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This month’s column starts out
with a good news–bad news scenario.
Okay, the good news first. The federal
budget was recently introduced by
the current administration in Wash-
ington, D.C., and there are no signs
of any user fees projected to impact
general or recreational aviation forthe upcoming fiscal year 2011. This
is really huge news in my estimation.
I see this as an affirmation of all the
hard work of each of the aviation
“alphabet organizations,” as well as
our membership, in their efforts to
tell the whole story about the impor-
tance of general aviation (GA) in to-day’s society, and its positive impact
on this nation’s economy.
Doug Macnair of EAA’s govern-
ment relations office said it best
when he recently remarked, “The
system is elegant in its simplicity; the
more we fly, the more fuel we burn,
the more we pay in taxes. There can
be no more accurate measure of our
direct use of the national airspace sys-
tem.” Well said, Doug! If you haven’t
been watching the development of
the GA caucuses in the 111th Con-
gress, you should be aware that the
one of these caucuses, please be sure
to encourage him or her to take an
active role in GA and join up.Now for the bad news! It seems
as though that pesky little rodent in
Pennsylvania has once again seen his
shadow, thereby assuring us of an ad-
ditional six weeks of winter weather.Oh, the joys of living in the great Mid-
west or, this year, in the mid-Atlantic
and Northeast. They no more turned
“Phil” loose in Punxsutawney, and it
started snowing around here nearly
every day since. I think we have gotten
9 inches since this shadowy event, and
it’s snowing now and not predictedto stop for two more days. Somebody
out there in the great state of Pennsyl-
vania, please hunt this useless wan-
nabe guinea pig down and concrete
his hole shut! Oh well, by the time you
read this month’s column, we will be
within just a few weeks of April and
hopefully experiencing some higher
temperatures and a little sunshine.
Here’s hoping you have an earlier
spring than I do. Since the groundhog
has given us all an extra bit of time to
bone up on our flying knowledge, seek
out some of the online aviation in-
ing virtually dozens of these amazing
aircraft. Nowhere else in this world
will you ever be able to see so many
DC-3s in one place at the same time.
This effort is sure to be a gate-buster at
this year’s event.
July 28, 1935, was the day of the
first flight of the famous Boeing B-17Flying Fortress. EAA has put out the
call to all current operators of these
special aircraft to bring them to Air-
Venture for this unique anniversary.
Be sure to visit www.AirVenture.org
often to keep up with all the planning
for this year’s event. You just have to
be at The World’s Greatest AviationCelebration. I hope to see you there!
Be sure to read about our newly
relaunched Vintage Aircraft Associa-
tion Lifetime Membership opportu-
nity in the VAA News column in this
month’s issue. This renewed opportu-
nity comes about because of a great
deal of interest from our thousands
of members.Please consider making a lifetime
commitment to the Vintage Aircraft
Association. The many benefits of a
VAA Lifetime Membership are sure to
complement the many amenities of
GEOFF ROBISON
PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
STRAIGHT & LEVEL
No user fees and that pesky weather rodent
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IFC Straight & Level No user fees and that pesky weather rodent
by Geoff Robison
2 News
4 Chapter Locator and Info
6 Fleet Canuck Canada’s gem from the north
by Budd Davisson
12 My Friend Albert VollmeckePart III
by Robert G. Lock
16 Ground Effect Use manual aps to hop off sooner
by Irven F. Palmer Jr.
20 Light Plane Heritage Te Bellanca Biplanes
by Jack McRae
25 Te Vintage Mechanic My thoughts on aircraft propellers, Part II
by Robert G. Lock
30 Te Vintage Instructor How’s your ight prociency?
by Steve Krog, CFI
32 Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy
36 Vintage Books and Video Reviews
37 Classied Ads
39 What Our Members Are RestoringKlemm 107C
A I R P L A N E M A R C HC O N T E N T S
S T A F FEAA Publisher Tom Poberezny
Director of EAA Publications Mary Jones
Executive Director/Editor H.G. Frautschy
Production/Special Project Kathleen Witman
Photography Jim Koepnick Bonnie Kratz
Advertising Coordinator Sue Anderson
Classied Ad Coordinator Lesley Poberezny
Copy Editor Colleen Walsh
Director of Advertising Katrina Bradshaw
Display Advertising Representatives:
Vol. 38, No. 3 2010
6
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VAA NEWS
VAA Lifetime MembershipNow Available
It’s been more than 30 years
since the Antique/Classic Division
of EAA (now the Vintage Aircraft
Association) has offered a lifetime
membership option. Over the past
few years a number of committed
members of both VAA and EAA
have asked us to consider reinstat-
ing the lifetime membership op-
tion. Now, with the EAA lifetimemembership available to all who
wish to show their dedication to
recreational aviation, we can offer
the same opportunity to members
of the Vintage Aircraft Association.
It takes a special individual to make
a lifetime commitment to support the
work we do to help preserve, protect,and defend the freedom of personal
flight. We feel honored that a num-
ber of you have expressed an interest
in showing your dedication by be-
coming a VAA lifetime member, and
your commitment deserved to be re-
warded. By demonstrating your com-
mitment to aviation as a VAA lifetime
member, you’ll be rewarded with all
the great benefits of individual mem-
bership, plus the exclusive benefits
only lifetime members receive:
•A personalized VAA lifetimemember card,
A VAA lifetime member becomespart of an exclusive group of avia-
tors who have chosen to act as stew-
ards of recreational aviation and the
backbone of EAA’s mission to sup-
port the passionate pursuit of flight.
VAA lifetime members lead by ex-
ample through their demonstrated
dedication to aviation’s future. And
with their help, and yours, VAA can
preserve the unwavering spirit of
more than a century of aviation pio-
neers, innovators, and heroes.
Beyond a passion for the air-
planes of yesteryear and a willing-
ness to show your commitment to
support the work being done by the
VAA, there is just one requirementfor VAA lifetime membership; since
you have to be an EAA member to
be a VAA member, each VAA life-
time member must also be an EAA
lifetime member.
If you’re already one of the nearly
1,300 EAAers who are already an
EAA lifetime member, the addi-tional cost of a Vintage Aircraft As-
sociation lifetime membership is
only $975. If you’re not yet an EAA
lifetime member, to become both an
EAA and VAA lifetime member, the
total cost is $1,950. Various options
are available to pay for a lifetime
membership. For more information,
contact EAA membership services at
800-564-6322.
Time to Replace Your Paper Pilot Certificate
Pilots who still have not replaced
of that certificate after March 31,2010.”
To have your certificate replaced,
you can visit this website:www.FAA.gov/
licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/
certificate_replacement.
Or, you can mail in your request to:
Federal Aviation Administration
Airmen Certification Branch,
AFS-760
P.O. Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0082
Enclose a check for $2 for each
certificate you need replaced.
A few items to note:
•The FAA says to allow four to six
weeks for mail processing and sevento 10 days for online processing.
•It will issue only one copy ofeach certificate.
•It cannot place the original dateof issue on a replacement certificate.
•It will not issue expired certifi-cates. However, you can request an
expired CFI letter at no charge.•If your current address is listed
as a post officebox (P.O. box), gen-
eral delivery, rural route, or star
route, please provide directions or
a map for locating your residence.
Finally, one more thing to men-
tion—don’t send your paper cer-
tificate in when you mail in your
request! Keep it in your possession.
The FAA does not require you to send
it in, and doing so may confuse the
FAA into thinking you’re surrender-
ing your certificate, something that
you really don’t want to do.
L I F E T I M E M E M B E R
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only this time of year; on the con-
trary, when issues come up from
time to time, the FAA is most inter-
ested in obtaining feedback from the
clubs. Often, this feedback is donethrough the airworthiness concern
sheet (ACS) system when a mainte-
nance-related issue is highlighted.
“The Small Airplane Director-
ate responds to the public’s con-
cerns throughout the year and in
as timely a way as possible,” notes
John Colomy, manager of the Small
Airplane Directorate’s Standards Of-
fice. Our job during AirVenture is
to provide a convenient place for
the FAA to meet with any type clubs
that would like to meet face-to-face.
We ask that any issues the type
clubs may have with the FAA be
sent via e-mail or letter to VAA
headquarters by April 30. Duringthe first part of May we will com-
pile the issues in a list and forward
them to Kim Smith, the manager of
the FAA’s Small Airplane Director-
ate in Kansas City.
Kim and her staff will then di-
rectly contact the clubs, working to
address the issues during the firstpart of the summer and, if need be,
meet with the individual clubs dur-
ing AirVenture.
After AirVenture, the Small Air-
plane Directorate will report back
to EAA regarding the issues brought
forward and their disposition.
