STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

by Espie "Butch" Joyce

It is the usual practice for the Straight
and Level column for the January
issue each year to report on the State
of the Antique/Classic Division . Your
Division is progressing very well.
The total membership is at an all-
time high. The financial position of
the Antique/Classic Division is on a
sound footing. The Officers, Directors
and Advisors are all working hard with
the good of the Division in mind . Our
relationship with EAA has never been
better as is our relationship with the
International Aerobatic Club and the
EAA Warbirds of America.
Our Convention management of the
Antique/Classic area at EAA Oshkosh
'89 went very smoothly because of all
the great help given to us by the volun-
teers. Because the Division has finally
gotten on the plus side financially, we
are now able to purchase and offer to
the membership, some much requested
merchandise sporting the A/C logo.
You can now order these items from
Oshkosh to make this merchandise
available to those who are unable to
attend the Convention at Oshkosh.
Your Division also received the rec-
ognition it has so long deserved this
past year at EAA Oshkosh '89 with the
arrival of all those Jennies.
2 JANUARY 1990
The Jennies and their pilots caused
a great deal of interest in our area from
people who normally would not have
come down to visit us. Quite a few of
these people joined up with us and will
help tell about the antique and classic
movement.
This past year, your publication
VINTAGE AIRPLANE has steadily im-
proved. Your editorial staff, Officers,
Directors, Advisors and the member-
ship can all take credit for this . This
month is another milestone for VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE and you will see
color on the inside pages . The color
section will be repeated on a quarterly
basis from now on . We set this goal
some 12 months ago and have finally
gotten there. We have set some new
goals for this coming year that I think
everyone will like.
This time of year in the Carolinas
can give you any kind of weather. One
day it might be 60 degrees and sunny,
then 2 days later it can be 25 degrees,
snowing or freezing rain. This past
Saturday , we had one of those days .
We had freezing rain and sleet. On this
day, I was again reminded of how
much I enjoy airplanes and airplane
people. EAA Chapter 8 has for the past
few years had a Christmas party (co-
vered dish lunch meeting) held at my
hangar at the county airport in Shiloh.
This Chapter is very active with meet-
ings held at different airports year
round . My hangar was filled with
airplanes that could not be put outside
because of the ice against the hangar
door . We usually have 60 to 75 people
for this event. This Saturday we ended
up with only eleven hardy souls who
ate a great lunch, drank coffee and
watched the "Jennies to Jets" video.
We shared stories, experiences and
pictures of airplanes. As we sat at ta-
bles under the wings of airplanes, I
thought how lucky I am to be with
people who Jove aviation and talk my
language - airplane .
Oh yes, some of you may remember
me talking about my daughter Sara
measuring her legs to see if she could
reach the rudder pedals. I am happy to
report that two weeks ago, she took
her first flying lesson. She walked
around all day showing everyone her
first logbook entry, "Straight & Lev-
el." How many of you remember
yours?
Next month (February), your Vice
President, Art Morgan, will be writing
this column to share some of his views
with you. I am not going anywhere,
I'll be back here in the March issue.
Let 's all pull in the same direction
for the Good of Aviation.
Join us and have it all!
PUBLICATION STAFF
PUBLISHER
TomPoberezny
VICE-PRESIDENT
MARKETING &COMMUNICATIONS
DickMatt
EDITOR
MarkPhelps
ART DIRECTOR
Mike Drucks
ADVERTISING
MaryJones
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
NormanPetersen DickCavin
FEAnJRE WRITERS
GeorgeAHardie,Jr. DennisParks
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
IsabelleWiske
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS
JimKoepnick CartSchuppel
JeffIsom
EMANTIQUE/CLASSIC
DIVISION,INC.
OFFICERS
President VicePresident
Espie"Butch"Joyce ArthurR.Morgan
604HighwaySI. 3744North51stBlvd.
Madison.NC27025 Milwaukee.WI53216
919/427-0216 414/442-3631
Secretary Treasurer
GeorgeSYork E.E. "Buck"Hilbert
181 SlobodaAve. P.O.Box424
Mansfield.OH44906 Union.IL60180
419/529-4378 815/923-4591
DIRECTORS
RobertC."Bob"Brauer JohnS. Copeland
9345S.Hoyne 9JoanneDrive
Chicago.IL60620 Westborough.MA01581
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28415SpringbrookDr. 41515thAve.. N.E.
Lawton.MI49065 St. Petersburg.FL33704
616/624-6490 813/823-2339
CharlesHarris StanGomoll
3933SouthPeoria 1042901hLane.NE
P.O.Box904038 Minneapolis.MN55434
Tulsa.OK74105 6121784-1172
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RobertD."Bob"Lumley
DaleA Gustafson 1265South124thSI.
7724ShadyHillDrive Brookfield.WI 53005
Indianapolis.IN46278 4141782-2633
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GeneMorris
2009HighlandAve.
115CSteveCourt.R.R. 2
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Roonoke.1X76262
507/373-1674
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SH. OWes"Schmid
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2359LefeberAvenue
1521BerneCircleW.
Wauwatosa.WI53213
Minneapolis.MN55421
414m1-1545
6121571-0893
DIRECTOR EMERITUS
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Ocala.FL 32672
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ADVISORS
JohnBerendt GeneChose
7645EchoPointRd. 2159CarltonRd.
ConnonFalls.MN55009 Oshkosh.WI54903
507/263-2414 414/231-5002
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2448 Lough Lane RR2.Box70
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414/673-5885 715/425-2455
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P.O.Box328
Harvard.IL60033
815/943-7205
JANUARY1990 Vol. 18, No" 1
Copyright 1990bytheEAAAntique/ClassicDivision,Inc.All rightsreserved.
Contents
2 StraightandLevelJbyEspie"Butch"Joyce
4 AlCNews/compiledbyMarkPhelps
6 EditoriallbyMarkPhelps
7 Aerograms
Page8
8 VintageLiteraturelbyDennisParks
10 Members'ProjectslbyNormPetersen
14 JackCompere
17 fromPaul'sScrapbook
18 VintageIFRlbyDickHill
Page20
20 CulverCumLaudelbyMarkPhelps
26 PaulPoberezny/Interview
32 PassItToBuck/byE.E."Buck"Hilbert
35 VintageTrader
38 MysteryPlanelbyGeorgeHardie,Jr.
Page26
FRONT COVER ...Steve Givens in his 1940Culver "Dart" (before the
M-12 was re-named the"Cader}
(Photo byCarlSchuppel, photoplaneflown byCarl Keeling)
REAR COVER...An"airminded"coverforFortune Magazine.donated
toEAA byDickHill.
Thewords EM.ULTRALIGHT,FLYWITH THE FIRSTTEAM,SPORTAVIATION.andIhek>gos 01 EXPERIMENTALAIRCRAFTASSOCIATION INC., EMINTERNA-
TIONAL CONVENTKlN,EM ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION INC.. INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB INC., WARBIRDS OF AMERICA INC. are registered
trademar1<s.THE EMSKY SHOPPE and k>g6s 0I 1he EM AVIATKlN FOUNDATION INC.and EMULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are trademat1<s 0I 1he above
associatioos andIOOr useby any person oihefIhan Ihe above assodalioosis stricIyprohilited.
E<ltorialPoI K:y:Readers are encouraged to submn stories and phoIogaphs.PoI K:y opinions expressed in artides are !hose 0I1he authors.Responsili lrty to<
accuracy " repOf1ing rests wiIh Ihe oonIrilutof. shook! be senl to:E<ltl>'.The VINTAGE AIRPLANE,WrtIman RegioM Airport, 3000 Poberezny Rd.,
OsI1<osh,WI 54903-3086.Phooo: 4141426-4800.
TheVINTAGE AIRPLAINE (ISSN 0091-6943)is published and owned by EM Division,Inc.ofIhe ExperirnenlalAircraftAssociation.Inc. and
published al Wmman Airport,300Il PoberelOY Rd., Oshkosh.WI 54903-3086. Second Class postage pakj at OsI1<osh.WI 54901 and additional
mailing offices.MerrbershipratesII>' EMAntiqueiCiassic Division,Inc. are$18.00lorcurrent EMmembersII>' 12 rrooth period 01 whictl $12.00 II>'Ihepublication
01 The VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Merrbership open to who are inaviation.
ADVERTISING- DivisiondoesootguaranleeorendorseanyproducioNeredIhroughouradvertising.Weinvneconstructivecfiticismandwelcome
any report 01 inferiormerchandiseobtainedIhrough our advertising so Ihat measurescan belaken.
POSTMASTER:Send address changes 10 EAA Inc.P.O. Box3086.Oshkosh,WI 54903-3086.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
Compiled by Mark Phelps
John Hatz
John Hatz, flying instructor and de-
signer of the Hat z Biplane, died in
November 1989 from injuries sus-
tained in a pick-up truck accident.
John was technical advisor to EAA
Chapter 640 in Gleason, Wisconsin
which named its newsletter the
"Haymeadow Flyer" after John's grass
strip, Haymeadow Airport . For years,
John offered flight instruction in his
fleet of Cubs and other !ai/draggers,
drawing students from hundreds of
miles away and turning down many
more than he was able to accept.
John's funeral, held in his shop at
Haymeadow Airport was a celebration
of his life and was attended by an over-
flow crowd of friends , associates and
past students. Karen Kudla , editor of
the Haymeadow Flyer printed the fol-
lowing on the front of her December
issue. She is happy we are able to
share it with all members of the An-
tique/Classic Division .
A week after John Hatz's death. I
received the following message along
with a note saying, " Karen, please use
this as you wish ." We should all thank
the author for sending it anonymously.
Not only is it a wonderful tribute to
John, it's also a gift to all of us . We'll
always think kindly of the person who
was able to put into works some of
what we felt , and wonder if the person
we happen to be talking to is the one
who did it. Whoever you are ... Thank
you. - Karen Kudla
"John Hatz was an ordinary man
with an extraordinary ability to make
other people's dreams come true. He
was able to tum back the clock about
40 to 50 years, allowing those fortu-
nate enough to know him , a chance to
re-Iive a simpler, less hurried period in
our past. His business dealings were
the same, too. A handshake and your
word were all John ever required. You
had to watch this man, though . He
Rick Northrup, a ski-plane pilot from Green Bay, Wisconsin presents John Hatz with a
token of appreciation from all his admirers. John will be missed.
could come up with the most imagina-
tive ways for you to not have to pay
him the full amount earned. As if his
instruction time should, somehow, be
free periodically . You had to watch
him all the time.
"John Hatz was a modest man, usu-
ally not at the center of attention. He
avoided the spotlight. He was, how-
ever, the person you would seek out in
the crowd, if only to say, 'Hi, John!'
and share a few words. He was the
designer and builder of a very popular,
two-winged aircraft. We know it as
"The Hatz." Yet John would invariably
refer to is simply as , 'the homebuilt. '
"John was a teacher. Someone once
asked him, 'John, if you had a million
dollars and could have any plane you
wanted, but only that one plane, which
would it be?' John responded with,
' The Piper Cub. ' Unfortunately, time
ran out before he had the chance to
build his own special, "million-dollar
Cub," as he refered to it. But, to us
students who flew with him and
learned from him , the time we spent
with him and the Cub he taught us in
was priceless.
"John Hatz left a little bit of himself
in all of us . We should not feel sorry
for John, as he led a rich, full , reward-
ing life, enjoying every day while
amassing a treasure trove of stories,
experiences and memories. Rather, we
should feel regret for those who will
not get the chance to meet John , or
have the opportunity to learn from him.
