va vol 43 no 2 mar apr2015

MARCH/APRIL 2015

Q.E.D.

•Stearman Golden Jubilee

•Mohawk 1929 WACO

•Affordable Antique Airplanes

The new Ford Expedition delivers outstanding performance and efficiency with an ideal combination of capability, technology and design – taking its place on the road in a most compelling way.

Expedition offers convenience features from a system that makes accessing and starting your vehicle virtually effortless to advanced SYNC® connectivity that can put you in touch with life on the road with simple voice commands. New also are the unique ride quality features of the sophisticated Continuously Controlled Damping Suspension System, now available for the first time in a Ford model, as well as the experience of steering feel and control that the Electric Power-Assist Steering (EPAS) System provides. And driving a new Ford Expedition is not only easy, but enjoyable as well with the 390-watt Audio System from Sony®.

When it comes to delivering the capability you need, Expedition is engineered to exceed your expectations. It can accommodate up to eight passengers in comfort, haul lots of cargo when called upon to do so and do things that many other passenger vehicles can’t, like towing a boat or trailer weighing up to 9,200 pounds, when properly equipped.

This is, by far, the most powerful and fuel efficient Expedition ever, thanks to its new state-of-the-art 3.5L EcoBoost®, twin-turbocharged, direct-injection engine, delivering 365 hp and 420 lb.-ft. of torque.

The new 2015 Expedition – engineered to deliver more of what you expect in a full-size SUV.

The Privilege of PartnershipEAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor Company vehicles through Ford’s Partner Recognition Program. To learn more on this exclusive opportunity for EAA members to save on a new Ford vehicle, please visit www.eaa.org/ford.

2015-Mar_Expedit_EAA_Divis_Ad.indd 1 1/19/15 1:01 PM

EAA Publisher / Chairman of the Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack J. Pelton

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Busha. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]

VAA Executive Administrator . . Erin Brueggen920-426-6110 . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]

Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . Livy Trabbold

ADVERTISING:Vice President of Business DevelopmentDave Chaimson . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]

Advertising ManagerSue Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]

Business Relationship ManagerLarry Phillip . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]

VAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903Website: www.vintageaircraft.orgEmail: [email protected]

www.vintageaircraft.org 1

Oh, how I long for some warm mild breezes blowing through the hangar door. I know you hear me say this every year at this time, but hopefully we’re getting closer to some milder temperatures here in the Midwest soon. Tomorrow would be a good time to start this! It won’t be long now before our dedicated work weekend volun-teers begin their monthly pilgrimage to Oshkosh to perform a myriad of maintenance and convention site improvements we have planned for this year. We currently are planning a complete revamp of the south-west corner of Vern Avenue and Wittman Road. The old Membership and Volunteer booths will be replaced with newly constructed facilities with a covered deck on each structure. We experienced some pretty serious direct line winds this past November that resulted in some se-rious damage of the VAA marquee sign on that corner. As a result, we decided to reconstruct the entire entryway to the Red Barn and the Vintage Hangar. I think you will like what the volunteer maintenance crew has planned for this area. We are also planning on some extensive upgrades to the Tall Pines Café facilities this spring that are certain to enhance your dining experience there. Come check us out! Our work parties are scheduled for April 24-26, May 29-31, and June 26-28. E-mail the chairman of Vintage Maintenance, Michael Blombach, at [email protected] if you decide to come out and assist!

Holy cow, I hope you all had the chance to look over the January/Feb-ruary issue of the Vintage Airplane magazine. I am convinced that this was so far the best issue of our publication yet to hit the memberships’ mailbox. The reaction from our members continues to be very positive and quite complimentary. Our editor, Jim Busha, and his “A-Team” from the VAA and EAA publications department deserve extensive accolades for all of their efforts in putting that issue together. They continue to set the bar higher for each issue of the magazine they produce. Many thanks to our publications crew! You folks rock! Again, as always your thoughts and comments regarding the magazine as well as the business of the VAA is very much welcome and appreciated! Please always feel free to drop us a line at [email protected] and let us know what you have on your mind. Remember, if you desire to communicate directly with our editor, simply address your e-mail to Jim Busha at the above address, or directly to [email protected].

We would really like to continue to hear your thoughts, positive or

Straight & Level Vintage AirplaneSTAFF

A year of upgrades to the VAAconvention site

GEOFF ROBISONVAA PRESIDENT, EAA 268346, VAA 12606

continued on page 63

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATIONCurrent EAA members may join the Vintage

Aircraft Association and receive VINTAGE AIR-PLANE magazine for an additional $45/year.

EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine and one year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association are available for $55 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $7 for International Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPSPlease submit your remittance with a

check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars. Add required Foreign Postage amount for each membership.

Membership ServicePO Box 3086

Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM—6:00 PM CST

Join/Renew 800-564-6322 [email protected]

EAA AirVenture Oshkoshwww.eaa.org/airventure

888-322-4636

VISITwww.vintageaircraft.orgfor the latest in information and news

and for the electronic newsletter:

Vintage AirMail

2 MARCH/APRIL 2015

C O N T E N T SVol. 43, No. 2 2015

For missing or replacement magazines, or any other membership related ques-tions, please call EAA Member Services at 800-JOIN-EAA (564-6322).

ANY COMMENTS?Send your thoughts to theVintage Editor at: [email protected]

18Stearman Golden Jubilee50 years of Stearman ownershipHarry G. Balance Jr.

22The Illusive Affordable Antique AirplaneSo you want to buy an airplane . . .Budd Davisson

MARCH/APRIL 2015

30The Moss Q.E.D. IIRe-creating an icon requires an icon to accomplish the missionBudd Davisson

42Orphan WacoThe “Mohawk Airways” 1929 WacoSparky Barnes Sargent

BONNIE KRATZ


C O V E R SFRONT COVER: The Jim Moss QED graces the Wash-

ington sky’s. Photo credit Lyle Jansma.

BACK COVER: Jim Clark and his 1929 Waco grace

the back cover. Photo by Tyson Rininger

MARCH/APRIL 2015

30The Moss Q.E.D. IIRe-creating an icon requires an icon to accomplish the missionBudd Davisson

42Orphan WacoThe “Mohawk Airways” 1929 WacoSparky Barnes Sargent

COLUMNS1 Straight and Level A year of upgrades to the VAA convention site Geoff Robison

6 VAA News

9 Ask the AME Eye Surgery John Patterson, M.D., AME

10 How to? Make bonded test sample Robert G. Lock

12 Good Old Days

14 Art of Flying The boy and the old plane Sarah Wilson

58 The Vintage Mechanic Evolution of aircraft instruments, Part 1 Robert G. Lock

62 VAA New Members

64 Vintage Trader

50A Little Time with Little FordRight seat in the EAA’s Ford Tri-MotorMarla Boone

52Around the PylonsBill Falck and RivetsDon Berliner

4 MARCH/APRIL 2015

VAA members like you are passionate about your affiliation with vintage aviation, and it shows. You’re the most loyal of all EAA members, renew-ing your VAA membership each and every year at a rate higher than any other group within the EAA family. We appreciate your dedication! Each year we give you another opportunity to strengthen your bond with the VAA by inviting you to become a Friend of the Red Barn.

This special opportunity helps VAA put to-gether all the components that make the Vintage area of EAA AirVenture a unique and exciting part of the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration. This special fund was established to cover a significant portion of the VAA’s expenses related to serving VAA members during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, so that no dues money is used to support the con-vention activities.

This is a great opportunity for Vintage members to join together as key financial supporters of the Vintage division. It’s a rewarding experience for

each of us as individuals to be a part of supporting the finest gathering of Antique, Classic, and Con-temporary airplanes in the world.

At whatever level is comfortable for you, won’t you please join those of us who recognize the tre-mendously valuable key role the Vintage Aircraft Association has played in preserving the irreplace-able grassroots and general aviation airplanes of the last 100 years? Your participation in EAA’s Vin-tage Aircraft Association Friends of the Red Barn will help ensure the very finest in EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Vintage programs.

To participate in this year’s campaign, fill out the donation form by visiting our website at www.VintageAircraft.org/programs/redbarn.html to make an online contribution. And to each and ev-ery one of you who has already contributed, or is about to, a heartfelt “thank you” from the of-ficers, directors, staff, and volunteers of the Vin-tage Aircraft Association!

Friends of the Red Barn!Your support is crucial to the success of

VAA’s AirVenture activities and programs

Join


CONTRIBUTIONLEVELS ↓

DonorAppreciationCertificate

SpecialFORBBadge

Access toAir-ConditionedVolunteerCenter

A “6-pack”of ColdBottledWater!

Two Passesto VAAVolunteerParty

Breakfast at Tall PinesCafé

Tri-Motor OR HelicopterRideCertificate

Two Ticketsto VAA Picnic

Close AutoParking

SpecialAir ShowSeating

EAA PHPCenter Access

DIAMOND PLUS $1,500 & higher

X X X X 2 people, full week

2 tickets X Full week 2 people,full week

2 people, full week

DIAMOND $1,000 - $1,499


2 tickets X Full week 2 people,1 day

PLATINUM$750 - $999


1 ticket X 2 days

GOLD$500 - $749

X X X X 1 person,full week

1 ticket

SILVER $250 - $499

X X X X

BRONZE PLUS$150 - $249

X X X X

BRONZE$100 - $149

X X X

LOYALSUPPORTER$99 and under

X

#VAA Friends of the Red Barn

Name________________________________________________ ____________ EAA #___________ VAA #___________Address____________________________________________________________________________________________City/State/Zip_______________________________________________________________________________________Phone___________________________________________________E-Mail_____________________________________Please choose your level of participation:

n Payment Enclosed (Make checks payable to Vintage Aircraft Assoc.)

n Please charge my credit card for the amount of: ____________

Credit Card Number _____________________________ Expiration Date _________

Signature_________________________________________

Badges for Bronze Level and Above:

n Yes, prepare a name badge to read: n No badge wanted for this year.

_________________________________________________________________ First Last (Please print just as you wish your badge to read.)

Certificates:

n Yes, I want a Certificate n No, I do not want a Certificate for this year.

The Vintage Aircraft Association is a non-profit educational organization under IRS 501c3 rules. Under Federal Law, the deduction from Federal Income tax for charitable contributions is limited to the amount by which any money (and the value of any property other than money) contributed exceeds the value of the goods or services provided in exchange for the contribution. An appropriate receipt acknowledging your gift will be sent to you for IRS gift reporting reasons.

Mail your contribution to:VAA FORB

PO Box 3086OSHKOSH, WI 54903-3086

or contribute online atwww.vintageaircraft.org/programs/redbarn.html

____ Diamond Plus $1,500.00 or above ____ Diamond Level Gift - $1,000.00 - $1,499.00 ____ Platinum Level Gift - $750.00 - $999.00 ____ Gold Level Gift - $500.00 - $749.00

____ Silver Level Gift - $250.00 - $499.00 ____ Bronze Plus Gift - $150.00 - $249.00 ____ Bronze Level Gift - $100.00 - $149.00 ____ Loyal Supporter Gift - ($99.00 and under)

All donors at all levels will have their name listed in Vintage Airplane magazine, on VintageAircraft.org, and at the VAA Red Barn during AirVenture.

6 MARCH/APRIL 2015

ANNOUNCING NEW VINTAGE AWARDSFOR AIRVENTURE 2015

Customized Airplane Awards: The Contemporary category judging group of VAA has chosen to recog-nize aircraft which have been updated to be used as personal transportation aircraft while retaining the spirit of the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association. These aircraft can be modified with newer engines, propel-lers, avionics and other modern features to improve speed, reliability and safety, and are to have been manufactured January 1, 1956, through December 31, 1970. The awards are a Gold, Silver and Bronze Lindy. All other judging criteria will remain the same as other categories.

GREETINGS STINSON LOVERSWe have detailed several activities that the Stin-

son Club will be involved in for the 2015 “AirVenture” event taking place on July 20-26. This will mark the 75th anniversary of the Stinson and the 40th anni-versary of the International Stinson Club.

Mass Fly-In—The Club will host, as it did in 2010, the mass fly-in from Watertown Airport. Stinsons participating in the mass fly-in will be privileged to have parking spaces up in the type club area. This gives us an opportunity to display our aircraft to-

gether in an area near the various activities of the Vintage Aircraft Association.

Participation in the Daily Airshow—The club may be asked by EAA/AirVenture to offer several aircraft to fly during the airshow and/or showcase. It is noted that several aircraft could possibly fly a closed circuit to show the beauty and grace that Stinsons offer to their care takers. It will be great to have someone at the announcers stand to comment on this as the fly-bys take place.

Participation in the Daily Talk at the Red Barn—We may have a freshly restored/show aircraft to be displayed in from of the Vintage Red Barn. Their owners will be asked to participate in a talk about the heritage of the Stinson type and flying qualities. I’m sure questions will be asked about restoration and maintenance.

Stinson Maintenance ForumAs usual we hope to have a Stinson-specific main-

tenance forum to discuss any new developments as well as the normal ongoing maintenance issues with our vintage aircraft.

Stinson DinnerWednesday evening we will again board busses for

the trip to Wendt’s for a great fried perch dinner and the opportunity to socialize with our fellow “Stin-soneers.” We have been doing this for a few years now and it’s always a good time. Hopefully we’ll have a few more people from farther west join the normal crowd to add to the mass!

The Stinson Club, along with the Ercoupe Club, will be the center of the attention at VAA during AirVen-ture, so be at EAA Oshkosh 2015 to support our group.

75th ANNIVERSARYOF THE NATIONAL ERCOUPE CONVENTION

•In honor of Fred and Dorothy Weick•Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin (KSBM) •July 15-18, 2015

VAA News

What’s happening for Vintage enthusiasts


2015 is the 75th anniversary of the Ercoupe. You are cordially invited to attend the 2015 National Er-coupe Convention, which will be held July 15-18 at the Sheboygan County Memorial Airport, Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin (KSBM).

This will be a very special once-in-a-lifetime convention! All Ercoupes, Aircoupes, Alons, and Mooney M10s are invited. Many activities are planned, including (in no special order):

•A flight (or bus ride) to the Wisconsin Mari-time Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. We will tour the museum and eat lunch there before we re-turn to Sheboygan.

•Young Eagles flights at the Sheboygan airport.•A tour of the Kohler Design Center.•A tour of the Acuity Insurance Company’s tallest

flagpole in North America.•A rubber chicken drop and spot-landing contest.•An open house featuring our planes at the airport

for the nonflying public.•A Maintenance Forum in the Aviation Heritage

Center.•A walking tour of the historic town of Sheboygan

Falls.•A Flying Movie Night, featuring High Road to

China and an excerpt from Road to Rio.•A viewing of a Wisconsin Public Television DVD

called Wisconsin from the Air on another evening fol-lowing dinner.

•A catered picnic lunch at Deland Park on the She-boygan waterfront.

•The Saturday evening banquet in the Sheboy-gan Aviation Heritage Center with a Best Ercoupe Award, Best Forney Award, Best Alon Award, Best Mooney M10 Award, Most Unique Ercoupe Award, People’s Choice Award, Longest Distance Flown by ’Coupe Award, Longest Distance Flown Commercially Award, Longest Distance Driven Award, Oldest Pilot-In-Command Award, and Youngest Pilot-In-Com-mand Award. Our guest speaker at the banquet will be Jessica Cox, who, even though she was born with no arms, flies an Ercoupe, plus she is able to do ev-erything else you and I can do. She is a truly amazing person. You can get more information about her at www.RightFooted.com.

Univair will supply a free T-shirt with the 75th an-niversary design shown at right to each of those who register, indicate their shirt size, and attend the con-vention. All pilots who fly in to the convention will receive a special convention plaque. Additionally, the first 100 pilots-in-command who attend will receive a free 75th anniversary hat and coffee mug.

Various items bearing the 2015 convention logo (not the 75th anniversary logo) will be sold at the convention, such as T-shirts, patches, and decals.

Camping will be available on the Sheboygan air-field. Hard-surface parking for motor homes will also be provided, but without hookups.

We would like to have at least 75 Ercoupes, Air-coupes, Alons, and Mooney M10s attend our con-vention, in honor of the 75th anniversary. (One hundred would be better.)

Sunday morning, July 19, all who wish to fly to EAA’s AirVenture Oshkosh (only a short distance away) will gather for a detailed briefing in the Avia-tion Heritage Center. We will fly in trail, with 500-1,000-foot spacing between planes. EAA will provide us a special parking area so we can really show off our airplanes, and will do other special things for us. 2015 will be the year of the Ercoupe at Oshkosh!

Many of us will camp with our ’Coupes at AirVen-ture. If you would like to do that, but don’t want to carry your camping things in your airplane, you can send them to yourself via UPS and pick them up at the UPS facility there.

Members and nonmembers of the Ercoupe Own-ers Club are invited to attend. If you can’t fly to the convention, please drive!

COORDINATED BY:Syd Cohen705 Kent StreetWausau, WI 54403Phone: 715-842-7814Cell: 715-573-7063Email: [email protected]

Arden KruegerH8734 County Road QWausau, WI 54403Phone: 715-842-9055Cell: 715-574-0319Email: [email protected]

8 MARCH/APRIL 2015

To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little reminiscing on your part.•Think of a person; think of his or her contributions to vintage aviation.•Write those contributions in the various categories of the nomination form.•Write a simple letter highlighting these attributes and contributions. Make copies of newspaper or magazine articles that

may substantiate your view.•If at all possible, have another individual (or more) complete a form or write a letter about this person, confirming why the

person is a good candidate for induction. We would like to take this opportunity to mention that if you have nominated someone for the VAA Hall of Fame; nominations for the honor are kept on file for 3 years, after which the nomination must be resubmitted.

Mail nominating materials to: VAA Hall of Fame, c/o Charles W. Harris, Transportation Leasing Corp. PO Box 470350 Tulsa, OK 74147 E-mail: [email protected], your “contemporary” may be a candidate; nominate someone today!

