N E VOL 32 No 11 2004

COVERS FRONT COVER For many years Butch Walsh has

10 been the man when it comes to Stinson resmiddot torations This particular 108middot2 was awarded the EAA Grand Champion Classic Lindy award at EM AirVenture Oshkosh 2004 EM photo by Paul Bowen CONTENTS BACK COVER Back Cover Big Bend Excursion

2 VAA News is the title of EAA Master Artist George Grants acrylic painting of a Mexican border region scene that features the intrepid pilot of an4 Reminiscing with Big Nick Army PTmiddot3 giving a joyride to his sweetheart

Reprinted from Vintage Airplane]uly 1974 along a ridge of the Chisos mountains with Elephant Tusk mountain in the background by Nick Rezich Big Bend Excursion is on display at the EM AirVenture Museum as part of the EM Sport

8 The Vintage Instructor Aviation Art Competition You can reach George

Sport pilot is here A Grant at 420 S Judd Street Fort Worth Texas 76108 phone 817middot246middot3239 by Doug Stewart

9 Pass It to Buck STAFFWell now that we have it apart Publisher Tom Pobereznyby Buck Hilbert EditormiddotinmiddotChief Scott Spangler

Executive DirectorEditor HG FrautschyButch Walsh The Stinson Guru 10 VAA Administrator Theresa Booksby Budd Davisson News Editor Ric Reynolds

Photography Jim KoepnickEAA AirVenture 20041S Bonnie Bartel

Production Manager Julie RussoIce Creamed 20 Advertisi ng Sales Loy Hickman by Brooks Yeilding 913middot268middot6646

Classified Ad Manager Isabelle Wiske22 Mystery Plane

Copy Editor Colleen Walshby HG Frautschy

Kathleen Witman

Graphic Design Olivia Phillip24 Classified Ads

GEOFF ROBISON PRES IDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCI ATION

Its now October here in northern Indiana and this is by far my favorite time of the year to fly For too many years the 120s annual inspection came due about this time and I was usually somewhat shortchanged on the enjoyment of the fall colors and the improved performance of the airshycraft at cooler temperatures Last year that all changed when I had an extenshysive annual performed on the old girl and that annual is due in January so I can now return to the low and slow pleasures of fall flying without intershyruption It has also afforded me an adshyditional opportunity to attend several local fall fly-in events close to home

It has been an amazing time for sport and recreational flying with all the recent aviation events in the nashytional news that included the rolling out of the new sport pilot and lightshysport aircraft rule A number of vinshytage aircraft meet the standards set by the FAA for light-sport aircraft Take a look at the list at wwwspartpishylatarg by clicking on the Light Sport Aircraft heading on the tan header bar Then click on Standard Category Aircraft for the list

Being eligible should add value to those vintage aircraft But for all the obvious reasons it also drives one to seriously consider procurement of an eligible vintage LSA I recently told my wife that I now have the perfect reason for justifying owning that J-3 I always wanted She wasnt very reshysponsive to that line of thinking but hey she gave me an A for effort

Oh well Ill just have to get her in my buddys 7 AC when he gets it completed and start in on her again Honey did you notice how slowly

Fall flying

the fall colors go by in the Champ as compared to the 120 Anybody got any better ideas for me

Yet another exciting news story were the recent flights of SpaceshyShipOne in its endeavor to win the Ansari X Prize What other bunch of nuts but aviation nuts would spend $25 million to win $10 million These guys are awesome I will forever reshymember Mike Melvills flight to space when the aircraft rolled 29 times as it rocketed through the atmosphere to 62-plus miles above the surface of the Earth with Mike looking more like Sean D Tucker than Neil Armshystrong Seriously though this was a truly historic moment in our time on this earth Think about it-civilian personnel putting a manned flying machine into space and returning to a safe landing Wow It is difficult to imagine what may come next from Mojave and the fine folks at Scaled Composites Congratulations to the whole team on the X Prize win We are all extremely proud to have you as fellow EAA members

I spoke again in last months colshyumn about the continuing battle to address newly proposed restrictions on airspace and soliciting our memshybership to be outspoken on these isshysues as they arise Recently we heard of yet another proposal from a New York State representative who had the audacity to suggest that airline level security should be imposed on every GA flight in these United States Boy theres a guy who had no idea what he was proposing The best part of this story is that he found out pretty quickly how outrageous his proposal really was when all the aviation alshy

phabets weighed in Hopefully this little lesson in humility will generate more carefully thought-out proposals by our other elected officials who may also choose to propose additional reshystrictions on general aviation in the future It was particularly troubleshysome to me that this legislator chose the anniversary of September 11 to submit this ominous bill Just when will these guys get it GA aircraft are not the threat to be concerned about the Transportation Security Adminisshytration has said it and it continues to say it with great regularity

Keep your ear to the rail for the next train as its likely not far down the tracks Be mindful that speaking out in opposition to these issues is not our only task as responsible GA pilots We need to fly our aircraft with a great deal of attention to the FARs and be especially mindful of those pop-up temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) By the time you read this column the elections will be over and with that the TFRs will likely be somewhat dishyminished One of the best ways for our rights to free skies to be protected is for each of us to remain diligent and mindful of the possibility of the creshyation of a TFR at the drop of a hat If youre planning to travel in unfamilshyiar airspace a thorough review of the rules and restrictions may be the one thing that keeps you in compliance The EAA Flight Planner which you can access as a member from the EAA and VAA websites is a great tool to keep you advised Have a great flight and be safe

Remember join up with us and

have it all A~

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

GEOFF ROBISON PRES IDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCI ATION

Its now October here in northern Indiana and this is by far my favorite time of the year to fly For too many years the 120s annual inspection came due about this time and I was usually somewhat shortchanged on the enjoyment of the fall colors and the improved performance of the airshycraft at cooler temperatures Last year that all changed when I had an extenshysive annual performed on the old girl and that annual is due in January so I can now return to the low and slow pleasures of fall flying without intershyruption It has also afforded me an adshyditional opportunity to attend several local fall fly-in events close to home

It has been an amazing time for sport and recreational flying with all the recent aviation events in the nashytional news that included the rolling out of the new sport pilot and lightshysport aircraft rule A number of vinshytage aircraft meet the standards set by the FAA for light-sport aircraft Take a look at the list at wwwspartpishylatarg by clicking on the Light Sport Aircraft heading on the tan header bar Then click on Standard Category Aircraft for the list

Being eligible should add value to those vintage aircraft But for all the obvious reasons it also drives one to seriously consider procurement of an eligible vintage LSA I recently told my wife that I now have the perfect reason for justifying owning that J-3 I always wanted She wasnt very reshysponsive to that line of thinking but hey she gave me an A for effort

Oh well Ill just have to get her in my buddys 7 AC when he gets it completed and start in on her again Honey did you notice how slowly

Fall flying

the fall colors go by in the Champ as compared to the 120 Anybody got any better ideas for me

Yet another exciting news story were the recent flights of SpaceshyShipOne in its endeavor to win the Ansari X Prize What other bunch of nuts but aviation nuts would spend $25 million to win $10 million These guys are awesome I will forever reshymember Mike Melvills flight to space when the aircraft rolled 29 times as it rocketed through the atmosphere to 62-plus miles above the surface of the Earth with Mike looking more like Sean D Tucker than Neil Armshystrong Seriously though this was a truly historic moment in our time on this earth Think about it-civilian personnel putting a manned flying machine into space and returning to a safe landing Wow It is difficult to imagine what may come next from Mojave and the fine folks at Scaled Composites Congratulations to the whole team on the X Prize win We are all extremely proud to have you as fellow EAA members

I spoke again in last months colshyumn about the continuing battle to address newly proposed restrictions on airspace and soliciting our memshybership to be outspoken on these isshysues as they arise Recently we heard of yet another proposal from a New York State representative who had the audacity to suggest that airline level security should be imposed on every GA flight in these United States Boy theres a guy who had no idea what he was proposing The best part of this story is that he found out pretty quickly how outrageous his proposal really was when all the aviation alshy

phabets weighed in Hopefully this little lesson in humility will generate more carefully thought-out proposals by our other elected officials who may also choose to propose additional reshystrictions on general aviation in the future It was particularly troubleshysome to me that this legislator chose the anniversary of September 11 to submit this ominous bill Just when will these guys get it GA aircraft are not the threat to be concerned about the Transportation Security Adminisshytration has said it and it continues to say it with great regularity

Keep your ear to the rail for the next train as its likely not far down the tracks Be mindful that speaking out in opposition to these issues is not our only task as responsible GA pilots We need to fly our aircraft with a great deal of attention to the FARs and be especially mindful of those pop-up temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) By the time you read this column the elections will be over and with that the TFRs will likely be somewhat dishyminished One of the best ways for our rights to free skies to be protected is for each of us to remain diligent and mindful of the possibility of the creshyation of a TFR at the drop of a hat If youre planning to travel in unfamilshyiar airspace a thorough review of the rules and restrictions may be the one thing that keeps you in compliance The EAA Flight Planner which you can access as a member from the EAA and VAA websites is a great tool to keep you advised Have a great flight and be safe

Remember join up with us and

have it all A~

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

VAA and EAA Help Create New Wiring Standards

On behalf of EAAs Governshyment Programs office and EAAs Vintage Aircraft Association VAA Executive Director HG Frautschy joined nearly two dozen other members of ASTM Committee F39 for their first official meetshying The committee composed of representatives of manufacturers end users aviation technicians and other interested aviation orshyganizations including the EAA VAA AOPA and Aircraft Electronshyics Association has been conshyvened to help create under the auspices of ASTM International a set of new standards for general aviation electrical wiring system design fabrication modification inspection and maintenance proshycedures and processes Continued airworthiness standards will also be addressed as standard F39 will become acceptable data to the FAA It will be a manual accepted by the FAA for use by aviation technicians to maintain general aviation aircraft

Aging aircraft issues related to aircraft wiring maintenance and repair will be an integral part of the new standard Material substitution lists will be current and the standard will include maintenance procedures and standards for working with newer technologies being incorporated in aircraft today

The October meeting centered on creating the basic format of the material to be included in Standard F39 and to begin work on gathering the most current data available from original equipment manufacturers FAA Advisory Circu lars and other aviation related wiring manuals currently in use today

For more on ASTM Committee F39 visit wwwastmorgCOMMITF39

NOVEMBER 2004

Vintage Merchandise The holidays are coming and

the VAA has just what you need in a unique gift for your VAA enthusiast Please see the ad beginning on page 30 for a part of the selection of VAA gifts and apparel that are available Dont need a gift Perhaps you traveled all the way home and realized you didnt buy that shirt or jacket you meant to pick up You can still buy that special item You can also visit www vintageaircrat org for an even wider selection Give EAA Membership Services a call at 800-843-3612 to place your order

EAA AirVenture Shifts to Monday-Sunday Format in 2005

Acting on the results of member sponsor exhibitor and visitor surshyveys EAA is moving EAA AirVenshyture Oshkosh one day forward beshyginning in 2005 EAA AirVenture will run Monday-through-Sunday instead of a Tuesday-through-Monshyday schedule That means EAA AirshyVenture 2005 will begin on Monshyday July 25 and conclude on Sunshyday July 31

We surveyed a cross-section of EAA members exhibitors sponsors and other participants and found that the travel patterns of those who attend EAA AirVenture have changed in recent years said EAA President and AirVenture Chairman Tom Poberezny We want to make sure we have activities and services for those who arrive at any time during the event We also knew that scheduling the final day on Monday

had not worked as well as hoped for attendees or exhibitors so we wanted to improve that situation

Complete details regarding specific highlights and activities at EAA AirVenture 2005 will be announced as they are confirmed

FAA Finalizing Student Sport Pilot Application

FAA Light-Sport Aircraft Branch Manager Martin Weaver confirmed in early October that while the new application form to become a sport pilot FAA Form 8710-11 Airman Certificate andor Rating Application-Sport Pilot wont be available until January 1 2005 individuals can submit sport pilot applications prior to that date

To do so sport pilot applicants will use the current FAA Airman Application Form 8710-1 However Weaver added that the FAA policies and procedures required for deSignated pilot examiners and inspectors to issue student pilot certificates wont be available until November 15 2004 so no action will be taken on any applications until those policies and procedures are available

He explained We do not curshyrently have a policy explaining to flight instructors what endorsements are required to solo a sport pilot stushydent nor do we have the infrastrucshyture in place as far as the practical test standards in order to support the regulatory requirements Addishytionally FAA field offices have not been given the required guidance on how to handle issuing student pilot certificates

Form 8710-1 is available for download on the FAA website at httpformsfaagovformsfaa87i 0-1pdf

EAAers Invited to Sport Pilot Briefings at SportAir Workshops

EAA members can learn the latest about sport pilotlight-sport aircraft

2

from EAA Aviation Information Services staff at free briefings at EAA SportAir Workshops

Sport Pilot-An EAA Member Briefing sessions feature EAA experts who provide the latest information plus answer any questions on the new rule To see the schedule of workshops visit wwwsportpiiotorg Those interested in attending must pre-register by calling 800-JOIN EAA (564-6322) and request a reservation

2005 VAA Calendar Can Still Be Ordered

The very first VAA calendar created by the staff of the VAA and published by Turner Publishing can still be ordered Some of the aircraft featured in the full-color ll-by-17shyinch oversize wall calendar include the Sikorsky 5-39 Waco QDC and Temco (Globe) Swift Thirteen different airplanes at least one from each of the divisions judging categories are featured in the calendar Each airplane photograph was taken by EAAs award-winning photography staff

Due to the interest being generated by this first-ever product Turner has agreed to keep the order lines open for as long as possible before the calendar is published in just a few weeks For more on the 2005 VAA Calendar please see the ad on page 21 and order your calendar today A portion of the proceeds will be paid back to the VAA

VAA Annual Meeting Minutes Per the VAA bylaws notice is

hereby given that copies of the minutes of the annual meeting of the Vintage Aircraft Association held August 2 2004 are now available from the headquarters office of the VAA Contact Theresa Books VAA Administrative ASSistant vintageeaaorg or 920shy426-6110 if you desire a copy

ALFRED KELCH 1918-2004

Were sorry to report that our 2003 inductee into the VM Hall of Fame has passed away after a brief illness at the age of 86

AI became enamored with airplanes and aviators at age 6 when hiS uncle Percy Bricker bought a war surplus Curtiss Jenny and flew it to AI s hometown of Lake View Iowa Even Uncle Percys crash landing of the Jenny didnt dampen his enthusiasm although little AI was perturbed with his uncle for

wrecking his Jenny Everything that was mechanical was fascinating to him He loved tinkering

with wood boats antique cars and airplanes Airplanes were right behind his wife of 60 years Lois on AI s priority list A career mixing his talents in art and mechanical engineering resulted in the founding of Kelch Manufacturing a company that pioneered a number of plastic innovations including the first plastic steering wheel for the automotive trade and the handy gas cap with an integral fuel gauge still referred to as a Kelch Type Cap

AI (VAA lifetime No6) and Lois were very active in the early days of the founding of the EM Antique Classic Division which became the VM He also created the EM Lindy trophy we all recognize today as the top award in aircraft restoration

He and Lois also edited Vintage Airplane magazine in the mid-1970s and he and his good friend the late Claude Gray created the core rules for judging vintage airplanes that are still used to this day

He and his friends Pat Packard and Bob Lumley along with a small corps of volunteers took inspiration from the Travel Air Museum in Tullahoma Tennessee and added a porch to the VM Red Barn creating one of the most relaxing spots on the EM Convention grounds

Until very shortly before his death AI actively worked on his collection of aircraft kept at the Brodhead Wisconsin airport His most recent restoration project is a Travel Air 4000 formerly owned by Robertson Aircraft and flown by Charles Lindbergh

Our condolences to his wife Lois and his many friends as well as those he worked with from the Sun n Fun Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome and Curtiss Museum organizations His enthusiasm for history and for life will be greatly missed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

REMINISCING WITH BIG NICK

Reprinted from Vintage Airplane July 1974

The Howard Story - Part Two

Ed itors Note D u e to the length of Part II of Th e Howard Story a s originally p rint ed weve h ad t o clip it in two Look f o r the second half of Part II in the Decemshyber issue of Vintage Airplane

The DGA-8 was built under ATC No 612 With an empty weight of 2330 pounds and a gross weight of 3800 pounds true airspeed at 10000 feet was around 190 mph-187 to be correct Rate of climb was 2000 feet the first minshyute Wing section I believe was a NACA 2R212 with 2-12-degrees incidence and zero dihedral Basic price was $14500 FAP

All the material I once had on the DGA-15 is gone I loaned it to a guy who was going to convert a 15 to a tri-gear and he never reshyturned any of it (Now I know why my brother Mike wont let me borshyrow any of his material I dont blame him I lost a very pre-

NOVEMBER 2004

by Nick Rezich

cious photo collection because I let a supposed good friend borrow them) Incidentally the photo of the original Flannigan in the last issue was not taken on the evening of the firs t test flight but sometime later That particular picture is in a locked vault in my brothers house or bank and for good reason as it is the only one taken that eveshyning other than the ones taken by the Howard bunch

About this time I left Bluebird Air Transport and went to work for American Airways at Chicago MunL I never thought much of airline work so I kept my regular visits to the Howard factory on a time clock basis and I would alshyways remind Mr Ewing and Mr Purcell tha t I wanted a job with Howard In the meantime I got to know the inards and outwards of the Howard and I made friends with all 24 employees Then it happened

They sold two more airplanes and I was hired was number 25 I went to work for Red Gross in

the finishing department (dope and fabric) and I remained with Howard until July of 1944 when I (and about 20 other Howard men) entered the armed forces When I left I was plant superintendent

Working for Howard was a famshyily affair Everyone had the same goal to build the best-damned airplane in the world Pride in workmanship just oozed all over the plant If ever there was an airshyplane built to perfection it was the Howard We had time cards and a payroll department-but that was on paper only We worked overshytime Saturdays Sundays and never received extra pay and never expected it It was either work and get the airplanes delivered or shut the doors

Everyone was capable of workshying in all departments If you were needed in the wood shop you worked on wings ribs etc -or assembly or welding or any other place needed Our engineers were mechanics when they designed a new part they didnt send a blueshy

4

print out to the shop they came out and built it themselves to see if it would work The same for the test flights-the chief engineer Gordon or Walt or another engishyneer would fly the airplanes themshyselves or ride with the test pilot Ill tell you a good story about Gordon Israel next month (actually it will appear in the January 2005 issue shyEditor) in the Model 18 story The same applied to our sales people They flew the airplane and they knew the mechanics of it

Other than factory demonstrashytors all civilian Howards were cusshytom built The order would come out from sales as Mr or Mrs Howshyard Model 8 9 11 or whatever model and would list the equipshyment color NC number type of interior panel and promised deshylivery date From then on we all referred to the ship by the owners name There would also be speshycial notations such as soft back seat special or make sure winshydows roll up and down quietly or wrap wheel half with leather to match or consult with pilot before installing radios

Most company airplanes as well as private ones had their pilots at the factory from the time the fushyselage went into the jig to compleshy

tion When the airplane was ready for delivery it was inspected by sales and then by Benny and if it was OK the department head of each department was on hand when the customer arrived If the customer had any changes squawks or whatever the department head and his lead man would take care of it to the customers satisfaction When BD DeWeese became presishydent he was the hardest man in the world to satisfy he was the airplane inspector supreme And he knew where to look BELIEVE YOU ME

During the early years at Howshyard we built everything in the facshytory The only thing we sent out for was coffee and sandwiches

When the fuselage left the jig and all the clips were welded on Mike Babco would take a torch and a rubber mallet and straighten all the tubes by eyesight The fuselage and tail group would then go to inspection and paint We did not sandblast the tubing but instead cleaned and etched it by hand We then painted it with two coats of zinc chromate-the second coat being a tracer which was silver After sub-assembly it was back to the paint shop for cover We would bring the whole airplane up

through silver and then it would be moved to the sheet metal deshypartment and fully assembled This served two purposes first it aged the dope for final paint and second a perfect fit of all the sheet metal was assured All those fancy fairings with the double curves were all handmade along with the NACA cowl Later on we bought the wheelpants and nose cowls Many fairings were two- and threeshypiece affairs welded together to form the fancy curve

After the sheet metal was all fitshyted the ship would go back to the paint shop-this time on the gear and with the engine in it-for final color Many people think of the Staggerwing as having the best finshyish in those days The Staggerwing did have an excellent finish but not quite as good as the Howard It was declared by NACA that the Howard had the smoothest finish in the industry

During the construction of the DGAs we used contour conforshymity jigs throughout and a few seshycrets that nobody else was using Have you ever heard of putting nitrate dope over varnish Cant be done right Wrong We did it Lets leave the airplane in the paint shop for final color while I tell you

Shell Oil 15 Pilot Jim Wheeler One of two bought by Shell The other one is in Rockford Illinois owned by Ron Rippon This will be a super Howard when Ron finishes it

VINTAGE A I RPLANE 5

how we built up to a perfect finish we received the plywood we The wings as many of you know would check it for proper moisture were all wood with plywood covershy content then store it in a homeshying plus balloon cloth Before the made moisture control room It wing was covered it was checked was checked again before applishyfor conformity with a wing section cation to the wing I have forgot shyjig then the top layers of skin were ten the moisture content we used attached We did not use nailing strips but inshystead drove the nails into the plywood itself We would have all the panshyels laid out with the nails started only through the tip Then they (the skins) were positioned on the wing with the glue holdshying them in place Now the Wood Butchers Symshyphony would begin Six wood butchers armed with their hammers would start the nailing procedure which was the secret in making a twoshyway curve with woodshywith no wrinkles They would strike each only once and each man knew the sequence of drivshying each nail This same procedure applied to the flaps and ailerons After the trimming and after the glue had set up the wings went to the paint shop for 3 spray coats of full strength varnish The first coat was sprayed at 800 am the second at noon and the third at 500 pm The masked-off bottom panels were also sprayed at this time After the bottom panels were nailed in place and trimmed the wings went back to the dope shop for covering and final paint

The dope sloberers would use a power sander to grind all the nail heads down flush and shape the wing to a perfect contour Next came the varnish We would cut the varnish 50-50 with Toluol and rub it into the wing to act as a sealer This was the secret to pershyfectly formed wings

Let me back track here when NOVEMBER 2004

out a couple more menThis company publicity photo depicts Benny Howards last delivery of an aircraft as president of the company

and myoId factory records were destroyed by an over-ambitious housekeeper who shall remain nameless here

After the varnish dried we sprayed 2 cross coats of clear dope on the wood surfaces for bondshying of the balloon cloth After the wings were brought up through silver we let them age or dry along with the fuselage and tail group for 2 weeks or more depending on schedule Now the hard work started We would sand the whole airplane down flat so all the tapes were hidden We had a hard time training and keeping sandshyers We did not use sanding blocks

as a sanding block cant feel sharp edges tapes rib stitching etc As a result the skin on a sanders finshygers wou ld become so thin they would bleed BELIEVE-YOU-ME I know-many a Howard has my blood in it We would repeat this

process after the final coat

Now came the finis perfection From 1936 through 37 we hand rubbed our surfaces to a super gloss but from late 37early 38 we buffed them with a 2-speed bufshyfer Th is was a tricky opshyeration as it was really easy to burn the finish when you used the high gear Brother you had better know your busishyness or you bought yourshyself an airplane We also applied the wax with the buffer The master bufshyfer was Eddie Brooks He was the one who checked me out on the buffer even though I was the foreman Eddie and I put the final finish on all the Howards up to late 1940 when we checked