However, any time there is a gathering
of small, multi-hued airplanes, along
with their flyers, spectators and dream-
ers, both young and not-so-young, you
can bet that John 's spirit lives within
that group. It's at the very core of that
camaraderie and good will. And , when
you look up and see a little yellow
airplane above you, perhaps just doing
lazy circles against the blue sky, you
can be sure John's spirit is there, too.
"John Hatz was the best. Just ' Ask
any pilot. ' " - Anonymous
4 JANUARY 1990
Mike Strook
On December 15, 1989 Mike Strook
died of leukemia at the Milwaukee
County Medical Center. He was 25.
Antique/Classic members might have
seen him at EAA Oshkosh '89 zipping
around on his motorscooter with his
neck loaded down with cameras. As
an intern in the EAA photography de-
partment, he shot many of the static
and detail pictures that have appeared
in VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Mike's tal-
ent, courage and determination will be
remembered and missed at EAA Osh-
kosh '90. We extend our sincere con-
dolences to his family.
Mitchell Gallery of Flight
Travelers stranded at Mitchell Field
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are treated
to an unusual way to pass the time.
The Mitchell Gallery of Flight is a
small but intriguing museum tracing
the history of aviation in the Mil-
waukee area. One of the exhibits is a
scale replica of the Layton A venue Air
Terminal, since tom down . Some 20
exhibits are included in the gallery.
Some are permanent and others rotate
on a space-available basis. The
museum is a joint effort of the airport
authority and volunteer organization
known as the Friends of Mitchell Gal-
lery of Flight. Membership is currently
250 enthusiasts and growing. The
group's resident historian is none other
Brett Clowes (left), debriefs with Gene Chase after flying the EM Aviation Foundation
Aero Sport II.
than George Hardie, Jr. , author of
"Mystery Plane" in thi s magazine.
G'day Mate
EAA said so long to Brett Clowes
of Australia on December 4. Brett
came to stay for a few months before
EAA Oshkosh '88 and just never left
- until a few weeks ago. He is headed
to Sao Paulo, Brazil to spend some
The Rev. Thomas Rowland visits with his Ereoupe.
time working on - airplanes. The only
change for Brett will be the climate, as
he put his skills to work on several
EAA Avitaion Foundation aircraft,
most notably the Acro Sport II. After
it was severely damaged in a forced
landing, Brett rebuilt the airplane al-
most single-handed. Shortly before his
departure, Brett went up to sample his .
work with Gene Chase in the rear
cockpit. On landing, Brett said , 'Til
have to get me one of these. Wrap it
up. I'll take it home!" Brett hopes to
make it to EAA Oshkosh '90 before
heading back to Australia later this
year. So far, he's managed to
hopscotch the equator, effectively
spending most of his time in summer
weather.
The Reverend Thomas Rowland vis-
its his airplane in the EAA Air Ad-
venture Museum
One of designer, Fred Weick's
staunchest fans visited The EAA Air
Adventure Museum last month and un-
covered some interesting details on his
1940 Ercoupe, now on display on the
main floor. The Rev. Rowland dis-
coursed on the original smooth 7:00 x
4 tires and the "mudscraper"
nosewheel fork, so-called because its
narrow clearance between fork and tire
was designed to clear the tire of mud
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
and snow while taxiing. Museum Di-
rector, Carl Swickley escorted the
Rev. Rowland on his tour and
everyone at Headquarters who had the
opportunity to meet him enjoyed his
visit.
Staggerwing vs. Starduster
Armin Holle's snappy Starduster
Too, pictured in Buck Hilbert's col-
umn, "Pass It to Buck" in the June
1989 issue was damaged by a
Staggerwing in a taxi accident at Gil-
lespie Field in San Diego. The Beech's
propeller did extensive damage to the
right wings and tail surfaces as well as
the fuselage. Armin plans to rebuild .
EDITORIAL
by Mark Phelps
On November 18, 1989 a Cessna
150 pilot was practicing turns at 2,500
feet (approximately 1,500 feet agl)
four miles southeast of Air Lake Indus-
trial Airport . That's under the Min-
neapolis TCA and within the 30-mile
Mode-C veil. Although the Cessna was
squawking a 1200 code with its Mode-
C transponder, it collided with a Beech
Baron on an IFR flight plan. The Baron
had been cleared to descend to 2,500
feet for the approach to Flying Cloud
Airport, also within the veil some 18
miles to the northwest. The aircraft met
head-on and the Cessna dove to its
right while the Baron initiated a climb-
ing tum to its right. As a result, the
right wingtip of the Baron hit the left
wingtip of the Cessna. Eighteen inches
of the Cessna' s wingtip were sheared
off and the aileron was damaged . Still,
the pilot was able to land at Air Lake
eight minutes later and neither he nor
hi s passenger were injured. The Baron
lost three feet of wing and also landed
safely at Air Lake, although it sus-
tained substantial further damage after
leaving the runway on rollout. The solo
pilot was al so uninjured .
The accident occurred in clear
6 JANUARY 1990
weather. Legally, both pilots were re-
sponsible for seeing and avoiding each
other. The Baron pilot said that he did
not recall an A TC advisory of VFR
aircraft in his flight path. In fact, at
least two other Mode C-equipped VFR
aircraft were flying in the area at the
time.
Therein lies a problem.
Flying IFR in crowded airspace is
theoretically and statistically safer than
running the gauntlet VFR . For that
reason, it seems to make sense that it
would be safer if VFR flying were
more like IFR flying in those areas.
That's why all the restrictions have
been placed on VFR flight in TCAs,
ARSAs, etc. and why those classes of
airspace have been developed in the
first place. The responsibilities of the
VFR pilot have grown accordingly, in-
cluding learning all about the airspace
and its boundaries and most lately in-
cluding the installation of a Mode-C
transponder in his airplane. This gives
the other member of the air safety
team, the controller, more informa-
tion . Whether this is realistic or not is
open to debate. But even if the theory
were proved, there is still a problem
that this incident brings to the forefront.
With all the changes in FARs and
airspace, the legal responsibility of the
FAA and its controllers has not grown
one iota while the pilot has been forced
to comply with a number of compli-
cated new restrictions and respon-
sibilities. In this accident, an IFR air-
craft was cleared to pass over an airport
with significant VFR activity, at a busy
altitude well below that which would
be expected for an IFR aircraft 18
miles from its destination airport . If no
advisories were relayed to the Baron
pilot, it would seem to have been an
ill-advised clearance on the part of the
controller, yet he still retains no re-
sponsibility for his actions . The law
still says it's the pilot's responsibility
to, "see-and-be-seen" in visual mete-
reological conditions, even if he's
ushered into a traffic jam by the traffic
cop himself.
The FAA has assumed a great deal
of new authority by requiring Mode C
on all aircraft flying within TCA veils
and above 10,000 feet nationwide. The
agency needs to assume a comparable
dose of responsibility to go with the
authority .
People watcher
Dear Sir,
I would like to place on record the
pleasure I get from reading both
SPORT A VIA TlON and especially
VINTAGE AIRPLANE when they con-
tain hi storic aviator/aviatrix articles .
More please ifpossible.
Bestregards,
George Wright
Sutton Coldfield
West Midlands
England
Send more money
Dear Mark,
Happy to see the Fairchild Club
li sted among the type clubs in the
November issue of VINTAGE
AIRPLANE. Only one small problem.
The dues are $10.00 per year not
$5 .00. Could you correct thi s please.
Iam surethatEAAgetsrequestsabout
typeclubsanditwillcauseaproblem.
Sincerely,
John Berendt, President
Fairchild Club
Splintergroup
Dear Norm,
I'm a 70-year-old, 3,000-hour pri-
vate pilot with multi- and instrument
ratings. My 1932 Heath Parasol has a
Continental A-40-4 engine. The
airplane was restored in 1983 and has
been flown 40hours since.On abeau-
tiful North Carolina evening in May I
was flying from my private strip. At
400 feet agl there was a sudden noise
and something went by the cockpit.
This set up a terrific vibration to the
point that I thought the engine would
separate. I immediately closed the
throttle and shut offthe switch. Being
only a half mile from the strip, I was
able to land without difficulty.
A third ofthe prop was gone and it
was split to the hub. Also, the small
spinner was gone. Also, one arm of
the engine mount was cracked. I saw
four possible reasons for my adven-
ture:
1. Had the propeller been damaged
in the hangar? Unlikely. I did a good
preflight , including pulling the prop
through at least a dozen times.
2. Could the spi nnerhave separated
and hit thepropcausingthesplit?Also
unlikely.
3. Could a jealous husband have
taken a shot at me? Very unlikely.
4. Primary failure? In my opinion,
that is the probable cause.
In any case, the mount was repaired
and a new prop installed.TheHeath is
flying again.
Best wishes,
Ed Garber, Jr.
Fayetteville, North Carolina
The remains of Dr. Garber's propeller.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

by Uenni Vark
Libl""a0'/
Uil""ed()1""
Funk Aircraft and Ford Engines
Auto engines, being cheap and plentiful
compared with certified aircraft engines
have proven tempting to those who would
try to adapt them to aircraft use . Further-
more, the successful use of such engines in
homebuih aircraft in the 1930s, such as the
use of the Ford Model A engine in the
Pietenpol Air Camper, provided an added
impetus to those trying to cut the cost of
aircraft production during the Depression.
No doubt the interest was further spread by
the appearance of a Ford-conversion article
by Pietenpol in the 1932 FLYING MAN-
UAL. Pietenpol remarked in the introduc-
tion that interest in the conversion of the
Ford Model A to the Air Camper was
"mighty hot." His overview of the Ford
was as follows:
"The Ford motor makes an ideal power
plant. It is rugged and very reliable. It is
comparatively low speed, and can be ser-
viced anywhere the ship may be forced
down . And it is cheap enough to be easy
to buy. The whole motor, brand new costs
but little more than a hundred bucks, and
when converted will develop a good 38-40
hp, which is enough to fly two people in
the Air Camper monoplane ."
Pietenpol turned the engine back to
front , installed a new intake manifold,
added pressure oiling, magneto ignition
and produced a successful engine for the
homebuilder. One that he said was, "capa-
ble of carrying you and your crate
thousands of miles. "
In 1932 a commercially-made conver-
sion of the Ford Model A engine appeared
in the Straugham-Holmes Model A
Parasol. This was to evolve into the Wiley
Post biplane that was type certificated in
1935 .
The "$700 Airplane" program conceived
by Assistant Secretary of Commerce,
Eugene Vidal was an effort to find out
whether a plane could be produced that
would cost no more than a medium priced
car. Most of the entries in the program were
automobile engine powered. Ole Fahlin
buh one with a Plymouth Six , Arrow built
the Arrow Sport F around the Ford V -8 and
Waldo Waterman used a Studebaker Six
in his' Arrowbile.
The largest producer of certified con-
verted auto engine powered aircraft was the
Akron Aircraft Company. This company
was formed in 1937 to produce the aircraft
designed by Joe and Howard Funk. First
developed in 1934, the plane developed in-
terest with its appearance at the 1937
Miami Air Races where it was test flown
by Clarence Chamberlin . The Civil Aero-
nautics Administration bought one for
evaluation . This aircraft, known as the
Funk B went into production in 1939 and
100 of the aircraft powered by the Ford-
based engine were constructed in 1939 and
1940. In late 1940 the Funk Brothers
switched to the new geared 75-hp Lycom-
ing engine.
