have to start anew. W e returned to Flanders Valley Airport and met with some of the members we had left behind in the coffee shop.

The more we talked, the more excited we became . We didn ' t want to let this opportunity slip through our hands . If we were to do it , we needed' a work party the next morning, but more importantly , we needed at least the tacit consent of the membership to follow through . We cranked up the telephone chain and by the end of the evening more than half of the members had agreed to go dig her out.

The first crew was to leave at 5 A.M . with a second crew following at 7 A .M. It takes some kind of dedi­cation to get up early on a Sunday morning in the middle of January. Mother Nature , fickle as usual , had decided that instead of a warming trend she would send a record cold, bone chilling -200 F. temp­eratu reo

9

Upon reaching th e PT all hand s se t to - not dig­ging out th e aircraft, but building a fir e. First things first. All th e chain saws , pick ax es and other assorted equipment were then put into se rvi ce cleaning th e brush and ice around the aircraft. By noon, the fuse­lag e was clear of ice, and it was determined that th e center section was damaged beyond repair . W e chose to cut it clear of th e fuselage at th e inboard fuel tank. Th e water around the fu selage w as getting churned up and what wasn 't muddy wa s freezin g, so it was hard to tell what was being done. It had been a long tim e since breakfast and all of us were tired and hun­gry . A break was decla red and some scouts were sent back to civilization for food .

But what to do about th e freezing water? Perhaps, if it could be kept circulating, it would not fr eeze, and the fu se lage could b e freed ; but a pump would be n eeded. Wh ere to find a pump at noo n on Sun­day? Why at a fir e house of course. W e stopped at Napanoch Fire Company and those tru sting folks w ere agreeable to lending us a pump . No qu es tions asked. I guess th ey figured that if we were crazy enough to go to the top of a mountain to chop out an airplane in the dead of winter , we could be tru sted with a pump .

Upon our return we found the spirits of th e group w ere lagging . People were beginning to have second thou ght s about our salvage operation. Wh at had

start ed out as a lark was turning into a lot of hard , cold , fruitless work. Th e pump was set up and im­mediately a petcock was broken. No sooner was the probl em overcom e than the pump froze up. It was ju st too cold. What seemed like a good idea had sim­ply fi~zled . W e figured that w e'd give it one last ef­fort. It would b e back to muscle power. Th en if things did not work out , well, at leas t , we 'd given our best try .

A coupl e of saplings were cut down and placed under the fuselage where it appeared to be stuck fa st. One end wa s attached to a Bronco, and all hand s grabbed on and pulled . Every ounce of com­bin ed energy was exe rted. Th e Bronco 's front wheels w ere clear off th e ice and those men hanging onto the poles looked like so much laundry hung out to dry. Then ca me the shout , " It moved! " Had we really freed the fuselage or ju st damaged it further? Then slowly, ever so slowly, the Bronco returned to earth. At th e same time , an old tree stump revealed its roots as th e PT was freed from the icy grip of the swamp.

With th e PT free, we got our second wind . All that remained was to drag her to high ground . A simple process! But , w e had not reckoned with the added w eight of the fu se lag e full of ice. With ropes at­tach ed, w e attempted to mov e our Reluctant Lady with the Bronco. She would not move. The Suburban was attached to the Bron co and still no movement.

The remaining parts of th e cent er section was digging into th e ice. About that time , a st range face appeared in the crowd. He was the former owner of our Lady. Disbelieving what he saw, he offered us a piece of plywood to use as a sled. Once positioned, we then had little trouble dragging her to the roadside and secured her . We had succeeded in retrieving her from the swamp before the thaw, but she still would have to lose some weight before we would be able to transport her to Flanders.

An exhausted, but happy crew returned home. All had worked hard and it had taken the combined ef­forts of each and every person, with the help of some new found friends to free our Reluctant Lady. How­ever , the se nse of well being we felt that night was replaced by sore and aching muscles in the morning.

Our chapter meeting was held two weeks later, and naturally , the Reluctant Lady was discussed at length. The suggestion was made to bring her back that very day . Within fifteen minutes , twelve members volun­teer ed, called their wives, and were off. This time a tilt-body truck, donated by a chapter member, was part of the equipment. The ice-laden fuselage was pulled aboard, and by ten o 'clock that evening, the Relu ctant Lady was in her new home, basking in the warmth of two space heaters. It was more than two days later that the last of the ice was cl ea red from her fus elage .

10

Res toration o f th e Relu ctant Lady w as th e program at th e n ex t Chapt er 7 m ee ting. Sh e was un cove red and it was determin ed that her fu se lage had sustain ed o nl y mino r damage. But , w e needed parts. Now th e sea rch was to begin in ea rn es t.

A t thi s time, th e Relu ctant Lady consisted o nly o f a damaged fu se lage, an engin e, and so m e in strum ents. Cl ea rly mu ch m o re would be necessa ry before she could beco m e air bo rn e o n ce m o r e . Ear l y in our sea rch , w e loca ted an engin e cowling, fl aps and som e mi sce ll an eo u s it e m s o n Lo n g Island , whi ch w e p ro mptl y acqu i red . In th e mea ntime, o ur "expert s" had also loca ted a set o f win gs, tail surfaces, and o th er part s. Th ese were in W akeman , O hi o, but as u su al , th e re w as a str i ng ti ed to th e bargain . W e wo uld fir st have to identify th e parts, and th ey were stored wi th o th er d isasse m bled aircra ft - and no th ­ing w as m ark ed.

Aga in th e requ es t for vo lunt ee rs was m ad e and mo re th an enough stepped fo rward . It w as d ecided th at thr ee of us w o uld make th e trip . W e left o n a Fri day even in g, dragg in g a trail er , and pl ann ed to dri ve str aig ht thro ug h th e ni ght. O ur very und er­stand in g w ives supp li ed us w i th pl enty o f br owni es and fri ed chi cken. W e reached Ortn er Fi eld in O hi o by 4 A. M . and grabbed about three ho urs o f sleep .

I aw o ke at daybr ea k , and my f irst view o f th e f ield i ncl uded th e silh ouett es of so me very large air craft. W ithin sight of our vehi cle was a C-46, two D C-7's, three Convairs, and an A- 26 . Th ere w ere also the re­mains of two o r three Beech D-18s and a D C-7 ce nt er sec ti o n . Th is was no o rdinary country airport ! Th ere th ey sa t , in th e mist , lik e so m any crea tures fr o m a p rehi stor ic age. M uch lik e th e d inosaurs o f o ld w hose ex tin cti o n w as p redes tin ed by climati c changes, th ese pro ud craft, o nce rul ers of th e sky, had sunk int o techno log ica l obso lescence.

By 6:30 A .M . everyone w as up, and we head ed into town for som e b rea kfas t. W e return ed to th e f ield on ce m o r e ass uming th at o ur "contact " would be wai ting. W hen th ere was no sign o f him by 9: 00 A. M . we ca lled. Hi s fi rst co mm ent w ent as fo ll ows, " You w er en 't supposed to be here thi s w eekend . W ell , I' ll meet you at th e coffee shop in 15 minutes. " So back int o to wn w e w ent. W e w ai ted , an d w ait ed , and wai ted. N o o ne. "Was th ere ano th er co ff ee shop in town ?" " N o t since about three yea rs ago," th e wait­ress repli ed. Aga in w e headed fo r th e airport. Con­versa ti o n was at a minimum as we w ere beginning to think th at we had p laced a $200 depos it and driven 565 mil es fo r no thing. Av iati o n lo re is full of sto ri es about p eopl e w ho have been had, and i t looked as i f w e may have jo ined the ra nks.

Arriving at th e fi eld , w e spotted a pi ck-up tru ck and approached it o n th e o ff chance th at th e drive r was o ur "co ntac t". Sur e eno ug h , m essages had b ee n scra mbl ed , and he had been w aiting fo r u s. H e fir st too k us to a hangar wh ere th e o nly th ings w e found w ere a set o f wings.

" I th o ug ht w e we re supp ose d to pi c k up so m e oth er part s," I said . " Is thi s all you h ave?" " Yeh , th er e's m o re," h e drawl ed . " Th ey' r e ov er at th e bar n ." W e pulled out th e wings and fo llow ed him to th e barn. H e o pened th e door , and th ere befor e our eyes w as pa radi se. Th e barn w as ju st pac ked to th e raft ers wi th assort ed odds and ends o f all ki nds o f airc raft. W e pi cked and chose w hat we wanted , plac­ing all th e parts on th e gro und outsid e. Wh en w e fi­nall y quit , th e barn loo k ed as if no thin g had bee n r e m ove d , but an yo n e lookin g d o wn f r o m above w o uld hav e assu med th at a m ajor aviati o n di sas ter had taken p lace.

