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8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
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STRAIGHT AND LEVEL
2 VINTAGE HALL OF FAME
VAA NEWS
6
THIRTY FIVE YEARS AT THE OUTER
MARKER Dutch Redfield
10
MYSTERY
PLANE/HG. Frautschy
12
PASS IT TO BUCKlE.E. uck Hilbert
13 BUD FIELD'S C-180 ...AND NIKKI TOO /
Budd
Davisson
18 GOLDEN WEST FLY-IN/
H G. Frautschy
21 AN EXTRAORDINARY ELDER EAGLE/
Ron Gamer
25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS/CALENDAR
27 CLASSIFIED ADS
30
VINTAGE MERCHANDISE
www vintageaircraft org
SEE PAGE 2 6 FOR FURTHER
VINTAGE
AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
INFORMATIO
Publisher
Edi
tor-ill
C
hief
Ed
itor
Execlltive Editor
lltribu
ti
llg
Ed
itor
Art Director
Photography St
aff
Advertisill
glEdi
torial Assistalll
TOM
POBEREZNY
s on SPANGLER
HENRY G. FRAUTSCHY
MIKE DIFRISCO
JOHN UNDERWOOD
BUDD DAVISSON
BETH BLANCK
JIM KOEPNICK
LEEANN ABRAMS
MARK SCHAIBLE
ISABELLE WISKE
http:///reader/full/www.vintageaircraft.orghttp:///reader/full/www.vintageaircraft.org8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
3/36
As
I peer out the win
dow
today here in
North Carolina I am
looking at some
six
inches of
that
white
stuff that is normally re
served for those lucky
people
who
live
North
of the Mason/Dixie line.
the Luscombe and Baron are tucked safely inside our
at Shiloh Airport.
Our Black Lab is out in the back yard, plowing furrows in
snow with her nose. The two cats are sitting on a table
the roof of our cook shed, watching her actions with
disbelief on their whiskered faces. I guess it
boils down to what makes you happy That new snow also
far away in Oshkosh, many people will enjoy the
fly-in at Pioneer airport behind the EAA AirVenture
I hear it's lots of fun
Norma and I traveled to Oshkosh last year for
the
event.
we had that weekend was rain and slush,
year should be great. We'll share some photos of the
f
you're planning your calendar and would like to spend
us get ready for the 2000 edition of EAA
we will again host a fly-in work weekend during
latter part of May. We spruce up
the
VAA
area
on
Field, all the while having a great time working to
and enjoying an evening
of camaraderie that s a
extension of the enjoyable times we spend during the
This is a great time to enjoy some grass roots camping,
fellowship, and at the same time help VAA prepare
area for AirVenture 2000. We'll give you the exact date
soon
as
it is firmed up.
As
you read this February issue of Vintage Airplane, you
about look out over the horizon and almost see the
of Lakeland, Florida. That's right,
the
Sun n Fun
Fly-In happens April 11-17. This exceptional event has
to be a huge success over the years.
One of the important reasons for this great accomplish
was the guidance
and hard
work
of newly retired
Director Billy Henderson. Billy would be the first
tell you his greatest asset is his wife Adair,
who
has
equally as hard to make Sun n Fun a great success.
know Billy for many years, starting from the time he
hard working
volunteer
and
then
moved
on
to be
the full-time paid Executive Director of Sun n Fun.
December 31, 1999 Billy retired from that position. Time
space will
not
allow me to list all of the things and per
sacrifices Billy
and
Adair have
put
forth for
the
good
Personally, I would just like to say, "Thanks, Billy and
your
dedication to sport aviation and
for
the
we continue to enjoy."
John Burton is now the new Executive Director of Sun n
Many of you will remember
John-he
worked for
EAA
as the Vice Presi
by ESPIE BUTCH
JOYCE
PRESIDENT , VINT GE IRCR FT SSOCI TION
dent of Communications. John had also been the link be
tween EAA HQ and Sun
n
Fun management for a number of
years, which gave him a measure of insight in the operation,
and has helped provide for a smooth transition.
I really think that John got to where
he
liked all of
that
sunshine and warm weather. When given the chance, why
not? What about it, John? For those of you who have been
attending Sun
n
Fun, you know how much enjoyment you
can have. f you haven't had a chance to get to the weeklong
event, give it a try.
t
can be a very relaxing kick-off to the
fly
in season.
When
you do go to Sun n Fun be sure to check
out
the
Vintage Headquarters Building, hosted by your V
AA
Chapter
1,
the
"FSAACA".
They have great iced tea and popcorn, and
you can also register your aircraft there
as
well. You can even
renew your V
AA
membership and have your friends sign up
in the V
AA as
well. Just ask Jane Kimball
and
her volunteers
They'll be happy to help. Oh yes, be sure to bring your sun
screen-you ll need
it
But enough daydreaming of warmer weather. I need
to
bring my mind back to the present, to February. Since it has
snowed and I cannot get the airplanes out of the hanger, I'm
going
to
have
to
be good to
my
word and start working on
the Luscombe panel replacement. Years ago, I bought a panel
kit for the Beech D-35 owned and operated for
11
years be
fore moving over to the Baron.
Every so often, I would get that kit out and look at it,
studying all of the things
that
needed to be done in order to
redo the instrument panel. After thinking about the chore
and knowing how much work was there, I would slide it back
into the box and wait another year
I sold the
D-35
before I could talk myself into doing all of
the work. Later I sold the panel kit to an aircraft dealer lo
cated at St. Simons Island, Georgia, delivering it on my way
to Sun
n
Fun.
I have often wondered if he ever got the nerve to install
that kit. The Beech panel would have been quite a project.
Thankfully, I don t think the Luscombe panel rework will be
quite
as
difficult.
Your VAA Board of Directors will be meeting March 31 at
EAA Headquarters in Oshkosh to discuss continuing subjects,
business matters, and government matters related to our air
craft. This
is
your organization, so we invite you to air any
concerns you feel need attention. Drop me note at
P.O.
Box
35584, Greensboro, NC 27425 so that these matters might be
brought before the proper committee or the board for discus
sion. Try
to
get it
to
me before March 1 so we can do our
homework on the subject.
As we look forward to the beginning of the fly-in season,
I'd like to ask you to consider asking a fellow enthusiast to
join your Vintage Aircraft Association.
t
would be great
if
you made this one of your personal goals for the year 2000.
There's strength
in
numbers.
As
we add more members, we
build a stronger voice
when
discussing matte rs that effect
your freedom to maintain and fly your aircraft. Let's all pull
in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember we
are better together. Join us and have it all ......
VINTAGE
IRPL NE
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Concluding
our profiles of the 1999 \ : \ \ Hall of Fame
inductees
this month Itt s meet
Tom and Barbara Flock
with
one of th five Wacos restored by Tom since 1979. Sadly
Barbara Flock passed away November 23 1999.
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
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modern airplanes. He s owned two
, the latest this 962 Navlon Rangemaster H he pur-
in 1974.
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
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V NEWS
compiled by H G Frautschy
GENER L VI TION
CONTINUING IRWORTHNESS
SUMMIT
In Kansas City, Missouri, a spec
trum of General
Aviation
leaders
met with FAA officials
to provide
proactive
input
concerning dealing
with
the
issues surrounding
the
ag-
THE COVERS
FRONT
OVER
One of the
workhorses of the General Aviation
fleet
is
the Cessna 180. Owners Bud
and Nikki Fields are featured
in
this
month's
issue, starting
on
page 13.
EAA
photo
by Mark Schaible,
shot
with
a
Canon EOSIn equipped
with
an
80-220 mm lens on
100ASA Fuji Provia slide film.
EAA
Cessna 210 photo
plane
flown by
Bruce Moore.
B CK OVER
"Feet Dry, Half
Moon
Bay"
is
the title of this etch
ing by
Bill
Ellsworth, Virginia
Beach, Virginia. It depicts
the
USS
Macon
as
it
approaches
Moffett
Field at
the
south
end
of San Fran
cisco
Bay.
