(Photo by Ted Koston)

THE PRESIDENT'S

PAGE

By E. E. "Buck" Hilbert President, Antique-Classic Division

Pilots don't need enemies - there are always other pilots! Does that sound bad? It does and it's true. Individually, pilots are great. But, collectively, they don't amount to much. Ac­customed to making individualistic decisions because of the nature of the job, they tend to act as individuals all the time. They become vocal on almost any subject - you'll get an opinion, solicited or not, with a very strong affirmative argument. But ask them to do some­thing to improve, or save, or expand the thing they like to do most, fly, and they become meek, voiceless, almost invisible men.

The NPRMs that EAA Headquarters tries so hard to call to your attention are examples. Of the more than 44,000 active members and nearly 500 Chapters, there were fewer than 100 written comments received at EAA Headquarters on a recent important matter. Talking with FAA Academy Flight Instructor Refresher Team members at the last seminar in Chicago, I made it a point to ask what replies had come in from individuals on a recent NPRM - thirty­four, was the answer. There are more kids than that in my son's 2nd grade class and every­one of them wrote to Santa Claus 'cause they wanted something.

The reference I made to enemies is defined this way. Every time an NPRM comes out (and comments are solicited on each and everyone), if we don't make comments, good or bad, we undermine our position and lose a little. We give away our rights a piece at a time and if the proposal does become a rule (law) and we don't like it or can't live with it, then whose fault is it? We are our own enemies. Specially, we are cheating our fellow pilots and ourselves by withholding written comments. We need a strong united voice, and just because we are EAA members and EAA is strong on sport flying, we can't leave it all up to the few who do under­stand the import of the written reply. Let's get with it, guys - if EAA is your selected voice in sport aviation, then you'd better support that voice. Let's give that voice some basso pro­fundo that can only be from a chorus of thousands rather than just a very few .

HOW TO JOIN THE ANTIQUE-CLASSIC DIVISION

Membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division is open to all EAA members who have a special interest in the older aircraft that are a proud part of our aviation heritage. Membership in the Antique­Classic Division is $10.00 per year which entitles one to 12 issues of The Vintage Airplane published monthly at EAA Headquarters. Each member will also receive a special Antique-Classic membership card plus one additional card for one's spouse or other designated family member.

Membership in EAA is $15.00 per year which includes 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. All mem­bership correspondence should be addressed to: EAA, Box 229, Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130.

2

I~f V~IAbf ARPlA~f

VOLUME 3 NUMBER 1 JANUARY 1975 TABLE OF CONTENTS

It's a Cirigliano ... A Wiggly What? .. . Jerry Haggerty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Reminiscing With Big Nick ... Nick Rezich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7 The Arrowhead Safety Plane .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Grimes' Goodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Charter to Newfoundland .. . Paul Rizzo . . .... . ... .. . .. . .... .. : ... . . . ........ . . .. .. .. . . ..... .. 13 Antique Treasure Hunting . . . J. R. Nie/ander . .. . .. . . .. .. . ..... . . .. . .. .. . . . . . . .. . . ........ .. .. . 15 Around The Antique/Classic World .. .. . ... . . . ... .. .. .. .. . .... .. .. ... .. . ..... .. . ... . . ..... ... . . 18

ON THE COVER • • . Jerry Haggerty and his BACK COVER . .• Winter In Wisconsin . Cirigliano. Photo by Ted Koston

Photo by Ted Kaston

EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher - Paul H. Poberezny Ed itor - Jack Cox Assistant Ed itor - Gene Chase Assistant Editor - Golda Cox

ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS

PRESIDENT - VICE PRESIDENT E. E HILBERT J . R. NI ELANDER. JR. 8102 LE ECH RD. P. O . BOX 2464 UNION. ILLINOIS 60180 FT LAUDERDALE . FLA.

SECRETARY TREASURER RICHARD WAGNER GAR W . WILLIAMS , J R. BOX 181 9 S 135 AERO DR.. RT. 1 LYON S. WIS . 53148 NAPERVILLE , ILL. 60540

DIRECTORS

EVANDER BRITT JIM HORNE MORTON LESTER KELLY VIETS P. O. Box 458 3850 Coronation Rd. P. O. Box 3747 RR 1, Box 151 Lumberton. N. C. 28358 Eagan , Minn. 55122 Martinsville, Va. 24112 Stilwell , Kansas 66085

CLAUDE L. GRAY, JR. AL KELCH GEORGE STUBBS JACK WINTHROP 9635 Sylvia Ave. 7018 W. Bonniwell Rd. RR 18, Box 127 3536 Whitehall Dr. Northridge, Calif. 91324 Mequon, Wisc. 53092 Indianapol is, Ind. 46234 Dallas, Texas 75229

DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRETARY DOROTHY CHASE, EAA HE ADOUARTERS

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique Classic Aircraft , Inc. and is published monthly at Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130. Second Class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office. Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130 and Random Lake Post Office. Random Lake. Wisconsin 53075. Membership rates for Antique Classic Aircraft. Inc. are $10.00 per 12 month period of which $7.00 is for the subscription to THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation.

Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc., Box 229, Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130

Copyright © 1975 Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

3

(Photo by Ted Koston)

Jerry Haggerty and his Warner powered Cirigliano.

IT'S A CIRIGLIANO ... A WIGGLY WHAT?

By Jerry Haggerty P. O. Box 136

Elwood, III. 60421

It was 1930 when Serafin Cirigliano pulled up to the Summit Aviation hangar on Bellanca Field, New Castle, Delaware with his newly completed but still unassem­bled biplane . An interested onlooker was John McC. Morgan, then a boy of fifteen . Mr . Morgan is now Vice President of Summit Aviation of Middleton, Delaware and was my main source of information for this article.

Ciggy, as Cirigliano was called, was an engineer for the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation and a native of Colum­bia, South America. He built the Cirigliano SC-1 along the lines of the Curtiss P-1 Hawk fighter of that era and called it the Baby Hawk. It had an OX-5 engine of 90 hp, spoke wheels, a tail skid and a positive stagger to the wings that would make a Beechcraft blush. The radiator was placed between the gear and the engine was en­closed with a beautiful burnished natural aluminum cowl.

Stuart Chadwick, Bellanca's chief test pilot, made the first flight and on one flight timed the aircraft over Bel­lanca's speed course at 114 mph. Mr. Chadwick was later killed spin testing a weird Bellanca designed for the Navy.

At a time just before the Second World War, the Cirig­liano was acquired by Eddie Edwards and Mike Guidi­4

das. The OX-5 was removed and a 165 hp Continental radial engine was installed. The next owner was Ed Smith . When Ed found the Cirigliano, it was in a bam in its original configuration, except for the 165 Continental. Ed dismantled the aircraft and made many modifica­tions to the fuselage and tail group . The wings remained original except for a cut-out in the top wing for easier access to the cockpit and better visibility .

The modification included widening the fuselage just forward of the cockpit, adding bulkheads and string­ers to change the fuselage from flat, slab-sided to a nice rounded shape. He added a 145 Warner radial en­gine, a Hartzell Selectomatic propeller and modified a Fairchild F-24 cowling complete with cowl flaps . A 4 gal­lon oil tank was installed along with two fuel tanks, a main holding 20 gallons and an aux of 17 gals . This gave a total of 37 gallons and a range of about 400 miles at 125 mph.

The tail group was changed and the rudder was given a forward sweep like a Mooney tail (did Mooney copy this?). Then, Ed added the two round stabilizers to the horizontal stabilizer ends to give it a Bellanca Cruisair look in keeping with its Bellanca heritage. Ed also added a baggage compartment behind the cockpit with access

through a hatch on the left side of the fuselage . After completing his modifications, he used the Cirigliano to commute between New Castle, Delaware and Camden, New Jersey.

