Vintage Airplane - Nov 2005

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Nov 2005

1/36


2/36

G

R

E

VOL 33,

No,

11

2 5

ONTENTS

1 Straight

and

Level

2

VAA News

5 Aeromail

6

ThePylonClub: PartIV

byNickRezich

12 T-Hangar Treasure

Gettingexcitedabout acontemporary airplane

byBuddDavisson

18

FrankClark

Movie

Stunt

Pilot

byMadeleineKimotek

FRONT COVER: We're starting to see more original look

ing Contemporary aircraft at EMevents, such as this

sharp example of a 1967 Piper Cherokee 180 owned

and flown by Randy and Naomi St. Julian of Garrettsville ,

Ohio. EMphoto by Phil High, EMcamera plane flown by

Bruce Moore .

BACK COVER: The Lockheed Altair was one of the sleek

est airplanes of the Golden Age of Aviation, and serial

number 180 was flown

by

Jimmy Doolittle for Shell Oil

Company. This watercolor by

artist

David Darbyshire, of

Sierra Madre, California is one of the paintings featured

in the 2005

EM

Sport Aviation Art Competition show, on

display through May 2006 at the EMAirVenture Museum.

The

painting is for sale. Contact David at 626-355-6293

for more information.

You

can also visit www.flightgraph

ics.com for more information and photographs of other

pieces

of

David's artwork.

ST FF

Publisher Tom

Poberezny

Editor-in

-Chief Scott

Spangler

http://www.flightgraph/http://www.flightgraph/


3/36

GEOFF RO ISON

PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

ld

airports and round engines

Sitting

around

the

hangar these

days has gotten to be a chilly affair.

These fall temperatures just seem to be

dropping more and more each

day.

I like to sit out here and write this

column,

as

the airport environment

has always been helpful

in

inspiring

aviation thoughts and ideas to con-

vey to

the

membership

. Pretty

soon

I'll need a parka

and

mittens

A lot of you are aware

that

I am

based at historic Smith Field in Fort

Wayne, Indiana. I am often asked

about the fight to keep this airfield

open and it has

not always been

good news. I've been amazed at the

number

of

EAA

folks

from

all

over

this

country

who have heard of

the

fight. When they find out I am based

her

e,

th

ey always ask what the cur-

rent situation

is.

I am pleased to tell you

that

by all

appearances we have turned the cor-

ner here with the Airport Authority.

Not

only do

I b elieve

that

we

have

turned the corner, but also the author-

ity has now budgeted to spend more

than

1.8 million dollars in airport im-

provements for 2006 alone. It also re

cently hired a new airport supervisor

enthusiastic

that

this

airfield

is

now

well

on

its way to becoming a more

vital economic asset to this commu-

nity, as well as

an

important link

to

the vitality of the national aviation

transportation system.

You

may have heard me state this in

the past, but

i t is

critically important

that the users of all airports across this

nation should be conSistently remind-

ing their communities that the airport

plays a vitally important role to local

economic development opportunities,

and the mere existence of an airfield, in

a global sense, offers additional safety

of flight options for everyone who op-

erates

an

aircraft. Just when you

think

all

is

well, the boogeyman can show

up at the door of the local airport with

a development plan, or alternative use

for these va luable pieces of real estate.

All

it takes is one seemingly innocuous

step in the wrong direction, and the

fight

is

on,

and

another valued avia-

tion facility

is

suddenly at risk. Let's

all be diligent. Keep your eyes and ears

open at all times. And be especially dil-

igent

in

reminding the community

of the positive aviation activities at

your individual airports, whether it s

of England during World War

II.

I

am

certain it was especially meaningful

to him, so I

thought

you would enjoy

it as well. Thanks for sharing it, Hal.

Dedicated

to All

Who Flew ehind

ound

Engines

Author unknown

We gotta get rid of those

turbines,

they're

ruining

aviation and

our hearing

.

..

A

turbine

is too simple minded, it

has

no myst

ery

. The

air trav

els

through

it in

a

straight

line

and

doesn 't pick up any of

the pungent fragrance ofengine

oil

or pilot

sweat. Anybody can start a

turbine.

You

just need to move a sw itch

from "OFF"

to "START"

and then

remember to move

it

back

to

"ON" after a while.

My

PC

is harder to s

tart. Crankin

g a round

en

gine

requires skill, finesse,

and

style. You

have to seduce it

into

starting. On some

plan es,

th

e pilots aren't

even allowed

to

do it. ..

Turbines

start

by

whining

for

a

while, then give a lady-likepoof

and

start

whining a little louder. Round eng in es

give

a satisfying

rattle-rattle,

click-click,

BANG

,

mor

e rattl

es,

another

BANG,

a

big macho fart or two,

more

clicks, a lot

more smoke, and finally a

se

rious low

pitched roar. We like that. It's a GUY

thing . .. When you start a

round

en


4/36

E President Tom Poberezny with

Scott Crossfield

at

the

Countdown

to Kitty

Hawk

celebration

in

North

Carolina on

December

17 2003.

Scott

Crossfield

to Speak

at

E

Aviation legend Scott Cross-

f iel wil l

be

the featured

speaker

at EAA s 3rd Annual

Wright Brothers Memorial

Banquet, to be held Saturday,

December 17, at

the

EAA Air-

Venture Museum in Oshkosh.

The

dinner commemorates

the

102nd anniversary of man s

first

successful powered flight.

Crossfield made history on No

vember 20, 1953,

when

he

became

the first person

to

fly

at

Mach 2,

Later,

Crossfield

was

an

execu

tive at Eastern Airlines

and

Hawker

Siddeley Aviation and

served

as

technical

consultant on

aviation

to the U S Congress'

House Com

mittee on Science

and

Technology.

His

aviation

awards

include

the

Harmon

Trophy

(1960), the

Col

lier

Trophy

(1961),

and the

NASA

Distinguished Public Service Medal

(1993) for

half

a

century

of service

to aviation and aeronautics.

During

EAA's Countdown

to

Kitty Hawk

celebration

in

2003,

made

by

calling 920-426-6880 or

online at www.airventuremuseum.

org. Cocktails

and

a cash bar will

be open

at

6:30 p.m. with

dinner

served at 7:00 p.m.

and

the keynote

address

to

follow.

E Instructors Database

Surpasses

250

The world's prime location for lo

cating a sport pilot flight instructor

keeps getting better. Now more

that

250 flight instructors in 43 states are

listed

in

the EAA

sport

pilot data

base at www.sportpilot.org/instructors

making it easier for

potential

sport

pilots

to find quality instruction

where they live.

Scattered

among

the 250-plus

instructors

are 74 training aircraft.

Check the website list for details.

EAA/NAFI

extend their

invita

tion to current flight instructors to

complete

an

online information

form

and join

the

database. The

form can be

found at https://secllre.

eaa.org/sportpilot/instrllctor.html.

Learn

TIG

Welding

in a Weekend

More and more, TIG welding is

becoming the preferred method for

building amateur-built aircraft. Be

ing able

to

easily weld chromoly tub

ing, stainless steel, and aluminum

makes

TIG

a useful skill for building

an

aircraft, says Charlie Becker, di

rector of

EAA

Aviation Services.

That's

why EAA

and Lincoln Elec-

http://www.airventuremuseum/http://www.sportpilot.org/instructorshttps://secllre/https://secllre/http://www.airventuremuseum/http://www.sportpilot.org/instructorshttps://secllre/


5/36

is $359 for E members, $399

for

nonmembers.

The schedu le for 2006

is

as fo

l-

lows:

eJanuary 20-22

e March 10-12

eMarch 31-Apr

il

2

e May 19-21

eSeptember 8-10

e October 13-15

e November 10-12

To

enroll in this

or

any

E

SportAir Workshop,

or

to learn

more

, call 800-967 -5746 or

visit

www sportair org

Relive the Magic With the 2005

E irVenture

DVD

E AirVenture Oshkosh 2005

will be remembered as perhaps the

best

all-around

convention ever,

and you can preserve those mem

ories by getting your copy of

the

2005

E

AirVenture

video, pro

duced by the E Television staff.

