vintage airplane - jan 1997

8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997

1/36


2/36

January

1997

Vol. 25, No.1

CONTENTS

1 Straight

& Level

Espie "Butch" Joyce

lC

News/H.G. Frautschy

3

Aeromail

4 lC Volunteers

/Trisha Dorlac

7

Robert Davis Contemporary

310

Norm Petersen

8

The Child And The

Plane/

William Whiting

EDITORIAL

STAFF

Publisher

Tom

Poberezny

Edltor-in-Chief

Jack

Cox

Editor

HenryG.Frautschy

Managing Editor

Golda Cox

ArtDirector

MikeDrucks

Computer Graphic

Specialists

Olivia

L

Phillip JenniferLarsen

MaryPremeau

AssociateEditor

NormPetersen

FeatureWriter

Dennis

Parks

StaffPhotographers

JimKoepni

ck

LeeAnnAbrams

KenLichtenburg

Advertising/EditorialAssistant

IsabelleWiske

EAAANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION,

INC,

OFFICERS

President

Vi

ce

-Presi

dent

Espie"Butch"Joyce

GeorgeDaubner

P.O .Box35584

2448LoughLane

Greensboro.NC

27425

Hartford.WI53027

910/393-0344

414/673-5885

Secretary

Treasurer

SteveNesse

Chanes

Harris

2009HighlandAve.

7215East

46th

St.

AlberlLea.MN5t/.XJ7

Tulsa

.OK 74145

507/373-1674

918/622-8400

DIRECTORS

JohnBerendt

GeneMorris

7645EchoPointRd .

115CSteveCourt.R.R.2

Cannon

Falls,

MN

55009

Roanoke.TX 76262

507/263-2414

817/4919110

Phil

Coulson

RobertC."

Bob

" Brauer

28415SpringbrookDr.

9345S Hoyne

Lawton.MI49065

Chicago.IL

60620

616/624-6490

3121779 2105

JoeDickey

JohnS.Copetand

55 OakeyAv.

28-3WilliamsburgCt.

Lawrenceburg. IN47025

Shrewsbury.

MA01545

812/537-9354

508/842-7867

6

DaleA. Gustafson

SanGomoll

7724Shady

HillDr.

1042

90thLane. NE

Indianapolis. IN46278

Minneapolis.MN

55434

317/293-4430

612/784-1172

RobertUckteig

JeannieHill

1708BayOaksDr.

P.O.

Box

328

AlbertLea.MN5t/.XJ7

Harvard. IL60033

507/373-2922

815/943-7205

Page9

9

The Dating MachinelBob

Higgins

12

Trimotor

C-3?/

Norm Petersen

13Clipped

-

Wing Cubs/

H.G. Frautschy

19

Fancy Pants PA-H/

H.G. Frautschy and Norm Petersen

22

What Our Member

s

Are Restoring

iNorm Petersen

24

Oshkosh-If We Could

Do

It

Lynn Pinson

26 Pass

It

To

Buck!

E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

28

Mystery Plane/

H.G. Frautschy

30 Welcome New Members/

Calendar

31 Vintage

Trader/Membership

Information

Canon EOS-ln

equipped

withan 80-200mmlens. 1/250sec.@ l I on 100ASAslidefilm.

Cessna210photo plane fiownby BruceMoore.

Page

13

Page19

FRONT

COVER

Janeen

and Dennis

Kochan

swingtheir

newly

restored

Clipped-Wing

Cub across

the

shore

of one of the many

lakessurrounding

the

WinterHaven.

FL

region

of

central

Florida. TheReed

Clipped-Wing

conversion

of the Cub

hasbeen a

popular

modification

of the airplane

for

over

30years. EM photo by JimKoepnick. Shotwitha


3/36

STRAIGHT LEVEL

With

the

beginning of

1997, we're just a

short

distance from the year 2000.

We can look back just a few

to

all the years with a seven

in them - 07, 17,27,37,47 ,

57,67,77,87.

When looking

at

these dates, you and I

might think of one

major

event that happened during that time. I was around in 1947, but I

do not remember much, as I was only three at the time.

I can recall that my father owned a new Piper PA-12 Super

Cruiser. When he would put the Cruiser back into the T-hangar

located

in

our back yard, I would walk on the tire holding onto

the strut. One day I fell

off of

the tire and the airplane ran over

me When mother got through with Dad, he felt a lot worse than

I did - it hardly scratched me

Let's see, 1957 was the year that I was beginning to date girls

and was getting into muscle cars. My father had jus t bought a

brand new Piper Tri-Pacer, our first nose gear airplane. When he

brought it home, he and Mom were in a hurry to leave for a

dinner with some friends, so he entrusted me to put his brand

new Tri-Pacer away in the T -hangar. I got the tow bar out,

something I had never seen before, and hooked it up. So we

wouldn't damage anything on the airplane, we carefully lined

everything up before we began and with the help of

some

of

my

football buddies we proceeded to push the airplane back into the

hangar. Well, the

hangar

was

built

when we had

only

taildraggers. That tall tail of the Tri-Pacer was higher than the

top of

the T-hangar doorway. Crunch The rudder hit the front

beam of the hangar, bending the rudder and knocking off the

rotating beacon perched on top

of

the rudder.

As you might have already guessed, I caught "H- L" over

this -

we

had never owned a rotating beacon before. t was a

good thing I did not do anything to our new Narco VHT-3 radio

While cleaning out some old papers lately, I came across some

paperwork that

is related to this Tri-Pacer. In a 1957 Carolina

Aero Club membership directory is an article entitled "How To

by Espie

Butch

Joyce

The next ten years would see

the

most aircraft ever

manufactured and put into service.

1967 would find me as a member of the U. S. Army in the

Special Forces "Green Berets." I lost my Father that year and

the Tri-Pacer was sold.

t

wasn't

a great year so there's not

much more that I want to say about that time period.

By 1977 I had two great daughters, a business that was going

great, a Beech D-35, and I had discovered how much

fun

it

is

to

be a volunteer at Oshkosh for the EAA.

1987 - I moved up to a Beech Baron B-55, and was on the

EAA Antique/Classic Board

of

Directors.

