SEPTEMBER 2003

VOL. 31 , No. 9

VAA NEWS/H.G. Frautschy

2003 AIRVENTURE AWARDS

6 JOHN MILLER RECALLS

A LITTLE FLYING INCIDENT IN 1929/john Miller

8 TAILWHEEL TRANSITION TRAINING , PART 3

CROSSWIND TECHNIQUE AND SLIPS TO LANDING
THE LOST ARTS?/Donovan Hammer
10 MYSTERY PLANE/H. G. Frautschy
11

ONE LARGE ADRENALINE COCKTAIL

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE FUSELAGE GAS TANK
SPLITS OPEN IN FLIGHT WITH NO PLACE TO GO?/
Al Kelch

14 RICHARD PORTER' S C-196

A ROUND-MoTORED " WHATSIT?"/Budd Davisson
18 VAA CHAPTER LOCATOR
VISIT THE VAA CHAPTER NEAREST YOU AND GET TO
KNOW SOME GREAT OLD-AIRPLANE ENTHUSIASTS!
19 PASS IT TO BUCK
20 VAA CHAPTERS IN ACTION
VAA CHAPTER 30's YOUNG EAGLES RALLY/
H.G. Fra utschy
21

A LEAP OF FAITH
Rob Mixon

22

THE VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR

WHAT'S GOING ON?/ Dou g Stewart

25

CALENDAR

27

NEW MEMBERS

28

CLASSIFIED ADS

Front Cover: Behind the thundering 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 are pilot
Publisher
Editor-in-Chief
Executive Editor
News Editor
Photography Staff

Advertising Coordin ator

Advertising/ Editorial Assistant
Copy Editing

TOM POBEREZNY
scon SPANGLER
MIKE DIFRISCO
RIC REYNOLDS
JIM KOEPNICK
LEEANN ABRAMS
TRISHA LUNDQUIST
JULIE RUSSO
ISABELLE WISKE
COLLEEN WALSH
KATHLEEN WITMAN

VINTAGE A.;.;I.;.;
R"P.;;;
L.;.;
A.;.;
N.;;;
E'--_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _---1

Executive Director, Editor

VAA Administrati ve Assistant
Contributing Ed itors

HENRY G. FRAUTSCHY
THERESA BOOKS
JOHN UNDERWOOD
BUDD DAVISSON

Richard Porter and his passenger, Mark Boykin in Porter's Cessna "196 " a con
version of the classic Cessna 195. EAA photo by Jim Koepnick , EAA Cessna 210
photo plane flown by Bruce Moore.

Back Cover: A Century of Flight is the title of Leon Basler's mi xed media paint
ing that depicts the progress of flight throughout the century. Leon 's worked as
a commercial artist and currently serves as the corporate pilot and creative
designer for Kadrmas, Lee and Jackson in Bismarck, North Dakota. Leon 's art
work was presented with the Theme-Par Excellence ribbon during the 2003
EAA Sport Aviation Art Competition .

STRAIGHT

Be LE EL
BY ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE
PRESIDENT, VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Hats off to our volunteers!

I don't know about you, but after
spending nearly two-and-a-half weeks
in Oshkosh working and enjoying EAA
AirVenture 2003, making the shift back
to working for a living is a tough transi
tion! I've been trying to think of all of
the events that took place, and put
them in some sort or order, but it's diffi
cult, since there were so many great
activities that took place.
This year's event was a great success
in every respect. Thanks to good
weather in the central Midwest, we
had a large number of airplanes arrive
during the weekend prior to the con
vention's start on Tuesday. We were
blessed with a great group of volun
teers who showed up early, and our
flight line safety and Tall Pines Cafe
volunteers were able to help their fel
low VAA members get off to an
enjoyable start to the week.
Over the years, as the convention
grounds have been rearranged by EAA,
we 've had to adjust our parking area
layout. We're working on that again.
To explain it further, for many years
we've kept the area just to the south of
the Theater in the Woods as antique
(no camping) parking only, and then
started showplane camping about
halfway through this area to the south.
In the past, with demand for camping
parking not as great in this area, we'd
fill in part of that area with "round en
gine" airplanes, most often classics.
This year, we didn't need to fill in the
area, so many of those classics were
parked in different areas.
Camping in the south half of the
convention grounds is not just VAA
camping, but all of showplane camp
ing. As more and more homebuilders
are camping with their aircraft, we're
working with the homebuilt commu
nity to accommodate those pilots who
camp with their airplanes. There are a

few rows of the camping area that are

set aside for homebuilt camping, and
that's often the reason you see a gap in
the parking as you are directed south
toward the rest of showplane camping.
On the opening day of EAA AirVen
ture, we did a physical inventory of
airplanes in the showplane camping
area, plus our VAA parking, and we
counted nearly 1,100 airplanes, a record
number of showplanes for us. It also
seemed that many folks chose to stay
longer and participate in the many fo
rums and visit the displays, including
Countdown to Kitty Hawk.
This year, the judges also had their
hands full. Before EAA AirVenture
starts, the judges arrive early enough
to be issued their equipment. It's a
great plan , and when it works, the
judges can start reviewing aircraft be
fore the actual start of the event. Not
this year. The computer system issued
to our judges was not working prop
erly, and would remain in various
states of disarray for the duration of
the convention. Not to be outflanked
by a computer, our judges were issued
our old-fashioned pencil and paper
forms at the beginning of the week,
and they accomplished their tasks
with their usual efficiency. They all did
a great job under trying circumstances.
Needless to say, we will be working
closely with EAA to ensure a revision
to the computer program meets the
needs of the members and the judges.
The restoration of aircraft continues
to get better and better. Take, for exam
ple, the Classic Grand Champion for
2003. Mike Greenblatt and his wife,
Lydia, are a real team when it comes to
their Beech 18 and its restoration. This
wasn't a one-time shot at the top
award, either. They've worked on that
airplane for a number of years, getting
as close as Reserve Grand Champion

last year. After checking with the

judges about any discrepancies that
they needed to address, they went
home and worked on the airplane, and
were presented with the Grand Cham
pion Lindy. Great job! Congratulations
to all the winners. I strongly believe
that if it were not for the awards pro
gram, many of these great airplanes in
each of the judging categories would
not be restored to the levels we see to
day. It's truly remarkable.
My hat's off to the hard-working
chairmen, co-chairmen, and sunburned
volunteers of the flight line safety crew.
On scooters and on foot, these folks do
their best to help VAA members and
nonmembers alike park and depart
with their airplanes, sometimes with an
interval of only a few seconds. During
that time, they have to ensure the air
plane's in a safe environment, check its
registration number, and if needed,
check on the radio to see if it qualifies
to park in the showplane camping area,
and then point them toward the right
spot. That's a lot to do on a hot day,
and there are times when it gets a bit
hectic, and their conversations with the
airplane pilots are pretty short and to
the point. We appreciate the coopera
tion of pilots who are equally hot and
tired after a long flight.
Parking is always an issue we work
with during EAA AirVenture. We
will be conducting a review of the
parking arrangements for the entire
showplane parking area that VAA
administers during the convention.
Let's all pull in the same direction
for the good of aviation. Remember,
we are better together. Join us and
have it all!
......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

VAA NEWS

Sport Pilot Takes a Major Step at EAA AirVenture

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh attendees are ac
customed to big announcements, but they
heard a huge one July 31, during FAA Ad
ministrator Marion Blakey's "Meet the
Administrator" session.
Held this year in the largest EAA forum
pavilion, which nearly quadrupled the num
ber of available seats, she told a
standing-room-only crowd that she'd
signed the sport pilot/light-sport aircraft
(SP/LSA) rulemaking package and for
warded it to the Department of
Transportation (DOT).
Secretary of Transportation Norman
Mineta attended EAA AirVenture two days
later and said that SP/LSA would not be in
his office long. After DOT and Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approval,
SP/LSA will become official upon publica
tion in the Federal Register.
"This will serve the needs of aviation
enthusiasts for many years to come," said
the administrator, making her first visit to
Oshkosh. "It's expected to greatly reduce
the barriers for becoming a pilot and for
becoming an aircraft owner. I can assure
you I'm going to work very hard with DOT
as the rule continues to move forward."
"This is a momentous step on the road
to seeing sport pilot/light-sport aircraft be
come a reality," commented EAA President
Tom Poberezny.
EAA continues to work closely with the
FAA to ensure that the infrastructure
needed for training and aircraft inspection
are in place so members can fully realize
the rule's benefits when it takes effect.
EAA also has worked closely with aviation
industry representatives, through the
ASTM International standards-setting
process, to establish light-sport aircraft
manufacturing standards.

The light-sport aircraft portion of the

rule will require that all manufacturers up
hold the consensus standards that are
being established by the industry/commu
nity/government committee administered
by ASTM, thus ensuring that each new
ready-to-fly light-sport aircraft will be con
structed within accepted design and
quality assurance standards.
Most of the ASTM standards for LSA
should be completed when FAA issues the
final SP/LSA rule. The powered parachute
standards are already completed, and the
fixed-wing committee has completed its
quality control standard. It is in the final
stages of balloting its other standards.
The weight-shift (trike), gyroplane, and
glider committees have also begun work
on their various required standards. After
the final SP/LSA rule is published, the var
ious consensus standards will be adjusted
as necessary to meet the final rule speci
fications.
While the SP/LSA announcement was
the highlight of her forum, FAA Administra
tor Blakey discussed the year-old FITS
(FAA-Industry Training Standards) program,
created in partnership with Cirrus DeSign,
AirShares Elite, Avidyne, and Garmin. The
program aims to develop tailored training
for the individual ways pilots use their air
planes. "One size doesn't fit all," Blakey
said of current training.
She also announced the expansion of
the DAR (deSignated airworthiness repre
sentative) inspection program. "The
number of homebuilt aircraft is growing,
which is great," Blakey noted, "and we're
developing a new DAR designation. The
DAR program will have more inspectors,
which means more inspections and
greater safety."

VAA Hall of Fame 2004 Nominees Sougirt

Time is running out for submitting nominations for the 2004
VAA Hall of Fame. If you know someone who has made lifelong
contributions to the vintage airplane community, consider nomi
nating him or her for this honor. The deadline for nominations is
September 30, 2003. Copies of the nomination form can be down
loaded at www.vintageaircraft.org/programs/nominating.html.
Please do it soon!
2

SEPTEMBER 2003

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey

addresses representatives of type
clubs during the annual EAAj VAA
Type Club.

EAA AirVenture Brings Gov

ernment-Industry-Aviators
Together
As the world's pre-eminent gen
eral and recreational aviation
showcase, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
is where all the players of aviation
government, industry, association,
and the general public-meet and
get things done.
"This week is important to our
government relations because it
gives EAA a tool nobody else has,"
said Earl Lawrence, EAA vice presi
dent of industry and regulatory
affairs. "In one day government of
ficials can see everything related to
general aviation and recreational
aviation that would take them years
to see at different events. Just as im
portant is that the people and the
aircraft that come to Oshkosh relate
with each other. People don't realize
what effect it has on officials when
they come here and see how polite
everyone is, how much fun they're
having; they see the families, and
see the beautiful airplanes."
AirVenture is an important part
of EAA's year-round work with gov
ernment and aviation officials to
promote the needs of EAAers and
the general aviation community.
EAA concentrates on five key issues:
homebuilt aircraft; fuel; aging air
craft; security; and, of course, the
sport pilotl1ight-sport aircraft
(SP/LSA) rule. Some of the areas of
particular concern to vintage air
craft owners include;

Fuel
EAA has devoted considerable
resources to researching viable re
placements for leaded aviation
fuels. While there were no fuel-spe
cific meetings this year, new
aircraft engines by Honda/Tele
dyne Continental and Bombardier
tout the use of autogas. "By devel
oping these replacements and
technologies, it offers the possibil
ity of changing to a nonleaded fuel
and keeping everyone in the air,"
Lawrence said.
Aging Aircraft
Field approvals were a hot topic
at the annual FAA and type clubs
meetings . "We worked directly
with the FAA Small Airplane Direc
torate to develop material that
makes it easier for people to main
tain older aircraft," said Lawrence.
"That system can be difficult , so
EAA and other aviation organiza
tions have been working with the
FAA to develop procedures and
poliCies that'll make it easier to
keep aging aircraft flying."
Security
Transportation Security Admin
istration (TSA) representatives
attended EAA AirVenture to see
how general aviation operates.
"We talked about TFRs (temporary
flight restrictions), and how can
we better communicate them to
our membership," Lawrence said.
About "pop-up" presidential TFRs,
he added, "TSA does not imple
ment the presidential TFRs; that's
the Secret Service, and the Secret
Service is hard to communicate
with. But the TSA is our spokesper
son with the Secret Service, and by
working with them, they commu
nicate back to the Secret Service
how important this issue is and re
lay the feedback coming from the
aviation community. TSA officials
were here listening to pilots and
getting a better understanding of
the problem, and they're looking
at coming back next year. "
Sport Pilot
From the start, EAA has worked
tirelessly to move sport pilot/light
continued on the page 26

Discovery Networks Spotlight

Aviation's Birth, EAA AirVenture

Jim Wrigbt and

Hughes Racer Lost
One of the most beautiful repro
duction aircraft ever built and the
innovative visionary who spear
headed the creation of the recently
completed Hughes H-1 racer were
both lost when James L. Wright, 53,
was forced to make an emergency
landing in Yellowstone National Park.
Attempting to land in the area of the
Midway Geyser, witnesses stated he
veered away at the last instant when
he realized a number of people were
in the area. Several witnesses men
tioned a few loud pops of noises
coming from the plane, and then si
lence as it made its controlled descent
and then crashed.
Completed last year after a multi
year program to re-create the
record-setting Hughes racer built for
Howard Hughes in 1935, Wright
wasted no time in getting the airplane
ready for a speed trial, and on Septem
ber 13, 2002, in Reno, Nevada, during
the Reno Air Races, Wright flew the
Hughes replica to a new speed record
over a 3-kilometer course. The FAI cer
tified the class C-l.d, Group 1 record
of 489.35 kph (303.4 statute mph) .
Plans were being made for future
record attempts later this year.
Jim Wright enthusiastically shared
his beautiful aircraft with thousands
of EAAers during EAA AirVenture
2003, and was on his way home
when the accident occurred. Our
condolences to his wife, Betty, the
employees of Wright Tool, and the
team members who helped construct
the Hughes racer.

