Vintage Airplane - Jan 1983

8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1983

1/24


2/24


3/24

PUBLICATION OF THE ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC.OF THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION, INC.

P.O. BOX 229, HALES CORNERS, WI 53130COPYRIGHT c 1983 EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION . INC ., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

JANUARY 1983 VOLUME 11 NUMBER 1

OFFICERSPresident

W. Brad Thomas , Jr.301 Dodson Mill Road

Pilot Mount ain,NC

27041919 /3 68 -2875 Home919 /368-2291 Office

SecretaryM. C. "Kelly" VietsRoute 2 , Box 128Lyndon , KS 66451

913 / 828-3518 Home

DIRECTORSRonald Fritz

15401 Sparta AvenueKent City, MI 49330

616 / 678 5012

Claude L. Gray . Jr .9635 Sylvia Avenue

Northridge, CA 91324213 / 34S 1338

Dale A . Gustafson

7724 Shady Hill DriveInd ianapolis , IN 46274317 / 293 4430

AI Kelch

Morton W. LesterP.O. Box 3747

Martinsville . VA '24112703 /632 4839

Arthu r R . Morgan3744 North 51st Blvd .Milwaukee. WI 53216

414 /442 3631

John R . Turgyan1530 Kuser Road

Trenton , NJ 08619609 / 585 2747

S . J. Wittman66 W. 622 N. Madison Ave Box 2672

Cedarburg , WI 53012 Oshkosh . WI 54901414 /377 5886 414 /235 1265

Robert E . Kesel George S. York455 Oakridge Drive 181 Sloboda Ave .

Rochester , NY 14617 Mansfield , OH 44906716 / 342 3170 419 / 52S 4378

Vice-PresidentJack C. WinthropRoute 1 , Box 111Allen, TX 75002

214/727-5649

TreasurerE. E. " Buck " Hilbert

P.O. Box 145Union , IL 60180

815 /923-4591

ADVISORS

Ed Burn s1550-M1. Prospect RoadDes Plaines, IL 60018

3121298 7811

John S . Copeland9 Joanne Drive

Westborough, MA 01581617/366 7245

Stan Gomoll1042 90th Lane , NE

Minneapolis , MN 55434612 / 784 1172

Espie M. Joyce, Jr .Box 468

Madison , NC 27025919 / 427 0216

Gene Morris27 Chandelle Drive

Hampshire , IL 601403121683 3199

Roy RedmanRI. 1, Box 39

Kilkenny , MN 56052507 / 334-5922

S . H, " Wes " Schmid2359 Lefeber RoadWauwatosa , WI 53213

414 / 771 1545

Robert G . HermanW164 N9530 Water Street

Menomonee Falls , WI 53051414/251-9253

PUBLICATION STAFF

FRONT COVER Curtiss Robin flownby Bill Rathjen at Oshkosh '81 See storyon page 6 .

BACK COVER Captain Frank Hawks 'Travel Air Mystery Ship . Who can explainthe "bulge " in the fuselage aft of the cockpit?

(Ted Koston Photo) (Photo by Herbert P hotos, Inc .donated by John Warren,

Yardley, PA l

TABLE OF CONTENTSStraight and Level . By Brad Thomas 2A/C News . . , By Gene Chase 4EAA Aviation Foundation News . 5

John Rathj en s Curtiss Robin .By Norm Petersen . . . . . . . 6Alaska Antiques, , . By Gene ChaseAntique /Classic Aircraft Repairman Certificate

By Gene Chase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Travel Air And The 1926 Ford Reliability Tour . . .

By Ed Phillips . . . . . . . . . . 10Heraldry On The Ramp By John A. Eney . 14Aeronca Fly-In At Antique Airfield ,

By Augie Wegner 6Calendar Of Events . 18Members Projects . . 19Letters To The Editor 20Mystery Plane . . 21


4/24

ATTENTION ALL TYPE CLUBS

The Antique /Classic Board of Directors in conjunctionwith EAA Headquarters have approved a new venture forthe 1983 International Convention at Oshkosh.

In order to bring together the various type clubs pertaining to antique and classic aircraft, space will be madeavailable in the A/C Hospitality Tent near the Red Barnfor those clubs wishing to participate. This will provide anequal opportunity for each club to recruit new membersand enjoy the fellowship of other clubs.

t will also enable members of type clubs to meet faceto face with their club representatives who will be manningthe assigned sites in the Hospitality Tent. The chairmanof this activity is Espie "Butch" Joyce, Box 468, Madison,

NC 27025.To reserve this space at Oshkosh '83, the followingmust be sent by June 1, 1983 to Antique /Classic Division ,Experimental Aircraft Assn., P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners,WI 53130, Attention: Pat Etter.

1. Name of Type Club2. Name, address and phone number of contact person3. A nominal fee of $25 .00 payable to EAA A /C Divi

sion which includes one table and three chairs .Merchandise sales will not be allowed as this would

violate the Convention commercial sales regulations; however, merchandise items may be displayed and orderstaken for later delivery. Memberships may be promotedand sold .

BRUNNER - WINKLE EXHIBIT

Herbert G. Birnn (EAA 134731) of 819 NW VictoryLane, Stuart, FL 33494 has been entrusted with the jobof assembling an exhibit on the Brunner-Winkle AircraftCorporation and its product, the Bird, for the Cradle of

Aviation Museum at Mitchel Field , Long Island. Anyonewilling to donate or loan information, photographs, artifacts (including a Bird biplane ) for the exhibit is askedto contact Mr. Birnn at the address above .

