vintage airplane - jul 2003

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 2003

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VOL. 3 t No. 7

JULY 2003

2 VAA NEWSIH.G. Frautschy

4 FRIENDS OF THE

RED

BARN

5 JOHN MILLER RECALLS

A

LITTLE

ANECDOTE

THAT MIGHT WELL HAVE

BEEN A

BIG

ONE/John Miller

6 MYSTERY PLANE

8

THE

GOLIATH OF THE

AIRWAYS

8

THE

CONSOLIDATED

xc-99,

DOUBLE

DECK VERSION

OF THE

SIX ENGINE

B-36lRichard

c

Hill

12 WHY KNOT?

KEEPING YOUR RESTORATION IN ONE PIECE DURING

THE BIG BLOW /H .G. Frautschy

16

SOMETIMES

"FREE" WOULD STILL

BE

TOO

MUCH

BRINGING A

REARWIN SKYRANGER BACK FROM THE

DEAD/Budd Davisson

20

TAILWHEEL TRAINING

FOR

NEWBIES

TAILWHEEL

TRANSITION TRAINING-PART

I/Donovan

Hammer

22

THE

VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR

2

GBR

TO OSH

PRECISION LANDINGS

EVERY TIMEIDoug Stewart

24

PASS

IT TO BUCK

25

CALENDAR

27 NEW MEMBERS

28 CLASSIFIED

ADS


3/36

STR IGHT

e

LEVEL

Y

ESPIE BUTCH

JOYCE

PRESIDENT

,

VINT GE SSOCI TION

E AirVenture 2 3

It's July, and

that

means in just a

few short

weeks we'll be enjoying the

sights and sounds of the Vintage area

during

EAA

AirVenture 2003.

For

many

of you, it will be "old hat," a

great event you've enjoyed for many

years.

For

others, it may be their first

time. In either case,

we're here

to

help. Experienced attendees

to

our

annual

pilgrimage to the EAA con

vention

know

the lay

of

the land

pretty well,

and

are more

than

willing

to help new visitors learn where

they

can attend a forum, try their hand at

welding, and see various types

of

air

craft.

No matter what

your

convention

experience level is, you can always

find something of interest

at the

VAA

Red

Barn,

which

is

located at

the

north

end of the Vintage parking

area. In

one-half of this great old

building is the VAA Red Barn store,

where you can buy

VAA logo mer

chandise, including jackets, T-shirts,

sweaters,

and

other apparel. We also

have great aviation and fly-in related

items.

As

a

VAA

member, you're enti

tled to a 10 percent discount on your

purchase-just show

your

VAA card

when you

bring your purchases

to

the cash register.

The north half of

the VAA

Red Barn

on

the

porch of

the

VAA Red Barn?

You

can

enjoy some lemonade and

fresh

popcorn

for a

donation,

and

then

people and plane watch

until

you get the

urge

to

check

out the

flight line, or head off to the type

club or workshop tent.

This will be

my

30th year as a vol

unteer in

the

Vintage area. I've seen a

lot of changes in

the

area that have

benefited

the

membership . Before

the

VAA

Red Barn

had

its

porch added,

we used

to

watch the air

show

sitting

on a

log that

had been rolled

up

against

the

east wall of

the

barn.

You

can still see those logs arranged under

the trees on

the

corner in front of

the

VAA

Red

Barn. And that's the work of

a band of

dedicated

vo

lunt

eers who

often show up to

start

working

on

the convention grounds in

the

VAA

area

not

too long after the

last

snowflake melts (there's

no truth

to

the rumor that happens during the

month

of

June in Wisconsin ).

They're working both before, during,

and after the convention to give the

membership and general public an

experience they'll

enjoy.

Why

not

join in on the fun? Add your name to

our list

of

volunteers

by

stopping at

the

Volunteer

Booth in front of the

VAA Red Barn.

pated in the campaign this year.

You

can

see

the

list of those generous con

tributors on page 4

It seems like it was just a few years

ago

that

we

ran

the

Vintage

area

with

about

25 volunteers.

Of

course,

that was back in the early 1970s, and

now,

with nearly 2 miles of flight

line to adm ini ster plus the other pro

grams and services that

members

have

requested

, we

have

some 60

chairmen and 450 volunteers to

thank

for

their

efforts

to put

on

our

part

of what has become the world's

largest sport aviation gathering. We

en joy

great

s

upport

from

EAA Con

vention Headquarters, and without

its help, we couldn ' t do the total job

of flight line safety

and

host

the

vari

ous groups like the type clubs, OX-5

Pioneers,

and

others.

Sometimes we get an inkling of

airplanes that are planning to fly -

if you're

still

on

the fence

about

attending, would a

pair

of Sikorsky

amphibians tempt

you? We've

been


4/36

V N 5

EAA

AIRVENTURE

NOTES

BREAKFAST AND A BRIEFING

The VAA Tall Pines Cafe will be

in operation again this year, pro

viding

a

fly-in style pancake

breakfast

during

EAA AirVenture.

With

the

cooperation

of the folks

in

the

Ultralight

area,

we've

relo

cated

the cafe just a few hundred

feet

to

the

north of

the

old loca

t ion, on

the north side

of

the

ultralight runway along the

main

north/south convention road. An

added bonus this

year will be the

addition

of

an

FAA

Flight Service

Station

FSS)

trailer.

At

the

trailer,

which will be north

of

the VAA

Tall

Pines

Cafe, you'll be

able

to

check the weather for

your

flight

and obtain a full

briefing from

FSS

specialists without having to

trek

up to the FAA Building near

the

control tower. We'll

see

you

there

each

morning

for "breakfast

and a briefing. "

PRINTED

EAA

AIRVENTURE

NOTAMS AVAILABLE

The printed notice to

airmen

(NOTAM)

for EAA

AirVenture

Oshkosh 2003 is now available

from

EAA

Membership

Services

at 800-JOIN

EAA

(800-564-6322) .

The NOTAM

describes

arrival

and departure flight procedures

in

effect

from

July

26

through

August

5, including

procedures

back books,

including some Jane s

and

Aircraft Yearbooks.

There are

also

vintage

photographs, aircraft

manuals, and other

miscellaneous

items, as well as original

manufac

turer brochures for a wide variety of

aircraft.

The

library

is on the

lower

level of

th

e EAA

AirVenture Mu

seum and will be open

during

EAA

AirVenture from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

ARE You A FRIEND OF THE

VAA RED BARN?

I f

so, be sure to

check in

at the

information

desk

at

the

VAA

Red

Barn. There, we'll issue

you

a spe

cial

name

badge. We can also

point

out

the locati

on for

the

Ford Tri

Motor

rides. f you

have

any

questions,

feel free to ask for

Theresa

Books,

the

VAA adminis

trative assistant. f

you

need to

reach

her

in advance of your

ar

rival, you can call her at EAA

headquarters, 920-426-6110.

VAA MESSAGE CENTER

I f you would like to leave a mes

sage

for people

you

know who

frequent the VAA Red Barn, stop by

the

information desk.

You

can write

them a message

in our

notebook

on a string,

and

we'll

post their

name on the marker board so

they'll know there's a message wait

ing for them . Sure, cellular

phones

DESIGNATED SMOKING AR-

EAS NEAR FLIGHT LINE

Smoking

on the

flight line at

EAA

Air-

Venture is prohibited

because it's a hazard

to all aircraft.

One of

the

most persistent complaints

among our volunteers is dealing with

smokers

who,

unthinking,

smoke

around aircraft, said Operation P.O P

Chairperson Noel Marshall. To allevi-

ate this, Operation Protect

Our

Planes

(p.O.P.) has created several desig-

nated smoking areas with butt cans

along the flight line, but

away

from air-

craft

and

refueling operations.