In September the Discovery Chan

nel and its digital aviation network
the Discovery Wings Channel will air
special programming that you won't
want to miss.
On September 17, the Discovery
Wings Channel airs Oshkosh 2003:
The Centennial Edition. Produced by
EAA TV, the hour-long recap of EAA Air
Venture Oshkosh 2003 focuses on
piloting, economics of general avia
tion, homebuilding and access to the
skies, EAA's unique aviation commu
nity at AirVenture, and a look ahead to
aviation's second century. Scheduled
airtime is 9 p.m. EDT, with repeats at
midnight and (September 18) 5 a.m.,
8 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m.
On September 19, the Discovery
Channel will air a two-hour documen
tary, The Wright Brothers: Rrst In Right,
featuring extensive focus on EAA's
Countdown to Kitty Hawk and the con
struction of EAA' s authentic
reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer
by The Wright Experience in Warrenton,
Virginia. The documentary follows the
parallel paths of the Wrights in 1903
and The Wright Experience in 2003 as
Ken Hyde and his team employ reverse
engineering to interpolate the brothers'
design process and results from exist
ing Wright aircraft and parts, family
correspondence, and other sources.
EAA President Tom Poberezny de
scribes the centennial celebration'S
significance along with Countdown to
Kitty Hawk festivities , culminating in
the flight of the Flyer reproduction pre
cisely at 10:35 on December 17, 2003.
The program first airs on Septem
ber 19 at 8 p.m. EDT, with repeats
scheduled for 11 p.m.; 11 a.m. Sep
tember 21; 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
September 25; and 6 p.m. Septem
ber 27. Portions of the original
program will appear on Discovery,
along with same-day footage from
EAA's Countdown to Kitty Hawk cele
bration and the planned first flight
re-creation at Kitty Hawk, on Decem
ber 17 at 9 p.m. The program will be
repeated at midnight and the next
day at noon.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

- ........--
OS H K 0

S H

2003

~
Antique
Antique Grand Champion
William Scott 1930 Stearman Aircraft 4E
N663K
Reno, NV

Silver Age (1928-1936)

Outstanding Closed Cockpit Monoplane
Max Davis
1935 Stinson SR-6A
Waconia, MN 55387

Antique Reserve Grand Champion

Richard Jackson 1931 Sikorsky S-39
NC50V
Rochester, NH

Outstanding Open Cockpit Monoplane

Kenneth Jorgensen
1931 Curtis WrightJr. CW1 N10860
San Dimas, CA

Bronze Lindy
Replica Aircraft
Jim Wright, 1935 Hughes H-IB NX258Y
Cottage Grove, OR
World War II Trainer/Liaison aircraft
Richard Packer
1941 Boeing A75N1 (PT17) N9856G
Transport Category
Kent and Sandy Blankenburg
1942 Lockheed Electra
Groveland, CA
World War II Era (1942-1945)
Scott Perdue
1942 Stearman PT-17 N62552
Fort Worth, TX
Bronze Age (1937-1941)
Richard Packer
1941 Boeing A75Nl (PT-17) N9856F
Silver Age (1928-1936)
Mark Grusauski
1935 Waco YKC-S NC14614

PLAQUES

Outstanding Closed Cockpit Biplane

Les Cashmere
1929 Waco CTO Nc16203
McAlester, OK
Outstanding Open Cockpit Biplane
Frank Pavliga
1929 Waco CTO NC675N
Rootstown, OH
Runner Up
David Allen
1930 Waco ASO N662Y
Elbert, CO
World War II Military Trainer/Liaison
Runner Up
David Hermann
Aeronca 0-58 N48620
Two Rivers, WI
Transport Category
Carolinas Historic Aviation Commission
& Museum
1942 Douglas DC-3 N44V
Charlotte, NC

Bronze Age (1937-1941)

Outstanding Closed Cockpit Monoplane
Michael Vaughan
1940 Howard DGA-15 NC22410
Charleston, IL 61920

Runner Up
Henry Galpin
1928 Travel Air 6000 NC9038
Kalispel, MT

Outstanding Open Cockpit Biplane

David Harris
1941 De Haviland DH82A Tiger Moth
Kenosha, WI

Customized Aircraft
James Hardie
1939 Taylorcraft BC-65
Heber Springs, AR

Runner Up
Frank Iacovelli
1940 Boeing Stearman N725FR
Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Antique Custombuilt
Christopher Price
1930 Heath V Strut NC9549
Sonoma, CA

SEPTEMBER 2003

Replica
Thomas Wathen
Laird-Turner LTR-14 racer N263Y
Santa Barbara, CA
Runner Up
Colin Clarke
1927 Bellanca CH300 NC796W
Wenatchee, WA

Classic
Classic Grand Champion
Michael Greenblatt Beech 18 N2913B
Midland, GA
Classic
Classic Reserve Grand Champion
R. Fleeman, Piper J-3 NC92027
Lawrence, TN
Class I (0-80 hp)
Malvern Gross, Mooney M18 N4187
Eastsound, WA
Class II (81-150 hp)
Mark Holliday, Cessna 140 NC3537V
Lake Elmo, MN
Class III (151-235 hp)
Barry Weber, Beech 35 N80418
Livermore, CA
Class IV (236 hp & Higher)
Richard Epton, Navion Twin DI6A
N108N
Brooks, GA
Best Custom Classic
Frank Sperandeo, Piper PA-22-135
N3383A
Fayetteville, AR

CLASSIC 2003
Outstanding Aeronca Champ
C Pancake
Aeronca 7AC N1890E
Keyser, WV
Outstanding Aeronca Chief
Patricia Early
Aeronca llAC N3729E
Palmyra, PA
Outstanding Cessna 120/140
Russell Roberts
Cessna 140A N9435A
Seaman,OH

Outstanding Cessna 170/180

Rodney Erickson
Cessna 170 N2600V
Fairmount, ND

Custom Class B (81-150HP)

Thomas Martino
Ercoupe N2974H
Franktown, CO

Outstanding Cessna 190/195

Daniel Petersen
Cessna 195 N195DS
Unadilla, NE

Custom Class C (151-235HP)

Charles Heath
Aeronca 15AC N1264H
Cottage Grove, OR 97424

Outstanding Ercoupe
David Tulis
Ercoupe 415-0 N2404H
Atlanta, GA

Custom Class D (236 and up)

Robert Petersen
Cessna 180 N2443C
Cameron Park, CA

Outstanding Luscombe
Donald Warner
Luscombe 8E N77842
Gilbert, AZ

Preservation
Ray Johnson
Aeronca 11 AC N3469E
Marion, IN

Outstanding Navion
William Guy
Mark Cyrier
Navion NlO133
Fort Worth, TX

Best Custom Runner Up

Robert Runkle
Cessna 140 N1408U
Swanton,OH

Outstanding Piper J-3

Richard Rademacher
Piper J3 NC3650K
Urbana, OH 43078

Contemporary
Contemporary Grand Champion

Richa rd Hansen 1959 Beech N404T

Batavia, IL

CONTEMPORARY
Outstanding Beech single Engine
Allen Boyce
1959 Beech K35 N637Q
Coronado, CA
Outstanding Cessna 170/172/175
R. Kachergius
1956 Cessna 172 N5148A
Orland Park, IL
Outstanding Cessna 180-182-210
Dale Wilkens
1958 Cessna 182 N818H
Independence, KS
Outstanding Champion
Erik Hokuf
1958 Champion 7FC N9128R
Richfield, MN 55423
Outstanding Mooney
Gerald Turney
1963 Mooney M20C N175KT
Oakland, CA
Outstanding Piper PA-18 Super Cub
John Sibbitt
1956 Piper PA-19 N3591A
Hyannis, NE

Outstanding Piper, Other

Windle Henry
Piper PA-12 N92754
Sercay, AR 72143

Contemporary Reserve Grand

Champion

John Janovetz, 1958 Beech 95 NlOOBH

Colleyville, TX

Outstanding Stinson
Simon Rose
Stinson 108-3CFLWI
St. Albert, AB

Contemporary

Class I Single Engine (0-1 60 hpj

Thomas Ferraro 1959 Pacer PA-22

McKinney, TX

Outstanding Swift
William R. Breese
Swift GCl B 78306
Omaha, E

Class II Single Engine (161-230 hpj

Rick Kent 195 7 Cessna 180 N161E

9 Blackberry Rd .

Searcy, AR

Outstanding Piper Cherokee

Randal Kersten
1967 Piper PA-32-300 N4019R
Des Moines, WA

Outstanding Taylorcraft
Robert Hom
Taylorcraft BCI2-D N95885
Ashland, WI 54806

Class III Single Engine (231 hp &

Higher)

Steven Oxman 1959 Beech H35 N12711

Riva, MD

Outstanding Piper Multi-Engine

David Thomas
1967 Piper PA-30 C-GGHE
Clinton, ON

Outstanding Limited Production

Robert Williams
Grumman G-44 N414U
Hayden Lake, ID

Customized Single/Multi Engine

Donald Richardson 1966 Piper PA-30

N73LW

Gray, ME

Outstanding Limited Production

Dean Jennings
1966 Helio H-250 77LF
Ada, OK 74820

Custom Class A (0-80HP)

Ellis Clark
Piper J3C-65 N92628
Bath, MI

Outstanding Customized

Donald Gaynor, 1959 Beech K35

N87DG

Englewood, FL

Best Continuously Maintained

Larry Betts
1967 Bellanca 17-30
San Francisco, CA

Outstanding PA-22 Tri-Pacer

James Page
1956 Piper PA-22-150 N4804A
Raleigh, NC 27604
Outstanding Piper PA-24 Comanche
William & Susan Harryman
1965 Piper PA-24-260 N8582P
Marion, IL

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

n 1929 I was hired by

firm in Norwalk, Connecticut,
Norwalk Airways, to take de
livery of and fly its newly
purchased New Standard D-25 five
place biplane. That was an airplane
designed especially for barnstorming
after the Department of Commerce,
in 1927, grounded the old World War
I Standard J-1 airplanes with His
pano-Suiza engines, operated by the
old Gates Flying Circus. The New
Standard D-2S was designed by an
engineer from the Sikorsky organiza
tion, named Komarnitsky under the
supervision of Charles Healy Day, the
designer of the original Standard J-1,
and Clyde Pangborn, the chief pilot
of the Gates Flying Circus. The New
Standard D-2S was powered by a
Wright J-S engine of 22S -hp, the
same type of radial engine that flew
Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic
in 1927. The pilot sat in the rear cock
pit to balance the engine, and the
four passengers sat in a large bathtub
shaped cockpit located on the center
of lift under the upper wing center
section, all facing forward. It was an
ideal airplane for barnstorming on a
large scale, such as the Gates opera
tion, out of grass fields of limited size.
A field of 1,000 feet was ample with
full load and no wind.
I took delivery from Clyde Pang
born, then chief test pilot for the
New Standard Aircraft Corp., at Teter
boro Airport, New Jersey. After flying
it to Hartford for Connecticut licens
ing, I took it to the little hilltop field
at Norwalk, its home base, overlook
ing the city, the harbor, and Long
Island Sound. The takeoff was slightly
downgrade with no obstructions to
clear, right out over the city and har
bor. The owners had arranged a
special day to introduce their new
6

SEPTEMBER 2003

day, and there was a

kept me very busy hopping four pas
sengers at a time for $2.50 a head on
very short hops, $10 per load. It was a
fast, lucrative operation, so the own
ers were on their way to paying off
the cost of the airplane, and I was
making a good commission of 20 per
cent. The hops were no more than 5
minutes in the air, just out over the
city and harbor and back for a quick
reload, out one side of the cockpit
and in the other simultaneously with
a good pit crew. It was a tight field,
and landings had to be made pre
cisely. The area around the field was
all residential. It was only three
months before the stock market crash
of October 1929, the beginning of
the Depression, and everyone had
money to spend.
Connecticut had the first aviation
regulatory laws, originating in 1911,
which were more restrictive in pur
pose than regulatory, for many
wealthy people in the state hated
airplanes. Some had actually sued in
attempts to prevent flying over their
land, claiming it was trespassing.
Failing in that effort, they had insti
gated the regulatory laws and the
Connecticut Aviation Commission
to enforce them, thus establishing a
comfortable bureaucracy for some
appointees. We pilots used to call it
the "Commission of Aviation Sup
pression," which fit it perfectly. Even
after the federal Department of Com
merce Bureau of Aeronautics took
over air commerce regulation in
1927, the Connecticut Aviation
Commission actually expanded and
proceeded to over-regulate and tax
civil aviation. It specified require
ments for every airfield, public or

private, even
private airstrips,
and charged fees for licenses. All pi
lots and mechanics had to take state
written exams, flight tests, and
medical exams, which were dupli
cates of the federal tests, and pay
fees for state licenses. Each airplane
was inspected by a state inspector
and licensed each year for a fee, in
addition to a costly state personal
property tax. Any fixed base opera
tion was licensed and taxed. A
non-fixed base operation such as
barnstorming was therefore not
possible. Insurance requirements
were burdensome. It was a paradox
that civil aviation could exist at all
in Connecticut. And that was the
real objective.
One state aircraft inspector, I will
call him Mr. P, the initial of his name,
had been some pre-World War I early
bird pilot's mechanic, and he made it
known that he was the world's most
senior, knowledgeable, and strict in
spector in existence. He was on duty
five days a week, but on weekends he
would, on his own time, drive around
the state and harass the pilots who
were trying to make a living. It is
hard to believe some of the stunts
that guy would pull off. He had the
right under the law to enter a hangar
at any time, inspect an airplane, and
ground it, even without the knowl
edge of the owner! As an example, he
found an airport directory lying on
the seat of my friend's plane and
grounded the airplane because it was
not tied down! The owner entered his
hangar to go flying, only to find the
plane red tagged. The owner had to
comply with paperwork to un-ground

1"\\,"7i:~"\'7D'"

'sfeJicUed the
on its fuselage,
1nd collected the annual fee. How
ever, in front of my crowd of eager
passenger prospects, he ordered me to
stop flying so that he could inspect
the airplane again. He could not find
anything wrong with the brand new
plane, but he noticed a slight tear in
the canvas boot on the tailskid. It was
a little triangular tear caused by a
stick or stone. He walked around to
the propeller, put a red grounding tag
on the hub, and announced, in front
of the crowd, that a new canvas boot
would have to be installed and a re
port made to him before any more
flying could be done. This right in
the middle of my first big day of pas
senger flying! He then loaded his
family back into his car and drove
off, to harass another pilot some
where, no doubt. The purpose of that
canvas boot was to exclude dirt and
grass, and possibly field mice, from
getting up into the fuselage . That lit
tle three-cornered tear was not likely
to admit much of such. After Mr. P.
had gone out of Sight, to the delight
of the crowd I tore off the red tag and
resumed flying.
The mayor of Norwalk had been
invited to take a flight in the new air
plane and in due time arrived with
three other men to go. When I saw
them I was shocked. Everyone of
them weighed at least 225 pounds; I
suspected 250. They were enormous.
That was somewhat in excess of the
170-pound average passenger weight
specified in the airplane's certificate.
The mayor had been told that he

1ft front of

my crowd of eager

passenger prospects ...

he noticed a slight tear

... walked around to the

propeller, put a red

grounding tag on the

hub, and announced,

... that a new canvas

boot would have to

be installed and a

report made to him

before any more flying

could be done.

