Vintage Airplane - Mar 2007

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Mar 2007

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2/44

GEOFF ROBI SON

PRESIDENT VI NT GE IRCR FT SSOCI TI ON

usy

time for

us all

As I write this column for

the

March

issue of Vintage irplane magazine, it

is

mid-February here in the great

winter

wonderland of northeast Indiana, and

I would bet a moderate sum of money

that a lot of you are as tired of old

man

winter's antics as I am. Anyway, by the

time you read this, we will be

moving

toward some milder weather condi

tions,

and

we can get back

to spend

ing

more quality

time hanging out

around the airport. I am really looking

forward

to

throwing the doors

open to

not

only

the fresh air, but also the oc

casional visitors and hang-abouts who

stumble in

to

see

what

we are

up

to in

our new

chapter hangar at the DeKalb

Co unty Airport (GWB). This

should

prove to be a productive year for us, as

we have a number of

chapter

projects

in

the

works.

Speaking of Vintage Aircraft Asso

ciation

(VAA)

chapters have any of

you

ever

given

any

serious

thought

to starting a local

VAA

chapter

in

your region?

Belonging

to an EAA

or

VAA

chapter is really an

excellent

way to

enhance

your aviation experi

ences,

and

it is also

an

excellent

op

at work planning and

preparing

for

another excellent experience for the

many thousands of

visitors

we host

each year in the VAA area of the con

vention grounds. Please give serious

consideration

to

assisting us in our

efforts

to

see that

the

2007 event de

velops

into our

best effort

yet.

The

financial

support

for the various activ

ities in connection with the weeklong

event

in the VAA Red Barn area is un

derwritten by a yearly special conven

tion

support

fund. This effort, as many

of you are aware,

is the

VAA s Friends

of the Red Barn program.

Be

sure to

check

out

our

newly

revised

and

im

proved offerings to those who

support

this vital VAA program. You

can

read

more about it starting

on

page 8.

Be

a

part of the movement and be sure

to

be there to see it all in action. You can

read more about it and sign up online

at our

website

www VintageAircraft

org/programs/redbam html

I'm sure you have heard in the recent

past that EAA and the Vintage Aircraft

Association have been working hard for

a number of years

with

the

FAA

to unlock

the virtual death grip that has withheld

approved, this initiative would virtually

eliminate the dilemma for owners who

are reqUired to maintain their vintage

aircraft to approved data, even though

that data could

not

be released due

to

intellectual property laws. For further

information see the story on

page six of

this month's

Vintage

irplane

magazine.

As critical

an

initiative as this is, it

s

also

relevant here to recognize yet again that

the

relationship between the FAA and

the EAA/VAA has never been stronger.

Many thanks to Earl Lawrence

and

the

Government

Programs office

of EAA

and to our VAA executive director, H.G.

Frautschy, for their hard work in assur

ing that this critically important initia

tive has an honest chance to progress.

t

was also quite gratifying to see the

U.S. Congress' recent response

to

the

FAA s newly

proposed

funding struc

ture . Talk about a cold

shoulder

from

this august body I cannot

remember

any

other

recent

hot button

issue re

ceiving such a blunt and decisive reac

tion as this "dead on arrival" initiative.

Sometimes, they

actually

manage

to

get it righ t.

Remember, ow is the time to be


3/44

N E

MARCH

VOL

5

,

NO

. 3

2 7

CONTENTS

Fe Straight Level

A busy time fo r us all

by Geoff R

ob

ison

2 News

6

FAA

Attemps

to

Loosen Grip

on

Abandoned

Vintage

Aircraft Data

EAA

,VAA

efforts lead to potential re

li

ef

for owners and restorers

by EAA Editorial and Government

Programs Staff

1

Restoration

Corner

Ass

embly and Rigging

by Gene Morris

14 Bellanca 260

John Morrison s Triple-

Ta il

Love Affair

by Budd Davisson

2

Horsepower:

Is

More

eally

Better?

Courtesy of the

Lu

scombe Association

by Gerry She

ahan

24

Recollections of Chicago's

Curtiss-Reynolds Airport

One of th e golden age of aviation s jewels

by Ke

nn

eth McQueen

3 The Vintage I

nstruc

t

or

HA

T

ch

eck

by Doug Stewart

32

Pass it

to

Buck

S T

AFF

EAA

Pub li

sher

Tom Pob

e

rezny

Executive Direc

t

or

/Edi t

or

H.G. Frau tschy


4/44

Air

Tour Final Rule ssue -

Part 91 Operators

Relieved

After a nearly three-year process,

the

FAA

has released the final version of

the

National Air Tour Safety Standards,

amending or adding rules

to CFR

Part

61,91,

119, 121, 135, and 136.

EAA

members who operate

busi

nesses within Part 91, General Oper

ating And Flight Rules, asked

EAA to

address

the

notice of

proposed

rule

making

(NPRM)

back

in 2003. EAA

and its Vintage Aircraft Association

made comments in print and at a pub

lic meeting in Washington, D.C., op

posing

the

proposed

rule as

drafted.

Other

industry representatives includ

ing

Rick

Pellicciotti (who created a

Ya-

hoo

website so Part 91 operators could

easily

communicate),

Rob and Bob

Lock of Waldo Wright's Flying Service,

Greg Herrick of the Aviation Founda

tion of

America,

and

Brent Taylor

of

the

AAA

were all

united

in

their

op

position of

the

rule. In fact, more than

2,300 comments were registered with

the FAA, the

vast majority of

them not

in favor of the rule.

As

written

the rule would have, in

effect, moved those commercial op

erators who offered rides or flight ex

periences

into

Part 135 operations.

As

written by Bob Lock of Waldo Wright's

Flying Service, Unless

there

was

an

enormous amount of give and take

with

the FAA,

in no way could a 50- to

75-year-old aircraft

meet the

current

q uiremen ts (in particular,

req uire

ments for the use

of

life

vests

for

flights over water, and the

addition

of

pop-out floats for helicopters not so

equipped that

are used

in

over-water

sightseeing flights), it does

not

signifi

cantly impede those

who

operate their

businesses as Part 91 operations.

Our thanks to all members

and

or

ganizations w ho joined in fighting

this proposed rule. In particular, I'd

like to single out Bob Lock of Waldo

Wright's Flying Service, who was

the

first among us to recognize

the

signif

icant impact this proposed rule could

have,

and who

rallied

the

troops

with

a call to arms that was

cogent,

reasoned,

and above all,

passionate

about the small businesses that day in

and

day out offer

the

public a unique

way to experience flight.

FAA Reaffirms

Young Eagles

Flights Not Subject to

New

Air

Tour Rule

February 22, 2007 - A week of work

by

EAA and

FAA has ensured the future

vitality and success of the Young Eagles

program, by removing possible barriers

that were part of the new air tour rule

announced earlier this

month.

EAA

President Tom Poberezny, along

with

EAA's Earl Lawrence and

Doug

Macnair,

met

Thursday with FAA's se

nior leadership, including Administra

tor

Marion Blakey. They discussed

the

air tour rule's possible effect on Young

clarifying Young Eagles flights as

non

compensation flights. The letter em

phasized

that the

air tour rule does

not

apply to Young Eagles flights where the

pilot does

not

receive compensation.

The final version of that letter will

arrive at

EAA

within the next

few

busi

ness days. In

addition,

Administrator

Blakey and FAA senior officials pledged

that technical corrections would be

made

to the air

tour

rule's preamble

before the rule takes effect on March

15,2007.

For EAA

members who plan

on

flying

Young Eagles, it means

they

may con

tinue to operate as they have in the past

when providing Young Eagles flights.

