January1997 Vol. 25,No.

1
CONTENTS
1Straight& Level
Espie"Butch"Joyce
2 AlC News/H.G. Frautschy
3Aeromail
4 AlC Volunteers/TrishaDorlac
7RobertDavis'Contemporary310-
NormPetersen
8TheChildAndThePlane/
WilliamWhiting
EDITORIALSTAFF
Publisher
Tom Poberezny
Edltor-in-Chief
JackCox
Editor
HenryG.Frautschy
ManagingEditor
GoldaCox
ArtDirector
MikeDrucks
ComputerGraphicSpecialists
OliviaL. Phillip JenniferLarsen
MaryPremeau
AssociateEditor
NormPetersen
FeatureWriter
DennisParks
StaffPhotographers
JimKoepnick LeeAnnAbrams
KenLichtenburg
Advertising/EditorialAssistant
IsabelleWiske
EAAANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION, INC,
OFFICERS
President Vice-President
Espie"Butch"Joyce GeorgeDaubner
P.O.Box35584 2448Lough Lane
Greensboro.NC27425 Hartford.WI 53027
910/393-0344 414/673-5885
Secretary Treasurer
SteveNesse ChanesHarris
2009HighlandAve. 7215East46thSt.
AlberlLea. MN5t/.XJ7 Tulsa.OK 74145
507/373-1674 918/622-8400
DIRECTORS
JohnBerendt
GeneMorris
7645EchoPointRd.
115CSteveCourt.R.R.2
CannonFalls, MN55009
Roanoke.TX 76262
507/263-2414
817/4919110
Phil Coulson
RobertC."Bob"Brauer
28415SpringbrookDr.
9345S. Hoyne
Lawton.MI 49065
Chicago.IL60620
616/624-6490
3121779-2105
JoeDickey
JohnS.Copetand
55OakeyAv.
28-3WilliamsburgCt.
Lawrenceburg. IN47025
Shrewsbury. MA01545
812/537-9354
508/842-7867
6
DaleA.Gustafson
StanGomoll
7724ShadyHillDr.
104290th Lane. NE
Indianapolis. IN 46278
Minneapolis.MN55434
317/293-4430
612/784-1172
RobertUckteig
JeannieHill
1708BayOaksDr.
P.O. Box 328
AlbertLea. MN5t/.XJ7
Harvard. IL60033
507/373-2922
815/943-7205
DeanRichardson
RoberlD."Bob" Lumley
6701 ColonyDr.
1265South 124thSt.
Madison,WI 53717
Brookfield.WI53005
608/833-1291
414/782-2633
S.H."Wes"Schmid
GeoffRobison
2359LefeberAvenue
1521 E. MacGregorDr.
Wauwatosa.WI53213
NewHaven.IN 46774
414/771-1545
219/493-4724
GeorgeYork
181 SiobocaAv.
Mansfield.OH 44906
419/529-4378
DIRECTOR EMERITUS
E.E."Buck"Hilbert
P.O. Box424
Union.IL601SO
815/923-4591
ADVISORS
SteveKrog RogerGomoll
930TaraHLE 3238VicorioSf.N
Hartford.WI 53027 St Paul. MN55126
414/966-7627 612/484-2303
Page9
9TheDatingMachinelBobHiggins
12 TrimotorC-3?/
Norm Petersen
13 Clipped- WingCubs/
H.G.Frautschy
19 FancyPantsPA-H/
H.G. FrautschyandNorm Petersen
22 WhatOurMembers
AreRestoringiNormPetersen
24 Oshkosh-IfWeCouldDoIt!
LynnPinson
26 PassItToBuck!
E.E. "Buck"Hilbert
28 MysteryPlane/
H.G. Frautschy
30WelcomeNewMembers/
Calendar
31VintageTrader/Membership
Information
CanonEOS-lnequippedwithan 80-200mmlens. 1/250sec. @ilIon100ASAslidefilm.
Cessna 210photoplanefiownbyBruceMoore.
*
BACKCOVER ...Here'stheotherClipped-WingCubatSun 'nFun '96. restoredandflown
byScottGrossandhisfriendBill Hadden.alongwithScott'sbrotherSteve. Trimmedasa
regularCub.youneedtocheckouttheshorterwingsbeforeyourealizethis is noordinary
Cub. EAAphotobyJimKoepnick. Shotwitha CanonEOS-lnequippedwithan 80-
200mmlens. 1/60sec.@f200n l00ASAslidefilm. Cessna210photoplaneflownby
BruceMoore.
Copyright 1997 bythe EAA Antique/Classic DivisionInc.Allrightsreserved.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Antique/Classic Division.Inc. of the Experimental
Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center. 3000 POberezny Rd. P.O.Box 3086. Oshkosh.Wisconsin 54903-3086.
PeriodicalsPostagepaidatOshkosh.Wisconsin 54901 andatadd"ionalmailing offices. The membershiprateforEAAAntiquelClassicDivision.
Inc.is$27.00forcurrent EAAmembersfor 12monthperiod ofwhich$15.00 0; forlhepublicationofVINTAGEAIRPLAiNE. Membershipisopen
toallwhoareinterestedinaviation.
POSTMASTER:Send address changes 10 EAA Antique/Classic Division. Inc. P.O. Box 3086. Oshkosh. WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO
ADDRESSES- PleaseallowalleasttwomonthsfordeliveryofVINTAGEAIRPLANEtoforeignandAPOaddressesviasurlacemail.
ADVERTISING- Antique/Classic Division doesnotguarantee orendorse any productoffered through the advertising.We inviteconstructive
criticismandwelcomeanyreportofinferiormerchandiseobtainedlhroughouradvertisingsothatcorrectivemeasurescanbetaken.
EDITORIALPOLICY:Readersareencouragedto submitstoriesand photographs. Policy opinionsexpressedin articlesaresolelythose ofthe
authors. Responsibilnyforaccuracyinreporting restsentirelywiththecontributor.Norenumeration0;made.
Materialshould besentto: Ed"or.VINTAGEAIRPLANE,P.O. Box3086.Oshkosh.WI 54903-3086. Phone414/426-4800.
The words EAA,ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM,SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EAA,EAA INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION,EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION,INTERNATIONALAEROBATIC CLUB,WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are registered
trademarns.THE EAASKY SHOPPE and logosofthe EAAAVIATION FOUNDATION and EAA ULTRALIGHTCONVENTION are trademarns
oftheaboveassociationsandtheirusebyanypersonotherthantheaboveassociationisstrictlyprohib"ed.
Page13
Page 19
FRONTCOVER...JaneenandDennisKochanswingtheirnewlyrestoredClipped-Wing
CubacrosstheshoreofoneofthemanylakessurroundingtheWinterHaven. FL regionof
centralFlorida. The ReedClipped-WingconversionoftheCubhasbeena popular
modificationoftheairplaneforover30years. EMphotobyJimKoepnick. Shotwitha
STRAIGHT & LEVEL
With the beginning of
1997, we're just a short
distance from the year 2000.
We can look back just a few
to all the years with a seven
in them - 07, 17,27,37,47,
57,67,77,87. When looking
at these dates, you and I
might think of one major
event that happened during that time. I was around in 1947, but I
do not remember much, as I was only three at the time.
I can recall that my father owned a new Piper PA-12 Super
Cruiser. When he would put the Cruiser back into the T -hangar
located in our back yard, I would walk on the tire holding onto
the strut. One day I fell off of the tire and the airplane ran over
me! When mother got through with Dad, he felt a lot worse than
I did - it hardly scratched me!
Let's see, 1957 was the year that I was beginning to date girls
and was getting into muscle cars. My father had just bought a
brand new Piper Tri-Pacer, our first nose gear airplane. When he
brought it home, he and Mom were in a hurry to leave for a
dinner with some friends, so he entrusted me to put his brand
new Tri-Pacer away in the T -hangar. I got the tow bar out,
something I had never seen before, and hooked it up. So we
wouldn't damage anything on the airplane, we carefully lined
everything up before we began and with the help of some of my
football buddies we proceeded to push the airplane back into the
hangar. Well, the hangar was built when we had only
taildraggers. That tall tail of the Tri-Pacer was higher than the
top of the T-hangar doorway. Crunch! The rudder hit the front
beam of the hangar, bending the rudder and knocking off the
rotating beacon perched on top of the rudder.
As you might have already guessed, I caught "H- L" over
this - we had never owned a rotating beacon before. It was a
good thing I did not do anything to our new Narco VHT-3 radio!
While cleaning out some old papers lately, I came across some
paperwork that is related to this Tri-Pacer. In a 1957 Carolina
Aero Club membership directory is an article entitled "How To
Live With Control Towers." Here's the first paragraph.
"There are only about 180 airport control towers operated by
the CAA in the United States. Many nonprofessional pilots
actually fear these towers and everything they stand for, and go
out of their way to land at small, outlying airports just to avoid
trying to cope with that terrifYing monster, the Control Tower. "
The article does go on to try and educate pilots how to cope
with their perceived problem. It was quite enlightening.
Also, I found my Dad's insurance policy he carried on this
Tri-Pacer in the late 1950's. He had $300,000.00 of liability
with $25,000.00 of passenger coverage. The year's premium for
this was $635.00. On another policy he had $13,000.00 worth of
all-risk hull coverage. Here's the amazing part about that
transaction - the premium for one year for the hull coverage was
$1,200.00! Some things have gotten better in aviation. I would
go on to fly this Tri-Pacer, N7006B, for more than 1,000 hours
before it was sold.
by Espie "Butch" Joyce
The next ten years would see the most aircraft ever
manufactured and put into service.
1967 would find me as a member of the U. S. Army in the
Special Forces "Green Berets." I lost my Father that year and
the Tri-Pacer was sold. It wasn't a great year so there's not
much more that I want to say about that time period.
By 1977 I had two great daughters, a business that was going
great, a Beech D-35, and I had discovered how much fun it is to
be a volunteer at Oshkosh for the EAA.
1987 - I moved up to a Beech Baron B-55, and was on the
EAA Antique/Classic Board of Directors. I'd made a lot of new
great friends working as an EAA volunteer.
1997 finds me writing another "Straight & Level" article for
your VINTAGE AIRPLANE and president of the EAA
Antique/Classic Division, a duty that I really love.
Throughout the year EAA and all of the EAA Divisions -
Antique/Classic, Warbirds of America and the International
Aerobatic Club - will be recognizing the volunteers' efforts.
Tom Poberezny, in his December Homebuilder's Comer" in
Sport Aviation, wrote a letter to the Division presidents
concerning this recognition effort He wrote:
"As you know, throughout 1997, a major emphasis will be
placed upon recognizing and thanking the thousands of
volunteers who, essentially, have made EAA what it is today.
The celebration ofEAA volunteerism will be a major theme at
'Oshkosh '97,' as well as Sun 'n Fun. Details and plans will
be forthcoming. "
Should any of you Antique/Classic members have any
volunteer stories or photos, we would like to hear from you as
soon as you can, so other members can learn about the help that
you and your friends give to the AlC Division. Trisha Dorlac is
authoring a series of articles underscoring the efforts put forth by
the volunteer corps at EAA Oshkosh. And of course, she's doing
it as a volunteer!
Volunteerism is not confmed to that effort at Oshkosh, but is
found throughout the year by individuals helping the EAA
movement. If you're wondering how, remember the individuals
who help with the Young Eagles program, and the local Chapter
officers and members.
The Officers and Directors of your Antique/Classic Division
would like for you to know that your Division has over 10,000
members. We feel your magazine VINTAGE AIRPLANE is
the best that it has ever been, and that your volunteer help is
more important ever. This year, your Antique/Classic Division
will be looking at replacing the tents now used for the Type
Club Headquarters and the A/ C Workshop with a more
permanent structure. News of what we are doing along this line
will be forthcoming after your Board of Directors meeting in
February at Oshkosh.
One of the greatest things that you can do for your
Antique/Classic Division is to speak about the Division with
your friends in aviation. Let them know what your Division has
to offer, and lend them a copy of Vintage Airplane. Let's all pull
in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember we are
better together. Join us and have it all. ...
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1
A/C NEWS
compiled by H.C. Frautschy
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION ON
THE WORLD WIDE WEB
By the time you read this, the newest
web page on the EAA's site on the Internet
will be devoted to the EAA Antique/Clas-
sic Division. For now, you can reach the
page by going to EAA's site at
www.eaa.org and selecting "Specialty
Groups" on the main page. We plan on of-
fering direct access in the near future, as
our domain name is logged and registered.
So what will you find on the AlC Web
page? Explanations concerning the mis-
sion of the AIC Division, and AlC activi-
ties at EAA Oshkosh and Sun 'n Fun (in-
cluding the Awards List) . The text from
the EAA Judging Manual concerning the
definition of Antique, Classic and Contem-
porary aircraft is included. A section is
devoted to an explanation of the division
magazine, Vintage Airplane is also in-
cluded, and a page detailing the various
AlC programs is on line as well. A full list
of current Antiquel Classic Chapters is
listed. The importance of the various Type
Clubs and AI C volunteers is also high-
lighted.
As you can imagine, a web page is a
moving target, subject to revision at the re-
quest of those who use it. If you don't see
something on the EAA AntiquelClassic
Web Site you'd like to have available, let
us know. You can send us a message via
the home page by using the "Type" radio
button. We don't yet have direct access on
our desktop Mac to the messages (they
come to us via Sneaker Net when they are
dropped in our IN basket) but we'll be
there in the future. We can send you a
message back via e-mail. The only thing
we ask is patience. E-mail messages don't
receive any higher priority than those sent
via the mail or a fax, and so others may be
in front of you as we work through your
messages. We endeavor to get to your
question as fast as possible, but if exten-
sive research is needed, it can take a bit of
time. Also , if you send a message and
would rather it not be considered for publi-
cation as a " Letter to the Editor" in Vin-
tage Airplane, please note that in your text.
Let us know what you think, and we'll
continue to see the AI C site on the World
Wide Web evolve.