This bu ffing operation was not only tricky but somewhat dangerous

In th e high-speed mode it genershyated a vacuum between the surface and the pad You had to make sure there was nothing in the path of this vacuum

I learned the hard way 1 was a cocky young show-off I had just finished buffing a fuselage and was standing back admiring my workshyand decided to put just a little more gloss at the tail end of the fuselage I sprinkled the fuselage with the compound and started in with quick sweeps then it hapshypened

I sucked in the nav light wire hanging out the back of the fuseshylage I tore hell out of every thingshy

6

fabric wire and metal bulkhead Well needless to say that took care of my cockiness I shook for two days after that but my first thought was that of getting fired Cutting off my arms would have been less painful than being fired from Howard Aircraft To make a long story short I stayed at the plant all night and repaired my damage so the airplane could go into final assembly by morning There was no Watergate covershyup the whole plant knew it and I got ribbed about it for a long time That buffer was dangerous and thats why we didnt check anyshybody else out for a long time

We built the production airshyplanes just like Benny built the Flannigan We would assemble evshyerything but the wings at the facshytory then truck the wings and tow the fuselage to the final assembly and flight test

The hangar we used for final assembly was myoid alma mater Bluebird Air Transport which in turn had taken over the Texaco hangar In the early days only a couple of men went with the airshyplane for flight test but as we built more airplanes the hangar became a full-size department My younger brother Frank worked on final asshysembly as a foreman at the plant and the hangar

We had our ups and downs fishynancially from the day the plant opened until the day it closed The year of 1939 was bad so bad that it looked like it was going to close One day the word came down that we were shutting down until 3 or 4 orders were received I knew some people at Beechcraft so 4 other guys and myself took off for Wichita in my new Dodge only to find that Beech and Cessna were in the same shape as Howshyard Aircraft Cessna was building manure spreaders to stay open We went to Stearman and here I got hired but not my buddies I had a couple of days to get moved so I drove back to Chicago that night

During the drive we talked about Howard Beech etc and we deshycided thhell with Wichita we were sticking with Howard When we arrived back home my mother said Howard is looking for you to come back to work

When I arrived at the plant it was all hustle and bustle Slim Freitag and JD Reed of Houston Texas had come in with a fistful of orders JD has sold just about every oil company in Texas a Howshyard This was the break Howard needed From then on Howard was on sound footing BD DeshyWeese left Stinson and came on as manager and later became presishydent He was responsible for conshyverting many Stinson customers to Howards

We expanded the plant and proshyduction went from one a month to one a week I was promoted to asshysistant plant superintendent at this time and George Lyons became plant superintendent Mr Earl Ewing the original plant superinshytendent went with Bell Aircraft in Buffalo New York Then came the nightmare the Model 18 the low wing trainer I will devote a sepashyrate chapter to the 18 story

Working for Howard Aircraft was rewarding in many ways Most rewarding was the privilege of working with the super star craftsmen of the industry I met all of the top people in the aircraft manufacturing business famous people in government movie stars and many of the countrys leading businessmen Ill never forget the day I met Wallace Beery Mr Beery was en route to Detroit to purchase a new Stinson Reliant and as he was changing planes in Chicago he saw Walt Diaber taking off on a test flight with a new Howard Beery turned to one of the airport employees and asked Whats that The fellow replied Thats a Howard

What attracted Beerys attention was the angle of climb Diaber like Benny Howard had a pattern for

every takeoff With Walt it was break ground and climb at about a 45-degree or SO-degree angle up to about 3000 or 4000 feet

Beery watched the Howard go out of sight then went in and canshycelled his flight to Detroit In a few minutes he arrived at the factory and just walked into the sub assemshybly department and started looking around Before the day was out Mr Wallace ordered a Wasp-powered Model 11 and Stinson had lost another sale thanks largely to the performance of a Howard A short time later Beerys pilot arrived at the plant to follow the building of his new airplane Wallace Beery was an excellent pilot but his movie contracts required that he have a professional pilot on board When he took delivery of his new 11 he threw a huge party for the whole plant He really loved the Howard and when the new Model 15 was available he traded the 11 for a 15 His 15 was a special airshyplane that later helped up secure the Navy contract

Beery loved to hunt He wanted an airplane that he could camp in and with room enough to fly home his catch This meant some kind of fold-down seat that could be conshyverted into a bed The final version was a fold back seat which was later used as a stretcher in the amshybulance Navy Howards When the new airplane was completed Beery came to the factory for a checkout and he and Benny went riding in his new 15

That was the last airplane Benny Howard delivered as president of the company Mr B D DeWesse beshycame president after that delivery Benny never recovered finanCially after the Mulligan accident As I said earlier the plant was running on borrowed money right from the beginning It started out as Ben O Howard and Associates then the Paul H Davis group got involved and it became Howard Aircraft Company One of the early invesshy

continued on page 32

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

DOUG STEWART

Sport pilot is here Well it finally happened The

moment that so many pilots had been waiting for arrived a few days before the opening of EAA AirVenture Oshshykosh 2004 It had been in the works for several years undergoing a variety of revisions and changes Many of us in the pilot community had given up hope that it would ever happen at all But a few short days before the beginshyning of that wonderful gathering of pilots and airplanes in Oshkosh the FAA announced that the final ruling for the new sport pilotlight-sport airshycraft had been Signed The sounds of jubilant cheering could be heard in hangars in airport lounges in EAA Chapter rooms all across this great land of ours

I too joined in that cheering I know many folks who would now be able to fly once again or for that matshyter for the first time ever as certificated pilots However I did have some resshyervations During the run of EAA AirshyVenture I had many opportunities to meet with the movers and shakers of the sport pilot rule to answer my growshying list of questions but one nagging problem still remained Ill get to that problem in a moment but first let s look at the rule as I understand it

The new ruling became effective September 1 2004 On that day any certificated pilot who had a current flight review (a flight review signed off within the previous 24 calendar months) could now fly an aircraft that qualified under the rules as a lightshysport aircraft without a medical cershytificate provided that the pilot held a current drivers license and also that the pilot had not had his or her last

NOVEMBER 2004

application for an FAA medical cershytificate denied or revoked This meant that any pilot who had let his or her medical certificate expire without reshynewing it could once again take wing If the pilot was not current he or she could fly once again as soon as a flight review had been completed

The ruling as finally published also increased the maximum gross weight limit from 1230 pounds to 1320 With that increase of 900 pounds to the weight limit several more Vintage aircraft entered the fold of the light-sport aircraft envelope The rule now allows pilots to fly withshyout a medical certificate the following certificated airplanes (This list is not 100 percent all inclusive but it does include almost all of the vintage airshycraft I am aware of that can be flown as light-sport)

Aeronca everything from the C up to and including the Champs (7AC BCM CCM and DC) the L3s and the Chiefs (llAC amp BC) Ercoupe 415 C and CD Piper J-2 and all the J-3 variants the L-4s J-4 and J4F the PA-ll -15 and -17 and the NE-1 and 2 Taylorcraft virtually all of them exshycept the F series (19 and up) Portershyfield CP35 35 - 70 35V CP 40 50 55 and LP - 65 and Interstate S-lA S-lA-65F 85F 90F and the S-l Cadet

This is a rather substantial list and whereas it does leave out some wonderful aircraft that we would all have loved to see included like the Cessna 120 140 and 150 and theJ-5 (not only because it is too heavy but also because it seats three people) it certainly allows pilots with a sport pilot certificate (or the private pilot

with a drivers license medical) to take to the sky in some of the neatest and available aircraft in our aviation heritage And all of them save for the Ercoupes have the little wheel in the back

Now to get to the nagging probshylem that I have I know that some of the aircraft that can now be flown might have been sitting idle for a while in some cases quite a while And we all know that one of the worst things we can do to an airplane is to let it sit idle (never mind what sitting idle does to pilots) But that is not the problem I know that there are some mechanics out there who might pashyper whip an annual inspection but when it comes to tube and fabric I reshyally dont think there are any mechanshyics who would risk their livelihood by signing off a vintage airplane that wasnt airworthy

Heres where my problem lies many of the pilots that are eager to take to the air once again might have accrued more rust than those longeron tubes hidden by some resilient Cecoshynite The skills a pilot needs to keep a light aircraft going straight on the ground when the wind is blowing from the side and the little wheel is in the back of the airplane might have atrophied not to mention that there has probably been an increase in the reaction times of many of these pilots

All pilots need to fly is a current flight review (still referred to by most as a BFR) The review as mandated by the FAA is merely one hour of flight and one hour of ground While there are some instructors who might sign some

continued on page 24

8

EE BUCK HILBERT

Well now that we have it apart Gee whiz November is here I

know I did a fall color tour of upstate New York and the Finger Lakes area but what happened to summer

Oh yeah there was EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004 That was a good one Then there was Brodhead Wisconsin with lots of antiques and the Old-Fashioned EAA Fly-In at Rock Falls Illinois

Other than that it seems like all I did was work on that Cessna 120 of ours

When we went to put the lifting eyes in the spar carry-through we found cracks Big ones And that necessitated immediate action Had we continued to fly who knows We might have been the first to arrive at the scene of the accident So we fixed it

I had never encountered this before in a Cessna although Ive since had people tell me it has been a problem in the past It couldnt have been too much of a problem Cessna didn t have a replacement part in stock and hadnt had an order or sold one in some time

Well while we had the airplane just about completely disassembled we decided to install a few improvements Things like a primer Cessna 150 seats a tail pull handle a new tail wheel bracket new skylights and side windows and then give it a general good look-over

We were pretty busy and it seemed like this was turning into a full-time job I spent some 280 hours doing all these projects Of course the usual Funny Farm visitors kept

popping in See the photo below of Mark Heusdens highly modified Ercoupe with the big fuel tanks and the 0-235 engine installation He has promised us an article on this eightshyyear project along with his jousting with the FAA for certification Plus the usual hangars-on who stopped by to kibitz

There never seems to be a dull moment around here

Then too EAA restoration staff members Gary Buettner and Colin Hildebrandt finished up the Varney Airlines Air Mail Swallow replica and since the United Airlines Historical Foundation of which I am a founding member had underwritten part of that restoration and had restored a similar Swallow many moons ago I was asked to do the FAA flight test program This consisted of fifteen hours in a deSignated area

For you uninitiated ones Varney started the first permanently scheduled Contract Airmail Service in the United States and later merged it with Pacific Boeing and National Air Transports to become United Airlines

It is always a thrill to fly first in a new airplane We did the first half hour checked everything over let it

cool and then did another half hour After about two and a half hours in the pattern we ventured a couple of miles away and then gradually explored the flight envelope

Takeoff performance climb airwork all the stalls and spin entries but no spins The FAA placarded it against spins so we did more glides and landings on pavement grass and more landings

We even did CG limits flight checks both full forward and full aft to see how that went All went very well and it brought back memories and sensations of my time in the United Airlines Swallow some 28 years ago This one flies just like that one now in the Museum of Flight in

Seattle and maybe even a tad better Fifteen hours in an open cockpit is

a long time But we got it done The FAA signed it off and we now have another airplane to fly from the EAA AirVenture Museums Pioneer Airport This one is meant to specifically honor those airmail pilots who started the whole airline industry

If those wonderfully dedicated airmen were alive I wonder what they would say about the state of affairs the airlines find themselves in today

Well tell you what all summer long the aviation books have been piling up Im gonna sit in front of the radiator in my sox and slippers and do some catching up If I fall asleep so much the better

Over to you 78JcJ VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

middot utch and Carol Walsh have been around Stinsons for a long time Avery long time In fact Butch says he

can trace his interest in Stinsons clear back to his childhood

My second airplane ride was in a 108-2 (N389C) and at the time it just seemed as if it was the perfect airplane and the more r was around it the more I liked it he says

Apparen tl y nothing has changed in the intervening years because by his own estimates he

B

10 NOVEMBER 2004

has owned at least 15 Stinson 108s of various models and rebuilt at least 10 In fact Butch spends so much of his time working on Stinshysons and communicating with others who either need his advice or want to purchase his services that many in the field have elshyevated him to the exalted status of guru He is the Papa Smurf of 108 Stinsons and the go-to guy for all things having to do with restoring and flying the breed

The attachment many people feel for specific types of airplanes is sometimes difficult to explain

although it always seems pershyfectly clear to them In the case of the postwar 4-place 108 cershytainly part of the attraction has to be a combination of a number of factors For one thing the price on the airplanes has lagged beshyhind some of the more popular airplanes but the ability of the 108 to carry four people in luxury and style is unquestioned Plus the Stinsons are legendary in the smooth feeling of their controls a benefit of ball or needle bearshyings being used everywhere that might generate friction

The Grand Champion Classic

ofEAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

Butch Walshs Stinson 108-2

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Butch at the controls of his favorite airplane

Butch says I bought my first Stinson a 108-2 in the early 1970s and we still have it today My daughter Terri learned to fly and got her certificate in it and her two daughters Mikayla and Ann-Clair ages 7 and 5 are logging time in a booster seat on the right side and Papa works the pedals So we alshyready have three generations flying the same airplane It is an absolute part of the family

Butch showed up at Sun n Fun 12 NOVEMBER 2004

2004 with a 108-2 that was new to many of his Stinson friends

This airplane is the result of one of those chance encounters that happen to all of us he explains We were at Oshkosh about four years ago with a -3 and were stayshying in the dorms I was involved in a conversation about Stinsons when one of the fellows looked me in the face and said Do you want to buy a Stinson I was a little surshyprised but followed up on it

The airplane was a project loshycated in Florida I went down and looked at it and it really wasnt a very good project It was totally disshyassembled and had been apart long enough and moved around enough times that it had accumulated a fair amount of moving damage Its very hard to move an airplane without inflicting some kind of damage on it and the more you move it the more damage it will accumulate

Butch decided to buy the airshyplane and trucked it up to his base in Arrington Virginia

Every project has its good and

bad pOints and one of the good points of this airplane was that it was fairly stock One of the bad points was the engine which was mostly junk I trashed the case and crank and basically came out with a cam and a carburetor

The panel wasnt too bad and amazingly enough the glove comshypartment area hadnt been butchshyered to put radios in it The original glove compartment doors are really hard to find There is a really good reproduction door available but well its just not original so I dont like to use them

When I rebuilt the panel I put the top part back as close to origishynal as I could including matching original instruments where posshysible I did the rest of the interior in original fabric which is available from a company that has some of the original material and keeps it in an environmentally controlled storage area so it doesnt change color or deteriorate

As is usually the case with an airshyplane that has spent a lot of time on

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

print out to the shop they came out and built it themselves to see if it would work The same for the test flights-the chief engineer Gordon or Walt or another engishyneer would fly the airplanes themshyselves or ride with the test pilot Ill tell you a good story about Gordon Israel next month (actually it will appear in the January 2005 issue shyEditor) in the Model 18 story The same applied to our sales people They flew the airplane and they knew the mechanics of it

Other than factory demonstrashytors all civilian Howards were cusshytom built The order would come out from sales as Mr or Mrs Howshyard Model 8 9 11 or whatever model and would list the equipshyment color NC number type of interior panel and promised deshylivery date From then on we all referred to the ship by the owners name There would also be speshycial notations such as soft back seat special or make sure winshydows roll up and down quietly or wrap wheel half with leather to match or consult with pilot before installing radios

Most company airplanes as well as private ones had their pilots at the factory from the time the fushyselage went into the jig to compleshy

tion When the airplane was ready for delivery it was inspected by sales and then by Benny and if it was OK the department head of each department was on hand when the customer arrived If the customer had any changes squawks or whatever the department head and his lead man would take care of it to the customers satisfaction When BD DeWeese became presishydent he was the hardest man in the world to satisfy he was the airplane inspector supreme And he knew where to look BELIEVE YOU ME

During the early years at Howshyard we built everything in the facshytory The only thing we sent out for was coffee and sandwiches

When the fuselage left the jig and all the clips were welded on Mike Babco would take a torch and a rubber mallet and straighten all the tubes by eyesight The fuselage and tail group would then go to inspection and paint We did not sandblast the tubing but instead cleaned and etched it by hand We then painted it with two coats of zinc chromate-the second coat being a tracer which was silver After sub-assembly it was back to the paint shop for cover We would bring the whole airplane up

through silver and then it would be moved to the sheet metal deshypartment and fully assembled This served two purposes first it aged the dope for final paint and second a perfect fit of all the sheet metal was assured All those fancy fairings with the double curves were all handmade along with the NACA cowl Later on we bought the wheelpants and nose cowls Many fairings were two- and threeshypiece affairs welded together to form the fancy curve

After the sheet metal was all fitshyted the ship would go back to the paint shop-this time on the gear and with the engine in it-for final color Many people think of the Staggerwing as having the best finshyish in those days The Staggerwing did have an excellent finish but not quite as good as the Howard It was declared by NACA that the Howard had the smoothest finish in the industry

During the construction of the DGAs we used contour conforshymity jigs throughout and a few seshycrets that nobody else was using Have you ever heard of putting nitrate dope over varnish Cant be done right Wrong We did it Lets leave the airplane in the paint shop for final color while I tell you

Shell Oil 15 Pilot Jim Wheeler One of two bought by Shell The other one is in Rockford Illinois owned by Ron Rippon This will be a super Howard when Ron finishes it

VINTAGE A I RPLANE 5

how we built up to a perfect finish we received the plywood we The wings as many of you know would check it for proper moisture were all wood with plywood covershy content then store it in a homeshying plus balloon cloth Before the made moisture control room It wing was covered it was checked was checked again before applishyfor conformity with a wing section cation to the wing I have forgot shyjig then the top layers of skin were ten the moisture content we used attached We did not use nailing strips but inshystead drove the nails into the plywood itself We would have all the panshyels laid out with the nails started only through the tip Then they (the skins) were positioned on the wing with the glue holdshying them in place Now the Wood Butchers Symshyphony would begin Six wood butchers armed with their hammers would start the nailing procedure which was the secret in making a twoshyway curve with woodshywith no wrinkles They would strike each only once and each man knew the sequence of drivshying each nail This same procedure applied to the flaps and ailerons After the trimming and after the glue had set up the wings went to the paint shop for 3 spray coats of full strength varnish The first coat was sprayed at 800 am the second at noon and the third at 500 pm The masked-off bottom panels were also sprayed at this time After the bottom panels were nailed in place and trimmed the wings went back to the dope shop for covering and final paint

The dope sloberers would use a power sander to grind all the nail heads down flush and shape the wing to a perfect contour Next came the varnish We would cut the varnish 50-50 with Toluol and rub it into the wing to act as a sealer This was the secret to pershyfectly formed wings

Let me back track here when NOVEMBER 2004

out a couple more menThis company publicity photo depicts Benny Howards last delivery of an aircraft as president of the company

and myoId factory records were destroyed by an over-ambitious housekeeper who shall remain nameless here

After the varnish dried we sprayed 2 cross coats of clear dope on the wood surfaces for bondshying of the balloon cloth After the wings were brought up through silver we let them age or dry along with the fuselage and tail group for 2 weeks or more depending on schedule Now the hard work started We would sand the whole airplane down flat so all the tapes were hidden We had a hard time training and keeping sandshyers We did not use sanding blocks

as a sanding block cant feel sharp edges tapes rib stitching etc As a result the skin on a sanders finshygers wou ld become so thin they would bleed BELIEVE-YOU-ME I know-many a Howard has my blood in it We would repeat this

process after the final coat

Now came the finis perfection From 1936 through 37 we hand rubbed our surfaces to a super gloss but from late 37early 38 we buffed them with a 2-speed bufshyfer Th is was a tricky opshyeration as it was really easy to burn the finish when you used the high gear Brother you had better know your busishyness or you bought yourshyself an airplane We also applied the wax with the buffer The master bufshyfer was Eddie Brooks He was the one who checked me out on the buffer even though I was the foreman Eddie and I put the final finish on all the Howards up to late 1940 when we checked

This bu ffing operation was not only tricky but somewhat dangerous

In th e high-speed mode it genershyated a vacuum between the surface and the pad You had to make sure there was nothing in the path of this vacuum

I learned the hard way 1 was a cocky young show-off I had just finished buffing a fuselage and was standing back admiring my workshyand decided to put just a little more gloss at the tail end of the fuselage I sprinkled the fuselage with the compound and started in with quick sweeps then it hapshypened

I sucked in the nav light wire hanging out the back of the fuseshylage I tore hell out of every thingshy

6

fabric wire and metal bulkhead Well needless to say that took care of my cockiness I shook for two days after that but my first thought was that of getting fired Cutting off my arms would have been less painful than being fired from Howard Aircraft To make a long story short I stayed at the plant all night and repaired my damage so the airplane could go into final assembly by morning There was no Watergate covershyup the whole plant knew it and I got ribbed about it for a long time That buffer was dangerous and thats why we didnt check anyshybody else out for a long time

We built the production airshyplanes just like Benny built the Flannigan We would assemble evshyerything but the wings at the facshytory then truck the wings and tow the fuselage to the final assembly and flight test

The hangar we used for final assembly was myoid alma mater Bluebird Air Transport which in turn had taken over the Texaco hangar In the early days only a couple of men went with the airshyplane for flight test but as we built more airplanes the hangar became a full-size department My younger brother Frank worked on final asshysembly as a foreman at the plant and the hangar

We had our ups and downs fishynancially from the day the plant opened until the day it closed The year of 1939 was bad so bad that it looked like it was going to close One day the word came down that we were shutting down until 3 or 4 orders were received I knew some people at Beechcraft so 4 other guys and myself took off for Wichita in my new Dodge only to find that Beech and Cessna were in the same shape as Howshyard Aircraft Cessna was building manure spreaders to stay open We went to Stearman and here I got hired but not my buddies I had a couple of days to get moved so I drove back to Chicago that night

During the drive we talked about Howard Beech etc and we deshycided thhell with Wichita we were sticking with Howard When we arrived back home my mother said Howard is looking for you to come back to work

When I arrived at the plant it was all hustle and bustle Slim Freitag and JD Reed of Houston Texas had come in with a fistful of orders JD has sold just about every oil company in Texas a Howshyard This was the break Howard needed From then on Howard was on sound footing BD DeshyWeese left Stinson and came on as manager and later became presishydent He was responsible for conshyverting many Stinson customers to Howards

We expanded the plant and proshyduction went from one a month to one a week I was promoted to asshysistant plant superintendent at this time and George Lyons became plant superintendent Mr Earl Ewing the original plant superinshytendent went with Bell Aircraft in Buffalo New York Then came the nightmare the Model 18 the low wing trainer I will devote a sepashyrate chapter to the 18 story

