Vintage Airplane - Sep 1978

THE RESTORERS CORNER By J R Nielander Jr

With Oshkosh 78 now having been inscribed in the inna ls of aviation history it is indeed appropriate that we review the part played by your Division and that we acknowledge the fine efforts put forth by all of those who volunteered their time to make the conshyvention such a great success Your Division officers directors and advisors extend to each and every volshyunteer their sincere thanks and appreciat ion for a great job exceptionally well done Without this dedishycated group many of whom have been working with the Division since our first participation in the conshyvention in 1972 it would not be possible to give you members the varied activities and the smooth operashytion which you have come to expect as routine Speakshying of activities the forums on antique and classic aircraft under the direction of Bill Ehlen and AI Henshyninger were their usual great success many having been presented to audiences which overflowed the 250 seat forum tent The History of Flight pageant presented at the Wednesday evening air show under the direction of Ron Fritz and Phil Coulson was a big hit with the entire air show audience Nowhere else in the world is it possible to see 75 years of continuous aviation history fly by in sequence

This year saw the introduction of organized social activities for the Division members Under the direcshytion of John Turgyan a picnic dinner was held on Tuesshyday evening and a social hour was held on Friday evening after the awards program Both activities took place in Ollies Park the beautiful picnic grounds loshycated immediately behind the Division headquarters barn and forum tent Judging by the size of the crowd and the festive mood of all of those who participated both events were a big success and they will continue to be included in the planning for future years

The management and operations committees were all kept busy and did their usual superb jobs The parking committee under the direction of Art Morgan and Bob Kesel again parked a record number of anshytiques and classics this year There were so many outshystanding aircraft that the judging committees under Glaude Gray Brad Thomas and George York had an exceptionally difficult time in narrowing down the trophy winners

Division convention headquarters that old red barn under the direction of Kate Morgan and Donna Bartlett was its usual beehive of activity even more

so th is year with the manpower committee under Jack Winthrop and Jack Copeland and the security comshymittee under George Williams and Jim Smith sharing space in it The two Jacks had the job of keeping a steady flow of volunteer workers coming to the other committees which needed the manpower particularly the parking and security committees George and Jim along with their vcilu nteers were responsible for the security of the antique and classic aircraft as well as the entire AntiqueClassic operating area

Farther up the road in the commercial display building your Division had a promotional booth under the direction of two lovely airline stewardesses Jackie House and Mary Morris These gals along with their volunteers did a great job of promoting the Division and added many new members to our roster

AI and Lois Kelch along with Charlie Nelson and his Temco Buckaroo aerial photo plane provided the Division press coverage The superb results of their efforts will be evident in this publ ication as well as SPORT AVIATION and others over the coming year

The Divis ion awards program on Friday evening under the direction of Dale Gustafson was a fitting prelude to the social hour which followed it as the trophy winners celebrating their victories were toasted by all in attendance

Two committees which had completed their tasks before the convention started but without whose efshyforts the other committees could not have operated were Stan Gomolls decorations committee and the equipment and supply committee headed by Art Morshygan and John Kalas Stan did the beautiful decorating job on the promotional booth as well as helping to set up the headquarters barn while Art and John obshytained or repaired the equipment for the parking comshymittee including overhauling the motor bikes

Again a great big THANK YOU to all of the Division chairmen and co-chairmen and an especially big THANK YOU to all of you who volunteered your services to the Division s convention effort Your ofshyficers directors and advisors hope that you enjoyed working with them as much as they enjoyed working with you and they look forward to seeing you again next year

We are now about three quarters of the way through our membership contest It will terminate dt the end of December If you haven t used the memshybership applications wh ich you have been receiving in the magazine please do so soon and win yourself a pair of antique flying goggles and a new leather flyshying helmet Details of the contest are found in a disshyplay advertisement in this issue

(Photo by David Gustafson)

Earl Longs po lished Cessna 180

Editorial Staff

Publisher Paul H Poberezny

Editor David Gustafson

Associate Editors H Glenn Buffington Robert G Elliott AI Kelch Edward D Williams Byron (Fred) Fredericksen

Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs Associate Editorships are assigned to those writers who submit five or more articles which are published in THE VINTAGE AIRmiddot PLANE during the current year Associates receive a bound volume of THE VINTAGE AIRshyPLANE and a free one-year membership in the Division for their efforts POLICY-Opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests enti rely with the contributor

ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT J R NIELANDER JR

PO BOX 2464 FT LAUDERDALE FL 33303

VICEmiddotPRESIDENT JACK WINTHROP

RT 1 BOX 111 ALLEN TX 75002

SECRETARY W BRAD THOMAS JR

301 DODSON MILL ROAD PILOT MOUNTAIN NC 27041

TREASURER E E BUCK HILBERT

8102 LEECH RD UNION IL 60180

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc and is published monthly at Hales Corners Wisconsin 53 130 Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Off ice Hales Corners Wisconsin 53 130 and additional mailing o ffi ces Membership rates for EAA Anti que Classic Division Inc are $1 400 per 12 monlh period o f which $1000 is for the publicat ion of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation

Directors

Willi am J Ehl en Route 8 Box 506

Tampa Florida 33618

Claude l Gray Jr 9635 Sylvia Avenue

Northridge California 91324

Dale A Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Drive

Indianapolis Indiana 46274

Richard Wagner PO Box 181

Lyon s Wisconsin 53148

Advisors Ronald Fritz

1989 Wilson NW Grand Rapids Michigan 49504

John R Turgyan Robert E Kessel 1530 Ku ser Road 445 Oakridge Drive

Trenton New Jersey 08619 Roch ester New York 14617

Stan Gomoll Robert A Whit e 1042 90th Lane NE Box 704

Minneapolis Minnesota 55434 Zellwood Florida 32798

AI Kelch 701 8 W Bonn iwell Road

Mequon Wi sconsin 53092

Morton W Lester Box 3747

Martinsville Virginia 2411 2

Arthur R Morgan 3744 N 51 st Bourevard

Milwaukee Wi sconsin 53216

M C Kelly Vi ets RR 1 Box 151

Stillwell Kan sas 66085

The VINTAGEAIBPLANE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC

of THE EXPERIMENTAL A IRCRAFT ASSOCIATION PO Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130

Copyright 1978 EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc All Rights Rese~ed

SEPTEMBER 1978 VOLUME 6 NUMBER 9 (On The Cover fohn Eberle s Fokker riplane arrives at Oshkosh Dave Gustafson Ph)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Th e Restorer s Corner b y J R N ieland e r Jr bull bull 2 Oshkosh 7 8 4 The Winners at O shkosh 7 8 7 The First Cub 8 Ste ve Jon es Stearman Restoration Part I by Steve amp Kay Jones 11 Help 13 Vintage Album bull 14 Gu s Aeroplane 1913 by D D Peterson 16 Buy ing An Old Airp lane Is Just The Beginning b y Bob Barnes 21 Aviation Day At Curtiss Fie ld 1921 by L G Duckert MD bull 24

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP o NON-EAA MEMBER - $2000 Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique

Class ic Division 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE A IRPLANE one yea r memshybership in the Experim ental Aircraft Ass ocia tion and separate membership card s SPORT AVIATION magazin e not included

o EAA MEMBER - $1400 Includes one yea r membership in the EAA AntiqueClassic Divi sion 12 monthly issues o f THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE AND MEMBERSHIP CARD (Appli ca nt mu st be current EAA member and must give EAA membership number)

Page 4 Page 8 Page 21 3

Ray Stephel owns this Stearman YP-9 which was built in 7930 Mr Richard Martin flew this Meyers OTW down from Green Bay

President Poberezny provided famed news commentashytor Paul Harvey with a guided tour of the Antique and classic areas

The view from the tower looking over the Antique Classic display area

5

Sporting a Warner Super Scarab 185 this Fairchild This 1944 Tiger Moth was flown in from Kalamazoo F24W belongs to Steve Thomas of Belvidere Illinois Michigan by John Bright