Eventually, the Cirigliano was sold to a man in Chat­tanooga, Tennessee. The aircraft traveled from owner to owner, mostly in the southern states, and finally end­ed up in Holdrege, Nebraska where I bought it in the spring of this past year.

I found the Cirigliano to be a nice handling aircraft. It's blind over the nose on take off and landings; if you can see the runway, you're in trouble! Other than that, it climbs 1000-plus fpm, cruises at 125-130 mph. Land­ing approach is 65 mph and stall occurs at 45 mph.

I find the elevator to be the most sensitive control and the Cirigliano will loop with very little effort. Slow rolls take a little more attention. It's no Pitts, but it does nice Sunday afternoon aerobatics .

Mr. Morgan says he lost track of Mr. Cirigliano in the mid-30s and he believes he returned to South America.

Ed Smith is now 74 years old and a retired shop fore­man for Summit Aviation. He is still flying a 1936 Ryan SCW powered by a 145 Warner (what else!).

So thanks to you, Ed Smith, and to you, Mr. Cirigli­ano, wherever you are - your craftsmanship is admired by many.

CIRIGLIANO SPECIFICATIONS

Wing Span .......... ..... . .......... . ......... 27 feet Length ........... .. .. ......... .... . .. 17 feet 6 inches Empty Weight ..... . .............. . . ......... 1521 lbs. Gross Weight ........ . .. . .. . ...... . .. ....... 22001bs. Baggage ...... . .... .... . . ...... . ........ ...... 701bs. Power ... . .. ..... . , . . .. ... ... . ... .. 145 Warner Radial Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 400 miles Fuel ..... ....... .... .. . . ........ . .. .... .... 37 gallons Cruise .... ... ......... ..... ... . . ... . ... . 125-130 mph Stall .... .... .... ...... .. ............. . ....... 45 mph Never Exceed Speed ..... .. .. . ... ....... . . ... 180 mph

(Photo Courtesy of the Author)

Structure of the Cirigliano in its original configuration. This photo was taken in 1928, supposedly by G. M. Bel­lanca.

(Photo Courtesy of the Author)

Serafin Cirigliano and his OX-5 powered " Baby Hawk" in 1930.

(Photo Courtesy of the Author) (The Informer, Summit Aviation, Middleton, Delaware)

The Cirigliano as modified by Eddie Edwards and Mike Guidi­Ed Smith and his Ryan SCW. He modified das. Must have been quite a performer with the 165 Continen­the original Cirigliano into its present con­tal. figuration .

. . (Photo by Ted Koston) ~essna gear, Bellanca hOrizontal tal!, a rudder later used by Mooney - a lot of innovation crammed Into one small biplane.

REMINISCING WITH BIG NICK Nick Rezich

THE PYLON CLUB - PART I

I have been a racing nut ever since I was knee high to a tailskid and still am. Going to the air races to me was like going to church - it was very spiritual. The "spirit" has never left me, but it did turn my life around at one point which led to the opening of the world famous "Py­lon Club".

Before we go any further, I have some apologies. I don't know if this article will make the January issue or not. If it does, then your issue is very late getting to you because of me, and I'm sorry. (Not really - things have been hectic all over - Editor)

I have been asked by many of the younger genera­tion to tell about the Pylon Club. There is so much to tell about the club that I just didn't know where to start. When I did start this episode over a month ago and had written over 60 pages I threw them aU away because they all read the same - "self centered" - I have searched my brain for weeks trying to find words that don't reflect an egomania image. The more I wrote, the worse it be­came. Finally, my daughter solved my problem.

After the 50th start, she said, "Daddy, you know what you are - so why try hiding the truth?" With that state­ment I grounded her for a week and am proceeding with the Pylon Club story.

Air racing faced certain doom following the 1949 fatal crash of Bill Odom and the cancellation of the Cleveland Air Races.

In the three short years of post war air racing, mil­lions of dollars were invested in racing machines which resulted in 400 mph speeds in the Unlimiteds and over 200 mph in the Midgets. Mechanical and technical bar­riers were being smashed that would benefit aviation when that black curtain was dropped at Cleveland.

No matter what the race pilots and owners had to say in their defense, the news media, FAA and airport man­

4213 Centerville Rd. Rockford, III . 61102

agement along with the general public hollered kill! kill! kill! and kill it was. With Cleveland out of the racing pic­ture, this left Miami as the only remaining hope to air racing survival. Fortunately for the Midgets, Miami and Continental Motors went on with the winter races. The Unlimiteds, however, were not as fortunate, they were locked out with no one willing to sponsor them because they were labeled as dangerous by a few block heads who sponsors listened to .

I could not fathom the thought of air racing coming to a grinding halt after 39 years of struggling to become an international sport. I had a personal interest and an investment at stake that I didn't want to see going up in smoke. My personal interest was in the form of a new design Midget racer I had started, and the investment was a commitment I had made in Cleveland before the fatal crash of Odom. I committed myself to a group of owners from Michigan who owned a sharp P-51 that wasn't doing well at Cleveland that I would purchase their racer at the close of the 1949 races.

I managed to get out from under the -51 after the race canceUation, but I was determined to build and race the Midget. These were the events which set the stage for the Pylon Club.

I needed a platform to launch my campaign to save air racing. It had to be a platform where I could reach the public, news media, the business world, FAA and other interested parties. How and where? The "where" was easy - I felt Chicago was the city because Chicago had been a good racing city, having hosted the 1930 National Air Race, the 1933 American Air Races and the International Races and it had the airports required for such an event.

The "how" was yet to be thought of. I went to Miami for the Continental Motors' Race only to find that Miami was following Cleveland's decision to drop the air rac­ing program. Miami had grown to the point where the winter air races were no longer needed to attract the tourist. They also dropped the AAA Winter Midget Auto Races .

7

PYLON CLUB PYLON CLUB PYLON CLUB PYLON CLUB

This really made me unhappy. The loss of another major racing event coupled with the loss of the week having fun in the sun was too much to bear. I went home determined more than ever that I would do something for air racing - other than talking about it.

The "how" idea came to me while I was flying the Chicago-Seattle-Chicago-Burbank run for the non­scheds. Those 10 hour flights gave a guy a lot of time to dream, and dream I did. I came upon the idea of opening a fabulous "saloon" that I would call a night club. This club would have to be something unusual in order to attract the people I wanted to reach. I designed a very elaborate saloon that carried the theme of air racing to its fullest extent - thus became the "Pylon Club" .

When I announced my plan to my brother Frank, who was my partner in the Midget, he thought I had flipped . His reaction to the idea was, " What the hell do you know about running a saloon?" - and, "What are you going to use for money?" I explained to him that any dummy can pour a beer and that I still had the money from the sale of my Culver Cadet. With that he shook his head, took a bite out of his cigar butt and went back to welding on the Midget.

My original idea was to locate in downtown Chicago, but a saloon keeper friend of mine talked me out of that idea in a hurry explaining that, between the coppers and the gangsters, I wouldn' t last 6 months unless I put them on the payroll and they would eventually own the joint.

I shifted my thoughts to the Midway Airport area, the eventual location. The exact location was 3017 W. 63rd Street which was 2% miles east of Midway. This loca­tion put me between the A.L.P.A. Headquarters and Dr. Fenwick's office, the doctor who gave most all of the FAA physicals on the south side. For the sake of you historians we were located just 2 blocks east of where Benny Howard built the first Howard DCA-B.

Flying for Monarch Air Service, the non-sched kept me out of town quite a bit which kept the project on low burner. Time was slipping by when fate struck a blow that put us in high blower.

The non-sched I was working for hired a new chief pilot from Miami where he was flying a Lockheed "Lob­ster". We were operating three DC-3s, three C-46s and a Lockheed 10. This new guy never even 'rode in a C-46 but had lied that he was type rated in the DC-3 and C-46.