We w e re f in all y rea dy for th e loa ding, but th en M o th er Na tur e d ec id ed to do her thing . Th e ski es d ark ened , and h eavy, threa tening clouds m oved in pelting us with a downp our of rain and hail. Th ere we re littl e w hit e marbl es of ice all over us, all over the ca r , and all over th e parts. Yet , 30 minutes later , it w as all ove r , and th e sun was shining. A t thi s po int all we coul d d o was laugh , pack our tr easures and head back to th e airport for our wings and th e final loa d­ing.

As we load ed and reloaded , it beca m e o bviou s that news of our acti viti es had tr'ave led . A gentlem en ap­p roac h ed u s, i ntr o du cin g him se lf as Leon. I f w e w ould b e interes ted , he'd like to show us hi s coll ec­ti o n of ai rcra ft pa rt s and pi eces. By that tim e, we had disca rd ed o ur schedule. " Why no t, w e' ll fo llow you . How far is it ?"

" Ju st down th e road a pi ece," w as th e repl y; and so for twenty miles w e fo llow ed him , f inall y turnin g ont o a dirt roa d . Th ere, in a fi eld w ere three jet fi ght­e rs, a Yale, a n e no rm o u s radi a l e ng in e and any number o f fu se lage skeleto ns. In th e midst o f all thi s sa t a white po le buildin g. Leon gave us a guided to ur of th e f ield , but in my amazem ent , I hea rd littl e o f w hat h e said. Closer in specti o n revea led that th ose skeleto ns w ere PT fu se lages, b ut th ey w ere in roug h shape, many hav ing bee n ravaged . I w o nd ered why th ey w ere b e in g saved . O ur hos t led u s int o th e building. Ju st insid e th e door sa t three o r fo ur Ro ll s Royce M erlin e ngin es. N ex t , I sp o tt ed an AT-6, a h eli copter , m o re engines and ano th er pil e o f PT fu se­lages. Th ese, too, had been bad ly cannibali zed , but at th e bo tt o m of th e hea p was a fu se lage compl ete w ith its ce nt er secti o n and gea r hou sing. Th ey w ere

beyond repair , but could be used as patterns. Th e Re­lu ctant Lady w as badly in need o f th ese parts i f she w as to fl y o nce again . W e surveyed th e pil e and es ti­mated th at it w ould take several hours to dislodge th e necessa ry pi eces. In additio n , w e w ere sure that we wouldn ' t have enough roo m to ca rry any mo re back. At th at p o int , w e d eci ded th at w e w o uld hav e to scro unge th e parts cl ose r to ho m e; so w e th anked o ur hos t and returned to th e airpo rt . By thi s time, it w as ge ttin g dark , so w e co mpl eted th e loading pro­cess in th e illuminati on o f our headlights. We th en sought o ut th e nea res t m o tel fo r some mu ch needed res t .

Twenty- fo u r ho urs behind sc h edul e, w e arri ved ba ck in Flanders w ell sati sfi ed with the results of o ur adve nture. W e took invento ry (wh en we fin all y un­load ed) and found that w e had 9 ail erons, 3 fl aps, 3 wings, 5 rudders, 2 elevato rs, 2 ho rizontal stabil ize rs, 4 ve rti ca l stabili zer s, 2 turtl e d~cks and asso rt ed pu sh-pull tub es.

W e are still in need of a cent er secti o n and th e landing gear housings, but resto ration should begin in ea rn es t aft er our fly-in in Jun e. W e fee l that mu ch has alrea dy been accompli sh ed and we know that the Relu ctant Lady will fl y once again .

11

by Robert G. Elliott

Part I of the J. O. Dockery story appeared in th e JESSE ORVAL DOCKERY ... EAA #8514 5, AIC #3296 /227 Oakwood AvenueJuly , 1980 issue of The VINTAGE A IRPLANE. 'A FLYING SILVER EAGLE' Daytona Bea ch, FL 32014Edi tor

PART II Ph otos from th e Collection of I. O. Dockery

From the left - Doc, tes t pilo t, Earl Rowland, chief test pilot , and Jack Pryor, assistan t chief engineer at th e Cessna factory in Wichita , Kansas , after winning approval for use of th e Warn er engine on th e Model AW in 1928.

Doc continued telling about hi s bri ef experience working with Clyde Cessna in Wi chita , Kansas.

"Ea rl Roland was Chief Pilot for Cessna, I wa s Test Pilot and Chief Bowhand was Tes t and Ferry Pilot. During this time I also flew for Jake Mull endick out at Swallow and Travel Air. It all dep ended on where th e job wa s on a parti cular day. Mull endi ck was th e oil man who encouraged Matty Laird to come to Wi chita

from Chicago and build th e Laird Swallow. H e had Lloyd Stearman and W alt er Be ech working for him th en . Th ey wanted to build a stee l fuselage but h e in ­sist ed on wooden longeron s. So th ey ju st quit after severa l ships were built. Buck W eaver was tes t pilot for M atty and when asked how th e first model flew , he sa id ... 'F li es lik e a Swallow! '

" It looked a great d ea l lik e a Jenny o nly it had a nose radiator. Late r Matty returned to Chicago , where he continu ed to build th em with steel fuselages pow­e red by OXs, C-6s, and Hi ssos and became quit e suc­cessful.

" When th e first TP Swallow, a training pl an e, wa s built I w e nt up and flew it. Nuthin' fan cy, no up ­hol ste ry, stripped down. I loop ed it , sp un it , played around and ca m e down and got g round ed for test in g without a parachute.

" Th e inspector had come arou nd ju st as I h ad landed and go t out. You weren ' t supposed to do that.

" In the Fall of 1928, whil e on a demonstration tour I ca m e back throu gh Oklahoma City , showing the Cessna with a 10 cy lind er A nzani , which was a m od­ified WW I engin e. It used to have a su ction intake valve, no rocker arm s, kind of a crude d ea l but a lively engi ne. Th e airplan e flew well, but you never kn ew when it would quit. Wh en I got to Oklahom a City , I m et Paul Braniff who was flying a J-5 Eaglerock in the 1928 Ford Reliability Tour . H e h ad ju st won in his category . ' Doc: he sa id ... 'I'm starting an airlin e and I want you to come back h ere and work with m e.' Well, late r that winter while we were snowed in , I approached Majo r Worl ey who was general manage r whil e Clyde Cessna was away, and told him I 'd have to go hom e to Corpus Christi where my folks lived, as my moth er wa s hav ing a seriou s operation. H e sa id . . . ' You ca n ' t do that , you can' t leave, w e've got airplanes that need to b e tes ted and th e backlog mu st be delivered.' I sa id ... 'M ajo r Worl ey, I 'm goin ' hom e to see my m o th er' ... so I quit. I went h o m e, got m y wife and baby into th e car and drove to Cor­pu s Christi. Mom ca me thro ugh it all ri ght , and in th e meantim e I stopped to see Paul. H e again sa id he wa s startin ' hi s airline, so I jo in ed up with him. Tipp Scheer, M aurice Mars and I were th e first three pilots with Braniff.

h ad n ' t been o n th e run but two or three days wh en Clyde ca ll ed and sa id ... " Wh en you gonn a ge t back up h ere? " , t o which I r espo nd ed .. " Clyd e, I've already agreed to work with Paul and had quit wh en I left you. "

"Oh , no ... Major Worley sh o uld h ave let you go home to visit your mother, " ... and th en he sez ... " Wh o else can I get?"

Th e previous yea r I had taught Penny Rogers to fly. H e was a good pilot so I reco mmend ed him by say­ing , " I 'm goin ' to be off tomorrow. I ' ll bring h im up ."

As it worked o ut , we went t o Wichita and got Penny ch ecked out o n th e Cess nas. H e found thin gs agreeable w i th Clyde and h e b ecame th eir test pilot, remaining th ere a number of years."

In going throu gh a few of Doc's records I found that in 1928 h e receiv ed his Federa tion Aeronautique Int er nati o nal li cense number 440, sig n ed by Orvill e Wright.

' 'I'm gettin ' ahead of my story ," said Doc, as we re­sumed the documentation of hi s f lying experiences.

" My first barnstorming with new produc tion airplanes was with littl e two-pl ace OXS Waco 9's, Travel Ai rs, Swa llows, Eagle Rocks ... and later I got into th e big six place Travel A ir in which we carried as many as we could ge t in . We kep t one little plane to put o n a sh ow with which would bring ou t the crowd f rom town . Of course, th e parachute jumper would do hi s act daily ."

Employees of Braniff Airlines Corporation p osed for this photo on April 29, /929 at Mcintyre Airport, Tul ,a, Ok­lah oma on th e opening of the run between Tulsa and Seminole, Oklahoma. Also, the occasion wa, th e con­solie/a lion with Universal Airlines Sys tem, becoming th e Braniff Airlincs Division. Originally fJVing 15-/ Ryans, anel six pla ce 1-5 Trav el Airs , th e new compan y wa;. now equipped with Horn et-powered H amiltons, Fords, Fokkers dn(1 Fairchilrl 7ls.