" THE GOLDEN AGE OF FLIGHT "

LUSCOMBE ASSO C IATION NEWS

As an added service to their 900 plus members , theLuscombe Association has computerized information onmembers and their aircraft. A special program was developed for use with an Apple II Plus microcomputer utilizing "floppy disc" storage .

This new system will provide mailing labels; members'names who live in a particular region , state or zip codearea; members' names who own specific models of Luscombes, etc.

John Bright and John Bergeson head up the LuscombeAssociation. For further information on the computer program, contact John Bergeson, 615 W . May, Mt . Pleasant,

MI 48858 . Tel. 5171773-3436.

MORE AVIATION PIONEERSGO WEST

The aviation world has lost several more pioneers sincelast summer , including Sir Douglas Bader, Paul Kollsman,H. T. "Dick" Merrill and T. Claude Ryan. Mr. Ryan (EAA51665) was a lifetime member of EAA.

CESSNA 170 COWLINGS

Dale G . Faux (EAA 118541) , P .O. Box 339 , Daleville,IN 47334 , reports in the Fourth Quarter, 1982 issue of The170 News published by the International Cessna 170Association, "Owners with the early 170s with the fold-upto-open cowlings were urged to add an extra fastener ofsome sort to see that the cowlings do not open in flight.Several incidents have been reported recently where thishas occurred. Fortunately, no one has been injured in thesemishaps.

AERONCA CLUB NEWS

On June 10-12, 1983, there will be an Aeronca Fly-Inwith awards at the Aeronca factory in Middletown, Ohio .A tour of the U.S. Air Force Museum at Dayton is scheduled

for Friday; on Saturday, Aeroncas will be displayed andjudged, a factory tour will be arranged , and a banquetfeaturing speakers from Aeronca, Inc . will take place thatevening . The contact person is Jim Thompson , Box 102 ,Roberts, IL 60962, 217/395-2522. If you are planning toattend IT IS NECESSARY TO PREREGISTERTHROUGH JIM to facilitate arrangements for the tours,banquet , camping and motel reservations .


5/24

THURMAN BAIRD PASSES AWAY

Thurman G. Baird (EAA 3525) , own e r of Ace AircraftManufacturing Co., Asheville, NC passed away on October4 , 1982 . Ace Aircraft has been supplying plans and kitsfor the Corben Baby Ace and Junior Ace aircraft; al soreprints of miscellaneous aircraft literature such a s anoperating manual for the Heatr-Henderson (convertedmotorcycle) engine.

Mrs. Baird and the family will continue to operate thebusiness and they hope their customers will be patientuntil they learn to be more efficient in running things .

INFO NEEDED ON CAA AIRWAYSBEACON

Dale Rapp (EAA 19990, A C 4511 R.R. 1 Box lOOA.Sublette , IL 61367 , Tel. 8 5 849 5140 has an opportunity

to acquire an old CAA ai rways beacon and the 45 foottower . One problem is the reflector and face lens have beenbroken and Dale can 't locate a manufacturer's name forthese items. If anyone cou ld supply this information, orbetter yet, a source of replacement parts , Dale would beextremely grateful.

AR T CHESTER JEEP REBUILD

One of the more rare aircraft in the EAA Aviation

Foundation collection is a diminutive racing mount of the1930s, the Chester Special, later called '''The Jeep . Itwas designed and built by the famous race pilot, Art Chester of Glenview, Illinois and raced by him from 1933 to1937 in the National Air Races.

Subsequent owners ofthe plane had modified it beyondits original appearance and when donated to the Foundation, only th e nose bowl and aft fuselage section were

Truman C . Weaver Photo )The Jeep will be finished in the 1936 racing configuration paintedcream with green trim as shown in this photo of the original.


6/24

With the Wright J6-5 engine of 160 hp tick ing over , the RathjenCurti s s Robin (Model J-1) taxies by looking even better than itd id in 1929 The la rg e sp u n alum inum wheels were a necessityfo r t he pas tu re land ings of the ear ly days . The long side cowlwi ndow s a ide d pilot vi si bility .

Photos by Ted Kaston)

JOHN RATHJEN'S

~ I NThis article was gleaned from a Gene Chase interview

with John Rathjen EAA 2576, AIC 272) of Route 1, Ft.Calhoun NE 68023 and his son Bill EAA 122305) shortly


7/24

"By adverti sing, I would pick up sp a re parts until ,through the years, I had nearly enough to put together aRobin. To learn more , I would take drawing s to 1y ins andsee how different thing s lik e headliner s we re done . On ewing came from Waterloo , Iowa whil e another wing camefrom Wichita , Kan sas. I wa s a ble to obtain a fu selage froma man in California ."

"When it came to an engine, I wasn't sure if an OX- 5would be best or possibly a J6-5. I always liked the WrightJ6-5 and luckily I located two engines in Detroit . Michigan.The owner didn't want to build a shipping crate so I volunteered to build one and ship it to Detroit. After I completedthe crate and shipped it , the engine owner proceeded tobuild another crate and shipped both engines to me .Neither engine had logbooks but they did turn over . Acertified repair station in Omaha was able to overhaul oneengine and it seems to work fine."

"To get a license on the Robin , I had to obtain bill s ofsales from everyone I bought major components from. Likethe wing, I got a simple bill of sale and filed all the paperswith FAA, along with an affidavit stating those were allthe papers I could get on the airplane I wa s issued a serialnumber and an N number . I had first applied for N364Kbut it was being used . Several years ago I applied forNC766M which pertains to a J6-5 Robin and it was issued."