Tim Buttles of Manawa Wisconsin gave his lAC Chief one of those popular paint jobs

This 1947 Navion belongs to Ed Hedlund of South Haven Michigan Whatta way to go camping

6

11

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Stinson Reliants are big Tallie H o lland brought this 300 horsepower job from Columbus Ohio

Among th e m an y meta l planes g li tte ring in th e sun w as this ou tsta nding Lusco mbe 8 F o wn ed b y Larr y Tras kos of Belleville M ichiga n It has a 750 ho rseshypower Lycoming

THE WINNERS AT OSHKOSH 78

ANTIQUE Grand Champion - 1929 Curtiss Robin - joseph

Erale NR59H Reserve Grand Champion - 1938 Rearwin Sportster

- Alfred Nagel NC20723 Golden Age - 1918-1927 Champion - 1926 Swallow - Buck Hilbert

Silver Age - 1928-1932 Champion -1929 Boeing 100 - P-1 2 - S L Wallickshy N872H Ru nner-Up -1928 Waco ASO - Dean Crites- NC 6930 Outstanding Open Cockpit Biplane - Stearman

YP9- 1930 - Ray Stephen N788H Contemporary Age - 1933-1945 Champion - Waco UPF-7 Richard Peterson Wm

Amundson - N29903 Runner-Up - 1941 Waco VKS - Vince Mariani shy

N31653 Outstanding Open Cockpit Biplane - Stearman shy

Roger Koerner N61511 Outstanding Closed Cockpit Biplane - Waco VKS shy

1941 - Kermit Hoffmeier NC2309 Outstanding Open Cockpit Monoplane - 1931

American Eaglet - Gene Morri s N548H Outstanding Closed Cockpit Monoplane-1937 Stinshy

son SR9C - Stan Kuck N18410 Customized Aircraft Champion - 1931 Waco QCK- Lee Parson s NC11427 Runner-Up - 1938 Spartan Executive - j T Pattershy

son NC1 7165 Outstanding - 1940 Spartan Executive - Donald

Cass idy N97DC Replica Aircraft Champion - 1911 Curtiss Pu sher - Dale Crites shy

1911D Runner-Up - SPAD - Gerald Thornhill - N9104A Outstandin g - Flying Bathtub - Irvin Mahugh shy

N131M Homebuilt Antiques Champion - 1932 Corben Baby Ace - Richard

Demond - N4851 Runner-Up - 1934 Pietenpol - Allen Rudolph shy

N13691

CLASSiC Grand Champion - Aeronca 7AC N85448 - Ron

Wojnar Milwaukee WI Reserve Grand Champion - Rawdon T-1 N5160 shy

jack Chastain Creve Coeur MO Class I - Taylorcraft BC-12D NC5020M - Ralph

Lauritsen Boone IA Class II - Luscombe 8E N2424K - Gregg Bietel

Charlotte NC Class III - Cessna 195 N4477C - Ray Thompson

Houston TX Custom Class A - Piper j-3 N42478 - john Lamasshy

cus Pacific Grove CA Cu stom Class B - Cess na 140 N2436V - Thomas

Weaver Kalispell MT Custom Class C - Bellanca 14-19 N6Rj - Ronald

joslyn Malibu CA Best Workman ship - Stinson 108-1 N8509K shy

Daniel Bauman Dorr MI

BEST OF TYPE Aeronca Champ - 7AC NC81583 - Theo Travis

Flushing MI Aeronca Chief - 11-CC N4628E - David Long

Keyser WV Beech - D-18S N4477 - john Parish Tullahoma

TN Bellanca 14-13-2 - N46LW - Robert Knauff Langley

AFB VA Cessna 120140 - 140 N76509 - james Schock

Farmington Hills MN Cessna 170180 - 170A N711DR - William Lower

Citrus Heights CA Cess na 1901195 - 195 N88DL - john Ankers Boca

Raton FL Ercoupe - N2279H - john Wright Springfield IL Luscombe - 8E N2493K - Leo Bachman Decatur IL Navion - N8997H - Ben Gentile Huntington LI

NY Piper j -3 - NC3432N - Donald jensen Albert Lea

MN Piper - Other - PA-12 N2903M - Bob Byers Salkshy

ville WI Stinson - 108 N389C - Boyd Walsh Marion IN Swift - GC-1A N80905 - Charles Hoover St Paul

MN Taylorcraft - BC-1 2D N96818 - William Knight

Brodhead WI Limited Production - Commonwealth Skyranger

185 - Ross Gresley Anderson IN Northern Illinois Aero Club - Best Owner Restored

Airplane - Curti ss Robin NR59H joseph Erale

7

Figure 1

~~the First ~nb~~ Back in the summer of 1930 things were not going

well at the Taylor Brothers aircraft factory in Bradford Pennsylvania Their first aircraft The Chummy wasn t selling Evidently the $400000 price tag was too high for the depressed economic conditions A new and much cheaper model was needed Thus from a

desperate necessity the first Cub was born This is the story of that first Cub SIN 11 Identification 10547

8

Taylor serial numbers started with 1 a converted Jenney 2 through 10 were an assortment of rebuilds and Chummys 11 was the first Cub and is shown with its Salmson engine (Fig 1)

The first official record relating to this plane is a letter (Fig 2) to the Department of Commerce requestshying an identification mark Shortly thereafter a second letter (Fig 3) reports that the original Tiger Kitten enshy

gine had been replaced by the more powerful Salmson AD9 Note that references to the Chummy have been deleted from the letterhead

These documents would indicate that the E-2 had been designed and built before August 201930 This prototype E-2 reveals some of its Chummy ancestry The wings are the same shape the tail has similar lines and the fuselage bracing around the cockpit is familiar

R ThrllfTl nl UN ITED STATES OF AM ERICA

=i~41 IJ D EPARTME NT OF C O MMERCE Nc~ 1 ~ VNIltAU 0 A lA COMM ACII

UNLI CENSED AIRCRAFT IDENTIFICATION MARK ASSIGN MENT 10547

DESCRiPTION OF AlRCRAFT

M od1 TAYLOR CU8 bullE-~ u~ POLl Serial No 11 poundnrioe SALUSON 40 HP

The aircraft decribd above ic an unl icensed irenri nd has been usieped tbe Dumber indica ted for it~ll t ifi Clltl un only T bi aircr- rt i NOT lkenaed or reltiturod

u ~~~b~Jt~~~~i~~12n ~i~ XUX GERALO~ii middot---M16 SECONDi(pound DETROIT IICHl oAN Unles3 wDl f utI pC1Dded or ~voked thisusiiUDlent eJ pirea~ NOV 15 1935middot- middotr gt shy~ ( Au Dn~ oj A Com_~ ( ~ - ~ rPltl ~~ ~ 8 NOTl-AU ptO~ ollbo ~ Commoe acw tl _ bullbull put ltII tlo ampnola -- ~ 10

- Igt-3u (~_

Figure 2 Figure 4 The most obviou s difference between the two planes

To T f l O il middotmiddotC HII 1 H middotf AY 1(k middot t H UW IYis the change from side-by-side to tandem seating 6 ~9 TRAI N ER PERSONAL 1middot LM~ S- j ~J tf bullbullA close examination of the photo also reveals that (

TAYLOR BROTHERS AIRCRAFT il2 4thi s plane differs in a number of details from its thoushy c cit POll 1gt 1 10

fA YLOR lIKOTHERS AIRCRAFrsand of descendants (See Fig 4 a picture of SIN 12 S~~~ 1~ ~(1 ~ ~ f I ~ ns ~Ii 4 n i a COl POIATI O N lt -- -gtwhich is the first produ ction modeL) The most obviou s

B r a d ( o rd Pmiddot ltullyl nia 01 bull bull bull bull 0 0 bull bull iJ 20differences are Septombor 2~ r~lO