12

I

During that period of time I'd flown tri-motors quite a lot, including Fords, Bachs , Keystones, Fok­kers, and Stinsons. Mid-South Airways, started by Captain Vernon C. and Phoebe Omlie in Memphis bought E. L. Cord 's private custom built 'T' Model Stinson. Vernon was killed riding as passenger on Chicago-Southern at St. Louis , when the plane took off with the control locks on.

The 'T' Model was the first Stinson Tri-motor. Later they made the 'U' Model, a much heavier, bulkier airplane which didn 't handle as well or get in and out like the 'T' Model. The 'T' got off well, landed short and carried a good load . It was supposed to carry twelve passengers plus pilot and co-pilot. The last Tri-motor Stinson was the 'A' Model, a low wing job with retractable gear. Delta bought a few from Ameri­can Airways back in those early days.

The Ford compared only in its ability to get in and out and carrying a load. But it wouldn ' t go anywhere . At 80 to 90 mph , it was slow. The Stinson would use a little more room getting off, but after airborne, it'd carry the load cruising at 130 mph with the 215 hp Lycomings. Fords had )-4s , then )-5s, then )-69s, then later the 450s, and they went from 14 to 18 passen­gers . The old Ford would balloon off the ground ... I don' t care if you 'd hung the hangar on it , it'd take it away."

Later, after I had joined Braniff, it was like old times, as they were flying Fords, Stinsons and Fok­kers. Of course, Braniff started with a B-1 Ryan and

two 6-place Stinsons . Shortly after starting Braniff Air­lines, Paul consolidated with Universal Airlines Sys­tem. It was then that we started getting in the Fords, Fokkers , Hornet powered Hamiltons , Fairchild 71s, Flamingos ... all of which were 'THE' planes of the day .

I barnstormed a J-5 Ford for the Kenyon Air Trans­portation Company. Then I bought a Stinson and put about 1300 hours on it. Back in those days 90% of my tri-motor passenger carrying time was at night."

" People who were working during the day couldn ' t get out except at night. During what we called the 'hamburger days' , we had to turn hand springs for any work at all. In the early Thirties I flew in Florida during the winter months. Folks who were working all day, would go home, clean up some , eat, and come out to the field for a ride. I'd put a quart can of gas with rags in it at each end of the grass strip run­way, put a match to them and they were my landing lights . I'd fly all night some times . Then .. . they would sign up for tours .. . Zephyrhills, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and back to Zephyrhills. Every time I would land, I' d get another full load. We were charging five dollars a tour then . . . that was BIG money. Most of the time, the short hops were one dollar a seat. On the short hops , we didn't carry much gas. As long as we could get the door shut, we'd keep puttin ' people in. I've had as high as 25 at times in the ole Stinson. I wouldn't have said that in those days because the CAA, Department of Com­

merce could accuse you of something if they could prove it."

Doc joined the famous Caterpillar Club on May 8, 1930. He was stunting a Fleet Model 1, which was in an intentional inverted spin. It wouldn't recover, so he left the plane at about 500 feet. The accident was during an air show. Also during the year 1932, Doc's log book showed an accumulation of about 8000 hours , most of it recorded in precision aerobatics, barnstorming, instructing and dusting.

Olin 'Pappy' Longcoy, a flying buddy of Doc's, re­called the time he and Doc were in Gulfport, Missis­sippi with a high wing Stinson Tri-motor. As 'Pappy' tells it ... " I was standing near the gate talking with a CAA inspector. Doc had just landed after a pas­senger hop. The inspector was one of the good guys we knew. He turned to me and said , "Pappy, who's flyin ' that Tri-motor?" I sez ... "J. O. Dockery, Stuttgart, Arkansas," . .. he sez . .. " Who, Doc?", .. . I sez " Yep" ... he said ... "I've got to turn my head" . . . I sez .. . " What's the matter?" . . . he sez . .. " I've counted eighteen people coming out that door already and they're still comin', and I don't want to count anymore."

" Go tell Doc to shut it ,down and come here and talk with me. "

So I went around the front and gave Doc the signal to cut the engines and pointed over to the gate. Doc looked and saw that he knew the inspector ... it was George Wiggs, if I recall correctly.

Mr. E. L. Cord of th e Cord Auto Company was a director of th e Stinson Corporation and this Model T Stinson was cllstom built for him . Cord also originated century airlin es in th e early Thir!~es. Photo taken at Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Before Doc got there George said, " He knows bet­ter than that. " I said, " Well, Doc's tryi ng to make an honest living." When Doc came up, George said, " Doc , do me a favor. " Do c sez , " What ' s that George?" ... George sa id , " Don ' t put any more peo ple in that thi~,g, y~,u're going to break it in two." ... Doc said. .. OK.

Pappy continu ed with another brief tale of those days ...

" Us poor fella s used to put on small air shows out in Macomb and Meridian, Mississippi. There were about twelve of us in the group. We'd have aeroba­tics, precision flying events and rides ... all for a few trophies ... no money . Then , here would come Doc, arriving late in a Waco Straightwing with the dusting hopper still under the belly. Well ... who do YOll

suppose walked away with the trophi es? .. . Doc, that's who! J. O. Dockery, with dust coming out of every place on that plane. He'd roll it about lik e it was a Laird Speedwing."

Wright }-4 powere(1 Straightwing Waco conver ted to a (IU-'I <:' r in / '0133. Later, a }-5 vVa ) imtall etl ju ) t before Booger Red Vince" completely washe(1 OLi t the airplane.

Doc again indicated he wanted to continue telling about th e barnstorming days.

" I fl ew for Bobby Jew el and th e Texas Flying Circus out o f Dallas. Earli er I had b een with th e Gates Fl yin g Circus. Th ey had Cloyd Cleving er , Cl yde Pangbo rn , and Diab alo .. . Iv an Gat es a lwa ys ca ll ed hi s parachute jumpers, Diabalo . Wh en I first start ed fl y­in g fo r th em th ey had an extra airplane in case o f tr ouble. All w ere painted red with a big Texaco star . . . Texaco being th e sponsor. Th e reserve plane was a Curti ss K6. Cl evinger and Pangbo rn go t Gates to let m e fl y it. At M eridi an , th ey w ere hauling passengers and Cl evinger took o ff in hi s Hi sso Standard and it quit. Th e only place he had to land w as on th e rai l­road tracks and befo re th e du st had settl ed , th e Stan­dard was pretty w ell used up . In o th er w ord s, th ey stuffed th e pi eces in a crate and shipped it bac k to New Yo rk fo r repairs. But that put me out o f a job , becau se Clev inge r took th e K6. So I w ent back to Pin e Bluff and found me som ething else to do . Thi s w as th e t i m e I w ent d own and w o rk ed fo r Bobby Jewel . Anoth er frien d , Ted Kin cannon had th e Lone Star Fl yin g Circus, and for a whil e I worked for him al so.

O ne of those tim es in Texas, I ra n int o a film crew that w as pr odu cing th e pi cture 'Wings'. A f ter a sho rt tim e I b eca m e acqu ainted with two o f th e pi lo ts, Paul M antz and Pancho Barn es."

Doc bro ke into hi s barn sto rming reco ll ecti o n b e­cause he was reminded o f som ething else that hap­pened back in th ose ea rly days.

" O n April 6 , 1932, th e And erso n Al abama A nti ­Air craft Battali on was pl anning a spec ial exhibiti o n with four , 800 m i llion candl e pow er searchli ghts. Each light car ri ed its own pow er plant. Fo r th e d em onstra­ti o n th e li ghts w ere pla ced at th e corn ers o f a mil e squ are pi ece of g round . Th e purpose o f th e exhibi ­ti on w as to show th e eff ectiveness o f loca tin g and tracking ai rcraft at ni ght. A group o f pil o ts had vo lun­t ee red to fl y and tr y to avo id th e bea m s o f li ght. Th ere w as Clyd e Pangb o rn , Wil ey Pos t, Len Povey, Tex Rankin , Do ro thy H es to n and myse lf. None of th e oth ers had mu ch lu ck in stay in g out of th e bri ght bea m s as th ey w ere too b linding. Th ere w ere four co nv e r ging b ea m s, and tr y as th ey w o uld , th ey couldn 't escape th e trac king li ghts. Wh en it ca me my turn , I fi gured I would have to do som ething fas ter th an th e bea ms could trac k. So, aft er ge tting my al­titude and moving along in th e bea m , I did an Im­m elm ann and got out o f th e light . Wh en I go t d own , Pan gb o rn , Pos t and Pov ey w anted to kn ow h ow I could do an Immelm ann in th at b linding li ght wh en I

couldn ' t see any referen ce ho rizon ? WhOat th ey didn ' t reali ze was that I 'd flown Tap erwings enough to kn ow that if you fl ew a loop and ti ghtened up nea r th e top , it w ould ro ll out and do th e Immelmann itse lf . . . it w as a characteri sti c o f th e plane. Con sequ ently wh en I did that qui ck loop and ti ghtened up at th e top , I ro lled out into darkness and wo n th e hambu rgers.

