Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
AVIATION.
E
Chaptermeetingsare held at various
=;
airports in Florida seven oreighttimes
Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler.
a year. The meetings are hosted by
local EAAchaptersorindividual EAA ingofdining,EAAprograms,socializ- chapter membership changes over
groups. ChapterOnemeetingsarereal- ing and, ofcourse, much hangar talk. time, interests and activities seem to
ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two Thechapterholdsan annualSeptember go through different phases. She said
nights. Participants tly ordrive to the business meeting in Thomasville, that, "althoughit is an Antique/Classic
meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage
airport. The programs consist ofsemi- City Antiquers. airplanes, we are mainly a 'people'
nars on aviation-related topics . Bill Kilborn of Melbourne, Florida chapter and tend to stay away from
In addition to programs, the fly-in is the group's newsletter chairman. stereotypes. Interest in vintage aircraft
meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is acementingfactor."Sandyalsofeels
points ofinterest such as the Kennedy and information, schedules of local that receiving publications such as
Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events, interchange of mem- VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT
the Jacksonville Navy Yard. Among bershipinformationandevencartoons. AVIATfON are an important benefitof
the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership, the newslet- membership.
the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members, recent
Chapter officers practice what they
of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associa-
preach. Sandy completeda restoration
judgedusing similarstandardsto those tions .
project on a Cessna J20 last October.
used at EAA Oshkosh. Fly-in Outgoing President , Sandy McKen-
The project tookalmostseven years in
weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of0' Brien, Floridasaysthat as the
an on-and-offschedule that included a
complete rebuild ofboth the airframe
Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend, Marcia Sullivan.
and engine.
Sandybelievesthatit wouldbegreat
ifthe Antique/Classic Division as well
as the chaptercould function as an of-
ficial activity at Sun 'n Fun and she
would like to see a combined regional
Antique/Classic Chapter tly-in to help
cementourinterests. Thereis nodoubt
about the priorities ofChapterOne-
people and airplanes in that order.
Sun 'nFun is upon us! Forinforma-
tion, call Bonnie Ware at 813/644-
2431 and plan on sampling Chapter
One'shospitalityattheSun'nFun An-
tique/Classic Headquarters . Enjoy the
shadeofthe porch and meet somefine
antiquers.
Anyoneinterestedin informationfor
this year's remaining tly-in meetings
is invited tocontact Ray Olcottat 813/
488-8791.
22 APRIL 1990
PROJECTPORTERFIELD
A1940 BeautyRebuiltintheWildNorthwest
by Norm Petersen
Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring
it to new condition is prevalent in all of us. For some, the dream never comes true, try
as they might to make it so. However, for others, the dream becomes a reality through
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
steady, persistent hard work and some-
times - a little "dumb luck". One has
to realize that in the wonderful world
of airplanes, it is all part of the game!
Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Porter-
field CP-65 Collegiate, NC25590, SI N
696, which was one of about 200 CP-
65's built at the Porterfield factory in
Kansas City, Missouri from 1938-1942.
Although purchased primarily for the
Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) ,
which was urgently training pilots for
the future military demands , some Col-
legiates were sold to private owners
around the country.
The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wil-
liam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966, A/C
14970) of Moses Lake, Washington.
Bill is an A & P with Inspection Au-
thorization and runs an aircraft repair
shop. His interest in antique airplanes
goes back many years and when the
word came wafting through his shop
that an old airplane was laying in a hay
shed near Othello , about 20 miles
south, Bill was off and running! It took
nearly five years to strike a deal for the
forlorn looking Porterfield that had
been idle for over IO years. It was co-
vered with ash from the eruption of
Mt. St. Helens in 1980. Bill hauled the
bare bones home in a trailer and slowly
24 APRIL 1990
began the teardown to a bare airframe.
Once everything was detached (and
scraped) from the basic tubing, it was
sandblasted clean. Surprisingly, it was
in excellent shape with no rust or
holes. Bill painted the framework with
a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is
impervious to almost any other paint
or liquid. Assembly was then begun
with each part and piece being brought
up to new condition or replaced before
it was installed . Bill reports excellent
assistance from Univair of Aurora ,
Colorado, which carries many of the
necessary parts on hand. In addition,
the holder of the original Type Certifi-
cate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe
Rankin in Mayville , Missouri (Phone
816-582-3291) and certain parts are
available from him.