The

rapid,

positive

resolution to

this situation is an example of the out

standing working relationship between

EAA and FAA, Poberezny said.

FAA

has

helped

provide

the environment

where nearly 1.3 million Young Eagles

have

been

flown,

and they continue

their support

of what

has become

the

largest youth education program in

aviation history.

We

are very pleased

with the outcome and appreciate FAA's

immediate attention to this issue.

EAA Voices Strong Opposition

to User Fee

And

Fuel Tax

Hike Proposal

What

EAA

and other

general avia

tion

groups

saw

coming

for months

arrived

on

February

5 when

i t

was

revealed that user fees

were

a cen


5/44

Proactive Advocacy: EAA's Prescription for What Ails Recreational Aviation

EAA hosted more

than

a dozen FAA leaders for

the

two-day 2007 Oshkosh Recreational Aviation Sum

mit

January 16-17,

where the

issues discussed

ranged

from

sport pilot/light-sport

aircraft

and

experimen

tal/amateur-builts to warbirds, aerobatic regulations,

air shows, vintage aircraft,

and

air tour

operations.

EAA

received deadline-sensitive commitments from

the FAA to act on

the

wide range of topics.

This

is

really the

roll-up-your-sleeves

meeting,

charting

the course

for

what

we

need

to work

on,

said Jim Ballough, FAA director of flight standards.

This is

the

way

we

get

things done.

Get

the

issues

on the table and chart the course.

John

Hickey, FAA

director

of aircraft

certifica

tion,

went

a step

further. When

you

look at what

we're

working

on as

reflected

in

the

list

of

ac

t ions-a strong focus on

vintage

and orphan air

craft

issues

that have plagued the community

for

years, just

to

name

a

couple-2007 could well be

a

watershed

year. I

can't

imagine these being

ad

dressed without

the

(EAA-FAA)

relationship

and

the winter

meetings.

The relationship he referred to is a

product of

EAA's unique approach of proactive advocacy. By

Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft

The FAA intends to publish a final rule change regard

ing

certification

of amphibious

special light-sport air

craft

(S-LSA)

with a reposition able landing gear by May

2007.

The

FAA is

devising plans to provide on-site registra

tion

at Sun 'n Fun

and EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh for

transitioning ultralights to experimental light-sport

aircraft

(E-LSA).

This will

not only

provide a service to

those

needing to make

the

transition, but also create

more

awareness stressing

that

owners need to get the

conversion process started well in advance of

the

loom

ing January 31, 2008, deadline.

Amateur-Built Aircraft

A mutual goal

is

to determine a regulatory framework

for aircraft

that do not

fit

within

the

confines of

the

amateur-built category, while preserving the 51 percent

rule. The

FAA

is

intent on

addressing builder assistance

activities that fall outside the 51 percent rule.

Aerobatics

The International Aerobatic Club (lAC) seeks to extend

the fuel-carry exemption that exists for performances to

practice flights, plus change the rule

requiring

paper

work in the aircraft for practical and safety reasons. lAC


6/44

reduce public

control

of how the

FAA

exercises its discretionary spending.

DOT

and

FAA have

attempted

to

distract from the user fee issue in thei r

public

statements by

saying

that

rev

enue from general aviation would con

tinue to be collected via a fuel tax, but

they fail

to

acknowledge that the fuel

tax would be increased dramatically

and a whole series of user fees would

be implemented for

FAA

services that

today do

not

carry a charge, said Doug

Macnair,

EAA

vice-president of govern

ment relations.

New fees known

to

be in the

bud

get proposal

as

this issue went to press

would affect aircraft certification and

registration; appointment and/or des

ignation of designees used to certificate

amateur-built aircraft and light-sport air

craft; and airman medical certificates.

EAA

remains categorically opposed

to user fees, Macnair added. Such a

system will

not

enhance safety, it will

not improve services, and it will add

barriers for thousands of recreational

aviators while being a costly burden to

the federal government. I

EAA

contends

that

the current

sys

tem of excise taxes on general aviation

fuel and airline passenger tickets works,

and has worked well for nearly 40

years. In fact, the Airport and Airway

Trust Fund received record revenues

the past two years and

is

on course

to

do so again in 2007.

Congress must approve a new fund

ing plan or reauthorize the existing one

before

it

expires in September. Several

congressional leaders have told

EAA

that

they have more questions than answers

regarding the user-fee proposals. EAA

your elected representatives to tell

them

about the seriousness

of

this

is-

sue and

the

direct impact it will have

on you, your family, your business, and

your community. For contact informa

tion, visit www House

gov and www

Sen-

ate gov

To learn more

about the

user

fee issue

and

why

EAA

thinks it's a bad

idea, read

EAA's

briefing paper.

Go to

www EAA org and look in the Advocacy

section of the member's only area.

Top

Air

Show

Performers

Locked

in

for the Big

Show

What

do Sean D.

Tucker,

Patty

Wagstaff,

Kirby Chambliss, Debby

Rihn-Harvey, Mike Goulian, Kent Pi-

etsch,

Matt

Younkin, and Kyle Frank

lin have in common? Besides being

among the

world's

best pilots, they

are also

among the many

top

per

formers

who

have confirmed

their

appearance at The World's

Greatest

Aviation Celebration-EAA AirVen

ture

Oshkosh

2007.

Each of these performers

work

as

a

headline

act at dozens of air shows

throughout the country, but they

come together

at

EAA

AirVenture

to

make an all-star roster

of

the 'best

of

the

best, ' said Tom Poberezny,

EAA

president, who flew as a member of

the

renowned Eagles Aerobatic Team.

Air

show

performers are eager to fly

at

Oshkosh

because

it represents a

major achievement in their careers,

flying

in front of

the

most knowl

edgeable

and

appreciative audiences

on the air

show

circuit.

Also confirmed

to

appear this year

are the

AeroShell Aerobatic

Team,

Dan Buchanan, Pat Epps, David Mar

nounced on www AirVenture org

EM

AirVenture

2007

Performers

as of February

1,

2007-more

will

be

added, and the list is subject to change with

out

notice

• AeroShell Aerobatic Team, T-6s

• Dan Buchanan, Hang Glider

• Kirby Chambliss,

Edge 540

• Pat Epps, Aerobatic Bonanza

• Kyle Franklin, ub Comedy

• Mike Goulian, Extra

• Debby Rihn -Harvey, Hurricane 2

• David Martin, Extra

• John Mohr, Stearman

• Kent Pietsch, Interstate Cadet

• Sean Tucker, Oracle Challenger

• Patty Wagstaff, Extra

• Matt Younkin , Travel Air Mystery Ship

In

Honor of Those

Who Have

Fallen

People

often take

pencil rubbings

as

mementos t

EAA s

Memorial Wall.

At EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh 2007, a

solemn dedication ceremony will be held

on Sunday morning, July 29, to honor

those who have gone before us. EAA's

Memorial Wall, located just behind

Fer-

gus Chapel adjacent to Pioneer Airport,

provides an everlasting tribute to our

http:///reader/full/www.House.govhttp:///reader/full/www.House.govhttp:///reader/full/www.House.govhttp:///reader/full/www.EAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.House.govhttp:///reader/full/www.EAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.org


7/44

Applications

need

to

be

submitted

by April I, 2007, for inclusion

in

this

year's dedication ceremony.

u s Air Force

to

Mark 60th

Anniversary at

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

The U.

S.