He started out by riding with the pilots in the DC-3s

8

on the pretense he was checking them out until he was able to stagger around well enough not to kill himself. He then moved to the C-46 where he met his Waterloo - which ended up putting the company out of business.

It happened at Midway one night about 11:00 p .m . Being the end of the month, all the captains had run out of time but there was one more schedule to fly so the Head Honcho decides he would fly the trip. Larry Craw­ford, Sr. brought the ship in from Miami and landed on a glazed ice runway at Midway with no problem. The air­plane had no squawks so the Honcho fills it with gas and skulls and files for LCA. He cranked up and taxied to 31L without losing it on the ice, but about a quarter way down the runway he did loose it. For take off pow­er in the -46 h e was using DC-3 settings and when he lost it, he pulled it off at about 80 mph . It came off, but not for long - that over-grossed pig fell back in and there was no room to stop it on the ice . The co-pilot, who knew how to fly the -46, moved in and advanced the throttles to max power. From my house it sounded like he double clutched it. Now the Chief Honcho moves in again and pulls it off, only this time he is off the run­way and headed for John Casey's house, the airport manager. Before he gets to the house, John's BT-13 interrupts the flight. The nose, wings and engines clear the BT-13 but not the tail. He ripped off the stabilizer and flipper on one side and now the -46 is hanging on the screaming props and no tail. The airplane turned south and settled into the only open field with outside hay s torage for a perfect vertical decent landing. Every­body got out without injury and then the -46 very con­veniently burned.

When the hearings we re ove r Zlnd we found out thi s clown's reZlI nZlme ,1I1d that h l:' was not type rated in the 46 or DC-3, the ins urance wa s GlnceJled on the c,uri er il nd Monarch went out of th e big airplane non -sched business. And I \V ,l S out of a jllb.

About three da ys later myoid FAA buddy, the la te Walter BI,lI1ford , ca ll ed from St. Louis and offered me, Fra nk and Monarch Air Se rvices original chi e f pilot , Fra nk Arlasb s, a job with Pilrks Airlines, which la ter beca me O zark. I s til yed on in St. Louis for il while but th e Pylon Club idea and ,lir show tlying didn ' t mi x with Parks. So I Cilme back to Chicago tll s tart work on the Club .

The building I used turned out to be one quarter the size of my origin'll plans. This WZl S dictated by the price

PYLON CLUB PYLON CLUB PYLON CLUB PYLON CLUB of the rent, heat and light. The next awakening was the prices for the decor and insurance.

I licked some of the decor costs by calling on a for­mer Howard Aircraft employee, Mike Bernat, who turned to interior decorating after Howard closed . We took my origina l layout and shrunk it to fit the smaller building. We added Mike Bernat's ideas for the final outcome. I could save 500 words here if I had a photo of the interior of the Club. But believe it or not out of the hundreds of photos taken by magazines, newspapers, customers and friends I do not have a photo of the place. I'll tell you why later.

You will have to use your imagination as I try to give you a mental picture of the place. For the ceiling we used parachutes with the harness removed. Mike hung them in clusters with the top center fas tened to the ceiling and the canopies hanging inverted. At the edges where the chutes met the walls we rolled the surplus and at­tached it in a scalloped form . The end result was a very decorative and highly insulated acoustical ceiling.

The main theme was carried into the walls. We divid­ed the walls into four large sections, each of which would have a 3-D mural of the various racing events . Mike Bernat designed, built and installed the four huge cornices which would frame the murals.

The murals were a major undertaking and very costly in time and money. I had 3-D color photos of Cleveland, Miami and California races that I wanted reproduced in full detail on the 20' x 8' sections of wall. At first I thought I could get them blown up to billboard size like they use for outdoor advertising, but when I told them I only wanted one each they thought I was crazy or rich or both. When they quoted me $4000.00 and no guaran­tee of quality, I scrubbed the blow-up idea .

I got the bright idea of borrowing a projector to pro­ject the image on the wall, then trace the whole thing in charcoal to obtain the detail then paint it. The idea was great but it didn't work. My brother Mike solved our problem by recommending a painter he knew. He cau­tioned me, however, that I would have to keep this guy sober if I wanted the job to be completed. When the painter showed up and I explained to him what I want­ed, he too told me I was nuts. We finally reached an agreement on price and time. Now for my $5000.00 mis­take - the painter asked if I wanted the paintings on canvas or the wall surfaces. I opted for the wall because it was cheaper, I thought, which I was to regret later.

Next project was the identifier. My original plans called for beacon on the roof and a huge neon lighted pylon out front . When I approached the landlord and in­formed him I was going to erect a beacon tower on the roof, he flipped and darn near ran me out of town . Next to get shot down was the neon lighted pylon.

First, the building would have to be beefed up to hold it, next a special permit from the city was re­quired, extra insurance and when I got the price from the sign company to build it, I gave up and opted for a six foot script lettered Pylon Club neon sign. I was fast learning about the saloon business . Here I am, three weeks away from my proposed opening date and I am broke and borrowing - and with six week's work left to finish .

The sign painter by now has polished off about three cases of gin, but was doing one hell of a good job. I took my chances with the painter and kept pouring the gin, and about another case later he finished the job . BE­LIEVE YOU ME, when he finished it was a CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS - it was a masterpiece. The only thing missing was the whine of the engines and the roar of the crowd. We all sat back to admire Jeffs work and drank a toast to the masterpiece when I got the brilliant idea of just one more painting. After we all destroyed a bottle of booze, I asked Jeff if he would paint a panor­amic view of the racers on the race course at Cleveland on the window up front facing the street. By now he was so wrapped up in the place and so full of enthusiasm and booze that he agreed . This painting turned out to be a classic. Up until now we had the window covered so no one could see in while we were working.

When Jeff started to paint that window, I had to bar the door. Everybody wanted in - finished or not. In the meantime we fixed up the back bar with a big OX-5 Hamilton prop I borrowed from my brother Mike. A pyra­mid of Carl Hubbell's black bordered pre-war Thompson Trophy winners were hung on the wall. Red and white checkered pylons were placed all over the place, along with trophies and a whole slew of photos of racers , people and events. Between the Hubbell paintings and the OX-5 prop h ung a beautiful painting of our Midget racer No. 43. This painting was a gift from Paul Schaupp, builder of "Mr. Zip" No . 27 Midget racer, from Ingle­wood, California.

Before we opened formally, we had a premier show­ing for the aviation and public press and other selected

9

guests who made the Pylon Club possible . We named the murals as follows: the south half of the west wall was the Art Chester Wall, this was a painting of Art Chester taking off at the San Diego Races minutes be­fore he was killed.

The north half was the Goodyear Wall with a large shot of one of the Goodyear Pylons with Bill Brennand rounding the bend. North half of the east wall was the Cleveland Wall with a shot of the 1947 finish, and the south half was the Betty Skelton Wall. This wall had the shot of Betty's "Lil Stinker" at Miami winning the akro title.

Next month: Pylon Club Happenings.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Last month we ran a picture from the May 1932 issue of Popular Aviation on a tailless, biplane pusher said to be " the last work of Glenn Curtiss". Lew Casey of the National Air and Space Museum is a well known Curtiss authority (he is working on a Curtiss book that will be the definitive work on the subject) and has generously shared with the readers of The Vintage Airplane several items on our " mystery" pusher. One of these is a May 1931 Popular Aviation article on the " Arrowhead Safety Plane" - the actual name of our erstwhile Curtiss. Among other things, this article confirms our notion of a connection with the Dunne aircraft of an earlier era.

We would still hope to obtain additional information from others of you on this interesting aircraft. How did it perform? For what was it used during its flying days in the Miami area? What was its eventual disposition?

