by Espie "Butch" Joyce

My lead time for this column is 60

days so while you read this in April, it
is actually February when it is written.
We have just attended our February
Board Meeting and a lot happened that
I would like to relate so you have a
feeling of what goes on at these meet-
ings .
First was the resignation of Kelly
Viets as vice president of the Antiquel
Classic Division. This was not really a
surprise as Kelly had indicated for
some time that he would be resigning.
Before his retirement, Kelly made
his living as a civil engineer in Kansas
and was very successful. He has been
active in all aspects of aviation-related
activities in Kansas and is one of the
hard-core leaders of the EAA and AIC
Division for as many years as I can
remember. He helped organize the AIC
Division some 16 years ago and has
served the division in some capacity
since its inception. At Oshkosh, he was
chairman of the mini-museum for the
EAA Aviation Foundation for many
years and has worked as Parking Chair-
man in the AIC area.
He has been Chairman of the Mem-
bership and Chapter Booth in the A/C
area for several years and also con-
ducted the interview circle in front of
our Headquarters. Kelly has put forth
a lot of effort with his engineering
knowledge toward the construction of
the EAA Air Adventure Museum at
Oshkosh. His leadership and back-
ground knowledge of the EAA is going
to be missed , especially by me as I
serve my term as president. All the of-
ficers, directors, advisors and mem-
bers will also miss his hard work, ex-
perience, advice and fellowship. We
all wish you well, Kelly.
During the board meeting, it was
necessary to appoint someone to re-
place Kelly as vice president. With
some discussion, Art Morgan, who has
served as a director for over to years
and is also Parking Chairman at Osh-
kosh , was nominated. Art has been ac-
tive with the EAA since the days of the
2 APRIL 1989
STRAIGHT AND LEVEL
Rockford Conventions . His experience
will be of great benefit to the A/C Di-
vision as he serves as vice president.
Art had declined thi s position in the
past but felt that now was the time in
his life when he cou ld fulfill the obliga-
tions of a vice president. I am glad to
have Art on board .
With Art moving up to the office of
vice president , there was a vacancy on
the board of directors. Steve Nesse,
who has served as an advisor and has
been a willing worker in all aspects of
our division was appointed by the
board to serve out Art Morgan's unex-
pired term. Steve will make an excel-
lent director and I congratulate him.
One of the items we discussed at our
February meeting was our publication,
VINTAGE AIRPLANE, which we feel
is improving with every issue. We are
now up to 36 pages. Buck Hilbert 's
column, "Pass It To Buck," is starting
to have a great deal more activity than
in the past. At the meeting, Buck held
up a fistfull of letters from readers and
he is starti ng to really enjoy writing
the column. It is easy to have fun with
this type of activity when you have
input and feedback from members and
have something to write about, so keep
passing those cards and letters to Buck.
As I mentioned in the past, classified
advertising in "Vintage Trader" is in-
creasing. I think this is a good service
for members and the more people use
it the better it gets. Take a look through
the ads this month and see if you see
anything you need. If you have some-
thing to sell, you should consider plac-
ing an ad yourself. The lead time is
currently 60 days but we are looking
into ways to cut this time down. Hope-
fully, by our next meeting we will be
able to report on what we have done
along this line. We are having good
input from members with articles and
pictures. A good example is the piece
this month on the famous aviatrix,
Louise Thaden. I think you will
thoroughly enjoy this .
I have also looked at new merchan-
dise such as ball caps, T shirts and
sweatshirts for our '89 Convention.
This merchandise is also available
throughout the year and we will soon
have an ad for it in VINTAGE
AIRPLANE.
Bob Brauer has been appointed An-
tique/Classic Chapter liaison and he
has since contacted all 17 NC chap-
ters. We had a new inquiry from a
group in Colorado which Bob will con-
tact about forming a new chapter. As
chapter liaison person , Bob will be
able to devote a 100 percent effort to
keeping communications open with the
chapters. I would ask at this time for
all chapter newsletter editors to put
Bob on your mailing list so he can keep
up with your activities . His address is
on the opposite page under "Direc-
tors ." He will also be the chairman of
the membership and chapter booth in
the A/C area at EAA Oshkosh '89 and
will be there for you to meet and talk
with.
As to communications, I am receiv-
ing quite a bit of information from
members expressing concern and ad-
vice and I really do appreciate these
letters . Writing "Straight and Level" is
much easier for me with this input. It
gives me some insight as to what the
membership would like to know about.
If you have any concerns for the divi-
sion whatsoever, or any other aviation
matter, please drop me a note. Also, I
would like to mention that I will be at
Sun 'n Fun '89 April 9 to 15. I plan to
hold an informal question, answer and
discussion session with the member-
ship on Tuesday morning at the An-
tique/Classic Headquarters .
If you haven't already made your
plans, it's now-or-never as far as EAA
Oshkosh '89 is concerned. There have
been a lot of adjustments to our parking
area for this year and I think you will
fmd it to your liking. It will be an in-
teresting Convention. It is our hope
that we can make each day as interest-
ing as the day before and have good
activities all through the week. This
year, the Convention will close on
Thursday when we will be honoring
all the award winners during the day
and at night. It is our feeling that these
people have put forth the effort and.
money to receive an award at Oshkosh
and are deserving of that recognition
before the public.
Next month, I will have more news
pertaining to the Convention. Also, we
will have the list of chairmen and their
activities, along with telephone num-
bers to call in order to offer your assist-
ance to these people. Let's keep up the
good communication within our divi-
sion. Let's all pull in the same direc-
tion for the good of all aviation. Join
us and have it all!
PUBLICATION STAFF
PUBLISHER
Tom Poberezny
VICE-PRESIDENT
MARKETING &Co.MMUNICAno.NS
DickMatt
EDlTo.R
MarkPhelps
ART DIRECTo.R
MikeDrucks
ADVERnSING
MaryJones
ASSOCIATE EDITo.RS
NormanPetersen
DickCavin
FEATURE WRITERS
GeorgeA Hardie, Jr.
DennisParks
EDITo.RIAl. ASSISTANT
IsabelleWlske
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jim Koepnlck
CarlSchuppel
Jefflsam
EMANTIQUE/CLASSIC
DIVISION, INC.
OFFICERS
President VicePresident
Esple"Butch"Joyce ArthurRMorgan
Box468 3744North51stBlvd.
Madison,NC27025 Milwaukee,WI53216
919/427-0216 414/442-3631
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GeorgeS. York E.E. "Buck"Hilbert
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Mansfield,o.H44906 Union,IL60180
419/529-4378 815/923-4591
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s.J. Wittman
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415/591-7191


APRIL 1989 Vol. 17, No.4
Copyright" 1989bythe EAA Antique/Classic Division,Inc.All rights reserved.
Contents
2 Straight and Level/by Espie "Butch" Joyce
4 AlC News/compiled by Mark Phelps
5 Calendar
6 Letters to the Editor
8 Vintage Literaturelby Dennis Parks
10 Members' Projectslby Norm Petersen
12 Vintage Seaplaneslby Norm Petersen
14 C-2 Restoration: A Journal- Part 3/
by George Quast
Page12
20 Louise Thadenlby Bill Thaden
and Pat Thaden Webb
26 Planes and PeoplelPublicity Committee
27 Welcome New Members
28 Pass ItTo Bucklby E.E. "Buck" Hilbert
30 Vintage Trader
Page20
35 Mystery Planelby George Hardie Jr.
FRo.NT COVER...LouiseThadenwentfrom sellingcoaltoTravelAirs
andbecamea premierracepilotandrecordsetter.Herstoryis told
byherchildren starting onpoge20.
BACK COVER...This photoofa Fleet9anda Warner165-powered
GreatLakes mightleadanunknowing observertowonderwhothe
heckwas flying thatbluebiplane. (PhotobyWayne Edsall)
The words EM,ULTRAliGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM,SPORT AVIATION,and the logos of EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC., EAA INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION,EAA ANTIQUEICLASSICDIVISION INC., INTERNATIONALAEROBATIC CLUB INC., WARBIRDS OFAMERICA INC., are registered trademarks.THE EAASKY
SHOPPE and logosofthe EAAAVIATION FOUNDATION,INC.and EAAULTRAliGHTCONVENTIONaretrademar1<softheaboveassociationsandtheiruse by anypersonother
than lheabove associationsis pfOhibned.
E<itoriaf Policy:Readers are encouraged to submn stories and pOOtographs.P<Jicy opinions expressed in artides are those of the authors. for acaJracy in
reporting rests entirely wnh the contributor.Materialshouldbe sentto:Editor,The VINTAGE AIRPLANE,Wittman Airfield, 3000 PoberelnyRd., Ostosh,WI 549033086. Phone:
414/426-4800.
The VINTAGEAIRPLANE (ISSN009t-6943) ispui>ished andowned by EAAAntique/ClassicDivision, inc.,ofthe ExperimentalAircraftAssodation,Inc.andispublished
atWillman Airfield,3000PoberelnyRd., Oshkosh,WI54903-3086. Second ClassPostagepaidatOshkosh,WI 5490t and mailingoffices. Membershipratesfor
EMAntique/Classic Inc.are$18.00forcurrent EAAmembersfor 12month period ofwt;ch$12.00is forthe publicationofThe VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membershipisopen
toall who are interestedinaviation.
ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division does not guaranteeor endorse any product offered through our We invne constructive critcism and welcome arrt report of
inferiormerchandiseobtained through ouradvertising so that correctivemeasurescan be taken.
POSTMASTER:Send addresschanges toEAA Antique/Classic Inc., Willman Airfield,3000PoberelnyRd., Willman Airfield,Oshkosh,WI ..
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
4
(3ews
Compiled by Mark Phelps
WELCOME TO SUN 'N FUN
It ' s time for the Sun ' n Fun EAA Fly-in at Lakeland,
Florida once again. We hope that many of you are planning
to attend. While you are there, please come visit all of your
friends at the Antique/Classic Headquarters. Check out our
posted schedule for all of our special events and activities.
On Tuesday morning, April II,at 10:30, our division pres-
ident, Mr. Espie "Butch" Joyce will hold a "Question and
Answer" forum at the Antique/Classic Headquarters. Each
evening we will be having popcorn while we view old flying
films. There will be special Pioneer Aircraft Participation
Plaques for owners and/or pilots of aircraft manufactured
in 1936 and earlier. Our Past Grand Champions who attend
will receive a special hat to identify them. We' re looking
forward to seeing all of you and your wonderful airplanes
there. - Sandy McKenzie-President , EAA AlC Chapter #I
SIR THOMAS SOPWITH
One of the great personages of the world of aviation has
been laid to rest in his native England. Sir Thomas Sopwith
died on Friday, January 27 just a week following his 10 Ist
birthday.
Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith was born on January
18, 1888 to a wealthy family long established in the en-
gineering business. He was already a well known
yachtsman, balloonist and race car driver when he taught
himself to fly in 1910 and earned the 31st pilot's license
issued in Great Britain. Soon active on the air show/demon-
stration circuit in both Europe and the U. S. , he set a number
of records and is remembered for dropping a mail pouch
onto the deck of the liner Olympic as it steamed out of New
York Harbor . With aviation prizes won in the U. S. , Sopwith
set up his own aircraft manufacturing company in 1912 and
went on to everlasting fame as the creator of the legendary
Sopwith Pup, Snipe and, of course, the Camel. The Camel
was the most successful fighter of World War I in terms of
number of victories scored by its pilots, but in any case its
fame was ensured when Canadian pilot Roy Brown used
one to down Germany' s Manfred von Richtofen, the infam-
ous Red Baron.
After the voluntary liquidation of Sopwith Aircraft fol-
lowing the war, Sopwith organized a new company in 1920
in the name of his Australian test pilot, Harry Hawker.
Hawker Aircraft went on to produce the immortal Hurricane
of Battle of Britain and World War II fame . . . and in the
1960s the lineal descendant of Sopwith' s company produced
the VTOL Harrier, which was used with devastating success
in the 1982 Falklands war.