N-NUMBERS AND YOUR
AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATE
As noted in this month ' s edition of
Sport Aviation' s Hotline, when you change
2 JANUARY 1997
Those clever folks on the
Antique/ Classic flight line are always up
for a bit of fun. One of the wags parking
ai rplanes waaaaaay down on the south
end of the field (often refer red to as
"North Fond du Lac") added this "Row In-
finity" marker after row 150. It can be a
bit of a bus ride up north from your ai r-
plane, but it' s still better than driving to
the Convention!
Fortunately, through the diligent ef-
forts of the EAA Maintenance staff, the
south end areas are becoming smoother
and more hospitable as the years go by.
Those of us who recall the area just east
of the Ultralight area 15 or 20 years ago
will remember when it wasn't exactly a
garden spot either, but attention focused
on the area did get in good condition.
your N-number on your airplane, you must
have the Airworthiness Certificate for your
airplane reissued. Failure to do so could
result in an uncomfortable situation should
your airplane be checked by an FAA In-
spector. Remember there can be one and
only one difference between the certificate
and the actual number painted on your air-
plane. Per FAR 45.22, it is permissible to
add the "c" (or "R," etc.) to the registra-
tion number applied to the airplane if it
was originally registered with the prefix
added to the N-number, i.e. NC 12345.
The "c" will not appear on your Airwor-
thiness Certificate. Just be sure the rest of
the number does! You can get the neces-
sary forms from your local FAA Flight
Standards District Office (FSDO).
FCC REFUNDS
Did you apply for a radio station li-
censee from the FCC after July 17, 1994?
If you did, you could be due a partial re-
fund from the FCC. Send your licensee
with the word "Refund" written on it to
FCC Aircraft Refund, 1270 Fairfield Rd.,
Gettysburg, PA 17325-7245. You'll be
sent a partial refund, depending on how
close your application was mailed to the
change in licensee requirements that was
made by the FCC.
EAA ADULT AIR ACADEMY
You still have time to register for the
EAA Adult Air Academy. This year's
class, Basic Aircraft Maintenance, Build-
ing and Restoration Skills, promises to be
one of the best offered. This one week
session is offered February 16-22, 1997.
Your $800 registration fee covers alllodg-
ing, food , local transportation, plus all
classroom materials.
Don't delay! For further information,
contact the EAA Education Office by call-
ing 414/426-6815 or write to the EAA Ed-
ucation Office at P.O. Box 3065, Oshkosh,
WI 54903-3065.
SWIFT PRODUCTION?
Stuart Horn and his company, Bravo
Victor, Inc . (which is doing business as
Aviat Aircraft, Inc. of Afton, WY) have
entered into an agreement with The Inter-
national Swift Association that will allow
Aviat to produce the Swift on a production
line using the original tooling. It is ex-
pected that the airplane will be built using
many of the existing certified modifica-
tions such as the bubble canopy and larger
engines. Also, A viat will produce parts for
the Swift that will be available to those
who currently fly and maintain their
Swifts, Classic aircraft built in the 1940's.
Mr. Hom's company is currently build-
ing the Pitts Special and the Husky, along
with the Chisten Eagle. Hom acquired the
company in late 1995, and has seen its
gross receipts exceed 9 million dollars dur-
ing the first three quarters of his steward-
ship. They see the addition of the Swift to
their product line as a logical extension
into a specialty market with which they are
familiar, tailwheel aircraft that appeal to a
small segment of general aviation on a
worldwide basis. Congratulations to Char-
lie Nelson and the Swift Association for
coming to an agreement with the company
that will help ensure the longevity of their
favorite airplane.
G. DALE BEACH
Our condolences to the family of G.
Dale Beech, founder of the Funk Aircraft
Association. Dale passed away November
16, 1996. He is survived by his wife Inez,
son Andrew and daughter Glenda, as well
as his three grandchildren and two great
grand children. Dale was also the author
of "Its A Funk," the book that detailed the
history of the airplane he loved so much,
as well as highlighting the lives of the
Funk brothers. Know as the "Flying Cow-
boy," Dale brought his fiddle wherever he
went. He'll be missed by many people
both in and out of aviation. ..
VINTAGE
AeroMail
LuscombeDoorFlying
DearH.G.,
I readMr. WalterBest'sletterinthe
November 1996 issue ofVintageAirplane
with muchinterest. Hiscommentsabout
maneuveringaLuscombewithoutrudder
controlmeritsfurtherdiscussion.
TheLuscombeModel8, byitsdesign
natureand centerofgravitylocationwill
turn OPPOSITEthedirectiona dooris
openedin flight, regardlessofairspeed.
Thatis, openthe leftdoor, the noseswings
right; opentherightdoor, thenoseswingsleft.
Toverifythe"dooropenin flight" han-
dlingcharacteristics,Itriedaseriesofsim-
plein-flighttests in myvenerableLus-
combe8A. WhenIopenedmy leftdoor,
thenoseoftheairplaneswungright. When
I openedmyrightdoor, theLuscombe
yawedleft.
Eachairplanehasitsownpeculiarchar-
acteristic(s)when a dooris opened in
flight. Forthe lightplaneowner,this
knowledgemightsavealife in the event
ofcontrolfailure.
I hope this informationclarifiesMr.
WalterBest'sletter.
WarmestRegards,
JimZazas
LuscombeNC45504
Carthage,NC
Jim and Walter are correct. When edit-
ing Walter's letter, I swapped the door ef-
fects, giving the impression that Walt's let-
ter was in error. Not so! Walt wrote it
properly, but I didn't get it down on paper
correctly. My apologies.
Not only can the knowledge ofan air-
plane 's handling with a door open be use-
ful for controlling the airplane, it can also
prevent a panic response when a door in-
advertently pops open. Knowingjust how
far to door will open (or how little it really
will go without more force being applied)
can help keep the pilot flying the airplane,
instead ofworrying about closing the door. -
HGF
PheasantTravelerInfo
DearMr. Frautschy,
In oneofyourarticlesyou statedthatin
goingthrough SteveWittman'shangaryou
hadfound some longtaperedpiecesof
wood. Ithinktheywerespars leftover
from whenthe PheasantTravelerwasbuilt
in 1929or '30.
Didyou find anyotherinformationon
that airplane? Steve said that he had
workedonthem whentheywerebuilt,and
testflew them.
Iownedtheonethathadthe fourcylin-
derinlineair-cooledCirrusHermesengine
in it. It was afastoneto fly atthattime,
butIliked it. Italsohadaverydifferent
typeoflandinggear.
Ihaveasmall modeloftheoneIhad; if
youwouldliketo seeit, letme
know.
LesDeltgen(AIC 14853)
Les stopped by EAA HQ
here in Oshkosh, and showed
us his neat solid model . The
spars we found in Steve's
hangar seemed to be the right
conjiguration for the Traveler,
but they were nearly two feet
shorter than the span listed for
the Pheasant Traveler. In the
EAA film archives exists a
videotape copy ofa black and
white jilm showing a air race
staged during thejirst annual
Wisconsin air show in 1930. In it, a Pheas-
ant Traveler isseen racing around the py-
lons. Although he isnot directly shown, it
isbelieved that Steve isracing the Traveler
at this race. Did he have a "clip wing"
version, hence the shorter spars? Without
more evidence, it isdifficult to say. - HGF
Newsfromthe'LilIndian
DearH.G.,
GerryMartincame to metwomonths
agoandasked ifwe couldfly 84 kids from
agroupcalled"The YoungAstronauts"for
the YoungEaglesprogram. Icheckedwith
RuckerTibbs,the owner/operatorofNew
LondonAirport(I.D. W-90)and he said
"gofor it." Thefirst trywas rained out!
Thesecondwasscheduled Sunday, Octo-
ber27, 1996. Wehad tenpilotswith 21
seatsin aircraftfrom Cubs,7-AC,C-150s,
C-I72sandtwinAztec (fiveseats);so 21
dividedby 84 equalsfourtripseachair-
craft; thatwouldn'tkeep us busyall dayso
weaddedaCub Scoutgroupand mySun-
dayschool kids which added 18 kids and
sixadults!
Ruckerletus flagoffthe ramp tokeepthe
kidsawayfrom activeaircraftandgaveus the
use ofaC-150forgroundschool,whichTom
Muyedidafantasticjobof! Wedividedthe
folks intotwogroups: onefrom 9-12andone
from 1-3 (giving pilotsaone hourlunch).
These two photos show
Les Delton, of Menasha,
WI and his model of the
Pheasant Traveler he
owned at one time. Les
sent us the shot of his
full size airplane, taken
when he used to keep it
at the old Appleton Air-
port,which used to beon
the northeast corner of
the city.
Wehadeightgroundmembers doingpaper-
work, loadingand unloading,parkingair-
craft, etc.
h turnedoutthatthe"84number"was
childrenandparents! Soourendresultsby3
p.m. was67 YoungEaglesand42 parents!
Someofthe kids weresoexcitedwe did 18
"secondrides"and finished up at5:30 p.m.
for atotalof126rides!
You'llnoticethatunder"EAAChapter
orAffiliateOrganization,"I'velisted"W-
90"(NewLondonAirport; Ifiguredsince
mostofus areEAA, Antique/Classicmem-
bersandbasedatNewLondonandRucker
was generousenoughto letususe his air-
portall day, plusfree gas, two ofhisC-
150s,plusfly (hisJ-4 too!), ...Iwould list
hisairportas the"affiliateorganization."
We wouldliketo thankyou for giving
us aprogramthatputso manysmileson so
manyfaces!
Thanks,
CherylBest
The enjoyment offlying a Young Eagle
ismatched only by the excitement these
young people feel when they get to fly in a
light airplane for the very first time.
Thanks for writing, Cheryl, and keep on
flying the youngsters - we 've passed the 25
percent mark, but that just means we need
to redouble our efforts - the end of2003 is
only 6short years away! - HGF ..
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
OLUNTEERS ON THE
by
FLIGHT LINE
Patricia liTrish" Dorlac
Safely guiding the many AlC planes that come to visit the EAA Convention
is No.1 priority to the many Flight Line Safety volunteers.
This series of articles is dedicated to
the men and women in the Antique/Clas-
sic division, without whom EAA
Oshkosh as we know it would simply not
exist . These volunteers not only will-
ingly, but cheerfully, offer countless
hours of their time every summer, and
it ' s usually their hard earned vacation!
These articles are to recognize the awe-
some commitment so many offer every
year and also to remind others that any
time they would be willing to offer is al-
ways enthusiastically welcomed!
FLIGHT LINE OPERATIONS
Working on the flight line has ap-
pealed to me since my younger days in
the Civil Air Patrol, when I worked with
A-7s. I loved the roar of the engines,
checking out the intakes and just being
around the planes. Once a year I again
have the opportunity to immerse myself in
the joy of flight ... on the ground. In our
4 JANUARY 1997
area of the Antique/Classic
Division, we are challenged
with the awesome responsi-
bility of parking hundreds of
airplanes in a very short pe-
riod of time. We control the
flight line from row 55 to
row 150 and beyond, an area
often referred to as " infin-
ity." When you check the
odometer on one of the
Honda scooters, it is nearly
two miles in length. To en-
sure the safety of every air-
plane, pilot and onlooker,
each plane is escorted by a
biker or foot escort - some-
times both. Over 100 volun-
teers were trained this year to
work these positions.
From right to left, AI Supensky, Charli e Kaminski and
Randy Hytry pause for a moment in the shade of the
AlC Point shack.
the ability to escort the airplanes on and
We put 50-100 miles a day on our off the field, braving conditions such as
bikes. Fortunately, we have our own in- unpredictable weather which can change
ternal bike repairman, Dyle Wi lson, who the field conditions from smooth and dry
keeps them going! Our bikers possess to wet and very muddy. Our bikers are
Dave Thomas (holding
the sign) and Russ El -
lis are j ust a couple of
the many volunteers
who work A/e Point,
at the south end of of
the taxiway paralleling
runway 18/36.
As each plane taxis in,
they're picked up by one
of the bikers, who will di-
rect them to a parking
spot in the Antique/Clas-
sic area of the Conven-
tion grounds.
~ _______--'-''''''__
Melinda Pickering escorts Paul Workman taxing in his wife Pam' s custom Aeronca
Champ on their way to the AlC camping area.
expert at picking out the safest route to
bring the airplanes to their destination.
They are able to guide these beautiful
machines around crowds of people who
are busy admi ring all the other aircraft
and may not notice the newest arrival. If
you are a tricyc le pi lot, th is may not
seem like the amazing feat it is. Many of
our planes are tail draggers and there is
no room for the zig zag that allows these
pi lots to see better on the ground. When
I say that these bikers have a great re-
sponsibility, I am not exaggerating. They
really are the eyes for the pilot. These
escorts are very talented! Some of our
expert bikers include: Dan and Linda
Bedzoldt, Orlo Ellison, Charlie Kamin-
ski, Reinhardt Kuntz, Dave Thomas, and
Cheryl and Bruce Rosander.
Each arrival is met by one of our Point
managers, who have years of experience
ident ifying and directing the pl anes to
their next destination. Some of our poi nt
managers include: Don Straughn, Bob
Majka, Mike Costa, Kathy McGurran,
Randy Hytry a nd Denny Gruizenga.
Each year they return to teach the rest of
us all they know.
Our crossing guards are the best!
They are challenged with the responsibil-
ity of stopping crowds who are not al-
ways aware of oncoming propell ers and
being the extra set of eyes for the pilots
and biker escorts. Some of the most ded-
icated workers return to this position an-
nually and are very well versed on the
activities at Oshkosh. They have to be,
since many people mistake their booth
for an information booth. All of these
wonderful people take the time to either
answer questions or find out the answers.
They probabl y know the tram and bus
schedules by heart! This year we wel-
comed the husband wife team of Joe and
Jenna Ware, who put in many hours.
Much of our operation is managed
from our "OPS shack," where aircraft
registration can be cross-referenced and
all volunteers check in to be assigned
their shift positions. Smooth operations
are guaranteed here thanks to Phillip
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
Blake (volunteer si nce 1964) , Steve
Whelan, Dyle Wi lson and several others.
Crowd control is probably one of the
best jobs for the money. Incl uded in the
benefits package are free food and drink
(THANK YOU OPERATION THIRST!!!)
and an awesome view of the airs how.