" Spea king o f Len Povey reminds m e ... he o ri gi­nally learn ed to fl y in th e military as an enli sted m an . I und erstand that Gene ral Bill y Mit chell all ege dl y g ranted h i m p ermi ss ion for form al i nstru ction an d yea rs later Len did tes ting fo r th e Granville Bro th ers on th e Gee Bee."

" Befo re w e leave thi s ph ase o f your ca reer , Doc, what w as th e mos t versa til e airplane yo u used during your du stin g days? " I as ked . Doc respo nded, " I li ked th e s traightwing Waco. O f course th e Hi sso Standa rd w ould ca rr y a h ec k of a load , b ut i f you had to bend it around very mu ch it didn 't prove to be very ma­

neuverable. I lik ed th e Travel Air too , but I couldn 't get my fa vorite hopp er to fit in it. Eag lerocks w ould ca rry a good loa d also . Th e hoppers w ere our own d es ign, as th ere w as no co mmercial source . Our fir st in stallati on o f what w e ca ll ed a gin bell , o r hopper , w as in a Hisso Standard . Later we use d Jenn ys . But I still liked th e s traightwings bes t . . . pow ered by th e Hi ssos , J-4 s, J-5s , and J-6-7s.

A ft er WW II th e bes t du ster was th e Stea rman. But th ey had th e littl e 220 Continentals and 225 Lycom­in gs, so w e pull ed th ose out an d put in 450s. W e used th ose fo r yea rs until th ey w ere all wo rn out. "

Doc's crop du sting bu sin ess continu ed to grow and p rosp er wh en it beca me apparent that WW II w ould interfere. Ju st be fo re 194 1 an event occurred whi ch he d escr ibed : " W e had a Lockh eed Vega over at Dal­las, at th e Cul ve r Aircraft Sa les . Jimm y M arshall and I

From left - Len Pavey, Doc, an(1 AI KnO ll with AI ', Warn er-powered Gee Bee.

15

,

owned the business and at th e moment I was th ere working with him . A customer wanted to buy the old Vega, which was then stor ed in Booth Henning 's o ld Dallas Aero Service Hangar at Love Fi eld , and had been for a long, long time.

" Marshall wanted m e to fly it and check things out. Well, I went over, got it out, and soon took off .. . but it'd been sitting around so long that th e shock struts h ad dried out from lack of service so when the plane lifted off the ground, th e wheels dropped way down and canted in at a rea l exaggerat ed angle. Try­ing to land was like touching down on ice skates. I was all right though , as long as I had the engin e. When I saw I was in troubl e, I went around th e fi eld once more, and that was when the engin e bega n cut­ting in and out. Several times I touch ed down and nursed it along best I could . Finally , I practically went around a couple of DC-2s sitting th ere, as w ell as the Administration Building, then skidded to a stop, loos­ing the prop , cowling and end of th e wing.

" A couple of the boys hanging around had wanted to go along for the ride , and being in th e back , they were better ballast than sa nd bags. After the final lurch , I came out over th e top of th e cabin. The guys in the rear wer e trapped by a jammed door. One of the Southern Air Service mechanics had a large screwdriver which he used to tea r out the door cover­ing . Although th e earlier model Vegas had been cov­ered with wood veneer , thi s model was covered with metal and everyone was afraid o f th e boys being trapped inside in th e event of fire. "

As this event had taken place before Pea rl Harbor , I naturally had to ask Doc ... " What did you do in WWII? "

" During th e War, I was with th e Ferry Command. When the military d ec ided to start th e Ferry Com­mand using civilian pilots, th ey had to co nsult the CAA at Fort Worth , who released th e names of those th ey thought would be available. Great numbers had gone to th e Briti sh, the T-6 training programs, th e North Atlantic Ferry Service, Embry Riddl e, and th ere w eren 't many left. I was in Dallas wh en I got a ca ll from Ca ptain To mmy Ferguson at Hensley Field , a Naval Air Station. He as ked if I would be interes ted in doing ferry work for the Army Air Co rps."

" Since it was December, 1941, and I couldn ' t sta rt my du stin g until th e following Mayor Jun e, I agreed to the offer. North American had an assembly plant at H en sl ey Fi e ld for th e T-6s ... so he drew one, checked out and reques ted a flight arou nd th e field . Upon landing, he assigned m e as check pilot on th e T-6s for th e Ferry Command.

In January, th ey decided to run som e of us through four-en gin e tran sition . W ell, most of u s had d o ne some ferrying in A-20s. B-25s, T-6s, P-40s, P-63s and P-38s, which we had deliv ered all over th e country.

They se lected th e mor e expe ri enced pilots with multi-engine time and sent us all out to Albuquerque for four-engine tran si tion at a TWA flight trainin g school. TWA and Pan Am Stratoliner pilots were commandeered for in stru cto rs, as th ere were non e available in the se rvi ce. At that time , I had 3800 hours multi-engine tim e, mostly in two and three engine pl anes. After w e went through the training per iod we were assigned as instruct o rs.

Wh en we completed th e co urse th ey sen t u s to West Palm Beach, th e jump off place across th e South Atlantic for th e B-17s and B-24s .. . and it was there I ran into Art Goebel again . He was a Colo nel th en and later he made Brigadier Genera l. He g reeted me by say ing, " Doc, come on in , they ' ll probably make you Mess Officer ... I ' m a Supply Off i ce r . The you ngs ters who have ju st started to fly in th e last four or five years are the f li ght off ice rs!"

Af ter a moments thought , Doc co ntinu ed . .. " I was ass igned to chec kin g pilots ou t in overl eaded ai r­craft , as up to that time everyone had been checked out in empty airpl anes. They 'd be taki ng off fully loaded, headed for South America and across th e At­lanti c to Ascens io n Island and th en to Afr ica. About th e tim e our outfit was orga ni z in g, which meant I

. \

(Photo by Robert C. Elliott!

J. O. Dockery after landing a Beech Staggerwing at Bob White 's Airport at Zellwood, Florh/a recentl y.

would be sent to Ca ir o, Egypt, B. M. Gaddis, head of Plant Q uarantin e, Department of Agriculture, called m e from W ashington and sa id , " Doc, w e need you to bid on so m e malarial control at so me of th e arsenals and d efe ns e plants where w e've created m os quito hatches."

I sa id , " Mr. Gaddis, you ' ll have to speak to some­one else, I 'm supposed to go to Ca iro , Egypt nex t w ee k. "

H e rep li ed, " My good ness, that ca n ' t happ en . .. wh o's you r commanding General? " I sa id , " General Olds, " ... he says, " OK , h e's right here in the Pen­tagon ," . .. I sa id ... " That's ri ght. "

So th e next week when I was all se t to fly to Egypt, I go t a ca ll from Colonel Thomas 's office. He sai d " Dock ery , here's your Major 's Commission , it ju st caught up with you , and h ere's your release .. . which on e do you want? "

I said, " Colo nel , if you had a group of airpl anes and th e governm ent saw fi t to release you, which would you take ... th at Major's Commiss ion o r th at release?" He answered, ' 'I'd take the release ... and I said ... " G iv e it here." As it turn ed out, I had to go back to Hensley to pick u p the release .

" During the War th en ... I had to stay and run my own airport , Dockery Airport at Stu ttgart, Ar kansas.

Course you kn ow , at th e beginn ing of the W ar, th ey pull ed all pil o ts' li censes. To get it bac k you had to show your birth certifi ca te, sw ea r allegian ce, be re­instated and if you had an airpor t , it had to be in ­spected , checked out . . . arri va l and d eparture logs kept and all. If som ebody was coming you 'd be ad­vised of th eir arri va l , and w hen th ey left , you had to w ir e their departure tim e. O n top of runn ing th e air­p o rt , I had to co ntinu e th e agri culture w o rk and ma­lari al contro l. As I reca ll th ere were seven o r eight de­fe nse pl ants that required spraying fo r m osquitos, but th ese were mos tl y in the South ern States .

" During th e latter pa rt of th e W ar , th ey ca lled m e from W isconsin and sai d th e aphid s were ea ting up th e pea crop on th e mu ck farm s. Th e Depart ment o f Ag r icultu re had given th em m y name and hoped I co ul d so m eh ow co m e ri gh t away . I t ook two airplanes to Reed sburg, W isconsi n , and found th ey needed to get th e job done in a hu rry. I arrived in the mi ddl e of the rai ny season. Th ey had been tryi ng to ki ll th e b ugs themselves and had crea ted such a mess i t would take fo rever to f in is h the job . Imagi ne, a wet mu ck f ield, in to which they had d riven tru cks

Wiley Post showing his round-th e-world course 10 Irene Dockery in 7932 at th e New Orleans Ca rnival of th e Air at Wedell -Willi ams A irport wes t of New O rleans.