~ Fabric to firewall ~10 Stp _ f ~ -~ ~ -TmiddotC ~ ~ C No diagonal brace behind back instead two small V

-~ lt$ fbraces De pa rtment o f comcerce~ 9 J-~ ~s o o ~t 20 1930 Aa r onau tlC8 Branoh Tank on top of wing --- - ~-J11 ce ~sin~ Divlsion nash i ngton D C Back seat two inches forward

D E J J r ~ of CvI ~middot t middot Lower turtleback especially at tail Gen t lemen e~o i no l o oL l c ~ivi s r oraut l cs a r an ch No adjustable stabilizer Wo rocoDtly Bo n t you application for an IdBntlfi shy a hjl l ~or D C

Fuselage strait one station behind strut attach CD t i o r-Jla k~ ~o r au r plaD8 11 Model Z2 and rece ved the numbe r )~ Ce t ) all Did they originally plan parallel struts like the

t h 1s applica t ion 8 8 baa ed on -the irstallatlOll of _gt u t u lL u r CJw 1 1 h fl rJd du lJ (a t u middot llpplic~L ion fonn~ fo rChummy a f l ge r Xltl8n Model 30 e n~ lne Tbla englfi8 wae u~ed in test Ij ~~ tjf i (a tio n mur k on the f irst of our De ~ model th e al l o r Drag cable to engine mount f11 ampots horo rece n tly but provod to bo of lL8Uff iciont poor Ct b

e o t ~ ~ ~ we ha ve hlle t o ch l n ~middot o en5inee Aileron cable runs further out on wing to ClL of ~ 010 e oo( t t o t alte t h is fi) s t jo b t o~e llati o nsJ Air Accordlnamply we are encloeino herewith new applications ~tL ~middotmiddot~~ i n Ch ilmiddot I ~O ple Clo be iP0d n IJ uth to(QYir U~ the j de rA shyaileron Connecting cable runs on top of wing f or th e same plane but ba ~ed on t h o new motor whicb Is DOW t ii j CD ti or I Cl Ir ~ u ~ ~ ) OIl a 8 this 1 ei t er i8 Iamp e ved

with a guide at the tank be l rg lus ta110J In tho pl ane lo~ o b sood oDOugh to Bbullbull that this change is porperly recorded Two small jury struts further out on mains

We d o n o t know thampt we ha ve use d the proper form iL ~inc8rely y o ars Elevator horn outside of fuselage repo r t iLg this cheroe but if ana other ~ould Buit the purpo8e lAiLv t D()r~O1 0NEvidently no more Cubs were manufactured until De t t e r we would like to r ecei ve a ~ 8upply of them middot ~lo send us a lle~V au pply a f Form I t the adoption of the A-40 engine in the spring of 1931

Records show that 14 E-2s were built during the sum- very trlly 70cra $a1 e8 1anattor

mer of 1931 before the Approved Type Certificate 455 U YL0rl rsj IErl~ y~iumiddotr CO~ORAT I ON ~ - ille t t e 3

became official on the seventh of November 1931 It ~1 ~- f(~

was first applied to SIN 26 NC-11674 [ tJuul ZRC O~v bull Ide llanaoler 1 ~-b 1What happened to thi s historic plane The FAA eaC1l ] e t te b 4lt_ 8-p

records show that it was sold by the factory in 1931 and ~ltt 1-1~middotl 41

shortly thereafter came into the hands of two men l middotr

llt-I 0gtnamed Barney and Burkowski identified as fugitives 1~ L~

from justice A 1935 registration (Fig 5) shows it in the Detroit area Shortly thereafter a final entry indishycates the registration was cancelled due to an accishydent Very likely thi s historic plane was scrapped at __ _ _ _

F J N E S T PE I S ONAL oJ TlAINING LAN I AME Sthi s time ending th e story o f The First Cub R C A S R I CA I N E S l E ft oS 0 N L J T A I N I N G P LAN I ~

9

STEVE JONES

STEARMAN

RESTORATION

PART I

By Steve amp Kay Jones 729 Val Verde Or SE

Albuquerque NM 87108

(Reprinted from SRA OUTFIT)

Since 1943 when I was an Aviation Cadet at Rankin Academy in Tulare California I have dreamed of acshyquiring a Stearman It was difficult tosee my way clear of owning one - until five years ago when I purchased a basket case from a fellow in Phoenix who had apshyparently lost interest in his restoration project If it were not for my love of the Stearman I most probably would have fallen victim to the same disinterest

In a conversation with Bill McCreary who has one of the most beautifu lIy restored stock Stearmans I have ever seen he commented that after being inshyvolved in his restoration project for several years he thought to himself What the hell am I doing with this airplane Ill never finish He did however and so will I - I hope

Bill who until recently resided in the Phoenix area was fortunate in that he purchased his Stearman inshytact whereas mine was completely dismembered I made several trips to Phoenix before Bill moved to seek his advice and use his plane as a guide trying to visualize what my basket case would look like someshyday

(Photo by Steve Jones)

Steve Jones and his Stearman PT-17 fuselage in his garage in Albuquerque New Mexico

The first major step of my project was of course the purchase My prize possession was to be hauled from Phoenix to Albuquerque in a truck borrowed from a local plumbing supply but not without complications as I was soon to discover My purchase was a package deal - both a duster and stock fuselage I was not inshyterested in the duster fuselage save for the landing gear The bolts which after years of being in place were frozen to the fuselage and gear making it imposshysible for me to remove them at that time I could not load but one fuselage on the truck so I was forced to leave the gear beh ind After a short interval a friend of mine Troy Elliott who owns a local welding shop and who worked at the Boeing Stearman Plant in Wichita during the war (and a big help with my project) reshyturned to Phoenix with me in his pickup with his oxyashycetylene gear Using his equipment we warmed the landing gear in the area of the attach bolts and we were then able to remove the bolts and gear and return to Albuquerque

The first several months consisted of sorting out the bits and pieces in order to take inventory After

much time spent at this tedious task I found that my pride and joys previous owner George Brinkoff had two or three rights and no lefts or visa versa He was also short many of the littl e Goodies necessary to make the airplane original Most of the first year was spent in studying the parts manual and acquiring the hard-to-get hardware articles I spent many hours at a local metal finishing shop using the glass beader cleaning up the numerous parts in preparation for repainting cad plating or anodizing - whichever the case was

The chrome piston assemblies and the knuckle and axle combination were removed from the main part of the gear fo r cleaning and inspection I ordered and received new chrome piston assys as the original had a spot of chrome worn off one cylinder and my probshylem was then how to separate the knuckle and axle asshysembly from the piston assembly After several local inquiries I found to my dismay there was little - if any - information available locally to assist me with my Stearman project I found th is to be painfully true in each search for Stearman details which approprishyately led me to sign one of my many letters to Tom Lowe President Stearman Restorers Association as Lonesome Jones

The two bolts passing through the knuckle and pisshyton assembly were removed but this had no loosening effect on the two members Troy Elliott and myself deshysigned a steel fixture to separate these two pieces It consisted of two brackets with holes for bolts that would mate with the holes in the knuckle assembly and the scissor bracket on the piston assembly Troy had a ten ton press which we used to install this Rube Goldshyberg setup Almost full pressure was applied when the structural members of the press began to bend but there was no relative motion apparent at the separashytion point of these two units A sudden loud explosion shook both Troy and I and only slightly separated the two units but you might say it broke the ice With additional pressure applied to the press the two parts separated in increments of about Va at a time

The male end of the knuckle assembly appeared to be gaulded It looked as if its apparent chrome surface had become gaulded from being pulled apart Being unfimiliar with this problem and not knowing the exshytent of damage to the plating I consulted with Kaehr Metal Finishing - who incidentally has done a lot of plating anodizing etc on my project and who allowed me the use of their glass beading machine for cleaning the parts Ray Kaehr an expert on metal treatment adshyvised me the gaulded plating was a plating of tin which insures a positive seal on reassembly The male ends of the knuckle assembly were cleaned and tin plated

