EDITORIALSTAFF

Publisher
March1997 Vol. 25,No" 3
CONTENTS
Tam Poberezny
EdHor,in,Chlef
JackCox
EdHor
HenryG.Frautschy
ManagingEdHor
Golda Cox
ArtDirector
Mike Drucks
ComputerGraphicSpecialists
Olivia L. Phillip JenniferLarsen
MaryPremeau
AssociateEditor
NormPet e rsen
FeatureWriter
Dennis Parks
StaffPhotographers
JimKoepnick LeeAnn Ab rams
Ken Ucht enburg
Advertising/EditorialAssistant
Isabelle Wiske
EAAANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION,INC.
OFFICERS
President VIce-President
Espie"Butch"Joyce GeorgeDoubner
P.O.Box35584 2448LoughLone
Greensboro. NC27425 Hartford.WI53027
910/393-0344 414/673-5885
Secretary Treasurer
SteveNessa
2009HighlandAve. 7215East46thSt.
AlbertLeo,MN56007 Tulsa. OK 74145
507/373-1674 918/622-8400
DIRECTORS
JohnBerendt GeneMonis
7645EchoPointRd. IISCSteveCourt,R.R. 2
ConnonFalls. MN55009 Roanoke,TX 76262
507/263-2414 817/491-9110
Phil Coulson
RobertC."Bob"Brouer
28415SpringbrookDr.
9345S. Hoyne
Law1on, MI49065
Chicago.IL60620
616/624-6490
3121779-2105
JoeDfckey
JohnS.Copefond
55OakeyAv.
28-3Williamsbur8Ct.
Lawrenceburg. IN47025
Shrewsbury. MA 1545
812/537-9354
fiJ8/842-7867
6
DaleA.Gustafson
StonGomoiI
7724ShadyHill Dr.
104290thLone,NE
Indianapolis.IN46278
Minneapolis. MN55434
317/293-4430
612/784-1172
Robertlk:ktelg
JeannieHiH
1708 BoyOaksDr.
P.O.Box328
AlberfLeo.MN56007
Harvard.IL60033
507/373-2922
815/943-7205
DeanRichardson
RobertD."Bob"Lumley
6701 ColonyDr.
1265South 124thst.
Madison. WI53717
Brookfield.WI53005
608/833-1291
414/782-2633
S.H_ "Wes"Schmid
GeoIIRobison
2359LefeberAvenue
1521 E.MacGregorDr.
Wauwatosa.WI 53213
NewHaven.IN46774
414/771-1545
219/493-4724
GeorgeYork
181 SlobodaAv.
Mansfield.OH44906
419/529-4378
DIRECTOREMERITUS
E.E."Buck"Hilbert
P.O.Box424
Union.IL60180
815/923-4591
ADVISORS
SteveKrog RogerGomoll
930TaroHLE 3238VicoriaSt .N
Hartford.WI 53027 St Paul. MN55126
414/966-7627 612/484-2303
Page8
I Straight& Level
Espie"Butch"Joyce
2AlC NewsIH.G. Frautschy
3TypeClubNoteslNonnPetersen
4 AlC Volunteersrrri shaDorlac
7MysteryPlanelH.G.Frautschy
8CurtissMuseum!
KirkHouse
11 Antique/ClassicHome/
AndyHeins
12TheGranvilleBrothersNR49VI
DavidB.Jackson
13LouiseThaden60thAnniversary
Memorial1996StaggerwingTourl
NormPetersen
17 DougFuss'LairdLC-BCommerciaV
H.G.Frautschy
22 PietenpolHomecoming!
AndrewKing
24WhatOurMembersAreRestoring!
NormPetersen
26PassItToBucklE.E. "Buck"Hilbert
27 WelcomeNewMembers
28 Calendar
29 VintageTraderlMembership
Information
FRONT COVER ...Doug Fuss. Mington, TX eyeballs thephotoship through thedisc ofhis
Hamitlon propeller being driven by the Wright J-4 engine that powers his 1926 Laird LC-B
Commercial. Picked as theGoldenAgeChampionatEMOshkosh '96, it hodmembers
"oohing' and "ahhing' all week during theConvention. An historic airplane. it placed
second in the 1927 National Air Derby. in addtion toflying over 70.000 air miles during
on Contract Air Mail Route 9. EMphotobyJim Koepnick. shot with onE05-1n
equippedwitha 70-21Omm lens. 1/125sec. @f 16 on 100 ASA slide film. EMCessna 210
photoplaneflownbyBruceMoore.
BACK COVER ...Italy "The GreatWar ' is the title of thi swatercolor illustration by
accomplishedaviationartist William Marsalko. Fairview Park. OH. For moreinformationon
thisentryintheEMSportAviationArtCompetition. pleasetumtoA/CNewsonpage2.
Copyright 1997 bytheEMAntique/ClassicDivisionInc. Allrightsreserved.
VINTAGEAIRPlANE 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EMAntique/Classic Division, Inc. of the Experimental
Aircraft Association and is published monthlyat EMAviation Center,3000 Poberezny Rd. ,P.O. Box 3086,Oshkosh, WISCOnsin 54903-3086.
PeriodicalsPostagepaidatOshkosh,Wisconsin54901 andataddnionalmailingoffICeS.ThemembershiprateforEMAntique/ClassicDivision,
Inc.is$27.00forcurrentEMmembersfor 12monthperiod ofwhich$15.00isforthepublicationofVINTAGEAIRPLANE. Membershipisopen
toallwhoareinterestedinaviation.
POSTMASTER:Send address changes to EMAntique/Classic Division, Inc., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.FOREIGN ANDAPO
ADDRESSES- PleaseallowatleasltwomonthsfordeliveryofVINTAGEAIRPlANEtoforeignandAPOaddressesviasurfacemail.
ADVERTISING- Antique/Classic Division doesnotguaranteeor endorse any productoffered through the advertising.We inviteconstructive
criticismandwelcomeanyreportofinferiormerchandiseobtainedthroughouradvertisingsothatcooectivemeasurescanbetaken.
EDITORIAlPOUCY:Readersareencouraged tosubmn storiesand photographs. Policyopinionsexpressedinarticles are solely thoseofthe
authors. Responsibilnyforaccuracyinreportingrestsentirelywnhthecontributor.Norenumerationismade.
Materialshouldbesentto:Ednor,VINTAGEAIRPlANE, P.O. Box3086.Oshkosh,WI54903-3086. Phone414/42&-4800.
The words EAA,ULTRALIGHT,FLY WITHTHE FIRST TEAM,SPORT AVIATION andthe logos of EAA,EAA INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION,EMANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVlSfON,INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB,WARBIRDS OF AMERICAare registered
trademarks.THE EMSKY SHOPPEand logosofthe EMAVIATION FOUNDATION and EAAULTRALIGHTCONVENTION aretrademarks
oftheaboveassociationsandtheirusebyanypersonotherthantheaboveassociationisstrictlyprohibited.
Page 13
Page17
STRAIGHT & LEVEL
by Espie "Butch" Joyce
What a contrast between the weather
here on the beach in Florida and the
weather last week during the
Antique/ Class ic Board meeting in
Oshkosh. The weather was not that bad
in Oshkosh, but it was sure different from
a high of 85F during the day down here
in Florida!
Your Board of Directors had a good
meeting, with a number of new programs
and projects being discussed. As these
items take shape I will keep you in-
formed on their progress . The EAA
Board of Directors, Foundation Board of
Directors, Antique/Classic Board of Di-
rectors, NAFI Board of Directors, the
Ultralight Committee , other various
committees and a number of EAA staff
members were invited to dine together at
the EAA Museum on Friday eveni ng.
This is a great way to relax and discuss
different EAA issues with people outsi de
of the structure of a board room. During
this evening it was my privilege to pre-
sent an award to a pair of individual s of
most deserving character.
In my remarks that night, I stated that
being recogni zed before such a di stin-
guished group of leadership and volun-
teerism would be hard to match anywhere
else I could imagine.
First to be called forward was Gene
Chase. Gene was the editor of your mag-
azine VINTAGE AIRPLANE for a num-
ber of years and, before that, he worked
for EAA performing other duties as
needed. Once Gene retired from EAA in
1988, he became a volunteer for the An-
tique/Classic Division and soon came on
board as an Antique/ Classic Director.
He has also served as a volunteer in the
Antique judging corps during EAA
Oshkosh. To honor him for his effort in
furthering the EAA Antique/Classic
movement, Gene was presented with a
plaque detailing hi s accomplishments
and featuring a photo of Gene in the
cockpit of hi s Davis D-l W.
The next individual to be honored was
E. E. "Buck" Hilbert. There is hardl y a
person in the old airplane movement who
does not know Buck. He's a cha rter
member of the Antique/Classic Di vision,
and has been a contributing editor to
VINTAGE AIRPLANE from the start.
He continues volunteering for the Divi-
sion with his "Pass it to Buck" articles,
and has been the Treasurer of your Divi-
sion for years. Buck was honored several
years ago by being placed in the An-
tique/Classic Hall of Fame. To honor his
service to the Division and VINTAGE
AIRPLANE, Buck again was given a
plaque to once again recognize his dedi-
cation to the Antique/Classic movement.
These two individuals have chosen to
retire from the EAA Antique/Classic
Board of Directors, but still today remain
active within our movement. To replace
Buck as Treasurer, the Board appointed
Charlie Harris to fill Buck's unexpired
term. To replace Charlie Harris as Direc-
tor, the Board appointed Joe Dickey to
fulfill Charlie's unexpired term. I also
feel honored to be associated with such
great people.
I am sitting here in the sunshine writing
this "Straight & Level" with my lap top. It
is totally amazing how fast technology has
come in such a short time. I mean, no
sooner had I paid for the Foster R-Nav in
my Beech, when the first aviation Loran
units hit the marketplace. Now, faster
than I can spend money, here is the GPS
receiver. The second week of February,
two Long-EZs left the USA for a trip
around the world; I'm sure you will be
hearing more about this in SPORT AVIA-
TION. They have a GPS, a SAT Link,
and laptops computers so that they can E-
mail anytime that they wish! Via the
satellite link, they can access most any
other item you might think of, but it is still
a great challenge of man and machine to
complete this mission. Can you even
imagine what it must to have been like to
have done this by shooting the stars?
I'll bet many of you are making your
plans to attend the EAA Sun 'n Fun Fly-
In. I plan to be there for the entire week,
and look forward to visiting with individ-
ual members on the grounds. The An-
tique/ Classic Parking Chairman is Ray
Olcott. Should you have any special re-
quest contact Ray at P. O. Box 6750,
Lakeland, FL 33807 or 1-941-644-2431 ,
FAX 1-941-644-9737.
The Antique/Classic Headquarters and
aircraft registration is handled by A/ C
Chapter I, and they can be contacted in
the same manner. Some of the site im-
provements that have been completed
this year include a new public entrance
pathway, redesigned outdoor commercial
exhibit area, a newly designed camper
registration center, and the ultralight
camping area has been relocated and ex-
panded. Over 400 commercial exhibits
representing the leading edge of aviation
technology will offer everything from
complete kits to components. And, for
the restorer or builder looking for that
elusive part a vi sit to the Plane Parts Mart
is defi nitel y in order. Check out their
web site at http: //www.sun-n-fun.com.
By the way, if you are one of the many
members who have access to E-mail, you
can send me messages directl y at wind-
sock@aol.com.
As you can see, being an
Antique/Classic Division member can be
a lot of fun - even more so when you get
to know some other members. We will
in the near future be showing you how
you can help us out with your growing
membership and have some fun at the
same time.
Guess what? That sunshine has turned
to raining like crazy. I have got to run
down and cover up some old airplane en-
gines on the back of my pickup. Let 's all
pull in the same direction for the good of
aviation. Remember we are better to-
gether, join us and have it all! ...
A/C NEWS
compiled by H.G. Frautschy
SWIFT FINDS A NEW SUPPORTER
The Swift Museum Foundation has entered into a licensing agreement with Aviat, Inc.
in Afton, WY. Stuart Horn, president of Aviat, said "The foremost thought in our
mind, is the continued support of the approximately 700 Swifts still flying.
"By mid-1997 we will have worked Swift assemblies into our existing production
facilities and will be producing parts, as requested by the Swift Museum Foundation.
The parts will be made on original tooling which will have been reconditioned or
updated."
Joining in for the announcement, Charles Nelson, Founder and President of the Swift
Museum Foundation said that they were pleased to have a reliable source of parts for
the Swift Association members' aircraft. "Aviat' s business is building aircraft and
that's what we've needed all along."
Plans are also being made to put the Swift back into production, hopefully within the
next two years. The "Swiftfire" project is not included in the agreement - those mod-
ifications are owned by a separate company.
Aviat is in the business of producing aircraft that fill narrow niches in the aviation
market. They build the Pitts Special and the Husky A-1, as well as the Eagle biplane
kit. We offer our congratulations on their decision to support one of the most beauti-
ful Classic airplanes ever built, and salute Charlie Nelson and the Swift Association
for their progressive work towards keeping the Swift in the air!
ABOUT OUR BACK COVER . .. low him is the War Cross. Just slightly be-
William Marsalko, Fairview Park, OH low the center of the painting is the portrait
has been creating a series of mixed media il- ofTen. Ruffo Di Calabria, Italy's finest ww
lustrations depicting, in montage form, many I ace with 20 victories. To the left of him is
of the key World War I pilots, their planes Ten. Adriano Bacula of the 85a Squadriglia
and decorations. As you can see, each pai nt- and his Macchi I I Nieuport "Bebe." Just
ing requires a great deal of research. This below that, above the map of the Ital ian
painting is entitled Italy "The Great War," Front, is an Ansaldo S.V.A.5 of the Italian
and it was awarded a Par Excellence ribbon 87a Squadriglia. At the very bottom is Capi-
during the 1996 EAA Sport Aviation Art tano Arturo Bonucci, 91a Squadrigli a.
Competition. A mult iple award winner in the Sport
At the top of the painting is a Caproni Aviation Art Competition, Wi lli am is best
Ca33 of the 3a Squadriglia of the 18th known for his work focused on WW I avia-
Bomber Wing. Just below and to the right is tion. He credits Mr. Neal O'Connor of New
a portrait of Capitano Federico Zappe l- York for helping him with his research on
lonione of the Caproni Bomber Force. his projects, and has many of these paintings
Flanking him are, on the left, The Order of are on display in the Kettering Hall Gallery.
St. Maurice, 5th Class, and on the right, The Our thanks to Wi ll iam for shari ng his paint-
Order of St. Lazarus, 5th Class. Directly be- ing with us.
2 MARCH 1997
YOUNG EAGLES DAY
JUNE 14, 1997
Mark your calendars and be sure the an-
nual on your aeri al chariot is completed in
time for International Young Eagles Day,
held this year on June 14. While you are
certainly encouraged to fl y a Young Eagle
any other day of the year, the worldwide
event on June 14 acts as a focal point to
highlight the benefits of the EAA Young
Eagles program. By givi ng a new perspec-
tive on the world of aviation to youngsters,
we can help ensure the future of sport avia-
tion. If you need more information on how
to become a Young Eagles pilot, or if you
j ust need to ask a few questions, please
contact the EAA Young Eagles office at
4 14/426-483 1.
80 OCTANE AIRPORTS
As mentioned in last month's issue of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE, we are compiling
a list of airports that sell 80 octane aviation
fuel, which will be published in the June is-
sue of the magazine, as well as post it on
our EAA AntiquelClassic Web Site and in-
cl ude it in the EAA Fax-On-Demand sys-
tem when it becomes avai lable. If you ' d
li ke your FBO listed, send a note to us here
at EAA HQ. The address is: Vintage Air-
plane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-
3086. No phone call s please, but you can
fax your listing to 4 14/426-4828, or E-mail
it to vintage@eaa.org.