Des

ignated smoking areas will be

south

of

the ultralight runway; near

the Hangar Cafe ; near the Warbird

area northeast corner of Audrey

Lane and Eide Avenue); the Wear-

house flag pole area; the shade

pavilion north of the control tower;

and near the Ultralight Barn. Loca-

tions will

be

indicated on

EM

's free

convention ground map. The admis-

sion

wristband

will also instruct

visitors that smoking is allowed on y

in

designated smoking areas.

beef

and

chicken, will be served af

ter 5:30 p.m.

Trams will begin

leaving

the

VAA Red Barn

around

5

p.m. and will make

return

trips af


5/36

O

n a

spectacularly bright, blue Tuesday

morning,

E

Founder

and

Chairman

of

the

Board Paul

Poberezny

relived a bit of

his

youth

on

June

17,

2003, when he

flew a

reproduction

of

his

first airplane, a Waco Primary Glider. The glider was built

over the past

couple

of

years, and was one of the projects seen in the E work

shops during E AirVenture.

Paul's first

flight in

the

glider

was

shorter than he would have

liked,

but

his

pleasure in

flying

the glider

was

apparent. Congratulations,

Paul.

fords

us a

convenient method

of

locating members who have regis

tered with

us during

E

AirVenture. So, if

you need to

find

someone, chances are we can help

you do

so in record

time.

The V

Red

Barn is

also

the

V Hospitality-Information Cen

ter. Please stop

in to say hello,

enjoy

a

cup of coffee

or a

lemon

ade, and "set a spell"

on

the porch.

We look forward to seeing all

of

you

and

value your

input.

Let us

know

how we can make

your

con

vention

stay more

pleasant and

enjoyable.

OTHER THINGS YOU LL FIND

N EAR THE VAA RED B RN

• Membership Chapter

Information Booth

•

Volunteer Booth

field. We're

hoping to have

a good

turnout this year to make up for

the weather cancellation last year.

The community of Shawano

is a

big

supporter of V

and

puts

forth

a

lot of

effort

to

sponsor

this

event.

I t

does

a

great job,

and

we

hope you'll

help

us

thank Shawano

by

joining

us.

VAA RED BARN STORE

The

V Red Barn Store,

chock

full of V logo merchandise

and

other great

gear,

will

be

open

all

week long. Show

your

V

mem

bership card

(or your

receipt

showing you joined V at the

convention),

and

you'll

receive

a

10 percent discount.

On Thursday,

July 31, from 7

help

you

with

this dilemma

byof

fering

to

download your images

and burn them

to a

compact disc

(CD), all

for

a

nominal

fee.

Bring

your digital

camera

to the

V

Red

Barn,

and

see

how easy

it

is to

sa

vor your stay in Oshkosh.

OTHER EAA

AIRVENTURElVAA

H IGHLIGHTS

Tony's Red

Carpet Express will

be

coordinated through

the

V

Red Barn. To schedule your trans

portation needs

,

simply contact

us

at

the

desk.

V

Red

Barn headquarters

is

also

the V

media

headquarters.

f

you

have

any questions

con

cerning special displays

or

events,

ask

at the

desk.

• Metal

Shaping

Tent

• Type

Club Tent

V

VOLUNTEER INFORMATION

FOR E lRVENTURE 2 3

The

following

committees

will

use volunteer help:

PAST GRAND CHAMPIONS

Steve Krog

262-966-7627

sskrog@aol com

SECURITY

and

FLIGHT LINE

Geoff Robison

260-493-4724

chief7025@aol com

TYPECLUBHQ

Roger Gomoll

507-288-2810

rgomoll@hotrnail com

VAAPARKING

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


6/36

Our

thanks to those listed for your generous support

of

the Vintage Aircraft Association s activities and programs during

EM AirVenture Oshkosh.

Any

contributions received after June 17 for the 2 3 campaign will

be

listed

in

the August issue.

Gold Level

Ted Beckwith,

Jr.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tullahoma,

TN

Bre

nt

Blu e/Aeromedix.com, LLC - - - - - - - - - - Jackson, WY

John

W.

Cronin

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Denver, CO

Jesus Del g a d o - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A u s t i n ,

TX

Richard

G.

Giannotti - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Brookhaven, NY

Charles W. Harris - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tulsa,

OK

Espie "Butch" Joyce - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Greensboro, NC

Norma Joyce - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Greensboro, NC

Robert D. Lumley - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Brookfield, WI

Helen A.

Mahurin

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kansas City, MO

William

T.

McSwain - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Randolph,

NJ

Richard

and

Sue Packer - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Radnor, OH

Steve H. Parker - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Odessa, TX

John "Skip" Rawson - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rocky Hill, NJ

Ray Scholler - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Random Lake, WI

W. Ben Scott - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Reno,

NV

John R.

Turgyan- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - New Egypt, NJ

Thomas

W.

Wathen

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Santa Barbara, CA

D. Ru ssell Williams, Jr.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Is saquah, WA

C

apt

.

James

B.

Zazas - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Carthage

, NC

VAA

Chapter 10 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - C l a r e m o r e ,

OK

Microsoft

Matching

Gift Program

Silver Level

Raymond B. Bottom, Jr.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hampton, VA

Robert W. Colston - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Piedmont,

OK

Doug

Ferguson - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - New Market, NH

Jam

es

c. Gorman

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mansfield, OH

Joe A. Koller - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

North

Lake, WI

Robert

R.

May - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Uniontown,

OH

John B. Morrison - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Collierville, TN

ronze

Level

Jaime P

Al

exander - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Council Bluffs, IA

Lt. Col. C. H. Armstrong - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rawlings, MD

Noble L Bair - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - W i c h i t a ,

KS

Tom Baker - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Effingham, IL

Lawrence A. Bartell - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Waukesha, WI

Gerald T. Bean- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Springfield, VA

David A. Belcher - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A b i n g t o n ,

MA

Raymond G. Bertles - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Yardley, PA

Kent Blankenburg - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Groveland, CA

Sandy Blankenburg - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Groveland

,

CA

Chris R. Bron - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - S p r i n g f i e l d, IL

Steve Buss - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Oshkosh, WI

Hubert R. Cates - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tullula,

IL

William W. Ha lver son - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Henderson,

NV

Jack

Harrington

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Placitas, NM

Barry Holtz - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Fairport, NJ

Daniel Hooven - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - C a l i s t o g a , CA

James W. Huff - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Denton,

TX

J.D . Huss - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Albuquerque

, NM

Randal G.

Hytry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Wausau, WI

Peter N. Jansen, Jr. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Seattle, WA

Fred C. Kagel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - F r a s e r , MI

Jack].

Kopf - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Alameda,

CA

Richard H. Korber - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jacksboro, TN

Dr.

Thomas

E. Lester - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Knoxville, TN

Stan D.

Lindholm

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - W e s t l a k e, OH

Mark Liptrap - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - S p o k a n e , WA

Warren F Love - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Linesville, PA

C. R. Luigs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - B a n d e r a, TX

Thomas H. Lymburn - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Princeton,

MN

Roy

A.

McGalliard - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Morganton,

NC

Paul E. Morse - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Zephyrhills, FL

Roscoe Morton - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - F r o s t p r o o f, FL

Jim

S. Moss - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Buckley,

WA

Earl

H.

Nicholas - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Barrington,

IL

George

A.

Northam- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - E l m h u r s t ,

IL

Roger Orr - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Santa Paula, CA

Anna and John Osborn- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kerrville, TX

Steven W. Oxman - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Riva, MD

Preston

S.