10

What a relief to know the wing fits

11

Upon checking the ID of the piston and the aD of the knuckle I fou nd there was 002-003 interference fit between these mateing surfaces Now the problem was how to get these parts back together In my readshying and inquiring I was acquainted with the procedure of putting the female end of the piston in boiling water to expand and I conjectured further that if boiling washyter is beneficial perhaps boiling oil would be even betshyter I also thought of putting the male end of the knuckshyle in dry ice to shrink We placed the female end of the piston in the boiling oil which was kept at the flash point (a C02 fire extinguisher was kept handy to douse the oil flashes) The piston remained in the hot oil and with the use of inside micrometer we would freshyquently check the increase in diameter When we realshyized the aD had increased to the limit and the male end of the knuckle assembly had shrunk all it was going to we were ready for the moment of truth The problem at hand now was to successfully assemble these two parts and align the two bolt holes before the two surshyfaces would sieze

I am sure the boys at Boeing in Wichita had a better procedure for aligning these two pieces Our first atshytempt was limited to eyeballing the two bolt hole patshyterns and I was able to get the piston on to the knuckle assembly only halfway before the two parts siezed It was back to the pulling jig as mentioned before and then back to the tin plating on the male end of the knuckle assembly

Before the next try I had second thoughts about the use of the dry ice to shrink the male end of the knuckle assembly The shrinkage was very slight and it was possible the cold knuckle pin touching the piston asshysembly was accelerating the contraction of the female opening So the second time around I decided to leave the knuckle at room temperature and expand the pisshyton opening to the maximum with the use of boiling oil When the piston had reached its maximum expansion and with the knuckle assembly held in the vice I socked the piston onto the knuckle and this time - I made it I would estimate that from the time the two parts started to mate there was about two seconds available to align the holes This procedure was done on right and left sides of the gear and with very close alignment I did have to run a line reamer through the holes after assembly to allow the bolts to pass through The gear was sandblasted and primed with epoxy type aD primer On reassembly a new set of chevron seals were installed

The fuselage tubing was lineoiled and to my surshyprise it took nearly seven gallons of linseed oil to fill completely The fuselage assembly is now complete

with all the original goodies I was able to locate two sets of new instruments with original lemon-lime color dial markings

Upon disassembly of my Continental 220 engine for inspection and overhaul I noted the red oxide paint on the interior of the engine I wrote to Teledyne Continshyental Motors inquiring as to the purpose of this red oxshyide coating Their reply informed me that its original purpose was to seal the pores of the casting to prevent oil seepage It was later discovered that this procedure was not necessary and the paint coating was found to create more problems that it solved such as flaking off Being advised to remove the red coating I accomshyplished this by use of paint stripper followed by glass beading followed by solvent cleaning All of the parts of the engine have been cleaned and magnifluxed and are ready for reassembly

The new set of standard cylinders I acquired came packed in wooden crates stamped EI Toro Marine Air Base 1944 The nails and wire bands were rusty but the cosmolined cylinders inside were in perfect condition The old engine had five oversized and two standards The five oversized pistons have been turned down to standard including cutting the depth of ring grooves the same as diameter of piston In my quest for origishynality I have located two sets of original gosports and interestingly enough one of the sets came from my Rankin flight instructor Bill Jonker and the other from Bill Mason a flight instructor at Rankin Of course the original Stearman only had one set of gosports but Id like two-way communication now

Another interesting bit of nostalgia surrounding my Stearman is the log sheet I received on this particular sin from the Air Force Museum Its record shows it spent part of its active life at Rankin Field at the time I was a cadet I have also received from the Boeing Wichita plant a copy of the delivery date record indishycating when my sin was delivered to the Army Air Corps 11-14-41

I have fabricated a steel jig to build wing tip bows and also an engine overhaul stand patterned after the pictures in the Continental Overhaul Manual I have also constructed a Continental puller and crankshaft aligning jig and a thrust nut tool I am now in the proshycess of rebuilding the wings - part two of this story that will have to wait

This restoration is certainly a labor of love If it werent I dare say there would be a For Sale on it today

Briefly my progress with the fabric portion of the restoration - I purchased dacron from Aircraft Spruce Specialty not knowing of the STC requirements for

--~--~- --~ --~-~~

~

Rear cockpit area of Steve Jones PT- 77 undergoing restoration

My Stearman Ska sembly and ~ning

Standard category aircraft My inspector said he could not sign off the work without FAA approval Contact was made with the local GADa office who in turn reshyferred me to the regional office in Fort Worth They were responsive to my request and after some investishygation and consideration gave me a one-shot approval to use Aircraft Spruce dacron for my Stearman I have also built a wing overhaul stand

With the fuselage completed including firewall it lacked about 2 clearing my garage door opening I tried letting the air out of the tires and hung 200 pounds on the landing gear cross member in an attempt to compress the gear - but no luck I subsequently deshycided on a steel cradle to support the axle mounted on three caster wheels With this rig I gained 4 I guess you could say I have the only set of Stearman skate boards in captivity

On one of Jim Ardys cross-country trips he flew his 1 beauty to the Boeing plant in Wichita to show it off In the course of a conversation there he was told about

12

some parts on the shelf left from production days The parts were the tail wheel post and axle assembly Jim bought everything on the shelf and later gave me the opportunity to buy one Of course I jumped at the chance to purchase an original part off the factory shel f

I had to rebuild the fire wall to comply with stainshyless steel and aluminum sandwich requirements I lucked out finding a quantity of original style rivets large 00 and low profile head In order to duplicate the 4 dimples in the fire wall at the motor mount attach points I had a local machinist make a male and female die to form this dimple The machinist measured as close as possible the dimensions - depth taper diamshyeter - the first set of dies gave a dimple too deep On the second try the dimple came out perfect The two halves were held together with a strap loop Pressure to form the dimples was applied with a ten ton hydraushylic press The fire wall came out just like storebought

In my never-ending search for detailed information

I obtained a roll of microfilm of the Boeing Stearman Airplane drawings This film was procured from the Dept of Air Force Wright Patterson AFB Dayton Ohio and required permiss ion from the Boeing Seattle Divishysion for release I had to sign a release to relieve them of liability that might result from my use or misuse of the drawings

I have built jigs to construct ribs from and have finished two sets of ribs complete with spar opening In retrospect I have learned from the old pros that the spar openings should not be enclosed until after the ribs are in place The ribs should have only the forward vertical truss in place This would align the ribs and the three remaining vertical trusses installed after the ribs are in place I haven t assembled my first wing panel as yet but will start assembly as soon as I have the spars drilled using the old spars as a pattern I have been advised to remove three of the vertical trusses but am going to try to work around this error in conshystruction In my second installment I will report my

findings Hindsight is always better than foresight and this project is no exception

I would like to express my appreciation for detail assistance with my project to three individuals in parshyticular Tom Lowe and Bill Bohannan both of SRA and Paul Quinn of Mid-Continent in Hayti Missouri I would also like to express my thanks to Charlie Dickinson for helping disassemble and inspect my Continental 220 engine I would like also to say how much I have enjoyed the past two visits with Bill and Beth Mason when they visited in our home on their cross country trips Bill always let me fly from the back seat which sure reminded me of the good old days at Rankin Acadshyemy

As I mentioned to Tom Lowe previous to starting this project I had only the love of a Stearman and my experience as an aviation cadet to get me going but when I get a live bird out of this project I will have a thorough knowledge of the Model 75 Stearman On one occasion when my son was checking out my progress he made a comment that was the greatest compliment a son could ever give his dad Dad he said You can do about anything and what you cant do you can find out how If I didnt have this ability to find out what I don t know my Stearman project would have gone down the tubes long ago