I'd

made a lot

of

new

great friends working as an EAA volunteer.

1997 finds me writing another "Straight & Level" article for

your VINTAGE AIRPLANE and

president

of

the EAA

Antique/Classic Division, a duty that I really love.

Throughout the year EAA and all of the EAA Divisions

Antique/Classic, Warbirds of America and the International

Aerobatic Club - will be recognizing the volunteers' efforts.

Tom Poberezny, in his December Homebuilder's

Comer

in

Sport Aviation, wrote a letter to the Division presidents

concerning this recognition effort He wrote:

As you know, throughout 1997 a major emphasis will be

placed

upon

recognizing

and

thanking

the thousands

of

volunteers who, essentially, have made EAA what

t

is today.

The celebration ofEAA volunteerism will be a major theme at

'Oshkosh 97, as well as Sun n Fun. Details and plans will

be forthcoming.

Should any of you Antique /Classic members have any

volunteer stories or photos, we would like to hear from you as

soon as you can, so other members can learn about the help that

you and your friends give to the

lC

Division. Trisha Dorlac is

authoring a series

of

articles underscoring the efforts put forth

by

the volunteer corps at EAA Oshkosh. And

of

course, she's doing

it as a volunteer

Volunteerism is not confmed to that effort at Oshkosh, but is

found throughout the year by individuals helping the EAA

movement. f you're wondering how, remember the individuals

who help with the Young Eagles program, and the local Chapter


4/36

A C NEWS

compiled by H.C. Frautschy

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC

DI

VISION ON

THE WORLD WIDE WEB

By the time you read this, the newest

web page on the EAA's site on the Internet

will be devoted to the EAA Antique/Clas

sic Division. For now, you can reach the

page

by

going

to

EAA's

s ite

at

www.eaa.organd selecting Specialty

Groups" on the main page. We plan on of

fering direct access in the near future, as

our domain name is logged and registered.

So what will you find on the lC Web

page? Explanations concerning the mis

sion

of

the

IC

Division, and

lC

activi

ties at EAA Oshkosh and Sun 'n Fun (in

cluding the Awards List) . The text from

the EAA Judging Manual concerning the

definition

of

Antique, Classic and Contem

porary aircraft is included. A section is

devoted to an explanation of the division

magazine, Vintage Airplane is also in

cluded, and a page detailing the various

lC

programs

is

on line as well. A full list

of

current AntiquelClassic Chapters is

listed. The importance of the various Type

Clubs and

IC

volunteers

is also high

lighted.

As you can imagine, a web page is a

moving target, subject

to

revision at the re

quest

of

those who use it.

If

you don't see

something on the EAA AntiquelClassic

Web Site you'd like to have available, let

us know. You can send

us

a message via

the home page by using the "Type" radio

button. We don't yet have direct access on

our desktop Mac to the messages (they

come to

us

via Sneaker Net when they are

dropped in

our

IN

basket) but we'll

be

there in the future. We

can send

you a

message back via e-mail. The only thing

we

ask is patience. E-mail messages don't

Those clever

folks

on

the

Antique

/Classic flight line are always

up

for

a

bit of fun

. One

of the wags

parki

ng

airplanes waaaaaay down on the south

end of

the

field (often refe r red

to

as

"North Fond du Lac") added this "Row In-

finity" marker

after row

150. It

can

be a

bit

of

a

bus

ride up

north from your

ai

r-

plane , but it 's still better than driving

to

the Convention

For tunately ,

through

the diligent

ef

-

forts

of the

EAA Maintenance staff,

the

south end areas are becoming smoother

and more hospitable as

the

years go by.

Those

of

us who recall

the

area just east

of

the Ultralight area 15

or

20 years

ago

will remember when it

wasn t

exactly

a

garden spot either, but attention focused

on the area did

get

in

good

condition.

your N-number on your airplane, you must

have the Airworthiness Certificate for your

airplane reissued. Failure to do so could

result

in

an uncomfortable situation should

your airplane be checked by an FAA In

spector. Remember there can be one and

only one difference between the certificate

and the actual number painted on your air

plane. Per FAR 45.22, it

is

permissible to

add the "c" (or R, etc.) to the registra

tion number applied to the airplane

if

it

was originally registered with the prefix

added to the N-number, i.e. NC 12345.

EAA ADULT A

IR

ACAD

EMY

You still have time to register for the

EAA

Adult Air

Acad

emy

.

This year's

class, Basic Aircraft Maintenance, Build

ing and Restoration Skills, promises to be

one

of

the best offered. This one week

session is offered February 16-22, 1997.

Your $800 registration fee covers

alllodg

ing, food , local transportation,

plus

all

classroom materials.

Don't

delay

For

further information,

contact the EAA Education Office by call

ing 414/426-6815 or write to the EAA Ed

ucation Office at P.O. Box 3065, Oshkosh,

WI 54903-3065.

S

WI

FT

PROD

UCTION?

Stuart

Horn and his

company

,

Bravo

Victor, Inc . (which is doing business as

Aviat Aircraft, Inc.

of

Afton, WY) have

entered into an agreement with The Inter

national Swift Association that will allow

Aviat to produce the Swift on a production

line using the original tooling. It is ex

pected that the airplane will be built using

many

of

the existing certified modifica

tions such as the bubble canopy and larger

engines. Also, Aviat will produce parts for

the Swift that will be available to those

who

currently fly and maintain their

Swifts, Classic aircraft built

in

the 1940's.

Mr. Hom's company is currently build

ing the Pitts Special and the Husky, along

with the Chisten Eagle. Hom acquired the

company

in late 1995, and has seen its

gross receipts exceed 9 million dollars dur

ing the first three quarters of his steward

ship. They see the addition of the Swift to

their product

line as a logical

extension

into a specialty market with which they are

familiar, tailwheel aircraft that appeal

to

a

small

segment

of general aviation on a

worldwide basis. Congratulations to Char

lie

Nelson

and the Swift Association for

coming to an agreement with the company
http:///reader/full/www.eaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eaa.org


5/36

VINTAGE

AeroMail

Luscombe Door Flying

DearH.G.,

I read Mr. Walter Best's letter in the

November 1996 issue of Vintage Airplane

with much interest. His comments about

maneuvering a Luscombe without rudder

control merits further discussion.