These marvelous volunteers brave the
heat, rain or cold to ensure the safety of
the crowd and planes. They do their
best to remind the crowd of the basic
rules and are capable of keeping them
behind the burn line with a single steely
eyed glance, (although a smi le and gen-
tle reminder are usually all that is
needed.)
Although it is not possible to include
all the folks who work with us, we want
everyone of you to know how appreci-
ated you are. Every job is made easier
by each person who pitches in to help
make Oshkosh the truly grand event that
we love. Thanks! ...
Flight line volunteers Philip
Blake and Patty "Trish" Dorlac
admire Kath McGurran's "Flight
Line Volunteer of the Year"
award presented to her during
the 1996 Convention.
It isn' t all sunburns
and smelly exhaust
out there on the flight-
line. Sally Ryan (left)
hosts many volunteers
as a volunteer herself.
Orlo Ellison stops by
"Sally' s Woods" for a
smile and a drink of
something cool.
Okay, so you might
get just a bit sun-
burned on the flight
line. After a long,
satisfying day vol-
unteeri ng, Evan,
Kathy, Mike Trish
and Randy, along
with Walt in front,
relax before retir-
ing for the evening.
6 JANUARY 1997
Robert Davis'
Contemporary
by
Norm Petersen
PhotobyPaulBoyer,
a professionalphotographer
from PortTownsend,WA.
Thisreallysharplooking 1959Cessna310C,N666T,SIN
35925,is ownedbyRobertB. Davis(Captain, UnitedAir
Lines,Ret.) (EAA521919)ofPortTownsend,WA. He
says,"Afteraoneyearrestoration effort, the 310is provid-
ingfast (200+), comfortable, reliableand enjoyableflying
experiences."
Afterowninga 1946GlobeSwiftand havingtwin-engine
time in U. S. AirForceTB-25'sand SA-16's,plusUnited
Convair340's,RobertboughtN666Tin January 1994.
Robert'sson,JohnW. Davis, is an MELCFIII,so he volun-
teered to properlycheckouthis "oldman" in properlight
twin driving.
The localmaintenancechiefatTownsendAirways,Jef-
ferson CountyAirport,PatPaden, A& Pand AI, was the
man in chargeofthe projectand didafabulousjobaccord-
ingto Robert. Theentireairplane was broughtup to 1995
standards,both mechanicallyand asethically. It is obvious
from thephoto thatsomebodyreallyknew whattheywere
doing.
Of262Model C'sproduced, 155 remainon theFAAreg-
istertoday. Agrandtotal ofall 310modelsbringsthe regis-
tertotal to 3276. ...
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
THE CHILD
AndThePLANE
by William R. Whiting
(Ale 19331)
The spring day was fresh, and stirring inside myself as though a
tonic full of excitement. My senses went wild with a longing to be
flying with the birds riding the air currents. I drove to Crystal air-
port with my two daughters, Bridgett, nine and Jenilynn, six, who
were looking forward to seeing our family plane - she'd been in
storage during the harsh winter months in Minnesota. As I gazed at
the old girl I recalled my wife, Buddy, had thought the plane's name
should be something fitting - "The Mistress!" was her suggestion.
I thought back to a time yet still alive in my memories. The sun
shone bright (it does usually in memories) of a crisp winter after-
noon on a frozen lake. My Dad and uncle working on trying to
start an Enya .09 powering a Carl Goldberg Mambo free flight
plane. The engine was cold so with the help of the car's hot ex-
haust pipe, a heavy prime of fuel, and the batteries buried deep in-
side my Uncle Bill's layers of clothes next to his hide (this of
course being before Thinsulate) the engine came to life! The
plane soared on a low arching circle, the clear yellow silk wings
glistening against the sparkling snow. All this grandeur came to an
abrupt halt, for as the plane kept coming around the circle it was
not gaining any altitude, and my Uncle's DeSoto Fireflight was
more or less in the circle. To be exact the left hub cap was in the
Mambo's flight path! It survived the sudden stop, and for many
years the old model flew and flew and became the cornerstone of
my love of flight. The memories are good of those times ...
I' m brought out of my trance by a Bellanca Viking coming to
life a few hangars down.
I started to clean the faithful plane with my daughters, who are
equally excited to be getting on with it so we can go flying. Both
of them are already making memories of flight, the people attrib-
uted to it, and those magnificent planes of then and now. Once
again my mind wanders back to earlier times when I was their age.
The aircraft was a Nesmith Cougar, N93140. We built the plane,
and I polished and flew with my Dad. On a crisp Minnesota winter
day we went flying to the lake. There was my uncle ice fishing be-
low and the plane seemed to be nearly that of the model airplane of
years gone by, boxy in shape and yellow. We circled, waggled our
wings and since we were getting cold, we headed for our home
field, Flying Cloud airport.
Then came the day we shared our hangar with a stately aircraft
of vintage heritage - a Stinson 108. I remembered it smelled as old
as it looked! Dad had our little Cougar snuggled in under one of
her wings. Wow, is she BIG, that Stinson! A while later the old
lady left our hangar and Cougar found a new home in California.
Dad was looking for that lady that touched our lives briefly some-
time earlier. He did manage to find her at a now closed airport
south of MinneapoJis called Southport. Half buried in snow, we
disassembled her to give her life again. The work was hard and
long and not being too up there in years, the time it took to rebuild
it seemed to be an eternity! Dad was patient in the learning
process for both my brother Harry and myself.
Our participation was essential, for our small hand and size
could hold that nut in inaccessible places. The "Readdy Heater"
warmed the garage while at the same time the kerosene fumes
stung our eyes, but it did manage to keep things bearable, while out-
aJANUARY 1997
The Whiting family's Stinson 108, which now excites the two
youngest Whitings, Jenilynn (left) and Bridgett.
side the wind howled and frost formed around the garage door seams.
Two years ago it was my turn as I spent the winter months in
the hangar with my daughter, Bridgett, diligently working the
"Readdy Heater" as before, our eyes burning, as we worked get-
ting the lady ready for competition at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. By
spring she was cleaned and readied for flight and I realized the im-
portance of the child and the plane. My daughters were sharing in
the hard and important work of holding that nut! We talked about
this item and that and what functions they performed and then let
our imaginations carry us aloft during break times. The bond of
adults, planes and children is extraordinarily strong.
As Jeni yells "Dad, I got her looking good!", I come out of my
trance from atop the ladder, where I had been cleaning the wing.
I look down at my two precious girls, and remember when I and
my brothers, Harry and Fran, and our baby sister, were once the
children helping care for this lady. My little sister, who in the be-
ginning was in charge of entertainment and later became a first rate
mechanic, has a lot in common with my girls. The future does
shine bright, and not just in memories of a time gone by. The child
and the plane shall endure the hardships as the child in each of us
older kids did, remembering the memories of aircraft and fantasies
and how we embellished in their grandeur. ...
The
by Bob Higgins
Dating
Machine
I
suppose there
have been enough well-
researched nuts-and-bolts articles
written about the Piper Vagabond, so I
decided to offer a look at that old girl
from a different perspective.
Recollections of my first contacts with
the PA-15 date back to July of 1948, the
same month she received Civil Aeronau-
tics Authority approval. That string of
memorable events began just five days af-
ter the same government agency had is-
sued me a private license. I was just six
months shy of graduation from high
school, but I didn't even have a driver's
license yet. Schools and car dealers
hadn't begun to sponsor driver education,
and Dad saw no reason to teach me. In
fact, my parents had only recently learned
about my secret life as an aviator.
I first sighted the shiny figure of
NC4340H from the seat of my fire engine
red Cushman motor scooter. The cute
yellow bird wasn't tied down on the flight
line next to the six fairly new J-3 Cubs I'd
flown . It stood parked in front of the
FBO,
ready to take War-
ren Oliver' s first Vagabond rental
customer into a cloudless sky from the
sandy grass airfield located about six
miles southwest of downtown South
Bend, Indiana. I could hardly wait to see
how she handled.
Excitement mounted as I conducted
the walk-around accompanied by a flight
instructor. The plane looked and smelled
as great as any aircraft fresh from the fac-
tory. Since the PA-15 had only one set of
controls, my check-out consisted of a few
words of advice. "Bob, you'll have to
wiggle your toes a lot with this short girl,"
Bruce warned. "She has a strong ten-
dency to sashay all over the place during
the takeoff and landing rolls."
The usual small crowd of Chain '0'
Lakes airport's hangar fliers assembled
behind a rickety three foot fence to watch
the sod field's youngest aviator's attempt
to tame a tigress. The torque of her Ly-
coming engine allowed her to wander
some during the first few
takeoffs, but I soon got wise to her tricks.
The Vagabond became a refined and
well-behaved lady once her wheels left
the ground. I could relax and concentrate
on her other features while I flew the pat-
tern. In level flight at 600 feet on down-
wind leg, she provided an outstanding
view over the nose, and she accelerated to
a thrilling 90 mph, a record speed for me.
In my mind's eye, I could picture some
awe-struck girl sitting beside me on the
Vagabond's cozy cushioned seat. It was
covered with a washable fabric in my fa-
vorite color which matched the cabin's
deep blue interior finish.
Thirty minutes and several takeoffs
and landings later, it was love at first
flight. After the final, smooth, three point
landing, I taxied in to face the inevitable
questions. I told everyone that as far as I
was concerned, the need to keep tabs on
the latest Piper ' s high-spirited nature
merely added to her charm. I surmised
that the Vagabond and I had made each
other look good because the airport crowd
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
heaped accolades on both of
us. Since the runways were
so close, I enjoyed the thrill
of being a spectator with a
splendid vantage point as
the second Vagabond pilot
made the circuits around the
pattern that also qualified
him to carry passengers.
I was still filled with ob-
vious enthusiasm when 1 re-
ported for work that after-
noon at a local tennis shoe
factory. I shared details of
my good fortune with a
coworker, and news about
that momentous flight
spread quickly among the
assemblers on the produc-
tion line. Among them was
a shy girl near my age, a
minister's daughter. The
older women guarded her
and had made it known that
1 should leave the girl alone.
Since Betty seemed com-
fortable with their ultima-
tum, I honored their wishes.
Besides, 1 had my eyes on
Nancy, a younger girl I'd
met recently while attending
a fellow pilot's church.
Ironically, the preacher's
daughter broke the ice that
evening. She slipped away
from her protectors when
the dinner whistle blew,
rushed to my work station
out of breath, and startled
me with the news that her
father was an earthbound
airplane buff whose flying
activities consisted of noth-
ing except dreams inspired
by reading magazines.
"Did you really fly a
brand new airplane today?"
she asked.
"Yes, I did, Betty," I
replied.
"Really?" she persisted.
"Are you telling the truth?"
I reached in a trouser
pocket and pulled out the re-
ceipt that proved I had paid
a $3.00 rental fee for a 30
minute solo flight in a PA-
lS that day. She wanted to
show it to her father, so I gave it to her.
During our shift the following day,
Betty- at her father's request-invited
me to visit him in the parsonage. I gladly
jumped at the chance to possibly convert
a minister's fantasies into the real thing.
The armchair aviator ushered me into
his study and closed the door. For a cou-
ple of hours we had a great time compar-
10 JANUARY 1997
ing what he had read about the three mod-
els of Pipers I'd flown with what I'd
learned through actual experiences. He
knew enough to ask intelligent questions
and wanted to hear about the 50 minute
check ride that had netted me a private li-
cense, especially the thrilling details
about the required, two turn, precision
tailspins.
"Have you looped the J-3?" he asked,
leaning forward.
"Of course," I replied. "I learned that
maneuver from more experienced pilots
at the airport. You're not a Cub pilot un-
til you've learned to do a loop without
getting sand in your eyes."
Obviously intrigued, he decided to go
up with me. He agreed to pay the legal
limit-half the cost of a one hour flight in
the Vagabond, and he would provide the
auto transportation to and from the aiIlX)lt.
I got a big kick out of Betty' s father as
he raved about our "magic carpet." Keep-
ing our destination a secret seemed to en-
hance his obvious enjoyment. Since I
knew the route and flew IFR (I follow
railways), I didn't need to consult a sec-
tional chart or the Vagabond's sole navi-
gational instrument, a magnetic compass.
I simply picked up the Grand Trunk
(Canadian National) railway tracks just
south of the airport and followed them to
our destination. It was fun to watch my
elated passenger ' s reactions to the
scenery, prominent landmarks, readings
on the altimeter and airspeed indicator,
and the increased speed during descent as
I maneuvered to enter the traffic pattern at
a suburban Chicago airfield. His eyes
widened as we came close enough to en-
ter a downwind leg. I anticipated his ex-
citement at viewing the huge ramp cov-
ered with row after row of small airplanes.
The Vagabond didn't have a radio. I
found a break in the traffic flow and eased
into it behind another plane. After land-
ing, we cleared the runway and followed
a jeep to a parking space. After that, I
was content to follow my passenger while
he examined many makes and models of
aircraft he'd only seen in photos. Many
were in mint condition.
The good reverend could hardly con-
tain his joy as we mixed with some Piper
owners and engaged them in some great
hangar flying. After a light lunch, I prac-
tically had to pry the preacher away from
that place.
We departed to the west and made a sweep-
ing turn to the north to enjoy the Vagabond's
outstanding over the nose view of Chicago's
Loop. That did it. He was so elated that he
agreed to allow his daughter to take a one hour
ride at his expense.
Under the circumstances, I didn't mind
having the girl's father drive Betty and me to
and from the airport a few days later. I got to
log more time at a cut rate. Besides, I'd never
tire ofviewing the scenery on the way to Ben-
ton Harbor via the Warren Dunes and the
shoreline of Lake Michigan, especially sitting
beside a demonstrative girl thrilled with her
first flight.
Betty's reaction to that bird's-eye view
of southwestern Michigan amused and
pleased me. The experience loosened her
shy tongue dramatically. She was sti ll
talkative over lunch. I had to laugh and
agree with my elated passenger when she
claimed that nothing could beat the taste
of a hamburger, fries and a malt eaten af-
ter a hop in a clipped wing marvel.
Another reward from taking that flight-
date of sorts came at work the next day.
Betty ' s glowing report about the
Vagabond, its pilot, and the thrill of fly-
ing astonished her self-appointed
guardians. I listened with glee. Circum-
venting those older ladies had pleased me
as much as finding my way around a dan-
gerous thunderstorm. I accompli shed the
latter feat when my future wife and I made
our first Vagabond flight, a trip in which I
formed my fondest memories associated
with that wonderful dating machine.