Find the nomination form at www.VintageAircraft.org, or call the VAA office for a copy (920-426-6110), or on your own sheet of paper, simply include the following information:

•Date submitted.•Name of person nominated.•Address and phone number of nominee.•E-mail address of nominee.•Date of birth of nominee. If deceased, date of death.•Name and relationship of nominee’s closest living relative.•Address and phone of nominee’s closest living relative.•VAA and EAA number, if known. (Nominee must have been or is a VAA member.)•Time span (dates) of the nominee’s contributions to vintage aviation.

(Must be between 1950 to present day.)•Area(s) of contributions to aviation.•Describe the event(s) or nature of activities the nominee has undertaken in aviation to

be worthy of induction into the VAA Hall of Fame.•Describe achievements the nominee has made in other related fields in aviation.•Has the nominee already been honored for his or her involvement in aviation and/or the

contribution you are stating in this petition? If yes, please explain the nature of the honor and/or award the nominee has received.

•Any additional supporting information.•Submitter’s address and phone number, plus e-mail address.•Include any supporting material with your petition.

Nominate your favorite vintage aviator for the EAA Vin-tage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame. A great honor could be bestowed upon that man or woman working next to you on your airplane, sitting next to you in the chapter meeting, or walking next to you at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Think about the people in your circle of aviation friends: the mechanic, historian, photographer, or pilot who has shared innumerable tips with you and with many others. They could be the next VAA Hall of Fame inductee—but only if they are nominated.

The person you nominate can be a citizen of any coun-try and may be living or deceased; his or her involvement in vintage aviation must have occurred between 1950 and

the present day. His or her contribution can be in the areas of flying, design, mechanical or aerodynamic developments, administration, writing, some other vital and relevant field, or any combination of fields that support aviation. The per-son you nominate must be or have been a member of the Vintage Aircraft Association or the Antique/Classic Divi-sion of EAA, and preference is given to those whose ac-tions have contributed to the VAA in some way, perhaps as a volunteer, a restorer who shares his expertise with others, a writer, a photographer, or a pilot sharing sto-ries, preserving aviation history, and encouraging new pilots and enthusiasts.

CALL FOR VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Nominations

T.E. asks, “I am going to have Lasik surgery to cor-rect my nearsightedness. Will there be a problem with my next medical? What if I want to consider an ‘implantable contact’ or intraocular lens implant?”

The short answer is that Lasik is approved by the FAA, and most eye procedures approved by the FDA to correct defective vision are allowed. The pilot must meet vision standards, and vision must be stable without side effects. Side effects may include glare or halo, which impairs night vision.

First a little history about the procedure. Radial keratotomy (RK) was developed in 1974 in which ra-dial incisions were made from the pupil to the lateral aspect of the cornea with a diamond knife in order to reshape the cornea and therefore correct visual acuity. Healing is slow and unpredictable, and risk of infection can occur even years after the surgery. The biggest problem is with glare and scatter of light called flares especially at night. Instability of the cor-nea can occur especially at high altitudes.

In 1995 the FDA approved a procedure called pho-torefractive keratectomy or PRK. A laser is used to reshape the curvature of the cornea by vaporizing corneal tissue to a prescribed depth. Again side ef-fects can be pain post-op, prolonged healing, and in-creased risk of infection. Glare or halo phenomenon can occur at night but much less than with RK.

To further address these side effects, Lasik (laser in situ keratomileusis) was developed. During this procedure a flap of corneal tissue is developed using a microkeratome and folded back on itself by leaving a small hinge of tissue uncut. The excimer laser is then used to reshape the underlying layer of cornea. Upon completion the flap is then replaced over the treated cornea and acts as a bandage. This avoids the major-ity of pain post-procedure and the sandpaper feeling with PRK. Complications are rare, but vision can be affected if the corneal flap becomes dislodged or the flap developed has a hole or defect in it. Therefore rubbing the eyes in the immediate post-op period is a

definite no-no. Contact sports should be avoided for up to two weeks, and some ophthalmologists recom-mend wearing safety eyewear during sports. There has been reported corneal flap displacement from trauma 38 months after the procedure. Lasik is con-stantly being modified and improved, hence the de-velopment of “bladeless Lasik,” which creates the flap with a laser and is touted to be more precise, with the corneal flap adhering better post-op.

There are patients who are not candidates for Lasik. Most patients over the age of 50 who have correction of their nearsightedness will then have to wear reading glasses for resulting farsightedness. Also for patients with a high degree of nearsighted-ness, correction with Lasik would make the cornea too thin. Some patients already have a cornea that is too thin, and those persons with chronic dry eye may not be candidates. In some of these cases intraocu-lar lens implants (phakic IOL) may be considered as an alternative to Lasik and PRK. These lenses are im-planted between the cornea and the iris (colored por-tion of the eye) without removing the natural lens. These then function like a contact lens, but are inside the eye. FAA approval is similar to cataract surgery in which the cloudy lens is removed and an intraocular lens is implanted.

So the AME may issue the medical certificate for all classes if visual acuity is stable and within standard, and there is an absence of significant side effects. A report from the eye specialist or FAA Form 8500-7 (Report of Eye Evaluation) should be submitted with the next medical.

Just to review, vision standards are 20/20 in each eye separately with or without correction for distant vi-sion in Classes I and II. For Class III it is 20/40 or better for distant vision with or without correction. For near vision it is 20/40 in each eye separately with or without correction in all classes. First and second class medicals also require an intermediate vision standard of 20/40 or better with or without correction, with no require-ment needed for third-class airmen.


Ask the AME

Eye surgery

JOHN PATTERSON, M.D., AME

Whenever one bonds any substrate in an aircraft application it is a very good idea to make a test sam-ple to be sure of an airworthy joint. There are times when I mix a small batch of adhesive and bond two pieces of spruce, plywood, or aluminum together just to test my expertise before actually completing the job. The first discussion will be wood structures—both soft and hard wood.

To make a test sample of spruce, cut two or more sections that measure about 2-by-6 inches and are 3/4-inch thick. Prepare the bonding surfaces, mix the adhe-sive, and assemble the two pieces. For synthetic resin adhesive (Resorcinol) AC 43.13-1B recommends a pressing force of 150 psi; in other words use a good bit of pressure. The purpose of pressure is to force the ad-hesive into the wood grain, thus assuring an airworthy

bond. Above is a sketch of how a good bond line would

appear if you could dissect it. The Army Air Forces called this the “dowel pin action.” Since the adhesive penetrates into the wood grain, sanding of spar splices is avoided because sand particles will enter grain struc-ture causing a possible poor joint. A spar splice should always be planed smooth and to an exact fit.

Allow the bond to cure under correct temperature and time, then remove clamps and put into a vise, place a parallel or C-clamp on to the opposite end from the vise and twist, push and pull until it breaks. Then inspect the bond line for evidence of wood fibers in the adhesive. The wood should break before the bond does.

Bonding with epoxy adhesive is different than bonding with synthetic resin glue. Synthetic res-ins gain strength from a thin bond line, while epoxy adhesive doesn’t like real thin bond lines. And the clamping pressure is different—clamping pressure of 150 psi will drive all the adhesive out of the joint, and a weak part will be the result. I don’t use epoxy ad-hesive to bond spar splices because of this clamping problem. On rib repairs I use spring clamps because they provide a positive pressure on the joint until it cures. If you use epoxy adhesive in a spar splice and clamp it with parallel or C-clamps, the pressure will drive some of the adhesive out of the joint, and when you come back later the clamps will be loose. I will continue to make spar splices using synthetic resin glue, but the number of spar splices in my future are very few if none at all.

Bonding of hardwood is quite different. When I speak of hardwood I am referring to plywood—ei-ther mahogany or birch, which are common types

How to?

Make bonded test sample

ROBERT G. LOCK

10 MARCH/APRIL 2015


used in aircraft structure.First, when possible, plywood should be bonded

on the “B” side (the side that is the roughest) to promote good adhesion. When using birch plywood it is a good idea to provide some sand scratches in the areas to be bonded—just rough up the surface with some 180 or 240 grit sandpa-per without removing surface material. You can

make the same type of test sample as shown above by gluing plywood to a spruce block of the same dimensions. After it cures, try to peel the plywood from the spruce block. Once again the bond line should not fail. Or you can bond two pieces of aircraft plywood strips measuring 2-by-4 inches, overlapping at least 2 inches. Allow to cure, then try to break the sample.

Upon breaking each of the wood samples, closely inspect the bond line. If there are wood fi-bers in the bond line, it’s good. If the sample failed down the bond line, then it’s not good. You can create various types of test samples. For instance, if you are gluing gussets to spruce cap strips, begin by making a couple test samples. Apply glue just as you would when building a rib, using nails to apply pressure. Allow the sample to cure, and then pull it apart to check the bond line. This will most always assure one that a good airworthy bond has been produced. When making repairs or fabricating a new structure, mix enough adhesive to do the job plus some extra to make test samples. Clamp and cure with the structure, then break to destruction to check for airworthiness.

123 E. 4th Street • Newton, KS 67114316-283-8000 • BandC.info/VA

$598SAVE $100

BC400 System • STC/PMA • PA18 & PA19

Purchase our BC400 Alternator system now thru the end of February and save! Includes external Controller & mounting hardware (electrical package optional). Quantities are limited.

Super Reliabilityfor Your SuperCub

For Certifi ed Aircraft, Stewart Systems is FAA approved for use with any certifi ed fabric.

Superfl ite, Ceconite or Polyfi ber

Stewart Aircraft Finishing Systems5500 Sullivan St., Cashmere, WA 988151-888-356-7659 • (1-888-EKO-POLY)

www.stewartsystems.aero

Aircraft Finishing Products STC’d for Certified Aircraft

Safe for You, Safe for the World, Safe for Your Airplane

Aircraft Finishing Products STC’d for Certified Aircraft Aircraft Finishing Products STC’d for Certified Aircraft

EPA CompliantNon-Hazardous Non-Flammable

Good Old Days

Take a quick look through history by enjoying images pulled from publications past.

From pages of what was . . .

12 MARCH/APRIL 2015

SCRAPBOOK Classified Ads

Western Flying, January 1941SCRAPBOOK

What would you have found . . .Classified Ads

14 MARCH/APRIL 2015

The boy and the old plane both wished to fly, but the plane no longer believed in wishes. It had been so long since it had flown—abandoned, broken, and alone—that the plane had forgotten how to believe. It’s hard to believe when you’re just parts in a shed. Separated so long from the sky, it’s easy to forget you can fly.

The boy had spent his whole life watching airplanes

fly past him. Wishing on each one, that someday he would go with them. Wading waist-high in the wheat, watching a Cub fly away, the most unusual thing hap-pened. He heard the sound of a radial engine. How could that be? That’s not the sound a Cub makes. Just then the wind whipped a path across the wheat and waved at him. “Over here, follow me,” the wind beck-oned. He turned the corner of his curiosity, follow-ing the rumble-clicking, lope, lope, loping of the radial engine. Over the field, through the orchard, and past the old barn the sound led. It ended at the door of a shed. The boy turned the knob and peeked in. Stacked floor to ceiling, boxes and bags and parts and pieces sat motionless in the dark. Once inside, his imagina-tion opened as wide as his eyes when he saw a plane looking back at him.

The boy nudged his tongue to speak up and say what he was feeling inside, “Who do you belong too?”

“Planes don’t belong to anyone,” the plane replied. “Planes have caretakers.

“We live longer than people. People are the only ones who think they can own things.”

The boy shuffled through his mind, searching for the best thought he could find.

“If you would teach me how to fly, I would be the very best caretaker of you.”

“All children know how to fly,” the plane replied. “It’s only after they grow up that they forget that they do. I used to fly with a little boy like you, then a care-taker bought me. We went to work spraying his crops. One day he decided he didn’t need me anymore. He left me in the field, alone, on the side of the barn. I

The Art of Flying

The boy and the old plane

SARAH WILSON SARA

H W

ILSO

N

SARA

H W

ILSO

N


waited for 55 years for a caretaker to return—believ-ing each day I would fly. And each night when I did not, I broke apart. Piece by piece. Now I’m just parts in a shed. Separated so long from the sky I have for-gotten how to believe I can fly.”

The boy opened his heart as wide as it would go, and inside he found what he was longing for. “If you would trust me and be my plane, I would help you believe.”

“Why should I trust you?” the plane replied. “A

caretaker is free to fly anything, but I cannot fly with-out you.”

The boy stood on his toes, and a promise lifted up from his soul. “I promise I will fly with you.”

“Why should I believe you?” the plane replied.The boy extended his hand into the darkness of

the shed, and a wooden wing reached out to him. “Be-cause I am your Wish Twin,” the boy answered. “Ev-eryone has a Wish Twin. Someone, somewhere, has the same wish as you. If you give your wish to them, both your wishes will come true. Wishes need help from believing to come true. Until you believe you can fly again, I will believe enough for two. How can I help you?”

“Restore me,” the plane replied.The boy turned the answer over and over in his

head, searching for the right end to his next question: “How do you restore something?”

“Patience,” the plane replied. “Planes live forever, so time is different for us. Planes only count the min-utes they fly. Every minute you fly adds a minute to your life, so planes never die. Planes are built and wait to be restored, again and again.”

The boy stubbed his brain on the thought of

SARAH WILSON

SARAH WILSON

forever and saw his patience coming to an end. “How long will I have to be patient? When will you be done?”

“I will be done on the Eighth Day of the week,” the plane replied.

The boy put his hands on his hips, and foolish pride came out of his lips: “There are only seven days in a week. There is no Eighth Day. You’re pull-ing my leg.”

“I am not,” the plane replied. “It is the day people forgot. The Eighth Day is the day time stops.”

The boy tilted his head, and disbelief rolled out the other side. “When will the Eighth Day begin?”

“You never know when it’s about to begin, and you never know when it’s about to end,” the plane replied. “The Eighth Day can last longer than your lifetime, but feels like it flew by when it ends. Hidden in be-tween the moment of realization and the time of a lifetime, the Eighth Day begins with the first move-ment of the red hands.”

There on the left of the shed, hiding in the corner

of an old panel, was a very small clock with a set of very red hands. The boy thought it must be a special clock be-cause small things hold the biggest secrets after all. If he were going to hide magic in something, he would hide magic in something small.

The boy unlocked his imagination, and a question of hope floated off the top of his head: “Tell me about the clock.”

“An Eight-Day clock looks like any other clock used to keep time, but it has an extra set of red hands,” the plane replied. “You wind up an ordinary clock, and it counts time down to the end. After seven days an ordinary clock runs out of time. Then it waits to be wound back up, to start counting back down again. If planes measured their lives like people, watching the clock winding down every day, we wouldn’t want to live that way. The amount of time it takes to restore a plane can be very long. Once restoration starts there is no telling if it will be done. Res-torations need extra patience to get planes and their caretakers through to the end. That’s where the Eighth Day comes in. The Eighth Day is

where all the extra patience in the world is kept. Patience left over from all the minutes adults have forgotten to take. Adults are so busy measuring their lives by workweeks and weekends. Counting the time between their beginnings and ends. Adults have forgotten all the minutes they forgot to take time for. Minutes spent wondering . . .

What do clouds feel like on your skin?Does the wind know you’re coming and tell the wheat

to wave at you?If you spent your whole life in the sky, would you even-

tually turn blue? Minutes spent wondering about the most won-

drous things. Things that planes and children always take time to do.

The Eighth Day starts when you believe there is all the time in the world waiting for you. It is the day planes remember and people forgot. The Eighth Day is the day time stops and restorations begin.”

To be continued . . .16 MARCH/APRIL 2015

SARAH WILSON

18 MARCH/APRIL 2015

August 17, 2014, marked the anniversary of me having owned my Stearman, N1714M, for 50 years. Not a lot of people have owned a flying air-plane for that length of time, and probably the top of the pyramid of those who have, have not been Stearman owners and pilots.

It all started a long time ago. The ink on my private pilot certifi-cate was barely dry in the spring of 1961. A law student from the university I attended approached me and asked that I f ly him and

two other aspiring lawyers to the Kentucky Derby in Louisville. My instant reaction was to say, “Sure, no problem.” The more I thought about it, the more problems it pre-sented. However, when challenged, I have always showed a fierce amount of determination.

My father, who received his pi-lot certificate in 1928, steadfastly maintained that the most danger-ous time in a new pilot’s life was when he had f lown about 100 hours. I was there. Further, I knew, in my heart of hearts, that the man who had taught me to fly, one Wes Hillman, was not about to rent me

his Cessna 172 to fly three guys from Roanoke, Virginia, over the Blue Ridge and Allegheny chains of mountains to Louisville, Ken-tucky, regardless of what promised event—i.e., the Kentucky Derby—lay ahead. Wes was, among other things, a very conservative pilot. He inculcated in me a healthy re-spect for not flying single-engine airplanes at night nor in instru-ment conditions. He was also a vintage airplane enthusiast, who taught me to fly in a J-3 Cub and owned a Fleet Model 2 and a Waco RNF. If I can attribute any person who awakened the love and pas-

50 years of Stearman ownershipby Harry G. Balance Jr.

PHOTOS COURTESY AUTHOR

Stearman Golden Jubilee

sion for vintage aircraft in me, it would be Wes.

I was not going to risk being turned down by Wes, so I drove east across the mountains to Lynchburg, where I managed to convince a flight school operator that I was an experienced pilot and would like to rent his airplane, a Piper Tri-Pacer, for the flight to Louisville. I don’t think I fooled him on the “experienced pilot” is-sue, but he must have needed the money, as he agreed to my pro-posal. I had barely even seen a Tri-Pacer, yet after a fairly brief checkout, I was pronounced a qual-ified pilot of one, and could con-tinue my great plans for the long cross-country to Louisville and the grand adventure. Never once did I hide behind a glimmer of uncer-tainty that I would be able to sat-

isfactorily make the trip; after all, I was a private pilot, empowered by the FAA to conduct such flights.