One lucky acquisition with the tired
old Porterfield was a complete set of
blueprints that helped the assembly
process a great deal. It makes it so
much easier to sort a pail full of parts
when you know where the parts go!
All wood was replaced on the fuselage
and properly varnished before installa-
tion. New control cables were made
up and installed with new guides - for
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
that "moving your hand through a tub
of whipped cream" feel. All of the
bearings in the Porterfield control sys-
tem are ball bearing, so it behooves
one to do a good job on the controls.
The wing spars were in good restor-
able shape, however , the ribs and ailer-
ons had to be done over from scratch.
All ribs were jig built to the original
Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the
sanded and varnished spars . When all
the hardware was in place, Bill tram-
meled the wings square and readied
them for covering. The ailerons were
also rebuilt with new wood and care-
fully assembled. It was now covering
26 APRIL 1990
time .
Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was
used on the fuselage, wings and tail-
feathers with the normal build-up and
sanding before a final finish in Canyon
Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim .
The results speak for themselves as the
finish is outstanding.
All cowling metal was replaced and
the many metal fairings were redone in
new aluminum to get away from "that
wrinkled look" , so prevalent in old
airplanes! The instruments were sent
out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and
the 65-hp Continental engine was tom
down for a major overhaul. Although
the log books showed only 200 hours
since the engine had been worked on,
it was in dire need of help. Bill brought
it back to new limits and ordered a
Flottorp propeller to be installed on the
engine when ready . The final touch
would be a skullcap spinner.
The original 13.5 gallon fuel tank
had to be repaired before it could be
installed, just ahead of the instrument
panel. However , once it tested OK, it
was carefully installed and the plumb-
ing was hooked up. The engine mount
was then installed and the newly over-
hauled 65 Continental was hung on the
mount. The old exhaust system needed
considerable rework before it was
ready for installation.
A new windshield was shipped in
from Pennsylvania and together with
new glass for all windows, was care-
fully installed. With the redone seats
and new interior, the inside of the Por-
terfield looked just as nice as the out-
side! The cream faced instruments re-
ally gave the panel that look of a well
restored airplane when they were in-
stalled.
Final assembly of the wings and tail
surfaces somehow made all the work
and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield
looked for all the world like it had just
rolled out of the Kansas City factory.
The Flottorp propeller was installed
and the overhauled brakes were
checked to see that they worked prop-
erly. (I once had a friend in Minnesota
who taxied his newly restored LP-65
Porterfield to the far end of the runway
for its first flight. Reaching the end of
the hard-surface, he stepped on the
brakes to make a turn around. Nothing!
He had forgotten to hook up the
brakes! The Porterfield rolled off the
end of the runway and flopped over on
its back!)
Bill Burkey says his beautifully re-
stored CP-65 flies like a new airplane
and handles very nicely. Although it
can be flown from either the front or
rear seat, it handles the nicest when
flown solo from the rear seat. His fon-
dest hope and dream is to fly the bright
red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy
the company of many other antique and
classic airplanes. We look forward to
seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the
parking area and receive its rightful
share of admiring glances. And you
can be sure the gentleman standing
next to the pretty airplane with the
huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey,
one of the lucky ones who found an
old airplane in a barn .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
"OLD BLUE"
Wrecked in 1952, this classic StinsonGullwingwasn'ttoo
muchfor this pilotto handle.
Itwas a cool, clear June morning
about five years ago when Old Blue
and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro
Airfield for the last time. We were
packed with a fairly hefty load, includ-
ing spare engine parts, tools, survival
gear and a rocking chair. I had to
28 APRIL 1990
by Mike McCann
search for the pilot's seat.
After a smooth engine run-up, [
aimed down the narrow airstrip, then
pushed the throttle in for full power.
Within yards, her tail was up. We
sprang along on the main gear, over
the wavy tarmac . With a leap, the
thick , gull-shaped wings pulled her
skyward.
Climbing, she sounded like a 0-8
Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill.
But once we reached 8,000 feet, prop
and engine slowed to 18 inches and
1,800 rpm. Old Blue purred and flew
like the beauti ful Gull wing Stinson
she' d been back in '46.