Air Force has always had a

major presence at

EAA

AirVenture Os

hkosh,

but

in 2007 it will kick it up a

notch when it commemorates its 60th

anniversary. The U.S. Air Force will

bring its special exhibit, Heritage to Ho

rizons, to mark the occasion, filling a

lO,OOO-square-foot pavilion with more

than 30 displays recognizing the nota

ble people and aircraft that have been

part of the Air Force's first 60 years.

As

one of the Air Force's officially des

ignated events, EAA AirVenture will also

host a sizable contingent of current mil

itary aircraft during the weeklong event.

The exact aircraft and appearance dates

will be released

as

they are finalized.

The U.S. Air Force has always been

very supportive

and

enthusiastic in its

participation at EAA AirVenture, featur

ing airplanes such as the F-l17 stealth

Academy liaison officers, and Air Force

Recruiting Service.

In

addition,

the Air Force Recruit

ing Service will

bring

the

popular

Cross Into

the

Blue exhibit with several

hands-

on

activities.

The anniversary commemoration

adds to EAA AirVenture's always-popu

lar warbird activities. The

hundreds

of

warbirds that gather at Oshkosh each

year include World War II-era aircraft

from the U.S. Air Force's predecessors,

as well as

those

from

other branches

of the U.S. military and other air forces

from around the world.

For more information, visit

www.Air

Venture.arg.

Doolittle Raider

Thomas

Griffin

to Speak

at

Museum

A 8 25

launches

off the deck of the

USS Hornet in

Doolittle s

Raid in 1942.

In April 1942

the situation on the

warfront was grim for the

United

States. The]apanese had bombed Pearl

Harbor just four

months

earlier, and

America needed a victory. President

Roosevelt and his advisers conceived a

plan to deliver that much-needed vic

tory

to

the U.S. military that came to

be known as Doolittle's Raid.

SportAir Workshops Coming to

California,

Michigan

Anyone can learn the skills necessary

to build his or her own airplane, and

EAA s

SportAir Workshops are teaching

future homebuilders throughout

the

country. Let us help you achieve your

dreams of building

and

flying your

own aircraft.

On March 24-25 (previously sched

uled March 17-18), a

workshop

is

scheduled at Watsonville, California,

at Aircrafters

on the

Watsonville Mu

nicipal Airport. Classes offered include

Composite Construction, Sheet Metal

Basics, Fabric Covering, Electrical Sys

tems and Avionics,

and What s

In

volved in Kitbuilding?

April 14-15 a series of courses is slated

for Belleville (Detroit area), Michigan,

at the Michigan Institute of Aviation

Technology. Space remains for Com

posite Construction, Sheet Metal

Ba

sics, Electrical Systems and Avionics,

Introduction

to

Aircraft Building,

and

What's Involved in Kitbuilding.

To learn more about these and other

scheduled workshops, visit

www SportAir org

or call Mark Forss at

800-967-5746,

ext. 2.

EAA 8 17 Tour Set to

Begin This Month

There are plenty of opportunities to

see EAA s beautifully restored and main-

tained B-17

Aluminum

Overcast

when

it heads

out

for its spring 2007 tour be

ginning at the end of the month.

The 2007 tour kicks

off

at

North

Las Vegas Airport

March

30-April

I,

followed

by

scheduled stops in Cali

fornia, Oregon , Washington, Idaho,

http:///reader/full/www.SportAir.orghttp:///reader/full/www.SportAir.org


8/44

F

TTEMPTS

TO

LOOSEN

GRIP

ON

ABANDONED

VINTAGE

AIRCRAFT DATA

EAA VAA

efforts lead to

potenti l relief for owners and restorers

EAA

EDITORIAL

AND

GOVERNMENT

PROGRAMS

STAFF

E

nd

the Vintage

Aircraft Associa

tion, as well as

would remedy the current

Catch-22

surrounding

orphaned TCs, where

owners are legally

required to

main

This is

a direct result of

EAA

and

VAA s

ongoing

dialogue with the se

nior FAA management team and

has


9/44

to develop a legal process that would

allow it to release data from type cer

tificates

that

were obviously

aban

doned. But existing laws restricted

FAA's

ability to release such data be

cause

it

was deemed

to

be

intellec

tual property even though the

owner

of record had

long

since ceased to

pinge

on the legitimate and legal

right of

TC

or

STC

owners to main

tain their data as proprietary infor

mation and profit from that data

provided they

continue

to

support

the product,"

Frautschy

explained.

"We in no way want to harm any

individual

or

company economi

cally

through this proposal.

How

ever,

for those corporate entities

that have

been defunct for

what

is

often decades,

and

who are no

lon

ger

providing support

to

the owners

of their

products, it falls squarely on

the

vintage

aircraft owners

to main

tain

their aircraft in

accordance

with

that

original

engineering

data.

If

it

is

not available for legal reasons, the

owner is genuinely caught between

a rock and a

hard

place, and

indeed

safety is

ultimately compromised.

"This proposa l is an excellent

start but

is by no means

the

com

plete

solution

to the data avail

ability problem for older aircraft,"

Frautschy continued. Specifically,

when known type

certificate

hold

ers are unwilling to release mainte

nance-related data, vintage aircraft

owners receive no Continued Oper

ational Safety (COS) support of the

type

certificate, as

required by FAR

23.1529 and

Appendix

G

to

Part 23.

EAA

and its Vintage Aircraft As

sociation will

continue

to work

with

the FAA and

Congress

on

this

issue

as

they

have recognized the difficulty

mechanics, restorers,

and

owners have

encountered while diligently attempt

ing to maintain vintage aircraft to

their type certificate requirements."

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10/44

The VAA annual fund raising campaign

fue

ls

VAA activities at AirVenture Oshkosh

H G FRAUTSCHY

For

more than three decades, the vintage

airplanes

and

their enthusiasts have had their

own special area during the annual

EAA

con

vention. Over the years it s been a picturesque

scene

of

the finest restored airplanes seen in

this country, a gathering place for aviation peo

ple and their magnificent machines to share

knowledge and friendships. We ve been privi

leged to see many one-of-a-kind airplanes in

our area. Remember the

Gee

Bee

R-1

replica

built by Steve Wolf and Delmar Benjamin?

How about the lineup of Howards and Cessna

195s? We

can t

forget the special Type Club

parking area, where we host many examples

of

a particular manufacturer s airplane. More

recently we ve been the Oshkosh home for the

inspiring National Air Tour, the thunderous Tri

Motor reunion, and the American Barnstormers

Tour.

All

of this is possible through the

efforts

of

the nearly

500 VAA

volunteers, the volunteer

VAA board of directors,

and

the

VAA

staff.

Their passion is what makes it a great place

to be throughout the week

of

AirVenture, and

why so many visitors and aviation enthusiasts

come back year after year to work, relax, and

en

joy aviation s premier event, EAA AirVenture Osh

kosh. It s a place to rekindle old friendships and

make new ones. A time to relax and enjoy avia

tion, learn something new, and rub elbows with

our fellow aviators.

As you can

imagine, it takes

some fairly substantial financial resources to

underwrite such an event

and

the Vintage area

structures. But how does all

of

this work

get

funded .

To

be certain, almost all of the labor

involved is performed by our dedicated and

talented volunteers, but what about the cost of

supplies and hardware?

That s where our Friends of the Red Barn

come in -

it

provides all of us, who wish, the

opportunity to assist in the vital financial sup

port of the Red Barn area

of EM

AirVenture. It

gives us the unique opportunity to be

an

es

sential element of an event that has no peer in

the entire world , that being the world renowned

annual EM AirVenture Oshkosh gathering.