At one of the early 1y-ins, a fellow told me I'll get the

Robin done when my young son is old enough to help me.I figured it would be done and most likely worn out bythat time. As it turned out, the fellow was right - my sondid much of the work on it and he is now 1ying the Robin "

At this point, John's son Bill chimed in the conver sation . "The original wheels were in poor shape. We contactedDick Bishop, a Robin restorer in California , who had aperson spin the inner and outer halves and the rim. Dadand I took the old wheels apart, put in the original hubsand brake drums and with the aluminum band around thewheel, wejust re-riveted them back together. We now havea stronger wheel than the original."

"We were going to have a man in Omaha redo th eoriginal wicker seats but the gray paint they had beendipped in was impossible We ended up stripping theframes and weaving new wicker onto the frames. Althoughwe receive many fine comments on them, they were notdifficult to weave."

"The 1ight to Oshkosh was done in two hops with astopover in Waterloo, Iowa. Five hours of 1ying time at90 mph covered the 420 miles. I came in via Fond du Lacand worked my way north into the pattern . I felt this waseasier than barging in cold . No problems were encounteredon the trip. "

"We keep the Robin on our 1800 foot farm strip wheretaking off is not a problem but the landing rolls have tobe watched. The brass bushings in the wheels don't rollthat easy so landing roll is O .K. on the short strip . Thetail is quite heavy and is too much for one person to handle

nterior photo of basic panel including levers for leaning mixtureand retarding spark Note heel brakes on suspended rudderpedals Recording tachometer shows hours since rebuild

a perfect mask and painted it with an air brush. When itdried, I buffed over th e whole job and it came out nice andsmooth with no br u s h marks. Although it took some time ,the results speak for themselves."

"The original exhaust collector ring was rusted quitebadly and it looked tacky so a man in California who isrestoring two Stearmans spun the main halves of thedoughnut on the inner and outer halves of the main ringand we obtained some regular 90 elbows and fitted them

into the ring . The hardest part to make was the exhaustfrom the ring to the tail pipe. It's a compound curve so wehad to pound it ou t . I practiced on some aluminum firstand then the stainless steel. By looking at the old pictures,we determined the dark coloring came from wiping coalgum bluing on the collector. We also keep it oiled wheneverwe land. "

"Most of the control cables that I can get my fingers


8/24

xterior bell cranks to t he eleva tors we re a Robin tr a de m ar kalong with full-length hinge pin s. Authe n tic reprod uc ti o n ofname on rudder is done in blue wh ile regist rat ion n u m be r isblack . Note how bottom of rudder is n otched fo r tail- wh e e lclearance.

Cru is ing along at 8 mph , the Curti s s Rob in s ho w s its c lea nlines and familiar silhouette . Note laced inspection panel underthe stabilizer used for working on tr im mechanism and cont rolhook -ups.

"We bought the propeller in th e la st two or three years- not sure who we got it from - and had it reconditionedat Maxwell Aircraft Service in Minneapolis ."

"Being rather suspicious of old struts , we lifted theentire front of our Ford Tractor with them, so we fe el theyare safe. Curtiss oiled the inside of all strut s and tubingwhen they built airplane s and it has paid off We only hadto replace two small pieces of fuselage tubing in the entireairplane . Even the cross tube where the compass hangs isnon-magnetic . We suspected stainless steel but it didn 'tlook any different after sand blasting. Perhap s it has beende-magnetized electrically . Anyway, the compass work srather well in the middle of all that steel tubing.

With son Bill doing all the talking, John decided toadd more details. "The wing strut arrangement on theRobin looks all wrong with the angle bend between theends. However, Dave Blanton said the designers knewwhat they were doing . When the wing is under load, thestruts work the best. The bend is engineered into themechanism . I t is a well thought out airplane. "

When I started working on the Robin I didn't reallycare about going back to the original old instruments. Thepanel fit was good and the only thing I wanted to save wasthe old compass . When Bill took it apart, he found the oldcardboard with the numbers on it, pretty much deteriorated. Bill took the bottom of a Pepsi can which was the

right diameter and cut spokes out of it. He than paintedthe numbers on it and we riveted it on the compassmechanism. After cleaning it up, we filled it with keroseneand installed it in the Robin. It holds course pretty wellso we left it in the plane although we have also installeda back-up compass which we can refer to. "

This is my 25th year of coming to the EAA Fly-In andBill has been to the fly-ins almost since he was born . Westarted at the Milwaukee Fly-In in 1957. Most of the timewe have camped . I was made aware of EAA through anarticle in Mechanics Illustrated and joined in 1956 . Mynumber is 2576 . When Bill joined a few years ago , weshould have tried to get him a number ending in 2576

L SK NTIQUES

By Gene Chase No N number is visible on the Cunningham-Hall PT-6.

Don Witzel, a high school teacher in Palmer, Alaska According to Juptner's "U.S. Civil Aircraft - Volume 2,"took the accompanying p hotographs and sent them to EAA pp. 220-222, the type certificate for the PT-6 was issuedheadquarters for the photo files. He knows nothing about in July, 1929 and the first plane was built in that year.t he two aircraft except they are on outdoor display at a The second plane was manufactured in 1930 and a totaltransportation museum located on the Alaska State Fair of about six in all were built.grounds at Palmer. f anyone can provide us with additional information

The FAA owners h ip records as of 10 30 82 show "Sale on either of these two aircraft, we will share it with ourReported" for the Waco mc, NC13409, S IN 3756 readers in a future issue of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE


9/24

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC AIRCRAFT

REPAIRMAN CERTIFICATEy Gene Chase

In November (too late to announce in the December1982 issue o f The VINTAGEAIRPLANEl EAA submitteda petition to the FAA requesting qualified personnel begiven the authority to maintain, inspect , alter, and repairtheir own indiv idual antique /classic aircraft. The petitionwas printed in the Federal Register on November 18 andthe FAA requested responses by December 8.