My den as wing assembly shop

A pair of excellent Cub restorations return from a formation flight

HELP

The Vintage Airplane Magazine is in grave danger The problem is lack of material As with SPORT AVIATION and other EAA publications we are almost totally depenshydent on the photographic generosity and writing activity of our readership Its up to you to share with the other members of the AntiqueClassic Division your experiences memories photographs or research Headquarters can not do it all on its own The supply of manuscripts is so low that unless we hear from some of you soon there may not be a happy new year Please get involved now

Paul H Poberezny Publisher David Gustafson Editor

Piper Pacer belonging to David Vanciere Mitchell 50

Guiseppe M Bellanca designed and built his first airplane in Milan Italy 1908-09 learned to fly at Mineola N Y in 19 12 H e master-minded the building of the record breaking Bellancas and organized his factory at New Castle Delaware in 1927

Source of pixs and info VintagAircraft Age Air Travel News Western Flying

Some BELLANC National Glider and Airplane News CompiledMans Fight to Fly Heinmuller (1945)

Wes ley Smith (L) and George Haldeman (R) pictured with the Aviation Town and Country Club Trophy (L) the Cleveland-to-B uffalo Efficiency Race Trophy (M id) and the Detro it News Air Transport Trophy (R) won by the Belshylanca pilots in speed and efficiency races at the 1929 National Air Races

The Co lumbia was one of th e early record breakers set a world non-refueling endurance record of 51 hrs 11 min in May of 1927 by Clarence Chamberlin and Bert Acosta A fortnight after Lindys flight Chamberlin with Charles Levine as passenger flew the Co lumbia from Rooseshyvelt Field to Eisleben Germany in 42 hrs 45 min A second trans-Atlantic flight was made by Erro ll Boyd and Harry Connor in the fall of 1930 This 1933 picture with ring and logo added was taken before Boyd Lyon and Davis flew from New York to Haiti and return

Album tory of Yesteryears nn Buffington

Early-on corporate pilot June Quinn (L) and Win Campshybell (R) nationally known baker who used a Bellanca in visiting his thirty plants extending from the Rockies to the Atlantic Campbell-Taggart Associated Bakeries headshyquartered in Kansas City circa 7937

A Bellanca Skyrocket one of the planes used by ColoradoshyUtah Airways subsidiary of US Airways over its Denver Grand Junction - Salt Lake City rout ing circa 7932

Clyde Pangborn (L) and Hugh Herndon (R) flew the Belshylanca Miss Veedol around-the-world in 7931 They completed the first non-stop trans-Pacific flight on Oct 5 7937 - in a 47 hr 70 min flight from Samushiro Beach Japan_to Wenatchee WA dropping their landing gea r after the take-off

I Elinor Smith teenage Long Island pilot used Bellancas in setting altitude and endurance records - Apr 23-24 7929 shy26 hrs 27 min non-refueling endur~nce flight and Mar 70 7930 - 27448 ft over Roosevelt Field in a Pacemaker

~f~~rs c~middot------shyfJLiS)

By D D Peterson Ale 660 74 Doe Drive

Terre Haute Indiana 47802

(Photos Provided by the Author)

In the decade following the Wright brothers first powered flight and particularly after their first public demonstrations a slowly growing number of new airshycraft designs appeared in the United States their builders hoping to establish themselves in a new inshydustry The 1913 issue of Janes All the World s Airshy

craft states that there are certainly no less than two thousand people in the USA who have built flying machines The greater percentage of these have been home made copies of standard machines It states further that the general public takes very slight intelshyligent interest in aviation Developments in this country lagged far behind those in Europe even beshyfore the stimulus provided by World War I

Two original designs were built in Terre Haute Indiana - the Johnson Brothers monoplane (covered in The Vintage Airplane October 1977) and a tractor biplane designed and built by E A Gus Riggs the subject of this piece Each of these aircraft was equivashylent to - and in some respects superior to - much better known European designs

Gus Riggs Biplane

Terre Haute at t hat time was a typica l small midshywestern city with a population of app rox imately 65000 It was in the center of one of the countrys biggest beds of bituminous coal and was also a transportation censhyter - being served by 8 railroads and 4 interurban lines Terre Haute had the largest wholesale grocery business in Indiana the largest distillery in the US with a daily capacity of 60000 gallons and a great diversity of light industry

Eugene Augustus Gus Riggs was born and raised on a farm near Farmersburg about 15 miles south of Terre Haute He completed 3 years of high school and gained his knowledge of engineering and aeroshynautics by studying college textbooks at home He stated in a 1958 interview that there were no aeroshy

16

nautic courses available and anyone who expressed an interest in airplanes was thought to be nuts The information in this article was obtained from a taped interview of Mr Riggs by three members of the Washybash Valley Pilots Association microfilm copies of local newspapers some information from the Smithsonian Institute and personal communication Unfortunately we haven t found anyone who remembers seeing this airplane fly but Ive talked to 2 people who hung around the Riggs shop during their boyhood

Design work on the Riggs tractor biplane apparentshyly was started in 1911 possibly after he had seen the first flying exhibition ever made in Terre Haute by Rene Simon and Captain J J Frisbee in June or the first flights of the Johnson Brothers monoplane in August and September 1911 Work on this project was postponed when he was commissioned by Dr Belden a local dentist to build a copy of a Wright Bishyhlane Riggs went to St Louis and was allowed to make detailed measurements and sketches of the Wright Model B owned by Mr Lambert He returned to Terre Haute and built a reasonable facsimile of a Wright biplane powered by a Fox 2 cycle engine The plane stalled and crashed on its initial flight in 1912 while being pi loted by a man named Piceller FAI 116

Riggs then got back to work on his origi nal design and final assembly was completed late in May 1913 In the 1958 interview Riggs claims that there were at that time only 3 other designers in the Un ited States building tractor bip lanes and that he p referred this arrangement because t here was less danger to the pilot in the event of a mishap if the pilot was behind the motor

The fr am ework of spru ce an d as h wi th wi re braci ng was described as a work of art and acco rdshying to Elling O Weeks w ho was to be its fi rs t pilot it was the li ghtest machine he had ever seen It had a wing span of 32 feet The plan form of t he wings and the wing w arping system were qu ite similar to a Wright biplane The fuselage was enclosed back to th e cockshypit the verti cal tail surface and probably the horizonshytal tail were fully moveable The control system was the same as that used on the Deperdussin with which Veshydrines won the 1912 Gorden Bennett race a wheel controlled the wing warping and horizontal tail and a rudder bar was connected to the vertical tail Power was supplied by a 60 or 80 hp Hall-Scott V-8 watershycooled engine that had been obtained from a wreck Kearney had off the California coast on an attempted f l ight from Los Angeles to San Francisco The propeller was 8 feet 3 inches in diameter and had been carved

from laminated spruce and walnut by Lloyd Where who was then a student at Rose Polytechnic Institute

The Terre Haute Tribune articles in the summer of 1913 referred to the craft as the Riggs Tractor No 13 supposedly becau se the young men thought the name would bring them luck - as they were using a motor which had been owned by a dead aviator Work on the machine was started on the 13th of the month and was completed in 1913 They claimed the airframe was made out of the wood of a casket In the 1958 intershyview Mr Riggs simply referred to it as his tractor

Gus Riggs bip lane is airborne

biplane The three men were certainly young - Riggs the designer and builder was either 20 or 21 E O Weeks the pilot was soon to have his 23rd b irthday and Lloyd Wehr was probably 19

Elling O Weeks joined Riggs in early 1913 as an experienced aviator He was a native of Iowa had been involved in auto racing around Chicago and had learned to fly a plane he had built in 1911 He was later associated with O H Williams in building and f lying

17

an airplane in Scranton Pennsylvania After making some record flights in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre he took some further instruction on a Thomas Brothers school plane in Bath New York and was awarded FAI license No 214 on March 12 1913