THE DENTON FLY-IN MOVES
If you're one of the many antiquers who
enjoys the Texas Chapter of the Antique
Airplane Association ' s fly-in at Denton
Texas, you ' ll need to change your destina-
tion. The " Denton Fly-In" is moving to
Gainesville, TX. It wi ll be held June 13-
15, on the municipal airport there in
Gainesville. Camping is still OK, although
no shower facilities are available. The edi-
tors of their newsletter suggest booking
your hotel rooms as soon as you can, since
t here are other events being he ld in the
area. Have fun!
VINTAGE SAILPLANE RALLY
If you like something different on your fly-
in visit, why not consider a trip to the 1997
Southwest Antique and Classic Soaring Rally
(SVCSR), June 15-21 in Moriarty, New Mex-
ico. Open to the first 60 vintage gliders that
are 25 or more years of age that register (ramp
space limits the number of gliders that can be
accomodated), the event brings together those
aviators who enjoy silent flight in the gliders
of yesteryear. Who knows, you might get a
good look at a Baby Bowlus or perhaps take a
ride in a WW II era training glider. For more
information, please contact the Southwest
Glider Rally, P. O. Box 1812, Moparty, NM
87035 or call 505/832-0755. ....
Type Club
by Norm Petersen
As a lotoften,thecowls will
be delivered spun, leading
Compiled from various type club
edge ring installed, bumped,
cut and hinged for approxi-
publications & newsletters
mately $850. Contact Larry
FromCoupeCapers,theErcoupe
OwnersClub
Editor and Executive Director : Skip
Carden(919-471-9492)
AirworthinessAlerts- DOT
Ercoupe415-C- WingCorrosion
The upper wing spar caps on both wings
wereseverelycorroded.
This problem was discovered while
preparing wings for fabric replacement.
Several layers ofvarious types ofold tape
applied to the sparcaps hid, and probably
promoted, propagation ofthe corrosion.
The corrosion ofthe spar caps had pro-
gressed to the point ofexfoliation and
delamination ofthe metal. The area of
damage covered the full length ofthe spar
caps and varied in depth to a maximum of
.0625 inch. The cause ofthis defect was
notalludedto by the submitter,although it
was suspected the tape held water and
othercontaminates incontactwith thespar
caps. Part total time - 1,938 hours.
(Vintage Editor's Not e: Certainly the
number of hours on this part is important,
but most important are the number of
years it took to accumulate 1,938 hours -
over 50 years of being exposed to all the
environment has to offer! - HGF)
The Monocoupe Flyer- Newsletter 121,
January1997
Bob Coolbaugh, editor, Manassas, VA,
phone:703-590-2375
BACKPAGENEWS ANDNOTES
Larry Scalbom has ordered TEN Warner
14511651185 bump cowls. The maker
asked for a minimum often to turn the
spinningplugand set up the bumpingjigs,
so Larry footed the bill for the lot in antic-
ipation ofmembers ofthe Monocoupe
Club stepping in with orders. Larry has
worked very diligently on the cowling
searchand nearlyhad itresolvedwithJaap
Mesdag' sKLM connection,but it appears
that Larry has a localsource nailed down.
Scalbomfor exact details and
figuresat 847-564-8643 or
LCSAKS@aol.com.
The Air Force wire services ran a lengthy
piece on the services for Charles A.
Anderson, who died last April at the age
of89. The dispatch reads , " ". Charles
Anderson was the son ofa chauffeur who
taught himselfto fly and is best remem-
bered for his role as mentor ofthe Army
Air Corps' first black fighter pilots, the
Tuskegee Airmen, and is widely recog-
nized as the father ofAfrican-American
aviation. The Tuskegee Institute hired
Anderson in 1940 to develop a civilian
pilottrainingprogramforblacks.
At the time,he was the only African-
American who held a commercial pilot's
license from the CAA. A native of
Bridgeport, PA, Anderson bought his first
airplane,ausedVelieMonocoupe,in 1928
with $500 in savings and $2000 in loans
from family and friends . Because most
flight instructors would not accept bl ack
students, Anderson learned much about
flying from trial and error. After his first
serious accident, his mother tried to chop
up his Velie with an axe. He found an
instructor- ErnestBuehl,aGerman immi -
grant and WW I aviator - and earned his
commercial pilot's license in 1932.
Anderson's commercial flying careercon-
tinueduntil he was into his eighties.. . "
(Note: Ernie Buehl, by 1928, had flown
with (Roald) Amundsen to the Arctic (in
1923), and was a noted Junkers/BMW
mechanic and barnstormer. He ranseveral
FBO's in the Langhorne, PA,. area,
including his "Flying Dutchman Field" at
Somerton, PA, which he operated for 30
years. So, "Chief' Anderson did well to
learn his fundamentals from the Flying
Dutchman and the Monocoupe. These he
very ably passed on to a very successful
fightersquadron.)
InternationalCessna120/140Association
Bill Rhoades, newsletter editor and main-
tenanceadvisor,phone:612-652-2221
IS IT HEAVIER THAN YOU THINK?
byJeffBurnes,Coupeville,WA
The answer to that question might be sur-
prising, even shocking to many 1201140
owners. The truth is,you mightjustwant
to go on not knowing, rather than being
di sappointed. It is a very importantfactor
in theoperationofyouraircraft Theorigi-
nal "typical" aircraft weights given by
Cessna were approximately 780 pounds
for the 120 and 860 pounds for the 140,
and the only way to know what your air-
craft weighs is to have it accurately
weighedas it is equippedtoday. Ifyou do
go throughthisexercise,thefrrst thingyou
are going to ask yourselfis, "Isthere real-
ly more gravity now than in 1946 or do
old airplanes just get heavier with age
(like some ofus)?" One thing is very
clear - the "original" weights were for a
very basic airplane, i.e., wood prop, no
heater, single brakes, 3 coats ofdope, no
whee l extensions, two-ply tires, basic
instruments, no radio, no strobes or bea-
cons and a small tailwheel. Oh, and of
course,no paint.
Since we haven't seen a 1201140 in this
configuration lately(orever),it helpsusto
cope with this realization that the average
airplane is 950+ Ibs. empty. Now when it
comes to flying, weight is everything and
more specifically, weight to horsepower.
The problem is that (as with other weight
gain) the weight is notaseasyto getrid of
as it isto gain.
At this point I must warnyou, ifyou want
to get into this weight loss/performance
thing, it can become an obsession (it has
with me) . It can be fun and rewarding
such as 120 mph cruise and 1000 fpm
climb on 85 hp! Many would notcarefor
the sacrifice in equipment to achieve this
performance. The other alternative is to
increase the horsepower to the 100 hp
engine which also works well. Afterown-
ing four previous 140's with the 85 hp
engine and other higher performance air-
planes, I wanted to have a little more
envelope with my "new" 120. Yes, I
always wondered what an original 120
flew likewhenitleftthefactory.
This set the stage for my ongoing re-con-
figuring ofN77016 - a Cessna 120.
Starting with a big cardboard box, I pro-
ceeded to remove the 100+ pounds that
had been added through the years. This is
a partial li stofthe items I removed: metal
prop, complete electrical system including
the lights and wiring, gyro and venturi ,
remotecompass,largetailwheel ,and some
very heavy interior materials. I did retain
a 720 radio, intercom, a 12 amp battery
and the wheel pants. This made it very
close to the original data sheet specifica-
tions for the 120, i.e., wood prop, no elec-
trical at all , basic instruments, no wheel
Continuedonpage5
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
VOLUNTEERS AT OSHKOSH:
MANPOWER and DATA
PROCESSING
by
Patricia
"Trish"
Dorlac
Thismonth Ihavetheprivilegeofin-
troducingyou to AnnaOsborn, Chair-
man ofManpower,and JanetBennett,
ChairmanofDataProcessing, in this
ongoing series about volunteers at
Oshkosh.
AnnaOsborn has been involvedin
aviationformanyyears. Herpersonal
bicentennial projectto earnherpilot ' s
license beganJanuary I , 1976! Anna
learned to fly in Chicago whereshewas
achartermemberofEAAChapter790
in Barrington, Illinois. Shewasalsothe
secondfemale to holdan office in the
Stick and Rudder Flying Club in
Waukegan, Illinois,and is theonly
woman to haveservedas thatclub's
president!
the outstandingeffortsandcraftsman- Oshkoshis matching volunteers with
Anna retired after 27 years as a
shipofStanGomoll who hasgreatlyin- jobsthey love. Thereal satisfaction is
school librarianand movedto Ker-
creasedthe comfortoftheirworking watching those volunteersmovebe-
rville, TexaswithherhusbandJohn,
quarters,installingshelves anddrop yondsimplybeingatOshkoshto being
their 1944 Cuband 1978 Cessna 172.
down shades. Sheandherassistants anactivepartofOshkosh! Ifyou have
She is currentlythe EngineeringLibrar-
wouldnotmind ifnextyearasignwere notyetmetAnna,drop bythe volunteer
ianfor MooneyAircraft. Annaisactive
added stating, "SEAPLANEBASE booththi syear. Ifyouhaven'tworked
in both EAAchapters 1088and747 and
BUSTHATWAY"! Duetothebooth'slo-
with usbefore,I knowAnnaand her
is alsosecretaryofthe SouthwestRe-
gional Fly-Inheld everyOctoberin
cationatabusyintersection,itisoftenmis-
staffcanfindjustthejobyou are look-
takenforaninformationbooth. Nowwe
ingfor!
Kerrville.
Anna beganvolunteeringofficially
knowwhatthemostcommonlyaskedques-
Closelyconnectedto theManpower
with AntiqueClassicin 1980on the
tionisattheManpowerbooth!
operations is DataProcessing,chaired
flight line,workingwithcrowdcontrol
Asked about her favorite partof by JanetBennettfrom Roseville,Cali-
andparkingplanes. Shecreditsherre-
Oshkosh,Annatold methatsheloves fornia . Janet' sworkbeginswell before
cruitmentto the efforts ofthe late Art
to be atworkearlyin the morningto the showstartsandendsafteritis all
Morgan, who shesays wasapleasureto
watchthefield cometo life. She also overas she crunchesnumbers,figuring
workwith.
enjoyscampingin the AntiqueClassic outall kinds ofstati stics, finally send-
BeforebecomingchairmanofMan- areaand livingonthe field duringthe ingherfindings onto severaloftheAn-
power, Annawas recruitedby former airshow. Whendiscussingairshowsin tiqueClassicDirectors.
chairmanGloriaBeecroft. Initiallyshe thepast,Annacommentedthathermost JanethasbeenvolunteeringwithAn-
co-chairedwith husbandJohnandwith awesomememorywas theyearall the tiqueClassicsince 1988. Attendingher
BarbaraandFrankMiles. Aschairman Jennyswere ondisplay. " Like mostof first convention,she headedstraightfor
the lastyear,Annahaskeptbusy,but us , Anna loves being a part ofthe theRed Barn and signedup to work on
creditsthe smoothrunningoperation to Oshkoshannual family reunion where the flight linewhereshehelped with
herco-chairmanJohnOsbornand to everyyearpeopleand theirplanesare crowdcontrol andparkingaircraft. Al-
keyhelpersJanKamps, PatTortorige, reunited! though shekeepsbusywithdata pro-
andRuthieClaussen. Shealso praises Themostexcitingpartofherjobat cessing, herexpertiseonthe computer
Anna Osborn, Gloria Beecroft and John Osborn demonstrate the attitude we volun-
teers have come to know as one of our younger volunteers (Paige) looks on.
4 MARCH 1997
Earl Nicholas and Sarah Marcy look bemused as Janet Bennett literally enjoys the
support of her husband Dave (the Division's newest advisor) during a break in the
computing.
found herrecruitedthisyearto workin
Operations as a beHringer. In 1989
she became the "unoffici al" co-chair-
man forTomAuger. Whenasked to
chairfor 1990, she accepted and has
so enjoyed herjob that she keeps
comingback!
Includedamongherkeyvolunteers
are SueTrovillionand JasonHartwig
whoJanetsayswere bothtremendous
help.Herchi efprogrammeris herhus-
bandDavidwhoalsoworks in theAn-
tique/Classic membership andinforma-
tion booth. EarlNicholasofAerogram
fame runsthenametagport ion ofthis
operationandalongwithJanethasiniti-
atedmanychangestothenametag. The
nametags wereoncebasicall y di spos-
abl e butnoware laminated and more
official looki ng - theynowincludethe
volunteer'sname,jobdescription,and
occasionallyevena photo!
Someot herchangesJanethas seen
includethe movefrom a trai lerto the
Aerogrambuilding. Intheirnewquar-
ters Janethas been able to streamline
thedatabaseand thusprovide more de-
tailed reports. Thesampling in the box
belowshowswhatJanetdoes and illus-
trateshowfascinati ng stati sticscanbe.
Hatsofftoyou1anetBennettand to
yourstaff! Here'sasamplingofthe sta-
tisticsputtogetherby JanetandtheAn-
tique/Classicdata processingstaff:
1996 CONVENTION VOLUNTEER STATISTICS
Therewasa totalof318volunteerswhologged12,791.90hoursfor an
averageof40.23hourspervolunteer.
87workedlessthan10hoursforatotalof382.75 hoursaveraging4.4
hourspervolunteer.
61 worked morethan70hoursforatotal of7250.0hoursaveraging
118.85 hourspervolunteer.
There were157volunteerswho workedlast yearwho returnedtoworkthisyear.
They logged 9,572.4hoursaveraging60.97hourspervolunteer.
Therewere141 volunteerswhosignedupforthefirst timethisyear.
Ofthesenewvolunteers, 110logged1,688.25 hoursaveraging15.35
hourspernewvolunteer.
Just from thissampleyou cangetan indicationjusthow importantyour
volunteereffortis - whetherit is for 1 houror40, itall counts,and
youreffortis certainlyappreciated!
L....___________ _______:..._..::._..;._ .- :._._____.J '*
TypeClubNotes
Continued from page 3
extensions, no back windows, single
brakesandasmall tai lwheel. Evenatthat
my empt y we ight was still over 850
pounds. The paint still has to be removed
(I'm waiting for warmer weather) and the
interior finished . All finished, I am
shooting for an empty weight of850 Ibs.
This really results in a different airplane
thatisnimbleand fast.
Think aboutthe reducedstress. Iremoved
40 pounds stressi ng the engine mount
itselfbyremovingthe starter,35 ampgen-
eratorand the metalprop. The 40 pounds
turns into 120 at 3g's- my personal limit
for the plane. Thi s brings up another fea-
ture. Even though we don' tdo aerobatics
in these airplanes, it is amazing the view
you can get ofthe horizon from every
angle without exceeding 112 to 3 g' s in
this lightplane.
Well , all in all , I'm having fun with this
real Cessna 120. It's not the plane for
everyone, being basic and no electrical,
butIsuredo like theperformance.
Bamboo Bomber Club Newsletter -
CessnaT-50,AT- 17,UC-78
Newsletter editor, Jim Anderson, Marine
on St. Croix,MN,phone: 612-433-3024
21ST AND 22ND FLYING BOBCATS
FOUND
A model builder from Nebraska and
Elmer Steier (Whittemore, IA) told me
that Gene Overturfin Columbus, NE, is
flying his Bobcat and is not on my list of
flyingT-50's.
Yes, indeed, I called Gene and he con-
firmed that N47155, SerialNumber 5264,
is flying, the 22nd known T-50 in service,
with Bill Cherwin'sthe21st.
Geneand hiswife, alsoapilot, tried to get
to the Jonesboro T-50 reunion, but lost an
engine due to igniti on problems on the
way, and ended back in Kansas City. He
says the pl ane flew well on one engine!
He has had it for about fifteen years. The
engines were majored about twenty-five
years ago and he has just installed a new
avionicssystem.
Bill Cherwin is a former Air Force pilot
assigned to 97's for 3-1 /2 years flying
medevac in the South Pacifi c. He is just
about ready to retire from hi s electrical
motor and control business. He has at
leas t five ai rpl anes including a
Staggerwing Beech under comp lete
restoration, hi s wiFe's Cessna 120, a 172
and two Wacos, acabin versionflying and
anotherproj ect.
We had a longconversation and I learned
that he grew up in Ottumwa, Iowa, along-
side the "Carrier in the Prairie. " He's
been an active Ant ique Airplane
Associationmember. '*
by
H.G.
