/ E I ^ S l

T-34 Association, Inc. Newsletter

In this Issue:

Ace McSpace 1

West Coast News 2

Stick or Thrott le 4

Osh 1992 Formation 5

T-34 Meeting Minutes 6

Sun 'n Fun 7

Sun 'n Fun Registrations 10

Mother's Day Flyout 10

Pre-Oshkosh Bash '92 10

News from President Charlie 11

Service Bullet in 14

Just Havin' Fun 15

CJFM Beds Down Wi th EAA 17

Thoughts on Wing Landings 18

Lima Lima 20

From the Company Store 20

- h T-34 Association^ Inc.

Charles H. Nogle, President

Teri7 Brennan, Vice President & Merchandise Manager

Bob Farrell, Treasurer

Lou Drendel, Secretary

Julie Clark, Membership Chairman

Bob Morse, Editor

Ed Hicks, Associate Editor

July 1 992 , Issue Number 58

Ace McSpace Visits Southwest Florida!

Tfes Virginia, there really is an ACE McSPACE. Some of us were surprised by h i | t i s i t in Venice, Florida, as we w e r e p l p a r i n g , in early Apr i l for the St. Pitefeburg air show and then Sun & Fun at Lakeland, Florida.

Ace watched us fly, offered some constructive criticism, did some amazing flying himself, and introduced us to his latest state of the art aero-space product. I t was indeed a fun time in spite of the fact that he took my "Ace McSpace Award For Outstanding Journalism" cap as an "advance deposit on an article."

We were si t t ing around the Venice airport w i th Ace, discussing some of our recent feats of aeronautical bravado, when Ace commented, "That sounds pretty good for beginners." That brought several simultaneous replies of "What do you mean beginners?! We're

all experienced wonderments!" Ace went on to explain that when you are "More than a beginner," you should be able to get in the cockpit headfirst, wi th your hands tied together, feet up, head down by the rudder pedals, and taxi out, take off, fly around the pattern, roll the plane, and land, taxi in, etc. A t the time, this seemed so bizarre and impossible, that we quickly challenged his statement and questioned i f Ace thought he could do that. The bragging Mr. McSpace responded that he had done i t before and would bet us all $10.00 that he could do i t again. Almost wi th in a millisecond, (actually about 15 minutes), we collected $1.00 apiece and took the bet!

We securely bound Ace's hands, stuffed h im in the cockpit head first and stood back to savor our quick 100% profit. Much to our total amazement, the airplane startecj, taxied out, took off, flew around the pattern, rolled, landed, and returned to the line. We could not believe our eyes! I knew this would be hard for anyone to believe, so we immediately took a picture of Ace as he calmly opened the canopy wi th his feet and was untying his hands!

How could he do this? I t would be difficult enough starting the engme with his feet, shoes on, but taxiing out and flying with his head stuffed down by the pedals? He couldn't even see the instruments! Landing? How? Worst of all, beating us out of $10.00!

As Ace climed out of the cockpit, r ight ing himself, we saw the key to his trick. I n his smiling mouth, he was holding a portable Global Positioning Satellite unit.

For more Ace turn to page 19

Ace McSpace unties himself after a reasonably remarkable demonstration

© T - 3 4 Association, Inc. 1992

I t is w i th great pleasure and just a l ^ i fanfare that we announce prelimi-ipcx plans for the first T-34 Association sanctioned "WEST COAST FLY-IN." While the term "west coast" is not used in the purest sense, this exciting event, to be staged out of Carson City, NV,, wi l l afford those so inclined the opportunity to fly to the beautiful northern California coastline wi th minimal fuss to make i t "official."

Mark the dates September 16-20 on your calendar and plan to attend this event which promises almost more scenic beauty, photo opportunities and air racing excitement than most normal humans could absorb without a sensual overdose. Of course the local casinos will be happy to entertain you as well.

A l l sorts of activities, attractions and day tr ips are in the works as well as plenty of flying, including abundant aerobatic freedom, formation clinics and "wingmen" check rides for those ready to earn the patch. Wi th visibilities averaging about 100 miles in this part of the country, and only two control towers in the entire state (Reno and Las

Vegas) this wi l l be a f lying experience you wi l l long remember. After 13 years of navigating this area I have finally overcome the natural urge to call "5 miles out" and take another 10 minutes to get there. It's great.

Our gi-acious host for this event is Neil Weaver. Neil, along w i th Yvon Kartak, (the one who does all the work) of the Weaver Aircraft Co. have thrown their hearts and souls into organizing these fun-fil led five days. The long weekend wi l l begin Wednesday evening wi th a catered barbecue at Neil's hangar. They have secured 25 rooms at an excellent downtown Carson motel and reserved the "Tahoe Queen," a stern wheeler that provides gourmet dining while cruising picturesque Lake Tahoe at sunset. As this is being wri t ten Nei l is discussing the possibility of a mass T-34 formation flyover of the Reno A i r Races wi th the race organizers as well as perks for our group at the races proper.

Saturday and Sunday wi l l feature trips to the air races. I f you have never seen this spectacle you are in for an aviation happening of grand proportion. I t would take a poet far beyond my means to describe the sensational experience of the "Gold Unlimiteds" as they r ip their way inches above the desert floor around the pylons at over 500 mph. The entire aura of speed and noise is unbelievably exhilarating.

Because of the t iming of the fly-ins, which coincides wi th the air races, i t is obviously important that we receive as many responses as possible as early as possible. In the event that we have underestimated the number of attend-ees and need more than the 25 rooms we have reserved, we can probably get more i f we do so before mid-July. Please call (702) 887-1234 (Weaver Aircraft), i f you plan to attend.

The fly-in is by no means l imited to those wi th airplanes. A l l members of the T-34 Association are welcome. We would love to book the entire motel and begin a great tradition.

S t - ^ ^ & ^ T I t it . V - ' -' 1 ' - - c r t ^ ' S

The following is the first of a series on restoration and maintenance facilities that specialize in T-34 work. Those of us who are lucky enough to own a 34, have seen over the years, great increases in interest in the airplane as well as in the value. This is in no small part due to the efforts of several individuals whose shops are spread across the country and who are turning out aircraft that in most cases are as good or better than new. Without their devotion, skil l and just plain hard work, the status of the T-34 would be no where near what i t is today in the warbird community. I t is also interest-ing to note that as the supply of airframes has increased in the last few years i t has become apparent that there is plenty of work for those facilities and

often they appear to be the busiest places on their respective airports. We begin this series wi th the "Weaver Aircraft Co." in Carson City, NV. We start here simply because the first west coast fly-in is to be held in Carson. In future issues of the newsletter, w i th the cooperation of those involved, we hope to detail the operations of Earle Parks, Charlie Nogle, Milo deGrassi, Bi l l Yoak and others.

When those attending the first T-34 west coast fly-in arrive at Carson City, NV, they w i l l immediately notice the handsome new hangar complex w i th al l the warbirds outside. This is the home of the WEAVER AIRCRAFT CO. (WACO), which was founded in 1988 by long time Association member Neil Weaver. The 40 year old Weaver

established the business after leaving the ranks of corporate pilot for the more predictable work hours of his own enterprise. He was no stranger to the T-34 movement when he began, having completely rebuilt his own Mentor drawing from his experience as a crew chief on RF-lOlBs in the Ai r Guard.

I n the ensuing four years WACO has turned out some 14 restorations and engine conversion projects. Three of them have been ground up total rebuilds with one of them (Jack Richeys, N13T) winning the coveted "Best T-34 at Oshkosh 91," while earning Neil a "Silver Wrench" award from the Snap-On Company. The workmanship on Jack's airplane, for those who have not seen it, is second to none.