Sopwith was a world class yachtsman and competed,
unsuccessfully, for the America's Cup in 1934 and 1937 in
his Endeavor and Endeavor /I. He was knighted in 1953
for his long service to his nation and the world. Sixty-five
years old at the time, he would get to enjoy being Sir
Thomas for the next 36 years! - Jack Cox
Fly-in ~ j l t
to .. ~
FlightFestl
ANTIQUES & CLASSICS
Gather in KENOSHA, WISCONSIN the
weekend before the EM Convention
in Oshkosh. ComeJULY 21-JULY 23.
FabulousAirshow
GreatOn-GroundDisplays
Plus...TerrificFriends!
LASTYEAR'S FLlGHTFEST
DREW MORE THAN 100,000VISITORS!
For more information.contact:
Bob Carlson 414-656-1B46
orDennis Eiler
Kenosha MunicipalAirport
9900- 52ndStreet
Kenosha, WI 53140
(414J 656-B158
4 APRIL 1989
ICALENDAR OF EVENTSI
April 30 - Slidell, Louisiana. Slidell
Mosquito Picnic, Slidell Municipal
Airport . Sponsored by EAA Chapter
697 . Contact Doug Lait, 1365 St. Paul
PI., Slidell , Louisiana 70460 Tel. 504/
641-5046.
May 5 - 7 - Burlington , North
Carolina. Annual Spring EAA Fly-in
for Classic and Antique Aeroplanes.
Sponsored by EAA Antique/Classic
Chapter #3 . Contact Ray Bottom Jr.,
103 Powhatan Parkway, Hampton,
Virginia 23661 .
May 6-7 - Winchester, Virginia.
EAA Chapter 186 Spring Fly-in at air-
port. Trophies for winning show plan-
es. Pancake breakfast Sunday. Conces-
sions . Apple Blossom Festival down-
town. All welcome. Contact George
Lutz at 703/256-7873.
May 7 - Rockford, Illinois. EAA
Chapter 22 Annual Fly-in Breakfast.
Greater Rockford Airport - Mark
Clark's Courtesy Aircraft, 7:00 am
until noon. ATIS 126.7. Contact Wal-
lace Hunt, Tel 818/332-4708.
May 19 - Alsip, Illinois. EAA Chap-
ter 260 23rd annual anniversary din-
ner. Condesa del Mar, 12220 So. Cic-
ero. Contact Frank Rosner, Tel 312/
339-6323.
May 20-21 - Alexandria, Minnesota.
Bellanca - Champion National Fly-in.
Alexandria Airport. Contact Rob or
AI , Tel 6121762-2111.
May 20-21- Hampton, New Hamp-
shire. 13th Annual Aviation Flea Mar-
ket. Contact Mike Hart, Tel 603/964-
6749.
May 20-21 - Ferriday, Louisiana.
Ferriday Fly-in. Concordia Parish Air-
port . Sponsored by EAA Chapter 912.
Contact Jerry Stallings, Route I, Box
19D, Ferriday, Louisiana 71334, Tel
3181757-2103 .
May 21- Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Third annual Ply-in breakfast, war-
birds, boat show, classic car show and
trophies for aircraft. Sponsored by
EAA Chapter 585, AVSAT Aviation
and Twin Cities Airport. Contact Al
Todd, PO Box 61 , Stevensville,
Michigan, 49127 Telephone 616/429-
2929.
May 26 - 28 - Afton, Oklahoma. The
Third annual Twin Bonanza Associa-
tion convention at the Shangri La Re-
sort. Contact Richard Ward, Twin
Bonanza Association, 19684
Lakeshore Drive, Three Rivers, Michi-
gan 49093 Telephone 616/279-2540.
june 2-3 - Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
Biplane Expo '89, National Biplane
Convention and Exposition. Frank
Phillips Field. Sponsored by National
Biplane Association. Contact Charles
W. Harris, 9181742-7311 or Mary
Jones, 9181299-2532.
june 3-4 - Coldwater, Michigan .
Fifth Annual Fairchild Reunion. Con-
tact Mike Kelly, 22 Cardinal Drive,
Coldwater, Michigan 49036. Tel 517/
278-7654.
june 10 - Newport News, Virginia.
Seventeenth Annual Colonial Fly-in .
Patrick Henry Airport . Sponsored by
EAA Chapter 156. Contact Chet
Sprague, 8 Sinclair Rd. , Hampton,
Virginia 23669. Tel 8041723-3904.
june 23 - 25 - Pauls Valley, Ok-
lahoma. Greater OKC Chapter of AAA
Fly-in. Great facility for Fly-in and
camping. Close to motels. Contact
Harry Hanna at 405/946-4026, or Bud
Sutton at 405/392-5608.
june 22 - 25 - Mount Vernon, Ohio.
30th Annual Waco Reunion. Wynkoop
Airport. Make your reservations at the
Curtis Motor Hotel, just one mile from
the airport, 1-800-828-7847, or (in
Ohio) 1-800-634-6835. There will be
no Waco fly-in at Hamilton this year.
For more information, contact Na-
tional Waco Club, 700 Hill Avenue,
Hamilton, Ohio 45015.
june 24 - 25 - Orange Mas-
sachusetts. EAA Chapter 726 New En-
gland Fly-in and antique engine show.
Two runways, 5,000- by ISO-feet,
trophies, flea market and food. War-
birds welcome. Contact Joe Smolen,
413/498-2266.
October 5-8 - Pauls Valley, Ok-
lahoma. International Cessna 120-140
Association Fly-in Convention. Fifty
miles south of Oklahoma City on 1-35 .
Fly-outs, games and fun for all. Close
to motels and shopping mall. Excellent
camping facilities on field. Contact
Bud Sutton at 405/392-5608 .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
Letters TO The Editor
-<:Q]
'.. ...
DC-WHAT?
Dear Editor,
On page6oftheFebruary issueyou
show two pictures on an aeroplane
DavidScottthoughtmightbe a"some-
what rare DC-2." Although the pic-
turesareprettysmall,Ithinktheaerop-
lane is more likely to be aDC-3. Here
are my reasons:
- The fuselage looks too round. In
the passenger window area, the sides
ofaDC-2fuselageareflat. Inaddition,
the"hamburgerdoor" (frontleft) looks
too curved.
- The cowlings have cowl flaps and
look too deep and streamlined. DC-2s
did not have cowl flaps. Early DC-3s
didn't either.
- The diagonal landing gear member
of a DC-2 attaches right behind the
axle. On a DC-3 there is an extra ar-
ticulating link (the pork chop) in be-
tween. In the picture, it looks as
though the diagonal does not point di-
rectly to theaxle, leaving room for the
pork chop.
- Thereis no pitottubestickingdown
under the nose just behind where the
nose opens .
- Thelanding lightsare in the wings,
normal for a DC-3 but abnormal for a
DC-2.TheDC-2hadthemin thenose.
- Thepictureshowsafairing running
along the fuselage to the vertical
stabilizer. DC-2s did not have thi s
originally. DC-3s did.
- One cannot see enough ofthe tail
to say whether it looks like a DC-2
vertical stabilizer and rudder or more
like the larger DC-3 tail.
Taken individually, none of these
arguments is decisive. People do have
a way ofmodernizing aeroplanes, but
ifthis is amodernized DC-2, someone
did a mighty convincingjobofit.
Sincerely,
C. Darden
Cayce-WestColumbia,SouthCarolina
Mr. Darden ought to know. See the
next letter. - Ed.
Dear Mr. Phelps,
That aircraft is, in reality, a DC-3.
Of the 156 commercial and military
DC-2 aircraft built, there are two left
in the U.S. , Colgate Darden and the
Douglas Historical Foundation each
have one. The Dutch Dakota Associa-
tion in Holland has one that they just
imported from Australia. There are
fourorfive additional DC-2 aircraft in
Australia,all in varyingconditionsand
one aircraft in Finland which has been
configured into a restaurant.
Yours truly,
Harry Gann
Douglas Historian
Long Beach, California
Mr . Gann included a photocopy of
page 96ofArthur Pearcy's book, Fifty
Glorious Years. It shows a photo of
the same DC-3 in David Scott' s pic-
tures and a capsule history of the par-
ticular airplane. - Ed.
6 APRIL 1989
JURRIES STILLOUT
Dear Editor,
TheletteryoupublishedbyDonJur-
ries (Vintage Seaplanes, February)
broughtbacksomeoldmemories. Don
movedhismobilehomenexttotheone
that I had on the lake back in 1962.
Yeah, that was 26 years ago. Don and
I had a lot offun that summer water
skiingandjustgoofingoff. Heleftthat
fall and the last I heard from him was
that he was in Oregon. I lost contact
but Iheardthathewas flying forsome
airline. Well there are..not too many
Don Jurries around so I looked up his
phone number. You guessed it. He is
the sameone.Wespentalongtimeon
the phoneand we will gettogetherthis
summer. Don keeps hisCubsat astrip
at Stanton, Minnesota. The PA-II is
at Duluth. So it is a small world. In
talking to Don he said that it has not
been too many years that he has been
interestedin old airplanes. Iaskedhim
ifhe had shown any othersignsofbad
judgment. Thought you might like to
know.
Sincerely,
John Berendt
Cannon Falls, Minnesota.
FROSTBITTENFRIEND
DearMr. Phelps,
This is the first time for meto write
in since your arrival on EAA staff...
letmetakethisopportunitytowelcome
you aboard, and may you be able to
keep up your fine work.
Being interested in aviation history,
Iespecially enjoyed Col. Reed's story
oftheFokkertrimotor& Rocknecrash
(January) ... I think he gave us a very
good overall picture for a short story
suchasthis. ..pleasepassontohimmy
good wishes.
Also, I think the VINTAGE
AIRPLANE cover and back cover pic-
tures are always the best in the busi-
ness. And ofcourseIalways look for-
ward to Geo. A. Hardie's columns,
Buck Hilbert's informative parts and,
you know, I always enjoy "Letters to
the Editor" too.
Please keep up the good work, and
may Iextend my best wishes to you.
Roy G. Cagle
Juneau, Alaska
SAD NEWS
DearMark,
First ofall, congratulate Boardman
Reed for his excellent article on the
KnuteRocknecrash. It is wellthought
out and reminds all of us where we
came from.
Next is the sad news ofthe passing
of Lillian Boyer Werner on February
1, 1989. My big regret was being un-
able to have her meet most of our
members. She was a lady with an air
ofelectricity and fondness for all that
is good. It is doubtful ifshe ever met
a person she didn't like or who didn' t
like her. Shewas the mostoutstanding
lady I'veevermet and I will certainly
miss heras will hernieceand nephew.
See the September 1986 issue ofVIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE for her story.
Lastofall, allow metocongratulate
you for the good work editing our
magazine. I do appreciate youreffort.
Take care ofyourselfand God Bless.
Regards,
Ted Businger
Willow Springs, Missouri
TRANS WHO?
DearMr. Phelps,
Nice article by Boardman Reed
about the Knute Rockne Fokkercrash.
I found only one error (we all make
' em). TWAdidnotchangeits nameto
TransWorldAirlinesin 1945asstated,
rather in 1950. For a few years prior
to that it had used the service mark
"TransWorld Airline" (singularform)
only toreflectitsnewly-acquiredover-
seas routes. In fact, myoidpaycheck
stubs from 1951 still carried the name
Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc.
while leftover stocks were used up.
Those make me feel like a real old
timer!
Cordially,
Edward Peck
Waddy, Kentucky
FASTEN-ATING
Dear Mr. Joyce,
I'vejust finished reading "The Fun
Flying Foursome" (December) by
Norm Petersen. Areference was made
to a point being deducted for having
"phillips head screws" installedonthe
Aeronca Champ. I am in the aircraft
fastener wholesale>distribution busi-
ness. Igetnumerouscallsforold, u t ~
of-production hardware that is in-
tended for restoration of "point" air-
craft. Manyofthesecallsarefrompro-
fessional restorers asking advice as to
what to substitute for the out-of-pro-
duction hardware. Since the EAA
judges apparently are wise to this and
to keep my customers happy (EAA in-
cluded), can you direct me toward a
"bottom line" document or judging
guidethat mightpreventmygivingbad
advice on fasteners?
Very truly yours,
Earl H. Myers Airframe Systems Inc.