We ask that only the head of each
type club send a letter; if you’re a
member of a type club and you feel
the club should address a specific
problem, please contact the club di-
rectly and ask that the issue be added
to the club’s list of concerns. Club
Short Wing Piper ClubAlso, we have a change for the
listing of the Short Wing Piper Club:
Short Wing Piper Club Inc.
Eleanor Mills2865 S. Ingram Mill, Unit D-202
Springfield, MO 65804
417-883-1457
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ShortWing.org
Dues: $40/yr. U.S. & Canada;
$50 Int’l
Newsletter: Short Wing Piper News,
Bimonthly
International Stinson ClubPlease change your listing for
the International Stinson Club;
the individual in the previous list
published in Vintage Airplane is no
longer associated with the club.
Here’s the correct information:International Stinson Club
Logan Boles
210 Blackfield Dr.
Tiburon, CA 94920
415-383-3262
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.StinsonClub.org
Dues: $30/yr.Newsletter: Monthly
Nelson’s Comanche Windshield J i m N e l s on , owne r o f the
beautiful Piper PA-24 Coman-
che featured in our January issue,
dropped us a note to correct the
dimensional thickness of the new
windshield installed by WEBCO.
The actual thickness is 1/4-inch,
not 1/2-inch as written.
Possible Assembly Glitch withFebruary Magazine
AERO Friedrichshafen
Messe FriedrichshafenFriedrichshafen, GermanyApril 8-11, 2010www.AERO-Friedrichshafen.com/html/en
Sun ’n Fun Fly-InLakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL)Lakeland, FloridaApril 13-18, 2010www.Sun-N-Fun.org
Virginia Regional Festival of Flight
Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ)Suffolk, VirginiaMay 22-23, 2010www.VirginiaFlyIn.org
Golden West Regional Fly-In and Air ShowYuba County Airport (MYV)Marysville, CaliforniaJune 11-13, 2010www.GoldenWestFlyIn.org
Arlington Fly-In
Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO)Arlington, WashingtonJuly 7-11, 2010www.ArlingtonFlyIn.org
EAA AirVenture OshkoshWittman Regional Airport (OSH)Oshkosh, WisconsinJuly 26-August 1, 2010www.AirVenture.org
Colorado Sport International Air Show and Rocky
Mountain Regional Fly-InRocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC)Denver, ColoradoAugust 28-29 2010www.COSportAviation.org
Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-InGrimes Field Airport (I74), Urbana, OhioS t b 11 12 2010
Upcoming Major Fly - Ins
EAA Calendar of Aviation Events Is Now OnlineEAA’s online Calendar of Events is the “go-to” spot on
the Web to list and find aviation events in your area. The
user-friendly, searchable format makes it the perfect web-
based tool for planning your local trips to a fly-in.
In EAA’s online Calendar of Events, you can search
for events at any given time within a certain radius of any
airport by entering the identifier or a ZIP code, and you
can further define your search to look for just the types of
events you’d like to attend.
We invite you to access the EAA online Calendar of
Events at http://www.eaa.org/ calendar/
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CALIFORNIA
Hayward, CA, VAA 29
Meeting: 2nd Thurs., 6:00 p.m.
Hayward Executive Airport Hangar (HWD)
William Field, President
Phone: 925-463-0589
E-mail: [email protected]
CALIFORNIA
Sacramento, CA, VAA 25
Meeting: 2nd Sat., 9:00 a.m.
See chapter website for location.
Jim Jordan, PresidentPhone: 916-983-0865
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.Vin25.org
CAROLINAS, VIRGINIA
Walnut Cove, NC, VAA 3
Meeting: Contact President
Susan Dusenbury, PresidentPhone: 336-591-3931
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.VAA3.org
May 7-9: Spring Fly-In, Roxboro, NC
FLORIDA
INDIANA
Auburn, IN, VAA 37
Meeting: 4th Thurs., 7:00 p.m.
Auburn Airport Chapter Hangar
Drew Hoffman, President
Phone: 260-693-9747
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.VAA37.org
KANSAS
Overland Park, KS, VAA 16
Meeting: 2nd Fri., 7:30 p.m.New Century Airport, CAG Hangar
Kevin Pratt, President
Phone: 816-985-3248
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.VAA16.com
June 25-26: Annual Greater Kansas
City Area Vintage Fly-in at Gardner
Municipal (K34). See web for details.Come and enjoy!
LOUISIANA
New Iberia, LA, VAA 30
Meeting: 1st Sun 9:00 a m
Chapter Locatorand infoVisit the VAA
chapter nearest
you and get to
know some great
vintage-airplane
enthusiasts!
You don’t need tobe a pilot to join
in the fun, just have
a love of the
great airplanes
of yesteryear.
JOHN OSTMEYER
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NEBRASKA
Plattsmouth, NE, VAA 31
Meeting: 1st Sat., 10:30 a.m.
Plattsmouth Airport Term Bldg.
William Kroeger, President
Phone: 402-331-3887
E-mail: [email protected]
NEW HAMPSHIRE
North Hampton, NH, VAA 15
Meeting: 2nd Sat., 11:00 a.m.
Hampton Airfield (7B3)
Eric Obssuth, President
Phone: 603-479-5832E-mail: [email protected]
NEW JERSEY
Andover, NJ, VAA 7
Meeting: 1st Sun, 10:30 a.m.
Aeroflex Andover Airport (12N)
Joe Tapp, President
Phone: 908-872-3821
E-mail: [email protected]
OHIO
Columbus, OH, VAA 38
Meeting: 2nd Sunday, 1 p.m.
Contact president for location.
Perry Chappano, President
Phone: 614-496-3423
E-mail: [email protected]
OHIO
Delaware, OH, VAA 27
Meeting: 3rd Sat., 9:00 a.m.
Delaware Municipal Airport (DLZ) Terminal Building
Martin McIntire, President
Phone: 740-362-7228
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.EAAdlz.org
May 15: 8-10 AM: Fly-In Pancake Breakfast
June 19: 8-10 AM: Fly-In Pancake Breakfast
OHIO
Troy OH VAA 36
OKLAHOMA
Tulsa, OK, VAA 10
Meeting: 4th Thurs., 7:00 PM
Hardesty South Regional Library
Joe Champagne, President
Phone: 918-257-4688Email: [email protected]
TEXAS
Spring, TX, VAA 2
Meeting: 4th Sun., 2:00 PM
David Wayne Hooks Airport (KDWH)
Fred Ramin, President
Phone: 281-444-5309
Email: [email protected]
WISCONSIN
Brookfield, WI, VAA 11
Meeting: 1st Mon., 7:30 PM
Capitol Drive Airport Office (O2C)
James Brown, President
Phone: 262-895-6282
Email: [email protected]
Fall Fly-In at Camden, South Carolina, L-R: Harry Ballance’s Stearman, ToddGivens’ Stearman, Ron Normark’s Super Cub and Chet Phillips’ Fairchild 24.
Buddy Wehman describes the starter on his Fleet 16 at the
Camden 2009 Fly-In.
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FleetCanuck!
Now there’s a term with
wide-ranging applications and meaning. For example, it’s one of the many phrases our friends north of the
border use to describe themselves. For another, it can be a hockey team. Or a Canadian cartoon character
(Johnny Canuck). It can also be an airplane. Three actually: the World War I Curtiss JN-4 Canuck (Jenny, south
of the border); the native-designed and -built jet fighter, the CF-100 Canuck; and lastly, the Fleet Canuck. Ex-
cept the Fleet Canuck isn’t just an airplane. This postwar classic is closer to being an icon. Or a legend. To hard-
core Canadians, it’s more than simply a flying machine. And with 22,270 hours in its logbook, CF-EOH is more
than just a Canuck. It’s a flying witness to the Canadian character: tough, resilient, adaptable, and ready to do
whatever needs doing. It’s a Canuck and then some.
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Peter Moodie of Winnipeg, Man-
itoba, is typical of Canuck owners
in that he is driven to make certain
everyone knows of Canada’s own
usually find that about half of the
classic airplanes built after World War
II are still on the registration rolls. The
Canuck is a tough, useful airplane, but
The Fleet Canuck is powered by a fuel-injected Continental C-85, and it uses
bungees tucked up in the bottom of
the fuselage to absorb landing loads.
The Fleet Canuck has a distinctive narrow-waisted look to the aft fuselage. That’s
accentuated by the rather wide cabin that can accommodate two people in full winter dress.
CF-EAU has “only” 12,000 hours on it, most of it accumulated during flight
training. Now with a prize-winning restoration and a very capable instrument
panel, it’s “retired” to a life of leisure with Joe Leslie at the controls.
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34,000 hours between them! 34,000
hours! That’s nearly four years aloft.