T-34A project aircraft complete with 10 520/550 mod and engine. Clean, straight airframe, with much work complete. For more information please contact Milt Bradley at 904-497-1072 or Jeff Johnson at 904-497-2300 or 904-454-1615 eves. Asking $95,000.

T-34A, G-772 TTAF 5610, Restoration Kit. Excellent condition; ready to assemble. Mostly ovhl'd/new parts; (Accys, Instruments, Glass, Quadrants, Tab Controls). Hull and Wings in shipping frames. Parts boxed for shipping. Call Bob Noble (707) 923-2403.

T-34B 440 440 SMO - 2 COM. 2 NAV. ADF, Transponder (MODE C) Brand (with your name under cockpit) New Navy Yellow Paint, Fresh. Annual $129,500—Gene Martin (708) 420-0329.

10-470-4 225 HP Engine with Prop 440 SMOH • $7,500 (Presently Flying & Can Be Demonstrated)—Lou Drendel (708) 904-5440.

West Coast—continued

Current restoration projects that wi l l someday exit this beautiful 10,000 square foot facility and fly away include a Meyers OTW, Stearman 4E and a BAE "Strikemaster" as well as four ground-up 34s. One of them, WACO's own airplane, wi l l include many innovational ideas inside, gorgeous "Snowbird" paint scheme and an electronic panel that wi l l dazzle you. Neil, w i th his crew of seven mechanics and Yvon Kartak, (Vice President and major organizer) are a busy batch of folks. In addition to restorations they are replacing the glass in canopies with new clear or tinted, installing smoke systems and even engine fire suppres-sion systems.

The WEAVER AIRCRAFT CO. has recently earned certification as FAA Repair Station #YWVR 459L and performs maintenance, inspections and repairs on a variety of aircraft as well as the T-34. Neil, a Nevada resident for more than 30 years, loves doing business in the Carson City-Reno area and invites anyone passing through to stop and tour the facility. You'll leave impressed, I assure you.

C o n t . 1 0 - 5 2 0 B A (spec.1 1)

Total time since new: 1642 hrs. Time since "bottom" overhaul: 1446 hrs. Excellent compression, does not use oil Engine pulled early due to good deal on factory REMAN in January and did not want aircraft out of service in summer. Conservatively, 300 to 400 good hours remaining. Al l accessories except prop governor, starter, and tach drive. $7,500.

C a U BiU C h e r w i n a t 7 0 8 - 3 7 7 - 9 1 8 1

The Stick or the Throttle? by Bil l Cherwin

.. ;This.SMbject really requires a blacMroard, but here goes anyway.

'J here are basically four forces acting on an airplane in flight—Thrust, Drag, Lift-aiid Weight. In level cruise these forces are in balance; no resultant force. In a steady chmb {constant airspeed, and constant vertical speed) the four forces are also in balance. In a steady state descent, the forces are balanced as well. The force vectors are not in convenient 90 degree axes, but they do sum to zero. Scouts honor!

I f there were a resultant force vector, there would be an acceleration in the direction of the vector. (One of Newton's Laws says that Force = Mass x Accel-eration.) No resultant force therefore no acceleration—steady state condition.

"So," you ask, "What makes an airplane climb?" Ah, at last, the big question that has been argued for years. The answer in one word is Power. The engine is producing more Power than is being absorbed by Drag times Air-speed. The surplus power is converted into potential energy in terms of Altitude times Gross Weight.

constant, then drag would remain constant and Drag x Airspeed would be constant. The Power now would control Vertical Speed , as Gross Weight also remains constant.

I f you wanted to set a climb record, you would f ind the largest engine possible to bolt on the airplane (most Power possible). Secondly you would fly the airplane at an optimum speed that would make Drag x Airspeed the lowest possible, and you would fly the airplane as light as possible so that the surplus Power maximized Vertical Speed. Play with the equation to get a feel for the relationships and how they affect each other.

Flying is energy management. An airplane can possess three types of energy. They are kinetic, potential, and chemical. The kinetic energy is V2 the mass x the velocity squared. The potential energy is the gross weight x the altitude. The chemical is the fiael in the tanks waitmg to be turned into some other form by the engine. Repeating: Anytime the Pcfvrer being produced exceeds the Power Required, the excess will be converted into potential energy (altitude x gross weight). Anytime Power Required exceeds Power being produced, the deficit

I wi l l t ry to make the Physics lesson as brief as possible,

O Lift, Thrust, Drag and Weight = Forces = pounds

@ Force x C') Distance = Work = Enei^ = foot pounds

@ Energy/Time = Work/Time = Power = foot pounds/second 1 horsepower = 550 foot pounds/second (Power is the rate of doing work or rate of consuming energy,)

The Big equation is as follows: Power = (Drag x Airspeed ) + (Gross Weight x Vertical Speed

In straight and level flight, VS = zero, so all the engine Power is being absorbed by the Drag times Airspeed (power required). Increase power and the plane wi l l fly faster wi th more drag, etc. I f the pilot were to use pitch attitude (or elevator) to hold airspeed

wil l be made up for by a loss of altitude. The old altitude for airspeed trade.

Alt itude is energy that can be used say in the event of an engine failure. Speed is also energy in your hip pocket, say to make up for some error in planning. But the Energy varies with

Continued on next page

OSH 1992 Formation Reporl by Bi l l Cherwin

As stated earlier, we wil l begin the formation practice and qual i f ica^ i at FonDuLac on Tuesday July 28th. I will arrange to t r a i s i m l l f l ^ anyone who needs a Wingman's Patch.

"We will'be putt ing together permanent three airplane sections consisting of a qualified leader and two wingmen. Each morning, these teams wi l l work alone for an hour, and then we wi l l brief for a combined flight using all the sections in one big formation. The afternoon wi l l probably be the same game plan.

Each leader will be able to whip his section into shape by working his wingmen through a variety of maneuvers and configuration changes. After a couple of days the vmgmen will know and more importantly trust their respective leaders. This will allow us to put together a fine diciplined big formation.

There has been a suggestion to find another airport to do our pre-Oshkosh training. The response to this idea has been mixed. I plan to arrange for a lunch fly-out on Wednesday or Thursday to West Bend, Sheboygan, or Appleton. We wi l l see i f any of these airports can accommodate us or can induce us to change from FLD.

For anyone who might not be up-to-speed for formation flying, this year the FAA has made a provision for a qualified formation instructor to "back seat" in the airshow. So i f you were worried about not getting to fly at OSH, this provision will allow you to participate in the complete Oshkosh experience.

See you on Tuesday, July 28th at FLD.

Stick or Throttle—continued from page 4

the square of the speed, and sometimes excess energy can be a l iabil i ty.

I n a landing situation, what ever Energy you possess in terms of altitude and airspeed, must go to zero by the far end of the runway. You should cross the runway threshold at a reasonable height, and at the correct airspeed for weight and wdnd conditions. Remember Energy varies with the square of the speed. Excess energy can be dissipated by adding drag or by romping on the brakes after touchdown. My suggestion would be to only possess the energy needed, and not to add any more wi th the throttle unless necessary for control. Landing long obviously reduces the distance in which you have to bring your energy state to zero.

Momentum = Mass x Velocity. This equation also applies to flying, and is similar to the Energy formula, but varies directly wi th the Velocity, not the square.

Delta Momentum (change in momentum)/Time = Force. This formula demonstrates that as time decreases for any given change in momentum the force increases. I f you want to stop or start the airplane in a short time, a larger force is needed. This proves another old saying: "It's not the fall that kil ls you, it's the sudden stop." As time approaches zero, force approaches infinity.

I f you need any clarification on any of these principles or want someone to expand on this brief treatise, look for John Baugh at OSH, and Tm sure he can explain everything in different terms.

