Vintage Airplane - Aug 1979

STRAIGHTAND LEVEL
By the time our fearless postal employees get

through with this issue, Oshkosh '79 will have become
history and by now we are back home polishing and
cleaning our aircraft for the next fly-in. Others are
going through the many bits of information gathered
from forums or parts sources and continuing with
their restoration plans. The "I'll just have to have --"
syndrome has bitten some and they now ponder how
and where to obtain the aircraft they wish to restor e.
The question marks appear descr ibing the proper way
to restore it, and we wonder at times if adequate
informaion is available.
This is where our Antique/ Class i c Division can
help you. Elsewhere in this issue we have printed our
Antique/ Classic Division Vintage Aircraft Competition
Judging Manual of Maintenance, Restoration and Con-
struction Standards . This is the basic set of standards
that your Oshkosh judges have been using for the
past several years and through it we have established
an accurate and acceptable method of judging an-
tique and classic aircraft at any fly-in. Included is a
sample judging sheet with detailed instructions of
the method to obtain points added or deducted for
the aircraft being judged. The criteria of this manual
will soon become the universal standard of judging
for all EAA fly-ins, and knowing this , the exhibitor
can be assured of having his aircraft judged by the
identical criteria used at Oshkosh.
Authenticity is stressed in all phases of the manual.
The Division cannot furnish authentic specifications
for each and every aircraft. These should be obtained
directly from the original manufacturer or if not avail-
able from that source, the various type clubs usually
have available the information needed. Our basic pur-
pose in stressing authenticity is to impress upon the
restorer the importance of completing the restoration
project accurately. This means exhibiting the degree
of authenticity that a particular aircraft had when it
By Brad Thomas
l eft the original manufacturer's plant.
As most of us do not wish to soil our issues of The
VINTAGE AIRPLANE you may want to obtain a copy of
the Vintage Aircraft Competition Judging Manual for
daily reference and use. This can be ordered directly
from EAA Headquarters in Hal es Corners, Wisconsin
for the nominal cost of $1.00 per copy. Additional in-
formation and/ or any questions regarding the judg-
ing or restoration methods should be directed to
Claude L. Gray, Jr., whose address is listed on the title
page of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE.
Under the gUidance of Morton W. Lester , Trustee
of the EAA Air Museum Foundation and a Director of
our Antique/Classic Division, we have begun a Hall
of Fame specificall y devoted to the era of our Division .
Within our EAA Air Museu m, presently located in Hales
Corners, Wisconsin, our Antique/ Classic logo will
mark the display area of the Museum where we have
been allocated space to promote and display various
items of interest to all visitors. We wish to honor in-
dividuals of this era by displayi ng ph otographs and
factual information about their contributions to avia-
tion. Many of the early pioneers in aviation have never
received the recognition they deserved during th e
periods of time they were active. Many have been for-
gotten. The activities of the 20's and 30's brought forth
the beginning of aviation ventures that promoted the
advancement of aviation as we see it today. The era of
total individual achievement has passed in history, for
with the modern technology of today no single per-
son could possibly contribute to the whole accom-
plishment. It is often said that Charles A. Lindbergh,
Jr ., was probably " The Last Hero". His individual ef-
fort was responsible for his solo flight from New York
to Paris. .
To initiate our Hall of Fame, we are requesting that
the membership make individual requests for nomi-
nees. These nominations should be forwarded to Mor-
ton W. Lester, whose address appears on the title page
of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Your choice should in-
clude the details of the contribution made to avia-
tion by the nominee. The criteria of selection does
not require that the nominee be or had been a pilot,
for he or she could have contributed through design,
engine manufacturing or maintenance, been an out-
standing showman of the 20's or 30's, or one who de-
veloped aviation within an area previously unexplored
by aircraft. Your judgement and forethought should
guide the selection of your nominee. As our Hall of
Fame program becomes active, we will advise you
frequently of the honorees and dates of exhibits and
recognition.
To further recogniz e our membership and to dis-
play the accomplishments of each, we are planning
an area in the museum to pla ce photographs of mem-
ber 's restoration accomplishments. Please forward an
8 x 10 color photo of you and your aircraft to the An-
tique/Class ic Division at EAA Headquarters. Be sure
to include a data ca rd giving your name, address, date
of photo, a complete description of the aircraft, and
your Antique/Classic Division membership number.
These photographs are to be displayed in the museum
and will be rotated as necessary to permit full par-
ticipation among the membership sharing in the ex-
hibit. All photographs sent to the Division shall re-
main th e property of the Antique/ Classic Division and
cannot be returned. Pl ease forward your photographs
at your earliest convenience, and when an ample quan-
tity has been received we will immediately organize
the display.

(Photo by Chris Sorensen)
A Beech Staggerwing ofCanadian registry.
Editorial
Staff
Publisher
Paul H. Poberezny
Editor
DavidGustafson,Ph.D."
Associate Editors: H. Glenn Buffington, Edward D. Williams, Byron
(Fred) Fredericksen
Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs.Associate Editorships are assigned
to those writers who submit five or more articles which are published in THE VINTAGE AIR-
PLANE during the current year. Associates receive a bound volume of THE VINTAGE AIR-
PLANE and a free one-year membership in the Division for their efforts. POLICY-Opinions
expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting
rests entirely with the contributor.
Directors
Claude L. Gray, Jr. AI Kelch
9635 SylviaAvenue 66 W.622 N. Madi son Avenu e
PRESIDENT
W.BRADTHOMAS, JR.
301 DODSONMILLROAD
Northridge,CA91324 Cedarburg, WI 53012
2131349"1338 414/377-5886 Home
PILOTMOUNTAIN,NC27041
9191368-2875 Home Dale A. Gustafson MortonW. Lester
9191368-2291 Office 7724 Shady Hill Drive P.O.Box3747
Indianapolis, IN46274 Martinsville,VA24112
VICEPRESIDENT
3171293-4430 703/632-4839'Horne
JACK C. WINTHROP
703/638-8783 Office
ROUTE 1, BOX111 Richard H.Wagner
ALLEN, TX 75002 P.O. Box 181 ArthurR. Morgan
2141727-5649' Lyons,WI 53148 3744 North51st Blvd.
414/763-2017 Home Milwaukee,WI53216
SECRETARY.
414/763-9588 Office 414/442-3631 .
M.C. "KElLY"VIETS
GeorgeS. "York
Advisors
7745 W.183RD ST. John S. Copeland
181 Sloboda Ave.
9' Joanne Drive
Mansfield, OH 44906
Westborough, MA01581
_STI!-.YYJIh!<S 66085
.Robert E. Kesel
'Busi ness Phone 419/755- 1011
913/681-2303 Home 455 Oakridge Drive
617/366-7245 Home Phone419/529-4378
Rochester, NY14617
913/782-6720Offi ce
Ronald Fritz John R. Turgyan
7161342-3170 Home
1989' Wil son, NW 1530 Kuser Road
TREASURER 7161325-2000, Ext.
Grand Rapids, MI 49504 Trenton, NJ 08619 '
23'250123320 Office
E. E. "BUCK" HILBERT
6161453-7525 609/585-2747
P.O. BOX 145
Stan Gomoll Gene Morris Robert A. White
UNION, IL60180 1042 90th lane, NE 27 Chandell e Drive P.O. Box 704
815/923-4205
Minneapolis,MN55434 Hampshire, Il60140 Zellwood, Fl32798
6121784-1172 3121681-3199' 305/886-3180
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is owned eXClusivel y by EAA Ant iq ue/Classic Division: Inc..
and is published monthly at Hal es Corners. Wi sconsin 53130. Second class Postage paid at Hales
Corners Post Office, Hal es Corners, Wi sconsin 53130. and additional mailing offices. Membership
rates for EMAntique/Classic Division. Inc.. are $14.00 per t 2'month period of which $10.00 is for the
publication ofTHE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership isopen toall who are i nl erested in aviation.
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC
DIVISION INC.
ofTHE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 229, HalesCorners, WI 53130
Copyright" 1979 EAA Antique/Classic Division. Inc.. All'Rights Reserved.
AUGUST 1979 VOLUME 7 NUMBER 8
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Straight and Lev'el by Brad Thomas . ......................... . .. . .. ... . 2
Rausie and Hi s Flying Engines by Ray A Watkins ....................... . 4
RebuildingAn Aeronca Chiefby DonJenkins .......................... 9
Balancing of Radial Engines - Part I byW. B. Richards ................... 12
Antique and Classic Aircraft Type Clubs........... ........... .......... 14
Drawings ofHistori c Aircraft National Air and Space Museum ... ........ 15
The Single-Boom P-38 Story by Joel Whitehurst, Jr. .. . ..... ... . . .... . ... 16
Antique/ Classic JudgingManual ... .... ..... .... ... . ... .. ..... ....... .. 18
Borden's Aeroplane Posters From The 1930's by lionel Salisbury .... ..... 22
Letters To The Editor ................................................. 24
Antique/Classic Aircraft UnderRestoration .. .... . ... .. .... . .. ..........25
Calendar of Events ................................................... 26
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP
DNON-EAA MEMBER - $22.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/
Classic Division, 12 monthl y issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year mem-
bership in the Experimental Aircraft Association and separate membership ca rds.
SPORTAVIATION magazine notincluded.
DEAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA.Antique/Classi c
Divi sion, 12 monthly i ssues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE AND MEMBERSHIP CARD.
(Appli cant must be currentEAA memberand must give EAA membership number .)
Polge 4 Page9 Page 16
3
Didier Masson, later World War I fighter ace, flying the
By Ray A. Watkins
Curtiss-Rausenberger combination at Mineolia, Long is-
1108 North Main Street
land 1911 . This was first Rausie V-8 aviation engine now
Bellefontaine, OH 43311
owned by Cole Palen.
Wanamaker's downtown New York Department
Store was the first to exhibit the world's first racing
airplane, a Curtiss biplane having interplane ailerons
and powered with a brand new Curtiss V-8 aviation
engine of 50 hp. Glenn H. Curtiss of Hamondsport,
New York, its pilot, streaked along at 46.5 mph win-
ning the Gordon Bennett Cup and purse at the First
International Airplane Speed Contest, August 29,1909,
Rheims, France.
Thiswasan interval oftimewhen therewas mystery
and magic pertaining to flying machines and men who
flewthem.Wanamaker' sbusiness manager knewwhat
hewas doingwhen he signed an exhibit contract with
Curtiss Company official, Augustus Herring at a price
of$5000 fortheprivilegeofdisplayingthemostfamous
racing airplane. The exhibit area was always so heavily
crowded with viewers that it was with much difficulty
that a young employee of the then infant society of
automotiveengineersorganization,viewedthefamous
flying machine. The V-8 engine, representing the very
peak in design developmentas required for powering
aflying machine, inspired theyoungemployee in such
an unusual degree that he resigned his position and
determinedto enterthe business ofdesign and manu-
facture ofaviation engines. Lawrance E. Rausenberger,
twenty-two, stepped down from a big four passenger
train at Bellefontaine, Ohio, where a drafting table
was set up in his old room at his mother's home and
the design of the first "Rausie" aviation engine was
launched.