Airplanes don’t live that long or
work that hard unless they are A)
good at what they do and B) hell for
stout. And the Fleet Canuck is both.
Another interesting aspect to
the Canuck is that it is essentially a
homebuilt airplane that was eventu-
ally put into production. The orig-inal design was laid down by J.O.
“Bob” Noury of Ottawa in 1941-
1942. He had thoughts about put-
ting it into production and got it
certified, but then the unpleasant-
ness in Europe intervened, and he
put his flying prototype away until
the war was starting to wind down.Fleet Aircraft, based in Fort Erie, On-
tario (just across the river from Buf-
falo, New York), was at that time
looking ahead at what it knew was
going to be a challenging future. It
had built itself into a sizable airframe
manufacturing company during the
war, and the cessation of hostilities
meant it was going to be out of work
unless it found something to build.
Enter the Noury N-75.
Recognizing it was less expensive
to rework an existing design than
do one from scratch, Fleet Aircraft
Hey, if you had 22,270 hours on your
airframe, your rudder pedals would be
a bit worn, too!
CF-EOH is well-loved, having accumulated 22,270 hours on the airframe! It’s
owned and flown by Peter Moodie of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who brought it to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh along with his pal Joe Leslie, of Abbotsford, British Columbia.
Peter Moodie with his nice new set of Millennium cylinders that help keep CF-
EOH purring along.
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vertical fin, lowered thrust line),
and rushed it into production pow-
ered by a fuel-injected Continen-
tal C-85-12F 85-hp. The company
didn’t want to miss out on the huge
market that was sure to be repre-
sented by the tens of thousands of
returning GI pilots, all of whom
were going to want an airplane in
their garage. Only it didn’t work
out that way.
Fleet was far fr om being the
only airframe manufacturer to be
fooled, and the huge populationof aircraft built in 1946-1947 (well
more than 30,000) still make up a
sizable proportion of today’s small
aircraft population. Fleet built 198
airplanes before shutting down.
The inventory was sold to Leavens
Brothers, which assembled another
25 airplanes as late as 1958.Peter says, “My airplane was one
of those assembled by Leavens Broth-
ers in 1953. Mine went to Central
Airways flight school in 1953, where
it stayed until sometime in the mid-
’60s. Then it went to the Edmonton
Flying Club. I bought her in 1986,
and she is now semi-retired.“The Canucks really formed the
backbone for the Canadian post-
war flight training. Although that
role has pretty much been taken
over by Cessnas and such, many of
those who made it to the left seats
of Canadian airliners got their start
in Canucks. I know of at least 30 Air
Canada pilots alone who f lew myairplane. And, if I know that many
on just my airplane, how many were
trained on all the others? It has to
be thousands. Although something
like 30 Canucks were exported, most
around 100 feet. He did manage to
keep it straight all the way to the
ground. The impact collapsed the
gear, and there was enough damage
to declare the aircraft a write-off.
That he survived and the airplanewas rebuilt says something about
its overall rugged construction.
“Joe’s airplane also shows how
tough it can be because it survived a
mid-air collision. It’s in the logbook,
and you can see where they spliced
the main spar carry-through tube.”
A casual walk around the air-plane reveals several unique features
about it. For instance, although the
airplane is traditional rag-and-tube
construction, the ailerons are metal-
skinned, and the hinges on the ai-
lerons are external to the wing and
on the top, rather than the bottom.
Also, there’s a fairly sophisticated
piece of tooling evident in that thereis a bead stamped in the aileron sur-
face that goes forward and over the
aileron nose, making the bead into
a compound curve. So the ailerons
were made in stamping dies: pretty
like the Cub’s flat-bottom wing. So,
it doesn’t leap off the ground.
“When Joe got his airplane, it
was pretty rough, and he got to
deal with the fact that the airplane
wasn’t produced in large numbers,so some of the parts are hard to find.
The lift struts, for instance, aren’t
regular streamlined tubing. They are
something Fleet had made specifi-
cally for the Canuck, so, if you need
a strut, you have no choice but to
find an actual Canuck strut.
“The same thing goes for thetrim system. It uses a crank, which
is impossible to find, but Joe found
one. Most Canucks have gone to
a Teleflex helix-wound push-pull
cable, which was done on my air-
plane, too, but the cable is also
hard to find and costs $45 a foot.
As it happens, I found a long, long
piece in a surplus store that wasmade for the Noorduyn Norseman,
and I got the entire thing, enough
to do three airplanes, for $50.
“And then there are the bungees,”
Peter says and frowns. “They are also
The trim system uses this handle and Teleflex cable.
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them. You just pull the wheels, and
the axles slide into sockets on top the
floats. There’s not even a spreader
bar in front. Only in the rear.
“The skis are just as useful and
unique. The entire tire sits on top
the ski in a pocket-like arrange-
ment and is strapped down to the
ski. There are some Federals li-
censed for the Canuck, but they at-
tach like all other skis do, so they
aren’t as convenient.
“The airplane is really a great air-
plane to fly. For one thing, it’s 40inches wide, which, for its time is
quite wide, so both of you can wear
heavy coats and not be jammed in,
although the heater does a fairly
reasonable job of keeping the cabin
huge fun, but you have to be care-
ful slipping to the right with skis
and maintain 75 mph indicated
airspeed because the airspeed read-
ing is not correct in that attitude.
Because of the positive controls
and its wide gear, it is also terrific
in a crosswind. I know people who
would go out and play in 20-knot
direct crosswinds just for the fun of
it. One thing that you don’t expect,
when you first start flying it, is that
it floats quite a bit on landing, so
you can’t come in fast. That’s oneof the effects of the 23012 airfoil: It
doesn’t build up drag very quickly
when you try to slow it down in
ground effect.
“It is stressed for aerobatics, and
when it was being used extensively
for training, it was common for
schools to be teaching loops androlls in it. And of course spins. It’s
really a fun spinning airplane, and
many students made six-turn spins
part of every solo flight.
“You can generally flight plan
95-100 mph, which, at less than 5
gallons per hour and a 19-gallon
fuel tank, means you can fly prettylong legs. The airplane is very sta-
ble, so on cross-countries you can
relax and pretty much let go of it.
“Joe’s airplane is a beautiful ex-
ample of the breed, and mine defi-
nitely isn’t. Truthfully, I sort of like
it that way because I don’t have to
worry about it. I just enjoy it. The
last time it was re-covered was afterit crashed in ’71. They used Razor-
back, so it’s still in pretty good con-
dition. It was repainted in 1980,
and I have changed the struts,
some of the windows, and redone
The Canuck and Its Contemporaries Compared
Fleet 80
Canuck
Aeronca
7AC Champion
Cessna
140
Luscombe
8E Silvaire
Engine (Continental) 85 hp 65 hp 85 hp 85 hp
Cruise mph 100 90 101 95
Initial climb, fpm 550 370 620 640
Service ceiling, ft. 12,000 12,500 15,100 15,500
Takeoff over 50 ft. 800 632 1,950 1,850
Landing over 50 ft. 600 885 1,530 1,540
Gross weight, lbs. 1,480 1,220 1,500 1,400
Empty weight, lbs. 858 740 818 791
Fuel, U.S. gal. 19 14 21 30
Wingspan 34 ft. 35 ft. 33 ft. 3 in. 34 ft. 7 in
Source: Aircraft Blue Book Price Digest , except for the Fleet Canuck fig-
ures, which are from Canadian Aircraft Since 1909 by K.M. Molso and H.A.
Taylor. Landing and takeoff distances for the Canuck are from an old copy
of Canadian Aviation.
. . . the two
airplanes sitting
side by side in the Vintage area at
EAA AirVenture
2009 had a total
of more than
34,000 hours
between them!
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My Friend
Albert Vollmecke Part III
BY ROBERT G. LOCK
Al b e r t Vo l l me c kerose quickly up the
ranks of the Bureau
of Aeronautics and
the Civil Aeronau-
tics Authority, which began in 1938.
portant assignments within thatgoverning body. In 1942 he was
appointed chief of the Aircraft En-
gineering Division. He also served
as senior member of the Air Force-
Navy-Civil Aircraft Design Criteria
production of more efficient and ef-fective aircraft.”
Near the end of World War II,
Howard Hughes was designing
a large wooden seaplane of enor-
mous dimensions. It would be built
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the Culver City plant of Hughes,
where the H-4 Hercules was being
constructed. The limousine driver
would enter the Hughes compound
and park. Then they would just
wait. Vollmecke asked the driver
what they were waiting for, and the
driver replied, “For a signal from
Mr. Hughes.” After a long wait, a
figure would appear from out of a
large hangar, dressed in a dark pair
of slacks with a wrinkled white
shirt with sleeves rolled up and
wearing a hat. After he waived hisarms, the driver started the limou-
sine and they drove to the hangar
door. Hughes was waiting for Voll-
mecke and proudly showed prog-
ress on his gigantic airplane.