The airship
is
flying
in
from the West over Half Moon Bay,
with
another
30 minutes of flight
time
remaining
before docking
at
the Navy field.
Bill is a former Naval Aviator (he
says at his
age,
he's nearly a former
everything ),
and that
he
enjoys
doing artwork depicting Naval avi
ation events that have occurred
within his lifetime.
He is
a veteran
of WW -
II,
Korea
and
Vietnam,
and
flew propeller and jet aircraft off of
27 different carriers. Feet Dry, Half
Moon
Bay was
presented with an
Honorable Mention ribbon during
the 1999
EAA
Sport
Aviation
Art
Competition.
A collection of Bill's etchings is
on display
in the EAA
AirVenture
Museum.
On your next
visit, use
the
stairs located just
behind the
Women
With
Wings exhibit, nex t
to the Air Racing gallery. There are
24 of his etchings on
display
in
the
well-lit stairway.
4
FEBRU RY
2
ing General Aviation fleet. The aver
age age of
the
fleet
is
expected
to
be
41 yea
rs
old by 2009.
Mike Gallagher,
F
Small Air
plane Directorate manager, stressed
that it was important for all partici
pants, including Type Clubs,
manufacturers, associations and
EAA,
AAA
and
the Vintage Aircraft
Association
to provide
input and
assist
the
FAA
put together
a pro
gram that can be proactive instead
of reactive.
As
we've seen in
the
past,
when
pushed by political considerations,
some issues have
not
been resolved
in
a
way that
b
ene
fited
GA own
ers/ users. I t is
hoped that
this
dynamiC approach will result in an
effective program.
For
an extensive description of
the
meeting, please see
the
Febru
ary issue of
Sport Aviation
starting
on
page 12. You
can
also go to
the
EAA
web site
at
www.eaa.org and
e
nter the
"Members Only" Section.
Go to Government and
Industry
Relations"
and
click
on
"Top Gov
ernment
Issues" for a full
article
concerning
this meeting,
a
long
with
a
list of recommendations
made by attendees.
E VI TION FOUND TION
SCHOL RSHIP PPLIC TIONS
NOW
V IL BLE ON LINE
Students interested
in pursuing
aviation studies can now learn more
about up to $67,000 in
EAA Aviation
Foundation scholarships
and
receive
applications
through
a new service
on
the
EAA World Wide Web site:
www eaa org
These scholarships, which range
from $500 to $25,000, recognize, en
courage and support excellence among
individuals studying the essential
technologies
and
skills of aviation.
The
awards
assist outstanding students
demonstrating a financial need to
ac-
complish their
goals.
One
of
the
missions of
the EAA
Aviation Foundation
is
to inspire a
new generation
to
become the next
aviation innovators, said Tom
Poberezny, President of the Founda
tion. "These scholarships are a way
to assist
students
who
are fulfilling
their dreams in the world of flight."
EAA Aviation Foundation
scholarship applicants should
be
well-rounded individuals,
in
volved
in
school
and community
activities as well as aviation. Their
academic record
should indicate
that they can successfully com
plete
the
course of
study
described
in
the
scholarship.
To
reach
the scholarship page
,
connect
with
the EAA
website
then
click on
aviation education
or
type in the direct
page address:
www eaa org/education/schoiarships
HOMEBUILT HE DQU RTERS
SITE UP ND RUNNING
One of the great aspects of being a
part of
the EAA
family
is
access to a
well of
information
that is
so deep
you hardly hear a splash when you
drop
an
AN12 nut
into it. There's so
much stuff available, and sometimes
it can be a bit daunting just knowing
where to start.
Charlie Becker
and the
Informa
tion
Services staff are
one
of your
first links
to
that
information well,
and they've
put
toget her
a terrific
section in the
EAA
"Members Only"
area of
EAA's
web site.
Chock full of
how
to" informa
tion, the
new
s
ite
is a
hand
y
resource for those who are building
an airplane,
and
for those of us who
are
restoring
as well.
Just
click
on
the
"Members Only"
button
on the
left side of
the
home page
at
www.
eaa org
Follow
the prompts
,
and take
a
look
,
but
be
sure and
give yo urself
a
bit
of
extra tim
e;
there's a lot to
see
JOEJUPTNER
Born in 1913, and enamored with
airplanes
as
a young boy listening to
the
stories of
the
barnstormers who
would pass through his home town,
Joseph P.
Juptner
became an
A&E
mechanic and
a civilian pilot,
and
even dabbled in amateur aircraft de
sign.
During
WW-II
he
served as a
Air
Force Fighter group crew chief.
In
the
busy times after
the
War,
he
partnered in a flying school, and
later
operated
a
hobby shop
while
building wind tunnel models.
For
most
of
us ,
Joe's enduring
legacy is a
body
of work that
took
most of his lifetime to compile. Col
lecting photos and information
about
airplanes for
many
years,
he
carefully researched and wrote what
has
become to
be
known
as
the
"Family Tree of the
ATC," the
nine
http:///reader/full/www.eaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eaa.orghttp://www.eaa.org/education/schoiarshipshttp://www.eaa.org/education/schoiarshipshttp://www.eaa.org/education/schoiarshipshttp://www.eaa.org/education/schoiarshipshttp://www.eaa.org/education/schoiarshipshttp:///reader/full/www.eaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eaa.orghttp://www.eaa.org/education/schoiarships8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
7/36
set
of books published
as
Civil
Aircraft.
First printed by Aero Publishers in
and
more recently in
the
90s
McGraw-Hill, the first 817 Ap
Type
Certificates
are
in
Juptner's breezy,
style
that
comes from a per
who
lived
and breathed the
as a boy and later
a man.
He wrote a couple of other recol
of aviation lore,
including
T-Hangar Tales, published
Historic Aviation in Eagan, MN
Joe was a faithful correspondent
his later years as he lived
in
He
passed away January
2000 in Laguna Hills, California.
Here's a little quiz to
honor
Joe's
of work. Can you name the
and last sequentially numbered
issued by
the
CAA/FAA? No
your books now The an
is at the bottom of the page.
RITE MONOCOUPE
Amistake in reading an "N" num
on
the
tail of one of the
in attendance at
the
Fly-In last Fall meant
wrong name went with the
in last
month's
coverage
of
This is PhH Riter's Monocoupe
NC19429,
not Curtis White
NC19423. Phil
hails from
OH and has owned his
for
many years. Our
......
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8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
8/36
I
e rs
tt
Outer Marker
omfort n
a
abin Waco and
Flying on
the Water
Much
as I
loved flying
in the
Adirondacks, our business in
this
love
ly
area, even during the summer
season, was just
too
slim. Besides
this, in order for us to do
any
busi
ness,
it
was necessary to
do
considerable non-revenue flying be
tween mountain lakes looking
for
it.
In
the
spring, as I had done for
the last few years
with
the F-2, we
rigged the new cabin Waco, tuning
it to its float gear while she sat in her
corner of Harry Ward s hangar.
We
then flew her off the airport s
new runwa
y,
rolling
on
four Model
I
A Ford wheels that were temporar
ily rigged to
the
floats integral
beaching gear axle tubes. Airborne,
and while circling over
the
lake, ta
pered wheel retaining pins were
released by lightweight cables that
were temporarily run to the cockpit
window
s
and
taped to
the leading
edge of
the
lower wings. The Ford
wheels were
then pushed
off
the
axles, dropping
into
the lake with a
huge
splash. This wheel
dumping
was carried on while leaning far out
the cabin side windows, working the
wheels off by the use
of a long
broom handle.
This saved
many
hours of
work that previously
had
been
done under
often times diffi
cult
conditions. In only a few
minutes
we could be switched over
to floats and completely ready for
the summer.