Foll owing the Tanana Ri ver east, we
had a good sti ff tail wind . In two hours
we were cl osing in on the Canadian
border. I was not digesting th is fac t
very well. The tail wind di ed off -
and Old Blue slowed down, seem ing
to hesitate herself.
She' d been in Alaska since 1949,
except for four months in '8 1 when my
friend Claire and I haul ed her mangled
remai ns to Montana for restoration.
Thirty of those years she' d lain on her
back in the Interior tundra, slowly
settling into the ice and tussocks. Many
a cold trapper camped in her tatt ered
cabin, oft en stripping a pi ece of wing
rib or engine hose to repair a faulty
snow machine or patch . a broken dog-
sled. From the air, she was a landmark
- the bi g yell ow fuselage among the
short bl ack spruce - well known
among Yukon Ri ver Bush pil ots, alert-
ing them that they were 15 mil es west
of the vill age of Tanana.
Now, about to cross the north-south
survey line that indicates the official
U. S. -Canadi an border, I banked int o
a shall ow left turn , fl ying two large
circles. The acti on seemed to be
slowed down. My mind was rac ing.
Hard to believe I was leaving
Alaska. Even harder to beli eve that Old
Blue would probabl y never return , but
fall into the hands of some co ll ector in
"IN A
PUFF, THE NOSE
OF THE
STINSON WAS
ENGULFED
IN FLAMES."
the Lower 48. Leveling off, I rocked
the wings in salute, took a deep breath
- then crossed the border.
I knew the route south prett y well.
I pl anned to fl y along the AI- Can Hi gh-
way . In case of severe weather or
mechani cal problems, I could set her
down on the road.
There was lots to think about on thi s
trip. Lots of memori es . Not the least
of whi ch was Joe Cook himself - the
Alaska Bush pilot who' d "parked" the
Stinson on the tundra way back in the
fall of '52.
Joe had spent a rough three days try-
ing to fl y from the western Alaska vil -
lage of Galena to Fairbanks. The first
day, icing and poor visibilit y had
forced him to land on a sandbar on the
Tanana Ri ver. He spent the ni ght wrap-
ped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit.
The next morning, the visibility was
marginal but improved. He took off
without troubl e and fl ew low over the
countrys ide, hop ing to find a cl oud
break that would all ow him to make it
into Nenana. Instead, heavy ici ng
forced him down on a hill side in the
Redl ands area. 40 mil es north of
Nenana.
Us ing a small hatchet. he spent the
afternoon clearing a path across the
slope through the bl ack spruce for a
possibl e runway. Temperatures had
dropped. By the time he was ready to
try a takeoff, the pl ane' s engine oil had
The Challenge.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29
30 APRIL 1990
thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon , Joe could see
couldn' t turn the propeller over. En- acontainerofwaterforfood. Hebegan the clouds had li fted. If he could just
gine heat was needed. to work up a plan. He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew
Joe jumped from the cockpit, grab- he would intercept the Yukon River.
bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours, the bucket of oil
undertheenginecowl. Nexthedrained
several gallons of AV gas from the
wing tank and poured it on the brush
pile. He lit the brush. In a puff, the
nose of the Stinson was engulfed in
flames . Dense bl ack smoke billowed
out from under the old sleeping bag
that was doubling as an engine cowl
cover.
In a frenzy now, Joe was abl e to
kick the blazing brush away from the
airplane. Then by wrapping the bag
completely around the enginecowl , he
tried tosuffocatethefire. "Pleasedon' t
blow," he thought, knowing full well
that if the carburetor gas caught, it
would be curtains for his plane. The
fire smothered. Joe lay back against
the windshield. The Stinson was
saved, but what next?
The snow was getting heavi er, and
it was almost dark. Joe crawled into
the cockpit, wrapped himself in the
charred sleeping bag that had just
saved hi sonlywayout- wherever-
and tried to sleep.
Joe Cook awoke just before dawn.
"JOE COOK
GRUNTED A
SHORT PRAYER
AND GAVE
HER FULL
POWER."
the oil and engine separately. Fumbl-
ing in the dark , he built a fire well
away from the aircraft. He drained the
engine oil into a five-gallon pail, then
hung it over the fire. Next, he built a
small fire under the pl ane's nose. He
needed to heat the massive radial en-
gine case. Pouring warmoi l into a fro-
zen engine would be futile. As li ght
was plenty hot, the engine case warm
to thetouch. Joe tossedtherattyengine
coveras ide and poured the five gallons
ofhot oi l into the oil reservoir- hop-
ing someofits heatwould helpdefrost
the windshield , too. He needed all the
visibility he could get to maneuver
down hi s narrow, slanted , homemade
runway.