We re most appreciative

of the

contribu

tions

made by hundreds

of

VAAers who see

the tangible benefits of supporting their fellow

VAA

members in this manner. As a critical part

of

the

VAA

budget, the fund pays for such di

verse items as

VAA

awards presented during

the annual

EAA

aircraft awards program, spe

cial recognition for our many volunteers, and

expenses associated with our special displays ,

forums, and educational areas such as the

V

Workshop tent and the Type Club tent.

Your annual contribution made

in the

first

half of 2007 will directly benefit this year s

con

vention activities and programs. There are now

seven levels

of

gifts and recognition, including

a new Diamond Plus giving level, which entities

you to

all benefits plus your choice

of

a Ken

Ko

tik aviation art print. A portion of Ken s artwork

can be viewed on his website at www.KenKoti

Many services are

provided

to vintage

aircraft

enthusiasts at EAA AirVenture

Oshkosh.

From

parking

airplanes to feed

ing people at

the

Tall Pines Cafe and Red

Bam more

than

400

volunteers

do it all.

Some may

ask, u volunteers are provid

ing the services, where is the expense?"

Glad

you asked. The scooters for the

flightline

crew

need

repair and

batteries,

and the Red Bam needs paint,

new

win

dowsills,

updated wiring,

and

other

sun

dry

repairs, plus we

love

to

care

for our

volunteers with special recognition caps

and pizza party. The list

really

could

go

on

and on, but

no

matter

how

many

expenses

we

can

point out, the

need

remains constant. The Friends of the

Red

Bam

fund

helps pay for the VAA expenses

at EAA

AirVenture,

and is crucial part of

the Vintage

Aircraft

Association budget.

Please help the VAA

and

our

4OO-plus

dedicated volunteers make this

an un

forgettable experience for our

many

EAA

AirVenture guests. We've made it even

more fun

to

give this year, with more giv

ing

levels

to

fit each person's

budget,

and

more interesting activities for

donors

to

be part of.

Your

contribution

now

really

does

make difference.

There are

seven levels

of

gifts

and

gift recognition. Thank

you

for

whatever

you

can do.

Here are some of the many

activi

ties the Friends of the Red

Barn fund

underwrites:

•Red

Bam

Information

Desk Supplies

•

Participant Plaques

and

Supplies

http://www.kenkoti/http://www.kenkoti/http://www.kenkoti/http://www.kenkoti/


11/44

Ken Kotik Aviation Art Print

Close Auto Parking

Two

Tickets to

VAA

Picnic

Tri Motor

Certifi

cate

Breakfast

at Tall PinesCafe

Special FORB Cap

Two

Passes to

VAA Volunteer Party

Special FORB

Bad

ge

Acces

s to

Volunteeer Cente

r

Donor

Apprec

i

ation

Certificate

Name Listed:

Vinta

ge Airpla

ne

Magazine,

Website

and Sign

at Red

Bam

1

Pers

on Full Wk

*

Dlamond Plus

$125

Full Week

2 ickels

21ick

els 21icke

ls

2People/

Full Wk

2People/

Full Wk

2People/

Full

Wk

VAA Friends of

the

Red Barn

Name_____________________________________________________EAA#

________

VAA#

________

Address

____________________________________

________

____________________________________

_______

City/S tate/Zip

__________________________________________________________________

____

Phone

__________________________

_______________E-Mail

____________________________________

_


12/44

I

Editor's Note: "Assembly and Rigging" is

the

ti tle

of this ninth insta

ll

ment of

the

"Restoration Corner"

series .

Author

Gene

Morris is an

airline

captain living in Texas . He also serves on the Vintage Aircraft

Association

Board

of

Directors.

ssembly and igging

Now that you've brought your

airplane up through all the vari

ous

stages

of

rebuilding/restoring,

you have

probably learned all

that

you can absorb

about

good

working

habits.

You

will,

of

course,

continue

with

these habits, and

you

will have

gotten to know your airframe

and

powerplant mechanic with

an

in

spection authorization

(A&P/IA)

very well by now.

Hopefully he can

be

considered

an expert

on

your airplane.

If

not,

I would at least

contact

someone

who has

been

there before ... even if

it's

by

telephone,

you can pick up

a lot

of good

ideas.

The

Internet is

another terrific way

to

contact other

owners and restorers. This is

not

to

say that your A&P is

not

capable,

but

it's

part of sharing experiences

and

ideas

with

each other.

My

restoration

experience

is

lim

ited

compared

to some, but

I

have

helped

several

people where I,

and

am very happy and flattered to do so.

Y GENE MORRIS

EAA

81175,

Ale

1877

help you, especially if

it

doesn't cost

anything.

Tail Surfaces

You

can probably

assemble

the

tail feathers all by yourself.

Just

con

tinue with

your good habits

and

be

sure to use a level to get things nice

and

straight.

For

instance,

someone with

past

experience might save you some

work

with horizontal

stabilizer ad

justments.

Some

vintage

aircraft

require

the

installation of

washers

under the stabilizer leading edge at

tach points or

may

have more than

one bolt hole for mounting these

pieces. Some knowledgeable tips

could prevent you from having to

take it apart after you've flown it

and

found it

out

of

rig.

The same

situa

tion

exists for some vertical fins.

Believe

it or

not, I once saw a

turnbuckle

tightened

up

too tight

to

pivot on an elevator "up"

horn

and

the turnbuckle failed during a

What a

landing,

but there was

no

damage

In

your assembly

of

mov

able items, they

must

be allowed

to

move.

I f

the

empennage

is

braced with

streamline

wires,

treat

them

care

fully

using

masking

tape

or

similar

protection

on the crescent wrench

used to adjust

them.

The tightness

will be a

consensus between you

and

your

A P.

Be sure

to

guard against

pulling

the surfaces out

of plumb.

Also,

you

will

notice

that

one end

of

the

wire

has right-hand

threads

while those on the

other

end are

left-hand. Your

good working

habits

will

insure that you do

not lose the

left-hand

jam nut

Most

aircraft have specified lim

its

of

control surface travel, so

you

should

use

your bubble

protractor

for that step.

Wings

Some folks get the urge to taxi

their

pride

and joy

before install


13/44

ably are still

peeling

dope off your

fingers,

your

wife has

thrown

away

all your dope/paint-laden clothes,

and I hope

somewhere in

all the la

boring

you

have planned to have

a

wing-raising party.

If

you are

prone

to parties,

this is another for your

list, don t let anybody stumble into

your nice straight stringers, etc.

Installing

wings

on an airplane

can vary all the

way

from putting

up a simple lift

and

putting in two

bolts

(or

is

it four?)

as

on an

Er

coupe, to hanging four

wing

panels

on a biplane .

To

make it simple and very basic,

I ll

start with

the typical high

wing

monoplane like the Champ, Cub,

Taylorcraft, etc. The wings

attach to

the fuselage with a bolt

at

the

front

spar and

one

at

the

rear

spar.

If

it

were

not for your friend holding

up the wing tip, it would fall to the

ground . A real must for this opera

tion is three

or four

drift

punches

to get that

initial

hold on the holes

until

you

can

line them up for

the

bolts. Also,

you

should

have

a fiber

hammer

to

tap in

the

bolts.

Take

care not to ruin

the

threads during

this process.

Before

the

wings went up in place,

you should have fastened

the

lower

strut to the fuselage.

All

that is required

now is to raise the strut up to

the

wing

and,

1

and behold, it will fit perfectly.

I

don t

know of

an

airplane

that

will

not stand upright with just

one

wing

panel-unless

it s Ken Hyde s Jenny. I

know for a fact that the old Travel Air

stood up, almost straight,

with

both

wings on

one

side.

Gene Morris

flying

his

93

American Eaglet NC548Y.

do you suppose I would know that?