For some reason, inexplicable to me now, I decided to position the airplane to Roanoke to begin the trip. Perhaps it was a “range” issue. I can’t recall. I had to “hide” the air-plane at another hangar across the field from Wes’ to avoid him finding out about it and proclaiming that it was a less than wonderful idea. The day of the trip arrived, and we all piled in a car belonging to one of the law students and went to Roanoke. We got off to a very late start, which made arrival in Louis-ville the same afternoon somewhat optimistic. However, hope springs eternal in the heart of man, or something to that effect. Four big guys and baggage all piled into the cramped cabin of a Tri-Pacer. With

all of the feigned nonchalance that I could muster, hoping to emulate a seasoned airline captain, although I was not sure—at that point in my life—what that was supposed to be, we departed for someplace west: hopefully, but not realisti-cally, Louisville, Kentucky. It was a relatively hot day, and the little airplane simply did not perform very well with four big guys in it. The mountains of West Virginia loomed ominous, and as we crossed them, I felt that some giant hand was going to reach out and grab the airplane, pulling it down into a forest of trees, never to be seen again. None of that happened of course, and the three law students were chatting about how pretty the mountains looked and the fact that they were going to the Kentucky Derby in a private airplane, while


Author with Stella, which he purchased on a first lieutenant’s salary.

ANTONIO GEMMA MORE

20 MARCH/APRIL 2015

I was inwardly stressed out about how far we could go into the rap-idly setting sun before I ran out of ideas. Suddenly I seized upon a friendly looking green and white airport beacon and what appeared to be a reasonably long runway. Without knowing quite what it was, I settled into an approach to Wise, Virginia. I made some sort of excuse about why I did not like to fly at night over the mountains, and the passengers thought it was relatively credible. I thought that then, and I do today.

Wise was a not very large town, almost to West Virginia. When I landed there were two teenaged couples at the airport, most prob-ably there to pursue amorous ad-

ventures, which were summarily interrupted by the arrival of the Tri-Pacer. Nonetheless, these teen-agers were extremely interested in the airplane, and they were char-acterized by southern hospitality. One young man, whose father hap-pened to be the president of a local bank, took all of us in for the night and provided us with supper, a nice bedroom in his house, and a sump-tuous breakfast the next morning. Our new friends and their parents deposited us at the airport the next morning in order to continue our trip to Louisville and the Derby.

It was one relatively long leg to Bowman Field in Louisville, but we arrived in the late morning. As soon as I had arranged for the air-

plane to be tied down for the next two days, I saw a Stearman on the ramp, being prepared for flight. I had never seen a Stearman “up close and personal” and was to-tally mesmerized. I quite simply thought that it was the most beau-tiful airplane I had ever seen. Still do, for that matter. Right there, on the spot, I knew that my life would be incomplete and unfulfilled un-less I owned a Stearman.

The Kentucky Derby was quite the experience, especially for a young college senior. The family of one of my “patrons” was sufficiently well connected that they had a cov-ered box right next to a similar one occupied by the governor of Ken-tucky. It was a weekend filled with

I had never seen a Stearman “up close and personal” and was totally mesmerized. I quite simply thought that it was the most beautiful air-plane I had ever seen.


excitement in many areas.We all returned to school in the

Tri-Pacer the following day, and the trip was pretty much a nonevent, as such trips are supposed to be. My life was, however, changed irre-vocably. I had to own a Stearman.

Fast-forward to college gradua-tion and my subsequent career as an Army officer. I became extremely focused on two things; I wanted to become a pilot for Delta Air Lines, and I wanted to own a Stearman. I felt pretty confident that I could accomplish both goals, and worked very hard to make that happen. Ob-viously, I could not become an air-line pilot until I had completed my time in the Army, but the Stearman goal was perhaps able to be accom-plished more quickly. I was a second lieutenant, making the lofty sum of $222.38 per month. I was real-istic enough to know that I would not be able to purchase an airplane on that salary. However, some 18 months into active service, I was promoted to first lieutenant and re-ceived a $150 per month pay raise. I felt pretty certain that I could swing an airplane payment on that much money, and began to shop for a Stearman in earnest.

I was literally obsessed with owning a Stearman. Consequently, I studied Trade-A-Plane with great gravity for those airplanes within my budget , which was pretty skimpy. The other proviso was that they had to be more or less east of the Mississippi. I found several potential candidates and went to look at them. Finally, I found Stella (my wife names cars and airplanes) in Greenville, South Carolina. She was on loan to the Civil Air Patrol, but seemingly on the books of the War Asset Administration Board. She was flying, but showed signs of neglect. I don’t think that she was a very good search airplane for the CAP, and not a lot of people had

feet sufficiently adroit to handle her on the ground; consequently, she was not f lown very much. I went around the pattern a couple of times with a man named W.G. Raines, and I was convinced that I had to have this airplane. For the lofty sum of $3,250, their asking price, I subsequently became the proud owner of a Stearman.

Apropos of not very much, I was and am the only civilian owner of N1714M. Over the years she has been quite the blessing for me. There were times when I felt as though I needed to sell the airplane to raise money for college tuition for my kids, and a plethora of other things, but reason and common sense pre-vailed, and I still have her. All of the kids were educated, and I never had to sell the airplane. There is noth-ing like a little Stearman therapy if all of the problems of the world ap-pear to be pressing in on me. She is

a joy to fly, and deceptively easy to fly, save for the moments after the landing from touchdown until one gets her back under control again. Sometimes, in the winter when it is too cold to fly, a friend of mine who does most of my mechanical work, Harold Spivey, and I are content to sit in the hangar and just look at her. After lo these many years, her beauty of line has not diminished. I have met some wonderful friends through Stearman ownership, and in my re-tirement from airline and corporate flying, the Stearman still provides me with adequate challenge and sat-isfaction to keep my flying interest satisfied. I have been extremely for-tunate to have owned this magnifi-cent airplane for 50 years. My lasting concern is finding an appropriate caretaker to succeed me in this en-deavor who is as passionate about the airplane as I am. I am not inter-viewing people yet.

New paint scheme circa 1965.

22 MARCH/APRIL 2015

The question at hand is, “How can you get into antique aircraft at an affordable level?” Unfortu-nately, as with most questions, this one leads to other questions. In this case, two: “How do you define ‘antique’?” and “What’s the defini-tion of ‘affordable’?”

Let’s get the word game out of the way first and then get into spe-cifics of aircraft types, money, and common sense.

The Definitions Versus Reality: Antique and Affordable

There are actually two defini-tions of “antique”: the official, EAA version, and an unintentional, per-sonal definition. According to the EAA, the definition of “Antique” is an aircraft built on or before August 31, 1945. “Classic” is an airplane produced between Sep-tember 1945 and 1955.

The definition of “affordable,” regardless of what the dictionary says, is relative to the person ask-ing the question; what is affordable to one person is laughably unaf-fordable to another. The size of a dollar is invariably measured by how many you have to begin with.

There is good news, however, hidden in the official definition of “Antique”: any airplane built before 1945 is designated an Antique, and that covers literally dozens and doz-ens of different types of airplanes from large to tiny, from wildly ex-

pensive to absolutely affordable. Re-gardless of how you define the word there’s an antique that will fit your checkbook, Travel Air to T-Craft.

The Personal Perceptionof “Antique”

There’s something else that should be considered in this dis-cussion, and that’s the personal perception of “antique,” as opposed to the official definition. To many, an antique-anything, airplane and otherwise, is something that was built before they were born. If they weren’t around, it’s ancient his-tory, and to them, that makes it an antique, of sorts. That’s a perva-sive thought pattern that applies to airplanes, cars, boats, and ev-erything in between. A positive as-pect to that way of thinking is that there are literally thousands of air-planes that, while not being exactly “antique,” still scratch the antique itch. Better yet, some of the air-planes in that category are actually practical airplanes…if there is such a thing (sorry, just being honest).

Case in point: To a lot of gen-erations, a 1950 Ford Tudor is an interesting old car, but not a true antique. To others, it is so far out of their frame of reference that they mentally group it in with Model T’s. Same thing with airplanes. Depend-ing on your generation and point of reference, a 1950 Globe/Temco Swift would be seen as a personally

defined “antique” and is lumped in with Staggerwings, Spartans, and Travel Airs. Or, if you’re sporting a little gray hair, it may be just an in-teresting (and wildly practical) old airplane. To later generations, re-gardless of official definitions, the Classic airplanes are Antiques. It may be heresy to say so, but antique is in the eye of the beholder.

Bottom line: It doesn’t have to have two moss-covered wings for it to scratch the itch to own an antique.

How Complicated Do YouWant to Get?

Lumping Classic and “real” An-tiques together and looking at the wide variation of sizes and types, it has to be recognized that in some airplanes “big” doesn’t necessarily mean complicated (Stearman) and “small” doesn’t necessarily mean simple (Swift). However, when we’re talking about bigger antiques, like a Stinson Reliant, for example, al-though it’s a bone-simple engine, wings, and fuselage airplane, it still has its complexities in its flap sys-tem, for instance, and, of course, its big, round engine. And, its sheer size means everything, from the size of the hangar, to how you move it around, to buying tires is going to be bigger. It’s not that it’s so compli-cated; it’s just that there is so much of it. Still, nothing but BIG is going to give the limousine feel of a Stin-son Reliant, Waco cabin, Stagger-

The Illusive AffordableAntique Airplane

So you want to buy an airplane . . .by Budd Davisson


wing, etc. So, if that’s what a pilot is looking for, that’s the only place he’s going to get it. Although prices of the “big” antiques have come down a little in recent years, you’re still look-ing at much more expensive, more complicated-to-own airplanes than the smaller ones. Size does matter.

At the other end of the complic-ity scale is the not-so-lowly J-3 Cub and all its low-powered brethren. Here everything about the airplane is much smaller, much simpler and, obviously, much less expensive. Still, if you’re talking about the group of Classics (some of which were pro-duced prior to WWII, so they are technically Antiques) that exploded in 1946-1949, there is a massive difference in the price range within their own ranks. The Cub reigns su-preme, the C-120/140 just behind it, and the Luscombes (the best bang for the Classics buck) down around the bottom with the Aeronca Chief. The range can run from $15k to $40k-plus for all of these not-quite antiques so there’s something for ev-eryone’s pocketbook and taste.

How Practical Do YouWant to Be?

Here again, the concept of “prac-tical” has to be defined because it’ll mean something different to every-one. However, many would agree that an airplane is practical when it is something you can take cross-country and 1) not spend all day do-ing it and 2) not constantly worry about the airplane on the way. Plus, these airplanes are, in many cases, okay if tied down outside while on the trip. However, equally as many folks who are infected with the antique bug would claim that their definition of “practical” is be-ing able to pull the airplane out to spend a half-hour at sunset sam-pling what Mother Nature has to offer. Then it is pushed back inside having burned almost no gas and

having gone absolutely nowhere. Some of the “sorta Antiques” like

the Cessna 120/140 are all metal and as practical as the newest C-152 available. This, of course, is why they are more expensive than most of the other aircraft from the same post-war period. Plus they’re cruising at 110-115 mph on 5 gallons of fuel an hour. Further, everything about the postwar Classics almost always in-cludes a powerplant that is as reli-able as anything being built today. These are airplanes that can be flown with a minimum of tinkering. They usually take no more care than any modern airplane. That can’t be said about the bigger, older airplanes.

Project or Flying?Antique airplanes, to include

the Classics, include many that make perfect garage projects. A C-3 Aeronca, Taylorcraft, Cub, C-120, or Luscombe, among others, defi-nitely fall into that category. Air-planes like Staggerwings, Reliants, Travel Airs, Wacos, and many oth-ers won’t even fit in most garages, much less allow themselves to be comfortably restored in that area. Plus, most of the bigger airplanes require many times the amount of work to get back in the air than the smaller aircraft. That’s why, every time you see something like a Stag-gerwing that was actually restored by the owner, rather than a hired gun, we should all shake his hand and congratulate him for accom-plishing the seemingly impossible.

Buying a project airplane from the 1930s, almost regardless of

whether it’s big or small, requires the would-be restorer to carefully evaluate himself in many areas be-fore pulling the trigger. These in-clude but are not limited to:

•He needs an insane ability to stick to a project.

•A sizable shop that ’s well-equipped makes success more likely, but is not totally necessary. Garages have built a lot of air-planes, big and little.

•A lifestyle that gives him lots and lots of free time is a huge help.

•It is absolutely necessary that he have a family that is behind the project, or at least he isn’t steal-ing time from them, or he may lose both in the divorce.

•He needs the talent or, more im-portant, the willingness to learn, to work with a lot of different materi-als: steel, wood, aluminum, fabric.

•If it is to be hired out, deep pockets are required along with such an overwhelming desire to own an airplane that it blinds the owner to financial common sense. Both are serious necessities be-cause virtually every project done by a professional will cost far more than estimated. Often it will cost more than the airplane is worth.

•The builder/owner must have a huge amount of patience to help him ignore the length of time the project takes.

Addressing Affordability:Pick Your Price Bracket

As we’ve said, there is an “antique” airplane out there that fits almost any price bracket, $15,000 to the moon. We’re basing the prices below on those airplanes that are in at least average flying condition, needing no major work, but you’ll still find exam-ples on either side of the price range. Where they fall in the price range is invariably driven by their condition. We’ve also arbitrarily defined “af-fordable” as below $100,000.

The size of a dollar is invariably measured by how many you have to

begin with.

24 MARCH/APRIL 2015

$15,000 - $30,000Lots and lots of airplanes fall in the under $30k range, including most of the Classics, but there will be some totally restored ones well more than that price bracket. Some of the air-craft included are:

•Aeronca Champs, Chiefs, and L-3s•65-hp J-3 Cubs•Cessna 120/140s•Piper Tri-Pacer, Pacer, Clipper, most short-wings•Ercoupes•Taylorcraft•Luscombe, 8A, 8E•All of the lesser-known postwar Classics (Commonwealth, Porterfield, Interstate, etc.) •Funk •Culvers•10A Stinson•Mooney Mite

BON

NIE

KRA

TZ

MIKE STEINEKE

MIKE STEINEKE

BONNIE KRATZ

BONNIE KRATZ


$30,000 - $50,000Higher-end, restored versions of those listed above:

•Piper Cubs and many of the long-wing models •Globe/Temco Swift•Triple Tail Bellanca, Cruisair/Cruisemaster, etc. •Stinson 108 series

BONNIE KRATZ

JIM KOEPNICK

PHIL HIGH

PHIL HIGH

26 MARCH/APRIL 2015

$50,000 - $100,000•Stearman•Fairchild 24•Cessna 195•Bücker Jungmann•de Havilland Tiger Moth•Ryan PT-22•Fairchild PT series•Wacos (some, not all)•Seabee

JIM KOEPNICK

JIM KOEPNICK

MIKE STEINEKE

JIM KOEPNICK

JIM KOEPNICK

MIKE STEINEKE

BONNIE KRATZ


Guidelines for BuyingAntique/Vintage Airplanes

Here are a few quick and dirty guidelines that might be worth following when getting into the an-tique/vintage airplane game.

Define your missionKnow ahead of time what it is you expect of the

airplane. Will you expect it to do some regular cross-country work, just go to fly-ins, or what? And will the family be involved?

Analyze yourmechanical capabilities

How much of the tinkering on the airplane can you do yourself, and how much will have to be paid for? The older, actual Antiques, as opposed to Clas-sics, will need more TLC, and depending on the type, a normal mechanic may not be able to help you. Also, a true Antique will need more care than a Classic.

Analyze yourpatience quotient

As much as we love old airplanes, they are “old” so you have to expect problems from time to time. Will that bother you?

Analyze your financial capabilities

When it comes to finances, any airplane can on occasion surprise you. The older ones even more so, so make sure you are financially capable of han-dling those surprises without damaging the fam-ily’s situation.

Buy one notch belowwhat you can afford

There’s a universal tendency in airplanes, boats and cars, and other toys to buy more than we can af-ford. We almost always regret it later. We’ll enjoy the old airplane more if we know it’s well within our abil-ity to financially cope with it.

Buy the best one moneycan buy

Don’t look for super deals. Look for super air-planes and reasonable deals. A less-than-top-drawer airplane, even if it is low priced, will always be more expensive in the long run.

Univair Has Kept Classic Aircraft Flying Since 1946

Univair has a huge selection of parts and supplies for many classic and vintage aircraft, including Aeronca, Bellanca, Champion, Citabria, Decathlon, Scout, Cessna 120-140, Ercoupe, Luscombe, Piper J-3 through PA-22 and PA-25, Stinson, and Taylorcraft. We also carry hundreds of fine distributor items including Concorde batteries, AirMaze filters, Randolph and Poly-Fiber finishes, Ceconite covering supplies, Whelen lights, Scott tailwheels, Specialty Tires, plus wheels and brakes from Cleveland, Goodrich, and Goodyear. Call us today!

Toll Free Sales: 1-888-433-5433

ALL MERCHANDISE IS SOLD F.O.B., AURORA, CO • PRICE AND AVAILABILITY SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE • 12-29-14

2500 Himalaya Road • Aurora, CO • 80011Info Phone ....................... 303-375-8882Fax ........800-457-7811 or 303-375-8888Email [email protected] ....................... www.univair.comAIRCRAFT CORPORATION

Tailwheel Scholarship Offeredto EAA Vintage Members

Sarah Wilson is offering a tailwheel training scholarship of up to $2,000 in 2015, awarded on the basis of creativity.

“Don’t tell me why you deserve the scholarship, show me why,” emphasizes Sarah. “Draw a picture, paint a painting, make a video, build a sculpture, present a performance piece, write a song, create a photo diary, or write a story. Any form of creative expression is accepted. The scholarship will be awarded to the most creative, out-of-the box, totally original, crazy-wacky-wild-fun submission.”

Award will be paid directly to the certified tailwheel flight instructor/flight school of your choice. (Pending verification and credentials.) Application period January 1 through May 1, 2015. Awarded after May 15, 2015. Eligibility: U.S. certificated pilots under the age of 29.

Submissions by e-mail only to [email protected].“Write a brief e-mail telling me about yourself, your piece

of creative expression, and why you want to fly tailwheel air-planes,” adds Sarah.

“Photographs of artwork in JPG or PDF less than 6 MB please. Dropbox, YouTube, Vimeo, and links are all great, too.”