The

annual

video,

featuring

SpaceShipOne, GlobalFlyer, Glacier

Girl and countless other highlights

from the World's Greatest Aviation

Intemet Notes

It seems hardly a month goes by where we

don t

discover a neat spot

on the Internet to learn something new about aviation and its many facets.

From time to time, we ll highlight some of the interesting sites we ve vis

ited, often while in pursuit

of

an answer to a question posed

by

a member.

For

instance:

.www.woodenpropeller.comis

a

site committed t o t h e exchange

of information about

wooden

aircraft

propellers in

gen

eral,

with

emphasis

on

World

War

I

and

earlier antique

pro

pellers. Its partner site, www.modernwoodenpropellers.com .

deals with props

a

bit newer,

those

built since

the

1920s.

ewww.connectedtral eier.com has

n

interest ing in terview

with the f ther of the 747, Joe Sutter , who is now 85.

Sutter 's interview

by Russ

Johnson can be

downloaded

as

n MP3 file. The genesis of the

747,

created by a t eam

of

4,500

engineers

equipped

with

sl ide

rules

nd

early

computers,

is covered

in detail during

the 20-minute in

terview nd

can

be l istened to using popular

computer

audio

programs such

as

iTunes, QuickTime, RealPlayer, or

Windows Media Player.

ewww.hotelbeaumontks.comis the website for a

neat little

spot

tucked

away

just east of

Wichita,

Kansas. Originally

a

catt leman 's hotel

located

next to a rai l

siding

in the

small town

of

Beaumont, i t has been t ransformed into a

neat

aviat ion-themed bed nd breakfast

hotel .

The

res

t u r n t

is

open

daily Wednesday through Sunday, and

i t makes a great fly-in destination; you

can land on the

grass

strip

to the

east of town, taxi up

the

back

road

on

the

south side of town, and

p rk

across the street from

the

hotel .

For more

information,

you

can call

the Beau

mont

t

620-843-2422.

ewww.safarimuseum.comis

the home of the Mart in

nd

Osa

Johnson

Safari Museum,

which is

located

in

Cha

nute,

Kansas.

(As an aside,

the

city

is

named for Wright

brothers confidant Octave Chanute. In

1872,

as the

chief

http:///reader/full/www.sportair.orghttp://www.woodenpropeller/http:///reader/full/www.modernwoodenpropellers.comhttp:///reader/full/ewww.connectedtral'eier.comhttp:///reader/full/www.sportair.orghttp://www.woodenpropeller/http:///reader/full/www.modernwoodenpropellers.comhttp:///reader/full/ewww.connectedtral'eier.com


6/36

Friends

of

the

Red

Barn Campaign

Many services are provided to vintage aircraft en

thusiasts at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. From pa rking

airplanes

to

feeding people

at the

Tall Pines Cafe

and

Red Barn, more than 400 volunteers do it all. Some

may ask, If volunteers are providing

the

services,

where is the expense?

Glad you asked. The scooters for the flightline crew

need repair and batteries, and

the

Red Barn needs

paint, new windowsills, updated wiring, and other

sundry

repairs, plus we love

to

care for our volunteers

with

special recognition caps and a 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

Barn fund helps pay

for the VAA expenses at EAA AirVenture, and

is

a cru

cial part of the Vintage Aircraft Association budget.

Please help the

VAA

and our 400-plus dedicated

volunteers make this an unforgettable experience for

our

many EAA AirVenture guests. We've

made

it even

more fun

to

give

this

year,

with

more giving levels

to

fit each person's budget, and more interesting activi

ties for donors

to be a part of.

Your contribution now really does make a differ

ence. There are six levels of gifts and gift recognition.

Thank you

for whatever you

can

do.

Here are some of

the

many activities

the

Friends of

the

Red Barn fund underwrites:

• Red Barn Information Desk Supplies

• Participant Plaques

and

Supplies

• Toni's Red Carpet Express Repairs and Radios

• Caps for

VAA Volunteers

• Pizza Party for VAA Volunteers

• Flightline Parking Scooters and Supplies

• Breakfast for Past Grand Champions

• Volunteer Booth Administrative Supplies

• Membership Booth Administrative Supplies

• Signs

Throughout the

Vintage Area

• Red Barn and Other Buildings' Maintenance

And More

Thank·You Items

by Level

Name

Listed:

Vintage

, Web

& Si

gn

at

Red

Barn

Dono

r

pp

reciation

Certificate

Access to

Volunteer

Center

Special

FORB

Badge

Two Passes

toVM

Volunteer

Party

Special

FORB

Cap

Breakfast

at Tall Pin

es

Cafe

Tri

-

Motor

Ride

Certificate

Two Tickets

toVM

Picnic

Close Auto

Parking

Diamond ,

$1

,000

X X X X

X X

2 People/F

ull Wk

2 Tickets X Full

We

ek

Platinum, $750

X X

X X X X

2 People/Full Wk

2 Tickets X 2 Days

Gold,

$500 X X

X

X X

X

1 Person/Full Wk

1 Ticket

Silver,

$250

X

X X X X X

Bronze , 100 X X X X

Loyal Supporter,

$99

& Under

X X

VAA Friends of the

Red

Barn

Name_______________________________________________________EAA

________ VAA

________

Address_______________________________________________________________________________________


7/36

Who Dat?

The person

in the

middle

of

this

photograph is

my

grandfather. I

don t know

who

the men are or

what the

airplane

is; it was taken

at Ford Fie ld in 1928. I would like

to know if

anyone

can tell me any

more

about

the picture, identify

the

airplane and tell us who is in

the photo.

I

had

a

friend

whom

I

work with here at Ford Motor Com

pany tell me that the man with

the hat could

possibly be William

Stout,

but they

were

not

sure. Any

thing that

you can tell me would be

you can get a better look at the trio.

Drop us a note

at

vintageaircraft@

eaa.org and we ll forward it on to him.

Old Beacons

I was wondering i you might

be able

to

point me

to

a source for

information on old airway

bea-

cons and their routes. I am looking

for

specifics

on the Donner

bea

con

light,

which is

located west

of

Truckee, California,

on the

Reno to

San Francisco route. This

is

a mostly

complete tower,

which I

would

imagine

is one

of

only

a few re

• MIL SPEC and RFI

SHIELDING

CONDUIT ASSEMBLIES custom

made

per your specifications

• Original

equipment

style Braided

Conduits in

Aluminum

Brass or

Stainless Steel

• We carry a

complete

line

of

AN - MS

Electrical Fittings, Backshell Adapters

and Specialty Fittings

• We also have full machine shop

capabilities for any custom

applications you may require.

• Rebuild your Warbird back

to

Original!

AIR FLEX INDUSTRIES

2538 SUPPLY

STREET,

POMONA , CA 91767

Tel.

909-392-8474

AI

RFLEXIN

D

USTRI

ES

.

COM

• http://oldbeacon.com/beacon/

airway_beacons.htm

.www.centennialofflight.gov/

essay /Government_Role/

navigation/P0L13.htm

• www.navfltsm.addr.com/

howitbegan.htm

If

you have any other books

or

web-

sites you think would help

Eric,

please

drop

us a note at vintageaircraft@eaa.

org

and we ll

forward

it on to him

http://oldbeacon.com/beaconhttp://www.centennialofflight/http:///reader/full/www.navfltsm.addr.comhttp://oldbeacon.com/beaconhttp://www.centennialofflight/http:///reader/full/www.navfltsm.addr.com


8/36

REMINISCING

WITH

IG

NICK

THE PYL

ON C LUB

P R

T

IV

BY NICK

REZICH

PHOTOS COURTESY OF

NICK

REZlCH

The Pylon Club and the EM were founded at about the

same time early '50s with parallel goals of achieve

ment in mind. Paul Poberezny's idea was an organization

that would foster homebuilding, sport flying, air racing,

and air shows. The purpose of the Pylon Club was to foster

and support air racing, air shows, and Nick Rezich.

Between 1950-1953, the growing years of

the

Club

and

EM, I never ran into Poberezny's prop wash even though

he was only 90 miles away in Beer Town,

U.S.A.