Internal combustion engineexperienceattheStod-
dard Dayton, Pennsylvania Automobile Company, the
). M. QuimbyCompany,alongwith athorough course
in engineering, a full background of machine shop
practice and, a natural know-howwere important fac-
tors in the design of the first Rausenberger Aviation
Engine. Pioneer designers and builders ofaviation en-
gines were a dedicated and enthusiastic "type" who
werecompletely capable of making their own foundry
patterns. Later they' d followthroughwith the required
machining and assemble a complete engine. Follow-
ing through, they' d make thorough test stand runs of
their "gems". One can only guess at the degree of
emotion that these pioneer deSigners experienced as
theirengines came offtheirdrawingboardsand finally
roared intoaction. Designers ofearly aviation engines
incorporated mechanical ideas that were new to the
facilities of the day, especially the use of aluminum
for the upper and lower crank case sections. Manu-
facturersofaeroengineswerereallystymiedforproper
steels and often required special heat treating to meet
individual parts applications. The automobile engine
provided basics foraviation engine manufacture, how-
ever , the distinct requirements ofaero engines stimu-
lated newand fantastic ideas that were previously un-
dreamed.
Pioneer aero engine designers-builders experi-
enced monumental problems in lubrication, over-
heating, excessie wear of parts, valve and ignition
trouble, which one by one were overcome through
vigorous tests and often heavyoutlayofcash.
The first aero engine off Rausie's drawing board in
1910, was a water cooled 45 hp V-8 consisting of 274
pounds of metals. It became the powerplant ofa Cur-
tiss Pusheratthealreadyfamous Mineolia, Long Island L. E. Rausenberger a t the controlsof a Curti ss Pusher pow-
aviation grounds in New York. Numerous New York ered with a Rausie V-8 watercooled 45 hpengine a t Mine--
sportsman pilots flew the Curtiss-Rausenberger com- alia, Long Isl and 19 I7, engine No. 7 nowowned by Cole
bination. Sometime later the engine was returned to
Pal en_
the Rausenberger Bellefontaine shop fora majorover-
haul. This enginewas sold in 1912 and its whereabouts
are obscure. Onavisit in 1973 to Cole Palen' sfantastic
5
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, I was shown through Pa-
l en's aviat i on coll ection by David Fox, who call ed spe-
cial attention to a Curtiss Pusher in whi ch the number
1 Rausenberger 1909 engine was install ed. According
to Andy Anderson's article in the March, 1978 i ssue
of World War I Aeroplanes this engine was disassem-
bl ed , cleaned , made operational , and started on the
second pull in 1975 at the Old Rhinebeck shop.
The outstanding success of Rausie's engine number
1 was an ego builder and soon the Bell efontaine shop
had a new 75 hp water cooled V-8 aviation engine off
the drafting board and into production. These engines
were beautifully machined with the latest ideas incor-
porated in their design. By this early date, 1911 , all
Rausenberger aero engines were provided with a cir-
culation of water around the intake throat of carbure-
tors, preventing dreaded icing up. Bell efontaine con-
tinued to hear the roar of Rausenberger engines on test
stands. However, it was August 25, 1912, that a Bald-
win Red Devil Biplane powered with a 75 hp Rausen-
berger engine gave the local s their first sight of a fly-
ing machine in full fli ght. Pilot George Schmitt, a young
Rutl and, Vermontier had a flight contract to fly from
Bellefontaine, Ohio to the Kenton , Ohio fair. Immedi-
ately after take-off, Schmitt and the Red Devil were
about 200 feet in the air direct ly over Bellefontaine's
big four locomotive servicing terminal. Two locomo-
tives backing slowly away from the coal chutes met
with the tenders at a switch, due to engine crews " rub-
ber necking" at the airplane with a man sitting way out
in front. Coal was spilling onto the right of way with
l arge dents in the t enders. It was probably the first of-
ficial railroad accident report made out blaming a fly-
ing machine.
A Rausenberger V-8 engine of 75 hp was installed
in a Curtiss Pusher at Bellefontaine, 1911, for a would-
be pilot named Harper. A considerabl e crowd had
gathered to watch the airplane fly. Harper would open
the throttle and at the instant of being airborne would
close the throttle and sett le back on the runway. Thi s
disappointed the crowd to such an extent that damage
to the plane was barely averted. These were the days
that mechanical flight was looked upon as a great hoax.
Rausenberger aerial motors transferred its activi-
ties to Dayton, Ohio where an accel erated and ambi-
ti ous production of aviation engines ran from 1912 to
1916. Lincoln Beachey, once the greatest of all aerial
showmen bragged that given an engine with eno ugh
horsepower, he would fly a barn door. Doubtless en-
gi ne builders of that time were influenced by the quip
and some went back to the drawing board to provide
more power to meet the ever growing demand of pilots
in an era of fantastic p rogress.
First V-12 aviation engine manufactured in the u.s. under
test by designer-builder L. E. Rausenberger.
Business end of the Rausi e V-8
water cooled 75 hp avia tion engine - 1911.
6
-.
'!
Pilot George Schmitt, L. E. Rausenberger, engine builder
and M. Thor, owner of the Baldwin Red De vil - August
19 12.
M. Thor, owner of plane, on landing ski d, pilot George
Schmitt, at controls of Baldwin Red Devil . Note long dis-
tance type fuel tank. L. E. Rausenberger, des igner-manu-
facturer o f aviati on engines - August 19 12.
'\
'
.. ;
Rausenberger returned to the quiet of his old room
and drawing board at his mother's home where he
pondered the design of a really new and powerful avia-
tion engine. The new power pl ant that came off Rausie' s
drawing board late in 1914 was a water cooled V-12
cylinder, that generated a neat 150 hp offering no more
frontal area than a V-8 and incorporating the very lat-
est in doubl e ignition and fuel carburetion. The engine
was manufactured at Dayton., Ohio and block tested
in the early spring of 1915. As a matter of historical
record , the Rausie of V-12 was the very fi rst V-12 aviation
engine designed and manufactured in the United
States. It predated all other American engines designed
and was destroyed in a hangar fire. .
World War I was at its peak in March, 1918 when
Rausenberger became chief aeronautical engineer for
the steel products engineering company of Spring-
fiel<;l , Ohio. A consistent degree of aviation engine
development and research engineering resulted from
Rausie' s new position and the facilities at his disposal.
There was an enthusiastic rush by airplane engine
manufacturers to get in on the highly overrated esti-
mate of the demands for American commercial avia-
tion at the close of World War I.
The Rausi e E-6, an in-line water cooled engine of
175 hp, incorporating a special mechanism eliminat-
ing valve rocker arms and valve springs was intro-
duced to commercial aviation immediately following
World War I. This engine earned a number of world
records for operational performance and was in pro-
duction at the Steel Products Engineering Company,
Springfield, Ohio. Rausie continued to design airplane
engines over the years and on occasion he drafted
special engines for racing cars.
Rausenberger was truly a dedicated engineer-de-
signer and manufacturer of aviation engines, embrac-
ing the entire range of piston engine development.
During the twenties and thirties, special aviation en-
gines were designed and manufactured under con-
tract for numerous and enthusiastic promoters of avi-
ation . The engines they promoted were strictly ex-
perimental , involving unusual design and mechanical
principles.
The Engineering Division of Air Service at McCook
Field, Dayton, Ohio became engaged in a fantastic pro-
gram which involved delving into the intricacies re-
garding the airplane and its power plant. It was here
that Rausenberger and other renowned aeronautical
engineering brains, under special assignment, con-
tributed their professional know-how in solving many
pioneer problems.
To meet the exacting requirement s of the bureau
of U. S. Naval Aeronautics, Rausenberger designed and
7
manufactured an inverted air cooled V-12 engine in-
corporating a 2-1 reduction gear that blasted out 500
hp at 4000 rpm while weighing in at only 700 pounds.
This engine design received exhaustive testing at the
Philadelphia Naval Center in the late thirties.
Three pioneer Rausenberger aviation engines are
known to survive the throttle artists of yesterday
who roared down those early runways that were fair
grounds, race tracks or cow pastures. Rausie's first
manufactured water cooled V-8 engine of 45 hp de-
signed in 1909 is now in Cole Palen' s Old Rhinebeck
Aerodrome collection . Col. Deeds and Boss Detter-
ing installed a water cooled V-8 Rausenberger 75 hp
engine in their Wright " B" biplane in 1916. This air-
plane and its power plant are on permanent display
at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum in Dayton ,
Ohio. Mr. Rausenberger retains a beautiful Rausie V-8
water cooled 75 hp engine and its radiator at his home,
which he uses to renew his touch with the great yes-
terdays of aviation.
Among other credits, a Rausenberger aviation en-
gine powered the first airplane to cross the Andean
Mountains of South America, Easter Sunday, 1914.
Pilot George Schmitt flew a Rausenberger engined
Baldwin Red Devil which carried the first official air
mail in Ohio at Fort Recovery, Ohio in August, 1912.
A thirteen ton Pylon patterned after the Wright Kitty
Hawk memorial was built honoring Mr. Rausenberger
by the Bellefontaine, Ohio Air Scouts and dedicated
August 1, 1948 in recognition of this aviation pioneer.
Mr. Rausenberger was born three miles southeast
of De Graff, Ohio, March 22, 1887, on a 206 acre farm
which was Rausenberger property for 107 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Rausenberger reside at their North
Limestone Street home in Springfield, Ohio. Truly an
aviation pioneer with a lifetime devoted to the develop-
ment of American aviation engines he is an enthusi-
astic recounter of aviation's great "once upon a time".
He tells it like it was when the airplane and its power
plant were breaking records almost every day.
Pioneer aviation engineers were reaching for the
stars and they knew it.
Three-quarter rear view of Wright " 8 " - Rausenberger
combirration, showing power transmiss ion system.
Lt. John A. Macready prior to take-off a t Int ernati onal Air
Races, Dayton, Ohio 1924 . Thi s plane, once the propert y
of Col . Deeds and " 80ss" Kettering, now on permanent
display at the Wri ght-Patterson Air Force Museum. Rausen-
berger water cool ed 75 hp engine inst alled 79 15.
8
Don sl ands beside
his readY-l a-fly Chief.
REBUILDING
AN
aeRonca
chIef:
By Don Jenkins
1273 Rivermont Drive
Melbourne, FL 32935
(PhOI OS Courl esy orlhe AUlhor)
In 1974 I started to build a Fly Baby designed by Pete
Bowers and by the time June, 1976 rolled around it was
finished, to the tune of about $2;300.00. It was a good
flying ship but a little on the l onely and drafty side.
So it was advertised in the EAA SPORT AVIATlON of
September, 1977. The responses to this advertisement
were really astounding. But the most interesting one
came from a chap by the name of Harold Prior from
9
Fulton, New York. In his letter, I was informed that he
had a 1939 Aeronca Chief which was in need of re-
covering but aside from that, was in pretty fair shape.
After a few more letters and telephone calls, it was de-
cided that we would trade even up on both ships. I
wanted a two place job and he wanted a Fly Baby. On
October 22, 1977, Harold arrived towing his airplane
all the way from New York to Melbourne, Florida. He
pulled up after dark, so we left the plane in front of
my hangar at Melbourne airport and went back to my
place where we swapped lies about how good we were
and other kinds of hangar flying. After a few hours of
this we both needed to go on oxygen so we went up to
bed like a couple of kids on Christmas Eve.
The next morning we really went to work. My Fly
Baby had to have the wings removed, and his ship had
to come off the trailer. We finally unloaded the trailer,
and with the help of several of our EAA buddies, got
the Fly Baby in place and lashed down securely. After
getting all our papers, log books checked out, and
titles changed, Harold had to get back to New York.
We said our good byes and he shoved off.