Parish - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kalamazoo, MI

John

M. Patterson - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lexington, KY

Guido F Perla - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Vashon, WA

Dwain Pittenger- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - H e r e f o r d , TX

Tim

and

Liz

Popp

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - L a w t o n , MI

Lloyd J. Probst - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Montgomery,

AL

Michael K. Pulaski - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Houston, PA

Robert M. Puryear - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Trin ity Cen te r, CA

Roy R. Reed - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pontiac,

IL

Milton Ruesch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Medford, WI

John E.

Schneider

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lincolnwood,

IL

Colin

A. Smith - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Henderson,

NV

Seymour Subitzky - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Reston, VA

Don Toeppen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Sun City West, AZ

Barry Triplett - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hope,

RI

Harris C. True- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cincinnati, OH

Robert O. Tyler - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Great Falls,

VA

Kelly and Edna Viets- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Scranton , KS

Tom P. Vukonich - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - S o u t h f i e l d , MI

Bob and Pat Wagner- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - West Milton, OH

Raymond S. Wagner - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cincinnati, OH

http:///reader/full/Blue/Aeromedix.comhttp:///reader/full/Blue/Aeromedix.comhttp:///reader/full/Blue/Aeromedix.comhttp:///reader/full/Blue/Aeromedix.com


7/36

tory,

One

evening as

the

sun

was

setting

at

the end of a pleas

ant,

sunny

day, we

were

tying down

ou

r planes for the

night. A strange air

pl

ane

appeared

one

of

the

new

Travelair

Model

6000 cabin monoplanes

a six

place airplane of the very latest

type. Another one like it

was

al

ready based on the

field,

but

all

the

others

were

open-cockpit bi

planes, so we

open

-

cockpit pilots

were all

surprised

to see

another

duplicate Model 6000 arrive.

The plane

then

circled the field

and made an approach to land

southwest

over

the high locust

he

pilot

said

that

he had just

bought

the

plane

'

... ....... If';tnlnSiportation was avail

able; the

pilot

was

going to a hotel

and the lady

was

going

to her home

a few

miles

away.

The

pilot said that

he had

just

bought

the plane at

Wi

chita and was not

familiar

with

it

which

was

abun

dantly obvious. He

had picked

up

the

lady passenger

along

the way,

at

St. Louis I think,

to

give

her

a ride home .

I volunteered to take the lady

home

in

my Model T Ford . On

the way she told

me all about

what

a

wonderful

flight she

had

in

the wonderful plane with

that

wonderful pilot

and how

she

was

so enthusiastic about flying, this

being I believe her first experi

ence.

I did not think

it wise to


8/36

BY

H G

FRAUTSCHY

THIS

MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES

FROM

EARL

PITTMAN

OF

GAINESVILLE

,

GEORGIA. W E

HAVE

NO

ILLUSIONS ABOUT

THIS ONE - I T ' S A

TOUGHIE, BUT

EARL

AND

I

HOPE

THAT

ONE

OF OUR

READERS

WILL

RECOGNIZE

IT

AND

BE

ABLE

TO FILL IN

SOME OF THE DETAILS REGARDING

ITS

HISTORY.

S END YOUR ANSWER TO:

E , VIN

TAGE A

IRPLANE,

P.O.

Box

3086,

OSHKOSH,

WI

54903-3086. YOUR AN

SWER NEEDS TO BE IN NO LATER THAN

A UGUST 10,

2003,

FOR INCLUSION IN

THE OCTOBER 2003 ISSUE OF V INTAGE

AIRPLANE.

YOU

C N

ALSO SEND YOUR RESPONSE

V

IA E-MAIL. SEND

YOUR

ANSWER

TO

vintage@eaa org

B E SURE TO

INCLUDE

BOTH YOUR

NA

ME

AND ADDRESS (ESPECIALLY YOUR

CITY AND

STATE )

IN THE BODY OF

YOUR NOTE AND PUT

"(

MONTH) MYS

TERY PLANE IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

First, a bit of housekeeping.

Wayne

VanValkenburgh asked

United States . We

ag

r

ee

with

Wayne

that it would be fairer

if

we

have a policy regarding the origin of Mystery Plane

to all concerned if we let the membership know when a for-

subjects. While the vast majority of V Mystery Planes do

eign aircraft is bei ng used, so we'll do so in the future. If

come from the United States,

we

occasionally use some

no

mention is ma de as to the Mystery Plane's nationality,

foreign subjects, particularly it they were imported into the

you can safely assu

me

it comes from the United States.

APRIL 'S

MYSTERY

ANSWER

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


9/36

DH 61

G I N T

MOTH

BRITISH

DE H VILL ND

Lynn Sheren sent us

this

photo

of

the Canadian

DH.S1

Giant

Moth

as

i t

r

ested

on a

Canadian

lake.

Built

in 1928 in the United Kingdom, it was

brought to

Canada , originally

with

a pair

of

Shorts

brothers floats Once here , and

while

serving with the Ontario Provincial Air Service, it

was

refitted

with a Pratt

&

Whitney Hornet en

Another view of one of

the

Giant

Moths

, courtesy of

the

Canada gine and remounted on a pair of Fairchild floats.

Aviation Museum, Ottawa.

It

was withdrawn from use in February 1941

used in the construction, in 1932, of a 10th locally built ex·

ample, #DHC.141

(CF·OAK),

fitted with the Hornet, that

came

to

grief in 1936.

"Subsequently, CAPG

was

also re-engined with a Hornet,

continuing until withdrawn from

use in

1941. 1

Mike Vaisey

Hemel

Hempstead, Hertfordshire,

England

"Three of these aircraft operated in Canada starting in the

late 1920s. Two were operated on floats by the Ontario

Provincial Air Service

(OPAS)

out of their main base at Sault

Ste. Marie, Ontario, at the

east

end of Lake Superior. CF-OAK,

Serial No. 141, was

supplied with a P&W R1690 Hornet. It

crashed in

1935.

I know where the

wreck

is. I believe that the

subject photo is of

G-CAPG,

Serial No. 329. It was operated

by

the

OPAS

from 1928 to 1941 and originally came with a

Bristol Jupiter

XI

engine.

It

was later

re

-engined with the

P&W Hornet in 1934. I am of the opinion that the photo

shows the Bristol]upiter engine./I

Gerry

Norberg

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Valkenburgh, Jasper, Georgia; Ra lph Riedesel, Paton, Iowa;

Cody Mccormick, Phoenix, Arizona; Theodore Wales, West

wood, Massachusetts; Charles Schultz, Louisville, Kentucky;

Dan Cu

ll

man , Jent, Washington; Russ Brown, Lyndhurst,

Ohio; Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Tom Balden

hofer, Waveland,

Mississipp

i; and Milt

Voigt

.

Fly high with a

quality Classic interior

Complete interior assemblies ready for installation

Custom

quality

at economical

prices

.

• Cushion upholstery sets

• Wa ll panel sets


10/36

The Goliath of the

ir w y s

The Consolidated XC-99, double deck version of the six engine

B-36

I

n the early stages of World War

II, the

U.S. Air

Corps

was

inter

ested in procuring monster-sized

transport

aircraft

to move

sup

plies

all

over

the world. The

Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Com

pany was involved with plans for

building

an

intercont inental

bomber.

It

would be

a

simple con

version to make

a

transport from

the bomber

by

doubling

its capac

ity.

Pan American World

Airways

was

concerned with

extending

civilian air

service

after the war

and

was

seeking

a

similar version

for

airline

service.

Consolidated

was

given

a

con

RICHARD C.

DICK HILL

fenced area outside the confines of

Kelly

Air

Force Base

AFB).

We

drove

to

the

northwest corner

of the

base

to

find

the

plane.

A

man

with

a

pickup truck was in

attendance, and

a small donation was requested for

visiting it.

The big transport had

been

flown

by

the SAC

while

owned by the

Air

Force, but

it

had been declared sur

plus

for

military

needs.

t seemed

quite

lonely

as

it was

off by

itself,

away from all

the air

base activity.