There are a couple of things to bear

in

mind when rigging the

aileron

cables. Naturally you will

want

the

control

wheel

or

stick

to

be centered

when the

ailerons are even.

That

will

be

your job. On most airplanes the

ailerons

should droop

just slightly,

perhaps 1/ 8 inch or maybe a little

more. Rigged thusly the air load will

down

the bottom

of

the wing. The

wing

panel

should have

a slight

twist

in

it, with the trailing edge at

the

tip being

about z inch

higher

than the

wing

root. This

is

called

wash-out, and

it s

obtained by

in

creasing

the

length

of

the rear strut.

It s also a

good

idea

to

stand

in

front of your

airplane

and

eyeball

for uniformity of the

wash-out

on


14/44

as

retaining

aileron control for a

longer period of time.

Of course,

you

have

seen that

all

fuel lines are in place in that tiny little

space between the wing root rib and

the fuselage as well

as

the wiring to the

wing lights and the pitot/static lines.

Be sure

the

wing-to-fuselage

fairings (when used) are in good

shape

and

fastened securely to the

airframe.

We

once had a PA-12 in

Alaska that

nobody

could

land

de

cently. We finally determined that

the

wing fairing was

loose

just be

hind the windshield, and during the

landing flare

that

little bit

of

fairing

sticking up adversely affected the

airflow over the tail surfaces

One

more thing

about wash-in

and wash-out.

Since the

ailerons

have

the

same

amount

of

droop

with

the

stick or wheel centered,

they

will be

adjusted correctly.

Should

your airplane fly straight

and

level,

hands

off,

and one

aile

ron is up

and

one is down, do not

re-adjust

the

ailerons

Correct the

WHAT OUR MEMBERS

ARE RESTORING

'a;

~

REARWIN SKYRANGER

-

1948

LU

SCOMBE 8B

condition by lengthening the rear

strut

to

the wing

with

the "Up" aile

ron. Make

the

adjustments

in

small

increments

, then test fly until the

ailerons remain even.

Don't be hesitant about

asking

questions, and always be

observant.

For instance, Cessna 140As and some

others with

single struts have an ec

centric bushing at the rear spar fitting

to

adjust for wing

heaviness

. Some

airplanes don't have any wing adjust

ments. My 1940 Culver Cadet is one

of

those and, as you might expect, it

flew wing heavy. I did not

want

to

correct it by

installing

an adjustable

aileron

tab,

so I flew

it

for months

with a large rubber

band

stretched be

tween the stick and the Landing gear

lever. I finally broke

down

and put a

tab

on

it.

My 1931 American Eaglet

has

no

elevator trim

system

at all, so

we

carry

the rubber band on cross

country

flights, attached to the seat

belt

and

over

the

stick.

The

result

ing

back pressure on

the

stick cor-

WHAT OUR MEMBERS RE RESTORING

Are

you

nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it done and you ' re busy

rects a slight nose-heavy condition.

The price of staying original

Biplanes

I

only

have experience

with

one

biplane,

our

old Travel Air 4000. On

that

plane the center section is adjust

able fore and aft, which changes the

CG

location.

That needs

to

be done

for different engine installations, etc.

Most biplanes have center sec

tions and

the sequence for install

ing

the wing panel is: 1)

center

section;

2) lower panels; 3) upper

panels.

When the

lower panels are

installed,

the

tips are

supported

by

the landing wires. The tips of the

upper panels are

supported by

the

outer interplane struts.

Rigging these

birds

can give one

gray

hairs

because when one wire

is

adjusted,

one

more

will

probably

need re-adjusting. Rigging specifica

tions are available for most airplanes,

and

these

instructions should

defi

nitely be followed. I would guess that

it's really a good feeling to

put

a bi

plane

together

and have

it

fly per

fectly the first time

If the flying and landing wires aren't

"streamlinedII into the slipstream, they

may flutter

during

flight. This condi

tion should be remedied immediately,

as

flutter can mean failure.

If you are not already familiar with

the rod terminals,

you

should

know

they

have

a

small

opening

called

a

witness hole

in

the side

of

the shank.

This is

the

gauge to assure that the

rod

end is

screwed

into

the terminal

at least that far The proper threading

of each

end

must be verified by insert


15/44

~ I ~ ~ t o n

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the

purchase

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vehicle

should

be

sure

to take advantage

of

the

Ford

Partner

Recognition Program.

Your membership benefits qualify

2007

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while innovative technologies , li

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rience to awhole new level.


16/44

BELLANCA


17/44

like every other young pilot, found

that

both

his first job

and

lunch

money

were illusive.

/II picked up a

job

with a flight

school/FAR 135

operator in

Laredo,

Texas, doing

flight

instructing and

air taxi flying. I was

hoping

after col

lege to fly with the Air Guard, but

this was 1982,

and

there was a glut of

airline pilots on furlough going back

to Guard and Reserve units due to the

PATCO

strike, early effects

of

deregu

lation, Braniff

shutting

down,

Frank

Lorenzo, oil embargos, so after about

eight months of long

days and pea

nut

butter and

jelly sandwiches, I was

able to go active duty Air Force and

right

into

pilot training.

I went through T-37s and T-38s

at Vance Air Force Base, then tran-

sitioned

into the

KC-13S. I always

thought

it

sort of ironic that I re

fueled

little

airplanes

in

college, so

what

did

the

Air Force

have me

do?

Refuel bigger

airplanes while

doing

400 knots.

The measure

of

whether

or

not

a pi

lot is truly

an

av-junkie is

whether

he

gets

too much

flying

on the

job

and

then doesn't

need it on

the side. In

this case, John

is

definitely hooked.

While

I was stationed at Griffiss

Air Force Base

in

New York, to keep

myself

in

touch

with

my roots, I

bought a

Cessna

120 that we nick

named 'The

Paul Poberezny Special'

because it

was

painted

in

the

EAA

paint scheme. The little airplane fol

lowed

me

around for

the

rest

of

my

Air Force career

and

to FedEx.

Even though I was flying in the

Air Force, I my and


18/44

The

distinctive triple tail

of

the el-

lanca 260.

international

routes,

and

flying

night

freight became more

appealing

to

me. So I sent them my resume, inter

viewed, and was offered a job I

hav

e

been

with them nearly 17 years now,

most

recently as a

captain and

check


19/44

I

was really close to having it fly-

ing again

when

another FedEx

pilot

walked up with a

check and

said, 'I

want your 170,' and I flinched. I tried

to

go a year

without

another airplane,

and should have looked for a 12-Step

Airplane Junkie Recovery Program.

John

had already

decided he

needed

another

four-place airplane ,

but this time he decided he wanted

something

that

was faster

but

still

had a little character. Speed wasn 't

everything.

I was enamored of the triple-tail

Bellancas, especially the 14-19-3s. I

flew one while I was in college and

I WAS

fell in love with

them.

Even though

they are a nosedragger,

they

are still

a Cruise master.

Looking

through

Trade-a-Plane

the few available seemed to be run

ning $20,000 to

$30,000, but they

were then 35-year-old airplanes with

was

in

boxes. However, a lot

of new

ECI parts were included.

The airplane had some modifica

tions, such

as

aux

fuel

tanks in the

wings,

main

gear doors,

and

a

new

instrument

panel.

The good

part

was

that

I could get a look inside the

wings

and

see

that

the

wood

was in

excellent condition.

The seller was

running

an

FBO

that he was trying to make into a re

pair

station

specializing in Bellancas

and

said

he'd

bolt

it

together and

I

could fly it

out

of there in short or

der. I should have known that noth

ing goes that easily. But we made a

deal, and I gave him 50

percent

to get started

on

the airplane.