4760 Portage St. NW,
North Canton, Ohio 44720
216/494-9493
Butch sent Mr. Myers an EAA Judging
Guide. - Ed.
THREADBARETHANK-YOU
Dear Butch,
lowe you a thank-you. Since first
seeing my Luscombe Phantom, prior
to purchase, I've had difficulty with
hardware choice. Much of this was
corrected by EAA Oshkosh ' 88. I
thought nothing remained to be found
- How wrong I was. In an effort to
preserve originality (at the behest of
your judges), I acquiesced to replace
theelasticstopnuts on thetail andjury
struts. Imagine my surprise at finding
two drilled stabilizer (flying wire at-
tach fitting) bolts with nuts torqued
above the drill hole! Both bolts (AN3)
were deformed, one at a 30-degree
angle. Either could have failed in a
simple loop- not goodon a"flying"
stabilizer. Thesemay have neverbeen
discovered until too lateexceptfor the
attempt to correct "originality" flaws.
Just maybe, this saved my life.. .
Thanks,
Doug Combs
Incline Village, Nevada
CUB-FLYING CONFESSIONS
DearNorm,
Just apersonal,notereferingto your
article, "AMidwinter Fly-in Festival"
(January, 1989). Ithoroughly enjoyed
your diary of that day. I have never
flown offofskis butby yourability,to
putyourfeelings down on paperIfeel
Ihave loggedsometime. Oh, andthat
true confession of getting (lost) off
course! I loved it! What! You,don't
have a loran in that Cub?Really ap-
preciate your writing about a type of
flying that is soon to be forgotten.
Sincerely,
Ray Johnson
Marion, Indiana
Around here, we won' t everlet Norm
forget that type offlying. - Ed.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

AIR TRANSPORTATION 1929
Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT)
was formed in May 1928 with financial
support of the Wri ght and Curtiss avi-
ation companies and the Pennsylvania
Railroad. Clement Keys, head of the
Curtiss group, was president and
Charles A. Lindbergh head of the
Technical Committee which had the
task of mapping out and organizing the
coast-to-coast route.
On July 7, 1929 TAT inaugurated
its 48-hour transcontinental service
which combined air and rail transporta-
tion with Lindbergh flying the first
plane over the route.
Thanks to Mr. Edmund W.
Schiemer of Baltimore, Maryland who
just donated a copy of the September
1929 issue of TAT PLANE TALK we
can get a glimpse of this new era of air
transportation as reported by the com-
pany newsletter.
THE FIRST 60 DAYS
The first story in the newsletter co-
vered the early months of the new
coast-to-coast operation.
"In July and August , the first two
months of operation, 1,787 persons
made use of the service of Transconti-
nental Air Transport .
"Travel was both over the coast-to-
coast route of the line and between in-
termediate cities on the route . Travel
on the Eastern Division was almost
double that of the Western Division be-
cause of the heavy traffic between in-
termediate points, indicating the ac-
ceptance of TAT as a means of general
business transportation between the
East and Middle West.
"In July, its first month, TAT oper-
ated at 37 percent capacity load while
in August the figures increased to 47.5
percent with the last week of August
showing a record of 52.5 percent."
NEW PLANES
Traffic was doing so well on the
Eastern Division that additional planes
were put into service.
''To care for the heavier travel on the
Eastern Division between Columbus and
Waynoka, two Curtiss Condor biplanes,
each with a capacity of 18 persons have
been placed in regular service in addi-
tion to the fleet of Ford planes with
which service was inaugurated.
by I)ennl Vark 7.3 percent of the passengers suffered
in any degree from airsickness and 65
"The Condors are powered by two
percent of those who were affected re-
Conqueror motors each of 600 horse-
covered before the end of the journey.
power and will crui se at 115 miles an
He found that onl y 40 percent of the
hour. Like the Fords, they are manned by
sickness was caused by rough air; 20
a crew of three: two pilots and a courier."
percent was caused by nervousness .
Overeating and the lack of eating were
MEALS ALOFT
al so li sted as causes.
The TAT aircraft were also supplied
with portable tables on which meal s
GRAF ZEPPELIN CREW
could be served.
Among the more interesting passen-
"One of the delightful features of
gers reported to be fl ying TAT were
T AT travel is the luncheon served aloft
some members of the Graf Zeppelin
each day, between Kansas City and
crew. While the dirigible was making
Saint Louis on the Eastern Division
its around-the-world crui se it became
and between Winslow and Kingman on
necessary to lighten the huge ship for
the Western Division.
the crossing over the Rocky Mountains.
"The courier places portable tables
Seven members of the crew were
before the chair of each passenger,
transported from Los Angeles to Tren-
then sets each table with a diri-gold
ton , New Jersey via the airline. PLANE
service that harmonizes softly with the
TALK presented a testimonial from the
lavender table cloth and napkin .
crew of the Graf Zeppelin:
"A typical luncheon is cold chicken,
"We can ride in the Graf Zeppelin
tongue and ham, a salad, dainty
every time she flies, but we will prob-
sandwiches and coffee, tea or milk.
ably never again have an opportunity
For dessert there is a fruit salad or a
to make such a marvelous airplane trip. "
cocktail . The luncheons are all pre-
pared by the Fred Harvey Company
which operates the dining car service
THE END
of the Santa Fe railroad."
In spite of the rosy picture painted by
the airline's newsletter, things did not
AIRSICKNESS go well. The airline lasted only 18
Mr. Parker B. Sturgis, Chief of months during which it lost over
Transportation of the airline, presented $2,500,000. On February 13, 1931
some interesting facts on airsickness . T AT merged with Western Air Express
His compilation from the first two to form Transcontinental And Western
months of operation revealed that only Air (TWA) .
8 APRIL 1989
I
TO
FROM
Columbua
Columbus...................
IlIdiallapolia.....
St. Lou\l....................
K.....City.................
Wichita.......:.............
WayDoka....................
Clovl. .......................
Albuquerque.................
WinaIo. .....................
KiDJDIIII.....................
LotAnlel....................
Baa Francleco. ...............
..........
130
15
II
131
147
147
181
217
2..
290
290
TRANSCONTINENTAL
sE5AE5t>
sFJi&FfeE>
AIRTRANSPORT, Inc.
a.........Ollloll-S)'ndlc",Bide.. 101ll.ndOUnSIlIlII. 51.lou...Mo.
OffiCERS
C.M. K .....Presidenl H.nr)'O.Holch.d...Secretary
PaulH.nd.raan,Vice-Presidenl J. A.B. Smith. Treuurer
J. V. Magll. \,ice-Preii.Jcnl
MEMORANDUM 0'PREVAllINO T. A. T. fARES
'I'ho.fatH IDcI"de airportionofJourney only. P....nll...proceedin, bel.eenWaYDoknd Cloyiamu.t be ID poueaaionoftbe noCClal)'railudPUUDI&D tlcketaff.r
IUcbrailportion01 thetrip. T.A. T.bein,aprivatecarrier.rellerv..theriahttochalllethesefare. withoutnotice.nd10accept buaineu.t.nyfare Itmaydealte. Thefolio....
niletberdor.notatarilbutrather.memorandum of theprevailinllfar...
Indi.n- San Loa Kanau Albu
AQllelea Winalo Franeiaco pol.. City Waynoka C10m querque Klnlllll&ll SI.Louie Wichita
---.
,..7 ,,47 ,181 1290 1217 1244 1290 130 105 1131 ,'1
1111 220 263 262 121 155 71 .03 121 38
....38..
181 230 230 120 150 as ... ..... .. u 68 fa
161 1116 1110 83 122 71 47 47 u 28
....20..
86 1611 100 126 103 20 65 18 20
.. ..20..
108 153 188 37 7. 121 86 47 ..... ... .. II
163 188 71 108 121 ..... .... . u 85 20 II 47
1111 154 71 lIS 83 .0 120 u 37
I' ....40..
80 116 ...... .... &I . 191 158 122 85 76 71
86 60 220 108 108 71 u 180 UI 121
....iO..
153 80 ..., ... ... &I 262 230 IN 1811 153 1111
154 115 282 230 IN 101 188 188 85 - -,-",-,-,-,-,-,-,-,
TABLE 86 PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD
Weslbound
Read Down
"1'lIIAirwa)' lImllld"
01 ET ILv.......Ne.York City .......Ar
DiADeranll breakrut
OD P.R.R.dininllcar
755 ET IAr..........PortCoIumbu.......Lv
EUlbound
Read Up
860 ET
DiDnerand breakrut
011 P.R.R.dininlcar
7 ... ET
"Thl Amerlc.n"
(A Detation,topleven(7) milc.EulofColumbu01110).
TRANSCONTINENTAL AIR TRANSPORT. INC.
16 ET Lv..... ...I'ortColumbu.... .....Ar 7 13 ET
8 13 CT Ar.. ... .. . ..Indianapolia..... ... ..Lv 4 37 CT
828CT Lv....... ...Indianapoli. .. ....... .Ar 422CT
1203 CT Ar. .... . ... ..St.Louia.. . .. ..... . Lv 211 CT
12 ,.CT Lv...... .....St. Louia.. ... . .... .Ar 200CT
J'red HarveyIUllcbeon Fred HarveyIUlichlOn
011 plane. on plane.
2 4"1 CT Ar.. .......KanauCity......... Lv II68 CT
a02 CT I.v.........Kang,Cily.........Ar II 43 CT
418CT Ar.. ....... ...Wichil....... .... ..Lv 10 10 8T
1
11 aT r.v.... ......, .Wlohl"............/01 8 l'
t40T Ar... . . . . .Arport .Okla.... . ...."v I as T
/Terminal field .topfour .ndone-hAir (Hi)milecat of W.ynok Okl. )
T.A. T.aero caraervice to Harvey Houae for dinner.
T. A. T. aero caraervice to AirportOkl
ATCHISON, TOPEKA .. SANTA FE RAILWAY
Sel-out PuliDIAn readI ' : "Tho Mi"ionarv" Br.aklllstin HarveyHOUle
11 00 CT II,v..... Waynok.Okl.........Arl 10 CT
820CT Ar.........Jllovi N. M..........Lv 11 36 CT
Breaklutlil-HarveyHouae - ----- -- &I-oull'uillll&llready:-"Tiie&out"
TRANSCONTINENTAL AIR TRANSPORT. INC.
T.A.T.aerooareervi..to Porlair.N.M. T.A.'r. aero ClAr aervice toClovle. N.M.
(Terminal (5) mile. lOrol 01Clovi N. M.)
0 MT ILv. . . . . . .I'ortair.N. M . . . ..Arl' --,64 MT
10 17 MT Ar.. " .. \Ibuquerque. N. M...... I.v I 10 t.lT
FredHarveydiDner.t
Albuquerque.irport
1032 )'IT b .....Albuquerque. N. M ......Ar 440MT
112MT Ar........ Winalow.Ari..........Lv 22.MT
1 27 MT Lv........Winslow. Aril.........Ar 214MT
J'redHarvey IliDoboon Frod lIarveyIlinoheon
on pl.n.. on pl.n .
231 PT Ar........Killlman. Arle.... . .... Lv II 33 PT
I ... PT b ........Kinllm.n. Aril.........Ar II 18 PT
I 12 PT Ar.........lo/llI ARllel ........... J.v 45 PT
UPODarrival.lOrandCenlralAirTerminal,Glendale.Loa Cal..JIU&IllIerI
cleetiDed for Sail Franciseo illh.ve the optionofaelectinll .noverDiiht tr.in or of
proceediDIL tho foUowilll IIIOlninll via Maddllx Air Linewithout additional tr.na-
portationcharlie.
T. A. T.paue... ..tbouadwillhavotb.optiollof from BaaFruclaco
ria M.ddull Air Lillh011 tbo previous afternoon or m.yle.ve by traiD tbe previous
Dlabl.Thletranaport.tioniaillcludedinlboprevaUlnllT.A.T.railfromSanFr.nciaco.
T. B.CLEMENT. KANSA8 CITY
Oener.1TrAOic M.IUIL!er. W. WIIII.m Div. Traffio AlleDt.
aeDerll1 Ollice., 8vndicato Trull Bldll. Municipal Airport
ST. LOUIS, MO.