The general aura of romance associ-
ated with flying intensified when it came
to carrying girls in a Vagabond. It had a
profound psychological effect on them.
For one thing, the lack of a control stick
on the passenger side allowed them to
wear typical apparel of that era: skirt,
blouse, bobbysox and saddle shoes.
Nancy had begun to make articles of
clothing several years earlier when she
had tackled sewing projects with the
Campfire Girls . What we considered a
sport plane inspired her to buy some cloth
that matched the Vagabond's interior.
The airport crowd dubbed us a "cute couple" as
A couple of love struck, high-
school students squeezed into the
blue confines of a cozy Vagabond
cockpit would hardly think oftheir
surroundings as "austere." Wefeft
privileged as we roared aloft in our
private compartment, leaving the
we boarded the P A-IS wearing a shirt and a
blouse cut from the same fabric.
After takeoff on an especially hot and
humid day, we headed south-southeast
and climbed above the haze to the cooler
air at 3500 feet. Our destination-
Rochester, Indiana- lay ahead. During
my boyhood, I'd gone there many times
for picnics and swimming with my par-
ents, sisters and other relatives. That's
where I'd met Phyllis Onstott, a local girl
I dated via the buses that ran through
Rochester to the state capitol.
A couple of love struck, high-school
students squeezed into the blue confines
of a cozy Vagabond cockpit would hardly
think of their surroundings as "austere. "
We felt privileged as we roared aloft in
our private compartment, leaving the
world behind.
Using pilotage and dead reckoning, we
flew a direct course until we spotted
Rochester. Then we made a wide circle
over the small resort town and Lake Man-
itou for a leisurely entry into the traffic
pattern. Along the way we enjoyed an
unprecedented view of the familiar castle-
like courthouse downtown, the many cot-
tages and resorts along the lake shore, and
the general lay of flat farmland spread be-
fore us in squares like a patch quilt.
Nancy and I created quite a stir as we
taxied up to the flight line and deplaned
from a novel aircraft wearing youthful
smiles and matching outfits. A couple
cameras clicked while we fielded ques-
tions about ourselves and our yellow bird.
Eventually we walked to what I con-
sidered a major attraction, the Airport
Grill. It featured a juke box, the kind of
food teens prefer, a fine view of the lake,
and a congenial group of local people and
vacationers from near and far. It was easy
to spot newcomers in that eating place;
they would attempt to pick up a nickel
that was firmly attached to the floor.
While we ate and talked, airplane buffs
hanging around on the flight line had am-
ple time to inspect the Vagabond under
the watchful eyes of Helen House Out-
celt, the lady who ran the airport .
During those Vagabond days, we could
arrange to pay for only the time aloft as
long as we got the plane back in time for
its next appointment. That day, however,
the sudden approach of an isolated air
mass thunderstorm cut our stay short.
Our takeoff to the southwest afforded us
a fuzzy view of a dark haze shrouded men-
ace that promised a bumpy ride if we got too
close. Once we got high enough to maneu-
ver, I entered a gentle tum away from the
storm until it was slightly behind our left
wing tip. Mother Nature ' s "No Trespass-
ing" sign (increased turbulence) suddenly
sent us to a more northerly heading.
By the time we reached the clear cool
air above the haze, we were far enough
from the storm to safely turn to a direct
homebound course and level flight at
4500 feet. However, we first made a brief
detour to the west, a heading that afforded
us a marvelous but eerie view of the awe-
some black roll cloud unleashing its fury
on Rochester. Above the storm we could
see the beautiful white towering cumu-
lonimbus cloud capped with an anvil.
With a tail wind pushing our ground-
speed to more than two miles per minute,
we reached the South Bend area with time
to spare. Reluctant to return to earth, I
stayed high, made a rapid descent, and
used a slip on final approach.
We watched the next couple take to the
sky, added our adventure to the other
hangar flying tales of the afternoon, and
took an early evening meal in the small
airport restaurant. We finished the meal
with a special treat - a slice of genuine
butterscotch pie. We topped off that won-
derful day with a motor scooter ride to
Nancy's house at dusk and an hour or
more on a porch swing.
I never lost my appreciation for the
Vagabond's important contribution to my
happiness as I evolved from a grassroots
flier of small tail draggers to a pilot of much
larger planes with nosewheels and multiple
jet engines. Over the next five decades I
never missed a chance to fly any of the
beloved Pipers from the days of youth. ...
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
Tri-Motor
AeroncaC-3?
by
Norm Petersen
I f you think you are
seeing double (or triple)
with your eyeballs, don't
be dismayed. This par-
ticular airplane is indeed,
a tri-motor Aeronca C-3
that was put together in
the late 1940's by
Howard Libersky of Ma-
son City, Iowa and now
of Okeechobee, FL. De-
signed to be "something
different" at airshows,
the basic Aeronca C-3
was modified with a 65
hp Continental in the
nose pulling a Lewis pro-
peller (you can see the
Lewis logos on the
prop) . In addition,
Howard hung two 16.8
cu . in . two-stroke en-
gines from the Radio-
plane OQ-2A drone un-
der the wings that were
attached by special
mounts. The drone en-
gines had contra-rotating
propellers (note the different blade angles on the small props) and
could be throttled from the cockpit.
Howard says the most difficult item was hand propping the
drone engines as the two propellers were so close that you could
only lay your fingers on the front face of the blade to pull the en-
gine through. If you put your hand over the edge of the front
prop and pulled the engine through, the rear prop would come
from the other direction and hit your fingers hard!
To add a bit of safety around crowds, Howard added a set of
Piper Cub wheels and brakes along with 8:00 X 4 tires and tubes.
He then installed brake pedals below the rudder pedals on the
cabin floor. With all that power at hand, the airplane could easily
have gotten away without brakes - especially among airshow
crowds!
Normal takeoff was about 30 feet, however, at times, Howard
says he was off the ground in 25 feet or even less with a little
headwind to help the takeoff. It was quite a performer and the
crowds really liked the little tri-motor. The airplane was pictured
in FL YINO magazine in 1948.
In 1952, with the airshow business suspended by the CAA
\
because of a fatal crowd accident in Colorado, Howard removed
the two outboard engines and sold the single-engined Aeronca C-
3 to a farmer living near Charles City, IA. With no hangar, the
farmer tied the C-3 out in his field. During the summer a storm
came along and totally wiped out the Aeronca, creating a rather
sad ending to this story.
In the summer of 1954, I walked into Howard's shop at Wor-
thington, Minnesota, looked around and spotted his welding cart.
I remarked that his was the first welding cart I had ever seen with
Rose Parrakeet wheels on it. Howard looked at me kind of
quizzically and said, "You are the very first person to ever walk
in here and identify those wheels. How do you know about Rose
Parrakeet wheels?" I remarked as to how they had a certain dia-
mond shape to them and to the best of my knowledge, were the
only plane to use them. Together, we had quite a chuckle over
the wheels which had indeed come from a wrecked Rose Parra-
keet.
Howard Libersky passed his 83rd birthday on November 29th
and still repairs aircraft magnetos on a daily basis to keep himself
.
12 JANUARY 1997
A Different
ShortWingPiper
by H.G. Frautschy
"A trim ship is not only a joy to the
owner, bit is also appreciated by the fly-in
and non-jIying public alike. "
-Earl C. Reed, Zenda, KS
Earl Reed wrote those words years ago
in the introduction to his STC. After look-
ing at the shorter wings on the Piper Clip-
per and the other "Short-Wing Pipers, "
Earl looked at the J-3 and probably thought
"Why not?"
He put together a modification to the
Piper J-3C-65 and -75 that shortened the
wings a total of 80 inches. With each wing
relieved of 40 inches, the J-3C was a little
faster, a bit lighter in weight, and was eas-
ier to handle in windy conditions. With a
little sweat equity and only a minimal
amount of extra hardware, the change
wasn't horribly expensive, either.
Earl Reed's change to the wooden
sparred J-3 has remained popular to this
day. Wag-Aero who has sold copies of the
STC for over 20 years, still sells the draw-
ings, spar reinforcements and STC paper-
work to a number of "wing cl ippers" each
year.
The main reason it has become a popu-
lar modification to the Cub over the years
is simply the added maneuverability the
shorter wings give. The snappier roll char-
acteristics (the regular ailerons are used)
appealed to the beginning aerobatic pilot,
or to those who just wanted something just
a bit less sedate than a regular Cub. Be-
sides, it looks, well , racier!
What's it take t<;> make a Clipped-Wing
Cub, a 13 Reed? This article isn't intended
to detail the complete procedure, so don't
head off the hangar with your trusty Stan-
ley saw in hand, but the basics include tak-
ing the wings off and peeling back the fab-
ric . Earl wrote his procedure with the
thought that it was possible to do it without
completely recovering the wing, but most
are done while a complete restoration is
made to the airplane. The first bay
drag/anti-drag wires are loosened and re-
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
moved,theNo.2Compression
strutis takenout,andthe lead-
ingedgemetal, rootribsand
false ribsareremoved. That
leavesover40 inchesofthe
spars exposedattheirroot.
Measuretwiceandcutonce
with a saw, varnish the ex-
posedendsofthesparandget
readyto startinstallinghard-
ware. Thecompressionstrut
in theoldNo.2positionis re-
moved,replacedwiththeorig-
inal rootcompressiontube in-
stalled in itsplace. Thespars
aredrilledusinga hand brace
andbitand the fittings andribs
reinstalled. Thesparshaveto
bereinforcedatthe strutfit-
tingswitha vertical channel ,
addedto compensate for ec-
cent ric strut loads(thewing
strut s will no longerline up
preciselywiththe fittings in-
stalledonthespar). Thewings
is then trammeledandrecov-
ered. That'snotall there is too themodifi-
cationthough.
Anew setofwingstrutsisbuiltup. All
fourstruts usethe larger"frontstrut"tub-
ing. Theforward strutscan be madeup us-
ingthe original forward struts, provided
theypass inspection for corrosion. The
strutsare shortenedat the top end,andthe
newtube welded in the upperendhasa
thickerwall thickness. Thestrutfitting on
thefuselage has to be headedand bentup-
wards to matchthe newstrutmountingan-
gie. Whilethe wingdihedral remains the
same, theshortened strutsassumea more
acuteangle,sothefitting mustbemodified.
Finally,becauseofthenew strutgeome-
try,the cockpitdoormustbe modifiedwith
asmall cutouton the top ofthe lowerdoor,
orit will notclearthestrutwhen itisfolded
down.
You can see how a seemingly easy
changecangetabitmore involved. Finally,
whenall ofthestructural work is done,the
fabric is installedorrepaired. None ofit is
14 JANUARY 1997
The Clipped-Wing Cub, Piper Clipper
and Meyers 200 all share floor space
in the Kochan's hangar in central
Florida.
"

E
=;
Dennis and Janeen Kochan, Winter Haven, FL
i
As an anniversary present last year, Janeen commissioned aviation artist Sam Lyons, 4600 Kings Crossing Dr., Kennesaw, GA
30144 to render this pretty artwork of the restored Cub resting in front of the bam it was found in. Janeen had the artwork,
entitled "Treasures," on display with the airplane during Sun 'n Fun '96.
especially difficult, and care taken during
the changes can result in and very good
looking airplane. All of the required
changes are spelled out in the STC pack-
age.
That racy look I spoke of earlier has in-
spired some wild color schemes over the
years. Thinking back, you'll remember the
blue and white sunburst on Hazel Sig's
Clipped-Wing, and the many others that
have shown up as mounts for basic class Keeping it light is the
aerobatic pilots at lAC contests. The modi- secret of its success.
fied airplane has brought out the fun side in
A stock panel with
nothing additional
restorers.
keeps the fun in this
A couple of restorers who fit that de-
sport airplane.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
(Above) The shorter wings of the Reed
Clipped-Wing conversion are readily
apparent in this shot of this J-3C
restored by Scott Gross and his
brother, Steve Gross along with their
A&P friend, Bill Hadden.
scription are Airborne Express DC-8 Cap-
tain Janeen Kochan, of Winter Haven, FL
and her husband Dennis, a Captain and in-
structor pilot for Piedmont (now USAir,
soon to be US Airways) . The also own a
beautiful Meyers 200 and a Piper Clipper.
They keep both in a hangar located in the
back of their home site bordering the Win-
ter Haven Airport. Without too much diffi-
culty they had room for another airplane,
so when the opportunity presented itself,
they took advantage of the situation.
A few years ago a friend of a Janneen' s
mechanic mentioned he knew of a Cub in a
barn not too far from the Wilmington, OH
base of Airborne Express. Sure enough,
there really was a Cub in a barn in central
Ohio! It had just been covered, and was
available, so she made an offer right away.
It didn't take too long and the J3F-65 was
in a moving van and headed to Florida.
16 JANUARY 1997
Already a clipped wing conversion, the
Kochen's Cub had only a few owners in its
past. A man from St. Louis bought it new
from the factory, delivered with a 65 horse
Franklin engine. Later, it would have a 75
hp Continental installed. Not long after it
was delivered to St. Louis, a fellow run-
ning a flight school in Oshkosh, WI was
searching for another Cub, so he bought it.
Steve Wittman used the it to train students
in the Civilian Pilot Training Program until
1944, when it was sold to Russell McNeil
of Lakeville, IL. Russell owned the air-
plane until it was sold to the Kochans in
September of 1993. Since it had been the
airplane he spent almost all of his time in,
Russell agreed to release the airplane as
long as he could retain the N-number.
Long before it was purchased by the
two airline pilots, it was given the Reed
Clipped-Wing conversion. Disassembled
in 1974, the Cub got its Continental engine
somewhere along the line as well. It didn't
fly again until 1996, this time with the new
registration number N12190, the Kochen's
wedding anniversary date in December.
They put the airplane together using their
new A& P mechanic's licenses. Janeen in-
dicated she'll sit for the Inspection Autho-
rization test as soon as she qualifies.