Poberezny

and I were promoting or helping to promote air shows

during this time, and in doing so we both used the na

tion's top talent, namely, the world famous Cole Brothers

Poberezny, only Duane didn' t call him Paul but instead re

ferred to him as Poopdeck.

After listening to Duane and Marion carrying

on

about

EAA

and

about

5 gallons of beer later. . I promised

that I would meet with this guy, Poopdeck, and see if we

could help each other. In the meantime I was invited to

appear

with my

Travel

Air

at the

3rd Milwaukee

Air

Pag-

eant, which was also the first annual EM fly-in, on Sep

tember 12-13 at Curtiss-Wright Airport in Milwaukee. On

September 9 1953, I received the following letter on

EM

stationery:

September 8 1953


9/36

members from all parts of the nation.

Sincerely,

Paul Poberezny, President,

EAA

I arrived at Curtiss

field

Satur

day morning, taxied up,

and

parked

next

to

Roy Timm's modified Waco

F-2,

and

before

that

deep-breath

ing Wright up front

stopped

rotat

ing, a young, skinny,

healthy-look

ing Ukrainian thrust his hand into

the cockpit and gave me the welcome

treatment. He

introduced

himself as

Paul Poberezny, president of EAA.

Af

ter the formal exchange of introduc

tions, I was then introduced to Vice

President Carl Schultz, Secretary-Trea

surer Bob Nolinske,

Leo

Kohn, George

Gruenberger,

and C Inspector

Tony Maugeri.

That evening

we all

met in the

Miller

Inn

of the Miller Brewing Com

pany

for some real cool, fresh Miller

High Life beer. My first beer-drink

ing partner was

the

late Dick Owens,

who flew a modified

Rose

Parakeet

in

Big

Nick hoists tankard of M ilwaukee s finest

in front

of Marion Cole s

the Cole Brothers

Air

Show. This guy

Stearman during the

Detroit

races. Now, who

was

first

with

the straw t-

wasn't much more than

S feet

tall

Hoover,

Lyjak, or Hillard?

and

weighed less

than

100

pounds.

But when i t came

to

drinking beer,

he

would outlast

the

major leaguers.

After

a tasty buffet dinner,

we

all sat down for some

se

rious talk about

EAA.

Poberezny fortified himself with the

big guns of

EAA

like Steve Wittman, Marion

and

Duane

Cole, Roy True, Pete Myers, Carl Tietz, Ned Kensinger,

George Hardie,

and

about

2S

other early

EAA

members.

About two barrels of Miller High

Life

later, I

was

convinced

that I should join

EAA.

I pledged

my

total

support to

Poberezny

and

his or

ganization

and

promised I would

do

everything

within

my power to help

EAA

grow. I left Milwaukee with a bag

gage compartment full of applications and very

much

im

loon

business. In Duane Cole's book

This Is EAA he

tells

it like it was,

but

he left out one chapter of

the

early-day

meetings held in the Gran-Aire hangar lobby.

It

seemed to me that every meeting night it was either a

blizzard or

an

ice storm, and

as

I drove to Milwaukee I kept

telling myself, "You've got

to

be nuts to drive in this stuff

to

a

meeting that

won't have

anybody in

attendance."

Much

to my

surprise, I would find

Wittman

there from

Oshkosh, Kensinger, "Doc" Torrey

and

the whole gang

from Peoria, along with members from Racine, Monroe,

West Bend, Chicago, and Milwaukee.

I really

made

a fool

of

myself the first

meeting

I at

tended.


10/36

Steve Wittman s Buster,

seemingly

about to e gobbled up

by

an aluminum monstrosity of sorts.

Buster

has since been

placed in

the Smithsonian

in

Washington.

Bill Falck

in

Rivets.

me, I offered to buy a

hot

plate to cook the meat or pick up

the tab for cold cuts. They looked at me like I just flipped

my cookies, and all burst out laughing. As I was trying to

figure out what I said that was so funny, Poberezny in

formed me that the raw meat mixed with onions is a com

which were never very hard to locate. All one had to do

was

locate the two red and white pylons on the roof of my

car, and you were there.

We expanded our trophy program to include special

awards for the ladies of

EAA.

Today they are known at the

Mink Coat awards sponsored by Ray Stits. Stits was and

still is a great behind-the-scenes supporter of EAA.

Many people think that I have always been the field an

nouncer for EAA.Wrong The first field announcer for EAA

was Stits with Duane Cole taking over for the air show por

tion, along with Duane's brother, Arnold.

You

know where

the

idea of giving away an airplane

during the fly-in came from? It was

Ray

Stits

in

Rockford,

1961. I knew Stits before I was in

EAA in

fact,

he

holds

one

of the lowest-numbered Pylon Club cards. During

the fly-ins or air races Stits and I would always be joshing

around doing something crazy, like when he got on

the

mic at Rockford and offered my Travel

Air

to the member

ship for

1

a ticket with the drawing to be held after the air

show. I don't know if you were one of

the

multitude who

rushed me with dollar bills that day,

but

believe you me, I

turned away more

than

$10,000. The next night after

the

air show, I announced that Stitswas having an open house

at the Holiday

Inn

and everybody was invited. When

that

mob hit his room he knew immediately who

was

behind

the prank.

Stits also has his serious moods. I remember one very

well. Lester Cole,

the then

West Coast aerobatic cham

pion, was hospitalized

with

a very serious back injury.

He was without any insurance, and funds were running

out

in the Cole family

to

pay the

doctor

and hospital.

And to make things worse, Christmas was coming

and

no

money.

The Pylon Club received a letter from Stits explaining

Lester's plight. He asked if we could raise some money

to help pay Lester's bills

without

Lester knowing it

and

thanked

me

in advance for any help we could furnish

from the Club. Like I said in an earlier issue,

when

you

hollered "Hey, Rube"

in the

Pylon Club you got results.

The Cole brothers were very well liked by the Club mem

bers,

and

most everyone knew

the

Coles from their visits


11/36

phone

call from a large Chicago agency advising it had a

client interested in underwriting the races. I also received a

phone call from a young executive from the station's radio

affiliate; he identified himself

as

Frank Tallman from Glen

view, Illinois-also an EAA member.

He

was very much in

terested in the show and offered his assistance and posi

tion to see the show materialize.

The following day I

met

Frank for lunch, and we dis

cussed the possible use of Naval Air Station Glenview as

a possible site to hold races.

As

a member of the Navy, he

knew Adm. Dan Gallery

well-as

well

as

Cook Cleland,

former Thompson Trophy winner, who

was

based at Glen

view at that time. He felt confident in securing the Navy

base for the show and assured me it was quite all right

to

inform the sponsors of the possible use of Glenview. I then

met with the agency and its client .

..

where I really gained

an education about sponsors.

My initial program that I presented was a carbon copy

of the Cleveland National Air Races-big bores, midgets,

and aerobatics. After several meetings expired,

the

client

agreed to sponsor only one event, the Unlimiteds. Several

meetings later

we

signed a conditional contract for a guar

anteed purse of $30,000 and

an

option for two additional

years. With

the

contract in my

hand

I literally floated out

of the office and headed for

the

Club

to

celebrate the re

turn of the National Air Races to Chicago.

The following week I jumped

the gun and

went on

the

tube,

announcing the

Chicago

National

Air Races

would be

held

Labor Day weekend 1954. I really stuck

my neck out a long way with that announcement

but

that little or was it big?

white

lie paid off. The

agency called again

and

informed me

that it

had

an

other client for the midgets, providing I could meet their

request. I put on my best manners and a clean, pressed

suit and

met

with a very distinguished gentleman in an

office

the

size of my saloon.

I knew I was /lin the minute I stepped into his office.

There hanging on

the

wall was an autographed photo

of Benny Howard

and

Mr.

Mulligan

After

ten

minutes of

name-dropping we were

on

a first-name basis. He wanted

to sponsor

not

only the Chicago races, but also an addi

John

Paul Jones

in

the

original Shoestring. After

a

these

years it is still the

plane

to beat at

Reno.

Ray Stits' Wo rl

d's

Smallest Airplane.