From the Editor I n look ing over last March 's newsle t ter , I real ized the

omission of one our directors. Joe Howel l , 107 Raven Rd., Greenvi l le , SC. Joe is a long t i m e member of the association and is also the p r inc ipa l organizer of the annua l fa l l fly-in a t Ga t l i nhu rg , T N . We had a board mee t ing p lanned at G a t l i n b u r g a n d m a n y m idwes te rn members p lanned to a t tend the f l y - in . T h e weather ind ica ted a change i n p lans for m a n y , i nc lud ing the directors, w i t h the exception of Joe. M y apologies to Joe for the oversight.

I ' m look ing fo rward to seeing m a n y of you at OshKosh. The T-34 presence there has been a g row ing i t em annua l l y , and the p lans t h i s year look l i ke a good t i m e for al l .

R u m o r has i t t h a t Ace McSpace may even have a booth there p romo t i ng h is new s imu la tor .

I f you feel overdosed on news from the midwest, the L i m a

L ima flight team, and are not excited about my plans for the next

issue showing how wel l my ya rd and shrubs are doing, you can

cure t ha t w i t h a twenty-nine cent stamp and envelope. Whi le you

are mai l ing tha t to me, be sure to include some T-34 news.

t - 3 4 Assoc ia l i on B o a r d o f Directors

John T. Baugh Lou Drendel Bob Morse 1325 6 th Ave Nor th 9-S-155 Chandelle 200 Carriage Dr Nashvi l le, T N Napervi l le, I L Ottawa, I L 37208 60564 61350 615-754-4893 708-904-5440 815-433-0472

Terry Brennan Bob Farrel l Char l ie Nogle 240 Hidden Val ley Rd 2328 Glen El lyn Circle PO Box 1618 Hol l ister, CA Sacramento, CA Champaign, I L 95023 95822 61820 408-636-0244 916-393-3375 217-356-3063

B i l l Cherwin Joe Howell Ken Wi l l iamson 42 W 423 Audubon Ct 107 Raven Road PO Box 238 St. Charles, I L Greenville, SC State College, PA 60174 16804 708-377-9181 Bruce Lament 814-237-2105 708-377-9181

PO Box 8130 Jul ie Clark Coburg, OR 3114 Boeing Rd 97401 Cameron Park, CA 503-995-8356 95862 916-677-0634

T-34 Association Meeting Minutes

Board of Directors Meeting 4-7-92 Lakeland, Florida Present: Nogle, Baugh, Morse, Lamont, Cherwin, Brennan, Drendel

P r u d e n t Nogle called the meeting to order at 20:05 local. On k njotion by Baugh, seconded by Lamont, the minutes of the

Chicago meeting were approved.

President Nogle commended newsletter editor Morse on the quality of the recent publication. Morse reported that he intends to publish four times per year, regardless of the size of the publication. The first issue was delayed because it was the first that he had done, and required some getting up to speed on. Morse also offered to turn over editorship to anyone who is interested in assuming the role-

Reference was made to a letter from Dave Marco, regarding the ICAS ACE program, which has taken a significant amount of heat from the warbird community. Marco felt that much of the criticism was unjustified. The EAA Warbirds of America have received FAA approval for their own aerobatic competency certification program, and wil l be publishing definitive proce-dures for obtaining a card through this program. At this stage, i t is felt that the WOA program wi l l only address loops and roils, and wil l l imit altitude to 250' AGL. Those who vnsh to do more sophisticated aerobatics and/or go lower wi l l stil l have to go through the ICAS program.

The proposed T-34 Association picnic at the EAA Oshkosh Nature Center on the Thursday evening precedmg the opening of the EAA convention has come into conflict with a similar paid event proposed by EAA WOA. The latter event would take the place of the free barbecue which has been hosted by Jim Robinson, of the Combat Jets Flying Museum for the past two years. JE has resigned Irom the WOA Board and will not be attending Oshkosh. John Baugh agreed to t iy to resolve this conflict.

The subject of Association-sanctioned fly-ins was discussed. Nogle urged all members to support the Portsmouth, Ohio Memorial Day weekend (May 21,22, 23,24) fly-in, organized by Association members Dan Blackwell and Ed Lovejoy. After much discussion and debate, it was decided, on a motion by Brennan, seconded by Drendel, to sanction a fly-in during the week preceding the Reno Air Races. This event will be organized by Neil Weaver and held at Carson City, Nevada. I t is felt that this will be one of the premier events in our Association's histoiy, as it will draw a large contingent of West Coast warbirds as well as many from across the country who normally attend Reno anyway.

Nogle announced that the T-34 Association wil l sponsor two additional Oshkosh awards, to be judged and awarded by EAA/ WOA judges. They wil l be for best engine compartment and best cockpit On a motion by Drendel, seconded by Cherwin, i t was decided that the T-34 Association "Phoenix Award" wi l l be given to anyone who restores a T-34 to flying condition, regardless of the quality of the restoration. I t wi l l be given whenever the

restoration is brought to the attention of the officers of the Association and proof of registration is presented.

Bil l Cherwin discussed his plans for Oshkosh formation activities. He reaffirmed the previous pohcy of building the big formation on three plane vies. Experienced leaders wi l l be assigned as section (element) leads, with two "permanent" wingmen. Init ial practice sessions wil l be with individual sections, building confidence of the wingmen in their section leaders. Vies wi l l eventually be assigned positions within the larger formation. Bi l l hopes to start these practices on the Tuesday preceding Oshkosh.

Note: The Lima Lima Flight stages practices every Saturday and Sunday at LL-10. Anyone who is interested in coming to Naper Aero the weekend prior to Oshkosh wil l be integrated into the Lima Lima practice session. Formation checkouts wi l l be done as well as formation requalifications. Those who are interested in this are urged to contact any member of the Lima Lima Fhght. (Drendel, Cherwin, Morse, Martin, Hicks, O'Donnell, Gretz, Russell.)

I t is also anticipated that the EAAAVOA official policy at this time wi l l allow for qualified observers in the back seat of airshow airplanes, which wil l facilitate and encourage Oshkosh participa-tion. E tWWOA wil l present a mandatory forum on "Flying at Oshkosh for the first time" on Friday at 10 am (for all those who have not flown previously at Oshkosh). Nogle strongly recom-mended that 225Hp and 285Hp airplanes be flown in separate formations. This decision wil l be made after the formation begins to take shape. I t was also noted that Fondulac was too busy dunng Oshkosh week to accommodate large formation practices. Alternate sites within reasonable range wil l be investigated prior to Oshkosh. I t is anticipated that we wil l fly out to these practice fields early morning, returning late afternoon to Fondulac.

The proposed appointment of (Regional?) (State?) (Area?) (Directors?) (Representatives?) was discussed. Neil Weaver was appointed as Nevada rep, and Ron Sloan was appointed as Arizona-Southern California rep. Additional volunteers are needed for other areas of the counti^. Considering that this was one of the hot topics at last year's Association meeting, we are hopeful that we wil l get several volunteers for these positions. (See the minutes of the previous board meeting for a description of the duties of regional reps.)

A change in the by-laws, creating the position of Chairman of the Board was discussed. Nogle agreed to approach Association member Tracy Nugent to draw up a formal proposal for this change and to mail notice of this change 90 days prior to the annual meeting. The annual meeting wil l take place during EAA Oshkosh, Sunday evening. August 2,1992 at the Holiday Inn, Fondulac. A Board of Directors meeting wil l also be scheduled during this period.

On a motion by Brennan, seconded by Lamont, the meeting adjourned 21:30

S u n n ^

Dan Blackwell's current T-34A— previously owned by Ken WiUiamson & Pat Patrick

By Lou Drendel

Figure this out: 971 nautical miles, 165 degrees, direct from LL-10 (Naper Aero) to VNC (Venice, Florida). As long as we maintained that approximate heading, we never saw less than 175 knots of ground speed. Sounds l ike less than 6 hours of flying...so, how come i t took us 7 hours to get there? And, how come we were absolutely wiped out when we finally landed in not-so-sunny Florida? The answer is: Never trust your first weather briefing.