The number three woman at Airborne in
seniority (behind Dana Folks and Susan
Dusenbury), Janeen doesn't stand still too
long. An athletic person, she enjoys run-
ning and lifting weights, and her boundless
energy level is quite apparent when you
meet. Far from nervous, she enjoys the
confidence of doing what she enjoys, and is
good at what ever she takes on, which can
fall in a wide range of interests. In addition
to her aviation and athletic pursuits, she
also enjoys playing her baby grand piano.
Janeen started flying at the age of 27,
after a demo ride in a Cessna 150 Aerobat.
The demo came complete with loops and
spins, and she so thoroughly enjoyed her-
self she decided upon a new career in avia-
tion. Later, after she became an instructor,
she went back to that instructor and asked
him why he gave her such a wild demo.
"Fred, do you always do into flights like
that?" she asked. "No Janeen, you just
looked like the type."
Flying checks at night, getting on every
charter certificate in the state she could,
flying whenever called upon helped put
valuable experience in her logbook. She
sold her cars, her house, her cat and her
business to put herself through the neces-
sary flight schools and build up her time.
Finally, with ratings in her pocket, she
fired off her resume to Airborne. As a pi-
lot who enjoys training, she really likes
flying for the air freight company, and her
enthusiasm for aviation doesn't stop there.
The hangarfull of airplanes is testimony to
that, as is the Kochen's most recent addi-
tion - a single-place sailplane.
Now about that color scheme. Bevo
Howard had the only "factory built" Piper
J-3C. Intended for airshow work, it had
red, white and blue markings in what is
Until you look at the shortened wings and the tell-tail cutout on the
lower cockpit door, you'd never suspect this Cub had been
modified with the Reed conversion.
now a familiar sunburst pattern. Red and
nentals, but that helps
white happen to be favorites of Janeen's,
keep it light. The
so both the Clipper and Meyers have simi-
Kochen' s look forward to
lar color schemes. She and Dennis took a having a little fun with
little ofBevo's scheme (the sunburst), a lit- their new light aerobatic
tle from the Clipper (the stripe on the side) mount. By Christmas
added the checkerboard on the tail and time, they had about 50
made an airplane that just looks as though hours on the airplane. Ja-
it's ready for some fun. neen says you have to be
Still equipped with the A-75-8, it sure and p'ut on an equal
weighs just a bit over 700 Ibs. No starter amount of time of all the
or generator is on the -8 series of Conti- airplanes, or they start to
get jealous of each other!
I hadn't seen a newly Clipped-Wing
Cub at a fly-in in quite some time, but at
Sun 'n Fun '96, there were two - the
Kochen's, and a yellow Cub that for all the
world looked like any other nicely restored
airplane. When you stepped back and
looked at the wings, you knew something
special was afoot.
Scott Gross of Mechanicsburg, V A
along with his brother Steve, who hails
from Louisville, KY and Bill Hadden of
Richmond, VA restored their fun machine
over a three year period. Scott is a corpo-
rate pilot, and while conversing with one of
Scott Gross and Bill Hadden
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
his bosses friends, the subject of airplanes
came up. Imagine that! The friend men-
tioned that he had the first airplane he ever
owned, a Cub whose wings had been
clipped back in the 1950's by a man named
Frank Sadler. The old story of selling the
airplane, then looking for it again, buying it
and intending to restore it was told again.
It had been sitting untouched for over 20
years. Scott planted the seed with the now
familiar "If you ever change your mind
about selling, give me call!" To his sur-
prise, the call came later. "Do you still
want that Cub?"
"Sure!"
January of '92 was the moving day for
this basket case. Covered in cotton many
years ago, it required a complete rebuild
from the sandblasted frame on up. Unfor-
tunately, the engine had never been pick-
led, so it was completely rusted on the inte-
rior. A new set of Superior cylinders was
obtained, along with a good crank and a
new camshaft. Everything needed to be re-
placed on the Continental C-85 engine. A
complete rebuild was done on the pair of
Eiseman LA-4 magnetos, and they report
that the engine runs beautifully with the
Eisemans. Of course, the carburetors was
also completely overhauled.
The sheet metal was also pretty bad, so
18 JANUARY 1997
it too was replaced with new. Fortunately,
the wings were in better condition. The
spars passed inspection, as did most of the
ribs. A few ribs were replaced. One of the
surprising items was the tires. When the
airplane was found in the barn, the tires
were flat. Since they didn't look too bad,
an air hose was applied to the valves and
the tubes were inflated. To this day, they
continue to hold air, and are installed on
the airplane today. A set of sealed wing
struts were welded up for the airplane by
Wag-Aero, and most of the sheet metal
came was also supplied by the company.
Changes made the restorers include a
left wing fuel tank, and thicker Plexiglas
in the side windows. They also got a field
approval for an enlarged baggage compart-
ment, and added shoulder harnesses. The
ELT is one of the new ACK units, remotely
mounted in the aft fuselage with a control
switch and indicator mounted up forward
in the cockpit. A buried comm antenna is
also mounted aft of the baggage compart-
ment.
The airplane is covered in Poly-Fiber
and finished in Polytone. The sheet metal
is finished with Aerothane, with a flatten-
ing agent added to match the low gloss
sheen of the Poly tone. It looks very trim
and attractive.
This project got done again through the
cooperative efforts of a trio of men. Each
added their own talents to the whole, and
finished with a great looking Cub. Scott is a
CFI, so in trade for Bill Hadden's help as an
A&P, Scott's giving Bill flight instruction in
the Cub. He says it's a lot of fun to fly, and
is happy with the way it handles: " .. with
the full aileron she is really sweet to fly -
they just bring the wings over so easily. It's
real docile on the controls. A regular full
Cub wing you push. On this, you are barely
touching the controls and she just goes. It
has a real nice roll rate, and cruises about 90
mph," Scott says. They have a neat little
sportplane to fly and enjoy for many years to
come.
A few final notes about the Clipped Wing
Conversion of the J-3. As a converted light
plane, it's not meant for hard snaps or pun-
ishing outside maneuvers, but for someone
who, with the proper training, would like to
enjoy smooth aerobatics on a Iightplane bud-
get, it could be just the airplane they need.
Earl Reed had something to write on this
subject at the end of his STC:
"Final note . . . It should be borne in
mind also, that this Mod is intended to put
the Cub back in the class with other similar
aircraft and in no way constitutes a race
plane ofharebrained hot rod. " ...
A well done restoration by the Cinquanta family and friends has given them a fitting tribute to their father, Frank, who bought
the PA-11 in 1964 for $700.
By Daril E. Cinquanta,
Ale 21758
ecently I visited the place where I grew up, a
plateau south of Boulder, Colorado overlook-
ing the city of Boulder and the Flatirons.
Standing at the end of the once-extant 500
foot runway brought back memories of
growing up at our restaurant, The Matter-
horn, which had its own private runway.
My dad, Frank, and my Uncle Joe had
been pilots all their life and had developed the love of flying
while growing up in Erie, Pennsylvania. They also flew during
WW II while in the Army Air Corps.
When we arrived in Colorado, we found the perfect location
for our restaurant, which sat on a hill overlooking the valley be- A standard cream-faced Cub panel is supplemented when
low. The view was breathtaking. The restaurant was designed needed with a King KX-99 handheld comm radio, an external
by my Uncle Joe and the three of us built it by hand. It was antenna and an intercom with headsets. A shielded ignition
constructed out of rock and was in the style of a Swiss chalet. system keeps the electrical noise down to a minimum.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
Thecolorschemescallopsadd
anairofracinesstothePA-11,
accentuatedbythecowleden-
gineoftheJ-3derivative. Ifit
couldbeseen,therestorersei-
therchromed,polishedorpainted
ittoperfection.
Eventhepropellerwaspolished,
withfancypainttrimappliedto
thetips.
20JANUARY1997
The hangarwasconstructedatthe farend
ofthesevenacresandthedirt runwaythat
I was standingonas I reminiscedran di-
agonallyacross the property. Very few
pilotswould attemptto landonsuch a
shortrunway. Mostwould landon the
plateau to the westwhich was a very
long dirt runway. Onceairborneyou
were 1,000 feet AGL. If you were drag-
ging on takeoff, you could drop your
nose and buildairspeed soaring down
the valley.
During the
1960s,Joeand
FrankhadWa-
cos,aStearman,
Swiftsandvari-
ous models of
Pipers . Joe
would restore
them and sell
them in his
spare time.
Somewerejet
powered, such
as the DH
Hawker. Joe
would hand
craft many of
the parts him-
self. Anumber
ofhisairplanes
would appear
overthe years
in variousfly-
ing magazines.
He was well-
known through-
out Colorado,
sixties in orderto be restored. Circum-
stances, unfortunately, dictatedthatshe
wouldsitin storageuntil restoration finally
was begun in 1993. Atonepoint,theCivil
AirPatrolstoredtheairplane for mydad, but
strangelyenoughit disappeared. TheCAP
hadto sendoutsearchplanestofmdherbut,
sureenough,shewasultimatelyfoundand
rescued.
Restoration was commencedin 1993,
butunfortunatelymyDadwasdiagnosed
with prostatecancerand then lymphoma.
cable bracketsandfootstep, werechromed
in orderto add to its uniqueness. Various
metal pieces,exhaustmanifoldsandex-
haustwere powdercoatedin flat andgloss
black. Thisisverydurableandlooksgreat.
ThecabinwascarpetedbyAirtexand
we hada dash covermade. We have a
hand heldKing KX-99,an intercomand
hasanexternal antenna. Headsetsare a
mustand thewholesystemworksgreat.
Theinstrumentpanel lookswonderfulwith
atouch ofnostalgia. Originalcreamfaced
instruments, in-
cludingarateof
climb and a
1949 inclinome-
ter, were in-
stalled.
The C90-SF
wascompletely
overhauled and
fittedwithaMc-
Cauley climb
propwhich helps
here in the Mile
HighCity. An 0-
200oil tankwas
also installed.
Theleftsidewin-
dow was modi-
fied toopenout
on a small hy-
draulicstrut;this
reallyopens up
thecabin. Piper
should have
thoughtofthisas
anoption.
The uphol-
Minnesotaand Straight lines that are supposed to be straight are, and curved lines are smooth and accu- steryis custom
Wisconsin. For rate, attesting to the excellent work done by the painter, Larry Pickerell. and beefed up
many years,
Joe, his wife
Kathyand daughterLeAnn lived in Min-
nesota and had a private strip called
"HawksHaven." Joe is well-knownin EAA
circlesand is presentlybuildingoneofhisbi-
planedesignscalledthe"Homet."
The PA-II wasourDad'spersonalair-
planeandoneoftwowhichhave remained
in thefamily. Thesecondwasthe" Hor-
net"mentionedabove. ThisCubspecial is
trulyspecialand hasan interestinghistory.
As was manyofherancestors, shewas
usedas acrop-dusterin 1945. In 1949she
was fitted withskisandwasflown to South
Dakota,andeventuallyrelocated to Ne-
braska. In 1949she again was usedasa
crop-dusterup until 1952. MyDad pur-
chasedtheCubfor $700 in 1964 from a
Nebraskafarmer.
Afterarriving in Colorado, shewas
usedto tow abannerin orderto advertise
ourrestaurant,TheMatterhorn. Sheper-
formed this duty honorablyup until 1967.
In fact, she deliveredthe first pizzaby air
from ourrestaurantto the BoulderAirport.
Shealsosoloedafew studentswhom Joe
taughttheold-fashionedway.
ThePA-II was dismantledin the late
We tried to havethe airplane restored in
timeso thathecouldfly heronemoretime,
butit was not meantto be. He lovedto
visitourhangarand spendtimethere. We
know he would have approved ofour
restorationofhisplaneandwe truly feel he
will be in the backseatwhen we fl y.
In restoringthe Cub Special, we wanted
herto haveapersonalityofherown. We
wanted herto be unique in Cub circles,es-
peciallysince thereare only700PA-IIs
sti ll in existence in this country. Shewas
covered in Ceconite 101 andpainted in
Randolphbutyrate,Tennessee Red and
DaytonaWhite. Thepaintschemeis an
old-fashionedscallopdesign similarto
otherCubsofthe Matterhornera. The
paintwasdonebyLarry PickerellofFlying
ColorsoutofLongmont,Colorado.
TheCubhas two IS gallontanks,and I
wonderifwecanmake itto Oshkosh '96
witha tailwindwithoutrefueling? All of
the aluminum parts , propeller, muffs,
screws, bolts, knobs and the Scotttail
wheel hubcapswerepolishedoutwith Red
Baron. Thetail bracewires, tiedownsand
numerousenginepieces,as well as bolts,
for us short Ital-
ians. Theengine
cowlingis alsocustom,allowingroom for
the toweringplugs. We had to searchall
overthe country for the RPM and oil tem-
perature/pressuregauge. We finally lo-
cated them in Maine. Thehardestthingto
find was the spinnerwith frontandback
plates. Thiswasnotanoriginal item. In-
stead,the PA-II camestockwitha skull
cap. Thespinnerwas ultimatelyfound in
thewarehouseofforgotten partsatDuffs
AircraftSalvagein Denver. It musthave
beenoneofthe lastonesinthecountry. The
spinnerand wheel pantsmakethisladya
showpiecewithapersonalityofherown.
Shegetsa lotofattentionwherevershe
lands. It is amazingwhatyoucando to
evencustomizeaCub.
ThePA-II will now beused for fun and
foraerial surveillance in my private inves-
tigation busi ness, whichIstarted in 1990
afterretiringas adetectivefrom the Den-
verPoliceDepartmentafter20yearsof
service. My brotherMattwill gethis li-
cense in the PA- II atthe directionofour
UncleJoe,whichwaswhatourDadwanted
beforehe passedaway. ThePA-II is our
memorial toourDad. ..
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
WHATOUR.MEMBERSARERESTORING
-----------------------------------------------------------byNornm Petersen
Frank Bass' Kari-Keen Coupe
This extremely rare 1929 Kari-Keen 90 Coupe, NC244K, SIN
211 , was the pride and joy of veteran antiquer, Frank Bass (EAA
132867, A/C 4434) of Moore, Montana. One of only four on the
U.S. register, the pretty two-placer was flown east on several occa-
sions to Oshkosh and Blakesburg. Power is a five-cylinder 90 hp
Lambert 266 cu. in. engine pulling a wooden propeller that nicely
flows from the spinner into the cowling. The wing is one piece, all
wood, full cantilever, and is the handiwork of designer Swen Swan-
son. Frank, who is a walking encyclopedia on antique airplanes, re-
cently sold the Kari-Keen Coupe to a museum in Canada, so it is no
longer on the U. S. Register. In its original green and orange paint
scheme, the Kari-Keen was always a welcome sight at any fly-in.