Working for Howard Aircraft was rewarding in many ways Most rewarding was the privilege of working with the super star craftsmen of the industry I met all of the top people in the aircraft manufacturing business famous people in government movie stars and many of the countrys leading businessmen Ill never forget the day I met Wallace Beery Mr Beery was en route to Detroit to purchase a new Stinson Reliant and as he was changing planes in Chicago he saw Walt Diaber taking off on a test flight with a new Howard Beery turned to one of the airport employees and asked Whats that The fellow replied Thats a Howard

What attracted Beerys attention was the angle of climb Diaber like Benny Howard had a pattern for

every takeoff With Walt it was break ground and climb at about a 45-degree or SO-degree angle up to about 3000 or 4000 feet

Beery watched the Howard go out of sight then went in and canshycelled his flight to Detroit In a few minutes he arrived at the factory and just walked into the sub assemshybly department and started looking around Before the day was out Mr Wallace ordered a Wasp-powered Model 11 and Stinson had lost another sale thanks largely to the performance of a Howard A short time later Beerys pilot arrived at the plant to follow the building of his new airplane Wallace Beery was an excellent pilot but his movie contracts required that he have a professional pilot on board When he took delivery of his new 11 he threw a huge party for the whole plant He really loved the Howard and when the new Model 15 was available he traded the 11 for a 15 His 15 was a special airshyplane that later helped up secure the Navy contract

Beery loved to hunt He wanted an airplane that he could camp in and with room enough to fly home his catch This meant some kind of fold-down seat that could be conshyverted into a bed The final version was a fold back seat which was later used as a stretcher in the amshybulance Navy Howards When the new airplane was completed Beery came to the factory for a checkout and he and Benny went riding in his new 15

That was the last airplane Benny Howard delivered as president of the company Mr B D DeWesse beshycame president after that delivery Benny never recovered finanCially after the Mulligan accident As I said earlier the plant was running on borrowed money right from the beginning It started out as Ben O Howard and Associates then the Paul H Davis group got involved and it became Howard Aircraft Company One of the early invesshy

continued on page 32

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

DOUG STEWART

Sport pilot is here Well it finally happened The

moment that so many pilots had been waiting for arrived a few days before the opening of EAA AirVenture Oshshykosh 2004 It had been in the works for several years undergoing a variety of revisions and changes Many of us in the pilot community had given up hope that it would ever happen at all But a few short days before the beginshyning of that wonderful gathering of pilots and airplanes in Oshkosh the FAA announced that the final ruling for the new sport pilotlight-sport airshycraft had been Signed The sounds of jubilant cheering could be heard in hangars in airport lounges in EAA Chapter rooms all across this great land of ours

I too joined in that cheering I know many folks who would now be able to fly once again or for that matshyter for the first time ever as certificated pilots However I did have some resshyervations During the run of EAA AirshyVenture I had many opportunities to meet with the movers and shakers of the sport pilot rule to answer my growshying list of questions but one nagging problem still remained Ill get to that problem in a moment but first let s look at the rule as I understand it

The new ruling became effective September 1 2004 On that day any certificated pilot who had a current flight review (a flight review signed off within the previous 24 calendar months) could now fly an aircraft that qualified under the rules as a lightshysport aircraft without a medical cershytificate provided that the pilot held a current drivers license and also that the pilot had not had his or her last

NOVEMBER 2004

application for an FAA medical cershytificate denied or revoked This meant that any pilot who had let his or her medical certificate expire without reshynewing it could once again take wing If the pilot was not current he or she could fly once again as soon as a flight review had been completed

The ruling as finally published also increased the maximum gross weight limit from 1230 pounds to 1320 With that increase of 900 pounds to the weight limit several more Vintage aircraft entered the fold of the light-sport aircraft envelope The rule now allows pilots to fly withshyout a medical certificate the following certificated airplanes (This list is not 100 percent all inclusive but it does include almost all of the vintage airshycraft I am aware of that can be flown as light-sport)

Aeronca everything from the C up to and including the Champs (7AC BCM CCM and DC) the L3s and the Chiefs (llAC amp BC) Ercoupe 415 C and CD Piper J-2 and all the J-3 variants the L-4s J-4 and J4F the PA-ll -15 and -17 and the NE-1 and 2 Taylorcraft virtually all of them exshycept the F series (19 and up) Portershyfield CP35 35 - 70 35V CP 40 50 55 and LP - 65 and Interstate S-lA S-lA-65F 85F 90F and the S-l Cadet

This is a rather substantial list and whereas it does leave out some wonderful aircraft that we would all have loved to see included like the Cessna 120 140 and 150 and theJ-5 (not only because it is too heavy but also because it seats three people) it certainly allows pilots with a sport pilot certificate (or the private pilot

with a drivers license medical) to take to the sky in some of the neatest and available aircraft in our aviation heritage And all of them save for the Ercoupes have the little wheel in the back

Now to get to the nagging probshylem that I have I know that some of the aircraft that can now be flown might have been sitting idle for a while in some cases quite a while And we all know that one of the worst things we can do to an airplane is to let it sit idle (never mind what sitting idle does to pilots) But that is not the problem I know that there are some mechanics out there who might pashyper whip an annual inspection but when it comes to tube and fabric I reshyally dont think there are any mechanshyics who would risk their livelihood by signing off a vintage airplane that wasnt airworthy

Heres where my problem lies many of the pilots that are eager to take to the air once again might have accrued more rust than those longeron tubes hidden by some resilient Cecoshynite The skills a pilot needs to keep a light aircraft going straight on the ground when the wind is blowing from the side and the little wheel is in the back of the airplane might have atrophied not to mention that there has probably been an increase in the reaction times of many of these pilots

All pilots need to fly is a current flight review (still referred to by most as a BFR) The review as mandated by the FAA is merely one hour of flight and one hour of ground While there are some instructors who might sign some

continued on page 24

8

EE BUCK HILBERT

Well now that we have it apart Gee whiz November is here I

know I did a fall color tour of upstate New York and the Finger Lakes area but what happened to summer

Oh yeah there was EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004 That was a good one Then there was Brodhead Wisconsin with lots of antiques and the Old-Fashioned EAA Fly-In at Rock Falls Illinois

Other than that it seems like all I did was work on that Cessna 120 of ours

When we went to put the lifting eyes in the spar carry-through we found cracks Big ones And that necessitated immediate action Had we continued to fly who knows We might have been the first to arrive at the scene of the accident So we fixed it

I had never encountered this before in a Cessna although Ive since had people tell me it has been a problem in the past It couldnt have been too much of a problem Cessna didn t have a replacement part in stock and hadnt had an order or sold one in some time

Well while we had the airplane just about completely disassembled we decided to install a few improvements Things like a primer Cessna 150 seats a tail pull handle a new tail wheel bracket new skylights and side windows and then give it a general good look-over

We were pretty busy and it seemed like this was turning into a full-time job I spent some 280 hours doing all these projects Of course the usual Funny Farm visitors kept

popping in See the photo below of Mark Heusdens highly modified Ercoupe with the big fuel tanks and the 0-235 engine installation He has promised us an article on this eightshyyear project along with his jousting with the FAA for certification Plus the usual hangars-on who stopped by to kibitz

There never seems to be a dull moment around here

Then too EAA restoration staff members Gary Buettner and Colin Hildebrandt finished up the Varney Airlines Air Mail Swallow replica and since the United Airlines Historical Foundation of which I am a founding member had underwritten part of that restoration and had restored a similar Swallow many moons ago I was asked to do the FAA flight test program This consisted of fifteen hours in a deSignated area

For you uninitiated ones Varney started the first permanently scheduled Contract Airmail Service in the United States and later merged it with Pacific Boeing and National Air Transports to become United Airlines

It is always a thrill to fly first in a new airplane We did the first half hour checked everything over let it

cool and then did another half hour After about two and a half hours in the pattern we ventured a couple of miles away and then gradually explored the flight envelope

Takeoff performance climb airwork all the stalls and spin entries but no spins The FAA placarded it against spins so we did more glides and landings on pavement grass and more landings

We even did CG limits flight checks both full forward and full aft to see how that went All went very well and it brought back memories and sensations of my time in the United Airlines Swallow some 28 years ago This one flies just like that one now in the Museum of Flight in

Seattle and maybe even a tad better Fifteen hours in an open cockpit is

a long time But we got it done The FAA signed it off and we now have another airplane to fly from the EAA AirVenture Museums Pioneer Airport This one is meant to specifically honor those airmail pilots who started the whole airline industry

If those wonderfully dedicated airmen were alive I wonder what they would say about the state of affairs the airlines find themselves in today

Well tell you what all summer long the aviation books have been piling up Im gonna sit in front of the radiator in my sox and slippers and do some catching up If I fall asleep so much the better

Over to you 78JcJ VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

middot utch and Carol Walsh have been around Stinsons for a long time Avery long time In fact Butch says he

can trace his interest in Stinsons clear back to his childhood

My second airplane ride was in a 108-2 (N389C) and at the time it just seemed as if it was the perfect airplane and the more r was around it the more I liked it he says

Apparen tl y nothing has changed in the intervening years because by his own estimates he

B

10 NOVEMBER 2004

has owned at least 15 Stinson 108s of various models and rebuilt at least 10 In fact Butch spends so much of his time working on Stinshysons and communicating with others who either need his advice or want to purchase his services that many in the field have elshyevated him to the exalted status of guru He is the Papa Smurf of 108 Stinsons and the go-to guy for all things having to do with restoring and flying the breed

The attachment many people feel for specific types of airplanes is sometimes difficult to explain

although it always seems pershyfectly clear to them In the case of the postwar 4-place 108 cershytainly part of the attraction has to be a combination of a number of factors For one thing the price on the airplanes has lagged beshyhind some of the more popular airplanes but the ability of the 108 to carry four people in luxury and style is unquestioned Plus the Stinsons are legendary in the smooth feeling of their controls a benefit of ball or needle bearshyings being used everywhere that might generate friction

The Grand Champion Classic

ofEAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

Butch Walshs Stinson 108-2

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Butch at the controls of his favorite airplane

Butch says I bought my first Stinson a 108-2 in the early 1970s and we still have it today My daughter Terri learned to fly and got her certificate in it and her two daughters Mikayla and Ann-Clair ages 7 and 5 are logging time in a booster seat on the right side and Papa works the pedals So we alshyready have three generations flying the same airplane It is an absolute part of the family

Butch showed up at Sun n Fun 12 NOVEMBER 2004

2004 with a 108-2 that was new to many of his Stinson friends

This airplane is the result of one of those chance encounters that happen to all of us he explains We were at Oshkosh about four years ago with a -3 and were stayshying in the dorms I was involved in a conversation about Stinsons when one of the fellows looked me in the face and said Do you want to buy a Stinson I was a little surshyprised but followed up on it

The airplane was a project loshycated in Florida I went down and looked at it and it really wasnt a very good project It was totally disshyassembled and had been apart long enough and moved around enough times that it had accumulated a fair amount of moving damage Its very hard to move an airplane without inflicting some kind of damage on it and the more you move it the more damage it will accumulate

Butch decided to buy the airshyplane and trucked it up to his base in Arrington Virginia

Every project has its good and

bad pOints and one of the good points of this airplane was that it was fairly stock One of the bad points was the engine which was mostly junk I trashed the case and crank and basically came out with a cam and a carburetor

The panel wasnt too bad and amazingly enough the glove comshypartment area hadnt been butchshyered to put radios in it The original glove compartment doors are really hard to find There is a really good reproduction door available but well its just not original so I dont like to use them

When I rebuilt the panel I put the top part back as close to origishynal as I could including matching original instruments where posshysible I did the rest of the interior in original fabric which is available from a company that has some of the original material and keeps it in an environmentally controlled storage area so it doesnt change color or deteriorate

As is usually the case with an airshyplane that has spent a lot of time on

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

how we built up to a perfect finish we received the plywood we The wings as many of you know would check it for proper moisture were all wood with plywood covershy content then store it in a homeshying plus balloon cloth Before the made moisture control room It wing was covered it was checked was checked again before applishyfor conformity with a wing section cation to the wing I have forgot shyjig then the top layers of skin were ten the moisture content we used attached We did not use nailing strips but inshystead drove the nails into the plywood itself We would have all the panshyels laid out with the nails started only through the tip Then they (the skins) were positioned on the wing with the glue holdshying them in place Now the Wood Butchers Symshyphony would begin Six wood butchers armed with their hammers would start the nailing procedure which was the secret in making a twoshyway curve with woodshywith no wrinkles They would strike each only once and each man knew the sequence of drivshying each nail This same procedure applied to the flaps and ailerons After the trimming and after the glue had set up the wings went to the paint shop for 3 spray coats of full strength varnish The first coat was sprayed at 800 am the second at noon and the third at 500 pm The masked-off bottom panels were also sprayed at this time After the bottom panels were nailed in place and trimmed the wings went back to the dope shop for covering and final paint

The dope sloberers would use a power sander to grind all the nail heads down flush and shape the wing to a perfect contour Next came the varnish We would cut the varnish 50-50 with Toluol and rub it into the wing to act as a sealer This was the secret to pershyfectly formed wings

Let me back track here when NOVEMBER 2004

out a couple more menThis company publicity photo depicts Benny Howards last delivery of an aircraft as president of the company

and myoId factory records were destroyed by an over-ambitious housekeeper who shall remain nameless here

After the varnish dried we sprayed 2 cross coats of clear dope on the wood surfaces for bondshying of the balloon cloth After the wings were brought up through silver we let them age or dry along with the fuselage and tail group for 2 weeks or more depending on schedule Now the hard work started We would sand the whole airplane down flat so all the tapes were hidden We had a hard time training and keeping sandshyers We did not use sanding blocks

as a sanding block cant feel sharp edges tapes rib stitching etc As a result the skin on a sanders finshygers wou ld become so thin they would bleed BELIEVE-YOU-ME I know-many a Howard has my blood in it We would repeat this

process after the final coat

Now came the finis perfection From 1936 through 37 we hand rubbed our surfaces to a super gloss but from late 37early 38 we buffed them with a 2-speed bufshyfer Th is was a tricky opshyeration as it was really easy to burn the finish when you used the high gear Brother you had better know your busishyness or you bought yourshyself an airplane We also applied the wax with the buffer The master bufshyfer was Eddie Brooks He was the one who checked me out on the buffer even though I was the foreman Eddie and I put the final finish on all the Howards up to late 1940 when we checked

This bu ffing operation was not only tricky but somewhat dangerous

In th e high-speed mode it genershyated a vacuum between the surface and the pad You had to make sure there was nothing in the path of this vacuum

I learned the hard way 1 was a cocky young show-off I had just finished buffing a fuselage and was standing back admiring my workshyand decided to put just a little more gloss at the tail end of the fuselage I sprinkled the fuselage with the compound and started in with quick sweeps then it hapshypened

I sucked in the nav light wire hanging out the back of the fuseshylage I tore hell out of every thingshy

6

fabric wire and metal bulkhead Well needless to say that took care of my cockiness I shook for two days after that but my first thought was that of getting fired Cutting off my arms would have been less painful than being fired from Howard Aircraft To make a long story short I stayed at the plant all night and repaired my damage so the airplane could go into final assembly by morning There was no Watergate covershyup the whole plant knew it and I got ribbed about it for a long time That buffer was dangerous and thats why we didnt check anyshybody else out for a long time

We built the production airshyplanes just like Benny built the Flannigan We would assemble evshyerything but the wings at the facshytory then truck the wings and tow the fuselage to the final assembly and flight test

The hangar we used for final assembly was myoid alma mater Bluebird Air Transport which in turn had taken over the Texaco hangar In the early days only a couple of men went with the airshyplane for flight test but as we built more airplanes the hangar became a full-size department My younger brother Frank worked on final asshysembly as a foreman at the plant and the hangar

We had our ups and downs fishynancially from the day the plant opened until the day it closed The year of 1939 was bad so bad that it looked like it was going to close One day the word came down that we were shutting down until 3 or 4 orders were received I knew some people at Beechcraft so 4 other guys and myself took off for Wichita in my new Dodge only to find that Beech and Cessna were in the same shape as Howshyard Aircraft Cessna was building manure spreaders to stay open We went to Stearman and here I got hired but not my buddies I had a couple of days to get moved so I drove back to Chicago that night

During the drive we talked about Howard Beech etc and we deshycided thhell with Wichita we were sticking with Howard When we arrived back home my mother said Howard is looking for you to come back to work

When I arrived at the plant it was all hustle and bustle Slim Freitag and JD Reed of Houston Texas had come in with a fistful of orders JD has sold just about every oil company in Texas a Howshyard This was the break Howard needed From then on Howard was on sound footing BD DeshyWeese left Stinson and came on as manager and later became presishydent He was responsible for conshyverting many Stinson customers to Howards

We expanded the plant and proshyduction went from one a month to one a week I was promoted to asshysistant plant superintendent at this time and George Lyons became plant superintendent Mr Earl Ewing the original plant superinshytendent went with Bell Aircraft in Buffalo New York Then came the nightmare the Model 18 the low wing trainer I will devote a sepashyrate chapter to the 18 story

Working for Howard Aircraft was rewarding in many ways Most rewarding was the privilege of working with the super star craftsmen of the industry I met all of the top people in the aircraft manufacturing business famous people in government movie stars and many of the countrys leading businessmen Ill never forget the day I met Wallace Beery Mr Beery was en route to Detroit to purchase a new Stinson Reliant and as he was changing planes in Chicago he saw Walt Diaber taking off on a test flight with a new Howard Beery turned to one of the airport employees and asked Whats that The fellow replied Thats a Howard

What attracted Beerys attention was the angle of climb Diaber like Benny Howard had a pattern for

every takeoff With Walt it was break ground and climb at about a 45-degree or SO-degree angle up to about 3000 or 4000 feet

Beery watched the Howard go out of sight then went in and canshycelled his flight to Detroit In a few minutes he arrived at the factory and just walked into the sub assemshybly department and started looking around Before the day was out Mr Wallace ordered a Wasp-powered Model 11 and Stinson had lost another sale thanks largely to the performance of a Howard A short time later Beerys pilot arrived at the plant to follow the building of his new airplane Wallace Beery was an excellent pilot but his movie contracts required that he have a professional pilot on board When he took delivery of his new 11 he threw a huge party for the whole plant He really loved the Howard and when the new Model 15 was available he traded the 11 for a 15 His 15 was a special airshyplane that later helped up secure the Navy contract

Beery loved to hunt He wanted an airplane that he could camp in and with room enough to fly home his catch This meant some kind of fold-down seat that could be conshyverted into a bed The final version was a fold back seat which was later used as a stretcher in the amshybulance Navy Howards When the new airplane was completed Beery came to the factory for a checkout and he and Benny went riding in his new 15

That was the last airplane Benny Howard delivered as president of the company Mr B D DeWesse beshycame president after that delivery Benny never recovered finanCially after the Mulligan accident As I said earlier the plant was running on borrowed money right from the beginning It started out as Ben O Howard and Associates then the Paul H Davis group got involved and it became Howard Aircraft Company One of the early invesshy

continued on page 32

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

DOUG STEWART

Sport pilot is here Well it finally happened The

moment that so many pilots had been waiting for arrived a few days before the opening of EAA AirVenture Oshshykosh 2004 It had been in the works for several years undergoing a variety of revisions and changes Many of us in the pilot community had given up hope that it would ever happen at all But a few short days before the beginshyning of that wonderful gathering of pilots and airplanes in Oshkosh the FAA announced that the final ruling for the new sport pilotlight-sport airshycraft had been Signed The sounds of jubilant cheering could be heard in hangars in airport lounges in EAA Chapter rooms all across this great land of ours

I too joined in that cheering I know many folks who would now be able to fly once again or for that matshyter for the first time ever as certificated pilots However I did have some resshyervations During the run of EAA AirshyVenture I had many opportunities to meet with the movers and shakers of the sport pilot rule to answer my growshying list of questions but one nagging problem still remained Ill get to that problem in a moment but first let s look at the rule as I understand it

The new ruling became effective September 1 2004 On that day any certificated pilot who had a current flight review (a flight review signed off within the previous 24 calendar months) could now fly an aircraft that qualified under the rules as a lightshysport aircraft without a medical cershytificate provided that the pilot held a current drivers license and also that the pilot had not had his or her last

NOVEMBER 2004

application for an FAA medical cershytificate denied or revoked This meant that any pilot who had let his or her medical certificate expire without reshynewing it could once again take wing If the pilot was not current he or she could fly once again as soon as a flight review had been completed

The ruling as finally published also increased the maximum gross weight limit from 1230 pounds to 1320 With that increase of 900 pounds to the weight limit several more Vintage aircraft entered the fold of the light-sport aircraft envelope The rule now allows pilots to fly withshyout a medical certificate the following certificated airplanes (This list is not 100 percent all inclusive but it does include almost all of the vintage airshycraft I am aware of that can be flown as light-sport)

Aeronca everything from the C up to and including the Champs (7AC BCM CCM and DC) the L3s and the Chiefs (llAC amp BC) Ercoupe 415 C and CD Piper J-2 and all the J-3 variants the L-4s J-4 and J4F the PA-ll -15 and -17 and the NE-1 and 2 Taylorcraft virtually all of them exshycept the F series (19 and up) Portershyfield CP35 35 - 70 35V CP 40 50 55 and LP - 65 and Interstate S-lA S-lA-65F 85F 90F and the S-l Cadet

This is a rather substantial list and whereas it does leave out some wonderful aircraft that we would all have loved to see included like the Cessna 120 140 and 150 and theJ-5 (not only because it is too heavy but also because it seats three people) it certainly allows pilots with a sport pilot certificate (or the private pilot

with a drivers license medical) to take to the sky in some of the neatest and available aircraft in our aviation heritage And all of them save for the Ercoupes have the little wheel in the back

Now to get to the nagging probshylem that I have I know that some of the aircraft that can now be flown might have been sitting idle for a while in some cases quite a while And we all know that one of the worst things we can do to an airplane is to let it sit idle (never mind what sitting idle does to pilots) But that is not the problem I know that there are some mechanics out there who might pashyper whip an annual inspection but when it comes to tube and fabric I reshyally dont think there are any mechanshyics who would risk their livelihood by signing off a vintage airplane that wasnt airworthy

Heres where my problem lies many of the pilots that are eager to take to the air once again might have accrued more rust than those longeron tubes hidden by some resilient Cecoshynite The skills a pilot needs to keep a light aircraft going straight on the ground when the wind is blowing from the side and the little wheel is in the back of the airplane might have atrophied not to mention that there has probably been an increase in the reaction times of many of these pilots

All pilots need to fly is a current flight review (still referred to by most as a BFR) The review as mandated by the FAA is merely one hour of flight and one hour of ground While there are some instructors who might sign some

continued on page 24

8

EE BUCK HILBERT

Well now that we have it apart Gee whiz November is here I

know I did a fall color tour of upstate New York and the Finger Lakes area but what happened to summer

Oh yeah there was EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004 That was a good one Then there was Brodhead Wisconsin with lots of antiques and the Old-Fashioned EAA Fly-In at Rock Falls Illinois