Business at Alexandria Bay the
next
season
was very good and
at
our dock the cabin Waco attracted
many
people who
previously had
just
not
been interested in sitting in
the
F-2 s drafty
open
cockpit,
don-
ning a cloth pilot s helmet in order
to make a scenic flight over the 1,000
Islands.
Also,
it was a very pleasant
summer for us. Peg and I rented a
comfortable summer camp right
on
the river s shore with the seaplane
swinging
nights on
a mooring in a
shallow protected cove
only
a few
hundred yards from our front porch.
By
the end of the first summer
it
was
clear, how
eve r,
that
the
new
cabin Waco was short on power, and
prior to hunting season in the
Adirondacks we replaced her 225
hp
Jacobs engine with a 285
hp
Jacobs,
and this made a fine performing air
plane out of her.
In the meantime, correspondence
had been
taking
place with several
Chambers of Commerce in Florida.
We settled
on
spending the
winter
at Winter Haven, in central Florida,
selected because I had no desire to
operate the airplane in salt
water
with its associated and serious corro
sion problems.
In November,
Peg and
I
took
off
to fly her south. Most of the route
we followed the Inland Waterway
just inside the Atlantic coastline be
cause this provided protected waters
within gliding distance most
of
th e
way. For
one
of
our southbound
stops, we
overnighted
at Wilming
ton, North Carolina, with the Waco
tied out between two large
dock
s
with
high
pilings.
I didn t sleep
much during
the
night and it
was
y Holland Dutch Redfield
6 FEBRU RY
2
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
9/36
YKS-7 on its land lubber gear makes a low
pass.
and gusting hard
as
broke. The phone rang; it was
hotel
desk
advising
that a
tug
waiting to get dockside where
Waco
was
tied.
We
checked
quickly
and took
a
taxi
to the
The airplane was boarded
in
a
and
getting aboard
not
easy in
the
fast
There was
no
other way to do
it,
and
fortunately the Jacobs caught on the
first cylinder. She was
running
and
whether we liked it or
not
, we were
also moving. The water rudders, po
sitioned by
the
pedals
beneath
my
feet,
now knifed
into the
flowing
water streams
and
we swung away
from the gusting wind toward open
water, steering carefully
between the
barnacled,
tarred pilings of two
commercial
wharves.
But
as
we neared I could
see that the strong
ebbing tidal current was
sweeping
us
seaward and
it was necessary to crab
her sharply over
the
bot
tom
, tracking so as
to
miss the heavy
high
pil
ings
that could easily
bash in our fragile spruce
wingtips.
s we cleared the pro
tection of
the
wharves, a
strong gust hit her
and
heeled
her and
a sharp,
wave-slapping, propeller
spraying
blast from the
engine
was needed
to
swing her away from
the
wind and
onto a down
wind course down
th
e
harbor. The now following waves
were
white
capping and heavy gust
driven rain streaked the windshield
and drummed the taut fabric on top
of
the
fuselage.
It
was an ugly day
and
if
there had been
some
other
place to tie up, I'd have pulled back
in, but there wasn t, because the
night before we'd spent half an hour
tide as Peg
and
I
Dutch s Waco
ZKS-7
set
up
on
the temporary
beaching wheels
borrowed from
a Ford Model
A.
The engine
is
a
285
hp
Jacobs.
down
slip
rickety ladders.
two yel
dock
was necessary
as
stern line was eased,
her bow line slowly
in, putting her
so
we could
the ladders to
floats.
then
hunched our
aft beneath
the
wing, up
the
two
steps to the lower
walkway,
and
into
.
The engine was
pre
and
ready to go
the
lines were cast off
those on the dock.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
10/36
flying up and down the waterfront
looking for a spot
to
overnight.
Where we d tied her was the only
place.
The evening before we had fueled
with marine gasoline and with 420
pounds of fuel on board, the Waco
was heavily loaded. Even
with the
wind I would need a long, punishing
run to
get airborne and
thereafter
clear a bascule bridge that would be
in our climb-out path.
After a long downwind
taxi,
I
idled her back, pulled
the
water rud
ders up, and let her weathercock into
the wind. The white-capping waves
now
slapped the float bows
and the
idling prop flung back their spray.
Streaking cats-paws showed the gust
ing
wind
patterns
on the
harbor s
surface ahead of us as the throttle in
the center of the instrument
panel
was opened full and
locked
there
with its
knurled
knob. The Jacobs
roared and with
the
wind and the
waves she was quickly
on
the steps.
The waves spanked hard against
the
planing
float bottoms, jarring
us
with lighter and lighter taps as the
wings grasped the air,
then
lifted us
free
and
into turbulent, but
far
smoother, flight than the very rough
waters we had just lifted off from.
The
right wing was low ered
and
we slowly banked away from the wet
gusting
northeast wind.
In the low
level eddying
turbulenc
e both
my
hands and my feet were very busy,
feeling for, and correcting for, and
averaging the buffeting upsets from
my planned curving trajectory.
Pres-
sured inputs to the ailerons and
rudder were simultaneously applied
and also carefully coordinated in or
der
to
avoid
unpleasant,
sloppy,
yawing flight for my very
pregnant
wife Peg.
In a short time the wings were lev
eled and the compass beneath the
rain-smeared
windshield settled
down and showed us heading south
again. The rain and
windswept
buoy-marked waterway was only few
hundred feet beneath us
and
for the
next several hours,
and
to keep the
waterway in sight, we took every
bend of it, banking gently left, then
8
FEBRU RY
2
.. his sudden awareness
of our swift passage
above
him
at mast
height
evidenced by his
wavering
surprised
wake
as we looked back over
the
dripping streaming
trailing edges of the
lower
wing panel.
right,
and we were buffeted and
gusted and rained on. Neither of us
lik
ed
it
but
there
simply
was
no
place
we
could
ride
the storm out
and after a while we became accus
tomed to it.
Ahead we d
see, then
catch up
with, then zoom
over and quickly
leave behind many
pleasure
boats
also heading
south,
his
sudden
awareness of our swift passage above
him
at mast height evidenced by his
wavering surprised wake as we
looked back over
the dripping,
streaming trailing edges of the lower
wing panels
.
Then an
occasional
gentle pull-up to skim a telephone
poled
bridge spanning
the
marshy
winding
shores
of the
waterway,
slowly waggling the Waco s stubby
red
wings
at a decrepit
old Ford,
splashing its way along muddy roads
and
up and over the bridge as we
flew by. And our passage flushed
many
geese
and
ducks, but
most of
them had more
sense
than we as
they
fed and paddled along the
marshy shores till the scudding
storm abated.
With
no
warning, there was a sud
den loud bang,
and
the airplane
shook, and next to me Peg gave a cry
of pain. I was puzzled, as I did not
know
what had
happened and
our
low skimming flight in the rain and
turbulence continued to require all
my attention. Peg was there eside
me,
sobbing
and clutching her
leg,
yet everything seemed normal with
the airplane. I was concerned
and fi-
nally
between
tears we sorted out
that
the plane s
brake
handle was
the culprit. Used
only
during land
plane operations, it had somehow
snapped back
and it her
left
shin
with a vicious whack. The hook for
the
seaplane s water rudder retract
cables had been attached to this un
used
handle at the time the water
rudders were retracted for takeoff
and we must
have
flown into a
frightened low flying duck, which
probably struck one of
the
retract ca
bles down in the float gear, causing
the handle to snap back. It had been
a sharp whack and it hurt.
In a couple of hours
the
scudding,
dark, wet clouds began drying
out,
gradually lifting to a clearing gray,
with occasional patches of blue. We
were able
to
let the Waco climb now
and
the
air
smoothed.
The power
fully surfing, curving shore of the
Atlantic off
our
left wings met
the
now blue sky far ahead to the south.
In
the
snug cabin
the
outside
warmth
we were flying into was
ducted in to us,
and
it felt good. We
munched
a sandwich and I rubbed
Peg s bruised leg and we laughed.