Getting to know its restorer, Frank Bass, an auctioneer by trade with
a story for every occasion, is a treat in itself.
Dean Kronwall'sTaylorcraft BC-12D
This pretty 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D,
N61895, SIN 6515, received its airworthi-
ness certificate on October 29, 1996, fol-
lowing a five and a half year restoration
effort by its owner, Dean Kronwall (EAA
90889, A /C 20768) of Northbrook, llli-
nois. The test flight, the first for the T-
Craft in 46 years, was made by veteran
Taylorcraft pilot, Don Claude (EAA
134336, A/C 17459) of nearby DeKalb,
IL. The test flight was made on Novem-
ber 29, 1996, and Don reports everything
worked to perfection. Note the tubular
swing-out windows on this model and the
original Taylorcraft hubcaps on the
wheels. Congratulations are in order for
Dean Kronwall for a magnificent job of
bringing a Taylorcraft BC-12D back to
life after 46 long years.
22 JANUARY 1997
James Donnell's Contemporary Cessna 172
straight tail Cessnas.
for an older straight tail 182, he stumbled
into this 172 and bought it in 1991 .
was in dire need of some TLC.
This sharp looking
1959 Cessna 172
"s traight-t a il,"
N6331E, SIN- 46431,
is the pride and joy of
James W. Donnell
(EAA 530423) of
Winnsboro,Louisiana.
Jim has been flying
for 52 years and has
always had a soft spot
in his heart for the
While searching
It
Since
then, he has upgraded the entire airplane,
inside and out, installed a complete new
interior, one piece windshield and re-
placed the former "droop tips" with these
hi-performance wingtips. A new paint
job in white and blue with black trim re-
ally sets the pretty four-placer off. With
the list of improvements running over two
pages in length, Jim has done just about
everything to this airplane that is possible.
He admits it draws many second looks at
airports with many questions about it be-
ing for sale. He feels he has been blesssed
as the owner and enjoys the airplane im-
mensely. Congratulations, Jim, on a really
beautiful 172.
Jack Dueck's Luscombe 8-E
Jack Dueck (EAA 337912) and hi s
wife, Jean, of Whitehorse, Yukon Terri-
tory, Canada, restored this pretty Lus-
combe 8-E, CF-MNS, after finding it in a
garage. The former owner had purchased
the airplane with floats, used the floats on
a different airplane and stored the Lus-
combe. When the Dueck's hauled the
Luscombe home, the restoration got un-
derway and the result is the beautiful pol-
ished Luscombe you see in the photo.
Both restorers admit the total costs were a
bit unreal, but the job itself took patience
and hard work. After flying the neat two-
placer to Oshkosh, they have now em-
barked on building an RV-4. The photo
and story were submitted by Rem Walker
(EAA 11640, A / C 12982) of Regina,
Sask., Canada.
Jeff Spencer's Commonwealth
Sky Ranger 185
All dressed up in its original paint
scheme of blue and cream is this 1946
Commonwealth Skyranger 185, N93238,
SIN 1743. It's the pride andjoy of its re-
storer, Jeff Spencer (EAA 521337, A/C
26208) of Rushsylvania, Ohio. Jeff's fa-
ther, Carl Spencer, owned a 1940 Rearwin
Skyranger when Jeff was 8-10 years of
age and Jeff has wanted one ever si nce.
Ironically, Carl's old airplane has been re-
stored and is based about twenty miles
from Jeff's house! Powered with a Conti-
nental C85-12F engine, the Common-
wealth is being upgraded with new Cleve-
land brakes and other amenities as the
budget allows. Note the fixed slots in the
outboard section of the NACA 23012
wing and the original wheel covers. The
Skyranger is also approved on about six
models of Federal skis. Presently there
are 88 Commonwealth Skyranger 185's
listed on the FAA register. Congrats to
Jeff on a beautiful airplane.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
OSHKOSH-IFWE COULDDOIT, YOUCAN TOO
by Lynn R. Pinson, Ale 2343
There are times in your life when you need to say "NO!" to the naysayers and those who would steal your dreams.
Establishing a goal and making it come to fruition makes the accomplishment all that much sweeter. Lynn Pinson and
his friend Jerry confronted their fears and slayed a mental dragon. What mental dragon has you at bay? Perhaps be-
ginning or finishing that restoration project or planning that long cross country? Perhaps doing what you already
know needs to be done is all that stands between you and the worthwhile attainment ofyour objective. - HGF
Someone much smarter than I am once
said that the moment of readiness is when
the discomfort of the status quo finally ex-
ceeds the fear of change. After nine years
that moment had come. For nine years,
Jerry Hostick and I talked and dreamed
about flying to Oshkosh for the annual EAA
Fly-In and Convention. We talked about
how we would take our time, fly when we
wanted to fly, stop when we wanted to stop,
and we especially wanted to fly up the Mis-
sissippi River, just flying and looking as we
would make our way to the Mecca of avia-
tion, Oshkosh. But each year we got cold
feet and backed out a couple of weeks before
it started. We had heard so many stories
about how many airplanes got there at the
same time and how we might run into some-
body, or crash, or just anything - maybe
everything - awful might happen to us or our
airplanes. We would then suddenly get sick,
or have to be somewhere else, or have to
work that week. Until now.
When I closed the hangar door that beau-
tiful summer Sunday morning after packing
the 1947 Cessna 120 with the sleeping bag,
the pork 'n beans, the crackers, the cheese
crisps, the canteen, the hand-held radio, the
borrowed GPS and two duffel bags of extra
clothes, I wondered if I would ever come
back and see that hangar again.
It was Tom's fault. I told him in Febru-
ary about our dreams and how long Jerry
and I had been talking about it . He came
back with, "Well, we ' re going this year, no
backing out cause I told Chuck I would be
there this year with the Kitfox." "Pinion,
you ain't baclan' out this time!"
No way could Tom finish that Kitfox by
July. He didn't even have the engine in it or
the insides in it yet. But he did. He soloed it
in May on Memorial Day weekend.
So, Jerry in his Cessna ISO and me in the
Cessna 120 took off from Frederick, Okla-
homa that Sunday morning and headed east to
our first stop at Tenkiller Airpark in eastern
OkJahoma where we were to meet Tom Yates
in that brand new Kitfox. We were commit-
ted. The moment of readiness had come and
gone. We were on our way to Oshkosh!
We flew from Tenkiller to Jefferson
City, Missouri , to Hannibal, MO, to Keokuk,
Iowa, to Muscatine, lA, to Madison, Wis-
consin. We flew over some of the prettiest
country I had ever seen. Our dream of fly-
ing up the Mississippi River became a real-
ity. We listened on 122.75 MHz. to other pi-
lots as they too were flying from all over the
United States, all headed for Oshkosh.
24 JANUARY 1997
We landed at Morey Airport on the west
side of Madison, WI late Tuesday evening in
a light rain shower. The past three days we
had flown in clear skies, in light rain and
clouds, and actually did some scud running
in southwest Missouri , but nothing really
bad the whole trip. We checked into a motel
and decided to have a nice dinner and then
try to get a good night's rest before the much
anticipated and dreaded arrival at Oshkosh.
Wednesday morning, after several trips
to the restroom, the engines were started, we
took several deep breaths, and departed
Morey. We headed to the rendezvous point
of every VFR airplane in the United States,
Canada, and parts of Europe-"Ripon." We
felt as if we were flying over the English
Channel to do war with the Germans. We
were scared spit less because we just knew
we were going to meet sudden death at any
moment by colliding with all those other air-
planes that were going to be at Ripon.
"Curses, Tom Yates, why did I let you
talk me into this?"
Then I saw a town and the water tower
said "Ripon." I was there! Where was
everyone else? Where were all those other
8,000 airplanes? There was Green Lake and
Rush Lake and there were the railroad tracks,
but only three or four airplanes were in
sight. I saw the markers, then the strobes,
then that much anticipated voice came over
the radio and said, "Blue high wing taildrag-
ger, rock your wings!" I did, and the voice
said, "Good rock blue taildragger, clear Fisk
and proceed 070 degrees for landing on 36L,
listen 126.6." I had no idea I could see Lake
Winnebago ahead of me and also saw the
hundreds , no, thousands of airplanes and
things immediately in front of me. Oshkosh
tower cleared me to land on 36L and as I
turned final the whole thing lay in front of
me. I was going to land at Oshkosh! I set
up to land on the numbers, but the tower told
me to extend and land long because there
was another airplane landing behind me. It
then occurred to me that there was probably
another one coming over my top and going
to land in front of me.
Touchdown! 9:40 a .m. Not even a
bounce! The eagle had landed! Tears welled
up in my eyes, but that must not be because I
needed to see. The emotion, the elation, the
dream had come true. I had finally, really
and truly, flown to Oshkosh!
With a grin from ear to ear I turned off at
the second taxiway. I was led to my parking
space on row 83 by a fellow on a little red
motor scooter and given a cordial welcome
by another fellow on a green "Gator."
I got out of the little Cessna and looked
around at the gorgeous day. The sun was
shining, the airplanes were still landing, and
the rows behind me were rapidly filling up
with aircraft. I stared in disbelief. There
was nowhere else in the whole wide world I
had rather be at this moment!
Well, we were at the Convention for three
days, saw everything we could see, walked
our legs off to the hips and still couldn't see it
all. It was everything we had heard about,
read about, and hoped it would be about.
We saw Paul, Gene, Tom, Patti, Bobby,
Julie, Chuck, Bud, Delmar, and many, many
others. We saw bitty planes and big ones,
almost 14,000 of them.
We saw most of the 850,000 other people
there besides us. The weather was perfect
and there was not anything that disappointed
us. Then it came time to go home. Early Sat-
urday morning we got up early, checked
weather, and took off from Wittman Field at
7:30 a.m. in three mile visibility and low ceil-
ings. As I was climbing out I looked back
through the right window of the 120 at that
giant, sleepy airport that was just beginning to
stir for the day' s activities, still amazed that I
had been there. I headed to Portage, Wiscon-
sin where I was to meet Jerry since he had to
depart on the other runway, and then we con-
tinued the long trip back home. Tom and the
Kitfox stayed another couple of days, leaving
on Tuesday. We went back through Musca-
tine, then down to Kirksville and spent the
night at Sedalia, Missouri. We then flew to
Coffeyville, Kansas, Stillwater, Oklahoma,
then finally Frederick Municipal appeared in
sight about 3:30 Sunday afternoon. Our wel-
come committee was a very happy and re-
lieved wife Nancy and proud brother Keith
who stayed home and worked so that we
could make the trip.
H was over. We had done it. The dream
had come true and we could talk about it
over and over for years to come. And we
would! We would tell our two year old
granddaughter Allie about it and hope that
maybe she could fly the same little 120 there
someday herself. We had been in the air
nearly 22 hours for the whole trip and flown
nearly 2,000 miles. No breakdowns, no
crashes, no trouble. We were awfully tired,
but not too tired to smile real big as we re-
membered the past 8 days of pure joy.
"Scared to make the trip?" You bet we
were! But we did it! As this is being written
there is talk about next year. Nothing serious
yet, but of course Tom hasn't called either. ...
The Monarch

Agold-\.Iinged giant Thetrouble\.lith flying liesnotin the peril butthereturn totarth. Yes, coming
arrestsmyeye dO\.ln is much harderthan spinning aJennyorpulling offthatfourpointroll.
soaring and stalking his
sacred patchofsky. Ask anyoneoftheseoldfell o\.ls clustered nearthatyello\.ling boxkite,perched on
and aroundthemachineas ifit\.Iere somesturdyfence.
As agreattouringczar
myfield herumbles past, Inquire\.Ihatit'sliketoplayGod fora\.lhile,soaring high abovepatch\.lorkpastures,
blueframeand patrioticfin fighting thatdO\.ln\.lard pull.
holding ourraptured gazesfast.
Discover\.Ihy theytreatthatplanelike alady,ho\.ltheytalktoher, feed her,
Collectivebreath is held in check doctorheron occasion. Mo\.ltheykno\.l hermind liketheiro\.ln.
ashe circlesand touchesdO\.ln.
Misloyal entourageformstoflank him, \.Ihatdotheysee, climbing high enough topeerovertheedgeofthe\.Iorld. miles
reveling in thesmokebelchedfrom hiscro\.ln. ofhazyindigosloping gentlya\.lay intospace.
This monarchholdscourt, goodnatured Lookatthem,theirleatheryfacescracked and tanned astheirjackets,theireyes
and god-like, regallysurveying hisdomain. alight\.lith firereliving the long day,handst\.Jisting, turning, retelling an aerial ballet.
As admiring massesmoveto\.lard him,
spl0.5hes ofcoloragainstthegrassyplain. \.litheyesas big asthechildren on theirshouldersthey\.latch acraftshudderto
lifeand rumbleacro.ssthe\.Iide, grassysea.
P-:>Iack bladesofsteel and thosethroaty
cylinderscontrast his bright, blindingsheen. Adifferentbreedtheyare, theses\.lorn foes ofgravity,shuffling inside, the eyes in
Trulyheis asplendidsight, thebacksoftheir headslooking lovinglyovertherusticmachine.
this proud and mightyPT-17.
Theirthoughtsare neverfarfrom itsneedsand theiro\.ln: Tofly, topainton a
Rumblingagain, taxi ing a\.lay brilliantbluecanvas, therecan beno greateraim.
thunderingintothe\.Ii ldblue,
athis ki nglyfeetIlayone request; There'snotoneamongyou\.Iho \.Iouldn'tsprout\.ling ifhe could.Circling higher,
nexttimeyourhighne.ss,pleasetakeme\.lith you. higher, \.lith thesolepurposeofstaying aloft.
-Jef Reahard -Jef Reahard
!