KINGMAN
H.W. CONNER. R.'phDunlap.Fielll M,r.
Eutern'I'raRio Monollcr.
I.OS
27 We.t67111 8lreot.
H.W. Beck. We.tern'rraffioMllr.
Ncw York. N.Y
C.P.Dorland. Traffic Agent
J.W. BRENNAN. E.O.Cocke. PaweDier Aient
CeDtr.1 T,.OicManuger.
NEW YORK
1100Syndicalo 'fruBt Buildin"
H. W. Conner. Eutor.Trallio M,r.
St.LOllia. Mu.
C.E.Dolan,Traffic
H.W.BECK. A.J.Donahu Trllffio AileDt
Woolcrn Traffio Maner. J.C.W ..nkooP. TrallioAlieni
620 Pacifio MUlual Buildinl.
ST.LOUIS
Loa Angeles,Vlllil.
J.W.Brennan.CentralTraffic M,r.
AI.BUQUEIIQUF. J.C. Grawe..Traffio
Arthur Horton. Field Mllr. J.J. Sulherln.Traffic Abent
C. E. McCollum. PlWCnllerAlleDt
CLOVIS
J.H.Cl8IIIaan. 1'lISSCn,erAlcnt WAYNOKA
COLUMBUS
W. H.Hollel. PusellIerAllont
C. W. D.nnl Div.Traffic Alcnt. WICHITA
MunicipAl Airport Paul McKinney, Field M.nager
INDIANAPOT.lS WINilLOW
O.P,w" Mer. O. M. 'radl.)'.Field M,
Eloluaivo Tlfo Peflona
Occupancyof inCompart-
Com(lartmellt mcnI on Santa
on Santa Fe Ry.
.'e Rv.
nailf.re. New York to PorIVolumbus.. ... .. . .. .. 22 .46 22.45
Ellrafaro on"TheAirway Limited"... ...... . . ... 3.60 3.60
Lower bertb.lncludinll.urcharllc Ne.York &0 Port
Columbu.................................... ' .38 ' .38
Railfaro. W.YDOka toClom. .. . ......... . ...... 11 .17 11 .17
Onebalffare .dditionalfor elelusive oeeupanoy of
Compartment011 Santa Fe Ry. ........ . ....... 6.611
Compartnlentrate.Waynoka 10 Clovl....... .. .... 12 .76 '8:38
Tr.naconlinenlalAir Tran.port.Inc. fare...... 290.00 290.00
Total........ .. ........ .. ........ . .... 1351 .84 "1311 .118
low.rBerlll. .(NewYork10 PortCollimbu .}Whelloecupiedby0110 perlOli. .1338.10
W.Ylloka to Clov...........
secllon........{N...York10 PortColumbus.}Whelloocupled byODe perIOD. atO.80
WaYDoka toClovl.......... Whenoocupiedbytwoperaona. 337.01
Section........{New York10PortColumbus.} WhonoccupiedbyoneperlOn.. 367.1
Comp.rtllllllt.. W.Ylloka toClovu. . . . . Wben occupied by two perlOna 3311.U
Compartm.nl.. (Ne..York toPoriColumbus.}Whenoccupiedbyone perIOD. 3811.61
Waynoka 10 Clovia......... When occupied hy two perlODI 342.60
Drawl",fIooIII .{NewYorktoPoriColumbus.}WhenoecupiedbyODeperIOD.. 403.'
W.ynoka10 Clovis. .. . Wbeoocoupiedbyt.operlODI . 340.73
Whenoccupiedby3perlODI. . 340.22
TOTAL CHARGES fOR EACH PERSON USING COMBINATION OfONE-WAY
fARES fROM HEW YORK. N. Y. TO LOS ANGELES. CAL.OR SAN
fRANCISCO. CAL.
&I-8ymbolde.D01ol polDtabet._.hlobtickotaarenot&old.botbc1t1ea belD,locatedIlitht&ami.t.ta.
11-8)'111boldeliOteapointabet.een.hlcbtravelillbySui.1'0train.
10%reductiononairticketawinbe putedonround-tri:rfare.bet._aU point&.
Not.1 Theabovefare.fncluclo luncheonaeryedaloftan AceidenlIDlUfUOl PolicyIn theamoUlitof111,000.00.
Bagpg.AlIow.nol: JlC?unde _riedfr... IJmit01 60 poundaperpauenller.
Equlpmlllt: 10 pulellilerTn-MotorFord....nee. Wup'D&inea.
M E M E R S ~ PROJECTS...
by Norm Petersen
Mike Keedy's WACO ZPF-6
Built at the WACO factory in Troy, Ohio in
1936, this sport model ZPF-6 was one of five
constructed and is one of three remaining
on the FAA register. Originally delivered to
The Texas Company as Texaco #25, the
ZPF-6 was used for high speed company
transportation and was quite well known
throughout the U.S.
Mike Keedy (EAA 98957, AlC 6972)
of Orange Springs, Florida, acquired
the remains of the aircraft from Tony
Blackstone about 12 years ago. It was
then restored by Arnold Nieman of
Ocala, Florida and has been flying for
the past seven years. Mike reports he
has logged some 270 hours since the
rebuild which included a new Curtiss
Reed prop, dual controls, full IFR , 62-
gallon fuel tanks and heat in the rear
cockpit. A new 275-hp Jacobs engine
was installed just 40 hours ago. Note
how all antennas are hidden.
Mike reports the WACO is a real joy
to fly and admits it gathers a crowd at
every stop. (That's the price of flying
a historical aircraft!)
These two interesting photos were sent in by Bruce & Joe Koch (EM 309585 & 309804) of Goodrich, Michigan. This father & son team
plan on restoring their 1943 Consolidated Vultee BT-13A to original condition over the next five years. All wooden parts will be replaced
with metal. The BT-13 was last flown In 1971. If any reader knows of parts for a BT-13 or P&W R-985 or knowledge of SUCh, please contact
Bruce at 5390 S. State Rd., Goodrich, MI 48438.
Direct side view shows classic J-2 lines.
Note large aileron horns and unbolanced
rudder. Polished cowl Is neat. Smooth tires
were stili on when photo was taken.
Head-on view shows Sensenlch prop,
polished nose bowl and straight exhaust
system. Note wire fuel gauge behind prop.
MARTY NELSON'S PIPER J-2 CUB
"Enclosed are some photos of my
1936 Piper J-2 Cub, NC16651, sin
666, which was born (hatched) on June
22, 1936 at Bradford, Pennsylvania. It
left the factory with a Continental A40-
2, sin 736, which is still on the air-
plane! In addition, it had a Sensenich
prop and Bradford yellow paint job (a
Berry Bros. color). The trim was three
black stripes on the side of the fuse-
lage, 30-inch numbers on the wings
and four-inch stenciled numbers on the
rudder.
"NC16651 was put in storage in
1946 and remained there until 1985.
With 562 hours total time , airframe
and engine, the owners commenced a
restoration. Some tubing was replaced
and dents were removed from the lead-
ing edges. The engine was majored
and the entire aircraft was covered in
Ceconite. The finish is silver with
black trim.
"I purchased NC16651 in August
1988 with a total time of 700 hours.
Since then I have finished detail work
on the aircraft and was awarded Grand
Champion Antique at the 1988 North
Central EAA Fly-In.
"I have removed the smooth tires
(Royal Airplane) and installed a set of
Three-quarter rear view reveals large 30-
Inch numbers on top of right wing along
with skylight In cabin. Notice how grass
and Cubs go together.
Goodyears (the Royals are far too val-
uable!). The tail skid has been replaced
with a tailwheel. Otherwise NC 16651
remains original. Total time to date is
743 hours and I plan on doing some
ski flying with the Cub and attend as
many airshows as possible next sum-
mer. We are based at Mt. Morris, Il-
linois on a 2600-foot grass strip, open
to the public."
Marty and Kris Nelson
(EAA 260454, AlC 10880)
4071 Potter Lane
Mt. Morris, IL 61054
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
by Norm Petersen
A genuine Alaskan resident for many years, this Stinson Junior SR is In remarkable shape for 55 years of servlcel Note extra cargo loading
door In aft fuselage and small pilot door just behind windshield. Large wing of 235 sq. ft. employs a Clark Y airfoil.
ThiS month's column features a quite
rare Stinson Junior SR, NC 13459, sin
8712, mounted on a set of EOO 38-
3430 floats. Built in 1933, the Stinson
has been in Alaska nearly all its life,
having been flown up from the "lower
48" by Babe Alsworth, an early pilot
from Sherburn, Minnesota. Used for bush
flying for many years, the Stinson was
acquired from Babe and his family in
1972 by Fred W. Walatka (EAA 120324,
AlC 13047) of Anchorage, Alaska.
In a related note, it just so happens
that Fred Walatka's father, John,
taught Babe Alsworth and his brother,
Lloyd, a pioneer Minnesota FBO and
FAA examiner, how to fly!
In 1975, a windstorm upset the Stin-
son and Fred had to cut holes in the
12 APRIL 1989
wing fabric to let the water drain out.
The wings were recovered with Ceco-
nite and the Stinson was returned to
service. In the early 1980s, the fuse-
lage was recovered with Stits and the
Stinson once again looked quite re-
spectable. The 225-hp Lycoming R-
680 has given yeoman service over the
years and Fred once lifted a 1,300-
pound load on floats! Babe reportedly
hauled the Stinson off the ground one
time with nearly 1,500 pounds of
freight on board!
The 55-year-old Stinson (the SR was
the originator of the Stinson Reliant
series) still earns its keep hauling Fred
around Alaska in the survey business.
In later years, the floats have been left
on year 'round rather than convert to
skis. Fred uses a Piper Cub on skis
when necessary.
In 1977, Fred bought from Babe a
second Stinson Junior SR, NC 13822,
sin 8774 which is maintained on
wheels. Fred's two Stinsons comprise
20 percent of the total FAA registered
SRs - 10 in number!
Our thanks go out to Fred Walatka
for providing these pictures and for
maintaining a significant portion of
Alaska's aviation history . Fred brought
the pictures all the way to Minneapolis
where he attended the annual banquet
of A/C Chapter 4 with his lifelong
friend, Lloyd Alsworth and Jack Mac-
key, both of Fairmont, Minnesota. I
was privileged to p r s ~ n t a program on
seaplanes at the banquet.
Closeuprevealspointedwindshieldand225hpLycomingR-680
engine. Note howthestreamlined wires between the floots use
a round section wheretheycross. SeaplaneIn backgroundIs a
restoredWACOYKC on Edo 38-3430floots.
TypicalwinterstorageofNC13459 makestheairplanelookabit
coldandforlomlHowever,beforelongitwillonceagaintaketo
thewaterandtheair- where It is reallyathomeI
In all the kingdom of float flying,
there are two traumatic times of the
year. When the floats go on - and
when the floats come off!
Although there are numerous ways
to accomplish this change, three Osh-
kosh seaplane pilots, AI Ziebell,
Chuck Andreas and Bill Brennand
have developed a two-wheel, trailer
hoist that works very well . It will han-
dle up to a Cessna 180 without diffi-
culty.
TWICE AYEAR
The hoist is wheeled to the water's
edge and the hook is attached to the
hoi sting ring(s) on the aircraft. The en-
tire floatplane is then lifted out of the
water with a hand-operated, geared
crank that winds up the lifting cable.
Once the floatplane is hanging high
and dry, the hoist is pulled forward
until the airplane is over dry land .
Once on firm ground, the airplane
tail is supported by a stand and the
wings are tied to stakes so the wind
cannot upset the aircraft. The floats are
then removed from the aircraft and the
landing gear is re-installed . Once all
the nuts, bolts and fittings are safetied
and brake lines attached, the landplane
is now ready for take-off.
In the spring, the reverse procedure
is used to install the floats. Average
time for the change is about four hours
to install and about two hours to re-
move a set of floats .
Theauthor'sJ-3Cubhasbeenliftedoutofthewaterandmoved
to dry ground. Gene Chase Is turning the crank to lowerthe
aircraft until thefloats justtouch theground before "staking"
theaircraft.