Now

on

display in

the

EAA

Museum

confident that I would be able to secure one of the three


12/36

EAA President Paul Poberezny

and his

homebuilt Little Audrey

ship to time of sponsor exposure Le., $10,000 per

hour

for the midgets and $20,000 per hour for the Unlimiteds

plus a guarantee of a

minimum

of 10 airplanes entered

in the

Unlimited and

15

in

the

midgets). I was confident

that PRPA would accept the terms of the sponsors without

question; therefore, I never consulted it before signing.

You may

believe it or not, but I never had a

chance

to present my completed program at Cincinnati and

my whole program

went

down the drain. When I

announced my

program,

I went about it all ball

ackwards. I started with

the five midget

races-I

told them I had six races

scheduled

at

$3,500 per

race and one at $10,000

plus

5,000 for estab

lishing a point-standing

purse. Before I could an

nounce the $30,000 race

how

much

it cost

to

build

and

race a midget.

Now-the

guy giving the lecture

didn't

have a dime invested

in

a

racer-he was only

the

pilot of a racer that belonged

to

a friend of his. By now

my

temper is

running

about 80,

and

I proceed to inform him that I am my own builder

and financier. In the meantime the chairman intervened

and had

both of us sit down.

Duane Cole got up

and

calmed the group and asked

if

they would listen to

my

proposal and reconsider the offer.

When I regained

the

floor, I advised

the

group that before

I could guarantee a $25,000 purse there would have to be

some changes

in

the length of the races. I suggested that

the heat races be increased to 10 or 12 laps

in

place of the

present 8-10 laps

and that the

feature race be changed to

30 laps rather than 10-15 laps of the past. Well, I would

have been better off throwing a bomb

in

the place rather

than suggest a 30-lap feature. To make a longer story

short-I was told in so many words to sit down. Before

sitting down I reminded the group that prime TV time

was

cheaper and more captive

than

any air race flown by a

bunch of unknowns. That statement practically had me


13/36

try to get out from under the contracts without losing an

other $5,000.

As it turned out, I lost some money terminating the

Unlimited contract,

but

I came out ahead

on

the midgets.

Two days before Christmas the midget sponsor dropped

into the Club

to

wish me the best of the holidays

and

to

check on the outcome of the Cincinnati meeting. When

I informed

him

of

the

happenings, he told me to forget

the whole matter and congratulated me for trying to bring

back air racing on a national level.

The

next

day, Christmas Eve his chauffeur delivered

to me a huge spread of flowers

and

a cheese

and

sausage

package large enough to feed

an

army. We went

on

to be

come close friends. I called

him

before I wrote this and

asked if I could use his

name

or the product's name. He

laughed and said, fiNo-I'll have every air show promoter

in the

country

after me."

So went the

big Chicago Na

tional Air

Races that

never bloomed. Believe you me-the

Pylon Club tried

As

it turned out,

the

PRPA

had

only

one

race in 1954,

and it was

not

for $25,000. As a matter of fact, the

PRPA

has

never had

a $25,000 purse for the

midgets

since

Cleveland 1949.

Before I closed

the

Pylon Club I made

one

more small

effort to help racing

the

Pylon Club sponsored a tro

phy

for

the

1957 Fort Wayne races. I did i t for Duane

Cole more than for the

PRPA.

We

also plugged the races

and attended them. Believe you me, Duane tried

to

revive

racing and deserves more credit than he has received.

I still believe in air raCing, and I believe

there

is a

bright future for it, mainly because of the

new

breed of

pilots and builders.

The midgets will always be the crowd-pleasers along

with the biplanes. The big bores will eventually die because

of equipment attrition, not because of spirit. I also believe

there

is

a strong future in Unlimited stocks,

Le.

Bonan

zas Mooneys, Cessnas, etc.-with no limitations to engine

size or modifications. I would like to see them pull out the

stops and let 'em go. Stop trying

to

protect the man

who

wants to race. He knows the risks-that's why he's there.

The name of the game

is

money versus risk.

AERO CLASSIC

COLLECTOR SERIES

Vintage Tires

New USA Production

Show off your pride and joy with a

fresh set of Vintage Rubber. These

newly minted tires

are

FAA-TSO'd

and speed rated to 120 MPH. Some

things are better left the way they

were, and in the 40's and 50's, these tires were perfectly in

tune to the exciting times

in

aviation.

Not only do these tires set

your

vintage plane

apart

from

the rest,

but

also look exceptional on all General Aviation

aircraf t. Deep 8/32nd tread depth offers above average

tread life and UV treated rubber resists aging.

First impressions last a lifetime,

so

put these

bring back the good times ....

New

General Aviation Sizes Available:

500 x 5 600

X

6 700

X

8

Desser

has the

largest

stock and

selection

of Vintage and Warbird

tires in the world Contact us

with

Telephone: 800-247-8473 or

323-721-4900 FAX: 323-721-7888

6900 Acco

51

Montebello

CA

90640

TIRE

: RUBBER

COMPANY-::IIa....::::::::::

3400 Chelsea Ave

Memphis

TN 38106

www.desser.com

f

Aviation Since 1920


14/36

Naomi

St. Julian

visited

her friend's T-hangar,

she

couldn't help

but

notice

that

the

hangar next door

was covered

in

plastic, and

even

in

the semi-darkness she

could

see the

outline of

a low-wing

airplane that

hadn't moved in

a

long

time. It was

Now

before any of you gray beards

start sticking your nose in

the

air

and

uttering things

like,

"1967?

Hell,

I've

got socks older than that

A


15/36

larger (and younger)

portion

of the

population, something like the St.

Julians' found Cherokee 180 is this

generation's classic and represents

wearing a glider club jacket. That was

reason

enough

to ask the obvious

question, Do you fly gliders?

When the answer was in the

of misunderstanding. We figured

it

needed over $2,000 worth of

work,

and we

thought

the seller

had agreed to reduce the price that


16/36

the

little airplane, and Naomi got

her power rating in it. However,

at

some

point

they realized

their

goals had changed. Now

they

wanted

a cross-country airplane

and instrument tickets. Besides, the

C-1S0 was just too small.

Many

of

our

friends

were on

Atkins

diets,

Naomi

says. We

thought about

losing

weight, if

nothing else because we'd fit in the

airplane better. Then we said, 'Nah,

let's just get a bigger airplane. '

We

like their way of thinking.

about

Naomi

St.

Julian. She

is,

shall we say, excitable. With just

a hint

of drama.

And we

would

have given a

hundred

bucks

to

be

standing in a corner of the hangar,

watching

as

they pulled the plastic

off the Cherokee. There's no doubt

that her reaction had

more than

just a little

to

do with Meigs Adams'

decision to sell

them

the airplane.

To say

her

excitement is infectious

is

an

understatement.

This was the perfect airplane for

us simply because,

even though

it

Randy talk about the engine, because

at

the moment

of discovery,

they

weren't sure

whether

they'd have

to repaint it or not.

The airplane was really dusty,

Naomi

says, but as soon as we

started washing it, I

began to

get

excited (oh, gee we re surprised)

because the paint was

in

terrific

condition. And it was an interesting

color because Meigs had it repainted

in 1991 using the original scheme.

As an

afterthought,

she

says,

She was named after the airport,


17/36

One advantage to working with

an airplane

like Meigs'

Cherokee

is

that

there is

none

of

the three

steps-fo rward -and-two-back process

that

haunts

most airplane

rebuild

projects. First

of

all , even though

the airplane had a lot of years

on

it, at

1,300 hours

total

time, it

had not

spent

enough

time

flying

to be exposed to hard times. Plus,

not only had it almost always been

hangared, but also, as the second

owner, Meigs obviously loved

the

airplane and kept it protected.

Naomi

and Randy 5t.

Julian

proud

owners of

N4815L winner

of

an Outstanding

Piper PA-28 Cherokee plaque in the

Contemporary

judging

category

.

that

it was actually a boring two

hours. Which

is

a good thing.

After

the

break-in we

started

working toward our

goal

of

both

of us getting our instrument tickets

in the airplane. While

just about

everything in the airplane worked,

we still had go to through everything,

making certain it was

appropriate

for instrument flying in this age. The

first flight after engine break-in was

to

Carroll County, Ohio,

to have

a

new

IFR-certificated Apollo UPSAT

GX-60 GPS installed and the pi tot

static certification.