During one visit Hughes loaded
Vollmecke aboard his cabin Waco bi-
plane and flew to Baker Lake, whereHughes had a hangar and a Sikor-
sky S-43 seaplane. He was practicing
his flying skills in a large seaplane in
preparation for flying the H-4. Voll-
mecke remembered, “I got into the
right seat, a company pilot occupied
the left seat, and Mr. Hughes was in
the back seat reading a newspaper.We flew in his ‘Vaco’ (that’s the way
Vollmecke pronounced Waco) to
Baker Lake, which was out on the
Mojave Desert on the way to Las Ve-
gas. There we inspected his Sikor-
sky seaplane, but he didn’t fly it. We
returned to Culver City, and I flew
back to D.C.”
Vollmecke made several visits to
the Hughes facility, but on his initialvisit he asked Hughes if his people
had done any structural testing to
assure the design and construction
was safe. No person had ever con-
structed an aircraft as large as the
H-4, particularly out of wood. The
answer was a negative, that all de-
sign data compiled was analytical innature and that no structural test-
ing was needed. Vollmecke said this
was unacceptable to him and the
government, who would ultimately
either pay for the aircraft or cancel
the project. He convinced Hughes
that they should build a sample of
the horizontal stabilizer spar and test
it to destruction. Hughes reluctantly
agreed, and Vollmecke flew back toWashington, D.C.
On the Vollmecke’s ensuing visit
the spar sample was ready, and the
Hughes people had it prepared to test
until it failed. Unfortunately, the spar
failed at only 50 percent of the de-
sign load! Seeing this Vollmecke in-
dicated they would have to redesignthe spar and retest. What the Hughes
people did was glue birch veneer
doublers on each side of the spar,
then retest. On the second attempt
the spar failed at about 75 percent of
the design load. Hughes refused to
go any further, and that was the end
of the tests. Vollmecke always main-
tained he knew why Hughes flew the
Figure 1. The spar of the Hughes H-4 Hercules. G L E N N O
D E K I R K
C O L L E C T
I O N
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airplane only once. “The wing sparswere designed and built exactly as
the horizontal stabilizer spar, only
larger in dimensions. Mr. Hughes
knew if the aircraft was airborne and
hit a gust, the wing spars may fail!”
structure. The horizontal stabilizerwas not mounted directly to the fu-
selage structure, but to the vertical
stabilizer, which was not strength-
ened. So, from Vollmecke’s point of
view, the aircraft was structurally un-
lost! The H-4 was stored in a climate-controlled hangar in San Pedro until
October 30, 1980, when the aircraft
was removed and the hangar disas-
sembled. The photograph on page
13 was taken as the aircraft floated
Airworthiness maintenance inspection note on the
Command-Aire. After realizing one was needed on
the airplanes he had designed earlier in his careerbefore joining the government, as chief of the
Aircraft Engineering Division, Vollmecke wrote and
issued the CAA document!
November 1983, the remaining officials of Command-Aire Inc.,
Charles Taylor (l) and Albert Vollmecke. This last photo of Taylor,
former V.P. of Command-Aire Inc., and Vollmecke, former chief
designer for the company, was taken in Little Rock, Arkansas,
after Albert’s induction into the Hall of Fame in 1983. Behind
them is 1929 Command-Aire 5C3, NC925E, which is presently
on display at the Little Rock Airport in the Omnimax Theater.
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structed mostly of birch veneer).” So
ends the saga of Vollmecke, Hughes,
and the Spruce Goose.
As Vollmecke rose through the
ranks of the CAA he became chief of
the Aircraft Engineering Division in
1942, succeeding Marion F. Crews.
In the name of safety, airworthiness
maintenance bulletins and airworthi-
ness maintenance inspection notes
were issued from this office. Document
on page 14 shows a November 6, 1942,airworthiness maintenance inspection
note signed by Albert A. Vollmecke
on his own aircraft designs when he
worked for Command-Aire Inc. Safety
was the top priority in all Vollmecke
Germany. He was br illiant and a
genius in aeronautical design. He
served this country honorably and
provided great leadership during
the early days of aviation, into the
1960s, and beyond.
I was privileged to have met and
gotten to know Mr. Vollmecke. As is
often said of those who precede us,
there will never be another like him.
Vollmecke was inducted into the
Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame on No-vember 11, 1983. At the Vollmecke ta-
ble that evening were Albert Vollmecke
Jr., Jan Vollmecke, Eric Vollmecke, Kirk
Vollmecke, Walter Vollmecke, John
Vollmecke, Joe Araldi, Suzanne Goller
N. Holbert was president of the society
at the time, and Charles M. Taylor was
ex-officio director.
During the presentation of AlbertVollmecke for induction into the Ar-kansas Aviation Hall of Fame on No-vember 11, 1983, Mr. Charles Taylor,former vice president of Command-Aire, pretty well summed it up. “Al-bert Vollmecke left Arkansas for theCivil Aeronautics Administration inWashington, D.C., in February 1934,where he remained until his retire-
ment in 1965. I have already outlinedthe assignments and responsibilitieshe was given in that organization inrecognition of his unusual under-standing and practical experience inaircraft design and production withparticular emphasis on safety and reli-ability. These assignments in the CAA
thus made the benefits of his unusualand outstanding qualifications avail-able to the whole civil and militaryaircraft industry in the United States.”
Vollmecke was a member of the
OX-5 Aviation Pioneers. The April
1980 issue of OX-5 News carried a
tribute to Albert A. Vollmecke, aero-
nautical engineer, inventor, and
designer. The front-page story was
about him and stated, “In 1978 Al
Vollmecke’s name went into the
OX-5 Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame,
as one of many tributes to his accom-
plishments. He is an OX-5er, and a
member of the Q-B’s, and obviously
he holds membership in many aero-
nautical engineering societies. Hehas also received NASA’s Certificate
of Appreciation for his outstanding
contributions to aeronautical engi-
neering, particularly for his work in
connection with structural and re-
Vollmecke with his son
Albert Jr. and his wife,
Jan, at Vollmecke’s
townhouse in Silver
Spring, Maryland,
January 1986. Albert Jr.had just brought a copy
of his father’s drawings
of the Little Rocket
racer, the only drawings
that survived Vollmecke’s
days at Command-Aire.
When Vollmecke walked
out the front door of theCommand-Aire factory
building on East 17th St.
for the last time, he put
all his drawings in the
safe, turned off the lights, put his neatly rolled Little Rocket drawings under his arm,
and locked the door. The company ceased to exist in 1931. Below, a fuzzy copy of the
title block of drawing number 5680 compiled by Albert Vollmecke for the Little Rocket
racer. This particular drawing was of the “Wheel with shock absorber,” a unique
invention credited to Albert. It was drawn to full scale on June 2-3, 1930.
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Nowadays nearly all new
and fairly new airplanes
have electric or elec-tronic everything: au-
topilots, cowl flaps, trim tabs,
spoilers, and wing flaps, to name a
few, all activated by little switches
and electric motors.
But if you fly an older airplane
like I do, many of those items are
manually operated using levers, ca-bles, pulleys, and control wheels.
My airplane is a Cessna 170B. It
rolled out of the Wichita, Kansas,
Cessna factory in 1954 and came
equipped with large Fowler-type
flaps that rotate downward as they
travel backward and down to assume
as much as a 40-degree angle on the
flap tracks. At the 40-degree position,
these flaps allow for a very steep de-
scent into short fields. Newer Cess-
nas limit flap travel to 30 degrees.
Most folks agree that the company
made the limitation because with 40
degrees of flaps extended, there is es-
sentially no climb capability during a
go-around attempt.Manually activated flaps such as
the type installed in my airplane are
applied by pulling up on a long lever
that most pilots refer to as a “John-
son bar.” The use of these “Johnson
they could give me on landing and
takeoff techniques in remote areas.
That’s where I learned about using atime/distance chart to determine the
length of airstrips in the boondocks.
The floatplane and skiplane pilots
also gave me some advice on short-
ening a takeoff run by using the
flaps to break the water surface ten-
sion on the floats or help the wing
pull the skis up through deep snow.By quickly using 20 degrees of flaps
at just the right moment, you can
use the added lift to your advantage.
I was able to use that technique with
both skis and on wheels.
GROUND EFFECT As aviators we have probably
all experienced “floating” upon
landing, which can result in over-
shooting your landing spot. Under
certain long-landing conditions,
especially at a faster than normal
approach speed, the results can be
disastrous as you run off the run-
way into all types of obstructions.