The Funk version of the Ford Model B
engine involved a lot of development. This
development was reported by Joseph Funk
in a paper for presentation at the 1947 SAE
National Personal Aircraft Meeting held in
Wichita . In light of continued attempts to
adapt auto motors to aviation, the paper
called "Experiments With Converted Au-
tomobile Engines For Light Aircraft Power
Plants" provides an interesting insight into
such a process.
The original aircraft that the Funk
8 JANUARY 1990
brothers built was powered by Szekely
three-cylinder aircraft engine of 45 hp. In
his paper, Joseph Funk reported that the
powerplant did not give satisfactory relia-
bility. A check by Funk revealed that the
only available aircraft engines in produc-
tion were the 40-hp Continental and the
LeBlond 70. He felt that the Continental
did not have sufficient power and the Le-
Blond was too costly at $ 1,000.
He reported , "We therefore elected to
investigate the question of automotive con-
version," futher , "We were impressed by
the performance obtained by certain
amateur experimenters who
used the Ford Model A, four-
cylinder engine in several types
of very light aircraft." They
were also impressed by the ap-
parently high output which race
car experimenters were able to
derive from the engine. Thus
they decided to begi n experi-
ments with the Ford engine.
"As rated by the Ford Motor
Company, it produced approxi-
mately 40 horsepower at 2,200
rpm., and since the engine
weighed approximately 350
pounds , not including coolant
and radiator, it was obvious
that to obtain really satisfactory
performance, it would be nec-
essary to make certain altera-
tions which would both in-
crease the power and decrease
the weight, if possible."
Aerodynamics was also a
consideration:
"I might point out at this time
that another factor in the altera-
tion of this engine was the firm
resolution on our part not to
sacrifice any possible aero-
dynamic efficiencies or general
arrangement features which
would be detrimental to visibil-
ity or require any other un-
reasonable compromises in the
structure of the aircraft."
The weight problem was ap-
proached with the adaptation of
an aluminum cylinder head which was
available from accessory manufacturers .
Aluminum was also used for valve covers,
crankcase, coolant pump and end housing .
However , every attempt was made to keep
the substitution to a minimum due to the
high cost of the accessory parts. The final
weight of the powerplant including the
radiator and coolant was nearly 300 pounds .
The biggest problem confronting them
was how to raise the power of the engine
without abandoning the low price and relia-
bility objectives. The induction system was
the area they explored and they ended up
using the value assembly from the
Plymouth P. B. engine. They had a setback
when they found out that the low-priced
aluminum heads were low-cost not because
of quantity production but because they
were defective . Thus Funk had to produce
its own aluminum cylinder heads.
The fli ght tests showed that the perfor-
mance of the aircraft with the modified
Ford was quite desi rable. As the author re-
ported:
"In fact, at thi s date, June 1936, there
was nothing available from commercial
light personal aircraft production which
Ole Fahlin's Plymouth engine conversion.
AKRON
The Funk Ford.
even approached the performance charac-
teristics of this aircraft. Our engine pro-
duced 63 hp at 2,134 rpm. , weighed 305
pounds.
"The inverted feature of the engine, to-
gether with what was at that time a very
novel completel y tunnelled radiator instal-
lation with manually controlled cooling
flap, gave the aircraft a degree of cleanness
which was at that time practically unknown
to the li ght plane industry."
An engine was sent to the CAA for type
certificate endurance runs but as soon as
test began, crankshaft failures became so
prevalent as to di scourage the government
from further testing. It was at thi s point
that Funk redesigned the engine and
changed over to the Ford Model B engine
which had a heavier crank. The inducti on
system and accessories remained the same.
The next problem was piston failure
which forced the abandonment of produc-
tion automotive pi stons and required them
to acquire a mold and make their own pi s-
tons. This was a discouraging setback in
their cost objectives. However, the engine
was certified by the government. Unfortu-
nately the experimental and approval work
had req u i red three years so that
by the time the engine was cer-
tified, all of the automotive
parts which they used were no
longer current and they had to
locate sources other than Ford.
This they were able to do and
approximately 100 units were
produced and sold. The ulti-
mate cost of the engine was ap-
proximately $400.
Of course like all new things
there were problems. To quote
Mr. Funk:
"And like all new engine de-
velopments, the service dif-
ficulties were legion! I believe
more so than most other engine
developments . Occasionally a
customer would fail to get all
the way home on the initial de-
livery flight without major en-
gine failure."
He concluded his paper with
a list of the most noticeable di s-
advantages of the engine. The
first was the ex.tremely heavy
weight due to automotive de-
sign and liquid cooling feature .
Second was the mechanical
failures on parts which they
were unable to alter or control
without completely abandoning
the low price which was the pri-
mary justification for the en-
gine in the first place.
Third, they failed completely
to convince both salespeople
and customers that low-price automotive
replacements could NOT be used in the en-
gine. He said that was a major problem
because many of the parts appeared to be
similar and many failures occurred due to
their use in aircraft engine overhauls.
There was further development of the en-
gine and an 80-hp version was produced
using a higher compression ratio and dual
ignition. Several units were built , but by
this time the large producers of small air-
craft engines had arrived at a sufficient
quantity of production that Funk shifted to
standard aicraft engines to power its planes .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
M E M E R S ~
PROJECfS
Andrew King (EM 275985, NC
10739) of Valley Cottage, New York
sent in the photo of this nearly
finished Pietenpol, which has been
the "object of his affection" for
some lime. Besides spending many
hours at Cole Palen's Old Rhine-
beck Aerodrome each summer, An-
drew still finds lime for the Pietenpol
project. He hopes to have it at Osh-
kosh '90.
Additional work by Andrew King is shown
in this photo of Mike Hart's (EM 157528,
NC 6364) big New Standard 0-25. Be-
tween 80 and 90 percent of the wings are
new according to Andrew plus new seats
and miscellaneous parts and pieces.
Since the photo was taken, the wings have
been covered. (It must take quite a few
yards of cloth to cover those huge wing
surfaces!)
Notice the very nice woodwork in the
upper wing panel (lett) of the New Stan-
dard. The large plywood covered ailerons
are set at quite an angle to the spars as
seen in this Andrew King photo.
10 JANUARY 1990
byNormPetersen
Pushed out to see the light of day is the latest effort of Morton Lester (EM 55178, NC 14) and his crew. It's a 1936 WACO YKS-6, NC16249,
SIN 4466, powered with a 245-hp "Shaky Jake" spinning a Hamilton Standard propeller. The total restoration is finished in white with
two-tone blue trim. Complete with wheelpants, the YKS-6 is one of 14 remaining on the U.S. register from an original production run
of 65 airplanes. Note the outside baggage door just aft of the lower wing.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
M E M E R S ~
PROJECfS
Dear Mark:
N32455 was built on January 16, 1941 with serial #588, and was pretty close
to being the last Airmaster produced as the serial numbers went to 591. This
airplane was originally delivered to actor Robert Cummings and nicknamed
Spinach III and painted an overall light and dark green with the name printed
rather large on its side (Robert Cummings was and still is a vegetarian and
named all his airplanes, all Airmasters in fact Spinach, this one of course being
his third).
The airplane has spent most of its time in the Northwest until I bought her
back in 1984 and took it to Pensacola, Florida for four years. I brought her back
to the Seattle area early last year and now keep it at my home in Buckley on
Cawley-South Prairie Airpark. Late last month though I had a slight problem with
her: A friend of mine and I were on our way to Snohomish, WA about 55 miles
north of here, when the Warner on her seized up at about 2,000 feet agl im-
mediately after swallowing a valve in the number-four cylinder. We were about
three and a half miles from the airport but there was no way we were going to
make it so we landed on a two-lane highway just southwest of the field with no
further damage to the airplane. After the Highway Patrol, FAA IV. crews, etc. had
their say, we towed the airplane, fully intact to Harvey Field, using the highway
and a couple of corn fields to get there. I pulled the engine and am in the
process of taking the wing off to trailer it all back home where I plan on rebuilding
the entire airframe since I was going to start on that anyway this winter. A zero-
timed Warner will be installed and the Aeromatic Propeller with be overhauled
as well. The project should take from one and a half to two years; I'll be sure to
send you a photo of the finished product. Although the airplane is in good shape,
except for the engine, the covering is about 20 years old and its time to take a
look inside for any wood damage, and I'd like to restore it back to original Cessna
colors (I think I'll pass on Spinach green).
Eric Sorenson
12 JANUARY 1990
Cruising over the beautiful country of the state of Washington is Cessna Airmaster, C-165, N32455, SN 588, owned by Eric Sorenson
of Buckley, WA One of the last Airmasters built, N32455 was delivered to actor Bob Cummings in 1941 and named "Spinach III". After
bouncing around the Northwest, Eric Sorenson bought the bird in 1984 and has enjoyed the Cessna since (most of the time!) Just a
month ago, the 165 Warner swallowed a valve and quit at 2000 feet AGL Unable to make the airport, Eric made a forced landing
on a highway without damage. The airplane is now dismantled for total overhaul including a zero time engine and a newly
overhauled Aeromatic propeller. Eric plans on an original Cessna paint scheme rather than "Spinach" green!
Eric Sorenson stands in front of his favorite airplane, a Cessna C-165. A DC-8
Captain for Hawaiian Airlines by trade, Eric enjoy.s the unique qualities of the
Cessna and always allows extra time on landing to explain to the local folks
that it isn't a Cessna 195! We look forward to a photo when N32455 is totally
rebuilt and resplendent in its new paint scheme.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
INTERESTING'
JACKCOMPERE
from material submitted
by Buddy Joffrion
14 JANUARY 1990
Jack Compere flies an Ercoupe. So
do lots of other people who enjoy the
classic little twin-tail sportplane. Jack
is unusual in that he was stricken with
polio as a high-school student in the
late 1930s that has restricted the use of
his legs. The two-control Ercoupe is
perfect for someone in Jack's cir-
cumstance, but after hearing his story,
you get the feeling that he could fly,
drive, ride or otherwise master any-
thing else you threw at him.
Houston in the 1930s was not an
affluent area. Jack built his character
by selling magazines, cutting lawns
and walking a paper route at 4:30 am
- 2:30 on Sundays . The strapping
youngster played football and basket-
ball at San Jacinto High School and his
coach, Jesse Madden got Jack and
three other players summer jobs dig-
ging post holes in the stifling Gulf-
Texas heat for 45 cents an hour - un-
told riches during the lingering Depres-
sIOn .
It was later that year that he con-
tracted polio, leading to a year-and-a-
half hospital stay. He emerged with
braces and crutches and took up his
studies again - as well as respon-
sibilities as the equipment manager on
the football team. He also re-Iearned
to drive a car with his handicapped
legs .
In early 1940, an operation allowed
the removal of one of his braces and
Jack was walking with the aid of a sim-
ple cane. Two years of college later,
Jack took a summer job as a horse
wrangler and broke his left knee. Un-
able to return to school, he began work
in a defense plant where he met and
married his wife, Marie. In 1955, the
family moved to California and in
1974, Jack formed his own company
associated with the electronics indus-
try.
Two years before, in 1972, Jack
took up sports car racing and joined
the Sports Car Club of America, racing
against such notables as Steve
McQueen and Dan Blocker - "Hoss"
on the TV series, "Bonanza."
In 1985 Jack sold his business and
took up flying. He bought his 1946 Er-
coupe and hired an instructor. Late in
1986, he was preparing for his check-
ride when he was stricken with a heart
attack and underwent triple-bypass
surgery. Within a year, he had passed
the treadmill exam, re-acquired his
medical certificate and passed his
checkride. He now flies his Ercoupe,
"anywhere he cares to go."