Creativity is one of the most precious commodities in the world. It will sustain you far beyond money, and it deserves to be rewarded.—Sarah

28 MARCH/APRIL 2015

If a project, assume your cost estimates are50-100 percent off

There is no way to accurately es-timate the cost of finishing a proj-ect. Sometimes, you can’t even come close. Go into it knowing that so you’re not surprised, and you’ll have less heartburn in the long run.

The fewer that were built, the more difficult the maintenance

O wning a seldom- seen air-plane is lots of fun and satisfies the soul, but the unseen aspect of it is how hard it is to find the right parts when they’re needed. These are all certified airplanes, regardless of their age, so you can’t legally fudge a part, even if it is an upgrade and makes total sense. There’s something to be said for staying closer to main-stream aircraft.

Aircraft built after 1940 (or so) approach being “normal”

Just before WWII, the air-frame and engine designers took some giant leaps forward, and the practices and designs of the 1920s were left behind. The re-sults were, among other things, engines like the A-65 that, al-though antique in age, are more or less modern day in terms of reliability and function. Also, airframe design closed in on be-ing “modern.”

The more unusual the engine, the more headaches

Some engines are naturally harder to support, if nothing else because of parts. An R-985 is eas-ier to support than a Lycoming R-680, which is easier to support than a Warner, and everything is easier to support (and less worri-some) than a Velie.

The older the design,the less “normal” theflight characteristics

Modern aircraft control design has made us all lazy. As we go back in time, even to the early ’50s we find airplanes like Champs and their ilk have much more adverse yaw. Got back into the ’30s and aircraft are generally more sluggish. Into the ’20s and they can be downright leisurely and less capable in crosswinds, etc. All that means is we have to know when and how to use our feet while transforming ourselves from being mere pilots to being real aviators.

Get training that matchesthe airplane

All older airplanes are signifi-cantly different than modern air-planes, and transition training that’s aimed at that particular air-plane is important. Especially for the older, bigger ones.

Factor in a hangar cost:antiques hate the outdoors

Part of the cost planning has to in-clude a hangar. Antique/Classic air-planes really don’t like the outdoors, and many of their airframes sim-ply can’t cope with outdoor storage. That’s why so many of them need so much restoration. Ma Nature has al-ready had her way with them.

“Restored”: There are many definitions, so be suspicious

Don’t assume that a restored airplane was rebuilt from the ground up. This is especially true if it’s an older “restoration” because many used to consider a simple re-covering job to be a restoration. Do a detailed inspection of the entire airframe, inside and out.

Type clubs have invaluable info: Use it

M o s t c o m m o n a i rc r a f t i n these categories have type clubs

that can easily tell a buyer what kinds of problem areas need to be inspected.

Pre-buy inspection done by an A&P who knows the airplane

Antique and Classics airplanes are different enough that a “nor-mal” mechanic won’t be able to do an adequate inspection. Find one who is recommended by a type club or is otherwise super familiar with the type.

Pristine logbooks are a plusExcellent logbooks say a lot

about the owner’s attitude toward maintenance.

Low time means nothing if the airplane has been sitting

Nothing kills an airplane like sit-ting for long periods of time. Espe-cially the engine. If it hasn’t flown regularly in the recent past (six months is the maximum), there is no easily done inspection that can give an accurate assessment of the engine’s true condition.

In SummaryAlmost no matter where you fit

in the economic food chain, you can not only get into vintage air-craft, but some of them, specifi-cally the Classics and the later, smaller Antiques, are hands-down the least expensive way to get into aviation. Also, one of the nice things about purchas-ing a good Champ, Cub, T-Craft, whatever is that there is always a ready market for them. So, when you decide to sell them, you can easily get out of them what you paid. There is almost never de-preciation involved as long as you get a good one.

So, figure out what you want to spend and what your mission is. Then start shopping. You’ll never regret it.

The Privilege of Partnership EAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor Company vehicles through Ford’s Partner Recognition Program. To learn more on this exclusive opportunity for EAA members to save on a new Ford vehicle, please visit www.eaa.org/ford.

It’s Not Rocket Science“I knew I wanted to be a rocket scientist from the moment I watched John Glenn pilot the “Friendship 7” spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission of the United States, back in 1962. 14 years later I did realize my dream of becoming a rocket scientist and in 1978, a member of EAA.

I’ve owned many Ford vehicles throughout the years, but none that provides as much fun as my 2014 Mustang. I took delivery last month at Grapevine Ford, in Grapevine, Texas. The people there were fantastic and the process was great. They installed the stripe with my “moniker” on the car. I love my new Mustang and apparently so does everyone else. I’ve received hundreds of comments and thumbs up from total strangers. It’s incredible!

I’ve learned that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to take advantage of the EAA – Ford Partner Recognition Program!” Craig W. EAA #165239

2015-Mar_Testim_EAA_Divis_Ad.indd 1 1/19/15 1:03 PM

The Privilege of Partnership EAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor Company vehicles through Ford’s Partner Recognition Program. To learn more on this exclusive opportunity for EAA members to save on a new Ford vehicle, please visit www.eaa.org/ford.

It’s Not Rocket Science“I knew I wanted to be a rocket scientist from the moment I watched John Glenn pilot the “Friendship 7” spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission of the United States, back in 1962. 14 years later I did realize my dream of becoming a rocket scientist and in 1978, a member of EAA.

I’ve owned many Ford vehicles throughout the years, but none that provides as much fun as my 2014 Mustang. I took delivery last month at Grapevine Ford, in Grapevine, Texas. The people there were fantastic and the process was great. They installed the stripe with my “moniker” on the car. I love my new Mustang and apparently so does everyone else. I’ve received hundreds of comments and thumbs up from total strangers. It’s incredible!

I’ve learned that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to take advantage of the EAA – Ford Partner Recognition Program!” Craig W. EAA #165239

2015-Mar_Testim_EAA_Divis_Ad.indd 1 1/19/15 1:03 PM

30 MARCH/APRIL 2015

JAMES POLIVKA

The MossQ.E.D. II

Re-creating an icon requires an icon to accomplish the mission

by Budd Davisson


When talking about Jim Moss’ re-creation of the 1934 Gee Bee Q.E.D. racer, it’s dif-ficult to know where

to begin. This is because the story has so many layers and subplots.

First there is the Gee Bee Q.E.D., which wasn’t technically a Gee Bee. Then there is the late Jim Moss, the builder and an iconic figure in his own right. The concept of the re-creation needs some ex-planation, including a chapter or two on the team that gathered around Moss to make it possi-ble and their commitment to the pro je ct a f ter Moss w a s t a k e n i l l . A n d then there is the fan-tastic result of that c o m m i t m e n t , t h e Q.E.D. II itself. This is not a simple tale. Nor is it a simple airplane.

Q.E.D.: A Cross-Country Runner

The 1930s was a fan-tastic period for avia-tion, which absolutely should not have been the case. The country was in the grips of a mind-numbing depression, plus a history-making drought had deci-mated most of the central part of the nation. The Depression flat-tened the finances and souls of people in every walk of life. That having been said, it is counterin-tuitive that so many legendary aviation marques would spring to life during the period including Cessna, Beechcraft, Piper, Travel Air, Waco, and so many others. There has never been a decade that saw so much aerial progress that wasn’t sponsored by a war.

A g o o d p a r t o f t h a t p ro g -ress stood on the shoulders of a tiny group of aviation visionar-

ies and risk-takers who practiced their trade at treetop level while screaming around pylons or flash-ing cross-country and across the globe setting higher and higher speed and distance records. It was the much-heralded golden age of air racing, and the Granville broth-ers (hence, Gee Bee) were right in the middle of it with their distinc-tive designs. The brothers’ aircraft were, for the most part, the em-bodiment of the engineering dic-tum that says that performance is the direct result of attaching the smallest airplane possible to the biggest engine available.

The Granvilles and their Gee Bees were a going concern for only five years: 1929-1934. Yet during that time they designed and f lew 13 different designs. Their designs ranged from the fire-breathing R-1/R-2, whose rotund, fiercesome shapes are those that usually come to mind when the word Gee Bee is uttered, to more “normal” designs including their single- and two-place Sportster series. However, one model they didn’t design and build is the Q.E.D. This confuses the issue.

In 1933, Zantford “Granny ” Granville got together with en-gineers Howell “Pete” Miller and

Don DeLackner to form a sepa-rate company that, among other things, was going to design and build a high-speed, eight-place air-craft, the C-8 Eightster. However, seemingly as a warm-up act, they designed a two-place, cross-country speedster designated R-6H. The R-6 was specifically designed for the MacRobertson trophy race, an intercontinental race event. I be-lieve the team realized that only building race planes was not a sus-tainable business and they needed to show they could provide aircraft to the newly emerging military long range and commercial cross-

c o u n t r y m a r k e t s . What better way than to demonstrate inter-continental capabil-ity. The $10,000 purse m ay h av e a l s o h a d something to do with its being built. When it ended up in Rumania during the MacRob-ertson race they actu-ally demonstrated it to the Rumanian Govt in hopes of securing military orders. When Granny was killed in 1934, the C-8 was for-

gotten, but the R-6H, now known as the Q.E.D., took flight.

It ’s interesting to note that most Gee Bee designs went from drawing board to flying in six to eight months.

Being a two-place airplane, os-tensibly the Q.E.D. could be aimed at the rapidly expanding sport pi-lot market. Even though thou-sands of fortunes had disappeared in the Depression, there was still an active, financially stable market at the top of the pilot food chain, many of whom delighted in indi-vidualistic machines. What better way to demonstrate an airplane’s cross-country capability than en-

Jim Moss and Ron Robertson at the early stages of the fuselage.

AEROCAPTURE IMAGES—LYLE JANSMA

34 MARCH/APRIL 2015

tering it in long-distance races?Ultimately, the design was named Q.E.D.,

Quod Erat Demonstrandum (literally, “that which was to be demonstrated”), the ab-breviation that closes out every geometric/mathematic postulate/theorem and indicates that the question that has been asked, has been answered. It was the Granville, Miller, DeLackner (GMD) team’s way of saying that they had just come up with the final solution for cross-country flying.

The GMD solution to high-speed cross-country running was simple: build a cleaner airplane than most of the competition that fea-tured a glass canopy for two, a 650-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet engine, and lots and lots of gas (would you believe 480 gallons!).

Of course, everyone who had even the slightest interest in racing knew the airplane embodied all the ingredients to make it a po-tential contender in whatever cross-country, trans-global race it entered. Whether it would be a winner no one knew, and they would never find out. Although the airplane was en-tered in numerous races, it was dogged by mechanical bad luck and never finished even one. Like all racers of the day, it was rushed into service as soon as it was airworthy with little or no long-term testing, and the inevi-table gremlins forced it out of every race in

The original Q.E.D. as El Conquistador del Cielo (The Conqueror of the Skies).

Left, Top: Gee Bee Super Sportster Hornet, 1935Middle: Gee Bee R-2 w/R-985 Super SportsterBottom: Gee Bee Super Sportster w/R-1340, 1932

HOWARD LEVY

GOR

DON

WIL

LIAM

S


which it was entered. Engine prob-lems here, cowling problems there: relatively small items always cut its race and record attempts short.

As originally presented to the public, the airplane was painted green, the colors of its prime spon-sor. It changed hands several times and ended its career painted an all-over cream color with limited striping. It never received the so-identifiable Gee Bee red-scallops-on-white scheme.

In 1939 the airplane was sold to Francisco Sarabia, a competi-tion pilot who was well-known in his native Mexico. He renamed the airplane El Conquistador del Cielo (The Conqueror of the Skies) and almost immediately set a Mexico City to New York long-distance record of 10 hours, 48 minutes, which broke Amelia Earhart’s re-cord for the same distance by nearly four hours. This put his name on the U.S. map, and his star was on the rise. Unfortunately, he was stopped by another bad luck gremlin. Taking off out of Bolling Field near Washington, D.C., the engine quit; he went into the Po-tomac, was knocked out by the im-pact, and drowned before rescuers could get to him. The Gee Bee curse had struck again! This time a rag carelessly left in the cowling was sucked into the carburetor. The air-plane and its pilots had been con-tinually dogged by the winds of fate, which was pretty much true

of almost the entire design reper-toire of Granny Granville. In fact, he was killed delivering a Sportster E to a customer.

The El Conquistador del Cielo aka Q.E.D. wasn’t badly damaged so it was recovered from the river, even-tually restored, and today rests in a museum dedicated to Sarabia in Ciudad Lerdo, Mexico, about 500 miles north of Mexico City. The fi-nal chapter in the Gee Bee story had been closed.

Or had it?

Gee Bees 2.0 and Jim MossAlthough the exact number is

unknown, there may have been more Gee Bees built in the last 30 years than existed in the first place (an estimated 24). Builders like the late Bill Turner, Steve Wolf, Delmar Benjamin, and many others have re-created virtually every model of Gee Bee including the Model Z, the Sportster series, and even the beer barrel R-1. And now, courtesy of the late Jim Moss and the ener-getic crew he drew to the project, the Q.E.D. is back amongst us.

A few words about Jim Moss, although a few words won’t actu-ally do the man justice. A product of USN/USMC flight training, he campaigned Skyraiders before fin-ishing his tour in the military. Then he went to college and into the charter flying business. It didn’t take long, however, before various incidents, e.g., a Bonanza carry-

ing a load of passengers and even more ice, convinced him that fly-ing for the airlines would not only guarantee more remuneration but would probably give him a longer life span. He retired from the air-lines in the ’90s having flown most of the latest wide bodies, with the 747 being his last mount.

For nearly two decades in the 1960s Jim was a feature at West Coast air shows performing in his Ryan STA and later a Great Lakes. However, when the airline gave him the choice of continuing to fly for the airlines or doing air shows, he hung up his air show spurs. That, however, didn’t put a dent in his never-ending love affair with sport aviation.

It could be said with some accu-racy that as soon as Jim was out of the airlines, he went into sport aviation nearly full time. He chose a route that would allow him to indulge his passion for historical aviation and combined it with his highly developed artistic skills: he began restoring, then re-creating historic aircraft, most with a liberal amount of “Moss factor”: a subtle way of applying his own ideas of how he would have built the air-craft had he been part of the origi-nal design team in the ’30s.

Among Jim’s major projects was his first, a thoroughly individualis-tic clipped-wing Taylorcraft. Then came a string of biplanes that in-cluded the MG-2, a 1938 homebuilt biplane that not only won Antique Custom Built gold at Oshkosh but also walked away with the heart of just about everyone who laid eyes on it. Jim put his own touch on the restoration, which resulted in the cutest biplane most had ever seen.

“Cute” is an adjective never ap-plied to his accurate re-creation of the Laird Super Solution racer of 1931. “Brutal” maybe, but not “cute.” His re-invention of the

Senior Sportster

36 MARCH/APRIL 2015

Great Lakes Biplane included a fire-breathing Vedeneyev M-14 ra-dial engine and acres of carefully formed aluminum and fiberglass fairings that visually transformed the usually frumpy biplane into a 1930s era speedster.

Then came Q.E.D. The Gee Bee that wasn’t a Gee Bee. This would be the airplane that would become his life’s passion and that of many oth-ers who were drawn to the project.

The Moss Q.E.D. VisionAlthough Jim had convinced

(but not really) his partner and wife, Judy, that the Q.E.D. wouldn’t take much more time or be much more complex than the Great Lakes, both of them knew bet-ter. He was embarking on a nearly quixotic effort at recapturing an

airplane that was bigger than life both figuratively and literally. But first he needed information.

Jim spent two years research-ing every aspect of the airplane, which included discovering a set of basic plans for the airplane at the University of Texas. It is of-ten overlooked that many racing airplanes of the period were cer-tified by the CAA, which included CAA engineers making suggestions for changes. So, often plans were submitted to the government, and some still exist. Although the “chalked out on the hangar floor” engineering approach applied to some racers, the Gee Bees were the product of engineers and designers working together to satisfy gov-ernment-established standards.

The plans, however, only cov-

ered the basic structure and didn’t address any of the systems or cos-metics. This left a huge amount to Jim’s ample imagination. But, he was up to the task.

From the beginning, Jim’s imag-ination and desire to create some-thing that reflected the period, but not necessarily the historical de-tail, was part of the building/de-sign equation. As Judy put it, “He liked history, but he wasn’t a his-tory fanatic. It was the beauty of the era that attracted him.”

The purely mechanical aspects that he didn’t know about the airplane along with things that couldn’t be practically duplicated drove much of his design work. The engine was one of the biggest factors. The 650-hp Pratt & Whit-ney R-1690 Hornet of the original simply wasn’t possible, or practi-cal, to use. Very few were produced and only a small handful of air-planes used them. The net result is that only a very small handful are still running, and even fewer are available. Also, it was a fairly large diameter, single-row engine. Fortunately, however, the readily available Wright R-1820 is almost exactly the same diameter al-though heavier. However, the ver-sions most available are 1,200 and 1,425 hp, and Jim wound up with the latter. That dictated a three-blade rather than a two-blade prop, as on the original. However, all that meant was that the pilots of Q.E.D. II would have to limit the throttle movement. Too much horsepower is seldom a problem. The extra weight, however, was a problem. Jim solved that by cutting the fuel load in half leaving “only” 240 gal-lons! Flight tests revealed a CG problem, and the fuel capacity was further reduced to 180 gallons, which gives three hours of cruise with one hour of reserve.

Based on some of his research

A plywood dummy was made to determine where the systems went.

The plans Moss found didn’t include anything other than the basic structure.


Initial test flights were done by Carter Teeter, a wildly experienced warbird pilot. The first flight was done at Olympia Regional Airport, which had longer, wider runways than the 2,600-foot grass one where Moss lived and had his hangar. First flight was September 26, 2013, and the only ma-jor concern was a noticeable rocking of the wings on rollout. It turned out that was caused by the massive ailerons being disturbed by bumps. When hitting a bump, an aileron would drop, and it picked up a wing causing an uncomfortable rock-ing motion.

Rich Alldredge climbed (literally) into the cockpit for his first flight in the spring of 2014 and has this to say about it:

“Taxiing the airplane in the wind is almost as much work as flying it because, even though the tail wheel is steerable and it taxis like a big Stearman, the big tail and side area make it want to weathervane in even the slightest crosswind.