Stamping out his fires, Joe leaped
inside the cockpit and pumped the
primer knob five solid strokes and
kickeddownhardon the starterbutton .
The Stinson roared to life, no uneven
popping. It was hard to believe the
electrical harness had survived the pre-
vious ni ght's torching.
A steady 60 pounds ofoil pressure
registered on the gauge. Clenching hi s
teeth , Joe Cook grunted a short prayer
and gave her full power. The pl ane
waddl ed a bit. The tail wheel hung up
in the shortbrush . He worked theyoke
back and forth - and the tail sprang
free. Thepropellersuckedsnow,ashes
and small twi gs. The plane started to
roll forward, while sliding sideways
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31
I down the slope. The left wingtip
lodged in a tree. Cutting the engine to
idl e, Joe jumped out with hi s axe ,
cl eared some more trees and pushed
the tail sideways.
Several more such del ays and Joe
was at the far end of his airfield. Turn-
ing the Stinson around was no easy
chore. Finall y he was abl e to aim it
back down the runway. He breathed a
hope that the engine torque would help
him keep the pl ane out of the downhill
brush - then gave her full power once
again .
Starting slow, she began to gain
speed - then lifted off.
Joe banked the Stinson out over the
fl ats and headed north for the Yukon
River. It took full power to keep her
flying, since the plane had lost much
of her lower-side fabric and tail cover-
ing to the previous day' s semi -crash
landings. In 30 minutes, Joe could see
the Yukon. But he could also see that
both hi s gas gauges indicated empty.
"She' ll make it ," he thought.
Joe recall ed later that he' d just com-
pl eted that thought when the engine
began sputtering - and then all was
so qui et he could hear the air hi ssing
over the Stinson's bi g wings.
" Damn !"
Rocking the wings, he hoped to coax
an extra cup of fuel out of the tank. At
the same time, he searched the area for
another pl ace to crash-l and .
" I thought she' d glide to the river ,"
Joe said later. "But all torn up, she
came down like a streamlined rock."
Hitting the tundra, she bounced and
lurched - then flipped hard , ej ecting
Joe through the front windshi eld . He
landed in the semifrozen muck . He was
OK. But he was growing tired of the
trip. Hi s bi g yellow airpl ane looked
bad . The worst he' d ever seen her:
lying there on her back with small
spruce trees sticking through her
wings , wheels 10 feet off the ground.
Joe Cook pi cked up hi s gun and hi s
frayed sleeping bag. He looked at hi s
plane one last time. It was hard to be-
lieve she was fini shed. He felt as if he
was leaving an old fri end at the
graveyard .
Then Joe turned away and began
walking. He walked three mil es to the
Yukon River. Then he walked 15 more
mil es to a sand spit across the vill age
of Tanana. To get attention, he fired
two shotgun bl asts. Then he lay down
in the snow, exhausted.
Crossing Lake Kluane with a 40-
32 APRIL 1990
mph headwind, Old Blue and I turned
east at Haines Juncti on.
When Claire and I had returned Blue
to Al aska from Montana in '8 1, she' d
seemed to fl y doubl e-time, like a horse
heading for the barn . Although she was
indi cating 115 mph , all calcul ati ons
gave us 145 mph ground speed. Now
the best she could do was 85 mph . I
could only think Blue wasn' t real anx-
ious to meet the customs man in
Whitehorse.
As we rounded the last bend of the
Mendenhall Ri ver, Whitehorse Airport
"IT'S BEEN
HERE 30
YEARS. IT'LL
BE HERE
TOMORROW. "
came into view. I fl ew a straight and
level turn , lined up and landed , taxiing
over to the fli ght service stati on, where
a small crew of mechani cs gathered
under Blue's wings . Several of them
remembered her from our fli ght north
in '8 1. That evening, roll ed up under
the midnight sun in the deep grass, I
thought of how fortunate I was to own
such a beautiful old pl ane, and of the
unusual circumstances that had led to
thi s fli ght.