Hanginghigh&dry,theCubIsnowreadyforinstallationofthe
tallwheelandthemainlandinggear.Notetailsupportandwing
tiedowns. (AndCharlie, don'tforgetthebrakes!)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
J
"ll
:J
.t::
U
C-2 with Ceconite or Stits, as Hardy
said. He intended to cover their C-2
with Ceconite 102.
December 15, 1983
C-2 RESTORATION:
A JOURNAL
Part 3
by George Quast (EAA 123836, Ale 8885)
November 8, 1983
Hardy Cannon sent a letter and brag-
ged about how great the Texas weather
was . He also sent a photo of a C-3 and
mentioned a decal that he had and that
he needed information about C-2 seat
installation. I sent him a few photos of
my seat assembly. This was the first
time I had a chance to help someone
else.
November 12, 1983
I sent money to the Smithsonian for
the tail decal photo and also sent a let-
ter to J. Benjamin of Lancaster,
Pennsylvania asking if he could help
answer a few propeller questions.
November 22, 1983
I received the color transparency of
the C-2 tail decal from the Smithsonian
and also a letter from J . Benjamin who
was forwarding my request to the Sen-
senich Propeller Company.
There was some mix-up in the color
transparency that was sent. It didn't
match the colors of the tail decal on
the cover of Jay Spenser' s book,
AERONCA C-2 (Smithsonian Press). I
thought finding a decal for the tail was
going to be easy and now it's becoming
a bit confusing. Which is the correct
decal?
December 1,1983
Hardy Cannon sent photos of a C-3
frame and an L-3 that had been cracked
up. In all the photos that he's sent, I
haven't seen his face yet, just his bald
head. There is no FAA approval or
STC for covering the fuselage of the
The author and Max In search of antique airplane parts.
14 APRIL 1989
received a "care package" from
Buck Hilbert. He sent his engine man-
ual and a copy of a story about his C-3
in the September 1973 issue of VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE. The engine manual
was titled, Aeronca Engine Handbook
For the E-107A , E1l3, E-1l3A,
El13B, E-113C Engines and Acces-
sories 1938 edition. The manual was
published by the Aeronautical Corpor-
tation of America, Lunken Airport,
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA and contained
more than 130 pages of installation,
operation, periodic inspection, over-
haul, carburetor and magneto data and
a price list for Aeronca engines. Also
included was an advertising flyer
which was titled, "The Most Talked of
Plane in America Today." The caption
under a drawing of a C-2 reads, "Take-
off for official N.A.A. economy test.
One hour and seventeen minutes on
two gallons of gasoline." And here's
part of the sales pitch:
''The Aeronca C-2!! Two years ago
this name had not even been born.
Today it is making aviation history. In
design the Aeronca C-2 is an innova-
tion ... a radical departure from con-
ventional design. Instead of depending
on tremendous power to pull it through
the air, aerodynamic efficiency has
been increased to the point where its
30-horsepower motor will make the
Aeronca duplicate ... and in many
cases surpass ... the performance of
planes with three times as much power.
"But, unlike other light planes,
speed and maneuverability are com-
bined with remarkable ease of hand-
ling and absolute inherent stability,
regardless of weather conditions.
Though a glider graduate can easily
fly an Aeronca after a little instruction,
the veteran pilot is even more en-
thusiastic because his experience ena-
bles him to appreciate its outstanding
performance.
"Already some of the country's
biggest aviation men can see its huge
possibilities. The Issoudun Company,
with Major Lamphier and Colonel
Breckenridge have taken over impor-
tant territories. Russell Nicholas of
Nicholas-Beazley is busy in the Mid-
west and scores of others are arrang-
ing sales franchises. Thousands of let-
ters from real prospects every month
indicate the popular appeal and prove
that the Aeronca C-2 is what the coun-
try has been waiting for - a plane
Is Hardy Cannon, notice you never
see his face, only his bald head, spray
painting a C-3 frame.
which the average man can fly safely,
buy easily and own proudly."
As I read through the engine hand-
book, something caught my eye on
page 15 under valve guide lubrica-
tion. If you knew nothing about the
internal combustion engine, this hand-
book explained in common language
exactly what you needed to know and
described lubrication of the valve
stems and guides through daily use of
good grade, low carbon neutral oil -
such as Marvel Mystery Oil, Valve
Oil, Springeez, Lubreeze etc. To me,
Marvel Mystery Oil sounded like
something a door-to-door salesman
would sell to some rube to cure any-
thing from arthritis to pink elephants.
A short time later, on a shelf at the
Hutchinson Wholesale Auto Store, I
noticed a can of Marvel Mystery Oil.
Seeing is believing so I bought two
cans and asked them if they' d order
more.
December 19, 1983
I received a letter form Univair Air-
craft Corp. telling me I could buy a
F1ottorp decal for my propeller from
them.
January 2-6, 1984
With the busy Christmas season be-
hind us, and a lot of snow having fallen
(and been shoveled), Jim Wechman
and I prepared the fuselage to be
painted. I had a regular routine in the
morning which was clearing snow ,
feeding farm animals and working on
the airplane. Working with Jim, you
learn by doing. He's not going to set
you down and explain how to spray
paint an airplane, he just tells you to
go and do it. If you need any help, he's
there. Jim has a good collection of
tools and whatever tool I knew how to
Wechman covering the fuselage with Stlts fabric. Here he Is cuHlng the fabric to
the shape of the front fuselage.
This Is me aHachlng the Stlts fabric to the baHom of the C-2. The fabric was glued to the
painted steel fuselage. After all the fabric was in place, a hot Iron is used to shrink and
smooth out all the wrinkles.
use, I was allowed to borrow. All that
was required was to put the tools back
where they belonged in the red tool
chest. Of course, that doesn't mean
that Jim puts his own tools back where
they belong. His nickname is "Pigpen"
- which is rather insulting to pigs.
There was always something to do.
Work on the airplane, sweep the shop,
put tools in order, talk to people who
would come to visit, answer the phone
and I was always learning something
new about the mechanics of aircraft. It
was a lot of fun and I can't think of a
better way to spend a winter.
The only drawback was the cold
temperature in the main shop hangar.
Using the furnace to heat this hangar
was too expensive so Knipco heaters
were used to take the chiII out of the
room . Even though Jim moaned and
groaned about how much I wasn't get-
ting done and at what speed I wasn't
doing it, I think he enjoyed my com-
pany. He'd be the last person to say it,
but I know his stomach didn ' t mind
the jelly rolls, doughnuts and milk that
I'd bring out when I did come to work.
I learned from Stan Gomall that be-
fore covering with new fabric, it's im-
portant to assemble t h e ~ a n e wings
to fuselage, checking all the control sur-
faces, wires and cables so there's no
chafing. We also made paper patterns
to help locate where holes in the fabric
would be cut for the control wires.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
This photo is showing the uncovered wings aHached to the C-2 fuselage. The top left wing
Is shown with a yellow aileron in the foreground.
Before the wings of the C-2 were with Stlts fabric, the wings were aHached to the fuselage.
This procedure was recommended by Stan Gomoll as a way to check for chafing by the
control cables.
This photo shows a L-3 Aeronca, owned by
the boys down in Texas. Hardy Cannon
sent this photo and told me at a later date
This photo shows the fuselage covered what caused the accident. Two men, too
and painted with pink dope and the yel- heavy, too hot and too many hlghllne
low tail rudder aHached. wires on base leg.
16 APRIL 1989
Oh, I made a few honest mistakes
when Jim wasn't watching me too
closely. Back when he was covering
the tail surfaces, he put me to work
spraying dope on them. I had never
used a spray gun before and put too
much dope on, so it pooled in spots. I
thought it would soak into the fabric .
It didn't, so after it dried I did some
wet sanding. After the tail surfaces
were painted, I sanded them down to
erase a few paint runs. What I learned
from working with the tail surfaces
would help me as we painted the fuse-
lage and wings.
The fuselage was sprayed with buty-
rate dope and then with Ditzler 1980
gray sealer. I checked Spenser's book
for help in determining a correct paint
scheme. On page 35, there is a black-
and-white photo of C-2, NC 10305,
which is two registration numbers after
mine. I patterned my paint scheme
from this picture. I marked off the pat-
tern, Jim sprayed the first color,
orange. I marked off the pattern again,
this time using tape and paper and
sprayed the second color, black.
January 3, 1984
wrote to three former owners of
NC \0303, David S. McClure, Vin-
cent S. Burke and Roy F. Oberg whose
names and addresses were taken from
the logbooks and certificates of regis-
tration. I asked for information, photos
and gave them my address and phone
number.
January 8, 1984
Hardy Cannon sent a letter telling
me about a stroke he had several years
ago and how it had slowed him down
the past month, because of swelling in
his hand and arm. He thanked me for
the photos I sent as well as the seat
print and told of the difficulty in re-
licensing a C-3 that they owned. It
hadn't been in license since 1947.
Hardy explained the early photos of a
wrecked L-3. Two men, each weigh-
ing over 250 pounds, with full fuel and
a temperature of 100-plus, hit a high
line on base leg. The accident report
concluded the cause of the crash as
pilot error - overgross .
The decal photo I sent Hardy was
the same he had, so so far, I've not
located a decal that matches the tail
"wing" emblem on the cover of
Spenser's book.
January 13, 1984
received a letter from former
owner, Dave McClure. He said that he
sold NC 10303 around 1963 to Roy
Oberg. In the mid-1950s to mid-1960s,
he owned five C-3s and C-2s and 20
engines. The plane was in an old barn
and owned by Stanley Gerlach of Pal-
myra, Wisconsin and in November
1957 Dave bought the plane from the
"long-time local flying guy." It was in
sorry shape but rebuildable. The origi-
nal -107 engine was mounted but
wouldn't run and snow skis were in-
cluded in the sale. He changed to an
E-I13C engine which was more de-
pendable and told about the original
straight-axle landing gear which was
changed to the more modem tripod
gear. He thought Stan might still be
alive and that he was a very pleasant
guy and nice to deal with. Dave wrote:
"I rebuilt (NC 10303, serial number
A-69) and kept it almost six years.
Took it to a couple of EAA Fly-Ins at
Rockford and also the AAA Fly-In at
Oskaloosa, Iowa. I got interested then
in C-3s on floats and lost interest in the
C-2. As it flew away to Michigan, I
remember telling myself, 'This is a
mistake, why didn't I keep it?' Never
could hang onto an airplane too long."
Dave sent some photos of him bring-
ing the dismantled C-2 home on a
trailer; -107 engine on bare fuselage;
engine running; C-2 in its hangar sta-
bled next to a C-3; and Dave in the
cockpit of the finished restored C-2
with a big smile on his face . He said
that the C-2 was on the cover of
SPORT AVIATION "around '63 or
'64," and also written up in SPORTS
ILLUSTRATED on November 21 ,
1960 as part of an article titled, "Early
Birds Of Sport ."
Dismantled C-2 on a trailer. Dave McClure with a fine-finished smile.
C-2 with -107 engine and snow skis.
Close up of an Aeronca -107 engine. C-2 and C-3 stablemates.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
January 13, 1984
A letter I sent to former-owner
Vince Burke was returned stamped
"Return to Sender, not deliverable as
addressed, unable to forward ."
We had a problem come up when
we painted the fuselage. The paint was
cracking and tape used to mask off the
paint scheme was pulling off the col-
ored paint and Ditzler 1980 sealer
down to the butyrate dope . We called
PPG Industries, producer of Ditzler
paint, asking for help and I ended up
wet-sanding the paint areas smooth and
removing most of the paint on the fuse-
lage. That took a while. It didn't bother
me to take the paint off because I had
heard some real horror stories about
paint on fabric airplanes. I even saw
one biplane with its paint literally sag-
ging off. We were doing something
wrong and I wanted to find out what it
was before we continued any further
on the project.
January 17, 1984
I had some great luck today when I
called East Lansing, Michigan Infor-
mation for a phone number for Roy
Oberg. I called the number they gave
me only to find it was the telephone
company itself. I thought it was a dead
end but the operator said, "Why, that
number you have is 10 years old and
shouldn't be in use. He doesn ' t work
here any more and hasn't for some
time. He' s moved from East Lansing
but I'll get you Roy's new number my-
self." Well she did and when the phone
rang in Ada, Michigan, Roy answered.