John

waited a few

of it and stand

in

line be

hind the IRS in bankruptcy court for

maybe 10 cents on the dollar

or pay

off

the

existing

bank

lien

on

the

air

plane

and

take

the

project on myself.

I decided to do

the

latter, and

that's

when

Jim and Rosie Stark came

into

the picture.

days

later letting me know

that he

already

had

the airplane

in

his

shop

in Sullivan, Wisconsin. I

commented

that was

quick, but

he said he was

worried

about

the

IRS

seizing every

thing

at the FBO,

even though I

had

cleared up

the

bank lien and had title

to the airplane.

When John was able sit back

and

study

the

airplane he realized that

maybe he'd done okay, despite the

aggravations he'd just been through.

The previous owner used

the

air

plane to commute between his busi

nesses in Birmingham, Alabama, and

Minneapolis. He was

the

one who

had

the

aux

wing tanks

and

gear

doors installed. Plus he jammed a lot

of stuff into the panel. Unfortunately,

between

the

time I first looked

at

the

airplane

and

Jim moved it

to

his

place, several of the radios, including

the Stormscope, disappeared . How

ever, I figure that for a little more than

the going price of a flying 260, I now

had known

quantity

with good spars,

fresh fabric, and a fresh engine.

Even though a

lot

of work had

been done

on the

airplane, there

was still a lot to do, so John and Jim

went to work. The Morrisons decided

that the airplane might

as

well have

a

proper

rebuild, not the bolt-it-to

gether-and-fly-it concept that started

the ordeal.

John says, From the onset, Jim

wasn't

very pleased

about the

tapes

on the fuselage, so he redid

them.

Then

to make matters worse, he was

spraying and sanding the finish when

he found

static electricity or

some

ENAMORED

WITH

THE

TRIPLE-

TAIL

BELLANCAS"

-John

Morrison

weeks,

and

t h n

a

month

. Then, at

six

weeks, when

he

hadn't

heard anything from the

seller about progress on

the airplane,

he

made

the call.

I had a little

trou

ble

getting through,

but

when I did I found

the

IRS was

shutting

down

the FBO. I

weighed

the

options: wash my hands


20/44

pair

o

under-wing

fairings that are

vaguely reminiscent

o the

landing gear

fairing

pods

on

the

Curtiss P-40 hide the actuating

mechanism

or the Bellanca s

retractable

landing gear_

John had

to do something about all

those boxes with engine parts in them.

I

took everything

I

could find

that looked like it belonged in an en

gine over to Glenn Millard. The en

gine

is an

IO-470F and appeared to be

in pretty good shape, which wasn't

hard to

see because

nothing

was as

sembled.

So

Glenn spread everything

out, did an inventory,

then

built

me

a

new engine, which has been

running

great, so

far.

Also we've added GAMI

injectors

and an

engine analyzer that

shows

that

at 65 percent power, we're

burning about 11 gallons per hour at

160 knots true airspeed.

The fuel

and hydraulic systems

are pretty complex, so we called the

Bellanca factory for some advice . We

also needed their help in rigging the

airplane. This was in 1998,

and

they

Cruismasters really

complemented

the lines

of

the airplane. I came up a

variation

of that

while

on one of my

12-day FedEx trips

through

Asia.

Jim introduced me to Randy

-

finger at Center

Aviation

in

Water

town,

Wisconsin.

His

shop

did

the

paint and

upholstery, after

Lisa

picked

out the

fabrics. I went to

the

Super

flight

forums

at Oshkosh, and

Dip

Davis showed me how easy it is to do

a spot repair

on

Superthane, which

is

why I chose that

paint

.

The

internal antennas are from

Advanced

Aircraft

Electronics. I

wanted to

put

an

ADC

oil

filter

on

it, but we

weren't

sure

it

would fit, so

while

we were at Oshkosh in 1998,

Jim

borrowed

a filter from

the

ADC

people

at their

booth,

and

we

drove

down

to

Watertown

to

see

if

it would

After I started flying it, I found

one of the airplane's two weak points

is

its

'Rube

Goldberg'

fuel system.

It has

90

gallons spread among five

tanks with

two selector valves

but

only two

fuel gauges:

one

for

the

main

tank

selected and the other for

the

aux

tank

selected.

You

have

to

be

religious about managing

the

fuel. I

wish there was a way

to STC

the MD

II 's fuel system controller into it. In

the

meanwhile,

the

Masten

engine

analyzer

with

the fuel totalizer func

tion

and

the

clock will have

to

do.

I

had

been flying

the

airplane a

couple

of

years

when

I

made

a

ma

jor 'oops' and discovered the other

weak point. I had removed the co

pilot

floorboard and

was

under the

panel when I barely

bumped

the gear

handle and the manual hydraulic


21/44


22/44

Hors

ower:

s

More

etter?

the Luscombe Assoc

BY

GERRY SHEAHAN

At the Lus-

com be forum

during this past year's

EAA AirVenture, there was

a lengthy discussion on the

pros and cons of different

engines and

engine

con

versions in the standard

than it re-

ally wants

to

go."

I thought about

that

conversation

for a couple

of days, and those thoughts

led to

the discussion

at

the

Oshkosh forum. Steve Krog,

who heads up the Lus

combe

Association s newslet

ter

efforts,

thought

that topiC would

make

an

article

that

could give a dif-

ferent perspective

to

many members

thinking of doing an

engine change

or upgrading

to

a different Luscombe

with a different engine. He tells

me

that the Association gets lots of ques-

tions on this. So

do

we here t EAA/


23/44

dipstick

immediately behind

the

prop, that's a 65-hp Lycoming. It's a

smooth-running engine that doesn 't

seem

to

produce the power of

an

equivalent-rated Continental. (Look

at

the

length

and

pitch

of the

prop;

it seems

to

bear that out.) Many have

been converted to Continentals for

that

reason. There aren't

many

small

Lycomings around anymore .

65 hp

Continental: Probabl

y

the most

common engine pow

ering Luscombes today. Its

light

weight

makes for a very nice flying

airplane ..

.it flies like a leaf.

That is

especially true if efforts are made

to reduce the overall

weight of the

airplane. While the lack of a

starter

and electrical system reduces the

airplane's utility, it

is

light-sport air

craft eligible, which increases its de

sirability. Some old-timers talk about

the pull-type starters with a cable or

rope into

the cockpit

that were in

stalled on some 65-hp Continentals,

especially in Aeronca Chiefs. To me,

those

starters fall

into

the bigfoot

category. I've never seen him, either.

(J have a cable-actuated McDowell

starter on my Aeronca Super Chief. It

was in sta

ll

ed as standard equipment

on th e 65-hp Aeronca Chief, 85-hp Su-

per Ch

i

ef,

and

on

a number o

Taylor-

craft airplanes built right after World

War

II

.

It

works

great,

i the engine is

in

tun

e and

you

don t abuse the starter

by yanking on the handle. Before you

ask,

no, I won t

sell

it .-HGF

75 hp

Continental: The orig

inal 75-hp engines

in Luscombes

for a

75

hp:

no

electrical system

but

a nice flying airplane i f kept light.

If

you

want

faster

airplane,

buy

faster

airplane.

Don't push

lOO-mph wing

faster

than

it

really

wants to go."

85 hp Continental: My dad

and

I owned one of these Luscombes for

years before I bought my

airplane.