The huge wingtip extended almost

to

the

fence line

and

loomed over us

as we

approached.

It

had spent

its

entire

life Sitting

flated tires were just barely resting

on

the

concrete .

That

almost

forsaken fenced

lot

was its

home

for

many

years

and

where uncounted

numbers of inter

ested people visited it.

The development

of

the plane

be

gan

during

World War

II

while the

United States was involved in

a

world wide military exercise

that

de

manded

long haul

transportation.

At

that

time there

was

no

real

esti

mate of

the

tim e span

that the

hostilities

would

encompass.

The

Air

Corps needed

many

large transport

aircraft capable

of hauling

heavy

loads over extended routes. This in


11/36

Left)

Based

on the

huge

B-36

bomber,

the

only example built of

the XC-99 transport sits on the edge

of

Kelly

AFB in

San

Antonio, Texas.

carrier for the United States and flew

extended

airline routes all over the

world. They also were searching for

such a plane.

Neither the bomber nor

the

trans

port version was completed or flown

before

the end of the big

war,

but

the

bomber version was

to

become

known as

the

eacemaker

and it

presided over the Cold

War.

The first flight of a B-36 was made

on August

8

1946. The design was

to hold court all over

the

free world

during

that

time

and was used to

keep a close eye on the

Communist

nations. The several squadrons of

B

36s were an impressive presence

one that was

noted and envied

by

every other nation. And

inciden

tally,

the

eacemaker never fired a

shot or dropped a bomb in anger.

As the

Jet Age arrived,

one

of the

B-36 frames was

converted

to use

eight of

the]-5

7 jet engines. Known

as the XB-60, it was commissioned

by Convair in March 1951. The

XB

60

did

not pass beyond the

prototype stage because the Boeing

B-52 was chosen

to

fill the strategic

bomber position.

The

XC-99 was first flown on

April 18, 1952. The design was also

halted at the

prototype

stage. After

being superseded by

the

all-jet air

craft, it, along with the remaining

B-36s, was decommissioned. The

B

36s were

ferried

for storage

at

Equally impressive in the air, the XC-99 Goliath hauled mammoth cargos

that included as many as 42 of the Wright R-2000 engines used to power

the Douglas C-S4. The airplane was flown in support of Air Force operations

from the Canadian DEW line to cargo and troop transport all over the world.

play inside

the

museum.

After

the

large single tires

and

the

original landing gear

were removed, the series was

converted

and

flown

with

the

four-wheel, "truck-type"

landing gear. The purpose of

the

conversion was to spread

the

landing gear's footprint,

to

lower

the

impact

weight

on the

early

runways and

taxiways.

Each airplane had two Scanner crewmem

The four-wheel truck was

bers responsibile for monitoring the engine's

to

become the standard for

performance and advising

the

pilots of the

heavy transport aircraft. At

airplane's position

on

taxiways and ramps ,

least it was

the

standard un

since they could not see the wingtips

or

land-

til the Boeing 777 came

ing

gear

from

the

cockpit. This is

the

view

along with a three-axle, six

out the left-side cabin scanner position. Re-

wheel articulated

landing

member, those big propellers are

pushers

gear

truck.

That thing is

even equipped for steering


12/36

Congress demanded that the proto

type B-36 be destroyed because, lilt

could

carry

an atomic bomb./I By

that

time, almost

any plane cou ld

carry

an

A-bomb.

I t

was

not that the p lane

was

unwanted, almost every museum

petitioned

for it.

But

the

answer

was, No./I

At any rate the plane was scrapped,

but the United

States Air Force Mu

seum

had

already

planned to

get rid

of it. A production version of the 8-36

was ferried in from the bone yard

and

hidden while making plans

for the

new museum.

That

plane was

in

stalled in

the museum while the

building was erected around it and

the prototype was demolished.

Jeannie and I just happened to be

at the museum while the destruction

was

taking

place, and we were as

tounded

that such a thing

would

happen.

The sight was one to bring tears to

your eyes, much like having to watch

buzzards destroy a beached whale.

Two large Caterpillar tractors were

used to render it

into

piles of scrap. A

steel cable was wrapped around the

fuselage or a wing and tied into a sim

ple knot. The ends of the cable were

each hooked to a Caterpillar tractor.

As they moved apart, the noose was

tightened,

and

the

section was

crimped and sheared

off,

falling to the

ground and looking

like

a

huge

sausage link.

The parts were

still

held to

the

main

frame

by its entrails. A few

flashes from the cutting torch sliced

the

remaining wires

and

control ca

Very few have survived and

most

of

the

few

that

still exist are

in

muse

ums scattered around the nation.

(They are located in the United States

Air Force Museum and at the Stratigic

Pan American planned an initial pur-

chase of 15 Goliaths

when

first

proposed but none were ever built

for the civilian airline. This illustra-

tion from a brochure shows

what

Pan m

had

planned

in 1942

Air

&

Space Museum in

Omaha,

Ne

braska.) One B-36 was displayed for

many years at Chanute Field, Rantoul,

Illinois. It was disassembled

and

moved for display at March Field Air

Museum in Riverside, California.

The last production example was

disassembled

and stored near the

Consolidated factory site near Dallas,

Texas, where they were built. It has

been reported to be partially reassem

bled for display near there once again.

When the

factory

at the airport

closed, the 8-36 was still in one piece

powered the XC-99,

the

same as the

B-36 . Each of the engines turned a 19

foot diameter

Curtiss Electric

propeller. With

the

engines of

the

se

ries mounted backwards

on

the wing,

the

propellers

were pushers.

They

were also reversible to aid in stopping

this huge aircraft. Most of

the

equip

ment was

identical to

the B-36

and

made a simple

but

expensive conver

sion from a

bomber to

a formidable

transport. The

inception and

utiliza

tion

of

the B-36 and the

XC-99

encompassed

the

era from

the

begin

ning of World War

II

until

they

were

declared surplus from military needs

in 1957.

Their

engines

developed power

that

was

the

equivalent of 353 average

automobiles of

the

day. The

blue

prints for these planes would cover

an

area of sixteen acres. The electrical

system was equal to that in a city of

five thousand people. Its heating/air

conditioning unit would take care of a

40-room apartment house.

It

was ca

pable of operating with outside air

temperature

range of higher than

100°F

to minus

60°F.)

It was computed that installing jet

pods on the XC-99, similar to those

on

the late model B-36s, would im

prove

the

performance

enough

to

permit an increase of payload from

70,000 pounds to 100,000 pounds.

But it was never taken out of serv

ice for

that

conversion

due

to

the

necessity of servicing the world domi

nating B-36 fleet.

The XC-99 was flown as a freighter

throughout the Korean

War,

hauling en

gines and cargo

all

over the world. The


13/36

more cargo than contemporary trans

ports and

was

able to haul 400 combat

equipped troops or 300 litter patients,

but it was principally used for express

cargo.

t

was built at the Consolidated

factory in Fort Worth, along with the

line of B-36s,

and

operated there for

the first 15 months after it became op

erational. It first

landed

at Kelly

on

July

8,

1949, for a modification of the

engine nacelles. The first cargo opera

tion

into

Kelly was

on

July 14, 1950.

t

was flown during this time by

one

of two

command

pilots, Col. Fredrick

Bell and Col. c w Tucker. Most of the

flying

of the

XC-99 was

done

from

Kelly

Field at San AntoniO,

Texas

.

The primary schedule for it was

two trips weekly

from Kelly to

McAllen

AFB

in California.