“On takeoff you have to remember how much power you have so the rudder trim is dialed hard against the right peg and your right foot is con-nected solidly to your left hand. The power comes in slowly, and the tail is lifted as soon as practical to get the rudder up into the wind. All the while your foot is working its way to the floor at the same rate the throttle is moved. However, the instant your right foot hits the floor, and it will hit the floor, your

right hand has to stop moving. Add even a little more power and you can’t control the nose.

“Takeoff happens at about 85 knots, and it has to be pulled off the ground with a healthy pull. Then your foot starts for the floor again to control a significant amount of P-factor. The good news during the takeoff is that, once the tail is up, visibility is not too bad.

“At altitude the controls are all quite solid and comfortable, but the airplane has neutral stability on all axes. So, you’re ALWAYS flying it. This isn’t particularly hard, but on long trips, like going to Oshkosh, it’s tiring.

“We’re limiting the airplane to 200 knots because to our knowledge no one has ever done any flutter testing in it. The original was faster than that and had cruise speeds as high as 300 mph. With this en-gine, we’re certainly much faster yet. However, the airplane isn’t about speed. It’s about history, and we don’t want to get ourselves in trouble.

“The stall is at about 75 knots with a solid twitch to the left, but it recovers easily. So, it’s nothing surprising.

“I fly downwind at 110 knots, reducing it to 100 on base looking for 90-95 over the fence, keeping power in it all the while. With a wing loading of 30 pounds per square foot, I make a power-on wheel landing, and it’s normally not hard to control on the runway, but I avoid crosswinds as much as possible.

“It’s an enjoyable airplane to fly, but you can’t relax for a minute. However, that’s part of the fun.”

Flying an Iconic Monster

Giving the Q.E.D.a New HomeWith Jim gone and the airplane finished, Judy doesn’t want it to be hidden away in their hangar.

Rather, she would like to find a new home for the Big, Beautiful Beast, a place where its lineage and the incredible craftsmanship and vision of Jim and the crew who helped build it will be remembered and appreciated forever. Interested parties can contact Rich at his e-mail of [email protected].


For safety reasons, they have limited the aircraft to 200 knots even though it is obviously much faster.

38 MARCH/APRIL 2015

about the airplane’s flying charac-teristics Jim also opted to widen the landing gear tread by 2 feet, which was accomplished by adding a foot to each side of the tubing cen-ter section. This allowed him to use the original wood/plywood-skinned wing panels, although he beefed

them up slightly, as per the CAA’s suggestions for the original airplane in 1934 (they restricted it to a VNE of 375 mph!). The wider wing root section also gave him more room to put the single oil cooler which is mounted in the forward, lower fu-selage with the air intake coming

from the leading edge.The vertical fin and rudder were

proportionally increased because of the great increase in horse-power. However, the lines were kept exactly the same as original, so the changes wouldn’t be likely to be noticed. And they aren’t.



Jim Moss wasn’t recreating the QED but, rather building a QED that was in the spirit of the times but incorporated some of his own ideas and items like the 3-blade prop, which the horsepower made a necessity.

The paint scheme is obviously Gee Bee but the QED never wore it. Jim, however, couldn’t see it painted any other way.


The original airplane was super bare-bones and carried little equip-ment. This, considering its long-range capabilities, might have been shortsighted because flying with no heat or oxygen fatigues pilots. So, Jim installed a combustion heater and an oxygen system.

Jim also modified the fuselage by replacing the forward fuselage fabric with easily removable metal panels to make maintenance eas-ier. So, now sheet metal runs from the modified Grumman S-2 cowling all the way back to the rear of the cockpit with polished stainless steel panels around the exhaust stacks.

Time to Cut Metal:Call in the Crew

His research finished, Jim pulled the trigger on Q.E.D. II in 2002. He was joined in his airplane craziness by an increasingly larger number of friends and neighbors who had been part of the crews that helped him on his earlier projects. The crew was so large and well-defined, and considered by Jim and Judy to be so critical to the project, that Jim had a plaque engraved and mounted on the finished fuselage listing 20 of those who were hands-on involved with the Q.E.D. II.

The Gee Bee crew was a totally non-homogenous group. They came from next door, they came from across the state, and they ranged from their teens to their 90s. The only truly common thread that united them all was a passion for the project and a dedication to Jim’s vision.

Rich Alldredge, EAA 699652/VAA 722854, of Enumclaw, Wash-ington, is an electrical engineer who now flies the airplane to ex-hibitions, and is typical of the Gee Bee crew. He says, “It was the air-plane, to start with, that drew an individual in. It’s such a bold, beau-tiful machine! But, after you’d been

around Jim for a while, you began to realize that, wow…this is spe-cial! With his dedication, determi-nation, and discipline, it was very easy to join in, especially consid-ering that sometimes he insisted on it. Once you were onboard, Jim made sure that you knew some-thing needed to be done or you would be holding things up. He made no bones about it.”

Rich’s role in the airplane was easy to identify because, although supposedly a simple airplane (but big), it had its complexities. This included a multitude of servos run-ning everything from cowl flaps to elevator trim.

Judy, a talented artist, says, “Right from the beginning, Jim had a firm image of this airplane in his mind, and it would be white with the Gee Bee red scallops. The first thing he had me do was a Q.E.D. II decal for the tail. He knew it wasn’t historically correct but, for him, that design symbolized the complete vision of the entire airplane that he carried in his mind throughout the project.”

Jim and his crew first had to tackle the many questions that the partial plans had left unanswered. Lots of the systems were not in-cluded, and the logical solution was to build a plywood mock-up that was full size, sit in it, and start imagining what went where. Then they started at one end and worked

to the other designing the systems necessary to fill in the blanks left in the drawings, as they went. Then it was on to steel tubing, wood, metal, fabric, and paint.

When the bare airplane was up on its gear, the sheer immensity of the Q.E.D. became obvious. Even though Jim and the crew had stud-ied the dimensions repeatedly, none of them had ever seen the actual airplane, so, it wasn’t until it was standing up that they realized how big the airplane actually was. The average woman could easily stand under the leading edge of the wing, and the average man couldn’t begin to reach up and touch the canopy rail. Just getting in without a ladder was going to be a problem.

Judy says, “Jim spent hours sketching and designing entry steps. Finally, he adapted a retractable step from an A-7 Corsair II jet, along with more steps in the side of the fuselage. Getting into the front office of the Q.E.D. is more like ascending a climb-ing wall than entering a cockpit.”

The Best Laid Plans . . .After a decade of ferocious build-

ing activity, the airplane was more than 90 percent complete with a lot of finishing details to be attended to. Jim was pleased with the prog-ress but was decidedly displeased with a diagnosis his doctor gave him. He was running a race with cancer, which took the energy out of his efforts, and with him no lon-ger solidly at the helm, the project floundered. It had almost come to a halt with little light shining over the horizon. However, the strength of the Gee Bee crew showed through.

Rich Alldredge remembers, “We were all just kind of standing around, not knowing what to do next, when Ron Robertson, our painter, realized that it couldn’t be left like this. So, he told Jim, ‘We’re going to finish this project, and

AERO

CAPT

URE

IM

AGES

—LY

LE J

ANSM

A

40 MARCH/APRIL 2015

the only way you can keep that from happening is to change the locks on the hangar door.’ Ron gave a letter to Jim at Christmas that read, ‘We, the undersigned, are dedicated to seeing that this project gets com-pleted.’ It was signed by at least a half-dozen of us.”

Judy says, “It was the best gift he ever received. That letter came at just the right time. It picked up his spirits. He was engaged again and was back to eight, 10 hours a day in the hangar.”

Jim got to see the airplane doing taxi tests. Judy says, “He was pretty ill, but we gave a party for the volunteers, and he had the opportunity to say thanks to the team. He got to see the fully completed Q.E.D. and Rich taxi it. He saw the tail wheel up. He was so excited that night. He was just ecstatic. Two weeks later, he died.”

Jim died two weeks before Q.E.D. II made its first flight, but he has been able to experience the airplane in flight in his own way. There is a small leather bag at-tached to the compass in the rear cockpit. It contains the ashes of Jim Shafer Moss, aviator, builder, and a man who knew how to turn his dreams into reality.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum

A Note From Judy: Thanksto the Vintage Airplane Association

My late husband, Jim, left me with no instruc-tions regarding future plans for the Q.E.D. However none were needed, as I realized what Jim would do if he were still alive. Jim and I had attended EAA AirVenture Oshkosh numerous times, and had taken three of Jim’s completed airplane projects (the MG-2, the Super Solution, and the Moss Great Lakes) to Oshkosh for judging. I knew that was what I needed to do with the Q.E.D., for Jim and for the Q.E.D. team who had helped with the comple-tion of the airplane.

Oshkosh 2014 was our goal. I immediately con-tacted Jim’s longtime and dedicated friend Charlie Harris for guidance. Over the years, Charlie had been such a huge source of inspiration, support, and encouragement to Jim, and that was just what I now needed. As I suspected, Charlie with his ex-perience and gentle advice became my guiding star, and our goal to attend Oshkosh 2014 became a reality. Once at Oshkosh, Vintage Aircraft Asso-ciation friends—Phil and Ruthie Coulson, Jerry and Linda Brown, and Ray and Judy Johnson—plus several others provided us a warm welcome, guidance, and support.

The entire Q.E.D. team and I would like to extend our appreciation to these wonderful people and to the EAA for making Oshkosh 2014 such an amaz-ing and memorable event.

Randy AlbrittonKari AlbrittonRich AlldredgeJim BergmanBob BerkeyFritz BrightKen BrynestadJere ChellinTom FraserFrank Hoogkamer

Tom JensenDan MerrittJim MossJudy MossBill MossJeff PrattJameson PrattRon RobertsonLyle SindlingerFloyd Stillwell

The Dedicated CraftsmenWho Built the Jim Moss Q.E.D.

The 1425 hp Wright R-1820, which is about the same size as the original P&W R-1690 Hornet, has twice the power.

The wing span is several feet longer than original be-cause the center section was widened to give a wider landing gear.

42 MARCH/APRIL 2015

The “Mohawk Airways” 1929 Wacoby Sparky Barnes Sargent

OrphanWaco

TYSON RININGER


The “Mohawk Airways” 1929 WacoJim Clark knew there was an old, dusty

red Waco cloistered in a hangar across the taxiway from his own hangar at Junc-tion City Airport (3JC) in Kansas. But he never gave it much thought, until his phone rang one day in 2009. It was the owner, who had purchased the biplane in 1975. “Bobby said to me, ‘You have to buy my Waco.’ I told him I didn’t want it, since I was already working on other vin-tage aircraft restorations,” recalls Clark, adding with a chuckle, “but after some gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair, I found myself with another Waco.”

He knew little about the biplane’s condition, except that, “At an airport open house day, Bobby pulled the air-plane out to demonstrate the inertia

starter. They spun the inertia starter up, engaged the starter, and promptly bent a rod and cracked a jug because it was hydraulically locked. Bobby had the local mechanic put a new cylinder on it, and never started the airplane again.”

Clark turned to Marvin Hornbostel at Raven Aero Service and asked him to perform a preliminary inspection. They cleaned off the dust, inspected the air-frame, tested the fabric, and prepped the engine for starting. “The first engine start after 20 years was a smokin’ suc-cess,” says Clark. “After that, Marvin did an extensive inspection. He called me a couple of weeks later and said, ‘You’ve got an airplane you can fly!’ We had no idea that it would be a flyable airplane.”

44 MARCH/APRIL 2015

Bit o’ HistoryAn Advance Aircraft Company

ad in the May 4, 1929, issue of Aviation touted the 1929 Waco ‘165’ Straight Wing model as hav-ing “sound design” that produced “brilliant performance, astonish-ing smoothness, excellent maneu-verability, and exceptional climb.”

Similar in appearance to the Waco 10, the new model BS-165 (BSO) was powered by a 165-hp Wright J6-5. Thirty-six were man-ufactured under ATC No. 168 by the company in Troy, Ohio. The bi-plane’s welded steel fuselage had wood fairing strips, and its tail surfaces were fabricated from welded steel tubing. The wings were constructed of spruce spars and ribs, and the upper and lower ailerons were connected via a push-pull strut. The horizontal stabilizer was adjustable in flight. Oleo gear struts cushioned landings, and Bendix mechanical brakes facili-tated ground maneuvering.

NC618N (S/N 3110) was con-verted from the 165-hp BSO model to an ASO model in January 1938 under ATC No. 41, with the instal-lation of a Wright J-5 nine-cylinder engine. “After World War II,” says

Clark, “a Navy surplus 225-hp Wright R-760-8 from an N3N was installed, and the model designa-tion was changed to a CSO.”

Early OwnersV i c R i c k a r d ,

who was repor t-edly a World War I ace, became the first registered owner of NC618N on October 23, 1929. He sold the Waco just a month later to United Baking Company, and it sold it to Mohawk Airways of Albany, New York, in December 1930.

The Waco was sold to Leslie Ap-pleby of Syracuse, New York, in May 1931, and it changed hands numerous times through the years.

“Everyone asks if Mohawk Air-

ways was the forerunner to Mo-hawk Airlines, and no, it was not,” says Clark, “but we do have infor-mation on this airplane that it was a ride-giver at Niagara Falls, and I would assume they were honey-mooners. We came up with the logo by researching different styles, and just did our best effort to try to represent that time period.”

Rudder Bar and BrakesC lark f le w NC618N for 18

months prior to restoring it. He’s glad he did so, because he discov-ered that he didn’t want to restore the Waco with its original rudder bar and mechanical brakes.

“The rudder ‘tiller ’ bar was a straight bar which pivoted around a center point, similar to a steer-


ing mechanism for an old go-kart or snow sled, and the cable-operated heel brake pedals extended aft from the rudder bar. You had to push on the brakes at the same time you were trying to steer with the rudder bar. On grass strips where you had resistance (and a tailskid) it was very functional, but it wasn’t at all with the old Maule tail wheel that was on the airplane when I got it,” explains Clark, add-ing with a laugh, “I was ‘snake-dancing’ down the runway one day, and a friend was watching and asked if I realized my tail wheel was leaning from one side to the other. I had no idea it was doing that; it couldn’t handle the weight.”

To address those issues, Raven Aero Service performed quite a bit

of engineering work. It removed the rudder bar and installed indi-vidual rudder pedals in both cock-pits with interconnect cables, and installed pulleys and fair-leads in the fuselage to relocate the control cables from the center of the cock-pit to the left and right sides of the fuselage. New floorboards com-plete with heel wells (for height clearance) were installed as well.

Installing the Cleveland wheel and brake system posed the most difficult challenge, because the discs wouldn’t fit, and they couldn’t be modified since they were PMA parts. “Jon Hornbostel, a mechani-cal engineer with Raven Aero Ser-vice, prepared eight pages of CAD drawings for the brake system,” Clark recalls, elaborating, “we

bolted the discs to a 1/4-inch cir-cular aluminum plate, which then bolted to the wheel. We could ma-chine the inside of that plate to fit the areas where we needed relief for the wheel. Mods were made to the landing gear legs and axles as well.”

Additionally, a new Scott 3200 tail wheel was installed that could easi ly handle the 270-pound weight of the tail. “Now it’s just a delight to land and fly and taxi—problem solved! That was an easy one,” comments Jim, adding, “we have a very good FSDO in Wich-ita, and they know Marvin at Ra-ven Aero well because they call him with their questions. He was Na-tional Aviation Maintenance Tech-nician of the Year in 2012, and at 77 years old, is still hands-on on these projects. When he presents a Form 337, it’s all in order.”

Powerplant andElectrical System

NC618N still has the Navy sur-plus R-760-8 that was on the air-plane when Clark bought it, and fortunately, he was able to locate a new front exhaust for it. “I called Steve Curry of Radial Engines Lim-ited in Oklahoma,” says Clark, “and he had a new stainless steel front

TYSON RININGER

46 MARCH/APRIL 2015

exhaust on a demo engine on

his showroom floor, which he sold

to me. The original 165-hp engine had the front exhaust as well, so the Waco still retains its original appearance.”

Clark removed the Eclipse hand-cranked inertia starter, since it al-ways required a couple of folks to help him start the engine. “I decided I had to have an electric start, and that’s worked out pretty good,” he says. “We installed a complete elec-trical system with a Jasco alternator.”

He also installed a Becker comm radio and transponder. Initially, he had some difficulties with radio in-terference, but those have been re-solved by making some adjustments.

Instrument PanelA new instrument panel was care-

fully designed and fabricated, and most of the original instruments were retained, as well as the mag switch and period-authentic eight-day clock. New engine gauges and a new vertical card compass were added, and in keeping with today’s

technology, a docking station was positioned in the center of the panel for a Garmin GPS 496 with XM weather. “We cover that docking sta-tion with an old ‘coffee grinder’ radio face when the airplane is on static display,” says Clark, “so that if you’re


sitting here looking at it, you’ll see a 70-year old radio.”

AirframeSince it was a f lyable air-

plane when the restoration began, nearly all the original airframe and metal compo-nents were usable. The spars were still in good shape, and just a few ribs needed repair, as wel l as the wing- walk area , which had suffered glue fatigue.

The Waco was covered with Ceconite 102, and the Super-flite System VI urethane sys-tem was used. “I like working with Superflite because it is forgiving. You don’t paint it silver; you have a one-step white primer and then put the color on. With that white base, these Matador Red and Sandalwood colors really are crisp and beautiful,” shares Clark, adding with a chuckle, “I do recognize my own limi-tations, and I have a longtime friend and employee, Tim Dre-her, who painted the airplane with a high volume, low pres-sure system in my body shop. Tim painted my Pacer that tro-phied here in 2006, and he also painted my Cabin Waco.”

Flying theWright-Powered CSO

Clark is a commercial pilot with single engine and instru-ment ratings, and a private multi-engine land rating. He thoroughly enjoys flying an-tique/vintage air planes—despite the lack of creature comforts at times.