-Jack Cox

THE ARROWHEAD SAFETY PLANE

By E. W. Sudlow

The November issue of Popular Aviation contained a brief announcement of a radical craft - the Arrowhead Safety plane. To say the least it is an unusual craft - a tailless, pusher type - and far different from the ap­pearance of the conventional plane. The late Glenn Cur­tiss was exceedingly interested in and devoted con­siderable time during the latter days of his life to this design . He called it the future"Air Flivver".

The plane is a biplane, with a three-wheel landing gear. The wings are mounted with a sweepback of ap­proximately 30 degrees. The ship derives its name of "Arrowhead" from the lack of fuselage. A short cock­pit and engine nacelle is designed to carry any engine of from 25 to 50 hp.

The principles of governing the practical applica­tion of inherent stability in tailless airplanes were first discovered by Lieutenant Dunne, of the British Army. Under his direction a series of experiments to deter­mine the value of the idea were carried out in England. At Marblehead, Mass ., a number of tailless airplanes embodying the Dunne ideas were constructed by the Burgess Airplane Co. in 1913-15.

These planes were put through severe tests and conclusively demonstrated that inherent stability and simplicity in flying technique were to be had in this type. Though crude as to constructional detail, and inefficient from an aerodynamical standpoint, these early planes had inherent stability and ease of flying characteristics which marked them as a thing apart from the other planes of the day.

The advent of the World War put a stop to the experi­mental development work on this highly interesting and unique type of aircraft. Recently, however, interest in the tailless plane has been rearoused, and today exten­sive experiments are under way in both England and Germany.

The first plane of this type to be built in the United States since the World War was flown at the AlI-Ameri­can Air Races at Miami, in January, 1931. Considerable attention was attracted to the unique plane and its per­

10

10405

JBt

formance . Commercial production of the Arrowhead tailless

plane has been undertaken and the program announced by the company calls for immediate construction of three or four experimental ships.

All of these designs are concentrated around the one basic type - the tailless airplane. Radical improve­ments in the system of controls, the landing gear, pas­senger comfort and safety , and economy of upkeep and operation are embodied in the construction.

- everal of the specific improvements which have been incorporated into this group of tailless planes are these:

First and most important are the aerodynamical characteristics which are inherently a part of the tail­less plane. Absolutely dependable inherent stability in any weather, freedom from any tendence to stall or nose dive, the impossibility of going into a tail spin, and the general incapability of getting into any dangerous maneuver requiring the skill and judgment of an expert pilot to recover from .

To some extent these features were to be found in the first group of Dunne machines built many years ago. In the present design these typically safe features are amplified and improved upon and at the same time a marked improvement in flying efficiency is obtained by the use of the later type of aerofoil sections.

The only serious objection which was ever brought up in connection with the tailless Dunne planes has been entirely overcome by radical changes and improve­ments in the ailerons and their controlling mechanism.

These improvements involve the use of split ailer­ons, so hooked up to the control levers that the normal pitch and banking and steering maneuvers can be ac­complished, either singly or in combination, by the sole manipulation of the ailerons themselves.

Another point in favor of the tailless plane is the re­duced time necessary to learn to operate it. On account of the instinctive ease in the method of handling the controls, coupled with its incapability of assuming dan­gerous attitudes while in flight, the amount of time re­quired for flying instruction is cut by one-half or to one­quarter of that necessary in other types of planes.

The Arrowhead Safety plane is an unbelievably sim­ple machine to fly, and one that very nearly approaches the fool-proof plane . It is less intricate in construc­tion, and many parts are eliminated entirely, at a pro­portionate lowered cost of production.

The landing gear is of a very simple type, utilizing Goodyear air wheels.

The pusher loca,tion of the motor provides a vastly safer installation in case of fire than the conventional tractor offers. Of special interest in connection with the employment of pusher propellers is the exceptional de­

11

gree of visibility obtained. The pi lot and passengers have an unobstruc ted

view forward, to the side and to the rear. There is nothing wha tever to obstruct the pilot's view in any direction, which contributes in no small measure to the facility wi th wh ich easy and safe landings may be negotiated. There are no blind spots.

Wi th the use of the pusher type of propeller there are severa l other advantages. A propeller with no part of the airplane behind it is more efficient than one in front.

The truth of this is apparent when it is remembered that in a tractor machine the entire fuselage and tai l surfaces and a portion of th e wings and landing gear are traveling in the rapidly moving blas t of air from the propeller , thereby increasing the resistance of these elements some twenty to thirty per cent.

Again, when the motor is mounted at the rear end of

a sh ort fuselage, it is comparatively easy and simple to silence the harrowing bark of the exhaust. Complete and p erfect silencing can be obtained without serious loss in efficiency, just as is done today in the modern motor cars.

The Arrowhead Safety plane is exceptionally com­pact having a wing spread of only 25 feet , an overall length of 17 feet , with a total height of 9 feet. It weighs only 512 pounds empty, seats a pilot and student side­by-side, and has dual controls .

The tailless airplane is not " just another airplane" but something new and startling . It has numerous points of ~uperiori ty, is sa fer and more stable and is vastly easier to fly. With all these points in its favor, plus the lower cost .to ~anufacture and consequently cheaper pnce at which It can be purchased, it may easily be the coming "Flivver of the Air", as Mr. Curtiss predicted.

GRIMES' GOODIES

Rare old aviation photos from Don Grimes of Atlanta, Georgia. Left, a 1919 Loening M-1BS; below, a Pony Blimp.

12

(Paul Rizzo Photo)

Right: Paul Rizzo's J-5 Ryan Brougham near Buchans, Newfoundland. The planks are an improvised " runway" laid over the spongy earth of a bog - too short, as it turned out, for a successful take off.

(Paul Rizzo Photo) Refueling the Rizzo Ryan in New­foundland while some local people get their pictures taken in front of an airplane. The flight described in this article was approximately 3,000 miles in total length - and is one to think about the next time you are complaining about some airport that does not have clean restrooms and a restaurant!

CHARTER TO NEWFOUNDLAND By Paul Rizzo 72 Lois Court

East Meadow, NY 11554

"Plane Vacation Starts in Mud and Ends in Fog." This was the caption in large letters by the Associated Press in an article published in the Boston paper.

In the early 1930's, money was tight. Martin Jenson (1927 Dole Race) dropped into my airport (Barren Island Airport, next to Floyd Bennett Field, which was under construction) and wanted to hop passengers in the same plane he had used in the Dole Race. After talking it over for a few minutes, we decided there was not enough business to warrant his stay, so he took off.

A few years later I had a J-5 Ryan Brougham and a 6000 Travel Air 0-6-9) on the line for passenger hopping and cross country flights. In an effort to increase my business, I had on several occasions some famous pilots to fly my ships, namely, George Pond, Roger Q. Williams and Errol Boyd. But business was bad, and money was still tight. Clarence Chamberlain also had his ship on the line hopping passengers. So, when I was approached by a Mr. McDevitt who asked me if I would consider flying him and a friend to Newfoundland on July 28, my answer was "yes". After getting all the details I told him that I would arrive at a price tag and call him the next day.

We took off July 28 early in the morning with a clear sky overhead. Weather reports were vague in those days and suitable air maps were almost non-existent, so I had secured several automobile maps of Long Island, Massa­chusetts, Rhode Isla nd, Maine and New Brunswick. I also had a few tools, one quart of dope, some linen and rib stitching cord, etc. I could not get a map of Newfoundland,

so I referred to the Road Atlas which showed a scale of 200 miles to the inch .

My passengers were Robert McDevil le, John Avery and "Bozo" the monkey. The weather was good until I got into the area of Rhod e Island w here the ceiling dropped to about 300 feet, but the visibility was at least 10 miles . I continued to Boston at abou t 200 ft . altitUt~e, and set the ship down at Logan Airport, took on gas and oil while my passengers picked up a sa ndwich for me and fed Bozo. I didn't thin k Bozo was hungry, for he was busy enroute sitting on my shoulders "delousing" me! It was nice to have my head scratched but he sure turned out to be a pest all the way to Newfoundland. At times he would completely disappear in the fuselage and go all the way to the tail (in flight). At other times he was in between my legs and under the seats.