having been born, but they were in

effect nonetheless, just as was the law
of gravity before Newton. Just as I
was lifting off, with the entire field
behind me, and I mean no more
ahead, with that heavy load, the en
gine lost power and started shaking
the whole airplane violently via the
rigid engine mount ring. We were
launched out over the city in a sink
ing condition, heading for a dunk in
the drink of the harbor. . .if we could
make it that far.
In those days few single-engine
airplanes had airspeed indicators,
and none had Pilots Operating
Handbooks. It was up to the pilot to
become familiar with performance.
Fortunately, the D-25 was one of
the earliest planes to come eqUipped
with an airspeed indicator, and I
had experimented with stall and

descent and actually gave me a very

slight climb, as judged by eye and feel
(the pucker factor). I had not gotten
low enough to get ground effect, but
by holding straight ahead and care
fully holding the best airspeed I was
getting just a little climb, heading out
over Long Island Sound with
smoother air over the water. The en
gine was holding its lower power and
its vibration, and extraneous popping
and banging was at a steady level. Oil
pressure was okay. Numerous small
sailboats out on the sound were reas
suring. Without losing any of that
precious altitude, I was able to make a
very, very gradual downwind turn
back inland. Over the land I felt a
slight upward thermal and nicely
made it over the rising ground for a
downwind leg to the field. I did not
risk a 10-12 mph downwind landing
back on the field because the field
was too short with high trees on the
downwind end, so a crash would
have been inevitable and disastrous,
especially with the crowd of people at
the downwind end. By very careful
attention to airspeed, I was able to
make a second turn, clearing the
houses by a hundred feet or less, and
make a good landing that apparently
looked perfectly normal to the people
on the ground. Due to the long slot
ted opening in the exhaust pipe, not
many people had noticed the irregu
lar exhaust of the engine. Believe me,
I was drained and sat in the cockpit
trying to look calm and normal while
the mayor and his friends debarked. I
was thinking of the averted disaster
and how I never again would risk
such an overloaded takeoff.
continued on the page 27
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Tailwheel Transition Training

Part 3
Crosswind technique and slips to landing-the lost arts?
DONOVAN HAMMER

Introduction
This time around I want to touch on two topics where
some transition pilots have a bit of trouble. These are cross
wind technique and slips to landing. Three common threads
connect these two maneuvers. Both are used as part of the
landing approach. Both use cross-control of rudder and
ailerons. And, both are in danger of becoming lost arts.
Crosswind and slip maneuvers are still part of the FAA flight
exam, but the quality of training and execution are showing
some of the ravages ofneglect in recent decades. Maybe it can
be said that slips are the victim of modern aircraft designs
with their flaps, reduced nldder effectiveness, and clean side
profiles. On the other hand, crosswind landing and takeoff
technique owes much of its demise to the tricycle gear that is
tolerant of bad habits. Modern airplane design and tricycle
gear have not so much rendered slip and crosswind tech
niques useless, but rather have made it possible to neglect

Slips
Budd Davisson wrote a great arti
cle for the January 2003 issue of
Flight Training magazine. It is recom
mended reading for those interested
in this topic. In the article Budd
laments the rarity of seeing some
one perform a sideslip to landing,
and then discusses the use and ad
vantages of slips. In addition, he
dispels the misconception held by
some that slips are unsafe.
For many of the older " Rag
Wings," the slip is the primary aero
dynamic means to steepen the
glidepath, as many of these older
airplanes do not have flaps. Modern
airplanes usually cannot be slipped
as aggressively as the older taildrag
gers. Most modern airplanes do not
have the same level of rudder re
sponsiveness as the typical
taildragger. Also, the drag presented
by the clean side profile of a modern
airplane is noticeably less than that
of a tube and fabric airplane like the
Super Cub, Champ, or Citabria. Pi
lots who have only flown the
8

SEPTEMBER 2003

these useful, if not necessary, flight maneuvers.

For tailwheel airplanes proper crosswind technique is es
sential. The same can be said of slips for most of the older
tailwheel airplanes. The methods that I use and teach are no
different than those shown in th e FAA's Flight Training
Handbook AC 61-21A, which serves as the basis for the
Practical Test Standards (PTS) used in every pilot'S FAA flight
exams. However, it should be important to note that the ex
amples shown in the pertinent sections ofAC 61-21A use
tricycle-gear airplanes. That is to say, for the most part the
techniques used for taildraggers are not so much different, but
rather are just a strict adherence to the standard techniques
that should be used for tricycle airplanes. I view any training
given to transition pilots to polish-up crosswind and slip tech
niques as remedial in nature and encourage those pilots to
also use them when flying tricycle ailplanes.

modern "Wichita Iron Clads" may

never have experienced a truly effec
tive sideslip and may, in fact, find
their first exposure a tad unnerving.
Both flaps and slips create extra
drag, but unlike flaps, the slip re
duces lift so that both components
of the lift-drag ratio are working to
ward a steeper glidepath . In
addition, exiting a slip increases lift
and decreases the stall speed, thus
the slip can be freely entered and ex
ited as needed during the approach.
Conversely, removing flaps decreases
lift and increases the stall speed, so
once the flaps have been applied
much care must be given in remov
ing them. This explains why the
removal of flaps on the approach is
not a recommended action. Use of
slips is much more akin to the use of
spoilers on a glider.
The misconception that slips are
not safe can probably be traced to
the fact that we have all had it
beaten into our skulls to keep the
"ball" centered in slow flight situa
tions such as what we experience in

the pattern and on approach. It is

told to us that an off-centered "ball"
is a standing invitation for a spin if
we inadvertently stall the airplane.
Although an off-centered "ball" is a
necessary condition for a spin, it is
not a sufficient condition. Acknowl
edging that there are always
pathological situations for any ma
neuver, it can still be said, when
properly done, that a slip is no less
safe than the Wings-level approach.
It must be mentioned, however, that
although an off-centered "ball" is
okay in the creation of a slip, it is
neither safe nor acceptable to have
the "ball" off-centered in such a way
as to induce a skid. A skid truly is
courting disaster when you are low
and slow.

Crosswind Landings and Takeoffs

There are two issues regarding
crosswind landings during transi
tion training. The first is obviously
the use of proper technique, but the
second, and somewhat less obvious,
is the issue of recognizing when

crosswind technique is required. It is

human nature to reduce complex
operations down to their most criti
cal tasks. This allows us to dismiss
some tasks as trivial so that we can
focus on those that are more impor
tant. Because of the tricycle gear's
forgiving characteristics, the side
loads induced by light to moder
ately light crosswinds present little
hazard even when no concerted ef
fort is made to eliminate the side
loads caused by landing with a slight
crab or with a slight sideways drift.
Since experience rarely punishes
such infractions, some tricycle gear
pilots soon develop an unconscious
complacency toward those cross
winds that fall below some arbitrary
threshold. Unless a student pilot is
trained otherwise, it is almost in
evitable for bad habits to arise from
such natural complacency.
Any level of complacency toward
crosswinds while landing or taking
off in a taildragger may very well re
sult in loss of directional control.
Even what might be perceived as
fairly light crosswinds can be dan
gerous in the event of an
incompletely rotated three-point
landing if drift or crab is ignored.
Complacency will not likely last
very long with taildraggers, though.
Experience is a harsh teacher. There
is nothing like doing S-turns across
a runway centerline to drive home
an object lesson on drift correction.
This is taking low-altitude ground
reference maneuvers to the extreme.
It is important for the transition pi
lot to develop a keener sense of drift
or misalignment than may be used
for tricycle-gear airplanes. This is
something that can and should also
be practiced with that modern
three-wheel "Spam Can." Side loads
impose unnecessary stress on the
tricycle landing gear and tires and
thus should be avoided even
though there is little threat of los
ing directional control. But more
importantly, practicing good align
ment and drift control every time
you fly, regardless of gear configura
tion, sharpens those skills for when
you do fly that taildragger.

By the time crosswind compo

nents reach moderate levels, pretty
much everybody recognizes the
need to use some form of corrective
action. A drawback to tricycle air
planes is that they do not always
force us to perfect our crosswind
technique. Almost any form of flail
ing can result in a successful, albeit
bumpy, landing. On the other hand,
taildraggers demand us to be profi
cient in our crosswind skills, and
either you have them or you go
someplace where the runway is
Wind-aligned.

Even what might be

perceived as fairly
light crosswinds can
be dangerous . . .
The private aircraft that the vast
majority of us fly are relatively slow
and light. For these aircraft, particu
larly the taildraggers, there are two
acceptable methods used for cross
wind landings. The most frequently
used method for doing crosswind
landing comes straight from the
FAA's Flight Training Handbook AC
61-21A. For this type of approach a
crab is used for most of the final ap
proach. Then, some adequate time
prior to the flare, a cross-controlled
attitude is established. The cross
controlled attitude is essentially a
runway-aligned Sideslip into the
crosswind where the slip's sideways
motion cancels the drift caused by
the crosswind. The second method
is a variation of the first where the
sideslip is established at a higher al
titude shortly after turning onto the
final approach. This establishes the
final glide angle very early and is
useful for those older flapless "Rag
Wings" because the glide angle can
be controlled by varying the amount
of sideslip being used. The advan
tage of both of these two methods
described above is that the pilot has
complete and sustainable control of
the drift. A three-point landing is
done within a very narrow speed
range, nominally at stall speed, and

wheel landings must be done with

the minimum of vertical velocity.
Thus taildraggers require good con
trol over forward and vertical
airspeeds at touchdown, and it is
important to be able to provide sus
tained control over the drift to allow
enough time to obtain the correct
forward or vertical airspeeds during
landing.
Bad habits usually form the basis
for any difficulties that some transi
tion pilots experience during the
crosswind portion of tail wheel train
ing. Bad habits have their start from
insufficient primary training and/or
subsequent neglect. First and fore
most, Mother Nature does not
always cooperate during primary
training by providing the adequate
conditions for instruction or prac
tice of crosswind techniques. Also,
many find it difficult to use effective
cross-controlled rudder/aileron si
multaneously with precise elevator
control. This is particularly true with
the added workload experienced
during landing. Frequently, steep
learning curves and inadequate prac
tice opportunities prevent pilots
from achieving the proper level of
proficiency. Bad habits form if these
problems are not corrected early, es
pecially when the forgiving nature
of the tricycle landing gear imposes
no dramatic penalties for improper
crosswind technique. Unfortunately,
taildraggers are unforgiving of lax
technique of any form. It is then im
portant to unlearn any bad habits
and replace them with the appropri
ate skills.
One last point regarding cross
winds, the takeoffs require the same
attention to technique as landings.
Again referring to the FAA's Flight
Training Handbook AC 61 -21A, a pilot
should also use cross-controls on
takeoff to maintain alignment with
the runway centerline. Only after it
is confirmed that a positive climb
has been established with no chance
of settling back onto the runway
should the cross-controls be removed
and replaced with a crab. If the air
plane does settle back onto the
continued on the page 24
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

BY H . G . FRAUTSCHY

JUNE'S MYSTERY ANSWER

....-- - - - - - - --

- - - - - - - -- - - ,

ARROW SPORT

The June Mystery Plane was disguised a bit from its

factory configuration, but that didn't fool a few of
you. Here's one of the letters we received:
liThe June Mystery Plane is an Arrow Sport biplane
by Arrow Aircraft Corp. of Havelock, Nebraska. The
side-by-side two-seater was introduced in 1928 with
unbraced cantilever taper wings. N struts were op
tional! A five-cylinder Le Blond radial engine of 60 hp
on the original Arrow Sport was rated up to 85 hp for
the 1931 Arrow Sport 85.

A brilliant red and cream restoration of the wellpreserved NC9325 by New York antiquers John Schlie
and Bill Archer was flown August 1965 after 31 years'
storage in a Hempstead garage. Photos and text in Fly
ing July 1968 are by aero historian and model kit
craftsman Gene Thomas.
liThe distinctive 25-foot-6-inch wingspan taper
wing form of the Arrow Sport was complemented by a
27-foot wingspan copy powered by a 1l0-hp Kinner
K-5 . It was called the one-of-a-kind C.P.3 Warren Ta
perwing and was built in 1931 at California
Polytechical. Ref. Skyways No. 47, July 1968.
liThe Arrow Sport V-8 low-wing monoplane with
reworked Ford V-8 auto power by Arrow Aircraft and
Motors Corp. of Lincoln, Nebraska, followed the bi
p lane in 1936."
Russ Brown
Lyndhurst, Ohio
II

Correct answers were also received from Charles F.

Schultz, Louisville, Kentucky; John Henry Hess, Man
heim, Pennsylvania; Tom Whisnant, Granite Falls,
North Carolina; and Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis,
Minnesota.

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES FROM ART AND BECKY HASTINGS OF SU
SANVILLE, CALIFORNIA. THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN IN 1931, AFTER THE AIRPLANE
LANDED ON THE ROUND HOLE RANCH,

7S

MILES NORTH OF RENO, NEVADA

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO: EAA, VINTAGE
A IRPLANE, P. O. Box 3086 , OSHKOSH,

WI

54903-308 6. YOUR ANSWER NEEDS TO BE

IN NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 10 , 2003 ,
FOR INCLUS ION IN THE DECEMBER 2 003
ISSUE OF VINTAGE AIRPLANE.
You CAN ALSO SEND YOUR RESPONSE
VIA E-MAIL. S END YOUR ANSWER TO

vintage@eaa.org .
B E SURE TO INCLUDE BOTH YOUR
NAME AND ADDRESS (ESPECI ALLY YOUR
CITY AND STATE ! ) IN THE BODY OF
YOUR NOTE AND PUT "( M ONTH) MYs
TERY PLANE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE.
10

SEPTEMBER 2003

What happens when the fuselage gas tank splits

open in flight with no place to go?