He and his 16- year-old grandson, Brody Clark, made the f light to AirVenture in seven hours, averaging a 90 mph cruise. They encountered a good deal of wind and tur-bulence, and both admitted to being rather tired upon arrival.

The 1929 “Mohawk Air-ways” Waco gives its pilots a real workout on a bumpy day due to the heavy stick pres-sures. “Think of a baseball bat in cement that’s almost dry, and then try to stir it—that’s how the stick pressure feels!” laughs Clark, adding, “so all during the flight, you’re work-ing it and working it , and sometimes you just need to relax for a bit. Brody holds a course better than I do!”

Clark f light plans for 80 knots, and anticipated a 15 to 18 gph fuel burn—but on that count, he was pleasantly

Did You Know?Weaver Aircraft Company was established in 1919

and produced Waco aircraft. The company was re-named Advance Aircraft Company

in 1923, and changed its name to Waco Aircraft

Company in 1929.1929 Waco BSO

Three-place Open Land BiplaneManufactured Under ATC No. 168

Length 23 feetHeight 9 feetWingspan upper 30 feet 7 inchesWingspan lower 29 feet 3 inchesWing chord 62 feet 5 inchesStagger 10-1/2 inchesAirfoil Aeromarine 2-AGear tread 78 inchesWeight empty 1,529 poundsUseful load 56 poundsGross weight 2,600 poundsPowerplant 165-hp Wright J6-5Fuel capacity 63 gallonsOil capacity 8 gallonsMaximum speed 120 mphCruise 100 mphLanding speed 44 mphRate of climb 750 feet first

minuteCeiling 14,000 feetFuel burn 12 gphPrice at factory $6,370Specifications for the Waco CSO (ATC No. 240) are similar to those listed above, with the main exception being the CSO’s 225-hp Wright J6-7 engine, with a slightly higher airspeed and climb rate.(Derived from “Waco Aircraft Production, 1923-1942”)

48 MARCH/APRIL 2015

surprised. “We flew two hours to our first stop, at a medium upper cruise about 2000 rpm, and we had a 13 gph fuel burn. That’s what it did all the way up here, which is good for a 225-hp engine,” reflects Clark, adding, “I did lean it the old-fashioned way, where you lean it until it shakes a little bit and push the mixture back in. I don’t want to downplay the value of an en-gine monitor, but people obsess with one cylinder running hot-ter than another. When these en-gines were built, they didn’t have any way to monitor that. Just go fly the airplane! The nature of the radials gets you one with them, be-cause of all the ‘hands-on’ things you have to do before you go fly. I think that’s the best ‘engine moni-tor’ you can have, when you have a big ol’ carburetor throwing fuel and air together.”

Grandson Copilot It was Brody Clark’s 11th year

at Oshkosh, and by now, he’s more than hooked on aviation. In fact, he’s well on his way toward earn-ing his private certificate. Reflect-

ing on the flight in NC618N, he smiles and says, “It was a long and bumpy trip up here, but it’s worth it because I get the feel for what it’s like. I used an iPad for GPS, and I did fly it some. I’m the only grand-son out of nine who likes to work on airplanes. I like the vintage old stuff! It’s history, and the airplanes are beautiful. I live right next door to my grandfather, and we go fly-ing together a lot. It’s a tradition coming to AirVenture, and I like the people in the Vintage area be-

cause we get to hear good stories and learn a lot of stuff.”

Not only was the f light mem-orable for Clark and Brody, but their journey was made extra spe-cial when they received the Sil-ver Age (1928-1936) Runner-Up award for NC618N.

Sky RidesBest of all, though, is Clark’s

fun-loving attitude, friendly smile, and his joy of sharing the biplane with others, whether it’s talking on the flightline or giving sky rides. Happily, those are qualities that Brody is acquiring, as well.

“I love giving rides in it, because it is a time machine. Our EAA Chapter 1364 was doing fundraiser flights on a cold October morning in 2009, in conjunction with a lo-cal historical society-sponsored Smithsonian exhibit entitled ‘Jour-ney Stories.’ I announced on the radio that anyone older than the Waco would receive a free ride,” smiles Clark, elaborating, “Young Eagles are great, but I’ll tell you what—Mrs. Hazel Dean, a petite 89-year-old gal born five years be-

TYSON RININGER

TYSON RININGER


fore this airplane was built, showed up early for her flight and was up that wing walk and in the front with a flight helmet on, right away! It was a wonderful experience, and it absolutely made my day to check ‘open-cockpit biplane ride’ off Ha-zel’s bucket list.”

Clark is a natural when it comes to continuing Mohawk Airways’ legacy of being a goodwill ambassa-dor for aviation (see sidebar), and his handsomely restored Waco is a fitting tribute to the early aviation pioneers who owned it.

Mohawk Airways

Though nearly forgotten today, Mohawk Airways played a significant role in New York aviation history. Period newspapers reveal a wealth of information about the company and those associated with it. The March 25, 1929, issue of the Schenectady Gazette states:

“Three well known Schenectady business men and two local aviators are directors of the new commercial aviation corporation recently incorpo-rated under the name of the Mohawk Airways Company. The new concern will engage in student instruction, passenger hopping, aerial photogra-phy, aerial express and as a matter of fact all forms of commercial flying.

“The new company will include in its equipment one of the new 14-passenger Ford tri-motor metal planes, which was purchased at a cost of $91,000, and two open cockpit planes. The big Ford plane will be deliv-ered the middle of April.

“George W. ‘Slim’ Emerson and William F. Luke are the two Schenectady aviators associated with the new enterprise and the local business men who are directors of the corporation include J. A. Haraden and John Ko-vacs, both automobile dealers, and H. A. Allen, president of the Capitol Trust Company. E. M. Kinney of the General Electric Company and Wilmer T. Luke are also directors of the corporation.

“In preparation for delivery of the huge air liner, which will be the most elaborate operating from any fields in this part of the state, Pilot Emerson has been at the Ford-Stout Metal Airplane Company’s plant at Detroit, where he successfully completed the tests for all operators of Ford tri-motored planes. Emerson, a former airmail pilot, who has been as-sociated here with the Inter-City Airways Company as a pilot and flying school instructor, had little trouble qualifying at Detroit …”

Various other accounts relate that in early 1929, Mohawk Airways con-structed a large hangar on city-owned land at the Albany municipal airport. In June, it pioneered aerial advertising by signing a contract to paint two words to promote a theatrical production [Show Boat] on the fuselage of NC9642, its Tri-Motor known as Miss Albany. In September, it was appointed distributor for Mono Aircraft Company (Monoprep and Monocoach aircraft).

Mohawk Airways filled a special niche by being a goodwill ambassa-dor for aviation. It took local government officials for flights in Miss Al-bany, and arranged aerial entertainment programs for the public, which included glider flights, parachute jumping, and stunt flying. It also par-ticipated in air pageants; awarded rides to boys who won model airplane contests; offered aerial services to transport an ill man to a hospital, aided in conducting a search of the river for a body, hunted for bootleggers; and dropped a sky-diving Santa Claus from a Monocoupe.

The company was apparently a flying success. An article in the Octo-ber 4, 1935, issue of the Schenectady Gazette briefly states: “Fields, Inc. of Schenectady, has submitted an offer to take over Mohawk Airways, Inc., which for five years has conducted a general aviation business from one of the city-owned hangars at the Albany airport. The latter firm notified the air board Wednesday that it planned to sell out not later than December 31 when its present lease expires.”

Aviation PioneersThe legacy and continuing

aviation activities of the early owners of NC618N was neatly summarized in the article “Sky Lines” in the March 20, 1940, is-sue of the Schenectady Gazette: “Once the manager of the local port when aviation was spread-ing its infant wings throughout the country, Vic [Rickard] prob-ably did more for private flying in this city than any other indi-vidual flier. He’s now flying for the Bell telephone outfit, pilot-ing one of their two experimen-tal ships. Then there’s George (Slim) Emerson. Slim, too, was one of the hardy pioneers of Schenectady’s aviation center. He is continuing a long career in flying and now serves as chief instructor for the Link blind fly-ing outfit up in Binghamton. . . . William F.—alias Johnny—Luke . . . is airport manager at Sche-nectady, [and] is known far and wide throughout American avia-tion and really deserving of all his publicity. Only thing we have against Johnny is that every time he takes us for a hop in one of his Luscombes he makes zero-zero conditions in the cabin with a big, black and odoriferous cigar so that no matter what the weather is outside, the visibility is always limited within.”

50 MARCH/APRIL 2015

Sometimes Big Ford was be-hind Little Ford. Sometimes Little Ford was in trail. But al-ways, in the mist-filled Wiscon-sin morning, there were two Ford Tri-Motors living out their desti-nies and allowing others to live out their dreams.

In Isaac Newton, Edmond Hal-ley had his man of mathematics. In Stephen Hawking, we lesser mor-tals have our man of science. With all due respect to the law of inverse squares and A Brief History of Time, I would like to proclaim that I have Larry . . . my man of offers.

Initially was the offer of friend-ship. At the t ime of our f irst meeting with one another, Larry owned a Waco and we owned a Waco. It’s a relatively small com-munity and our paths crossed. Other common interests were discovered. My husband, Steve, and I would run into Larry and his wife at AirVenture and a few other f lying events throughout the year. They are tremendously likeable people and as crazy about airplanes as we are. Kismet.

Then, three years ago, Larry offered NC4777. Triple seven, an airplane with a storied past, used to be an OX-powered Waco 10. NC4777 was, in fact, the very airplane used by the Tank broth-ers for the type approval for the lighter-weight, air-cooled OX-5 en-gine. Flown by John Wood in ser-vice with Northern Airways and

raced by Ray Hegy of Hartford, Wisconsin, the old girl had fallen on hard times. Disassembled over 50 years ago and shunted from owner to owner, the Waco ended up in Larry’s possession. He, with no time to do the required restora-tion, sold it to a mutual friend who promptly sold this deserving craft to Steve and me. NC4777 is now in the process of becoming airworthy. Four wings and a center section are built, boxes of parts lie carefully cataloged in the basement, and the fuselage is being readied for a more reliable Continental W-670. She will fly again.

Over the course of the restora-tion, Larry has continued with of-fers—advice, a sympathetic ear, and unfailing encouragement. But then at AirVenture 2014, he made the most astonishing offer of all. Our friend is one of an im-mensely gifted crew of pilots who fly the Ford Tri-Motors. There is Big Ford, weighing in at 12,499 pounds, and Little Ford, a petite 10,130-pounder. “Maybe you could come and ride right seat in the Tri-Motor,” he e-mailed me early in the week. Thereafter, that “maybe” occupied nearly my every wak-ing hour. Ensuing messages flew between his phone and my iPad. Tentative dates and times were selected/discarded/rescheduled and—oh, the joy—finalized.

Steve was feeling just a trif le grumpy about all this. His basic good-sport personality prevailed,

however. He went along to photo-graph little ol’ me with Little ol’ Ford.

In a story this marvelous, even the weather gods bowed to the happy ending. On the appointed day, and at the appointed hour, the air was still and chilly and thick with lift. We presented ourselves at the Tri-Motor booth to be met by Larry, who cemented his high standing with Steve by saying, “You can have a turn after Marla.” We reviewed the rules, signed a waiver, and absorbed a safety brief-ing. We were told the waiver stated that no matter what happened, we would not summon the legal ea-gles. Now that the Tri-Motor was sitting so very tantalizingly close, I would have signed a paper sell-ing my mother to the gypsies for a crack at it. Larry tried to describe how best to access my seat. “Don’t forget to duck when you step up into the cockpit,” he said. “It’s re-ally low. You gotta duck.” Then it was time to walk up the ramp and back in time.

Scaling the sloping aisle of the fuselage and—remembering to duck—maneuvering myself into the right front seat were prelude to the choreography of three en-gine starts and warm-ups. The Tri-Motor team meshed seamlessly with the veterans in the tower. A total of 12 words got us taxied and into the air. My job, as described by the chief pilot, was to keep up a constant scan for traffic and to not engage in a lot of distracting talk.

A Little TimeWith Little Ford

Right seat in the EAA’s Ford Tri-Motorby Marla Boone


He didn’t say anything about gasp-ing aloud in delight when we made an improbably short intersection takeoff on 36L and dropped over into an ambitious right turn so as not to encroach on Runway 9/27.

My friends, this was a moment for eloquence, and there I sat speechless. Snug in the upturned snout of Little Ford, I felt the thrum-ming of the engines enter through my feet and settle somewhere in my chest. My face was warmed by the burgeoning sun that was wash-ing the waves of Lake Winnebago with a golden tint. Larry, whose tal-ent for flying is matched only by his enthusiasm for flying, was, liter-ally and figuratively, in his element. “How cool is this?” he demanded. “Here we are in one Tri-Motor fol-lowing another Tri-Motor. This isn’t something that happens every day.” But ahead of us on this day, on this incredibly special day, every cor-rugation on the wings of Big Ford reflected a glint of our same rising sun, and she flew within her own self-made aura.

And, of course, all this took

place at AirVenture. Arrivals and departures and f lybys were so many buzzing bees sharing the sky. Flying happily along, point-ing traffic out to each other, we im-mersed ourselves in the moment. Larry insisted that real Tri-Motor pilots flew while striking a jaunty pose with their elbows stuck out the window. Easily sliding open on its 85-year-old track, the window was opened and out went my el-bow. In the remote chance I have an opportunity to take a checkride in a Tri-Motor, it’s comforting to know that, if nothing else, I have the pose honed to practical test standards. Our designated route took us over the placid, peaceful seaplane base. Warbirds swooped below us, jets scooted behind us (but not for long), and, every-where the eye could see, airplanes, airplanes, airplanes. All too soon came a graceful right turn to line up with Runway 36R.

For 50 weeks of the year, Run-way 36R is known as Taxiway Al-pha. During those two frantic weeks in July, though, it becomes

a runway. A narrow runway. A very narrow runway on which a very wide-geared Tri-Motor lands twice every 15 minutes. Flawlessly. Just days before, there had been a buffeting wind directly out of the east, unremitting and unrelent-ing. When I mentioned this small hazard to happy taildragger land-ings (stiff crosswind on a skinny asphalt runway in a tailwheel air-plane . . . do not attempt this at home), Larry was humble enough to say it was a little tricky but no real problem.

In all, I had the privilege of mak-ing four circuits. Four circuits in a great stout airplane with countless miles of sky behind her. Four cir-cuits with one of the most accom-plished pilots I’ve ever flown with. Four circuits with a man who knew what it meant to me and who never takes it for granted himself. Four circuits making a forever memory. Four circuits with a guy who has much to offer and does.

One thing for certain, when NC4777 tastes the sky once more, we owe Larry a ride.

Little Ford, NC8407, has been fly-ing since EAA Oshkosh 1985. In 2014 Big Ford, NC9645, was added to the fleet. Big Ford is owned by the Liberty Avia-tion Museum in Port Clinton, Ohio, and is operated by EAA. The two Tri-Motors are used as ambassadors to take EAA’s mission out to the rest of the country. They visited nearly 70 cities in 2014. The airplanes are staffed by 18 volun-teer pilots and 50 ground volunteers. EAA employs five mechanics who keep these venerable airplanes fly-

ing and an administrative staff who helps make the Ford Tri-Motor Tour program a great success. Approximately 15,000 passengers rode the

Tri-Motors this year. All the volunteer pilots are active EAA members. Most are currently employed or retired professional pilots with an average flying time in excess of 15,000 hours. At most venues, all seats except the captain’s are sold to a passenger. In the hubbub of Oshkosh, however, the Ford Tri-Motor Tour program has different guidelines. These require that a certificated aviator occupy the right front seat to act as a safety pilot.)

A Little TimeWith Little Ford

52 MARCH/APRIL 2015

It took Bill Falck 13 years after beginning to build a racing plane to get to his first starting line, but only five more to be the first to cross the finish line.

Born near Helsinki, Finland, in 1913, he came to America with his parents at age 10 and settled in the New York City area. Within three years, Bill was taking a correspon-dence school course in airplane de-sign. But if that suggests he had per-manently set his life’s direction at such a young age, he then headed off in a quite different direction. Due in no small part to his origins in a sea-faring nation, he spent part of his 16th year as a fireman and water-tender on the yacht Corsair, owned by multimillionaire J.P. Morgan.

At the same time, he began learn-ing aircraft construction, by paying $1 a day to work on the Westbrook Sportster. In 1931, after the West-

brook company failed, he was back on the sea, this time on the Dodge family yacht Delphine. While this turned out to be the end of his career as a seaman, he later admitted that the sea, not the air, was his first love.

In the early 1930s he became the co-owner of a de Havilland DH.60 Gipsy Moth, and the siren call of the air took control. It was in 1934 that he began designing and building his first original racer, while making a living as a serviceman for the local power company, Consolidated Ed-ison, and for two years during the Great Depression, by shooting pool, a game that demands careful plan-ning and foresight.

His goal was the 375 cubic inch class in the Cleveland National Air Races. With the airframe nearing completion in 1938, he bought the Art Chester Jeep, intending to use the Menasco C4S engine, prop, and cowl

of the retired racer on his own, which would have resembled the Jeep. Un-fortunately, the 375 cubic inch class was canceled before Bill could fin-ish his racer. He put it into storage, pledging to take a much quicker, sim-pler route, when and if he saw an-other opportunity to get into racing. Before that could happen, however, World War II reared its ugly head. In 1941 he got a job as an instructor at Parks Air College, moved up to the status of copilot on Eastern Airlines’ DC-3s in 1942, and entered the U.S. Navy in 1943 to fly transports and fighters in the South Pacific.

Returning to civilian life in 1946, he soon heard rumblings of a new class of small racing planes, which became the 190 cubic inch, or Good-year Trophy Race class, in early 1947. With only a few months in which to create a completely new kind of air-plane for a completely new kind of

Bill Falck and Rivetsby Don Berliner

ROBERT STRAUB

Around the Pylons


racing class, he set to work on the airframe of the Jeep. The complex Chester wing had to go, and was re-placed by a simple constant-chord af-fair. The fuselage didn’t fit his needs, and so it, too, had to be tossed aside.