Mtlo Burcham, center with Doc on right a side a Boeing P- 72.

pullin g large tar p s. Al o ng side w ere o th er vehi cles with du st bl ow ers, and the v ents running down under th e tarp whi ch w as being dr agged . In thi s wa y th ey hoped to lay on enough poi son to kill th e aphids, but all it did was mi x everyth ing up int o a muddy fi eld.

"Aft er getting th e tru cks and things o ff th e area to be du sted , we cr anked up th e two plan es and d id it ri ght . As w e w o rk ed , fo lk s fr o m th e ca nning co m­pani es were watchin g, and being ri ghtfully impress ed , we wo und up du stin g there every season fo r nea rl y twe nty-fiv e years."

A lth o ugh D oc ceased r eco rdin g hi s h o ur s so m e tim e ago, he has to date so m e 50,000 hour s fl yin g tim e. Much of hi s tim e was logged in precisio n ag­ri cultural fl ying, du stin g cro ps. Hi s company has log­ged over 600,000 hours helping farm ers save th eir crops. Som e o f th ose years he had b etween fift y and sixty airplan es workin g under th e Doc kery name.

After anoth er bri ef pause, Do c continu ed ... " In 1956 I had a fir e whi ch des troyed a hangar and sev­eral planes at Do ckery Airp ort. In 1966 th ere was fir e at my Clarksdale, Mi ss iss ippi operation. I still had th e Stuttgart , Arkansas and Pardeevill e, Wi sconsin op era­tion s, ' tho th e Wisconsin o ne dealt mainly with du st­in g En glish peas and mu ck farm s.

" Aft er th e second fire I fi gured that at age sixty it w ould be fooli sh to try to start over aga in , so I re­tir ed. I still do som e ag w o rk wh en my fri ends get in a spot and need help. Al so I 'm doing primary instru c­ti o n , bi ennial fli ght revi ew s, multi -e ngin e check rid es, and putting in so me seven to eight hundred hours a yea r . . . but I 'm retir ed.

" I do n ' t mind peopl e as king if I still f ly ... but I rese nt th eir asking ... Can you still fly ?"

Doc an(1 Irene b y his original approvetl 450 Slearman in 1946. Doc buill Ihe.>pecial mo lor mountl ami ran all Ihe les l for approval in Ca tegory 9, agricul tural work. Photo W ,]S ma(/e on King and Antlerson p lan tation, Clarksda le, Missi>sippi.

From l efl - Henry Wood, Doc ami Pau l Wooda ll , a t Mexia , Texa s in 1928. The plane is the first Ryan 8- 1 "off the line " after Limlbergh 's N.Y. P. was built. and its fi rs t owner was Frank Hawks who flew i t from San Diego to Hou ston, Texas. The Ryan was la ter destroyed w hen i t langletl wi th a para chu te jumper, carrying h im, the pi lo t and four passengers to their dea th s.

,.I

,. .... ­ -I REMEMBER THEM BECAUSE

by AI W heeler f AA # 64433

12 Bishop Pin e Lane EI Sombrante, CA 94803

During a 40 year association with gen eral aviation have known many people, all a part , in one way or another, of that vast community, the operators, the passengers , the salesmen and deSigners, and builders mechanics and fellow pilots. Each , I remember some, with greater clarity than others and for a multitude of reasons, quirks of personality, accomplishm ents, mis­takes , likes and dislikes.

As I remember the people, so do I remember the machines, perhaps even more vividly , for they, the tools of the trade, like the people , each had their own personality, some kind and docile and forgiving, others quick and demanding, their sharp , biting traits a thing to be reckoned with, demanding respect and skill and caution.

Personalities? To be sure, as various and as real and as unpredictable as those of their owners and operators. Of them I have known many, and, I re­member, their individual characteristics etched in my mind.

The frustrations of trying to taxi my learning mount , a brakeless , tail-skidded Fleet, mindless of my frantic urging to taxi in a straight crosswind line across wide areas of Roosevelt Field's smooth asphalt . The bark of the short stacked Kinner and the roaring voice of my hard nosed instructor audible above all else. I re­member the early Fairchild 24 as a quiet, docile lady, the smooth power of the 175 Ranger of direct con­trast to the Fleet's raucous, barking Kinner , her long nose swinging easily to the touch of responsive brakes. Gone was the bumping, lurching, grinding tail skid. I remember the Curtiss Fledging, a great an­gular box of a machine with wings stretching end­lessly out on each side held together by a maze of struts and wires, prodded along, stroke by stroke by its six cylinder Challenger engine.

I admit to other frustrations too, those of dealing with the F series Waco's strange mating of Johnson Bar brake and extended throttle arm, fore and aft for throttle and a pull outward from the cockpit side for

p .. "e~E-~ ~C>

brakes, a system prone to provide th e novice operator with too littl e brake , too late , or too mu ch brake too soon , along with totally un coordinated throttl e m o vements. Well , I rem ember the earl y struggle in mastering this inappropriate mating , one retained until advent of the UPF-7 series . A good , honest, hard working airplane , the UPF-7, it teethed great quantities of equally hard working pilots. Who does not remember the two handed, muscle powered sti ck jerk and slam into the rear corner required to af­fect a clean snap-roll.

As one had special friends among the people he has known, so do some aircraft evoke a greater emo­tion , a closer kinship between man and machine. Such an aircraft was my STA Ryan, N18902. I well re­member its polished beauty, a young man , on his first proud day of ownership returning late to the air­port on a bright moon-light night to sit silently and gaze at it , quiet, shining, bathed in soft summer moon-light, drinking in the beauty of its graceful lines , a happy young man, full of pride and with a lump in his throat. I remember clearly the many plea­sure filled hours that followed, the sharp crack of the Menasco engine , the responsive controls and the pure joy of flight as young man and machine become friends .

Who can forget the stiff leggedness of the early Luscombes and Swifts and the ground looping prow­ness of the short coupled Phantoms, an excellent per­former in flight, providing the user with an honest 145 miles per hour on 145 horsepower, if only one never had to land it. Most gentle was the Brunner Winkle Bird with its outsized top wing, and the long , thin winged Meyers OTW that would fly nearly mo­tionless in a fresh breeze and touch the ground at turn off speed, its long, wide landing gear giving only the slightest hint of contact with the soft grass.

A big, comfortable , reliable work horse was How­ard N1227, its tireless 450 Pratt and Whitney grum'­bling an unbroken song of dependability, a good, deep chested, honest worker, and the SR-7 Stinson Reliant , with its treadle rudder pedals and great sprawling wal nu t grai ned i nstru ment panel. I t cradled those who rode in deep, honest leather seats, in roominess and lush comfort unknown to the modern spam can .

I shudder at remembering strong crosswind land­

ings at New York 's LaGuardia Field, and the struggle to keep a Staggerwing Beech on th e center line and th e low slung flaps from dragging on the hard sur­face, th e sweaty palms urging it , with cautious brake and throttl e to taxi crosswind. A gracious airborne lady, lithe and swift, turned into a groundling beast .

From the spacious luxury of the golden era queens to the stark , cramped confines of the Goodyear rac­ers . Tin y canopys, so small as to make turnin g one's head a hazard, lest the back of the hard hat and the tender nose became wedged crosswise, like too many big fish in too small a bowl. Th e absolute lack of for­ward vi sibility over or around the long , big-spinnered nose, the screaming tak e-offs and the hot, heavily braked landing . No ladies they, with only sheer p er­forman ce to mark th eir place in memory .

A fond friend wa s th e docile, fun loving Great Lakes, with its popping 90 horsepower Cirrus, tired and overworked , like the struggling Franklin , strain­ing to urge a loaded Sea Bee up onto its step . I re­member first seeing the long night-torch playing on the side of a T-6 and the whimsical bobbles of a climbing Culver Cadet as awkward hands tugged at the little wheel to retract the spindly landing gear. The thump thump of the Navion's main gear as it hit the uplocks, its super stability and the hair raising de­scents possible with the barn door flaps hung all the way out.

All these things and more I remember of myoid friends , memories blended with the soft swish of tall grass, the tousled hair and the musical sounds of the wing and wires, the heady aroma of fresh dope and the feel of taut linen . I remember the many grassy places that were their homes and, for a time, mine.

When this year has passed, and again I look back , I shall remember today's companion for many things, its shiny, white tininess, the gold script spelling Pitts Special on its rounded tail, the snugness of its cockpit and the surge and haste and torque of its take-off , the sky-devouring rate of climb and it's joyful love of play . Responsive and crisp, the effortless quickness with which it can whirl the earth and sky around itself til all is a blur. Its elevator-like descent to earth and its self-mindedness during the landing roll. A machine with which to stay young, a happy, vibrant friend, striving to blend its personality with one's own, to become an extension of one 's self and thoughts , and , someday, like the others that have passed before, to be remembered . That it shall be, the tiniest spirit of all, yet with a heart and personal­ity as great as the sky through which it tumbles and rolls and plays for endless hou rs.