The Luscombe Model 8, by its design

nature and center of gravity location will

turn OPPOSITE the

direction

a

door

is

opened in flight,

regardless of

airspeed.

That is, open the left door, the nose swings

right; open

the

right door, the

nose

swings left.

To verify the "door open in flight" han

dling characteristics, I tried a series of sim

ple in-flight tests in my venerable Lus

combe 8A. When I opened my left door,

the nose of the airplane swung right. When

I opened my

right

door, the

Luscombe

yawed left.

Each airplane has its own peculiar char

acteristic(s) when

a

door

is

opened

in

flight. For the lightplane owner, this

knowledge might save a life in the event

of control failure.

I hope this information

clarifies

Mr.

Walter Best's letter.

Warmest Regards,

JimZazas

Luscombe NC45504

Carthage, NC

Jim and Walter are correct. When edit-

ing Walter's letter, I swapped the door ef-

fects, giving the impression that Walt's let-

ter

was in

error

.

Not

so

Walt wrote

it

properly, but I didn't get it down

on

paper

correctly. My apologies.

Not only can the knowledge

of

an air-

plane 's handling with a door open be use-

that airplane?

Steve

said that he had

worked on them when they were built, and

test flew them.

I owned the one that had the four cylin

der

in

line air-cooled Cirrus Hermes engine

in it. It was a fast one to fly at that time,

but I liked it. It also had a very different

type oflanding gear.

I have a sma

ll

model

of

the one I had;

if

you would like

to

see it, let me

know.

Les Deltgen (AIC 14853)

Les stopped by

EAA HQ

here in Oshkosh, and showed

us his neat

solid model

. The

spars

we

found

in

Steve's

hangar seemed to be the right

conjiguration

for

the Traveler,

but they were nearly two

feet

shorter than the span listed

for

the Pheasant Traveler. In the

EAA

film archives exists

a

videotape copy

of

a black and

white jilm showing a air race

staged during

thejirst

annual

Wisconsin air show

in

1930.

In it

a Pheas-

ant Traveler is seen racing around the py-

lons. Although he is not directly shown, it

is

believed that Steve

is

racing the Traveler

at this race.

Did

he

hav

e a "clip

wing"

version, hence the shorter spars? Without

more evidence, it is difficult to say. - HGF

News from the 'Lil Indian

DearH.G.,

Gerry Martin came to me two months

ago and asked if we could fly 84 kids from

a group called The Young Astronauts" for

the Young Eagles program. I checked with

These

two photos show

Les Delton of Menasha

WI and

his model

of

the

Pheasant

Traveler he

owned at

one time. Les

sent

us the

shot of his

full

size airplane taken

when he used to keep it

at the old Appleton Air-

port,

which used

to

be on

the northeast corner of

the city.

We had eight ground members doing paper

work, loading and unloading, parking air

craft,

etc.

h

turned out that the "84 number" was

children and parents! So our end results by 3

p.m. was

67

Young Eagles and 42 parents

Some of the kids were so excited

we

did 18

"second rides" and finished up at 5 :

30

p.m.

for a total

of

126

rides!

You'll notice that under "EAA Chapter

or Affiliate Organization," I've listed W

90" (New London Airport; I figured since

most of us are EAA, Antique/Classic mem

bers and based at New London and Rucker

was generous enough to let us use his air


6/36

OLUNTEERS ON THE

by

FLIGHT

LINE

Patricia

li

T

rish

Dorlac

Safely guiding the many AlC planes that come to visit the

EAA

Conventi

on

is

No.1 priority to the many Flight Line Safety volunteer

s

This series of articles is dedicated to

the men and women in the Antique/Clas

sic

division, without

whom EAA

Oshkosh as we know it would simply not

exist . These

volunteers

not only will

ingly, but cheerfully, offer countless

area of the Antique/Classic

Division, we are challenged

with the awesome responsi

bility of parking hundreds of

airplanes in a very short pe

riod of time. We control the


7/36

Dave Thomas (holding

the sign) and Russ

l

-

lis are j

ust

a couple

of

the many

volunteers

who

work

A/e Point ,

at the

south end of of

the taxiway paralleling

runway 18/36.

As each plane taxis in ,

they re picked up by one

of

the

bikers,

who will d i-

rect them to

a

parking

spot in the

Antique/Clas-

sic

area

of

the Co nven-

tion groun

ds.

--'- '

expert

at

picking out the safest

route

to

bring the airplanes to their destination .

They

are able to guide these

beautif

ul


8/36

Blake vo luntee r

si

n

ce

1

96 4)

, S teve

Whelan, Dyle Wi lson and several others

Crowd control is proba

bl

y one of the

best jobs for the money. Included in the

benefits package are free food and drink

(THANK

YOU

OPERATION THIRST )

and an awesome view of the airs how.

These marvelous volunteers

brave

the

heat, rain or cold to ensure the safety

of

the

crowd

and

planes. They do their

best to remind the crowd

of

the basic

rules and are capable of keeping them

behind the burn line with a single steely

eyed glance, (although a smi le and gen-

tle reminder are usually all that is

needed.)

Although it is not possible to include

all the folks who work with us, we want

everyone of you to know how appreci-

ated you are. Every

job

is made

easier

by

each person

who

pitches

in to help

make Oshkosh the truly grand event that

we love. Thanks

It isn ' t

all

sunburns

and smelly exhaust

out there on the flight-

line. Sally Ryan (left)

hosts many volunteers

as a volunteer herself.

Orlo Ellison stops by

Sally's Woods for a

smile

and

a dr ink of

something cool.

Okay, so you might

get just a

bit

sun-

burned on the flight

line. After a long,

satisfying day vol-

unteeri

ng, Evan,

Kathy, Mike Trish

and Randy, along

with

Walt

in front,

relax before

retir-

in for the evening.


9/36


10/36


11/36

The

by ob Higgins

ating

Machine

I

suppose

there

have been enough well-

researched nuts-and-bolts articles

written about the Piper Vagabond, so I

decided to

offer

a look at that old girl

from a different perspective.