Basically, the request for an exemption provides analternative to the present way of conducting maintenanceand inspections of antique and classic aircraft withoutmaterially affecting the standard airworthiness certificate.

The proposal is straightforward, in that it requires allwork to be done in accordance with the existing rules

Federal Aviation AdministrationOffice of the Chief CounselAttention Rules Docket (AGC - 204 )Petition Docket Number 23407

800 Independence Ave., SWWashington, DC 20591

Gentlemen:I am writing in regards to Petition Docket Number

23407 recently initiated by the Experimental AircraftAssociation , which would authorize certain qualified personnel to maintain , inspect , alter, and repair their ownantique and /or classic aircraft . I wish to go on record asbeing completely in favor of this rule change .

I have r ece ntly performed a complete restoration , both

airframe and engine , of a fifty-five-year-old antique biplane , and am currently working on a thirty-six-year-oldclassic aircraft . All work on these projects has been donein accordance with Advisory Circular 43 .13 and manufacturers' recommended methods or procedures, under thesupervision of an A&P mechanic with Inspection Authori-zation. The first aircraft , when completed, was inspect edby an FAA maintenance inspector for issuance of a perma-

except for who can o the work and release the aircraftfor service

t does restrict the operation so the aircraft would notbe able to carry persons or property for hire , but providesfor removal of this restriction and return to full privilegesof standard certification when the owner so desires .

Although the response period to this petition was veryshort, EAA Headquarters was able to spread the wordsufficiently to generate a large number of letters to theFAA. Many writers sent copies of their letters to PaulPoberezny a t EAA Headquarters and more than 99 ofthem support the petition .

The following two letters are typical of the copies received by Paul:

Federal Aviation AdministrationOffice of the Chief CounselAttention Rule s Docket (AGC - 204)

Petition Docket Number 23407800 Independence A venue, SWWashington , DC 20591

Gentlemen :This is in respon se to the petition printed in the F ederal

Regi s ter on Novemb er 18 regarding maintenance and repair including annual inspections on antique or clas s icaircraft .

I am definitely in favor of a new category for repairmancertificate or a uthorization to work on antique or classic

aircraft where the individual ha s re sto red such aircr a ft tos tandard approved condition according to the existing regulations and specifications.

I am deep in the process of restoring a 1946 TaylorcraftBC-12D airplane which was stripped down to bare bonesand is being brought to original or better conditionthroughout . This certainly gives m e an intimacy with thisplane that few mechanic s will have even though the work


10/24

TRAVEL AIR AND THE 1926 FORD

RELIABILITY , TOUR

By Ed PhillipsEAA 124038, l e 7505)

1125 So. 160 E.Wichita, K567230

All photos courtesy of Beech Aircraft Corporation)

Walt er Beech sat in his office pondering his problem.The 1926 Ford Reliability Tour was coming up in August,and Travel Air Mfg. Co. didn't have an entry.

The biggest difficulty was cash. Over $10,000 would beneeded to build a winning biplane for the event .

Travel ir factory located at 535 W . Douglas Avenue in Wichita ,KS . Company moved into this building in early January , 1926,after outgrowing original site at 471 W First Street.

When Walter approached Bill with the situation, Snookwas quick to reply, "We'll build it "

With that statement the Travel Air factory became alittle bit busier than it was before , and Snook soon hadhis men working.

Walter Beech would not be alone flying the Ford Tour.


11/24

Walter Beech is fly in g an e a rly production Model A biplane inthis August 1925 photo . Early Travel A irs were called the ModelA or OX-5 Travel Air until advent of radial engines and rev isedlanding gear when th e y were called Model B .

to put them in. The model chosen for the 1926 Ford Tourwas a modified Model BW biplane, with a 200 hp WrightJ-4 radial engine .

Travel Air had been installing a small number of thenew radials on Model B biplanes, and the engines popularity was growing.

Pioneer planned to install an earth inductor compasssystem in the Travel Air , along with a complete set ofvertical- readout flight and engine instruments, all placedin the aft cockpit only, where Goldsborough would sit.

The front cockpit would also have complete flight andengine instruments, but of the standard, circular type. Agyroscopic turn and slip indicator was also included.

Lloyd Stearman, assisted by other workers , made thefuselage of the Model BW (BW indicated a Wright radialengine installed on a standard Model B b iplane airframe)slightly wider in the cockpit area to allow room for all theinstrumentation.

That was the only departure from production airplanes,and work on the ship progressed q uickly. The starting dateof the tour was August 7, and Beech was assurred thebiplane would be done on time since work had commencedin July.

Total cost to build the ship and equip it with the J-4engine and Pioneer instruments was 12,000. A lot ofmoney but Beech believed that if Travel Air won the tour

Standard production Model BW shown here w ith Wright J -4 of200 hp. Note twisted me tal propeller and shock cord land inggear . Beech and Goldsborough won the 1926 Ford ReliabilityTour in a mod ified vers ion of thi s aircraft .

logo painted on the fuselage sides . Overall color was TravelAir blue fuselage with silver wings.