Frautschy
This month's Mystery Plane should be pretty easy, especially for those of you who like the light air-
planes built during the early days of aviation. Answers will be published in the June issue of Vintage
Airplane. Your reply needs to be here at EAA HQ by April 25, 1997.
The December Mystery Plane had a
number of responses, all of them cor-
rect! Here's our first:
"I believe I have a positive identifica-
tion for the 'Mystery Plane' in the De-
cember 1996 issue of Vintage Airplane.
The airplane depicted is the Thomas
Morse S-6, perhaps the sole example
built (It was - HGF). I make this identi-
fication on the basis of a photo and writ-
ten description that appeared in the jour-
nal World War I Aeroplanes (Andrews,
Hal "The Tommy Scout," Issue No. 83,
Feb. 1981). I enclosed copies of a few
pages from this reference. The photo
from the article labeled as the S-6 ap-
pears to match the Mystery Plane, al-
though it seems to show the aircraft with
a different paint scheme.
"The Thomas Morse S-6 was a post Thomas-Morse S-6
WW I product of the Thomas-Morse
Company of Ithaca, New York, produc-
ers of the wartime S-4 series of single-
seat training aircraft sometimes referred
to as the "Tommy Scout." The S-6 was
developed with a market for two-place
civilian aircraft in mind.
"The S-6 was a tandem two-seater
and is said to have been designed to
make maximum use of components from
the single-seat S-4C Scout. Thi s in-
cluded using S-4C upper wing panels
for both the upper and lower wings on
the S-6. Comparison of the S-4 draw-
ings from the previously mentioned arti-
cle shows several similarit ies. The
wings on the Mystery Plane do indeed
look like the upper planes of the S-4C
Scout. The rear fuselage and empen-
"The S-6 was reported to have had
good flying characteristics, but there
were no buyers for a production version.
This is attributed to the fact that surplus
nage also look very much like those of
the Scout. Power for the S-6 was the 80
hp LeRhone rotary, which was one of
the engines used in the S-4c.
6 MARCH 1997
militaryaircraft(i .e.Jenniesand Stan-
dardtrainers)metmostoftheneedsof
themarketatthe time."
Sincerely,
T. SeanTavares
Andover,MA
Sean' s onthe righttrack. I'llletone
ofthe mastersataviationhistoryfini sh
outthe rundownontheS-6. Here'spart
ofwhatPeteBowershastosayaboutthe
S-6:
" ...Itwasessentiallyastretchedver-
sion ofits famous single-seatS-4Cof
1917-1S, with the wings builta little
longerand the fuselage extendedforward
to accommodateasecondcockpit. There
was nocentersection; theupperwing
panelsjoinedoverthefuselagecenterline
as ontheS-4C,andthe tailsurfaceswere
from the S-4C. A majorimprovement
was to relocatethewheelsrelativetothe
centerofgravity,to eliminatethe notori-
oustailheavinessofthe S-4C,andtheen-
ginewas thesameSO hp LeRhonerotary
ofthe S-4c.
"UnfortunatelyforThomas-Morse,and
othermanufacturerswhodevelopedearlypost-
warsport-trainermodels,therewasnomarket
fortheS-6. Oneof itsmajorshortcomings,
otherthancompetitionfromcheapwar-surplus
models,wasthedifficultyingettingintothe
frontcockpit. Thomas-Morsecorrectedthis
withtheS-7,whichfeaturedside-by-sideseat-
ingbehindthewing,andlongerwingswithtwo
baysof struts. Thisdidnotselleither,and
Thomas-Morsecarried onwithmilitarymodels
untilitwasabsorbedbyConsolidatedAircraft
Co.ofBuffalo,NY,in 1929.
"TheonlyS-6producedsurvivedasapri-
vately-ownedairplanewith civil registra-
tionC9S until itcrashedin 1931."
Specifications - Thomas-Morse S-6
WingSpan 29ft.
Length 28 ft, 8 in.
WingArea 296sq.ft .
GrossWeight 1232lb.
HighSpeed 105 mph.
LandingSpeed 40mph.
Climbin 10min. 8000ft.
JohnUnderwoodadds:
" ...Itsfirst publicappearancewasat
the New YorkAviation Exposition in
March 1919, andit laterraceda time or
two,asthepicturesuggests. Itwassubse-
quentlylicensedC9S.
"Inthesummerof1931,FredKoehn-
leinofRochester , NY swappeda TM
ScoutS-4Cplussomecashforthe S-6,so
hecouldtakehis girlfriendwithhim. He
said itwasthesweetestship he everflew
and ithadamazingperformancewiththe
SO hp LeRhone. Bethatas itmay,Fred
letitgetawayfrom himandspunin. He
gotawaywith it, buttheTommywas a
goner. Thiswas inthelatefall of' 31."
Othercorrectanswersweresentin by
RichardRoe,Fairfax,VAandFrankStr-
nad,Northport,NY. ....
CurtissMuseum
Shows
How
Reachedforthe Skies
by Kirk House,
Museum Curator
Glenn Curtiss was born a mile east of the
museum that now bears hi s name, and he
was buried a mile west. This intimate con-
nection of Curtiss with hi s community is
part of the appeal at the Curtiss Museum.
In the 52 years between hi s birth and hi s
death, Glenn Curtiss raced across two conti-
nents (usually at top speed), using bicycles,
motorcycles, gliders, dirigibles, boats, and,
of course, airplanes. He agonized through
sumptuous banquets in New York and Paris,
and gracefully turned down royalty cadging
airplane rides. He developed three cities in
Florida and built a mansion there, but he al-
ways called Hammondsport home.
Curtiss Museum is not just a collection
of aircraft or an ode to Curtiss. It 's an at-
tempt to showcase the man in his setting - a
vi llage that became the aviation center of
the world.
Many veterans of the aviation circuit re-
call visiting the original museum in the old
school building. Since 1994 the museum
has hosted visitors in a 56,000 square foot
climate-controlled facility on the edge of
town. Fifteen aircraft now form the heart of
the collection, along with motorcycles, en-
gines, a Curtiss travel trail er, and materials
on Hammondsport during the Curtiss years.
The first case, fittingly, is filled with per-
sonal and family memorabilia. But the visit
really starts with a 14 minute video on the
man and his work, followed by touring the
" Dawn of Aviation" gallery. An abstract bi-
cycle shop recalls Curtiss' first business
venture, with panels and photographs dis-
playing the pedal powered speed passion of
his youth. But he quickly turned to motor-
ized vehicles. A half-dozen Curtiss motor-
cycles are on display, along with an even
older Hercules - the brand name Curtiss
used for his very earliest products.
The lightweight, powerful Curtiss engines
led the young man to aviation by way of Cap-
tain Thomas Scott Baldwin. The aeronaut
used a Curtiss engine on America's first suc-
cessful dirigible, then moved his operations to
Hammondsport, where Curtiss assisted in the
creation of dirigible SC-I, the first powered
aircraft in the U.S. military.
Those early engines and motorcycles
helped catapult Curtiss into the public eye.
He used a V8 dirigible engine on a seven
foot motorcycle frame to travel 136 mph in
1907, becoming the "Fastest Man Alive."
His exploits helped inspire the original Tom
Swift books.
8 MARCH 1997
Motorcycl es and engines started Curtiss' career at the turn-of-the-century. Many of
his engines and 'cycles are displayed at the museum.
Spectacular mural , "The Flight of the June Bug," commemorates Curtiss' 1908 feat-
America' s first officially observed flight-one mile in length.
The Ba ldwin display faces a 45 foot was America's first officially observed
mural taken from Bob Bradford's painting, flight, and it won him the Scientific Ameri-
"The Flight of the June Bug. " Next to the can trophy. At that time, Curtiss was Direc-
mural is June Bug II, created in Hammond- tor of Experiments for Alexander Graham
sport for the U.S. bicentennial. Curtiss flew Bell's Aerial Experiment Association,
the original June Bug a mile over the fields which made good use of Curtiss' engine
outside the museum on July 4, 1908. This know-how, his personal daring, and his
(Right) The Curtiss Jenny
was a Hammondsport
product. Restoration on
this JN4D was finished in
1995. The 1918 Jenny is
flanked by a 1918 Buick
and an OX-5 engine.
Three decades of pi l ots depended on
Curtiss OX-5 engines, which were pro-
duced in thousands through the end of
WW I. The museum hosts the OX- 5
Club' s Aviation Hall of Fame.
busy motorcycle factory. The AEA devel-
oped ailerons and wheeled landing gear.
June Bug and its predecessor White Wing
were the first American aircraft to use
them. "Bell's Boys" had earlier used the
slopes across from the museum for glider
experiments.
June Bug II, a faithful reproduction,
flew ten miles for its longest fl ight before
going on display.
After his spectacular successes i n
Rheims, France, along the Hudson, and in
Los Angeles, Curtiss was able to solve the
problem of water flying, first with float
Work underway on the new Model E flying boat; the original was produced at
planes and next with flying boats. The first
the Curtiss plant in Hammondsport.
boat to fly took off from Keuka Lake near
the Hammondsport waterfront, and Curtiss
quickly marketed such craft to the military.
The U.S. Navy still considers Hammond-
sport the birthplace of Naval aviation.
He also marketed flyi ng boats to wealthy
sportsmen. A 1913 Model E boat hull (on
loan from NASM) is on display. "LAV"
originally belonged to Logan A. (Jack) Vi-
las, who used this craft to make the first
crossing of Lake Michigan.
Since only the hull survives, some visitors
have trouble visualizing the entire aircraft.
To help them out, museum volunteers are
building a twin sister for LA V. This two-
place, shoulder-yoke, mid-wing aileron
pusher is the first flying boat being built in
Hammondsport for 80 years. After it flies
from Keuka Lake - perhaps in 1998 - it will
go on display in the museum. Guests have a
chance to visit the shop and hear about
progress directly from the workers.
Visitors don' t have any trouble visualiz-
All that r emains of the Curtiss house i s this cupola, which he called hi s
ing the famous Curtiss Jenny. A JN4D was "Thinkorium." Much of the modern airplane was conceived in this room.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
Harvey Mummert's 8-1 Racer was produced by Mercury Aircraft, another local air-
craft manufacturer.
one of the first aircraft the museum acquired
30 years ago. For decades it was a skeleton.
But the shop crew, before turning its hand
to the flying boat, lovingly restored the
Jenny. Still 80 percent original, it shines in
trainer yellow army livery.
The Great War produced orders in thou-
sands for Jennies and flying boats, making
Curtiss a millionaire. A Navy Curtiss Fly-
ing Boat (NC4) made the first Atlantic
crossing in 1919; an NC propeller is dis-
played in the lobby.
A 1919 Curtiss Oriole was acquired
along with the Jenny (workers are still seek-
ing a pair of Oriole wings), while a Robin
helps bridge the gap between the early days
and the more modern period which began
around 1930. Although the concentration is
obviously on Curtiss, and even on the 1900
to 1920 period, other manufacturers are rep-
resented. Mercury Aircraft of Hammond-
sport made Harvey Mummert 's S-I racer,
while the 1949 Ohm-Stoppelbein Racer
Special was created in nearby Rochester.
A Curtiss Aerocar helps round out the
collection. Considered the first streamlined
travel trailer, this fifth-wheel vehicle helped
create the travel trailer industry, just as Cur-
tiss' earlier work had helped create the mo-
torcycle and aviation industries.
Still being developed are displays high-
lighting turn-of-the-century life in Ham-
mondsport. Horse-drawn vehicles, house-
hold implements, professional tools, toys,
and dolls are all exhibited. Special shows
focus on various aspects of Curtiss' life and
work. 1997 specials will focus on WW I
and on Curtiss' motorcycle racing career.
In 1998 the wine industry and the flying
boat will be featured. A dirigible exhibit is
planned for 1999.
Curtiss Museum is the focus of a Museum
Studies Program for fifth graders in area
schools, and for a more extensive flight tech-
nology program used by junior high schools.
10 MARCH 1997
Visiting groups may request guided tours.
Museum archives include thousands of
photos and documents from his first 20 years
of heaver-than-air flight. Curtiss himself had
Hammondsport photographer H. M. Benner
produce some 3,000 shots , negatives for
which are owned by the museum. These
The Curtiss Robin was a widely used
civil aircraft.
Canadaigua-Middelsex EAAers crafted this half-scale Curtiss pusher, complete with
working control surfaces, for younger visitors.
negatives and other documents also serve as
a splendid resource for local history. This is
fitt ing, si nce Curtiss was a Hammondsport
boy and a Hammondsport man. Although
their number is sadly dwindling, the Ham-
mondsport area still has residents who fondly
remember their town's most famous son.
Curtiss Museum is open 360 days a year.
Admission is charged, with a discount for
seniors, students, AAA members and orga-
nized groups. School groups and bus tours
are welcome. Museum members are admit-
ted free . The National Soaring Museum and
National Warplane Museum are located
nearby . More information is available
from: Curtiss Museum, 8419 State Route
54, Hammondsport, NY 14840,607/569-
2160. Contact Kirk House, Curator, for in-
formation on traveling photo exhibits con-
cerning early aviation. ...
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC HOME
by Andy Heins, Ale 20529
It's 7:00 a.m. and the bright sunshine
glows through my bedroom window like
a beacon. Another glorious summer Sat-
urday has arrived. As I stroll into the
kitchen, I glance out the window and
there's Harold Johnson's familiar red
pickup pulling up to his hangar. "Boy,
he's here early" I think to myself. I
guess you can never be too early to work
on a Waco. You see, Harold is working
on his 1934 Waco YMF-3, NC14080.
He almost has the fuselage ready for
cover and he's just finishing up fitting
the cowling. His other 1934 Waco UMF-
3, NC14041, is two rows back waiting to
fly another air show this afternoon at a
local EAA fly-in. That's why he's here
early, figuring that he could get a little
work done before the show. Harold also
has two 1940 Waco UPF-7s, NC30122
and NC20979 at his strip at home.
It's now 9: IS a.m., I've showered and
had breakfast with my wife Michele. As
we're sitting at the kitchen table drink-
ing coffee, I'm contemplating whether
to go work on my 1927 Waco ASO,
NC3782 or take our Stinson 108 Voy-
ager out for a spin. The sound of a ra-
dial engine is heard. Michele and I rush
outside just as the B. F. Goodrich owned
1929 Waco CTO, NR13918, Taperwing
flashes by. It's Pat and Bob Wagner
coming down to retrieve some tools
from their hangar. As they land and taxi
to the pumps, we walk over to say hello.
The newly restored Joe Mackey/Linco
Flying Aces Taperwing is restored in its
original 1936 colors when it flew in the
famous aerobatic competition in Paris,
France, in which Col. Joe Mackey fin-
ished first. Bob has been selected as the
pilot for B. F. Goodrich to fly the air-
craft in shows this summer. As we stroll
to their hangar talking about the next
fly-in, we pass Jay Newberry ' S hangar
where he's spraying color on his 1940
Waco YPF-7, NC29916. We stop and
talk a while and ask the usual questions
about dope versus enamel or
polyurethane for the best finish.
As Bob opens his hangar, I see a fa-
miliar sight. There's a 1941 Waco UPF-
7, NC5528N and his beloved 1935 Waco
YMF-5, NCI4132 sitting side by side
awaiting restoration. As Bob gathers his
tools and I look at the projects, there
goes that radial engine sound again.
This time it's a 220 Continental and it's
Darrell Montgomery flying Harold John-
son's third 1940 Waco UPF-7,
NC29988, and he's just picked up a ban-
ner advertising a craft show at the local
arena. Air Ads of Dayton is the business
and they've been doing it for 30 years.
Darrell stays current in the UPF-7 be-
cause his 1941 Waco HPF-7, NC32065
is down for restoration. It's in the back
row of hangars near Paul Harper's 1942
Waco UPF-7, NC39717. Paul's airplane
is also in storage awaiting restoration
since a mishap several years ago. Bob
closes the hangar and we all walk back
to the Taperwing to say goodbye. Bob
and Pat have to get home because they
have to meet their partner, Jim Beisner,
to work on the newly acquired 1928
Waco GXE, NC5852. They were work-
ing on their 1940 Waco UPF-7,
NC29905, but the GXE became avai l-
able and they just couldn't pass it up.