I had come to Alaska to learn how
to fl y. After two years of working as
a nurse in a small Bush hospital in
Tanana, I took my bankroll of $4 ,500
and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks,
hoping to buy a small , fl yabl e
machine. I had a rude awakening com-
ing. In 1980, my savings could onl y
afford a balled up pile of tubing behind
a hangar on Phillips Field , a pile that
I was not convinced had ever been an
airpl ane.
I headed back to the vill age, frus-
trated and di sappointed . In the next
few days, I thought of different op-
ti ons, all based on the fact that since
I'd never acquired anything in working
order before, why start now? I' d heard
of several wrecks in the area within a
100-mile radius of the vill age. With
the help of several local res ident s,
pl otted their approx imate sites on a
map.
Then I convinced my frie nd Claire,
who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 , to
take several reconnaissance/sceni c
fli ght s. Within a week we' d spotted all
the sites except one, and all were either
totally inaccess ibl e without a heli cop-
ter or too far gone to justify a trip
across tundra and mount ains. Last on
the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook's
pl ane - crashed in the earl y ' 50s about
15 mil es down the Yukon.
It was cold and gray that February
afternoon when we found something
that resembl ed her. A small patch of
dull yell ow peeked out from a snow
berm, looking like a chunk of snow
machine cowling from the air. We de-
cided to have a cl oser look. Cl aire shot
a compass heading whil e preparing to
land on a small lake. Landing on skis
in a puff of dry snow, we jumped out
and unti ed our snowshoes from the
wing strut s.
From the ground, the berm looked
like there was a school bus buri ed un-
derneath . A small metal stepl adder
pointed skyward from its snow-co-
vered heap. I was convinced it was the
cl ass ic Stinson. Us ing the snowshoes
as shovels, we stood chest-deep and
dug hastil y, uncovering a large, tat-
tered, inverted fuselage.
Claire call ed a halt . " It 's been here
30 years, it ' ll be here tomorrow. We
still have a runway to stomp out. -'
The lake was too small. Even with
building a small launch ramp and
showshoe-packing the whole runway ,
the pl ane's ski s trimmed the trees on
takeoff. Obviously, we couldn ' t return
to that lake.
Back in the vill age that evening, it
was time to organi ze a strategy wi thout
adverti sing too much. We would need
heaters, generators, saws, shovels and
come-alongs . Stan Zuray, a home-
steader 40 mil es to the north , had ar-
rived for the evening. Caught up in the
excitement , he offered to help with hi s
large freight sled and di sc iplined dog
team.
The airpl ane had lain upside down
for 30 years on the tundra, it s wings
swall owed by the tussocks and ice. We
spent several days heating the metal
wing structure with portable heaters
run by a small generator before the
ground would realease each wi ng.
They were hardly recogni zabl e.
We were pressured by an earl y thaw
and the overfl ow from a tributarv
stream flooding the river ice . The four-
mile , snow-packed trail from the river
through the spruce was dropping out.
The Lycoming engine and prop,
mounted on a fre ight sled, flipped
many times due to poor trai l conditi ons
before we got it to the more solid river
trail.
After two weeks and many trips to
the crash site by dogsled and snow-
machine - and with the help of Stan
and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much
of the Stinson was in my yard. On the
last trip, we had three sleds loaded wi th
wings and fuselage, and pulled straight
through town.
There was a big pre-dog-race party
at the time. Lots of folks were sociali z-
ing out on Main Street, most bl eary-
eyed. They came to attention as thi s
convoy of decrepit airplane part s
creaked past. It came to rest on the
sawhorses behind my house.
Later, I liked to si t on an old kitchen
chai r in place of the pilot's seat in the
fuselage and wonder just what style of
Stinson I actually had. It sure wasn' t
obvious .
Sometimes friends would visit. I
added chairs to the Stinson and wel-
comed them on fantasy excursions.
That spring I dug through all the avia-
tion books avai lable, anxious to see a
picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in
flying order looked like. Claire arrived
one evening with a folded-up pi cture
of a V -77 Stinson Reli ant Gullwing. I
couldn ' t believe that my pile of pieces
could ever have looked like the beauti-
ful plane in her photo.