Other

flights were

made

to McChord

AFB

in Washington Ramey AFB in

Puerto Rico, and Rhein Main AFB in

Germany by way of Bermuda and

the Azores.

t was flown to Keflavik, Iceland,

from Dover, Delaware, in support of

the DEW line

a

Distant Early Warn

ing radar network that

was

built across

northern Canada for detecting Russ

ian missiles launched during the Cold

War.) Pilots for that operation were

Major

Claire Potter and Capt. Jim

Douglas. The XC-99 was also present

for military events at Wright-Patter

son

AFB

at Dayton, Ohio, Tinker AFB,

at Oklahoma

City,

and

Boling

AFB

near Washington, D.C.

In all, the XC-99 logged landings at

27 different airports, none with spe

cial preparations.

t

could operate

from any field that was capable

of

tric incinerator type toilet.

t

was also equipped

with an

elec

tric hoist that was rail mounted in the

top

deck. There were two

hatches

in

the

belly

that

were used for

loading

cargo. Both were

similar to

a set

of

bomb

bay doors; one was located aft

of

the

nose wheel compartment

and

the other

in front of

the

tailskid. The

winch

could be moved to

either end

of the

plane and lift cargo

to either

deck through these openings.

Records

show

that

the plane

flew

7 434 .5

hours with

minimum ex

pense

for maintanence. This equals

59 trips to the

moon or 1 486

,000

miles. t established records proving

that it

could

easily carry 60

to

80

tons on long haul routes.

t

operated

at

rate of 13.12 cents per

ton

mile,

direct

maintanence

was

2.32

cents

per ton mile and

the operational

cost was 26 cents per ton mile. Those

records would

have been hard

for

trucks or trains to meet. (And inci

dentally, for the trucking enthusiasts,

the truck uses 11 times more fuel per

ton-mile than the train.)

With

the exception

of

routine

maintenance

and IRAN operations

(Inspection Repair As Necessary), the

plane

was in continuous service

throughout its operational life from

its first

flight in 1947

until its last

flight on March 19, 1957, soon after

the grounding of the B-36s.

After

the

retirement of

the

XC-99,

the fenced lot that

was

located off the

base at the Northwest corner of Kelley

Field, was to be its home for all those

many years. t had originally been do

nated to the Veterans of Foreign Wars

cated on the eastern side of the base.

An update

on

Goliath

Another trip was made to San An

tonio in April 2002, and we were able

to

view the

XC-99 through the cy

clone

fence that

surrounds Kelley

Field. The plane has deteriorated con

Siderably in

the

last few years

and

is

currently making a lonely vigil

on

an

otherwise

abandoned ramp

. We

had

insufficient

time to obtain

clearance

to

get inside

the

fence,

but the

wors-

ening condition

of

the plane was

obvious even from a distance . Had

we

been able to get to

the

plane, it would

not

have been possible

to

enter

it

be

cause no provisions have

currently

been made for visiting.

During our visit in 1994, the cock

pit window

area was covered with

aluminum

sheeting

. Currently,

the

covers have been removed and the

cockpit exposed to the elements. The

exterior seems to have the remains of

its original paint scheme. t had been

sprayed with some sort of primer or

brassy looking finish that has

been

partially washed off by the rain and

sands

of time.

Portions

of

the

old

SAC markings are still visible near

the cockpit.

Some time after having been relo

cated to the airbase and during this

period of neglect, it was parked near a

maintenance area on the field where a

careless machine operator

smashed

the

nose

radar dome. The ragged re

mains of

the

fiberglass still adorn the

airplane s nose.

The

combination

of rain

and

bird

activity through all of

the

open

hatches

and

windows must have

the


14/36

Keeping

Your

Restor n inOne

Piece

During the

"Big

Blow."

After

reading

last

month s

arti

cle on portable

tied

owns, you ve

got your

new set

made

up

and

ready to go. Before you pound the

pins into the

ground at your

next

fly-in, do

you know

what

knot

works the best?

How

about the

rope? What kind? How

thick

should

it

be?

Knots have been around for cen

turies,

holding the

lines fast

on

Roman royal barges

and

the many

frigates and sloops plying the

oceans, and

securing

countless

booms and

derricks

used in con

struction since

the

Egyptians were

raising obelisks

and

pyramids.

We

can

distill

the

knowledge

gained

from

the

trial

and

error of

knot

making

over

the past

few

millen

nia,

and

we

can learn

a

lot from

our sailing

brethren

.

Let s start

with rope.

Until the 1950s, rope was made

up

of

natural

fiber,

usually

hemp

or

cotton.

t

worked well,

but

was

prone to rot

and

deterioration

when

exposed to

the

elements.

Al-

most all rope in use today for

aircraft tiedowns

is

made of

syn

thetic

fibers. Dacron,

nylon, and

H.G. FRAUTSCHY

t

frays easily, and because its sur

face

is

so slippery, it can be difficult

to get a

knot

to

hold

well

once

tied. Because of its inflexibility, it s

hard to

tie

a

good knot with

polypropylene. About

the only

time

it

does

hold a

knot

well is

when

it

becomes

so frayed

and

fuzzy that its strength

is

just

about

nil.

In boating catalogs its use is

not

recommended

for

anchor,

dock mooring, or towlines. In gen

eral, it s

best

to

avoid using

inexpensive

polypropylene rope

for aircraft tiedowns.

Almost

all

rope In

use

today

for

aircraft

tiedowns s

made of

synthetic

due to

jerking

at

the ropes

by an

airplane

being buffeted by

high

winds will be minimized.

The

only downside to double

braided

rope made from nylon or

polyester is its slipperiness . You ll

need more

loops

in an adjustable

knot to provide enough friction to

keep the knot from slipping i f the

airplane

should

start to jerk

the

lines in a windstorm. Even though

it s made from

the

same material, a

three-strand

polyester line will

sometimes hold a

friction

knot a

bit tighter. Its knobby texture has

more

gripping

power. f

you

choose to

use a

three-strand

line,

be sure

to check

its stretch rating.

To prevent the rope

from

jerking

the airplane during

a

windstorm,

buy rope that

is

rated

for

low or

moderate stretch. Anything over 3

percent

is

too

high.

How thick should your rope be?

In general, I

buy

rope

with

a rated

tensile

strength

of at least

three

times the

maximum gross

weight

of the airplane.

FAA

Advisory Cir

cular AC20-35

C

states

that

the

tiedown rope

for a

single engine

airplane

should

be rated at

no

less


15/36

ing on the manufacturer); plenty

for a properly tied down 1,200

pound Cub, Taylorcraft, or Champ.

Some folks prefer a thicker line sim

ply because it can be easier to

undo

a knot in lI2-inch or I-inch line.

When

you

buy your

rope, have

the

retailer

cut

it

to length. They

often have heat-sealing

machines

on hand that

will fuse

the

rope's

end

fibers,

preventing the annoy

ing unraveled ends that

look so

untidy.

A one-inch long

piece of

heat-shrink

tubing

over

the end

also goes a

long

way

to

keep a set

of tiedown ropes

in

good shape.

f

you're really getting

into

this rope

thing, buy a book on nautical

knot

tying,

and

learn

how to

finish the

ends of the rope

with whipping.

Yo

u can use waxed rib lacing cord

for this process.

An

excellent reference

book

on

nautical

rope tying is

the Brion

Toss'

book Knots

or

Boaters pub

lished by Hearst Books. It's

one

of

the books in

the Chapman

Nauti

cal" series. I've come to rely on my

copy for just

about

every knot

need. Most of what you read here

is

based

on Brion's excellent de

scriptions of knots

and

their uses.

Now

that

you've

gone out

and

bought a few feet

of good quality

rope,

what

knots do you use?

Try

these old

standards for air

plane tiedowns.