We

installed

an alternate

static

source, digital

clock, audio panel, and a four-place

intercom. We kept the VFR Apollo

GPS

as

a backup system.

As we started bringing it back

to

life,

an extensive annual

was

done, including complying with

all applicable ADs, replacement of

all hoses, tank drains, tanks screws,

budge. Randy was beating

on

them

very carefully, and they just wouldn't

come out. It

was ridiculous.

So,

I went

down and talked to our

A P

who was

helping us throughout the restoration.

His suggestion, to my surprise, was,

'Get a bigger

hammer,'

so we did.

Thankfully there were no leaks, and

we

changed the hoses and fuel sender

gaskets while they were out.

The airplane

has

flown

more

than 100

hours per year almost

since the day they got it, and it has

all been fun, although Naomi says

there were some tense moments .

She says, I really struggled with

the whole IFR thing. I was studying

like crazy for

the

instrument written

and

wasn't sure I'd be able to do it .

Then, right out of

the

blue, Randy

decided we'd take the test

at

the

same

time.

I did well and would

have been proud of my 96 percent

if Randy

hadn't

walked

in

cold and


18/36

"We were starting to fly it on a

lot of cross-country flights, and the

seats were

uncomfortable,

Randy

explains. liThe covering was starting

to show

some

wear,

but mostly

it

was that we'd get

out

of the airplane

and hurt.

So,

we had an on-site

aircraft interior restoration shop

rebuild the cushions and stitch up

an

interior

for

the entire

airplane.

Now

we

can

sit in

there

for hours

on

end with no problem. And we

often do."

Naomi says, lilt's important for

everyone to know that we wouldn't

have this airplane i f it wasn't for

a lot of people being very nice to

us. We couldn't afford it otherwise.

Our mechanic, Chris Hopkins, has

worked with us every

inch

of the

way,

and without

his time, effort,

understanding,

and

help, t would

have never happened. We have so

much

to thank him for.

Also, our flying friends (fellow

EAAers and accomplished builders)

have

helped and

offered

their

expertise

and

advice,

as well, for

which

we owe a huge thanks."

Meigs, of course,

has to

be

thanked.

She made it easy for us

to buy the

airplane,

and she loves

having

it near to her. We feel as

if she is part of

our

flying family

and

take

her up in the Cherokee

as

often

as

we can. There

is

no

way

the

airplane

won't

always

have

a

little bit of Meigs in it."

Naomi sums i t up for the two of

them

when

she says, "We love this

airplane. We

simply

love it

, and


19/36

A beautiful day

is

not complete unless it

is

seen from

the inside

of

a cockpit. The Vintage Aircraft Association

is

providing you with the opportunity to bring the magic

of flight to your home, office, or hangar. Take flight with

the 2006 VAA Calendar, ree

Skies Forever

The

gorgeous 17 x 11-inch ful l-color wall calendar is the

perfect gift for yourself or your favorite pilot.

Each

month

contains the amazing photography from the Vintage

Aircraft Association and captures the spirit of flight.

As a commemoration to the great aviators before us the

VAA 2006 Calendar

Free Skies Forever

contains great

feats in aviation printed on the exact date of occurrence.

Don't let this opportunity fly past you. Order your 2006

VAA

Free Skies Forever

Calendar by September 30,

2005. Calendars will ship in November for Christmas

arrival.

r

to order by mail, send your check/money order to :


20/36

Frank

Clarke

Movie Stunt Pilot

The release of The Great Waldo

Pepper with Robert Redford, a movie

based on the exploits of a 1920s air

Madeleine Kimotek

make no claim

to

be an

expert

on

Frank Clarke's life, or on the making

of

Hell s Angels. But through a dear

was introduced to Jim. I became in

terested in the project, and in a typi

cal feminine fashion, I took Jim over


21/36

capital in the 1920s.

Because

he could

be counted on to provide authentic,

heart-stopping stunts that were just

what

the

director ordered, he began

to accrue a list of screen credits

that

eventually led to his being chosen as

the sinister Lt. von Bruen in Hell s

An-

gels and

as

chief pilot in charge of the

air sequences. (In 1920, in the film

Stranger Than Fiction, which starred

Katherine MacDonald, Frank flew a

Jenny off a downtown

Los

Angeles

of-

fice

building. He

was

known, too, for

his plane-to-plane changes sans a rope

ladder. In the 1927 Pathe serial Eagle o

the

Night,

he landed and took off on a

moving passenger train. But Hell s

An-

gels was

his greatest assignment.)

Jim Barton left

me

many photo

graphs

taken

during the

making

of

Hell s Angels,

and

I

have included

some of

them

here in the hopes that

the members will recognize them.

During World

War

II Frank Clarke

served

with

the Celluloid

Comman

dos, a

motion

picture group, as he

was now considered too old

to

be a

fighter pilot. Naturally, his first choice

had

been

the

Flying Tigers. I

know

he would have been a good one On

June II 1948,

he

was killed in a BT-

15 crash

that occurred

in Isabella

Canyon, California. Jim was on the

scene soon afterward, and he erected

a cross made from

the

twisted pro

peller blades. The next time you see

one of

the

great old stunt-flying epics,

please think of the man

behind

the

goggles-Frank Clarke-I know I will.

Because I think Frank Clarke's own

words were certainly more evocative

than mine of that era, I have recop

ied some magazine articles he wrote

for

iberty

magaZine in 1931. I know

you'll enjoy them

as

I did.

I'd like to close with a poem writ

ten about Frank after his death by his

friend Dean Spencer:

n S

E.

5 used for movie

work. By

1927

these aircraft

were considered to

be

expendable

junk and usually

had a very s ort life

wit

the movie

studio

crews.


22/36

(The following is a portion of

an

article by Frank Clarke

that

appeared

in

the

June 20, 1931, edition of

Lib

erty

magazine.)

Howard Hughes, producer

and

di

rector of the picture

Hell s

Angels, was

years old, and

many

times a million

aire through royalties on oil inven

tions perfected by his father, when he

decided

to

come

to

Hollywood and

see what could be done about making

motion pictures. He had done a little

flying and was a rabid enthusiast.

He entered the picture game over

the

protests of his uncle, Rupert

Hughes, the novelist, who told him he

would lose his shirt. According to all

the rules of the game, this should have

been true. Angels for film ventures

are an old story in Hollywood. They

usually were meat for unscrupulous

film sharpshooters and eventually left

town sadder but

wiser

having dropped

the roll in making a few pictures that

would never be shown anywhere.

However, his uncle's opinion of his

ability annoyed young Mr . Hughes

ex-

ceedingly. When he determined to go

ahead he got hold of

John

Considine

Jr. production chief of United Artists,

and formed a partnership with him

to produce one picture. When Holly

wood heard the plot of his first story

it laughed heartily. The story didn t

have any

of the

conventional pro

duction or box-office values. It was

called Two Arabian Knights, and the

two heroes were William Boyd and

Louis Wolheim. There was, strictly

speaking, no heroine . It was a story of

a couple of doughboys who were cap

JIM B RTON COLLEC ION

Fokker

D VII

rigged for Hell's Angel's movie work

young

Mr.

Hughes

to

disappear from

filmland. But, contrary

to

all predic

tions, when the picture was shown it

was

an enormous moneymaker.

Hughes

then

conceived the idea

of

an

air epic.

He

found his story

in

Hell s Angels, a tale of the British Royal

Flying Corps during

the

war. He be

gan to formulate

plans

for its film

ing-plans which more

or

less stag

gered Hollywood, even though it had

seen

in the

making such enormously

costly pictures as The

Ten

Command-

ments, Ben-Hur, Old Ironsides, Wings,

King

Kings,

and Von Stroheim's ex

travagant ventures.

He

started filming

the

preliminary

sequences at the studio, and after a

few weeks had a disagreement with

the director, who quit. Hughes

then

stepped in and announced

that he

would direct the picture himself.

Meanwhile he purchased the play,

Valley

so he leased what had been an

alfalfa field there and turned it into

an air field, completely equipped with

hangars, a mechanical

department,

and lights for night flying. He called it

Caddo Field, after the corporate name

of the company.

He

then began to assemble a fleet

of planes of wartime vintage.