Other than that it seems like all I did was work on that Cessna 120 of ours

When we went to put the lifting eyes in the spar carry-through we found cracks Big ones And that necessitated immediate action Had we continued to fly who knows We might have been the first to arrive at the scene of the accident So we fixed it

I had never encountered this before in a Cessna although Ive since had people tell me it has been a problem in the past It couldnt have been too much of a problem Cessna didn t have a replacement part in stock and hadnt had an order or sold one in some time

Well while we had the airplane just about completely disassembled we decided to install a few improvements Things like a primer Cessna 150 seats a tail pull handle a new tail wheel bracket new skylights and side windows and then give it a general good look-over

We were pretty busy and it seemed like this was turning into a full-time job I spent some 280 hours doing all these projects Of course the usual Funny Farm visitors kept

popping in See the photo below of Mark Heusdens highly modified Ercoupe with the big fuel tanks and the 0-235 engine installation He has promised us an article on this eightshyyear project along with his jousting with the FAA for certification Plus the usual hangars-on who stopped by to kibitz

There never seems to be a dull moment around here

Then too EAA restoration staff members Gary Buettner and Colin Hildebrandt finished up the Varney Airlines Air Mail Swallow replica and since the United Airlines Historical Foundation of which I am a founding member had underwritten part of that restoration and had restored a similar Swallow many moons ago I was asked to do the FAA flight test program This consisted of fifteen hours in a deSignated area

For you uninitiated ones Varney started the first permanently scheduled Contract Airmail Service in the United States and later merged it with Pacific Boeing and National Air Transports to become United Airlines

It is always a thrill to fly first in a new airplane We did the first half hour checked everything over let it

cool and then did another half hour After about two and a half hours in the pattern we ventured a couple of miles away and then gradually explored the flight envelope

Takeoff performance climb airwork all the stalls and spin entries but no spins The FAA placarded it against spins so we did more glides and landings on pavement grass and more landings

We even did CG limits flight checks both full forward and full aft to see how that went All went very well and it brought back memories and sensations of my time in the United Airlines Swallow some 28 years ago This one flies just like that one now in the Museum of Flight in

Seattle and maybe even a tad better Fifteen hours in an open cockpit is

a long time But we got it done The FAA signed it off and we now have another airplane to fly from the EAA AirVenture Museums Pioneer Airport This one is meant to specifically honor those airmail pilots who started the whole airline industry

If those wonderfully dedicated airmen were alive I wonder what they would say about the state of affairs the airlines find themselves in today

Well tell you what all summer long the aviation books have been piling up Im gonna sit in front of the radiator in my sox and slippers and do some catching up If I fall asleep so much the better

Over to you 78JcJ VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

middot utch and Carol Walsh have been around Stinsons for a long time Avery long time In fact Butch says he

can trace his interest in Stinsons clear back to his childhood

My second airplane ride was in a 108-2 (N389C) and at the time it just seemed as if it was the perfect airplane and the more r was around it the more I liked it he says

Apparen tl y nothing has changed in the intervening years because by his own estimates he

B

10 NOVEMBER 2004

has owned at least 15 Stinson 108s of various models and rebuilt at least 10 In fact Butch spends so much of his time working on Stinshysons and communicating with others who either need his advice or want to purchase his services that many in the field have elshyevated him to the exalted status of guru He is the Papa Smurf of 108 Stinsons and the go-to guy for all things having to do with restoring and flying the breed

The attachment many people feel for specific types of airplanes is sometimes difficult to explain

although it always seems pershyfectly clear to them In the case of the postwar 4-place 108 cershytainly part of the attraction has to be a combination of a number of factors For one thing the price on the airplanes has lagged beshyhind some of the more popular airplanes but the ability of the 108 to carry four people in luxury and style is unquestioned Plus the Stinsons are legendary in the smooth feeling of their controls a benefit of ball or needle bearshyings being used everywhere that might generate friction

The Grand Champion Classic

ofEAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

Butch Walshs Stinson 108-2

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Butch at the controls of his favorite airplane

Butch says I bought my first Stinson a 108-2 in the early 1970s and we still have it today My daughter Terri learned to fly and got her certificate in it and her two daughters Mikayla and Ann-Clair ages 7 and 5 are logging time in a booster seat on the right side and Papa works the pedals So we alshyready have three generations flying the same airplane It is an absolute part of the family

Butch showed up at Sun n Fun 12 NOVEMBER 2004

2004 with a 108-2 that was new to many of his Stinson friends

This airplane is the result of one of those chance encounters that happen to all of us he explains We were at Oshkosh about four years ago with a -3 and were stayshying in the dorms I was involved in a conversation about Stinsons when one of the fellows looked me in the face and said Do you want to buy a Stinson I was a little surshyprised but followed up on it

The airplane was a project loshycated in Florida I went down and looked at it and it really wasnt a very good project It was totally disshyassembled and had been apart long enough and moved around enough times that it had accumulated a fair amount of moving damage Its very hard to move an airplane without inflicting some kind of damage on it and the more you move it the more damage it will accumulate

Butch decided to buy the airshyplane and trucked it up to his base in Arrington Virginia

Every project has its good and

bad pOints and one of the good points of this airplane was that it was fairly stock One of the bad points was the engine which was mostly junk I trashed the case and crank and basically came out with a cam and a carburetor

The panel wasnt too bad and amazingly enough the glove comshypartment area hadnt been butchshyered to put radios in it The original glove compartment doors are really hard to find There is a really good reproduction door available but well its just not original so I dont like to use them

When I rebuilt the panel I put the top part back as close to origishynal as I could including matching original instruments where posshysible I did the rest of the interior in original fabric which is available from a company that has some of the original material and keeps it in an environmentally controlled storage area so it doesnt change color or deteriorate

As is usually the case with an airshyplane that has spent a lot of time on

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

fabric wire and metal bulkhead Well needless to say that took care of my cockiness I shook for two days after that but my first thought was that of getting fired Cutting off my arms would have been less painful than being fired from Howard Aircraft To make a long story short I stayed at the plant all night and repaired my damage so the airplane could go into final assembly by morning There was no Watergate covershyup the whole plant knew it and I got ribbed about it for a long time That buffer was dangerous and thats why we didnt check anyshybody else out for a long time

We built the production airshyplanes just like Benny built the Flannigan We would assemble evshyerything but the wings at the facshytory then truck the wings and tow the fuselage to the final assembly and flight test

The hangar we used for final assembly was myoid alma mater Bluebird Air Transport which in turn had taken over the Texaco hangar In the early days only a couple of men went with the airshyplane for flight test but as we built more airplanes the hangar became a full-size department My younger brother Frank worked on final asshysembly as a foreman at the plant and the hangar

We had our ups and downs fishynancially from the day the plant opened until the day it closed The year of 1939 was bad so bad that it looked like it was going to close One day the word came down that we were shutting down until 3 or 4 orders were received I knew some people at Beechcraft so 4 other guys and myself took off for Wichita in my new Dodge only to find that Beech and Cessna were in the same shape as Howshyard Aircraft Cessna was building manure spreaders to stay open We went to Stearman and here I got hired but not my buddies I had a couple of days to get moved so I drove back to Chicago that night

During the drive we talked about Howard Beech etc and we deshycided thhell with Wichita we were sticking with Howard When we arrived back home my mother said Howard is looking for you to come back to work

When I arrived at the plant it was all hustle and bustle Slim Freitag and JD Reed of Houston Texas had come in with a fistful of orders JD has sold just about every oil company in Texas a Howshyard This was the break Howard needed From then on Howard was on sound footing BD DeshyWeese left Stinson and came on as manager and later became presishydent He was responsible for conshyverting many Stinson customers to Howards

We expanded the plant and proshyduction went from one a month to one a week I was promoted to asshysistant plant superintendent at this time and George Lyons became plant superintendent Mr Earl Ewing the original plant superinshytendent went with Bell Aircraft in Buffalo New York Then came the nightmare the Model 18 the low wing trainer I will devote a sepashyrate chapter to the 18 story

Working for Howard Aircraft was rewarding in many ways Most rewarding was the privilege of working with the super star craftsmen of the industry I met all of the top people in the aircraft manufacturing business famous people in government movie stars and many of the countrys leading businessmen Ill never forget the day I met Wallace Beery Mr Beery was en route to Detroit to purchase a new Stinson Reliant and as he was changing planes in Chicago he saw Walt Diaber taking off on a test flight with a new Howard Beery turned to one of the airport employees and asked Whats that The fellow replied Thats a Howard

What attracted Beerys attention was the angle of climb Diaber like Benny Howard had a pattern for

every takeoff With Walt it was break ground and climb at about a 45-degree or SO-degree angle up to about 3000 or 4000 feet

Beery watched the Howard go out of sight then went in and canshycelled his flight to Detroit In a few minutes he arrived at the factory and just walked into the sub assemshybly department and started looking around Before the day was out Mr Wallace ordered a Wasp-powered Model 11 and Stinson had lost another sale thanks largely to the performance of a Howard A short time later Beerys pilot arrived at the plant to follow the building of his new airplane Wallace Beery was an excellent pilot but his movie contracts required that he have a professional pilot on board When he took delivery of his new 11 he threw a huge party for the whole plant He really loved the Howard and when the new Model 15 was available he traded the 11 for a 15 His 15 was a special airshyplane that later helped up secure the Navy contract

Beery loved to hunt He wanted an airplane that he could camp in and with room enough to fly home his catch This meant some kind of fold-down seat that could be conshyverted into a bed The final version was a fold back seat which was later used as a stretcher in the amshybulance Navy Howards When the new airplane was completed Beery came to the factory for a checkout and he and Benny went riding in his new 15

That was the last airplane Benny Howard delivered as president of the company Mr B D DeWesse beshycame president after that delivery Benny never recovered finanCially after the Mulligan accident As I said earlier the plant was running on borrowed money right from the beginning It started out as Ben O Howard and Associates then the Paul H Davis group got involved and it became Howard Aircraft Company One of the early invesshy

continued on page 32

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

DOUG STEWART

Sport pilot is here Well it finally happened The

moment that so many pilots had been waiting for arrived a few days before the opening of EAA AirVenture Oshshykosh 2004 It had been in the works for several years undergoing a variety of revisions and changes Many of us in the pilot community had given up hope that it would ever happen at all But a few short days before the beginshyning of that wonderful gathering of pilots and airplanes in Oshkosh the FAA announced that the final ruling for the new sport pilotlight-sport airshycraft had been Signed The sounds of jubilant cheering could be heard in hangars in airport lounges in EAA Chapter rooms all across this great land of ours

I too joined in that cheering I know many folks who would now be able to fly once again or for that matshyter for the first time ever as certificated pilots However I did have some resshyervations During the run of EAA AirshyVenture I had many opportunities to meet with the movers and shakers of the sport pilot rule to answer my growshying list of questions but one nagging problem still remained Ill get to that problem in a moment but first let s look at the rule as I understand it

The new ruling became effective September 1 2004 On that day any certificated pilot who had a current flight review (a flight review signed off within the previous 24 calendar months) could now fly an aircraft that qualified under the rules as a lightshysport aircraft without a medical cershytificate provided that the pilot held a current drivers license and also that the pilot had not had his or her last

NOVEMBER 2004

application for an FAA medical cershytificate denied or revoked This meant that any pilot who had let his or her medical certificate expire without reshynewing it could once again take wing If the pilot was not current he or she could fly once again as soon as a flight review had been completed

The ruling as finally published also increased the maximum gross weight limit from 1230 pounds to 1320 With that increase of 900 pounds to the weight limit several more Vintage aircraft entered the fold of the light-sport aircraft envelope The rule now allows pilots to fly withshyout a medical certificate the following certificated airplanes (This list is not 100 percent all inclusive but it does include almost all of the vintage airshycraft I am aware of that can be flown as light-sport)

Aeronca everything from the C up to and including the Champs (7AC BCM CCM and DC) the L3s and the Chiefs (llAC amp BC) Ercoupe 415 C and CD Piper J-2 and all the J-3 variants the L-4s J-4 and J4F the PA-ll -15 and -17 and the NE-1 and 2 Taylorcraft virtually all of them exshycept the F series (19 and up) Portershyfield CP35 35 - 70 35V CP 40 50 55 and LP - 65 and Interstate S-lA S-lA-65F 85F 90F and the S-l Cadet

This is a rather substantial list and whereas it does leave out some wonderful aircraft that we would all have loved to see included like the Cessna 120 140 and 150 and theJ-5 (not only because it is too heavy but also because it seats three people) it certainly allows pilots with a sport pilot certificate (or the private pilot

with a drivers license medical) to take to the sky in some of the neatest and available aircraft in our aviation heritage And all of them save for the Ercoupes have the little wheel in the back

Now to get to the nagging probshylem that I have I know that some of the aircraft that can now be flown might have been sitting idle for a while in some cases quite a while And we all know that one of the worst things we can do to an airplane is to let it sit idle (never mind what sitting idle does to pilots) But that is not the problem I know that there are some mechanics out there who might pashyper whip an annual inspection but when it comes to tube and fabric I reshyally dont think there are any mechanshyics who would risk their livelihood by signing off a vintage airplane that wasnt airworthy

Heres where my problem lies many of the pilots that are eager to take to the air once again might have accrued more rust than those longeron tubes hidden by some resilient Cecoshynite The skills a pilot needs to keep a light aircraft going straight on the ground when the wind is blowing from the side and the little wheel is in the back of the airplane might have atrophied not to mention that there has probably been an increase in the reaction times of many of these pilots

All pilots need to fly is a current flight review (still referred to by most as a BFR) The review as mandated by the FAA is merely one hour of flight and one hour of ground While there are some instructors who might sign some

continued on page 24

8

EE BUCK HILBERT

Well now that we have it apart Gee whiz November is here I

know I did a fall color tour of upstate New York and the Finger Lakes area but what happened to summer

Oh yeah there was EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004 That was a good one Then there was Brodhead Wisconsin with lots of antiques and the Old-Fashioned EAA Fly-In at Rock Falls Illinois

Other than that it seems like all I did was work on that Cessna 120 of ours

When we went to put the lifting eyes in the spar carry-through we found cracks Big ones And that necessitated immediate action Had we continued to fly who knows We might have been the first to arrive at the scene of the accident So we fixed it

I had never encountered this before in a Cessna although Ive since had people tell me it has been a problem in the past It couldnt have been too much of a problem Cessna didn t have a replacement part in stock and hadnt had an order or sold one in some time

Well while we had the airplane just about completely disassembled we decided to install a few improvements Things like a primer Cessna 150 seats a tail pull handle a new tail wheel bracket new skylights and side windows and then give it a general good look-over

We were pretty busy and it seemed like this was turning into a full-time job I spent some 280 hours doing all these projects Of course the usual Funny Farm visitors kept

popping in See the photo below of Mark Heusdens highly modified Ercoupe with the big fuel tanks and the 0-235 engine installation He has promised us an article on this eightshyyear project along with his jousting with the FAA for certification Plus the usual hangars-on who stopped by to kibitz

There never seems to be a dull moment around here

Then too EAA restoration staff members Gary Buettner and Colin Hildebrandt finished up the Varney Airlines Air Mail Swallow replica and since the United Airlines Historical Foundation of which I am a founding member had underwritten part of that restoration and had restored a similar Swallow many moons ago I was asked to do the FAA flight test program This consisted of fifteen hours in a deSignated area

For you uninitiated ones Varney started the first permanently scheduled Contract Airmail Service in the United States and later merged it with Pacific Boeing and National Air Transports to become United Airlines

It is always a thrill to fly first in a new airplane We did the first half hour checked everything over let it

cool and then did another half hour After about two and a half hours in the pattern we ventured a couple of miles away and then gradually explored the flight envelope

Takeoff performance climb airwork all the stalls and spin entries but no spins The FAA placarded it against spins so we did more glides and landings on pavement grass and more landings

We even did CG limits flight checks both full forward and full aft to see how that went All went very well and it brought back memories and sensations of my time in the United Airlines Swallow some 28 years ago This one flies just like that one now in the Museum of Flight in

Seattle and maybe even a tad better Fifteen hours in an open cockpit is

a long time But we got it done The FAA signed it off and we now have another airplane to fly from the EAA AirVenture Museums Pioneer Airport This one is meant to specifically honor those airmail pilots who started the whole airline industry

If those wonderfully dedicated airmen were alive I wonder what they would say about the state of affairs the airlines find themselves in today

Well tell you what all summer long the aviation books have been piling up Im gonna sit in front of the radiator in my sox and slippers and do some catching up If I fall asleep so much the better

Over to you 78JcJ VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

middot utch and Carol Walsh have been around Stinsons for a long time Avery long time In fact Butch says he

can trace his interest in Stinsons clear back to his childhood

My second airplane ride was in a 108-2 (N389C) and at the time it just seemed as if it was the perfect airplane and the more r was around it the more I liked it he says

Apparen tl y nothing has changed in the intervening years because by his own estimates he

B

10 NOVEMBER 2004

has owned at least 15 Stinson 108s of various models and rebuilt at least 10 In fact Butch spends so much of his time working on Stinshysons and communicating with others who either need his advice or want to purchase his services that many in the field have elshyevated him to the exalted status of guru He is the Papa Smurf of 108 Stinsons and the go-to guy for all things having to do with restoring and flying the breed

The attachment many people feel for specific types of airplanes is sometimes difficult to explain

although it always seems pershyfectly clear to them In the case of the postwar 4-place 108 cershytainly part of the attraction has to be a combination of a number of factors For one thing the price on the airplanes has lagged beshyhind some of the more popular airplanes but the ability of the 108 to carry four people in luxury and style is unquestioned Plus the Stinsons are legendary in the smooth feeling of their controls a benefit of ball or needle bearshyings being used everywhere that might generate friction

The Grand Champion Classic

ofEAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

Butch Walshs Stinson 108-2

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Butch at the controls of his favorite airplane

Butch says I bought my first Stinson a 108-2 in the early 1970s and we still have it today My daughter Terri learned to fly and got her certificate in it and her two daughters Mikayla and Ann-Clair ages 7 and 5 are logging time in a booster seat on the right side and Papa works the pedals So we alshyready have three generations flying the same airplane It is an absolute part of the family

Butch showed up at Sun n Fun 12 NOVEMBER 2004

2004 with a 108-2 that was new to many of his Stinson friends

This airplane is the result of one of those chance encounters that happen to all of us he explains We were at Oshkosh about four years ago with a -3 and were stayshying in the dorms I was involved in a conversation about Stinsons when one of the fellows looked me in the face and said Do you want to buy a Stinson I was a little surshyprised but followed up on it

The airplane was a project loshycated in Florida I went down and looked at it and it really wasnt a very good project It was totally disshyassembled and had been apart long enough and moved around enough times that it had accumulated a fair amount of moving damage Its very hard to move an airplane without inflicting some kind of damage on it and the more you move it the more damage it will accumulate

Butch decided to buy the airshyplane and trucked it up to his base in Arrington Virginia

Every project has its good and

bad pOints and one of the good points of this airplane was that it was fairly stock One of the bad points was the engine which was mostly junk I trashed the case and crank and basically came out with a cam and a carburetor

The panel wasnt too bad and amazingly enough the glove comshypartment area hadnt been butchshyered to put radios in it The original glove compartment doors are really hard to find There is a really good reproduction door available but well its just not original so I dont like to use them

When I rebuilt the panel I put the top part back as close to origishynal as I could including matching original instruments where posshysible I did the rest of the interior in original fabric which is available from a company that has some of the original material and keeps it in an environmentally controlled storage area so it doesnt change color or deteriorate

As is usually the case with an airshyplane that has spent a lot of time on

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

DOUG STEWART

Sport pilot is here Well it finally happened The

moment that so many pilots had been waiting for arrived a few days before the opening of EAA AirVenture Oshshykosh 2004 It had been in the works for several years undergoing a variety of revisions and changes Many of us in the pilot community had given up hope that it would ever happen at all But a few short days before the beginshyning of that wonderful gathering of pilots and airplanes in Oshkosh the FAA announced that the final ruling for the new sport pilotlight-sport airshycraft had been Signed The sounds of jubilant cheering could be heard in hangars in airport lounges in EAA Chapter rooms all across this great land of ours

I too joined in that cheering I know many folks who would now be able to fly once again or for that matshyter for the first time ever as certificated pilots However I did have some resshyervations During the run of EAA AirshyVenture I had many opportunities to meet with the movers and shakers of the sport pilot rule to answer my growshying list of questions but one nagging problem still remained Ill get to that problem in a moment but first let s look at the rule as I understand it

The new ruling became effective September 1 2004 On that day any certificated pilot who had a current flight review (a flight review signed off within the previous 24 calendar months) could now fly an aircraft that qualified under the rules as a lightshysport aircraft without a medical cershytificate provided that the pilot held a current drivers license and also that the pilot had not had his or her last

NOVEMBER 2004

application for an FAA medical cershytificate denied or revoked This meant that any pilot who had let his or her medical certificate expire without reshynewing it could once again take wing If the pilot was not current he or she could fly once again as soon as a flight review had been completed

The ruling as finally published also increased the maximum gross weight limit from 1230 pounds to 1320 With that increase of 900 pounds to the weight limit several more Vintage aircraft entered the fold of the light-sport aircraft envelope The rule now allows pilots to fly withshyout a medical certificate the following certificated airplanes (This list is not 100 percent all inclusive but it does include almost all of the vintage airshycraft I am aware of that can be flown as light-sport)

Aeronca everything from the C up to and including the Champs (7AC BCM CCM and DC) the L3s and the Chiefs (llAC amp BC) Ercoupe 415 C and CD Piper J-2 and all the J-3 variants the L-4s J-4 and J4F the PA-ll -15 and -17 and the NE-1 and 2 Taylorcraft virtually all of them exshycept the F series (19 and up) Portershyfield CP35 35 - 70 35V CP 40 50 55 and LP - 65 and Interstate S-lA S-lA-65F 85F 90F and the S-l Cadet

This is a rather substantial list and whereas it does leave out some wonderful aircraft that we would all have loved to see included like the Cessna 120 140 and 150 and theJ-5 (not only because it is too heavy but also because it seats three people) it certainly allows pilots with a sport pilot certificate (or the private pilot

with a drivers license medical) to take to the sky in some of the neatest and available aircraft in our aviation heritage And all of them save for the Ercoupes have the little wheel in the back

Now to get to the nagging probshylem that I have I know that some of the aircraft that can now be flown might have been sitting idle for a while in some cases quite a while And we all know that one of the worst things we can do to an airplane is to let it sit idle (never mind what sitting idle does to pilots) But that is not the problem I know that there are some mechanics out there who might pashyper whip an annual inspection but when it comes to tube and fabric I reshyally dont think there are any mechanshyics who would risk their livelihood by signing off a vintage airplane that wasnt airworthy

Heres where my problem lies many of the pilots that are eager to take to the air once again might have accrued more rust than those longeron tubes hidden by some resilient Cecoshynite The skills a pilot needs to keep a light aircraft going straight on the ground when the wind is blowing from the side and the little wheel is in the back of the airplane might have atrophied not to mention that there has probably been an increase in the reaction times of many of these pilots