Because

of the

slickness

of the synthetic fibers,

some knots that

held

well in

manila

rope have

been modified

in recent times to bind the knot

and

make it hold fast.

embarrassing to spend all this time

securing the upper end, only to

have the lower end pu ll ed u p

through the tied

own

plate

I f you go with the U-bo lt

,

or

your tiedown

set has a loop to se

cure

each tiedown

rope,

then

a

fancier

knot

is

in order.

f

you plan

on

always keeping your

rope

se

cured

to your tiedown

se t ,

then

you

need not worry

about a knot

that

binds so tightly t

hat

it

cannot

easily be

undone.

First

a couple of quick definitions:

In our

case, the st nding

line

is the

piece of rope that will go up

to

the

airplane's tiedown ring.

The

free end

of the rope

is the

shorter piece you'll

use

to tie to knot.

A SHORT HANGMAN S NOOSE

Since

we're learning about

knots,

why not

use something

that

is good looking as

well

as

func

tional?

A

short hangman's noose

works very we

ll

in

this

situation.

It's a clean looking, sec u re kno t

that

doesn't let go

when

jostled .

Remember how to do

it? Here's a

quick refresher:

First, loop

the

rope through

the

ground

Take the free end of the rope and

wrap

it around the two other sec-

tions

of

rope. Two or three wraps are

adequate. It doesn 't matter which di-

rection the wraps

lay.

Add

more

wraps

if you 're looking to intimidate

those who don't take Please Do

Not Touch signs seriously.

Just

before

you

come to the end

of

the

rope, pass

it

through the loop

opposite

the

tiedown ring. Then hold the knot

in

the

palm

of one

hand and keep the

free

end

in

the loop with your thumb

, while

gently

pulling

on

the loop

on

the oppo-

site end

(the

end with the tiedown

ring) to

draw

the opposite loop tight

around the free end of the rope.


16/36

One of the

easiest

knots to remember Is a half hitch. Variations on the half hitch can be used to

make

more

secure

adjustable

knots. Because

modern

Dacron

polyester

rope

Is

s

li

cker

than

Its natural fiber predecessors, a midshipman s

hitch Boy Scouts call

this

one a Tautllne hitch) works well.

Here

s

how

you tie

It:

First, pass the line

through the tiedo

wn

set s

ring; the free

end

wraps

around the standing line

inside the loop twice .

Then wrap

the free

end

around the

standing

line out

side o the

loop once

and

passed it

between the beginning loop and

the loop you just made on the sec

tion o rope outside o the loop

(that s a half-hitch, by the way).

Pull the free end o the rope to

snug up the half hitch to the loop.

Pull the

standing line light, so

the loop

tightens

on

the

tied own

ring. Make it as tight as

possible,

so

when

the

upper

line

is secured

the

entire tiedown remains tight,

with

very little

or

no

slack.

Since

synthetic rope doesn t shrink when

wet,

there is no need to

add

an

inch

or

so

of

slack, as

some older

manuals suggest.

For a

camel

hitch, just pass

the free

end

inside the loop three

times instead of two, and after pulling the

half-hitch

tight

on

the tiedown

loop, add one

more

half hitch with the

free

end of

the

rope . It s a tad

more

secure. The bowline

hitch

works

well

in this application as well.

Now for the upper end of the rope.

Before secur

ing rope to the

wing

tledown fittings, a couple of fitting

notes

are

In

order. If

your

wing has a tledown ring or hoop

welded

to the wing strut fitting, use the ring to

guide

the

tledown

rope around the upper end of the

wing

strut, Instead of

relying

on the ring to take the entire load. Take

a look at the illustration

In

last month s article

on

tiedowns to refresh your memory.

If

you

have wing

tledowns

that are screwed

Into

the wing or are part of a metal strap wrapped around the

strut, like the F. At lee Dodge www.f dodge com .

9 7

-344-1755)

PMA

d Installation for the Piper Super Cub ,

then

attaching the rope to the ring

will work

fine.

The

hitch

knot

works we

ll

here

. A double half hitch

Is

great

In

this application,

since

It

allows

you

to slip the

knot along the standing line to make the line tight, and It can then e

secured

wi

th a pair of half hitches.

Here

s how: Pass the free end o the line through the ring. If it passes around the strut, loop it around the strut

and then pass it back through the ring. It you re tying directly to the ring, pass the free end through the ring twice.

This will add more friction, so the line will resist coming loose .

Do

it one more time

(again, that s a half

http:///reader/full/www.fadodge.comhttp:///reader/full/www.fadodge.comhttp:///reader/full/www.fadodge.comhttp:///reader/full/www.fadodge.com


17/36


18/36

ug

Clukey

and Karl John

son, both

of

Winter Haven,

Florida, a suburb

of

Sun 'n

Fun, are

enjoying their

re-

tirement. Both

of them,

however, wonder how

they

ever

found time

to work.

Individually

,

they 've restored or rebuilt some

Karl

doesn't

have quite the same

terrible

tale, but he

certainly can

tell his own I-wish-I-hadn't-built

that

story.

When the

Quicky came out, I

built one with a Revmaster VW and

actually

flew it for

quite

a

while.

Unfortunately,

my

wife

had

heard

Cub.

These airplanes, along with

several

others that

came into

their

workshop, were diligently worked

on and, in a reasonable length of

time,

took

to

the air.

Then

they

found the Rearwin.

"The airplane hadn't

flown since

1970

and

had been tied down at

an


19/36

f )

r

CL

«

j §

rusted. When we peeled

the

fabric

off, we realized

that

we should have

used

the

wings to roast marshmal

lows. They were a mess,

and the rest of the air

plane wasn't much

better.

The Clukey/Johnson

much of his professional life build

ing power plants. t home, however,

he was rebuilding airplanes, includ

ing a LeBlond-powered Porterfield

and the Taylorcraft on floats.

Karl

Johnson

was

born

in Penn

sylvania and started learning to fly

in 1948. He was a machine shop su

pervisor and in his 4,200-hour flying

career has owned a number

of

air

planes, including three Bonanzas.

Neither Clukey

nor Johnson

were amateurs when it

came

to re

bui

l

ding airplanes,

but

with

the

Rearwin,

it looked as i f

they

had

met

their match.

The

more we

looked at it,

the

more we found wrong, Doug says.

Of course, we

shouldn't have

ex

pected

anything

else

of an

airplane

that

had

sat outdoors

in

Florida

without moving for nearly 30 years.

The

object

of

what they

realized

might

be

misplaced affection

was

the 52nd Skyranger built by Rearwin

Aircraft

and Engines

Inc.

in

1941.

This

made

it one of the last of

the

type

to be built by

Rearwin before

the company

was taken

over by

Commonwealth Aircraft in October

o

the next year.

It s

interesting th t

of

the 82 Skyrangers Rearwin built,

25 were shipped to Iran.

Not

too

many lightplanes were shipped from

the

states to

the

Middle East. Techni

cally,

because

their airplane was

powered by

an 80-hp Franklin,

it

was a Model 180F. There were also

175 and 180 model Skyrangers, both

Continental powered,

and

a 190F.

After the war, Commonwealth went

on

to

build

quite a

number

of its

185 models, which depended

on the

Continental C-85 for power.

Even though the duo 's Rearwin

was built in 1941, it didn't take ad

vantage of

the

stamped

aluminum

rib technology, which so many of its

peer group featured. With the excep

tion of the fittings and compression

struts

and

tip bows,

the

wings were

all wood.

In

this case, most of the

wood was in the process of return

ing

to its primary elements, taking

many

of the

steel parts with it.

Doug says, We

didn't

even have

a good wing to use for a pattern, al

though we did

have one

pair of

spars

that

were

good enough

to lo

cate the bolt holes.

For

the ribs,

however, we had an accurate draw

ing from

Commonwealth.