Riggs had apparently done his homework well beshycause Weeks had no significant problems on the first flights which were made from a field on the south edge of Terre Haute very near where the johnson monoshyplane was being flown by Ross Smith A newspaper article on june 17th reports that he had made at least 40 flights - most of them of at least 10 minutes durashytion and a june 19th article gives details of a 28 minute flight over the city There had been one forced landing because of an engine malfunction Flights continued quite regularly and an article on july 18 reported that the craft was being modified to allow carrying a passhysenger This must not have been a very big job because on july 21 Weeks took Ross Smith the pilot of the Johnshyson monoplane Lloyd Wehr and Billy Burke for short rides in somewhat gusty weather We have no pictures of the plane carrying two people but presume the passhysenger was seated in front of the pilot An article later in July reported that Riggs was starting to take flying lessons from Weeks

Undoubtedly this lack of teething problem s was the result of several factors Gus had used a convenshytional design with a proven control system the engine was a standard type as reliable as most at that time and the flying was done by an experienced and comshypetent pilot E O Weeks There was apparently some friendly competition between the johnson and Riggs

Gus Aeroplane

camps both a 10 mile race and some other trials were planned as well as joint exhibitions There were also plans for other projects such as taking aerial motion pictures of the business destrict the waterfront and the portion of the city devastated by the March tornado and flood

About August 1 the airplane was shipped from Terre Haute to Holland Michigan where Weeks made daily flights at a fair and later a round trip flight from Holshy

land to Saugatuck In the following weeks they apshypeared at many fairs in several mid-western and upper plains States getting as far west as Denver The craft was apparently wrecked in a crash at Fort Collins Colorado and was not rebuilt

Riggs returned to Terre Haute and set to work on an improved design which was larger had a slightly more powerful Hall-Scott engine had ailerons for lateral control and other refinements Weeks had

found some financial backing in Eagle Grove Iowa so Riggs joined him there in 1914 to build the new design

Those who knew him say Gus Riggs was quite inshydependent an avid reader with a fantastic memory and a meticulous craftsman who built no junk Hed work very long and hard on a project that had his interest but there were other periods when he did little or nothing He served in Europe as a technical

19

advisor for the Air Service in World War I and built a couple of airplanes and some custom automobiles in Terre Haute in 1919and the early 20s He left Terre Haute in 1928 and worked with Walter Beech at Travel Air in Wichita for a while before joining his friend Billy Parker in the Star company in Oklahoma where he

20

Acknowledgf2ment Photos and the taped Riggs intershyview used in preparing this article were provided by John Blouch EAA 75223 Ale 1657 Hes too young to remember the 7913 airplane but spent many boyhood hours in the decade following WWI loafing in Gus shop which was less than a block from the Blouch home John probably knew Gus Riggs as well as anyone in Terre Haute knew him and our conversations have given me a good idea of what kind of man Riggs was

was chief designer of the Star Cavalier He was back in western Indiana in the depression years where he was involved in a variety of activities but apparently was never again active in any phase of aviation

So like the Johnson monoplane the second orishyginal airplane built in Terre Haute which also had a

John son Bros Monoplane - Art Smith Pilot

promising beginning and potential for future developshyment never led to any great success for its designer and builder But it s interesting to speculate about what might have been

Buying an old Airplane bull

IS just the beginning

By Bob Barnes 2942 Verle

Ann Arbor Michigan 48704

Everyone knows an old airplane is always in need of a little fixin but just how much can you expect when you buy a 30 year old flyin machine I suppose some are better than others but I strongly suspect the difference really isnt great

I thought perhaps sharing my experience with my Aeronca Chief would give those of you who are entershytaining thoughts about picking up a little old someshything to fly a better idea of just what to expect Please dont get discouraged by the length of my list of things to do I am not the type who can just hop in and go I want to fly with the satisfaction of knowing all is well and Im willing to go to a great deal of trouble to put things in shape

My ship had been in basket condition for some time the tai l surfaces having been recovered by one owner and the wings by another since its last sojourn into the blue I entered the scene just as the wings were being refitted to the airframe I volunteered to help peeking around as best I could during the reassembly to see how she looked inside I couldnt see any signs of the ship having been badly damaged at any time and outside of being very old and bit dirty it looked fairly respectable I made an offer and was on my way to learning all about old airplanes

Let me take it more or less in order from back to front The rudder horn for the steerable tailwheel had been misplaced I welded a strap of mild steel to a short length of 3 4 conduit This part is not structural and conduit works OK here only The tail brace wires were slightly rusted and paint was shot so I sanded them carefully and gave them one coat of zinc chroshymate and one coat of aluminum enamel Some more rust was sanded f rom tubing in the fin where water got in around the inspection plates Chromate was apshyplied here too

In attempting to hook up the elevato r trim tab the cab le broke A new cable was installed after a search for a place with swaging equipment The new cable left the trim tab range badly off-center Investigation revealed it had been that way for some time A link was made to correct the off-center condition because I dont like controls which don t work the way theyre supposed to I put new bolts in the tailwheel assembly because they take quite a beating with a heavy tailed ship Grease was liberally applied to force out the old dirty stuff from th e wheel bearings and the pivot

The stop-bolts were miss ing from the elevator so new ones were in sta lled and adjusted No further problems were found in the tail until flight testing disshyclosed the need for heavy right rudder pressure and ve ry touchy ground handling on Hynes rJarrow runshy

21

I

way The rudder pressure was alleviated by installashytion of a 12 square inch trim tab (bent aluminum plate screwed to the trailing edge) The tricky steering was attributed to an unskilled pilot for a while but reshydrilling the new steering horn to reduce steering leverage made a pussycat out of the wild beast and re-established competence in the pilot

Moving forward now lets stop at the reverse tank located behind the baggage compartment No drainshycock could be found but an inspection plate disshyclosed a pipe tee with a cap A radiator drain valve was secured from an automotive supply house and inshystalled with a short hose which was routed through a slot cut in the inspection plate The tank was flushed and though clean the fuel was discarded (I discarded it into my VW tank) There were no leaks so we moved on to the baggage compartment It had been pulled out and simply required reinstallation and a couple of new snap-fasteners from the tent repair shop The header was tougher A zipper ran clear across the cabin for access to aileron cables It had beel left unzipped too long and had shrunk so it lacked 112 for closure I installed two rows of eyelets and laced the thing together

The recovered wings had pulled in the root ribs so the gap fairings couldn t be reassembled with the original screwholes Several new holes were needed An old antenna was secured to the left fairing and a new length of coax was prepared and run down to a BNC connector installed on the panel A pair of rotating air vents were located in the nose fairings on either side of the windshield and they were loose as a goose and rusted there New ones were made and fitted with spring washers and thick cork gaskets in case I wanted to fly in the winter Flight testing revealed treacherous wing dropping in a stall so rigging was checked and 1V2 degrees of wash-in was found in the wings With rerigging to 0 degrees the ship picked up 3 mph and now stalls right straight ahead as it should

Windows were filthy and appeared in poor condishytions Careful washing with lots of water followed by a coat of automotive turtle wax made them all shine like brand new Caught in time The door catches were badly worn but so far I haven t found any good way to repair them so I use them with care A square of WD-40 made a lot of difference in the way they work Rusty aircraft bolts with no nuts had been jammed in to serve as door hinges The work involved in fitting new clevi s pins and cotter keys made me realize why a less ambitious owner had taken the easy way out I did it the right way nevertheless

Wiring for navigation lights had been installed in the wings during recover and the ends were hanging

out in the breeze I installed seaplane grommets an inch from the exit points and shoved the wire end s back inside the wing through the grommets Looks fine In transporting the wings to the airport on cartop carriers the trailing edge of the left wing had been crushed forward very slightly and the fabric had wrinkles at each rib juncture A little work with a travel-iron heating through a scrap of cloth corrected the wrinkles without damaging the finish

The ELT was attached to the left door at a point where it presented neither hazard not inconvenience (except in its cost) This permitted the antenna to l ie near the window without interference with metal obshyjects which would reduce its effectiveness A defective plastic ventilator in the right side of the boot-cowl was replaced by a metal cap attached with a wingnut in case it becomes advisable to reinstall a vent next summer