You all know how the Waco fever is,
one is not enough. Jim is usually seen
puttering around the sky in the OX-5
powered Waco 4 owned by several
members of the Waco Historical Soci-
ety, of which Jim is President. Michele
and I wave as the Taperwing soars into
the morning sky and we walk back to
house for a cool lemonade. All this
Waco talk has made us thirsty.
As she pours us both a drink, I hear
the throaty roar of a Wright starting.
Looking out the living room window, I
see that my brother Pete, his wife Kelli
and baby son Clayton (named after
Waco President Clayton Bruckner) have
decided to take advantage of the beauti-
ful day and take his one-of-a-kind 1930
Waco CRG, NC600Y out for spin. As
they taxi by, they wave a greeting and
we enthusiastically do the same. Noth-
ing can quite match the sound and ex-
citement as Pete taxi's out onto the run-
way, turns on the smoke, and pushes the
throttle forward. As the 350 Wright
comes to life, the sound is like music to
my ears. In less than 500 feet they are
off and climbing like a rocket. This is
what the airplane was built to accom-
plish in 1930 when Waco built it to win
the 1930 Ford Air Tour. Flown by
Johnny Livingston, the airplane finished
a close second behind a Ford Tri-Motor.
As they depart the field, here comes an-
other Waco taxiing by. This time it's
Mike Brown, Kelli's father, and his part-
ner Alan Hoeweler in their pretty orange
and chocolate 1940 Waco UPF-7,
NC29300. And what's this, they're tow-
ing a glider behind them. Normally,
they would be flying their 1929 Waco
ATO, NC719E Taperwing, but it's down
at Creve Coeur, having the finishing
touches put on its restoration by John
Halterman's shop. Until it's finished,
they have to be content with flying the
UPF -7. I bet everyone is sympathizing
with them by now. With the glider in
tow, they take off and climb to 4,000
feet and release. As the glider gracefully
soars above the field, the next thing I see
is the UPF-7 upside down, in the process
of a roll. As it comes level, the nose
dips then rises and now begins a vertical
climb into a loop. Mike is never content
to fly straight and level. I see that Dar-
rell is back in the pattern and makes a
low pass to drop the banner. Instead of
returning to land he heads off towards
Mike. As I turn to look for Mike, I see
that he and my brother Pete are now
playing a game of cat and mouse, loop-
ing and rolling as they follow each other.
Darrell joins the fray and it's now two
UPF-7s against the CRG. The CRG eas-
ily out climbs them and is quite a bit
faster straight and level. Conceding de-
feat , the two UPFs join up on each wing
as Pete throttles back.
Watching closely, they're now head-
ing straight for Michele and I and our lit-
tle house. They pass over, three abreast
and zoom into the sky. One by one, they
each take their respective place in the
pattern and come back around to land in
the grass. They taxi to the pumps and
shut down. Laughing and joking, they
climb out of the cockpits and stand on
the ramp talking. It ' s only noon and all
this has happened in our typical day at
my home.
Where is this magical place you ask?
Well, it's Moraine Airpark located on
the banks of the Great Miami River on
the south side of Dayton, Ohio. All you
old-time antiquers would know it as
South Dayton Airport. We welcome any
Waco enthusiast with open arms and
guarantee that you'll have a good time
on our typical Saturday or Sunday sum-
mer day.
If you'd like to take a first hand look,
why not join us for our annual fly-in, held
this year on the 4th of May. EAA Chap-
ter 48 puts on a fly-in breakfast that will
knock your socks off. Call Jeannie Dyke
'* for more information at 513/878-9832.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
TheGranvilleBrothersAircraft
SportsterNR49Y
by David B. Jackson
Granville BrothersAircraft
Model DSportster Nell 043
While paging through the scrapbooks
and archives of the late Granville brothers,
Robert and Thomas, I was able to deter-
mine the origins of the famous scalloped
Gee Bee color scheme.
The striking Gee Bee trademark paint
scheme was NOT patterned after the Coca-
Cola logo as has been mis-reported in sev-
eral publications, but rather after a dragon.
Please note the vertical stabi li zer marking
on the photos you see here, which have
never before been published. They show
Granville Brothers Aircraft NR 49V while
still under construction. Under the "Gee
Bee" logo is the name " Dragonfly," and
under that is "Finished With The New
Berryloid Pigmented Dope System."
George Agnoli, the Springfield, MA sign
painter commissioned by the Granvilles to
paint their ai rplanes, simply followed the
original Granville Brothers sketch, with his
only deviation being the omission of scal-
lops on the leading edge of the horizontal
stabilizer, matching those on the wings, as
were on the original sketch (l also have a
photograph of thi s original sketch, as well
as the original sketch of the Harri s Tibert
Co. logo on the side ofNC 11-44). As is
much of history, time distorts the facts.
This picture must have been taken very
shortly prior to the listed 6-24-30 manufac-
ture date, at which time the name "Sport-
ster" had been painted over the original
name. Zantford Granville is at the controls
running the Cirrus engine with Edward
Granville making adjustments while Mark
and Tim Granville look on. The little Gee
Bee was issued restricted airplane license
49V, SIN I-GBA on 7-90-30, and sported a
four-cylinder inverted inline supercharged
American Cirrus engine of 110 bp, si n
310S, and a steel Hamilton Standard pro-
peller. 49V was originally built for compe-
tition in the All American Air Derby spon-
sored by the American Cirrus Engine Co.
in which it was the first stock certified air-
plane to finish with Lowell Bayles as pilot.
Bayles and Roscoe Brinton later purchased
49V from the Granvilles on September 19,
1930 with the help of Bayles' prize money
12 MARCH 1997
Notquitereadytotaketothesky,theGeeBee"Dragonfly," laterre-named"Sport-
ster," is having its engine run- inand adjusted. Notethehorizontal stabilizerroot
fairingshavenotyetbeeninstalled.
and toured the country as the Brinton and
Bayles Flying Service, Inc. performing air-
shows (or sky rodeos) and racing. An in-
verted six cylinder Fairchild 6-390 of 120
hp, si n 9, with a Curtiss Reed propeller
(M4042) was later installed on 10-15-30.
On September 12, 1931 , while flying an
airshow in Brattleboro, VT, Roscoe Brin-
ton bailed out of 49V when the booster
magneto extension cables jammed the con-
troIs. He jumped at 1,000 feet and landed
uninjured, while the plane smashed into
the nearby woods, and caught fire when
an unthinking newsman threw the match
from lighting his cigarette into the fuel
soaked wreckage. The only surviving
piece of this airplane is one prope ller
blade from a Hamilton Standard installed
at the time of the crash (Roscoe Brinton,
Jr. now has this blade.) ...
Louise Thaden and her co-pilot Blanche
Noyes cross the finish line of the 1936 Ben-
dix Trophy race in this painting by John
Amendola. (Top) Louise accepts the Bendix
trophy during the 1936 National Air Races
from Vincent Bendix himself.
Compiled by Norm Petersen
from accounts by lesGasser,Terry von Thaden,
Michael Greenblatt, Jake Atteberry and John Parish
As a young boy in the 1930s, Bill Thaden thought flying an air-
plane with his mother was akin to hopping in the family car for a
ride to the comer market. Bill's mother, pioneer aviatrix Louise
McPhetridge Thaden, was a record setting pilot who walked in the
same circles as the other great aviators of the day. That is why, in
1936, he didn't pay much attention to hi s mother's participation in
the Bendix Transconti nental Speed Race. For Bill it was just an-
other occasion of his mother going off to fly and see some of her
friends. When he learned of hi s mother 's win, this seemed only
normal to Bill. Of course hi s mom won, she usually did.
Now, some 60 years later, it was Bill Thaden's quest to com-
memorate his mother's win of the 1936 Bendix, one of the turning
points in aviation history, by calling upon friends and family to par-
ticipate in a cross country tour to pay heed to a woman who helped
mold aviation into what it is today.
The Bendix races began in 1931 as the vision of Vincent Bendix,
to promote civilian aviation through an all-out speed dash across the
country. The rules were simple: take off at any time after midnight
and arrive at the other side of the United States by 6 p.m. Over the
years, thi s race has been run in both directions across the country.
In 1936, it was run from Floyd Bennett Field, in Long Island, New
York, to Mines Field (what is now LAX) in Los Angeles, Califor-
nia. Up until 1936, it had been officially a male only race. All of
this changed in 1936 when it was agreed to open the race to female
contestants. A special consolation prize of $2500 was offered to the
rust female to cross the finish line, despite her standing in the race.
At the time, Louise Thaden was working for the Federal Air
Marking Program, which consisted of traveling across the country
painting navigational aids on prominent landmarks. She was sur-
prised to learn, when Olive Ann Beech phoned her to see if she
Louise Thaden
60th Anniversary
Memorial 1996
Staggerwing Tour
The beginning of the Staggerwing line. Jim Younkin, whose
skilled hands were most important to its present beauty, poses
by "ole number one" which is Staggerwing NC499N, SIN 17R-
1. This fabulous airplane has been totally restored and resides
in the Staggerwing Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
William V. (Bill) Thaden, center, receives a Merit Award from
the Staggerwing Club "For Outstanding Contribution to the
Preservation of the Beech Model 17" from Morton Lester on
the right. On the left is Bill 's daughter, Terry, who bears a re-
markable resemblance to her famous flying grandmother,
Louise Thaden.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
(Left) Flanked by some pretty neat air-
planes, Dave Swanson pulls hi s Lock-
heed 12 up to the parking line at Gille-
spie Field in San Diego.
wanted to participate, that the Bendix was
open to women. After some careful thought,
Louise decided to enter, and bring her friend
Blanche Noyes along for the ride.
Beech agreed to provide Louise with a
stock model Staggerwing C l7R, which had
the rear seats removed to accommodate the
extra fuel tank. There was so little room in
the craft Louise opted to remove the seat
pack parachutes in favor of the quick con-
nector type; but she doubted there would be
sufficient room to actually escape from the
airplane had the need arisen. The Stagger-
wing also had only an old style radio re-
ceiver, no transmitter, and no directional
gyro. Louise borrowed a DG from Teddy
Kenyon at Floyd Bennett Field, which her husband quickly in-
stalled. The Staggerwing was a fast commercial airplane, but not
built primarily for racing. This, coupled with last minute repairs
and details to be taken care of before the race, added to the stress
and the excitement Louise felt about flying in the Bendix.
The weather in 1936 was not particularly favorable to the racers.
Battling fog, clouds, and stiff headwinds, Louise found herself rely-
ing on dead reckoning to navigate her course. Flying her own race,
she chose to cruise at 65% power, deciding that the race is not al-
ways won by the fastest plane, but by good common sense and at-
tention to equipment. When she made her one fuel stop at Beech
Field in Wichita, Walter Beech, in his usual congenial manner,
asked Louise, "What the heck to you think you are in, a potato race?
Open this plane up!" Louise agreed to accommodate Walter, noting
to herself that once she was in the air, she would fly the latter half
of the race just as she had flown the first portion - at 65% power,
recognizing that reliability could be a deciding factor.
When she arrived at Mines Field slightly after 5 p.m., Louise
was sure she had lost the race. Squinting into the setting sun, con-
centrating on finding the airport itself and not the race field, she
overshot the finish line and had to cross it from the opposite direc-
tion. Trying to taxi unnoticed to the sidelines, Louise was flanked
by officials running beside her plane. Wondering what she had
done wrong now, she asked what it was they were after. Theyex-
claimed that they thought she had just won the Bendix.
When all was authenticated, and Louise had been declared to be
the official winner of the Bendix, the race executives changed the
name of the consolation prize for the first woman to cross the fmish
line to a special award. In addition to the $5,000 purse, Louise was
awarded the special $2,500 prize also. Not only had she proven that
a woman could finish the race, she had proved that by flying her
own race, she had beaten the others at their own game. When Wal-
ter Beech arrived in Los Angeles the next day, he praised Louise for
following his advice and pushing the throttle all the way forward.
When she told Walter that she had flown the whole race at 65%
power, Walter roared with laughter and revealed he had given
Louise an engine (Wright R-975) with 1200 hours on it - a woman
had won the Bendix in a stock aircraft at cruising speed, with an en-
gine that was practically a grandfather!
(Below) As far as the eye can see are
round engines on the business end of a
row of beautiful Staggerwings. It i s a
welcome sight to see 80/87 octane fuel
available for those fortunate pilot s
whose airplanes that can use that grade
of fuel.
Overhead view of the entire gathering at Gillespie Field. In
the foreground is the grass parking area in front of Bill
Allen's hangar, filled with antique airplanes. The red and
white airplane in the left front doesn' t have a broken wing -
it is a Fairchild 71 with folding wings.
The excited group of Staggerwing drivers and friends get
ready for a tour of the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
14 MARCH 1997
(Left) Included in the Museum visit was a tour of the restoration
facilities in the basement where, among other projects, a Ford
Tri Motor is being carefully restored to original condition in-
cluding an engine-turned boot cowl and engine shutters.
(Above) Christine St. Onge of Mexford, PA, taxis up in her
Staggerwing C- 17B that is painted in the exact race colors of
number 62, Louise Thaden' s Bendix winni ng C- 17R Stagger-
wing from 1936.
Such was the scene of the Bendix race some 60 years ago. In
1996, a dedicated group of vintage aviation enthusiasts would gather
with Staggerwing, Lockheed, Twin Beech, Waco, and other aircraft
to pay tribute to this extraordinary woman and to the race itself. They
would gather at Youngstown Elser Metro Airport in Ohio, and fl y
across the country to Gillespie Field in EI Cajon, California, stopping
enroute to participate in commemorative ceremonies.
The Commemorative Tour began for some of the early parti ci-
pants at 10:20 a.m., Saturday, August 24, from Sanford Field in
Maine as the group took off: Bill Thaden (son of Loui se Thaden
and tireless organizer of the memorial tour), Dave Swanson, Dick
Jackson, Pat Jackson, Terry von Thaden, and Les Gasser. Their air-
craft was a magnificent 1939 Lockheed 12, silver with red and
black highl ights and British markings on the wings and fuselage. It
belongs to Dave Swanson, an ex-Eastern Airlines pilot.
The flight to Youngstown Elser Metro airport took 3.5 hours in
the elegant Lockheed at altitudes up to 13,000 feet to stay in smooth
air. The last part of the flight was in perfect CA VU weather as they
arrived and made a fly-by before touching down and being met by
Mike Stanko, one of the top Staggerwing restoration experts, and
his crew at Elser Metro. Dick Perry of Hampshire, IL, had flown
his red Staggerwing D-17S into Elser and Dub Yarbrough of Grand
Rapids, MI, had driven to Elser especially for the weekend. Dub
knew Louise Thaden well, and is a longtime family friend of the
Thadens. Before long, four more Staggerwings arrived to spice up
the party along with a Beech 18, a Waco cabin and Jim Gorman's
Staggerwing.
The entire weekend at Elser celebrated the 50th Anniversary of
the airport and featured Mr. and Mrs. Elser, for whom the airport
was named. The first pilot who soloed at Elser was also on hand for
the lively celebration!
(Above) Parked in front of two beautiful red Staggerwings is a
restored 1936 Ford v-a convertible, complete with rumble seat
(for you younger folks, that' s the open seat just ahead of the
spare tire).
On Monday, most of the tour group was off to Springdale,
Arkansas, in spite of low ceilings and rain showers along the way.
The hosts for this gathering were Jim and Ada Younkin, who have a
collection of prize airplanes that will make your mouth water.
Among the classic airplanes, Jim's replica "Mr. Mulligan" of 1936
Bendix fame was indeed a treat for the visitors.
The next morning, the tour group made the short ten-minute
flight to Bentonville, Arkansas, Louise Thaden's home town, to be
greeted by over 100 townspeople including the Mayor and several
relatives of Louise Thaden. A room in the main airport building at
Bentonville holds a considerable collection of clippings and photos
of Louise Thaden and her exploits. It is clear the people of Ben-
tonville appreciate their aviation heritage.