Recollections

of

my first contacts with

the PA-15 date back to July

of

1948, the

same month she received Civil Aeronau

FBO,

ready to take War

ren Oliver's first Vagabond rental

customer into a cloudless sky from the

sandy grass airfield located about six

miles southwest of downtown South

Bend, Indiana. I could hardly wait to see

some during the first few

takeoffs, but I soon got wise to her tricks.

The Vagabond became a refined and

well-behaved lady once her wheels left

the ground. I could relax and concentrate

on her other features while I flew the pat

tern. In level flight at 600 feet on down

wind leg, she

provided

an outstanding

view over the nose, and she accelerated

to


12/36

heaped accolades on both of

us. Since the runways were

so close, I enjoyed the thrill

of being a spectator with a

splendid vantage point as

the second

Vagabond pilot

made the circuits around the

pattern that also qualified

him to carry passengers.

I was still filled with ob

vious enthusiasm when 1 re

ported

for work that after

noon at a local tennis shoe

factory. I shared details of

my good

fortune with

a

coworker,

and

news about

that

momentous

flight

spread quickly among the

assemblers

on the

produc

tion line. Among them was

a shy girl near my age, a

minister's

daughter. The

older women guarded her

and had made it known that

1 should leave the girl alone.

Since Betty seemed com

fortable with

their ultima

tum, I honored their wishes.

Besides, 1 had my eyes on

Nancy, a younger

girl

I'd

met recently while attending

a fellow pilot's church.

Ironically, the preacher's

daughter broke the ice that

evening. She slipped away

from her

protectors

when

the dinner whistle

blew,

rushed

to my

work station

out of breath, and startled

me with the news that her

father was

an earthbound

airplane buff whose flying

activities consisted of noth

ing except dreams inspired

by reading magazines.

Did you

really

fly a

brand new airplane today?

she asked.

Yes, I did, Betty, I

replied.


13/36

auto

transportation

to

and from the

aiIlX lt.

I got a big kick out

of

Betty' s father as

he raved about our magic carpet. Keep

ing our destination a secret seemed to en

hance

his

obvious enjoyment. Since

I

knew the route and flew

IFR

(I

follow

railways), I didn t need to consult a sec

tional chart or the Vagabond's sole navi

gational instrument, a magnetic compass.

I simply picked

up

the Grand Trunk

(Canadian National) railway tracks just

south

of

the airport and followed them to

our destination.

t

was fun to watch my

elated passenger ' s reactions to

the

scenery, prominent landmarks, readings

on the

altimeter

and

airspeed indicator

,

and the increased speed during descent as

I maneuvered to enter the traffic pattern at

a suburban

Chicago airfield

. His eyes

widened as we came close enough to en

ter a downwind leg. I anticipated his ex

citement at viewing the huge ramp cov

ered with row after row

of

small airplanes.

The Vagabond didn t have a radio. I

found a break

in

the traffic flow and eased

into it behind another plane. After land

ing, we cleared the runway and followed

a

jeep to a parking space.

After

that, I

was content to follow my passenger while

he examined many makes and models

of

aircraft he d only seen in photos. Many

were in mint condition.

The good reverend could hardly con

tain his joy as we mixed with some Piper

owners and engaged them in some great

hangar flying. After a light lunch, I prac

tically had to pry the preacher away from

that place.

We departed to the west and made a sweep-

ing turn to the north to enjoy the Vagabond's

outstanding over the nose view of Chicago's

Loop. That did it. He was so elated that he

agreed to allow his daughter to take a one hour

ride

at

his

expense.

Under the circumstances, I didn t mind

having the girl's father drive Betty and me to

and from the airport a few days later. I got to

log

more time at a cut rate. Besides, I d never

tire of

viewing

the

scenery

on the

way

to

Ben

ton Harbor via the Warren Dunes and the

guardians. I listened with glee. Circum

venting those older ladies had pleased me

as much as finding my way around a dan

gerous thunderstorm. I accomp lished the

latter feat when my future wife and I made

our first Vagabond flight, a trip in which

I

formed my fondest memories associated

with that wonderful dating machine.

The general

aura of

romance associ

ated with flying intensified when it came

to carrying girls in a Vagabond.

t

had a

profound psychological effect on them.

For one thing, the lack

of

a control stick

on the passenger

side allowed

them to

wear typical apparel of that era :

skirt

,

blouse, bobbysox and saddle shoes.

Nancy

had

begun

to

make

articles

of

clothing several years earlier when she

had tackled sewing

projects

with the

Campfire Girls

.

What

we

considered

a

sport plane inspired her to buy some cloth

that matched the Vagabond s interior.

The

airport

crowd

dubbed

us a

cute

couple

as

A

couple

love

struck high-

school students squeezed

into the

blue confines a cozy Vagabond

cockpit would hardly

think of

their

surroundings as austere.

Wefeft

privileged as we roared aloft in our

private compartment leaving

the

we boarded the P A-IS wearing a shirt and a

blouse

cut

from the

same

fabric.

After takeoff on an especially hot and

humid day , we headed south-southeast

and climbed above the haze to the cooler

air at 3500 feet. Our destination

Rochester, Indiana- lay ahead. During

my boyhood,

I d

gone there many times

for picnics and swimming with my par

ents,

sisters and

other relatives. That s

where

I d

met Phyllis Onstott, a local girl

I dated via the buses that ran through

Rochester to the state capitol.

A couple of love struck, high-school

students squeezed into the blue confines

of

a cozy Vagabond cockpit would hardly

think of their surroundings as austere.

smiles and matching outfits. A couple

cameras clicked while we fielded ques

tions about ourselves and our yellow bird.

Eventually we walked to what I con

sidered a

major

attraction , the

Airport

Grill.

t

featured a

juke

box, the kind

of

food teens prefer, a fine view

of

the lake,

and a congenial group

of

local people and

vacationers from near and far.

t

was easy

to spot newcomers in that eating place;

they would attempt to pick up a nickel

that was firmly attached to the floor.

While we ate and talked, airplane buffs

hanging around on the flight line had am

ple time to inspect the Vagabond under

the watchful eyes of Helen House Out

celt, the lady who ran the airport .