This “floating” is caused by groundeffect. When an airplane is flown atapproximately one wingspan or lessabove the surface, the vertical com-ponent of airflow is restricted andmodified, and changes occur in the
the pilot’s help, this effect can lift
the airplane sooner, thus shorten-
ing the takeoff run. The key is usingyour flaps at just the right moment.
THE TECHNIQUEYou all know that your pilot’s oper-
ating handbook lists the takeoff and
landing performance using various
flap settings and airspeeds under dif-
ferent elevations and temperatures.By extending the flaps, wing cam-
ber is increased, and the angle of at-
tack of the wing is increased. With
Fowler flaps the wing area is also
increased. This increases wing lift,
but is also increases induced drag.
The important consideration here
for short-field takeoff is to use just
enough flaps (10 or 20 degrees) to
increase lift more than induced drag
and to apply the flaps quickly when
needed. That is where the Johnson
bar flap handle does its job. Electric
flaps are too slow for this purpose.
The technique involves taxiing
your airplane to the very end of
a short-field airstrip and, if possi-ble, facing into the wind. Then the
brakes are set and maximum take-
off power is applied. The brakes are
released, and forward stick pressure
is applied to lift the tail. Then, just
Ground EffectUse manual flaps to hop off soonerBY IRVEN F. PALMER JR.
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let the airspeed build up to the best
angle of climb (VX) airspeed while
you’re in ground effect, before you
start to climb out of ground effect.
WARNING: Never pull in more than
20 degrees of flaps, as the in-
duced drag will overcome in-
creased lift.
After learning about the quick
application of flaps technique, I
used to practice doing this at myhome base, a gravel bar airstrip in
the river, and at other places out in
the boonies. I’d suggest you practice
using a nearby strip of turf, gravel,
or unimproved legal runway!
Depending on the temperature,
surface, and takeoff weight, of
course, it was possible to get off theground in one-half to two-thirds of
the normal takeoff distance listed
in the airplane’s performance chart.
THE DISAPPEARING BEACH
Fly back in time now to a Fourth
of July three-day weekend in Alaska.
It was a perfect time to go on an off-
airport camping and fishing trip. My
friend Bill Lyle and I talked about
where to go. We finally decided that
since the king salmon were entering
the many streams along the Alaska
Peninsula that empty into the Bering
Sea, that was to be our destination.
After work on Friday we loaded
on our camping and fishing gear,food, the survival kit, and two
5-gallon cans of avgas into my
Cessna, filed our flight plan, and
took off. Leaving our home in An-
chorage, we flew south and south-
we both had strikes and reeled in
a couple of nice king salmon. For
an hour we played catch and re-
lease. We had used up most of the
evening, so we kept a small jacksalmon, which we cleaned and
roasted on our evening fire. We set
up our little tent and watched a
lone caribou walk along the other
side of the river, watching us, per-
haps wondering who or what we
were. He must have wandered away
from the herd. It was a great first
day in the boondocks.
The next day we explored the
village. Bear River used to be a
viable fishing village complete
with a Russian Orthodox Church,
many houses, abandoned shops
and stores, and a school. The
shifting Bear River had changed
its course and eliminated thesmall harbor, and the little town
had been abandoned. It was an
antique dealer’s paradise, with
all sorts of household items lying
about within the buildings.
and deciding where to go next.
It was a great second day in the
boonies.
The next day Bill wanted to ex-
plore further south, so we loaded ourgear, took off, and landed at a couple
more small streams. The first stream
was a bust—no fish. But the second
stream was full of kings. In this part
of the Alaska Peninsula there are
large beach dunes, and dune cliffs
break up the beach.
Prior to landing I had slowed to
60 mph and used my stopwatch to
determine the length of the beach,
which according to the time/dis-
tance chart was about 900 feet. (Ed-
itor’s Note: If you’ve never used this
method to estimate the length of a land-
ing area, we’ll explain it in more de-
tail in a follow-up article.—HGF) As I
parked the plane near the mouth ofthis stream, I noticed that the stream
had cut through a dune and that the
dune contained some pebbles and
cobbles, a probable sign that it was
part of an older river system. I also
When used with proper technique, the large flaps on the Cessna
170 give the airplane excellent short-field performance.
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out of the north. We spent about two
hours at some of the best salmon
fishing I’d ever had. The clouds
looked more menacing, so we de-
cided to leave. We caught a couple
nice 30-pounders to take home andwalked to the beach.
Big surprise! Our long, wide beach
had disappeared. We could hardly be-
lieve it. The tide in the Bering Sea is
not that great, but the beach here had
a very shallow gradient. That means a
little rise in the water level can cover
a vast amount of beach, and it had.
I quickly paced off the remaining
beach. My pace is about 2.8 feet. I
took 152 steps from one end to the
other. That calculates to 425 feet. I
knew we had burned about 22.4 gal-
lons of fuel in the 230 nautical miles
since leaving King Salmon. That
equals 141 pounds.
Since we were 175 pounds un-der gross at takeoff at home, we
were now relatively light. We did
not have enough fuel to return to
King Salmon, especially against the
north wind I judged to be about
gravel. The wind was out of the north.
Under these conditions I knew I had
taken off before in a similar distance
by using flaps at just the right time.
We taxied to the south end of
the beach with the tail wheel in thewater. I set the brakes, applied full
power, released the brakes and raised
the tail, and quickly used up all the
425 feet of beach. Just before the
wheels touched the water I reached
down and pulled in 20 degrees of
flaps using that Johnson bar handle.
The plane lifted into the air a few
inches above the water, and we were
flying in ground effect. Remember, the
tricky part is not to attempt to climb
yet. We waited until the airspeed built
up to over 70 mph and slowly re-
tracted the flaps as we flew north. We
flew to Bear Lake where the Bear River
starts and stopped off at the Bear River
Lodge, operated by Don Johnson, awell-known Alaskan guide who Bill
and I both know. Don gave us enough
gasoline to get us to King Salmon. We
decided we’d had enough fun on this
trip and flew home.
wind. Your airplane performance
may be different.
A long time ago in ground school
you probably learned about the
left-turning tendency of American-
manufactured airplanes. The forcesthat produce these tendencies are
the reactive force, spiraling slip-
stream, gyroscopic precession, and
P-factor. All of these cause the plane
to want to turn left when take-
off power is applied. Lots of right
rudder is often needed. So if you
are taking off from a sloping river
gravel bar or an ocean beach with
a steep gradient, try to take off so
that the left-turning tendency is up
the beach—not down the beach,
pulling you into the water.
PRACTICE
As you know, there is nothing bet-
ter to keep us all sharp and safe whenusing our airplanes practice. So I sug-
gest that for those of you thatwho
have manual flaps in your airplane,
practice using them as discussed
above. Find a country road or some
The Johnson bar—style of manual flap handle is com-
mon to the early post-war Cessnas and Piper airplanes.
At full extension, the flap handle will be up about 45 degrees.
The button on the top releases the locking mechanism.
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It had been a responsive audience, that snowy
winter evening when I spoke at the December
meeting of the Glens Falls Aircraft Owners and
Pilots Association. Among the many subjects I
covered was a description of my success in finding sev-
eral very interesting old airplanes in upstate New York.
The first one, and the one that convinced me the
search was worth pursuing, was the Thomas HeadlessPusher, made by the Thomas Brothers of Bath, New York,
in 1912. I had been successful in buying it and, eventu-
ally, passing it to Cole Palen of Old Rhinebeck fame, who
had restored it, flown it, and finally retired it to his mu-
seum on the hill behind his airport.
New York, who built and flew it that year with as many
as three aboard. This plane is currently being restored by
members of Empire State Aerosciences Museum (ESAM),
located in the Schenectady County Airport.
A more recent find (1986) is an excellent example of a
homebuilt Chanute hang glider, long stored in a garage
in Amsterdam, New York. The workmanship is superb; it
must have been built by a cabinetmaker. It is impossibleto establish just when it was built, but I’m certain that it
is extremely old—its fabric covering had been varnished,
as was the custom in the days of Curtiss and the Wright
brothers. The fabric was so deteriorated that in places it
had cracked open from the sheer weight of the collected
Light Plane Heritage
published in EAA Experimenter November 1989
THE BELLANCA BIPLANES
J MR
EAA
Clarence Chamberlin’s Bellanca CE at Glens Falls,
New York, the West Mountains in the background.
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one gentleman was left, and he had
obviously planned it this way. This
man had seemed especially interested
in what I had been saying. He glanced
around before speaking, seemingly to
be sure we were not being overheard.“I know of a very old airplane located
within just a few miles of here.” ZAP!