I was told we wouldn't see anything less than 2,000 broken, 6 miles in l ight rain, and when I led Ed Hicks, J im

O'Donnell, Ray Morin, John Rippinger and Ken Bowdish out of LL-10 early on the morning of Apr i l 1, we had sunny skies and good tailwinds. But i t was A p n l Fool's Day, and fooled I was. (Ken had gotten a different briefer, and when I opened that the weather was "nothing we couldn't handle", he looked at me sort of funny, but being an ex-profes-sional pilot and all-around macho guy, he didn't comment on my uniformed assessment.) Wi th in a hundred miles we were running into snow showers and low ceilings.The weather mavens were st i l l predicting good, i f not great, weather up ahead, so we pressed on, aiming for the l ight spots as we zigged and zagged towards Bowling Green, Kentucky.

l e f t - B o b

The WX at BWG was a thousand and three in hght rain, and the guys in the FSS gleefiiUy showed us a big green blob directly in our proposed future path. After refiiehng, we plotted our strategy. We would fly west far enough to get around the blob. Naturally, we were promised good weather wi th in a hundred miles. More lies. And...they don't call them "sucker holes" for nothing. We punched into the clag well beyond the Tennessee River...but not far enough. We groped our way through the mountains, most of the t ime 1,000 to 1,500 feet AGL, but w i th visibil i ty down to a couple of miles in l ight rain. "You know you're a redneck i f the family business requires

Continued on next page

California

Jim Jatho-based in Georgia

Sun 'n Fun—continued

a lookout," kept running through my mind as we toured the hills of Kentucky and Tennessee, fiiUy expecting to see a lot of lookouts on the ridges we skimmed. When ceilings and visibilities finally picked up as we entered Alabama, we were smacked around by low level turbulence. Landing in Albany, Georgia was a real relief, and the fl ight down the west coast of Florida was smooth enough to make us forget about al l the bad jokes we had endured on this Apr i l Fool's Day.

The Lima Lima Flight Team spent the next couple of days practicing our airshow routine and enjoying some nice, but atypical, Florida weather. I t was sunny and warm in Punta Gorda, cloudy and cool in Venice, just 20 miles away. Nevertheless, we managed to b u m up several dozen gallons of smoke oil and ran through the routine several times unt i l we felt we had i t down cold. We stayed w i th team leader Gene

Mar t in and his gorgeous fiancee, Debbie Mesch in their palatial winter home in Venice, complete w i th sailboat and powerboat t ied up at the dock a few steps from the back door. Ace McSpace creator Bob Morse commuted from his winter quarters in Punta Gorda for our practices. We were joined at Mart ins by B i l l Cherwin, who had come dovra early to take possession of our newest air-plane, N5367G, an ex-CAP B model, and by old friend Dean Spencer who affirmed the "old" droning in from Tulsa in his Bonanza instead of the T-34!

Our first show of the season for the past three years has been the Festival of the States Airshow at Albert Whitted Field in St. Petersburg. SPG is one of the oldest airports i n Florida and is situated right on Tampa Bay. I t is a scenic spot, and ideal for an airshow. You just can't beat yellow airplanes, bright blue skies, puffy white clouds, the white buildings of downtown St. Pete and an enthusiastic and appreciative airshow organizer. EAA Warbirds Director Dave Schlingman is the air boss, and he has managed to put together an interesting program every year that we have been there. This year, we were joined by

Gene and Cherly Litt lefield for their S teaman wingwalking demonstration, and former world champ CUnt McHenry in his Sukhoi SU-26M heavy G ma-chine. The mihtary arranged for a demonstration of the Harr ier, and several warbirds showed up for thundering passes down the short hayside runway.

Saturday's abbreviated show was shortened further when tr icky cross-winds created a situation which landed a rare Waco UIC cabin biplane on it's back in the middle of the active runway. No one was hurt , and they righted the braised antique and hid i t away in a hangar. Sunday's show went off without a hitch. We got to circle the parachutists for the first time (GULP!), then we launched our 16 minute routine. At the completion of the show, we all loaded bags and baggage and headed for Lakeland, where the Sun I f Fun show boss had made an arrival "window" for our train of warbirds.

Sun N' Fun just gets better and better. They have upgraded and expanded all of their facilities every one

Mike JVTahanor's new T^dA T ^ mihtary imported by -'^"Indonesian

of the eight years that I have been going, and this year was the best ever. Obviously, since they set a one-day attendance record of 140,000+ on Sunday, which was the opening day. There was a large contingent of T-34s, including west coast reps Terry Brennan and Neil Weaver who used to th ink that Oshkosh was a long fight! President Charlie opted for comfort and came down in his PC-7, but Jud brought N7CN, which is st i l l an award winner! Other Association members I saw there: Rod Daulton, Bob Mahanor, Eddie Gomez, Joe Wapelhorst, Don, Mary, and Chris Rounds, Frank Shmitt, Gene Grengs, Dan Blackwell, Reid Garrison, Gene Gibbs, Rick Hegenberger, J im Huck, Dick Maguire, and Dave Marco (who we can probably forgive for bringing his P-51 instead of his 34...right?). I know there were

probably others there who I didn't see, but then, there is so much to see at Sun N' Fun, including lots of rare and semi-rare warbirds, as the photo essay shows.

The L ima Lima team was invited to perform in the Sun N' Fun airshow for the f irst time, right along side the REAL performers on Wednesday. For us, i t was the climax to a week of fun and intense (29 hours) flying. The performers party that night at Hooters delayed the anti-climax, which came the next day as we dragged that new B model back to Illinois. Oh yeah, did I mention that i t is a 225HP?...which meant another seven hour tr ip, and ringing ears unt i l the next morning. Oh well, only 107 days unt i l Oshkosh.

List Of T-34 Registrations At Sun & Fun '92 Lxikeland, Florida Allen, J.Gary 1956 T-34 34RB Trainer

Bass, George 1957 T-34 340PB Y Trainer

Baugh. John 1956 T-34 816DB Yes Trainer

Blaekwell, Dan 1949 T-34 6G3DV Trainer

Bowdish, Ken 1954 T-34 4WL Trainer

Brennan, Terry 1956 T-34 45TB Trainer

Chemin, Wil l iam 1953 T-34 44RF Trainer

Daulton, Rodney 1955 T-34 24Z Trainer

Deakms, Jud 93JD T-34 N Trainer

Dempsey, George 1956 T-34 8CN N Trainer

Drendel, Lou 1955 T-34 300SH Trainer

Foster, Bil l 1960 T-34 2105N Trainer

Garber, David 1957 T-34 2121J Trainer

Garrison. J Ried 1955 T 4 4 34XD Y Trainer

Grengs, Gene 1953 T-34 134W Trainer

Gulley, Richard 1966 T-34 3111C Trainer

Healan, Jack 1960 T-34 2105N Trainer

Hicks, Ed 1957 T-34 34B Trainer

Jatho, Jim T 3 4 4945C Y Trainer

Livingston, Robert 1955 T-34 5567V Trainer

Mahanor, Mike 1955 T-34 334M Trainer

Mahanor, Robert 1955 T.34 9BM Trainer

Mart in, Gene 1953 T-34 949GW Trainer

McMahon, Bil l 1955 T-34 5361G N Trainer

Morse, Bob 1956 T-34 999Y Trainer

Nogle, Jud 1955 T-34 7CN Y Trainer

ODonnell, Jim 1955 T-34 12252 Trainer

Peters, Paul 1954 T-34 34EP Trainer

Phillips, J.D. 1956 T-34 711JD Trainer

Rippinger, John 1955 T-34 5367G Trainer

Rounds, Chris 1956 T-34 34CR N Trainer

Stephenson, Jon 1957 T-34 Y Trainer

U.S. Navy 1977 T-34 161037 Trainer

Wapelhorst, Joseph 1956 T-34 634JW Trainer

Weaver, Neil 1954 T-34 NC44418 Trainer

Wilt , Fred 1955 T-34 34DY Trainer

The Great Mothers Day Flyout By Lou Drendel

Lake Lawn Lodge, May 10,1992 Lou & Carol Drendel, Mrs. & Ken Bowdish, John Rippinger, Leslie & Ed Hicks, Jim Buck, Bill Cherwin, Debbie Mesch-Martin, Bunny & Bob Morse, Kathy Huck, Gene Martin, Cindy & Gary Engel, Jim & Darlene O'Donnell (who are in Stealth mode for the picture) came in 9 T-34s!