Jack's is typical of the character
traits often found among sport pilots .
His story is special, given the easily
recognizable hurdles he had to over-
come. But the qualities he exemplifies
are those that are not uncommon
among all pilots. Especially those de-
dicated to the preservation and flying
of antiques and classics. Hats off to
Jack Compere, the man they couldn't
keep down .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
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witnessthemovingdedicationofthenewEagleHangar
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FROM PAUL'SSCRAPBOOK
WallySpoHs with a 90-hp in-
verted Cirrus Great Lakes.
Notethespiffywhitewalltires.
DannyPhelpswithBuckerJungmeister.
The airplaneis nowintheNationalAir
andSpaceMuseum.
DooIiHle and the Laird
"SuperSolution"probably
attheP&WfacilityinHart-
ford,Connecticut.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
VINTAGE IFR
Dateline - Mather Field, California
1943
The above photo was taken with an
early box camera by Lee Bolton of
Racine, Wisconsin. It would appear
that this was an instrument familiariza-
tion flight. The instructor is flying the
approach. Manifold pressure is 17
inches , rpm 1,750. The student's
sleeves are rolled up and he's ready to
take over. The amber glass is in place
over the windshield and the student
pilot has his blue goggles stretched
over his headphones. The instructor is
wearing glasses, obviously too old to
be a "real" pilot for the military.
Backpack parachutes are slung over
the pilots' chairs. These photos were
prohibited as the T-50 Bamboo Bom-
bers were classified equipment in those
days . Lee was sitting in the back seat
waiting his tum at the wheel. Now, 46
years later, Lee is in the process of
checking out in the Cessna T-50 once
again . He has been flying with me in
the "Bimbo Bomber," N 30L.
During World War II and for many
years afterward the blue/amber system
was used for instrument flight training.
18 JANUARY 1990
byDickHill
It was phased out with the advent of
"welders'" masks and the use of flight
simulators. The blue/amber system
was cumbersome and wearing the blue
goggles made it very dark and hard to
see in the cockpit. For instrument prac-
tice in single-place fighter planes, the
pilot would put the amber Plexiglas in
place, make his take-off and at the pre-
determined ceiling, don the goggles.
A chase plane would take off in close
formation and stay on his wing to
watch for traffic and errors during the
flight.
For many years during the formulat-
ing of instrument training the canvas
hood was used. Jimmy Doolittle used
this system in the first real instrument
flight and evidence of this system is
still apparent in the turret on the Bam-
boo Bomber in the photo. You can see
the button-snap on each side of the stu-
dent's head. One is visible on the win-
dow post and one on the top of the
glareshield at the " NO" of the "NO
SMOKING" sign.
The canvas hood snapped to these
and several other points to obscure the
vision of the student. Italso obscured
the vision of the instructor and in-
creased the accident potential. This is
where the blue/amber became a more
practical system because it did not re-
strict the instructor's vision out of the
cockpit.
Another system that was used in
larger planes consisted of a frame that
was built to fit the windshield with
"venetian blinds" placed vertically.
The instructor pilot in the right seat
could look through the blinds with al-
most no restriction . Then came the full
flight simulator to replace the risky in-
strument training flights .
At right, we see how far instrument
flying aT-50 has come in half a cen-
tury. Jim Kramer of Boynton Beach ,
Florida brought hi s customized T -50
to EAA Oshkosh '89 along with seven
other Bamboo Bombers for the largest
collection of the twin trainers at Osh-
kosh in memory . Jim's panel reflect s
all the ammenities of the modem IFR
pilot including HSI, DME, loran , in-
tercom and weather radar. How times
have changed!
20 JANUARY 1990
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
The Culver's interior is simple. Main wheelwells are visible below the pilot's and passenger's knees, and a panel of Plexiglas allows
visible examination of the gear position.
Brakes on the left only. The red wheel in the middle is for gear operation.
The prop control at the top of the panel operated a Beech-Roby vari-
able pitch unit - since replaced with a fixed-pitch Sensenich.
226 is rabidly active and its members
have about 15 airplanes among them.
Steve has logged time in such diverse
aircraft as a PT-19, a Sonerai, a Pitts,
an Ercoupe , a Stinson, and a lot of
hours in his own Cessna 170 before he
got the Culver bug. In 1988, Steve be-
came president of Chapter 226 and
serves in that capacity today.
The Culver Cadet caught Steve's at-
tention when he was looking for an
airplane to replace his Cessna 170. He
liked the Cessna, but found that he sel-
dom used its hauling capabilities and
was looking for something more effi-
cient. When you look up "efficient" in
an aviation dictionary, you find a pic-
ture of Al Mooney next to the word.
Mooney was a natural designer . As
an eighteen-year-old in Denver, he
looked at the Alexander Eaglerock 106
and knew he could make it better. The
result was No . 107 - the long-wing
Eaglerock that performed notably bet-
ter than its predecessor in Colorado's
22 JANUARY 1990
Steve's Culver is powered with a Continental A-75 as was the original.
rarified air. The most noticable feature
of the Mooney Eaglerock was its lower
wing's greater span, caused by equal
sized upper and lower wing panels and
the lack of an upper center section. The
OX-5 powered airplane was one of
Mooney' s few biplane designs . From
there on, a succession of ever-slip-
perier monoplanes flowed from his de-
signer's pencil.
Notable among them was the Ale-
xander Bullet which first flew on Jan-
uary I I, 1929. It was a low-wing,
three-place cabin design with a radial
engine. The Bullet epitomized
Mooney's efforts to develop a sleek
airplane that got the most out of its
available horsepower. With its eliptical
wings and retractable gear, the Bullet
claimed a top speed of 148 mph on 165
hp.
Like most airplane designers,
Mooney moved from company to com-
pany. While working for Clare Bunch
at Monocoupe in St. Louis, he de-
The gear is simple, with semi-circle leaf springs and mechanical brakes.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
signed a nifty two-place called the
Monosport . It was powered with a
series of radial engines and had
Mooney's characteristic eliptical wing.
Mooney came to work for Knight
Culver when the wealthy financier
bought the Monosport design form
Monocoupe. Culver had interests in
several . areas, including speedboats
built by the Dart manufacturing com-
pany. Hi s airplanes, variations on the
Monosport theme, also became known
as Darts. By now they had enclosed
Plexiglas canopies and were quite ad-
vanced for a 1938 sportplane .
Mooney 's next move was to further
refine the Dart with manually retracta-
ble gear, clamshell doors and one of
the "new" horizon-
tally-opposed, four-
cylinder engines, in
do with the airplane's future . A rapidly
re-arming military saw the need for a
light , inexpensive drone target to train
anti-aircraft gunners for both the Army
and Navy. Radio control had advanced
to the point of practicality. The little
drone , the military thought, could be
controlled from a UC-78 mother ship
and the gunners could blaze away at a
" live" target.
The factory at Columbus was innun-
dated with orders for civilian M-12s
and a move to larger quarters was al-
ready in the works when Col. George
Holloman from Wright Field first
broached the topic of converting Cul-
vers to drones. About 45 airplanes
were built in Columbus and they were
guns being used in training were radar-
aimed and the non-reflective wood
didn' t return a sufficient target for the
radar. The stealth drones were given a
coat of aluminum paint , the better to
be seen by the gunners' radar. The only
difference between the PQ-8 drone and
the civilian Cadet was the tricycle land-
ing gear on the drone.
Later , Mooney redesigned the PQ-8
with a larger engine and a longer , nar-
rower wing with a high aspect ratio .
An example of the resulting PQ-14 is
on display in the EAA Eagle Hangar
- having been restored and donated
by EAA Director Morton Lester of Vir-
ginia. This long-wing drone was the
harbinger of ultra-efficient Mooneys to
come - the M-18
"Mite" and the M-
20 - later to be-
come the 20 I , 23 I , this case a 75-hp
"THEARRIVALOF
232 etc. Who knows Continental A-75.
what would have Foster Lane , the
happened if the fixed base operator
THEM-12 IN
million dollars of who leased space
to Culver in Col- civilian orders for
1940HADEVERYTHING
umbus reports that Cadets had been
filled instead of Mooney's office was
TODOWITHITS
on the upper level shifting to military
of Hangar One and
he would see the
light burning late
into the night as
Mooney worked on
the newer , lighter version of the Dart .
Mooney numbered all his designs
with his "M-" designation. The Eagle-
rock biplane was the M-I, the Bullet
was the M-4 and so on . The new de-
sign was the M-12 and it first flew on
December 3, 1939 with Foster Lane at
the controls. Mooney had been out to
develop a $2,000 cruiser that would
carry two people and a suitcase apiece
at two miles a minute. Fuel bum was
about four gph.
Like all Mooney's airplanes, the M-
12 was a wood airplane. At a time
when the industry, led by Don Lus-
combe's Silvaire, was switching to all-
metal construction, the little wooden
airplane represented the fullest poten-
tial of the medium. It was smooth,
strong and light. Efficient. Actually,
the M-12 wasn't all wood. It had a
steel truss in the wing center section,
and the trademark clamshell doors
were aluminum. Built one by one, the
doors are not really interchangeable
from one airplane to the next without
much reworking.
Timing is everything, and the arrival
of the M-12 in 1940 had everything to
24 JANUARY 1990
FUTURE."
still called Darts . Jim Givens' airplane
is serial number 133, or the 33rd built,
technically making it a Dart rather than
a Cadet, as the airplane was known
after the move to Wichita.
What followed was both a success
story and a tragedy, depending on how
you feel about the airplane. Supplying
the military with cannon fodder made
the Culver Aircraft Co. lots of money,
but production of the Cadet for civilian
flying came to a virtual halt. There
were some magic moments when mil-
itary service pilots would depart the
airport in Wichita. The drones were
temporarily configured for piloted op-
eration for delivery purposes and the
pilots would leave in groups of four or
eight. The little "mini-fighters" would
roar off the airstrip at intervals and the
pilots engaged in spirited dogfights
over the factory before forming line ab-
reast formation to fly the aircraft south
to EI Paso and eventual destruction .
The "non-strategic" wood construc-
tion of the drones - one of the reasons
for choosing them for the project -
was also one of the problems in the
early days. Some of the anti-aircraft
production.
Steve has owned
two Cadets. His
first was a Wichita-
built machine that
he bought at a Taylorcraft fly-in. That
airplane convinced him that he wanted
a mint Cadet to restore to near-original
condition . Hi s current airplane, NC
29264 was built in 1940 in Columbus,
before the company moved to Wichita.
The wartime logs are missing, but evi-
dence indicates it was based in Arkan-
sas. The trail picks up in Ohio during
the 1950s. Bob Minimum bought the
Cadet in 1960 or '61 but didn't fly it.
He owned it until the early 1970s.
James Zachary of Muncie , Indiana
bought the airplane from Minimum
and began his restoration project. He
performed most of the wood work on
the Cadet and covered it with cotton
fabric. Zachary only flew the airplane
about 30 hours after finishing the resto-
ration in 1977 and it sat In an open
hangar after that.
It was 10 years later, in October
1987 that Steve and his partner , Jim
Wright, also of Chapter 226, bought
NC 29264 and began their rebuild. The
airplane flew again in September 1988.
Steve says that he did all the work
that is visible. Zachary had reskinned
the fuselage and wingtips so the only
structural restoration needed was
where the wing' s trailing edges had
bowed somewhat from the shrinking
fabric. The cotton itself was bad and
the airplane needed to be recovered.