Now comes the unbelievable part of the story. The
wings were stripped of fabric when I got them, so every
detail could be seen . After stripping the fuselage and
removing all the instruments and tank, here is what
was found:
Item 7: The welding was broken clear through on
the bottom of the rudder. Nothing to hold it together
but the fabric.
Item 2: The two bottom steel formers of the fuse-
lage were cracked half way through about eight inches
from the rear post of the vertical fin.
Item 3: Two of the top main formers were broken
about six inches back from the rear window, also the
wood was rotten, and the only thing holding them
together was the fact that the termites were holding
hands. Three of the smaller type strip formers were
broken . The wood braces at the top of the cabin area
were rotten. The piece of plywood on which the fuel
tank was strapped was rotten and the wood plies were
coming apart. Also the metal strap that held the tank
in place was rusted through, and the only thing hold-
ing the tank in place was the fuel fitting where it went
through the firewall.
It em 4: The engine refused to start for a preserva-
tion run so the MA-2 carburetor was pulled and every-
thing was stuck together from accumulated varnish
and lack of preservation. The one bright item was that
the engi ne was in very good shape aside from the car-
buretor. The carburetor was taken apart and every-
thing cleaned inside and all the jets blown out, and
then reasseml?led and installed. Then the most amaz-
ing thing happened. The engine started on the first
pull and ran like a clock. After preserving the engine
the prop was removed and cleaned up, which was fol-
lowed by two coats of varnish. After balancing, it was
wrapped and put on the shelf for a long deserved rest.
Now it was time to go over the history of N-23952
which was in the form of a large loose-leaf book. The
paper work was in good shape. All the required changes
had been made and were indexed. The log books for
both airplane and engine were fairly up to date, and
there were four of each. From what I could make out
six copies of this particular model were made and I
had the first one. The original Lycoming 0-145-A1 en-
gine was a 50 horsepower job with single magneto ig-
nition. This same engine stayed on the ship until Har-
old Prior changed engines to an 0-145-B2 which is a
twin magneto job, and is 65 horsepower. The original
engine had been overhauled seven times according
to the records. I obtained this engine with the ship,
and checked it out completely. It is in excellent shape
and the single magneto for it had just been overhauled.
Its new ignition leads had the yellow acceptance tag
on it to the tune of $105.00. So now I am the owner of
an extra small engine which will work great on another
experimental airplane.
The gloomy aspect of the fuselage loomed as I
realized the work which had to be done. There was
only one way to do it and that was to get with it. The
welding was the first item to be done and that was ac-
complished by heli-arc and the use of 4130 steel tub-
ing along with .090 flat stock. We are fortunate in that
Robey Green is a member of EAA Chapter 264 of Mel-
bourne, Florida, and is certified to make any or all in-
spections on ou r ai rcraft. Robey was on hand when
the welding was done on all areas that needed it. He
made the remark that it was now better than it had ever
been.
This assurance from brother Green was real good
news. He told me to go ahead and get everything fin-
ished, ready to cover, and he would sign it off.
Before getting the wood replacement, we changed
every bolt in the airplane. All new AN bolts were in-
stalled in the wings, the landing gear, in all the con-
trol pulleys, ailerons, rudder and all the controls. New
turnbuckles were also used. The control cables them-
selves were changed using stainless steel one eighth
cable. After all the metal work that had to be done was
accomplished, the wings were installed without any
cover to check out the rigging and all cable adjust-
ments. New one-half inch AN bolts were used for wing
attach bolts, and wing struts. Incidentally, these wing
struts are aluminum and are the original issue. They
were in great shape with no evidence of any corrosion.
At this time a new support was made for the fuel
tank from plywood, using the old one for a pattern.
A new stainless steel tank strap was also cut, and the
tank was installed, falling right into place with no prob-
lems. A new fuel cut-off arm was made as the old one
was pretty sloppy. Before I forget to mention it, the
fuel tank support was varnished with three coats be-
fore it went in . Prior to installation, the tank was
cleaned and then blown dry. It was in good shape. A
new fuel line was put in place and checked with fuel
and what do you know: No leaks!!
Now it was cross your fingers time as the wood
situation was next on the agenda. All the rotten wood
was replaced and that took about twenty-two minutes
... plus ten days. The two top formers of the fuse-
lage were of one-quarter round stock, and they were
replaced. Two of the broken small formers were spliced
and the other one replaced . The fuselage was now
complete and in good shape so it was rewarded with
two new coats of varnish, which enhanced its looks.
A peice of .032 aluminum was secured across the top
of the cabin to support the new antenna. Fresh wiring
was installed in the wings and fuselage for all three
running lights. New glass was installed in all the win-
dows. The seats were taken out and reupholstered in
a soft gray blue finish, the same color as the head-
liner. A new indoor/ outdoor floormat was installed
and all in all the little gal looked like a dreamboat,
except she still looked pretty bare with no covering.
So everything comes off and the covering session be-
gan .
My one idea was to completely finish the fuselage
so I could get it out of the way, and start on the wings.
I had ordered a set of covers for the whole ship in
Ceconite, and they fit just about perfect. There is one
thing to watch out for though. That is: When your
fuselage cover is installed loose and glued down with
Pliobond and all your sewing is finished, be sure when
you start your heat or hot iro"n that it is done evenly
so the seams will fall in place along the longerons and
formers . If too much tightening is applied in one place
the seams will not line up. With the fuselage cover
finally installed to our satisfaction, the little darling
was ready for doping.
We first applied two coats of nitrate dope to the
entire fuselage . This was followed by four coats of
butyrate mixed with aluminum powder. The final four
coats were of juneau white dope. With the last one,
a quart of retarder was mixed in with the dope and
thinner . Next the windshield was installed and all the
engine cowling. Now it was time for all the tail feathers
to go on using all new AN bolts during the assembly.
The white riding light on top of the vertical fin was in-
10
Dan 's Chief stands ready to fl y
aft er an extensive exercise in rebuilding.
stalled and wired in place. It was then checked o ut for
continuity. Can you imagine such happiness when it
lit up?
The color combination decided upo n was juneau
white and bahama blue. A design was ginned up for
color contrast and the final result turned o ut to every-
one's sa ti sfaction. The f uselage was now parked ove r
in the corn er while the wings were set up o n work
horses and inspected to see what was going to have
to be done to them. Both of them fell into the same
category whi ch could be described as " l ousy". The
wood at the trailing edge was rotted away on both
wings. the ail erons were in very good con-
dition so they were cleaned up, revarni shed , th en
doped and stored out of the way.
The wings were rebuilt with new trailing edges
spli ced in , according to the manual. New AN bolt s
were installed in all areas, and pi eces were clean ed
and then chromated. The metal was in very good shape
with no ru st , and that was really something in as mu ch
as thi s old bucket was now thirty-nine years old . Any-
how, the wings were finally finished and bought off,
again by Robey Green and we start ed to cover the rib
ti e. I never ti ed so many ribs in my life as on thi s old
girl , but it was finally finished. Down here in Florida,
we have pretty decent weather so we did not have any
trouble with the doping. We finally got those wings
finished and install ed. None of the measurement s had
changed and they practically fell into pl ace when the
wing bolts were install ed. The strut s were the same
thing, ri ght into place. Pins wer e install ed, all the ri g-
gi ng and cables were set i n place, checked and safe-
tied. The ail erons were now put on and again no prob-
lems. All the turnbuckles were connected, the con-
trol s checked ou t and worked perfect. So turnbuckl es
were now safeti ed. wing li ght wiring hooked up and
checked. Switches were pulled, lights all came on and
the radio came roaring in from the tower .
Last item: The old cotton picker was finally fin-
ished and she looked like a new Miss America. It had
taken el even mont hs and ei ght days to get finished
from the time she came in the hangar door. The logs
were brought up to date, and Ro bey inspected her
and signed off th e l og book as ready for flight.
Now the next thing in order was, would she fly?
The answer was " yes, she would", like a bi g kite. You
can hardly tell when you l eave the deck. It uses three
and a half gallons of fu el per hour, and touches down
at about thirty to thirty-five mil es per hour . It is a real
fine old airpl ane and just about my speed as I am sixty-
eight years old. On December 5, 1978, thi s o ld joker,
meaning me, passed my Biennial Flight Review in this
airpl ane so everything is set for two mo re years of
f un flying.
11
BAlANCING
OF
RADIAL ENGINES
PART I
By W. B. Ri chards
2490 Creer Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303
Reprinted from Vintage Flyer
Several of our members have reported unaccept-
ably rough running radial engines after overhauls by
well respected engine overhaul firms. Concerned lest
the same happen to my Kinners as well as the Warner
engines I am overhauling, I began a search for the
formula and method for balancing of radial engines.
The Kinner publication , "Service Tools for Band R
Series Kinner Engines", page 11, gives a picture and
description of Tool No. 7371, "Fixture Assembly -
Crankshaft Balancing", plus the following description
of its use.
Thi s fixture i s used for balancing or rebalancing the
crankshaft. The fixture consists of two balance ways or
arbors upon which the crankshaft is res ted with the front
main journal on one arbor and the rear main journal on
the other. Th e crankshaft is then positioned between
the two arbors. Th e arbors must be level and the height
adjusted so that the axis of the crankshaft is l evel. On
shafts having different size journals, lower the arbor for
the front journal to make up for the difference in diameters.
The fixture i s equipped with a balance bucket to which is
att ached a ball bearing pulley wheel with a steel band
whi ch can be placed over the crankthrow (i .e., crank pin
or master rod journal). Balancing i s accompli shed as fol-
lows: Add weight to the bucket so that the total weight to
be hung from the crank throw is equal to the rotating weight
plus .508 of the reciprocating weight.
('I) Wc = Wrot + .508 Wrecip
The rotating weight s are the end reaction of the large
end of the master rod, master rod bearing, weight of the
four knuckle pins (wri st pins) and the end reactions of the
sma ll enel (knuckle pin end) of the link rods . Th e recipro-
ca ting weights are the end reacti on of the small end of the
master rod, the weight of the pistons, piston pins, piston
pin buttons, piston rings and the end react ion of the large
end (pi ston pin end) of the link rods. To obtain end reac-
ti ons, the rod is supported by knife edges at the center of
the bushings with one end on a sca le and the other on a
ri gid support. The rods must be level and all bushings in
place when the reactions are taken. With the balance
weight thus determined, the steel band is placed over the
crankthrow and the crankshaft balanced in four positions,
i. e., wi th the crankthrow vertical pointing up and down
and horizontal pointing to ei ther side. Material is removed
from o r added to the crankshaft counterweights to obtain
proper balance.
I should add that the calculated weight (Wc) to
be hung from the crankthrow should include the
weight of the bucket , pulley, steel band as well as the
weight placed in the bucket.
For my experiments, a simple balance stand was
constructed, not unlike a prop balance stand, and a
laboratory balance beam scale obtained that could
weightinexcess of2600gramsin 1110gram increments.
For larger weights, scales such as used in paint stores,
provide sufficient accuracy. I now had the formula for
balancingtheKinner, butwouldthesameformulahold
foraseven-cylinderengine,oranineorthree, oreven
a different five-cylinder engine?