During those Vagabond days, we could

arrange to pay for only the time aloft as

long as we got the plane back in time for

its next appointment. That day, however,

the sudden approach of an isolated air

mass thunderstorm cut our stay short.

Our takeoff

to

the southwest afforded

us

a fuzzy view

of

a dark haze shrouded men

ace that promised a bumpy ride

if

we got too

close. Once we got high enough to maneu

ver, I entered a gentle tum away from the

storm until it was slightly behind our left

wing tip. Mother Nature ' s No Trespass

ing sign (increased turbulence) suddenly

sent us to a more northerly heading.

By the time we reached the clear cool

air above the haze, we were far enough

from the

storm

to

safely

turn to a direct

homebound course

and level

flight at

4500 feet. However, we first made a brief

detour to the west, a heading that afforded

us a marvelous but eerie view

of the awe

some black roll cloud unleashing its fury

on Rochester. Above the storm we could

see the beautiful white towering cumu

lonimbus cloud capped with an anvil.

With a tail wind pushing

our

ground

speed to more than two miles per minute,

we reached the South Bend area with time

to spare . Reluctant to return to earth, I

stayed high, made a rapid descent, and

used a slip on final approach.

We watched the next couple take to the


14/36

Tri-Motor

Aeronca C-3?

y

Norm Petersen

I f you think you are

seeing double (or triple)

with your eyeballs,

don t

be dismayed. This par

ticular airplane

is

indeed,

a tri-motor Aeronca C-3

that was put together in

the late

1940 s by

Howard Libersky of Ma

son City, Iowa and now

of

Okeechobee, FL. De

signed to be "something

different

" at

airshows,

the basic Aeronca C-3

was modified with a 65

hp Continental

in the

nose pulling a Lewis pro

peller (you can see the

Lewis logos on the

prop) . In

addition,

Howard hung

two 16.8

cu . in .

two-stroke

en

gines from the Radio

plane OQ-2A drone un

der

the wings that were

attached by special

mounts. The drone en

gines had contra-rotating

propellers (note the different blade angles on the small props) and

could be throttled from the cockpit.

\

because of a fatal crowd accident in Colorado, Howard removed

the two outboard engines and sold the single-engined Aeronca C


15/36


16/36

moved, the

No.2

Compression

strut s taken out, and the lead-

ing edge metal, root ribs and

false rib s are removed. That

leave

s

over

40 inches

of

the

spa

rs exposed at

their root.

Measure twice and cut once

with a saw, varnish the ex-

posed ends

of

the spar and get

ready to start installing hard-

ware. The compression strut

n the old No. 2 position is re-

moved, replaced with the orig-

inal root compression tube in-

stalled in its place. The spars

are drilled using a hand brace

and bit and the fittings and ribs

reinstalled. The spars have to

be reinforced at the strut fit-

tings with a vertical channel ,

added to co mpensate for ec-

centric strut loads (the wing

struts will no longer line up

precisely with the fittings in-

stalled on the spar). The wings

is then trammeled and recov-

ered. That's not all there is too the modifi-

cation though.

A new set

of

wing struts is built up. All

four struts use the larger "front strut" tub-

ing. The forward struts can be made

up

us-

ing the original forward struts, provided

The Clipped-Wing Cub, Piper Cl pper

and Meyers 200 all share floor space

n the Kochans hangar n central

Florida.


17/36

s

an anniversary present last year, Janeen commissioned aviation artist Sam Lyons, 4600 Kings Crossing Dr., Kennesaw, GA

30144 to render this pretty artwork of the restored Cub resting in front of the

b m

it w s found in. Janeen had the artwork,

entitled Treasures, on display with the airplane during Sun 'n Fun '96.

especially difficult, and care taken during

the changes can result in and very good

looking airplane. All of the required

changes are spelled out in the STC pack

age.

That racy look I spoke

of

earlier has in

spired some wild color schemes over the

years. Thinking back, you ll remember the

blue and white sunburst on Hazel Sig s

Clipped-Wing , and the many others that

have shown up as mounts for basic class

Keeping it light

is

the

aerobatic pilots at lAC contests. The modi

secret of its success.

fie airplane has brought out the fun side in

A stock panel with

nothing additional

restorers.

keeps the fun in this

A couple of restorers who fit that de-

sport airplane.


18/36

Above) The shorter wings

of

the Reed

Clipped-Wing conversion are readily

apparent in this shot of this J 3C

re

stored by Scott

Gross

and his

brother, Steve Gross along with their

A P friend, Bill Hadden.

scription are Airborne Express DC-8 Cap

tain Janeen Kochan,

of

Winter Haven, FL

and her husband Dennis, a Captain and in

Already a clipped wing conversion, the

Kochen's Cub had only a few owners in its

past. A man from St. Louis bought it new

in 1974, the Cub got its Continental engine

somewhere along the line as well. It didn't

fly again until 1996, this time with the new


19/36


20/36


21/36

A

well done restoration by

the

Cinquanta family and friends has given them

a

fitting tribute

to

their father

Frank,

who bought

the

PA-11 in 1964 for 700.

By

aril E Cinquanta

Ale 2 758


22/36

The color

scheme

scallops add

an air of raciness

to

the PA-11,

accentuated by the cowled en

gine of the J-3 derivative. If

i t

could be

seen, the

restorers

ei

ther

chromed,

polished

or painted

it

to

perfection.

Even the

propeller

was polished,

with fancy paint trim applied to

the tips.

The hangar was constructed at the far end

sixties

in

order

to be

restored.

Circum

cable brackets and footstep, were chromed


23/36

of

the seven acres and the dirt runway that

I was standing on as I reminisced ran di

agonally across the property. Very few

pilots would attempt

to

land on

such a

short runway .

Most would

land on

the

plateau to the west which

was a

very

long

dirt

runway . Once airborne you

were 1,000 feet AGL. you were drag

ging on takeoff, you could drop your

nose and build

airspeed

soaring

down

the valley.

During

the

1960s, Joe and

Frank had Wa

cos, a Stearman,

Swifts and vari

ous models

of

Pipers .

Joe

would

restore

them

and

sell

them

in

his

spare

time.