At
Jacksonville, I fueled in shirt
sleeves
and by late afternoon
we
touched her down at her new home
on Lake Howard, at Winter Haven.
Barb, who was driving our car down,
was
not
there yet.
Besides a few charters, then a cou
ple of deep-winter occasions where
we were hired to spend entire nights
flying low over orange groves, stir
ring up the air to pOSSibly prevent
frost damage, plus a few passengers
carried
on
weekends.
My dreams
that Florida could
playa
big part in a
12-month-a-year seaplane operation
turned
out
to
be a giant flop,
and as
it turned out I had to borrow money
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
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I could get my pregnant wife and
As part of an effort to make
the
could make a few additional dol
if
we
had the capability of flying
dark, on weekend
evenings.
error, Barb and
from lakeshore trees, were able to
saw
up
four small
bamboo
we
them.
Kerosene
truck
were secured to the rafts,
anchored on a line
to the wind. On the air
we mounted a single landing
on
one of
the
float
support
The first
night
we tried our new
the
Waco had just lifted off
was
clearing the tree'd lakeshore
in our climb-out
path
ahead it
pitch black. Suddenly there
was
loud clattering and we both
What
a place for
her
to
" yet the big Jacobs continued
beautifully and we were un
to determine where the banging
from. I switched
our new landing light and in its
glow we discovered a small
cowling
that
gave access to
rear accessory section of the en
was flapping
wildly in the
From our position, to land imme
was impossible and the
batter itself to
by the time we got back
the lake. I asked Barb to fly
passed
the
swing-over
control
to him, then, with my
side
full down I stretched
in the strong propeller
and forward just far enough
the aft cowl fastener could be re-
with my
fingertips.
With
minutes to calm
jangled nerves
and
prepare for
first use of our night water land
system.
With the bright lights of town ,
by utilizing the beam from our
landing light, it was possible
approach the lake's shoreline very
from which position our line of
flares ahead looked beautiful. But it
turned out we
had
positioned the
flares too close to shore
and they
were also
set much too
close
to
gether, because by the time we had
descended from treetop height to a
few feet above the surface, they had
skimmed
beneath us and were far
behind . Ahead on the lake it be
came
suddenly
very dark, but
fortunately there was
plenty
of
smooth
water still
under
us
and
a
slow controlled descent with a small
amount of power put us gently down
and with much room to spare.
Some repositioning of flares,
then
a few
more
trials and we had our
selves a good and workable system,
but
we
found few people really inter
ested in
night
seaplane rides
and
in
a few weeks
we
gave it up.
One March night a whistling
norther
practically blew
the
covers
from our beds and my first thought
was
the
seaplane as I hollered
to
Barb
. The two of us sped to the lake,
zipping pants and buttoning shirts.
In the beam of our headlights
as
we
swung the car toward the
mooring
area, we could see the Waco hobby
horsing badly
as
she crashed
into
large white-capping waves. Despite
lift-destroying spOilers
which
were
tied every night along the upper sur
faces of the lower wing panels, she
was
half flying
and
had
already
dragged her heavy moorings a con
siderable distance toward shore. One
of
her
restraining bridle ropes
had
parted and dangled free.
I kicked off my shoes, dove in and
waded
to
her
in
the
waist deep
waves. Her wild
plunging
made it
very difficult to get aboard, but once
there I quickly threw off
the
engine
covers, climbed in and started her
up. Then, for the next two hours, to
keep her from lifting into flight and
to keep the mooring from dragging
ashore, she was literally flown at the
end of her one remaining
bridle
rope. I was scared for her.
The waves, as the
dim
light of
dawn crept
over the
low gray sky,
were big
and
carried much weight,
and
the wind
streaked them and
blew spin-drift from
their
crests as
the float bows smashed heavily into
them
and the
prop rang from their
impacts.
It
was cold and I was alone.
Barb sitting in the car, watched anx
iously. The norther moaned around
her,
and
buffeted her,
and
shook
her, the shifting winds hitting her
first from
one
side, then
the
other,
as
northers tend to do, and it tried to
get under
her
wings to lift her, so it
could dash her through the surf and
smash her into the
swaying
palm
trees behind. I fought the buffeting
wind
and waves
with the
Waco's
flight controls and propeller thrust.
I couldn't take off with her and put
her
in
her
own element, flying her
out
of the pounding waves, because
I just
couldn't
leave
the
flight con
trols
long enough to
slide
out the
lower wing spars
to
remove
the
lift
destroying spoilers, nor could I sin
gle-handed,
remove the one
still-intact mooring line.
n
a
couple of hours
the
strong
frontal passage winds diminished a
bit as the storm moved rapidly out
to
sea.
There
was now sufficient
light, and Barb was able to wade out
and release her. We
then
taxied and
crabbed her
slowly,
pitching
and
bucking, through the white-capping
waves, across the lake to a protected
corner.
Peg who
had been worried
about us, hitched a ride to the lake
front
in the
dawn with
a
milkman
making early deliveries . She met
us
on the distant shore as we tied up af-
ter
our long
taxi. We watched her
there all that day and all the next
night
as
the norther
gradually blew
itself out.
In the early spring, we flew the
Waco back north, retracing our route
along
the
seaboard, across Pennsyl
vania
and New York, to the St.
Lawrence River and the Thousand
Islands. There
we
worked
her up
onto a ramp just below our camp's
front porch and then spent many
re-
laxing days in fine
spring weather
getting
her
ready for a
summer
of
hard work. t was pleasant being
back
with
friends
and
in familiar
surroundings. In June,
we
were pre
sented with a bouncing baby boy,
Charles Scott. ..
VINTAGE
IRPL NE
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
12/36
November s
foreign
airplane
presented
few
difficulties
for our
members.
We ll start with
a
note
from
Anna Pennington, Wilming-
ton, NC:
Your November Mystery Plane
is
a
French
Farman F.121 Jabiru. Note
part
of
the name
on
the nose.
t
was
powered by four 180 hp Hispano
Suiza 8Ac engines, and carried
9
or
10
passengers. My two sources varied
on this.)
t
won the 1923 French
Grand
Prix des Avions Transports,
and 500,000
Francs.
Four flew
on
the Farman air
lines Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam
route
during 1926, and Danish Air
lines used a few between Amsterdam
and Copenhagen.
From Pete Bowers, Seattle, WA
who
supplied the photos you see
on
these pages, we read:
The November Mystery Plane is
F-AIAU,
the
forth
often
French
Far
man F-121 Jabirus bui lt between
1923 and
1925.
Also known as
Model F-3X, these nine-passenger,
four-engine
transports
were
built by
A
vions
H.
&
M. Farman
of
Baillan
court. Five
were
used
on
Farman's
own airline, three were so ld, and
two more
were built under license in
Denmark.
The Jabiru was an unusual air
plane
of
combined
wood
and metal
construction. The four 180 hp His
pano-Suiza 8Ac engines were in
tandem pairs in nacelles supported
by a short stub-wing that also sup-
YST R
H
by H.G. Frautschy
ported the landing gear and anchored
the wing struts. I wonder what the
rear
propeller
attrition
rate
was
on
the
Jabiru
and other designs with pusher
props low and directly
behind
the
wheels which
were
rolling
on
dirt and
gravel runways?
The aerodynamic layout
was
also
unusual.
The
wing had a very low as
pect ratio, only
4.46,
and the root
chord was almost half the
len
gth of
the (uselage. As with some other Eu-
Farman R 2 /abiru
ropean transports, the passenger cab in
extended forward clear
to
the nose.
The
pilots
sat
in an open cockpit
above the cabin.
If the Jabiru has any historical
significance, it could be
that t
was
one of the first four-engined trans
ports
to
be designed as such, rather
than being derived from a bomber.
Ralph Nortell,
Spokane,
WA
adds:
A vions Farman was formed by
Ed Parker, Apalachin,
NY,
via John W. McDonald, tipped us off to this photo
published in 1937 by
the
Aeronautical Chamber
of
Commerce.