He

in

sisted

on the

utmost possible accu

racy

in

detail. This was

no

easy task,

for by 1927 a good part of those old

wartime planes had disappeared. A

large part of those to be found were

in such condition that they were be

yond hope of repair.

One of the first planes he

bought

was a Sikorsky bomber, five

or

six

years old. I t

had

a wing

spread of

eighty-four feet, and when flown out

from the east by Roscoe Turner it was

the largest plane

that had

ever been

seen on the Pacific coast. This was the


23/36

riefingof

air

crews

before another day

of

filming

Hell s Angels.

wherever we could find them. Among

others we had a number of SE.5s pow

ered by Hispano motors. There were

also several Fokker D.VIIs that had been

used in the

war.

Their Mercedes motors

had been replaced with Hall Scott L-6s.

Then there were some Thomas Morse

ships with

Le

Rhone rotary motors,

some

Avros

the British training plane,

and a number of Canucks, which were

used for crash scenes. The Canucks were

the Curtiss Canadian training planes,

resembling our Jennys, except for dif

Later, as we began to get

into

the

air scenes, a good many planes

and

pi

lots were added. In

alI

I guess we used

more than 125 planes in the pictures,

including those that were cracked

up, and employed even more pilots.

There were many changes in person

nel,

as

a lot of

them

didn t

stick with

us

because of

the

antiquated craft we

were using.

In speaking of Leo Nomis, I should

mention

the

fact that he was not only

a stunt man in the air

but

also in au

open-air dining room of the Los An

geles Breakfast Club at 8:00 a.m.

Somebody had

thought

up the idea

of having Roscoe Turner and Ben Lyon

fly

low overhead during the ceremony

and throw a flock of flowers down.

They

were going to use Roy Wil

son s plane, which

was

at

Caddo

Field. When

they

arrived that morn

ing at the field they were late, and

Turner was

in

such a

hurry

that he

didn't stop to listen to Wilson explain

his trick gas system.

They flew down over the Breakfast

Club

and

were doing their stuff when

the motor suddenly cut. There was

plenty

of

gas in

the

plane,

but

Turner

had opened the wrong tank. The ship

had to land in the bed of

the

Los n-

geles River

and

turned

over.

By

some

miracle

the

river

at that time had

about eight inches of water in it.

Ben and Turner crawled

out,

a

rather woebegone sight, while

the

re

liability flyers stood

on

the bank and

cheered, saying

they

had expected to

be entertained but not quite so roy

ally as by

having

Ben Lyon

put

on

a

crash for them

Few people, even pilots them

selves,

have

any conception

of

the

magnitude of the task of maintain

ing a military squadron. Many peo

ple have seen army fields, but every

thing there goes off so smoothly and

with so little apparent effort

that

it all

looks simple.

Yet the old saying that for every

man at the front there must be ten be

hind the lines holds true in aviation,

with

the

added factor that every man


24/36

This

is

Roscoe Turner s Sikorsky S-29A in which he did a lot of barnstorming

before leasing it to Howard

Hughes

for use in the

movie

Hell s Angels.

In

the

movie

the

plane was

painted

up to represent

a

German Hotha

bomber. The

Sikorsky crashed during filming

sign and in

constant

need of repair.

Most needed parts had

to

be made

on

the

spot, as they were either dif-

ficult to

obtain

or out of stock alto-

gether. Harry Reynolds had charge of

the ground work.

Hughes

gathered

for

the

film-

ing of this picture the largest fleet

of fighting aircraft ever brought to-

gether, save by governments. He

actually owned a larger

number

of

fighting planes than most small na-

tions do today.

In the final scenes of the picture

we have forty wartime planes en-

gaged in battle in the air at one time

In addit ion there were a number of

camera Ships. I was directing.

Added to

the

extensive layout at

Caddo Field, a German air field far-

ther

out in the valley was also ac-

quired and equipped.

When we started the actual air se-

quences, Al Johnson was engaged

to perform several of

the

dangerous

crackups. He did the first one in De-

cember,

1927.

The scene called for

a steep dive to

the

ground,

the

ship

turning over on its back when it hit.

near Inglewood. It was

not

for cam-

era work

and

was the sort of flight

any novice might make.

Al

was

to

take over an old built-

up Avro. He was the first to take off.

Hardly had he left the ground when

his

motor

started to miss, and then

cut out

on

him.

He attempted to clear the high

tension wires adjoining the field, but

his marvelous sense of judging dis-

tance, which made him one of the

greatest

stunt men

in

the world,

failed him.

He

misjudged

the

wires

and

crashed into them. His plane imme-

diately burst into flames.

Al himself was thrown clear and

lit fifty feet away.

As he

ran across

the field we hoped his usual luck

had stayed with him and saved him

from injury.

We found him

writhing

in hor-

rible agony. Although

he had

bro-

ken no bones, he had breathed the

flames which enveloped

the

plane.

His lungs were scorched.

We

carried him to

the

road. Be-

tween gasps he said:

Frank

Clarke

shortly

before

his death

in

June

of 1948

to carryon.

Everyone in our

squadron

was

a flying

enthusiast,

including Ben

Lyon and Howard Hughes.

I t

didn t

really seem like a motion-picture

troupe at all.

One

afternoon

Ben

decided

he

would fly from the field back to town

with one of the boys.

Hughes

got the idea that Ben

and Jimmy Hall were already taking

enough risks riding each day in the

creaky old German bomber.

Now, look here, Ben," he said, "I

don t

want you to do any unneces-

sary flying. Cut it out "

"I'll tell you , Howard," said Ben,

laughing, 1'11 make you a proposi-

tion. I'll stop flying if you will.

If

I

get killed, you can hire another actor

and retake my scenes, but if you get

killed,

we

all stop getting paid."

"Nonsense " snorted Hughes. lilt's

different with me. In fact, I think I'll

fly

one of those old war crates just to

see how it goes."

Hughes had just recently obtained

his pilot's license, and purchased his

new Waco with a Whirlwind motor,


25/36

altKessler

Hampshire

Il

• Owner

of

944 ritish

deHavilland Tiger Moth

for

3

years

We

are extremely

happy

with your prompt service and expertise.

You have insured both of my aircraft for many years and I would

highly recommend that anyone looking for aviation insurance

check out AUA.

You

understand vintage aircraft ownership and

that reflects in your

low

cost insurance coverage.

- Walt Kessler


26/36

W

~ ; j o l l l

Fast nd easy ordering by phone or on our website.

Wooden Opinion Signs

Decorate your hangar, garage, or office walls with one or more

of

these clas-

sic opinions about flying. Great way to display your inspiration.

Oshkosh, Be There 6"

High

V05519 $16.95

Fly Vintage Airplanes 4

High

V05520 $19.95

be there!

Oshkosh 4

High BLUE)

V03547

$15.95

Oshkosh

4

High RED) V03548

$15.95

OS OS

..... Ladies VAA Long Sleeve $26.95

Denim Shirt

This shirt is a must for every wardrobe . It looks

great in the boardroom and wears perfectly in

the hangar. Made

of

100% Cotton with detailed

embroidered logo on the back.

V11183 SM L

V11184 MD XL


27/36

Laser cut ornaments can be displayed all year long.

Wood Biplane 4.5- w x 3.5- h V04715 $9.99

Wood Cessna 4.5" w x 3.5" h V04716

$9.99

Pudgie little Christmas Bear in an airplane loaded

with presents celebrates this year's holidays.

Bear in Plane 4" w x 3" h V03574 $4.99

Biplane Pins

Accent any outfit with one or more

stylish biplane pins. Available in

silver or gold tone. Pins have 1

inch wing span

Gold V02845 $11.99

Silver V02844 $11.99

Denim Tote

V00250 $17.95

Ann

Clark

Ltd.

This washab le den im tote will

come

Cookie

Cutter

Baking

Kit

in handy

. Use it for groce

ries

,chan

ge

V04677

$13.95

of clothes or any travel essential.

Ap-

For any occasion or just for fun

prox. 14x19

seNe up a batch of delicious cook

ies. Kit includes aviation shaped

cutters

and

recipes which

are

packaged up from the cookie

ter people from

Clark Ltd.