AL KELCH

any years ago, after search

ing and finding the
Franklin Sport 90, of which
only six were built, I con
sidered myself lucky. I drove to New
York in the dead of winter to pick it
up. I left Milwaukee on Friday morn
ing and drove almost nonstop to New
York. When I got tired I would pull
into a wayside, eat a sandwich, and
take a nap. I had a perfect alarm
clock-it was so cold that in 15 or 20
minutes my cold toes would tell me it
was time to hit the road again.
I purchased the Franklin from Bob
Dart, who usually bought and parted
out aircraft. I don 't know how true it
is, but the story goes that he suppos
edly restored it, and on the first flight
he reportedly lost it on takeoff or
landing and plowed into the brush.
His wife probably told him to get rid
of it, or else! There was enough evi
dence on the lower wing to make the
story plausible. A picture shows my
load on arrival home. I can't conceive
how I loaded it and drove it home in
one piece. The trailer was a small boat

trailer with 12-inch tires . All four

wings were on top of my station
wagon. Rather than completely
restoring it (I couldn't wait that long
to fly it), I did a "powder puff" job to
get it in the air.
Having owned and restored other
biplanes, I didn't expect any rigging
problems. It had as many wires as a
birdcage. I rigged it and had it ready
prior to the Fourth of July. We had
guests on the Fourth for a cookout,
and I slipped away after we ate and
went for the maiden flight unan
nounced. The flight was one of two
high-pressure adrenaline-pumpers I
had with Frankie. The long gear gives
the biplane a high angle of attack for
takeoff, which I failed to take into ac
count. I opened the throttle and
found the ground had left me before I
knew it. I was quickly learning about
a phrase I had ignored for many
years-"behind the power curve." I
thought I was driving a dog sled.
Mush was what I did!
At the end of my runway is tall
grass, and the wheels skirted the top

of the grass, slowing me up but help

ing to lift the tail due to the long gear
and the drag well below the plane.
The power curve problem was now
solved, but I had to get out of the
grass. Having a little time in float
planes, I applied the floatplane
rule-lift one foot out at a time! It
worked, and I parted a few tree limbs
with my wheels on the way out! It
was an ominous start of a flight for
which I had waited for so long! In the
air was a second thrill. I though t I
had lost my touch for rigging. I had a
spirited horse on my hands, and my
wish was to get off it as soon as possi
ble. A quick round trip in the pattern
and getting down as fast as possible
was now my goal-to keep it level the
stick was near the sidewall and the
rudder was lopsided. I made it down,
(Above) On my farm strip west of
Mequon. You can clearly see the tri
angular portion of the rudder
removed by the factory to give this
example of the Sport snappier han
dling for aerobatics.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

After arriving home in Mequon, Wisconsin , with the

Franklin Sport.

but lost it on the rollout. The high

grass stopped me with no damage ex
cept to my ego. I kept working on the
rigging and got the plane flyable, but
I found it very attention-prone. I did
then fly it to Ottumwa and many
summer fly-ins, but it was still not
overly friendly to the pilot.
While vacationing in Florida,
someone told me of "Slim" Felder
man, who had something to do with
the Franklin Sport. I was given a pos
sible location-Punta Gorda-and
found only one Felderman in that
area. On ringing the doorbell, a tall,
wiry, and sprightly old man invited
me in. I told him I had a Franklin
Sport NC13139 registration number.
He asked me, "Have you rolled it,
spun it, or looped it yet?" In com
plete surprise I retorted, "No-I have
trouble making it behave the way I
would like it to." He snapped back,
"That's your fault." Having somewhat
of an accumulated ego with past
restorations, I was taken back. He ex
plained that I was over controlling it,
that 13139 had been built for an aer
obatic pilot as a showplane. (I later
found a fellow who had used it for
that purpose and liked it.) Slim care
fully explained that to make it quicker
on aerobatics, they had taken some
of its inherent stability from it, which
made it quicker in maneuvers. He
asked me if I knew why the lower
rudder had an angular piece removed.
I didn't. He explained that the axis of
roll is two-thirds up the vertical fuse
lage tube at the tail and that the lower
12

SEPTEMBER 2003

After my "powder puff" rebuild , I flew the Franklin to

the EAA convention in Oshkosh. Here it sits on t he
flight line in 1973.

part had a negative effect on roll, so

they sliced it off, which helped.
I returned home with a complete
set of plans and a renewed approach
to rigging. Slim said to test the rigging
only in still air. If the plane stays level
hands-off for two minutes, it is rigged
correctly. That I did, and resorted to
two-finger control and my first confi
dent enjoyment came about.
The saga continued . On a very
mild CAVU (ceiling and visibility un
limited) day I was taking some friends
for rides. A dark storm appeared some
distance to the north, traveling east. I
tied the Sport down near the barn.
"No problem," I thought. We stood
under the patio roof on the barn,
watching the storm pass, and visiting,
when all of a sudden hail the size of
golf balls came tumbling down off
the roof. First they bounced off the
wing of the plane. Then they didn't
going right through the top cloth and
then, finally, through the bottom
cloth, too . There stood my Franklin
Sport in rags! Back to square one!
I had always regretted my not do
ing a complete restoration the first
time. So I dug into a complete restora
tion, all the way down to bare steel,
new wings-the whole nine yards.
Surprises were many. I found one en
gine lug on the crankcase, which
bolts the engine to the mount, had
been broken off and reattached with
stove bolts through the case with
nuts on the inside of the case. J .B.
Weld adhesive was used to make it oil
tight. I immediately looked at the

logs, and a registered repair station

had signed it off. Oh well!
Here we go again. I completed the
airframe restoration to show condi
tion . Now came the engine. It took a
long time to find a usable case. I
lucked into a truckload of Lambert
engine parts . Voila-I had it made
and could now complete the restora
tion. One more curveball to catch.
No prope ller. I found a new 50-hp
Continental wooden propeller, which
oddly enough is larger than a Conti
nental 85 hp. I tried it and found that
the 90-hp Lambert would not pull it
up to the proper static rpm. In des
peration I took a Stanley Sureform file
and started lowering its pitch right
on the plane. I started the engine to
test it, then whittled away several
times until I got it close to right. I
took the prop off, sanded it smooth,
and then checked its balance. I tried
it again, and it had a little roughness
that a wad of gum on one blade
cured. After a little more sanding, it
was ready for varnish. It still runs
smoothly years and years later.
I hadn't gotten it to Oshkosh all
this time and couldn't wait to do so.
With Oshkosh only a few days away,
I took off to go. I always fly a few
rounds of the pattern listening and
smelling to be sure. A slight rough
ness and vibration had set in . I found
the faulty cylinder and replaced it
with a spare I had done with the
overhaul. After another few rounds,
it sounded good, and off I went. I
stopped at West Bend to visit Earl

~MIilI

Steer and filled the gas tank with 24

gallons of fuel. Away I went, ignor
ing all caution and heading straight
over the Kettle Moraine State Forest
to Oshkosh.
To digress for just a moment-In
my restoration I made a new gas tank
and had intended to weld it at my
company where we did aluminum
welding daily. Dale Crites mentioned
that since he was the one to sign it
off, he would prefer that I have it
welded by a registered aircraft welder.
I did that, and it looked fine. Now
back to the story.
Right in the thickest part of the
forest the gas tank split wide open,
and 24 gallons of gas came pouring
down the fuselage under my feet.
Off went the switch-the short
stacks would surely ignite the gas
and, "Poof!"
To digress again-Arlo Martine, a
very old-time instructor at Waukesha
County Airport where I hung out
with Dale, once gave me a refresher
checkout on this situation, turning
off the switch and declaring an emer
gency landing-I saw a big juicy field
right in front of me. "TRAP." I started
a regular powe r-off de cent. Arlo
turned the engine back on and ad
monished me, "Just suppose there is a
ditch or something that you can't see
from here, or something worse like
large stones. Always hold all the alti
tude you can until you can inspect
the landing site, and then make your
decision. If it is good, spiral down mil
itary fashion and land. If not, you at
least have a second chance. "
Back to the story. I remembered
that lesson and looked for what
se emed an impossible situation. I
spotted a long, narrow clearing some
distance ahead that was surely better
than the trees. I remembered my les
son and nursed all the altitude I could
until I got to the opening. The open

ing was plenty large and long, but

had large pu mpkins in it. Knowing
how tough the vines are, they would
surely trip me on my back. At the
other end of the patch was a line of
large trees with an opening large
enough to go through, and I could
see stubble on the other side of the
opening in the trees. I carefully spent
off my altitude to go through the
opening. There was a stubble field for
sure, but a hill rose directly in front
of me. It is impossible to land up hill
with the engine off. I think an angel
had its hands on the stick to make a
power-off 90-degree turn, 10 feet
from terra firma.
I straightened out, and the Sport
and I rolled less than 100 feet. I liter
ally escalated out of the cockpit and
scrambled up the hillside where I
watched the gasoline still running
out of the fuselage. An approaching
farm tractor that started circling the
plane interrupted my thoughts. My
fear factor rose fast. I was afraid the
tractor could ignite the gas fumes
that were all over the ground. I got
him away from the p lane. We sur
veyed the problem and went to his
house to wait for the gas to evapo
rate to a safe level. It was lunchtime,
and they invited me to lunch. What
a farm-style lunch they gave me
pork chops, mashed potatoes and
gravy, beans, pickled watermelon
rinds, milk, and chocolate cake! Dur
ing lunch he told me I was the
second person to have a forced land
ing in the same field. I quickly asked,
"Who was it?"
"Eagle Rock Joe," he said.
"Can't be, " I replied . "I know
him!" He was a crop duster who
worked the fields in Mississippi in
winter, and worked in Wisconsin for
Cliff DuCharm in the summer. He
got the name because he flew a long
wing Eagle Rock that carried a large

In 1975, EAA pho

tographer Ted
Koston shot these
three "Birds of a
Feather. "

load. Other pilots wouldn't fly them.

The long wings made them danger
ous; a quick turn and the long wings
could hit ground.
After lunch we gathered some tools
and took off the cowling and all hin
drances to get the tank out. In the
meantime, I had phoned Vintage
headquarters at Oshkosh and told
them my plight. Before I knew it the
Williams brothers, Ken and George,
drove down and picked me up, gas
tank in hand. The welding school at
the fly-in had an old-timer who had
welded all the Waco gas tanks at the
factory, using hydrogen in place of
acetylene. He washed the tank out
thoroughly with water, hid behind a
post, and struck a lighted torch in the
tank neck. When that didn't result in
an explosion, he decided it was okay
to re-weld the tank. I was escorted
back to the farm, just west of Ke
waskum, and we laboriously replaced
the tank. I purchased some tractor
gas from my "new" farmer friend,
and thanked him and his wife, prom
ising to come back some time and
give him a ride (which I did).
Back in the cockpit, I pushed the
throttle to the wall, dodged some
implements left in the field , and
took off!
I immediately spotted an ugly rain
storm between my goal and me. I
reasoned that it would be a minor
detriment to the one that I had just
had, so I continued on. I lost only a
little leading edge paint and varnish
from the propeller.
All at the fly-in had a good time,
and the trip home, following the
highway, was uneventful.
The moral to this story is never buy

an airplane with the n number 13-13-9

(two black cats and a craps!)
P.S. Some 30 years later, I am now
sprucing up N13139 to go in my col
lection at Brodhead, Wisconsin . .......
VINTAGE A IRPLANE

13

f Richard Porter, of Leeward Air

Ranch in Ocala, Florida, liked
to mess with people's heads
about his airplane, it would be
an easy thing to do. What he
laughingly refers to as a 196, and in
fact is labeled as such on the tail, is
actually a 1949 Cessna 195. But not
really. In fact, it has been referred to
as a 196 for so long, it begs the ques
tion: at what point in history does
common usage outweigh technical
correctness? Besides, it's only one
digit-195 to 196. That single digit
difference, however, indicates some
thing unusual is afoot, and you
don't have to look very closely to
see what it is-the finely tapered
schnozz of the 195 has been replaced
by a cowling that's a bit brutish and
squared off. Lurking (and "lurking"
is the right word) under that finely

14

SEPTEMBER 2003

formed aluminum cowl is a Pratt &

Whitney R-985. The original Jacobs
755-cubic inch oil pumper was
heave-ho'd over 40 years ago in fa
vor of Pratt & Whitney's littlest
horsepower factory.
With the tip tanks and monster
motor, the airplane somehow re
minds us of a chopped '50 Merc
with a fire-breathing hemi under the
hood-a refined boulevard cruiser
with a serious attitude toward per
formance. This is as it should be
because the airplane not only fits
Richard Porter's personality and
lifestyle exactly, but it even has a
roundabout connection with his
rather unusual youth.
To say Richard Porter was raised
on an airport is no exaggeration. His
parents ran the FBO at Ottumwa,
Iowa, which was the site of many

memorable antique fly-ins, and then

moved to Zephyrhills, Florida, when
Richard was about eight. They
opened another FBO and that's
where Richard got seriously and
deeply into aviation.
"A lot of things happen when
you're growing up and you don't
know when or how those events
will affect you. One of those quirky
happenings was when my father
bought a Cessna 195 that had been
converted to a 450 P&W by an aerial
mapping operation. He needed a
single engine airplane that would be
a good climber for hauling skydivers,
and the converted camera ship was
just the ticket.
"At the same time, we were oper
ating a fleet of DC-3s and Beech-18s
between Florida and the Turks &
Caicos Islands. I literally grew up

while flying those old birds with

my dad. It was great while it lasted,
but the FAA and Part 135 saw the
end to that.
"I was always working with Dad's
mechanics and was especially fasci
nated with engines. So after selling
off the airplanes, Dad and I opened
our own engine overhaul shop.
"My dad and I ran that shop to
gether until he retired in 1985, then
I ran it until I turned thirty-five,
then I sold it . That was over ten
years ago and a lot of the time since
has been spent putting the finishing
touches on my 196.
"Dad's 196 stayed at Zephyrhills
for many years, and it accumulated
many thousands of hours flying
jumpers. Even though I was very
busy in the engine overhaul shop, I
still took time out to fly jumpers in

the 196 and DC-3 . It also was great,

but by the mid '80s the parachute
center was sold to a new owner who
didn't want to keep the 196, so the
196 was sold.
"I gave a lot of thought to buying
the old 196, but it had over 12,000
hours on it and was not in the kind
of condition that made it a keeper,
and besides in those days you would
have been called "nuts" if you re
stored a 195.
"Every time Dad and I talked
about the airplanes he had owned
through the years, the one practical
airplane we most wished we had
made a keeper and not worn out was
his 196. So I decided I had to have a
450195 of my own, but where do
you find such a rare bird as one of
the Park Aerial Survey 196s?
"In late 1988, while still reading

190-195 classifieds in Trade-A-Plane,

an ad popped up that described a
195 equipped with Pratt & Whitney
R-985 450 hp. I immediately called
the seller and I kept getting more
excited with every question I asked
him. 'Was this airplane a photo
ship? Did it once belong to Park
Aerial Survey? Did they call it a
196? Does it have the Hartzell 3
bladed, full feathering prop? Does
it have the Brittain wing tip tanks?'
After confirming the airplane was
indeed a sister ship to my dpad's, I
told the seller to send me pictures
that confirmed it and I would buy
the airplane.
"By pure coincidence the 196 I
had just bought sight unseen
over the phone was based at
Oshkosh, and since it was winter
time, I was delayed bringing it
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

15

The entire interior is being remade

in sections, with Richard tackling
the instrument panel as his first
project. A full IFR panel with King
Silver Crown series avionics is the
centerpiece of a rebuild that re
placed every electrical component
in the airplane, including all of the
wi ring and circuit breakers.

16

SEPTEMBER 2003

home by two months."