Some

were

jet

powered, such

as the DH

Hawker. Joe

would hand

craft many

of

the parts

him

self. A number

of his airplanes

would appear

over the years

in

various fly

ing magazines.

He

was

well

known through

out Colorado,

stances,

unfortunately,

dictated that she

would sit

in

storage until restoration finally

was begun in 1993. At one point, the Civil

Air Patrol stored the airplane

for

my dad, but

strangely enough

it

disappeared. The CAP

had

to

send out search planes to fmd her but,

sure enough, she was ultimately found and

rescued.

Restoration was

commenced

in 1993,

but unfortunately my Dad was diagnosed

with prostate cancer and then lymphoma.

in order to add to its uniqueness. Various

metal pieces, exhaust manifolds and ex

haust were powder coated in flat and gloss

black. This

is

very durable and looks great.

The

cabin

was carpeted by Airtex and

we had a

dash cover

made. We

have

a

hand held King KX-99, an intercom and

has

an

external antenna

.

Headsets

are a

must

and the

whole system works

great.

The instrument panel looks wonderful with

a touch of nostalgia. Original cream faced

instruments, in

cluding a rate

of

climb and

a

1949 inclinome

ter,

were

in

stalled.

The C90-SF

was

completely

overhauled

and

fitted with a Mc

Cauley

climb

prop which helps

here in the Mile

High City.

An

0-

200 oil tank was

also

installed.

The left side win

dow was modi

fied to

open out

on a

sma ll

hy

draulic strut; this

really opens up

the cabin. Piper

should have

thought

of

this as

an

option.

The uphol

Minnesota and

Straight

lines that

are

supposed

to

be

straight are

and

curved lines

are

smooth

and

accu- stery

is

custom

Wisconsin. For

rate attesting to

the

excellent work

done by the

painter Larry Pickerell.

and

beefed up

many years,

Joe , his wife

Kathy and daughter LeAnn lived in Min

nesota

and had a

private strip called

"Hawks Haven." Joe

is

well-known

in

EAA

circles and

is

presently building one of his bi

plane designs called the "Homet."

The PA-II was our

Dad's

personal air

plane and one

of

two which have remained

in the family. The second was the "Hor

net" mentioned above. This Cub special is

We tried to have the airp lane restored in

time

so

that he could fly her one more time,

but it

was not

meant to be .

He

l

oved

to

visit our hangar and spend time there. We

know he would have

approved

of

our

re

storation

of

his plane and we truly feel he

will be

in

the back seat when we fl

y

In

restoring the Cub Special, we wanted

her to have a personality of her own. We

for us short Ital

ians The engine

cowling is also custom, allowing room for

the towering plugs. We had to search all

over the country for the RPM and oil tem

perature/pressure gauge. We finally lo

cated them in Maine. The hardest thing to

find was the spinner with front

and

back

plates. This was not an original item. In

stead, the

PA-II

came stock with a skull

cap . The spinner was ultimately found in


24/36


25/36

James Donnell s

Contemporary

Cessna

172

stra ight tail Cessnas.

for an older straight tail 182 , he stumbled

into this 172 and bought it in 1991 .

was in dire need of

some TLC

.

This sharp looking

1

959 Cessna

172

s

t r a igh t - t

a

i l ,

N6331E, SIN- 46431,

is the pride and joy

of

James

W.

Donnell

(EAA 530423)

of

Winnsboro,Louisiana.

Jim has been

flying

for

52 years

and

has

always had a soft spot

in

his

heart

for

th e

While searching

It

Since

then , he has upgraded the entire airplane,

inside and out, installed a complete new

interior,

one piece windshield

and re

placed the former "droop tips" with these

hi-performance wingtips . A new paint

job

in

white and blue with black trim re

ally sets the pretty four-placer off. With

the list

of

improvements running over two

pages in length, Jim has done just about

everything to this airplane that is possible.

He

admits it draws many second looks at

airports with many questions about it be

ing for sale.

He

feels he has been blesssed

as the owner and enjoys the airplane im

mensely. Congratulations, Jim, on a really

beautiful

172.

Jack

Du eck s scombe 8E

Jack Dueck (EAA 337912) and

hi s

wife, Jean, of Whitehorse, Yukon Terri

tory ,

Canada, restored this

pretty

Lus

combe 8-E, CF-MNS, after finding it in a

garage . The former owner had purchased

the airplane with floats, used the floats on

a

different

airplane and

stored

the Lus

combe.

When

the

Dueck s

hauled the

Luscombe home, the restoration got un

derway and the result is the beautiful pol

ished Luscombe you see

in the

photo.

Both restorers admit the total costs were a

bit unreal, but the job itself took patience

and hard work. After flying the neat two

placer

to

Oshkosh, they

have

now em

barked on building an RV-4. The photo

and story were submitted by Rem Walker

(EAA

11640

, A C 12982) of

Regina,

Sask. Canada.


26/36

OSHKOSH-IF WE COULD DO

IT

YOU C N TOO

by Lynn R Pinson le

343

There are times

in

your life when you need to say "NO " to the naysayers and those who would steal your dreams.

Establishing a goal and making it come

to fruition makes the accomplishment all that much sweeter. Lynn Pinson and

his friend Jerry confronted their fears and slayed a mental dragon. What mental dragon has you at bay? Perhaps be-

ginning or finishing that restoration project or planning that long cross country? Perhaps doing what you already

know nee

s

to be done

is

all that stands between you and the worthwhile attainment

o

your objective.

-

HGF

Someone much smarter than I am once

said that the moment of readiness is when

the discomfort of the status quo finally ex

ceeds the fear of change. After nine years

that

moment

had

come

.

For nine

years,

Jerry

Hostick

and

I talked

and

dreamed

about flying

to

Oshkosh for the annual EAA

Fly-In and Convention. We talked

about

how we would take our time, fly when we

wanted

to

fly, stop when we wanted to stop,

and we especially wanted to fly up the Mis

sissippi River, jus t flying and looking as we

would make our way to the Mecca of avia

tion, Oshkosh. But each year we got cold

feet and backed out a couple of weeks before

it started. We had heard so many

stories

about how many airplanes got there at the

same time and how we might run into some

body, or crash, or just

anything

-

maybe

everything - awful might happen to us or our

airplanes. We would then suddenly get sick,

or have

to be

somewhere else

,

or have

to

work that week. Until now.