TotackletheWarnerproblem,twoapproacheswere
taken. First , a search for all available literatureon bal-
anCing and, second, the actual weighing of all the ro-
tating and reciprocating parts of several smooth run-
ning Warner 165 Super Scarab engines. Four Warner
165 engines were carefully weighed with remarkable
res ults. Forexample, nearly50pistons(includingspars)
were weighed and found to vary no more than 0.5%
from the lightest to heaviest regardless of whether
standard, +.010 or +.020 diameter. Weights of other
parts were equally close, showing that great care had
been taken during original manufacture to keep part
weightsequal.Thebiggestvariationappeared between
supposedly similar piston ring sets. In contrast, a new
set of Kinner pistons had been found to vary as much
as 100grams from lightestto heaviestbeforetheywere
reworked to balance within 1/2 gram of each other.
Results of these weighing experiments revealed that
the apparent balance formula for Warner 165 engines
should be.
(2) W c = Wrot + .510 Wrecip
With help from friends, several excellent literature
sources were turned up , including Den Hartog's
"Mechanical Vibrations", third edition , pages 230-
232; Taylor's " The Int ernal-Combu st ion Engine in
Theoryand Practice", Vol. II, pages 274-303 and pages
688-689 (bibliography); Lichty's "Internal Combustion
Engines", pages 498-504. The most useful paper, how-
ever, was Coppens' "Improved Formula for Comput-
ing Counterweights of Single-Rowand Double-Row
Radial Engines", published in SAE journal, Vol. 34,
No.3,March 1934. All of these sources give the same
basic formula forcomputing the counterweight (W )
cw
ofa radial engine as:
Rc
(3) W cw = R x Wc
cw
(4) Wc = + 112 Wrecip W
rot
where: Wcw actual weight ofcounterweight
Wc
balance weight or bob weight hung
from crankthrow
Rcw
distance from centerline of crank-
shaft to e.g. to counterweight
Rc
distance from centerline of crank-
shaft to centerlineofcrankthrow(or
112 the piston stroke)
Coppens' paper points out that the basic formula
(4) is incompletesince the linkrodsareattached tothe
masterrodatholeslocatedadistance"r"fromthecen-
terline of the crankthrow that are not concentric with
the crankthrow. This construction introduces an error
in the usual determination of reciprocating and rotat-
ingweights ofabout0.3%.
Coppens' adjusted formula is :
W
1r
'
(5) Wc = + 1/2Wrecip + W
rot
where: weight of the rotating (knuckle pin) W
1
end ofa link rod
r ' distance from centerline to crank-
throw to centerline of knuckle pin
hole
L length of master rod from centerline
ofcrankthrow to centerline of piston
pin hole
12
Den Hartog points outthat if the weight of the re-
ciprocating end ofthe master rod is differentfrom the
reciprocating end weight of a link rod it is not pos-
sible to completely balance the engine for primary
force. With the counterweight calculated by formula
(5) above, Den Hartog states that there remains pri-
mary unbalance forces in the two main directions
(across and along the axis of the master cylinder) of:
1/
2R
cW2(MrecipMR - MrecipLR)
where: w circular frequency = 21Tf
(f = revs/sec)
M mass of reciprocating end of
recipMR
the master rod
mass of reciprocating end of
MrecipLR
a link rod
It appears that Kinner and Warner adjusted the
basic balance formula (5) to compensate for these
residual primary unbalance forces resulting in Kinner
taking .508 of the total reciprocating weight and War-
ner using .510. Other engine designs may use some
othervalue butin the absence offactory data, a value
of.508 to .509 would probablywork best.
Twin row radial engines require two counter-
weights, one for each row. If "d" is the distance be-
tween the planes of both counterweights, the value
ofeach counterweight should be:
d

W
(6) Wc = -d' (W
2 +
W
___
1
r
'
rot
2L
Finally, some important factors to remember when
overhauling an engine. If any of the original factory
installed parts such as pistons, rings, wrist pins, pis-
ton pins are replaced, be sure that new part weighs
within .5% of the part being replaced . Kinner speci-
fies replacement pistons should weigh within 1/4 oz.
(7 grams) of the weight of the piston being replaced.
Original pistons, however, were weighed to within
4.5grams ofeach otherwhich is less than 0.5% ofthe
piston's nominal weight.
Once the desired balance weight, We' has been
calculated, however, any shop such as Babbitt Bear-
ing Co. of San Jose or Nickson's Machine Shop of
Santa Maria, having an appropriate balance machine
should be able to handle the balancing of the crank-
shaft.
(Lee Fray Photo)
Engines in the EAA Air Museum.
13
ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC
AIRCRAFT TYPE CLUBS
Aeronca Club
Edward H. Schubert, Chairman
28 East State Street
janesville, WI 53545
2 newsletters per year
Dues: $3.00 peryear
Aeronca Club
14100 Lake Candelwood Ct.
Miami Lakes, FL 33014
Dues: $3.00 peryear
Aeronca Sedan Club
Richard Welsh
2311 East Lake Sammami sh Place
Issaquah, WA 98027
3 newsletters peryear
Dues: $2.50 peryear
Airmaster Club
Gar Williams, Chairman
Nine Sout h 125 Aero drive
Naperville, IL 60540
NoNewsletter
Dues: $0.00
The American Bonanza Society
Reading MunicipalAirport
Box 3749
Reading, PA 19605
Dues: $15.00 peryear
American Navion Society
A. R. Cardono, Chairman ofthe Board
Box 1175, Municipal Airport
Banning, CA 92220
Dues: $20.00peryear
The Bird Airplane Club
jeannie Hill , Secretary
Box 89
Harvard, IL 60033
Semi-Annual Newsletter
Dues: See First Issue
Cessna 1201140 Association
Box 92
Richardson, TX 75086
Dues: $10.00
14
Culver Club
Lawrence Low, Chairman
60 Skywood Way
Woodside, CA 94062
NoNewsletter
Dues: $0.00
The DartClub
Lloyd Washburn
3958 Washburn Drive
Pt. Clinton, OH 43452
NoNewsletters
Dues: $0.00
The deHaviland Moth Club
john Bright, Chairman
221 East Ransom Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
Dues: $5.00 peryear
Ercoupe Owners Cl ub
Skip Carden, President
Box 15058
Durham, NC27704
The Fairchild Club
Ken Love, President
1102 Main Street
Crete, IL 60417
No Newsletter
Dues: $3.00 peryear
Fokker Verein
Dr. Stanl ey S. Murel
812 East Park Row
Arli ngton,TX 76010
Newsletter: The PILOT
Dues: To be established
The Funk Aircraft OwnersAssociation
G. Dale Beach, Chairman
1621 Dreher Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dues: $12.00
The Heath Club
Bob Burgee, Chairman
7612 Erie Street
Sylvania, OH 43560
No Newsletters
Dues: $0.00
Howard Club
johnTurgyan , Chairman
1530 Kuser Road
Trenton, Nj08619
No Newsletter
Dues : $0.00
International Cessna 170 Association , Inc.
P. O. Box 460
MontezumaNP
Camp Verde, AZ 85222
Dues: $15.00
International Cessna 195 Club
Dwight M. Ewing, President
Box 737
Merced, CA95340
Quarterly Newsletter
International Citabria Club, Ltd.
Box 29
White Lake, NY12786
International SwiftAssociation
Charles Nelson
Box 644
Athens, TN 37303
Dues: $15.00 heryear
The Luscombe Association
Robert Shelton
339 West Pierce Street
Macomb, IL 61455
Dues: $5.00 peryear
The Meyers Club
Ev Payette
1604 South Custer Road
Monroe, MI 48161
No Newsletter
Dues: $0.00
Monocoupe Club
Mr. & Mrs. Bud Dake
8318 Fairbanks
Berkeley, MO63134
Dues: $3.00 peryear
The MooneyMite OwnersAssociation
Box 3999
Charlottesvi ll e, VA 22903
No Newsletters
\
.\
Dues: $0.00
The Moth Club
j ohn Bright
221 East Ransom Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
No Newsletter
Dues: $0.00
National Ryan Club
Bill j. Hodges, General Chairman
811 Lydia
Stephenville, TX 76401
Dues: Ryan Owners, $0.00
Non-Ryan Owners, $5.00 peryear
National Ryan Club
Mitch Mayborn
3164 Whitehall
Dallas, TX 75229
QuarterlyNewsletter
Dues: Postage donationsof
unspecified amounts
National Waco Club
Ray H. Brandly
2650 WestAlex Bellbrook Road
Dayton, OH 45459
Dues: $5.00 peryear
OX5 Aviation Pioneers
605 All egheny Building
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Dues: $10.00
Porterfield Club
Charles E. Lebrecht , President
3121 East Lake Shore Drive
Wonder Lake, IL 60097
Dues : Owt;lers, $3.00 peryear
$2.00 trophyfund (voluntary)
non-owner, 12.00 peryear
Rearwin Club
Rt. 1
Poynette, WI 53955
No Newsletter
Dues: $0.00
Rose "Parrakeet" Club
Jack W. Rose
P. O. Box 32
Ingleside, IL 60014
No Newsletter
Dues: $0.00
The Staggerwing Club
James c. Gorman, President
Box 1217
Mansfield, OH 44902
4 newsletters peryear , plus4 from
Staggerwing Museum
Stearman's Restorers Association
T. Lowe, President
823 Kingston Lane
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
Taylorcraft Owners Club
MertonA. Meade, Jr., President
2009 Victoria Drive
Aquia Harbour
Stafford, VA 20021
Dues: $5.00 peryear
Vargabond News
Cecil Ogles, EditorlPublisher
448 C Avenue
Coronado, CA 92118
Dues: Donations
WestCoast Cessna 120/140 Club, Inc.
DougWilliams, President
Box891
MenloPark, CA 94025
7newsletters peryear
Dues: $6.50 peryear
Wheelchair Pilots
HowardTreadwell
11018 - 102nd Avenue
Largo, FL 33540
No Newsletter
Dues: $0.00
World War IAeroplanes
Leonard E. Opdycke
15 Crescent Road
Poughkeepsie, NY12601
Dues: Voluntary
SCALE-INCHES SIZE OF NO. OF
MAKE AND TYPE YEAR PER FOOT SHEET SHEETS
DRAWINGS OF HISTORIC
Alexander Eaglerock 1928 3/4" 31 x 23 2
AIRCRAFT
Bellanca "Columbia" 1927 3/4" 31 x 23 2
Boeing MB3and MB3A 1922 3/4" 31 x 23 2
NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE
Boeing P26A 1933 3/4" 31 x 23 1
Consolidated PT-3 1928 112" 21'/2 x 32 1
MUSEUM
Curtiss JN4 and JN6H 1916 3/4" 31 x 23 4
PR & SDivision Curtiss R3C- 1and 2 1925 3/4" 31 x 23 1
3904 Old Silver Hill Road Curtiss Robin- "OX" (St. Louis) 1928 3/4" 31 x 23 2
Suitland, Maryland 20023 Douglas 0-43A 1935 3/4" 31 x 23 2
Travelaire 2000 1924-28 3/4" 31 x 23 2
Travelaire 6000 Standard 1928 3/4" 31 x 23 2
WACO 240A 1930 3/4" 31 x 23 1
The Smithsonian Institution has
available at $1.00 a sheet, drawings deHaviliand 5 1917 1/2" 21'12 x 32 1
of historic aircraft. This price in- NieuportNighthawk 1918 3/4" 31 x 23 2
cludes postage. These are large blue- Sopwith Snipe 7F1 1918 3/4" 31 x 25 2
printsdesignedformodelersshowing
3-view, general arrangement, di- Nieuport11 1915 3/4" 31 x23 1
mensioned drawings with historical Nieuport28 1.917-18 21'12 x 32 1
and technical notes. Checks or
money orders should be made pay- Albatross C-5 1916-17 1/2" 21'/2 x 32 1
able to the Smithsonian Institution. Fokker E-111 Monoplane 1915 3/4" 31 x 22 1
Coins and currency are sent at the Fokker D-7 Biplane 1918 3/4" 31 x 22 4
sender's risk . Address your cor- Fokker DR-1 Triplane 1918 3/4" 31 x 23 2
respondence to the attention of Bob Roland LFG-Type D2 and D2A 1917 1/2" 21'12 x 32 1
Woods. Save this listing for future Rumpler - RU-D1 1918 3/4" 21'12 x29'12 2
orders. Bear in mind that the Smith-
OTHER DRAWINGS SCALE-INCHES NO. OF
sonian has 2 million drawings, most
MAKE AND TYPE YEAR PER FOOT SHEETS
of which aren' t catalogued. It may
Wright Brothers "Kitty Hawk Flyer" 1903 3/5" approx. 1
take some time to get a response if
Wright Brothers "Military Flyer" 1909 1/2" 1
yourorder is "obscure".