When N4383V S/N7305 came out
of the factory in February of 1949, it
was delivered by the local Cess na
dealer directly to Park Aerial Survey
where they cut a good sized camera
hatch in the belly and put it to work
for 10 years and 3,400 hours with its
300 Jacobs. Since they were doing
high altitude mapping, Park Aerial
had a local shop installing Pratt and
Whitney 450 R985s on some of their
195s. They referred to their con
verted airplanes as 196s; this made
sense, if you think about it.
"Cessna took the 195 airframe,
installed a 245-hp Co ntinental en
gine, and renamed it the 190. So
why would you increase the horse
power by 50 percent and still call it a
195? Their 196 conversion mostly
consisted of using the nose bowl
cowling and exhaust system from a
Howard DGA, fabricating their own
side cowl panels, modifying the ac
cessory cowl and fuselage beef up
doublers between th e firewall and
door posts. They converted about

one airplane a year. In 1959

N4383V became the last of
four 195s Park Aerial had con
verted. It was also the second
of the only two airplanes that
ever received the wing tip
tanks, which was not done
until 1966. As coincidence
would have it, my dad's old
196 was the first airplane they
converted to 196 and the first
to get the tip tanks.
"Park Aerial flew it for the
next 11 years and 2,250 hours
after they converted it. Then
in 1970, with a total airframe
time of 5,650 hours, they sold
it and it started changing
hands through eight other
owners, having only been
flown a total of 260 hours dur
ing those next 19 years before
I bought it.
"When I finally got it home
and looked it over carefully. I
think the phrase I used was
that it was a "flyable construc
tive total." It had been a
working airplane all its life
and it looked like it. Everywhere on
the airplane there were marks that
every working airplane seems to ac
cumulate over a long life . The
airplane had been handled and man
handled so much that nothing was
straight. The skin on the top of the
rear fuselage, for instance, was full of
little dents caused by well meaning
individuals who undoubtedly had
said, ' Here, let me help you move
your airplane.'
"When I bought the airplane the
thought of just fixing and flying it
never really crossed my mind. I al
ways intended to restore it and make
it a keeper someday. On its very
next annual inspection the need for
restoration showed itself when we
found innergranular corrosion in
the left front door post. It appar
ently didn't have the right heat
treatment, and the moisture being
held against the cabin roof skins by
the insulation really did a number
on them as well. So the decision to
go for it was made. I was pretty
much on my own since at the time

no one was restoring 195s, so a base

level of restoration experience on
the airplane hadn't developed yet. I
had exceptional help from my good
friend Max Bridges, also of
Zephyrhills, who wanted to learn
how to do aircraft sheet metal.
"Fortunately for me, Jeannie Van
Sant up in Pennsylvania was still in
business. Her late father had pretty
much cornered the market on 195
and surplus LC-126 parts, which is
the military 195. Jeannie had a
printed catalog of all the parts she
had. I went through it line by line
and ordered every new airframe part
she had that would fit my airplane.
Ray's Aircraft Service in California
made PMA'd door posts and spar
plates; they also made the Plexiglas
cover plates for the stationary in
strument panel marking the
switches and engine controls.
"As Max and I looked at the air
plane, it became obvious we were
going to have to be careful what or
der we did things in because so
much skin had to be replaced that it
would have been easy to lose too
much structural integrity and we'd
have to build fuselage jigs. So, we
decided to do it a panel at a time.
"By the time we finished the fuse
lage, we had replaced all of the top
fuselage skin from the tail cone to
the firewall, the rear spar carry
through, three belly skins due to
holes that had been drilled in them
over the years, and all four door
posts. We reskinned the cabin door,
reskinned the baggage door, the en
tire cabin floor, installed new seat
tracks and all seat roller hardware,
replaced the elevators and the verti
cal fin with new old stock, reskinned
the rudder.
"About all we didn't have to re
place were the stringers. Even the
firewall had to be replaced because it
was a mess ofJacobs and Pratt & Whit
ney holes. We also replaced every
control cable, bell crank, trim jack
screws, pulleys and hinge bearings in
the entire airplane, and every nut,
bolt and washer that could be re
placed. By comparison , the wings
were no problem at all, except for fuel

cell overhauls, and all new

fuel lines, control cables
and bell cranks replaced,
the optional right side
landing light installed, and
just general clean up.
"The real challenge in the
restoration came with the instru
ment panel and my desire to install
a full King Silver Crown IFR radio
package and standard gyro "Til lay
outs, including dual ILSs and
autopilot in a small instrument
panel that you can't reach under to
service because of the oil tank. My
solution was to build a new panel
and radio center stack that was split
in the middle, with engine instru
ments on the right side, and flight
instruments on the left, and the ra
dio center stack made fixed in place;
you can remove either side of the
panel without disturbing the radios.
I also built a new stationary lower
panel and glove box and replaced
every switch, circuit breaker, buss
bar, and replaced every inch of wire
in the entire airplane.
"Ahead of the firewall was not ex
empt from work either, and since I
was in the flat engine overhaul busi
ness at the time, the engine was not
a real big deal. I contracted with a
friend of mine who is in the round
engine business to overhaul the ba
sic engine pineapple and my shop
did the final assembly. We installed
all brand new cylinders and hard
ware from the crankcase out. On
went brand new late model Bendix
magnetos and E-80 starter, and I up
graded it to a new Jasco alternator
and a dry vacuum pump. I also
found a complete new exhaust sys
tem for it hanging up in the rafters
of our shop left over from yester
year. The propeller and governor
were also overhauled. Max and 1
also made all new cowl side panels
and replaced the accessory cowling.
"What Max and I had started on
New Year's Day of 1990 took over
two years of almost every evening
and weekends to finish the restora
tion. My wife, Julie, was very
supportive through it all and video
documented our progress, as well as

Cessna didn 't build

it this way-the unmistak
able modifications made to
Park Aerial Survey's specifica
tions give the "196" a unique profile,
and spectacular performance.

picked out the seat upholstery and

paint colors. The airplane was
painted in pieces, with the final as
sembly completed and the 196 test
flown the Friday evening before the
1992 Sun 'n Fun Fly-in. I literally
broke the engine in while flying be
tween Zephyrhills and Lakeland
with the second hour being spent in
a holding pattern over Lake Parker.
"When the airplane was origi
nally converted to the R985, it was
in restricted category for aerial sur
vey, and I didn't want to live with
that and the limitations it carried, so
I decided to push for standard certi
fication. I know others who have
tried this with 450 P&W 195s and
they've met with stiff resistance.
However, as is always the case, you
just have to hit the right FAA rep on
the right day at the right time. Our
man looked at the 12 Form 33 7s
previously done over the years,
looked at the seven more Form 337s
that we had done, looked over the
airplane and said, '[t was done on a
field approval the first time and
that's good enough for me.' Like I
said, the right guy at the right time.
"One of the most common ques
tions people ask is how it compares
to a stock 195, and [ have to admit
that [ don't know. I've never flown a
195 that didn't have a 450 on it. I've
only flown this one and the one
Dad had years ago.
"Dad said it had no adverse effects
on the handling and increased the
performance but I can't comment.
I've sat in other 195s and [ can say for
a fact that the C-196 is noticeably
blinder because the nose doesn't ta
per. The regular 195 isn't as blind as it
looks because the nose tapers away
from the pilot and he can almost see
continued on the page 28
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

17

CALIFORNIA

KANSAS

NEBRASKA

Hayward, CA, VAA Ch. 29

Meeting 2nd Thurs., 7:00 PM
Hayward Airport, Hangar #7
William Field, President
Phone: 510-784-1168
Email: wfield49@aol.com

Overland Park, KS, VAA Ch. 16

Meeting 3rd Fri., 7:00 PM
Gardner Municipal Airport-Term Bldg.
Gerald Gippner, President
Phone: 913-764-8512

Plattsmouth, NE, VAA Ch. 31

Meeting 1st Sat., 10:30 AM
Plattsmouth Airport Term Bldg.
Keith Howard, President
Phone: 402-291-2103
Email: howardkj@Worldnet.att.net

Riverside, CA, VAA Ch. 33

Meeting 3rd Sat., 1:00 PM
Clubhouse at West end
of Flabob Airport
Travis Gammill, President
Phone: 909-686-6268

New Iberia, LA, VAA Ch . 30

Meeting 1st Sun., 9:00 AM
For Place Contact:
Roland Denison, President
Phone: 337-365-3047
Email: eaaac30@cox-intemet.com

LOUISIANA

MASSACHusms

Sacramento, CA, VAA Ch. 25

Meeting 2nd Sat., 10:00 AM
For Place Contact:
Red Hamilton, President
Phone: 707-964-7733
Email: red@reds-headers.com

East Falmouth, MA, VAA Ch. 34

Meeting 2nd Sat., 10:00 AM
For Place Contact:
Roger McDowell, President
Phone: 508-457-0506
Email: oakhous@aol.com

FLORIDA

MICHIGAN

Lakeland, FL, VAA Ch. 1

For Time & Place Contact:
James Conyers, President
Phone: 407-339-9061
Email: jbconyers@earthlink.net

Niles, MI, VAA Ch . 35

Meeting 2nd Sat., 10:00 AM
Niles, MI (3TR) Term. Bldg.
Kenneth Kasner, President
Phone: 616-699-7064
Email: KKasner@skyenet.net

ILLINOIS
Lansing, IL, VAA Ch. 26
For Time & Place Contact:
Peter Bayer, President
Phone: 708/534-6240
Email: c180bayer@aol.com

INDIANA
Auburn, IN, VAA Ch. 37
Meetings 4th Wed., 7:00 PM
Dekalb Co. Airport Term. Bldg.
Lester Matheson, President
Phone: 260-693-3642
E-mail: les_matheson@hotmail.com
18

SEPTEMBER 2003

MINNESOTA
Albert Lea, MN, VAA Ch. 13
Meeting 4th Thurs., 7:00 PM
Albert Lea MN Municipal Airport
William Koza, President
Phone: 507-373-9062
Email: bjkalmco@deskmedia.com
Anoko, MN, VAA Ch. 4
Meeting 2nd Tues., 7:00 PM
For Place Contact:
Roger Gomoll, President
Phone: 763-786-3342
Email: pledgedrive@msn.com

NEW HAMPSIRE
North Hampton, NH, VAA Ch. 15
Meeting 2nd Sat., 11 :00 AM
Chaper Clubhouse
N. Hampton Airfield
Jack Hodgson, President
Phone: 603-895-3939
Email: president@VaaI5.org
www.vaa15.org

NEW JERSEY
Andover, NJ, VAA Ch. 7
Meeting 1st Sun., 10:00 AM
Andover Aeroflex Airport
William Moore, President
Phone: 908-236-6619
Email: popmoore@Webtv.com

OHIO
Delaware, OH, VAA Ch. 27
Meeting 1st Sat., 8:00 AM
Delaware Municipal Airport
(DLZ) Term. Bldg
Russell Sheets, President
Phone: 740-524-1930
Email: rsheets@requestpeople.com
Troy, OH, VAA Ch. 36
Meeting 2nd Sun., Noon
For Meeting Place Contact:
Marla Simon-Boone, President
Phone: 937-473-2919
Email: msimonboone@yahoo.com
continued on the page 24

PASS

UCK

IT TO

BY E.E. "BUCK" HILBERT, EAA #21 VAA #5

P.O. Box 424, UNION, IL 60180

Safetying fasteners

One of the biggest bugaboos

of pilot/owner maintenance can
be getting to understand the ins
and outs of safetying fasteners.
What size and what kind of wire
do you use? And where do you
get information on the proper
way to do it?
The old FAR Part 43 rule was
quite explicit, but it has been su
perseded by Advisory Circular
(AC) 43-13-1B and 2A. This AC is
available from aviation book sup
pliers, and if you happen to have
a government printing office store
in your local city, it often has the
manual there. Chapter 7 in this
new manual (read "maintenance
bible") is very well illustrated and
explains it all. What follows are
excerpts from that AC.
Why safety? The book, and com
mon sense, says it's to prevent
screws, nuts, bolts, snap rings, oil
caps, drain cocks, valves, and other
parts from falling off the airplane
and scaring the unsuspecting public.
It also assures you, the pilot/owner,
that things are going to hold to
gether and keep you flying.
There are all kinds of safeties. We
all know about cotter pins. They are
used where a part or appliance
moves or is actuated. Examples are
your engine controls, throttle arm,
mixture, carb heat, or the axle nut
on the wheels.
The double-twist safety wire is the
one that gives most of us the biggest
problem. The holes in the bolts,
nuts, and cap screws never seem to
line up so that the job is easy. The
temptation to re-torque or loosen
them should be resisted. SpeCifica
tions regarding the amount of
torque to be applied to the fastener
should be followed to the letter-no

you are interested in accom

plishing by safetying the switch
or handle is to secure the guard,
handle, or switch against inad
vertent actuation.
The different types of wires all
have different uses. The stainless
steel wire we commonly see is
used everywhere-on the oil fil
ter, the oil screen, the carburetor
drains, the gascolator bale, turn
buckles, prop bolts, etc. You name
it, and it's there. The rule here is
"tighty-tighty." Apply that
twisted or single wire in a manner
that assures tightening. You want
assurance that the bolt, nut, or
screw is going stay tight, and the
wire will keep it that way.
The illustrated samples of dou
ble- and single-wire applications
are not the only way it's to be done;
there are many ways, and with
more practice, the better you'll be
come.
Back when I was an apprentice
mechanic, I can't tell you how
many times I'd finish a beautiful
job of safetying only to have the
boss take one look, and loudly say,
"tighty-tighty." What a disappoint
ment to have to do it all over again,
and do it "tighty-tighty" this time.
Some words of caution. Don't
overstress the wire. Don't mar the
wire with tool marks. Use the
proper size and type for the job to
be done. Also bend those pigtails
around so as to minimize cuts and
snags on your fingers and the backs
of your hands. The first time you
reach in the cowling and stick a
short piece of safety wire in your
fingertip, you'll know what I mean!
Take a look at some of these sam
ple illustrations, and with that, L K
It's Over to You, (( ~v..C)C-

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deviation allowed on these guys.

The single wire can be used in ar
eas hard to reach, and what area
isn't? But we have to use a heavier
wire. The hole size in the bolts ,
studs, or screws determines the wire
size. I won't repeat it here, because
the manual tells it all.
Self-locking nuts are used where
movement isn't anticipated, and so
are speed and Pal nuts. The self
lockers can be reused if they still
require torque to install them. If
they go on loose, discard them. The
Pal and speed nuts can be used only
once. They should be discarded,
not reused.
A little discr etion here. If you
have a device that is used in an
emergency such as a fire extin
gUisher, switch guards, emergency
exit handles, and the like, don 't
use steel wire. [(you do, unless
you're Superman, you can't break
it loose when you need it. Use soft
brass, copper, or aluminum. All

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

19

VAA CHAPTERS IN ACTION

VAA Chapter 30's Young Eagles rally

H.G. FRAUTSCHY

a few of the vintage airplanes used by Chapter

....-'-';O;~30 members during their Young Eagles rally. The

Clipped Wing Cub is owned by John Edley. The Champ

Is owned by Richard and Roland Denison, and the Tay
lorcraft Is owned by Roland Denison.

Helicopter pilot Eddie Bienvenu adjusts the seat

belt for 8-year-old Luke Villermin before Luke and a
couple of his friends take a ride in a Bell helicopter.

n New Iberia, Louisiana, VAA

Chapter 30 spent Saturday,
June 29, making dreams come
true for more than 150
youngsters. The rally was based at
Pelican Aviation at the Acadiana
Regional Airport, with a Taylorcraft
L-2, an Aeronca Champ, a Piper Super Cub, and a Bell helicopter
(a mong others) all used to explore
the world from up above. The kids
had such a great time that many of
20

SEPTEMBER 2003

Skyler Bouillon, age 10, is entranced as VAA Chapter 30 presi

dent Roland Denison explains the instrument panel of his
Aeronca Champ.

them asked to fly in both the fixed

wing aircraft and the helicopter.
Thanks to the generosity of the pi
lots, and of helicopter owner
Reuben Bienvenu of Rotorcraft
Leasing Inc. of Broussard, Louisana,
every kid who was registered flew
with one of the local pilots.
Four of the Young Eagles were
driven from more than 100 miles
away for their plane ride and cer
tificates. The father of two of them

is an Army helicopter pilot serving

in Iraq, and those two couldn't
wait to get home and write their
father to tell him all about their
flights and send him copies of
their certificates.
For those of you interested in
joining Chapter 30, you can contact
Chapter 30 President Roland Deni
son, in New Ib eria, Louisana, at
eaaac30@cox-intern et.com or 337
365-3047.