Later in the day, the tour group had fired up their engines and
one by one, took off for Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to rendezvous with
a large group of Staggerwings and tour people at Frank Phillips
Field. The hosts for this part of the tour were Charlie Harri s and
crew, who really know how to throw a banquet. The hospitality of
the "Bart lesville Bunch" is known far and wide and was a perfect
send-off for the '96 Staggerwing Tour.
Wednesday morning, a fast tour of the Raytheon Aircraft facili-
ties (the new corporate name for Beechcraft) at Wichita, Kansas,
was pretty much scrubbed due to poor weather and lousy ceilings,
As the sun slowly sinks in the west, the evening shadows begin
at Bill Allen' s Ryan STM-2 and continue past the rows of mag-
nificent Staggerwings glistening in the evening twilight.
(Below) Outstanding entertainment was provided
by this group of five singers, all fancied up in
1940' s costumes, who put on a dandy program
during Bill and Claudia Allen' s hangar party.
A fantastic gr oup visi t t o Tom Warner's near by r anch was
highlighted by a chance t o watch their German shepherd
sheep dog, "Tony," do a masterful job of herding a flock of
sheep. The uncanny ability of this highly t rained dog left many
shaking t heir heads in wonderment.
so the group took off for the long run to Albuquerque, New Mexico,
dodging showers much of the way. As the weather improved to the
west, it was possible to look down from the Lockheed 12 and see
pairs of Staggerwings pass them up with their higher cruise speeds.
Coming through the pass over the Scandia mountains, the first view
of Albuquerque was fantastic as the planes landed on the long run-
ways and taxied to the ramp. To see such a gathering of beautiful
Staggerwings along with assorted classic airplanes was indeed a
treat for all, especially the locals. Several planes were safely down
at airports along the way and would have to make a longer run into
(Left) Some of the really cl assy automo-
biles that were shown included this Lin-
coln li mo, Bugatti coupe and Cadillac
sedan. The styling of these cars is right
i n tune with the styling of the Stagger-
wing - all time classics from the 1930' s.
(Below) The September meeti ng of t he
Staggerwing Club will now come to or-
der. Business meetings were held at
Safari Aviation' s hangar.
San Diego's Gillespie Field the next day.
Thursday afternoon brought the final arrival for the group at
Gillespie Field and they were greeted by Louise Thaden (Bi ll 's
wife) and daughter, Tracy, along with Patricia Thaden Webb, her
son, Fred Frost and his wife, Lisa. John Parish was on hand to di-
rect the participants to the tour headquarters at Dick McDowell's
Ye Olde Flying Circus. Bill Allen's hangar, filled with planes and
aviation memorabilia, served as the main social gathering place for
the weekend. Eventually, row upon row of Staggerwings covered
the tarmac at Gillespie - what an impressive sight!
There are approximately 110 Staggerwings still flying and at
least thirty showed up for the weekend activities. In addition, many
hi storic airplanes were on hand including Bill Turner's DH Comet,
Ryans, Spartan Executives and Stearmans. No less than five Travel
Air biplanes were on hand including Louise Thaden's 1929 D-4000
Women's Air Derby winner, now owned by Bill and Claudia Allen.
The late afternoon barbecue, courtesy of the Aliens, saw everyone
enjoying an outdoor party (with all the trimmings) and taking it
easy among the huge collection of airplanes.
A tour reception was held Friday evening at the San Diego Air
and Space Museum which allowed the Tour participants to explore
the entire facility including the basement restoration facilities where
a huge Ford Tri Motor restoration is nearly completed.
Saturday many of the pilots flew the 14-minute hop to Palomar
Airport to the Cinema Air facility where several of the Staggerwings
were used to film a flight along the southern California coast. It was
exciting, to say the least. Back at Gillespie, the Saturday evening fi-
nal banquet was held at Bill Allen's hangar and featured a special
singing group doing numbers from the '40s and dressed in period
costume. The outstanding food, the camaraderie and the beautiful
surroundings made for a perfect evening. Among the awards pre-
sented at the banquet was a very special award to Bob Van Ausdel's
children, Connie, Bob and Tom. The Tour was dedicated to his pio-
neering effort in test flying the Travel Air Mystery Ship.
The accomplishments of one of the greats of the Golden Age of
Aviation, Louise Thaden, were commemorated through this 1996
Tour, with its celebrations, ceremonies, banquets and new friends
quickly becoming old friends. The entire experience of the 1996
Commemorative Tour showed us that both the adventure of experi-
mental flight and the human and aviation ideals of the Golden Age
still endure. ...
16 MARCH 1997
Laird
Commercial
As the Antique airplane movement
has grown over the years, there have
been a few projects that people were itch-
ing to get their hands on. To an antiquer,
it's tough to see a potential project just sit,
with no one getting it ready to head back
into the skies. Offers to purchase it would
usually be rebuffed, and the old airplane
would just look sadder and sadder as the
years wore on.
It often fell vic tim to the "('llget to it
one of these days" syndrome. For whatever
reason, be it lack of money or lack of time,
the airplane just never seemed to get re-
stored, and before you knew it, the decades
slipped by and the project didn't get done.
Keeping the dream of restoring it was some-
times what kept a person going, so in that
sense it served it s purpose. Hopefully it
wouldn' t deteriorate too badly as it waited.
The airplane you see on these pages is
one of those projects. It sat in storage for
over three decades. It was known to a num-
ber of active restorers, but not one
of them was able to woo the air-
plane away from it s owner until he
was incapable of restoring it himself. It
was sought after by antiquers such as Al
Kelch and Dave lameson back in the 1960s,
but owner August Maross of Steger, IL had
owned it since 1933, and he just couldn't
part with it. A retired Col. from the Army
Air Corps, he flew in both WW I and WW
II ,during the latter flying cargo and trans-
port airplanes.
Hi s attachment to the airplane was cer-
tainly understandable. It had made a fair
amount of history while flying in the late
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
'20s, and when he put it in storage for the
duration during WW II, I'm sure he planned
on flying it again after the war ended. Ac-
cording to at least two accounts, it did get
back in the air a few times after the war, but
it generally just sat in the back of the hangar.
By 1926, Emil Matthew "Matty" Laird
had a company with a reputation for build-
ing stout, thoroughbred airplanes for the
discerning owner who had a checkbook to
match. These were no bargain basement
airplanes with quick finishes, but most often
were built to order, finished in multiple
coats of hand rubbed dope.
By 1926, the Wright Aeronautical Cor-
poration's Whirlwind series of engines were
well on their way to aviation immortality.
The air-cooled radial was a jewel of an en-
gine, and those who could afford the Laird
airframe and Wright engine for the princely
sum of $9,850 in 1926 dollars got a sharp
looking 3-place biplane that looked great
with its black and gold color scheme, a
Laird trademark.
Based on its speed and load carrying capa-
bility (not to mention Matty's reputation),
Charles "Pop" Dickinson chose the Laird
Commercial as the primary mount for his
fledgling air mail line between MinneapoliS/St.
Paul and Chicago. As the lowest bidder on
Government Contract Air Mail Route 9, Pop
had to keep his costs down as much as possi-
ble. He'd made good on the family business of
seeds for crops, and late in life caught the fly-
ing bug. He soloed at the age of 62, ten years
after founding the Aero Club of Illinois in
1910, along with organizing an airport on the
southwest side of Chicago called Cicero Field
18 MARCH 1997
Just aft of the pilot' s cockpit is this bag-
The front cockpit shares space with the
fuel tank, and for the passenger ' s
amusement, they get an altimeter for
reference as they peer over the cockpit
coaming.
and then later Ashburn Field, the site of his air
mail service.
His stewardship of an air mail route
would be short lived, when after a fatal
crash on the inaugural day, continued hard-
ships with running the line finally caused
Dickinson to give notice to the U.S. Gov-
ernment that he intended to abandon the
gage compartment, secured by a pair of
turn fasteners on the fuselage. As you
can see, much of the airplanes original
wood was usable.
route. One of the fledgling line's pilots,
Charles "Speed" Holman, knew that for the
right price per pound, the line could make
money with the right airplane. He made
sure that the director of the Chamber of
Commerce of St. Paul knew about this busi-
ness opportunity.
After pounding the pavement looking for
backing, Col. L. H. Brittin put together a
new airline named Northwest Airways, Inc.
By the beginning ofthe fall of 1926, Northwest
held the ainnail contract for Route No.9 between
Chicago and MinneapolislSt Paul.
Using Stinson Detroiters, among others,
the line began to operate on a regular basis.
Since Dickinson no longer needed the air-
planes for his airmail route, the Laird Com-
mercial registered as C240, Serial Number
150, eventually would be sold to Litton J.
Shields, a Northwest stockholder who
owned the National Lead Battery Company.
He thought that a speedy, long-legged com-
pany airplane would be handy to have, and
he asked Charles "Speed" Holman, North-
west's Chief Pilot, to fly it for him. Holman
suggested that it would be great advertising
to enter the Laird in the upcoming National
Air Derby, with the "National Eagle" name
emblazoned on the sides of the fuselage. It
sounded good to Shields, so Holman made
plans to enter the Derby, taking a leave of
absence from Northwest to fly in the race.
Remember that all of this activity took
place amidst the hoopla and hype that sur-
rounded the solo flight of a certain Min-
nesotan across the Atlantic earlier in the
year, so getting people enthused about avia-
tion was rapidly becoming easier!
The sister ship to the National Eagle was
registered C II 0, and was still owned by
Pop Dickinson. Ed Ballough, another pilot
who also happened to be Holman's flight
instructor, wanted to fly in the same Air
Derby. He was able to use C II 0 for that
purpose, with Pop Dickinson and mechanic
Anthony Makiewicz as his passengers.
(Speed Holman also had a mechanic ride
with him in C240.) A close race ensued be-
tween Holman and Ballough during the
derby, which started in New York on No-
vember 20, 1927. The closely matched bi-
planes raced towards Spokane, W A over
the next two days, with Ballough arriving
first at a refueling stop in Butte, MT. With
his tank filled to the brim, he and Dickinson
roared off in the direction of Spokane, only
to be forced into making a landing outside
of Lime, MT after encountering a snow-
storm that couldn't be penetrated. The
landing was a bit rough, and culminated in a
damaged prop. Repairs took time, and be-
fore he could get the Laird back in the air,
Holman had passed him. Holman now had
the lead, even though he managed to pull a
tire off the rim of one wheel on his hasty de-
parture from Butte. The upshot of all this
excitement was that Holman beat Ballough
into Spokane, winning the 1927 National
Air Derby by 44 minutes, 12 seconds.
Ballough and C II 0 were not done racing
yet. Later, it was modified by the Laird fac-
tory into the LC-RJ-200 Speedwing version,
with a Wright J-4B engine and a new set of
wings designed to reduce drag and make the
airplane even faster. Other changes in-
cluded a change in the landing gear to the
split axle type, and other streamlining re-
finements . The Commercial-to-Speedwing
project really was a series of evolutions,
with the ideas coming from Matty's mind as
Holman and Ballough worked with him to
get as much from the design as they could.
In 1928, Ballough flew the now modi-
fied Laird to second place in the National
Air Derby from New York to Los Angeles,
and then later won the civilian AC Spark
Plug free-for-all over a 75 mile long course
with an average speed of 137 mph.
This same airplane also set a few
time/distance records, including a run from
Miami to Chicago in 9 hours, 59 minutes.
During this time, Laird C 11 0, registered
as X-7086, was owned by Charles Dickin-
son and registered to Laird. Dickinson, an
enthusiastic pilot didn't sit on the sidelines
- he flew as a passenger as often as possi-
ble in the Laird during these record break-
ing flights, and was often pictured with a
wide grin on his face. Later, in 1929 and
1930, the airplane is registered to the Laird
company. When his Laird wouldn't be
ready in time ofr the '29 races, Holman and
Dickinson came to an agreement allowing
X-7086 to be flown by Holman, as long as Pop

j
E
'"
could ride along. They didn' t finish in the cross-
country derny that year due to a mechanical fail-
ure, but they finished fust in a 100 mile closed
course race, only to be disqualified for cutting a
pylon. That race marked the end of X-
7086/C IIO's racing career.
In either 1933 or 1934, August "Augie"
Maross bought it and contracted with the
factory to have Matty' s brother Harold re-
built the airplane back to the Commercial
configuration. The standard wings went
back on it, as did the J-4 engine. Starting in
1935, Maross flew it until the beginning of
World War II, when he put it in storage in a
hangar in Steger, IL. After the war ended, it
did get back in the air, and recalled by An-
tique/Classic and Midwest Antique Air-
plane Club member Budd Hayes. Budd was
looking at the airplane with a big grin on his
face at EAA Oshkosh '96 when we caught up
Doug Fuss, EAA 179446 AlC 9479, the
owner/pilot of Laird Commercial C110.
with him. As a kid, he used to play in CliO.
"The last time I saw it flying was in '46, and
they were playing tag with a T-6, having a
great time. All the fellows had come home
from the military and they still had some time
(they weren't married yet!). They had a lot of
time to go play with airplanes, and I saw this
plane and the T -6 playing tag right over my
farm, " he recalled. "Here it is - it brings
back a lot of memories."
As mentioned before, although the air-
plane was known to many, it never left the
hangar until 1974, when Jonesy Paul of Cy-
press, TX was able to convince August
Maross to part with the airplane. Jonsey
saw an ad in a automobile publication that
advertised a few antique autos and a Laird
airplane. When he went up to look at the
cars and the plane, Augie wouldn't even let
him see it until he had inspected Jonsey's
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
logbook. During a second visit, he was al-
lowed to look at the airplane. It was sitting
in what used to be the airport's hangar. The
field was long since gone, and the completely
assembled Laird sat in the back, collecting the
dust kicked up by the municipal trucks and
equipment that now filled its interior.
For some time after that Jonsey and
Augie dickered back and forth . It finally
came to a culmination after an article was
published in a Chicago newspaper. In-
cluded in the articl e was a photo of the air-
plane pulled out in the sunshine with Matty
Laird himself. Matty also tried to buy the
airplane, but Augie wouldn' t sell it to him -
he figured Matty was too old, and wouldn't
be able to completely restore the airplane.
When Jonsey heard about the article, he
knew that pot enti al buyers would be all
over Augie. He was headed back to Hous-
ton from Chicago, so he turned around and
closed the deal with Augie.
The airplane looked good enough that he
thought about ferrying the airplane home, but
before he could get back up to Steger to get the
airplane, it had been vandalized by having the
fabric cut in places on the wings and fuselage,
as though someone wanted a better look at
what the structure looked like. So much for
ferrying the Laird back to Texas.
After trucking the Laird to hi s place on
Dry Creek Airport in Cypress, TX, Jonesy
began to farm out various parts of the pro-
ject, and a bit later, Bob Guttmann of Hous-
ton, TX started working on the project. For
one reason or another, the project would
end up "on the back shelf' for a time, until
Jonsey and Doug Fuss were able to come to
terms on the sale of the project to Doug in
1991. A successful entrepreneur in the auto
parts retailing business, Doug has 14 loca-
tions of his Gateway Auto Supply in the
DallaslFt. Worth area to look after. Fortu-
nately, he has the resources to see a project
like this through to completion, and he was
committed to gett ing the project done. He
decided that Bob was th e talented man to
finish the job.
In many respects the project was a dream
for an antiquer. It was all there, right down
to having both the original tail skid and tail
wheel. The instruments were all there to be
restored, as was a J-4 Wright engi ne.
Jonesy had already sent it out to Jack Lan-
ning in Washington state for an overhaul. It
came back in immaculate condition. That's
no mean feat - the Wright J-4 is a very
rare engine, with few spare parts. In fact,
Doug is always on the lookout fo r spares
for the J-4, and is interested in finding a J-5
engine (they're only a little less rare!).
Also with the airplane was a Standard
prop (before they merged with Hami lton)
that had been with the airplane since the
1930s - it even has sequential serial num-
bers on the blades!