He told me he was all packed up to
move again! I just caught him between
moves and we talked up a phone bill
of $12.66. We were talking C-2 when
Roy asked, "Do you have a sensitive
altimeter in her?" "Yep," I said. "Well,
I put that one in. I still have the old
altimeter," Roy said. Be still my heart!
If Roy could've seen me when he said
that, well , let's say I was vibrating in
my chair. I tried to keep my voice in
a nice calm tone but I know I squeaked
a few times. I was looking for an old
altimeter that would fit the vintage of
the airplane, never expecting to find
the actual one that was originally in
the panel. The hardest thing for me to
do came next. I asked Roy if there
mjght be some way to get the old al-
timeter from him and put it back into
the C-2's panel. Roy asked that if I
ever sold the C-2, he get the first crack
at her. I said if I could have the old al-
timeter to help complete the project, he
could have it back any time he wanted.
All Roy's airplane "goodies" were
packed away in boxes for the move.
18 APRIL 1989
Maybe someday I could get the old alti-
meter back in its home panel , but for
right now, I was happy to have made
contact with two of the C-2's former
owners .
January 24, 1984
Dave McClure wrote and wanted to
be kept informed about our progress
on the C-2. He was leaving for hi s
home in Florida and gave me hi s ad-
dress along with that of Tom Trainor,
who has a stock of Aeronca parts.
Dave told me to fill the gaps between
the trailing edge, the wing and aileron
for better control and that the C-2
wasn't much fun in strong wind!
January 27, 1984
I received a Chain of Title Report
from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association. It traced the owners of
NC 10303 from the present date back
to the earliest bill of sale, March 27 ,
1936. Since the C-2 was built on July 8,
1930, there were five years without
any records of what happened to the
C-2 from the time it left the manufac-
turer to its appearance in East Chicago,
Indiana under the ownership of a WaI-
ter M. Harvey. There is no record to
indicate from whom Mr. Harvey
bought the C-2 . There was no bill of
sale from the manufacturer on file .
I am spraying Aeronca orange on the front fuselage using a touch-up spray gun. I had
never painted this way before. Mixing the paint and using the equipment all was new to me.
Here I am drawing the paint scheme on the fuselage. The fuselage was first painted with
butyrate "pink" dope and In this photo the fuselage Is now covered with Ditzler 1980 gray
sealer.
January 30, 1984
Buck Hilbert sent a post card with a
picture of a Swallow biplane on the
front and said, "George, just keep on
working and get that C-2 done! I'm
thinking of you, Buck."
I had written to Jay Spenser telling
him of the confusion I had with the tail
decal s. I told him I thought he sent the
wrong color photo of the tail emblem
to me. From my collection of informa-
tion and comparing his photo to Erwin
Eshelman's deoll, I assumed the photo
of the tail emblem to be that of an
Aeronca C-3 . Well, Jay said that the
photo he sent was not the proper one
for the airplane. He had checked with
Bob Mikesh, senior curator in this de-
partment and learned that the master
he worked up was never returned after
being used in the restoration. I got in
contact with Mary Feik at the Garber
Facility where the Smithsonian's C-2
IS currently suspended from the ceiling
of one of the buildings.
February 1, 1984
I made tha Aeronca Club Newsletter
again by asking for help finding an old
F1ottorp propeller decal. I also told
Augie Wegner that we were painting
the fuselage but by the time I received
When the newly yellow painted fuselage was complete and set up right, Jim and I began
to remove the masking tape and paper. In this photo the orange and black colors are
uncovered and all three colors can be seen together. Jim has a dental pick In his lett
hand and this was used to remove the masking tape.
NC-10303 painted fuselage and tripod landing gear added. Blue sky, C-2 and a big pile
of Minnesota snow.
the newsletter, I had wet-sanded off most
of the paint because of the problem.
February 3, 1984
Mary Feik sent a letter telling that
she had made some inquiries and found
the original artwork decal in their
exhibits department. Apparently each
decal on their C-2 restoration was indi-
vidually airbrushed. Since only one
representative decal exists, it was
necessary to have it photographed on
transparency film. As soon as the photog-
raphy was complete, she would send
one of the transparencies to me so that
I could have decals made for the C-2.
We began to paint the fuselage for
the second time, this week . This time
the main furnace was used to keep the
shop at or above 70 degrees, with
quick heat added by the two Knipco
heaters. We followed a painting bulle-
tin from PPG Industries titled,
"Durethane polyurethane enamel
finishing system for fabric covered air-
craft." The important additive to the
paint was DX-396 flexative, which
was not used in the first painting.
Again Jim painted the orange, I taped
and painted the black and on the third
day, I taped out the paint scheme for
the final color. It took all day just to
redraw and tape out the paint scheme,
so as 5:00 pm rolled around I thought
we'd stop and paint the following day
when we had good light. Wrong . Jim
mixed up the final color yellow, with
flexative. We figured out a routine of
how and where to hold the fuselage as
we painted first the bottom and then
the sides. He plugged in the paint gun
and away we went.
With the orange and black colors co-
vered by paper and tape, the newly
sprayed yellow looked like the color of
a jaundiced banana. The minute we
started to peal off the tape, the plane
came out of its cocoon. Each piece of
tape and paper, removed by a dental
pick and fingers, uncovered colors that
jumped out and caught the eye. Jim
and I were like two little kids with a
new toy . I was really happy so at 7:30
when Jim went home, I called my
mother to quick, come out to the air-
port, "You gotta see this, Esther!" The
next morning after attaching the tripod
gear, I wheeled the C-2 out into the
sun. Orange and yellow with thin black
horizontal lines dividing the two col-
ors, against a large white snow bank
with a dark blue sky above made a
pretty picture. The paint made the old
C-2 look beautiful, fresh and shining
new. The fuselage would now be
moved over to Joe Dooley's hangar.
To be continued.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
Model T with the best of 'em. Of
course, she could also put it together
again! Tales of Louise's wild tomboy
antics abounded. The story of the
seven-year-old girl's frightful leap
LOUISE THADEN:
Pioneer Aviator
by Bill Thaden and Pat Thaden Webb
It was
only natural that Louise would be a
tomboy. Since fate provided only girls
in the McPhetridge household, her
father decided that at least one of hi s
children would be hi s hunting and fish-
ing partner and learn how to drive and
repair the family car in addition to
doing all those things around the house
that usually befall a boy. Roy McPhet-
ridge's job involved extensive travel,
so as Louise grew up she became the
man around the house. She was re-
sponsible for stacking wood, bringing
in the coal, carrying out the ashes and
fixing things for mother. In later life,
Louise said she was forever grateful
for this childhood experience.
In the small town of Bentonville,
Arkansas folks knew that she could
"knock down" the engine of the family The authors In 1936 or '37.
20 APRIL 1989
from the bam roof with an umbrella
was true. She had the good sense to
line up her short-lived flight with the
haystack. It was also true that she and
her cousin "skinned the cat" and hung
upside down from the back rail of a
horse-drawn hearse - while it was in
a funeral procession.
Growing up in rural Arkansas'
Ozark Mountains just before World
War I helped her develop the values of
loyalty, honesty and tenacity. She also
lived with an abiding love of God and
country. At age 15, she completed high
school and went off to Fayetteville to
enroll in college. While at the Univer-
sity of Arkansas, her majors included
journalism, physical education and
pre-medical. Journalism did help her
later to express her feelings in poetry
and prose. She tried physical education
because of her great love of the out-
doors . Louise never figured out why
the pre-med, however.
After two years she got a job with a
coal company in Wichita, Kansas to
help pay for her education. Fortunately
for Louise, the owner of the company
was also on the the board of directors
of the Travel Air Company. Here WaI-
ter Beech was making a name for him-
self as a promising aircraft designer.
Louise spent fascinating hours at the
aircraft plant and the airfield. Some of
those enchanting hours were supposed
to be devoted to selling coal.
Louise returned to her studies for a
third year but she was more determined
to get into aviation than to graduate
and she returned to her job in Wichita.
It wasn't long before her boss caught
her at the airplane plant instead of seI-
ling coal and when she appeared on
the carpet several days later, she fully
expected to be fired. Instead, her boss
had arranged for her to meet Mr. D.C.
Warren, the West Coast distributor for
Travel Air. She was astonished when
Warren offered her a job.
The pay was low but she was going
to learn not only the aviation business,
but also to fly! Her parents were fearful
for after all, flying was unsafe and
California was almost on another plan-
et. Nevertheless on April 2, 1928, the
22-year-old girl found herself in the
windswept front-passenger seat of a
Travel Air flying west to begin her life-
long love affair with flight. She wrote
her parents, "I am so grateful you let
me come. Flying gives me a better un-
derstanding, peace and content. .. "
Louise became a superlative pilot.
She was a natural who combined phys-
ical strength, coordination and a light
touch. She and the airplane got along
fine. One personal trait that served her
well was the "killer instinct" that all
strong competitors have - the burning
drive to win, to be the best and to press
on when the less courageous turn back.
Armed with these qualities and War-
ren's finacial backing, Louise attacked
and quickly broke three women's avia-
tion world records - solo endurance,
altitude and speed. She was the first
woman to hold these three interna-
tional records simultaneously. No
woman has ever done it again.
In July of 1928, shortly after Louise
obtained her Transport Pilot Rating, a
young engineer and ex-army pilot
began keeping his eye on more than
the Travel Airs. He was building a
large, single-engine metal monoplane
at one end of the hangar. Louise and
Herb Thaden were secretly married in
Reno, Nevada. That same night,
Louise left for Arkansas to attend to
family business and to inform her par-
ents of the marriage. Herb returned to
San Francisco to continue work on his
Thaden T -I Argonaut.
Thaden Metal Aircraft of San Fran-
cisco was a new company and the Ar-
gonaut was the first of several aircraft
Herb was to design and build. It was
Shown here Is the primitive oxygen equip-
ment used by Mrs. Louise Thaden when
she set an official altitude record for
women pilots on December 7, 1928.
the first all-metal airplane built on the
West Coast. Louise later raced one of
Herb's aircraft, an all-metal, four-place
Thaden T-4.
1929 was a busy year for the flying
Thadens. The First Women's Air
Derby was scheduled for August. For
the first time, a race for women only!
The race was to be flown in conjunc-
tion with the National Air Races in
Cleveland. Winning would require the
fastest cumulative time over a pre-
determined course from Santa Monica,
L S. Nagle verifies the chronograph used
by Mrs. Thaden when she set an official
women's solo endurance record of 22
hours and 4 minutes on March 16-17, 1929.
California to Cleveland, Ohio. Naviga-
tion was by compass, using road maps
and dead reckoning over mountains
and deserts .
After eight hectic and grueling days
of flying , Louise won the derby. The
USA's best women pilots were among
the 18 other contestants . They included
such notables as Pancho Barnes,
Amelia Earhart, Phoebie Omlie, Ruth
Nichols, May Haizlip, Bobbie Trout,
Gladys O'Donnell and the one fatality
of the race, Marvel Crossen. Walter
Louise Thaden waves triumphantly upon landing after setting the solo endurance record.
Her Travel Air biplane was specially equipped for the flight with a special fuel tank
holding 195 gallons of gasoline. With barely two years of flying experience, she was 23
louise Is flanked by her sister and her father. years old.
22 APRIL 1989
MAIl the girts flew a splendid race. Mine Is a faster ship. Thank you."
Three founding members of the 99's, the organization for women pilots. Left to right are:
Amelia Earhart, Frances Marsalis and Louise Thaden. The 99's today are the leading
women's aviation organization.
Beech had supplied Louise with a new
Travel Air D4000 which sported a
brand new set of "speed wings" and
was powered by a Wright J-5 engine.
No one who knew Loui se Thaden
and her twinkling blue eyes for long
was ever in doubt about three things;
her great sense of humor that would
erupt into her hearty laugh; her
sportsmanship that was instilled in her
by her beloved father; and her modesty
over her achievements. It was a typical
Louise Thaden response that she deliv-
ered at the finish of the derby , 'Tm
glad to be here. All the girl's flew a
splendid race, much better than I. Each
one deserves first place, because each
one is a winner. Mine is a faster ship.
Thank you."