It will remember, and so will I. 19

b y Lionel SalisburyBORDEN'S AEROPLANE POSTERS EAA # 714 52.3, /l Ie # .J207 Seven Harper ROel(1

Bramp ton , Ontario LoW 2 W3Article Number 19, Poster Number 6 of the orig inal Thompson series Cana(/aFROM THE 1930'S The Boeing Tri-Motored Transport

This is the first poster added to our series through the assistance of Mr. Cedric Galloway of Hesp er ia, California. The Bord en Posters first started to appear in Th e VIN TAGE A IRPLANE a year and a half ago , as the result of a gift to my son, David, by Mr. Glenn Inch , of Brampton, of 18 posters he had collected as a young man in 1936. David and I had great fun exam­ining these posters when he first brought them home, and after some discussion we decided to pass them on to the editors, and that was the start of the series. In the original article to go with th e posters, I reported what information I had about them, and mentioned that there were in fact , a total of 19 post­ers issued in Canada, but I neglected to mention the name of the one that was missing .

Mr. Galloway read the article, and then went to his collection of aircraft memorabilia and pulled out his own posters that he had saved since 1933 and 1934. Sin ce he did not know which poster was mi ss ing from the Canadian collection he sent me a list of the posters that he did have. The missing one was " The Martin Bomber - Mystery Ship for the Army". He did not have that one, but he did list three posters that I did not even know existed.

This seemed a bit of a mystery at first , but an examination of the back of the posters indi cated what had happened. It seems that the series had been originated in 1933 by a company in Waukesha , Wis­consin, called the Thompson's Malted Milk Company. They issued 18 posters in this original series. It then appears that the Thompson Company was purchased by the Borden Company of New York City. Borden must have liked the idea, for they brought out a sec­ond series under their own name in 1934. This sec­ond series included most of the originals , a few were added and some were dropped. The Canadian sub­sidiary of the Bord en Company brought out their posters in 1936. All told , there was a total of 30 post­ers offered by Thompson and Borden in the various series in Canada and the United States.

All of the posters were made of fairly stiff paper, about 19" x 11". Most of them w ere in black and white , although the Thompson posters had a brown­

ish hue to th em , and had two colors on the back, which seemed unu sual to me. The second color on th e back was no t us ed extensiv ely , ju sta buff co lor­ing of th e poster numbers and a sloga n which sa id , " Ord er By Number - Always Use Coupon ". The back of th e poster always included a line drawing of the ai rcraft featured on th e front, and usually a three-view at that ,complete with demension s. A de­scr iption of th e airplane was also included on the back of th e poster.

To get a poster ? Easy ... " Every Can of Thompson 's Chocolate M alted Milk

contains a littl e round book wedged into th e top of th e ca n . It is not inside th e can . Look for the book when you buy Thompson 's . The back page of thi s lit­tle book i s a coupon d es ign ed for ordering pre­

miums. You mu st use one coupon for each picture. Print your n am e and addre ss clearly. Write the number big as shown ."

After I had h ea rd from Mr. Ga ll oway, who very kindly loaned th e three additional posters for use in The V INTAGE A IRPL ANE, I then rece ived a letter from Mr. Marion M cClure of Bloomington, Illinoi s. Mr. M cC lur e was al so a coll ector of th e Thompson­Borden posters and he subsequently sent in his entire collection! Hi s posters yielded an additional six items that were not ava ilabl e before, and they will be pre­sen ted in our series as well.

Thi s mo nth 's poster is of th e Boeing Tri-Motored Transport, a m os t unu sual ship , as you will see from th e notes taken from th e back of th e poster, which are as follows:

NEXT MONTH - Th e Conso lidated Fleets ter

BOEING rRI MOTOREO 11':A.NSF'ORf 20

-............_o:-.__--' \.

•, ,

.~

I. !o'#'-!o\t" • I

&0- 0

~

-'.

_ . ,. ,l __ _ _______ _ ___ _ _ ~ !,---- ---------- -....I...u-....-.........

:( i , ,I I :_ . ________________________6\,--- -----------------'---·--1

DESCRIPTION OF BOEING TRI-MOTORED TRANS­PORT

The Boeing Model 80-A, manufactured by the Boe­ing Airplane Company in its Seattle plant is a remark­able performer for so large a plane. With eighteen passengers, and baggage, a crew of three, it can get off the ground in eleven seconds after a run of 750 feet, climb 850 feet a minute, has a service ceiling of 14,000 feet, high speed 138 mph, can cruise 4V2 hours at 115 mph, without refueling, and can land at 55 mph.

The Boeing Transport is a biplane 55 feet long, 16 feet high and has an upper wing span of 80 feet, lower wing 65 feet. Fully loaded, the plane weighs approximately 83,4 tons, and is powered with three Pratt & Whitney 525 hp nine cylinder, radial air cooled Hornets .

The planes of this fleet are th e first to be com­plete ly bonded and sh ie lded t h roug h o u t for radiophone installation. In the future all com m ercial passenger planes produced by Boeing Airp lane Com­pany will be so prepared for radiophone. The radio equ ipment to be i nsta lled in the Transport weighs 100 pounds. There is a p lace on the upper wi ng for an eight-foot d u ral antenna mast.

The comp leteness and orderliness of controls and instruments is impressive. There are whee l controls, one in front of each chair. Pilots can alternate in fly­ing the plane without changing seats, and can assist each other as controls are duplicated. They have ap­proximately ninety instruments and controls to aid them in flying the big ship. There are no instruments on side motors to watch, all instruments being con­centrated in the pilot's cockpit.

A special feature of the Boeing Transport is the night flying equipment. In addition to the twenty-five individual electric lights these planes have retractable

landing l ights in the wings, so co ntro ll ed that th e pi lot can crank them out of the wi ngs w hen about to land and direct their powerful beams in any direction.

The plan es carry four 400,000 ca ndle power f lares, each of which can be released separately and i llumi­nate an area of one square mile for three minu tes.

The we ll proportioned cabin is spacious, being ni neteen feet long, six and th ree-quarters feet high, and f ive and one-third feet wide. Walls and ceilings of the cabin are of p lywood manufactured with faces of mahogany and a core of ba lsa wood which serves as sound insu lation . The entire cabin is in sulated and sound proofed . Care has been taken to incorporate every known engineering device to minimize noise. Seats are arranged in six rows of three each, two on the left of the aisle and one on the right.

Baggage is stowed in a forward compartment, and in an overhead rack. There is also a cloak room in the rear. Other new featu res are hot and cold running water , and lavatory fixtures. 21

THE DESIGN OF THE GEORGIAS SPECIAL

/

by Orville Hickman PART I

EDITOR 'S NOTE - This construction article for the " Georgias Special " is a reprint from the 1931 Flying and Glider Manual. Neith er the text nor th e captions for the drawings have been changed since they were first written nearly 50 years ago. Powered with a " more modern " 65 hp Continental engine, this plane would be relatively inexpensive to build , and certainly would be economical to operate. Modern building techniques should be substituted for some of those shown, for example, wh en making the elevator and rudder horns. This article is the first part of a two part series. Part II will appear in the September issue.

Well, here we are, boys - with something a little advanced . I expect that you have been waitin g for some time for this kind of a plane to build ; all steel but the wings , and they are of the conventional wood type .

The first thing we will start on is th e fuselage. It is rather simple when we know how to go about it. First get your tubing that you are going to u se for the longerons and then lay a plan of th e side of th e ship out on some level surface, preferably a wooden table so that you can drive nail s around your outline to lay

th e tubing int o . Th is work of laying out th e fuselage side on th e tabl e mu st b e very ca refully done or our good int entions are defeated before we get ve ry far . After we get th e side laid out we put the pieces of tubing into th e outline that we have mad e and cut th e vertical and diagonal pieces to fit. All join ts must fit closely and neatly, otherwise we will have to us e an undue amount of welding rod to ge t th e ho les fill ed up . This does not make as strong a joint.

When all th e pieces are laid , get a welding ou tfit and if you are not a good welder ge t someone who is and just "spot" the joints all togeth er with the weld­ing rod - not too much - then mak e the o th er sid e. It is the sa me so you can use th e same j ig. After you hav e completed th e second side take out th e sid e and draw another diagram of th e top of the ship on th e table and drive your nails in . Place th e two sides on the outline, with the top lo ngeron down and th e vertical sides perpendicular to the table. Be sure that th ese sides are strai gh t up and down. The best way to assu re that is to u se a ca rp enter ' s squar e. After plumbn ess is determined cut your pi eces to fit hori ­zontally and ta ck th em to th e sides with a to rch . Also put in th e cross bracing on th e top and bottom and th e internal diagonals and all o th er bracing that th e plans call for.