The engine cowling had 3 dzus fasteners which had pulled clear through the aluminum cowl Patches were riveted in place and the fasteners carefully located and reinstalled New fasteners were put in where the slots had been butchered by improperly equipped pilots At this time a couple of dzus keys were made and became a permanent addition to my key rings A fuel drain bottle was made up with a slotted neck to reach up from the bottom of the cowl and engage the quick-drain lugs

Wheel bearings were repacked and the shock struts were refilled A strut safety cable was missing on the left side so a new cable and mounting clamp were made up and installed Brakes were adjusted New bolts were installed in the landing gear struts and in the wing struts The front fuel tank was thorshyoughly flushed and the gauge checked for accuracy below Y4 tank Primer lines were removed for anneal shying and new fittings were installed when incorrect fittings were discovered on the lines A leak check proved OK The altimeter had been removed and preshysented a real hassle getting it back in place The oilshypressure gauge line was Y4 copper tubing with about a pound of fittings on either end After about 8 trips to the automotive supply house a proper Va line was installed with correct end fittings instead of tirepump clamps etc

All lines under the panel were strapped or taped together and the fuel lines separated from electrical wiring Several grommets were replaced in the fireshywall and a new engine groundstrap was made up and installed The th rottle cable and carbu retor-head cable were rerouted into smooth curves and clamps made to hold them from slipping endwise

A compression check showed a very soft jug Pulling the cylinder revealed a slightly wobbly rod Pulling the rod disclosed a heavily worn bearing At this point the purchase price dropped $200 and the top overhaul became all my responsibility I pulled all jugs and rods A good tugging verified no unusal wear on the mains and everything inside looked up to snuff borrowed a set of good micrometers and checked out the crank throws pistons cylinders and piston pins The crank was within limits and not even undersize Same for the cylinders but they had noticeable ridges I bought a cylinder hone and went to it They cleaned up nicely I used an axial wire brush in a portable electric drill wrapped in rags to clean carbon from the heads so I could inspect what looked like a crack beshytween valve seats This proved to be just a casting mark but I looked everything over under 100 watt light stuck right inside the jugs All OK

I ground and lapped in all the valves using a simple tool I made at the old Hartung Airport in 1943 After I finished they all refused to leak a drop of gasoline in 10 minutes Number 2 jug had a bad exhaust valve guide so I lost an evening making a guide driving punch Next weekend I drove over to see Del Hickox near Benton Harbor and came back with a valve guide a set of rings new rod bearings intake hoses a couple spare valves and a set of gaskets

While I had the engine down I decided to correctly safety the carburetor on which one screw was not inshycluded in the safety loop Just to get at that one screw was a chore and I couldn t get the wire to go through it I decided the wire had been sheared off by tightening the nut with safety wire in place To remove the nut I had to pull off the mixture control Inside the mixshyture control I found red powder Also the valve disc was frozen in place I decided the carburetor would go home with me Pulling off the carburetor heat assembly I discovered the cable had been improperly fitted and there was no way the carburetor heat could have been turned on full Having once explained to the Brighton Troopers why I had parked an airplane on US 23 with carburetor heat halfway on I decided a Iittle rework was in order I redesigned the cable atshytachment so the flapper actually makes a slapping sound when its operated so I would KNOW it was fully on or off

I had to make a special screwdriver with a 4 lever arm to break loose the mixture control disc It was really glued shut A lot more red dust came out of the jets as I flushed out the guts I lapped the mixture conshytrol disc against a garage window with valve lapping compound and reassembled a very clean carburetor My only experience with a dead engine on take-off

22

from Hyne was from a plugged carburetor and Im leery of them noW you see

Eventually the engine was back together with all bolts carefully torqued to book values I used all new brass exhaust nuts so I wont have to swear next time I pull the pipes The cooling baffles looked like doilies so I stripped them off and went home and got out the tin snips and made a whole new set using the old ones for patterns I used leather strips from a billfold on the edges attaching the leather with pop rivets and back-up washers A new set costs either $86 or an evening or two I had more evenings than $86 bills The little aluminum baffle plates that fit between the jugs on the bottom were all cut up from vibrating against the fins on the cylinders so I made new ones and supported them with springs and short lengths of welding rod like the original aircraft manufacturer used I broke one cigarette (internal spark plug insulashytor) and John Bennett found one in his collection of goodies All the plugs were new since one of the previous owners works for AC That saved me a bundle

I made a timing disc from an old 24 hour clock dial and made up a mag timer from a circuit in an EAA how-to book Both mags were set precisely together I cleaned the oil screen and dumped in 4 quarts of NON-detergent oil After 20 hours the screen was again cleaned (after inspection for particles) and deshytergent (not really detergent aircraft oil is ash-disshypersant not detergent) oil was used Ash dispersant oil keeps oil so clean an engine takes 100 hours to break in The cheap stuff lets just enough grit circulate to set the rings in 20 hours Then its time to get it out of there After 20 hours a compression check showed the worst cylinder was better than the best one before the overhaul

About the only other work was fitting some short lengths of aluminum tubing inside the heater ducting to give the clamps something to grip Without the inner rings they can collapse shutting off carburetor air without explanation

I have flown the Chief to 14500 feet dove her to redline looped rolled and spun her even learned how to land her fairly well in a 20 mph crosswind and so far I m thoroughly pleased with my investment It was 5 weeks from the day I bought her until I had the pleasure of flying her around the patch but I feel I now have a ship I can trust

23

AVIATION DAY AT CURTISS FIELD 1921

L C Duckert MD 104 16th Avenue North

Hopkins Minnesota 55343

Waldemar lell 5024 Xerxes Avenue South

M inneapolis Minnesota 55455

(Photographs W lell)

FIGURE 1 Curtiss pusher Mode l E

The aircraft is a center stage attraction at the exhibishytion consistent with its general popularity The Fokshyker F-3 is airborne in the background

An early aero exhibition at Curtiss Field Mineola Long Island on Sunday October 16 1921 provided the aviation enthusiast a first hand look at pioneer ai rshycraft Many of the featured aircraft demonstrated early attempts to provide comfortable economical passenger service The photographs capture both the uniqueness of the aircraft and the enthusiasm of the crowd It is grat ify ing that thi s fervor has persisted through the years and can still be witnessed at the annual O shshykosh convention and other aviation meets

FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3

This six place aircraft was manufactured in Holland and was the first commercial Fokker demonstrated in the United States The pilots cockpit was exposed to both the discomfort of the elements and the engine A three passenger Farmen is in the background

FIG URE 3 Remington-Burnelli Airliner

Manufactured in Hartford Connecticut the fuselage was shaped like an airfoil to create additional lift

FIGURE 5 Verville R-l

This 1920 Pulitzer racer was powered by a 638 hp Packard V-12 engine The pilot is unidentified The J-L 6 is seen in the background

FIGURE 4 Junkers J-L 6

The early all metal aluminum passenger plane carried seven passengers and pilot The plane was sold in America by the Junkers-Larson Company and estabshylisted a speed record for six passengers between Atshylantic City and Philadelphia and return in a little over 59 minutes The vertical stabilizer of a Sperry modishyfied Curtiss JN is seen at the left

Calendar of Events SEPTEMBER 8-10 - MARION OHIO - Original MERFI 13th Annual

EAA Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Municipal Airport Marion O h io Air Show Awards for Homebu ilt Antique Classic and Warb irds Forums on Airport Camping Stat ic Displays etc For more inshyformation contact Myrna Lewis 241 Bassett Drive Springshyfie ld Ohio 45506 Phone 1-513323-2424

SEPTEMBER 9 10 - HERMISTON OREGON - Annual Watermelon Fly- In EAA Chapter 219 Saturday night dinner Sunday morning breakfast Contact Ed Betts PO Box 1348 Umatilla Oregon 97882

OCTOBER 5-8 - HARLINGEN TEXAS - Confederate Air Force Air Show 78 Contact CAF Public Affa irs Box 2443 Harlingen Texas 5121428-4596