All pilots need to fly is a current flight review (still referred to by most as a BFR) The review as mandated by the FAA is merely one hour of flight and one hour of ground While there are some instructors who might sign some

continued on page 24

8

EE BUCK HILBERT

Well now that we have it apart Gee whiz November is here I

know I did a fall color tour of upstate New York and the Finger Lakes area but what happened to summer

Oh yeah there was EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004 That was a good one Then there was Brodhead Wisconsin with lots of antiques and the Old-Fashioned EAA Fly-In at Rock Falls Illinois

Other than that it seems like all I did was work on that Cessna 120 of ours

When we went to put the lifting eyes in the spar carry-through we found cracks Big ones And that necessitated immediate action Had we continued to fly who knows We might have been the first to arrive at the scene of the accident So we fixed it

I had never encountered this before in a Cessna although Ive since had people tell me it has been a problem in the past It couldnt have been too much of a problem Cessna didn t have a replacement part in stock and hadnt had an order or sold one in some time

Well while we had the airplane just about completely disassembled we decided to install a few improvements Things like a primer Cessna 150 seats a tail pull handle a new tail wheel bracket new skylights and side windows and then give it a general good look-over

We were pretty busy and it seemed like this was turning into a full-time job I spent some 280 hours doing all these projects Of course the usual Funny Farm visitors kept

popping in See the photo below of Mark Heusdens highly modified Ercoupe with the big fuel tanks and the 0-235 engine installation He has promised us an article on this eightshyyear project along with his jousting with the FAA for certification Plus the usual hangars-on who stopped by to kibitz

There never seems to be a dull moment around here

Then too EAA restoration staff members Gary Buettner and Colin Hildebrandt finished up the Varney Airlines Air Mail Swallow replica and since the United Airlines Historical Foundation of which I am a founding member had underwritten part of that restoration and had restored a similar Swallow many moons ago I was asked to do the FAA flight test program This consisted of fifteen hours in a deSignated area

For you uninitiated ones Varney started the first permanently scheduled Contract Airmail Service in the United States and later merged it with Pacific Boeing and National Air Transports to become United Airlines

It is always a thrill to fly first in a new airplane We did the first half hour checked everything over let it

cool and then did another half hour After about two and a half hours in the pattern we ventured a couple of miles away and then gradually explored the flight envelope

Takeoff performance climb airwork all the stalls and spin entries but no spins The FAA placarded it against spins so we did more glides and landings on pavement grass and more landings

We even did CG limits flight checks both full forward and full aft to see how that went All went very well and it brought back memories and sensations of my time in the United Airlines Swallow some 28 years ago This one flies just like that one now in the Museum of Flight in

Seattle and maybe even a tad better Fifteen hours in an open cockpit is

a long time But we got it done The FAA signed it off and we now have another airplane to fly from the EAA AirVenture Museums Pioneer Airport This one is meant to specifically honor those airmail pilots who started the whole airline industry

If those wonderfully dedicated airmen were alive I wonder what they would say about the state of affairs the airlines find themselves in today

Well tell you what all summer long the aviation books have been piling up Im gonna sit in front of the radiator in my sox and slippers and do some catching up If I fall asleep so much the better

Over to you 78JcJ VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

middot utch and Carol Walsh have been around Stinsons for a long time Avery long time In fact Butch says he

can trace his interest in Stinsons clear back to his childhood

My second airplane ride was in a 108-2 (N389C) and at the time it just seemed as if it was the perfect airplane and the more r was around it the more I liked it he says

Apparen tl y nothing has changed in the intervening years because by his own estimates he

B

10 NOVEMBER 2004

has owned at least 15 Stinson 108s of various models and rebuilt at least 10 In fact Butch spends so much of his time working on Stinshysons and communicating with others who either need his advice or want to purchase his services that many in the field have elshyevated him to the exalted status of guru He is the Papa Smurf of 108 Stinsons and the go-to guy for all things having to do with restoring and flying the breed

The attachment many people feel for specific types of airplanes is sometimes difficult to explain

although it always seems pershyfectly clear to them In the case of the postwar 4-place 108 cershytainly part of the attraction has to be a combination of a number of factors For one thing the price on the airplanes has lagged beshyhind some of the more popular airplanes but the ability of the 108 to carry four people in luxury and style is unquestioned Plus the Stinsons are legendary in the smooth feeling of their controls a benefit of ball or needle bearshyings being used everywhere that might generate friction

The Grand Champion Classic

ofEAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

Butch Walshs Stinson 108-2

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Butch at the controls of his favorite airplane

Butch says I bought my first Stinson a 108-2 in the early 1970s and we still have it today My daughter Terri learned to fly and got her certificate in it and her two daughters Mikayla and Ann-Clair ages 7 and 5 are logging time in a booster seat on the right side and Papa works the pedals So we alshyready have three generations flying the same airplane It is an absolute part of the family

Butch showed up at Sun n Fun 12 NOVEMBER 2004

2004 with a 108-2 that was new to many of his Stinson friends

This airplane is the result of one of those chance encounters that happen to all of us he explains We were at Oshkosh about four years ago with a -3 and were stayshying in the dorms I was involved in a conversation about Stinsons when one of the fellows looked me in the face and said Do you want to buy a Stinson I was a little surshyprised but followed up on it

The airplane was a project loshycated in Florida I went down and looked at it and it really wasnt a very good project It was totally disshyassembled and had been apart long enough and moved around enough times that it had accumulated a fair amount of moving damage Its very hard to move an airplane without inflicting some kind of damage on it and the more you move it the more damage it will accumulate

Butch decided to buy the airshyplane and trucked it up to his base in Arrington Virginia

Every project has its good and

bad pOints and one of the good points of this airplane was that it was fairly stock One of the bad points was the engine which was mostly junk I trashed the case and crank and basically came out with a cam and a carburetor

The panel wasnt too bad and amazingly enough the glove comshypartment area hadnt been butchshyered to put radios in it The original glove compartment doors are really hard to find There is a really good reproduction door available but well its just not original so I dont like to use them

When I rebuilt the panel I put the top part back as close to origishynal as I could including matching original instruments where posshysible I did the rest of the interior in original fabric which is available from a company that has some of the original material and keeps it in an environmentally controlled storage area so it doesnt change color or deteriorate

As is usually the case with an airshyplane that has spent a lot of time on

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

EE BUCK HILBERT

Well now that we have it apart Gee whiz November is here I

know I did a fall color tour of upstate New York and the Finger Lakes area but what happened to summer

Oh yeah there was EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004 That was a good one Then there was Brodhead Wisconsin with lots of antiques and the Old-Fashioned EAA Fly-In at Rock Falls Illinois

Other than that it seems like all I did was work on that Cessna 120 of ours

When we went to put the lifting eyes in the spar carry-through we found cracks Big ones And that necessitated immediate action Had we continued to fly who knows We might have been the first to arrive at the scene of the accident So we fixed it

I had never encountered this before in a Cessna although Ive since had people tell me it has been a problem in the past It couldnt have been too much of a problem Cessna didn t have a replacement part in stock and hadnt had an order or sold one in some time

Well while we had the airplane just about completely disassembled we decided to install a few improvements Things like a primer Cessna 150 seats a tail pull handle a new tail wheel bracket new skylights and side windows and then give it a general good look-over

We were pretty busy and it seemed like this was turning into a full-time job I spent some 280 hours doing all these projects Of course the usual Funny Farm visitors kept

popping in See the photo below of Mark Heusdens highly modified Ercoupe with the big fuel tanks and the 0-235 engine installation He has promised us an article on this eightshyyear project along with his jousting with the FAA for certification Plus the usual hangars-on who stopped by to kibitz

There never seems to be a dull moment around here

Then too EAA restoration staff members Gary Buettner and Colin Hildebrandt finished up the Varney Airlines Air Mail Swallow replica and since the United Airlines Historical Foundation of which I am a founding member had underwritten part of that restoration and had restored a similar Swallow many moons ago I was asked to do the FAA flight test program This consisted of fifteen hours in a deSignated area

For you uninitiated ones Varney started the first permanently scheduled Contract Airmail Service in the United States and later merged it with Pacific Boeing and National Air Transports to become United Airlines

It is always a thrill to fly first in a new airplane We did the first half hour checked everything over let it

cool and then did another half hour After about two and a half hours in the pattern we ventured a couple of miles away and then gradually explored the flight envelope

Takeoff performance climb airwork all the stalls and spin entries but no spins The FAA placarded it against spins so we did more glides and landings on pavement grass and more landings

We even did CG limits flight checks both full forward and full aft to see how that went All went very well and it brought back memories and sensations of my time in the United Airlines Swallow some 28 years ago This one flies just like that one now in the Museum of Flight in

Seattle and maybe even a tad better Fifteen hours in an open cockpit is

a long time But we got it done The FAA signed it off and we now have another airplane to fly from the EAA AirVenture Museums Pioneer Airport This one is meant to specifically honor those airmail pilots who started the whole airline industry

If those wonderfully dedicated airmen were alive I wonder what they would say about the state of affairs the airlines find themselves in today

Well tell you what all summer long the aviation books have been piling up Im gonna sit in front of the radiator in my sox and slippers and do some catching up If I fall asleep so much the better

Over to you 78JcJ VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

middot utch and Carol Walsh have been around Stinsons for a long time Avery long time In fact Butch says he

can trace his interest in Stinsons clear back to his childhood

My second airplane ride was in a 108-2 (N389C) and at the time it just seemed as if it was the perfect airplane and the more r was around it the more I liked it he says

Apparen tl y nothing has changed in the intervening years because by his own estimates he

B

10 NOVEMBER 2004

has owned at least 15 Stinson 108s of various models and rebuilt at least 10 In fact Butch spends so much of his time working on Stinshysons and communicating with others who either need his advice or want to purchase his services that many in the field have elshyevated him to the exalted status of guru He is the Papa Smurf of 108 Stinsons and the go-to guy for all things having to do with restoring and flying the breed

The attachment many people feel for specific types of airplanes is sometimes difficult to explain

although it always seems pershyfectly clear to them In the case of the postwar 4-place 108 cershytainly part of the attraction has to be a combination of a number of factors For one thing the price on the airplanes has lagged beshyhind some of the more popular airplanes but the ability of the 108 to carry four people in luxury and style is unquestioned Plus the Stinsons are legendary in the smooth feeling of their controls a benefit of ball or needle bearshyings being used everywhere that might generate friction

The Grand Champion Classic

ofEAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

Butch Walshs Stinson 108-2

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Butch at the controls of his favorite airplane

Butch says I bought my first Stinson a 108-2 in the early 1970s and we still have it today My daughter Terri learned to fly and got her certificate in it and her two daughters Mikayla and Ann-Clair ages 7 and 5 are logging time in a booster seat on the right side and Papa works the pedals So we alshyready have three generations flying the same airplane It is an absolute part of the family

Butch showed up at Sun n Fun 12 NOVEMBER 2004

2004 with a 108-2 that was new to many of his Stinson friends

This airplane is the result of one of those chance encounters that happen to all of us he explains We were at Oshkosh about four years ago with a -3 and were stayshying in the dorms I was involved in a conversation about Stinsons when one of the fellows looked me in the face and said Do you want to buy a Stinson I was a little surshyprised but followed up on it

The airplane was a project loshycated in Florida I went down and looked at it and it really wasnt a very good project It was totally disshyassembled and had been apart long enough and moved around enough times that it had accumulated a fair amount of moving damage Its very hard to move an airplane without inflicting some kind of damage on it and the more you move it the more damage it will accumulate

Butch decided to buy the airshyplane and trucked it up to his base in Arrington Virginia

Every project has its good and

bad pOints and one of the good points of this airplane was that it was fairly stock One of the bad points was the engine which was mostly junk I trashed the case and crank and basically came out with a cam and a carburetor

The panel wasnt too bad and amazingly enough the glove comshypartment area hadnt been butchshyered to put radios in it The original glove compartment doors are really hard to find There is a really good reproduction door available but well its just not original so I dont like to use them

When I rebuilt the panel I put the top part back as close to origishynal as I could including matching original instruments where posshysible I did the rest of the interior in original fabric which is available from a company that has some of the original material and keeps it in an environmentally controlled storage area so it doesnt change color or deteriorate

As is usually the case with an airshyplane that has spent a lot of time on

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

middot utch and Carol Walsh have been around Stinsons for a long time Avery long time In fact Butch says he

can trace his interest in Stinsons clear back to his childhood

My second airplane ride was in a 108-2 (N389C) and at the time it just seemed as if it was the perfect airplane and the more r was around it the more I liked it he says

Apparen tl y nothing has changed in the intervening years because by his own estimates he

B

10 NOVEMBER 2004

has owned at least 15 Stinson 108s of various models and rebuilt at least 10 In fact Butch spends so much of his time working on Stinshysons and communicating with others who either need his advice or want to purchase his services that many in the field have elshyevated him to the exalted status of guru He is the Papa Smurf of 108 Stinsons and the go-to guy for all things having to do with restoring and flying the breed

The attachment many people feel for specific types of airplanes is sometimes difficult to explain

although it always seems pershyfectly clear to them In the case of the postwar 4-place 108 cershytainly part of the attraction has to be a combination of a number of factors For one thing the price on the airplanes has lagged beshyhind some of the more popular airplanes but the ability of the 108 to carry four people in luxury and style is unquestioned Plus the Stinsons are legendary in the smooth feeling of their controls a benefit of ball or needle bearshyings being used everywhere that might generate friction

The Grand Champion Classic

ofEAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

Butch Walshs Stinson 108-2

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Butch at the controls of his favorite airplane

Butch says I bought my first Stinson a 108-2 in the early 1970s and we still have it today My daughter Terri learned to fly and got her certificate in it and her two daughters Mikayla and Ann-Clair ages 7 and 5 are logging time in a booster seat on the right side and Papa works the pedals So we alshyready have three generations flying the same airplane It is an absolute part of the family

Butch showed up at Sun n Fun 12 NOVEMBER 2004

2004 with a 108-2 that was new to many of his Stinson friends

This airplane is the result of one of those chance encounters that happen to all of us he explains We were at Oshkosh about four years ago with a -3 and were stayshying in the dorms I was involved in a conversation about Stinsons when one of the fellows looked me in the face and said Do you want to buy a Stinson I was a little surshyprised but followed up on it

The airplane was a project loshycated in Florida I went down and looked at it and it really wasnt a very good project It was totally disshyassembled and had been apart long enough and moved around enough times that it had accumulated a fair amount of moving damage Its very hard to move an airplane without inflicting some kind of damage on it and the more you move it the more damage it will accumulate

Butch decided to buy the airshyplane and trucked it up to his base in Arrington Virginia

Every project has its good and

bad pOints and one of the good points of this airplane was that it was fairly stock One of the bad points was the engine which was mostly junk I trashed the case and crank and basically came out with a cam and a carburetor

The panel wasnt too bad and amazingly enough the glove comshypartment area hadnt been butchshyered to put radios in it The original glove compartment doors are really hard to find There is a really good reproduction door available but well its just not original so I dont like to use them

When I rebuilt the panel I put the top part back as close to origishynal as I could including matching original instruments where posshysible I did the rest of the interior in original fabric which is available from a company that has some of the original material and keeps it in an environmentally controlled storage area so it doesnt change color or deteriorate

As is usually the case with an airshyplane that has spent a lot of time on

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

The Grand Champion Classic

ofEAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

Butch Walshs Stinson 108-2

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Butch at the controls of his favorite airplane

Butch says I bought my first Stinson a 108-2 in the early 1970s and we still have it today My daughter Terri learned to fly and got her certificate in it and her two daughters Mikayla and Ann-Clair ages 7 and 5 are logging time in a booster seat on the right side and Papa works the pedals So we alshyready have three generations flying the same airplane It is an absolute part of the family

Butch showed up at Sun n Fun 12 NOVEMBER 2004

2004 with a 108-2 that was new to many of his Stinson friends

This airplane is the result of one of those chance encounters that happen to all of us he explains We were at Oshkosh about four years ago with a -3 and were stayshying in the dorms I was involved in a conversation about Stinsons when one of the fellows looked me in the face and said Do you want to buy a Stinson I was a little surshyprised but followed up on it

The airplane was a project loshycated in Florida I went down and looked at it and it really wasnt a very good project It was totally disshyassembled and had been apart long enough and moved around enough times that it had accumulated a fair amount of moving damage Its very hard to move an airplane without inflicting some kind of damage on it and the more you move it the more damage it will accumulate

Butch decided to buy the airshyplane and trucked it up to his base in Arrington Virginia

Every project has its good and

bad pOints and one of the good points of this airplane was that it was fairly stock One of the bad points was the engine which was mostly junk I trashed the case and crank and basically came out with a cam and a carburetor

The panel wasnt too bad and amazingly enough the glove comshypartment area hadnt been butchshyered to put radios in it The original glove compartment doors are really hard to find There is a really good reproduction door available but well its just not original so I dont like to use them

When I rebuilt the panel I put the top part back as close to origishynal as I could including matching original instruments where posshysible I did the rest of the interior in original fabric which is available from a company that has some of the original material and keeps it in an environmentally controlled storage area so it doesnt change color or deteriorate

As is usually the case with an airshyplane that has spent a lot of time on

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

Butch at the controls of his favorite airplane

Butch says I bought my first Stinson a 108-2 in the early 1970s and we still have it today My daughter Terri learned to fly and got her certificate in it and her two daughters Mikayla and Ann-Clair ages 7 and 5 are logging time in a booster seat on the right side and Papa works the pedals So we alshyready have three generations flying the same airplane It is an absolute part of the family

Butch showed up at Sun n Fun 12 NOVEMBER 2004

2004 with a 108-2 that was new to many of his Stinson friends

This airplane is the result of one of those chance encounters that happen to all of us he explains We were at Oshkosh about four years ago with a -3 and were stayshying in the dorms I was involved in a conversation about Stinsons when one of the fellows looked me in the face and said Do you want to buy a Stinson I was a little surshyprised but followed up on it

The airplane was a project loshycated in Florida I went down and looked at it and it really wasnt a very good project It was totally disshyassembled and had been apart long enough and moved around enough times that it had accumulated a fair amount of moving damage Its very hard to move an airplane without inflicting some kind of damage on it and the more you move it the more damage it will accumulate

Butch decided to buy the airshyplane and trucked it up to his base in Arrington Virginia

Every project has its good and

bad pOints and one of the good points of this airplane was that it was fairly stock One of the bad points was the engine which was mostly junk I trashed the case and crank and basically came out with a cam and a carburetor

The panel wasnt too bad and amazingly enough the glove comshypartment area hadnt been butchshyered to put radios in it The original glove compartment doors are really hard to find There is a really good reproduction door available but well its just not original so I dont like to use them

When I rebuilt the panel I put the top part back as close to origishynal as I could including matching original instruments where posshysible I did the rest of the interior in original fabric which is available from a company that has some of the original material and keeps it in an environmentally controlled storage area so it doesnt change color or deteriorate

As is usually the case with an airshyplane that has spent a lot of time on

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

trailers everything made of sheet metal was beat up and good only for patterns or needed extensive rebuilding

liThe boot cowl and cowling were areas where I had most of the parts but couldnt use any of them They were just too bent up The nose bowl was too far gone too The nosebowls were made from soft aluminum and it doesnt take much careless hanshydling to make a mess of them Forshytunately Univair has new nosebowls available I made the top hood pieces myself to be certain of getting a pershyfect fit Stinson spot-welded a lot of their aluminum components so I bought a spot welder Now it s hard to see a repair once Ive done it with the spot welder

Butch has seen so many Stinsons in his day that he knows almost exshyactly what to look for and what to advise other people to inspect when buying an airplane The airplane he had at Sun n Fun is a case study in things to be considered when preparshying to buy or restore a 108 Stinson

I was lucky on this airplane beshycause its never had any gear damage which generally comes from a hard ground loop That usually makes a

()~ ~

~ 2 ~

cr

~

is second to none as this beautifully rebuilt wheelpant and carefully straightened out elevator and trim tab will testify

Butch scoured aviation flea

markets for these old-style inspection

hole covers Each one was cleaned up

and smoothed out so theyd look like this

when done

mess out of the left gear the gear atshytach pOints left wing and aileron

liThe airplane has the same corroshysion andor rust problems all old tailshydraggers have in that the longerons at the rear of the fuselage have to be looked at carefully This airplane was really pretty good in that area but I checked it carefully anyway

liThe control surfaces are one of the Stinsons real problem areas First there s no way you can get in and inspect them So you have to take them apart to inspect them and that requires drilling out a bunch of spot welds and replacing them with flush rivets Keeping them straight while youre doing that is a constant worry

liThe surfaces are also trouble beshycause no one has stepped forward and successfully manufactured accurate skins for the control surshyfaces They were probably formed in a malefemale die that stretch-formed the concave stiffeners withshyout distorting the skin This is a real problem if you want to do a perfect restoration because so many of the control surface skins have been beat up through the years This is espeshycially true on elevators and rudders

This last [location] the rudder trim tab area on a 108-3 is really a toughie because its nearly imposshysible to repair cracks in that area and hide the repair The trailing edge always requires a little doushybler and you can spend a lot of time making that area look right This is especially true now because most Stinsons have already been repaired right there and youre working hard to repair the repair II

As with all machines that are approaching 60 years of age there are certain parts often minor ones once deemed unimportant that loom large in the mind of anyone seeking to do a 100 percent restorashytion of a Stinson 108

Right around the inside edges of the doorjambs the original interior had a little stainless steel strip about 38-inches wide that covered the edge of the upholstery These days youll find longtime Stinson owners who have never even seen one of those strips because they were so fragile and easy to lose over the years Its an impossible piece to make by hand so I just make new doorjambs and run

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

if)

z i ~ I gtshya

sa

The panel ofButchs latest restoration features as many original instruments as possible

the jamb over the edge of the upholshystery It looks good but it drives me nuts because I know its not original

Ive already mentioned the glove box doors An original is like lookshying for hen dentures Another item that only Stinson used are the inshyspection covers They are very idenshytifiable by their four locating-ridges and although you could use normal inspection covers it wouldnt be right These covers are flea market items and dont usually cost much because no one knows what they are I picked up 10 of them at Sun n Fun for 2 bucks a piece

The Franklin engine is always a subject of some discussion for those thinking about a Stinson and Butch has more than his share 14 NOVEMBER 2004

of experience there First of all the Franklin is as

smooth an engine as youll ever ride behind Its only real problems include age and disappearing parts The 1 08 and 108-1 used the earlier lS0-hp light case engine which is more prone to problems than the later 16S-hp version used in the 108-2 and -3 Still parts are so hard to come by that AI Service in Jewshyett Texas (wwwfranklinpartscom) has started having some of the parts made They already have PMAd pistons rings cylinder liners and bearings and are working on new crankshafts and cases There are enough of the old engines still runshyning around out there to make it worth it for them

Those who notice such things would have noticed that Butch and Carol havent been seen much at fly-ins for about 3 years and theres a reason for that which both of them seem very willing to talk about

I was diagnosed with lymshyphoma 3 years ago right after Id put the fabric on this airplane That pretty much occupied all of our thoughts while we tried to figure out how to handle it Thank goodshyness we found our way to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Housshyton They were exactly what we needed and at my last check up I was found to be cancer-free