My mind focused on what my new
friend was saying as it would have at
the reading of the will of a recently de-
ceased wealthy uncle. “This plane has
been stored in a barn near here for a
long, long time. The people who ownthis barn are the parents of a good
friend of mine. I have been aware of
it for years but have never been al-
lowed to see it, but I believe it may be
an important one so far as the history
of aviation is concerned. These people
and their ancestors have lived on this
property for over 200 years, and theyinsist on their privacy. They believe
this airplane was the one that Clarence
Chamberlin used to fly the Atlantic,
back whenever that may have been.”
I was quite skeptical; a Bellancanamed Columbia with a Wright en-gine had successfully flown the At-lantic in the hands of ClarenceChamberlin shortly after Lindbergh’ssuccess in 1927. That ship had goneon to capture many other records insucceeding years only to meet its endin a fire in another barn somewhere.But I didn’t say so. Instead I said,“When I hear of something like this,I find it doesn’t pay to procrastinate;
I like to move immediately. I’ve lostseveral chances for a great airplaneby postponing just a bit. I proposethat we go there right away—tonight,if it’s possible.” My new friend said,“I’m afraid that is impossible. These
content with it for the present. Tenlong days later we finally met again
and traveled to the barn.
The grandparents and their son
greeted us warmly, reflecting the
groundwork that had been done by
my new friend, and soon we were all
climbing an extension ladder to gain
access to the hayloft of the barn.
As my eyes slowly adapted to the
low light level, I was disappointed at
what I was able to see. In my imagi-
nation, I had conjured a picture of
a complete airplane, engine hung,
wing panels suspended carefully
from the roof, everything just wait-
ing to be dusted off and towed to the
airport to be assembled and blithelyflown around the pattern.
What I actually saw, when my eyes
became completely accustomed to
the gloom, was a pair of small wing
panels (both lefts, for a biplane) that
the tip to the spar fittings. If the toppanels butted into a cabane arrange-ment, the span would be around 26to 27 feet. The spacing between thespars of the wings was 24 inches up-
per and 14-1/2 inches lower. This hadbeen quite a small biplane.
The grandfather said, “When this
plane was first stored here, it was
a complete flying machine, with a
small radial engine on the front. We
kids used to sit in it and make be-
lieve we were flying it through the
air. I don’t know what happened tothe rest of it; bit by bit, it has just
kind of disappeared.”
Letdown best describes my mood
about then. What had happened to
the plane that was supposed to have
flown the Atlantic in 1928?
I was just about to leave when I no-
ticed a large packing crate, measuring1 foot by 4 feet by 15 feet lying on itsside. Wiping off some of the dust, wewere astonished to read the words:“To: C.D. Chamberlain, c/o The Ex-press Station, C.O.D. - $936.50, From:Maryland Pressed Steel Company,Hagerstown, Maryland.”
Well, now. This was interesting!
Unfortunately, the crate was empty,
except for an interplane strut made of
wood in a streamlined form. However,
this strut was like no other one I had
ever seen: Its trailing edge had been
routed out to form a groove its entire
length; at its midpoint and trailing to-
ward the rear was a pulley mounted on
a bracket in such a way that the tan-gent of the pulley was nearly touching
the trailing edge of that strut. Its pur-
pose was obvious: It was a “keeper” to
keep the aileron cable (which was car-
ried in this groove) from slipping out
Pulley at trailing edge of interplane
strut holds aileron cable in slot. This
was the strut found in the loft of a
Glens Falls area barn—possibly the re-
mains of Chamberlin’s CE.
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In effect, I “filed it and forgot it!”
Now the few details of which I had
been aware came flooding back.
If it was true that the photos I re-
ceived had been taken near this lo-
cation (and the steep hills in the
background seemed to bear this out),
why would Chamberlin have had
this little plane here? At the time I
had been given these photos I wasmystified and inclined to doubt the
farmer’s story. Now, here I was again,
within a mile or two of the same
place in another barn, looking at
components of a Bellanca biplane,
After arriving back at home, I dug
out my Bellanca files and boned up
on this man’s career. Giuseppe Mario
Bellanca was a native of Sicily, born
March 19, 1886, in the little village
of Sciacca. He was physically small,
reaching, finally, the height of 5
feet 5 inches. But his mental stature
was considerably greater, as history
would bear out.As a youth, he studied engineer-
ing beginning in 1904. He earned his
degree after studying at The Royal
Technical Institute and the Politec-
nico di Milano. He was intrigued
and he emigrated to America in Sep-
tember of 1912. His Uncle August,
who had preceded him there, arranged
backing for further research, and soon
the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation had
been established, with one Fiorello La-Guardia as legal counsel. The “factory”
was set up in the basement of the Bel-
lanca home in Brooklyn.
Early in the spring of 1931, Bel-
lanca’s first brainchild was finished
to the point where more room was
needed for its assembly, so a shed
in Mineola was rented and the proj-ect moved there. What he had was
a wire-braced monoplane whose fu-
selage consisted of a pair of rectan-
gular wooden longerons, one above
the other, braced with vertical mem-
bers and more wire. The pilot sat in a
bucket seat below and behind a 30-
hp Anzani Y engine.Slowly, on calm days, Bellanca
taught himself to fly at the fields
then in existence: Belmont Park,
Hempstead, and Garden City. His
was quite a different configuration
than most being flown at that time,
and as a result he took considerable
ribbing about it, but when he was
satisfied that he was ready to go, he
did so, very successfully.
In the following year, 1914, he set
up a flying school, taking on all com-
ers. By stretching his parasol a bit and
swapping the engine for the more
powerful 45-hp Anzani, he had a bet-
ter trainer in which he, in 1915, taught
LaGuardia to fly. This man was later tocommand an American Aero Squad-
ron in Italy and still later to become
the mayor of New York City.
In the summer of 1916, Bellanca
crossed paths with an executive of
Bellanca CE: 55-hp Anzani; span, 28 feet; length, 18-1/2 feet; wing area, 163-
4/5 square feet; empty weight, 470 pounds; gross weight, 900 pounds; top
speed, 97 mph; climb, 600 fpm; range, 300 miles.
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men who aspired to learn to fly.
The aircraft that he produced inHagerstown was designated the Bel-lanca Model CD, powered with theleftover 30-hp Anzani engine. It couldtheoretically carry two persons, sincethere was a front cockpit, but it was
not fitted out for a passenger. It had awingspan of 26 feet and weighed just400 pounds, and it flew very well.Lateral control was achieved by warp-ing the wings, as used by the Wrights.It was well streamlined, with a topspeed of 75 mph, much faster thansimilar designs of the same power.
In 1919 the Model CE was in-
troduced that was a true two-place
sport plane, with a 55-hp Anzani en-
gine that made it perform at gross
weight even better than the single-
seat model of 30 hp. This one com-
bined economy of operation with
a rate of climb of 620 fpm and top
speed of 102 mph with passenger.
Landing speed was less than 40 mph.The Model CE used ailerons on the
upper wing instead of wing warp-
ing with resulting improvement in
firmness of construction and liveli-
ness of response to the controls. The
berlin, saw an ad in Aerial Age Weekly
magazine dated May 3, 1920, in which
the American-French Aero Exposition
Company announced it was forming
a group that would supply air shows
to anyone who was in the market. Pi-
lots who had their own airplanes were
advised to appear in person at a prear-ranged date at Glens Falls to demon-
strate their aerobatic skills and then to
be signed up for the season.
Both Hennicke and Chamberlin
responded, the former taking his Ca-
nuck (a Jenny with ailerons on both
top and bottom wings, Canadian
style), and the latter, his Bellanca CE.
Chamberlin arrived there in good
shape, but Hennicke had an incident
en route near the city of Hudson,
and his Canuck was totaled.
It seems quite likely that the pho-
tos that were given to me were taken
near Glens Falls at that time, in 1920,
that it was damaged later and that
it was stored from that day onward.This is only conjecture, but doesn’t
it seem likely in view of what “Slim”
Hennicke has told me? I think I’ll set-
tle for this explanation.
The Smithsonian Institution has
great success in Maryland, Pennsyl-
vania, New Jersey, and New York.
‘My rates were $15 a hop for straight
flying,’ he (Bellanca) recalled in Re-
cord Flights, his autobiography, ‘and
$25 a ride if the passenger wantedto “get the works.” Most of them
preferred stunt flights, first, because
they wanted to get a “real thrill”,
and secondly, because it soon be-
came apparent that my little Bel-
lanca biplane did a lot more things
than the other barnstorming planes
which were war surplus stock andquite clumsy by comparison. Even
those who had been up before were
frequently enticed by the swiftness
and maneuverability of my ship
into spending their money for an-
other ride.’”