The

ribs are

sort

of unusual be

cause

they

are

all the

same

until

you

get

out

to

the tip

ribs, but

you

make

them

all full l

ength and

then

cut the back off, where applicable,

and

use

the

cutoffs

to build the

ailerons. The last couple of ribs are

a different size, so we had to

do

what

we could

to

get

patterns off

the

pieces

of the

originals

along

with a little eyeballing.

Karl says, The ribs took forever,

but the metal parts in

the wing weren't far be

hind. We were

able to

use

about

half of them,

but had to make the rest.


20/36

with all the

nasty

stuff behind us.

We used 102 Ceconite to

cover

it

and finished that

with

Superflite's

System

II topped with urethane.

The paint scheme

and

colors are as

original as we could get

them

from

brochures and pictures.

The wing struts were also trash.

They weren't sealed struts, so nature

did what nature does

and

kept run-

ning water through them long

enough

so

that

their only value was

in

giving

the

right length measure-

ment.

When

we

welded up the

new

ones

we

made sure they were tightly

sealed.

We don't

want to have to go

through this again, says

Karl.

Most of

the

sheet metal was re-

ally beat

up,

Doug explains. We

didn't want to replace any

more

than

was absolutely necessary, how-

ever, so Karl spent weeks pressing

the

cowling parts back

into

shape.

We

were able to use the original grill

parts, which

amazingly enough

were not

only

there

but

not in bad

shape.

We

just cleaned

them

up and

p inted

them

with chrome paint

a

il rather

than

having them

plated

.

ou have to look closely to tell it

is-

n't

chrome.

jfi

As with all

airplanes of

its age,

iS

the cockpit and

interior had been

badly

treated by not only

the

weather

and

generations

of

field

mice but also past owners, and it

re-

quired

many

weeks to rectify their

actions.

liThe panel was one big series of

extra holes

and

patches. There just

wasn't anything there

to save,


21/36

right on

the

field at

Winter Haven

who

works on them and

made ours run beau

tifully.

One of

the

features

that people often

comment on is the

wood-grained panel,

which

is

a treatment

that was correct to

the airplane.

Doug says, We

have

done that

on

a

number of other air

planes,

and

it's really

pretty easy once you

figure it out. We use

an antique wood

graining kit that 's Rearwin s Skyranger was one of the last of the prewar cabin monoplanes built. Quite -

commonly available. vanced for its day, it featured a full electrical system , with this one equipped with a radio.

The first time or two,

however, you have

to

be willing

to

Oddly

enough the

original Shinn

engine

, Doug chimes in, We make

strip the part and start over if it isn't 6C5

wheels

weren't corro

ded

so i t

sound

as if there wasn't a single

right

because it's easy to

mak

e it badly that they couldn't be saved,

good part with this airplane when

look wrong.

although

the matching mechanical we

bought

it. That's

not

entirely

The interior fabric

had either brakes required

many

hours

of

true.

We

got

one good

part.

The

disappeared

or

turned into some cleaning and refitting to make them prop. It's not only the original type

thing organic neither was anxious work right. that was used on

the

airplane, but it

to touch, so everything had

to

be Quite often,

when

an airplane was in beautiful shape.

replaced.

uses a

less-than-common

engine,

He looked at the prop, and some

Doug continued: We purchased like the 80-hp Franklin in the Rear one asked how

many

laminations it

the

headliner from Aircraft Spruce,

win, it turns into a scavenger

hunt

has because it is obvious it has more

and it fit fine. We weren't looking trying

to find

enough parts

to get

than

the

average. He

walked over

forward to making that. The rest of

it running. The Winter Haven duo,

and painstakingly walked his

the

interior came from Airtex. They

however, found that lady luck had thumbnail across the hub and an-

fabricated

the

baggage compartment

decided she'd

given them enough

nounced,

It has

34 laminations

panels

to our dimensions, which

heartburn and

would

let the

en-

about

an

eighth

of

an

inch thick,

also saved a lot of work.

gine

be one

of

the

easier

parts of

and there isn't a sign of delamina

We would have liked to stay with

the project. tion anywhere.

the

original

fabric,

but it

wasn't

Two engines

came with

the air The prop is 70 inches

in

diameter,

available in a flame-retardant mate

frame, says Karl, but neither

one and

its

54-inch

pitch lets

the

little


22/36

Tailwheel

Training for

Newbies

(Tailwheel transition training-

Part

1)

(yaw) axis will be discussed

first.

Consider the mental

image

of

an

airplane

during

landing

that

travels

along

a

centerline

directed

north

(that is, 360 degrees). By def

inition,

both the centerline

of

travel

and

the yaw axis

pass through the

airplane s

CG. Now visualize that the

airplane is not

aligned with

the

centerline of travel in

that

its

nose

is

pOinted 10

degrees

to

the

left

(that is,

350 degrees) . (see left)

Upon

touchdown in this situation,

the

main

gear

will not be

aligned with

the

direction of travel

and

will

want

to roll in a direction

10 degrees left of the centerline.

For

the

tail dragger,

the main

gear

will be ahead of the CG and to the

left of the centerline of travel.

The

main gear will want to

go

to

the

left while momentum carries the

airplane s CG along the centerline

of

travel. This pulls the front half

of the

airplane

to the left and ro

tates

the

airplane counterclockwise

away from

the

direction

of

travel.

Now the main

gear

is even more

unaligned, and the rotational

forces

are

even

greater. I f left

Introduction

The reasons for pursuing

a

tailwheel endorsement

can vary

widely.

Some

valid reasons

might

be

plans for the restoration or

purchase of a classic air

plane,

the building

of a

homebuilt

sport plane, or

maybe to just take on a

new challenge. Whatever

the

reason,

the

proper edu

cation

and

preparation will

go a long way in protecting

that all-too precious classic

or homebuilt airplane. The

topic

of

tailwheel flying

is

far too extensive to be dealt with in

a short article

such

as this. So,

the

focus here will be to touch on a

very

brief

overview of taildragger

basics as well as to highlight some

of the things to look for in this type

of training.

The

tricycle

airplane has been

very successful in relegating

the

taildragger to

the

fringe of

our

aviation-oriented universe.

Nonetheless,

the

tricycle

airplane

can probably be given the credit

for making

the modern

fixed base

operator FBO) feasible because of

the aircraft s

tolerance to

a

broad

DONOVAN HAMMER

long-lasting

love

affair with

the

taildragger.

The

tailwheel

airplane,

on

the

other

hand,

is less

tolerant

of

the

occasional,

inexperienced,

or

inadequately


23/36

centerline of travel. However, this

time

around it

is the

back

half

of

the airplane that

is

pulled to the

left,

and

it

is

now pulled toward

the

centerline. This

action

rotates

the airplane

clockwise

and

brings

it back

into

alignment

with the

di

rection

of

travel. Directional

control

is

maintained

automati

cally by the design

of the

tricycle

landing gear

and

in spite of

the

pi

lot's inattentiveness to alignment.

This

is

a good time to switch

the

discussion to the dynamics associ

ated

with the pitch

axis. Consider

what happens during

a

landing

as

an airplane

descends

toward the

runway. As

an airplane

of either

configuration contacts

the

runway,

the main gear's vertical descent

is

halted, but momentum

causes

the

rest of the

airplane

to

continue

its

downward

mo

tion.

This

results in

the

main

gear pushing up on

the

fuse

lage at its

mounting

point.

For the case of the tricycle

gear

airplane, this mounting

point

is

behind

the CG, and

at

the moment of contact, when the

motion

at the CG is still down

ward, the fuselage just

above

the

main gear remains relatively fixed.

This creates a rotation that lowers

the

nose of

the

airplane, which de

creases the wing's angle of attack.

This

in

turn

decreases

the

lift pro

duced by

the

wing

and reinforces

the

downward motion to help hold

the airplane

on the ground.