A Leap of Faith

By

ROB MIXON

n December 17, 2003, data that allowed them to build an

airfoil and wing that could lift a man
there will be a celebra
into the air by powered flight. They
tion of the Wright
produced the first reliable table of air
brothers and the first
powered , controlled flight of an air pressures on curved surfaces. They
also designed and bu ilt their own
plane from level ground.
lightweight engine-not bad for two
December 17, 1903, near Kitty
brothers who never completed high
Hawk, North Carolina, two brothers
walked the sands pulling a strange
contraption. Like Thomas Edison and
inventors before, some thought them
'~ ;7l'~
to be insane. In fact, only four spec
tators lined the route of the first
~-..o"'~
flight of a power-driven, heavier-than
air flying machine. That flight was to
be a total of 120 feet and lasted for
a total time of 12 seconds. Of the
three other flights accomplished that
Rob Mixon's Chanute-style hang
day, the longest was 852 feet and
glider, which he flew in the 1970s.
lasted 59 seconds.
The glider had an N number, and
The Wrights had studied glider
when asked by the FAA for its
flights done by others. These flights
method of launch, the FAA got
flew down the sides of hills using up
quite a kick out of Rob's reply:
slope air currents to keep them aloft.
"Leap off a cliff. " Three flights were
Another earlier glider designer, Otto
made, until damage to the landing
Lilienthal, was killed during a glider
gear (a sprained ankle) prevented
crash in 1896.
further flights.
Wilber presented a paper to the
Western Society of Engineers on Sep
school. In all fairness, the higher
tember 18, 1901. He made reference
mathematics and education were ob
tained through home study.
to Lilienthal:
It is said that anyone can count
"Otto Lilienthal seems to be the
the seeds of an apple , but to count
first man who really comprehended
that balancing was the first instead
the fruit of the seed is pure faith.
Perhaps it is the early demonstra
of the last of the great problems con
nected with human flight. He built a tion of the Wright brothers ' faith
pair of wings of a size suitable to that enabled us and paved the way
sustain his own weight , and made . for a man to walk on the moon , and
use of gravity as his motor. This mo before that to fly faster than the
speed of sound!
tor not only cost him nothing to begin
with , but it required no expensive
Their faith was reinforced by ob
fuel while in operation , and never servation and evidence, as Wilbur ' s
had to be sent to the shop for re presentation to the Western Society
of Engineers illustrates. He speaks
pairs. It had one serious drawback ...
that the man should first betake him of dropping a piece of paper held par
allel to the ground.
self and machine to the top of a hill
and fly with downward as well as for
"The person who merely watches
ward motions."
the flight of a bird gathers the im
The Wrights made a wind tunnel in
pression that the bird has nothing
their shop that gave them access to
to think of but the flapping of its

--l-~-~__L /

wings. As a matter of fact , this is a

very small part of its mental labor. If
I take this piece of paper, and after
placing it parallel with the ground ,
quickly let it fall , it will not settle
steadily down as a staid, sensible
piece of paper ought to do , but it in
sists on contravening eve r y
recognized rule of decorum, turning
over and darting hither and thither
in the most erratic manner, much af
ter the style of an untrained horse.
Yet this is the style of a steed that
man must learn to manage before
flying can become an everyday
sport. Now, there are two ways of
learning to ride a fractious horse:
one is to get on him and learn by ac
tual practice how each motion and
trick may be best met; the other is
to sit on a fence and watch the
beast a while , and then retire to the
house and at leisure f igure out the
best way of overcoming his jumps
and kicks. The latter system is the
safest, but the former, on the whole ,
turns out the larger proportion of
good riders. It is very much the
same in learning to ride a flying ma
chine. If you are looking for perfect
safety, you will do well to sit on a
fence and watch the birds; but if you
really wish to learn, you must mount
a machine and become acquainted
with its tricks by actual trial. "
The Wright brothers first recog
nized that balance is important ,
then they pulled their machine into
the air as a kite , then they accom
plished gliding experiments, and
then powered flight. It is said that
anyone can count the seeds of an
apple; but to count the fruit of the
seed is pure faith!
Ref: Roger E. Bilstein , " Wright
Brothers, " World Book Online Ameri
cas Edition (a paid subscription
service), www.worldbookonline.com.
November 18, 2002 .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

21

THE VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR I":~o."

------------------------------------------------------------------.

What's going on?

DOUG STEWART

he rumble was unmistakable. Since I no

longer was living in the Bay Area of San Fran
cisco, and the floor was not bouncing enough
for me to call Flight Service with a PIREP (pi
lot report) of constant light chop with occasional
moderate turbulence as reported by a man in his liv
ing room, it could only be one thing. A round engine.
A Continental 220.
Sure enough, looking over to the downwind to
Runway 29, there was a yellow and blue Stearman. All
eyes and ears were on the pristine biplane as it flew
the pattern. Lining up on the centerline, its descent
was perfect. On target, on speed. No need for a for
ward slip. No need for a blast of power. Rounding out
into the flare, it touched down perfectly in a three
point landing. No bounce, no wobble. This pilot
appeared to be a master of his craft.
Who amongst all of us watching and listening
would not agree as to this pilot's skill? Who would
not harbor envy as this pristine beauty taxied in?
There was definitely one who would not. Our chief
mechanic. He too is a master of his craft, but he is
also known to be one who does not mince his words,
one who does not believe in tact. He is quick to tell
you what he thinks and feels in words and actions

22

SEPTEMBER 2003

that make the strongest of us wince. And the pilot of

the Stearman was about to experience the verbal
wrath of our chief mechanic.
Taxiing in to the ramp on this warm summer day,
the pristine Stearman tailed to the open hangar doors
of the repair shop. The pristine repair shop. Most of us
admiring the scene were in aural ecstasy as the round
engine revved up just prior to the pilot pulling the
mixture and shutting down the engine. There was
about one nanosecond of silence between th e stop
ping of the engine and the full fury of the chief
mechanic's verbal onslaught. And although that un
fortunate pilot of the Stearman might never return to
Great Barrington, I do hope he learned an important
lesson that many pilots are in need of learning, and
that is don't ever tail an airplane with a running en
gine to the open doors of a hangar.
We all, as pilots, are aware of how crucial situa
tional awareness is to our safety when in the air. We
always hav e to be able to an swer two questions
"Where am I?/I and "What's next?"-if we are to stay
ahead of the aircraft. But unfortunately I witness so
many pilots who seem to be unaware of the need for
situational awareness when on the ground. I am not
referring to awareness of runways and taxiways and

the need to be ever vigilant of runway incursions.

Most pilots have that awareness, especially after the
FAA, EAA, and other organizations have done such a
good job of educating us about that need.
I am talking about an awareness of things like who,
or what, is behind us as well as in front of us as we fire
up our engines, about whether or not we are blocking
the only egress to a runway, a nd about where the
wind is in relationship to us as we taxi and run up.
And sad to say, from my observati ons there are many
pilots who do not have this awareness, as the pilot of
the Stearman found out.
For example, do you pull your airplane out from its
tiedown spot and line it up in the taxiway prior to
starting? I'm sure the owner of the aircraft parked be
hind you will be appreciative, especially if it is an
award-winning beauty at a major fly-in. But it wouldn't
matter if it were an old veteran of a rag- t ag flight
school; the need for courtesy remains. And if there are
folks sitting in that row of lawn chairs by the FBO of
fice, holding up their score cards after each landing, on
a sunny summer afternoon, I'm sure they don't want
their bodies blasted with dirt, grass, and exhaust, even
if they do get off on the smell of combusted 80 octane.
I'm sure th e combined sco res they give a pilot for
startup will be on the negative side if that pilot is not
aware that his judging panel sits directly behind him as
he starts up . And that hangar with the open doors?
Would you believe that I once witnessed a pilot blast a
set of struts sitting just inside an open hangar, th at
were still wet with paint, not once, but three times, as
he taxied in circles trying to decide where to park. I
know that you will be more thoughtful.
If you are at an airport where there is only one taxi
way on and off the runway, do you taxi up to th e
hold short line before checking if there are aircraft
landing, or in the pattern for landing? More th an
once I have observed an airplane have to go around,
because there was another plane still on the runway,
unable to clear the runway because the taxiway was
blocked by yet anoth er plane th at appeared to be
oblivious to everything but its own needs. I hope that
you will not be one of those pilots.
To the pilot of a high-wing taildragger the position
of the controls when taxiing with a quartering tail
wind is critical, lest he or she end up having the prop
dig divots in the grass beside the runway as the
wingtip holds the point like a toe dancer doing a
pirouette. But it is just as important for every airplane,
be it high wing or low wing, taildragger or not, to
have the controls positioned properly. If there is a
quartering tailwind as you taxi, then you should "dive
away" from the wind to minimize the chance of an
"incident." To do otherwise courts disaster worse than
the fury of self-righteous mechanic.
What never ceases to befuddle me is to watch an
airplane taxi to the run-up area with its controls posi

tioned correctly for the quartering tailwind, showing

what I assume to be the pilot's awareness of where the
wind is, and then only to stop the aircraft in the run
up area with the tail pointing into the wind. As the
throttle is advanced for the mag check, the airplane
starts to jump around like an agitated kangaroo, while
the yoke or stick jabs and stabs at the pilot as only
Muhammad Ali could do. The pilot probably wonders
(then again, maybe not) why the tachometer seems a
bit less stable during the run-up. I guess I am wrong
when I ass-u-me that the pilot is aware of the wind.
Had the airplane been faced into the wind prior to the
run-up, it would have been more stable on the
ground, have more accurate instrument indications,
and have been less prone to overheating.
So as we see, situational awareness is important in
our gro und operations. Be aware of where you are
and what's next. It is important not only from a
safety standpoint, but from a courtesy standpoint as
wel l. The lack of awareness might not necessarily
lead to an accident or incident, although there are
certa inly situations where it might, but it will defi
nitely lead to ill will from one 's fellow pilots and
mechanics . Practice situational awareness on the
ground, as well as in the air. It's one of those steps we
take as we transition from being a good pilot ... to
being a great pilot!
......

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SEPTEMBER 2003

Chapter Locator
Tailwheel
continued from page 18
Transition
Zanesville, OH, VAA Ch. 22
Training
John 's Landing, 5800 Wortman Rd.
For Meeting Time Contact:
John Morozowsky, President
Phone: 740-453-6889

OKLAHOMA
Tulsa, OK, VAA Ch. 10
Meeting 4th Thurs., 7:30 PM
Hardesty Library
Christopher McGuire, President
Phone: 918-341-6798
E-mail: cmcguire@att.net

SOUTH CAROLINA
Cross, SC, VAA Ch. 3
For Time & Place Contact:
John Betts, President
Pho ne: 252-225-0713
Email: betts@maii.c1is.com

TEXAS
Houston, TX, VAA Ch. 2
Meeting 4th Sun., 2:00 PM
Dry Creek Airport Cypress, TX
Merrill Morong, President
Phone: 281-353-7004
E-mail: mcmorong@pdq.net

WISCONSIN
Brookfield, WI, VAA Ch. 11
Meeting 1st Mon., 7:30 PM
Capitol Airport
George Meade, President
Phone: 414-962-2428
Email: gameade@execpc.com

continued from page 9

runway in crosswind conditions, it

is highly probable that side drift or a
crab will occur if cross-controls are
not used. I have had a pilot relate to
me that he had ground looped on
takeoff in such a situation. It is fairly
rare but certainly not unheard of, al
though most ground loops do occur
upon landing.
In closing let me reiterate that,
for the most part, taildragger tech
niques are really the same as those
that should be used for tricycle air
planes. It is just that taildraggers
require a strict adherence and a
mastery of those standard tech
niques . Also, it is easy to find a
certificated flight instructor who'll
sign you off with only a cursory
treatment of ground handling,
wheel landings, slips, and cross
winds. I hope I have convinced any
potential transition student that it
is in his/her best interest to insist on
a comprehensive training program.
If you are not comfortable with do
ing wheel landings or crosswind
operations, it is unlikely that you
will practice and learn them on
your own. Having a complete skill
set gives you the confidence in your
abilities to handle those less than
ideal conditions that have a nasty
habit of turning up . This will help
you better enjoy that lovely tail
dragger of yours by minimizin g
those white-knuckle experiences.
Don Hammer
CFl-ASE, CFI-I, CFI-G
503-627 -4666 (day)
503-692-3471 (night)
donovanh@tek.com

Don Hammer provides tail wheel

training through the McMinnville
FBO. If you're interested in tail
wheel training and this syllabus, he
invites you to contact him by phone
or e-mail.

FLY-IN CALENDAR

EAA FLY-IN SCHEDULE 2003

Virginia State EAA Fly-In

September 20-21, Petersburg,

VA

(PTB)

www.vaeaa.org
EAA Southeast Regional Fly-In

October 3-5, Evergreen, AL

(GZH)

www_serfiorg
<r"

"='

~~'==~~~~~~~~~~-' WMNEWN~

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofinfor
mation only and does not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control or
direction ofany event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. To submit an event,
please log on to www.eaa.org/events/events.asp. Only if Internet access is un
available should you send the information via mail to:, Att: Vintage Airplane,
PO. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Information should be received four
months prior to the event date.
SEPTEMBER 13-Bennington, VT
Bennington, Sport Flying Club &
AirNow Fly-In, William H. Morse
State Airport (DOH). 8am-5pm.
Hangars available free of charge for
most vintage aircraft. Info: Erin 802
753-5240 or ederoche@aimow.com
SEPTEMBER 13-14-Rock Falls, IL
North Central EAA "Old Fashioned"
Fly-In, Whiteside County Airport
(SQI). Forums, workshops, fly-market,
camping, air rally, awards, food & ex
hibitors, Sunday pancake breakfast.
Info: 630-543-6743 or www.nceaa.org
SEPTEMBER 13-14-Bayport, NY---40th
Annual Fly-In of the Antique Airplane
Club of Greater ew York, Brookhaven
Calabro Airport. Display of vintage and
homebuilt aircraft, awards, flea market,
hangar party. Info: 631-589-0374
SEPTEMBER 13-14-Newburyport,
MA-P[um Is[and Airfie[d Fly-In (2B2).
Plum Island is where W. Starling
Burgess, the father of powered flight
in New England, tested his biplanes in
1910. Fly-In will include vintage air
craft with the centerpiece being a
static display of Dana Smith's 1911
working Vin Fiz replica. FFl, or to
schedule you aircraft for display or
flight contact Butch Crook, 978-948
3379 or butchcrook@comcast.net
SEPTEMBER 19-20-Bartlesville, OK
47th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In.
Info: Charlie Harris 918-665-0755,
Fax 918-665-0039, www.tulsaflyin.com
SEPTEMBER 20-21-Nashua, NH
2003 Aviation Heritage Festival,
sponsored by Daniel Webster College.
Nashua Airport, ad jacent to the col
lege. 8:30am-5pm. Featuring 25
vintage airplanes, distinguished
guests, seminars, and aviation exhibits
sure to educate and entertain people
of all ages. Tickets available a t the
gate, cash only. Adults: $10, Children
6-12: $5, Children 5 and under: Free. Info:
603-577-6624 or www.dwc.edulfestival