No,
it's not
the
Aircraf t Yearbook.)
Send your answers to: EAA, Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086. Your answers need to be in no later than March 25, 2000
for
in
clusion in
the
May
issue of
Vintage Airplane.
You
can also send
your
response via
e-mail.
Send
your
answer
to
vin
Be
sure to include both your name and address in
the body of
your note,
and
put
(Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line.
10
FEBRUARY 2000
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
13/36
his
uncluttered view
of F-AIAN the
second production Jabiru, shows
the
really
eat engine na celle/stub
wing
arrangement, the passenger windows in
the
nose,
nd the position
of
the pilots cockpit .
rothers Henri
and
Maurice in
1912
.
Both
were pioneer
pilots
and
irplane designers-Henri since 1907 and Maurice since 1909.
liThe firm soon became one of the largest manufacturers in France
l
during the next
25
years
l
Farman built
num
erous military
and
il aircraft in quantity. In 1936
1
when the aircraft industry was na
ionalized
in France
l
the firm merged with
Hanriot
to form Societe
Nationale
e
Construc
tions
Aeronautics
du
Centre (SNCAC). At
that
timel
Henri
and
Maurice retired.
FARMAN F 121
Larry
Knechtel
Seattle
W
writes:
JABIRU {STORK}
Key to the F.121 s
SPECIFICATIONS
safety was the use
of
a
Wing Span
62 ft. 4 in.
high
set
wing of great
area.
This 62 foot, 4
Length
44
ft.
10.5
in.
inch wing span was of
wooden construction
Wing Area 871.8
sq.ft
and
l
as
the
photo The fuselage bulkheads of the Jabiru divide the passenger
Empty
Weight
6 6121bs
shows, strut braced. The
cabin
into
three compartments. Two passengers sit in the
root
chord was no less nose, one in the second compartment, which is directly under
Gross
Weight
11 0231bs
th a n
9
feet
l
8
1
/4 the cockpit, and
six
sit in the main cabin. Note the overhead
inch
es and
the wing was baggage
racks
.
Cruise Speed 108.7 mph
2 feet, 6 inches thick. I
Range 403 miles
continued o page 7
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
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14/36
PASS T TO BUCK
Basics
As
most
of you know,
"my
bag"
is
old airplanes. They
weren't
old
when I was
young, but
we
some
how
seem
to
have aged
together.
My
1934
Aeronca C-3,
which has
been in
the family since 1962, is a
good example. The old airplanes
were very basic. The best
of them,
like
the
Porterfield 35-70,
with
its
sporty
wing
and higher
cross
country speed, and the
cabin
Waco were also
basic,
but the
Aeroncas, Cubs, T-crafts were v ry
basic. You
learned
the basics,
and
you learned
th
em well.
Instruments
were
there to tell
you the oil pressure, oil
tempera
ture (when it
worked),
and the
tachometer
so you could set climb
and cruise
RPM. The
compass
sloshed
around and
was
only
there
to tell you
were
in the Northern
Hemisphere.
Usually
the
airspeed
indicator didn't work too well, the
altimeter was graduated in 200-foot
increments,
and
there was really no
precision
instrument flying as we
know it today. You were
taught
to
fly from
one
forced landing field
to
the
next,
always
keeping in
mind
where the wind
was
from and
mindful
that
the engine
could
lunch out at
any
time. Sometimes
it did Reliability was
never taken
for granted.
Cross-country? What
a
laugh
The reason there were so
many
air
ports around
the area was because a
2
FEBRUARY
2
by E.E.
Buck
Hilbert
EAA #21
VAA
#5
P
. Box 424,
Union, IL
60180
ten-mile cross-country
was an ac
complishment. Most
of
the time
we spent in or near the pattern
next
to
your
home airport. Climb
ing up to fifteen hundred feet
above the
ground sometime
took
ten minutes or more Then
you'd
practice a few
stalls, some turns,
and then
a
couple of power-off
stalls and
you
were
back
down
to
pattern altitude so you shot a cou
ple of landings
and
quit.
All this
was seat
of the pants .
You flew by
sound and
feel. The at
titude indicator
was
the
bottom
of
the
wing
and
the way it angled on
the horizon, and
you flew from
point to point using
the
seat of
your
pants for reference. East was
thataway,
and North
was
that
way.
f in doubt, you looked for a marker
painted on a roof, or read
the
name
of
the
town
on the
water tower.
The best
way was to land and ask
someone if you were lost.
You looked for washing
hanging
on the clothes
lines,
or smoke, or
ripples
on
the water
to tell
where
the wind was from,
and
by drawing
a line on the
map
and
noting how
it cu t the section
lines
you
knew
what
angle you were to
use
for a
heading. You were always aware of
your position
because as I said be
fore, it was
from
the last
forced
landing field to
the
next
one.
By marking off the route
in
ten,
fifteen or
if
you were really opti
mistic,
thirty
mile segments on
the
map
you were
able to calculate
your ground
speed
and
figure
how
long you could fly with the gas you
had left. Many times
,
the
wind
would decimate your 60 mph cruis
ing speed and
the
ground speed
would be maybe 40 or
5
mph.
The "fun" began after you got
there .
The
harrowing
experience
gave way to a joy you
couldn't
wait
to
share
with
others. There was al
ways an air of happiness around
the airport,
you
and all those
around
you ate, slept, dreamed and
talked aviation. We all
had
the Air-
plane Disease,
and
we reveled in it.
t was fun Fun Fun Even
the CAA
guys were a happy lot.
The written test
for
the
Private
Pilot was fifteen
or
twenty ques
tions. The
flight-check
maybe
thirty-five
minutes.
The
poor
per
formance
of
some
of the airplanes
often
had
the CAA man watch
you
fly
while he
stood on the ground
and
critiqued
your
stalls
and
spins
after you landed.
t
was a
much
simpler day. It was
basic flying like there will never be
again. How I wish all of you could
experience that freedom, that joy,
the pure
elation of
flight. But you
gotta
get
old
before
you
really ap
preciate it.
Over to you,
t
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15/36
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
16/36
T
here are
lots
of reasons air
planes are interesting and
the deciding factor
is almost
always the people behind them.
Take
the
nearly
stock appearing
Cessna 180, N180XP, for instance.
Aside
from the fact that
you sel
dom
see 180's
done
in 1950's
era
paint
schemes anymore
and
the
fact
that
this one is cleaner than
most, it would still be easy to coast
right
past
i t
in
search of some
thing more exotic. Something
more /lantiquey."
Then
you see Bud Fields. And, if
you
see Bud Fields, you'll also see
Nikki Fields. Fourth grade, blonde,
energy
personified
and clearly
daddy's little
girl.
It's
the
combi
nation of
Bud and Nikki
that
makes
their
180 special.
Bud, who
owns
a
large
indus
trial plant contracting business in
Hayward, California,
isn't your
av
erage business-man-with-a-180.
Besides
the
fact
that
his
business,
which
is
largely based
on
building,
installing,
repairing
glass melting
The traveling airplane or Nikki and dad,
the
18
fills the need perfectly
by
offering a
good cruise speed (listed between 151 and
16 mph) along
with
great short fie ld per-
formance, particularly with the Horton
STOl kit installation.
14
FEBRUARY 2000
furnaces
for folks like PPG and
Corning,
he has a
serious addic
tion
for
antique
airplanes.
He
started flying in the
USMC
aero
club at
l Toro
while
he
was
stationed there in
1964 as a simu
lator
technician
. He soloed
in their
C-150
but
quickly graduated
up to
the
T-34B.
Then
i t was
college
at
Cal State
in
Fullerton where he
graduated
with a
degree in eco
nomics. He immediately went to
work for
a
concrete contractor,
eventually
establishing his own
company in the
field.