The ceiling was still around 300 feet but the visibility was good (10 miles or better) when I took off. There were no regulations in those days; it was en tirely at our o\\'n discretion whether we fl ew or not, but I took into con­sideration the many beaches that I could land on in an emergency along the eastern coast line.

My next stop was St. John, New Brunswick. A few of the trans-Atlantic planes cracked up at this airport. After gassing up, I took off for Nova Scotia, but not until I climbed up to 4000 feet to get over the fog that had completely obscured the Bi'ly of Fundy, which at thi s point was approximately 50 miles wide. After crossing the Bay of Fundy, and admiring the bea utiful rai nbow following the

13

shadow of my ship above the fog, the solid overcast had begun to break up and I descended through a hole when I spotted land and flew contact all the way to Sydney, Nova Scotia. I set the ship down for the night after having it refueled and oiled.

The next morning I inquired for a map of Newfound­land but was told none was available and that they could not give me any information about the country, as none of the pilots had ever been there. Newfoundland was only 100 miles from its nearest point to Nova Scotia, but it was all ocean and out of the shipping lanes. We took off with a clear sky and no clouds and got as far as Harbor Grace just short of my destination, St. Johns, when the low fog started to come in. I proceeded to St. Johns just skimming the tree tops, with visibility deteriorating, so that I decided on a 180°. Back we went to Harbor Grace and stayed overnight. I was asked to sign a register, and in doing so noted that many of the trans-Atlantic boys who had departed from this field for Europe had also Signed. I don't remember much about the field other than that I think it had been cut out especially for trans-Atlantic planes. It was a grass field, no lights, just one strip probably about 5000 feet in length and about 100 feet wide. I recall that it had only one small building on it. There were no towns or villages nearby, only St. Johns , which I think was 40 or 50 miles away. There was not, at this time, any road that went across Newfoundland . It only had one railroad track, and the same train travelled both ways. The next day we took off for st. Johns and landed at Seely's Field (not sure of the spelling). It was a grass field with no building on it, nor were there any ships on the field . I found out that on the previous day they had a brass band waiting for us . I sure was sorry we had dis­appointed the crowd and the band. Our stay of a week was uneventful. There was the Marconi Wireless Station on top of a mountain and a nice harbor for large oceangoing boats. Whenever we walked into town I didn't know whether it was us or the monkey that was the big attrac­tion, but they all knew we were the fliers from the States . Codfish were selling for five cents each, regardless of size or weight. You just paid the nickel and took your pick.

When we took off for our return trip the sky was clear, but no weather reports were available. Also, another mascot was added as we had been given a small New­foundland pup. Now the the trouble started. Every time the pup closed his eyes for some sleep while lying on the floor, Bozo would jump down from his perched position and nip the pup, then jump back up again. After awhile we got used to this, as he kept it up all the way home.

Newfoundland is about 400 miles from east to west along the railroad track, but you can save about 50 miles by flying direct. Half way across Newfoundland the fog started to roll in from the ocean, the terrain was thickly wooded with no signs of towns or villages, or roads. I started to head inland and for the railroad track. The weather continued to deteriorate, so I followed the rail­road track and eventually came to a small mining town which I found out later was Buchans. By now I had less than 200 ft. ceiling, and visibility was about 1 mile, so I sure was glad to see the mine and houses. I picked a nice , open field about half a mile from the mine and made the shortest landing, I'm sure, ever made with a Ryan. As soon as the wheels touched the grass , I thought my brakes had jammed. The wheels sank in the bog (sank deep in ooze), the ship came to a stop after a run of about 200 feet and nosed over. The propeller was completely submerged . Soon many natives came over. With their help we got the tail down, and to my amazement the propeller looked O.K. We tried to tow the ship out of the ooze with a horse

2nd wagon, but to no avail. The natives decided to build a short runway - about

200 feet long - made of planks which they volunteered to bring from town (refer to picture).

[ thought that afte r a run of a few hundred fee t I might be able to "yank it off." On a fel'" tries [nosed over each time and then gave up.

The natives then sugges ted [ look at another spot that they claimed was good , ha rd ground. Upon inspection, the ground was hard but very hill y and full of large boulders. With the aid of a t leas t 90 volunteers <lnd plenty of rope, with about a dozen men leading the wa y by cutting a path through the trees, we got th e ship on the high , hill y g round. Now the real trouble began . [ walked ove r the grounds and placed low s takes near each boulde r; it was to be sort of a zig- zag take-off, up hill , down hill , turn le ft , turn right, etc. I cleared a ll the boulders exce pt one on my le ft whil e looking on my right to clear another one . Well, I hit the one on my left and s heared the left whee l a nd strut off. Upon examina tion I found the le ft s trut broken at the fuselage, the front wing strut bent about 15u or 20° up and the propell er tip on one blade only had split about 2 inches from the tip.

I was determined to salvage the ship and get it home. The first thing I did was to cut 2 inches off the split blade, and cut a similar amount off the other blade. It tracked pretty good . We welded the broken landing gear strut and since no small welding tip was available, we had to use a large tip - I think it was a No . 9. How we managed to weld it, I still don't know. We straightened the front wing strut, but I didn't like its looks so I re­moved some cable that holds the two rear seats down in the plane and ran it under the strut from the fuselage fitting to the wing fitting for extra strength while in the air. With the cloth and dope I had with me I repaired all the fabric cuts and tears . Now the ship looked fairly air­worthy, but I didn't want to risk another take-off.

I started asking a lot of questions about solid, smooth terrain . One miner suggested I look at the ore behind the mine, as he thought that might be hard enough . Upon in­vestigation I found this was the best yet, but knew it would be risky. This was my last hope to get the plane off. I thanked the men for all they had done; I had told them in the beginning that I couldn't pay for all this. Their only reward was that I would allow them to write their names on the ship. After about a hundred signatures, I was ready to give it another try. I bade them all "good-bye", sat the two passengers in the rear seat, told them to hold on to Bozo and the dog, gave it the gun and took off with the tail barely off the ground. I had previously flattened the blade a few degrees, that gave me an extra 200 rpm. We were on our way after I gave the crowd a "buzz" job.

We passed the tip of Newfoundland (Port Aux Basques) and started across the 100 miles of ocean. After one hour of flying over the ocean, where Nova Scotia should have been, I saw nothing but fog in front of me, to my left and to my right. I tried to get under it and got down to 100 feet, but saw that it was right down to the water. I did a 180°, climbed to about 4000 feet and did another 180°. I knew I was over Nova Scotia but wouldn't dare go through the solid overcast as there were no "holes. " So back we went to Newfoundland and landed at the tip of Port-Aux-Basques on a very narrow curved beach with one wheel on dry sand and one wheel in a few inches of water. The beach was only about 20 ft. wide and curved, with low brush on the right side.

I was very low on gas and had to land. The ship rolled along the curved beach until it almost came to a stop, at that time the left wheel that had been in the water on my

14

landing run suddenly hit a soft spot, causing the ship to turn toward the deep water. Again I nosed over, with the entire fro~t in the water, and water in the cockpit. Whe.n h~lp arnved, they pulled the tail down. People came wadmg m the water almost to their shoulders to carry us out. When we hauled the ship out of the water, I found that one propeller blade had a very bad bend and was out of track 8".

