vintage airplane - oct 2006
TRANSCRIPT
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O C T O B E R
E
VO
L.
34 , No. 10 2006
ONT NT S
1
Straight
&
Level
by Geoff Robison
2
VAA
News
5 Restoration Corner
Fuselage and landing gear
by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert
8
Stinson Gull
wing
A victorious V-77
by Sparky Barnes Sargent
4
Ryans, Tigers,
and
Spartans
-OhMy!
Meandering
through the
Fields
of Flying Machines
by Sparky Barnes Sarge
nt
3 The Vintage
Instructor
Playing the Weather Game
by Doug Stewart
34
Mystery Plane
by H.G . Frautschy
38
Calendar
39 Classified Ads
ST FF
EAA
Publisher
Tom
Pobere
zny
EAA Editor-in-C
hi
ef Scott Spangler
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It's mid-September, and I find my
self traveling with the
EAA's B-17
Aluminum Overcast
again.
This trip
will take me from
Columbus
Ohio
through
the
Louisville/Knoxville area,
and then out to South Carolina before
returning home
late in
the
month.
I'm currently poolside doing my best
to
concentrate
on the
task
at hand i f
you know what I mean.
Typically, I do quite a bit
of
travel
by airliner to
catch
up
with
the B-17
tour,
but
of late I have been carefully
planning my volunteer time with the
EAA
in a
manner
that
allows
me
to
avoid
the
airlines
as much as
possible.
Airline travel
is
no longer appealing to
me in any way. The inconveniences
associated with this type of travel
now
far
outweigh
what
I used
to
consider a
relatively enjoyable experience.
It's not really the fault of the airlines;
it's mostly all about the ever-changing
policies
the
industry has to deal with
that severely affect the previously "sim
pie" rules
we
had to deal with
as
passen
gers. I mention these inconveniences
G OFF
RO ISON
PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
Flier s
rights
chines
within the rules. We must do
so in a diligent manner as we
conduct
safe operations. Your
personal
right
to engage yourself in recreational avi
ation in
this
great country
of
ours
is
not much different than any of your
other
personal rights as a citizen.
We
simply
must do
all we can to
protect
these exclusive rights, because the mo
ment they become insignificant to the
masses, some seemingly bright politi
cian or bureaucrat will begin
the
pro
cess of limiting or eliminating these
rights we all
hold
so dear. The long
and
short of this message
is
to remind
you all
to
be diligent,
and
be safe.
I have previously mentioned here
in this column the development of the
new
home
of VAA
Chapter 37 in Au-
burn, Indiana
GWB).
This
is
my
home
chapter, and although progress on our
new home has been coming
at
a little
slower pace
than
we
had
hoped
for,
a
great deal has been accomplished in the
past 60 days. By the time this column
hits your mailbox, our SO-foot by 100
foot hangar restoration project will have
We
will be moving
our
aircraft into
the
new
facility
within
the
next
cou
ple of weeks, and we hope to have a
small
shop
area completed soon
that
will allow us the unique opportunity to
maintain
and
restore some Significant
vintage flying
machines.
Please con
sider this an open invitation to come
join
the
chapter or at least stop by for a
visit if you find yourself in our area.
We are
extremely
proud to report
that
we
recently
conducted
our
first
Young Eagles event at our new home.
It was a wonderfully successful event
that
hosted dozens of Boy Scouts
and
assisted
them in
gaining
their
Avia
tion Merit Badges. This
is
what it
is
all
about, folks .
As
I have repeatedly stated, the ef
forts to
plan
for yet
another
AirVen
ture in 2007 finds us
attempting
to
figure
out
how we will
top the
pre
vious year's event.
Be
assured, we are
already formulating and develop-
ing a number of new and interesting
ideas for events
in the
Vintage area
for 2007. It's
never
too early
to
be
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Setting the General viation
genda
Each year EAA AirVenture Osh
kosh
is
the meeting place for govern
ment officials and general aviation
(GA) representatives to discuss is
sues and solutions, to cooperate
on
preserving
and improving
GA,
and
to set the GA agenda for
continuing
dialogue throughout the year.
Oshkosh also provides the setting
for a mid-winter gathering of EAA
and senior FAA officials to review
progress on the agenda items. This
year's
EAA-FAA Summit is scheduled
for January 2007.
In
the
meantime, here are
the
key
issues
that
continue to receive prior
ity
EAA
attention.
Fight general aviation user fees
General
aviation fuel
taxes help
pay
for the
nation s
aviation infra
structure.
That funding mechanism
will expire in
September
2007.
The
Air Transport Association, a lobby
for U.S.
airlines,
is
calling for air
traffic control user fees
on
gen
eral
aviation
aircraft and pilots
and
for a
new governing board to
con
trol ATC
operations-a
board that
would
effectively be
controlled
by
the airline industry. The general avi
ation community is united
against
the
airlines' proposal to pay less and
control more.