Pre-Oshkosh Bash '92 Enroute to Oshkosh every year a few of us have stopped

in at Farmer City, I l l inois a couple of days early and f lown up as a group. In the years past this has consisted of some T-6's and a few of us that were fortunate enough to have T-34's. I n recent years the group w i th T-6's have moved on to the th i rst ier more cumbersome T-28's. The str ip is not adequate for T-28's so now they have to gather at a spot w i t h an enormous ramp area and major fuel provisions.

Anyway here's the poop; Farmer Ci ty is a smal l midwest farming community and is the home of Bob and Linda Ashworth who have a beautiful 2,500 foot grass str ip 18 miles Northwest of Champaign on the 305 degree radial on the St. Louis sectional. Our plans are to an ive on Monday, July 27 and depart for Oshkosh on the 30th. This is not a f ly- in or airshow and definitely not an organized event. This get together features the best down home hospital i ty there is. I t is just a good chance to see some old friends and do some fun flying. There is nothing scheduled and nothing planned.

I f you are interested please call me at 615-723-1848 at work or 615-728-2095 at home, or you can call the motel in Farmer City at 309-928-9434 and make your own reservations. The coordinates for Bob's str ip are N40° 14.1; W088° 35.8.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Chris Rounds

10

News f rom President Charlie

1992 Sun and Fun was a veiy success-ful event, probably the best ever by all accounts, and especially for Warbirds. A real nice mix of warbird aircraft, including the rare stuff, was present. The Lima L ima team was there en masse and did the afternoon air shows. This dedicated bunch gives the T-34 exposure at more and more airshows each year. Their professionalism really shows and demand for the act gets greater each year. I don't know of any other act that flies six ships that are civilians.

The f irst news that I heard at Lakeland was the fatal accident involving Harry Doan, in his AD Skyraider, at the Tico show on Saturday. Harry was a good friend of mine and was known through-out the warbird community as a truly great person and devoted to the warbird heavy iron for over 30 years. Harry owned and flew bombers and fighters, and had a helicopter operation in Daytona Beach for many years. Harry was an especially close friend of Roy Stafford, and often did airplane deals together. Harry's services were held on Tuesday, unfortunately a bad weather day, however four groups of aircraft from Sun and Fun were assembled to fly over the grave site during the services. Two groups of four flying T-6s, three solo fighters, and four T-34s f lying a diamond. The ceiling and visibil i ty made a missmg man out of the ques-tion, but al l made the agreed passes i n good form. The T-34s were flown by J.D. Phillips, Joe Wappelhorst, Terry Brennan, and myself.

A l ist of registered T-34s is included. Many T-34 folks attended without their planes but their names were not available and my memory is not to be trusted when it comes to names. One of our early members, Dick Bunn, was there r id ing his motorcycle on crowd control duty. Dick now lives in Lake-land year round.

I would l ike to make mention of the attendance of Mike Mahanor, who was there wi th his "NEW" T-34, having taken delivery of i t from Earle Parks the week before. I t has the same paint scheme as his Dad's. I t is great to see fathers and sons enjoying T-34s together, especially when they each fly a ship of their own. Word has i t that a th i rd ship is in the works for brother and son, Joe. We wi l l be hearing more from them.

Enclosed is an article wr i t ten by Chuck Pamall , giving the details of the transfer of the nine mi l i tary je t aircraft, operated by "Combat Jet Flying Museum" to the EAA Foundation at Oshkosh, WI. The CJFM was founded and supported by J im Robinson. This is a momentous event for every Warbird enthusiast. Expect to see the F104 and the F-4B fly at Oshkosh '92. Chuck sums this event up very well and w i th deep emotion, as he has been Chief of Operations at CJFM since its begin-ning. J im Robinson is to be compli-mented for his gift to al l of "US." Actions speak louder than words and Jim, has made one whale of a state-ment. I t is hoped that Chuck Pamal l wi l l become permanent on the "EAA" Staff in an important capacity. This is certainly a win, win deal for everyone, except Houston, TX.

I want to thank Mark Cacioppo, for his hard work in taking care of our new members. Mark has been a good friend the past six years and we owe h im a heartfelt THANKS for his services. Julie and Mark are going separate ways, and I wish both of them the best of everything. Julie, has another ful l airshow season off and running, and wi l l be at Oshkosh this summer. Mark, I believe, w i l l be back in the insurance business in Fresno, OA.

The 1992 Oshkosh awards have been expanded, as was proposed earlier. There wi l l be awards for the "BEST T-34 COCKPIT" and another for the "BEST T-34 ENGINE COMPART-MENT." EAA-WB wi l l do the judging and make the presentation at the WB banquet. This w i l l greatly expand the recognition that can be given to deserving T-34 owners. The ship judged to be the "BEST T-34" wi l l not compete for these awards.

There is a change in the plans for the T-34 picnic, to be held on the Thursday prior to the start of Oshkosh. This wi l l be July 23rd. Yes, there wil l be a picnic, same location as last year (The Nature Center), but instead of being for T-34 folks only, we are opening i t up to all Warbird members. We expect about 400 instead of the 125 we had last year. The change came about because J im Robinson has disbanded his Bar-B-Q operation as well as the Combat Jet Museum, and there wil l be no Bar-B-Q event this year, which has been so popular the past several years. WB was going to schedule a picnic at the same time as our T-34 event, to make up for the lost Bar-B-Q, which would have been in direct conflict with ours, so i t seemed like a good idea for the T-34s to invite all the WBs to our shindig. We plan to have hamburgers and brats along with baked beans, pop and beer. Same fare as last year. Sorry, no Bar-B-Q.

There w i l l be two, that is correct, two-fly-ins i n the far western parts of the U.S., come next September. After a major scheduling snafu regarding the dates, in which both events were going head to head on the same weekend, we can report that this has been corrected. The Fred and Julie Jones, Chelan, WA fly-in w i l l keep its slot on September 11th, 12th, and 13th, as i t has been for the past 8 years, alternating wi th Dick Tews at Bend, OR. The Jones' fly-ins have always been reported as extremely

Continued on next page

11

News—continued from page 11

warm and well ran affairs. The hospitality of the co-hosts, is superb. I have not attended before, due to the two thousand miles each way, and a most busy time of the year for myself, but w i th two for the gas of one, I hope to make i t this time.

The other event wi l l be held at Carson City, NV on September 16th through the 20th, to coincide w i th the famous RENO Ai r Races. Hosting this event wi l l be Nei l Weaver, Brace Lamont, Terry Brennan, and all the help that they can muster. Carson City, is only th i r ty or so miles from the race site at STEAD. Some exciting things are possible, as the race people are wanting to start a new program where an aviation group w i l l be given priorities as special guests. Hopefully, this wOl work out to our advantage by having the T-34 Association, so named for 1992.

Reservations need to be made early for both of these fine events. Especially for the Jones' fly-in, as there wi l l not be any available facilities for unannounced participants. There are many facilities in the greater Reno area, but i f you want to be at the same location w i th your friends, and the place where ground transportation w i l l be available, then give the Carson hosts some advance notice, also.