I must cut my story short now, reminiscing still gives me a headache! Using a freight car jack at the railroad depot, I managed to bend the prop back to within 1/4" of true track by using the railroad track and the bottom of a freight car. I removed the carburetor with a hammer and screw driver (because of lack of tools), dried it and the plugs in an oven, drained the engine oil and obtained a drum of low octane gas. I put- my remaining aviation gas all in the reserve tank, waited until the tide went down took off on the reserve tank (aviation gas) and then shifted to low octane after reaching a safe altitude. The engine vibrated badly on take-off. This I expected, because of the prop. I cruised at 1550 rpm because the low octane gas caused the engine to spit and cough above that speed . We got to Nova Scotia, gassed up again, readjusted the fixed pitched prop and flew back to Floyd Bennett Field at a steady 1550 rpm.

Bozo behaved the same all the way home, but I in­sisted that his owner keep him in the back and away from my shoulder as Bozo messed up his owner while sitting on his shoulder while over Newfoundland . This was when I found out that he was not house broken .

The saddest part of the trip is when they had published an article in the paper that we were down at sea . This re­sulted from a radiogram that was sent from Buchans to Nova Scotia that we were on our way in . Unfortunately, when we had to return to Port-Aux-Basques, we were held up a few days and had no way of knowing that such an article would be put in the paper. My wife had read this article and so had my family and they were desperately worried.

I only cleared about $200.00 on this trip . I didn't expect to be gone over two weeks, but I was gone 25 days. The money came in handy (during depression times) but no amount of money could heal the worry suffered by my wife and family.

Neither of my passengers nor I could swim - I'm not sure about Bozo. And, of course, we had no radio or blind flying instruments.

My hair has thinned out quite a bit since then but I can't blame Bozo for that.

Antique Treasure Hunting

By J. R. Nielander, Jr. Vice President

Antique/Classic Division

INTRODUCTION

This article is the first of what is hoped will eventually be a monthly feature column in The Vintage Airplane, although in the beginning it can only be expected to appear at infrequent intervals . The success of this column will depend largely on you, the member, but most par­ticularly on you, the foreign member. As anyone acquaint­ed with antique aircraft has realized for a long time, the supply of unrestored antiques in the United States is rapidly diminishing. Eager antique treasure hunters have searched out almost every farmer's barn, abandoned air­port hangar and airport junk yard, not to mention mountain tops and lake bottoms, in their efforts to acquire all of the bits and pieces necessary to restore their rare birds. There is practically nothing left at home to be dis­covered, so if antique aircraft restoration is going to expand and flourish we must look to foreign lands for the "bones" with which to begin our restorations. This is where you, the foreign member, become invaluable. That pair of wings and a fuselage hanging from the rafters of your local hangar or that ancient wrecked monoplane half buried in the junk pile behind that hangar have been there so long and have become such a common sight to you that you don't even notice them anymore. However, these parts may be the beginning of a beautiful restora­tion if they can be placed in the proper hands . We need you, our foreign members, to tell us what you have avail­able in your areas. Ideally, we should like to have the name and model designation as well as a statement of the general condition of the aircraft and engine and a casual estimate of parts missing or the extent of damage and deterioration. Of course we also need the location of the aircraft and the name and address of the owner if the latter informa.tion is known. A black and whit~ photograph three inches by five inches or larger would also be of great value. Please address all correspondence either directly to this writer or to EAA Antique-Classic Division at headquarters . The important fact to remember is that no location is too remote, no transportation pro­blem is too difficult or too expensive, no part is too in­significant and no "bag of bones" is in too bad a condition to be of value to some ingenious restorer.

Lest this plea to our foreign members lead you, our state side members, to believe that there is no part for you in this program of discovery, nothing could be farther from the fact. Many of you members, regularly in the course of business or occasionally on vacation, travel to foreign lands. Being avid aviation enthusiasts you un­doubtedly visit the local airports during your travels. If, on these occasions, you will look a little higher in the hangar rafters, a little deeper in the back corners, and a little farther out back to the airplane junk piles you will be amazed at the number of antique aircraft and com­ponents which you will discover. If you will then attempt to acquire as much information on these aircraft as possible and forward it to us, you, too, will be performing an extremely valuable service for your fellow antiquer.

For those of you, our stateside members who do not travel extensively outside the United States, (and you are

15

__________________~~~_____~___~_______...i

in the great majority) there are still a few antiques left to be discovered here at home. This column is very much interested in receiving information on any rare antiques which you may discover locally and getting this infor­mation to dedicated members who will restore them with much tender loving care. However, it is at this point that we must state the only restriction. It is not the intent of this column to compete with the classified advertise­ments of this publication or those of any other publica­tion. Unrestored relatively plentiful antiques and their components (Piper, Aeronca, Taylorcraft, etc.) as well as already restored antiques and components which are being offered for sale more correctly belong in the classified sales columns and such information will not be published in this column .

AEROMARINE KLEMM

One of the earliest truly light aircraft to be built in the United States was the Aeromarine-Klemm, a tandem, open cockpit fully cantilevered low wing monoplane constructed entirely of wood. The model AKL-25A was in­troduced in 1929 and was awarded ATC No. 121. This first model was powered by a nine cylinder French Salm­son AD-9 radial engine of 40 hp. The Klemm evolved through several model and engine changes including the AKL-26 and 26A which were powered by a five cylinder LeBlond 60 radial engine of 65 hp and later the LeBlond 5-DE of 70 hp and the AKL-26B which was powered by the LeBlond 5-DF of 85 hp.

The Aeromarine-Klemm was an American version of the Klemm-Daimler which had originally been introduced in Germany in 1921 and which itself was an outgrowth of an earlier motored-glider design . It had a wingspan of a little over forty feet and initially an empty weight of a little over eight hundred pounds which progressed up­ward to a little over i'. thousand pounds in the later models.(1)

There is an early Klemm presently residing on a junk pile along side the Cessna dealer's hangar at San Justo Airport located a few miles northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The airframe has a tarpaulin thrown over it. The aircraft is complete except for instruments, engine and cowling, and these may pOSSibly be stored some­place nearby. The airframe is covered with a plywood skin which is weather-checked, but the basic airframe structure appears to be good . In the hands of a good wood restorer this could be a very rare antique restora­tion. It was not possible to determine whether this was an Aeromarine-Klemm or whether it was an original German Klemm-Daimler. Any antiquer in terested in acquiring this Klemm would be wise to make the acquaint­

ance of a Pan American or Braniff pilot who regularly flies to Buenos Aires and enlist his aid in making arrange­ments for exporting it.

DEHAVILAND TIGER MOTH

One of the more popular antiques to be imported into the United States is the DeHaviland Tiger Moth. The standard primary trainer for the Royal Air Force as well as most of the other British Empire Air Forces until well after World War II, it was designed in England in the early thirties and was itself a refinement of the earlier DeHaviland Moth 60 which had been introduced in England in 1925, and approximately two hundred of which had been built in the United States under license from 1929 to 1931.

The Tiger Moth had conventional construction for its day, namely, steel tube fuselage and tail surfaces and wood wings. Many are equipped with automatic wing slots which make this particular model practically stall-proof and spin-proof.

This venerable trainer was built under license in many countries outside of Great Britain including Australia, Canada, and PortugaL The latter produced approximately fifty Tiger Moths of which three remain although only one, CS-AFX, appears to be flyable. These three are located at the Portuguese Air Force Base near Sintra, Portugal, and are owned by the Aeroclub De Portugal, Avenida Du Liberdade 226, Lisbon, PortugaL They are apparently no longer being used and can probably be purchased. Inquiries should be directed to the Aeroclub.