SEPTEMBER 21-Simsbury, CT-An

nual Simsbury Connecticut Fly-In.
We especially welcome antique and
vintage a/c, along w/ homebuilts and
Warbirds. Trophies awarded for best
of type. Event also features flybys by
Navy F-18 jets, a Canadair business
jet, parachute jumping, over 125
beautiful antique cars, and more. No
advance registration, no admission
fee for aircraft flying to the event.
Info: Bill Thomas 860-693-4550 or
wdthomas@snet.net.
SEPTEMBER 26-28-Pottstown, PA
Bellanca-Champion Club East
Coast Fly-In at Pottstown Munici
pal Airport (N47). Info:
518-731-6800 or
www.bellanca-championclub.com
SEPTEMB ER 27-Hanover, IN-An
nual Wood , Fabric, & Tailwheels
Fly-In, Lee Bottom Flying Field. Re
laxed atmosphere, legendary
"Cajun Avgas" (IS Bean Chili). May
arrive the night before to share
fireside flying stories and enjoy
Dawn Patrol. Rain date 9/28/03.
Info: 812-866-3211 or
IfItsOldIIIFlylt@msn.com
SEPTEMBER 27-Richmond, VA-8th
Annual Wings and Wheels, Hummel
Air Field (W-75), Topping, VA. An
tique, Classic, Ultralight, and
Experimental Aircraft fly-in, and a
British, European, American and Ex
otic car show. 8:00 am-4:00 pm.
Spectator parking fee of $5 per auto
will go to the Hartfield Volunteer Fire
Department. General admission is
free . Arts and Crafts vendors, Stear
man rides, food, and much, much
more. Info: 804-758-2753 or
info@Wingsandwheels.us, website:
www.wingsandwheels.us
SEPTEMBER 27-28-Midland, TX
Fina-CAF AIRSHO 2003, Midland
Int'l Airport. Info: 915-563-1000,
www.airsho.org

Copperstate EAA Fly-In

October 9-12, Phoenix, AZ

(A39)

www.copperstate.org
EAA's Countdown to
Kitty Hawk Touring
Pavilion presented by
Ford Motor Company

December 13-17 - First Flight

Centennial Celebration, Kitty
Hawk,NC
SEPTEMBER 28-Ghent, NY-EAA
Ch. 146 Fall Fly-In Pancake Breakfast,
Klinekill Airport (NY1), Route 21 B.
8:30-noon. (Gas available at Colum
bia County Airport, 1B1.)
518-758-6355, web: www.eaa146.org
OCTOBER 3-S-Darlington, SC-VAA
Ch. 3 Fall-[n for classic and vintage
airplanes. Info: 912-842-2771 or eiwil
son@homexpressway.net
OCTOBER 3-S-St. Louis, MO-2003
Monocoupe Club Fly-In and Reunion,
Creve Coeur Field. Registration fee is $35
per person, payable at the Fly-[n .. One
hotel option is the Sheraton Four Points,
314-878-6800. More Info: Bob Cameron,
314-878-6400.
OCTOBER 4-S-Rutland, VT-13th
Annual Leafpeepers Fly-In Breakfast,
Rutland State Airport. Info: 802-235
2808, vt(1yer@vermontel.net
OCTOBER lS-19-Tullahoma, TN
Beech Party 2003 "A Celebration"
Tu llahoma Regional Airport. Safety &
Formation Flying School 10/17/03.
Awards, BBQ kids hayride, ladies
fashion show, pilots
maintenance/safety seminars and
much more. Info: 931-455-1974 or
www.staggerwing.com
OCTOBER 2S-26-Royal Newcastle Aero
Club, Maitland, New South Wales-The
Great Tiger Moth Air Race 2003. Info:
02-9328-2480 e-mail:
fiona .c.consultil1g@bigpond.com
OCTOBER 2S-26-Elba, Alabama - EAA
Chap. 351 Fly-In, Elba municipal Air
port (141). Early arrivals welcome, free
transportation to local motels, no fee
under wing camping permitted, rest
room available in terminal, no fee Fly
Market. Young Eagles flying program,
food, 100 Ll Avgas available. Info:
Mike Haynes, 334-897-113
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

25

VAA NEWS

continued from page 3

sport aircraft toward reality, and the
rulemaking package's move from FAA
to DOT is an important step in the
rule-making process. But it's only part
of EAA's effort to make flying more
affordable to the average individual.
"It's one thing to pass a rule, it's an
other thing to implement it. All week
the FAA's SP/LSA team has been commu
nicating with everybody on what has to
be done, " Lawrence said, adding that
meetings ranged from pilot training in
formation to imparting the knowledge
and skills necessary to implement the
SP/LSA repairman certificate.
Randy Hansen from the EAA gov
ernment staff, points out the EAA
also worked the international front,
including obtaining unrestricted am
ateur-built aircraft access to the
Bahamas, and negotiations for a joint
deSignated airworthiness representa
tive (DAR) program with Australia.

::: ..

Air c r a ft Coa tin g.

www.polyfiber.com

Sept 12-14.2003 Corona.CA

RVASSEMBLY

Guide to Maintaining Aging

Aircraft to be Published by FAA

Sept 20. 2003

In cooperation with an ad hoc com

mittee of aircraft manufacturers, type
clubs, and aviation organizations in
cluding EAA, VAA, and the Antique
Airplane Association, the FAA has cre
ated the Best Practices Guide for

www.aircraftspruce.com

Denver. CO
TEST FLYING YOUR PROJECT

Sept 20-21.2003 Denver. CO

SHEET METAL BASICS
COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION
FABRIC COVERING
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
& AVIONICS
INTRO TO AIRCRAFT BUILDING
Sept 26-28. 2003 Griffin (Atlanta). GA
RVASSEMBLY
Oct 4-5. 2003

Columbus. OH
SHEET METAL BASICS
COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION
FABRIC COVERING
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
& AVIONICS
GAS WELDING

Oct 10-12. 2003 Oshkosh. WI

RVASSEMBLY

1-800-WORKSHOP
1-800-967-5746
sportair@eaa.org

Oct 18-19. 2003 Boston. MA

SHEET METAL BASICS
COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION
FABRIC COVERING
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
& AVIONICS
Oct 24-26. 2003 Corona. CA
RVASSEMBLY

Visit www.sportair.comNov7-9.2003Griffin(Atlanta). GA
for a complete listing of workshops.
TIG WELIDING
26

SEPTEMBER 2003

Maintaining Aging General Aviation Air

planes booklet. Included in the guide
are examples of aircraft maintenance
checklists, and a review of some of the
information that should be gathered
to maintain our aging aircraft fleet.
The guide is scheduled to be pub
lished following the Labor Day
holiday, and owners of older aircraft
can expect the FAA to mail them a
copy sometime in the fall. It will
also be published on the FAA's web
site. Once downloaded from the
FAA's site, the inspection checklists
can be modified to suit a particular
aircraft model. We'll also have links
to the appropriate FAA web page at

www.vintageaircra{t.org.
Our thanks to all who participated
in the process, and to EAA's Earl
Lawrence and Daryl Lenz, who both
served as EAA's representatives on the
ad hoc committee.
.......

JOHN MILLER RECALLS

continued from page 7

My four passengers, however, were all
very enthusiastic. They had tho roughly
enjoyed their close view of the city from
their first airplane flight and seemed to
be oblivious of my problem or anything
unusual. All four were important men in
the community a nd obviously h ad no
idea that a disas ter had been narrowl y
averted. [ accepted the ir complimen ts
and talked to them for a few minutes, try
ing to conceal my perturbation and
swallow my heart, while four new paying
passengers were loaded by the ticket sell
ers. When the four men had gone, [ made
an excuse to go to the hangar where I
told the owners that fl yi ng was definitely
over for the day.
Of course, [ wanted to know what had
caused the trouble with the engine. After
scratching my head a little for ideas, [ felt
the cylinders to see which one was misfir
ing. [ was not surprised to discover that
three cylinders were cold as clams, evenly
spaced around th e nine . Being an air
frame and engine (A&E) m ec hanic
myself, I then h ad a hint of th e ca use.
The Wright ]-5 engine had a three-barrel
carburetor, each barrel feedin g three
cylinders through independent manifold
passageways cast into the rear section of
the crankcase. There were two things that
could cause such a cessation of the three
cylinders fed by one barrel of the carbure
tor. The most probable cause would be a
particle of dirt in th e jet, or some other
failure in that section of the carburetor.
That was hard for me to determine with
out taking the carburetor off and would
take time in the field. The other possibil
ity would be a sticking intake valve. So [
started taking the valve rocker covers off,
and in the very first one I found the cause
of the severe loss of power and vibration.
There are two concentric va lve springs
closing ]-5 valves. [ was surprised to find
both springs broken and screwed into
themselves, a billion-to-one chance oc
currence. So the valve was not closing
and was allowing that cylinder to back
fire into the manifold, cutting out the
other two cylinders. That accounted for
the severe vibration and extreme loss o f
power and the extraneous popping and
snorting by the engine, which m y pas
sengers evidently thought was normal. At
that time there were no controllable pro
pellers or governors, so the fixed propeller
reduced the rpm and caused still further
loss of power, a full 60 percent I think.
Every time [ even think of that experi
ence, [ can feel again the adrenaline flow
and my heart take extra beats. The late Mr.
P. never did find out about it . That air
speed indicator certainl y paid fo r itse lf
and made me a devout believer in its value
in those days of seat-of-the-pants flying.
Today [ have an angle of attack indicator
in my plane also, and [ truly believe that if
they were required equipment, many take
off, climb-out, and landin g approach
accidents would be prevented.
......

NEW MEMBERS

David Marshall ....... . . .... Victoria, Australia

Bruce Friend .. ........ . .. Airdrie, AB, Canada
James Sorensen........... Calgary, AB, Canada
Rohan Soulsby . North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Walter J. Muzyczka .... Winnipeg, MB, Canada
James B. Farmer ..... Owen Sound, ON, Canada
Kevin Uhrich . ....... Chamberlain, SK, Canada
H. Welbourn ..... East Allington, Great Britain
Anton Van Rysbergen Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
Miguel Bonini. .......... San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dale Isakson .. . ................. Wasilla, AK
James L. McCarthy . .. .. .. .. . .. Anchorage, AK
Mike Galster . . .. ...... . . . ... .. Pine Bluff, AR
Marty V. Bridges. ... .. .. . ..... Carmichael, CA
Tom Buffaloe . .... . .. .. . ...... Escondido, CA
Kenneth Krohncke .. .. . ......... Rio Vista, CA
Bret Lynes .. .. . .. .. . . ...... Los Alamitos, CA
Steve Maiman ... .. ........ .. Los Angeles, CA
Dan Older ..... . .. ... . . . . . . .. .. Carlsbad, CA
Ross L. Orbach .... .. . . .. ... . Yucca Valley, CA
Donald Rule . .... .. .. .. .. .. . . San Marcos, CA
Kalman Saufnauer .. . .. ......... Oakland, CA
Jim Boberg ..... . . . .. .. ....... . Littleton, CO
David Lee Glasscock . .. ..... . . . Lakewood, CO
Stephen Halasz ..... . .. ........... Parker, CO
Ian Cummings .. ............. Woodstock, CT
William DeVries ... . .. ........... Taconic, CT
Michael Guile ...... . ......... Thompson, CT
Robert McCorkle ...... . . . ..... Ridgefield, CT
Don W. Abbott. ..... . . .. ........ . Sanibel, FL
Ed Cook ......................... Davie, FL
Gary A. Davidson . . .......... . . .. Bunnell, FL
Richard Denning ... . .. .. ... ...... Arcadia, FL
Dennis R. Garrett .. . ... . ....... .. Hudson, FL
Walter A. Lane .... .. . .. ...... Hobe Sound, FL
Andre Moffitt MD .... .. . North Palm Beach, FL
Karl Stark ..... .. .... ......... Gulfbreeze, FL
Thurman Duvall .. . .......... Hogansville, GA
Max Gwaltney ............... FayetteVille, GA
J. Mark Holmquist . ... . .. ....... Suwanee, GA
John T. Monroe............... COVington, GA
G. Thomas Peterson ...... .... .. ... Plains, GA
VanJ. Winegarden ........... Cedar Rapids, IA
Kenneth L. Wormley............. Ft Dodge, IA
Paul E. Smith .. . .......... .. .... Orofino, lD
Gary Eckebrecht .. .. . .. ........... Aurora, IL
Del Ogren .................... . Deerfield, IL
james R. Rettick ............. Bloomington, IL
Russell Shavitz ..... .. .... Arlington Height, IL
B. joseph Zumwalt .... .. . .. .. ... . Sheldon, IL
Tim Blossom ...... . . .. .. . . ...... Marion, IN
Robert Kirkpatrick .. . ... . .. . ... ... Carmel, IN
j. K. Vilander ........... .. . ..... Wamego, KS

Terry S. Mann ........ . ....... Farmerville, LA

Gregory Rodriquez .... . ....... New Iberia, LA

Peter Rouse .... ............. New Orleans, LA

Robert P. Straub .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. Baltimore, MD