This is considered a stable

con

dition and makes the pilot look

and it does

little

to enhance the

pilot's image.

In summary, we

have

described

the two banes of taildraggers,

which are

the

loss

of

directional

control and

the

bounce.

But, be

fore

I

conclude this section,

I

should

point out

that some

things

will

counter the

instabilities of

the

taildragger's

landing

gear configu

ration. The horizontal

and

vertical

stabilizers certainly offer some

help

as

long

as sufficient airspeed

exists.

That little

wheel

in the

back,

which

gives

the tailwheel

airplane its descriptive name, also

provides a

means to maintain

di

rectional

control. Ultimately,

however, it

is the

pilot

and the

use

t

of proper

technique

that tames

the taildragger. The tailwheel pilot

must pay strict

attention

to con

trol of airspeed, att itude, flare, and

alignment. Additionally, the tail

wheel

pilot must also plan ahead

on each landing to consider any

potential

problems

and

then

pre

determine the appropriate escape

plan if something does go wrong.

I

am

not implying that these pi

loting techniques

do

not apply

to tricycle airplanes, because

instructor and

a

training

program.

Too

often tailwheel training

is

treated

as

simply an airplane

checkout.

Perhaps,

in

reality tail

wheel flying bears more

resemblance to flying gliders

or,

say, floatplanes

than

to flying

that

Wichita Ironclad./I Certainly one

would expect glider

and

floatplane

transition courses to

have

some

substance to

them. Why

should

the

tailwheel transi tion be

any

dif

ferent?

The ideal

flight instructor

should have significant experience

in

tailwheel airplanes

and

should

fly taildraggers on a regular basis.

Also,

the

instructor should be able

to

present a detailed syllabus. This

indicates

to

the student

that

the certificated flight instruc

tor (CFI) has a good

understanding of the

training

issues and will

ensure

that all

topic areas are

covered prop

erly. Be sure that the training

process includes some

ground

instruction. The airplane

makes a poor classroom,

and

a

CFI that skips ground instruction

denies

the

student

the

critical

knowledge-based

fundamentals

that

are

needed.

Finally, select a

good textbook

because

it offers a

rich source of information

and

can

be cheaper than paying an instruc

tor to cover

the

same material.

An

example

of a tailwheel tran

sition syllabus might look like the

following. t is a modified version

of one proposed by Harvey

Plourde, the author of a time


24/36

THE VINT GE INSTRUCTOR : ~ ' > o .

GBR

to

OSH

Precision

landings very time

i

nd Cream Tail-

dragger,

turn

right.

Now. Cleared to

land

unway

one eight

right,

cross two seven

at 1,800

feet." Rolling

into

the turn

I looked

forward to

getting on the ground.

t

had been

12

flight hours

ago

that

my son and I had left Massa

chusetts bound

for

Oshkosh.

Holding outside of Ripon for close

to an

hour in

temperatures

higher

than F while a humongous gag

gle

of

Mooneys landed,

had

not

done

much for increasing

my

sharpness.

I was limper than the

wet dishrag I'd left hanging on

the

kitchen sink so

many

hours ago in

the

pre-dawn darkness before leav

ing for

E

AirVenture 2002.

But

I couldn ' t relax yet.

s

I

rolled out

of

the turn I noticed a

blue Cessna 140 passing inside

and

below me. "First taildragger land at

the second intersection; second

taildragger land

at

the first inter-

DOUG

STEW RT

NAFI

MAS

TE

R I

NST

RUCTOR


25/36

that the

Cardinal would be unable

to land at the first intersection

based

on

its speed

and

altitude. For

a

moment

my concern was for

the

poor soul

in

th e Cessna 140.

f the

140

pilot put it

on

the second

in-

ters e

ction, the Cardinal might

easily nail it from

behind

before all

was said and

done

.

That

was

not

my

immediate pr

oblem;

landing

on the

first

int

ersection was.

Kicking

my PA-12 into

a

fo

rward

slip, I was

on

target

and

on speed.

All

that

was left

to do

now

was

to

keep

my aim

point

from

moving

up

or down in

the

front

window,

keep the airspeed where it should

be, kick out of

the

slip

at

the right

time, and

nail

the

spot landing.

I

don

't think

my hands

were sweat-

ing

just from the

intense

heat.

I

had had to

wipe

them numerous

times

during

that interminable

hold

back at Ripon.

No time to

wipe them now. I had

to

keep

one

hand on

the

throttle and one on

the

stick.

We touched down right at the

intersection, and

quickly cleared

the runway. Who knew

what

might be on our tail?

As

we

turned

into

our parking space close to

Vintage

headquarters,

the Cessna

140 and Cardinal had yet to

show

up

from th

e southern reaches of

Runway 18.

There are

many

times that a pre-

cision landing might be required,

not just for a famous Oshkosh ar-

rival.

Certainly they are needed

when landing on a sh ort runway.

And i f the

only landing

area in a

Hea yUU

UgbtfUgbt

acti.ity a

or bel

••

1.300' MS

If

ever a

precision spot

landing would

count this

was it

I knew that the

Cardinal would

be

unable

to

land

at

the first

intersection

short

fields, spot

landings

are of-

ten

imperative for

the

good

health

of

plane

and

pilot

alike. But if you

operate from

an

airport with long

runways, it

is

easy to fall into

the

trap

of

accepting

less

than

spot

landings. This should

be unac

ceptable. Mak

e

it

a personal rule

that

every

landing

be a

spot

land-

ing.

f

the runway

is

9,000 feet

long

, do not accept any landing

in

the

first

4,000

feet

as good . t

isn't f

you

wish

to land

long, let

the tower

know,

and then

land at

the spot

that

you

have

chosen.

Make

that spot

landing your per-

sonal minimum.

Some of

you

might be asking

yourselves, "How does

one

achieve

this type of precision?" The answer

is simple. Be

on target. Be

on

speed. t

has

worked

for

me

in

every type of aircraft I have flown .

Whether a

)-3 Cub,

a

Malibu

Mi-

rage, or a Navajo, if I am on target

and

on

speed I

will

touch down

just

beyond my aim point. What

do

I

mean

by on target? Choose an

aim point

just short

of your

cho

sen touchdown

point

. f the

aim

point

is not moving

in

the win

dow,

then

you

are

on target (on

the glideslope leading to your

touchdown point) . Now be sure

that your airspeed is proper, re -

membering that wind, weight, and

density altitude all

have

an effect

in

determining

the

proper speed. t

will work every time. Guaranteed

Practice

this at

every

opportu

nity, which

means every

landing

you do

. Then when

you

hear

the


26/36

PASS T TO

BUCK

Y

E.E.

BUCK HILBERT

EAA

21

VAA

5

P O Box 424, UNION, IL

60180

Spring

has sprung

A

ter a long winter, the Fleet

emerged

from the

hangar,

started

on

the

first blade,

and

renewed my fervor for

flying a vintage airplane.

Feeling

the

wind in

my face

(windchill

notwithstanding)

was a

distinct

pleasure.

I

did

some

air

work, freshened

up

my

coordina

tion,

and

then

shot

four landings.

I bounced the

first

one,

so that

counted

for two.

Then

I hopped

out

(yes, I

can

still hop,

even at my

age)

and

turned

it

over

to

son

number

three, Lee. It was a pleasure

to

lis-

ten to the Warner

engine

as he

took off and climbed

out.

It actu-

ally

sounds like a big

radial. It s

amazing how something as basic

as

the

sound of a radial can renew

one's joy to be alive.

Then as I was lying in bed this

morning, I began to

ponder

this

thought:

the advances in technol

some 15

miles southwest of

here,

a

powered

parachute

group

miles southwest of here, a powered

parachute group

seems to have all

the fun in

the

world.

I feel our vintage

airplanes

vintage airplane - jul 2003

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