Steve repainted the Cadet working
from some original factory black-and-
white photographs from Charlie Har-
ris. In the photos, early M-12s had
their rudders painted the same color as
the fuselage, unlike later Cadets whose
rudders were cream colored, as were
the wings. The exact shade of maroon
came from the fuel tank . When Steve
stripped it of its black, brushed-on
paint, he found fresh maroon under-
neath and matched it exactly for the
exterior fusleage color.
Steve says that
lim did all the
work that doesn't
show . The Conti-
nental A-75 was in
sad shape when the
pair bought the air-
plane. The crank-
shaft was out of
service limits, the
cam lobes were
worn, three cylin-
ders were bad and
it had a bent rod.
The mags had also
deteriorated to out-
of-service condi-
tion. lim dug in
and overhauled the
engine. He also re-
furbished the land-
ing gear, fitted the new windshield and
hand-tooled a new doorknob when no
original one could be found.
The panel was original when they
bought the airplane but Steve and lim
felt it needed to be replaced. They used
it as a pattern and burled the veneer
themselves. The upholstery in the
airplane was original so they were able
to match the color of the seats . The
fabric on the cockpit sides and doors
is GM Cadillac upholstery fabric and
matches the original almost exactly.
All the original instruments were over-
hauled but the tach quit after 10 hours
and had to be replaced. The manifold
pressure gauge was replaced with a
vertical speed indicator since the
Beech Roby adjustable prop was re-
placed with a fixed pitch Sensenich
wooden prop. Cadets were also avail-
able from the factory with Freedman-
Burnham ground adjustable props.
The Hayes brakes were overhauled.
The original design used master cylin-
ders from a '39 Dodge and overhaul
kits are readily available. The tail-
wheel was converted to a steerable unit
- a safety conversion that is highly
desirable on the short-coupled Cadet.
The airplane has no electrical system.
Steve has flown the airplane about
65 hours since its restoration, mostly
to local fly-ins such as Murfee in Mar-
ion, Ohio where it won Grand Cham-
pion Antique honors . He flew to Osh-
kosh with his son for EAA Oshkosh
'89 where the Cadet won the award for
Outstanding Closed Cockpit Mono-
plane from the Contemporary Age. lim
Wright has built several airplanes in-
cluding a lunior Ace and a Hatz Bi-
plane. He flew the Hatz to EAA Osh-
Jim Wright (lett) and Steve Givens.
kosh '89. He is a millwright by profes-
sion, and Steve refers to him as the
"character" behind the project. lim is
not overly concerned with awards for
his airplanes and sometimes goes to
fly-ins wearing a hat that reads, "I
didn't come all this way to be
criticized." He finds the rewards of a
job well-done to be sufficient gratifica-
tion.
The Culver Cadet got a reputation
as a hot number when it first arrived
on the scene. With retractable gear and
a cruise speed of 120 mph, it was a
giant step away from the strutted,
draggy sportplanes everyone was used
to. Actually, it's not a difficult airplane
to fly or land if proper technique is
used. It's the same story with so many
other airplanes. The difficulties are
exaggerated, but often, they are simply
differences rather than difficulties . For
instance, the Culver requires practice
at raising and lowering the gear with
the handle and lock arrangement be-
tween the seats . It does require steady-
ing the stick with the pilot's knees for
a moment, but after two or three cy-
cles, the technique becomes second na-
ture for Culver pilots . Early pilot re-
ports indicate that ice and snow could
play havoc with the gear extension se-
quence . The prototype had gear-leg
doors whidh were later dropped from
the production models. One article
says that it was common practice to
make two attempts at lowering the
wheels and then fly over to a field with
a good repair station and belly land as
close to the hangar as possible. Dam-
age was usually minimal.
Foster Lane mentions that the lead-
ing edge wing slots
on the Cadet are al-
most accidental. Ac-
cording to Lane -
who was there -
Mooney was tinker-
ing with the wing
and cut the slots as
an experiment a
few days before the
CAA inspectors ar-
rived to certify the
airplane. The cer-
tification therefore
included the slots
by default. Opinions
differ on whether
the slots actually
improve stall char-
acteristics. Most agree,
however, that stall
speed remains the same with the slots
taped over, although pro-slot pilots claim
that the break is much more benign
with the extra airflow over the ailerons.
The little airplane sure is efficient.
With the fixed-pitch Sensenich prop,
Steve gets about 118 mph at 75 percent
power. Rate of climb is between 500
and 600 fpm. Range is adequate for
YFR travel around the local area, al-
lowing trips to most of the local fly-
ins that Steve wants to get to. The
smallish cabin is comfortable for Steve
and his older son and the baggage com-
partment carries anything they need for
their odysseys throughout the Indiana
area.
Steve and his Culver are a good
example of what EAA can do for an
individual and what the individual can
give back to EAA. Steve had his indoc-
trination to aviation the EAA way, and
EAA members get to enjoy a super-
sharp restoration of a historical
airplane. It's nice when we all win .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
A CANDID
INTERVIEW
WITH...
PAULH.
POBEREZNY
When anyone thinks of
the home built movement, they
think of Paul Poberezny.
The founder and Chairman
of the Board of EAA has
had his thumb in a number
of pies, however, and he
turned up a plumb when he
recognized the potential for
an Antique Division in 1970.
Later, the division was
!
expanded to include the
Classic Category as well.
u
Over the years, the Antique/
26 JANUARY 1990
Classic Division has assumed a prime
role in the perpetuation of sport avia-
tion in this country.
On a cold and windy day last
November, I caught up with Paul in
his new offices adjacent to the Kermit
Weeks Flight Research Center. Later,
we adjourned to his new Presidential
Library to examine some of his
memorabilia by the fireplace . We
talked about flying OX-5-powered
airplanes, his favorite antiques and
classics, Pioneer Airport, the growth
in exportation of our classic airplanes
and the role of the
Antique/Classic Di- r--------------------------------,
vision. Paul ex-
pressed his opin-
ions and concerns
candidly. Among
his most profound
concerns is EAA's
niche in aviation
history and how it
will all be remem-
bered. - Mark
Phelps
PHP: ... I've got
boxes of material
from Hales Comers
that would take a
tremendous amount
of time just to go
through. When we
moved from Hales
Comers, my sec-
Corl Schuppel
retary , Millie spent
three months going
through all the cor-
"I should have kept the whole
respondence, keep-
ing the important
airplane ... but I did keep
things and working
with me on that.
the prop."
The newspaper
clippings - I've
got hundreds and
hundreds of those .
Earlier this year when I was in my
wheelchair, Lisa Chapman worked
with me and got a lot of our records
straightened out. Before that, my
daughter, Bonnie spent the summer of
'88 - spent about two and a half
months out there going through our
basic records - '53 all the way up .
Got a lot of those all by year in files .
I've got thousands of pictures that are
in files but really need to be re-
catalogued and put in the books with
identification plus a lot of them that
are just in boxes.
VA: So it's going to be a monumental
job to sort out all that history.
PHP: It'll take the rest of my lifetime
to do it.
VA: You have 379 different aircraft
types represented in your logbook.
Can you name some of the antique and
classic aircraft that stand out in your
mind.
PHP: Well, I'd start out with all mod-
els of the Cub; the E2 to the 12, the
Bs. I got into the OX-5s. At different
times I owned four Waco lOs with OX-
5s. I've flown the short-nosed Amer-
ican Eagle, the long nose American
Eagle with OXs. I've flown the Eag-
lerock with a Kinner.
Going back to the Curtiss Robin,
with both the Lycoming Challenger
and OX-5 engines; the Tank engines
which we have here. The Ford
Trimotor, Taperwing Waco with the
300 Wright; Travel Airs, OX-5 Travel
Airs; 1000, 2000, 4000E, 4000 . . .
VA: You could probably go on with
this all day long .
PHP: Yeah, all the old airplanes . I've
always enjoyed flying the old-timers.
Now that our Pheasant is completed, I
flew that a little bit this summer but I
didn't have the time and after my back
surgery I wasn' t in the best physical
condition to fly it. But it made me feel
like a kid. The other people who flew
the airplane were Gene Chase and
Colin Soucy - of course, Gene has
flown airplanes without brakes, and
with tailskids so it was a little refresher
for him but Colin Soucy caught on
quite rapidly, being the natural pilot
that he is .
which we did when it was too windy
on the taxiway, unless we had some-
body out there'd grab a wingtip to tum
into the wind. And then our airports,
too, were fields and grass where you
could always land into the wind. Today
you've got runways which makes it
difficult.
VA: What memorabilia do you have
from these early airplanes that you still
treasure?
PHP: Part of the original propeller
from my American Eagle that's
mounted in my home. I should have
kept the whole airplane but when I
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
It kind of re-
minds me of a lost
art, Today, pilot's
are pretty dam for-
tunate having brakes,
tri-gears, steerable
tailwheels and all
that where in the
older days you
didn't have that.
On a cold day like
today, if you asked
a pilot of an OX-5
powered aircraft,
"What would be
one of your first
concerns before you
even start the en-
gine"? he'd say,
"Oh, I'd better find
some cardboard to
cover the radiator
to ensure that water
temperature was
up." Think of that.
And then he'd
look around and
ask himself how he
was going to get to
the end of the run-
way. Or should he
take off from right
here into the wind,
went to World War II, I kind of walked Audrey to give me a two-year's Christ- PHP: That'd be 1943. I had 19 forced
away from it and never knew what hap- mas present - or three, or whatever it landings on the way down from both
pened to it, but I did keep the prop. It takes. Buck Hilbert has a Porterfield carburetor ice, which they were known
was in my mom's home for years and just like the one I had. If I can locate for at that time, plus a water pump
years and then when I moved up here, him a lower case for a Hisso, we can leaking. I'd lose my water and the
I got it from her and it's mounted make a deal. I would like to fly it just engine'd get hot and I'd have to land.
downstairs along with a lot of other a little, keep it a while and give it to I met a lot of farmers. And then I
memorabilia. the EAA Air Adventure Museum as went down to Streetor, Illinois . I
part of my history. landed on the side of a hill - it was
VA: Would you say that was the most There's also an American Eagle March and the fields were soft -
significant thing? It' s the first thing with a Kinner out in Gunnison, Col- and the airplane rolled back. If you
that came to your mind. orado that a fella out there would sell didn' t hold the stick back, it would
to me, but he's asking a little bit too dig in and bust the elevators, so you
PHP: Yes, the most significant thing . It's much for it. I'd convert it to an OX had to hold the stick back if she
got a little knick in started to slide
- and
the proprromwhen r----------------------------------------------------------,
backwards
I let Slim Schobert
fly it once. He
owned an American
Eaglet and I'd fly
my Waco, or my
Eagle at the time.
Slim taxied my
Eagle out in a
crosswind and - if
he would have kept
the power on,
(mimics stick and
throttle motions with
his hands) full rudder
and the elevators
up, he could have
have just missed it.
But he caught the
right wing on one
of the airport boun-
dary markers and
just took a piece
out of the prop. "I remember taking my
The other thing
that I have is the handkerchief to filter mos-
control stick out of
the first powered quitos and other stuff."
airplane that I soloed
- a 1935 Porter-
field with a 70-hp
all these little tech-
niques .
It carried a lot of
water and I re-
member down in
Arkansas I landed
in a cotton field
and the fella there
gave me water out
of a rainbarrel. I re-
member taking my
handkerchief and
straining it to filter
mosquitos and other
stuff that was in the
water barrel, and go-
ing up there and put-
ting it in the radiator.