FLEET TRAINER

Fleet Trainers were an outgrowth of the Consolidated PT and NY-I, -2, and -3 military trainers and the Consoli­dated Model 14 civilian trainer which were built between 1925 and 1929. Named for Major Ruben Fleet, the president of Consolidated Aircraft Corporation since its beginning in 1923, the Fleets were built by Fleet Aircraft, Inc., a division of Consolidated Aircraft Corporation. The Fleet Modell and 2 were introduced in 1929 and were powered by seven cylinder Warner Scarabs of 110 horsepower and five cylinder Kinner K5's of 100 horsepower respectively . The Fleet Model 7 with a five cylinder Kinner 85 of 125 horsepower was introduced in late 1930, followed shortly by the Model 10 with the same powerplant. The Model 7 was distinguished from its predecessors by its enlarged and rounder vertical fin while the Model 10 was des­tinguished by its enlarged but straight-lined vertical fin and its redesigned rounded rudder. Models 8 and 9 were introduced in 1931 and featured rounded fuselages and

Klemm K1 25 powered by a 45 hp Salmson. Picture from The Lightplane by John Under­wood and George Collinge. Available from fAA Headquarters - $4.75 plus 30c postage.

16

redesigned tails and landing gears, but few of these models were built. The design evolved as far as the Model 16B which was very similar in appearance to the Model 10.(4)

Numerous Fleets were exported south of the Border. At San Justo Airport, located a few miles northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina, there are three Fleet Trainers. One is a Fleet 2 which recently had new engine mount attach fittings welded to the ends of the longerons. Another is a Fleet 16B which is flyable, but could use a complete restoration to get it up to antique show stand­ards. The third is disassembled having had both of its top longerons broken in the area of the forward attachment of the stabilizer. Apparently, the stabilizer contacted an immovable object near its tip causing an extreme twisting

(Photo by Ted Koston)

A Kinner Fleet

(fAA Photo) Tiger Moth

moment of force to act sideways on the longerons. As with other aircraft located in Argentina mentioned

previously, any antiquer interested in acquiring one of these Fleet Trainers would be wise to make the acquaint­ance of a Pan American or Braniff pilot who regularly flies to Buenos Aires, and enlist his aid in making arrange­ments for exporting it.

There is also a Fleet Trainer upper wing and fuselage in the rafters of an open hangar at Ilopango Airport out­side the city of San Salvador in EI Salvador, Central America. These parts belong to the Aeroclub of El Salvador which is located on the same airport. Other parts of this aircraft are supposed to be stored somewhere on the field, but the aircraft is probably not complete.

17

Harold Salut, 2837 S. W. 86th St., Oklahoma City, Okla. 73159 and his nearly complete 1927 Waco 10. The Waco has been under restoration for over 10 years and has all new wings, all new wood throughout, new cowling, fairings, wheels and tires. The engine has been com­pletely overhauled. Still has original " N" number, NC-3807. Should be ready to fly in early 1975.

Around The Antique/Classic World

J. D. Barry (EAA 16697), P. O. Box 1473, Fairbanks , Alaska 99707 sent along this picture showing the remains of a big 5 place New Standard that went down in the Alaskan bush 40 years ago. The engine and wheels were removed earlier and all that remains today are the gas tanks, which are in excellent shape except for one small bullet hole (?). Even the glass in the fuel gage of one tank is intact. Mr. Barry says the old birds just fall apart when left exposed up there or are destroyed by brush fires.

18

. . , . • i I

HAS ANYBODY SEEN THIS AIRPLANE?

A search is on for this Seversky SV-1 by the recently organized NASSAU Aviation Museum and by EDO Corporation, its builder. Both would like to have it: NASSAU County (NY) for permanent mounting in their new museum, now a building at Mitchel Field, which will feature pioneer aviation on Long Island; EDO for exhibition or demonstration during celebration of its 50th anniversary next year (1975) . Although Earl D. Osborn, founder of EDO, vividly recalls problems in­volved in building and testing the plane in 1933, he has no idea as to its present whereabouts - " It's probably gathering dust in somebody's barn." One of the first all­metal airplanes ever built and forerunner of the P-43 (Lancer) and P-47 (Thunderbolt) , it set several world speed records in 1933 for amphibians - Seversky added 50 mph to the then record (His) - and matched the best record of some " land planes" at that time. The L.I. ­built speed plane shown here flying over New York City in 1934 (Woolworth building in background) - note innovative, sophisticated design features.

If anyone knows of the plane's whereabouts, please con­tact either Nassau County Museum (William Kaiser ­5161364-1050) or EDO Corporation in College Point (212/445-6000).

(Photo by Noel Allard - Courtasy Jim Horne)

Jack Lysdale's Hamilton H-47 restoration underway at South St. Paul, Minnesota. .

Dr. Ed Garber, 1641 Owen Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28304 and his 1928 Heath Parasol restoration pro­ject. This Heath was built from a kit in 1928 and has the wire braced fuselage. Apparently, it was never completed and has never flown. Ed was able to obtain the most of the airplane including fuselage, wings, tail section, wheels and axle. He has built up the gear, motor mount and wing supporting structure. Target date is Oshkosh '76.

Chuck Klessig of Tucson and Gales­burg, NO is the only two Standard J-1 owner we know about. His OXX-6 J-1 has been seen a number of times at Oshkosh and now he has just com­pleted a Hisso J-1. One is for sale ­if interested, contact Chuck at Sell Star, Rt. Box 31 , Tucson , AZ 85713.

(Photo courtesy E. Nohl)

This is Europe 's only Bellanca 14-13-2. Owned by E. Nohl of Ruschlikon , Switzerland, it is a 1949 model with the 150 hp Franklin .

20

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Dick Stouffer braved the cold and snow to get this photograph of Carl Swanson 's newly completed, full scale S.P.A.D. XIII. It is a very accurate replica with the exception of a Lycoming installation - because it was meant to be flown . Carl is a well known builder of World War I replicas with a number of real jewels to his credit.

(Photo by Noel Allard - Courtesy of Jim Horne)

Left: Neils Sorensen 's Hisso Standard gets the bungee cord starting treatment - this is the way it was way back when.

(Photo by Noel Allard - Courtesy of Jim Horne)

Right: Marv Sievert's Waco RNF getting a bit of fuel at a late summer fly-in at Willmar, Minne­sota .

Around The Antique/Classic World

Dear Buck: Congratulations!!! So somebody finally had

the guts to do it. I refer to your account of taking the three antiques into O'Hare, and on a Sunday too. The account in The Vintage Air­plane was most amusing and something that I have dreamed of doing myself.

I tried to get permission to take the old FC-2 Fairchild into O'Hairy when American inau­gurated the first 727 flight. The idea being a publicity deal to show the latest versus the oldest passenger airliners. It did not work out however due to all the red tape involved. And all this, mind you, before the TCA went into effect. I guess American didn't have as much clout in Chicago as United seems to have.

The old FC-2 is now in a good home at the EAA Museum as you know so maybe it is bet­ter as more people will get to see it than if I had been able to get into O'Hare.

I retired from American last September af­ter 35V2 year (33 as Captain) and am now en­joying my leisure. My wife Dot said "That re­tirement line is for the birds, you're just un­employed". Be that as it may, I now have time to work on restoring the Curtiss-Wright B14B Speedwing and hope to have it flying and bring it to Oshkosh this year.

Again, congratulations on your "deed". Too bad you couldn't have fouled them up . It would have been interesting to watch.

Yours, Herb Harkcom Buzzards Roost, Rt. 1 Inola, Okla. 74036

Dear Buck: I am a Field Service Engineer for an Ameri­

can company stationed in Israel. Close to where we live is a small airport that has a duster/sprayer operator by the name of Moram Aircraft. They have a large assortment of old Stearman parts, frames, engines, exhausts, etc. which would be described as being in a salvage condition. There is one Stearman, not owned by them but don't know by whom at the moment, that is unflyable but hasn't de­generated yet to being salvage. The thought occurred to me that you or some of your mem­bers might be interested so looked up your address in Sport Aviation magazine. I'm not very knowledgeable on Stearman parts or engines but there is a pile of same at least 4 feet high by ten feet in diameter in a hangar that belongs to Moram.