Just about everybody in the tour agreed the Travel Airwas the best equipped biplane . The equipment installedwas impressive by 1926 standards . Two liquid compasseswere positioned for each cockpit, one just forward of theaft cockpit windscreen and the other under the centersection for the front cockpit.

The earth inductor compass was powered by a wind-driven vane mounted on the aft turtledeck. Vertical-readoutinstruments in the aft cockpit included tachometer ,airspeed, vertical speed, pitch indicator, engine oil presbure and temperature as well as a fuel press u re ga uge.

A venturi was mounted on the right cabane strut to


12/24

Cockpit view of 1926 Pioneer Model B . Note vertical-readoutinstruments and earth inductor compass (large, round instrument) in aft cockpit. Pioneer flew test flights in this ship in thespring of 1926.

1926 Ford Tour Travel Air , ready for flight. Neat cowling surrounds Wright 4 fitted with metal propeller. Drive unit for AirLog instrument is on right interplane strut, with front liquidcompass under center section.

driv e the turn a nd s lip indi cator in both cockpits. To compe n sa t e for wind drif t, a noth er dev ic e was m oun t ed on thebiplan e An indic ato r was in st a ll ed on the left s ide of theaft cockpit in s trum e nt pa ne l It s how ed Gold sborou gh driftdata to help him es t im ate dev iat ion from intended course .

To calculate th e course corrections required to compensate for drift, a speci a l d ev ice was fitted . t consisted of as imple vane with two s ig ht wires on it, plu s an eye c upfor viewing the ground.

Adjustments could be m a de to the vane wher eby thegro und viewed through the eye cup would be exactly onemile b e tween s ight wir es. By us ing ground checkpoints,Goldsborough could vi ew the ground passing over onechec kpoint, start a spec ial s topwatch calibrated in mile sper hour instead of time, and s top timing when thecheckpoint pa sse d the seco nd s ight wire. Very simple a ndaccurate, this devic e he lp ed Gold sborough many timesduring the four and e nabl ed th e Travel Air to fly a nearlys traight line between points .

An air log unit was a lso installed. t displayed totalmile s flown and mile s flown per leg segment. Goldsborou ghalways knew how far he had flown and the remainingdi st a nce .

Using such equipment, Brice wa s able to tell Walt erBeech within 45 minute s of th e ir destination what tim ethey would arrive . He w as never off by more than twominute s the en t ir e tour. Pr ec ise navigation, by standardsof then or now .

When August 7th came around, Louis Meister wa s fir stto take off, flying a Buhl-Verville Airster. The Travel Airwas soon off, winging its way toward the first destinationof Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Every leg of the tour counted. Precision was the nameof the game. Up against the Travel Air team of B eec h /Goldsborough were men like Eddie Stinson, JohnnyLivingston and the ever-popu lar C.S. Casey Jones, to

name just three.As the tour progressed from Kalamazoo, Meister andBeech were neck and neck in the points battle. When thetour reached St. Paul , the Travel Air led the Airster byon ly 44 points .


13/24

The navigation equipment was working, the J-4 justpurred along and Walter Beech felt he and Goldsboroughwere doing well. The tour flew to Wichita for a weekendstopover, and all of Wichita turned out to greet the pilots,but especially the Travel Air team . Everyone was rooting

for them.After the weekend rest, the tour took off for KansasCity. Beech won that leg with a time of 1:30, adding tothe ever-growing score for Travel Air .

Dearborn, Michigan, was the final stop on the 1926Ford Tour . When all entrants landed and scores werecomputed, Beech and Goldsborough were clear victors .They chalked up over 4000 points to clinch the win , andthe Edsel Ford Trophy .

The Wichita airmen had also won $3850 for their efforts, this money coming from various contributors andsome Ford dealers along the tour route.

Walter Beech gave Brice Goldsborough m uch cred it fortheir winning the tour. Without precise navigation it'svery likely that the Travel Air would not have won by thelarge margin it did .

The Edsel Ford Trophy was proudly displayed in aguarded case at the Wichita Chamber of Commerce untiltime for the 1927 Ford Reliability Tour.

Travel Air never won the trophy again but the effortsof Beech and o ldsborough that August of 1926 showedthe aeronautica l world what a good airp lane an d p recisioninstruments could do.

The Model BW was sold in September, 1926 after theSesqui Air Meet held in Philadelphia. Travel Air competedbut did not win any major events or cash. Wa lter Beechflew the biplane up to New York so that his financialbackers could see what they helped pay for.

As for the Travel Air team Brice Goldsboro u gh waslost in 1927 as navigator on an ill-fated Atlantic crossingattempt.

Walter Beech went on to become president of TravelAir in February 1927, and eventually he led t he co m panyto a merger with Wright Aeronautical and fina lly CurtissWright in August, 1929.

Beech returned to Wichita in 1932 and starte d theBeech Aircraft Company. Its first product was the Mode l17R biplane, commonly known as the Staggerwing .

Cockpit view of winning Mod e l BW. Dr ift device is at left , witheye cup and s igh t wires . Wind -driven vane for earth inductorc ompass on turtleneck Ventur i on right cabane strut suppliedsuction for turn and slip instrument in both cockpits Notemetal -clad w ingwalks on both lower panels .


14/24

This book solv e d a myst er y. Combination a ir port guide andWho 's Who in Aviat io n back in th e 1930 's .