The OX-5 was a
real good engine.
Usually when they
quit - a rocker
arm broke or some-
thing - the other
cylinders would tum
enough rpm to
keep you going. A
good OX-5 turned
1,400 to 1,420 rpm
at 90 horse and you
leBlond. I have the '-------------------------------------------------------------' cruised at about
control stick out of that and the vertical long nose. It hasn't flown since World 1,300 - 1,175 and she'd just knock
fin. The airplane was in a crash and War II . It's uncovered and hanging up around there. Where do you get an
one of my partners was killed in it. in a hangar. airplane today that bums six gallons an
The stick is bent. I've got a piece of hour or so, carries three people, cruises
wing rib and I've got the newspaper VA: Are there any other stories you at 80 and gets out of a pickle patch?
clipping from when it crashed. I was can think of associated with any of But I ferried a couple of those down
going out to fly it that day when I saw your pictures or bits and pieces of to Arkansas and we barnstormed
all the cars along the road and I saw airplanes? weekends down there. One advantage
him laying there. The engine had we had was we could get fuel. Every-
started running bad and he tried to get PHP: Well, I bought a couple of OX- body else got an "A" stamp and a "B"
around the pattern and just stalled as 5s and I ferried them while I was teach- stamp, which limited the amount of
he turned base leg at about 100 feet, ing primary at Helena, Montana. Took gallons. I've got a picture of Pappy
and she just went in. off one March day with one of 'em for Hughes, Jack Wismar - he was one
Arkansas between classes . . . of the instructors - and me . Pappy
VA: That's a shame. had this 55-gallon barrel in back of this
VA: About what year would that have Ford pick-up. We' d carry anybody for
PHP: Yeah. I'm trying to convince been? a ride for 50 cents or whatever. This
28 JANUARY 1990
was down in Arkansas. Those were the
good old days.
VA: Do you have a favorit e antique
airplane?
PUP: Yeah , the American Eagle was
my favorite , I guess , because it was
the first airplane I owned. I came from
a real poor family. I taught myself to
fly the glider and made some 2,800
flight s, with it towed behind the car.
And my dad went to the bank and bor-
rowed $250.00 (which I didn ' t know
at the time) - and ,
heck , he was onl y
making probably
40 bucks a week
.. . I don ' t even
know, less than
that , really . But
he borrowed the
money and I bought
the Eagle from
Dale Crites. Dale
checked me out in
the airplane and I
had a field over
near the house I
flew out of quite a
bit. Patty Ott's
field . He was an
old bachelor auc-
tioneer and had a
couple of horses
there . For me to
leave my airplane
on his field there -
about seven blocks
from the house -
I'd bring some of
my mom's pickles
or sometimes a
bucket of coal from
our coal pile.
V A: That' s how
PUP: I have about 1,700 hours in
the L-17 which is a Navion - to me
it felt just like walking! That was an
airplane that I demonstrated for the
Army, short field takeoffs and land-
ings. The Navion wasn't as fast as
a Bonanza, but for getting off and
carrying a load and landing short, it
was tremendous . I remember I made
over 200 barrel rolls continuously,
circling Hales Corners airport at about
500 feet just for demonstration. I tell
you, when I got down , boy, I was
pretty woozy!
it from him . Audrey didn't know it for
- oh, probably, six months . She went
to a ladies ' function over at Mark's
house - they only lived about a block
away from me in Hales Corners - and
his wife asked, "How do you like the
Cessna"? That spilled the beans . Up
until then Audrey thought I'd just been
borrowing the airplane.
VA: Do you see the criteriafor antique
and classic aircraft expanding in the
forseeable future ?
PUP: think we
r ; : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ; ~ = = : : : : : : : : : : : : : ; : : : ; l can see some ex-
'---------------------------------------------------------' airplanes, I would
"AudreythoughtI'djust
beenborrowingthe
airplane."
pansion of the
classic category na-
tionwide, but park-
ing at the Conven-
tion is a problem.
The reason I'm
holding 1955 at
Oshkosh is logis-
tics. We need
enough people and
space to handle the
airplanes properly.
I give credit to the
wonderful people
who do it. I also
feel the airplanes
should be show
quality, not just a
place for a transient
who finds it more
convenient to park
in the Antique
Classic area than in
the North 40. Until
they can figure that
aspect out on it , to
give credit to those
who have put qual-
ity maintenance
and care into their
you paid your tie-downs, eh? VA: That' Il do it.
PUP: Well , and to use his field . I had
PUP: But I flew that and I really en-
to put a wider tail skid on because he
joyed that airplane. It 's a fine short
said my tail skid was churning up his
field airplane and one that is very
alfalfa. But Slim and I and Bud Perry,
docil e. I enjoyed it.
who later got killed flying a P-38 in
As far as some of the others - r had
Africa, we'd go out near Burlington
a Cessna 195 whi ch I really enjoyed;
and Waterford and circle around, gun
it' s a pilot's airplane, especially in a
our engines and land and people would
crosswind or choppy weather or wind
come out and we'd take 'em for a ride
condition that challenges you on land-
for whatever they had. I had a solo
ing . It's very comfortable. In fact, of
license. It wasn' t legal.
all the airplanes that we had , Audrey
thought it was the most comfortable
VA: Getting into classics, do you have sitting in the back . I bought it from
a favorite one of those that you could John Mark. He groundlooped it once
talk about? and it was enough for him, so I bought
like to hold the limits to just what we
have and try to ensure that what we dis-
play in those categories are show quality.
VA: How about Pioneer Airport?
What do you see in the future for
Pioneer Airport?
PUP: At the present time I don't see
much there other than static display
and occasional flying . It hasn't worked
out like I would like because we just
don't have a cadre of pilots who can
fly the airplanes regularly. We can't
take the risk of losing some of these
valuable airplanes, and right now
we're also limited a bit. In summer,
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29
unfortunately, our winds are out of the
southwest and some of the days we're
limited by crosswinds. Our runway is
long enough; it's about 2400 feet with
good approaches .
But to find somebody who's qual-
ified to fly some of these airplanes con-
sistently - not just once a year - isn't
easy . Of course, the money to license
the airplanes is a factor, too. Heck -
the Ford Trimotor flew just one time
this year. The amount of work put into
licensing it wasn't really worth the ef-
fort. I hope that maybe this summer I
can personally spend
more time
there. I'd like to
see something like
Cole Palen's opera-
tion in Rhinebeck,
New York but I'd
rather not take a
chance on sacrific-
ing the airplanes
when you don't
have somebody who's
readily available .
We have excel-
lent cooperation
from the control
tower. We stay
clear of Wittman
Field's runways and
we have our own
patterns. The tower
people enjoy it and
they get credit for
all the aircraft
movements. So we
haven't had a prob-
lem there. In fact,
I give a good plug
for our FAA people
there and the Tower
Chief, Zonnie Fritsche,
and the tower chiefs
before him .
V A: How do you feel about the role of
the Antique/Classic Division within
EAA from the outset and on into the
future ?
PUP: Well, I'm responsible for form-
ing the Division - I don't know if
you're aware of that. When EAA was
formed , I was everything to it , from
aircraft parking to on-stage entertain-
ment. I found that if the organization
was going to succeed, I'd better sur-
round myself with people of a particu-
lar interest who would do what I'd
been doing . I couldn't continue trying
to be everything and seeing it not being
30 JANUARY 1990
done right. There's only so much time.
So, as far as the Antique Division, I
called a group together that I thought
would form it, and we held the meeting
at Hales Comers . I'd have to look at
my diary, back to 1970 when it started.
I proposed that we form a division, but
we'd just appoint officers rather than
have elections - and no dues . EAA
would issue membership cards and we
would keep a list of everything The
main reason for it would be to work at
the Convention and take care of those
people who had antique and classic
over ,..--------------------------------,
or classic aircraft?
PUP: Well, I had proposed to the FAA
to grant the individual who completely
restored an antique airplane under the
supervision of an A&P or AI, the same
type of repairman certificate that you
have for a homebuilt. It would be valid
for that particular airplane, and only
that airplane, as long as he or she
owned it. Most of the restorations that
come here are done by individuals
without an A&P. And so I sent it to
FAA and we had good support .
At that time, we
were shot down.
Here it comes up
again . Mechanics
say, "Well, we got
our A&P the hard
way; you've got to
get yours the hard
way." I've seen
this in other areas
of aviation. The
Recreational Pilot's
license is the same
thing. "Gee, whiz!
A guy can't learn
to fly a Cub with-
out going through
what I had to go
through to get my
license," and that's
ridiculous! And here
it is, it's coming up
again with the Pri-
mary Category. I
feel that, though I
"Overall, it's worked
got a lot of support,
outwell, andit's
growing."
type airplanes. And, so everybody
agreed. I think there were about 60
people at the meeting.
Well , about a year went by and we
found that nobody was joining because
it was free. So we set up a five-dollar
dues. Then people responded and it's
something I've learned. When it's
free , it has no value. So we did that.
We've had some ups and downs just
the same as the Warbirds and lAC but
overall, it's worked out well, and it's
growing.
V A: What is the current status on the
petition to establish a repairman's cer-
tificate for the restorer of an antique
we didn't get enough
from the people
themselves who could
benefit by it. So
it's lain dormant.
Maybe we can pur-
sue it again. It's
something that we should not give up.
And if there were enough people who
wrote to us about it, who see the bene-
fits of it within the Antique/Classic Di-
vision, we could pursue it further.
VA: There's been a lot of talk about
the exportation of classic airplanes,
primarly to England. We're getting
more and more mailfrom England with
pictures of Luscombes, Cubs and
Champs. Do you have any comments
on the fact that many of our classic
airplanes are disappearing overseas?
PUP: Well, I'm sure glad to see some-
body want 'em and take care of 'em.
It'sourown fault ifwe sell something becausetheydon'tmakeany more, but peoplecan neverrecognize that and in
away. But, on the other hand, if an youcangetthem. AndClassicAircraft the industry, they want to promote
ownerdecidesto sell hisairplane, he's is building type-certified Wacos in transportation becausethatseemstobe
got to get a fair price for it, wherever Lansing, Michigan and, heck, a guy legitimate. Recreation is legitimate
he sells it. Whether it's here or else- can still get a set of Fleet drawings. too! It'sthe biggestbusinesswe'vegot
where, it's certainly making the air- We have to really scrap for power- in this country. Most people who fly
planes more valuable. It's helping our plants, but there are still a lot ofCon- the airlines fly for recreation, notbusi-
enthusiasts over there who would tinental 220s and Jacobs around for ness . The airlines couldn't afford to
never have the opportunity to fly that type, full-size airplane. run their business if it was only for
airpbnes. And thankfully we've got business travellers. When I've got
the homebuilt movement to balance V A How do youfeel about the costof more invested in my airplane than the
our loss. flying these days? priceofa ticketontheairline,Ishould
havealittlemoreprivilegeandconsid-
VA: How do you personally see the PHP The high cost of owning and eration.
relationship between
thehomebuiltmove-
ment and the an-
tiquesandclassics?
PHP: The antique
airplane's always
been my first love,
but I guess that's
becauseofthe eraI
grew up in. It has
so much nostalgia
and that's why
maybe I built
airplanes like the
Pober and the
Super Ace. The
Pober Junior Ace,
which is much
modified from the
old Corben Junior
Ace airplane could
be made a cabin or
- the one I'm
building is goingto
"You're limited on how
be open cockpit,
side by side. It's
far you can fly by
roomier than those
from the old days
your pocketbook."