The electrical system, battery, starter,

voltage regulator, wiring, two gas

tanks, lights,

radios, instruments,

extra

trim, parking

brake, and up

holstery were nice, but the perfor

mance of the airplane

suffered

as

a result. And

the

extra

10

or

20

hp

wasn't enough to overcome the ex

tra weight. It started well, it ran well,

and

the

airplane flew well, but it

didn ' t have the lightness

on

the

controls

the

lighter airplanes did . On

hp with no

electrical system; a good

friend owns one, and I've flown i t a

number of

times. It's a

performing

airplane,

but

a starter

is

a nice

thing

to have, and he doesn't .

lOO hp 0 200 Continental:

This

is

a conversion; they weren't

built this way. The primary reason

for

the modification

was

the short

age and expense of 85-hp crank

shafts. While this might seem like a

natural

route to

go for

an

upgrade,

think i t through. A good friend

spent

time, effort, and

money

to

re-

place the 90

hp in

his Cessna 140

with an 0-200, and in the end he

insisted

that

his performance at best

was no better than

the 90

hp

and

actually believed it went down The

reason?

You'll

be

using a

certified

prop on that 0-200, and most

certi

fied 0-200 props are off Cessna 150s

and are only 69 inches long. Also,

an

0-200 is slightly

wider, so

your

baffling won't fit and you'll have to

do some cowling work. Lastly, there

is

the paperwork/approval issue to

deal with. Given the new position of

the

FAA

concerning field approvals

and

one-time

STCs (which

is pretty

much

no

more

of either ),

you'll

have to

jump

through a number

of

hoops

that have surprised

people

once they were already committed

to the project. Do your homework

before

starting this

conversion. And

then

realize you might not achieve

the performance improvements you

hoped unless

you experiment with

different props that might not be le

gal on that 0-200. Especially

think

it


24/44

is

through the

he

only access ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

cockpit. There

is

ap

proximately

14

pounds

of lead

bolted

on

various

pOints of the tail. The firewall needs

beefing

up to

go from a

three-point

to a five-point engine

mount.

The

Lycoming has a

starter

gear on the

front of the engine, requiring a new

nose bowl or reworking

the

existing

Luscombe one. There are a number

~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ § ~ loads on the

control surfaces

)jt:==lJr- are higher, making

\.

available

than some

small Conti

nentals. Lycoming engines make

the airplane get off and climb faster

the stick forces heavier.

As

much as I like my

airplane

and

the

way it climbs, it doesn't fly like

a Luscombe

anymore. The front end

doesn't even look like one.

If you are considering upgrading

your

horsepower

or

buying an air

plane with a bigger engine, first ask

yourself: Why

am

I doing this?


25/44

bit more,

but

it's

burning

10 gallons

an hour. t the same speed, my 180

hp

RV-6 is

only burning

6

gallons

because it was designed to cruise

faster. Overall Lycomings are thirst

ier,

and your

range will be reduced

unless you slow

down

to Continen-

tal speeds.

Final

thought:

I t

was

common

for airplane owners back in

the

'50s

and

'60s to increase speed by

chang-

ing

the pitch of

the prop

or install

ing

a

cruise

prop where the rpm

stayed the same but the cruise speed

increased

due

to the prop

taking a

bigger

bite

of air

with each

revolu

tion.

What many

of

them

didn't

understand

was

the

relationship be

tween

manifold

pressure

and rpm.

Just because

your tach

says

your

en

gine

isn't

turning fast doesn't mean

it isn't working

hard.

Ten-speed bi

cycles are nice,

but

it's

hard to

pedal

uphill in 10th gear. If

your prop

has

been on

the

airplane for a

long time

and

is taking too big a bite,

your

en

gine

is doing the

same thing . Check

the length and pitch of your prop.

Make sure it 's

correct

for

your

en-

gine

and

that you

can turn

rated

rpm

in the

air using a digital ta-

chometer

through the windshield.

The

correct prop might help

over

come

what

you perceive

as

a lack of

takeoff

and

climb performance.

The

wrong prop can't

pedal up

that

hill

in

10th

gear

For

other Luscombe resources,

visit

VAA s

Type Club pages at www

Vintag

eA

ircraft or

type .......

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26/44

Recollections of Chicago's

CURTISS-REYNOLDS

p

I

R

o

R T

One

o

the golden age

o

aviation s jewels

BY

KENNETH

MCQUEEN

the

heady days of

the

1920s,

as

the trauma

of World War I began

to

fade, aviation of

fered an attractive and seemingly endless

promise for

the

future. Improvements in

aircraft and engine design resulted in ve

hicles relating

much

more closely to airplanes we see to

day

than to those of the preceding decade.

Late in 1929,

to the

north/northwest of Chicago, Cur

tiss-Reynolds Airport was established for private

and

com

mercial aviation. Located at Shermer and North Lake

Avenues, it was a mile or two northwest of

the

village of

Glenview, which in that period boasted the grand popula

tion of 1,900 souls (now more

than

20 times larger). The

airport's name, which differed at times, was to honor avi

ation pioneer Glenn Curtiss

and

the banker

who

financed

its development.

The expansive spirit of

the

country at the time the air

port was started tended to affect its features. Private avia

tion was seen

as the

next big leisure activity,

and

airports

were to exhibit characteristics of country clubs.

To

this end

the entry area of this 4S0-acre airport was made attractive

with landscaping around the parking lo t between Shermer

Avenue and the hangar.

Also

on the operational side of

the

This account is nothing more

than

a series of homely

recollections by a

then-young

person

who

lived less than

a mile southward and to whom the airport became a sec

ond home. To he

and

his friends there was always a good

reason for a bike ride

up there to see what was going

on

.

Does anyone remember "Colonel" Roscoe Turner? He

was a flamboyant figure of a flier in those days, appearing

in his uniform of riding pants, knee-high boots, military

style coat

and

cap, plus a white scarf. His airplane

at

Cur

tiss-Reynolds was a Lockheed Vega. As a tireless promoter

he was

not

above commercialization,

and

his airplane was

boldly emblazoned with

the

name "Curlee Clothes" after

a clothing line of

the

time.

Always the clown, Turner was once seen with one foot

in a tail wheel dolly, using it

as

a big roller skate,

and

get

ting a laugh

out of his friends and audience.

There were plenty of airplanes

to

check out in the han

gar, including Wacos, Aeronca C-3s, Taylorcraft, Stinsons,

Beech Staggerwings, a Boeing tri-motor, and a Davis para

sol. Another parasol, probably

one

of a kind, languished

in the hangar.

The wing

planform was a perfect circle,

enough to

give an aerodynamicist

the

willies with

the

as-

pect ratio of 1.0. Its ailerons, extra large in proportion to


27/44

Aviat on cadet quarters

gle. The group was very happy with

the

outcome.

The author s

father,

out

of work at

the

time

due to the depression,

put on his World War I

Army uniform

and

had

a

job directing traffic

at

the airport during

the

races.

Afterward, the

dis

mantled grandstands

were

stacked in

a

high,

orderly pile in an

iso

lated

building

on the

south

edge

of the air

port.

For

probably no

good reason, a

door

to this building was not locked,

and


28/44


29/44

A few of the airplanes and places

seen by the author

at

the

airport

during the golden age of aviation

in the 1930s

by,

west of Shermer

Avenue.

It

was like the old adage " You

could tell it was

an

airport by the

flight

obstruction

."

Although

i t

seemed outrageously in the way,

nobody

ever tangled

with either

the

guy wires or

with the

mast it

self. WGN's transmission tower is

now

4 1/5 miles directly west of

O'Hare airport, on the west side

of Route 53.

On

weekend afternoons a ge

nial

young man named

Jerry

and

dressed

in

a suit and tie

had the

job

of

hawking airplane rides for

$5. ou

could

always

hear

Jerry

or see

him

waving a book of tick

ets.