Wright Brothers Model EX "Vin Fiz" 1911 3" 1
Drawings by Joseph Nieto are in
Curtiss Model A-1 (U.S. Navy) 1911 3/5" approx. 3
the top halfof the column (appeared
Curtiss "Headless Pusher" 1912 3/4" 1
in"ModelAirplaneNews" inreduced
Burgess-Dunne Hydro-Aero-Plane 1915 1/2" 1
size).
Verville-Sperry "Messenger" 1920 1.5"approx. 1
FokkerT-2 (U.S. ArmyAir Service) 1922 1/4" 1
Fokker F-10 "Super Trimotor" 1927 1/4" approx. 1
Loening C-2 Cabin Amphibian 1928 1/4" 1
Ryan NYP (Spiritof St. Louis) 1927 1/20" 1
SikorskyS-38-A Amphibian 1928 1/4" 1
Sikorsky S-38-B Amphibian 1928 1/4" 1
VulteeV-1a Transport 1933 3/5" approx. 2
Stinson A-1 Trimotor 1935 2/5" 1
Stinson SR-9B "Reliant" 1936 3/5" 1
Herrick HV-2A "Vertoplane" 1937 1/2" 1
Martin B-26 "Marauder" 1941 2/5" 1
FOKKER D VIII 1918 112 1
DOUGLAS DC-4 11100 1
WATERMAN AEROBILE 1957 1116 1
AKRON AIRSHIP 11200 1
15
THE SINGLE-BOOM P-38 STORY
By Joel Whitehurst, Jr.
and
Anthony R. Whitehurst
Having been avid Warbird buffs for the last twenty-
five years or so, my brother Tony and I spotted the ad
for our pride and joy in the want-ads of the San Fran-
cisco paper in early june of 1978. We hooked a cycle
trailer to the flatbed, gutted the piggybank, and em-
barked on a hundred mile expedition ... an expedi-
tion which yielded one of the rarest pre-war designed
now flying, the infamous XPQ-13, also known
as the single-boom P-38, SIN 440/415-C.
As the photos show, the old bird was in pretty sad
shape when we first laid eyes on her. wings and
tail feathers, instruments, cowling, and a plethora of
odd-shaped pieces were in a garage-shaped pile that
made Fibber McGee's famous closet seem like a model
of organization, and the fuselage was being used as
a decorative centerpiece for a small natural weed
garden.
As we drove away, truck and trailer loaded, I hap-
pened to look back, and I can still remember seeing
a hint of a smile playing over the lips of her former
owner. We drew some even more interesting glances
as we drove along the freeway through San jose, fuse-
lage trailing behind on that tiny motorcycle trailer.
We were worried that a patrolman would ticket us,
but after seeing the bewildered looks we received
from various law officers we passed, we realized that,
for once, we were apparently beyond the scope of
the law.
Upon arrival at our hangar in Los Banos, and be-
fore we could even unload, our friend and resident
A & E, Paul Douthitt, was up on the flatbead punch-
ing holes in the wing fabric. And within a week, every-
body was in on the act. Our younger brother Fred and
I were stripping paint (at least three layers of enamel),
JoelJr. on patrol.
our dad, who had rebuilt SIN 46 in 1953, was working
on the control system, and Tony was busy with the
carburetor, baffles, and engine. Of course, Paul was
always there to answer questions and give directions,
and darn, there were a lot of both. Incidentally, we
would recommend him highly to anyone in the area
having intentions to rebuild or repair . He is both
knowledgeable and capable, and his rates are excel-
lent.
Parts were a problem for Tony, particularly for the
airframe. Suppliers were often distant, and stocks were
usually depleted. We were lucky, however. We lo-
cated and bought a wrecked airframe which had
crashed several years ago, in the nearby foothills. It
provided our instrument panel, seat frame, battery
box, and uncounted small parts that would have been
difficult to obtain elsewhere.
Anyway, we took that airplane apart until nothing
else would come off of her, cleaned and stripped every-
thing, rebuilt one badly corroded aileron, made a com-
plete cowling out of three old ones, replaced every
little part that looked even questionable, then alo-
dyned and chromated everything, inside and out.
Finally the day came, and Dad and Tony set about the
task of painting her.
The paint scheme, as shown in the photographs,
is the authentic 1944 version. It was chosen, after
exhaustive research in the national archives, to match
the version flown by the famous World War II bar-
rage balloon ace Fidelio "Four Eyes" Quackenbush,
aka: "Mad Dog".
Getting the wings and tail on, and hooking up the
controls were time-consuming but simple. The rig-
ging presented a problem which should be of interest
to others with similar planes . Tony and Paul strug-
gled for three days to achieve 50 degrees of up-travel
in the ailerons, as specified in the approved manual
information , but couldn't squeeze out more than 42
degrees. Only after Tony called desperately to Univair
in Colorado, and Paul searched his FAA spec sheets,
did we find that the correct reading should be 40 de-
grees up deflection, according to the FAA.
Despite its headaches and meticulous measure-
ments, we are convinced that precise rigging is pro-
bably the best single service you can perform on your
bird. We credit rigging with improved performance,
and stability beyond our expectations.
The unsung heroines of this story are our wives,
Michele and jan, who sat at home every night yvith the
babies, while we greased our Levi's and skinned our
knuckles. I kept telling Michele that we'd have the
plane flying in a "couple of weeks". After about four
months, I don't think she believed me any more, and
as the six-month mark approached, I think she started
to get a little suspicious that I had a mistress stashed
somewhere. In all seriousness, I don't think it is stated
either often enough or loud enough that no married
pilot is better to have a wife who understands the joys
and satisfaction that the love of aviation can bring.
In this respect, we couldn't be more fortunate.
The moment arrived finally, and Dad valia ntly
climbed into the cockpit on an, al most-foggy day in
early january. After low- and high-speed taxi tests,
he took off, made a low pass over the runway, and
then played tag with some low scud. To us, his seem-
ingly lengthy flight indicated that he was enjoyi ng
himself immensely, perhaps recalling the earlier re-
build project. A few minutes later, he touched down
with a tiny squeak and a huge smile. All systems hav-
ing checked out, N87267 was soon escorting family
and friends around the pattern. Frank Silveira, a local
CFI, also had helped with the project. He had me
checked out in a single flight, and a few flights later,
Tony was cleared .
We have been flying 267 nearly every day, in spite
of winter weather. Crosswind landings are easy and
safe. Flare it in a crab, and it straightens itself out when
the main gear touches. For such a small plane, it is
amazingly stable in gusts. It won't stall. Roll response
is quick and positive. It uses less than 5 gallons of gas
per hour, and economy cruise is at about 107 mph.
Climb out is nearly 1000 fpm at 80 mph after a short
take-off roll. At 75 horsepower, needless to say, we're
more than pleased.
All in all, we consider the project to have been
very rewarding, and few words can describe the satis-
faction we got from seeing the XPQ-13 lift off the first
time after such a long hibernation. One of the nicest
aspects of the project, however, is the fact that dur-
ing the processes, we picked up enough parts and as-
semblies to rebuild at least one more representative
of this rare species. And although we're counting the
days until the air shows start out west, we are now
looking forward to the time when we can attend them
in formation! Keep 'em flying!
16
just a few of the parts laid out for inspection.
You must be kidding'
Ready for the trip home - june 27, 7978.
Fuselage prior to engine and landing gear removal .
Tony's first landing in "267". The finished product january 78, 7979.
I. FORWARD
The purpose of this manual is to lay the groundwork
for a viable set of restoration, maintenance, and con-
struction standards against which vintage aircraft can be
judged. The philosophy of these standards must meet
two basic criteria. One, the system must be simple. Two,
the system must allow consistent and fair competition
between common and exotic types.
Throughout these standards will be found the one
concept that reflects the opinion of the majority of those
individuals contacted during the development of these
guidelines. That concept is authenticity. The standards
are constructed to encourage the individual to complete
and maintain a "factory fresh" aircraft. If the individual's
desire is to deviate from this goal for personal whim, or
other reasons, the "cost of not conforming to pure authen-
ticity is known in advance. A portion of the guidelines
pertain to the documentation of authenticity as it relates
to the aircraft. The exhibitor is encouraged to prove the
authenticity with pictures, letters, factory specifications,
or any other means which will alleviate the need for
"judge's opinion" in determining authenticity.
Extra copies of the OFFICIAL AIRCRAFT JUDGING
AND SCORING FORM are located in the back of this
manual. They should be removed individually as needed
for the purpose of having them copied by a quick copy
printer thus insuring an adequate supply for the use of
the judges. Permission is hereby given for unlimited re-
production of this scoring form.
VINTAGE AIRCRAFT
COMPETITION JUDGING MANUAL
OF
MAINTENANCE, RESTORATION AND CONSTRUCTION
STANDARDS
A GUIDE BOOK FOR JUDGES,RESTORERS,
BUILDERS,EXHIBITORS,AND COMPETITORS
II. DEFINITIONS
ANTIQUE AIRCRAFT
An aircraft constructed by the original manufacturer,
or his licensee, on or before December 31, 1945.
CLASSIC AIRCRAFT
An aircraft constructed by the original manufacturer,
or his licensee, on or after January 1, 1946, up to and in-
cluding December 31, 1955.
EXCEPTIONS TO THE ABOVE
Pre-World War II aircraft models which had only a
small post-war production run shall be defined as An-
tique Aircraft. Examples: Beechcraft Staggerwing, Fair-
child 24, and Monocoupe. Civilian aircraft manufactured
in the last four months of 1945, which were actually 1946
models, shall be defined as Classic Aircraft. Examples:
Aeronca, Taylorcraft, and Piper.
CONTINUOUSLY MAINTAINEDAIRCRAFT
An aircraft with proof of construction by the original
manufacturer, or his licensee, which has received period-
ic maintenance, repair, recover, and/or replacement of
parts, but which has never been completely disassembled
and rebuilt or remanufactured to new or better-than-new
condition.
RESTORED AIRCRAFT
manufacturer, or his licensee, that has been disassembled
into its component parts which were then either replaced,
refurbished, or remanufactured to new or better-than-
new condition.
CUSTOMIZED AIRCRAFT
manufacturer, or licensee, which has been obviously
modified from its original appearance. Such modifica-
tions could include airframe structural changes, paint
schemes, interior and upholstery, instrument panel, or
engine and cowling, etc.