One of the neat things about seei ng an
airplane like this at the EAA Convention is
sitt ing down and paging through the photo
20 MARCH 1997
The pilot's cockpit of this beautiful An-
tique airplane is one of the restoration's
focal points, and the expertly refur-
bished instruments require you to look
outside the airplane to be sure it's not
1933! (All right, the GPS is a pretty good
clue as well!) Philip Krause of Vintage
Aero in Westport, NY did the instrument
work.
albums of each project. The hows and
whys of each restoration are laid out in de-
tail, ready for you to ask each question as
each picture is revealed. One of the most
fascinating aspects of this restoration is the
fuselage.
The Laird Commercial's fuselage struc-
ture is built up using sections of aluminum
tubing joined together by steel sockets and
fittings at the juncture of each upright in the
fuselage. There is no set of four uninter-
rupted longerons running the length of the
A complete lighting system is installed
on the airplane, with a pair of these 100
watt landing lights mounted below the
lower wings. Doug does not fly the air-
plane at night, but the entire system was
restored since it was on the airplane
when it was rebuilt by the Laird factory
in 1933.
fuselage. Instead, it's built up with lengths
of al uminum tubing. Each of the bays is
held together by the bracing wires that
criss-cross each bay, and are secured to the
steel socket fittings at each intersection.
Can you imagine riggi ng all of these wires?
Each section had to be trammeled, turn-
buckles adj usted and then after it was all
squared up, each of the turnbuckles was
safetied. As many as thirteen turnbuckles
could be present in each bay! Since restor-
ing the airplane required the complete dis-
assembly of the fuselage, that, plus the hand
spli cing of all of the galvanized steel ca-
bl es, made the project very time consum-
ing. Bob says it took him a good year to get
the fuselage done - just safetying the turn-
buckles took him a month - whew!
The instruments went off to a fellow
who really knows old instruments, and has
the know-how to get them done . You
mustn't be in a hurr y, for the work is
painstaking and exacting, but Philip Krause
ofYintage Aero in Westport, NY refur-
bished the instruments to their original ap-
The sleek lines of the Laird Commercial biplane flow back from the spinner to the rakish tail. The Commercial and its successor,
the Speedwing, were both good performers that often took their pilots to the top of the list of winners in the late 1920s.
pearance as they are mounted in the beauti-
ful wood dashboard. (Somehow, the term
"instrument panel" just doesn't seem to fit
in this instance.)
The airplane had a lighting system in-
stalled at the Laird factory, including a pair
of underwing landing lights. Since the J-4
does not have a generator, the li ghting is
powered by a battery. Doug, of course,
does not fly the airplane at night, but it has
been fully restored in the interest of authen-
ticity. The wiring system is one of the only
departures from originality - it had a set of
fuses added to the modem wiring, in the in-
terest of safety.
The only other concession to the modem
age was the use of the Stits (now Poly-
Fiber) system to cover the airplane. Doug
and Bob agonized over the decision, but at
the time the covering deci sion had to be
made, the only cotton cloth available for air-
craft work came from overseas. Unfortu-
nately, it was substandard in quality, and
was deteriorating quicker than normal after
being appli ed. In the interest oflongevity,
the Stits dacron-polyester system was used,
including a specially mixed gold for the
flight surfaces.
Bob related that applying the gold was
probably the most difficult part of the cover-
ing/ painting process. Each time the gold
was sprayed, it would reflect li ght differ-
ent ly, resulting in apparent color shifts in
each coat. Fortunately, they managed to
tame thi s restoration beast. Judging from
the looks it gets everytime it is out of the
hangar, I'd say they managed to hit on the
right technique.
Happily, all of wood was there for the
wings, and they were in fairly decent condi-
tion. They did need to be completely re-
built, but about 80 percent of the wood was
reused. Most of the rework was related to
the old glue joints being sub par, and the
damage the wi ngs sustained while being
moved around. A few ribs were broken and
needed repair, but the spars were in good
condition.
The sheet metal was also useful - those
pieces that needed to be replaced were good
for patterns, and the big 30x5 Sauzedde
wheels and brakes were cleaned up and
reused. A pair of new smooth Coker tires
were mounted.
The Laird on the rudder presented a chal-
lenge for Doug. He searched and searched
for someone who could do a proper looking
logo. The early logo used on CliO was dif-
ferent than the one used on later Lairds.
The newer ones were avai lable, but no the
onld one. Finally, Doug found Len Eack-
owski of Veteran Screen Printer in Somerset
NJ . It is an involved process of screen
printing on a clear lacquer coated paper
base. The logo is then printed from front to
back on the paper, so that when a light coat-
ing of thinner is flowed onto the decal , it
can be softened and laid into a coating of
fresh lacquer on the rudder. The logo is
then beautifully transferred to the rudder,
and it looks as though it was painted in
place. Len had done extensive research on
the original system used to produce the "de-
cal" and he did hi s best to have the logo for
the Laird done just as it was in the Laird
factory. You can reach him at 201/828-
3925.
It took 4-1/2 years of work to put the fi-
n a push on to complete the Laird, and when
it was done, it was as original as they could
get it. Doug credits Bob Guttmann with the
completion of the project. "If it weren't for
him, I 'd have never known about the air-
plane, and it was hi s skill that put it back in
the air," Doug said later.
Flying such an original airplane means
you get to deal with it as it was originally
flown. Grass airports were sought out and
used, and after calling and consulting with
EAA Director of Flight Operations, Joe
Schumacher, a pre-Convention landing at
EAA's Pioneer airport was made on the
grass. Flying an airplane with a Wright J-4
means you get to spend time keeping it up
as well. The rocker arms are exposed and
are not forced oi l lubricated, so they must be
greased every three hours of flight time.
Doug also checks the valve clearances on
the engine every five hours. On an antique
engine such as this, it is certainly no "kick
the tires and light the fires" type of pre-
flight. With so much pre-planning and
preparation that needs to go into flying long
distances, you can see that Doug's cross-
country to EAA Oshkosh from Texas was
not a weekend jaunt. But as he pointed out,
the trip to show the airplane to so many ap-
preciative EAA and Antique/Classic Divi-
sion members was something he just had to
do. We're all glad he did!
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
PIETENPOL HOMECOMING
By Andrew King (Ale 10739)
I always tell people that Ohio is the
friendliest place I know and that the rest of
the American Midwest isn't far behind.
Every year when July comes around, no
matter where I' m living at the time, I beg,
borrow or buy an airp lane and head for
Ohio and then Wisconsin. In 1996 I was
li ving in Ca li fornia and was offered a
Pietenpol to fly from Albany, New York to
the Pi etenpol Fly-In at Brodhead, Wiscon-
sin. That filled the need, so I bought air-
line tickets and rode a kerosene burner to
the East Coast to start the adventure.
The airplane, an 0-200 powered Air
Camper, was a familiar one, as I had flown
it to Wisconsin two years earlier. It was
owned by a retired doctor, Mike Brusilow,
who was driving out to the fly-in with his
wife. Since I'd last seen the airplane, he'd
named it after hi s grandson and "Mr. Sam"
was painted on the side of the fuselage.
I met Mike at Saratoga Airport on Mon-
day morning, the 29th of July, and de-
parted in hi s airplane, destination Ham-
mondsport in the Finger Lakes region of
western New York state. Thi s was the
home of Glenn Curtiss back in the days of
his competing with Orville and Wilbur,
and is now the home of the wonderful Cur-
tiss Museum, which is not to be missed by
any aviation enthusiast who passes through
the area. I stopped at Norwich and Penn
Yan on the way, and touched down at the
littl e grass strip at the sound end of Keuka
Lake at 3:45 p.m. Art Wilder, one of the
movers and shakers at the museum, came
and picked me up, and after a visit to the
museum to see their 1913 Curtiss E Flying
Boat reproduction project, I spent a de-
lightful night courtesy of Art and his wife
at their lake shore home.
The next day it was on to Ohio after
spending a couple of hours in Eri e, Penn-
sylvani a watching the thunderstorms rain
down on the Pietenpol. When the weather
cleared we flew on to Barber Field in Al-
liance where my usual cohort in the annual
flying circus was waiting, Frank Pavliga,
with his Pietenpol, the Sky Gypsy. It was
also here that we decided that the 6.00 x 6
tires on Mr. Sam were too small. Fortu-
nately, Forrest Barber had a pair of 8.50 x Air Camper, and the three Pietenpols and strange old lady appeared and explained to
6s and the next morning Mike's airplane pi lots headed for Indiana . We made our us how the smoke from the factories in
sat a little taller and looked a lot better. usual stop in the friendly town of Deshler, town would ruin our engines. We waited
The only question was how we would ex- Ohio, and then ran into a big line of thun- out the rain for awhile and then flew on to
plain this to Mike. derstorms near the Indiana border which Miller Airport in Bluffton. This was a
On Wednesday morning we picked up forced us to angle off to the south, finally beautiful place with two large grass run-
the third member of the troupe, Will Graf landing at Decatur where a suit of armor ways and an original CAA airways beacon
of Wadsworth, with his Model A powered watched us from atop the office and a on a tower next to the hangar. The wind
22 MARCH 1997
Mr.Samwithonebigtireandonesmallone.
Pietenpolsin therain atDecatur,Indiana. Notethesuitofarmorovertheoffice.
MillerAirport, Bluffton, Indiana,withthealuminumwind sockandantiqueair-
waysbeacon.
Four Pietenpol Air Campers on Pietenpol Field.
sock was on this tower also and I was as-
tonished to see it starched out as if the
wind was blowing at 40 mph! We were
amused to di scover on landing that the
sock was made of aluminum and was eter-
nally starched out; the wind was actually
less than 5 mph.
Our aim for the night was Wabash, a
mere 30 miles distant , but it was to be a
long 30 miles. We ran into more rain
showers and got separated in the gather-
ing darkness, and when I landed at
Wabash there was Will, but no Frank.
Soon it was too dark to land, but a call to
Frank's wife revealed that he had made a
precautionary landing in a nearby hay-
field, and after awhile he showed up at
the airport with a sympathetic neighbor.
We decided that we'd had enough adven-
ture for the day and instead of tents we
went to a hotel for the night.
We refueled at Prairie-du-Chien, and
then determined that there was just enough
daylight left to get to Cherry Grove. Our
calculations turned out to be just right, as
the sun was just disappearing when the
Pietenpol airstrip came into view. A white
van was driving along the side of the run-
way and we flew past in formation and
broke off to land. While the others were
coming in I flew over the town, a tiny cross-
roads in a big country, but a very big spot in
the history of home built airplanes and avia-
tion in general.
It turned out that the dri ver of the van
was none other than Don Pietenpol, Bernie's
son, who had heard we were coming and
had driven down from another part of the
state to c"amp with us . Soon some of the
townspeople showed up, including the
Finkes, John and Bernice. John's uncl e
Don had been one of Bernie's good friends
and pilots and was often mentioned in con-
temporary articles, and Bernice's father was
Orrin Hoopman, another part of the Pieten-
pol team, who drew up the drawings that so
many used to build their own Air Campers.
In fact, Bernice was named after Bernie
Pietenpol. Not only that, but it turned out
that Don Pietenpol had learned to fly at age
nine in 1939 in the same airplane that Ted
Davis had just landed in!
The women went and rounded up food
for the hungry aviators, and a lively and fas-
cinating session of hangar flying provided
the evening's entertainment. Finally we
settled down for the night in our tents under
a clear moonlit sky.
At dawn we flew some more, gave some
rides, and went into town to see Bernie 's
old house and workshop. At the mercantile
store we ate some breakfast, and who should
walk in but Orrin Hoopman himself, the last
surviving member of the trio who put
Cherry Grove on the aviation history map.
We had stepped back in time, or flown back
anyway, walking those streets and talking to
those people flying over those fields and
The author with Don Pietenpol; Don's
signature is on the rudder.
fanus. Don drove us to the county histori-
cal museum where there were numerous
Pietenpol artifacts, including a single seat
Sky Scout and a windmill electrical genera-
tor. On the way back he pointed out a tree
next to the road and told the story of how
Jim's airplane had flown through the top of
it one night in 1940 while dropping eggs on
a nearby tavern that the pilots had been
thrown out of. Talk about living history!
Frank had an indelible marker with him,
so I had Don sign and date the rudder of Mr.
Sam and write "Cherry Grove." Rumor had
it that I was just raising the value of the air-
plane, but that piece of fabric will make a
great memento some day.
In the afternoon we flew back to Brod-
head for the Pietenpol Fly-In, but even
though we had a great time that weekend,
everything was a little anti-climatic after
Cherry Grove. I think that enough people
heard our enthusiastic accounts of the visit
that it will certainly happen again, probably
with more airplanes next time.
And what of Mike and the big tires on Mr.
Sam? Well , we all played dumb for awhile
and pretended that they were the same ones
that had been on the airplane when I left New
York, and finally I told him that they had
been a little soft and we'd put 120 psi in
them. He still wasn't buying it, so eventually
I confessed to changing them, and told them
that they made the airplane look more like a
Pietenpol should. I think he agreed, and as
far as I know they're still on there.
After all of this adventure r had to get Mr.
Sam back to New York, then take the airline
back to California, and then quit my job, and
drive all the way back to the East Coast with
a Ryan fuselage on top of my car, but that's
another story. ..
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
IVIIATOURMEMBERSARERESTORING

Golden Oldie
This photo of a Travel Air 4000 "duster," N9048, SIN 849, was taken in the 1950's by veteran EAAer Leo
Kohn (EAA 4). The sign on the side of the fuselage reads,"Rex Williams Airplane Crop Dusters, Phoenix,
Arizona." The photo came from the collection of the late John Van Buren of Mattydale, NY, and was con-
tributed by Chuck Burtch (EAA 56205) of Phoenix, NY. Noteable items include a 245 "Shakey Jake" engine
with a huge over-wing exhaust, very flat pitched propeller, minimal cowling between the engine and firewall
and Grimes navigation lights. Eventually, the Travel Air was returned to a life of hauling passengers by Paul
King (EAA 191361, AlC 10180) in Watsonville, CA. About five years ago, the airplane caught fire and was
totaled, however, it is still registered to Paul King.
Elmer Steier's Cessna UC-78
This photo of a totally restored
1943 Cessna T-50 (UC-78), N60453,
SIN 5193, was sent in by owner, Elmer
Steier (EAA 308687, AIC 14955) of
Whittemore, Iowa. Purchased in De-
cember, 1987, from Otto Stender of
Maysville, lA, the big twin Cessna
was flown home on May 5, 1988, and
the restoration begun. Assisted by his
highly experienced nephew, Tim Steier
(EAA 109759, AI C 2264) of Blue
Eart h, MN, Elmer says the rebuild
took seven years and 21 days. The ex-
terior is finished exactly like the UC-
78 looked when it left the factory on
October 12, 1943. After a summer of
flying the pretty Cessna, the engines
and props have been replaced with
overhauled ones, ready for the '97 sea-
son. Plans are to bring the big twin to
Oshkosh '97, so folks, keep your eye
open for the prettiest Bamboo Bomber
you ever laid eyes upon. There are
154 Cessna T-50's remaining on the
FAA register.
24 MARCH 1997
Eight Yellow Ponca City Cubs
Ken Jackson's KR-31 Challenger
This photo of a recently restored 1929
Fairchild KR-31 Challenger, NC327H,
SIN 314, was sent in by owner and long-
time EAAer, Ken Jackson (EAA 95080,
Ale 6831) of Fairport, NY, who spent six
years of part time work restoring the OX-
5 powered biplane. Ken reports NC327H
was built in Hagerstown, MD, on May 31,
1929 , and was sold to the DW Flying
School in western New York. Ken's
grandfather learned to fly in this very air-
plane in the early 1930's and eventually
bought the KR-31 ,barnstorming around
the area for a few years. His grandfather
passed away in 1963 and never knew that
Ken had gone into aviation as an Eastman
Kodak corporate pilot for the past 22
years, flying a G-4 Challenger! Of the
two Challenger airplanes that he flies,
Ken says the KR-31 wins hands down as
the most fun to fly. Congratulations Ken,
on a beautiful restoration.