Of all of Louise's accomplishments,
she felt this was the greatest. For her
it was an exciting, thrilling and some-
times chilling pioneering adventure.
To her the "' 29 Derby" was not only
the first of its kind, but also the last.
The 99s (International Organization
of Women Pilots) was formed not long
after the end of the '29 Derby. Louise
served as the first de Jacto president.
Again in what was typical , when the
time came to elect permanent officers
and her friend Amelia Earhart
suggested Louise continue on in the
position, she declined . She told
Amelia that as her name was the better
known it would give the organization
more credibility and stature if Amelia
would consent to serve as the first
elected president. This Amelia did ,
with Louise serving as the first national
secretary from 1930 to 1934 and vice-
president from 1934 to 1936.
Herb was busy with the construction
of his latest ship, the Thaden T-2 and
the impending sale of the Thaden
Metal Airplane Company to a group of
businessmen in Pittsburgh. Life be-
came more settled for the couple and
in late 1929 they decided it was time
to increase the family. Bill was born
in July 1930. To this day when he is
asked when he started to fly he always
replies , "Minus nine months ." His
only regret is that he missed going
along on the ' 29 Derby flight by just a
few months.
The grounding Louise imposed on
herself the four months before Bill was
born was almost unbearable. For the
first time since she had learned to fly ,
she was without wings . She wrote in
her autobiography , HIGH, WIDE AND
FRIGHTENED , "As much as anything
else, I missed the soothing splendor of
flight. The ability to go up into God's
heaven, to look out toward distant hori-
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
zons, to gaze down upon the struggling
creatures far below, to forget troubles
which so short a time before seemed
staggering, just to feel the lifting of the
wheels from the ground, to hear the
rush of air past the cabin window, to
squint into the sun, toying with the
controls, to feel the exhilaration of
power under taut leash, responsive to
whim or fancy, to feel, if only for one
brief moment, that I could be master
of my fate - that is what I missed."
In May 1931, General Motors
bought Herb's Pittsburgh Metal
Airplane Company and merged it with
Fokker Aircraft. By spring 1932, the
Thadens were living in Baltimore. In
July Louise received a telephone call
from the famous Casey Jones in New
York. "How would you like to make a
refueling endurance flight with Frances
Marsalis?" he said. "Yes," was the im-
mediate answer.
They did indeed establish a new
world record for women in their "Fly-
ing Boudoir," a Curtiss Thrush pow-
ered by a Wright J-6E Whirlwind en-
gine. They consumed 2,338 gallons of
gasoline, 32 and a half gallons of oil
and effected 78 air-to-air refueling
contacts in more than eight days (196
hours, five minutes) of flight time.
Endurance flying was NOT the great
fun thay had anticipated. Both women
had to learn the difficult task of air-to-
air refueling after Herb and Casey
Louise's face registers total exhaustion after eight days aloft In the "Flying Boudoir."
made an unsuccessful attempt to show
them how it was done! The women
started out in four-hour shifts but by
the third day they were cut to three,
then two. As Louise recounted in
HIGH, WIDE AND FRIGHTENED,
"The fellow off duty had many things
to do. There were 200 gallons of
gasoline to pump every 24 hours by a
hand pump which wobbled a half pint
each full stroke. There was oil to
pump, rocker arms to grease, batteries
Mrs. Thaden's record was for women's refueling endurance set on August 14-22, 1932. Here
the endurance airplane, a Curtiss Thrush, Is refueled from a Robin over Long Island. The
newspapers dubbed It "The Flying Boudoir".
to change, an hourly log to keep. A
hundred and one things. The straw that
broke the camel's back (and ours) was
a leak which developed in our fine air
mattress, which meant sleeping on the
not-too-soft cabin floor. Flying with
minimum horsepower to conserve fuel ,
we mushed along, nose-high, tail drag-
ging. We first tried sleeping uphill ,
heads under the instrument panel some
14 inches removed from the engine.
Exhaust fumes and noise were too
much for us. So we chose the lesser of
two evils and slept downhill, an extra
oil can serving very nicely as a pil-
low ...
"It is difficult to realize how dirty
one can get in the air. Keeping reason-
ably clean was a definite problem for
Frances and me. Sufficient water for a
bath was of course an impossibility,
the solution being rubbing alcohol and
cotton... The physical gymnastics of
bathing presented a second major prob-
lem. Planes were continually flying
closely alongside, pilot and passengers
waving, making queer gesticulations
which passed for sign language. Un-
fortunately, our plane was full of cur-
tainless windows . It seldom failed that
when either Frances or I were stripped
for a sponge bath, some plane would
elect to fly in formation a few scant
feet away! Then a wild scramble of pull-
ing on coveralls, getting legs in arm
sleeves or arms in leg pants, or diving
in haste to the dirty greasy floor. Often
times we finished bathing dirtier than
before we started ... With depressing
weariness five days and endless nights
passed ... Sore muscles, creaking
joints, aching hands and feet. The con-
stant roar of the engine driving us al-
most beyond the point of bearing . .. "
Late on the grueling sixth day, a
note Casey buried under the apples in
their dinner bucket informed. the be-
leaguered pilots that a "local" storm
was moving in but would soon blow
over. An all-night deluge soon followed
sunset. Boiling dark and foreboding
clouds drove the exhausted pilots
lower and lower in the darkness. By
10:00 pm they were flying below 100
feet with the field boundary lights and
some smoke stacks as their only
ground reference. No margin for error
here but fatigue was taking its toll. Icy
rain water leaked onto their feet but
there was no taking them off the rudder
pedals. It was nearly impossible to stay
awake at the controls. Shifts were shor-
tened. Strange, but Louise found it was
usually difficult to sleep after a shift.
The agonizing night seemed endless
but with the dawn came higher ceil-
ings. The tortured pilots could climb
and relax a little.
The tanker aircraft came up yet
again at 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon.
There would be no back-breaking labor
this time! On the side of the refueler
the support crew had painted in bold
letters, "CONGRATULATIONS."
The record was theirs. Louise said later
that endurance flights are fun - six
years later!
To be continued next month
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
Planes & e o p l ~
TIM BUTILES
~
by Pamela B. Foard
Tim Buttles is into general aviation
heavily. He has a Cub and a Cessna
170. And he has this very nice Stinson
painted white with blue and gold trim.
His wife is a pilot and hi s brother also
flies. Tim has owned quite a few other
airplanes also. If that isn't enough he
has an airplane salvage company,
(Tim's words) that buys old wrecks
and other aircraft that are di sadvan-
taged. We are trying to be funny, but
in the parlance of our AIC Chapter 11 ,
26 APRIL 1989
By volunteers of the Antique/Classic
Press CommiHee
Larry D'AHilio and Pamela Foard,
Co-Chairmen
(EAA 150262, AlC 8265)
1820 N. 166th St.
Brookfield, WI 53005
such a place is known as a junkyard,
a boneyard or "that mess behind so-
and-so's barn." Heh, heh, we are defi-
nitely kidding, Tim. My husband and
I are in the business of salvage our-
selves, handling early Bellanca write-
offs. (This is known as "the heaps in
Larry and Pam' s brand new garage.)
For such an enthusiastic family, the
beginning wasn't easy. Tim started his
educational air explorations at 17 in a
Cub but had that large odd war in
Southeast Asia interrupt the process.
But learn he did and has had his wings
~
si nce 1973. 'Course ah, Tim did have
a little stimulation for all of this from
hi s crop-dusting dad who, by the way,
tunes pianos in the off season.
Tim's logs show 1,600 hours and no
accidents. A model EAAer. He got this
Stinson at Christmas in 1986 with new
undoped fabric on it. That meant only
a paint job and interior was needed.
Or, to put it plainly, Tim got to do all
the nice rewarding, aesthetic tasks. Tim
used the Blue River process and had over
50 hours on the Stinson's logs at the time
of this interview. Good one, Tim!
WELCOME NEWMEMBERS
The following is apartial listing of new members who have joined the EAA Antique/Classic Division (through September 18,
1988). We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members' common interest is vintage aircraft. Succeeding
issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members.
Abbot, Dudley L.
Homer, Arkansas
Adams, Tom
Springfield, Tennessee
Alden, David
Baytown, Texas
Allan, Jan
Lidingo, Sweden
Alston, James S.
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Aman, Gary A.
Akron, Ohio
Ament, Frank
Sandwich, Illinois
Andrle, Timothy
Wexford, Pennsylvania
Argetsinger, Bruce G.
Branford,Connecticut
Armbrust, Douglas R.
Greensburg, Pennslyvania
Armstrong, S. Stanley
New Smyrna Beach, Florioa
Azzarello, Joseph
Grand Haven, Michigan
Baker, William K.
Jasper, Alabama
Baldwin, Dick A.
Barlow, Merrill
St. Paul, Minnesota
Barnes, William F.
Sheffield Village, Ohio
Bartlow, GaryW.
El Cajon,California
Bauer, Thore
Otter,Germany
Beaulieu, John M.
St. Charles, Illinois
Becker, Gerald B.
Wichita, Kansas
Bell, JamesR., Jr.
Roanoke, Texas
Benjamin, Richard C.
Van Nuys, California
Bennett, D.A.
Crockett ,Texas
Bennett, David S.
Highland, Michigan
Bettencourt, David
Honolulu, Hawaii
Bielecki, Gerald M.
Highland, Michigan
Bilger, Gerald
Denton,Texas
Bissonette, BruceE.
El Paso,Texas
Blackmore, Burdell L.
East Liverpool, Ohio
Bodinnar, John
Victoria, Australia
Boehmer, Dennis A.
Xenia, Ohio
Boettcher, James
Enon, Ohio
Bortman, Ralph
Agaura, California
Breand, Andre
Thaias, France
Brewer, Lester K.
Groveland, Illinois
Broat, Larry
Pinckney, Michigan
Brown, Wendell L., Jr.
Midland,Texas
Browning, Roy R.
Jackson, New Jersey
Bruschaber, W.E.
Glendale, California
Buchanan,John C.
Ada, Michigan
Buchwald, James P.
Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Buetow, Richard
Inverness, Illinois
Burkhart, Wayne
Tuscarawas,Ohio
Burson, Dale
Northridge, California
Byrn, Louie
Pagosa Springs,Colorado
Calvert, Ian A.
Alexandria, Virginia
Cameron, Colin G.
Fair Oaks,California
Campey, Jerry P.
Perrysburg, Ohio
Carps, Ron W.
Oklahoma City, OKlahoma
Carlson,Jerold R.
Lincoln, Nebraska
Carr, Donald A.
Saratoga, California
Carr, Owen
Huntington, New York
Carroll, Glenn P.
Decatur, Illinois
Case, James Altice
Indian River, Michigan
Chapin, Robert W., Jr.
Edgewater, Maryland
Chitiea, Andrew D.
Aurora, Colorado
Chmiel, JohnPeter
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Chodak, Frank
South Plainfield, New Jersey
Coffen, Hal E
Saukeville, Wisconsin
Conley, Kenneth E.
Cookeville, Tennessee
Connor, PeterG.
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Cooke, JohnD.
Oakbrook, Illinois
Coughlin, TimothyJ.
Indianapolis, Indiana
Coussens, John
Forth Worth,Texas
Crestwood Library
Crestwood, Illinois
Crowe, Paul
Erie, Pennsylvania
Crowell, Dick
Lakeville, Massachusetts
Davenport, Ron G., Jr.
Harper's Ferry, West Virginia
Davidson, Donald C.
Nashua, New Hampshire
DeVries, Robert
Jamaica, New York
Depetris, Derli Arol
Don Torcuato, Argentina
Dewey, JamesA.
Santa Paula, California
Disbrow, D.E.
Deckert, Tennessee
Dittman, Eric W.
Mountlake Terrace, Washington
Domeier, MarlysJ.
San Jose, California
Dondorf, James F.
Delanson, New York
Dostroph, M.J.
New Philadelphia, Ohio
Dullenkopf, Douglas
Santa Paula, California
Duncan, Nelson'
Garden Grove, California
Duval, Louis N
Skaneateles, New York
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
An information exchange column with input from readers.
by Buck Hilbert
(EM 21, Ale 5)
P.o. Box 424
Union, IL 60180
Springtime? Soon, I hope!