One of their
Th e C
essna
18 has one
o
t he
most di
st
inctive ch ins in
general
av
iation.
major
customers was
a
company
that supported
glass manufacturers and,
when that company de
cided they wanted out of
the
business, Bud sim
ply took them over.
That was
two
decades
ago and
i t has
been up
hill every since.
He had gotten his pi
lot's license
while still
in
the Marines
but
found himself drawn to
tailwheel
airplanes. In
this case
an
old Aeronca
Champ. But, there was
n't anyone
to check him
out. One of
the guys
on
the base
said, I you're a
good pilot,
Bud,
here's
all you
need to know
... "
and
he proceeded
to give him
a
verbal
checkout
in a tailwheel air
plane. Today
Bud
doesn't
suggest
anyone
follow
his lead
in
this
area
as
there
were
a few
I
in
teresting runway
trips," before he
figured it
out,
but
he
never dinged
the
airplane.
Today Bud somehow finds
time
to manage
his business while
man
aging his
fleet of
eleven (that's
right, eleven)
airplanes,
most
of
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000
17/36
Bud Field and h
s
daughter Nikki.
them serious antiques.
Oldest to
newest, there is
the
1928
Travel Air 4000,
two C-3
Aeroncas, the
4CM-1 Bull Stearman, an
ST
A a stock Stearman, an
L-5 Stinson, a 150 horse
PA-12, a Dragon Rapide
(undergoing restoration), a
250
Comanche and the
Cessna 180.
While the entire list of
airplanes
is notable, sev
eral
should
be looked at
individually.
His Ryan
STA
for
instance
is
serial
number 110 1936)
and
is
assu med to be
the
oldest
STA flying. His stock Stear
man
is even more
interesting. A
Lycoming
powered
mode l 75, its serial number is
75001,
which
makes
it
the very
first production
Stearman
built.
SIN 75000 was
the
prototype
and
his airplane was the first in a
batch
of 27 airp lanes ordered by the
Army
in
1936.
t
should also be
noted that
any
time this airplane
is discussed, Nikki
instantly
claims
ownership, something that Bud
doesn t
dispute.
Nikki as
you
will
see
is
very vocal about airplanes.
Oshkosh 99 was the
second
year
Bud
and Nikki brought
the
airplane
east.
The Cessna
was fin
ished
only
two years ago, and their
trip to last
year s AirVenture
Oshkosh included
a
slight dog
leg
up to Alaska on the
way in
and
another little side trip
to
New York
on
their way
home.
That
particu
lar
trip
took three weeks and 100
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Look closely
at
the leading edges of the wings and you can
see
the distinctive
cusp
added during the installation of the
Horton STOL ki t.
hours
of
flying and Bud says, ... Nikki
does
all the
V R navigating. I just drive.
The airplane has 250 hours on it since
they
rebuilt
it and he says Nikki has been aboard for almost every
hour. When asked how
many
hours she has, she
chirps
About 1,000. I f you raise your eyebrows at
the
number, look over at
her
father
who
will grin
and
say, She's
probably about
right.
None
of the air
planes go
anywhere
without
her.
I
showed up
at an
airshow a while back
with
the
Bull
Stearman
and the
first person who
walked
up
said
'where's
Nikki'
at
which
point her
head popped up in the
front
pit. She
had been sleeping, which she often does.
The 180
is
a 1956
model
with a stock 0-470-K done
by Monte Barrett. When
he
bought
the airplane
it
was ...a solid
airplane,
but a
little
faded all the way
around. Field polished it
and
re-painted
the
stripes
and
freshened
up the interior
and panel. Knowing
this
was
going
to be his go-everywhere-airplane, he
added a Horton STOL
kit
to the
wings just
in
case
they decided to drop in some place
that
required the
A handy addition to the
18
are pop out handles to help move
the airplane while on the ground instead
of
pushing and
lifting
on the fixed tai l surfaces.
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low
and slow
capabilities
built
into the Horton STC.
In questioning his
relationship
with Nikki, he says, I'm a single
dad." At which
point
Nikki chimes
in, "Yeah, but you didn't
used
to
be.
The two of
them
talk quite
freely about being a team
and
she's excited
about everything
around
her. There's also the possi
bility she
' s
the only
girl
in her
fourth grade class who can make
comments like, What
dad
really
needs is a Widgeon, or maybe a
Goose
or Mallard.
Then
she
thinks
for a second and adds, Or
maybe a Duck."
Dad is
president of Vintage
Chapter
29
in
Hayward,
which
should be
proud
this year because
the
chapter is home
to
the Parris
brothers whose
Lockheed
12A
brought home the 1999 EAA Air
enture
Grand
Champion trophy
or
antiques.
Recognizing the
uge number of hard
core an
iques in the
area,
as
well
as his
wn, Bud is in the
process
of
building a 38,000 square foot
mu
eum
on the
Hayward
airport
hich will be
home to
the chapter
s well as
housing
his
and
others
ntiques. He says, " .. .it's
going
to
e a flying museum and once a
onth, we'll have
an antique fly
ay in which we get as
many
of
hem into the air as we
can.
It's
alled the Vintage Aero Museum.
When
the future
is
mentioned
Bud and Nikki's
go
where they
want to
go today machine is comfortably set up
to
e nice-cross country machine. No virtual reality here - this is the real thing
around the inseparable pair, two
subjects
generally come
up.
The
first , is what
kind
of airplane
should
be
added to the
collection
next and the conversation goes
something like this:
Nikki
would like us to have a
warbird
but
... " Bud starts
and
Nikki
finishes.
"Yeah, we need an
AD
Skyraider.
One of the four-place versions so I
can take my friends."
"But, Nikki," Bud answers, "We
have a warbird, the L-S
is
a warbird."
"Daaad," she returns,
IIWe
need
something bigger. Maybe something
like an L-l."
Asked what an L-1 is, she answers,
lIyou, know,
the
long,
round-mo
tored, big L-bird. You know."
t
would be
interesting
to hear
her with her peer
group
at a sleep
over.
A friend says, IIDid
you
see
Bobby.
Isn't he
cute?"
She answers, guess so,"
then
she
brightens
up, IIBut did you
know his
dad owns a IIG model
Staggerwing. Now
that's
cool "
The second subject that comes
up when they talk about the fu
ture is a goal Nikki has. She wants
to
be
the youngest person to fly
into Oshkosh. However, since her
birthday is in
December
she
knows
there's probably
no
way
she can do
that
in power
planes,
but
she
has a plan.
IIWhen
I'm still
fifteen, we'll
tow
me
in
in
a glider, then the
conversation expands and
dad
suggests
maybe
he'll tow her
with
the
Bull Stearman. Then the
glider
type
is discussed and i t be
comes a WW-II TG
model.
When
last seen, the two
of
them were
in
animated conversation about all
the
neat things they
were
going
to do together.
Like
we
said, it's
the
people
that
often make airplanes interesting .....
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The
Central Valley of California
is a great place for a fly-in,
and the
1999
edition
of
the
Golden
West
EAA
Regional Fly-In
was blessed
with
the
good flying weather you d
expect. In addition to those pictured
here,
the other
award winners were:
ANTIQUE AIRCRAFT
Reserve Grand Champion
Waco UPF-7 N32135
Gary Entrekin, Ventura, CA
CLASSIC
AIRCRAFT
Grand Champion
Piper J3C-65
Paul and Joyce Brown
Capitola, CA
CONTEMPORARY AIRCRAFT
Grand Champion
Cessna 180, N180LG
Jim Goodman, San Jose,
CA
Champion
Cessna 195B, N2134C
George Dray, Novato, CA
Champion
Cessna 180, N9675B
James Golyer, Arroyo Hondo, NMz
H.G. Frautsch
Amelia Reid's
beautiful
airshow
routine
shows each
of
us
just
how
a
Cessna 150
Aerobat can really be
put through
its paces by a
pilot
whose
flying
skills are
the
very
definition of
finesse. Amelia runs her
own
FBO
at
the
Reid-Hillview
airport
in
San
Jose
CA
and
has trained
over 4,000 pilots.