This photo of eight yellow Piper J-3 Cubs in a row
was taken by Bert Blanton (EAA 413085, AlC 22572)
last September 20th during the first Ponca City Cub
Fly-In at Ponca City, Oklahoma. The fly-in was spon-
sored by EAA Chapter 1046 and the Ponca City Avia-
tion Booster Club in honor of the 50th Anniversary of
the manufacture of Piper Cubs at Ponca City in 1946
and 1947. Enough to make a dyed-in-the-wool Cub
driver go into near hysteria at the sight, the Ponca City
gathering was held the day before the huge Tulsa Fly-
In and a grand time was had by all. On Friday, the
entire group flew en masse to Tulsa, landing in single
file - a stirring sight that endeared the Cub to the
many visitors. The Ponca City group voted to hold
the same gathering next year in 1997 at Ponca City.
Be there.
Michael Uding's Stinson 108-2
This picture of a nicely restored 1947 Stin-
son 108-2, N198C, SIN 108-3198, was sent
in by Michael Uding (EAA 16170, A / C
26950) of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. Mike
reports the Stinson had been stored in a bam
for 30 years before being carefully extri-
cated and the rebuild begun. It took approx-
imately two years for the restoration with
the Stits process being used for covering,
the fina l coats being Daytona White and
Portland Green. The flfSt flight was made on
Thanksgiving Day, 1996. The engine is a
Franklin six-cylinder of 165 hp. Note the
pretty metal wheelpants, the metal prop and
the Scott 3200 tailwheel. Special congratula-
tions go out to Mike Uding on the return to ac-
tive duty of his restored Stinson 108-2.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
A whileback Iwrote aboutowneras-
sistedannual inspections. Well, here's a
suggestion. It'llcostacouple ofbucks,but
I feel it ' swell worth it.
Browsing through the Type Club
newsletters is oneofmy mosttimeconsum-
ingefforts. I don't let any ofthem slip by
withoutreallygoingthroughthem. There is
a lotto be learned from theseNewsletters,
and it is all very valuable information for
theowner/operator.
I came across this gem in the Cub
Newsletterand it really fills the bill when it
comesto theownerdoing hisoilchanges.
Now all my airplanes,with the exception
ofthe AeroncaSedan(which has theADC
oil filter installed) are A-65s,A-75sandthe
Aeronca E-113 engines. Theydon'thave
external oil filters. Thismeansthatyou pull
the screens, put them in a rag-bag,slosh
them around in solventand look for trouble.
Verysimpleand easy,as you canseethe re-
sults immediately.
Now in comesthe Pacerwith the 0-290
D Lycomingand it has an external filter,
screw-ontype,aChampion48109orsome-
thing. It has screenstoo, butthe full flow
oil filter is the"biggie,"and thatiswhere
thisgadgetcomes in.
It's a can opener! An oil fi lter can
opener! Aboutthe handiestand mostrea-
sonablypricedone I'verunacross. Easyto
use,adaptabletojustaboutany ofthe cur-
rent manufacturedfilters andamust to con-
ductaproperoil change.
The money spent on this gadget is
peanutscomparedto thecost ofyouren-
gine. When you figure theoverhaul costin
today'sdollars , preventivemaintenance
comeseasy!
Ireadaboutthis tool inthe CubNewslet-
ter, andwith the memoryfresh in mymind
ofthe troublewe wentthroughtakingthe
used filter overto a friends shopwherehe
hada can opener, Idecidedto orderone.
Especiallysince it was aclubmemberdis-
countdealto boot.
Iwrotethe mana letter, andyou should
26 MARCH 1997
PASSdh
BUCK
by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert
EAA #21 NC #5
Here's what the Filter Wiz looks like. This is the Model1, which will open
all 314" spin-on filters (CH 48108,109,110,111). You can also buy, either at
the time of purchase or later, a conversion adapter which allows you to do all
production piston engine filters, (CH 48103, 104). It also allows you to open
many automotive filters that have 13/16 thread, and 3-5/8" dia. filters such as
the AC/PF-35, etc.The cost is $49.00, less a 5 percent discount to EAA mem-
bers. A full money back 90 day warranty is included Add $2 to cover COD
costs, otherwise pay by check or money order. No credit cards or phone or-
ders, please (it helps keep my overhead down so I can offer this at reason-
able price). Order it from: K. Santerre, 8127 Counselor Rd., Manassas, VA
22111.
see what Igotback! Theopener,rubber
gloves, a steakknife, detailedwritten in-
structionsand,to addto the stuffIcould
read,a videoshowingthewholeoperation.
He even extendeda promise to extendthe
discountedpriceto all EAA members!
Nowhowcanyoubeatadeal like that?
Takea lookatthe picture, thinkabout ita
bit,andifyouneedone,orderit!
Here'smoreon theBreeze Spark Plug
capdilemma:
DearBuck,
Justa not e t hat could help so l ve the
problemofbreakdownoftheBreezeCap.
There is aproduct avai labl e through elec-
tronicsupp ly houses knownas"corona
dope." This isa highvoltage, hi gh dielec-
tricleakresistantcoati ngthatcanbebrushed
onanyclean,drysurface. It isbrownishred
in colorand aboutthe consistencyofPar-
alketone. I used it back in the '60'swhen
we rebui lta lotofgeneratorsandstarters,to
setthe fie ld coi ls in the casesandprevent
leakageand grounding. A TVman who
used it to sealand coatthe ends ofpicture
tubes told meaboutthe material- we all
knowthatthere isplentyofvoltageto con-
tendwithinthatarea.
Thatwasagoodarticle- it'ssurpri si ng
howmanyofthe old heads(newonestoo)
who have neverheardofthe Breezesystem.
It wasn'ttoo common in theolddaysbe-
causemostradio receptionwas on low fre-
quencyand ignition HighFrequencydidn' t
presenta problem. Afterthe war, planes
thatcamewith radiosdidn'thaveshielded
ignition,includingtheStinson I08's,Cessna
140's,etc.
BackToYou,
C. C."Ace"Cannon
Winterset, IA
Dear Ace,
Your letter on the Breeze Cap ismost ap-
preciated. I'm amazed at how much input
I 've gotten so far on that letter. Marv Hop-
penworth had some comments to make by
phone, and a couple other calls came in as
well. Everybody agrees that it was a good
set up. Too bad they don't make 'em any-
more. I've got boxes of C-26s that could
probably be used ifwe had the system.
Over to You,
WELCOME
NEW MEMBERS
-
Cynthia D.Almquist....... .....WeepingWater, NE
Sven H.Andersen...... .. ....... ..........Oslo, Norway
John F. Arnold......... .. ...... ...Pompton Pl aines, NJ
Stephen A. Badolato......................Harrison, NY
PhillipW.Bass....... .. ...................Gulfshores, AL
Frederi ckH.Beck............. ....... ...... ..Rockford, IL
Brad Beckworth ..... ....... ...... .......Jacksonville, FL
David S.Behne................ ....... ...Brentwood, CA
William H. Berri ck............... ............Omaha, NE
Jim Borst ... ............... ........ColoradoSprings, CO
Bruce K.Chester...... .. .......... ....... .....Raleigh, NC
Edward R. Clay..................... ...........Fishkill , NY
MikeClouse...... .. .. ........ ..... ..... .... . Olympi a, WA
EddieCrowder..... ..... .... .......... .... .. Ashevill e, NC
HomerL.Dangler.................. .........Addison, MI
Steven Derksen...... .... ....Edson, Alberta, Canada
Bill Di ckey..... .. .... ..... ........ .... ..... .Redmond, WA
John W. Dolan............. ..... ...... .. Paso Robles,CA
John Dutra..................... ...... .. ... .. ...Saratoga, CA
George Fi eld,Jr....... ........ .... ............ ..Tempe,AZ
Chooks Fowler....Cootamundra, NSW,Australia
John H.Garabedian... .... ..... .. Southborough, MA
Arlen Gellings... .......... ....... ...... ...Franksville,WI
ArthurHaefliger................Nufenen,Switzerland
GregM.Hagen...... ... ........... ........Muskegon, MI
HymanE.Harrelson .... ... ..... .. ..... ......Ogden, UT
GregoryA. Harri s.. ...... .. .. .... .............Jordan,MN
Merl eHelt......... ...... .... ...... ....... .. Ponca City, OK
Don E.Herfurth ..... ...... ...... .. .... Grass Valley,CA
DudleyHill...... .... .... .... .... ....... .. ....Lancaster, PA
Brian E.Hoffmann ....... .......... .. ........... .Boise, ID
James B. Hoover.. ... ... .... ..... ... ......Ridgeland, WI
Daniel P. Horton............. ............Wetumpka, AL
Ken Humbertson.. ... .. ...... .... .. ..... ..St. Peters, MO
Phi ll ipM.Jones...... .......Richmond Hei ghts,MO
Richard H. Kiser..... ......................Abingdon, VA
Timothy Kraus... ........ ..... ....... .... .... ... Seattle, WA
Wi ll iam W. Long, Jr. ......... .. ..Campbellsvil le, KY
David G. Lybarger............................Murray, NE
Raymond D.Main...... ... .... .....WestMonroe, NY
Tom McDuffee...... .... ........... .. .... . Rosamond, CA
NorvinJ. Meitner................. .......Mi lwaukee, WI
StanislawMisiewi cz......... ... .............Murray, UT
JosefMuehlbauer ..... ...... ..North FortMeyers, FL
RobertMyers........ ...... ... ..... .......CalumetCity, IL
Richard M.Nelson.......... .. ......... ...Arlington, VA
Daniel R.Peterson .... ...... ......... ..... .. . Omaha, NE
RobertL. Phillips... .. ..................Wilkesboro, NC
JeffJ. Pl antz....... ....... ......................Madison,WI
Carl Prui ss............... .. ...... .. ... ...TerracePark, OH
Kenneth W.Rei man............. ....... .. Spokane,WA
Michael ScottReiman.. .... .......... ... ...LaJolla, CA
Richard Reiser......... ..... .. ...... ...... .. Cupertino, CA
Rick L. Shelor.......................... .. ........Vinton, VA
MichaelJ.Smith ... .......................Grapevine,TX
MichaelTabler.......... ......... ... .........Bell evue, NE
DennisThomas....... .. .... ...... .. .....SantaCruz, CA
Paul R.Thomas ...... .... ............. .. .... . St. Paul, MN
Robin L. VanValkenburg...... .........Elk River, MN
Fred Voltz.............. ............ .. ......... ...Coppell,TX
BruceWallis.. ....... ...... ...... ... ...... ..... ... . Porter, TX
Steven P. Webre...... ........... ..... .. ...Broussard, LA
RandyWilliams... .... ..... ... ..........Tumacacori, AZ
G I l N ~
The West's Premier EAA Event
HOMEBU ILTS ANTI QUES
ULTRALIGHTS
CLASSICS HELICOPTERS
WARBIRDS
AIRCRAFT FLY-BYS &AIRSHOW EVERYDAY
EXHIBITS - FORUMS - FLY MARKET
AIRCRAFT JUDGING &AWARDS
FAMILY ACTIVITIES - CAMPING
OUTDOOR RUNWAY THEATER
EACH EVENING
HOT AIR BALLOON RALLY
HOME BUILDERS WORKSHOP
COMPLETE FOOD SERVICE
VINTAGEAIRPLANE27
REG IONAL FLY I N
SEPTEMBER 6-7 - MARION, OH - Mid-
Eastern EAA Fly-In (MERFI). Call Lou
Lindeman, 573/849-9455.
OCTOBER 9-12 - MESA, AZ - Coppers tate
Fly-In. Call Bob Hasson, 520/228-5480.
OCTOBER 10-12 - EVERGREEN, AL -
Southeast Regional Fly-In. Call Harold
"Bubba" Hamiter, 334/765-9709.
OCTOBER 10-12 - WILMINGTON, DE -
East Coast EAA Fly-In. Call Andrew
Alvarez, 302/738-8883.
OCTOBER 17- 19 - KERRVILLE, TX -
Southwest Regional Fly-In. Call Stu
McCurdy, 5 72/388-7399.
MARCH 22-23 - BORREGO SPRINGS, CA -
Third Annual Borrego Valley Fly-In.
Camping, food available on field. Fly- In
info, call the airport manager at 679/767-
7475, call th e Chamber of Commerce for
lodging, transporation 679/767-5555.
APRIL 6-1 2 - LAKELAND, FL - 23rd Annual
Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In and Convention.
873/644-2437.
APRIL 26 - LEVELLAND, TX - EAA Chapter 79
Fly-In breakfast. 8-70 a.m. Info: Call Bob
Stites, 806/794-596 7 or Lome Sharp,
806/793-3202.
APRIL 27 - HALF MOON BAY, CA - 7 th
Annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines, bene-
fit for the Coastside Adult Day Health Center.
70 a.m. - 4 p.m. $ 7 0 for adults, 5 for children
under 74 and senior citizens (65 years+) Kids
under four free. For info, call 475/726-2328.
APRIL 30-M AY 4 - SAN ANTON I O , TX -
Stinson Aerodrome Reunion. A Celebration
of th e history of Stinson Aircraft Co. An
extensive program is being planned.
Contact Marcia Gietz, 2358 Bolsover St.,
Houston, TX 77005-2648, fax 713/ 522-
2458 or e-mail atstinson@concentric.net
MA Y 2-4 - ROANOKE RAPIDS, NC - Annual
Spring Fly-In, sponsored by EAA
Antique/Classic Chapter 3. All welcome. For
info contact Ray Bottom, jr. 757-722-5056 or
Fax at 757/873-3059.
M A Y 4 - DAYTON, OH - 34th Annual EAA
Chapter 48 Fly-In Breakfast at Moraine Air
Park. Lots of Antiques on the field. Contact
jennie Dyke at 573/878-9832.
MAY 18 - ROMEOVILLE, IL - EAA Chapter 75
Fly-In breakfast, 7- 77 a.m . at Lewis
Romeoville Airport (LOT). Info : Frank
Goebel 875/436-6 753.
MAY 18 - WARW ICK, NY - EAA Chapter 507
annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72)
in Warwick, NY. 70 a.m. - 4 p.m. Food, tro-
phies, judging closes at 2 p.m.. Unicom
723.0. Info: Harry Barker, 201/838-7485.
28 MARCH 1997
The following list of coming events is furnished to our
readers as a matter of information only and does not
constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, con-
trol or direction of any event (fly-in, seminars, fly
market, etc.) listed. Please send the information to
fAA, Aft: Golda Cox, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086. Information should be received four
months prior to the event date.
Fly-In Calendar
MAY 23 - 25 - WATSONVILLE, CA - 33rd
annual West Coast Fly-In and Airshow. This
years theme " Quest For Speed . .. Air
Racing Through Th e Ages. " I nfo: Call
408/496-9559.
MAY 24 - DECATUR, AL - (KDCU) EAA Chapter
947 9th Annual Fly-In. Food, fun, aircraft
judging. For more information contact Dick
Todd, 205/977 -4060 or 205/96 7-4540 (work).
JUNE 1 - DEKALB, IL - DeKalb-Taylor
Municipal Airport. EAA Chapter 24 7 Fly-In
Breakfast. 7 a.m. - noon. Info: Bernie
Simuuich, 875/758-8434.
JUNE 6-7 - BARTLESVILLE, OK - Frank Phillips
Field. 77th Annual National Biplane
Convention and Exposition. For info call
Charlie Harris, Chairman, 978/622-8400,
Virgil Gaede, Expo Director, 978/336-3976.
JUNE 6-7 - MERCED, CA - 40th Merced West
Coast Antique Fly-In. Info: write the Merced
Pilots Assoc., PO Box 23 72, Merced, CA
95344 or call Virgina Morford, 209/383-
4632 or for concessions, Bud Holck,
209/722-8323.
JUNE 6 - 8 - SUGAR GROVE, IL - Aurora
Municipal Airport, EAA Chapter 579 Annual
Fly-In and Open House. lAC Chapter One
Heuer Classic aerobatic competition will be
held at the same time. Antique/Classic aircraft
displays, and EAA B-77 tours are scheduled.