I would be happy to assist anyone who is interested but suggest they contact me by air mail as surface seems to take forever over­seas.

I am an American citizen, life member of EPrA, Private Pilot and licensed A&P mechanic.

Sincerely, Duane C. Seymour Box 16012 Tel Aviv, Israel

Dear Sirs: The photos and article on the Northrop

Beta a few months ago just had to bring joy to the hearts of all lovers of aircraft of the thirties! The specs on these two birds also make you wonder just how much progress we have really made in forty years of aircraft designl

As for the disposition of NX-12214, the air­plane was totalled on 29 June 1934 - sorry I Apparently a George W. Hard, c/o N.R .K. Taylor and Company, 120 Broadway, New York City, purchased the remains, but the bill of sale documentation was never provided to the CAA, so the aircraft was de-registered 6 May 1936. As an aside, that N-number was sub­sequently assigned to a Cessna 172 which was exported to Germany.

Bureaucracy is a miserable thing when you

are its victim, but can really provide a service at other times. The above information was developed via two phone calls and one letter to the Aircraft Records Branch of the FAA in Oak City. The file on NX-963Y has not been located and may be lost, but they're still looking.

Incidentally, the folder on 12214 consists of 83 pages of data and a complete copy can be ordered for $23.75 from the Records Branch.

Now, what became of all the Gammas??? Sincerely, E. T. Stanfill 5927 Ridgeview Dr. Alexandria, Va. 22310

Dear Buck: Looks like you really made a find with the

Swallow. The pics and article show it to be in great condition, so it should be fairly easy to restore.

I'm writing because there seems to be a small parallel in your and my antiquing . We both went for C-3s and I just acquired a 1928 KR-31 to restore. I'm afraid my KR is in no where near the nice condition your Swallow is, but it is restorable.

I've been after this KR for about 12 years and must say it was in better shape then than now. I am enclosing a couple of pics which only show the poor condition and a few recog­nizable parts.

I just finished my Culver Cadet project, so am enclosing a shot of it.

Sincerely, Les Steen 1826 Vassar Dr. Lansing, Mich. 48912

Dear Buck : I just received my Antique-Classic member­

ship card and October 1974 issue of The Vin­tage Airplane and kinda laughed at your arti­cle on finding an airplane to rebuild. I'll re­late as to how I came about acquiring a Piper PA-16 Clipper, Serial 16-285, N-5674M.

Some friends in Richmond, Va. kept telling me that a friend of theirs had a plane all apart in his basement. Finally, after several months, I asked where the plane was and they took me there. I looked, talked and made the deal all in one evening - then the fun began. The plane, or should I say the loose pieces and boxes of parts, were pulled, hauled and carried out of his basement and loaded into a 20 ft. Winne­bago camper with an 8 ft. trailer behind. Even at that it took 3 trips from Camp Springs, Md. to Richmond to finally get all of it moved . The pictures show the before and after.

The in between amounted to 2V2 months full time labor, sometimes as much as 16-18 hours per day.

Having learned to fly in a Cessna 150 and never having flown a taildragger, I tried to find someone to check me out in the Clipper, with no luck. I taxied it for about 1V2-2 hours lifting the tail and sitting it down. After th~ plane had been annualed, I took it up and made 5 take-offs and landings. I have over 60 hours on it since rebuilding and really enjoy it.

H. S. Clark (EAA 82268, AlC 1493) 5901 Aley Rd. Camp Springs, Md. 20031

and after,

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CLASSIFIEDS

FOR SALE - Stinson Junior Project. WAN TE D ­Original pre-1950 aircraft and engine manuals. Contact: James B. Horne, 3850 Coronation Rd., Eagan, Minn. 55122 .

FOR SALE - Three low-time 175 and 200 Ranger en­gines . Elmer Farris, Jr., 142 Preston Ave., Lexing­ton, Kentucky 40502.

INFORMATION SOUGHT - Am restoring Lockheed lOA, Mfg. 4-38, N-241M, to authentic World War II markings . Any help regarding history, use, pur­pose, service markings, etc . of the Lockheed 10 series will be greatly appreciated. J. R. Almand, 909 Dalworth St., Grand Prairie, Tx. 75050.

W ANTED - One GOOD front strut for a PRE-WAR J-3. Small barrel O.K. Trade late model strut with sib for it. For sale or trade: '46 Chief less engine, struts and tails. Good wings and fuselage w/cowling and windshield. Also 125 Warner open rocker, taper shaft engine. Removed for 145 in Monocoupe. No logs. Has starter. Dave Workman, 400 South St., Zanesville, Ohio 43701 . 614/452-1636.

FOR SALE: Cub - 65 HP, 370 STOH, 1972 Cecomte, new annual, lights, ELT, $3,300. Glenn Fite, Box 6026, Clearwater, Florida 33518.

Calendar Of Events

MAY 23·26 - WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA -11th Annual West Coast Antique Aircraft Fly-In for antique, classic and amateur-built aircraft. Static displays, flying events, air show, trophies . Friday and Saturday night get-acquainted parties. Sunday Awards Ban­

. quet. .For furthe.r information contact Watsonville Chamber of Commerce, Box 470, Watsonville, Calif. 95076, or W. B. Richards, 2490 Greer Road, Palo Alto, Calif. 94303.

MAY 23-26 - KENTUCKY LAKE, KENTUCKY - 1975 National Swift Fly-In. Contact: Charlie Nelson, International Swift Association, Inc., P. O. Box 644, Athens, Tenn. 37303.

. MAY 31 • JUNE 1 - CAMBRIDGE, MARYLAND - Potomac Antique Aero Squadron Annual Fly-In at Horn Point Airport on the Frank DuPont estate just WSW of Cambridge, Maryland. Beautiful grass runways, no registration fees, free camping - just a super fun fly­in. Contact Sam Huntington, Fly-In Coordinator, Avery Road, Shady Side, Maryland 20867. Phone 301/261-5190.

JUNE 6-8 - ORANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA - 6th Annual Old South Hospitality Fly-In, sponsored by EAA Chapters 242 and 249. An­tiques and Classics welcome.

JUNE 12·15 - TULLAHOMA, TENNESSEE - Walter H. Beech Build­ing Dedication and Invitational Staggerwing and Travel Air Fly ­In. Contact: The Staggerwing Museum Foundation, Inc., P. O. Box 550, Tullahoma, Tenn . 37388.

JUNE 15 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK - 2nd Antique-Classic and Homebuilt Fly-In/Pancake Breakfast. Trophies. Whit fords Air· port. Sponsored by EAA Chapter 486. Contact: Dick Forger, 204 Woodspath Rd., Liverpoor, N. Y. 13088.

AUGUST 24 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK - Air Show and Fly-In Breakfast sponsored by EAA Chapter 486. Whitfords Airport. Contact Dick Forger, 204 Woodspath Rd. , Liverpool, N. Y. 13088 .

JULY 29 · AUGUST 4,1975 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - 23rd Annual EAA Fly-In Convention. Sport aviation world's greatest event. It's not too early to make plans and reservations!

FLORIDA SPORT AVIATION ACTIVITIES - The very active Florida Sport Aviation Antique and Classic Association has a fly-in somewhere in the state almost every month . The decision on the location of the next fly­in is usually made on too short notice for inclusion in The Vintage Air· plane, so we recommend to all planning a Florida vacation that they contact FSAACA President Ed Escallon, Box 12731, SI. Petersburg, Florida 33733 for fly·in details. Join the fun!

Back Issues Of The Vintage Airplane

Limited numbers of back issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE are available at $1.00 each. Copies still on hand at EAA Headquarters are:

1973 - MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER

1974-JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JUL Y, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER

23

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The Vintage Airplane is the official publication of Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc., a division of The Experimental Aircraft Association, Hales Corners, Wisconsin.