I can tell by the familiar Airplane
Disease itch. It's time! Time for that
spring break and getting the wind wag-
ons up there in the air where they be-
long. Before we fly though, there are
a lot of little things we had better do.
Yep! Here comes the annual spring
preflight lecture you've heard so many
times before. Well, if you have already
read and know all this, skip on to
something else - on second thought ,
maybe you'd better skim it over, just
in case.
Our machines here at the Funny
Farm hardly fly at all in the wintertime.
With the usual snow accumulation , we
28 APRIL 1989
just shut down after the first big snow
and don't open the hangar doors again
until the frost is out of the ground. This
applies only in the event that we don't
have an extreme emergency, such as a
beautiful day with temps in the upper
30s when it ' d be a crime not to fly .
But enough of that.
Our biggest off-season problem is
mice. Them little meeces love
airplanes to pieces. I never have fi -
gured out how they can thrive inside a
tin airplane with fiberglas insulation
and just about nothing to eat in the en-
tire machine, but they do here at the
Funny Farm. I went flying after com-
ing home from my West Coast vaca-
tion in December. I was in the Cessna
175 at 2,500 feet doing lazy eights and a
little creature sticks his head out of the
wing root just a bit above eye-level as
though asking if I forgot how to fly
straight and level. When we got down ,
out came the D-con and moth balls.
But let's start at the beginning, as
though we were doing an ordinary pre-
flight , and then we'll amplify it a little.
Start in your usual way. Sit down in
the cockpit and check the paperwork.
Are you legal?
Are we still in license? If you' ve got
radios , is the EL T listed on the station
license? You guys without electrical
systems, wi pe that grin off. You need
a license too. The FCC says an ELT is
a transmitter, which it is, so get an
application and get legal!
While we're in the cockpit , let's
check the seat belts and shoulder har-
nesses , the seat tracks , the carpet (to
see that it doesn' t interfere with the
tracks) and give a good look around in
general. Controls all free? Rudder ped-
als work alright? Brakes have pres-
sure?
Does the fuel selector move?
Gauges read anything? Are there any
signs of seepage (fuel stains) in and
around the gauges , primer and fuel
lines? That's the quickest way to find
a fuel leak , spotting the stains left by
the evaporating fuel. When you get
outside, check the little drain holes in
the belly beneath the fuel selector.
They can tell you if the fuel pump
packingor"0"ringshavesprung. Try
the primer- does it?
How does the panel look? The in-
struments aren't full ofwater or any-
thing, are they? The master switch,
doesitclickthesolenoid?Isthebattery
up? How about all the warning lights?
Man, I could go on all day, but these
items are nothing new. They're sup-
posed to be checkedon everypreflight
without any conscious effort. But
you're probably out of practice, and
this preflight has to be a good one so
everything will go right and we can
enjoy.
Well, ifyou'resatisfied with all the
stuff inside, let's go outside. On the
way, check the door hinges. Better
lube 'em. Have you pricedone lately?
How about the door latches too, while
we're at it.
Tell you what, first let'swalkall the
way around the airplaneandjustlook.
Hah!There'swheremybuddyranover
that runway marker last fall and
scratched the paintoffthe wheel pant.
My gosh, the decal is partly gone off
the prop, and look there, some dirty
birdhsbeen perchingon topofmytail
beacon. What a mess!
Well, that's what's readily notica-
ble. Let's get down to the nitty. Strip
offenoughcowlingtogetagood,long
look at the engine compartment. How
are the fuel drains and the gascolator?
While we're in there, let's look at the
stacks and the SCAT tubes and check
theflapperdooronthecarbheater. Do
all the engine control s work? How do
the intake tubes look? What about the
wires, both primary and secondary?
Baffles, oil leaks and sanitation? See
any rust or dirt pockets? Check any
and all external lines, generator/alter-
nator brackets and belts. Can you see
the battery water level? Any corrosion
in that area? Keep looking. What you
find now might save lots oftime and
embarrassment later. Oh yeah, how
about the oil quantity?
When you're satisfied with the en-
gine compartment and especially the
battery, let's check the prop. Got the
keys in your pocket or visible on the
"Poor man's compression check."
..

f
-l!

top of the glareshield? Pull the prop
through about six blades and then on
thenextfourorsix,countthecylinders
as you go by them.Arethey all there?
This is known as thepoorman'scom-
pression check. I you fall flat on your
face where there is supposed to be a
cylinder on compression maybe we
have a valve stuck open. How about
the prop itself? Is it all there and
reasonablyfreeofnicksandscratches?
Backto the airframe. Tires?Are the
wheel pants free ofmud and stuff so
the wheels tum free? Strut inflation?

". L \c.,
<
.'
.....--';,.
struts, stacks and scissors.
Do the scissors need lube? Hey, it's
yourairplane. You gottamakesureon
these things. Even if you're hero
enough not to be worried about the
safety angle, give some thought to the
expense if a tire goes flat or a strut
doesn'tabsorbtheshockslike it'ssup-
posed to.
Let'slookatallthecontrolsurfaces.
Any creaks?
Flaps too, and trim tabs. Check 'em
all, and don't forget the static, pitot
and vent lines. Even though I didn' t
mention it before, how'd the carb air
intake look?
Hey, I've had about enough ofthis
lookingstuff. Let'scleanthewindows,
top the tanks, do a really good run-up
and go fly!
Overto you,
Unbutton as much as you can. Buck.


Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet...
25epili'word,20 wordminimum. Send yourad to
TheVintageTrader, Wittman AIrfield
Oshkosh,WI 54903-2591.
AIRCRAFT:
(2)c-3 AeroncaRazorbacks,1931 and 1934.Pack-
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Porterfield 35-70, the lowest time Antique ever!
Less than 200 hrs. TTA& E.20 hourson engine.
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Illinois60180-0424.
1946 Funk- No engine/propeller. Needs rib re-
pair and complete recover. Texas airframe - no
rot/rust.Candeliver.313/545-3887 Michigan.(4-1)
1949 Percival Prentice Air Force Trainer - 5
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1946TaylorcraftParts- Plus other miscellane-
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GeorgeWatson,645EvergreenDrive,EastPales-
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1950Cessna170A- TT2850,nodamagehistory.
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Pack- $5.00.SuperAcroSportWing Drawing-
$15.00. The Technique of Aircraft Building -
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order to: AeRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales
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ENGINES:
108-hp a engine. 1,985
hoursTTon2,40 r available.Cur-
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harness not included. $2,500. Contact Mark
Phelps,414/426-4825.
160 hpGnome- extra cylinders and prop hub;
remarkable inside (run once) . Missing push rods.
Rusty casing, in original crate. 215/340-9760 or
215/340-9133.
MISCELLANEOUS:
Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired orrebuilt
- in precision masterfixtures. All makes oftube
assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated
new. J . E. Soares Inc., 7093 Dry Creek Road,
Belgrade, Montana 59714, 406/388-6069, Repair
Station 065-21.(c/12-89)
POSITION/EMPLOYMENT:
AIRFRAME and powerplant instructorfor past 22
years, A&P school in central Califomia, desires
change. 30 years experience in antique aircraft
restoration, Command-Aire, Waco, Stearman,
Fairchild,Aeronca,Cessna,Piper,Taylorcraft,.etc.
Excellent craftsman in sheet metal, steel tube,
wood structures,fabric(GrandAandStitsmyspe-
cialty). Have shop,will take sub contract work for
individuals or museums. Or will relocate for
employment. Resume on request. ROBERT G.
LOCK, 19342 E. South Avenue,Reedley,Califor-
nia,209/638-4235. (5-2)
WANTED:
Wanted: Eclipse Aviation Generator,Div. Bendix,
for Warner 165 hp engine. Generator type: 300,
modell,15volt,15amp. (orgreater),styleA, with
flexible drive. Call Gerry,508/238-1111. (4-3)
Wanted: 450 hp P&W engine mount for Howard
DGA-15-P aircraft. Bruce E. Graham,319 Fisher,
Cashmere,WA 98815.(4-1)
Wanted: Cont. A-40, Aeronca E-113 engines.
Completeorpartial. HaroldBuck,Box868,Colum-
bus,GA 31902,414/322-1314. (5-2)
WANTED: Warner 145 splined crank #2 - will
trade taper shaft or taper and cash as both my
props are splined. Also, have mold for Watters
tunnel cowl faceplate - can make replacement
cowl faces (fiberglass or aluminum) for Wamer-
size installation. Doug Combs, Box 6613, Incline
Village,NV89450.(4-1)
Wedell Williams Aviation Museum wants to lo-
cate a Lockheed "Vega" in any condition. Will
check all leads. Informationto P.O. Box 655, Pat-
terson,LA 70392.(5-2)
TOOLS:
Tools,hand&powerforallaircraftwork.Rivet-
ers - Drills - Fasteners - Accessories - Tool Kits.
Everything for the kit builder - 96-page catalog
available.$2.00 (refundablewith firstorder) .U.S.
Industrial Tool & Supply Company, 15159 Cleat
Street, Plymouth, MI 48170. Call toll-free 1-800-
521-4800. (4/89-6)
Flyhighwitha
qualityClassicinterior
Completeinteriorassembliesfordo-it-yourselfinstallation.
Customqualityateconomicalprices.
Cushionupholsterysets
Wallpanelsets
Headliners
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Firewallcovers
Seatslings
Recoverenvelopesanddopes
Freecatalog01 completeproductline.
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and
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INC.
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right now. And as good as most independent
agents are, when it comes to the tough ques-
tions, most answer only after first "checking
in" with the insurance underwriter.
Talk to us, and you're talking directly to your
insurance company. That means fewer delays,
and in most cases instant answers.
*Winter 1987
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CALL DIRECT TODAY FOR AN IMMEDIATE
QUOTE FROM A FELLOW EAA MEMBER
1-800-638-8440
CAtiiMCO
TIlE SPOIlT NW10N ASSOCIA1ION
INSURANCE COMPANY
Aviation Insurance For Aviation People.
..
PiLANE
by George Hardie Jr.
Here's another high-wing parasol
from the glory days of sport flying . It
bore a special name related to the area
of the country where it originated. The
photo was submitted by James Alaback
of San Diego, California, date and lo-
cation not given. Answers will be pub-
lished in the July 1989 issue of VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline for that
issue is May 10, 1989.
Charles H. Smith of Plainfield, Il-
linois recognized the January Mystery
Plane easily. He writes:
"The Mystery Plane for January al-
most jumped out of the page at me. It' s
a Spartan C-2-165 with the Wright R-
540 engine (Juptner Vol. 9, page 173,
Group 2 section). NC 993N was orig-
inally developed as a dive bomber,
hoping for a military contract, but as
numerous other aircraft, it died in the
Depression.
"While at Spartan in early 1934, I
first soloed in a C-2-60 (NC 1l908).
The only similarity between the C-2-60
and the C-2- 165 was that they were
both low-wings. I helped install the
first hood on the aft cockpit on NC
993N. Bei ng of heavy black cloth, it
was a real sweat box for the pilot tak-
ing instrument instructions in that hot ,
rough Oklahoma air!"
Lynn Towns of Eaton Rapids,
Michigan writes:
"The Spartan C-2-165 was a trainer
built by the Spartan Aircraft Company
in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Only two of these
aircraft were built , two-place with the
pilot and passenger in tandem
cockpits. The Spartan School of
Aeronautics used them as blind flying
trainers. The student sat in the back
cockpit wi th a canvas cover over the
rear windshield and cockpit , while the
instructor sat in front. "
Other answers were received from
Charley Hayes, Park Forest, Illinois;
E.C. Garber, Jr. , Fayetteville, North
Carolina; J. A. Blackburne, College
Park , Georgia; Joe Tarafas,
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; J. Max
Freeman, Wilkesboro, North Carolina;
Wayne Van Valkenburgh, Jasper,
Georgia; Roy G. Cagle, Juneau,
Alaska; A. Lee Spencer, lola, Kansas;
Herbert G. deBruyn, Bellevue, Wash-
ington; Bob Louderback, Cincinnati ,
Ohio .
SPARTAN C-2-165
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35