When I closed the hangar door that beau

tiful summer Sunday morning after packing

the 1947 Cessna 120 with the sleeping bag,

the pork

'n

beans, the crackers, the cheese

crisps, the canteen, the hand-held radio, the

borrowed GPS and two duffel bags of extra

clothes , I wondered

if

I

would ever

come

back and see that hangar again.

t was

Tom's

fault. I told him in Febru

ary about

our dreams

and how long

Jerry

and I

had

been talking

about

it . He

came

back with, "Well, we ' re going this year, no

backing out cause I told Chuck I would be

there this

year

with the Kitfox ."

"Pinion,

you ain't baclan' out this time "

No way could Tom finish that Kitfox by

July.

He

didn't even have the engine in it or

the insides in it yet. But he did.

He

soloed it

We landed at Morey Airport on the west

side of Madison, WI late Tuesday evening in

a light rain shower. The past three days we

had flown in

clear skies,

in light rain and

clouds, and actually did some scud running

in southwest Missouri ,

but nothing

really

bad the whole trip. We checked into a motel

and decided to have a nice dinner and then

try

to

get a good night's rest before the much

anticipated and dreaded arrival at Oshkosh.

Wednesday morning, after several trips

to the restroom, the engines were started, we

took several

deep

breaths

,

and

departed

Morey. We headed to the rendezvous point

of every VFR airplane in the United States,

Canada, and parts of Europe

-

Ripon." We

felt as

if

we

were

flying over the

English

Channel to do

war

with the Germans . We

were scared spit less because we

just

knew

we were going to meet sudden death at any

moment by colliding with all those other air

planes that were going

to

be at Ripon.

"Curses, Tom

Yates, why did I let you

talk me into this?"

Then

I saw a town and the

water tower

said

"Ripon."

I

was there Where was

everyone else? Where were all those other

8,000 airplanes? There was Green Lake and

Rush Lake and there were the railroad tracks,

but

only three or

four airplanes

were

in

sight. I saw the markers, then the strobes,

then that much anticipated voice came over

the radio and said, "Blue high wing taildrag

ger, rock your wings " I did, and the voice

said, "Good rock blue taildragger, clear Fisk

and proceed 070 degrees for landing on 36L,

listen 126.6." I had no idea I could see Lake

Winnebago ahead of me and also saw the

hundreds

, no,

thousands

of

airplanes and

things immediately in front of me. Oshkosh

tower cleared

me to land on

36L and as

I

by another fellow on a green "Gator."

I got out of the little Cessna and looked

around

at the

gorgeous

day.

The sun

was

shining, the airplanes were still landing, and

the rows behind me were rapidly filling up

with aircraft. I stared in disbelief. There

was nowhere else in the whole wide world I

had rather be at this moment

Well, we were at the Convention for three

days, saw everything we could see, walked

our legs

off to

the hips and still couldn't see

it

all. t was everything we had heard about,

read about, and hoped

it

would

e

about.

We saw Paul, Gene, Tom, Patti, Bobby,

Julie, Chuck, Bud, Delmar, and many, many

others. We saw bitty planes and big ones ,

almost 14,000 of them.

We saw most

of

the 850,000 other people

there besides us .

The

weather was perfect

and there was not anything that disappointed

us

. Then

it

came time to go home. Early Sat

urday morning we got

up

early, checked

weather, and took

off

from Wittman Field at

7:30 a.m. in three mile visibility and low ceil

ings. As I was climbing out I looked back

through the right window

of

the 120 at that

giant, sleepy airport that was just beginning

to

stir for the day's activities, still amazed that I

had been there. I headed to Portage, Wiscon

sin where I was to meet Jerry since he had to

depart on the other runway, and then we con

tinued the long trip back home. Tom and the

Kitfox stayed another couple

of

days, leaving

on Tuesday. We went back through Musca

tine, then down to Kirksville and spent the

night at Sedalia, Missouri. We then flew to

Coffeyville, Kansas, Stillwater, Oklahoma,

then finally Frederick Municipal appeared in

sight about 3:30 Sunday afternoon. Our wel

come

committee

was a very happy and re

lieved wife Nancy and proud brother Keith

~ i r d m e n


27/36

The onarch

A gold-\.Iinged giant

T

he

trouble \.lith flying lies not

in the peril but the

return to t

arth. Yes coming

arrests my eye

dO\.ln is much harder than spinning a Jenny or pulling off tha t four point roll.

soaring

and

stalking his

sacred

patch of

sky.

Ask

anyone of

these

old fe

ll

o\.ls

clustered

near

that

yello\.ling

box

kite

,

perched on

and around the machine as if

it

\.Iere some sturdy fence.

As a great touring czar

my field

he rumbles past,

Inquire \.Ihat

it's

like to

pla

y

God

for

a\.lhile

,

soaring high

above

patch\.lork pastures,

blue frame and patriotic fin

fighting th

at dO\.ln\.lard

pull.

holding

our rap tured gazes fast.

Discover

\.Ihy

they treat

that plane

like a lady,

ho\.l

t

hey talk

to

her, feed her,

Collective breath

is held in

check

doctor

her on

occasion .

Mo\.l

they

kno\.l

her

mind

like

their

o\.ln.

as he circles and touches dO\.ln.

Mi

s

lo

y

al

entourage

forms

to

flank him,

\.Ihat do they

see,

climbing high enough to

peer

over the

edge

of the

\.Iorld.

mi

le

s

reveling

in the smoke belched

from

his cro\.ln

.

of hazy

indigo

sloping

gently

a\.lay

into space.

This

monarch

holds court, good

natured

Look at them , their leathery faces cracked

and

tanned

as

their

jackets,

their ey

es

and

god

-like, regally surveying

his

domain .

alight \.lith

fire

reliving the long

day

, hands t\.Jisting, turning, rete lling an aerial ballet.

As admiring masses move to\.lard

him

,

spl0.5hes

of color

against the

grassy plain.

\.lith

eyes as big as

the children

on

their shoulders they

\.latch

a craft shudder to

life

and

r

umble acro.ss the \.Iide,

grassy sea.