REGISTER YOURPL Y I N O L O I ~ S

TODAYIns ign ia Req iatr ation r orm on paqe 10

I t , ra l i r ly John A. EneyEAA 21712, AIC 191

272 Sandy Ridge RoadDoylestown, PA 18901

2151345-4176 - home 215 1441-2501 - work

I f you spend any time thumbing through old issues ofThe Sportsman Pilot magazine or Juptner's u s CivilAircraft, you may notice the frequent appearance of tinytriangular symbols on the sides of mid-thirties vintagepersonal airplanes depicted in the photos . Typically , it'llbe in a shot of a factory-new ship owned by a prominentsocialite or celebr ity of that era .

b l f


15/24

dollar fee, the company would send you "two beautifulhand painted reproductions, on airplane linen, all readyto be doped on the fuselage or wings of your airplane.

Immediately below the triangular logo was a secondmarking, a tiny rectangular "star bar, similar to a military battle ribbon in appearance, which denoted the homestate of the pilot according to the code of state barsexplained in the register. Presumably, if one was studiedin the state bar code, he could stroll down the line ofvisiting ships at the Cleveland Air Races, sa y , spot shipsfrom his home state and make new friends.

Some better known flyers of the era were duly registered sportsman pilots and marked their airplanes to sayso. Names such as Walter Beech, Grover Loening, BillSout, Earl D Osborn (EDO floats), Felix du Pont, screendirector Henry King, and others played the game. Manyof them would base at the Long Island Aviation CountryClub at Hicksville , or the Philadelphia Aviation CountryClub (still active ) at Wings Field.

It's uncertain how long after 1935 the ir Pilots Regis-ter carried on . Before too long, someone inevitab ly discovered the branding system we see today on a well-lovedflying machine . John Doe , Tooterville , PA ." How we'velost style and class

Now, for homework, I'd like all of you to page throughJuptner's Volumes 6 and 7 and see how many personal

insignias you can find .Anyone wa nting to learn the insignia of the originalowner of their '35- '40 vintage antique is encouraged tocontact the author by mail or phone. And, of course, tothose of you who may have more first hand information ,let's hear from you.

O THE RAMPTypical page of full color per s onal in si gn ia from the Regi s te r .Some elaborate , some quite simple .

Pho to by Ray Brandly)Factory photo of new Wa c o ZPF-6 . Note the tr iangular markingon the fin. This was a personal insign ia as desc r ibed in theaccompanying article .

Key to state bar symbols Most were single color on blackbackground Exception was D.C . with red , white and blue stars .Note 1932 Copyright . Only 48 states back then.

pR J \ \ I E

i ,.


16/24

Aeronca Club members gathered at the July 3-5, 1982 meeting.

AERONCA FLY IN AT_ _ _ ANTIQUE AIRFIELD _ _ _By Augie Wegner

EAA 135890 )1432 28th Court

Kenosha, WI 53140

Photos by Ed BurnsBy the middle of the afternoon on Friday, July 2 the

weather was threatening with buildups in all directions .was not exactly one of those nice flying days. The western

half of the sky gradually turned black, and we knew wewere in for something when the first Aeronca arrived atAntique Airfield, Blakesburg, Iowa; it was Ken Coe withhi s Champ.

Ken wa s flying in from Minnesota and had gassed upat Mason City, Iowa. He skirted the big storm to the west

a nd slipped around it, but Mother Nature doesn't like to

be fooled. A s Ken was tying down, the whole storm abruptly shifted direction from northeast to southeast andheaded directly for us . Buckets of rain started to fall justas Ken got the tail tied down and jumped into the van.His timing was flawless. Mother Nature was outwitted byan Aeronca driver

The next arrivals landed early Saturday morningPaul Shinsky with his L-3B from Texas and R E . Dohertywith his TC from New Mexico. They were able to get asclose as Albia, Iowa on Friday but they couldn 't get aroundthe nasty storm that chased Ken across the field. Theyflew the remaining few miles on Saturday.

Saturday morning we got word that a flock of fourAeroncas and a Brand X" (T-Craftl from Wisconsin wereholed up at Tipton , Iowa, 93 miles northeast of Blakes burg.That turned out to the Dick Weeden, Otis Lokken, John

Wegmueller, Les Goplen and Ken Segner . They leftBrodhead, Wisconsin in formation, but weather forcedDick and Otis to sit it out in a field and Les found his wayto Eastvold Airport. John and Ken got to Tipton wherethe others eventually met up with them. The whole flockgot to Blakesburg later on Saturday . Also that day KenRickert arrived from Lakeland, Florida with his beautiful'41 Super Chief. Ken made a lot of modifications on his


17/24

Flown by R E Doherty of Columbus, NM, this 1940 Aeronca65-TC, N31791, S N 6640T made the long trip without difficulty.

stamp-size field in the Mississippi River bluff area - allhills This area is not designed for such landings. Whenthey eventually cleaned out the carb and got some freshfuel they moved the Chief to a road and had only to contendwith some tr ees, road signs, a barn and the curve in theroad . Otherwise, the flight was routine .

Doug Beechel 's arriv a l in his L-16 was interesting . Hemade a pass down the field, went by the hangars anddisappeared We found out later that he left the patternand went to stir up the air over a friend's house . Doug didcome back and land and remained visible for the rest ofthe fly-in .

Julie and Joe Dickey of the Aeronca viator 's Club and70 Knotters Tours joined the fun with their sharp customChamp . We enjoyed meeting with the Dickeys and hadseveral good discussions with them .

We held two Aeronca meetings and among other thingsdecided to establish the Aeronca Fly-In at Blakesburg inJuly as an annual event. There was also a lot of interestin having an Aeronca gathering at the Aeronca plant inMiddletown, Ohio. For the latter there were suggestionsto have a tour of the factory and a banquet along with a

possible Friday tour of the Dayton museum . (The factory

From Stoughton, WI comes this 1946 Aeronca Chief 11AC,N9085E, S N 11AC-718 flown by Les Goplen EAA 90880).