Using little more than the tail feathers of the Jeep, he rapidly put together an airplane that would do what he intended . . . get him into the sport. Any thoughts of beating veteran race pilots and designers would have been grossly unrealis-tic. If the new machine worked, then it would be time to develop a com-pletely new design.

The Falck Jeep was #89 N12930, a green and silver, strut-braced mid-wing that almost failed to survive its first flight from Falck’s small air-field in Warwick, New York. Shortly after takeoff, he closed the canopy and in the process knocked the mag switches to “off.” The sudden silence produced panic among his friends back at the airport, but a quick scan of the instrument panel pinpointed the problem and was immediately put right. After a few test flights, he was off to Cleveland for the very first “midget” race, to be held as a part of the 1947 National Air Races. It would also be a major experiment for American air racing, with a book-let of rules in a sport long known for wide open competition.

At Cleveland, Bill was among his idols, including Steve Wittman and Art Chester, as well as his peers, men who had a lot more enthusi-asm than experience. Few knew exactly what it would take to win in this very new class, and their at-tempts varied from highly profes-sional to starkly amateurish.

Falck, who was about to see an airplane race for the very first time, qualified 8th out of 12 at 135.8 mph. In two elimination and two semifi-nal heats, his speeds ranged from 138 mph to 143 mph. In the 10-lap consolation race around the 2.2-mile

course—the shortest so far used at Cleveland—rookie Falck won at 141.6 mph and took home $1,150. He had paid for his racer. Far more important, Bill Falck had reached a major goal in life: He was an official designer, builder, and pilot of a rac-ing airplane.

It was clear that the modified Jeep did not have winning potential, and so it was sold, which should have given him funds to pay for materi-als to build its replacement, except that the buyer never got around to paying. Regardless, it was full speed ahead on what would be called #92 Rivets (named for an old comic strip dog) N60089.

Bill’s previous ventures into air-plane design studies had been gen-eral in nature, while this one would be about as specific and single-purpose as one could imagine. His new airplane had to weigh at least 500 pounds empty, have at least 66 square feet of wing, and use any en-gine having no more than 190 cubic inches’ piston displacement. That, to be realistic, meant the well-proven Continental C-85, of 188 cubic inches and developing 85 hp at CAA-approved rpm, a number on the ta-chometer that is of limited interest to air racing people.

In 1947 there was no vast body of experience in building airplanes at home, such as there is today. Flying a “homebuilt” had been illegal in the

United States since the late 1930s, but for reasons never stated, racers were in their own category and permit-ted to fly with very few restrictions. Among the hundreds of men who re-quested the specifications for the new class from Art Chester, then presi-dent of the Professional Race Pilots Association (PRPA), had to be quite a few who simply wanted to build sport planes, as well as others who liked the idea that if you were claiming to build a racer, you could buy a factory-balanced C-85 from Continental Mo-tors for as little as $500. The flood gates had been opened.

His eye on the future and winning races, Falck planted himself in the great New York City Public Library and began to work his way through stacks of NACA Technical Bulletins in search of ideas large and small that would make Rivets a winner. Roy Berry, a midget racer and airline pilot, years later had a schedule that gave him time in New York, which he spent at the same library and reading the same materials. He said he could see Rivets being designed, right be-fore his eyes. From this came the up-draft cooling, main landing gear out-side the propeller arc, and unusually large ailerons that produced the de-sired rolling power without sticking far out into the airflow.

Toward the end of August in 1948, a large crowd of Goodyear racers be-gan to gather on the south side of

The original shape of Rivets, at Cleveland, 1948.

Cleveland Airport. Among those at-tracting particular attention was Rivets, not because of its sleek lines, but because of the huge canopy that had been required for visibility by a prone pilot. As that had been ruled

out by the National Aeronautic Asso-ciation (NAA) for safety reasons not long before race time, Falck had to make some quick, temporary modifi-cations in order to be allowed to race.

The changes left Rivets nose-

heavy, forcing Falck to fly around the 2-mile rectangular course in a nose-high attitude. In pylon turns, this displayed the sharp sweep-back of the wings’ leading edge, which was to prove of great value in the future. All in all, Rivets was the joke of the ’48 air races (at least among the spec-tators), even when Falck placed sec-ond in the consolation race at the same speed as 1947.

He won the Goodyear Conso-lation Race in 1949 at a much-improved 168 mph, thanks to a new low-drag canopy. In January 1950, at Miami, he qualified for the Cham-pionship Race for the first time, plac-ing 7th at 173 mph. People started to pay attention to the quiet, decid-edly unglamorous airport operator from rural New York. At Detroit in the 1950 Continental Trophy Race, he finished 5th at 182 mph, and the next year he again crossed the finish line in 5th place, though at 187 mph.

The basic idea worked, and he con-tinued to bring each part of Rivets up to championship status. Each win-ter, when the airfield at Warwick, New York, was snowed in, Bill “Wil-lie” Falck would concentrate on one

54 MARCH/APRIL 2015

Three photos with Bill Falck and Rivets on a racing flight line.

ROBERT STRAUB PHOTOS


of many areas needing careful atten-tion: the cowl, inside and out; the wingtips; the wheelpants; the tail; the canopy. Most new parts were scratchbuilt, others were reworked Aeronca Champ components. That airplane held a special place in his heart, and right to the end, Rivets’ spinner was from a Champ, and the final low-drag canopy was built from pieces of Champ windshield.

The winter of 1951-1952 proved to be critical. He spent the long, cold nights designing and then hammering out a superb set of long, close-fitting aluminum wheel-pants that gave him an estimated 12 mph boost. The first race of the year was at Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the 12-lap Championship Race around the 1.98-mile course, he got off well behind Steve Wittman in his #1 Bonzo, due to a large difference in their takeoff weights. Falck climbed up to his usual 150 feet to stay clear of turbulence and traffic and still be able to see the pylons thanks to the sharp sweep-back of his leading edge.

He began whittling away at Steve’s lead. By the 5th lap Falck was right on the old master’s tail. Noth-ing Steve could do would slow Falck’s drive, and he soon eased past into the lead. For years, once Wittman had the lead, no one had been able to pass him, but here was a guy who had been racing barely five years and had accomplished what far more ex-perienced pilots had failed to do with any consistency.

Willie went on to win and to bask in the winner’s glory. Later in the year, he became one of the first to break the 200-mph barrier on his way to 2nd place in the Continen-tal Trophy Race at Detroit. He was on the verge of a National Champi-onship when Continental ended its sponsorship, and the era of national sponsors had passed.

There was not a single American pylon race in 1953, and only a single

little one at obscure Dansville, New York, in 1954. Falck was the king of the midget racers, but he reigned over a land having few subjects. The crowds were tiny, and the publicity hidden on a back page. Yet it was a time when pilots raced for the pure sport of it at places like Westchester, New York; Reading, Pennsylvania; and Niagara Falls. The challenge of beating the best had not dimmed, though a little more prize money would have been welcomed.

Falck stayed at or very near the top for the next decade. In 1955 he built a new T-tail, which increased both speed and stability, and gave Rivets its final look. The next year at Niagara Falls, he set his first record, clocking 208.8 mph in time trials and then winning at 199.96 mph.

Back home, in December 1956, tragedy struck. A hangar fire de-stroyed several airplanes and turned Rivets into a twisted, smoking wreck.

Friends of Willie, well aware of his slow, methodical way of building, had serious doubts about ever seeing the red-and-yellow #92 on a race course again. But in just a few months, and under considerable time pressure, the reconstruction had been com-pleted, and he was able to win one of the two races of 1957 almost as if nothing dire had happened.

Rivets was the cream of the 190 cubic inch class, and Bill Falck was unquestionably the man to beat. This could easily have led to some dull racing, for everyone but Falck. When one person dominates, com-petition suffers, and increased com-petition was one of the cornerstones of the class. Understanding this bet-ter than most, Bill developed a rare skill for making races look a lot more exciting than they otherwise might have. By holding back and timing his all-out drive to the finish line, he won many a race by a slim margin

56 MARCH/APRIL 2015

that belied his actual superiority.His prime opponent was top race

pilot and friend Bob Downey, pilot of #14 Little Gem, whose lower takeoff weight enabled Bob to get off quicker and into a solid lead, while the much heavier Falck struggled on behind. Time and again it looked like Downey might finally win one. That is until the

dash down the home-stretch on the last lap. Falck would push Riv-ets’ nose down slightly, gaining speed as he lost the altitude he had ac-quired at the start.

Downey would push his throttle to the stop, but inevitably the dis-tinctive shadow of Riv-

ets would creep steadily over the des-ert floor, past Downey and on to the finish line. Poor Bob began calling Falck “The Hawk,” after the way he swooped down to devour his prey. There seemed to be nothing Downey could do to prevent another Falck victory. And, indeed, there was noth-ing he could do, for in what were vi-

sually close races, Falck never failed to time his sprint to give the crowd a thrill. A close look at their relative speeds in qualifying revealed that Falck often had as much as 10 or 12 mph in reserve and simply wanted the paying customers to get their money’s worth.

At Tampa, Florida, in 1965, the Championship Race was closer than usual, with the timers’ $800 Longines stopwatches showing iden-tical times for the two rivals. But the unanimous ruling of the finish line judges gave the victory to Willie by about 3 feet!

Gradually, new airplanes entered the sport with more advanced aero-dynamics and more sophisticated engine tuning that enabled them

DON BERLINER PHOTOS

In St. Pete, FL, May 1966 Falck was up early to try 3-km run.

The winner, Rivets towed by mechanic Don Connely.

Falck checks his engine.


to run at well over 4000 rpm, while Willie continued to insist he had never turned higher than 3850 rpm in a race. Bill and Rivets got older and showed signs of not having got-ten the proper pre-race attention. At Cleveland in September, 1977, the FAA foolishly insisted that the midg-ets use a formation air-start even though few of them had any experi-ence and none of them had radios. As they were approaching the race course, off to the left of the huge crowd, Rivets rolled over and dove straight into Lake Erie.

Post-race examinations turned up nothing obviously wrong with the airplane or its pilot that might have led to the crash. This left a vacuum that was filled with rumor and poorly supported theories. The cause of the accident will probably never be known, though it is hard to imagine Falck having made a mis-take in his handling of the airplane. While Rivets’ total flight time was not much over 120 hours in almost 30 years, Bill knew the airplane as well as anyone has ever known an airplane. He was especially aware of its shortcomings.

Just how good were the pilot and his airplane? In 1973 at Reno, they set a qualifying record at 235.26 mph. Forty years later, in 2013, that speed would still have placed them ahead of all but four of

the newest composite speedsters.In 30 years of racing midgets, Bill

Falck won dozens of races, set many speed records, and gained a repu-tation as the very best at what to him was very important. In 1994 he was formally inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame. His first, still-unfinished Falck Special is in the EAA AirVenture Museum.

As an indicator of what kind of person he was outside his shop and outside his little airplane, one day at Reno in the mid-1970s, the au-thor ran into him heading for the grandstands carrying a tray of soft drinks. Bill explained that he was taking them to the air race an-nouncers, as he thought they might be getting thirsty.

DON BERLINERReno, NV, September 1965.

58 MARCH/APRIL 2015

Did you ever wonder how aircraft instrumentation evolved? Well I did, and here are the results of my re-search. In the beginning, some aircraft instruments were adapted from current use in industry, such as maritime and manufacturing. The compass, tachom-eter, and pressure and temperature gauges were in use long before the airplane came along. However, in my journey exploring this subject, it became very ap-parent that a few instruments were unique to the air-plane, such as the airspeed indicator, altimeter, turn and bank, and rate of climb. No doubt that some in-strumentation was an adaptation of timepieces that were in wide use. And some instruments adapted to aircraft were imported from England and France, but I’d like to deal only with those that were either manu-factured or imported and sold in the United States. So let’s look back and try to trace the roots of early instrumentation. Figure 1 is an early advertisement.

Certainly the earliest makers of instruments adapted to the airplane were precision watchmakers, who were in the beginning the English, French, and Swiss. In the United States one of the first was the Jaeger Watch Company, located in New York City. In the advertise-ment, shown at right, note that it had offices in London, England, Paris, France, and Geneva, Switzerland. The Jaeger company went on to manufacture other aircraft instruments, particularly chronometric tachometers.

Elgin National Watch Company also began manufac-turing aircraft instrumentation under the name Avigo. The name of the company came from the factory loca-tion—Elgin, Illinois. Its products were a compass, turn and bank indicator, clocks, and a tachometer.

Figure 2 shows a simple ball and bank indicator. Note the company statement: “Absolute accurate check upon your ‘feel’ of the ship.” An interesting statement given the year—1929. “Blind” flying was

The Vintage Mechanic

Evolution of aircraft instrumentsPart 1

ROBERT G. LOCK

Figure 1


still a military proce-dure as very few civil-ian pilots could fly on instruments.

Perhaps we should begin this discussion starting with the com-pass. Early compasses were adapted to aircraft use by Pathfinder, Air-path, Sperry, and Kolls-man. Figures 3, 4, and 5 show some early com-pass units.

The compass had been developed primar-ily for ship navigation on open waters, but it was readily adaptable for aircraft use.

The compass was eventually mounted in aircraft that were constructed of steel and aluminum, which

caused the instrument to “deviate.”

Add to this any elec-trical cable, and the deviation got worse. It became necessary to compensate the com-pass by turning adjust-able magnets to reset the cardinal headings.

This process became known to mechanics as “swinging the com-pass.” Possibly the most widely used compass in the early days was what we now call the “bubble face” compass, due to its rounded face. Figure 5 is the Pioneer compass of the late 1920s. Where there was room, the compass was mounted behind the instrument board, or if there wasn’t room, it was mounted atop the panel directly in front of the pilot. Note the amount of space needed to mount this instru-ment behind the panel.

Tachometers will be next in our discussion of early instruments. Tachometers had been around and used for any type of motor where the operator needed to control speed of shaft output. One of the first was the Reliance tachometer, manufactured by Nelson Blower and Furnace Com-pany, Boston, Massachusetts. These early tachom-eters were very heavy for their size and featured a 3-3/4-inch diameter face and a steel case. Figure 6 is an early Reliance tachometer.

There were several manufacturers of mechanical tachometers, as they were easily adapted from com-mercial use. Certainly the largest manufacturers of aircraft instruments were Pioneer and Consolidated, along with smaller companies such as Joseph W. Jones, which manufactured tachometers for the Bu-reau of Steam Engineering from its facility in New

Figure 2

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 3

York. The Jones tachometer featured a 4-inch diam-eter face with four drilled “ears” for mounting.

It is interesting to note that these early mechani-cal tachometers were not standardized as to their face diameter, thus making instrument panel layouts dif-ficult because all instruments were of a different size. By 1930 the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), along with the Army and Navy, began to standardize the diameter of the face of the instrument. Typical diameters were 2-3/4, 3-1/8, and 3-3/4 inches.

The Travel Air 2000 of 1928 was equipped with these types of instruments. It is interesting here to note that the Jones 4-inch diameter tachometer ap-pears exactly the same as the Consolidated 4-inch di-ameter tachometer.

Consolidated Instrument Company also marketed a “cluster” panel of instruments as shown in Figure 7.

These were self-contained units that could be mounted directly into an instrument board. Many manufacturers adapted these easily mounted clusters in their designs. Arkansas Aircraft Corporation (later Command-Aire), Curtiss Robin, and many other ships of this era used these instruments. The Jones/Con-solidated centrifugal tachometer (Figure 8) resembled the watchmakers’ skill in constructing the instru-

ment. Shown below is a sketch of how the mecha-nism is constructed.

Note that the tachometer cable drive turns gear “G,” which turns the shaft causing flyweight “A” to move outward, which in turn makes needle “K” indi-cate engine rpm.

While it is unknown exactly when Consolidated In-strument Company of America was first established, it is known that in 1929 the company acquired the Ju-lien P. Friez & Sons Company that made meteorologi-cal instruments in Baltimore, Maryland. Julien Friez immigrated from Belfort, France, in 1870 and brought with him a background as an apprentice in the scien-tific instrument trade that was practiced extensively in that area near Switzerland. His company had set up a factory in Baltimore and provided instruments to the U.S. Weather Bureau. The elder Friez died in 1916, and the business continued under the direction of his son, Lucien. During the acquisition, Lucien Friez stayed with the Baltimore plant and, in 1941, made application to erect a new plant. The new plant was constructed for Bendix-Friez in 1942 by the Defense Plant Corporation, as the company entered wartime production of all types of instruments. The October 1929 issue of Aero Digest contains an advertisement showing manufacturing di-visions: Julien P. Friez & Sons, Molded Insulation Co., Mount Vernon, New York, and Aircraft Control Corp., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This a very interesting side note in the history of aviation and related products. Fig-ure 9 is a 1928 advertisement for Consolidated Instru-ment Company. Note that the compass illustration in the lower-right corner is upside down.

60 MARCH/APRIL 2015

Figure 6

Figure 8

Figure 7


Pioneer Instrument Company, on the other hand, marketed separate instruments with its logo “PI” etched on the dial face. The factory was located in Brooklyn, New York. Pioneer produced aircraft in-struments of various types for many years. Pioneer Instruments was eventually absorbed by the Bendix Aviation Corporation and became the Eclipse-Pioneer Division. However in its early days it manufactured many individual instruments for current production aircraft in the 1920s. The Pioneer tachometer shown in Figure 10 is a 3⅛-inch diameter piece and dates back into the 1920s. Dials were most often iridium, which glowed in the dark.

Driving the ta-chometer required a flexible shaft in-side a wound hous-ing. These flexible tachometer drive shafts were an out-growth from the dental industry, which used them to drive their tools for drilling teeth. These flexible steel wire drive shafts even-tually evolved into aircraft tachometer

drives. Tachometer drive shafts were manufactured in left- and right-hand drives and to various lengths. Once made, they could not be shortened. Wound in-ner drive shafts were lubricated with graphite grease. Tach cables drove into the instrument case at various clock locations, such as 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, etc. Figure 11 is an advertisement for tachometer drive assem-blies. Note that the company also manufactured den-tal equipment.