I got back into the Stinsons about a year ago and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done for myself It gets your mind into things that you can actually do something about and keeps your spirits up Butch says

Carol says I was worried about him because he was putting in 14shyhour days working on Stinsons and helping other people His doctor had an interest in airplanes and I asked him if Butch was working too hard and the doctor said I Abshysolutely not Its the best thing for him We consider the Stinsons to be part of the reason Butch has reshycovered so well

When youre speaking with the Walshes about Stinsons in general and their Stinsons in particular you get an immediate sense that they arent speaking about machines or inanimate objects They speak about the airplanes in the same tone of voice they would in describing a family member and the reason for that is obvious To Butch and Carol the old airplanes are family They have raised their family in and around the airplanes They had joyshyful times and sad times but the airshyplanes have always been there and this means the Walsh family and their descendants will always have a Stinson or two around In fact one of his next projects is rebuilding his original 108-2 N389C one more time before he turns it over to his grandchildren

EAAAirVenture 2004 by HG Frautschy Budd Davisson and Jack Cox

Theres just so much going on during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh that its hard to get it all in one issue of Vintage Airplane Heres more on the amazing airplanes and people who came to Oshkosh this summer

The Antique parking and the start ofaircraft camping were chock full ofgreat airplanes This year the homebuilt area hosted their first campers up in the homebuilt parking area freeing up nearly 120 camping spots in what is now Vintage camping

Tom Dietrich and Steve Gray both ofKitchener Ontario had everyone guessing with their Thruxton Jackaroo Was it a Tiger Moth or not The answer is yes and no As a Tiger Moth it is a veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation then was one of 16 converted to a certified fourshyplace in the late 50s

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

The Grand Champion Antique ofEAA AirVenture 2004 is Frank Schellings Curtiss Jenny a restoration project that has taken nearly twoshythirds ofFranks lifetime to complete His ground crew at the Brodhead Wisconsin airport and at the convention consisted ofRon Price Paul Seibert Frank Schilling pilot Eric Presten and Jerry Impellezzeri

16 NOVEMBER 2004

Get Mugged When they werent busy popping popcorn in the VAA Hospitality center volunteers Sarah Books (right) and her friend Courtney Wright checked your name in the computer and issued you a participants mug ifyou registered your vintage aircraft during AirVenture 2004 Fellow popcorn popper Kathrine Lein (not pictured) was crewing the popper when this shot was taken

I know what youre thinking It sure looks familiar but what is it Its a Sopwith Pup replica with a few twists thrown in Steve Culp ofShreveport Louisiana wanted an air show-capable Sopwith Pup so he built one powered by the Russian 360-hp () M14P radial instead of the original BO-hp LeRhone rotary engine The fuselage is steel tube and the rest of the structure is Pup beefed up as well to take the stresses ofhigh-power aerobatics III intend to use my Sopwith Pup to fly air show aerobatics II says Culp IIA World War I plane with horsepower to spare is going to be an amazing sight to see With its eye-popping color scheme and snarling M14 it should attract a lot ofattention For more information visit wwwculpsspecialtiescom

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

The Grand Champion Antique ofEAA AirVenture 2004 is Frank Schellings Curtiss Jenny a restoration project that has taken nearly twoshythirds ofFranks lifetime to complete His ground crew at the Brodhead Wisconsin airport and at the convention consisted ofRon Price Paul Seibert Frank Schilling pilot Eric Presten and Jerry Impellezzeri

16 NOVEMBER 2004

Get Mugged When they werent busy popping popcorn in the VAA Hospitality center volunteers Sarah Books (right) and her friend Courtney Wright checked your name in the computer and issued you a participants mug ifyou registered your vintage aircraft during AirVenture 2004 Fellow popcorn popper Kathrine Lein (not pictured) was crewing the popper when this shot was taken

I know what youre thinking It sure looks familiar but what is it Its a Sopwith Pup replica with a few twists thrown in Steve Culp ofShreveport Louisiana wanted an air show-capable Sopwith Pup so he built one powered by the Russian 360-hp () M14P radial instead of the original BO-hp LeRhone rotary engine The fuselage is steel tube and the rest of the structure is Pup beefed up as well to take the stresses ofhigh-power aerobatics III intend to use my Sopwith Pup to fly air show aerobatics II says Culp IIA World War I plane with horsepower to spare is going to be an amazing sight to see With its eye-popping color scheme and snarling M14 it should attract a lot ofattention For more information visit wwwculpsspecialtiescom

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I know what youre thinking It sure looks familiar but what is it Its a Sopwith Pup replica with a few twists thrown in Steve Culp ofShreveport Louisiana wanted an air show-capable Sopwith Pup so he built one powered by the Russian 360-hp () M14P radial instead of the original BO-hp LeRhone rotary engine The fuselage is steel tube and the rest of the structure is Pup beefed up as well to take the stresses ofhigh-power aerobatics III intend to use my Sopwith Pup to fly air show aerobatics II says Culp IIA World War I plane with horsepower to spare is going to be an amazing sight to see With its eye-popping color scheme and snarling M14 it should attract a lot ofattention For more information visit wwwculpsspecialtiescom

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

One of the most beautiful and interesting antique airplanes displayed at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004 was Jim Younkins Howard DGA-ll Completed by the Howard factory in Chicago in February of 1938 as a 285-hp Jacobs powered DGA-9 it was converted to a DGA-11 in March of 1946 with the firewall forward installation ofa 450-hp PampW R-985-AN-1 intended for a military DGA-lSP The DGA-15P cowling always offended Jims aesthetic sensibilities however so he recently replaced it with a more rounded DGA-9 style cowling as well as smaller DGAshy89 wheelpants In that configuration he considers NC18207 to be one of the most beautiful airplanes ever conceivedand indeed it was voted the Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Monoplane at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

Meyers 200 airplanes are very popular choices

for those who like high-horsepower highshy

performance vintage airplanes Ben Morphew

ofMcKinney Texas took home the Outstanding

Limited Production Contemporary trophy for his 1964 Meyers 200-C

Dan McNeill flew Craig and Teresa Bairs ultra rare Wings Cub up from its home in York Neshybraska This particular airplane was given away by the Wings Cigarette Company the morning ofDecember 7 1941

18 NOVEMBER 2004

John Drews ofLake Mills WI took said his boat building experience came in handy when doing the many-layered laminations required for the fuselage repairs on his Timm Only three Timms are known to be flying because they deteriorated so quickly

The Falco is usually seen as a homebuilt but Mark Stamsta

Hartland WI brought his factoryshybuilt and fully certified example

to remind us that 75 of them were factory built with production

ending in 1960 His is the only Falco with a standard airworthiness

certificate this side of the Atlantic

Larry Bartell (left) host at the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers and Historians tent listens to Jim Beisner (center) speak about the operation of the Curtiss OXshy5 engine The OX-5 tent is located just west of the VAA Red Barn

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Ice Creamed BROOKS Y EILDI NG

My 1975 Cessna 180J not only is a joy to fly and show off

but also is my ride to work I am a Boeing heavy equipment

operator and often use the Skywagon to

get from my home in Spicewood Texas to

my base at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)

During June 2003 my airplane was

parked on the IAH ramp for three days while I was flying a trip to Japan Unfortunately

Mother Nature chose that time to exhibit one of her summertime displays A

thunderstorm moved across the field and threw out innumerable frozen dive bombs

in the form of marble-sized hail Though

these little ice stones dont weigh much their free fall from jet altitudes will leave

an undesirable impression on aircraft aluminum It was disheartening to have my pride and joy pummeled in an unfair

fight when I wasn t there to protect it In my case the damage was

approximately three hundred dents on all upper surfaces of the aircraft The

dents were uniform in size and varied in

depth and number with the thickness of the skin The control surfaces and the

wing-to-flap interface panel suffered the most damage The wings themselves

and the fuselage had fewer due to their increased thickness

Now what do you do The prevailing thought was that the control surfaces

could be removed and re-skinned The wing and fuselage dents could be filled and then the entire aircraft repainted My airframe and powerplant (AampP) mechanic prepared an estimate and the insurance company sent out an adjuster to inspect the airplane and develop a loss figure We came to terms and I received a check in the mail for the damage

I shrieked at the thought of having Bondo on my airplane Even if I had the

work expertly done as estimated my airplane would still never be the same The new paint job would make the airplane look good out of the shop but what about after some thermal changes and in-flight flexing There had to be a better way I

20 NOVEMBER 2004

started asking around Depth Minimum Deformity Density to see if there were any

(inches) Diameter (deformities per sq ft) alternatives other than

what my AampP and the 004 3 7

insurance company had 003 225 7

offered 002 15 8

I heard that Boeing 001 75 10 lt 001

would electrostatically

reverse the damage but I didnt think they would be too inclined to make it available

for my 180 I also heard that it did not necessarily bring the dent back to perfectly

flush How could it know I was told that some success could be had in the hot

Texas sun with proper application of dry ice pellets Once again what guarantee

was there that the stretched aluminum would return to its original factory shape

After more research I came across Aviation Dent Repair 4901 Chestnut Street

Springfield Missouri 417 860-3740 With 14 years experience in paintless dent repair with automobiles Greg Lacey and Tony Petty decided to apply their expertise to aircraft They began working on airplanes in 1998 They proved their procedure to the FAA by repairing several samples the

FAA had provided and received Repair of Skin Deformities Specification ADRS001 in January 2002

Paintless dent repair primarily uses

pointed leveraging tools to work the metal from the backside into its original shape Adhesive techniques can be used

had a machine that 5 unlimited

on the topside surface but they are not as efficient or effective Not all aircraft

are repairable Aviation Dent Repairs certification is for dents up to 3 inches

in diameter depending on depth and deformations per square foot (see chart)

Beyond these limits the alum inum

is stretched too far to be renewed Thousands of hail dents will most likely

lead to a total loss of the aircraft since re-skinning the entire airplane would be the only option The age and condition of the paint will also affect the appearance of the repaired airplane I sent Greg

some photographs and a drawing with an approximate dent count He determined that my plane was repairable under his authorization and sent me a repair quote

Aviation Dent Repair does have mobile service however on-site services of an AampP mechanic are required to gain internal

access to the damaged areas I elected to fly the airplane to Springfield (SGF) where Aviation Dent Repair uses the excellent facilities of Worldwide Aircraft Services

continued on page 25

FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Take flight with the 2005 VAA Calendar This beautiful oversize 17xll-inch calendar

will make a great gift for all aviation enthusiasts Reserve your 2005 VAA Calendar today

Only

$1495 Plus $495 ShippingHandling

Call Toll Free

1-800-788-3350 VISAMASTERCARD ACCEPTED

Or Online

wwwturnerpublishingcom

~

John Drews ofLake Mills WI took said his boat building experience came in handy when doing the many-layered laminations required for the fuselage repairs on his Timm Only three Timms are known to be flying because they deteriorated so quickly

The Falco is usually seen as a homebuilt but Mark Stamsta

Hartland WI brought his factoryshybuilt and fully certified example

to remind us that 75 of them were factory built with production

ending in 1960 His is the only Falco with a standard airworthiness

certificate this side of the Atlantic

Larry Bartell (left) host at the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers and Historians tent listens to Jim Beisner (center) speak about the operation of the Curtiss OXshy5 engine The OX-5 tent is located just west of the VAA Red Barn

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Ice Creamed BROOKS Y EILDI NG

My 1975 Cessna 180J not only is a joy to fly and show off

but also is my ride to work I am a Boeing heavy equipment

operator and often use the Skywagon to

get from my home in Spicewood Texas to

my base at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)

During June 2003 my airplane was

parked on the IAH ramp for three days while I was flying a trip to Japan Unfortunately

Mother Nature chose that time to exhibit one of her summertime displays A

thunderstorm moved across the field and threw out innumerable frozen dive bombs

in the form of marble-sized hail Though

these little ice stones dont weigh much their free fall from jet altitudes will leave

an undesirable impression on aircraft aluminum It was disheartening to have my pride and joy pummeled in an unfair

fight when I wasn t there to protect it In my case the damage was

approximately three hundred dents on all upper surfaces of the aircraft The

dents were uniform in size and varied in

depth and number with the thickness of the skin The control surfaces and the

wing-to-flap interface panel suffered the most damage The wings themselves

and the fuselage had fewer due to their increased thickness

Now what do you do The prevailing thought was that the control surfaces

could be removed and re-skinned The wing and fuselage dents could be filled and then the entire aircraft repainted My airframe and powerplant (AampP) mechanic prepared an estimate and the insurance company sent out an adjuster to inspect the airplane and develop a loss figure We came to terms and I received a check in the mail for the damage

I shrieked at the thought of having Bondo on my airplane Even if I had the

work expertly done as estimated my airplane would still never be the same The new paint job would make the airplane look good out of the shop but what about after some thermal changes and in-flight flexing There had to be a better way I

20 NOVEMBER 2004

started asking around Depth Minimum Deformity Density to see if there were any

(inches) Diameter (deformities per sq ft) alternatives other than

what my AampP and the 004 3 7

insurance company had 003 225 7

offered 002 15 8

I heard that Boeing 001 75 10 lt 001

would electrostatically

reverse the damage but I didnt think they would be too inclined to make it available

for my 180 I also heard that it did not necessarily bring the dent back to perfectly

flush How could it know I was told that some success could be had in the hot

Texas sun with proper application of dry ice pellets Once again what guarantee

was there that the stretched aluminum would return to its original factory shape

After more research I came across Aviation Dent Repair 4901 Chestnut Street

Springfield Missouri 417 860-3740 With 14 years experience in paintless dent repair with automobiles Greg Lacey and Tony Petty decided to apply their expertise to aircraft They began working on airplanes in 1998 They proved their procedure to the FAA by repairing several samples the

FAA had provided and received Repair of Skin Deformities Specification ADRS001 in January 2002

Paintless dent repair primarily uses

pointed leveraging tools to work the metal from the backside into its original shape Adhesive techniques can be used

had a machine that 5 unlimited

on the topside surface but they are not as efficient or effective Not all aircraft

are repairable Aviation Dent Repairs certification is for dents up to 3 inches

in diameter depending on depth and deformations per square foot (see chart)

Beyond these limits the alum inum

is stretched too far to be renewed Thousands of hail dents will most likely

lead to a total loss of the aircraft since re-skinning the entire airplane would be the only option The age and condition of the paint will also affect the appearance of the repaired airplane I sent Greg

some photographs and a drawing with an approximate dent count He determined that my plane was repairable under his authorization and sent me a repair quote

Aviation Dent Repair does have mobile service however on-site services of an AampP mechanic are required to gain internal

access to the damaged areas I elected to fly the airplane to Springfield (SGF) where Aviation Dent Repair uses the excellent facilities of Worldwide Aircraft Services

continued on page 25

FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Take flight with the 2005 VAA Calendar This beautiful oversize 17xll-inch calendar

will make a great gift for all aviation enthusiasts Reserve your 2005 VAA Calendar today

Only

$1495 Plus $495 ShippingHandling

Call Toll Free

1-800-788-3350 VISAMASTERCARD ACCEPTED

Or Online

wwwturnerpublishingcom

~

Ice Creamed BROOKS Y EILDI NG

My 1975 Cessna 180J not only is a joy to fly and show off

but also is my ride to work I am a Boeing heavy equipment

operator and often use the Skywagon to

get from my home in Spicewood Texas to

my base at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)

During June 2003 my airplane was

parked on the IAH ramp for three days while I was flying a trip to Japan Unfortunately

Mother Nature chose that time to exhibit one of her summertime displays A

thunderstorm moved across the field and threw out innumerable frozen dive bombs

in the form of marble-sized hail Though

these little ice stones dont weigh much their free fall from jet altitudes will leave

an undesirable impression on aircraft aluminum It was disheartening to have my pride and joy pummeled in an unfair

fight when I wasn t there to protect it In my case the damage was

approximately three hundred dents on all upper surfaces of the aircraft The

dents were uniform in size and varied in

depth and number with the thickness of the skin The control surfaces and the

wing-to-flap interface panel suffered the most damage The wings themselves

and the fuselage had fewer due to their increased thickness

Now what do you do The prevailing thought was that the control surfaces

could be removed and re-skinned The wing and fuselage dents could be filled and then the entire aircraft repainted My airframe and powerplant (AampP) mechanic prepared an estimate and the insurance company sent out an adjuster to inspect the airplane and develop a loss figure We came to terms and I received a check in the mail for the damage

I shrieked at the thought of having Bondo on my airplane Even if I had the

work expertly done as estimated my airplane would still never be the same The new paint job would make the airplane look good out of the shop but what about after some thermal changes and in-flight flexing There had to be a better way I

20 NOVEMBER 2004

started asking around Depth Minimum Deformity Density to see if there were any

(inches) Diameter (deformities per sq ft) alternatives other than

what my AampP and the 004 3 7

insurance company had 003 225 7

offered 002 15 8

I heard that Boeing 001 75 10 lt 001

would electrostatically

reverse the damage but I didnt think they would be too inclined to make it available

for my 180 I also heard that it did not necessarily bring the dent back to perfectly

flush How could it know I was told that some success could be had in the hot

Texas sun with proper application of dry ice pellets Once again what guarantee

was there that the stretched aluminum would return to its original factory shape

After more research I came across Aviation Dent Repair 4901 Chestnut Street

Springfield Missouri 417 860-3740 With 14 years experience in paintless dent repair with automobiles Greg Lacey and Tony Petty decided to apply their expertise to aircraft They began working on airplanes in 1998 They proved their procedure to the FAA by repairing several samples the

FAA had provided and received Repair of Skin Deformities Specification ADRS001 in January 2002

Paintless dent repair primarily uses

pointed leveraging tools to work the metal from the backside into its original shape Adhesive techniques can be used

had a machine that 5 unlimited

on the topside surface but they are not as efficient or effective Not all aircraft

are repairable Aviation Dent Repairs certification is for dents up to 3 inches

in diameter depending on depth and deformations per square foot (see chart)

Beyond these limits the alum inum

is stretched too far to be renewed Thousands of hail dents will most likely

lead to a total loss of the aircraft since re-skinning the entire airplane would be the only option The age and condition of the paint will also affect the appearance of the repaired airplane I sent Greg

some photographs and a drawing with an approximate dent count He determined that my plane was repairable under his authorization and sent me a repair quote

Aviation Dent Repair does have mobile service however on-site services of an AampP mechanic are required to gain internal

access to the damaged areas I elected to fly the airplane to Springfield (SGF) where Aviation Dent Repair uses the excellent facilities of Worldwide Aircraft Services

continued on page 25

FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Take flight with the 2005 VAA Calendar This beautiful oversize 17xll-inch calendar

will make a great gift for all aviation enthusiasts Reserve your 2005 VAA Calendar today

Only

$1495 Plus $495 ShippingHandling

Call Toll Free

1-800-788-3350 VISAMASTERCARD ACCEPTED

Or Online

wwwturnerpublishingcom

~

FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Take flight with the 2005 VAA Calendar This beautiful oversize 17xll-inch calendar

will make a great gift for all aviation enthusiasts Reserve your 2005 VAA Calendar today

Only

$1495 Plus $495 ShippingHandling

Call Toll Free

1-800-788-3350 VISAMASTERCARD ACCEPTED

Or Online

wwwturnerpublishingcom

~

BY HG FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTHS MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US FROM THE COLLECTION OF VAA

MEMBER ANNA PENNINGTON

Send your answer to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Your answer needs to be in no later than December 10 for inclusion in the February 2005 issue of Vintage Airplane

You can also send your response via e-mail Dont forget weve got a new e-mail address for you to use when sending in your response Send your answer to mysteryplaneeaaorg Be sure to include your name plus your city and state in the body of your note and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

AUGUST S MYSTERY ANSWER

Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia wrote this short note to identify our August Mystery Plane

The Mystery Plane shown in the AIgust 2004 issue o(the Vintage Airplane is a Hess Bluebird It was a three-place airplane powered by a 180-hp Hisso engine It sold for $2675 flyaway at Wyandotte M ichigan It was built as you might imagine by the Hess Aircraft Company Wyandotte Michigan

Another correct answer was received from Bill Koelling Great Bend Kansas 22 NOVEMBER 2004

I saved enough on my new to pay for a lifetime EAA

Membership and a new GPS RG EAA Member

New Jersey

er ~eeognltlon

VEHICLE DISCOUNT PLAN

As a partner with Ford Motor Company EM is proud to offer their members the opportunity to save on the purchase or lease of Ford Lincoln Mercury Mazda Volvo Land Rover and Jaguar vehicles

You can save hundreds even thousands of dollars

In more ways than one it pays to be an EM member Take advantage of the Ford Partner Recognition Vehicle Discount Plan The simple way to save money on your next vehicle purchase

Get your personal identification number (PIN) from the EAA website (wwweaaorg) by clicking on the EAAFord Program logo You must be an EAA Member for 1 year to be eligible This offer is available to residents of the United States and Canada Certain restrictions apply Please refer to wwweaaorg or call 800-843-3612

VOLVO S rnazca ffiLINCOLN ~_ ~MERCURY JAGUAR

VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR continued from page 8

of these pilots off with just that minishymum required amoun t of review the vast majority of flight instructors particshyularly those who specialize in tailwheel instruction will be sure the student is truly ready even though it may require more time-this is what you want as a soon-to-be pilot in command

So if you are one of those pilots that has been longing to stretch your wings after time spent ground-bound as a result of an expired medical certificate if you are one of those pilots eager to return to the air remember that those finely honed skills you once had might not have their sharp edge any more I know that we all love to use the proverbial bicycle II analogy when it comes to flying and in many cases it is true but there is also the saying use it or lose it and in just as many cases this is true as well

So when you choose an instrucshytor to conduct your flight review dont expect that instructor to be content to just log the minimum required time rather be glad that the instructor you have is being sure you have refreshed the knowledge and skills you need to safely take flight

Pick one that will make it a little tougher Dont choose a calm day to conshyduct your review but wait for a windy gusty day Hopefully you will spend a bit more time than just the required two hours Pick an instructor who will sharpen your skills back to where they once were or perhaps even beyond Pick an instructor who will ensure that there is no corrosion left in your ski lls Pick one who will use a punch II test over every inch of the fabric covering your airmanship It will definitely be worth every extra minute spent in the trainshying as well as every extra penny

And now I can get back to the cheering Hooray To those of you who are getting back into the cockpit to fly as pilot in command after a forced hiatus due to an expired medical welshycome back We have missed you

Doug flies a 1947 PA-12 He is the 2004 National Certifi cated Fligh t Instructor of the Year Visit his webshysite wwwdsflightcom

24 NOVEMBER 2004

The following list of coming events is furnished to our readers as a matter of information only and does not constishytute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction of any event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed To

r s~~~-c- JU_ submit an event send the information

via mail to Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Or e-mail the information to vintageeaaorg Inforshymation should be received four months prior to the event date

NOVEMBER 4-Madison WI-Blackhawk Airport (87Y) EAA Chapter 93 Annual Chili Fly-In 11 am - 200 pm Info Jim zflieraol com