P-:>Iack blades of steel and those throaty

cylinders contrast

his bright,

blinding sheen.

A different

breed

t

hey are,

these s\.lorn foes of

gravity,

shuffling inside, the

eyes

in

Truly he

is

a

splend

id

sigh

t,

the backs of their heads looki

ng lovingly

over the rustic mach ine.

this proud and mighty PT-1 7.

T

heir thoughts are never

far

from

its

needs and

their o\.ln: To fly to

paint

on a

Rumb lin

g

again, taxi

ing a

\.l

ay

brilli

ant b

lu

e

canvas, there can be no greater aim.

thunder

ing

into

the \.Ii ld blue,

at

his

kin

gly fee

t I lay one

reques

t;

There's

not one

among

you \.Iho \.Iouldn't sprout \.ling if he cou ld. Circling higher,

next

t

im

e your hi

ghne.ss

, please

take

me

\.lith

you . high

er,

\.li

th

the

so

le

purpose

of

staying

aloft.

Jef R

ea

ha

rd

Jef

eahard
http:///reader/full/fello/.lshttp:///reader/full/fello/.lshttp:///reader/full/fello/.lshttp:///reader/full/highne.sshttp:///reader/full/highne.sshttp:///reader/full/highne.sshttp:///reader/full/highne.sshttp:///reader/full/fello/.lshttp:///reader/full/highne.ss


28/36

P SSdh

UCK

by E E

Buck

Hilbert

EAA 21 NC 5

P.O. Box 424 Un ion IL

60

180

Here's a problem that I can't direc

tl

y help

this fellow with - maybe one

of

you can sup

ply him with the needed part:

Dear Mr. Hilbert,

I own a Taylorcraft 15A, one the six still

flying

or

flyable

in

the U.S.

The

T-

Craft

15A and the Aeronca 15AC both use the C

145, have identical motor mounts , and may,

ifmy eyes haven't deceived me, nearly the

same cowl. As we readers ofYintage know,

you own a 15AC and that leads me to you

for help.

My problem lies with the plug/cowl dis

tance on the

number

six cylinder,

which

is

too low to

allow

the use

of

a

conventional

s

hielded plug and wiring. My 15A

(N6653N) was restored in 1992 by a couple

of ge ntlemen in Ohio

from

whom I pur-

chased it Their solution to the plug problem

was to install a Champion C-26 plug in num

ber six

with

a strange ,

insul

ated wire cap

which is like nothing I or anyone at our field

has ever seen. It

's

that plug cap that I'm y-

ing to locate (or some other reasonable solu

tion to the height problem).

The plug cap

they installed came from a friend who

is

now

deceased and no one knows where he got the

part.

The

following sketch (above,

right)

gives you some idea of the design . It is la

beled Breeze 3202 with no other mark-

ing

s

It sort

of

looks like something from the

with a

reasonable solution would

be

grate-

fully received.

I ' m

particularly keen in

knowing how the problem , assuming it ex

ists, is resolved in the Aeronca.

Richard B. Roe

10141 Spring Lake Terrace

rounding the engine

is

unique. Even with

shielded plugs and harnesses, there is no

problem with clearance in the Aeronca

Sedan cowling - the engine has plenty oj

room. The Taylorcraft 15A used a cowlfrom

their production line.

be the envy of the biplane line at Oshkosh or


29/36

BREEZE SP RK

PLU SHIELDS

Th

hield fit right ov r your pre Dt park p l u ~ s

and

ra

di .

hi

Id th m perfectly. They ar made n

two siz and fit all s

tand

aN: :lircr:lft plugs.

IZE No . 5 F its all plug$ lip to 1% I ngrh, such

as

the

B.

G.

o.

4 ,

4B.1,

482

,

4C,

58.2, Champion

M3,

Hurley

owruend

No.

300 aDd 437 , tc.

SIZE o. 6--Fits

ll

p lu gs

up

to 2" l

ength,

s

uch 5

th B.

G. Model

IX , t .

Th pri includes th

terminal

nut and

bur

no

ferrule for the spark

plug

wire.

o. 5 Brc zc

Spark

Pl

ug Shield

o. 6

Sr

czc Spark

Plu

g

Shi

Id .

No

.

3 1

40

-3 u a Tennio . t Nu .. Ea ch

No. 3154- 2 Ex I

ra

Ru b

ber

P

ack

il1

g.

Ea ch

o.

R

S I

O

Fe

rrul e for

conn ec

tin g Packa rd

bl e 10 r ~ u e hi

Id

h

ay not have

had

one installed when

it

came

rom the factory. Unless it came with a radio,

t

s

unlikely that th e shie

ld

was insta lled. s

ou mentioned, it was given to the restorers

of

our airplane by a now departed fr iend.

sfar as ignition noise

is

concerned, don t

orget to cast a critical eye on the P-leads that

ook your mag switch to

th

e magnetos

-

th ey re

otorious for eminating lots

noise

ifnot

hielded properly, or grounded as well. Other

ise, they act like nice long antennas, radiating

Ffor your radio recieve. Keeping the antenna

s far aft as possible is also a good idea.

The top cap that Jfou nd is

not lined

with

Bakelite, but it certainly

mak

es sen

se

that it

would be.

What

other solutions are available to

Richard? Ca n anybody else help us youngfe

l-

lows out on

th

is neat little solution

to

an annoy

in

g problem? fyou c

an

supply Richard with one

of

the Breeze Spark Plug Shiel

ds

fee lfree to drop

him

a

lin

e at the address listed above. - HGF

The Fleet IO's Fahlin prop decided after,

gos h

knows how long

, to

delamin

ate. In a

=Iuandary, I looked at an old Hamilton, and a

Hamilton Standard that I've been sitting on for

years and dec ided that maybe it was time to

,witch the Warner over to a metal prop.

A closer inspection

of

the Hamilton was dis

leartening. It

was on loan to the Sun ' n Fun

\1useum for several years and they had sent it

Jut to a prop shop for overhaul. It was very ap

Jarent on close in spection, that it had been

packing

J.50

3.50

20c

10c

hi

Ide

vintage airplane - jan 1997

Documents