Now th e fu sela ge is ready to take out and weld. Th e best plan to do thi s is to weld o ne bay at a tim e

goi ng arou nd the fuselage laterally a joint at a time. You will find thi s method th e best, hav ing the leas t amount of warping.

After this operation is comp lete cut all of your fit­tin gs th at go on the fuselage and then weld them on in th eir respective places, motor mount lu gs , land ing chassis lu gs, and so forth .

Specia l care must be used h ere for all things mu st have th e exact measurement. O th erwise the parts that fit these lu gs will not go on if "out " any. After the fuselage is all welded and th e lu gs welded on , then give it a painting of liono il , whi ch protects it from ru st.

Empennage

The nex t thin g is to build th e empennag e, whi ch is a rath er simpl e procedure. First thin g to do is to get th e outline laid out on th e sa me tabl e that we used to layout our fuselage, and cut th e tubing to fit and spo t thi s th e sa me as you did th e fuselage. Tak e out th e spott ed framewo rk and weld up . When you h ave all of th e emp ennage welded , put th e contro l horns on to th e elevators and rudder in their res p ec tive places , making sure that th ey are exactly in line.

You will find that th e empennage will warp consid­erably in the part th at th e light tubing is used , but with a littl e careful ch eck ing and lining up by hand ,

22

bending cold (for there is only slight bending to b e done) you will get a perfec t job . But let m e tell you here that th ere is a litt le tri ck to hea tin g a stee l tub e in the proper place to get th e right res ults. That is, heat th e tub e on the side that th e bend is to a dull red. At first this actua lly increases th e bend but when th e tubin g cools off you will find that it has assumed an ang le opposite to the original bend and almost in­varably comes out exactly straight.

In handling small gauge tubing ex treme care mu st be used not to get thi s metal too hot and burn th e tubing because it is a very easy thing to do and, of course, mi ght cau se disastrous results after th e ship is f lying .

The best way to tell if th e w eld is good is as fo l­lows: th e weld mu st be good, clean m etal , looking as though n ew m etal had been pla ced th ere. A poor weld has a sand effect on the outside, o r is very sca ly. If any of th ese faults show up it is always best to throw that piece away and bu il d a new pi ece. It will cost m ore, it is tru e, but nev erth eless, it is always best.

Fittings

This work is also another very important part of the work. All fittings are des igned to be cut out of sheet steel and not more than one bend mu st be made in these fittings before they are used on th e shi p . The wing fittings should be installed upon th e spars be­fore th e rib s are slipped on . Extreme care should be tak en in cutting and bori ng the hol es, for th ese fit­tings are a very vital part of th e airplane.

Landing Gear Lugs

Th ese lugs are made of three-e ighths by sixtee n gauge steel tubin g. They are we lded on th e lower longeron at the first and second bay of th e fuselage and are securely welded to th e longeron in line to th e landing gear struts and in reference to the longe­ron .

Motor Mount

Th e lugs for the mount are welded to th e front end of th e lon ge ron and for grea ter safety are reinforced with a pi ece of 16 gauge sheet steel passed around th e lug and w eld ed to th e horizontal tub e and the longeron . Thi s mount need not be m ade demount­ab le unl ess th e builder likes, but in case you do want it thi s way, cut out the straps which fit over th e ends

SAo.N OVERALL 27 n . 2~ INCHES

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From these drawings one makes the full

30 •• V ~AIRINGS EQuAU.v

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size drawing for the layout so the fuselage can be welded.

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SCAU:INf'E£T

that are to be supporting tubes of the mount and drill th e correct size holes; then th e mount is bolted to th e lugs that were we lded th ere for sa me. Next lay out the mount on the tabl e and spo t it as you did th e other m etal work , then pl ace each res pective half on th eir respective p laces and block up and get lined up and spot th e cross bracing in pl ace after all of th e members are placed in. Th en weld up the m ount.

Tail Skid

Th is part of th e sh ip is a small sp rin g that can m os t genera ll y be secured in a junk yard where th ere are som e o ld buggies to pick from, but if not procurable th ere, make one from sp rin g steel 3/16 i n . by 1-1 /4 in .

shaped as shown and placed at th e ex trem e rear part of · th e lo w er longerons. Th e skid is secured to th e longerons by two 1/4 in . N .S. bo lts.

Instrument Board

This is made from a pi ece of pl ywood 1/4 in. thick and cut to fit under th e cowling. Th e form sh ould first be secured by cutting a paper pattern , and then usin g that to cut th e corr ect form on the plywood . Next, th e exact size of th e hol es for th e in struments can be cut by an expansion wood bit. Th e cowling is clamped by small aluminum clips to the vertical and th e hor izontal tub ing th e sa me way .

23

Fuselaee Fairing

O n the sid e of th e fuselage fairing is secur ed by drilling a small 1/8 in. hol e opposit e each tubing th at th e fairing passes and wrapping heavy cord through th e ho le and around th e tubing . Thi s h later doped.

The bo tt om and top turtl e decks are built up and mortised into formers. Th ey are bolted to th e longe­rons and cross bracing by small aluminum clamps th at go all th e way around th e tubin g, bolting into th e sp ru ce formers.

Seat

This is made fr om a pi ece o f 16 gauge aluminum secured ar ound th e top hori zo nt al bracing of the third bay o f th e fu selage . A w ood fo rmer is pl aced on th e fl oor board. Thi s piece of board is determined by th e size of th e person wh o is to fl y the ship and a lit­tl e " se lf designing" mu st be used th ere.

Fire Wall

Thi s is a very impo rtant part of th e ship so car e mu st be taken in f itting it to th e front part of th e fu se lage. It is built of '18 gauge aluminum and has a small ope nin gs as will ju st let th e necessa ry gas and oil and o th er n ecessa ry instrument accesso ri es throu gh . Right here let m e say that th e gas and o il lin es should have a piece of rubb er tubing p laced over th em wh ere th ey go through the fir e wall so that vibrati on wil l no t chafe th e lin es and cut throu gh .

The landing Gear

Th e landing gea r is th e most important part of th e ship wh en you come in to land so mu st be built with th e most exac t ca re. It is bes t built with th e ship leve led up and in the co rr ec t di stan ce from the g round. Then th e correct diagram placed on th e fl oor directly undern ea th , th e tubes cut and placed in th eir resp ec tiv e places.

Th e stub ax le as you see from th e drawing should be f irs t built up , bent and weld ed into th e false ax le wh ich goes up to th e top o f th e gea r. Th e shock cord is attached to th e cross m ember, th e gea r is rein­forced d own at th e atta chment with th e stub ax le with 16 gauge sh ee t steel 6 in . up from th e stub ax le inner washer on both sides .

Th e wheels ca n b e str ea mlin ed if you like with cloth, and doped, but it is no t necessa ry. Use 1/2 in. shock cord. It takes 3 ft. for each side.

ISlOE VIEW (JI' rus£~ I I zc-.-.Jf---24' 24' 27' 30 27"

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. - -~ L PR~ _ ~ L ::-.T£lL

'-'ETMOO (JI' W(lO<NC_IZONaL UOTOA ATTAO<>.€N~ & lAl'()ING GEAR LuGS

5TABIl.llER S TI\&.IZER LUG TO f USELAGE BRACE WIRE tllll(~D

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H er e is a more sp ecifi c drawing th an th e on e o n the preceding page. It shows th e side, top and bOllom

Tank layo ut s for th e fu se lage m embers. N o te the man­

Thi s should be built with tern plate and no dimen­ ner in whi ch th e lugs are sions are given, becau se each person wants different w elded on . capacity. Its loca tion is shown . Unl ess you are very good with a so ldering i ron and solder , I would advise you get it built by a loca l tinsmith .

Propeller

Thi s sho uld be bought from som e of th e propeller co mpani es fo r b es t resu lt s. A ship has been built from th ese plans using a 28 hp Lawren ce-Hickman conv ersion.

Cowling

This ca n mak e or break the loo ks o f th e plane , and extra care should be used in makin g thi s. A grea t deal of ingenuity must be used here for the correct lin es of the ship d epend on th e correct cuttin g of the alum inum . Th ere is no beating to be don e on thi s cowling. The fusela ge cowling can be cut from one pi ece and th e coc kpit cut out in its prop er p lace. Th e motor cowlin g is in one pi ece on the bottom and two on top , bolted togeth er with 3116 in. stove bolts.

Orville Hi ckman, author of thi s a rti c le, te ll s how to manipulate the fine tubing so th at it will not bend or warp. Notice how th e horns are made. Simple , eh ?

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HORNS ARE SAME FOR ELEVATOR AND RUDDER

(NOT TO SCALI) SCALE IN FEET

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The Cess na typ e underca r­riage is one 0; the most sim­ple types of landing gear to build, as well as being the easiest 0; the split types to keep on a ship. Th e drawing will give you a good idea of how the motor moun l is lined up.