Sidney Scarlett's justifiably proud
of
his 1950 Beech Bonanza. He's from Phoenix,
AZ
.
Bad
Habit
is
the name given by Scott O'Brien to his Luscombe 8A. This airplane
has a
pretty
low serial number, being the 17th Luscombe
built
in 1945.
18
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CA
helps
Mark Backes
register his Stinson
is from Ridgecrest,
CA
The Reserve Grand Champion Contemporary of the
1999 Golden West EAA Regional Fly-In
is
this Bellanca
14-19-3
owned
by Patrick Frewald and Julie Joquette.
Scott Crosby
of
Antelope,
CA
flies this
Steve and Sharon Jebb keep their extra-shiny Luscombe
very sharp 1949 Piper PA-16 Clipper.
A
at
the Fresno-Chandler
field
in Fresno,
CA t
even
includes a well-maintained wind-driven
generator
between
the gear legs.
From the tower cab at Castle Airport controllers Eric Micklesen,
Mark Lambie, Phillip Martin and Don Ide kept
the
traffic flowing
smoothly
during the
three days of
the
fly-in.
VINTAGE
AIRPLANE
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Kent
White
of TM Technologies demonstrates gas welding of alu
minum
while
onlookers don masks
so
they can
see
the
results
as
Kent runs a bead. Hands-on demonstrations are always very pop
ular at fl y-in
s.
Marketing & Public
Relations Director of the
Hiller Museum and all
around old airplane
good guy Willie Turner
served as the Golden
West's airshow
boss
.
His
partner
with
the radio is
Jimmy Lichtenstein
who
was
the
airshow's
ground boss .
Jeff Montgomery cleans up while checking in at home on the
phone.
His
1929 Consolidated Fleet biplane was picked as the
Champion Antique aircraft.
Boy
these guys get around David Liebecott, who restored the
Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser "City of
the
Angels" and Harry Mutter,
the owner
of
this historic airplane and historian
of
the Piper
Aviation Museum in Lock Haven, PA pause before taking of f. Harry
and David flew the PA-12 on a recreation
of
a portion ofthe
around the world flight in 1947 visiting all the
us
cities flown into
by George Truman and Cliff
Evans
in
their
PA-12s. You can check
out
the
Piper Aviation Museum's web site at
http: www.kcnet.org/-piper
for
more information. David's restora
tion
of
the globe circling Super Cruiser was honored
with
a
Reserve
Grand Champion
Classic
trophy.
Bud Field, Hayward,
CA
took home
the Antique Grand Champion
plaque for his Stearman 4 CM -1.
20
FEBRUARY
2000
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23/36
n
xtraordinary
lder agle
What you
should
do is
get yourself
a
good
Then
your
trip along
major
routes.
lead to
towns
towns have
Stop
every
or two
for fuel
a cup ofcoffee. f
weather ahead
questionable
nd get
some
f the local people.
byRon Gamer
words from his personal
experiences were spoken
to
me by 87-year-old aviation en
thusiast Robert Rietzke,
as we
relaxed
in
his
hangar
located
at
his private
airstrip
in central Minnesota.
The
advice seemed simple enough, espe
cially
coming
from
a
man who's
been there
and done that in al
most
all aspects of
aviation.
It's
advice he and his wife, Marie, fol
lowed
for
years
of
travel in
single-engine aircraft while visiting
many of the lower 48 states . With
the exception
of
a sudden engine
shutdown on
a
cold
winter
after
noon
somewhere over Nebraska, it's
been a flawless plan of travel for the
Rietzkes. The unexpected loss of en
gine power wasn't a big deal to this
veteran airman.
He
simply landed
on a plowed field, found the prob
lem , and returned
them
on
their
way towards the next
town
down
the highway. No big deal for a
man
who has flown in dozens of different
aircraft, starting with open air bi
planes of the 1920s and progressing
to the edge the earth's
atmosphere
in
U-2 spy planes. He even flew in
the
second seat of the once top-se
cret
SR 71 Blackbird.
It's a
story
I
almost
missed. For
many
years I had rushed
past
the
small white sign
announcing Air-
port while hurrying
on
my way to
the
family cabin located on
one
of
Minnesota's ten thousand lakes. But
since I
had
taken up the pursuit of
flying a few years back, my curiosity
about this
little airstrip finally got
the best of me. I decided I'd just
have
to check
out
this
small rural
airfield.
So
one day, instead of rush
ing past, I slowed down and turned
onto
the gravel drive leading to the
neatly mowed grass runway. Enter
ing one of two metal hangars, I was
cheerfully greeted by a friendly ma
ture
gentleman. I'm
still finding it
hard
to
believe that this outgoing
energetic
man is
closing
in on
nine
decades of life. Don, as his friends
know him, was happy to share with
this fledging airman a bit of his per
sonal history. After learning
about
his seven decades of
unique
flying
experiences
I'm
doubtful there are
many
men or women around today
who could come
close
to
having
such a colorful history in aviation
related activities
as
this experienced
VINT GE
AIRPLANE 2
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toured the Pacific
in
this
manner
with
Don aboard
until his discharge
from regular duty
in 1936.
Returning
to
civilian
life,
Don
used his electron
ics
background
to
help work on the
construction of
the
massive aque-
duct project which
Don and a model airplane
award
presented
to him during
brought water over
his Lockheed Skunkworks days
elder eagle.
Robert Don Rietzke was
born
in
Beaumont
, Ca lifornia, in
1912,
about the time
mankind was first
conquering the mastery of flight.
When he was just fifteen
an
older
cousin took
him
for spin in
the
then
modern j enny . Like a fish on a
line,
Don
was hooked. Eagerly
awaiting high school graduation,
Don
already had a flight plan in
mind. He
would
enlist in the Navy
so he could take flight training and
become
a Naval Aviator.
Unfortu
nately for Don, soon after
he
signed
on the Navy changed their policy of
le
tting enlisted men
become avia-
tors. His immediate flight plan was
put on
hold.
He was
left with his
second choice
of
training,
radio
communications.
Som e
time
after
he completed his basic communica-
tions training Don was assigned to
th
e battleship Nevada.
Now it just so
happen
ed
that the
ship carried three float planes
on
board for search and rescue mis
sions. These planes were
laun
c
hed
from
th
e deck of the battleship with
help of a track and catapult system.
Upon their return, a shipboard crane
would pluck them
from
the water
and
return th em to the deck . Don
was
able
to make many flights in
these planes,
not
as the pilot,
but
as
the
radio communications special-
ist. Once airborne
he
would unreel
a
length of
wire and carry out the
business of sending coded messages
back
to
the battleship. The Nevada
FEBRUARY
2000
the mountains to
the
thirsty Los An-
geles basin. Whenever possible Don
would hitch a ride on whatever small
plane was available to keep in touch
with
his passion for flying.
While
working with the water district Don
also
started up
a small
radio shop.
This led him to a position as radio
technician with the
L.A.
police force .
Leaving L.A. for a year
to further
his electronics training
at
the Capi-
tol Engineering
College in
Washington, D.C., Don returned to
the
Los Angeles police force as their
radio
communications
engineer.
I t
was during this period
he
began do-
ing work on the side for
Douglas
Aircraft Corporation.
In 1940,
shortly after being promoted
to
ra-
dio communications superintendent
for the
L.A.
police force,
and
despite
protests from
the
police chief
to the
contrary, Uncle Sam called him back
to active duty. Don was then as-
signed
to the Adva
nced
Training
Carrier Group, which was
then
flying
scout bombers. Don flew in the back
seat as the radio specialist as th e pi-
lots practiced their bombing accuracy
around the Californ ia coast.