To make reservations, contact the following:

Fred and Ju l ie Jones P.O. Box 1446 Chelan, WA 98816 Phone: 509-682-5916

Weaver A i rcraf t 2600 E. Graves Lane, Hgr. 34 Carson City, N V 89703

Phone: Nei l Weaver 702-887-1234

Bruce Lamont

503-484-6511

Terry Brennan 4 0 8 - ^ 6 - 0 2 4 4

This story was taken directly from the Pensacola newspaper, and i t follows on the heels of a similar accident, which happened at Pensacola last f a l l In this accident, involving a T-34C, there were two fatalities, again caused by mainte-nance people leaving an ELT battery loose i n the aft fuselage area, where i t eventually jammed the elevator bellcrank in the fu l l up position at takeoff. The pilot could not get the nose down after l i f t off which caused the T-34C to stall and impact the ground nose first. Since the T-34C shares the same control system, cockpit, and fuselage, these kinds of accidents could happen to our civil ian owned and operated As and Bs. In fact, the Navy uses civi l ian contract personnel to do all mainte-nance work on their 300-H T - 3 4 C S .

These folks are professionals, doing the same work on the same aircraft, day in and day out.

We have included a Service Bul let in from Continental involving changing the ful l flow oil filter used on IO-520-B and BB, IO-550-B and IO-470-N Continental engines. This bul let in is five years old, having originated in 1987. Some of the T-34 owners do change their own oil filters and usually successfully. However, in May of this year, Old Murphy and his Law strack a T-34A wi th an IO-520-B engine and reduced i t to junk. No injuries to plane or pilot, thankful ly, but there easily could have been. When the f i l ter is not t ight, or spins off, the engine oil rapidly is lost and the main parts of the engine are rained beyond repair, so that you don't even have a core engine to turn m for exchange. You wi l l also find that your insurance hul l carrier w i l l not adjust the cost of the engine, but most l ikely wi l l adjust the ensuing damage to the airframe, should i t crash as a result of the loose filter. Have the person doing the oil change on the aircraft that you own and/or fly, read this SB every year.

I would l ike to pound home a problem that we wrote about in the newsletter over a year ago. The problem is the installation of the oil dip stick into later model engines in the IO-520 and IO-550 family. These engines now power the majority of civil ian owned T-34s in this country. The problem arose when Continental made a change in the engine to add additional hold down lugs for the crankcase to better secure the cylinder base flange. These lugs are on both sides of each cylinder at about the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions. This change required a change in the dip stick tube that connects the breather-filler neck assembly w i th the base of the crankcase. The changes made reduced the diameter of the tube by 50%, and also put two 45 degree dog legs into the tube, so that i t would give room for the added lugs. These changes are what caused this new problem (refer to the drawing of the "B" style dip stick assembly). People are feeding the dip stick into breather port, which connects the crankcase breather to the oil neck assembly (see drawing "C"). For some reason, Continental has not seen fit to make this information available to operators of these engines. We advised the American Bonanza Society of this over a year ago, and they ran a copy of what we put in the T-34 Association Newsletter. Since our warning to T-34 Association members, we have heard of three more cases of this happening in T-34s. I have no idea of the number for Bonanzas and Barons. The problem results in an engine tear down to remove the bits of metal coming from the chewed-up dip stick, and replace-ment of internal parts that were damaged. One owner reports a cost of $6500 for his 500 hour TT engine. We would strongly suggest that each owner/ operator of these new generation engines does his own dip stick removal and insertions. Don't trust a line boy or even a fiiend to risk the loss of your engine.

12

"A" Old style "B" New style

Breather ,<j: opening to crankcase

Oil Dipstick Installations IO-520 & IO-550 Continental Engines

F i g u r e d "

Breather opening to neck assembly

Opening for dipstick tube into crankcase^

Some Continental I0520 & I055C

A. OLD STYLE "breather-filler neck assembly" —This configuration is to be found on all new remanufactured factory engines turned out in the last few years; specifically, the IO-520-BA, IO-520-BB and the IO-550-B. Engines overhauled by independent shops won't incorporate these changes unt i l this new "generation" of engines goes to TBO and is recycled back for another "run." When instal l ing the dip stick into neck opening, resistance w i l l be encountered in getting the stick to into the tube. Force wi l l be required to get the dip stick into the sump and the force required to get the dip stick into the engine breather passage is not much greater than the effort to reach the sump. The success or failure to get into the sump wi l l depend on the angle the dip stick end enters the neck fitting. Anything but straight down can enter the breather passage w i th application of enough force. When you are standing on the ground the neck opening is going to be at eye level or above, making i t diff icult to get the desired angle.

Several dip sticks are to be found on the variety of engines in the IO-520 and IO-550 family. I t would be dangerous to specify here what the P/N of the stick should be. Suffice i t to say that the type "B" should have a rather sti f f stick vnth a 90 degree twist about 75% of the distance to the bottom. The type "A" stick is normally very l imber and of a spring steel material. When seen side by side, the difference is considerable. I t is possible to get the newest dip stick to enter the breather opening in the neck assembly, but i t is much more difficult than i t would be w i th the old style stick.

Continental dip sticks are a story aU by itself. First of all, Continental usually does not furnish a dip stick when they ship a new or remanu-factured engine. I t is up to the installa-tion people to come up vnth a dip stick that would be ordered from a Continen-ta l parts source or the old stick used

prior to the engine being overhauled or exchanged might be reused. Be aware that twin engine installations have a different stick for the right and the left, due to the dehiedral of the vnng. A tail d raper requires a different one than a tricycle installation, due to the nose being at an angle upward, rather than horizontal. P/N for dip sticks are constantly changed by Continental. The latest stick for the new "B" style now has two separate 90 degree tvrists, which makes i t even harder to insert, but hopefiiUy harder to enter the breather. I hope all that I have written on this subject win stop the recurrence of stick damaged engines.

Best Regards,

Charlie Nogle

13

TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL® AIRCRAFT ENGINE

service bulletin Me7-7

Technical Portions Are FAA Approved

20 February 1987

SUBJECT: OIL FILTER ADAPTER INSPECTION

MODELS

AFFECTED; All Engines Incorporating Full Flow Oil Filters

COMPLIANCE. Each Time a Filter is Changed

We have received field reports that the mounting stud on the oil filter adapter base may come loose. This is caused by the continued installation and removal of the filter over extended periods of time. The following action Is therefore required.

1 Each time a spin-on oil filler is changed, Inspect to Insure that the adapter stud is secure and positioned per Illustration A. In some instances the stud may appear to be secure but has only bottomed in the adapter. In this position, the stud would not be of proper protrusion.

2. If the stud is found to be loose and/or not positioned per Illustration A, remove the stud from the adapter.

A. Clean the stud and adapter threads in a suitable solvent to assure removal of oil and other contaminants.

B. Assure that the stud and adapter are dry. Apply Loctite 271 (TCM P/N 646941) to that portion of the stud threads that mate In the adapter. Install the stud Into the adapter to the height as shown In Illustration A. Allow the Loctite to cure for a minimum of thirty (30) minutes.

CAUTION . . Curing times may vary depending on ambient temperature. Consult Loctite instructions.