REPLICA AIRCRAFT
An aircraft constructed exactly to original manufac-
turer's plans, full size in scale, but not constructed by the
original manufacturer or his licensee.
III. QUALIFICATIONS OFJUDGES
A judge should be a current member in good standing
of any aviation organization that promotes the restora-
tion and flying of Antique and Classic aircraft. He should
have a thorough knowledge of the aircraft type and vin-
tage being judged, this knowledge having been gained
from actual experience flying and/or maintaining such
vintage aircraft. Qualification may also be acquired by
historical research or actual restoration experience.
18
IV.GUIDELINES FOR JUDGES
Judgesshould be guided by thefollowinggeneralpol-
icy. The prize winning aircraft is either IN, or has been
RESTORED TO, factory fresh condition. In the case of
restored aircraft, the quality and authenticity of the
completed restoration is the main issue.The bestrestor-
ation ist he onewhichmostclosely approachesfactory
fresh condition. Authenticity is to be emphasized. Any
alterations, for whatever purpose, with the exception of
safety items, should be discouraged. These are covered
in the standard deductions on thejudging sheet. Dupli-
cationofpartsshould be asclose totheoriginal as possi-
ble. Penaltiesshouldbegivenforlackofrestraintin"over
restoration".Judgingfor cleanlinessshouldtakeintocon-
sideration the extent to which the aircraft is used. An
authentic restoration should not be penalized when it
bears only the oil and grease normally accumulated in
operationoftheaircraft. Thiswill notexcusepoorhouse-
keeping, as itonly takesa few minutesafterarrival ata
meettocleantheoilspatterfrom mostoftheaircraftsur-
face.Aircraftmustbeflown to, orduring themeet .
Theproofofauthenticityshould be a book which doc-
uments the history of the aircraft. The purpose of this
presentation book is to authenticate the restoration or
preservationoftheaircraft.
Replicas should be judged as a separate category. If
therearesufficientlylargenumbersofreplicasenteredin
competition, they canbe subcategorized into all theclas-
sifications and subclassifications presently used injudg-
ingantiquesandclassics.
V. JUDGING CATEGORIES AND
CLASSIFICATIONS
Listedbelow arecompletecategories andsubdivisions
thatwillcoveraneventcomparabletothelargestnation-
alfly-ins.Eachmaybe reducedto conformtothesizeand
magnitudeofthe individual Fly-In.Ofimportance is the
date range of the basic categories. These have been
standardized and will remain intact. New categorieswill
be initiatedasprogresswarrants.
ANTIQUE AIRCRAFT
GRAND CHAMPION
RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION
PIONEERAGE (Prior to 1918)
Champion
Runner up
GOLDEN AGE (1918-1927)
Champion
Runnerup
Outstandingopencockpitbiplane
Outstandingclosedcockpitbiplane
Outstandingopencockpit monoplane
Outstandingclosed cockpitmonoplane
SILVERAGE (1928-1932)
Champion
Runnerup
Outstandingclosedcockpitbiplane
Outstandingopencockpitmonoplane
Outstandingclosedcockpitmonoplane
CONTEMPORARYAGE (1933-1945)
Champion
Runnerup
Outstandingclosed cockpit biplane
Outstandingopencockpitmonoplane
Outstandingclosed cockpitmonoplane
CUSTOMIZEDAIRCRAFT(Anyantiqueaircraftage)
Champion
Runnerup
Outstanding
REPLICAAIRCRAFT(Any antiqueaircraftage)
Champion
Runner up
Outstanding
CLASSIC AIRCRAFT (1946-1955)
GRAND CHAMPION
RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION
CLASSI (0-80 HP)
CLASS II (81-150 HP)
CLASS III (151-upHP)
CUSTOM CLASSA (0-80 HP)
CUSTOM CLASSB (81-150 HP)
CUSTOM CLASS C (151-up HP)
OUTSTANDING INTYPE
Aeronca Champ Luscombe
Aeronca Chief Navion
Beech PiperJ-3
Bellanca Piper-others
Cessna 120/ 140 Stinson
Cessna 170-180 Swift
Cessna 190-195 Taylorcraft
Ercoupe Limited Production
VII. FORM EXPLANATION AND USE
Judges should understand t hatt he maximum attain-
able would be a perfect score grand champion without
qualification. It could never be surpassed, and it could
only be tied by another perfect score grand champion.
Consistency and fairness should be the maincriterion in
judging.
ITEM 1. GENERAL APPEARANCE
This is the only category which covers the aircraft in
itsentirety. Workmanship,authenticity,cleanliness,and
maintenanceoft he aircraftshould bethecriteria.Judges
should consider t he aircraft and its airworthiness as a
wholeandnotasindividualpieces. A non-authenticcolor
scheme, modern finish, fabric other than original, non-
authentic striping or decorations should constitute the
use ofnegative points. Markings, such as aircraft names
orairmailcompanymarkings,done in good taste, should
notbe penalized. Aircraft showing use ofmetal that has
replaced the original use offabric or plywood skinning
should be penalized substantially. Use of non-original
type nuts, bolts, cable splices, safety wire, etc., should
also be penalized.
EX-MILITARY
AnyAntiqueorClassicaircraftwhichatonetimewas
owned and/or operated by any recognized military or-
ganization should be partiallyj udged on the basis ofits
former militaryappearance, unless a comparablecivilian
model ofthataircraftwas offered for saleby theoriginal
manufacturerorhislicensee.
ITEM 2. COCKPIT
Anything visible within the cockpit and passenger
compartments comprises the items under inspection in
thiscategory.Authenticityshouldbestressedinthefinish,
upholstery (or lack of), instruments, controls, and other
components. Theoperationalcondition ofallcomponents,
the workmanship, andthe attention to detail are consid-
ered important. Installation ofmodern electronicsshould
not be penalized providing the installation does not de-
tract from the authenticity of the instrument panel or
othercomponents. Deductionsshould be made for altera-
tions made to the throttle, stick, or control wheel. Non-
authenticupholsterymaterialorpatternsshouldresultin
deductions . Chroming o'f parts not originally chromed
shouldearn minus points.
19
ITEM 3. ENGINE
Consideration should be given to the correct engine
as well as to its mounting, cowling, accessories, and pro-
peller . Again authenticity should be stressed. There
should be nothing on or in the engine compartment that
was not there originally. Everytping should be installed
in a first class manner according to the way it was when
it left the factory. Plus points should be given for authen-
ticity. Any non-original engine, component, accessory,
engine mount, propeller, or spinner, as well as any non-
authentic chroming should receive minus points. Later/or/
increased HP models of the original engines should re-
ceive little or no penalty.
ITEM 4. LANDING GEAR
This category should include brakes, wheels, tires,
landing gear fairings, and wheel pants or covers, if any.
Smooth tires should be given plus points if the aircraft
was originally equipped with them.
If streamlining was accomplished by balsa wood and
wrapping, the quality of workmanship and authenticity
of this should be considered. If the wheels are retract-
able, the wheel wells should be part of the inspection.
Credit should be given for flying an authentic tail skid.
Credit should be given for tail wheel s that are authentic.
Points should be deducted for non-authentic tires or tires
of improper size. Non-authentic material used for fairings
or wheel pants should be cause for penalty points.
ITEM 5. FUSELAGE
When judging the fuselage , the first consideration
should be its general all-over configuration. Has the re-
storer been authentic in duplicating the shape via string-
ers and woodwork where applicable? The entire fuse-
lage including all struts, mechanism, gear mountings,
and covering should be examined for workmanship and
authenticity. If possible, the judges should view the fuse-
lage interior for quality of inside restoration. The point
should be stressed that it is the exhibitor's prerogative to
refuse removable of any inspection covers, however, it is
urged that the exhibitor be cooperative, since the inside
of the fuselage is a major portion of the restoration of an
aircraft. The quality of workmanship of formers, wood-
work, general finish, inside tubes, pulleys for the cables,
the condition of the cables, and the interior finish on the
tubes are all points that should be considered. The exhib-
itor should assist the inspection by the judges. Points
should be deducted for fairings, cowlings, or windshields
that are non-authentic.
ITEM 6. WINGS AND TAI L SURFACES
The judges should examine the exterior covering and
fini s h reinforcing tapes, struts, braces and wires, ailerons,
fla ps, navigation lights, fairings to center sections, the
center section, gas tank and gas tank cap (if mounted in
the center section) wing-wa lk and wing-to-fuselage fair-
ings. The tail surfaces, including the horizontal stabilizer,
elevator , fin, rudder, bracing wires, and attach fittings
should all be considered. If the exhibitor, as suggested
in the fuselage section, will allow a look inside the wings
for condition of the structure, it should be considered.
Again, he has the right to refuse such entry if it means
removing a cover plate, and he does not wish to do this;
however, an uncooperative exhibitor should be prepared
to lose a couple of points. The inside condition of wings
will show the quality of the restoration. A judge should
not be looking for brand new wings as much as for work-
manship in the restoration. The important aspect should
be to observe that the wings are in a generally new con-
dition showing the wood to be clean and freshly varnished,
excellent craftsmanship is evident in the finishing of the
fittings, and warped ribs have been replaced. There are
many wings flying that have not been restored prior to
recovering, or that have never been recovered. Non-
authentic wires, struts, pitot, landing lights, or other
related items should receive negative points.
ITEM 7. PRESENTATION BOOK
Proof of authenticity contained within the presenta-
tion book should be judged on details of the contents rel-
ative to the authenticity of either a continously maintain
or restored aircraft and not on the beauty or artistic qual-
ity of the book itself.
ITEM 8. DIFFICUL TV FACTOR
Determination of the difficulty involved in the recon-
struction of a restored aircraft or in the preservation of a
continuously maintained aircraft should be taken into
consideration if it is significant.
VI. SAMPLE JUDGING FORM
OFFICIAL AIRCRAFT JUDGING AND SCORING FORM
ANTIQUE CLASSIC
CUSTOM REPLICA
AIRCRAFT__________________________
YEAR.___ N#_____________
OWNER ___________________________
ADDRESS _________________________
20
APPEARANCE ONLY (+)
Poor Fair Good Very Good Excellent
General P 0- 4
Appearance (20) F 5- 8
G 9-12
VG 13-16
EX 17-20
Engine (15) P 0- 3
F 4- 6
G 7- 9
VG 10-12
EX 13-15
LandingGear (10) P 0- 2
F 3- 4
G 5- 6
VG 7- 8
EX 9-10
Cockpit (15) P 0- 3
F 4- 6
G 7- 9
VG 10-12
EX 13-15
Fuselage (15) P 0- 3
F 4- 6
G 7- 9
VG 10-12
EX 13-15
Wings& Tail (15) P 0- 3
F 4- 6
G 7- 9
VG 10-12
EX 13-15
PresentationBook (5) 0- 5
Difficulty Factor (5) 0- 5
TOTAL APPEARANCE POINTS ___
TOTALMINUSPOINTS(deduct) _ _
JudgingScore
AUTHENTICITY MINUS POINTS (- )
Deductasspecified
Non-authenticcolorscheme
Non-authenticfinish
Non-authenticstriping
Non-authenticmarkings
Other
3
5
2
2
Non-authenticengine
Non-authenticchroming
Other
12
5
Non-authenticwheels
Non-authentictires
Non-authentictailwheel
Non-authenticsteering
Other
2
1
2
2
Non-authenticinstrument
Non-authenticupholstery
Non-authenticchroming
Non-authenticcontrols
Other
2
4
5
2
Non-authenticwindshield
Non-authenticcowling
Non-authenticfairings
Other
2
5
2
Non-authenticwires
Non-authenticpitot
Non-authenticlandinglights
Other
2
1
1
TOTAL MINUS POINTS
Judgesnames
Judgesnames
Judgesnames
Classic owners!