The high regard of this former
Army pilot for the graceful biplanesled him to buy up the remaining par-
tially completed CE biplanes at auc-
tion prices after Maryland Pressed
Steel closed its doors. Sadly, not one
Bellanca CE remains in existence.
Lately, I’ve been daydreaming
about this pretty little biplane and
wondering—could it just be, after all,
that these nice private people mightjust possibly reconsider and present
what is left of this sole remaining ex-
ample of the Bellanca Model CE to
the Empire State Aerosciences Mu-
seum for restoration? That would be
an inordinately extensive (and ex-
pensive) project, but with dedica-
tion, it could be done.
Editor’s Note: We’ve never heard a
follow-up concerning the disposition of
the parts of the CE; if any members have
additional information on the Bellanca
Clarence Chamberlin and the CE. The rear interplane strut has the pulley at its trail-
ing edge that identifies this plane, the same as the interplane strut found in the barn.
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In the previous issue we discussed fixed- and
ground-adjustable pitch propellers, both wood
and steel. Now it’s time to look at some gen-
eral information regarding aircraft propellers;
I trust that you will find it informative. A few
subjects to be addressed are:How do I know what prop fits my particular
airplane?
Where can I find information about a particular
prop?
What is type design data and where can I locate
such data?
What are “yellow tags,” and what do they tell me?
What is static rpm, and why is that important?
And we’ll include other issues that are of importance.
TYPE DESIGN DATA: This is data the original
manufacturer used to build the airplane. Approved
type certificates (ATCs) date back to March 1927 when
ATC No. 1 was issued to Buhl-Verville to build the J4
Airster. Type design data consists of drawings, engi-
neering data, and any other kind of detailed informa-
tion needed to construct an aircraft or component thathad been awarded the ATC.
Why does that matter to us in our prop discussion?
The approved propeller type specific to that particular
airplane is included in the type design data. Sometimes
this data is easy to find, but more often it is very dif-
source—a U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of
Air Commerce document dated July 1, 1934, “Airwor-
thiness Requirements for Engines & Propellers.” It is
Aeronautics Bulletin No. 7-G and, at that time, was the
source for data to obtain a type certificate (TC) for an
engine or propeller.Chapter II deals with “Aircraft Propeller Require-
ments.” Section 19 of the chapter deals with com-
mercial propellers. Manufacturers are to submit: “(1)
Application for approved type certificate, in dupli-
cate, submitted on forms which will be furnished for
the purpose by the Secretary (Daniel C. Roper). (2) A
complete set of drawings descriptive of the propel-
ler, in duplicate. (3) A complete log, covering the
tests outlined in paragraphs (B) or (C) of this sectionaccompanied by an affidavit. (4) A stress analysis
as required in conjunction with flight testing, (B)
Tests required for propellers other than fixed pitch
wood propeller: (1) Propellers of this type shall be
subjected to a 50-hour endurance block test on an
internal-combustion engine, rigidly mounted, of
the same general characteristics as the engines upon
which the propellers are to be used in service. Sec-tion 16 (C): When an approved type certificate is
granted, one set of drawings is impressed with the
seal of the Department of Commerce and is returned
to the manufacturer to be used in the construction
of his propellers. The other set is placed in the De-
BY ROBERT G. LOCK
My thoughts on aircraft propellers
Part II
THE Vintage
Mechanic
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AIRCRAFT SPECIFICATIONS: Aircraft specifica-
tions were produced by the CAA and are the source
for type design data. Included in the aircraft specifi-
cations is a list of approved equipment that could be
installed on the aircraft, including the propeller(s).
In most cases specific hub and blade numbers and amanufacturer can be found. When wood propellers
were approved, a minimum/maximum diameter was
specified and a static minimum/maximum rpm was
given. Static power is maximum rpm at full throttle
with the aircraft not moving. Therefore, several types
of wood props could be used as long as they met the
above length and static rpm specs. If the type design
data doesn’t appear in the aircraft specifications, it iscontained within the aircraft listing.
AIRCRAFT LISTING: When there are 50 or fewer
aircraft registered, the type design data appears in the
aircraft listing. This very condensed version of type
design data isn’t detailed enough for the mechanic
when determining what type of prop was originally
used. For example, the publication will show: Pro-peller—adjustable metal. It will not give the specific
manufacturer or type. That’s not very helpful, so
where does one go next?
PROPELLER LISTING: The propeller listing con-
tains type design data for older propellers that are no
longer around “en masse.” Some of the data that can
be gleaned from this publication is maximum/mini-
mum diameter, blade and hub part numbers, maxi-mum horsepower for hub and blades, serial numbers
eligible, etc. Also shown is the propeller ATC number
for the hub and blades.
CAA AIRWORTHINESS FILE: Most airworthi-
ness and registration files are available for a specific
aircraft on microfiche (now available on CD-ROM). If
one searches through the file to locate inspection forms,the Department of Commerce or CAA inspector usually
listed the prop by manufacturer, make, and model. For
instance, a search of the record file for the New Standard
D-25, serial number 105, registration number NC9756,
shows that it was powered by a Wright J-5 engine and
it changed the rules and added a category to TCs called
supplemental type certificates (STCs). If someone
other than the manufacturer of the airplane changed
the type design data, that person could go through a
lengthy process and eventually receive an STC. One
could consult the Summary of Supplemental Type Cer-tificates to check whether a particular prop had been
approved for installation on the specific aircraft. If
no data could be located in any of the previously dis-
cussed data, the last choice is FAA field approval.
FIELD APPROVAL: CAA inspectors were used to
grant field approvals for major changes in type design,
and so the airworthiness file for the specific aircraftmay contain a previously issued field approval for a
propeller installation. Today, it is much more difficult
to secure FAA field approval for propeller changes. I re-
ally don’t want to go into FAA field approvals, because
it’s not clear to me exactly what the FAA’s current pol-
FIGURE 1
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propeller repair stations. In order to overhaul old pro-
pellers, the shop must have type design data and even
have blade profile data. Before purchasing a propeller,
make sure you get the hub and blade numbers and
check with a prop shop to assure it has the data tooverhaul such a prop.
Let me detail an example of a potential problem:
My son Rob found a set of blades for a Hamilton Stan-
dard 5406 ground-adjustable propeller for sale on the
Internet. The blade numbers didn’t match any data in
the propeller listing. In fact the blades were not manu-
factured by Hamilton Standard. I began checking with
known prop shops that overhauled these older props,and nobody had any data on the blades. The result was
that nobody could overhaul and certify the blades. So
for us they were useless! When propeller components,
or the entire assembly, are overhauled, the component
parts are “yellow tagged.”
friendly A&P mechanic for in-
stallation and the appropriate
entry into the logbook.
PROPELLER INSTALLA-
TION: The prop can be in-stalled by an A&P mechanic,
a “P” mechanic, or the propel-
ler repair station. The propeller
should be torqued according
to manufacturer’s instruction.
A 30-spline prop is torqued
to the weight of a 180-pound
man on a 4-foot bar, or 720foot-pounds. A 20-spline prop
is torqued to 480 foot-pounds,
the equivalent of a 200-pound
person on a 2.4-foot bar. Af-
ter torquing, a safety device
such as a clevis pin or AN
bolt, should be installed in the
hub so, in case the safety de-
vice fails, centrifugal force will
hold the pin/bolt in place. The
pin or bolt should be “slightly”
loose so you can check it on
every preflight inspection. If the bolt or pin is tight,
the prop may be loosening on the shaft. The mechanic
should also check propeller track to assure proper dy-
namic balance.
In the powerplant logbook, an entry should be madeshowing powerplant total time, time since major over-
haul, and, if the propeller is a different type from what
had been previously installed, the signature of the
person approving and releasing the aircraft for return-
to-service and a change to the weight-and-balance in-
formation and equipment list, if required.
PROPELLER LOG: New propellers will be furnishedwith a prop logbook. However, older props do not have
logs. The FAA requested that I provide a prop log for a
Hamilton Standard ground-adjustable propeller manu-
factured in the early 1930s. I refused because there was
no way to estimate total time, number of repairs, etc. So
FIGURE 2
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rpm.” If one operates the engine in
this region, a very high-pitched vi-
bration may be felt in the airframe.
That is the harmonic, and it can be
dangerous. Harmonics will be as-
sociated with specific propellers in-stalled on specific engines.
This information will hopefully
be helpful when the subject is air-
craft propellers. It is imperative that
the prop be matched correctly to
the airframe and powerplant. Since
the airframe manufacturer selects
both the engine and prop for theairplane, harmonic vibration is a
strong consideration. Changes to
the original type design are criti-
cal and should be made with great
care. Using the approved prop(s) is
closely associated with the safety of
the airplane and longevity of the
engine. To further illustrate prob-
lems with vibrations associated
with propellers, one must examine
FAA AD 54-12-02. This directive
applies to all McCauley propellers
having 41D5926 or D-1093 hubs
with SS-135-6 or SS-138-6 blades.