14

Just Hav in^ Fun

Eight T - 3 4 S stopped by Venice, Florida en route to Sun 'N Fun

Surfed

Lou Drendel contemplates a new paint scheme

15

Wc invite you to send snapshots and captions to T-34 people "Just Havin'Fun" to appear in future newskHers. Mail to: Ed Hicks, "Just Havin' Fun" 4 N 385 Knoll Creek Drive, St. Charles, IL 60175. If you request, we will do our best to return your photos.

f o r c e . 1 '^^T^HW J-

C h r i s p o u n d s s h o - ^ ^ ^ ^

16

a F M Beds Down With The EAA By Chuck Pama l l

Now here's a match made i n heaven ( in Houston?). Due to t i i f t i n s i g h t and generosity of J I M ROBINSON, founder of Coinb^'Jets.?^lying Museum and co-founder of the CJAA, and 3 f ^ i n s i # | . o f t o t h P A U L and T O M POBEREZNY, the entire Bine plane collection of the CJFM is now a par t of the Exper imental A i rc ra f t Association (EAA). As a matter of fact, the pr ist ine Douglas A-4B Skyhawk became the f i rst je t to switch i ts home base f rom Houston to Oshkosh, landing there at 1520 CST, on Monday, May 4th, fol lowing a successful 2V2 hour, non-stop f l ight f rom Houston.

Pi lot ing the beaut i ful l i t t le "Scooter" was long t ime C J F M pilot and glad-hander. Chuck Scott. How f i t t i ng that th is former Navy puke and now air l ine driver, would be f i rst to help the t rans i t ion take place. How appropriate to watch h i m depart in a l ight ra in, w i t h circl ing thunderbumpers mak ing one last at tempt to keep the je t i n Houston. How emotional i t was to see the l i t t le je t cl imb reluctant ly into the weeping Houston skies for the last t ime—almost as i f there was a supernatural resistance to the happening. (The first one is always the hardest—right girls?)

Negotiations for the disposition of Combat Jets began mid-March and progressed rapidly to their successful conclusion. To their everlasting credit, the EAA accepted this challenge and took the opportunity to i i l l i n the only missing piece they had i n their flying aviation portfolio—jets. I t was not a frivolous decision. Along wi th the immediate "rush" of obtaining the collection was the sobering realization that this was no minor commitment. This was both long term—and major!

Bu t te l l ing the CJAA about the EAA is l ike te l l ing a pi lot how to fly. We know that Paul Poberezny loves aviation. We know tha t Tom Poberezny loves aviation. Now we know they love us jet jocks too.

Al though i t was a perfect match, some inevitably w i l l ask "why the EAA?" The answer is quite simple: " I t is the only organization tha t embraces the entire spectrum of sport aviat ion—and does so regardless of whether or not you are a member." Who else would accept the responsibil i ty of a nine je t flying collection, agree to mainta in i t i n a flyable state— and even continue to fly some of them? (Note tha t al l the jets w i l l be flown—not trucked—to Oshkosh.) Who else has been around for a l i fet ime—and w i l l s t i l l be there when you and I are long gone? Who else has been w i t h the CJAA since day one, helping us w i t h our battles w i t h the Feds? Who else wanted us i n the f i rst place? W i t h no strings attached?

Last week, Paul Poberezny, Jerry Walbrun, Dr. B i l l Harr ison and John Parish, descended on Houston and left w i t h legal t i t le to the CJFM collection. Whi le there may be a

sense of loss i n Houston, there can only be feelings of pure excitement i n Oshkosh—and throughout the je t world—for th is is the beginning of a grand new era for the je t warbirds. W i t h nine static jets current ly i n E A A inventory, the nine fliers from C J F M instant ly pu t the E A A in to the je t era w i t h the world's most significant early je t aircraft coflection. Eighteen jets now belong to the greatest f r iend sport aviat ion ever had. W i t h an inventory ranging from antiques to jets, from ul t ra l ights to Starf ighters, the E A A is the most complete sport aviat ion author i ty i n the world! And, it 's a F L Y I N G museum! What more could we ask for? What about the CJAA?

The future of the CJAA looks equally as excit ing—and promising. I n fact, I am off to Oshkosh this week to ta lk w i t h E A A President (my new boss!), Tom Poberezny, about jus t tha t and I w i l l report to you as soon as we have something concrete. The possibilities are virtually unlimited for the CJAA—if we can work more closely w i th the EAA. No longer would we be restricted to our current size and capacity. I t could be the beginning of a new era for both of us. Both? Yes, I am very happy to announce that I am now an employee of the EAA, along wi th one the CJFM wrenches, Mike Smith, I have admired and respected their organization for years, and being invited to become an integral part of i t is a distinct honor and a privilege.

Letter From Steve Nedrelow

T-34 Association As I think everyone in this association is aware, there

are occasional problems and surprises with everything man made including T-34's. I purchased my T-34 in December, 1990. I t had been built up by Dale Legrand, Enid, Oklahoma. The plane had a vibration which the first owner assumed he had resolved with balancing the prop. When I had the plane annualed at Nogles back in May i t was evident that the vibration was still present. In discussing this wi th Dale in June, we decided to proceed with covering each base to reduce the vibration. I returned the plane to him and Dale replaced the engine mounts. He then sent me a different prop that we changed and then balanced. While the vibration level changed, i t remained at a higher level than comfortable. Dale invited me to bring the plane down in October. Northwest Aero Services had built up the 260 engine. They spent several days working wi th the engine and subsequently found a cylinder problem. I am happy to say the vibration is now gone. This is the first time I have been moved to write a letter of this nature in my twenty-five years associated with aviation. Even with me being the second owner and 160 hours later, Dale and the engine shop continued their support with no charge to me.

Cordially,

Steve Nedrelow

Willmar, M N

17

Thoughts on Wing Landings by Ed Hicks

Wi th .^ immer ,and Oshkosh i-titning on, we w j l i be doing more fomatioil fljiiig, sharpening up the skil ls and e t i j e ^ g the challenges. WhiLH i«coveriBg at the home airport, a snappy overhead pattern w i l l t u rn heads but a good wing landing w i l l whet the envy of our peers. Here are a few techniques that might sharpen up your approach.

Wing landings are usually accomplished from a straight- in approach. The two ship can also easily be performed from an overhead break and w i l l certainly catch the eye of your fellow pilots.

A w ing landing is simply f ly ing good formation to touchdown. There is no big mystery. The wingman does what the leader does or has briefed. The wingman slows down w i th lead, changes configuration w i th lead and then touches down w i th lead.

The leader w i l l brief the maneuver before the flight. Lead w i l l exaggerate the pattern a bi t i n that he w i l l make the final approach segment a bit longer, w i l l decrease speeds at a slower rate and w i l l be more deliberate while lowering the gear and flaps for landing. W i t h this in mind, let's review a few suggestions that w i l l apply in flight.

A good leader wiU position the wingman on the left or r ight wing after considering several inputs such as the amount of cross wind; is the wingman looking into the sun; etc. For the straight- in approach, left or r ight wing selection isn't terr ibly crit ical; however, the overhead pattern has a few addit ional considerations. Being on the outside of the break (i.e. left w ing on a r ight break and r ight wing for a left break) is usually best for the wingman. In this position, he is going faster than lead and enjoys a better power margin whi le slowing down. The wingman is looking toward the ground and is more

Three-ship formation "stacking up" for wing landing

aware of the airport and runway in his peripheral vision on downwind and dur ing the t u rn to final.

The leader w i l l use hand signals while preparing for the landing. "Gear down" w i l l be followed almost immedi-ately by the "flaps down" command. As the wingman, know where to reach wi thout looking or fumbl ing for the gear lever or the flap switch.

The leader should give a pre-briefed signal for br inging the RPM to fu l l increase. I f he doesn't relay this signal ("power up" clinched fist facing forward-then a forward motion), i t usually results in the wingman overrunning lead even though the wingman has his power at near idle while the leader sets his prop for landing.

I f the wingman, wi th his power reduced, finds himself overrunning the lead aircraft, he should use back pressure to elevate himself a few feet above the normal position. This wi l l cause him to start retreating relative to lead. Now he can slowly increase power to get back into position (and the maneuver is barely noticeable from the ground).

The wingman must remember to quickly check for three gear down indicators at sometime on final for a "straight- in" or on down-wind dur ing an "overhead approach." It 's easy to forget this while being preoccupied w i th the formation approach.