't dJ",
DOG
111
DRESS
IT UP
WITH A NEW
INTERIOR!
All Items READY-MADE for Easy
DOITYOURSELF INSTALLATION
Seat Upholstery - Wall Panels
Headliners - Carpets - etc.
Ceconite Envelopes and Dopes
Send $1.00 for Catalog and Fabrics Selection Guide

259,...15 Lower Morrisville Rd.
Follsington, Po. 19054
(215) 295-4115
FLORIDA SPORTAVIATION
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC ASSOCIATION
FLYIN SCHEDULE
July 14-15 ....................... St. Augustine
July 29- August 4 . . .... . . . .... .... .. Oshkosh
August 11 ......... VeniceAirport, Beach Party
September8-9 .... Silver Springs Airport, Ocala
October13-14 ................ Thomasville, GA
December 1-2............. Cedar Key/Williston
21
BORDEN'S AEROPLANE POSTERS
FROM THE 1930'S
.... .. ..
" 'I /
p -_ .
.-
- -,- - , ;
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. '#/ -
-.
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- - .
- - .
.._--
. --
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-::;. -
- ..- ....
OJ> , -,....
:- .;-
. ...,.: .. ;"-
:-- ... ..-
---.
-- -....:
-.
.-
- --,
/

.........
NEXT MONTH - The Boeing Bomber and Pursuit.

Article Number 7, Poster Number 7, Series Number
Savoia Marchetti
By Li onel Sa li sbury
7 Harper Road
Brampton, Ontario
Canada L6W 2W3
Okay. Where do you put a pilot in this one?
If that i s the pilot peeking out from the right hull,
how does he see anything on the left side?
For that matter, how does he see anything on the
ri ght side? Or forward? Down?
This poster is number seven in series number one,
of a group of posters publi shed in 1936, by the Bor-
den Company, from their Toronto, Ontario office,
as a promotion for th eir malted milk product.
Three-view and description are from the back of
the poster. If you build a repli ca of this one, and you
ar e looking for aircrew, I will volunteer to man the
safety lau nch.
22
-
--
------
--------
x
\ [
/
/
- \, -
79 1/ '

- - -- --
---.-
"-- ---
-------------
Of! c:::.
I
l------- --
s,, -- 2'" _____ _
M"RCHl TIl "MPHIBION
DESCRIPTION OF SAVOIA-MARCHETTI TWIN HULL FLYING BOAT
The Savoia-Marchetti Flying Boat is made by the engines, Isotta-Fraschini , or Curtiss Conqueror, or Equipment includes Paragon propel ler, compressed
American Aeronautical Corporation of Port Washing- Wright Cyclone, totaling 1,000 horsepower. Power air starter, dual controls, Pioneer instrument panel ,
ton , Long Island, New York. It has two hulls, each of loading, 16.1 pounds per horsepower. Wing loading, turn and bank indicator, clock, magnetic compess,
which accommodates five or six passengers. The frame- 17.35 pounds per square feet. Weight empty, 10,600 inclinomet er , navigation , cabin and instrument board
work of the hulls is of wood; sides and decks are of pounds; useful load , 5,250 pounds; gross weight, light s complete with battery, safety belt s, tool kit ,
plywood and fabric. Ailerons and tai l surfaces have a 15,850 pounds. first aid kit , anchor, life pr ese rvers, fire extinguisher ,
framework of steel tubing covered with fabric. Full air speed indi cator, altimeter, clock, water thermom-
cantilever wings with a fuselage of wood, covered with Perf ormance: High speed, 130 mil es per hour. eter , oil thermomet er, gasoline gauge.
plywood and fabric, are provided. Cruising speed, '110 mil es per hour. Landing speed,
Sp ecifi cati ons: Span, 79 feet 11 inches. Length 75 miles per hour . Rate of climb, 400 feet first minute.
overall, 55 feet 2 inches. Height overall, 16 feet 9 inches. Climb in '10 minutes , 3,400 feet. Service ceiling, 11,000
Wing area (including ailerons) 990 square feet. Two feet. Radius, optional. Gasol ine capacity, optional.
23
LETTERS
Dear David:
This morning I received a photo copy of a
letter dated December 14, 1978 wh ich you sent
to my pen pal Don Giffin. Box 179, Wyoming ,
Ontario, Canada, inviting him to keep a writ-
ten and photographic record of the replica
Chilton DWIA that he is currently building with
a view to its eventual publication in The VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE.
I feel sure that Don will be extremely pleased
to do just that and I hope that you will file my
following remarks to add what is suitable to
h is story if he writes it.
I am 70 years of age, one of the three work-
men who built the original Chilton DWIA in
very primitive conditions for the Hon. A. Dal-
rymple and Mr. A. R. Ward at Hungerford in 1939
and by a whole string of coincidences Don
was able to make contact with me and I was
able to supply him with pictures and news clip-
pings over 40 years old and many memories
of how the Chiltons were made.
The July 1976 issue of the English magazine
AEROPLANE MONTHLY carried a quite good
story of the history of the Chiltons up to date:
The actual story was written by Arthur Order-
Hume who rewrote much of the material sup-
plied by myself .
In July last year, the Mr. Roy Nerou men-
tioned in the article, exchanged his Comper
Swift for the last Chilton made, S-AFSV and
removed part of the skinning to measure in-
ternal dimensions and prepare proper draw-
ings for futu re use.
Obtaining data and working drawings has
been very difficult due to the almost complete
lack of interest by the surviving partner , Mr.
Ward . Dalrimple was killed in a German Fies-
ler Storch on Christmas Day, 1945, and after
5 years in the ATA (ferry service) Ward had no
interest in ultralight planes and I left the con-
cern for good.
I never flew a Chilton myself . a pity because
all who did , spoke very highly of it, in fact . Mr.
Ronald Porteous who owned a Chilton and test
flew many ultralight planes at the time 1936-
1939, rated it the best ever built and equal to
today ' s types.
The reason that I never flew the Chilton is
that I used to be a pioneer glider and sailplane
pilot and due to mishaps trying out new ideas
in 1930-1938 with resu Itant damage to myself
by the time 1939 arrived my flying days were
over and it was wiser to stay on the ground.
I was a founder member of the Bradford Glid-
ing Club in 1930 which became the Yorkshire
Gliding Club in 1934 and was Ground Engi-
neer for both.
In 1930, incredibly little was known in Eng-
land about either building or flying sailplanes
and I was often the guinea pig for both test
flying new types and trying new launching sys-
tems like the winch and hand launching in a
very strong wind .
During 1933-1934 I teamed up with the late
Rex Stedman to make the first two seat sail-
plane that actually soared in this part of the
world and was the first Yorkshire member to
rise in a thermal to cloud base.
By the end of 1938, I had spent nearly all my
money and just had to earn my living on some-
thing more remunerating.
The journey to Chilton was a blind date. by
English standards a long way off and I had
never seen the works.
Whether Chilton Aircraft was a real business,
or two rich men 's hobby will never be known.
Both partners were extremely well connected
socially and moved in the highest aristocratic
circles, in fact , Ward's parents were personal
friends of the late King George V and Queen
Mary.
They had a tiny shed about 25 feet by 15 feet
hidden in the copse behind the stately home
of Chilton Lodge and machines were taken by
road 9 miles to the Earl of Cardigan' s field near
Marborough for flying.
Machinery was conspicuous by its absence
and they only employed three men and a boy.
Apart from the engines, bolts, nuts, turn-
buckles, tyres, etc. , almost the entire little
planes were made on site by hand.
On the outbreak of World War II the military
requisitioned a large part of the mansion and
turned the surrounding park into an Army
Camp which grew in size right through the
War at the same time as the works.
Almost immediately wood work stopped and
production was entirely small machined metal
parts made by sub-contract for the larger air-
craft concerns on some very antiquated metal
working machines later supplemented by
modern U.S. lease lend machinery.
The original shed was enlarged 15 times by
1945 and the last extension was a free stand-
ing chicken house which just held two benches
and a sports sailplane fuselage, which was
in fact the first Olympia Merze made outside
Germany.
When the U.S. entered the War the Army
Camp became the official U.S. parachute
school , and was greatly extended together
with all the equipment needed for the mainte-
nance and re-packing of parachutes.
Because the soldiers were so close we got
to know them quite well and quite a lot of un-
official lease lend took place.
In exchange for repairing ten hats, use of
our circular saw, etc., their officers would give
us large quantities of the timber which came
f rom Waco glider packing cases. Those pack-
ing cases were some of the largest ever made
and when dismantled made excellent build-
ing material and that was how the factory was
continually being extended until 0 Day.
Amazingly although an Army Camp and quite
a legitimate wartime target , the camp and works
were NEVER bombed but we often heard Jerry
passing over on his way to the Midlands.
I will have to cut this short or this letter will
become a book: Almost immediately after the
crash of the Storch , I left the firm of Chilton
Aircraft which became Chilton Electric, mak-
ing shaver sockets and switchgear and for
the next 28 years I worked as a high quality
joiner until I retired.
However. I never lost my interest in flying
and during the last six years have acquired
a number of pen and tape pals about the world
who are interested in the building and flying
of the 1930-1939 replicas.
A few months ago Don' s pal , Ron Bays sent
me an interesting tape about his trip in his
30 year old Bellanca from Nova Scotia to the
Oshkosh Fly-In and the return trip.
The address of Mr. Roy Nerou, the prime
mover in the Chilton replica project is: 264
Browns Lane, Allesley, Coventry. If you would
like to read more about the Chilton , I would
be pleased to send either script or tape, sorry
I do not type.
Sincerely,
Mr. Harold Holdsworth
27 Woodroyd Terrace
Bradford 5. BD5 8P. Q.
West Yorks England
Dear David:
I have asked the Experimental Aircraft As-
sociation to post this letter to your company.
You may be interested to know that a full
size flying Replica of the famous Fokker aero-
plane Southern Cross as used by the late Sir
Charles Kingsford Smith has been planned
for historical commemorative operations in
Australia.
It is our intention to purchase four engines
(one spare) that have been completely over-
hauled in the U.S.A. Mr. Bill Whitney, our aero-
nauti cal engi neer has advised that 3 X 200
BHP engines will be required to power the
Replica.
It is possible that 280 BHP engines would
be considered.
Would you kindly advise then , the avail-
ability and estimated cost in the U.S.A. of:
4 X Radial Engines with all accessories, of
300 BHP.
4 X Two bladed, feathering propellers with
diameters a little over 8 feet : Activity Factor
not too important.
We would be most grateful if you could ad-
vise an estimate of the total weight including
prop and accessories, in the reply.
With thanks in anticipation.
Sincerely,
John S. Pope, Project Director
42 Strathalbyn Road
Aldgate
South Australia 5154
.....'l
Waco Model UBF, NC13075, cl n 3692, 1933.
Dear David :
Being one of a perpetual nostalgia kick, the
mention of Milwaukee. Oregon in Jack Mit-
chell ' s excellent article on Waco UBF,
NC13075, stirred some memories of myoid
home town. Among those memories are a few
of this very same Waco. I submit two views
captured during the 1946-47 period with my
Brownie 620 Special.