"-


Jef Reahard, a twenty-one-year-old pilot from Williamson, GA, has been immersed in avi ation all hi s life. Along with his grandfather Jean Reahard, Jr.
and his father, Chip, Jef and a few other friends have been restoring a Stearman. One of hi s other passions is writing, and he penned these two pieces
we've selected. We hope you enj oy them, and we' re open to comments regarding this type of materi al in Vintage Airplane. Would you like to see a poem
or prose such as thi s included in the pages of Vintage Airplane on a regul ar basis? Send your comments to Editor, Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086,
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE25
PASSdh
BUCK
by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert
EAA #21 NC #5
P.O. Box 424, Union, IL 60180
Here's a problem that I can't directl y help
this fellow with - maybe one of you can sup-
ply him with the needed part:
Dear Mr. Hilbert,
I own a Taylorcraft 15A, one the six still
flying or flyable in the U.S. The T-Craft
15A and the Aeronca 15AC both use the C-
145, have identical motor mounts, and may,
ifmy eyes haven't deceived me, nearly the
same cowl. As we readers ofYintage know,
you own a 15AC and that leads me to you
for help.
My problem lies with the plug/cowl dis-
tance on the number six cylinder, which is
too low to allow the use of a conventional
s hielded plug and wiring. My 15A
(N6653N) was restored in 1992 by a couple
of ge ntlemen in Ohio from whom I pur-
chased it. Their solution to the plug problem
was to install a Champion C-26 plug in num-
ber six with a strange, insul ated wire cap
which is like nothing I or anyone at our field
has ever seen. It 's that plug cap that I'm try-
ing to locate (or some other reasonable solu-
tion to the height problem). The plug cap
they installed came from a friend who is now
deceased and no one knows where he got the
part. The following sketch (above, right)
gives you some idea of the design. It is la-
beled "Breeze 3202" with no other mark-
ings. It sort of looks like something from the
automobile world, but I also wonder if it
wasn't used in the forties and early fi fties be-
fore resistor aircraft plugs became common.
The interior is lined with Bakelite which, in
my case, is starting to deteriorate and is al-
lowing some leakage to ground. Thus my
quest to locate another. I suppose one solu-
tion may be to have a blister put on the cowl
but to me that's a last resort , since I want to
keep this rare bird as original as possible,
and I know the cowls of the 15A 's were not
blistered in production. I put that in quotes
since the 15A never really went into produc-
tion in the true sense of the word, and each
of the six remaining intact has subtle differ-
ences from the others. But that 's another
story.
Any help you or your readers could pro-
vide in locating a replacement or coming up
26 JANUARY 1997
with a reasonable solution would be grate-
fully received. I ' m particularly keen in
knowing how the problem, assuming it ex-
ists, is resolved in the Aeronca.
Richard B. Roe
10141 Spring Lake Terrace
Fairfax, Y A 22030
Dear Richard,
H.G. happened to be at my house the day
your letter arrived, and he offered to help an-
swer your question, since he recalled seeing
a simi lar plug cap in Steve Wittman's "junk.
box." Over to you, H. G.
Richard's TaylorcraJt 15A is one good
looking airplane. 1last saw it at the MERFI
Fly-In aJew years ago. While the cowl does
look similar to the A eronca Sedan, they're
not the same. Th e sedan nose cowl is a
Champ nose bowl with different cut outs and
a large center hole Jor crankcase cooling.
Since theJrontal cross section oJthe C-145
doesn 't appreciably vary Jrom its smaller 4
cylinder cousins, the same cowl could be
used. Only the much longer wrap cowl sur-
rounding the engine is unique. Even with
shielded plugs and harnesses, there is no
problem with clearance in the Aeronca
Sedan cowling - the engine has plenty oj
room. The Taylorcraft 15A used a cowl from
their production line.
The spark plug shield you write about
was manuJactured by the Breeze MJg. Co.
Jor many years, with the majority oJthem
produced in the lat e 1920 's through the
1930 'so The ad we've reproduced (opposite
page, top) is from an Air Associates catalog
Jrom the 1930's (we're unsure as to the ex-
act date - they didn 't mark them with a date).
It show a cap similar to the one you've
drawn, and I'm sure there were a number oj
different styles.
While shielded spark plugs eventually
solved the problemJor most airplanes, they
still were being used by many until the
shielded plugs and harnesses came into
widespread use.
Unless you can determine whether your
15A was built using this spark plug shield,
the question ojoriginality may not matter - it
BREEZE SPARK PLUG SHIELDS
Th hield fit right ov r your pre Dt park
and radi . hi Id th m perfectly. They ar made In
two siz and fit all standaN:! :lircr:lft plugs.
IZE No. 5-Fits all plug$ lip to 1%" I ngrh, such
as the B. G. o. 4, 4B. 1, 482, 4C, 58.2, Champion
M 3, Hurley owruend No. 300 aDd 437, tc.
SIZE o. 6--Fits:Ill plugs up t o 2" length, such 5
th B. G. Model IX , t .
Th pri includes th terminal nut and
bur no ferrule for the spark plug wire.
o. 5 Brc zc Spark Pl ug Shield
o. 6 Sr czc Spark Plug Shi Id .
No. 3 140- 3 u a Tennio. t Nu.. Each
No. 3154- 2 ExIra Rubber Packil1g. Each
o. RS-I O Ferrul e for connecting Packa rd
ble 10 hi Id h
may not have had one installed when it came
from the factory. Unless it came with a radio,
it 's unlikely that the shield was installed. As
you mentioned, it was given to the restorers of
your airplane by a now departed friend.
Asfar as ignition noise isconcerned, don 't
forget to cast a critical eye on the P-leads that
hook your mag switch to the magnetos - they 're
notorious for eminating lots of noise ifnot
shielded properly, or grounded as well. Other-
wise, they act like nice long antennas, radiating
RFfor your radio recieve. Keeping the antenna
as far aft as possible isalso a good idea.
The top cap that Jfou nd is not lined with
Bakelite, but it certainly makes sense that it
would be. What other solutions are available to
Richard? Can anybody else help us youngfel-
lows out on this neat little solution to an annoy-
ing problem? Ifyou can supply Richard with one
ofthe Breeze Spark Plug Shields feel free to drop
him a line at the address listed above. - HGF
The Fleet IO's Fahlinpropdecided after,
gos h knows how long, to delaminate. In a
=Iuandary, Ilookedat an old Hamilton, anda
Hamilton Standardthat I'vebeensittingonfor
years anddecidedthatmaybe it wastime to
, witchthe Warneroverto ametal prop.
Acloserinspectionofthe Hamiltonwasdis-
leartening. It wason loan to the Sun 'nFun
\1useum for several yearsand theyhad sentit
Jut to apropshop for overhaul. It was veryap-
Jarentonclose inspecti on, that it had been
alickand apromise,apolishjobandhad
lomebogusdecals installed, fordi splay. I
jon' tthinkthe shop everexpected it to be any-
:hingbutadi splay.
Since thisparticularpropellerwasNOS
'newoldstock)when Isentitdownto Lake-
'and, Iwasreluctantto callitquitsand relegate
tto "displayonly"status. IcalledVerneJobst
.vho hadthesameprop for hisWaco,and asked
limwhere he had senthis for overhaul. The
JrOp is nowup inthe Minneapolis-St. Paul
;hop ofMaxwell Propellers. They have
Jromisedme itsreturn in aboutanothermonth.
Myothermetalprop is aHamilton Standard
adjustablethatI had Whirlwind Pro-
Jellers overhaul lastyear. It camebackso
JrettythatIwasreluctantto use it. Everhad
hathappen? If it wasdirtyandbeatup, well ,
naybethatwould be all right , but this one
packing
$J.50
$3.50
20c
10c
hi Ide<!
16c
shines like theproverbi alG.!. beltbuckleata
Saturdayinspection.
Iputit on to testrun the engine, got itall
fmgerprintedand messy in the process,and had
just finished repolishingit when in walksmy
buddyMikeMogdans. I'vewrittenabout Mike
in thiscolumnbefore. He isthe machinistwho
madetheflying wirebullets for theFleet. He
alwaysseemsto betherewhen Ineedhim and
ifthereisachallenge to the project, man, he's
gonnawhipit!
He lookedat the propand saidsomething
like, "Gee! Thatlooks naked! Shouldn'tit
have adomeoraspinnerorsomethingon it to
hide the nutand stuff?" Itold him thatthere
were littlespinnerson thesepropswhenthey
were newback in the late 1920s, but Ihadn't
seenone in years. "What ' dthey looklike?"he
wantedto know.
Sowe dragged outan old AirAssociates
Catalogue, from who-knows-whatyear(late
'20s maybe),and looked it up. There it was,
the very same propell erand on the nextpage a
chromiumpl ated and poli shednose capto fit
the Hamilton Standardhub! Guess whatthe
pricewas? Twodollarsand25 cents!
Mikewasoffandrunning. Icould actually
seethe wheel sgoingaround in hi shead ashe
mentally workedoutthedetail s. Nextafter-
noon hewas in theshopwith threadgauge, mi-
crometers,pencil,paperand machinistrule.
He was back the next day with a s lugof
aluminumto testhi sthreadmeasurements (it
fit!), and review hi s thought s anddo some
moresketches.
Ididn' tseehimfor a coupledays and then
Iheardhiscarin thedriveway. Hedidn' teven
stop at the house, butwentstraightto the
hangarshop. Afteracoupleofminutes Iam-
bledout, and therewasthefini shed product.
It'sbeautiful!
Iasked him howdifficultit wasto make.
" It wasn'ttoo bad,afterIgottheproperthread
sizeanddiameter. It onlytookseven oreight
hoursaltogether!"
Ithoughtto myself,"Whatdoes a Master
Machinistmakethesedays? Thirtymaybe
even40dollarsan hour? Eighthourstimes 35
and thenaddthe material cost? WOW! That
original$2.25 pricetagis asobsoleteas the
catalog. Nowonderairplanescostsomuch!"
And so I'vegotareal showpiecenow,I'll
bethe envyofthe biplane lineatOshkoshor
wherever, thanksto MikeMogdans,Master
Machinist, AcademyofModelAeronautics,
andfriend of oldairplanes!
Spinner ForHamiltonStandardProp
It was necessary to makea mandrel dupli-
catingtheprop hub. It served two purposes; to
allowthe properfit on thethreads, andthe final
tum,radius,and poli sh. Firstmeasurethe00
ofth e threads, front and back. Thenuse a
threadgauge to find the numberofthreads .
Then using the properthread wires, measure
overthem. On Bucksismeasuredup as 2.683-
2.685, 16 T.I .P. , 2.715" over0.040 wires . I
wantedthe hub to screwonat leastoneinch,
andthenbottomonthe Hub lock nut,andthis
nut is about5/16"thick(.312). Thenusinga
scale Imeasuredthe Hub nutoverthe points,
andthenmeasuredthe lengthstickingoutand
all owedclearance. Next Ilocateda pieceof
scrap al uminum to use as the mandrel about6
incheslong. Facethe back,and tumthe excess
stockoffto 2.700" 00. Thentumit around in
the lathe andindi cate it to run true. Face and
tumthe small diameter. Nexttumasteponto
1.70000.312 length, nexttumthe00ofthe
threads to 2.684", 1-1/2 inches long. Nextset
lat he to cutthreadsat 16 perinch, andstart
chasingthem. Forfinalsizeuse threadwiresto
check,andchasethem to 2.715". You now
have aduplicateto theprop hub.
Spinner
Next Ilocatedapieceofaluminum3- 1/4"
00by4-1 /8" long. Chucki ng it in the lathe I
faced offoneend, and li ght cutthe00. Then
turningitaroundIindi cated it true, face, and
lightcut the 00to match. NextIdrilleda I-
1/8 inch hole2-5/ 8DP.fromthe pointofthe
drill. NextIboredthe small ID to 1.750",and
2. 187"deep. (Facethe bottomofthi s hole.)
Next I boredthe minorID ofthethreadsto
2.610" ID, by 1. 312" deep,and face this step.
Nowthe fun part! Setup the internal threading
tool to cut the threads at 16 threadsperinch.
When you getcloseto yourfinal size start
checkingthe threadswithyourmandrel for fit.
When you havethe properfit , remove from
lathe, and check it onthe prop hub. Ifyou
made the mandrelright it will fit. Nowfind a
pieceoftubingthatwill go overthemandrel.
Chuckup the mandrel ,and threadthe spinner
onthemandrel,and thenbackit offafew turns.
Measurethe di stance from the face ofthej aws
to thespinnerand cutthe tubingto fit between
them, and face the tubingtrue. Replace the
mandrel and indicate it true. Pl ace the tubing
overthe mandrel. Screwthespinneron the
mandrel lockingit againstthe tubing. Now
li ght cut the 00ofthe spinner,andradiusthe
nose ofthespi nner pl eas ingto youreye, and
polish. Remove mandrel with tubing,and spin-
nerfrom lathe. Now remove sp innerfro m
mandrel,andplacethe spinnerontheprop.
MakingBuck'sspinnertookabout7.8 hours.
Michael Mogdrans
MasterTool& DieMaker
Woodstock,IL60098
AMA327518
f( I
Overto you,
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
by H.G. Frautschy
This large flying boatfrom the WWI era
is our January Mystery Plane, and it
shouldn' tbe as difficultas ourOctoberbi-
plane. Thephotocomes from the Tex La-
Gronecollectionofthe EAA Aviation Foun-
dation Boeing Aeronautical Library.
Answers need to be inno laterthan Febmary
25, 1997 so that they can be included in the
April, 1997 issueofVintageAirplane.
The OctoberMystery Planemusthave
been areal sturnper for almost everybody.
(It already had us baffledhere at EAA HQ.)
Only one brave soul dared send in an answer
- Charley Hayes ofNew Lenox, IL. He
thought it mightbe aproduct ofthe Advance
AircraftCo., Troy,Ohio. Areviewofthe
Waco modelsbeforethe Waco 10 shows that
noneofthoseaircraftmatchthisairplane, but
itwas agood try.
Theonlyclue we have concerningthis
airplane is this: The picture was taken by a
Philadelphiacommercial photographer, R.
Newell & SonofSouth 6th St.
We don'tknow the year,nordo we know
who the pilotis.