Perry Virgin .. ...... . . . . ...... . . ... Peru, ME

Robert Fuller. . ........ .. ....... . ... Troy, MI

Gerald jakuszeski . . ..... . ......... Oxford, MI

Suzy Kryzanowicz ............... Bay City, MI

Dan A. Schurr . . ..... .......... Wyoming, MI

Roy Westendorff ...... . . . ....... Pewamo, MI
Peter Gavin ..... ... . . . . .. ..... Richfield, MN
Kenneth G. Kneer ... . .. . . ........ Eagan, MN
Brenna Matthies .... ... ...... East Bethal, MN
john Schouweiler ........... Minneapolis, MN
Zachary Baughman ...... . ... Manchester, MO
Robert Craig Chipley ....... ... Wentzville, MO
Michael Q. Edens .. . ...... ..... Bozeman, MT
Andy Erickson ....... .. ..... West GlaCier, MT
Ed Horstman......... . ......... Big Fork, MT
Roger MacKie .. ... . ...... Winston-Salem, NC
Griff Malleck.... . .. . . .......... McCook, NC
Louis B. Palmer . .. ..... . ... . . . .. Kinston, NC
john A. Shearer .. . .. .. ... ... . Chapel Hill, NC
jack Shelburne, Jr. . .. .. ..... . . Greensboro, NC
john A. Tumblin ...... . ..... . . Burlington, NC
David Cap. .. .. .. . . ... . .. .. ... . . Lincoln, NE
Ryan Keough . .. ...... . ....... .. Nashua, NH
Nick Andriulli . . ........ . .. Elmwood Park, Nj
Rick Richter . . ......... . .. . Albuquerque, NM
Martin O. Dardani. .. . ..... .... . . Hudson, NY
james Edwardson ... . . ... . .. . .. . Yaphank, NY
Clyde Gillard ..... ... .... .. . . Churchville, NY
Andrew Seligson . .. .. . .. . .. . ... Tuckahoe, NY
Steve Betts ...... . .. ..... ... ... ... Niles, OH
jeff Scott Carter ... . .. . .. .. . . Farmersville, OH
Mark Fullen .... . .. ..... ..... Grove City, OH
Peter Kiko . .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. . ..... Dalton, OH
Gary j. Slutz ..... ... . ..... . .. Beach City, OH
William E. Bensley . .. .. . .... .. .. Cushing, OK
Gregory P. Camp . .... ............. Altus, OK
Adrian A. Hale ..... . ...... . ....... Tulsa, OK
Irvin W. Heckes ........... . ...... Yukon, OK
john C. Tait .. .. . .. . .. ......... Portland, OR
Randal D. Wilkerson ... ... .. . . .... Tigard, OR
Richard Hess .. ..... . ........... Lancaster, PA
Fred W. Wise .. . ... . ..... . ... . .. Windsor, PA
Richard R. Shell .. ........... .. . . Riverside, RI
Mark Poulin ..... . ..... . . .. Murrells Inlet, SC
Roger D. Craddock ... . .. . ... . . . Memphis, TN
Fletcher Smith .. .. .. ........ Chattanooga, TN
Aaron D. Tippin ... . . ....... . . . Nashville, TN
Patrick Greene............ .. ...... Dallas, TX
Thomas W. Huston ... . ......... . . Sanger, TX
Alton Kenne ........... . ........ .. Freer, TX
Timothy j. O'Brien ..... ........ San Leon, TX
Richard Robbins...... .... ...... . Bedford, TX
West Sanders ...... . . .. . ..... . . Ft Worth, TX
Donald Mack ... .... ....... . ..... Odgen, UT
john Latta ....... .... . .... . .. Alexandria, VA
Hampton K. Miller . .. .. .. . . Fredericksburg, VA
R. Scott C. Pearce . .. . ... .. .. . ...... Afton, VA
Michael Burnham ... ... . ..... Dorrington, WA
Herbert L. Huestis . . .. .. .... Point Roberts, WA
John B. McCrorie. . .......... Port Angeles, WA
David T. Raymond .. . .. . . .. . ... . Spokane, WA
David Egnoski ... ......... ...... Delavan, WI
james D. Tuchscherer. ... ........ Oshkosh, WI
Vincent Loprinzi . . . . ......... Fort Ashby, WV
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

27

VINTAGE

TRADER

Richard Porter S
1

C-196 continued

Something to buy, sell or trade?

"Regardless of the size

of the project, my goal
has always been to
exceed my customer's
expectations. "
Award Winning Vintage Interiors by:
Paul Workman

OHIO AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

Parr Airport (421)

Zanesville, Ohio 43701

800.794 .6560

Radial Exhaust Systems Inc.

Jumping Branch, WV 25969

27 Years Experience

15 different engines for fitting

FAA Certified Repair Station XHYR068L

Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words,

180 words maximum, with boldface lead-in
on first line.
Classified Display Ads : One column wide
(2 .167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at $20
per inch. Black and white only, and no fre
quency discounts.
Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second
month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January
10 is the closing date for the March issue). VAA
reserves the right to reject any advertising in
conflict with its policies. Rates cover one inser
tion per issue. Classified ads are not accepted
via phone. Payment must accompany order.
Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or
e-mail (classads@eaa.org) using credit card pay
ment (all cards accepted). Include name on card,
complete address, type of card , card number,
and expiration date. Make checks payable to
EAA. Address advertising correspondence to
EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O.
Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086
BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings, main
bearings, bushings, master rods, valves, piston
rings Call us Toll Free 1/800/233-6934 , e-mail
ramremfg@aol.com Web site www.ramengine.com
VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS , N. 604
FREYA ST., SPOKANE, WA 99202.
Airplane T-Shirts

150 Different Airplanes Available

WE PROBABLY HAVE YOUR AIRPLANE!

www.airplanetshirts.com
1-800-645-7739
THERE'S JUST NOTHING LIKE IT

ON THE WEB!!

www.aviation-giftshop.com
A Web Site With The Pilot In Mind
(and those who love airplanes)

Antiques, Warbirds, Cropdusters

304-466-1752 Fax 304-466-0802
www.radialexhaustsystems.com

For sale, reluctantly: Warner 145 & 165 en

gines. 1 each, new OH and low time. No tire
kickers, please. Two Curtiss Reed props to go
with above engines. 1966 Helton Lark 95, Ser
ial #8. Very rare, PQ-8 certified Target Drone
derivative. Tri-gear Culver Cadet. See Jupt
ner's Vol. 8-170. Total time A&E 845 hrs. I just
have too many toys and I'm not getting any
younger. Find my name in the Officers & Di
rectors listing of Vintage and e-mail or call
evenings. E. E. "Buck" Hilbert
Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit
www.f1yingwires.com or call 800-517-9278.

"The use of Dauon or similar modern materialsas Q substitute for colton is a

dead giyeaway to Ihe knowing eye.They simply do nOllook righl an yinlage
aireroN: from Robert Mikesh, former curalor of Ihe Nolional Air and Space
Museum, in his book Restoring Museum Aircraft.

VltiTAGe AeRO FAP.>RICJ, LTD

"" PURVEYORS ""
Don't compromise your restoration with modern coverings
. . . finish the job correctly with authentic fabrics.

Certifilated Grade Alollon

Early aircraft IOIIon

Imported aircraft Linen (beige and tan)

German WWI lOlenge print fabril

Fabric tapes: frayed, straight, pinked and early Amerilan pinked

Waxed linen lacing lOrd

Pure cotton machine and hand sewing thread

Vinlage Aero Fabrics, lid. 316 Creekwood Dr., Bardslown, KY 40004

lei: 5023491429 fox: 5023491428 websile: www.avciolh.(om
Original Nieuport 28 reslored by Vinlage Avialion Services"

28

SEPTEMBER 2003

For Sale - 1939 Spartan Executive, 3500TT,

10 SMOH. 214-354-641S.
THREE UNIQUE AIRCRAFT. 1. Only existing
Tom Cassutt-built Formula One, raced 1959
by Tom, 1960 by undersigned. Modified
1964. Dismantled, complete, has C-85 . Of
fers? 2. Percival EP.9, 1958, one of two
remaining, was Brit ish warbird 1958-61 .
High-wing STOL, 6 seats , Lycoming GO
480, 270 hp, Hartzell CS. Experimental!
Exhibition. Sport Aviation article December
2002. Awarded "Most Unique" Contempo
rary 2002 Oshkosh . $82 ,000. 3. Wittman
Tailwind W-S project, two-thirds complete,
many components welded by Steve, has C
190. Offers? In WI. Jan Christie ,
608-526-6171 or 920-563-4689.

straight ahead. The C-l96 is as blind

as it looks. Blinder, actually.
"The airplane is really a thrill to
fly. On takeoff, it gives 36 inches of
manifold pressure and the accelera
tion never lets up. It keeps pushing
you back in the seat even after you're
off the ground. It normally climbs in
the 1,500-1,800 feet per minute
range at 105 mph and that too
hardly falls off with altitude. That's
the beauty of a super-charged en
gine. You don't lose power until
you're really high. If you want to re
ally go up, you can pull the nose up
and it'll give 3,000 feet per minute,
but it's at such a crazy angle, you
can't see anything at all.
"I normally flight plan cross
countries at 160 knots (about 202
mph), which is 26 inches of mani
fold pressure and 1,850 rpm, which
gives me about 20.5 gallons per hour
fuel burn. It'll give this speed at just
about any altitude above 7,500 feet.
It'll also cruise faster than this, but
you're burning a lot of gas for an
other 10 knots.
"The empty weight went up about
260 pounds with the engine, but the
airplane is also full IFR, so it picked
up a little weight there too. Even so
the useful load is 1,169 pounds.
"The tip tanks hold 20 gallons
which brings the total up to 116
useable gallons. The original 195's
oil tank, which is below the instru
ment panel, held only five gallons,
so with that much fuel and the
R985 engine you could run out of
oil. So at the time of the conver
sion an extension to the back of
the tank brought it up to eight gal
lons max.
"It's a really wonderful piece of
transportation and it's unique
enough that I can have fun with
the folks who know it's a 195, but
something's somehow different.
That's where the Cessna 196 thing
comes in. That just makes a good
thing better./1
......

Membership Services
VINTAGE

AIRCRAFT
ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND
THE EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION

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EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

OFFICERS
President
Espie "Butch" joyce
704 N. Regional Rd.
Greensboro, NC 27425
336-668-3650

Vice-President

windsock@aol.com

George Daubner
2448 Lough Lane
Hartford, WI 53027
262-673-5885
vaaflyboy@msn.com

secretary

Treasurer

Steve Nesse
2009 Highland Ave.
Albert u,a, MN 56007
507-373-1674

stnes@deskmedia.com

Charles W. Harns
7215 East 46th St.
Tulsa, OK 74147
918-622-8400

cwh@hvsu.com

DIRECTORS
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85 Brush Hili Road

Sherborn, MA 01770

508-653-7557

sst 1OO@woridnet.att.net

Dale A. Gustafson
7724 Shady Hills Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46278
317-293-4430

David Bennett

Jeannie Hut

P.O. Box 328

Harvard, IL 60033-0328

815-943-7205

P.O. Box 1188

Roseville, CA 95678

916-645-6926

dalefaye@msn.com

antiquer@inreach.com

dinghao@owc.net

jobn Berendt

7645 Echo Point Rd.

cannon Falls, MN 55009

507-263-2414

fchJd@roonoect.com

Steve Krog

1002 Heather Ln.

Hartford, WI 53027

262-966-7627

Robert C. "Bob" Brauer

9345 S. Hoyne
Chicago, 11 60620
773-779-2\05
photopilot@aol.com

Robert D. "Bob" Lumley

1265 South 124th St.
Brookfield, WI 53005
262-782-2633
lumper@execpc.com

Dave Clark

Gene Morris
5936 Steve Court
Roanoke, TX 76262
817-491-91 \0
n03capt@flash.net

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... .. _. .......... ..... . ... 732-885-6711
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MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

EAA

j ohn S. Copeland

Dean Richardson

lA Deacon Street

1429 Kings Lynn Rd

Stoughton, WI 53589
608-877-8485

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Northborough, MA 01532
508-393-4775
copeland1@juno.com

Phil Coulson
28415 Springbrook Dr.
Lawton, MI 49065
269-624-6490

rcoulsonS 16@cs.com
Roger Gomoll

8891 Airport Rd, Box C2

Blaine, MN 55449

763-786-3342

pledgedrive@msncom

dar@aprilaire.com
Geoff Robison

152 1 E. MacGregor Dr.

New Haven, IN 46774

260-4934724
chief702S@aol.com
S.H. ' We' " Schmid
2359 Lelebee Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
414-771-1 545
shschmid@milwpc.com

Current EAA members may join the Vintage

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PLANE magaZine for an additional $36 per year.
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lAC

DIRECTORS

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Oshkosh, WI 54904
920-231 5002

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Artifact Donations . _ .. . _. ... . 920-426-4877
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Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associ

ation, Inc. is $40 for one year, induding 12 i5sues of
SPORT AVlATION. Family membership is available
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(under 19 years of age) is available at $23 annually.
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635 Vestal Lane

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317-839-4500
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Flight Advisors information . . .. 920-426-6522

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. _.... ...... ... . .. .. ... FAX 920-426-4828

Submitting article/ photo
Advertising information

E.E. "Buck " Hilbert

P.O. Box 424
Union, IL 60180
815-9234591
buck7ac@mc.net

Current EM members may join the Interna

tional Aerobatic Club, Inc. Division and receive
SPORT AEROBATICS magazine for an addi
tional $45 per year.
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Division is available for $SS per year (SPORT

AVIATION magaZine not included). (Add $15

for Foreign Postage.)

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birds of America Division and receive WARBIRDS
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sion is available for $SO per year (SPORT
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All rights reserved .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) IPM 40032445 is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircratt Association of the Experimental Aircratt Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation
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for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via suriace mail. ADVERTISI NG - Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

29

Urn preston
Tangerine, Fl

_ 1941 Stearman

"We have been with AUA for a number of years.

Great service: Great people./I

- Tim Preston

~.-''t~'.'',

'~'I:;

.:~_r,'

t~

.. "'~..

'.' -- --.,.:

:'! -:.,

!'-1..J(.~:4."'-'.'""."'''''; ~

. AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. .To become a member of VAA call 80084336J2.
"

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.~'

........

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.<.

t._'

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The Board ofDirectors of Ocean Reef Club

Key Largo, Florida

cordially invites you to attend

THE

10 TH ANNUAL VINTAGE

WEEKEND

December 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, 2003

Honoring classic conveyances by air, land, and sea

and including

The Antique and Classic Airplane Fly-in

The Concours d'Elegance ofAutomobiles

The Antique and Classic Yacht Rendezvous

Participation includes a Friday afternoon Road

Rally, Fly By and a Welcoming Reception.
Saturday day-long celebration ofboats, cars,
and planes including a Skywriting competition;
a Rosie O'Grady - Gay 90s Party on Saturday
evening with The Bill Allred Jazz Band;
awards and farewell breakfast Sunday morning.
$225 per person

Because Ocean ReefClub is a private club, The

Vintage Weekend is open only to members and
invited guests staying in the Inn or Marina.
For more details and lodging information,
please call Lesa Crayne at 305-367-5896
or e-mail: lcrayne@oceanreefcom

OCEAN REEF CLUB"

35

OCEAN

REEF

DRIVE

"

KEY

LARGO,

FLORIDA

33037

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

31

COMING AT YOU!

Two Quality Journals

THE JOURNAL OF
THE EARLY AEROPLANE
Leonard E. ~. Editor

THE AIRPLANE 1920-1940

Featuring:

David Ostrowski. Editor

Airplane restorations &

reproductions
Indepth articles on historic
aircraft
Great photos including
details & cockpits
Scale & flying models
.J
..J
..J

Accurate, detailed drawings

Paint, colors, markings
Museums & events
Aircraft, engines, parts
for sale
Book & literature reviews
Your wants & disposals

Send a sample copy at $4+ $3pp:

WWl AERO
SKYWAYS

both

FREE ISSUE FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS:

MENTION THIS AD!

Published by WORLD WAR 1 ~, INC.

15 Crescent Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, USA (845) 473-367~

A NON-PROFIT. MEMBER-ORIENTED SERVICE ORGANIZATION

V00879
VOO88O

mug with plastic

handle and cap.
Standard base fits
most car cup holders.

SEE MORE!

SEE MANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS

AT THE VAA RED BARN DURING
AIRVENTURE

2003.

Check out all the VAA

available merchandise
by shopping the
Vintage section of

EAA Aeronautica.

ORDER ONLINE:

This 3-dimensional patch is well tailored and

will look great on your clothing and accessories.
32

SEPTEMBER 2003

http://shop.eaa.org

fJ$;dAfgtm-Y?~

Vehicle Discount