The photo of the UBF on wheels was
snapped shortly after it arrived in Milwaukee,
The exact location was a pretty sad airstrip
at Ardenwald, a residential area of East Mil-
waukee. Soon to be covered with homes, this
field enjoyed a very short life as an airport.
The second view shows the UBF some
months later - refinished, remounted on floats
and put to work by Marine Air Service. At this
time, Marine Air Service was located precisely
at Milwaukee, on the Wallamette River. The
river is wide at this location, Johnson Creek
flowing in to help form what was then the sea-
plane basin for the air service.
Though I have been to many flying events
and airports throughout the Northwest during
the past 30 years, I never had the good fortune
to see the UBF again.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nortell
N. 1747 Smith Street
Spokane, WA 99207
24
DearDavid:
Please turn to page 14 ofThe VINTAGE AIR-
PLANE, January, 1979. Will you please give
me the name of the pilot standing along side
of the Eastern Air Transport ,Inc.?
I' d be almost willing to bet my next Social
Security check that he is Gene Brown , who
was at that time a reserve officer of the then
Army Air Corps. He came to Columbus in the
late 20's with Mable Cody's Flying. He flew
a WACO 9 taking up passengers. He got Mr.
A. C. Chancellor and perhaps Mr. J. Ralston,
Gargill and Mayor Dimon and two or three
other important businessmen interested in
promoting aviation in Columbus.
I don' t know all of the details, but , he left
Mable Cody' s Flying Circus. They formed a
partnership and bought a new WACO 9. Gene
started hopping passengers and giving flight
instructions. He was very successful in both.
One of hisstudents that I remember quitewell
was George Shealey. He bought an old Jenny
painted orange and aluminum for $500.00 in
Americus. Gene taught him to fly. Lateron, he
got a job flying for Eastern. This was after
Gene had joined Eastern. Gene flew the first
air mail (night) from Atlanta to Richmond, Vir-
giniaflyingaPitcairn.Holdingaboxofpeaches
that he flew to New York City to give to Mayor
Jimmy Walker. But , I failed as usual to put the
date on it.
I got ahead of myself . Gene was an excel-
lent pilot and liked to " flat hat around" every
so often. I used to fly with him every chance I
had. I started working for him selling plane
ride tickets. Then started helping him on the
plane. I " graduated " to propping the engine,
making sure his passengers were strapped in
properly, holding one lower wing for sharp
turns. His aircraft didn' t have brakes. At that
time, Ididn't know of any that did. Ilearned to
warm uptheengineand totaxi itforhim.Then,
he gotthejob flying theair mail.
He was the first pilot to fly at night over
Columbus, withoutthebenefitoflanding lights
on hisaircraftoronthefield. Iforgethowmany
cars were parked side by side at an angle
when he was ready to land. He would gun his
engine as a signal toturn on the lights.
My first great thrill in flying was my first
hop May 5, 1926 in one of the old sweep back
wi ng Standard aircraft of Gates Flying Circus.
The second great thrill was myfirst nightflight
with Gene.
I have many fond memories of working for
Gene. One person told me that had Gene not
gotten that air mai l job, that Gene was going
to teach me to fly. I don' t know if that was so,
but, ifhe had, I'm sure that Iwould have made
a darn good pi lot or not one at all. For he was
a " crackerJack"ofa pilot.
Gene was a young, good looking, lean, raw
boned fellow and was very popular with the
young belles ofthat time. Flying at nightdidn' t
dampen his popularitywith t hem either.
Last October, I heard that George Shealy zontally to the edge of the picture. Have you DearDavid:
died the preceeding December and that Gene any ideaofthe model? Regarding Mr. Mike Kezick' s letter - page
was retired from Eastern and was living some- IamamemberoftheCAPSqd.9098inColum- 26, February 1979, The VINTAGE AIRPLANE.
where in Florida. bus. Through the courtesy of the Air Force Mr. Douglas Corrigan did not do any weld-
IhaveapictureofGeneinapostWW-ISPAD. at Ft. Benning, Georgia, four of us flew up to ingonCharlesLindbergh'sN.Y.P.- helearned
I would like to know the model. It has wider Wright Patterson Air Force Base weekend be- welding later - Mr. Corrigan was a pilot be-
wing struts than the SPADS VII & VIII. Has a fore last. That was a trip well worth it. I just fore the Spirit of St. Louis was built. Having
thick mid top wing fuel tank,a Lewis machine wish that we had morethan onefull daythere. soloed in March of1926.
gun mounted on the lower right wing just on If you have never been, I highly recommend Also, the Key Bro' s. broke the Endurance
the outside of the lower front wing strut, a the trip. There is no admission charge. It is Record with a J6 5 Robin in 1935. This being
long, laced up section aft ofthe cockpit ,a fire open from 09:00 to 17:00 Mondays through 5 years after Jackson and O' Brine' s second
extinguisher hanging on the outside just be- Fridays or Saturdays and 10:'00 to 18:00 on enduranceflight.
lowtherightsideofthecockpitand whatlooks
like an oil cooler just forward of the extin-
guisher. What I can see of the vertical fin, it
comesupat8" or10" and thengoesbackhori-
Sundays.
Sincerely,
Robert S.Grier, Jr.
Rt. 2, Box 31
Seale,AL 36875
RespectfulIy,
J. Rathjen
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC AIRCRAFT UNDER RESTORATION
AERONCA 7AC CHAMP
Samuel C. Mazzotta, 2504 Tecumseh Avenue, Lees-
burg, FL 32748
John B, Shandrow, Rd #1, Middlebury, VT 05753
AERONCA 11 AC
William Lone, 8099 South Breeden Road, Blooming-
ton, IN 47401
BELLANCA 14-13
Ralph H_Prince, 117 Rockwood Drive, Grass Vall ey,
CA 95945
CESSNA 170
Pasqual e Bartone, 40 Bonner Drive, E, Hartford, CT
06118
COMMONWEALTH SKYRANGER
Zot Barazzotto, 1480 Betty Drive, Xenia, OH 45385
CURTISS )N-4D
Harry Bodotsky, 2516 Merribrook Road, Wilmington,
DE 19810
ERCOUPE
Charl es E. Carlson, Sr., 2620 South Fifth Street , Mi l-
waukee, WI 53207
ERCOUPE 415-C
Richard W. Land, 2411 Longview Dri ve, Dayton, OH
45431
Larry D. Sweet ser, 493 Appl e Tree Lane, Fai rfi eld, CA
94533
FAIRCHILD 24
Frankie Freeman, 16619 Mojave Drive, Victorvi ll e, CA
92392
HOWARD - DGC - 15 - P
Gary Chilcote, Box 246 B, Britt, MN 55710
J. R. Graham, M.D., 1955 Santa Teresa, Sierra Vista,
AZ85635
MORRISEY "N IFTY"
Kenneth Jorgensen, P. O. Box 495, Balboa Heights,
Canal Zone
PIPER )3
Ken Kl ei n, 2242 Liane Lane, Santa Ana, CA 92705
PIPER )-5A
Edward E. Self, RR1, Box 384, Leitchfi eld, KY 42754
PIPER )-5-B
Mrs. Thelma B. Grahn, Nine Chase Street, Lynn, MA
01902
PIPER PA-11
Will iam D. Graves, P. O. Box 2279, Auburn, AL 38630
PIPER PA22-150
Roy M. Si monson, 6964 York Dri ve, Dublin, CA 94566
25
Calendar ofEvents
AUGUST 19 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK - Antique/CiassidHomebuilt
Fly-In. Sponsored by EAA Chapter 486, Whitfords Airport. Air
Show - field closed 1 :00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M. Intermi ssion for early
departures. Pancake breakfast. For further information, contact
Herb livingston, 1257 Gallager Road, Baldwinsville, New York
13027.
AUGUST 26 - WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA - Pancake break-
fast sponsored by EAA Chapter 185.
AUGUST 36="j1;" SEPTEMBER 1-3 - OnUMWA, IOWA - LABOR DAY
WEEKEND - Antique Airmen In c. Annual Reunion, Ottumwa In-
dustrial Airport, Ottumwa, IA. Registration free for pilot of antique
plane 30 years or older and one passenger . For further information
write: Antique Airmen Inc., Box 931 , Ottumwa, IA 52501.
SEPTEMBER 5-9 - GALESBURG, ILUNOIS - Ninth Annual Stearman
Fly-In. Anyone with any interest in Stearmans is cordially invited.
For further information, contact Stearman Restorers Association,
Inc. , 823 Kingston Lane, Crystal Lake, Illinois 60014.
SEPTEMBER 12-16 - SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - American Bonanza
Society Annual Convention and Industry Exhibit, Convention Cen-
ter. For further information, contact ABS, P. O. Box 3749, Reading,
Pennsylvania 19605 - 215/372-6967.
SEPTEMBER 14-16 - KERRVILLE, TEXAS - Fifteenth Annual South-
west Regional Fly-In. Friday night hangar party, Saturday aircraft
judging and air show from 3 to 6 P.M., Saturday night banquet and
entertainment. Plenty of homebuilts, antiques, and warbirds. Spon-
sored by the Texas Chapters of EAA. For further information, con-
tact Dave Beckett, President, 5103 Village Row, San Antonio, Texas
78128 - 512/653-4710.
SEPTEMBER 27-30 - TULLAHOMA, TENNESSEE - First Annual Fly-
In. Plan now - for the greatest show on earth.
SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 5 - WASHINGTON, DC - Man's Quest
for Wings : A History of Flight. A weeklong seminar on the history
of flight featuring elctures by the NASM staff, field trips to the
various Smithsonian facilities (including Silver Hill). For further
information, contact Nancy Starr, Selected Studies, A & I 1190A,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560 - 2021381-6434.
OCTOBER 12-14 - CAMBEN, SOUTH CAROLINA - Fly-In. All divi-
sions, awards will be presented. For further information, contact
Geneva McKiernan, 5301 Finsbury Place, Charlotte, North Caro-
lina 28211 . Sponsored by EAA Antique/Classic Chapter 3.
WACO
THE AUTHENTIC HISTORY OF WACO AIRPLANES
AND THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE FOUNDERS - CLAY-
TON J. BRUKNER AND ELWOOD J. "SAM" JUNKIN.
This hardbound publication, a depiction of the
lives of two high school classmates who had a simul-
taneous desire to build an airplane of their own, was
sanctioned by the late Clayton J. Brukner.
This publication, edited and published by Ray-
mond H. Brandly, President of the National Waco Club,
will be available in June of 1979. This collector's item
will be introduced at a special price of $18.95 plus
$1.50 postage and handling. Orders with remittance
may be sent to: WACO PUBLICATIONS, 2797 ACOSTA
STREET, DAYTON, OHIO 45420.
For further information, contact Ray Brandly, Pres i-
def1t, National Waco Club, 2650 West Alex.-Bell. Road,
Dayton, Ohio 45459 or call 513-435-9725.
Chino from the air - prior to Sunday's air show.
Glenn E. Peck, Jr., of Nipomo, CA, sent in this picture of hi5
excellent restoration work on a 1940 Porterfield LP-65.
The plane, serial number 73 1, N27242, was rebuilt in 33
months of spare time. Glenn used razorback for covering.
With its Lycoming 0-145-82 65 hp engine, the Porterfield
delivers a 94 mph cruise at 2300 rpm.
26

Vintage Airplane - Aug 1979

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