Strive to mainta in your normal formation position unt i l touchdown is imminent. There is no need to widen your position to more than normal wingt ip clearance, nor is there a need to glance down the runway for reassur-ance. Usual ly the quick glance while widening the lateral positioning w i l l result i n broken concentration and overrunning lead somewhat. Just fly your normal good formation position.

As the runway becomes part of the wingman's visual que (about five feet above the runway), the wingman should begin to stack level w i t h the lead aircraft. The lead aircraft is going to rotate slower than normal, reduce power slowly and wi f l land a bi t longer than he usually does. I f i n a normal stacked down position, the vringman w i l l touchdown before the lead aircraft. This results in the wingman skipping down the runway at flying airspeed wai t ing for the lead aircraft to quit flying. This is hard on tires and landing gear (and looks bad to the observer on the ground). By stacking level w i t h the lead aircraft, the wingman is going to touchdown and quit flying at the same t ime the lead aircraft does (and the observer on the ground is going to say "Nicely done").

Now, tax i back and fly another pattern for practice. The more wing landings that you make, the more comfortable they become... and they certainly do look good!

18

News—continued from page 11

"These things are really accurate!" he said, removing the GPS uni t and wiping i t off, "But they make your mouth dry. Furthermore," he said, Tve done work as a professional stunt pilot. Please do not try to do this at home!... Gimmee the money."

I grudgingly turned over the $10.00 only to have Ace explain that the bet was $10.00 apiece! This took more than a millisecond to resolve, but we finally paid Ace the additional $90.00 when he agreed to tell us how he ever got sharp enough to accomplish that most amazing feat.

" I can tell you in one word," Ace said, "Practice!"

"Practice, of course!" we all agreed, "But how do you stay alive in the early stages of practice?"

"Simple," says Ace, " I do all of the early stages of practice for every maneuver in my new 'ACE Mc SPACE SHARP I N THE AET AEROSPACE SIMULATOR.' I t saves a lot of money, and my life!"

"WOW!" says one of our group, 'You have a T-34 simulator?."

"Negative," says Ace, "the AMSITAAS is universally adaptable to all situations and equipment. I 'm just bringing i t to market now. I f you guys are interested in improving your skills and saving money and lives all at the same time, I have a used demonstrator unit with me that 111 discount to you for $150.00."

"That's $15.00 a piece!" I blurted out, quickly realizing that the airl ine pilots in our group were looking down their noses at me. " I mean that's ONLY $15.00 a piece," I corrected, giving them my "who gives a damn about money" look.

For the next 30 minutes, emotions ran high as we deliber-ated and debated on how Ace could sell us a usable, successful (we had seen the results) working simulator for only (don't forget, I was the one who said "only" because I 'm not t ight w i th the money) one hundred and fifty bucks. Wi th very l i t t le spill ing of blood and a min imum of tears, we came up w i t h $150 and handed i t to Ace. "Bring on this AMSITAAS," I said, displaying my acronym prowess. Ace excused himself for a few minutes and returned carrying a wooden stool. "What's the deal?" says the group. "Do we sit on this stool to work your simulator?" This was obviously a sarcastic comment.

"This IS the ACE McSPACE SHARP I N THE ART AEROSPACE SIMULATOR" Ace calmly replied. He was obviously prepared for the financial backlash and panic about to take place. Ace just sat quietly on the AMSITAAS and waited for the wail ing and gnashing of teeth and cries of fraud to subside. "Now, i f you guys are ready," he said, "I ' l l explain the operation of the AMSITAAS to you."

'Yeah, we're ready all right," said the chorus of $15.00 contributors and $10.00 bet losers.

"O.K.," Ace began, "Here's how to best use the AMSITAAS. I t doesn't matter what type of flying or what type of aircraft you plan to use this simulator for, i t woi'ks equally well for al l types, We all know how the controls operate in the aircraft we use, as well as the radios, fuel systems, and all the other

operating systems and gadgets. We'll use them differently for different types of flights. Every flight you make is at least a l i t t le different than the others and some considerably different. Being able to operate all the gadgets, f l ight controls, and systems is basic stuff. What is really required on every f l ight is the HEADWORK to do al l of these tasks at the r ight t ime and correct sequence. Here is where the AMSITAAS really shines. I t is every bit as effective as the other state of the art simulators on the market, but has the advantage of being personally affordable and you can spend as much time on i t as you may need practicing your HEADWORK in complete safety. Such thmgs as emergency procedures, like what to do i f you lose part of your prop. You won't have much t ime to consider that i n actual flight, so i t would be a good th ing to practice considering in my simulator. I n addition to al l the emergency procedures, how about sharpening up on the mundane stuff. How many landings have you greased on in the last 10? How could you improve? What do you expect in radio work on your next flight? I f you are f lying w i th other T-34's, what do you expect fi-om them? What w i l l they expect from you? Loran operating procedures are best learned on the AMSITAAS away from the nagging inconvenience of mid-air collisions. Ideally, you should operate my simulator before every flight and mentally go through the complete flight as anticipated. I f you are close to the actual flight time, you can even consider the potential effects of the weather, density altitude, and other real t ime factors. The more of this type of stuff that is thought out in the AMSITAAS, the less confusion you wi l l have during the actual flight and the better prepared you'll be to deal w i th the unexpected."

"Now," Ace continued, " I f any of you gentlemen use my Simulator as directed, and do not receive any benefit from it, I wi l l be happy to refund your money." Before any comments could be made by the group, the fuel truck drove up and the driver announced that a "Grace McSpace and her attorney were i n the FBO office looking for Ace McSpace."

"That's my ex-wife." Ace yelled to us as he started his engine and began rolling. "As you can plainly see, I have, fortunately, practiced this maneuver on my simulator! So long!" His engine went from start to fu l l power and Ace was airborne over the taxiway.

Wow! The pace of our activities had been so fast, and the hghtning departure of our new friend so breathtaking, we stood there looking dumbfounded. Here we were two hundred and fifty bucks l ighter and the owners of a very unusual simulator. Dean Spencer (see photo nearby) mounted the AMSITAAS to give i t a try. I immediately asked Dean what he thought of it.

"Well," said Dean, " I t does seem to help. The first realiza-tion I have, what w i th the former Mrs, McSpace nearby, is that " Dean hesitated briefly and we could all see that he was th inking harder and better than usual ," Ace does not live in a state of Grace."

Continued on next page

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News—continued from page 11

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Dean Spencer uses the "Ace McSpace Sharp In The Art Aerospace Simulator" to practice leading a flight of nine. Notice how much more intelligent Dean looks while on the simulator.

I f

The seldom photographed Lima. Lima flight team is caught doing their moat famous maneuver: "The Twelve Ship Smoking Vertical Straddle Assed Head on Bomb Burst."

The Mentor Monitor is the newsletter of the T-34 Association, Inc., an independent nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and safe flying of the T-34 Mentor aircraf t Articles and contnbutions are welcome, please credit photographers. I f photos are to be returned, please indicate sc. Photos that are not to be returned w i l l be added to the Association's collection. Membership is open to all. Dues are $50 for the f i rst year for new members, $35 per year thereafter. To join, contact Jul ie Clark, Membership Chairman, 31214 Boeing Road, Cameron Park, GA 95682.

The maintenance and operating comments, suggestions, recommendations and cautions contained i n The Mentor Monitor and supplements thereto, as wel l as other T-34 Association, Inc. publications, have been provided by aircraft owners, operators, maintenance, modification or other mechanical or safety actions presented in the Mentor Monitor should be reviewed and implemented by properly qualif ied personnel. The T-34 Association, Inc. and its Board of Directors shall not assume any l iabi l i ty for fol lowing or fai lure to follow any or al l of the same.

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