Lunch available on Friday, breakfast and
lunch on Saturday. For info: Alan Shackleton,
630/466-4793, Bob Rieser, 630/466-7000,
David Monroe, 847/639-6490.
JUNE 14 - ALL OVER THE WORLD - INTER-
NA TlONAL YOUNG EAGLES DA Y. Fl y a
Young Eagle on this day, and join the thou-
sands of other pilots who will be doing the
same to further the awareness of sport avia-
tion. For info call the EAA Young Eagles
office at: 474/ 426-4837.
JUNE 14-1 5 - ANDOVER, NJ - Aeroflex-
Andover Airport (72N). Olde fashined fly-in
sponsored by EAA NC Chapter 7. Authentic
WW I birds, good eats. Info: 207/786-5682
or 207/367-0875.
JUNE 15 - ANDERSON, IN - Anderson
Municipal Airport. EAA Chapter 226 Father's
Day Fly-In breakfast, 7 a.m. - 77 a.m. For info
call Larry Rice, 3 77/649-8690.
JUNE 15 - LACROSSE, WI - Father's Day
Fly/Drive-In Breakfast. 7 am-72 pm. $4.50, PIC
free. Cakes by Big jakes, displays by Harley
Davidson, Skipper/iner, aviation vendors. NC
fly-bys and static displays. Check NOTAM5.
Info: Steve Schmitz, 608/787-5277.
JUNE 19-22 ST. LOUI S, MO - Creve Coeur
Airport. American Waco Club Fly-In.
Contacts: Phil Coulson, 676/624-6490 or
jerry Brown, 377/535-8882.
JUNE 21 - WALWORTH, WI - Bigfoot Airfield
(WI05) Fly/ Drive-In Breakfast. Young Eagle
rides, airshows at 9 and 77 am. Rain date:
6/22. Info: Bob Kirkpatrick 474/736-4207.
JUNE 22 - NILES, MI - jerry Tyler Mem.
Airport. 70th Annual Fly-In Breakfast/Lunch.
6 am - 7pm. Carbon's Malted or Healthy
Gourmet pancakes, real orange juice.
$3.95, kids under 5 free. Luch is Chicago
style Hot Dogs, chip and soft drinks.
Tropies for first arrival and 7 categories.
Proceeds to benefit EAA Chapter 865
hangar project and their safety and young
peoples programs. Info: Ralph Ballard,
676/684-0972.
JUNE 26-29 - MT. VERNON, OH - 38th Annual
National Waco Reunion Fly-In. 573/868-0084.
JULY 30-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH, WI - 45th
Annual f AA Fl y- In and Sport Avi ation
Convention. NOTf DA Y CHANGf - Now
Wednesday through Tuesday. Wittman
Regional Airport. Contact John Burton, fAA
P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086,
414/ 426-4800.
AUGUST 2 - ELLSWORTH, KS - (9K7) EAA
Chapter 7 727 Fly-In breakfast and Cowtown
Festival. Info: 973/472-4773.
AUGUST 9-10 - RICHMOND HEIGHTS, OH
-Cuyahoga County Airport. Wings &
Wheels, to benefit the Crawford Auto-
Aviation Museum. Info: 276/ 727-5722 or
the web site at www.whrs.org
AUGUST 30 - MARION, IN - 7th annual Fly-
In/Cruise- I n Breakfast sponsored by the
Marion High School Band Boosters .
Antiques/Classics/Homebuilts, as well as
Antique/Classic cars welcome. Info: Ray
j ohnson, 377/664-2588.
SEPTEMBER 19-20 - BARTLESVILLE, OK - Frank
Phillips Field. 40th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-
In. For info call Charlie Harris, 978/622-8400.
SEPTEMBER 19-21 - SELMA, CA - 75th annual
West Coast Travel Air Fly-In. Old fashioned
fly- i n where aviators do what comes natu-
rally. Flying events, memorabil ia auction,
great food. Info: jerry Impellezzeri,
408/356-3407 or Bob Lock 209/638-4235.
SEPTEMBER 20 - SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX -
EAA Chapter 7094 3rd annual Fall Fly-In.
Coincides with the 28th annual Hopkins
County Fall Festival and World Champion
Stew Contest. I nfo: 908/885-5525 or
903/439-3272.
SEPTEMBER 21 - HINKLEY, IL - EAA Chapter
247 Fall Fly-In Breakfast. Info: Bernie
Simuuich, 875/758-8434.
OCTOBER 5 - TOMAH, WI - Bloyer Field.
EAA Chapter 935 70th Annual Fly-In break-
fast . Static Displays, food, craft market,
radio controlled planes, 7 am - 4 pm. Info:
call 608/372-3725.
MEMBERSHIP
INFORMATION
Something to buy, sell or trade? An inexpensive ad in the Vintage
Trader may be just the answer to obtaining that elusive part. .40 per
word, $6.00 minimum charge. Send your ad and payment to: Vintage
Trader, fAA Aviation Center, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, or
fax your ad and your credit card number to 414/426-4828. Ads must be
received by the 20th ofthe month for insertion in the issue the second
month following (e.g., October 20th for the December issue.)
EAA
Membership in the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Inc. is$35foroneyear, including 12
issuesofSPORTAVIATION. Familymembership
isavailableforanadditional$10annually. Junior
Membership (under 19years ofage) is available
at$20annually. Allmajorcreditcardsaccepted
formembership.
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC
Current EAA members mayjoin the Antique/
Classic Division and receive VINTAGE AIR-
PLANEmagazineforanadditional$27peryear.
EAA Membership, VINTAGEAIRPLANEmag-
azine and one year membership in the EAA
Antique/Classic Division is available for $37per
year(SPORTAVIATIONmagazinenotincluded).
lAC
CurrentEAA membersmayjoin the Intemational
AerobaticClub, Inc.DivisionandreceiveSPORT
AEROBATICS magazine foran additional$40
peryear.
EAA Membership, SPORTAEROBATICSmaga-
zine and one year membership in the lAC
Division is available for $50 peryear (SPORT
AVIATIONmagazinenotincluded).
WARBIRDS
Current EAA members may join the EAA
Warbirds ofAmerica Division andreceive WAR-
BIRDSmagazineforanadditional$35peryear.
EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magazine and
oneyearmembershipin the Warbirds Division is
available for $45peryear (SPORTAVIATION
magazinenotincluded).
AIRCRAFT
1946 Aeronca Champ. Original and correct
from prop decal to tailwheel (except shielded
ignition and textured paint on interior panels to
simulate flock). 85 hours since detailed restora-
tion and engineoverhaul. Cared forlikemuseum
piece. Same owner past 20 years. Includes
spare,runout engine, COM radio, documentation
and manuals. (860) 535-1699 after 8:30 p.m.
Inquireswelcome.Offersconsidered.
MISCElLANEOUS
SUPERCUBPA-18FUSELAGES- Newmanu-
EAAEXPERIMENTER
Current EAA members may receive EAA
EXPERIMENTERmagazineforanadditional$20
peryear.
EAA Membership andEAA EXPERIMENTER
magazine is available for$30peryear (SPORT
AVIATIONmagazinenotincluded).
FOREIGN
MEMBERSHIPS
Please submityourremittance with a check or
draftdrawn on aUnitedStates bankpayable in
United States dollars. Add$13postage for
SPORTAVIATIONmagazine and/or$6postage
foranyoftheothermagazines.
EAAAVIATIONCENTER
P.O.box3086
Oshkosh, WI54903-3086
WEBSITEhttp://www.eaa.org
E-MAILVintage@eaa.org
PHONE(414)426-4800
FAX(414)426-4873
OFFICEHOURS:
8:15-5:00mon.-fri.
1-800-843-3612
MEMBERSHIPDUESTOEAAAND
ITSDIVISIONSARENOTTAX
DEDUCTIBLEASCHARITABLE
CONTRIBUTIONS.
facture, STC-PMA- d, 4130 chromoly tubing
throughout, also complete fuselage repair.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN AIRFRAME INC. (J. Soares,
Pres.),7093 Dry Creek Road, Belgrade, Montana
59714, 406/388-6069, FAX 406/ 388-0170.
RepairstationNo. QK5R148N. (0274)
AVIATIONINSURANCE
FREE CATALOG - Aviation books and videos.
Howto,buildingandrestorationtips, historic,fly-
ingandentertainmenttitles. Callforafreecata-
log. EAA,1-8OO-843-3612. Insureitas you buildit!
Ragwing Replicas- Ultralight legal Aircamper,
Thil feathers to nosegear,
Heath, Pitts, Duster, Triplane. Plans $52.
Brochure $3. P. O. Box 39, Townville, SC
29689. (0400)
we love homebuilts!
EAA Aircraft Finance Program. We finance
most types of aircraft including experimentals.
No aircraft age limit. Call 1-800-999-4515, FAX
941/646-1671 E-mail eaa@airloans.com US and Canada call
Homepage http://www.airshow.netleaaloan+
administered by NAFCO. (1626)
PiperJ5CInformationNeeded- Will beg,bor-
row or purchase any information, articles, pic-
tures etc. on the Piper J5C. This is the fully
800-276-5207
NotavailableinOuebec
.-
cowled model with the Lycoming 0235 engine
that became the PA12 .Bob Ruffini - Days
800/224-5522, FAX 810/ 644-8909, Eve
C v i M C O ~
INSURANCE COMPANY
810/ 644-9081.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE29
Visit the All New
Hammondsport.NewYork
" The Cradle ofAviation"
Expl orethelifeandtimesofAviationPioneerGlennH.Curtiss.Experiencea
rarecollectionofearlyaircraft,motorcycles,bicyclesandengines. Reliveturn
ofthecenturylifestylethroughcollectionsofantiquetoys,dolls,furnitureand
othercuriosities. Specialexhibitsandevents. Somethingforthewholefamily!
May1- October31 November1- April30
Monday- Saturday 9- 5 Monday- Saturday 10- 4
Sunday 11- 5 Sunday U- 5
Admission Accessible

(607)569-2160
CurtissMuseum Hammondsport NewYork 14840
Route 54,one halfmile south of the Village
Spirnl-Bowtd
Classrooll1..
Ournewmanual isn' t
just aref erence - it's a
coveringcourse in a
book.It's theclearest,
mostthorough, and
most fun-to-read
OrderYours!Just $10.00!
Plus SblppIng If( Handllng
Ai r c r a f t Coatin.gs
-
It' ll
show
you
just
howeasy itis to
coveran airplane
800-362-3490

E-maU:inCo@polyflbc r.com
FAX:909-684-0518
Fly high with a
quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation.
Customqualityateconomicalprices.
Cushionupholsterysets
Wallpanelsets
Headl iners
Carpetsets
Baggagecompartmentsets
Firewallcovers
Seatslings
Recoverenvelopesanddopes
Freecatalogofcompl eteproductline.
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and
styl esofmaterials:$3. 00.
1j8
!
I I
INC.
259LowerMorrisvilleRd., Dept.VA
Fallsington,PA19054 (215)295-4115 ZJ
step-by-step
bookofits
kind. Itwi l l
guideyou all
the way
through theenti re
Poly-Fiberprocess in
plain easy language
and with adel ightful
sense ofhumor.
with Poly-Fiber,
and howmuch
funitcan be.It
includesourentire
catalogoftools,
products,andother
goodies, too. All you
need tomake ithappen
is ournewmanual...
and adream.
30MARCH 1997
EAA/SPORTAIR
aeanD TM
WORKSHOPS
EndtheOilMess
Co-sponsored by EAA and Alexander

SportAir,theseWorkshopsoffer weekend
programswith awide range ofbasicand advanced aircraft
fabricat ion and restoration skil ls.
D-18 Twin Beech
Grumman Mallard
D-17 Staggerwing Beechcrak
For Round EngineClassics
AnySizeRadial From PT'sto
Constellations
Over300Clean KitsTM on
radialenginesworldwide;
includingantiques,classics,
warbirdsandtransports.
Our proprielaryeiedncoil """"'!lingandshnofIsystem
;, 100'1'.foolproof and.de. This.Iiscodpil<.onlrolled,
guarded switchesandannuociolioo 12- and
24""1systems OI'Oibbie.
Customengi"""ing;,our CIeon Kn'" is
bIe lorIieId OW"'"""ngsIor1<bd 337processfor aU
colegooes 01 airaal1.
Darton International,Inc.
264 Trade Street, #101
Son /laws. CA 92CY:fJ
800-713-2786
619-471-9304 FAX
Dorton InlerOOliono/, Inc.. 19'16.
Denton,TX (Dallas) March22-23
Griffin, GA April 26-27
Reno, NV May 17-18
Please contact SportAir for location information and
registration_ Call 1-800/967-5746, Fax 770/ 467-9413.
WW1 AERO (1900-1919)
SKYWAYS (1920-1940)
historical research
workshop notes
Information on painVooor
aeroplanes, engines, parts
for S8Je
your wants and disposals
Information on current projects
newsof museums and airshows
lechnal drawings and data
photographs
Sample issues $4each
scale modelling material
BUILD ONE! A REAL ONE!
news of current publications
Sole distributors lor P3V. a computer program to generate a 3-view from a photograph.
f'ublishcd by WORLD WAR 1 INC.
15 Crescenl Road. Poughkeepsie. NY 12601 USA (9 14) 473-3679
Own theAirplane
of Your Dreams
with EAA'sAircraft Finance Program.
EAA'sAircraftFinanceProgramis
designedtomake iteasierandmore
affordabletoownanairplane.Theplan
wi ll financenotonlyhomebuiits,antiques
andultralights- butmostotherairplanes
aswell. Skyhawks,Bonanzas,Aztecs,
Citations- withnoaircraftagelimit.
TheEAAAircraftFinanceProgram
offerslowdownpayments,loanmini-
mumsof$1 0,000andattractiverateswith
tennsupto 15 years.
Wewelcomepartnerships,flight
schoolsandflyingclubs. Savemoneyby
refinancingyourcurrentairplane.
EAA membershipis includedwith every
loanthat' sapproved. We' ll alsoautomati-
callyrenewandpay for yourannual EAA
duesforthe lengthofthe loan- on loans
over$20,000.
Formore informationontheEAA
AircraftFinance Programorto obtaina
loanapplicationcall :
18009994515
orfax 9416461671.

.......... AIM:NIIT -

Y ../


EAA Aircraft Finance Program
Th e EAA Aircraft Finance Program is administered by NAFCO, P.D. Box 6145, Lakeland, FL. 33807.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31
r
Frederick R. B'ew;tt
Youngstown OH
Bob hasbeen flying
since 1947.
Long-time EAA and
Antique/Classicmember.
William C. Stavana
Colf'andOH
Bill has been flying
since 1954.
Long-time EAA and
Antique/Classicmember.
AUAis
approved.
To becomean
EAAAntique&
Classic Division
Member,call
800-843-3612
32 MARCH1997
"Wehave had superservice
from AUA, especiallywhenwe
hadpropdamagelastyearand
wereableto geta newprop
with justa small 'upgrade'or
appreciation charge.Weare
also appreciativeofthe factthat
weweren'tchargedany
deductable, as itwasour
firstclaim."
- Bob Blewitt & Bill Stavana
AUA'sExclus;ve EAAAnt;que/Class;c D;v;s;on InsuranceProgram
Lo erliabilityand hull premiums
Medicalpaymentsincluded
Fleetdiscountsformultipleaircraftcarrying all risk coverages
Nohand-proppingexclusion
Noagepenalty
Nocomponentpartsendorsements
Discountsforclaim-free renewals carrying all risk coverages
The bestis affordable.
Remember,
GiveAUAa call - it's FREE!
We'reBetterTogetherl
Fly with the pros.. .flywith AUA Inc. AVIATION UNLIMITED AGENCY
COMAV, working with AUA Inc., has the broad knowledge it takes to cover the specialized needs of antique
and classic ai rcraft pilots. COMAV coverage is backed by SAFECO Insurance, one of America's most trusted
companies, with an A++ rating from A.M. Best. For more about our unique programs, contact your aviation
speciali st. Or, if you're an EAA member, call AUA at 800-727-3823. Remember, we're better together.
Italy "The Great War"