One

day to

the

author's com

plete surprise Jerry called to him,

"Ken, you're always here; help fill

this airplane " Before I knew it,


30/44

\

the wing from upper surface to lower and back again, fas

tening the fabric

on

left and right sides of each rib.

On a particular weekend

the

wind was strong

out

of the

west, but not too high to prevent flying. This prompted a

number of

attempts at really slow flight across the ground.

At any

given time several airplanes could be seen over

the

airport, heading west and trying to be

the

slowest. An

Aeronca

C 3

managed to get down to

about

zero ground

speed before stalling out.

Special aviation events were staged at Curtiss-Reynolds

in 1933, in

connection

with the Chicago World's Fair.

During

one

air show a small open pusher plane was flying

erratically at low

altitude in front of

the

audience

when

the

"befuddled" pilot pulled back power

and

called out to

those below, "How do I get this

thing

down?"

An attempt

was made from the field one

summer

for a

flight endurance record by a monoplane named

the

Ques

tion Mark for the occasion. (The airplane was an Army

Air

Corps Atlantic-Fokker C-2A trimotor. Flying over the

Los

Angeles area,

the Air

Corps crew set a world record for en

durance with

the

Question Mark in the winter of 1929.) In

leasing the northernmost sections

of

the hangar. Opera

tions included

a

naval

reserve

unit

with

Grumman FJ-

type biplane fighters

and other

single-engine Navy types.

Training of nava l aviation cadets also was conducted.

At

one point a snow fence was erected

in

an east-west

direction all

the

way across the

center

of

the

field, proba

bly in connection with some drainage rehabilitation proj

ect.

Wouldn t

you believe it, but

an J

returning at night

ran smack dab

into

it while taxiing. It was a forlorn sight

out

there

the

next day.

Late in the 1930s the U.S. Army

Air

Corps, predecessor

to the

U.S.

Air Force, established an aviation cadet train

ing facility

at the airport,

run by a civilian

contract

or

ganization. The two-story barracks building was located

kitty-corner

on

the southwest edge of the airport, housing

both

Army

and

Navy cadets.

The Army used the good old Stearman biplane for flight

training. One incident is remembered in which two were

landing

simultaneously and,

unfortunately, in the same

airspace.

The resulting

very-low-altitude

collision com

pletely shredded the airplanes. The single mass of wreckage


31/44

using a house-mover's roadway constructed

of

large tim

bers

and

sporting curves, turns,

and

branches. These be

came homes for base staff, at their new spots around the

remainder of

the

golf course.

Long military-style runways were laid plus

two

very

large-diameter

circular concrete pads . In line with the

expected

concentration on primary

flight

training with

N3N

Yel/ow Peril

biplanes these circular takeoff and

landing areas permitted a

much

higher density of op

erations

than possible

with

relatively

narrow

runways,

due

to

the relatively short ground runs of this aircraft

type . Initial climb-out and final approach

directions

were flexible, depending only

on

wind direction and

not on runway

orientation.

With this arrangement it was amazing to see how

many

N3Ns could be taking off

and landing at

the same time.

From our home it was quite a sight. A modicum of longitu

dinal and lateral spacing was all it took, and a lot of airplanes

were passing over your roof in a short period of time.

The only untoward incident recollected with regard

to the base

had

to do with a Navy fighter

taking

off on

missioned, all

the

concrete pulver

ized, structures and fixtures gone,

and the

entire property returned to

civilian uses.

The only remaining parts-the

venerable Curtiss-Reynolds han

gar, the control tower, and a

pair

of

the adjoining

pod

facades-are

now

a historic site. Memories of the

old airport of

which it was a part

now

exist only

with

historians

and

among

those who

were

fortunate

enough to have been there. It was a

remarkable period with a simplicity

and a freedom fondly remembered.

The spirit endures today

among

those in aviation for its enjoyment,

and especially among individuals

willing to commit in

the

flourishing

build-your-own-airplane arena.

To learn more

about

the

Glen

view Hangar One Foundation and the new Naval ir Station

Glenview Museum, visit www HangarOne org The museum,

located

at

2040 Lehigh Avenue, Glenview, Illinois, is open

weekends, Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

and

Sun

day from 12 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Other times for tour groups

can be arranged with a

phone

call to 847-657-0000.

lh -

BUTYRATE

SYSTEM

f O f

~

VINT GE

http:///reader/full/www.HangarOne.orghttp:///reader/full/www.HangarOne.org


32/44

In the wee hours of the morning of

August 27,2006, a CRJ-100 was cleared

by

the

tower

of

the Lexington, Ken

tucky, Blue Grass Airport to take off

from Runway 22, a 7,300-foot

long

runway.

As

most of us know, the crew

mistakenly

taxied onto Runway 26,

which is only 3,500 feet long, and at

tempted

to take off. The airplane ran

off

the end

of

the

runway, impacting

the

airport perimeter fence

and

trees,

and

crashed.

All but

one of the people

aboard

the

airplane died,

and the

air

plane was destroyed by impact forces

and the post-crash fire. (The first offi

cer was the only one to survive.

He

lost

a leg and suffered brain injuries.)

I know

that many

of us in

the

gen

eral aviation world were asking these

questions: How could they have

done

that? Didn't they check their compass

and

horizontal

situation

indicator

HSI)

with the runway heading? Obvi

ously they didn't, and I'll address

that

in just a little bit.

Y OUG STEW RT

H T

he k

airborne, and

then

crashed

in

a field.

Now

these were

professional

pi

lots, flying under Part 121 of the CFRs,

which strictly regulate things like ster

ile cockpits

and

other essential items

of effective crew/cockpit resource man

agement CRM). Even with the regula

tions

that

they were obliged to observe,

they

managed

to

make some horrible

mistakes and decisions, and as a result,

49 people are

no

longer with us.

But what about all of

us

who do

not

have

to fly

with that type of

regula

tion? Is there anything that we can

take from this accident

that

might pre

vent

us from

coming

to a similar ca

tastrophe? Absolutely, even if we are

flying a Single-seat airplane that was

built in

the

'30s

and

we are operating

out

of a sleepy grass airstrip.

Clearly

the

biggest mistake the pi

lots

of

the CRJ made was to take off

on the

wrong runway. Early

on in

my

flight-instructing career, I

came

up

with

an

acronym to help keep me, as

an

appellation

similar to one gained

by a Curtiss Robin pilot, a Mr. Corri

gan, numerous years ago.

I know I am not the only pilot

who

has announced,

as

I back-taxied

on

the

runway of a small nontowered airport:

Boondocks traffic, Super Cruiser back

taxiing Runway 29, as I eagerly set

my

OG

to 290 degrees so as to

minimi

ze

my

time prior to takeoff. Of course the

only

problem was that I was heading

110 degrees as I did

all

of this.

The

only thing

that

saved me

that

late afternoon, as I took up

an

easterly

heading after departure (according to

my

OG),

was

that the

sun was shining

directly in my eyes. Something was ob

viously wrong. In this

somewhat

hu

morous (and embarrassing) anecdote,

the only

thing

injured was my ego.

But when

we

are operating at a busy

airport, with

multiple

runways, and

kick up the ante even more by adding

nighttime to the mix, there

is

no doubt

whatsoever that ensuring that your OG


33/44

the possibility of coming to a screech

ing halt

on

the downwind is nowhere

near

as

great

as when

you do

the

op

posite and set it 1,000 feet too high.

Just a few weeks ago I was working

with

a client in

my

PA-l2.

As

we ap

proached the airport and were descend

ing to pattern al

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