28/36

The

fall colors are beautiful, the

leaves are turning, and wouldn t

you know it,

the

winter words of

warning are out.

GAMA

, NBA and

NATA

are all tell

ing their members

to

take the usual

precautions for winter flying.

The same precautions apply to our

antique and classic airplanes.

We

may not

have

those

slippery

Lear or

Citation

wings

that

are af

fected even by little bugs impinged

on

the

leading edge,

but our

airfoils

and control surfaces are just

as

impor

tant

to our flying. Maybe even more

so, because we normally don t have

heated hangars and a crew of mainte

nance people to look after our safety.

I m not going into preaching to the

choir stuff. There is so much informa

tion available out there that one can

become oversaturated just trying to

assimilate all of it. So

commit

some

of it to memory and

put

together a

mental checklist of precautions to be

taken before winter flying.

Winter flying can be a rewarding

experience, once you get your footsies

E.E. BUCK

HIL ERT

inter

ops

these days are great, easy

to

use,

and

usua

ll

y portable, efficient, and effec

tive.

There

are alternative ways to

warm things up. A few years ago I

wrote an article telling of one

guy

who put

an adapter in the

passen

ger-side window of his car, a ttached

a couple of

SCAT

tubes, shoved

them

into

the

engine

inlet, cranked

the

Winter flying

can

be

a rewarding

experience once

you

get

your

footsies

and

your

pinkies warmed up

heat and

the

blower to high, and sat

nearly

froze.

Some control of the UAV

was

lost

as

a res

ul t.

Then someone re-

called that the rotating beacon s power

came directly off the battery. They

turned on the beacon, by remote con

trol of

this

unmanned vehicle,

and

guess what? The high current drain of

the

beacon warmed

the

battery,

and

the

UAV

was back in business.

That lesson prompts a thought tha t

maybe, just maybe,

we

should get a lit

tle warmth into the battery before try

ing to do a start. Aircraft batteries are

smaller than their automotive coun

terparts, weigh

less

and are shorter on

cranking amps. Get them good and

cold, and they are really affected.

Let s

think

of some way to warm

up

that battery just a bit. Turn on

some lights, give it some work to do,

and

that

will he lp . Actually, the best

way would be to

physically

warm

it

up. Put a 20-watt light bulb

next

to the battery and leave it on , or get

yourself a float trickle charger and

leave it on to keep the battery fully

charged, warm, and happy. I know

one guy who has a solar charger he


29/36

special and

not

easy to come by and

replace. This brings

to

mind that I

almost

had my

wife convinced that

the

odor

of gasoline was really

my

aftershave lotion. She almost bought

it, but never mind.

The next thing I

want to

cover is

wheelpants

and

the effect of slush

and puddles as you

run

through

them . Slush or water will impinge

on

any

surface and especially loves

packing into wheelpants.

On

break

ing ground, the windchill factor will

freeze that stuff solid. Heaven forbid

if the wheel

pant

or even wheel well

is full; you

can

imagine the conse

quence. The slush will also increase

your takeoff run, so be aware. Also,

be aware

that

landing

on

a

snow-

covered or icy surface can increase

your stopping distance by as

much

as

100 percent.

Your

brakes won't be

ef-

fective, and

if

your locked wheel hits

a dry spot, you may have a problem.

The best advice I can offer here is

to

take

the

wheelpants off for win

ter flying. With

your

parka up

and

around your ears, it will be one of the

last things you'd miss having

on

the

airplane

during

the winter

If

your

gear retracts, exercise the gear a cou

ple of times to assure yourself that it'll

work. Also, in

the

case of slush

and

water, it could impinge

on the

hori

zontal stabilizer, unless you have a

T tail

, and cause problems.

The super-cold air sure makes the

engine

perform.

Don't

get carried

away and

overboost

it. Take some

time to get the oil circulating and the

cylinder head temperature up before

Come or

t

e wee en

BUILD FOR A LIFETIME

HOMEBUILDER WORKSHOP

SCHEDULE

Atlanta Area)

Dec. 2-3

W.

Palm

Beach

FL

Dec. 3-4 Corona,

CA

LA Area)

jan

. 6-8 Indianapolis, IN

jan . 20-22 Griffin,GA

Atlanta Area)

ja

n. 27-29

Denver, CO

Westwood College)

Oshkosh, WI

• Repairman

LSA)

Inspection-Airplane

•

RV

Assembly

• Repairman LSA) Inspection- Airplane

• TIC Welding

• Repairman

LSA)

Inspection- Airplane

• Composite Construction

• Fabric Covering • Sheet Metal

Basics

• Electrical Systems &Avionics

Nov. 4-6

Nov. 18-20

Frederick, MD

• Repairman

LSA)

Inspection-Airplane

Griffin, GA

• TIC Welding


30/36

The National Transportation Safety

Board

NTSB)

recently released a report

sent to Marion Blakey,

the adminis-

trator of the Federal Aviation Admin

istration, detailing the conclusions it

had come to after undertaking a safety

study titled

Risk

Factors

Associated with

Weather Related General Aviation

Acci-

dents.

Some

of

its findings were

not

surprising,

such

as

the

fact

that the

knowledge tests reqUired for any pi

lot

certificate

could

be passed

with-

out

answering a single weather-related

question correctly, or

that

poor perfor

mance

on the

knowledge and practi

cal tests was directly associated with a

higher risk of a pilot being involved

in

a weather-related accident.

What

did surprise me, however, was

the fact

that

it found a direct correla

tion

between

the

age at

which

a pi

lot first obtained a certificate and the

risk factors he or she would be exposed

to. It found

that the

younger a person

was when obtaining that first certifi

cate, regardless of current age, or hours

logged, the less risk he or she had in re-

lation to a weather-related accident. In

other words,

many

of the pilots who

DOUG

STEW RT

eather notes

weather

data not included in

a

stan-

dard briefing and then

contact FSS or

DUATS

to fulfill a perceived regulatory

obligation. This creates the potential for

pilot misinterpretation or confusion

if

weather information gathered from var

ious sources appears to be more detailed

than

the

FSS

information.

The

NTSB

concluded the report with

six recommendations, some

of which

might

be considered Draconian, espe

cially by those

who

consider aviation

already too highly regulated. Those

rec-

ommendations are to:

l

Add a specific requirement for all

pilots who do not receive weather-related

recurrent training that the biennial flight

review include the following: recognition

of critical weather situations from the

ground and in flight, procurement and

use of aeronautical weather reports and

forecasts, determination of fuel require

ments, and planning for alternatives if

the intended flight cannot be completed

or delays

are

encountered.

2. Add a requirement

that

the BFR

include demonstrations of basic attitude

flying, virtually

the

same as those re

quired by the private pilot practical test.

weather briefing with graphical data.

6.

Revise guidance materials asso

ciated with pilot weather briefings to

include gUidance for pilots

in

the use

of

Internet, satellite, and

other

data

sources for obtaining weather informa

tion suitable for meeting the intent of

CFR

Part 91.103 (which says

the

pilot

must obtain all available information

prior to any flight)

and

subsequently

inform

the

aviation

community

about

this change.

As many of

us are

aware, virtu-

ally

three

out of four weather-related

accidents are fatal ones. The N

TSB is

obviously concerned with this high per

centage and

is

taking steps to try and

re-

duce it. I vigorously applaud

that

effort.

However, I can't help but notice

that

it

did

not

address one thing I

feel is

at the

root of many weather-related accidents:

you cannot teach

ommon sense

I do

not

disagree with

most of the

report, but nowhere in it

does

the

NTSB address the

issues

of

proper

aeronautical decision -making. No

where

in the report are the five haz

ardous attitudes addressed. Not once

is there a suggestion that perhaps sce


31/36

lieve that it is this inability that is kill

ing pilots.

I have long

contended

that those

portions of the knowledge test dealing

with weather have been sorely inad

equate.

To

be honest I had never even

considered that it might

be

possible to

pass the test without answering one

single question

on

weather correctly.

But again Iwill offer that it is not a lack

of weather knowledge, or how to ob

tain it, that

is

killing pilots. Instead I

feel

that

it

is

the hazardous attitudes

that exist in all of us that are reducing

the pilot population.