First arrival at the fly-in was Ken Coe, Mi nneapolis, N and his1946 Aeronca Champ 7BCM Conversion) , N82515, S N 7AC

1152.


18/24

All the way from Lakeland, FL came Ken Rickert and his 1941Aeronca Chief 65-CA N33731, S IN C13251.

fly-in is now scheduled for June 10-12, 1983 at Middletown,Ohio. The contact person is Jim Thompson, Box 102,Roberts, IL 60962, Tel. 217 /395-2522.)

At the awards presentation on Sunday we thanked KenRickert for bringing his '41 Super Chieffrom Florida andsharing his paperwork and tips regarding modifications;we also thanked Lyman Hatz and Ed Wegner for judgingthe Aeroncas. The awards were as follows: Best AntiqueAeronca, Leo Carroll for his 65 Lycoming-powered K ; BestClassic Aeronca, Wayne Podeweltz for his '39 Chief; BestLiaison Aeronca, Paul Shinsky for his L-3B; and Best

Neoclassic Aeronca, Jim Thompson for his Sedan . Specialmention was made of George Stigall s beautiful, freshlyrestored Champ . e all extend our appreciation to EdBurns for taking the fine pictures that accompany thisarticle.

There were also approximately 10 drive-ins plus aboutfour each Fairchilds, Pietenpols and Hatz Biplanes, and20 or so Luscombes in addition to various other makes fora total of just over 100 airplanes on the field . Not bad atall, considering the wet weather We all enjoyed the fly-inand the hospitality of the Robert Taylor family and arelooking forward to next year. Keep Aeroncas flying andwe'll see you at Blakesburg.

Best Neoclassic Aeronca was won by Jim Thompson (EAA107574), Roberts, IL and his magnificent 1951 Aeronca Sedan15AC, N1491H, S IN 15AC-561.

Awarded Special Mention was this 1946 Aeronca Champ 7AC,N82766, S IN 7AC-1413 piloted by George Stigall (EAA 147998),Indianapolis, IN.

JUNE 5 DE KALB ILLINOIS EAA Ch t 241 A l Fl l D i l


19/24

This sectio n of T h e VINT G IRPL NE is dedicatedto members and the ir aircra ft projects. We welcome photosa long with descript ions a nd t he projects can be eithercomp leted or underway . Se nd material to the editor at theaddress shown on page 3 of t h is is s ue.

AUSTER J S B n AUSTRALIA

The Auster J.5.B was pro duced by Auster Aircraft Ltd. in Great Britain for the Australian and New Zealandlig h t pla ne market and is powered with a DeHavillandGipsy Major 1 engine of 130 hp . t has long range tanksgiving a c ru ising range of 300 miles .

This aircraft would qualify as a classic for judgingpu rposes in the u .S and this Auster with Australi a n

registry VH-KAL is available for purchase. For furtherinformation contact the owner:

Barry Shelton7 Biloela Crt.Port MacquarieN .S W 2444Australia


20/24

LETTERS T O THE EDI TOR

Dear Gene :Vern Sudbeck's report on his Pacer in the October issue

of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE caught my attention because I flew Pacers when they were called Clippers backin '52, and because he used the Poly-Fiber covering mate-rials intermixed with butyrate dope. Vern and his familycertainly deserve a lot of credit for sticking with a projectwhen most restorers would have sold it for parts.

The fabric work shows excellent craftsmanship and Ihave alerted Vern to the fact that butyrate dope coatingsover our Poly-Brush base coat has very poor adhesion andwill very likely start to peel off after aging and tauteningseveral years. Through this letter I want to alert othersthat intermixing coatings may appear to be successful atfirst; however, after aging, tautening and weathering invariably proves to be a very expensive experiment.

For over 41 years I have observed the long range results

of many combinations of fabric and coating types and canrecommend that if the restorer wants to use nitrate orbutyrate dope they be used only on Grade A cotton or Irishlinen, the purpose for which they were developed. t is verydisheartening to spend years painstakingly restoring orrebuilding an airplane and have the fabric coatings peelthe first time it is flown in the rain .

Sincerley,Ray Stits, PresidentStits Poly-Fiber Aircraft Coatings

P.O. Box 3084Riverside , CA 92519

Dear Gene:I received a copy of the letter written to you on No

vember 3,1982 from Ray Stits ofStits Poly-Fiber AircraftCoatings, and apparently he didn t appreciate the type ofStits process I used, with all butyrate dope on over the Polybrush on the Stits Poly-Fiber.

Gene, the reason I used this process was the fellows

from the Southern Oregon EAA Chapter 319 warned meof their experiences of using the complete Stits processthat resulted in premature cracking on most of the planesthey covered . They narrowed it down to the Poly-Tonebeing the cause of the cracking . So I followed their methodto the letter, using Randolph butyrate color dope, andbelieve me, so far it looks beautiful, with no cracking orpeeling or poor adhesion problems as Ray implies will

Arthur R. MorganDirector, EAA Antique/Classic Division3744 North 51st Blvd .Milwaukee, W 53216Dear Art:

On behalf of the International Cessna 120 /140 Association I would like to thank you for your help and supportwith our organizational tent a t Oshkosh '82. We greetedand registered over two hundred 120 /140 owners. The tentprovided a constant "forum" of questions and answersregarding the maintenance and preservation of our typeaircraft. n the last few years, since the Association hasbeen coming to Oshkosh, the tremendous response hasproven that there is a definite need where type aircraftowners can meet and discuss common problems and solutions.