JULY 25-31 200S-0shkosh WI-EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005 Note date change wwwairventureorg

Something to buy sell or trade Classified Word Ads $550 per 10 words 180 words maximum with boldface leadshy

in on first line

Classified Display Ads One column wide (2167 inches) by 1 2 or 3 inches high at $20 per inch Black and white only and no frequency discounts

Advertising Closing Dates 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (ie

January 10 is the closing date for the March issue) VM reserves the right to reject any

advertising in conflict with its policies Rates cover one insertion 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 (classadseaaorg) using credit card payment (all cards accepted) Include name on card complete address type of card card

number and expiration date Make checks payable to EM Address advertising correspondence to EM Publications Classified Ad Manager PO 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 ramremfgaolcom Website wwwramenginecom VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS N 604 FREYA ST SPOKANE WA 99202

Airplane T-Shirts 150 Different Airplanes Available

WE PROBABLY HAVE YOUR AIRPLANE

wwwairplanetshirtscom 1-800-645-7739

THERES JUST NOTHING LIKE IT ON THE WEB

wwwaviation-giftshopcom A Website with the Pilot in Mind (and those who love airplanes)

Warner engines Two 165s one fresh OH one low time on Fairch ild 24 mount with all accessories Also Helton Lark and Aeronca C-3 project Find my name and address in the Officers and Directors listing and call evenings E E Buck Hilbert

Flying wires available 1994 pricing Visit wwwflyingwirescom or call 800-517 -9278

For Sale - 1939 Spartan Executive 3500TT 10 SMOH 214-354-6418

1993 Geodesic Quonset manual cheap 27 ft x 155 ft 1 x 4 wood Also math notes physics topology seismology wwwchalknsateorg

Dent Repair had Greg would go back to his shop and make one I spent an enjoyable two days in nearby Branson Missouri

while the boys applied their artistry to my airplane s al uminum Although the logbook shows that my airplane has had some light hail damage that has been repaired you wo uld never know by looking at it My recent paint job is intact and nothing has been added to the airframe In fact she even lost a little weight from the side effect of having some of those pesky Texas mud dauber nests removed from unseen areas I th ink the airspeed indicator showed that its a knot faster without the dents or perhaps it was just wishful thinking on my part It sure looked and felt sleeker I flew home with a renewed grin even though it was the aircraft that just had the face-lift

First impressions last a lifetime so put these bring back the good times ew General Aviation Sizes Available

500 x 5 600 x 6 700 x 8

Oesser has the largest stock and selection of Vintage and Warbird tires in the world Contact us with

Just Uke in the Good Old Days

AD the Randolph products aD the Randolph colors aD the Randolph quality An aviation icon is back on the market again to stay

800-362-3490~ Or e-mail us at info ~ randolphaircraftcom ~

~~

Ice Creamed continued from page 20

Upon arrival in snowy SGF I was greeted by Bart Nelson the shop manager at Worldwide Aircraft Services He helped stow the aircraft in the heated hangar and then put Kenny Meier to work removing all the control surfaces and inspection panels This is required to get access to the underside of the surfaces of the wings and the stabilizer Depending on the aircraft and as in my case with the Cessna some rivets may have to be removed to gain access to any dents in the trailing edges of the elevators Simple rivet touch-up painting is all that is required at the end of the work

After the control surfaces were removed Greg his son Jason Tony Petty and Brent Martin went to work dent by dent returning the Skywagon to its former glory All aircraft are different and each one has its own unique internal structure If a particular dent could not be reached with any of the approximately 75 tools that Aviation

AERO CLASSIC COLLECTOR SERI ES

Vintage Tires New USA Production

Show off your pride and joy with a fresh set of Vintage Rubber These newly minted tires are FAA-TSOd and speed rated to 120 MPH Some things are better left the way they

were and in the 40 s and 50s these tires were perfectly in tune to the exciting times in aviation Not only do these tires set your vintage plane apart from the rest but also look exceptional on all General Aviation aircraft Deep 832nd tread depth offers above average tread life and UV treated rubber resists aging

VIN TAGE AIRP L ANE 25

Flight Control Cables Custom Manufactured

Each Cable is Proof Load Tested and Prestretched for Stability

Quick D elivery Reasonable Prices Certification to MIL-T-6117

amp MIL-C-5688A 1 16 to 14 Certified Bulk Cable and

Fittings are Available

--McFalane Aviation Products

McFarlane Aviation Inc 696 E 1700 Road

Baldwin City KS 66006 800-544-8594

Fax 785-594-3922 wwwmcfarlane-aviationcom

salesmcfarlane-aviationcom

[ ~ -shy_

EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION

SHARE YOUR INTEREST IN PRESERVING

AND PROTECTING OUR AVIATION HERITAGE BECOME A PART OF VAA

AND RECEIVE 12 COLORFUL AND INFORMAshy

TIVE ISSUES OF VINTAGE A IRPLANE PLUS

GAIN ACCESS TO THE MOST SUCCESSFUL INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR VINTAGE

AIRPLANES ANYWHERE

DUES ARE ONLY $36 PER YEAR IF YOURE ALshyREADY AN EAA MEMBER OR AS LOW AS $46 TO

JOIN BOTH EAA AND VAA

JOIN TODAY 800-322-241 2

TAKE SOME OF THE EXPERIMENTING

OUT OF HOMEBUILDING

Nov 6-7

Dec 3-5

jan21-23

jan 29-30

jan 25-27

Griffin GA

(Atlanta Area)

Corona CA

Griffin GA

(Atlanta Area)

Oshkosh WI

Griffin GA (Atlanta Area)

bull Sheet Metal Basics Fabric Covering

bull Electrical Systems and Avionics

bull Finishing and Spray Painting

bull RV Assembly

bull TIC Welding

bull Sheet Metal Basics bull Fabric Covering

bull Composite Construction

bull Electrical Systems and Avionics

bull Cas Welding

bull Test Flying Your Project

bull TIC Welding

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

YOU CAN BUILD IT LET EAA TEACH YOU HOW 26 N OVEMBER 2004

Flight Control Cables Custom Manufactured

Each Cable is Proof Load Tested and Prestretched for Stability

Quick D elivery Reasonable Prices Certification to MIL-T-6117

amp MIL-C-5688A 1 16 to 14 Certified Bulk Cable and

Fittings are Available

--McFalane Aviation Products

McFarlane Aviation Inc 696 E 1700 Road

Baldwin City KS 66006 800-544-8594

Fax 785-594-3922 wwwmcfarlane-aviationcom

salesmcfarlane-aviationcom

[ ~ -shy_

EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION

SHARE YOUR INTEREST IN PRESERVING

AND PROTECTING OUR AVIATION HERITAGE BECOME A PART OF VAA

AND RECEIVE 12 COLORFUL AND INFORMAshy

TIVE ISSUES OF VINTAGE A IRPLANE PLUS

GAIN ACCESS TO THE MOST SUCCESSFUL INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR VINTAGE

AIRPLANES ANYWHERE

DUES ARE ONLY $36 PER YEAR IF YOURE ALshyREADY AN EAA MEMBER OR AS LOW AS $46 TO

JOIN BOTH EAA AND VAA

JOIN TODAY 800-322-241 2

TAKE SOME OF THE EXPERIMENTING

OUT OF HOMEBUILDING

Nov 6-7

Dec 3-5

jan21-23

jan 29-30

jan 25-27

Griffin GA

(Atlanta Area)

Corona CA

Griffin GA

(Atlanta Area)

Oshkosh WI

Griffin GA (Atlanta Area)

bull Sheet Metal Basics Fabric Covering

bull Electrical Systems and Avionics

bull Finishing and Spray Painting

bull RV Assembly

bull TIC Welding

bull Sheet Metal Basics bull Fabric Covering

bull Composite Construction

bull Electrical Systems and Avionics

bull Cas Welding

bull Test Flying Your Project

bull TIC Welding

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

YOU CAN BUILD IT LET EAA TEACH YOU HOW 26 N OVEMBER 2004

Former US Navy flight surgeon

Retired from private neurosurgery practice in 1988

Spent seven years restoring Waco EGC8 cabin bi-plane

Won Grand Champion at Coso Grande Antique Fly-In 2000

I My Waco EGC8 cabin bi-plane has been

covered by AUA since its first flight1

- William Nelson MD

AUA i~ Vintag~ Aircah Ass~ci~ti~n appoved To become a member of VAA call 8oomiddot843middot36J2

AUAs Exclusive EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Insurance Program Lower liability and hull premiums

Medical payments included Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages No hand-propping exclusion

No component parts endorsements Discounts for claim-free renewals carrying all risk coverages

- its FREE

800-727-3823 fly with AUA Inc

wwwouoonlinecom

The best is affordable Give AUA a call

Fly with the pros

Dennis E Green Unionville ON Canada Craig Packham Caistor Centre ON Canada Haluk Taysi Weyhe Germany Martin Jones Derby UK Great Britain Simon Brenchley Saikung Hong Kong Doug Bullmore Southland New Zealand John B Isbe ll Fort Payne AL Wayne Fletcher Salome AZ Glen E Lipinski Phoenix AZ James Cummiskey Laguna Niguel CA Bill Dalo Irvine CA Dennis Dow Sacramento CA Nancy Ginesi Fair Oaks CA Donna Hase low Martinez CA Jim Jordan Folsom CA George McDaniel Mission Viejo CA Arthur Wallace McDonnell Santa Rosa CA Wm Mark Meiggs Oakdale CA Donald V Myhra bull Mission Viejo CA Carl-Erik Olsen Orinda CA Alan Preston Pacific Palisades CA Bruce Stewart Elk Grove CA D Wayne Woollard Kingsburg CA Douglas H Hawkins Denver CO Jay D Jones bull Buena Vista CO Gilbert B Wilcox Somers CT Stephen Champa Plantation FL Paul C Halstead Winter Haven FL James Kashou St Augustine FL Howard R Kaufman Bonita Springs FL Christopher Ulch Edgewater FL Sidney E Van Landingham Howey in the Hills FL Robert F Burson Forsyth GA Brian D Emmerling Atlanta GA Dav id Huff Atlanta GA Stewart K Smith McDonough GA Michael J Lauro Kailua Kona HI Jeremy Benson Davenport IA Rick Gleason Indianola IA Shannon Gomes bull Waverly IA Rex D Hansen Cedar Falls IA James E Higham Cedar Rapids IA Charles J Bokman Athol ID Albert G Biliskis Villa Park IL Burton Bucher N Chicago IL Andrew J Clark Glen Ellyn IL Deanne M Drozdz Wheeling IL James H Lyon Sterling IL David Mac Allister Chicago IL Terri Martin Moline IL Norbert J McLuckie Coal City IL Kenneth W Miles Marengo IL Corey Pelland GurneeIL Robert A Porter Hampshire I L Kenneth R Rentmeester BelvidereIL Dana G Tennert Burr Ridge IL Dennis E Wisnosky Naperville IL Joseph P Ferraro Carmel TN Daniel J Hanson Huntington TN Jack Hildreth Seymour IN Dale K Kovas New Carli sle IN David B Ton Bremen TN Richard McClure Basehor KS John F Mcmaster Wichita KS Chuck E Powell Benton KS Charles R Patterson Shepherdsville KY Larry D Kelley Barstow MD Larry W Bell Escanaba MI

Nathaniel Perlman Kingsford MI Clinton R Ray Brighton MI Walter J Reinbold Saginaw MI Al Todd Stevensville MI Michael Woodley Port Huron MI Jack Wyman Manchester MI Randall C Aarestad Halstad MN Suzanne Fedoruk Minneapolis MN Craig Johnson Maplewood MN John Ritzen Eden Prairie MN Michael G Thern Winona MN Alan C Thiel Minneapolis MN Richard E Case Kearney MO Milo M Farnham Independence MO Richard S Miller Grain Valley MO Kem Wesley Wallace Ozark MO Cantrell Wilson Yazoo City MS Jeffrey Deaton Morehead City NC Thomas Gahagan Hot Springs NC Bernie M Ness Fargo ND Jerry J Adams Blai r NE Robert J Hirschfield Meredith NH Joseph Tesauro Pittstown NJ Michael J Hoke Reno NV Daniel Nezgoda Las Vegas NV Brian Blazey Palmyra NY Guy Matthews Fairpot NY Gary Pasco Brockport NY Robert C Sterling Champlain NY Henry N Talmage Baiting Hollow NY Raymond L Wallman Ronkonkoma NY Richard H Ward bull Chenango Forks NY Benjamin Bagna ll Portsmouth OH John J Black Springboro OH James L Calvin Hicksville OH Douglas J Cart ledge Seville OH Ronald A Schmitt Brookville OH Walt Wyvill Amherst OH Joseph C Brevetti Edmond OK Robert Craig Arcadia OK Michael L Jacobs Jay OK Allen K Harstine Clackamas OR Glenn E Allen Avondale PA Phillip Kriley fenfrew PA Paul J Patterson bull Pittsburgh PA Don Robbins Charlestown RJ W Edward King Anderson SC James Baxter Selmer TN Kerry Brasher Scotts Hill TN J A Rollow Clinton TN Ronald G Carson San Antonio TX Larry Kelley Winnie TX Richard Nelson Plano TX Philip Perez Fort Worth TX Charles B Roberts Richardson TX Arnold Vasenden Midlothian TX Raymond A King West Valley City UT Alan M Legas Midlothian VA Mark Bailey Kent WA Neil A Logerwell bull Kent WA Rod Magner Eastsound WA John T O Keefe Winthrop WA Brian R Ernst Park Falls WI Lindsey Luker Oshkosh WI Wayne Poppy New London WI David Stamsta Waunakee WI William E Steinbrenner Fond du Lac WI Robert J Triplett Cameron WI

Lesllie Brown Norway MI Don Rathe Rock Springs WY David R Galati Dowagiac MI 28 NOVEMBER 2004

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

President Vicemiddot President Geoff Robison George Daubner

1521 E MacGregor Dr 2448 Lough Lane New Haven IN 46774 Hartford WI 53027

260-493-4724 262-673-5885 cilie702Saolcom vaa1yboymsncom

Secretary Treasure r Steve Nesse Cha rles W Harris

2009 Highland Ave 72 15 East 46th 51 Albert Lea MN 56007 Tulsa OK 74147

507-373-1674 918-622-8400 stnesdeskl1ediacom cwhhvsllcom

DIRECTORS Steve Bender Dale A Gustafson

85 Brush Hill Road 7724 Shady Hills Dr Sherborn MA 01770 Indianapolis IN 46278

508-653-7557 317-293-4430 sst JOcomcastnet dalefayemslJcom

David Bennett Jeannie Hill PO Box Jl88 PO Box 328

Roseville CA 95678 Harvard IL 60033-0328 916-645-8370 81 S-943-7205

ontiquertlreach(om dingilaoowcnet

j ohn Berendt Espie Butch joyce 7645 Echo Point Rd 704 N Regional Rd

Cannon Falls MN 55009 Greensboro NC 27409 507-263-2414 336-668-3650

mib(cldrconnectco11l willcisockaoicom

Robert C Bob Brauer Steve Krog 9345 S Hoyne 1002 Heather Ln

Chicago IL 60620 Hartford WI 53027 773-779-2105 262-966-7627

pllOtopilotaolcom sskrogaolcom

Dave Cla rk Robert D Bob Lumley 635 Vestal Lane 1265 South 124th St

Plainfield IN 461 68 Brookfield WI 53005 317-839-4500 262-782-2633

davecpdqlles tllel illmperexecpccom

john S Copeland Gene Morris lA Deacon Street 5936 Steve Court

Northborough MA 01532 Roanoke TX 76262 508-393-4775 817-49 1-9110

copeland l jIUlocom gellemorrisevJllet

Phil Coulson Dean Richardson 2841S Springbrook Dr 1429 Kings Lynn Rd

Lawton MI 4906S Stoughton WI 53589 269-624-6490 608-877 -848S

rcouson516(scom duraprilairecom

Roger Gomoll SH Wes Schmid 8891 Airport Rd Box C2 2359 Lefeber Avenue

Blaine MN 55449 Wauwatosa WI 53213 763-786-3342 414-771-1545

pJedgedrivemsl1com shschmidmiiwpccum

ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND

EAA and Division Membership Services 800-843-3612 FAX 920-426-6761 (800 AM-700 PM Monday-Friday CST)

oNewrenew memberships EAA Divishysions (Vintage Aircraft Association lAC Warbirds) National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)

oAddress changes oMerchandise sales oGift memberships

Programs and Activities EAA AirVenture Fax-On-Demand Directory 732-885-6711

Auto Fuel STCs 920-426-4843 Buildlrestore informat ion 920-426-4821 Chapters locatingorganizing920-426-4876 Education 888-322-3229

deg EAA Air Academy deg EAA Scholarships

Membershi~ Services Directory

THE EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION ~ EAA Aviation Center PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873 Web Site httpwwweaaorg and httpwwwairventureorg E-Mail vintage eaaorg

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION EAA lAC

Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Current EAA m embe rs m ay join the Association Inc is $40 for one year includshy International Aerobatic Club Inc Divi shying 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION Family sion and receive SPORT AEROBATICS membership is an additional $10 annually m agazine for an additional $45 per year Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) EAA Membership SPORT AEROBATshyis available at $23 annually All major credit ICS magaZine and o ne year membership cards accepted for membership (Add $16 for in the lAC Division is available for $55 Foreign Postage) per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine

not included) (Add $15 for Fore ign EAA SPORT PILOT Postage)

Current EAA members may add EAA SPORT PILOT magazine for an additional WARBIRDS $20 per year Current EAA members may join the EAA

EAA Membership and EAA SPORT Warbirds of America Division and receive PILOT magazine is available for $40 per WARBIRDS magazine for an additional $40 year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not inshy per year cluded) (Add $16 for Foreign Postage) EAA Membership WARBIRDS magashy

zine and one year membership in the VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Warbirds Division is available for $50 per

Current EAA members may join the year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not inshyVintage Aircraft Association and receive cluded) (A dd $7 for Foreign Postage) VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an adshyditional $36 per year FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS

EAA Membership VINTAGE AIRPLANE Please submit your remittance with a magazine and one year membership in the EAA check or draft drawn on a United States Vintage Aircraft Association is ava ilable for $46 bank payable in United States dollars Add per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not inshy required Foreign Postage amount for each cluded) (Add $7 for Foreign Postage) membership

Flight Advisors information 920-426-6864 Fligh t Instructor information 920-426-6801 Flying Start Program 920-426-6847 Library ServicesResearch 920middot426-4848 Medical Questions 920-426-6112 Technical Counselors 920-426-6864 Young Eagles 877-806-8902

Benefits AUA Vintage Insurance Plan 800-727-3823 EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan 866-647-4322 Term Life and Accidental 800-241 -6103 Death Insurance (Harvey Watt amp Company) Editorial 920-426-4825 FAX 920-426-4828

deg Submitting articlephoto deg Advertising information

EAA Aviation Foundation Artifact Donations 920-426-4877 Financial Support 800-236-1025

DIRECTORS EMERITUS

Gene Chase EE Buck Hilbert 21 59 Carlton Rd PO Box 424

Oshkosh WI 54904 Union IL 60180 920-231-5002 81 S-923-4591

GRCHA cilarterI1et b7acmC net

Ronald C Fritz 15401 Sparta Ave

Kent City MI 49330 616-678-5012

rFritzpathwayt1etcom

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

Copyright copy2004 by the EM Vintage Aircratt Association All rights reserved

VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) IPM 40032445 is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vintage Aircratt Association of the EXperimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM Aviation Center 3000 Poberezny Rd PO Box 3086 Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Send address changes to EM Vintage Aircratt Association PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Return Canadian issues to Station A PO Box 54 Windsor ON N9A 6J5 FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircratt Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising We invite constructive criticism and w~ome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken

EDITORIAL POLICY Readers are encouraged to subm~ stories and photographs Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely w~h the contributor No remuneration is made Material should be sent to Editor VINTAGE AIRPlANE PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone 920426-4800

EMreg and SPORT AViATIONreg the EM Logoreg and Aeronautica middot are registered trademarks trademarks and service marks of the EXperimental Aircratt Association Inc The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircratt Association Inc is strictly prohib~ed

The EM AVIATION FOUNDATION Logo is a trademark of the EM Aviation Foundation Inc The use of this trademark without the permissioo of the EM Aviation Foundation Inc is strictly prohibited

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

Dennis E Green Unionville ON Canada Craig Packham Caistor Centre ON Canada Haluk Taysi Weyhe Germany Martin Jones Derby UK Great Britain Simon Brenchley Saikung Hong Kong Doug Bullmore Southland New Zealand John B Isbe ll Fort Payne AL Wayne Fletcher Salome AZ Glen E Lipinski Phoenix AZ James Cummiskey Laguna Niguel CA Bill Dalo Irvine CA Dennis Dow Sacramento CA Nancy Ginesi Fair Oaks CA Donna Hase low Martinez CA Jim Jordan Folsom CA George McDaniel Mission Viejo CA Arthur Wallace McDonnell Santa Rosa CA Wm Mark Meiggs Oakdale CA Donald V Myhra bull Mission Viejo CA Carl-Erik Olsen Orinda CA Alan Preston Pacific Palisades CA Bruce Stewart Elk Grove CA D Wayne Woollard Kingsburg CA Douglas H Hawkins Denver CO Jay D Jones bull Buena Vista CO Gilbert B Wilcox Somers CT Stephen Champa Plantation FL Paul C Halstead Winter Haven FL James Kashou St Augustine FL Howard R Kaufman Bonita Springs FL Christopher Ulch Edgewater FL Sidney E Van Landingham Howey in the Hills FL Robert F Burson Forsyth GA Brian D Emmerling Atlanta GA Dav id Huff Atlanta GA Stewart K Smith McDonough GA Michael J Lauro Kailua Kona HI Jeremy Benson Davenport IA Rick Gleason Indianola IA Shannon Gomes bull Waverly IA Rex D Hansen Cedar Falls IA James E Higham Cedar Rapids IA Charles J Bokman Athol ID Albert G Biliskis Villa Park IL Burton Bucher N Chicago IL Andrew J Clark Glen Ellyn IL Deanne M Drozdz Wheeling IL James H Lyon Sterling IL David Mac Allister Chicago IL Terri Martin Moline IL Norbert J McLuckie Coal City IL Kenneth W Miles Marengo IL Corey Pelland GurneeIL Robert A Porter Hampshire I L Kenneth R Rentmeester BelvidereIL Dana G Tennert Burr Ridge IL Dennis E Wisnosky Naperville IL Joseph P Ferraro Carmel TN Daniel J Hanson Huntington TN Jack Hildreth Seymour IN Dale K Kovas New Carli sle IN David B Ton Bremen TN Richard McClure Basehor KS John F Mcmaster Wichita KS Chuck E Powell Benton KS Charles R Patterson Shepherdsville KY Larry D Kelley Barstow MD Larry W Bell Escanaba MI