25

CALENDAR OF EVENTS AUGUST 2-9 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - 28th Annual EAA Con­

vention and Sport Aviation Exhibition - the world's largest and most exciting aviation event. For further information, please con­tact: Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130. Telephone: 414 /425-4860.

AUGUST 10-16 - FOND DU lAC, WISCONSIN - The International Aerobatic Club's annual aerobatic competition. Biggest field any­where for an aerobatic contest plus greatest variety of aerobatic aircraft. For further information, please contact: Herb Cox, Con­test Chairman, 812 Taylor Avenue, Mt. Vernon, Il 62864.

AUGUST 10-16 - MilWAUKEE, WISCONS IN - 12th Annua l Con­vention of the In ternationa l Cessna 170 Association at General Mitchell Field. For further information, please contact : Richard Tomasello, 1333 Wagner Drive, EI Cajon, CA 92020.

AUGUST 16-17 - BEALETON , VIRGINIA - Piper J and l series fly-in (up to and includi ng 1946). Air show on Sunday. For further in­formation, please contact: Flying Circus, Bealeton, VA 22712. Te lephone: 703/439-8661.

AUGUST 17-30 - OSHKOSH , W ISCONSIN - Wor ld Aerobatics '80. For the first time ever, the U. S. wi ll host the World's Aerobatic Championships. Fourteen countries will pa rt icipate. Don't miss this historic event. For fu rther information, p lease contact: World Aerobatics '80, P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, W I 53130. Telephone: 414/425-4860.

AUGUST 22-24 - COFFEYVillE, KANSAS - Funk Fly-In. For further information , please contact: Ray Pahls, 454 South Summitlawn, Wichi ta, KS 67209, o r G. Dale Beach , 1621 Dreher Street , Sacra­mento, CA 95814.

AUGUST 24 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK - Fly-In sponsored by EAA Chapter 486 at Whitfords Ai rport Field. Airport closed from 1:00 p.m . to 5:00 p.m. for air show. For furt her information, p lease contact: Herb livingston , 1257 Gallager Road, Ba ldwinsville, NY 13027.

AUGUST 30 to SEPTEMBER 1 - CALH OUN COUNTY, TEXAS - Port lavaca-Cal houn County Chamber o f Commerce sponsors an air show at Ca lhoun County Airport. For further information, p lease contact : Preston Van Hanken, Port lavaca Chamber of Commerce, P. O. Box 528, Port lavaca , TX 77979. Telephone: 512/552-2959.

SEPTEMBER 5-7 - MARION, O HIO - 15th Annual Mid-Eastern Re­gional EAA Fly-In at Marion Municipal Airport. For further in ­formation , please contact: Mr. l ouis lindeman , 3840 Cloverdale Road, Medway, OH 45341 . Telephone : 513/849-9455.

SEPTEMBER 12-14 - CALGARY, ALBERTA - Alberta 's 75th Anniver­sa ry as a Province, th e Airdrie Cou ntry Club of the Air is sponsor­ing a " Diamond Jubilee Antique/Classic Fly- In", at Aird rie Air­port. For further information , please contact: George B. Pendle­burg , Vice-President , Pub lici ty Chai rman , 304 Manora Road , N.E., Ca lgary, A lberta T2A 4R6. Telephone: 403/272-4383 .

SEPTEMBER 12-14 - DELANO, CALIFORN IA - lAC Con test - Spon­sored by lAC Chapter 26 for the Sportsman and Unlimited cate­gories. For further information, please contact: Jack Gladish, 120 South Ham lanek, lodi , CA 92540. Te lephone: 209/369-5768.

SEPTEMBER 13 - GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - Chapter 651 is spon ­soring a fly-in at Plainview Airport. For further information, please contact: Dave Frisbie, 414/336-3257.

SEPTEMBER 13-14 - OSCEOLA, WISCONS IN - lAC Contest - Spon­sored by lAC Chapter 78 for the Sportsman category only. For further information, p lease contact: James G. Taylor , 119 Comanche Drive, Webster, MN 55088. Telephone : 507/652-2607.

SEPTEMBER 14 - EASTON , PENNSYlVANIA - Antique & Classic Piper Fly-In. For fu rther information, please contact: Jim Polles, 299 Nazareth Drive , Nazareth, PA 18064. Telephone: 215/759­3713 (nights).

SEPTEMBER 14 - lANSING, ILLINOIS - The lansing Police Cadets will sponsor their 2nd Annual Fly-In and Air Show at lansing Municipal Airport. For further information , please contact: J. P. Fish, P.O. Box 411, lemont, Il 60439. Te lephone: 312/257-7552.

SEPTEMBER 19-21 - KERRVillE, TEXAS - 16th Annual Southwest Regional Fly-In, sponsored by the Texas Chapters of EAA. For further information, please contact: Bob Reese, Rt. 4, Box 305, San Angelo , TX 76901. Telephone: 915/658-4194 or 915/949-2886.

SEPTEMBER 19-21 - VINCENTOWN, NEW JERSEY - lAC Contest ­Sponsored by lAC Chapter 94 for the Sportsman and Intermediate categories. For further information , please contact: Fred Weaver , Himmelein Road , Box 9E, Medford , NJ. Telephone : 609/654-7867.

OCTOBER 1-5 - TUllAHOMA, TENNESSEE - 2nd Annual EAA Na­tiona l Fall Fly- In. Don't miss this one. For further information , please contact: EAA Fall Fly- In, P.O. Box 22 ') , Hales Corners, WI 53130. Telephone: 414/425-4860.

O CTOBER 17-19- CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA - Fly-In. For further information, please contact: Geneva McKiernan, 5301 Finsbury Place, Charlotte, NC 28211.

AVAILABLE BACK ISSUES OF

The VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1973 March thr ough December 1974 All Are Avail ab le 1975 All A re Avai lab le 1976 j anu ary, March , Apri l , May, August, October ,

November' , December 1977 All Are Avai lable 1978 janu ary, M ar ch throu gh june, August, Oc­

tobe r , November 1979 - Februa ry through December 1980 - jan uary th rough ju ly

The above ment ioned back issues are ava ilab le from H eadqu ar ters for $1.00 each , postpaid,

FLYING AND GLIDER MANUALS

1929, 1930, 1931 1932, 1933, 1929-33 Miscellany

2.50 ea. or 6 for $12.50 SEND CH ECK OR MONEY ORDER TO:

EAA Air Museum Foundation, Inc. Box 469 Hales Corners, WI 53130

Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery Wisconsi n Residents Include 4% Sales Tax

Classic owners! ~O«,'t dJ",

DOG DRESS IT UP

WITH A NEW

,q~ I N T E RIO R ! All Items READY-MADE for Ea~y DO·IT·YOURSELF INSTALLATION

Seat Upholstery - Wall Panels

Headliners - Carpets - etc.

Cecon ite Envelopes and Dopes

-Send for FREE Catalog Fabric Selection Guide - $3.00

,4~P~,JHC. 259 Low.r Morrisville Rei.

• ••--. -1' Fallsington, Pa. 19054 _II V/S4· .' . " ;':r.:....·t (215) 295- 4115 i . .=-ri-.--.-=--_--------.--=.-. 26

CLASSIFIED ADS

For Sale ACRO II PLANS

The new 2-p lace aerobatic trainer and sport bi­plane. 20 pages of easy to follow, detailed plans. Com­plete with isometri c drawings, photos, exp loded views. Plans - $85 .00. Info pack - $4.00. Send check or money order to : ACRO SPORT, INC, Box 462 , Hal es Corn ers, WI 53130. 414/425-4860.

WANTED For Museum Restoration , an original radiator and

propeller for OX-5 JN4-D. Call W. B. Osborn, Jr. 512/ 826-8654 or write to P. O. Box 17968, San Antonio, TXENGINES 78286.

1930's Vintage Franklin 4AC-150A 60 hp . No logs , I have available a set of seats for a Timm, and ano mags, no carb., one bad cyl. - rusted. Everything

complete Holly carburetor for a Warner 165. I needelse in excellen t condition. Make offer or will trade 700 x 7.5 ti res for my Tiger Moth and WWI or earlyfor, avionics or Rev master 2100 or ??? Box 444, Mab­WWII boots and uniforms. Ed Allen, 114 Air Parkton, WA 98935 or 1-509/894-4493, 2000Z - 2200Z week­Drive , Warner Robbins , GA 31093. Telephone 912/days only. Also have spruce kit for Coot A, Cheap. 987-2898 .

(Photo by Gene Chase)

Brothers Jim and Bob Younkin and their full sca le How­ard " Mr. Mulligan " replica. Photo was taken on May 27, 1980 at Razorback Airport, Fayetteville, Arkansas where the project reached this stage in only seven months . En­gine is a P & W R-1340. The craftsmanship is unsur­passed and the plane will be flying in 1981 .

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