The first number of the AD (54)
tells us that the AD was issued in
1954, or 56 years ago. The word-ing in the directive is interesting,
so I’ll duplicate it here to show a
point. “On the basis of satisfactory
vibration stress surveys conducted
on the 102-inch diameter con-
figuration, these propellers were
approved vibration wise for in-
stallation on the Continental W-670-6A, W-670-6N and Lycoming
R-680 engines. When installed on
the Continental engine, the pro-
peller must be indexed in the 0 de-
gree position (blades in line with
through the engine mount to the
airframe, and other parts of the
airplane will “shake.” Heavy sym-
pathetic vibrations can be felt in
the pilot’s seat, but are more com-
monly felt or seen in the instru-ment panel, throttle quadrant, etc.
Some engines require that a wood
prop be installed on the hub with
blades at 90 degrees to the crank-
throw. The hub will be indexed to
the prop shaft by a master spline,
but the prop can be mounted at the
90-degree point by the mechanic.
With the piston on top dead cen-
ter on the No. 1 cylinder, the prop
should be installed in the horizon-
tal position. This procedure is a
method to control unwanted vibra-tions between the crankshaft and
the propeller.
This ends our discussion of
propellers for this issue. Hope-
fully I have passed along some
helpful information that you will
find interesting.
V
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Could you pass a private pilot
flight test today if you had to?
Attaining and maintaining flight
proficiency is sometimes easier said
than done. We live in a fast-paced
world: time, expense, weather, busi-
ness, and family commitments—all
keep one away from the airport more
than desired.
The biennial flight review (BFR)
helps all general aviation pilots main-
tain some level of proficiency to fly
safely. But the BFR is not a pass/fail
endeavor; it is a review and is only a
means to determine if you are reason-
ably safe when operating your aircraft.
Spring will soon be here (I’m writ-ing this the day before Groundhog
Day, and based on the forecast, there
will be six more weeks of winter), and
we’re all beginning to feel the “itch”
to get our airplanes ready for the
summer flying season. But are you
getting yourself ready for the season?
Be totally honest with yourself fora moment. Stand in front of your
bathroom mirror and ask yourself,
“If I had to, could I take a private
pilot checkride today and perform
each of the required maneuvers to the
we make up a very small portion of
the populated universe. In fact, when
lumping all pilots together in one
group, we make up less than one-
tenth of 1 percent of the U.S. popula-
tion…and considerably less than that
when looking at global numbers!
What does this mean to each of
us? Every one of us has a vital re-
sponsibility to fly as safely and pro-
ficiently as we possibly can because,
as a small group, when our activi-
ties result in an incident, it becomes
national headlines. These incidents
cause fear among the nonflying pop-
ulation and more regulation from
the ever-present FAA.Striving to be a better, safer, and
more proficient pilot should be a
goal of the highest level and is a re-
sponsibility that we each need to
take seriously every time we fly.
Let’s look at the common private
pilot maneuvers and what the FAA
requirements are to demonstrateeach satisfactorily. Since you took
your private pilot checkride, some
of the maneuvers may have been
changed, either in terminology or in
minimum standards.
•Establish a pitch attitude that
will maintain VY +10/-5 knots.
•Maintain takeoff power and VY+10/-5 knots to a safe maneuver-
ing altitude.
•Maintain directional control
and proper wind-drift correction
throughout the takeoff and climb.
Based on experience, I can testify
that many pilots are quite sloppy
when performing each of the above
tasks during the takeoff.
Though not stated in the PTS, the
FAA and most all FAA Designated
Examiners now want the pilot to
make slight S-turns while maintain-
ing a constant climb speed. This al-lows the pilots to diligently scan
the area in front of the nose for
other aircraft. Previously we were
taught to climb straight ahead un-
til reaching approximately 500 feet
above ground level (AGL), then
lower the nose and scan for traffic
before continuing our departurefrom the traffic pattern.
Slow FlightThis maneuver was once called
“Minimum Control Airspeed” and
BY Steve Krog, CFI
How’s your flight proficiency?
THE VintageInstructor
d t t d t t l fli ht t t h i t Forward Slip to a Landing
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dates to demonstrate slow flight,
most will look at me and say, “I
haven’t done this since my last BFR.”
This is an excellent maneuver to
know and really understand your air-
plane, and it is a maneuver that canbe used when flying into a busy pan-
cake breakfast. Practice and know
how to perform this maneuver.
Medium and Steep TurnsYou might be asking yourself,
“How can this be so difficult? I do
this all the time.” However, whenwas the last time you established
a bank angle and altitude and per-
formed the turn?
The PTS states for the steep turn
that you must:
•Roll into a coordinated 360-
degree turn and maintain a con-
stant 45-degree bank.
•Maintain the entry altitude
±100 feet; airspeed ±10 knots; bank
±5 degrees; and roll out on the en-
try heading ±10 degrees.
Most BFR candidates will be un-
able to maintain their altitude and,
once realizing this, will decrease the
bank angle while chasing the alti-
tude and finally roll out well beyondthe entry heading. It isn’t a difficult
maneuver, but it does require prac-
tice to maintain proficiency.
Power-Off StallsThis stall was previously called
the “Approach to Landing Stall,”
but that phrase had a negative con-notation, so the FAA changed it
back to the “Power Off Stall,” a de-
scription used from the time of the
Wright brothers until the 1950s.
A private pilot candidate must
correct recovery techniques, return
to a straight-and-level flight atti-
tude with a minimum loss of alti-
tude appropriate for the airplane.
When was the last time you prac-
ticed a power-off stall? Probablyduring your BFR flight two years
prior—at least that is the response
I usually hear when I ask a BFR can-
didate to perform the same. There
are two mistakes commonly made
when demonstrating this stall: first,
not recognizing the stall and initi-
ating a recovery before the stall ac-tually occurs, and second, pushing
the nose over and diving at mother
earth, losing an exorbitant amount
of altitude. Remember, this stall is
most likely to occur in the traffic
pattern close to the ground. At a safe
altitude, practice this stall using the
recovery technique of lowering the
nose just below the horizon line.
Power-On StallsFor reference, this stall was once
referred to as the “Take Off and
Departure Stall,” but the negative
connotation caused the FAA to re-
identify it as the “Power On Stall.”
The key points in the PTS areidentical to the power off stall:
•Maintain a specified heading
±10 degrees when performing the
stall straight ahead.
•Maintain a specified angle of
bank not to exceed 20 degrees, ±10
degrees, in turning flight while in-
ducing the stall.•Recognize the stall; then using
correct recovery techniques, return
to a straight-and-level flight atti-
tude with a minimum loss of alti-
tude appropriate for the airplane.
Forward Slip to a Landing This maneuver is a require-
ment of the private pilot checkride
whether flying an aircraft with flaps
or not. The PTS lists eight objectives
for evaluating the forward slip. Thekey objectives include:
•Establish the slipping attitude
at the point from which a land-
ing can be made using the recom-
mended approach and landing
configuration and airspeed while
adjusting pitch attitude and power
as required.•Maintain a ground track
aligned with the runway center/
landing path and an airspeed,
which results in minimum float
during the roundout.
•Touch down smoothly at the
approximate stalling speed, at or
within 400 feet beyond a specified
point, with no side drift, and with
the airplane’s longitudinal axis
aligned with and over the runway
center/landing path.
Many pilots flying antique- and
classic-type aircraft are quite famil-
iar with the slip and use it regularly
when landing, but I still encounter
many who haven’t performed a slipin years. The single biggest error I see
during the BFR is allowing the nose
to dip or drop while establishing
and maintaining the slip. Airspeed
then increases, and the landing is
well beyond the 400 feet limit as
outlined in the PTS. Another error
I encounter is the pilot’s fixation onthe airspeed indicator. Remember,
the pitot tube is providing an erro-
neous reading on the airspeed dur-
ing the slip. Establishing the correct
nose attitude is critical to maintain-
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Send your answer to EAA,
Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086,Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your
answer needs to be in no later
than April 15 for inclusion in
the June 2010 issue of Vintage
Airplane .You can also send your re-
sponse via e-mail. Send your
answer to [email protected] .
Be sure to include your name
plus your city and state in thebody of your note and put“(Month) Mystery Plane” in the
subject line.
by H.G. FRAUTSCHY
MYSTERY PLANE
This month’s Mystery Plane comes to us from Jack Austin ofFlorence, South Carolina. We promise an extensive
Mystery Plane Extra article in the June issue on this one!
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gasoline engines, and his company
also built engine pi