The parts search was on. Many
phone call s and ads later, a contact was
made in Minnesota. He had what J
didn' t, all for sale. He was willing to
hold the parts until September while I
tried to come up with more money. I
came up with enough for the needed
parts by making tents, working part
time as a nurse and running a small
fish business.
I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge
to Nenana, where I loaded her onto a
boat trailer towed by an old Chevy
panel van. Thanksgiving, Claire and I
headed south . Nine days and 45 quarts
of motor oil later, we hit the Mont ana
border.
It took three months to restore her.
We lived in a big garage with her until
the job was done . She was reshaped,
recovered, repainted (blue) - and,
hopefull y, ready to fly .
A retired Alaska Bush pil ot, Glen
Gregory , hopped in and gave Claire
her first Gullwing flying lesson off a
Montana wheat field .
' These Stinsons are built like a
bridge," Glen said, by way of encour-
agement. "Onl y problem is they fl y
like one ... Anyway , they always get
off before they hit the fence ."
We knew he liked flying the Stinson
- which we rechristened "Old Blue"
- because he often beat us to the air-
field .
Several weeks of practice and we
were ready to head home to Alaska.
Anxious and overloaded, we took off
"YOU DON'T
CALLA
PREACHER
ON SUNDAY
FOR GAS,"
from Bozeman . We barely cleared the
hori zon. An hour later, we landed in
Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds
out of our load .
"Now she ' ll be fun to fl y," Claire
said .
The shiny, classic Stinson drew a
crowd everywhere we landed. She was
making great time . Dawson Creek,
Fort Nelson, Wqtson Lake - all
seemed to go by in a blur. We landed
in Tanana Easter Sunday, spring of
'8 1.
Over the next three years, Old Blue
received lots of tender loving care. I
got a handle on fl ying her and would
take her up between the many hours of
tinkering. I never could get myself to
load her up with fish or sled dogs. So
she enjoyed the retired life of a work-
horse getting out to stretch once in
awhile. Often the old-timers would say
that whenever they saw the old Gull-
wing flying it reminded them of the
early trapline years, when Stinsons
were the most common Bush plane.
Now it was the spring of '84. Blue
and I were heading south. After two
long days of fl ying, we reached Daw-
son Creek.
The temperature was close to 100
degrees, midday. I would take off at 5
a.m., fly three hours, then put down
until evening. The countryside had
leveled out, and I had to be more care-
ful following roads. Suddenly, they
seemed everywhere.
I found a small airstrip 20 miles west
of Edmonton and spent that evening
visiting old friends . Up and off at 5
a.m. , I was having a hard time navigat-
ing. Forest fire smoke from the Rock-
ies covered the valley. I planned to
refuel in Lethbridge, but the runway
was socked in .
Luckil y Cards ton was up on a
pl ateau, with a small paved strip five
miles from town. Blue was hot and
dripping oil from every possibl e fi t-
ting. The local preacher also ran the
fuel depot. If I learned anything on this
trip, it was that you don' t call a
preacher on 'Sunday for gas. Fifty gal-
lons of car gas cost me more than
$ 150.00.
Then off we went to Bozeman,
Mont. , with a strong tailwind. Late
that afternoon, just as we had climbed
high enough to clear Flathead Pass in
the Bridger Mountains, with Bozeman
runway visible in the di stance, the en-
gine began to surge - racing, then
slowing. We were sinking. I put the
nose down to gain speed and cool
things, looking for a place to land . I
couldn't believe we had made it thi s
far and now were heading for the
bushes - in clear sight of our destina-
tion .
I flashed back on old Joe Cook and
hi s many rough landings . Still on the
wrong side of the ridge, skimming the
hill side at treetop level, the engine
began to smooth out. I started breath-
ing again, pulling back easy on the
yoke, hoping for power enough to
climb out of the Bridger Canyon . Bit
by bit we neared the 8,OOO-foot pass
once again . My pul se raced faster than
the engine. Bozeman Airport was in
sight. Crossing the pass was like escap-
ing from jail. I put the nose down and
glided the 15 mil es to Gallatin Field.
As the prop quit spinning, Claire,
who had since become my wife , and
Chris , our 2-year-old son, ran up the
runway to greet me. I hugged them
both.
" How was the trip?" Claire asked.