- but still has low
wing-loading and
nostalgia. Andthat's
pretty important. This
o ~ Schuppel
VA: You see the
antiquesandclass-
ics fitting into that
role in what way?
PHP: Into recre-
ation? They're al-
ready in it. Whydo
people fly all the
way from Califor-
nia, New York,
Texastocomehere
to this one spot on
Earth during the
later part of July?
It's recreation and
fun.
It also adds to
the safety. Our
chapters putting on
theireventsandour
regional eventscause
people to fly and
when you cause
people to fly, you
improve their skills.
And we'retheonly
organization that
does that!
VA: What'simpor-
tant to remember
is why the homebuilt movement has
been so important because you can
make your own dream come true.
VA: What I hearfrom you is that we
need low-and-slow airplanes, air-
planesthatareeasytoflyandthatcan
use rural strips. The numbersofthose
aircraft are decreasing with attrition
and the antiques and classics going
overseas, and you see a need to re-
place those with more ofthat style of
homebuilts.
PHP: I agree with that completely.
DaleCritesbuiltoneJ-5- andoneCon-
tinental-powered, straight-wing Waco
operating an airplane is an important
factor in aviation today. The average
guy who rents an airplane, who flies
30or50 hours a year- he'shemmed
in by range ofhis pocketbook. There-
creational pilot, flying 100 miles from
the airport maybe can' t afford to fly
even that far . At 100 mph, that's fifty
bucksout, fifty bucksback- $100on
a weekend or Saturday? People don't
understand that. You're limited on
how far you can fly by your pocket-
book when you rent. And when you
own, you can go outa little bit farther
but, still, it costs you a lot ofmoney.
The average guy who buys an
airplane, buys it for fun. A lot of
for thefuture ofEMandthe Antique!
Classic Division?
PHP: Well, I support all ofaviation.
I've been privileged to fly airplanes
from gliders to jets, to transports, re-
fuelers, the whole works - Ilove it all.
And it saddens me to see those in avi-
ation not supporting all ofaviation. I
supportall ofit- from airlinesto mil-
itary flying, and I hope this organiza-
tion does that in the future. I know
someofthe meetingsI'vebeenattend-
ing - well, somepeople say we should
specialize. You've got to support
everyone - or you lose everyone's
support. It's that simple.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31
PASS IT TO
--1]
An information exchange column with input from readers.
by Buck Hilbert
(EM 21, NC 5)
P.O. Box 424
Union, IL 60180
Number please?
Letters? Who writes letters any-
more? Now phone calls, that's the way
to GO! As a matter of fact just after I
started the first sentence of this col-
umn, I got one from a professional
photographer with an assignment for a
major clothing manufacturer who
wants a World War I airplane as back-
ground for a line of men's shoes. That,
folks, is the kind of stuff that's being
passed to Buck.
This past couple of weeks I've had
calls from Michigan, Iowa, California
(outside the earthquake area), Maine,
Wisconsin and here in Illinois. Now
these are only a few that I can recall
right off the top of my head. The sub-
ject range is anything from engines to
tailwheels. Seems writin' this column
does attract people who have to talk to
32 JANUARY 1990
someone and they want answers NOW
rather than waiting for the U. S. Mail.
Please don't misunderstand. I enjoy
getting these calls and I do enjoy being
able to offer suggestions and advice. I
DO try to help and I think it shows. I
know that at times a fella just needs
someone to talk to, and ifI fill the bi II,
why, I'm more than willing.
Kinner engines seem to be a real hot
topic the last few days. The Fleet boys
are running low on pieces and I guess
some of my preaching about "there are
NO 2,OOO-hour pre-war engines" is
taking effect. Two of the calls were
about that. The fact that they've
reached the mark where they are think-
ing about the major overhaul. Where
do you get parts? Well I can only
suggest they get in touch with others
who have had recent experience with
getting parts and having had their en-
gines overhauled. Fortunately , I know
of a few people who are able to help
these callers .
Parts-time
Twice in the past month I've had
calls from people who are rebuilding
some real choice projects. One Fleet
and one Consolidated PT-3. Again
they are looking for data, prints and
parts. Fleets aren' t easy to find wing
ribs for. The ribs are formed top-hat
sections heat treated and they attach
directly to the spars front and rear.
There are a set of dies around some-
where; last I heard they were in
California, but the waiting list is so
long it's almost impossible to get any-
where on this one.
PT-3
The Consolidated PT-3, now there
is a real project. A Wright J-5
Whirlwind is rare enough, but to re-
build a partial fuselage, recreate the
landing gear, cabane struts and in-
terplane struts is a real project. Our old
friend Virginius Clark (Yep! the Air-
foil Man) designed the PT-l that the
entire line of Consolidated Airplanes
came from . Clark, one of the leading
aeronautical engineers of that day, and
head of the U. S. Ai r Service Research
& Development Center at McCook
Field, now Wright-Patterson AFB
created the specs for a new primary
trainer to replace the Jennies that were
fast disappearing through attrition. He
was an artist, and although the overall
effect just oozes simplicity, you
wouldn't believe how complex the
machine is beneath that fabric exterior.
It uses World War I Jenny-type con-
struction but with three different sizes
of steel tubing braces with numerous
drag & anti-drag wires in each square
of each bay. There are more than 150
wires and turnbuckles in the section of
fuselage aft of the cockpits. The front
part is made of I 1/8" tubing, the
cockpit area one inch, and the rear 31
4". They all plug together and are held
with 3/16" bolts at l20-degree angles
to one another. It looks so neat on
paper that anyone could have thought
of it! But that was the weak spot in the
whole fuesleage and why there aren't
any PT-3s around today, except in
museums. The old soft steel tubing was
very subject to rust and corrosion and
was further weakened with these bolts
in each of the longerons. After only
about 12 years of use the entire inven-
tory was either donated to various avi-
ation schools around the country, or
scrapped . The one the EAA Aviation
Foundation has came from the base-
ment of the Arkansas State Teachers'
College a number of years ago. The
fuselage broke in half as the pilot aligh-
ted after delivering the airplane to the
college. It was used to teach mechanics
wood and fabric work during the War
Training Programs prior to World War
II.
Boy, am I ramblin' on, but this
airplane is one of my favorite projects .
I'd really like to see it completed and
flying as a tribute to Virginius Clark .
Clark went on to both heights and
depths in his career. He later developed
the molded plywood techniques used
at Lockheed to build the Vega and
Sirius machines and from there formed
his own company called the General
Aircraft Company, building Vega
look-alikes. He later went back to Fleet
to build the F1eetstar, another Vega
look-alike. (He had resigned from the
u. S. Air Service to work with Reuben
Fleet to form the Consolidated Aircraft
Company and they built the PTs that
he had originally designed.) I don't
think too many people are aware of all
the contributions Clark made to avia-
Virginius Clark's Consolidated PT-3.
tion design or how many people he
trained and taught his construction
methods to. But John Northrop was
one of his students and he was one of
the principles in the design and build-
ing of the giant Hughes Flying Boat.
He was still associated with that project
when he died. I only regret that I never
had the chance to meet the man.
Pet project
Another of my phone calls was from
Birmingham, Alabama. Dick Simpson
has finished up his E-2 Taylor Cub.
His description of its flight characteris-
tics is that he feels like he is "beating
the family pet" running that A-40 hard
enough to keep the E-2 in the air. It's
so humorous and yet truthful, that I've
asked him to give us the full story on
the restoration. He's promised it,
SOON!.
Follow the Fleet
Ralph Driscoll out in Iowa has his
Fleet going. It was a struggle to get the
K-5 parts he needed, but he made it!
I'm invited out to fly it, and I'm gonna
do it too! But after the weather gets
back to normal. We've just had two
days of SNOW here in northern Illinois
and its only October 20. It was one
short Indian Summer, believe me! And
there is no way I want to freeze these
buns fl yin' a Fleet in 30-degree weath-
er.
I've also heard from Bill Woodward
up near Travis City, Michigan. He
owns a straight-wing Great Lakes rep-
lica built by a fella name of Harmon,
back in 1982 up in Brownsville,
Maine. Charlie put a Kinner on it and
solved the built-in tail heaviness that
brought about the swept wing on the
later Lakes by poking the engine out
in front a couple more inches. The re-
sult is a real neat looking homebuiit
that is all Great Lakes except for the
straight wing. I'd like to fly that one,
too, when the weather permits . Mean-
while, I'll just stay warm and cozy here
in front of the typewriter and the
phone. Whoops! there it goes again.
Anybody know what color the head-
liner is in a 1940 Aeronca Chief?
George York! You take that one will
you?
Winter doldrums
One thing I like about winter, the
flies all dies! That's the only real nice
thing about winter. Quite frankly, the
thought of getting the machine out of
the hangar and going through the cold
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33
weather starting procedures is more
than enough to tum me off. Now, VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE Associate Editor,
Norm Petersen, on the other hand , ac-
tually enjoys the challenge. He suits
up in the appropriate gear, goes
through all the motions and ski-flies
around terrorizing the neighbors and
having fun (?) . Not for me! I more or
less hibernate and that's the way it is .
More and more phone calls keep
coming in, but some letters too. Got
some comment on pullin' the prop
through before starting from one of our
seaplane pilots over in Michigan. He
actually agreed with me. Must be from
the old school . I wonder what he does
in the wintertime?
Gopher broke
What brought all this on was that a
couple mornings ago, with the frost on
the pumpkins, I went out to fly . I drag-
ged the old 182 out of the hangar after
I'd pre-flighted it (I'm no fool! I pre-
flighted it inside the hangar even be-
fore I opened the door, out of the wind
and cold, where I could do it in a lei-
surely manner.), cranked it up (yes , I
did pull it through in the hangar) , and
almost as soon as it began to run,
pulled on the cabin heat and the defros-
ter. Where, oh, where is that WARM
air? What the heck is that funny smell ?
Are those com leaves coming out of
the defroster? Darned if it ain ' t. What
in the heck is goin' on? I shut down
and investigated. Back in the hangar,
of course.
Normally, when weather permits
and I have something going in the
hangar, the 182 sits on the tiedown line
outside , its tail pointed toward the ad-
jacent cornfield. We had been working
on the Mooney, the Porterfield 35-70
and a couple of the Varga fuel tanks
so the Cessna spent quite a bit of time
out there this past month or so. Well,
I guess the gophers must have thought
they had a real good home , ready
made, snug and warm 'cause they had
literally stuffed the cabin heat air duct
with com leaves. They were all nice
and dry and crumbly and a real com-
bustible mess . When I pulled on the
cabin heat they were forced into the
system and some of the looser debris
came right on through and into the de-
froster. This is what I noticed when I
pulled the cabin heat knob. This was
the first time I' d asked for cabin heat
this season. How long the debris was
in that duct is anybody's guess , but we
now had some work to do - purge the
34 JANUARY 1990
duct, the heater and the distribution
system throughout the cabin. That was
the biggest chore. Just making sure all
was clean and in order.
The point I'm trying to make is that
when I uncowled the engine and went
after the debris, I got to think in ' about
the importance of checking the heat ex-
changer and the exhaust stacks the
muffs get their heat from . What if I
hadn't had enough debris come
through that I'd noticed it? Would it
have ignited? Was the integrity of the
system compromised? Was carbon
"This inci-
dent carne
pretty close
to horne.
Heck! It
vvas horne!"
monoxide a consideration, as well as a
fire threat?