Several manufacturers have entered the aviation business by providing such instruments as pressure

and temperature indicators. One such early manu-facturer was Mo-toMeter Gauge and Equipment Company, Long Island City, New York. Temperature indicators were needed for oil and coolant sensing, while pressure indicators were needed for oil and fuel pressure sensing. In rare cases, a tempera-ture indicator was placed in the car-buretor to sense fuel/air charge temperature, so the aviator might detect icing of the carburetor.

Note in the advertisement in Figure 12 the statement that the instruments are now in Army-Navy (AN) size, which is the beginning of AN standard-ization of aircraft instruments.

Most all of these early instrument products were developed by skilled watchmakers, scientific instrument inventors, and other craftsmen with related skills that were gained well before the air-plane came of age. Through apprenticeship and training, particularly in England, France, and Swit-zerland, these skills immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And as these immigrants settled, they stayed around the New York and Boston area to eventually found small shops, then larger factories, to produce all types of instrumentation. Undoubtedly these small factories were absorbed by larger, more successful companies and were adapted into inventing instru-mentation for airplanes.

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City, State,CountryWilliam Aanstad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O Fallon, ILDanny Aavang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fort Wayne, INRomaine Albrecht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ohio, ILBryce Alcock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Valparaiso, INRichard Altendorf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Northwood, NDRichard Amrhein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Homestead, FLChristopher Andersen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Columbus, OHJohn Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Landenberg, PADenis Arbeau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Napa, CAThomas Arnold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Casper, WYScott Baber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Palmdale, CABrandon Barker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oklahoma City, OKJames Bates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Slidell, LARichard Beebe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hamden, CTClarence Beintema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kitchener, ONTodd Bengtson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tyler, TXHarold Bickford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Auburn, NEEdith Bickford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Auburn, NEDennis Bittner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacksonville, FLDaniel Bostrom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Junction City, KSPaula Breton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acworth, GAFrosine Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Poway, CAWilliam Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Antonio, TXBob Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Newcastle, OKErin Brueggen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oshkosh, WILynn Bueckman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hattiesburg, MSCasey Bussett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yukon, OKGary Caldwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacksonville, FLDaniel Camacho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lenexa, KSTrevor Cammidge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ossett, United KingdomRyan Carper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marietta, OHAlan Casner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Auburn, CAJohn Chancellor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Columbia, MOMichael Chenoweth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Homestead, FLGregory Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sugarloaf Key, FLLewis Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lansing, MIMargie Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lansing, MIRobert Clift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milton, WIEfrem Cockett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Guernsey, United KingdomRobert Colby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bigfork, MTRobert Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rensselaer, NYGary Coonan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bell Buckle, TNAxel Cordemans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wanchai, Hong KongKent Corney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gordon, AustraliaMathieu Cote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acton Vale, QCChris Craver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hanover, VAMichael Crouch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Woodstock, ILDoug Crumrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Granbury, TXFred Culick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Altadena, CAAlex Cywan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sherman Oaks, CADamian Delgaizo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andover, NJHenry Derrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greenville, SCTom Donnelly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Salome, AZJames Douglas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Francisco, CADavid Downey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harleysville, PASteven Dull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sammamish, WAAllen Dunckel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Weslaco, TXCharles Dupuis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Saco, METerry Durham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parker, COJeremy Eisenbrandt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Grand Rapids, MIMark Erickson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brandon, SDMike Eriksen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wells, NVMatthew Erwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Belleville, MIC. Eskey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia Beach, VAMegan Everett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Easton, PASteve Faulk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denver, COChris Fay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wilson, NYChris Feaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richmond, INClint Fereday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Grand Rapids, MICarolyn Fereday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Grand Rapids, MINicolas Fereday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Grand Rapids, MIRichard Filipowicz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reno, NVJohn Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fayetteville, GATom Flanagan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hagaman, NYStuart Fraley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indianapolis, INMark Gaponoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mercer Island, WAGlenwood Garner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Newport, NCMark Geisler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dallas, TXMatthew Genuardi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orlando, FLMichael Gerhardt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Birmingham, ALFred Grant, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eaton, INBruce Gray, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lincoln, CAHarry Griffing, III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sandusky, OHFrank Grossmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rochester, NY

Barry Hancock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lindon, UTTony Handley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arcola, MSMichael Haney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tehachapi, CADiane Harnisch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic Beach, FLDavid Harris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lakeland, FLWilliam Harris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Topeka, KSRyan Harris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West Nyack, NYBryan Harrison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carbondale, ILBill Hart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sharpsburg, GAMatt Henderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kyneton, AustraliaWilliam Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nashville, TNJeffrey Hinkle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arvada, COSteven Hoffman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nokomis, ILThomas Hogan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fairfield, OHChristina Hollibone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fairbanks, AKMark Honeycutt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth City, NCLon Horton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Waubeka, WIMark Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alpharetta, GAEva Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alpharetta, GAMark Nicholas Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alpharetta, GAEvan Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alpharetta, GAJohn Hulls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Point Reyes Station, CABarry Hutton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Williamson, GAPhilip Isch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Geneva, INRajkumar Jain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mumbai, IndiaRobert Jeffery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crescent Head, AustraliaSean Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fresno, CABrian Johnston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washtucna, WAJames Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arvada, COCarl R. Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clinton, NYJohn Kaprocki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ormond Beach, FLCarol A. Karlewicz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cincinnati, OHMike Keenum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ocala, FLGene Kent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richardson, TXBarry King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bentonville, ARAdam Kite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ogden, UTErling Kjærnes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nesoddtangen, NorwayGlen Klassen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neepawa, MBDuke Klement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grass Valley, CABrad Kratz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mahaffey, PAAnthony Krause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brentwood, MODouglas Leamon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anchorage, AKThomas Leaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . London, United KingdomEd Lewandowski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lakewood, COPaul Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tomball, TXKevin Lienke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beaver Dam, WIChristopher Lindauer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Athens, ILBobby Litchfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ontario, CAMike Lockhart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Redlands, CADaniel Loegering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West Fargo, NDRichard Luke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pittsboro, NCGary Lundberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taylorsville, KYSandy Lundberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taylorsville, KYJohn Magoffin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tucson, AZJohn Mahany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Long Beach, CASeth Maher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dublin, OHCharlie Manning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interlochen, MIJonathan Martel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lewiston, MEMark Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elk Grove Village, ILPhillip Ray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mason Park City, UTJohn Meade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cherry Valley, NYScott Meisenheimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Waukesha, WIMike Meister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Muscoda, WINeil Menard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Redding, CADonna Mersal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pompano Beach, FLMark Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vickery, OHLorin Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Colo, IARobert Mims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Columbus, GAWilliam Miracco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Batavia, OHMichael Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Represa, CABart Morrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gooding, IDMichael Mouat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hemet, CABrad Muir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hamilton, ONTerrence Murphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Belmont, NHSteven Myron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Puyallup, WAChristopher Nesin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chattanooga, TNKie Nobra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Houston, TXHolliday Obrecht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mooresville, NCTimothy Orton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walker, MNChristopher Owens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marshfield, WIJeffrey Parker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia Beach, VAGeorge Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milan, MINorman Parmley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trent Woods, NCJohn Peapples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Little Rock, ARYon Perras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Morrisville, VT

Joe Persinger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denver, NCMichal Pilch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drogomysl, PolandPaul Pilipshen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bay Shore, NYJanet Plumb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Verona, WIGary Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roanoke, VARick Purrington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clinton, UTMike Ramos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dodgeville, WITimothy Raupp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oshkosh, WIScott Reetz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clintonville, WIDavid Reichard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dayton, OHChris Riedener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beaverton, ORMichael Rinker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Union City, TNChris Rounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tullahoma, TNDave Roy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Prescott, AZJohn Rummery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Whangarei, New ZealandBob Schefter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fergus Falls, MNMark Schemm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sterling Heights, MICarl Scheuneman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plano, TXLouis Schmidt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orange, CAConnie Schmidt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orange, CAMichael Schnell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Bremen, OHRobert Schrammel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Waukesha, WIRonald Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buda, ILPierre William . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Senneville Pincourt, QCDennis Shanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elburn, ILShawn Shippee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Northfield, MARandall Sikora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Boca Raton, FLGordon Skerratt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Toronto, ONPaul Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plainfield, ILF. Snyder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wichita, KSKenneth Snyder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spring, TXVictor Sobrado. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Noman, OKPeter Soderquist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mesquite, NVSteven Sowinski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elk Grove Village, ILHarold Spivey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dunwoody, GADick Stafford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mora, MNDonald Steen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saint Johnsbury, VTDonald Stewart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vulcan, MIGary Stewart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stilwell, KSHugh Stoops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Belleville, ILScott Stueckradt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Huxley, IAJohn Taye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Boise, IDScott Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aurora, COStephen Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medina, WAKris Taylor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medina, WAIsabel Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medina, WAFinley Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medina, WAScott Thiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edgewood, WACraig Thighe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parker, COJulius Thorolfsson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kopavogur, IcelandJerry Tobias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Omaha, NEWilliam Toole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Goochland, VATom Treharne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South Wales, NYBarry Triplett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ct Durham, United KingdomShane Twohy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Osceola, WIGustav Ulrich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Whispering Pines, NCMarlene Vale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mercer Island, WAShane Vande Voort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pella, IAEugene VanDePutte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lopez Island, WAJohn Vander Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Middle Grove, NYScott VanDevanter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Centerville, OHAdam Verdin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Luis Obispo, CAKeith Vinyard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fenton, MODavid Vizzolini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lebanon, TNThomas Wade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellisville, MSRonald Wagner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Excelsior, MNChristopher Walsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harrison, IDJocelyn Warrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Woodinville, WABenjamin Watsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Montclair, NJBobby Watson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Villa Rica, GAJames White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bedford, TXChris Wilco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Canajoharie, NYMark Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saint Joseph, MIPhillip Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Viola, DEHeinrich Wintermann . . . . . . . . . . . . Ladenburg, GermanyClifton Woodford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fox Point, WIJohn Woodrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Springfield, OHJeff Woods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carson City, NVChristopher Yakubek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oakland, CAKouji Yamazaki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ohme-Shi, TokyoKyle Yates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stanwood, WABoyt Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hamill, SDRamin Zamanian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katy, TXWilliam Zemotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Port Richey, FLJosh Zuerner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terre Haute, IN

62 MARCH/APRIL 2015

New Members

otherwise, regarding the new VAA magazine and our many other valued member benefits.

So, what is going on in the vintage airplane movement? The answer is, “A lot!” The debate over third-class medical reform continues to heat up. The self-imposed evaluation period for the DOT to respond to the EAA/AOPA petition has long ago ex-pired, and this really makes me wonder what in the world is going on here.

All pilots are already required to conduct a self-assessment of health to meet the requirement of FAR 61.53, which states that pilots must not fly with a known medical deficiency or using medicines that might affect their ability to fly. A plan is already in place to educate our recreational pilots on how to conduct a thorough self-assessment. Safety is not an issue, and in fact a thorough self-assessment training program requirement will in fact enhance the safe operation of an aircraft. Some believe that the time has come for our legislators to step in and change the federal guidelines regulating the third-class medical rules. One thing for sure is that we need to continue the dialogue with our legislators, and keep them informed of where we stand on this critical initiative.

It’s that time of year to again consider a dona-tion to the VAA’s Friends of the Red Barn. This fundraising program is specifically relevant to what we as an organization can put on the table for AirVenture. Our current planning for these funds is to continue to execute on a number of capital improvements to the Vintage display area. These funds also go a long way toward funding this or-ganization with our routine day to day expenses. Please be a friend to the Red Barn this year, where not a single soul is a stranger!

As always, please do us all the favor of inviting a friend to join the VAA, and help keep us the strong association we have all enjoyed for so many years.

Let’s all pull in the same direction for the overall good of aviation. Remember, we are better together. Join us and have it all.

Come share the passion! See you at EAA AirVen-ture Oshkosh—July 20-26, 2015.


Straight & Levelcontinued from page 1

What Our Members Are RestoringAre you nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it

done and you’re busy flying and showing it off? If so, we’d like to hear from you. Send us a 4-by-6-inch print from a commercial source or a 4-by-6-inch, 300-dpi digital photo. A JPG from your 2.5-megapixel (or higher) digital camera is fine. You can burn photos to a CD, or if you’re on a high-speed Internet connection, you can e-mail them along with a text-only or Word document describing your airplane. (If your e-mail program asks if you’d like to make the photos smaller, say no.)For more information, you can also e-mail [email protected].

AERO CLASSIC“COLLECTOR SERIES”

Vintage Tires New USA Production

Telephone: 800-247-8473 or

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

6900 Acco St., Montebello, CA 90640 3400 Chelsea Ave, Memphis, TN 38106

www.desser.com In Support Of Aviation Since 1920….

Show off your pride and joy with a fresh set of Vintage Rubber. These newly minted tires are FAA-TSO’d and speed rated to 120 MPH. Some things are better left the way they

were, and in the 40’s and 50’s, these tires were perfectly in tune to the exciting times in aviation.

Not only do these tires set your vintage plane apart from the rest, but also look exceptional on all General Aviation aircraft. Deep 8/32nd tread depth offers above average tread life and UV treated rubber resists aging.

First impressions last a lifetime, so put these jewels on and bring back the good times..… New General Aviation Sizes Available:

500 x 5, 600 x 6, 700 x 8

Desser has the largest stock and selection of Vintage and Warbird tires in the world. Contact us with your requirements.

The VAA Insurance Program is brought to you by EAA Insurance and administered by Falcon Insurance Agency, Inc. © 2012 Experimental Aircraft Assoc., Inc.

Standard Category | Vintage | Aerobatics | LSA | Homebuilts | Warbirds | Sea Planes | Powered Parachutes & Trikes | Gliders | Helicopters

The new standard in antique.Introducing the EAA and Vintage Aircraft Association Aircraft Insurance Plan with all

of the special coverage options VAA Members require for hand propping, tailwheel,

grass strips, and unique aircraft. When you insure with the EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan

you are helping VAA to continue to promote the heritage of vintage aviation.

Check out the EAA and VAA Plan today! Go to EAALowerRates.com or call us toll-free at 866-647-4322.


AircraftInsurance

64 MARCH/APRIL 2015

PresidentGeoff Robison

1521 E. MacGregor Dr.New Haven, IN 46774

[email protected]

Vice-PresidentDave Clark

635 Vestal LanePlainfield, IN 46168

[email protected]

SecretarySteve Nesse

2009 Highland Ave.Albert Lea, MN 56007

[email protected]

TreasurerJerry Brown

4605 Hickory Wood RowGreenwood, IN 46143

[email protected]

Ron Alexander118 Huff Daland Circle

Griffin, GA [email protected]

George DaubnerN57W34837 Pondview LnOconomowoc, WI 53066

[email protected]

Robert D. “Bob” Lumley1265 South 124th St.Brookfield, WI 53005

[email protected]

Joe Norris264 Old OR Rd.

Oshkosh, WI [email protected]

Tim Popp60568 Springhaven Ct.

Lawton, MI 49065269-624-5036

[email protected]

Susan Dusenbury1374 Brook Cove Road

Walnut Cove, NC 27052336-591-3931

[email protected]

David Bennett375 Killdeer Ct

Lincoln, CA 95648916-952-9449

[email protected]

Robert C. Brauer9345 S. Hoyne

Chicago, IL 60643773-779-2105

[email protected]

Gene Chase8555 S. Lewis Ave., #32

Tulsa, OK 74137918-298-3692

Phil Coulson28415 Springbrook Dr.

Lawton, MI 49065269-624-6490

[email protected]

Ronald C. Fritz15401 Sparta Ave.

Kent City, MI 49330616-678-5012

[email protected]

Charles W. HarrisPO Box 470350

Tulsa, OK [email protected]

E.E. “Buck” Hilbert8102 Leech Rd.Union, IL 60180815-923-4591

[email protected]

Gene Morris5936 Steve Court

Roanoke, TX 76262817-491-9110

[email protected]

S.H. “Wes” Schmid2359 Lefeber Avenue

Wauwatosa, WI 53213414-771-1545

[email protected]

John TurgyanPO Box 219

New Egypt, NJ 08533609-752-1944

[email protected]

DIRECTORS

OFFICERS

DIRECTORS EMERITUS

VAADirectory

Something to buy, se l l , or t rade?Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum, with boldface lead-in on first line.Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and

white only, and no frequency discounts.Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January 10 is the closing

date for the March issue). VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion per issue. Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must accompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail ([email protected]) using credit card payment (all cards accepted). Include name on card, complete address, type of card, card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Address advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.

Vintage Trader

AIRCRAFTPiper J3/L4 for sale, 2012 Oshkosh Award Winner, 65 Cont, 163 SMOH, restored 2004, silver, $60K

740-943-2773, [email protected] D-18S Expeditor, 1953 completely restored, Royal Canadian Air Force Navigational

Trainer, Two Interiors, Passenger & Navigation Training, 478 hrs since restoration, Oshkosh Award Winner. 403-291-9027, [email protected]

WANTEDDonate your Airplane to Samaritan Aviation, a charity that provides missions and medical

services to remote areas of the world. www.samaritanaviation.com 970-249-4341

Copyright ©2015 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association.All rights reserved.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published bi-monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, e-mail: [email protected]. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 6 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $42 per year for EAA members and $52 for non-EAA members. Periodicals Post-age paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. CPC #40612608. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES—Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING — Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800.

EAA® and EAA SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aeronautica™ are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trade-marks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

TM


Standard Category | Vintage | Aerobatics | LSA | Homebuilts | Warbirds | Sea Planes | Powered Parachutes & Trikes | Gliders | Helicopters

The new standard in antique.Introducing the EAA and Vintage Aircraft Association Aircraft Insurance Plan with all

of the special coverage options VAA Members require for hand propping, tailwheel,

grass strips, and unique aircraft. When you insure with the EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan

you are helping VAA to continue to promote the heritage of vintage aviation.

Check out the EAA and VAA Plan today! Go to EAALowerRates.com or call us toll-free at 866-647-4322.


AircraftInsurance

va vol 43 no 2 mar apr2015

Documents