" For a pl ane that didn ' t want to
come south , she did a helluva job," I
said .
"Gl en was right. She always clears
the fence. Though the cow elk had to
lie down so I could get over the pass." .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet...
25 per word,$5.00 minimumcharge. Sendyourad to
TheVintageTrader, EAAAviationCenter
Oshkosh,WI 54903-2591.
AIRCRAFT:
(2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks- 1931 and 1934.
Package includesextra engine and spares. Fuse-
lage, wing sparsandextraprops. Museumquality!
$30,000 firm! No tire kickers,collect calls or pen
pals, please! E.E. "Buck" Hilbert, P.O. Box 424,
Union,IL 60180-0424.
1950 Cessna 170A - 3,200 n ,1,050 SMOH,
300 STOH,Franklin165w/40 ampalternator. King
radios with Loran,DigitalEGT/CHT,auxiliarytank,
wing leveler, Imronpaintandmuch more. $29,000.
Call Mark Lindberg,415/967-4795. (4-1)
1961 PiperPA-22-108"Colt"-150hoursSMOH
and restoration. Two people plus 36 gallons fuel
and 100Ibs. luggage. Cleveland brakes,ELT,Es-
cort 110, EGT, CHT, beacon,newglass,tires and
Dacron cover. A lot of flight time for $9,800. Call
Chuck at 414/426-4815 days and 414/235-8714
evenings.(CST-WI). ufn
SellorTrade1940Fleet16B- O/HKinnerB5-R,
brand new unused Fahlin 92-63prop. Guaranteed
complete except few minorinstruments. Fuselage
covered Stits, Fleet Blue. Wings ready for cover.
SISwires.ALSOhistoricWarnerSS-50A. Wasin-
stalled in stbd. position of Blimp L-8 when she
cameashoreminuscrewat DalyCity,Californiain
August1942.Completelogsshowcrash.LaterO/H
and served on L-9 and L-l0. Was removed from
fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs, but upon
examinationoflogsdecidednottochangeanything
account of history.Cylindersremoved for pickling,
engine complete and standard. SASE, no phone.
Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra. Smith, 204 Lockport ,
Plainfield,Illinois60544-1940. (4-1)
1935PorterfieldFlyabout- Model35/70- 70hp
LeBlond engine. 84 hourssincetotal restoration.A
trueclassicandawardwinner.$17,000.Todd,405/
282-7580. (5-2)
Curtiss-Wright16E- Powered by aWrightU-6-
5.Thisaircraftistheonlyknownsurvivingexample
ofa1936CoWexportorderfortheArgentineNavy.
The aircraftis complete and was flown as recently
as 1988.Recently importedand offeredforsaleat
$49,500. ContactJohn Tucker,3141731-7111. (4-1)
Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85, 250 SMOH,
wings partially rebuilt, envelopes, original wheel
pants. $3,000 obo,wi ll consider trades plus cash
forC170,C180,PA12, PA20.408/296-3458.(4-1)
ENGINES:
Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing -
Specializing in Warner 145, 165, 185 engines.
"Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding." 904/
768-5031.(7-4)
34 APRIL 1990
MISCELLANEOUS:
Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired orrebuilt
- in precision master fixtures. All makes of tube
assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated
new.J.E. SoaresInc., 7093 DryCreekRoad,Bel-
grade,Montana59714,406/388-6069,RepairSta-
tion D65-21. (c/4-90)
JN4-D Memorabilia - "Jenny Mail " collector
cachets, actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh,
along with T-shirts,pins, posters,etc.Send SASE
for catalog/pricing. Virginia Aviation Co. , R.D. 5,
Box 294,Warrenton, VA 22186.(c-5/90)
NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one
volume! Covering all EAA journals 1953 through
1989.Newlyorganized,easierto read. MUCH RE-
DUCED PRICE! Pastpurchasers:$7.50 USDplus
$1.50 UPS/postage,$3.00Canadian,$7.00 other.
New purchasers: $15 USD plus $1.50 UPS/post-
age,$3.00Canadian,$7.00other.VISAIMASTER-
CARD accepted. John B. Bergeson, 6438 W.
MillbrookRoad, Remus, MI 49340.517/561-2393.
Note:Have all journals.Will make copy of any ar-
ticle(s) from any issue at 25 per page. ($3.00
minimum).