The International Cessna 120 /140 Association hasgrown from a handful of members in Texas who got together for the purpose of swapping parts and sharinginformation to the 1000 plus members the organization istoday.

The Association is a firm support of EAA as shown byour donation to the Foundation and our challenge to othertype clubs to support the fund drive for the Center. Wewould also like to make a donation directly to the Antique /Classic Division to show appreciation for their support .

We look forward to the future support ofEAA in provid

ing our organization as well as other aircraft type clubsthe necessary space to set up informational tents. Weespecially want to thank you, Art, for your assistance.

Sincerely,Jim MerwinSecretary /TreasurerInternational Cessna 120 /140 Association663 121st Lane , N .W .Coon Rapids, MN 55433

Dear Jim:The EAA Antique /Classic Board of Directors gratefully

acknowledges your letter and donation.Art Morgan delivered your letter to Brad Thomas, our

Division President, a t our Board meeting, Friday, October


21/24

Dear Gene:To add a l i t t le info on the photo on the back cover of

November 's VINTAGE AIRPLANEThis was Vega CIN 134. It was flown for Shell by their

west coast Aviation Manager, John Macready . I believetha t to be him standing next to the Vega and facing thePackard .

This Vega was later sold to Lt. Felix Waitkus of theAmerican- Lithuanian Trans-Atlantic Flight Association.

t was flown on an attempted non-stop flight from N .Y .C.to Kaunas, Lithuania , September 22, 1935 but cracked upa t or near Ballinrode, Ireland . The ship was reported tohave been rebuilt in Li thuania and taken over by thecountry's Air Corps and to have even later be en transferredto Moscow along with the Russian take-over in 1940 . Isuppose there is an outside chance that i t still exist s.

The above data from the book Revolution in the Sky by Richard S . Allen.

Sincerely,John W. Oder(EAA 60168, A /C 7480 13102 Daywood DriveHouston , TX 77038

MYSTERY PLANE

This month's Mystery Plane offers a real challenge toyou experts. It's not what i t appears to be . The photo wassubmitted by M H Eisenmann (EAA 26384 A /C 576

FOR SALE

FOKKER DR-1 TRIPLANECONSTRUCTION DRAWING SALESAND MANUFACTURING BUSINESS

INCLUDESThe finest , most authentic, highly detailed copyr ighteddrawings available with full reserve of manufacturing

rights under copyright laws .Professional Mylar films to produce high quality

crystal clear blueprintsOne (1) completed and painted Fokker DR-1 Aircraft

with low time Warner 165

Three(3)

part ially completed Fokker DR-1 Aircraft withzero-time engines , with fuselages, tail feathers ,cabanes , landing gear , ailerons completed

One (1) Warner 165 engine - zero-t imeOne (1) LeRhone 9J engine with run-in time only

One (1) Rolls Royce 0-240 (130 hpj engine - zero-timeNumerous jugs and fixtures to produce spars , wing ribs

and tubular structuresFiberglass molds to produce engine cowls and seats

Five (5) sets of spruce sp a r wing flanges under construct ion

One (1) full set of wing ribs and several partial sets of wing ribsNumerous small parts under construction , control horns,control hinges, control stick assemblies , ferrules,

engine mount parts, etc .Remaining supplies of plywood, spruce and 4130 tubing

Approx. 200 fuel gages

THIS OFFER DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY MACHINERY ORPERSONAL EQUIPMENT REALISTICALLY PRICED AT

$285,000 FOR ENTIRE PACKAGE LISTEDABOVE

Completion and sale of aircraft listed above shou ldproduce a return of initial investment with draw ingsales and follow-up construction saleS a bonus .

The manufacture and sale of the small parts listedabove is an excellent business in itself , leading to

expansion to other parts

Will accept light medium Twin (Aerostar 600) as


22/24

n

THE JOURNAL OFTHE EARLY AEROPLANE

S.l\MPLE ISSUE 4

15 CRESCENT RD. POUGHKEEPSIE N.Y. 12601

l ? ~ L I V ~tRe

Classic ownersInter ior looking shabby?

L ; J

Finish it right .with anoirtex interior

Complete interior assemblies for dO-it-yourself installati o n

Custom Quality at economical prices .

Cushion upholstery sets Wall panel sets He a dliners

Carpet sets Baggage compartment sets Firewall covers Seat Slings

Recover envelopes and d o pes

Free Catalog of co mpl e te pr od uc t line. Fabric Selection Guideshowing a c tua l sa mpl e c olo rs a nd s tyles o f mate ria ls: 3. 00 .

t ,.;r lr ex products , inc. I II V I S A259 Lower Morrisville Rd., Dept. VAFallsington, PA 19054 (215) 295 -4115 . ,

t 7 ) L I ) ~ ~~ l ? A 1A V I A T I ) ~

Jacket - unl ined tan popl in with gold andwhite bra id trim. Knit waist and cuffs , zipperfront and slash pockets . Antique / Classi clogo patch on chestSizes - XS through XL .. . .. 28 .95 ppd

Cap - pale gold mesh with contrasting bluebill, trimmed with gold braid . Antique / Classiclogo patch on crown of cap .Sizes - M and L(adjustable rear band) . .. 6.25 ppd


23/24


24/24

Date post:	03-Jun-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	aviationspace-history-library
View:	215 times
Download:	0 times

Vintage Airplane - Jan 1983

Documents