Regardless as to how the little ras-
cals (nice word for - varmints) had
gotten in there, and I feel it was almost
an impossibility, they created a prob-
lem that could exist in YOUR airplane
as well as mine. I think with all the
winter flyin' advice, the cabin heater
should be on the list of things to check
not only for proper operation, but bear-
ing in mind the potential threat of car-
bon monoxide poisoning and the po-
tential fire hazard.
We've all heard the horror stories
and have had examples thrown at us.
This incident came pretty close to
home. Heck! It was home! I'm adding
a check of the heating system, includ-
ing a complete disassembly of the
muffs , and a stack integrity check to
my fall duties even though the annual
was done in August.
Oily bird
One other thing. Brian Van Wagnen
was here last week , and I'm goin '
around the 182 with a can of Aero
Lube spray and lubing the hinges , etc.
I got a real nice informative lecture.
The theory is that the Aero Lube is a
grease and will actually clog up the
pores of oil-light bearings. It would be
better if light oiling were used rather
than the grease base. It will penetrate
the bearing surfaces much better, and
all the lubricant will flow.
Heroes
Another subject. I get a little depre-
ssed at how the regs and the bureaus
are seemingly trying to put us in our
place. When is it going to be fashion-
able again to "love airplanes"? Here in
Illinois, we have a state program called
Aviation Ambassadors. A group of us
are volunteers and we talk and preach
aviation to any and all - Lions Club
luncheons, VFW halls , Senior Citizen
programs , school kids, anyone who
will listen. The group does some 30 or
so talks a month here in Illinois . We
need to advertise the fact that we are
aviators . We have accomplished some-
thing in our way of life that is an
achievement to be proud of. Where do
the Lifeline Pilots come from who vol-
unteer to fly medical cases to places of
treatment? Where do the med-evac
copter pilots come from ? How about
the corporate biz-pilots , the airline
pilots, mechanics and the like? They
weren' t born at the controls .
One thing stands out in my mind
though, and that is the ones who have
stuck it out , the ones who fly in today' s
astmosphere are more than mere pilots
to me. They are Heroes . They are the
ones who keep me going. The dyed-in-
the-wool guys who enjoy flying, and
"fly" their Antiques and Classics .
We'll keep on f1yin' no matter what
the cost or how difficult it becomes .
We are the proud victims of the
Airplane disease and the only way we
can help ourselves is to FLY!
Move over Norm, I think I'll find
some skis .
Over to you!
SEEJANUARY'90SPORTAVIATIONFORDETAILS.
APRIL 814,1990
LAKELAND,FLORIDA
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Seatslings
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Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and
stylesofmaterials:$3.00.
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rANI( PAINTlNb AND REPAIRING
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NEW. USID AND RICONDITIONED TANKS
VINTAGEAIRPLANE 35
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet...
25 per word,$5.00 minimumcharge. Sendyouradto
TheVintageTrader, EAAAviationCenter
Oshkosh,WI 54903-2591.
MEMBERSHIP
INFORMATION
EAA
Membership in the Experimental
Aircraft Association, Inc. is $30.00
for one year, including 12 issues of
Sport Aviation. Junior Membership
(under 19 years ofage) is available
at $18.00 annually. Family Member-
ship is available for an additional
$10.00annually.
AIRCRAFT:
Replica213 scaleJenny- 2place,4130.Outper-
forms theoriginal. Inexpensiveand fast to build-
flown to Oshkosh twice. Plans - $75.00, video -
$25.00, info - $1.00. Wiley, P.O. Box 6366,
Longmont,CO80502. (12-3)
(2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks- 1931 and 1934.
Package includesextraengine and spares. Fuse-
lage, wingsparsandextraprops. Museumquality!
$30,000 firm! No tire kickers, collect calls or pen
pals, please! E.E. "Buck" Hilbert, P.O. Box 424,
Union, IL 60180-0424.
1943StinsonGullwingV-77- Brandnewground
up restoration to civilian statuswith newrightside
steps and door. 300 Lycoming runs perfect and
lookslike new.Rebuilt prop and instruments.New
glass,newStits,newupholstery,newtiresandbat-
tery and a new annual. Only 738 hours TT since
new A&E. A black beauty with gold and red trim.
Fly it home for $69,500. John Bohmer, Box 400,
Brooten,MN 56316or612/346-2234. (1-1)
Bellanca 1946 14-13-2 Cruisair - 1100 TTAF,
670TT,Franklin 150hp,45STOH,runsgreat!7.5
gph, 140mph,always hangared,newwheels and
brakes, pictures available, will deliver. $11,000
obo, Jim 5171773-3852.(2-2)
PLANS:
POBERPIXIE- VWpoweredparasol- unlimited
in low-cost pleasure flying. Big, roomy cockpit for
the over six foot pilot. VW power insures hard to
beat3'/2 gph at cruise setting. 15large instruction
sheets.Plans- $60.00. InfoPack- $5.00. Send
check or money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC.,
Box462,HalesCorners,WI53130.414/529-2609.
ACROSPORT- Single placebiplanecapableof
unlimited aerobatics. 23 sheets of clear, easy to
follow plans includes nearly 100isometrical draw-
ings, photos and exploded views. Complete parts
and materials list. Full size wing drawings. Plans
plus 139 page Builder's Manual - $60.00. Info
Pack- $5.00. SuperAcroSportWingDrawing-
$15.00. The Technique of Aircraft Building -
$12.00 plus$2.50postage. Sendcheckormoney
order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales
Corners, WI 53130. 414/529-2609.
ENGINES:
Franklin 6A4-165-B3 - 176 hours since 0 time
by factory. Engine is disassembled, all parts are
cleanedandpreserved.Needsacrankshaft,flange
is bent and cracked. Call 303/536-4253 for com-
plete details. Asking $1,600 obo. (1-1)
A65-8F - 152 SMOH. Complete with chrome
cylinders and logs.BendixMagsS4RN-20and21
with noise suppressors (82S0H) . This engine is
absolutely ready to fly! $4,000.00. (Sensenich
metal prop, 90SN, 74-CK-042 & bolts available) .
John Barrett303/934-5755, 7:30-4:00wkdys. 3031
422-9011 eves &wknds.(1-1)
MISCELLANEOUS:
Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired orrebuilt
- in precision master fixtures. All makes of tube
assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated
new. J.E.SoaresInc., 7093 DryCreekRoad, Bel-
grade,Montana59714,406/388-6069,RepairSta-
tion 065-21.(c/4-90)
ANTIQUE/CLASSICS
EAA Member - $18.00. Includes
one year membership in EAA An-
tique-Classic Division, 12 monthly
issues ofThe Vintage Airplaneand
membership card. Applicant must
be a current EAA memberandmust
giveEAAmembershipnumber.
Non-EAA Member - $28.00. In-
cludes one year membership in the
EAA Antique-Classic Division, 12
monthly issues ofThe Vintage Air-
plane, one year membership in the
EAA and separate membership
cards.SportAviationnotincluded.
1910-1950Originalaviationitemsforsale- in-
struments, wood propellers, helmets, goggles,
manuals,44-pagecatalogairmailed,$5.00.JonAl-
drich,Box706,Airport,Groveland,CA95321,2091
962-6121.(c-2/90)
Will Sharemytreasureofaircraft parts!- 24-
year collection with continuous additions ...and
still buying ...for alltypesofaircraft. Tell mewhat
you need! Air Salvage of Arkansas, Rt. 1, Box
8020, Mena, Arkansas 71953, phone 501/394-
1022anytime. (c-3/90)
JN4-0 Memorabilia - "Jenny Mail " collector
cachets, actually flown in Jennyto Day and Osh,
along with T-shirts,pins,posters, etc.Send SASE
for catalog/pricing. Virginia Aviation Co., R.D. 5,
Box 294,Warrenton, VA 22186. (c-5/90)
lAC
Membership in the International
Aerobatic Club, Inc. is $25.00 an-
nually which includes 12 issues of
SportAerobatics. AlllAC members
are required to be members ofEAA.
WARBIRDS
Membership in the Warbirds of
America, Inc. is $25.00 per year ,
which includes a subscription to
Warbirds. Warbird members are
requiredtobemembersofEAA.
GipsyMajorTigerMoth- parts,aircraftandair-
boatbuilderssupplies. Pusherpropellers,informa-
tional brochure, $5.40 postpaid. Provairco, Honey
Harbour, Ontario, Canada POE 1EO, 7051756-
2664. (1 /1-90)
Let the government finance your small business.
Grantsl loans to $500,000. Free recorded mes-
sage: 707/449-8600.(HP7) (2-2)
EAA EXPERIMENTER
EAA membershipandEAA EXPERI-
MENTER magazine is available for
$28.00peryear(SportAviationnot
included). Current EAA members
may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER
for$18.00per year.
For sale - Vintage Airplane issues 11/75
through 12189, like new. $80.00 obo. John Cad-
man,30 ValleyFalls Road,Vernon, CT06066. (1-
1)
YourAntiqueorClassicairplaneisnotonlyaplea-
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When you choose us you are guaranteed quality
workmanship, experience and on-time delivery in
woodworking,steel tubeand fabric.Bead blasting
and sandblasting.Completefacility. Aero-Products
Airframe, Santa Rosa,CA707/573-8232.(1-1)
WANTED:
Wanted: Continental 670 parts needed. Motor
mount ring, wood prop hub, nut and cone. Stear-
man exhaust system and heat muff and shields.
Theseareforahomebuilt.6091783-5466after5:00
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37
by George Hardie Jr.
H ere ' s another from the Golden Age
of Aviation. Typically, it was intended
as a trainer. The photo was submitted
by George Goodhead of Tulsa, Ok-
lahoma, date and location not given.
Answers will be published in the April
1990 issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE.
Deadline for that issue is February 10,
1990.
The Mystery Plane in the October
issue didn't fool many readers.
38 JANUARY 1990
Casimier Grevera of Sunnyvale,
California writes:
"The October Mystery Plane is Jack
Northrop' s first attempt at the flying
wing. This is his original flying wing
built in 1928 by his newly formed
Avion Corporation. The wingspan was
30 feet, six inches. The early model
was a pusher as shown in your photo ,
powered by a Cirrus engine. A later
model was a tractor powered by a
Menasco A-4, four-cylinder air-cooled
engine of 90 hp. The test pilot was
Eddie Bellande. It made numerous
flights in 1929 and 1930 at Muroc Dry
Lake. The design was patented May
10, 1929 (U.S. Patent #1,929,255),
the experimental license was approved
May 31, 1929 (Reg. #2164).
Designed with two cockpits, offset
from the center engine, the airplane
J was usually flown from the left cockpit
while the starboard opening was faired
over. The landing gear was a reverse
tricycle undercarrieage designed by
Northrop and built by Menasco
Motors.
The all-metal airplane employed a
newly developed type of structure in
which the reinforced Duralumin skin
provided both covering and most of the
strength of the wings and tai I surfaces .
This first flying wing was not actu-
The first Northrop "Flying Wing."
ally an all-wing airplane . The design
did not have all the factors of stability
necesary for the elimination of the tail,
accounting for the two outrigger-type
booms which carried the required tail
control surfaces. References can be
found in:
Northrop - an aeronautical history
by Fred Anderson - published by
Northrop Corp. , 1976
Wing Wonders - the Story of the Fly-
ing Wings
by E.T. Woolridge - National Air and
Space Museum Smithsonian Institution
Press, 1985 .
Northrop Flying Wings
by Edward T. Maloney - World War
II Publications, Buena Park, CA. ,
1975 .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39