His
life
then took unexpec
ted
twist. After the attack of
the
Navy
base at Pearl Harbor, he was assigned
to
Treasure Island, California where
he was to assist starting up a Navy
radio
school. When that task was
complete he was next assigned to
Johnson
Island,
some 600 miles
south of Hawaii. But his trip to John-
son was delayed at Pearl, while the
Navy had him updating I.F.F. equip-
ment, better known to those who
used it as identify, friend or foe.
Fi-
nally arriving
at his
original
destination, he
immediately set
about
working on I.F.F. installations
on johnson, Midway,
and
Palmyra
Island
s.
For Don, the up side of this
assignment
was
being
able
to
serve
as a crewmember for many hours
during
search
and rescue
flights
looking for lost aviators.
1944 found Don back in
the
Hawaiian
Islands
working
on the
huge 500,000-watt
transmitter
which
had
enough power to
send
messages to almost any locati
on
on
the
globe. I t was
here
he met
his
soon-to-be bride. Marie was a Red
Cross nurse assigned
to
duty at Pearl.
After a short aSSignment on
the
flagship
U.S.S.
Rocky Mountain dur-
ing the
invasion
of
the Marshall
Islands, Don returned
to
take Marie
as his wife. Their first flight together
was provided by the Navy on a DC-
3. The Navy flew
the
newlyweds to
the big
island
for a honeymoon
at
the
famous Volcano Island Inn.
Coming back
to California in
1945,
the
couple
went
quickly
to
work finding 400 acres of
open
land
to
build their
first
private
airport .
The state of California and the city
of Beaumont had different plans for
the property and the Rietzke
Airstrip and his radio repair facility
soon
had to be closed for the cre-
ation
of a new
highway.
t was
at
this point in time
that
Don actually
took the time to make his flying le-
gal. He logged some time
with an
instructor
in
an
old
L 2
taildragger
and
shortly
thereafter
received his
official license to fly.
After 18 hours official flight time
Don bought him self an old Stear-
man . He used
this aircraft
to
commute to
many
of his job sites.
With the closure of his private strip,
he
took a position with th e Civil
Aeronautics
Administration in
stalling VORs at all
the major
airports in California. He found it a
great
way
of combining
his flying
and
radio talents. Before long Don
exchanged the
Stearman for a
Lus-
combe,
and
later,
a
beloved
little
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25/36
In
no
time at
all
he
and
had
put
over 400 flight hours
this small two-seater.
In
1950 the Navy
once again
Don
back
to
active
duty.
He
to help
supervise the installa
of
radio equipment at Pearl
Discharged
again in 1952
to work for the Hughes Air-
Once more he could
to work in his
little Er
He then left Hughes to work
the F89 project over
at Northrop
At
Northrop
he was re
for the electrical
and
radio
on
newly
designed
air
Northrop Don went to
r Lockheed
at now famous
He was
involved with much of the
used on the exotic
being designed in complete
se-
including the renown SR 71
When
asked
about his
out electronics
at
nearly ten
above sea level he gave a wry
and said, Pretty
much
like
other
flight, except a lot higher.
the real difference is seeing the
the earth."
Not only
did he ride second seat
Blackbird, but also made high
flights
in the famous
U-2
plane. He
notes
that it
came
the
responsibility of
being
an
research engineer for these
aircraft. Even though Don
heavily involved with his design
application work on the top-se
he kept
many
weekends
to pursue his own love of flying.
He
and his wife spent
many
hours
ing up and down the coast of Cal
in the pursuit of new
At one time one of his
pastimes was for a
friend
himself to fly low over much of
open arid
government
land
of
southwest.
Don
had
designed a scintillator, a
like device that would
the presence of uranium.
Af-
likely deposits, they
later
bounce
and
jar
to the
in
an
old
jeep.
f uranium
was
they would file their claim in
of making a profit.
Don
notes
that there were some anxious
mo
ments,
as
they
weren't the
only
ones prospecting and many of the
others
were very well
armed
in at
tempt
to keep newcomers
from
invading territory where they
had
hoped
to strike it rich.
Once again the Rietzkes wanted
their own airstrip
from
which
to
launch flying adventures. They pur
chased and created the Rietzke Flying
Ranch located
about
15 miles from
Palmdale,
California.
Here,
Don
,
Marie, and their daughter Linda were
free to
come
and go
in
a variety of
small aircraft for which
he
kept trad
ing.
Don
had
a
chance
to take his
first flight in a Navion.
He
was smit
ten He knew that some day he would
own and
fly
one
of
these great perform
ing aircraft. In 1968
Don
and Marie, us
ing the road
atlas
technique, headed
towards Minnesota
in
their very own
Navion to
visit
Marie's hometown
of
Aitkin, Min
nesota. Having
finished his career
at
the Skunkworks,
their
mission was
to locate lakeshore
cons at
great distances in the night
sky, Don set
to
work finding a way
to make them brighter. His inven
tion
was the Hali-Brite. His
company
developed a
product that
could enhance
the visibility
and
brightness of established beacon in
stallations.
Before
long his small
company
was
busy
applying
their
modifications to airports all over
Minnesota. Don relates that the
modified beacons are
now
found
at
almost all U.S. airports.
Early in 1986, Don received a call
from a
former colleague at
the
Skunkworks. Would he like to
help
set up
the
radio communications for
the around-the-world, nonstop unre
fueled Voyager project? Never one to
in
her
home
state
Part ofthe Voyager Communications crew, Don center) is flanked
on
which they by Dave Beardon left ) and Bruce Evans .
would build a
re
tirement home.
Finding property
that
suited their
needs,
they
drove
a
bouncy 4x4
jeep
back to California to pack
up
and put the
Reitzke Flying
Ranch
on
the
real estate market.
Wanting
to
use
his retirement
time
and his talents
productively ,
Don
started up
a small company
called Nav-Com Contractors, which
he located at the Aitkin Airport. He
went
about the business of repairing
and installing aircraft avionics in
civilian planes. Never one
to
hold
just single job at a time, he also went
to
work for
the Minnesota
Dept. of
Aeronautics maintaining
nav aids
and VORs. Hearing
comments
about
the
difficulty
of
seeing
airport
bea
miss out
at
a new adventure, Don ea-
gerly agreed to lend a helping
hand.
Working
with
former
Skunkworks
engineer Larry Caskey,
Don
formu
lated
a
plan
for continuous
communication
with
the
Voyager
no matter
what its
location during
the record-breaking attempt
at
non
stop circumnavigation. The summer
of '86 found Mr. Rietzke living
with
Dick
Rutan near
the
Mojave
Air
port.
t
was here that all flight
operations were
to
be
planned,
tested,
and
managed.
Don
was
assigned
communica
t ions director for this historic
undertaking. His first priority was to
establish a working link with numer-
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IRPL NE
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Navions back to the skies.
Don uses his tremen
dous patience and aircraft
knowledge to rebuild or re-
new each
component of
the aircraft. Besides N91491
that
Don
completely
re
built, a visit to
the
hangar
workshop will reveal an
other
beautiful Navion
about to brought back to
lif
e.
A set of highly buffed
aluminum wings are cra
dled in the corner awaiting
their turn to be reat
Marie and Don Riezke with
their
beloved Navion
tached.
That'll
be
done
ous agencies
and
companies
in
the
communication community. Using
every resource at his disposal, Don
helped insure
that
flight director
Caskey
was
in continual contact with
the Voyager in order to pass on vital
flight information about weather,
route changes, etc. As the flying world
knows, it worked Dick and Jeana
as-
tounded
the
aviation world with
their nonstop global flight.
Back
at his
home airstrip, Don
continued to have a love affair with
Navions. On
one
of his trips about
Minnesota he had the opportunity
to
meet a fellow pilot
nicknamed
"Navion Mike."
t
seems
that Navion
Mike also
had an intense passion for this par
ticular line of aircraft. Not
only
did
this gentleman have a beautifully
restored Navion,
he
had
another
disassembl