"Meticulous Delineations" - Antique scale
model construction plans, or wall decor by Vern
Clements (AiC 5989) ,308 Palo Alto, Caldwell, ID
83605.Catalog/Info/News$3.00,refundable.(7-4)
Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100. Ryan
PT-22 parts,controls, flying wires,L.G. parts,en-
gine mounts, tailwheels and much more. Kent
McMakin,815/624-6617eves. (4-1)
1910-1950OriginalPlaneandPilotItems- Buy
- sell- trade.44-pagecatalogover350itemsavail-
able, $5.00. Airmailed. John Aldrich,POB-706 -
Airport,Groveland,CA95321, 209/962-6121.(9-6)
Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966, many areas.
Send long SASE for descriptive price list. Edward
Peck,Rt. 2,Box 225-A,Waddy, KY 40076.(4-1)
ForSale- Beautiful winged CONTINENTALen-
gine "Powerful as the Nation"1930/40'sera water
transferdecals.Red,blackandsilver,justlikeCon-
tinental made'em.6"by2".Applyfaceupordown
tocowl,panel ,windows. Pair,postpaid,$6.50.Cur-
tissAldrich,POB-21 ,BigOakFlat,CA95305.(4-1)
WANTED:
WANTED: Right streamlined gear leg, tapered
axle, shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief.
Minor axis 7/8 inch, major 2 inch. Also complete
set of rudder, brake pedals for Fleet 16B.Smith,
204 Lockport,Plainfield, Illinois. 60544-1940.
MEMBERSHIP
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Non-EAA Member - $28.00. In-
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37
by George Hardie Jr.
There is considerable mystery as to
the eventual fate of this airplane. The
photo was taken in a hangar at the
Wayne County airport, according to
known sources. The photo was submit-
ted by Jack McRae of Huntington Sta-
tion, New York. Answers will be pub-
lished in the July 1990 issue of VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline for that
issue is May 10, 1990.
38 APRIL 1990
Nathan RoundsofZebulon,Georgia
submitted a detailed answer to the
Mystery Plane for January. He writes:
"This January Mystery Plane is the
Wilcox T-12-1 airplane- it was built
about 1930 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In
fact, it was built in the town of the
picture submitter, George Goodhead .
It was powered by a Warner engine,
probably a 100or 125 hp model ofthe
Scarab, whichwasoriginallymanufac-
tured from vendor parts near my
father ' s home town in Michigan- he
was from Dowagic which is 15 miles
from Niles, Michigan where the
Warner was first manufactured before
moving to Detroit, Michigan.
Enclosed is a three-viewofthe Wi 1-
WilcoxT12-1
._- - -- - -- - - --- - --
.._-------;- ---.
1-"-------VT-------1
H. F. WILCOX AERONAUTICS, INC.
Tuh.,Okl.
MODEL: T 12-1
3 PUCE
ENGI NE: WARNER
cox. Itwas built by the W. F. Wilcox
Aeronautics, Inc. Company. In some
referencestheyrefertoitasatwoplace
trainer and in some a three place
airplane- take your pick."
George Goodhead, Tulsa, Ok-
lahoma, who submitted the photo,
writes: "These are photos ofthe H. F.
Wilcox Trainer that was built here in
Tulsa back around 1928/ 1929. The
three-view drawing of this ship was
published in the 1930 Aircraft Year-
book.
ThesephotosweretakenbyHoward
Pettit who was working for Wilcox at
that time. He now lives in Wichita,
Kansas . I received the photos from
WalterD. House, an aviation historian
and collector of old photographs at
Wichita."
Quoting from Aero Digest for June,
1930: "A biplane designed by W. S.
Collier ofthe H. F. Wilcox Aeronau-
tics, Inc . , ofTulsa, will be manufac-
tured by the Wilcox company. The
planehasacruisingspeedofabout 100
miles an hour, a landing speed of 35
miles perhourand ahigh speedofliS
miles per hour, and is powered with
IIO-horsepower Warner Scarab en-
gine. The overall length is 21 feet and
the wing span is 31 feet. Dual controls
and a set ofNavy type instruments are
provided. The plane is designed as a
training ship. The plane will be pro-
duced with any type powerplant de-
siredwithin the 100to 150horsepower
range.".
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39