I doubt that any pilot, nor the pas

sengers they took with them, went out

to

his

or her airplane on the day of the

crash thinking: Hmm ...1

think

I'll

kill myself today in a weather-related

crash."

It is

possible

that

the pilot did

not understand the briefing he or she

received, or that if graphics had been

added to the briefing, it might have

made more of an impression

than

the

one he or she made on the ground.

But

it is also possible that the pilot

didn't get any briefing at all (a nti-

STR IGHT LEVEL

continued from

p ge

attention. There's nothing to fiddle with

during long flights. Turbines smell like a

Boy

Scout

camp full

o

Coleman

lamps.

Round engines smell like God intended

machines

to

smell. Pass this on

to

an old

World War II pilot (or

his

son who flew

them in Vietnam in remembrance

o

that "greatest generation."

The

best ship

o

all

is

friendship

As

you may have observed in the

authority), as was the case with a

pi-

lot who recently destroyed a beautiful

aerobatic airplane, while luckily surviv

ing the crash not far from my house

just a

few

weeks ago, when the weather

went south on him.

Or perhaps the pilot understood the

briefing, and even went to numerous

other sources of weather information,

before departing on the final flight,

thinking he had the skills to handle all

that the weather could throw at him

(

macho

). And maybe, just maybe,

the pilot felt the weather did not pose

more of a threat than he was capable,

or that the airplane

was capable, of

handling (invulnerability).

If

the encounter with the weather

was inadvertent, or

if

part of the prob

lem was an equipment failure while in

IMC,

did the pilot do something

that

compounded the problem

(impulsiv

ity

) before properly thinking through

(aviate, navigate, communicate)

the

problem? Is there the pOSSibility, as the

yogurt started to slowly creep up toward

the eyeballs, that the pilot just gave up

and hoped for the best (resignation ?

I strongly feel that rather than man

dating "basic attitude" training (which

will be quite difficult for those of us

who fly minimally

equipped

light

planes

like Cubs

and

Champs),

we

instead endeavor to instill

the

recog

nition of

the

need for more frequent,

voluntarily obtained training, as in

the

FAA

Wings program. I

feel

that

we

need to change our training paradigm

from a maneuvers-based syllabus to a

scenario-based syllabus. By teaching

pilots

how

to use

the

tools

and

tech

niques of proper aeronautical decision

making, we will reduce the number of

weather-related accidents.

If all of us made it a paint to obtain

frequent recurrent training, it would

definitely reduce

the

number of ac

cidents and perhaps even reduce the

number of new regulations

that

some

would like to have written. Won't you

join

me

in that effort?

Doug

Stewart is the

2004

National CFI

o the Year aMaster Instructor, and aDPE.

He

operates

DSFI Inc. (www.dsflight.

com) based

at

the

Columbia County

Air-

port

1Bl).

F

RAN K

C

LA R KE continued from page

forgotten to tell him the most impor

tant thing about the ship, which was

not

to

try

to

make a right-hand turn

with it too soon after taking off.

A rotary motor has a

strong

gy

roscopic pull to

the

right. It almost

ducks

the

plane

in that direction,

while added pressure is needed to

turn to

the

left.

Hughes got in, warmed her up,

and voluble assistant director of

Hell's Angels, went to see Hughes at

his home.

Now the

principal business of

an assistant director is

to

be able

to

explain

anything, at any time, en

tirely satisfactorily. Hughes called

Fleck to his bedside.

Now,

Freddie, he

drawled

confidentially, tell me what re

http://www.dsflight/http://www.dsflight/


32/36

BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S

MYSTERY

PLANE COMES TO

US

FROM THE EAA

LIBRARY

'S

GARNER

P. "EMY"

EMERSON COLLECTION

. WE'VE

GOT

A

NUMBER OF PHOTOS

IN THAT ALBUM THAT MAKE GREA

T

MYS

T

ERY PLANES.

Send

your answer to EAA Vintage Airplane ,

P.O . Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your

answer needs to be in

no

later

than

December

10 for inclusion

in

the February 2005 issue

of

Vintage Airplane.

You can also send

your

response via e-mail.

Send

your

answer to

[email protected] .

Be

sure

to

include your

name,

city, and state

in the body

of your note,

and put

(Month)

Mystery Plane in the

subject

line.

AUGUST

' S

MYSTERY ANSW

E R

was retired by 1927. Many were burned.

Some fN-6Hs were converted

by

in

dividual units for ambulance duties.

The

first fenny ambulance

seems

to

go

back

to

late

1917, but had

an open

cockpit for the patient. Later, a hinged

cover was added for protection. Other

aircraft converted to ambulances in

cluded the Fokker C-2 and C-15, the

Ford C-9, DH-4 Amb,

and

the Cur

tiss

EagLe. The Cox-Klemin A-I

and

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


33/36

Some th i ng to

buy

,

se l l

or

t r ade

Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum, with boldface lead-

in

on first li

ne.

Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2 .167 inches) by 1,

2,

or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and white only, and no

frequency discounts.

Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to desired i

ssue

date

(i.e

., January 10 is the closing date for the March issue). VAA

reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion per issue . Classified ads are not accepted

via phone. Payment must accompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail ([email protected]) using credit card

payment (all cards accepted). Include

name on

card, complete address, type of card,

card

number,

and

expiration date.

Make

checks payable to

EM. Address advertising correspondence toEM Publications Classified Ad Manager,

P.O.

Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903 -3086

BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod

THERE'S JUST NOTHING LIKE IT Airplane T-Shirts

bea rings , main

bear

ings, bush i

ngs

,

master rods,

valves

,

piston rings.

Call us Toll Free 1-800-233-6934 ,

e-ma

il

[email protected]

Website

ON THE WEB!!

www.aviation giftshop.com

A Website with the Pilot in

Mind

(and

those who

love airplanes)

150 Different Airplanes Ava

il

ab le

WE PROBABLY HAVE

YOUR AIRPLANE!

www.airplanetshirts.com

www.ramengine.com

VINTAGE

Warner

engines.

Two

165s

,

one

fresh

1-800-645-7739

ENGINE

MACHINE

WORKS

,

O.H ., one

low

time on Fairchild

24

N.

604

FREYA ST.,

SPOKANE

,

WA

mount with all accessories . Also

Helton Lark and Aeronca C-3 project.

Flying wires available. 1994 pricing.

99202

Find

my name and

address

in

the

Visit

www.flyingwires.com

or

call

Officers and Directors listing and call 800-517-9278.

CUSTOM PRINTED T-SHIRTS for your

evenings. E.

E.

"

Buck

" Hilbert.

flying club, flight shop, museum. Free

For Sale

1939

Spartan

Executive,

A P I.A.: Annual, 100 hr. inspections.

samples. Call

1-800-645-7739

or

1

3500TT,

10 SMOH. 214-354-6418,

Wayne Forshe y 740-472-1481

828-654-9711 www.lpjetservices.com

Ohio - statewide.

The fo ll

owing list

of

coming

events is furn

ished

to

our

reade

rs

as

a matter

of

information

on

ly and

does

not

cons

titute a

pp

rova

l,

sponsorsh

ip,

invol

ve

men t, control

or

d

ir

ection of any event

fIy -

in,

seminars,

fIy

market, etc.

li

sted.

To

submit an even

t,

send the infor

m t

i

on

via ma

il to:

Vint

age

Airpl

ane,

P.

O.

Box

3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Or e-mail the information

to: vintageair

cra{t@e

aa.org . Information should

be received fOllr

months

prio

r

to

the

eve

nt

date

.

2006

R E G I O ~ l FLY IN

SCHEDULE

Sun

'n r... FIy-In

April 4-10, 2006

Mid-£asIern FIy-In

Lake l

and

Linder Region

al

Airpor t

(LA

L)

Au

gu

st

25-27,2006 (tentat

ive)

www

.su

n-n-fun.

org

M

arion

,

OH

(M

NN)

STATEMENT

OF

OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT,

AND

CIRCULATION Required

Date post:	07-Aug-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	aviationspace-history-library
View:	217 times
Download:	0 times

Vintage Airplane - Nov 2005

Documents