Nathaniel Perlman Kingsford MI Clinton R Ray Brighton MI Walter J Reinbold Saginaw MI Al Todd Stevensville MI Michael Woodley Port Huron MI Jack Wyman Manchester MI Randall C Aarestad Halstad MN Suzanne Fedoruk Minneapolis MN Craig Johnson Maplewood MN John Ritzen Eden Prairie MN Michael G Thern Winona MN Alan C Thiel Minneapolis MN Richard E Case Kearney MO Milo M Farnham Independence MO Richard S Miller Grain Valley MO Kem Wesley Wallace Ozark MO Cantrell Wilson Yazoo City MS Jeffrey Deaton Morehead City NC Thomas Gahagan Hot Springs NC Bernie M Ness Fargo ND Jerry J Adams Blai r NE Robert J Hirschfield Meredith NH Joseph Tesauro Pittstown NJ Michael J Hoke Reno NV Daniel Nezgoda Las Vegas NV Brian Blazey Palmyra NY Guy Matthews Fairpot NY Gary Pasco Brockport NY Robert C Sterling Champlain NY Henry N Talmage Baiting Hollow NY Raymond L Wallman Ronkonkoma NY Richard H Ward bull Chenango Forks NY Benjamin Bagna ll Portsmouth OH John J Black Springboro OH James L Calvin Hicksville OH Douglas J Cart ledge Seville OH Ronald A Schmitt Brookville OH Walt Wyvill Amherst OH Joseph C Brevetti Edmond OK Robert Craig Arcadia OK Michael L Jacobs Jay OK Allen K Harstine Clackamas OR Glenn E Allen Avondale PA Phillip Kriley fenfrew PA Paul J Patterson bull Pittsburgh PA Don Robbins Charlestown RJ W Edward King Anderson SC James Baxter Selmer TN Kerry Brasher Scotts Hill TN J A Rollow Clinton TN Ronald G Carson San Antonio TX Larry Kelley Winnie TX Richard Nelson Plano TX Philip Perez Fort Worth TX Charles B Roberts Richardson TX Arnold Vasenden Midlothian TX Raymond A King West Valley City UT Alan M Legas Midlothian VA Mark Bailey Kent WA Neil A Logerwell bull Kent WA Rod Magner Eastsound WA John T O Keefe Winthrop WA Brian R Ernst Park Falls WI Lindsey Luker Oshkosh WI Wayne Poppy New London WI David Stamsta Waunakee WI William E Steinbrenner Fond du Lac WI Robert J Triplett Cameron WI

Lesllie Brown Norway MI Don Rathe Rock Springs WY David R Galati Dowagiac MI 28 NOVEMBER 2004

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

President Vicemiddot President Geoff Robison George Daubner

1521 E MacGregor Dr 2448 Lough Lane New Haven IN 46774 Hartford WI 53027

260-493-4724 262-673-5885 cilie702Saolcom vaa1yboymsncom

Secretary Treasure r Steve Nesse Cha rles W Harris

2009 Highland Ave 72 15 East 46th 51 Albert Lea MN 56007 Tulsa OK 74147

507-373-1674 918-622-8400 stnesdeskl1ediacom cwhhvsllcom

DIRECTORS Steve Bender Dale A Gustafson

85 Brush Hill Road 7724 Shady Hills Dr Sherborn MA 01770 Indianapolis IN 46278

508-653-7557 317-293-4430 sst JOcomcastnet dalefayemslJcom

David Bennett Jeannie Hill PO Box Jl88 PO Box 328

Roseville CA 95678 Harvard IL 60033-0328 916-645-8370 81 S-943-7205

ontiquertlreach(om dingilaoowcnet

j ohn Berendt Espie Butch joyce 7645 Echo Point Rd 704 N Regional Rd

Cannon Falls MN 55009 Greensboro NC 27409 507-263-2414 336-668-3650

mib(cldrconnectco11l willcisockaoicom

Robert C Bob Brauer Steve Krog 9345 S Hoyne 1002 Heather Ln

Chicago IL 60620 Hartford WI 53027 773-779-2105 262-966-7627

pllOtopilotaolcom sskrogaolcom

Dave Cla rk Robert D Bob Lumley 635 Vestal Lane 1265 South 124th St

Plainfield IN 461 68 Brookfield WI 53005 317-839-4500 262-782-2633

davecpdqlles tllel illmperexecpccom

john S Copeland Gene Morris lA Deacon Street 5936 Steve Court

Northborough MA 01532 Roanoke TX 76262 508-393-4775 817-49 1-9110

copeland l jIUlocom gellemorrisevJllet

Phil Coulson Dean Richardson 2841S Springbrook Dr 1429 Kings Lynn Rd

Lawton MI 4906S Stoughton WI 53589 269-624-6490 608-877 -848S

rcouson516(scom duraprilairecom

Roger Gomoll SH Wes Schmid 8891 Airport Rd Box C2 2359 Lefeber Avenue

Blaine MN 55449 Wauwatosa WI 53213 763-786-3342 414-771-1545

pJedgedrivemsl1com shschmidmiiwpccum

ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND

EAA and Division Membership Services 800-843-3612 FAX 920-426-6761 (800 AM-700 PM Monday-Friday CST)

oNewrenew memberships EAA Divishysions (Vintage Aircraft Association lAC Warbirds) National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)

oAddress changes oMerchandise sales oGift memberships

Programs and Activities EAA AirVenture Fax-On-Demand Directory 732-885-6711

Auto Fuel STCs 920-426-4843 Buildlrestore informat ion 920-426-4821 Chapters locatingorganizing920-426-4876 Education 888-322-3229

deg EAA Air Academy deg EAA Scholarships

Membershi~ Services Directory

THE EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION ~ EAA Aviation Center PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873 Web Site httpwwweaaorg and httpwwwairventureorg E-Mail vintage eaaorg

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION EAA lAC

Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Current EAA m embe rs m ay join the Association Inc is $40 for one year includshy International Aerobatic Club Inc Divi shying 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION Family sion and receive SPORT AEROBATICS membership is an additional $10 annually m agazine for an additional $45 per year Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) EAA Membership SPORT AEROBATshyis available at $23 annually All major credit ICS magaZine and o ne year membership cards accepted for membership (Add $16 for in the lAC Division is available for $55 Foreign Postage) per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine

not included) (Add $15 for Fore ign EAA SPORT PILOT Postage)

Current EAA members may add EAA SPORT PILOT magazine for an additional WARBIRDS $20 per year Current EAA members may join the EAA

EAA Membership and EAA SPORT Warbirds of America Division and receive PILOT magazine is available for $40 per WARBIRDS magazine for an additional $40 year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not inshy per year cluded) (Add $16 for Foreign Postage) EAA Membership WARBIRDS magashy

zine and one year membership in the VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Warbirds Division is available for $50 per

Current EAA members may join the year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not inshyVintage Aircraft Association and receive cluded) (A dd $7 for Foreign Postage) VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an adshyditional $36 per year FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS

EAA Membership VINTAGE AIRPLANE Please submit your remittance with a magazine and one year membership in the EAA check or draft drawn on a United States Vintage Aircraft Association is ava ilable for $46 bank payable in United States dollars Add per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not inshy required Foreign Postage amount for each cluded) (Add $7 for Foreign Postage) membership

Flight Advisors information 920-426-6864 Fligh t Instructor information 920-426-6801 Flying Start Program 920-426-6847 Library ServicesResearch 920middot426-4848 Medical Questions 920-426-6112 Technical Counselors 920-426-6864 Young Eagles 877-806-8902

Benefits AUA Vintage Insurance Plan 800-727-3823 EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan 866-647-4322 Term Life and Accidental 800-241 -6103 Death Insurance (Harvey Watt amp Company) Editorial 920-426-4825 FAX 920-426-4828

deg Submitting articlephoto deg Advertising information

EAA Aviation Foundation Artifact Donations 920-426-4877 Financial Support 800-236-1025

DIRECTORS EMERITUS

Gene Chase EE Buck Hilbert 21 59 Carlton Rd PO Box 424

Oshkosh WI 54904 Union IL 60180 920-231-5002 81 S-923-4591

GRCHA cilarterI1et b7acmC net

Ronald C Fritz 15401 Sparta Ave

Kent City MI 49330 616-678-5012

rFritzpathwayt1etcom

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

Copyright copy2004 by the EM Vintage Aircratt Association All rights reserved

VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) IPM 40032445 is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vintage Aircratt Association of the EXperimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM Aviation Center 3000 Poberezny Rd PO Box 3086 Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Send address changes to EM Vintage Aircratt Association PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Return Canadian issues to Station A PO Box 54 Windsor ON N9A 6J5 FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircratt Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising We invite constructive criticism and w~ome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken

EDITORIAL POLICY Readers are encouraged to subm~ stories and photographs Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely w~h the contributor No remuneration is made Material should be sent to Editor VINTAGE AIRPlANE PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone 920426-4800

EMreg and SPORT AViATIONreg the EM Logoreg and Aeronautica middot are registered trademarks trademarks and service marks of the EXperimental Aircratt Association Inc The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircratt Association Inc is strictly prohib~ed

The EM AVIATION FOUNDATION Logo is a trademark of the EM Aviation Foundation Inc The use of this trademark without the permissioo of the EM Aviation Foundation Inc is strictly prohibited

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

President Vicemiddot President Geoff Robison George Daubner

1521 E MacGregor Dr 2448 Lough Lane New Haven IN 46774 Hartford WI 53027

260-493-4724 262-673-5885 cilie702Saolcom vaa1yboymsncom

Secretary Treasure r Steve Nesse Cha rles W Harris

2009 Highland Ave 72 15 East 46th 51 Albert Lea MN 56007 Tulsa OK 74147

507-373-1674 918-622-8400 stnesdeskl1ediacom cwhhvsllcom

DIRECTORS Steve Bender Dale A Gustafson

85 Brush Hill Road 7724 Shady Hills Dr Sherborn MA 01770 Indianapolis IN 46278

508-653-7557 317-293-4430 sst JOcomcastnet dalefayemslJcom

David Bennett Jeannie Hill PO Box Jl88 PO Box 328

Roseville CA 95678 Harvard IL 60033-0328 916-645-8370 81 S-943-7205

ontiquertlreach(om dingilaoowcnet

j ohn Berendt Espie Butch joyce 7645 Echo Point Rd 704 N Regional Rd

Cannon Falls MN 55009 Greensboro NC 27409 507-263-2414 336-668-3650

mib(cldrconnectco11l willcisockaoicom

Robert C Bob Brauer Steve Krog 9345 S Hoyne 1002 Heather Ln

Chicago IL 60620 Hartford WI 53027 773-779-2105 262-966-7627

pllOtopilotaolcom sskrogaolcom

Dave Cla rk Robert D Bob Lumley 635 Vestal Lane 1265 South 124th St

Plainfield IN 461 68 Brookfield WI 53005 317-839-4500 262-782-2633

davecpdqlles tllel illmperexecpccom

john S Copeland Gene Morris lA Deacon Street 5936 Steve Court

Northborough MA 01532 Roanoke TX 76262 508-393-4775 817-49 1-9110

copeland l jIUlocom gellemorrisevJllet

Phil Coulson Dean Richardson 2841S Springbrook Dr 1429 Kings Lynn Rd

Lawton MI 4906S Stoughton WI 53589 269-624-6490 608-877 -848S

rcouson516(scom duraprilairecom

Roger Gomoll SH Wes Schmid 8891 Airport Rd Box C2 2359 Lefeber Avenue

Blaine MN 55449 Wauwatosa WI 53213 763-786-3342 414-771-1545

pJedgedrivemsl1com shschmidmiiwpccum

ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND

EAA and Division Membership Services 800-843-3612 FAX 920-426-6761 (800 AM-700 PM Monday-Friday CST)

oNewrenew memberships EAA Divishysions (Vintage Aircraft Association lAC Warbirds) National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)

oAddress changes oMerchandise sales oGift memberships

Programs and Activities EAA AirVenture Fax-On-Demand Directory 732-885-6711

Auto Fuel STCs 920-426-4843 Buildlrestore informat ion 920-426-4821 Chapters locatingorganizing920-426-4876 Education 888-322-3229

deg EAA Air Academy deg EAA Scholarships

Membershi~ Services Directory

THE EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION ~ EAA Aviation Center PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873 Web Site httpwwweaaorg and httpwwwairventureorg E-Mail vintage eaaorg

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION EAA lAC

Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Current EAA m embe rs m ay join the Association Inc is $40 for one year includshy International Aerobatic Club Inc Divi shying 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION Family sion and receive SPORT AEROBATICS membership is an additional $10 annually m agazine for an additional $45 per year Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) EAA Membership SPORT AEROBATshyis available at $23 annually All major credit ICS magaZine and o ne year membership cards accepted for membership (Add $16 for in the lAC Division is available for $55 Foreign Postage) per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine

not included) (Add $15 for Fore ign EAA SPORT PILOT Postage)

Current EAA members may add EAA SPORT PILOT magazine for an additional WARBIRDS $20 per year Current EAA members may join the EAA

EAA Membership and EAA SPORT Warbirds of America Division and receive PILOT magazine is available for $40 per WARBIRDS magazine for an additional $40 year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not inshy per year cluded) (Add $16 for Foreign Postage) EAA Membership WARBIRDS magashy

zine and one year membership in the VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Warbirds Division is available for $50 per

Current EAA members may join the year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not inshyVintage Aircraft Association and receive cluded) (A dd $7 for Foreign Postage) VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an adshyditional $36 per year FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS

EAA Membership VINTAGE AIRPLANE Please submit your remittance with a magazine and one year membership in the EAA check or draft drawn on a United States Vintage Aircraft Association is ava ilable for $46 bank payable in United States dollars Add per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not inshy required Foreign Postage amount for each cluded) (Add $7 for Foreign Postage) membership

Flight Advisors information 920-426-6864 Fligh t Instructor information 920-426-6801 Flying Start Program 920-426-6847 Library ServicesResearch 920middot426-4848 Medical Questions 920-426-6112 Technical Counselors 920-426-6864 Young Eagles 877-806-8902

Benefits AUA Vintage Insurance Plan 800-727-3823 EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan 866-647-4322 Term Life and Accidental 800-241 -6103 Death Insurance (Harvey Watt amp Company) Editorial 920-426-4825 FAX 920-426-4828

deg Submitting articlephoto deg Advertising information

EAA Aviation Foundation Artifact Donations 920-426-4877 Financial Support 800-236-1025

DIRECTORS EMERITUS

Gene Chase EE Buck Hilbert 21 59 Carlton Rd PO Box 424

Oshkosh WI 54904 Union IL 60180 920-231-5002 81 S-923-4591

GRCHA cilarterI1et b7acmC net

Ronald C Fritz 15401 Sparta Ave

Kent City MI 49330 616-678-5012

rFritzpathwayt1etcom

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

Copyright copy2004 by the EM Vintage Aircratt Association All rights reserved

VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) IPM 40032445 is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vintage Aircratt Association of the EXperimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM Aviation Center 3000 Poberezny Rd PO Box 3086 Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Send address changes to EM Vintage Aircratt Association PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Return Canadian issues to Station A PO Box 54 Windsor ON N9A 6J5 FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircratt Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising We invite constructive criticism and w~ome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken

EDITORIAL POLICY Readers are encouraged to subm~ stories and photographs Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely w~h the contributor No remuneration is made Material should be sent to Editor VINTAGE AIRPlANE PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone 920426-4800

EMreg and SPORT AViATIONreg the EM Logoreg and Aeronautica middot are registered trademarks trademarks and service marks of the EXperimental Aircratt Association Inc The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircratt Association Inc is strictly prohib~ed

The EM AVIATION FOUNDATION Logo is a trademark of the EM Aviation Foundation Inc The use of this trademark without the permissioo of the EM Aviation Foundation Inc is strictly prohibited

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

Brass Logo Caps a distinctive VAA look these caps will

stand out in the crowd The VAA logo is disshyplayed beautifully in brass on your favorite color Also available in a two tone cap Navy V03530 $1499 Stone bull V03521 $1499 Forest Green V03526 $1499 Burgundy bull V03528 $1499 Khaki with Navy bill V03524 $1499

VAA Tote Bag This roomy red tote is the best bag you ll find to carry just about anything From grocery shopping to a day at the beach this tote will carry all the necessities Red bull VOO100

VAA Logo Blankets During these cool fall winter days wrap yourself in a sweatshirt-soft blanket that sports our VAA logo Take it to the football game lounge at home with a good book or bring it with you in the plane for a little warmth Hunter Green V02213 $2795 Gold V00933 $2795

V02214 $2795

Denim Jacket This is the most unique denim jacket youll find with embossed planes and logo on the back You ll never get tired of this casual classic that is a must have for all your fun fall activities Small VOO508 $5799 MediumVOO241 $5799 Extra Large VOO243 $5799 2X bullbullbullbullbullbullbullbullbullbullbullbullbullbullVOO244 $5799

ORDER NOW 1-800-843-3612

from us and Canada All others 920-426-5912

or httpshopeaaorg

a Wright Flyer with raised ink accents A fun aviation shirt for children Please state size Size 68 or 1012 V02844 $1499

Whimsical Blue Youth T-Shirt This royal blue childrens t-shirt deshypicts a colorful biplane drawing with youthful excitement 100 cotton Size 214 V03561 $1499 Size 68 V03562 $1499 Size 1012 V03563 $1499

Biplane Pins Accent any outfit with one or more of these stylish biplane pins Available in silver or gold tone Has a 1 inch wing span Silver V02844 $1199 Gold V02845 $1199

Multi-Tool with Flashlight Fits in your pocket for any quick maintenance job that happens on the go Youll wonder how you got

Elite Light This programmable companion emits a high efficiency solid state beam A switch activates soft illumination that is visible over one mile 2 58 inch in length it

V03496 $999 V03517

VAA Logo Pillows These are th pillows you will ever find sporting our VAA logo A great accent to any room 18x18 Grey V01027 ~ Forest Green V01029 ~ Light Blue V01028 jJ999

Choose one or more of these adorshyable teddy bears wearing a VAA logo t-shirt to keep you company Approximately 8 in length White V03499 $1195 Tan V03498 $1195 Black V03497 $1195

Travel Mug

create a striking mug for on the go flyers A real class act for

enjoying your favorite refreshment

Copper and black

Flyer Youth T-Shirt Lime green t-shirt sketches

along without it Approx size folder is 2 inches

easily clips to any strap Red (wired light) V03558 $1795 Blue (wblue light) V03549 $1795

Reminiscing continued from page 4

The economy 12 Note the Curtis-Reed prop and the long motor mount

tors and good friend of Bennys was Mr Dan Peterkin Jr president and then chairman of the board of Morshyton Salt Dan bought one of the early 8s and it was fancy-special paint a flocked instrument panel etc the works We later used this same airplane to develop the 11 Howard Aircraft was slow getting off the ground and we made some marketing mistakes

We built a bunch of airplanes that many people are not aware of The 15P was the most popular and the one we built the most We also built a 15 with a 330 Jake We built the 8 9 11 12 and 15 as civilian airshyplanes The 12 was a Jake-powered ll-we built two of them We built an economy 9 with a 225 Jake and a Curtiss-Reed prop We were trying to keep the price down and be comshypetitive with Beech and Waco and I believe that was our mistake

The Howard had a reputation as being a super performance airshyplane-which they were with the Wright or the Wasp When these economy models hit the market

32 NOVEMBER 2004

they changed our image Those 300 jakes almost put us out of business by reputation The engines were junk We had problems with them even in test

The airplanes that sold were the Wasp 11 and 15 and they were the most expensive Every time we built an economy model we were eating up Bennys precious money with an airplane that would not sell As a result we had more facshytory demonstrators than Beech

Mistake number two was that we didnt put fancy paint jobs on some of the economy jobs and this hurt because we had the reputashytion of having the best finish in the industry But all that changed with the IS-when we went 100 percent Wasp deluxe finish inside and out and a wide gear

The first 8 or Flannigan had a typical Howard gear-high and narrow This was a throw-back from the racers If you are an old test pilot you will understand the reasoning behind this type of gear that is to be able to rotate the

wing to the max angle of attack for short takeoffs and landings Flaps were new to most pilots and the Howard flaps were drag flaps (even though the Fowler flap was around then) When Walter Brownell came on as chief engineer the first thing he did was to lower the gear and add steering to the tail wheel He also designed a new set of flipshypers for better control and lighter feel This was soon followed by even lower and wider gear and still later the 15 had completely new gear The biggest mistake-and the most frequent-in flying a Howshyard is trying to do wheel landshyings-whoops The landing gear was designed and built with a set of taxi springs and an oleo shock strut the shock strut for landshying and the springs for taxiing So when you put it on the springs for landing you just set up a booby trap that might just bite you Land them 3-point and you wont have any problem-crosswind up wind downwind or no wind

Continued Next Month

Reminiscing continued from page 4

The economy 12 Note the Curtis-Reed prop and the long motor mount

tors and good friend of Bennys was Mr Dan Peterkin Jr president and then chairman of the board of Morshyton Salt Dan bought one of the early 8s and it was fancy-special paint a flocked instrument panel etc the works We later used this same airplane to develop the 11 Howard Aircraft was slow getting off the ground and we made some marketing mistakes

We built a bunch of airplanes that many people are not aware of The 15P was the most popular and the one we built the most We also built a 15 with a 330 Jake We built the 8 9 11 12 and 15 as civilian airshyplanes The 12 was a Jake-powered ll-we built two of them We built an economy 9 with a 225 Jake and a Curtiss-Reed prop We were trying to keep the price down and be comshypetitive with Beech and Waco and I believe that was our mistake

The Howard had a reputation as being a super performance airshyplane-which they were with the Wright or the Wasp When these economy models hit the market

32 NOVEMBER 2004

they changed our image Those 300 jakes almost put us out of business by reputation The engines were junk We had problems with them even in test

The airplanes that sold were the Wasp 11 and 15 and they were the most expensive Every time we built an economy model we were eating up Bennys precious money with an airplane that would not sell As a result we had more facshytory demonstrators than Beech

Mistake number two was that we didnt put fancy paint jobs on some of the economy jobs and this hurt because we had the reputashytion of having the best finish in the industry But all that changed with the IS-when we went 100 percent Wasp deluxe finish inside and out and a wide gear

The first 8 or Flannigan had a typical Howard gear-high and narrow This was a throw-back from the racers If you are an old test pilot you will understand the reasoning behind this type of gear that is to be able to rotate the

wing to the max angle of attack for short takeoffs and landings Flaps were new to most pilots and the Howard flaps were drag flaps (even though the Fowler flap was around then) When Walter Brownell came on as chief engineer the first thing he did was to lower the gear and add steering to the tail wheel He also designed a new set of flipshypers for better control and lighter feel This was soon followed by even lower and wider gear and still later the 15 had completely new gear The biggest mistake-and the most frequent-in flying a Howshyard is trying to do wheel landshyings-whoops The landing gear was designed and built with a set of taxi springs and an oleo shock strut the shock strut for landshying and the springs for taxiing So when you put it on the springs for landing you just set up a booby trap that might just bite you Land them 3-point and you wont have any problem-crosswind up wind downwind or no wind

Continued Next Month