OCTOBER 7-8 - REDDING CALIFORNIA - Oktoberfest at Redding Sky Ranch sponsored by EAA Chapter 157 Contact Curly Medina 916241-7737

OCTOBER 21-22 - MARANA ARIZONA - Seventh annual Coppershystate EAA Fly- In at Marana Air Park Award s for homebuilts antiques classics and warbirds Contact Fred Feemster Box 12307 Tucson Arizona 85732 6021299-2723

NOVEMBER 18-19 - MIAMI FLORIDA - Anti que Class ic and Custom Built Fly-I n at the thi rd annual Harvest - A Country Fa ir sponsored by the Historical Association of Southern Flo rida at the Dade County Youth Fai rground Coral Way at 112th Avenue Awards given fo r antique classic and custombuilt ai rcraft Contact Capt Ken Ul land 01 t he Civil Air Patrol office (305) 552-3106 home after 6 00 pm (305) 251-5927 o r Mary Dodd Russell Harvest Coshyordinator at the Historical Museum 3280 S Miami Aven ue Bui ldshying B Miami FL 33129

Do you know of a Beechcraft Staggerwing that is fl ying being restored or in a basket If so then get in touch with Tom Lempicke of Route 1 Box 5190 St Cloud Florida 32769 Under the direction of the Staggerwing Museum Foundation he is revising the book STAGGERWING and would like to have ANY information on ANY Staggershywing ANYwhere The book should be published in 1979 and will feature information on ownership condition and location of each aircraft built

CLASSIFIED ADS

1940 )-3 l-65 3900 hrs TT 440 SMOH Ceconite on fuselage 1973 Wings linen 1969 Metal prop Battery transceiver origshyinal paint Fresh annual $6500 Connecticut 203-349-8267

WANTED Back issues of avia tion magazines SPORT AVIAshyTION Vintage Airplane Model Aviation etc D Nielsen 4561 Adobe Rd 29 Pa lms CA 92277

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Are you restoring a Classic

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Airtex interior upholstery items are all made up into complete assemblies ready for you to install Your choice of three fabric styles and twenty colors Luxurious cut pile carpets in seven colors wrinkleshyfree Duraliner headliners baggage compartshyments seat slings and fire wall covers are also available for Classic planes

RE-COVER ENVELOPES Available for all Classics and some Antique models in Ceconite 101 102 and cotton Airtex make s the worlds finest envelopes

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27

(Photo by David Gustafson)

Earl Longs po lished Cessna 180

Editorial Staff

Publisher Paul H Poberezny

Editor David Gustafson

Associate Editors H Glenn Buffington Robert G Elliott AI Kelch Edward D Williams Byron (Fred) Fredericksen

Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs Associate Editorships are assigned to those writers who submit five or more articles which are published in THE VINTAGE AIRmiddot PLANE during the current year Associates receive a bound volume of THE VINTAGE AIRshyPLANE and a free one-year membership in the Division for their efforts POLICY-Opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests enti rely with the contributor

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SECRETARY W BRAD THOMAS JR

301 DODSON MILL ROAD PILOT MOUNTAIN NC 27041

TREASURER E E BUCK HILBERT

8102 LEECH RD UNION IL 60180

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc and is published monthly at Hales Corners Wisconsin 53 130 Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Off ice Hales Corners Wisconsin 53 130 and additional mailing o ffi ces Membership rates for EAA Anti que Classic Division Inc are $1 400 per 12 monlh period o f which $1000 is for the publicat ion of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation

Directors

Willi am J Ehl en Route 8 Box 506

Tampa Florida 33618

Claude l Gray Jr 9635 Sylvia Avenue

Northridge California 91324

Dale A Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Drive

Indianapolis Indiana 46274

Richard Wagner PO Box 181

Lyon s Wisconsin 53148

Advisors Ronald Fritz

1989 Wilson NW Grand Rapids Michigan 49504

John R Turgyan Robert E Kessel 1530 Ku ser Road 445 Oakridge Drive

Trenton New Jersey 08619 Roch ester New York 14617

Stan Gomoll Robert A Whit e 1042 90th Lane NE Box 704

Minneapolis Minnesota 55434 Zellwood Florida 32798

AI Kelch 701 8 W Bonn iwell Road

Mequon Wi sconsin 53092

Morton W Lester Box 3747

Martinsville Virginia 2411 2

Arthur R Morgan 3744 N 51 st Bourevard

Milwaukee Wi sconsin 53216

M C Kelly Vi ets RR 1 Box 151

Stillwell Kan sas 66085

The VINTAGEAIBPLANE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC

of THE EXPERIMENTAL A IRCRAFT ASSOCIATION PO Box 229 Hales Corners WI 53130

Copyright 1978 EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc All Rights Rese~ed

SEPTEMBER 1978 VOLUME 6 NUMBER 9 (On The Cover fohn Eberle s Fokker riplane arrives at Oshkosh Dave Gustafson Ph)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Th e Restorer s Corner b y J R N ieland e r Jr bull bull 2 Oshkosh 7 8 4 The Winners at O shkosh 7 8 7 The First Cub 8 Ste ve Jon es Stearman Restoration Part I by Steve amp Kay Jones 11 Help 13 Vintage Album bull 14 Gu s Aeroplane 1913 by D D Peterson 16 Buy ing An Old Airp lane Is Just The Beginning b y Bob Barnes 21 Aviation Day At Curtiss Fie ld 1921 by L G Duckert MD bull 24

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP o NON-EAA MEMBER - $2000 Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique

Class ic Division 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE A IRPLANE one yea r memshybership in the Experim ental Aircraft Ass ocia tion and separate membership card s SPORT AVIATION magazin e not included

o EAA MEMBER - $1400 Includes one yea r membership in the EAA AntiqueClassic Divi sion 12 monthly issues o f THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE AND MEMBERSHIP CARD (Appli ca nt mu st be current EAA member and must give EAA membership number)

Page 4 Page 8 Page 21 3




5




6

11

---~----~--------------A




















N13691


























7

Figure 1




8












- Igt-3u (~_























9

STEVE JONES

STEARMAN

RESTORATION

PART I















10


11












--~--~- --~ --~-~~

~






12











HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27




5




6

11

---~----~--------------A




















N13691


























7

Figure 1




8












- Igt-3u (~_























9

STEVE JONES

STEARMAN

RESTORATION

PART I















10


11












--~--~- --~ --~-~~

~






12











HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27




6

11

---~----~--------------A




















N13691


























7

Figure 1




8












- Igt-3u (~_























9

STEVE JONES

STEARMAN

RESTORATION

PART I















10


11












--~--~- --~ --~-~~

~






12











HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27

11

---~----~--------------A




















N13691


























7

Figure 1




8












- Igt-3u (~_























9

STEVE JONES

STEARMAN

RESTORATION

PART I















10


11












--~--~- --~ --~-~~

~






12











HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27

Figure 1




8












- Igt-3u (~_























9

STEVE JONES

STEARMAN

RESTORATION

PART I















10


11












--~--~- --~ --~-~~

~






12











HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27








- Igt-3u (~_























9

STEVE JONES

STEARMAN

RESTORATION

PART I















10


11












--~--~- --~ --~-~~

~






12











HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27

STEVE JONES

STEARMAN

RESTORATION

PART I















10


11












--~--~- --~ --~-~~

~






12











HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27


11












--~--~- --~ --~-~~

~






12











HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27





12











HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27






HELP





















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27


















Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27













Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27








Gus Riggs Biplane



16










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27










17




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27




Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27

Gus Aeroplane







19


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27


20
















21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27











21

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27

I















22






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27






23










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27










FIGURE 2 Fokker F-3
















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27















CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27









CLASSIFIED ADS




MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

WIN








FOR 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933



SIXTH ONE


$1250


26


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27


~(UItt dJLt ~~ I~

1J












(215) 295-4115

27

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Vintage Airplane - Sep 1978

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