We'll leave this one open, so ifanybody
elsehas any ideas as to the identityofthis
elephant-earedbiplane powered by an OX
engine, feel free to drop us anote.
SendyourMysteryPlane Answers to:
VintageAirplane Mystery Plane
EAA
P.O.Box 3086
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086
28 JANUARY 1997
-------=..::::;
GeneMorris
RoonokeTX
Began flying atage 15.
Receivedcommercial
licensebeforeHS
graduationandgotout
ofschoolforhisfirst
American EagletRight
from Benton It to
SpringfieldMO.
His Ihobby"turnedinto
acoreerwhen he
becameaco-pilotfor
American Airlinesin
March 1955.
AUAis
approved.
Tobecomean
EAAAntique&
Classic Division
Member,call

"I've been retired for over seven years
now, but my wife Carol and I both
continue to fly and maintain our little fleet.
[Gene also hasa 0 Model BonanzaandCarol
owns a 1966AircoupeAlon.]AUA, Inc. has
been my family's aircraft insurer for several
years and has given us exemplary service
with claims while maintaining one of the
lowest premiums in the insurance industry."
- GeneMorris
800-727-3823
Fly with the pros.. .fly with AUA Inc.
AUA's Exclusive EAA
Antique/Classic Division
InsuranceProgram
Lo er liability and hull premiums
Medical payments included
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carrying all risk coverages
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carrying all risk coverages
Remember,
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WELCOME
NEW MEMBERS
,.
AerospaceBranch Library
.... .......... .. ..............Little Rock, AR
Bob Brack.. ..... ..Lee's Summit, MO
Tim Bronson...... ......Pittsburgh, PA
Christa L. Brown....OroValley,AZ
C. AlanCarter..... ... ...Douglas,GA
Richard Cinesi... ........Jefferson, WI
RobbieCulver.. ..NorthChicago, IL
Clifford Edington ...Springfield,OR
Lewis R. Fi sher... . Friendswood,TX
IrbyFord.. .... ..........Pflugerville,TX
Jerry L. Gecowets.. .. ...Urbana,OH
Pat Greco..... .... .........San Jose, CA
AI J.Gross..... ..... ......lssaquah,WA
Sam K. Harmon.. .....Columbia, SC
John E.Hell er.. .. .. ....Pasadena, CA
Richard Hotchkiss
.. ........ ... .. Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Elvin W.Hurst.... ...Santa Rosa, CA
James Il genfritz 11... ..... ..Monroe,MI
Pau l Kinzie... ... .... ... ..... .... . Alva, OK
KurtKohler... ......... .. ..Hampton,VA
Howard H.Kron
...... ...... ........... .... . Montevideo,MN
PatrickJ. LaVigne... ..Rochester, NY
Jean Pierre Ll ech.......Elbeuf, France
Thurman F. Longcrier....... .... ... .... ...
... ....... ... ...... .. .... ... .... ...Florence, AL
MarkS. Lopac............. Cokato, MN
LarryMetzel........ ... .....Garland,TX
Atsuo Nishimura
.. .....Otsuk,Chyo, Kochi Ken, Japan
Rolph C. Olsen.. ... ... San Diego,CA
Ralph Parker..... ...WichitaFalls, TX
Andre Pelletier
... ........... ... ... ....GrandJunction,CO
RobertM. Percy...... .. Patterson, NY
RichardJ.Perrotti .... ... Melrose,MA
DonJ. Pustina
..... .... ...... ............ ...Indianapolis, IN
BarryJoseph Ramer
.. ....... .... ...... ... ... Fox RiverGrove, IL
David Fritz Reins........ ....Crewe,VA
R. W. Robertson .. .......Roanoke, VA
Michael F. Smith... ... .. Leesburg, VA
Ron Smith... .... .......... ... Brawley,CA
TimothyD. Smithen...Belgrade, MT
RobertJ. Stewart.. ...............Erie, PA
Karl R. Szczypta... ...... Naperville, IL
James M.Thomas
... .. ..... .. ... ... ........ ....Watsonville,CA
Robert B. Tyndall .........5myrna, GA
Charles M.Vaughn..... . Titusville, FL
James J. Weber... .Williamsville, NY
William R.Woodall.... .. . Akron,OH
Elmer D.Yost
.... ... ... ......... ..........Greensboro, NC
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Enrollmentfee isS800whichincludesall instr: ctio al materials
as wellas mealsand lodgingduringyourstayinOshkosh
Call

formore
information.
Enrollmentis
limited-
calltoday!
30JANUARY1997
MEMBERSHIP
INFORMATION
EAA
Membership in the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Inc. is$35foroneyear, including 12
issuesof SPORTAVIATION.Familymembership
isavailableforanadditional$10annually. Junior
Membership (under 19years ofage) is available
at$20annually. Allmajorcreditcardsaccepted
formembership.
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC
Current EAA members may join the Antique/
Classic Division and receive VINTAGE AIR-
PLANEmagazineforanadditional$27peryear.
EAA Membership, VINTAGEAIRPLANE mag-
azine and one year membership in the EAA
Antique/Classic Division is available for $37per
year(SPORTAVIATIONmagazinenotincluded).
lAC
CurrentEAA membersmayjoin the Intemational
AerobaticClub, Inc. DivisionandreceiveSPORT
AEROBATICS magazine for an additional$40
peryear.
EAA Membership, SPORTAEROBATICSmaga-
zine and one year membership in the lAC
Division is available for$50 peryear (SPORT
AVIATIONmagazinenotincluded).
WARBIRDS
Current EAA members may join the EAA
Waroirds ofAmerica Division andreceive WAR-
BIRDSmagazineforanadditional$35per year.
EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magazine and
oneyearmembershipin the Warbirds Divisionis
available for $45 peryear (SPORTAVIATION
magazinenotincluded).
EAAEXPERIMENTER
Current EAA members may receive EAA
EXPERIMENTERmagazineforanadditional$18
peryear.
EAA Membership andEAA EXPERIMENTER
magazine is available for $28 peryear (SPORT
AVIATIONmagazinenotincluded).
FOREIGN
MEMBERSHIPS
Please submityourremittance with acheck or
draft drawn on a United States bankpayable in
United States dol/ars.Add$13 postage for
SPORTAVIATIONmagazineand/or$6postage
foranyoftheothermagazines.
EAAAVIATIONCENTER
P.O. box3086
Oshkosh, WI54903-3086
WEB SITEhttp://www.eaa.org
E-MAIL Vintage@eaa.org
PHONE(414)426-4800
FAX(414)426-4873
OFFICEHOURS:
8:15-5:00mon.-fri.
1-800-843-3612
MEMBERSHIPDUESTOEAAAND
ITSDIVISIONSARENOTTAX
DEDUCTIBLEASCHARITABLE
CONTRIBUTIONS.
Something to buy, sell or trade? An inexpensive ad the Vintage Trader may
be just the answer to obtaining that elusive part. .40; per word, $6.00 minimum
charge. Send your ad and payment to: Vintage Trader, fAA Aviation Center, P.O.
Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, or fax your ad and your credit card number to
414/426-4828. Ads must be received by the 20th of the month for insertion in the
issue the second month following (e.g., October 20th for the December issue.)
AIRCRAFT
1941 Culver Cadet Project - Fuselage rebuilt,
wings recovered, Franklin 90, new propeller.
$15,0000BO. 860/ 974-3399. (1224)
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Pres.), 7093DryCreekRoad, Belgrade,Montana
59714, 406/388-6069, FAX 406/388-0170.
RepairstationNo.QK5R148N. (0387)
FREE CATALOG - Aviation booksand videos.
How to, building and restoration tips, historic,
flying and entertainment titles. Call for a free
catalog. EAA,1-800-843-3612.
RagwingReplicas- Ultralightlegal Aircamper,
Heath, Pitts, Duster, Triplane. Plans $52.
Brochure $3. P. O. Box 39, Townville, SC
29689. (0400)
ALifein theClouds- Quotefrom Gene Chase,
"What a great book!" Lively memoirs about real
life flying experiences from first airplane ride to
airline Captain. By John A. Anderson. 388
pages hard bound cover, $19.95 + $2.00 ship-
ping. ILresidentsadd$1.45forsalestax. Order
from Jeanne Anderson , P. O. Box 1811 .,
Woodstock,IL60098. (1420)
Midwest Randolph Distributor - All Randolph
products and services, dopes, epoxies, paints.
Call or write for product information and color
chart . Brown Aero,B716 CTP, Unity,WI 54488,
715/ 223-4444. (1194)
A ragaircraftis
unlessitlooks
grea
t
***likeanoldrag!
LetUSmakeitaclassicrag.
(WecurrentlyhaveaStinson108-1underrebuild..)
Call330-669-2211
M=
Wayne County Airport
6020 N. Honeytown Rd.
Smithville, OH 44677
Restoration
FREE WORLDWIDE BOOKSEARCH for out of
print books. ALSO, over 1,000 aeronautic titles
available. Leatherstocking Bookscout, 738
Hillside Ave. , Lake Wales, FL 33853, 800/ 230-
8071. (1272)
For all pre-WW II aircraft - Hand woven or
wrapped-and-soldered control and rigging cable
ends, $20 per end. Endless loop trim cable,
$150. 300 Lycoming cowl , nice, $1 ,000.
540/822-5125. (1550)
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All aviation insurance
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Call AVEMCO about Direct Approach
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Ri verside, California92519
Flyhighwitha
qualityClassicinterior
Completeinteriorassembliesfordo-it-yourselfinstallation.
Customqualityateconomicalprices.
Cushionupholsterysets
Wallpanelsets
Headl iners
Carpetsets
Baggagecompartmentsets
Firewallcovers
Seatslings
Recoverenvelopesanddopes
Freecatalogofcompleteproductline.
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sampl e colors and
stylesofmaterials:$3.00.
INC.
259LowerMorrisvilleRd., Dept .VA
Fallsington,PA19054 (215)295-4115
Own the Airplane
of Your Dreams
withEAA'sAircraftFinanceProgram.
EAA'sAircraftFinanceProgramis
designedto makeiteasierandmore
affordableto ownan airplane. Theplan
willfinance notonlyhomebuiits,antiques
andultralights- butmostotherairplanes
aswell. Skyhawks,Bonanzas,Aztecs,
Citations- withnoaircraftagelimit.
TheEAAAircraftFinanceProgram
offerslowdownpayments,loanmini-
mumsof$10,000andattractiverateswith
termsupto 15 years.
Wewelcomepartnerships,flight
schoolsandflyingclubs. Savemoneyby
refinancingyourcurrentairplane.
EAAmembership is includedwithevery
loanthat 'sapproved. We' ll alsoautomati-
callyrenewandpay for yourannual EAA
duesforthe lengthofthe loan - on loans
over$20,000.
FormoreinformationontheEAA
AircraftFinanceProgramorto obtaina
loanapplicationcall :
1800999451 5
or fax 9416461671.
EAA Aircraft Finance Program
The EAA Aircraft Finance Program is administered by NAFCO, P.D. Box 6145, Lakeland, FL. 33807.
32JANUARY1997
"Fly-In
Calendar
The followinglistof comingeventsis fur-
nishedtoourreadersas a matterof
informationonlyanddoesnotconstitute
approval,sponsorship, involvement, control
ordirectionof anyevent(fly-in,seminars,
flymarket, etc.)listed. Pleasesendthe
informationtofAA, Att:GoldaCox, P.O.
Box3086, Oshkosh, WI54903-3086.
Informationshouldbereceivedfourmonths
priortotheeventdate.
FEBRUARY 28 - March 2 - 39th Annual
CactusFly-In sponsored byArizonaAntique
AircraftAssociation at Casa Grande, AZ.
ContactJohn Engle602/830-9670.
APRIL 6-12 - LAKELAND, FL - 23rdAnnual
Sun ' n Fun EAA Fly- In and Convention.
813/644-2431.
MAY 24 - DECATUR, AL - (KDCU) EAA
Chapter9479th Annual Fly-In. Food, fun,
aircraftj udging. Formoreinformat ioncon-
tactDickTodd, 205/977-4060or205/967-
4540(work).
MAY 4 - DAYTON, OH - 34th Annual EAA
Chapter 48 Fl y- In Breakfast at Moraine Air
Park. Lotsof Antiqueson the field. Contact
Jennie Dykeat573/878-9832.
JUNE 6- 7 - BARTlESVillE, OK - Frank
Phillips Fie l d. 17th Annua l Nationa l
BiplaneConvention andExposition.For info
call Charlie Harris, Chairman, 978/622-
8400, Virgil Gaede, Expo Director,
978/336-3976.
JUNE 15 - ANDERSON, IN - Anderson
Municipa l Airport . EAA Chapter 226
Father's Day Fl y- In breakfast, 7 a.m. - 17
a.m. For infocallLarryRice,377/649-8690.
JUNE 26-29 - MT. VERNON, OH - 38th
Annual National Waco Reunion Fly-In.
513/868-0084.
JULY 30-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH, WI - 45th
Annual fAA Fl y- In and Sport Aviation
Convention. NOTfDAYCHANGf- Now
Wednesday through Tuesday. Wittman
Regional Airport. Contact John Burton,
fAA P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-
3086, 414/426-4800.
SEPTEMBER 19-20 - BARTlESVILLE, OK -
Frank Phi ll ips Field. 40th Annual Tulsa
Regional Fly-In. For info callCharlie Harris,
978/622-8400.
EAA/SPORTAIR WORKSHOPS
Co-sponsored by EAA and Alexander
SportAir, these Workshops offer week-
endprograms with a widerangeofbasic
and advanced aircraft fabrication and
restorationskills.
February 7-2
Griffin, GA
February8-9
Phoenix,AZ
Please contactSportAirforlocation information
andregistration. Call1-BOO/967-5746, Fax
770/467-9413.
IFWEDON'T
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GEBulbs Randolph Whelen
AskForLynnorRick CALl.: 1.800.826.9252
Continental
Lvcoming
WE'LL FIND IT
Superior Air Parts
Champion Alcor GoodyearTires SafetyWire
Rapco Brackett Loctite Slick(Unison)
GilBatteries Cleveland McCrearyTires Tempo
3-M Products Datcon MichelinTires Thermoid
Airborne DowCorning PrecisionCarburetorParts Universal