EAA
and the other general aviation
vert to the sport pilot certificate
by the January 2007
deadline, and
complete the transition of ultralight
trainers (so-called fat ultralightsl/)
to light-sport aircraft by the January
2008 deadline. EAA is providing in
formation, materials, and assistance
to
ultralight
pilots
and
owners.
• Allow amphibiOUS
aircraft to
qualify for the light-sport aircraft cat
egory. The EAA will work to resolve
this issue in time to allow owners to
complete the transition of amphibi
ous ultralights to light-sport aircraft
by January 2008.
•
Support
and
promote
the
inter
nationalization of light-sport aircraft
standards.
Many countries have
ad
opted, or will adopt, some version
of
SP/LSA.
Australia has adopted the
ASTM voluntary standards for LSA;
Europe
and Canada
are
considering
doing the same.
EAA
will support
and
promote
this
and
other
initiatives
to
create a truly global
LSA
marketplace
and
community.
Continue work on aviation
medical issues
EAA and its Aeromedical
Advi
sory
Council
have
led
the
way
on
this
issue,
with
specific
propos
als for reducing
the FAA s backlog
of medical certification cases in
Oklahoma City-especially
special
issuance certifications.
The FAA
ad
opted
several
of
EAA's proposals
working on
issues
related to
ag
ing
general
aviation
aircraft.
That
initiative
was launched
at
an
FAA
Aging Aircraft Summit earlier
this
year, and work groups gathered for
a progress report at AirVenture. Offi
cials from the FAA said the agency's
goal is
to
keep aging airp lanes flying
safely, not to stop them from flying,
and
the FAA is looking for grass
roots solutions to
the challenges
facing aging aircraft. EAA will con
tinue to be an active participant in
this process.
Preserve and strengthen
the
5
percent rule
The FAA s 51
percent
rule, issued
in 1952,
is
the
foundation
of the
homebuilt
aircraft
movement. The
FAA strongly supports
preserving
the
51
percent rule, but the FAA and
EAA agree there are problems,
in
cluding how to consistently
define
what constitutes 51 percent
of
the
work of constructing an airplane
and
how to
treat
increasingly popu
lar
commercial
builder assistance
programs that seemingly violate
the
letter and spirit of the rule.
Blakey recently appointed an
Avi
ation
Rulemaking
Committee
(ARC)
to
advise the FAA
on strengthening
the
rule. Earl Lawrence,
EAA vice
president
of industry
and
regulatory
affairs,
is ARC
co-chairman.
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Marcia
Sparky Barnes Sargent
Received Bax Seat
Award
EAA Fantasy
Flight
Camps
Congratulations to our newest member of the Vintage
Explore Noteworthy
Aircraft
Airplane team, Sparky Barnes Sa rgent. Sp arky was pleas
Up Close
antly surprised to learn she
had
been chosen to receive the
EAA s
Fantasy Flight Camps are ex
Bax Seat
Award,
given annually during
EM
AirVenture to the
pert-led weekend seminars exploring
Mmember who perpetuates the Gordon Baxter tradition
the detailed study of special aircraft.
of com municating the excitement and romance of flight.
Upcoming
sessions focus on the Ford
B
axter,
beloved columnist for
Rying
magazine for more than
Tri -Motor
and
B-1? bomber.
25 years, passed away in 2005.
All camps include privileged access
Sparky's refreshing view of vintage aviation has been
to various EAA facilities
and
special
published
in
various aviation
pub
lications over the past
de
ists, plus culminate in a flight aboard
cade, and most recently
in
Vintage
Airplane
Sparky
s
avia-
tor for lying
magazine,
the
subject aircraft.
tion enthusiasm is contagious-you need spend only a few was honored to e the
minutes reading her words or engaged
in
conversation with
presenter
of the
Bax
her to get
an
aviation inoculation ,
and
it doesn't
even
hurt
Seat
award
to
Sparky
The daughter of
an
aviator, she has enjoyed flying and Barnes Sargent at EAA's
maintaining vintage airplanes and sailplanes, including her Theater I n
The
Woods
restoration of a
Pipe
r
PA-17 Vagabond.
But it's the stories of during EAA
AirVenture
other restorers and pilots that really grabs Spar
ky. Oshkosh 2006.
EM s Ford Tri-Motor, October 13-15
When
I
have
a sense that a
good
story
may
unfold, I'm
Study the world's
first
mass-produced
like the proverbial child in the candy store-I m hungry for it I feel very fortunate to be able
airliner
at
the Ford Tri-Motor Fantasy
to combine my passions for aviation
and
writing,
and
have the opportunity to capture
vari
Camp.
The program pro
vides an
un-
ous facets of our collective aviation heritage through pho tography and the written word."
derstandin g
and
appreciation for one
Like so many of us in aviation, the airplanes bring us together, but it's the stories about
of aviation 's classic designs, affec
people's experiences that keep us together. Our hearty congratulations to Sparky on being
tionately referred to
as
the Tin Goose.
presented with the 2006 Bax Seat
Award.
ontinued on page 9
Living
Aviation Icon Immortalized
Clayton L. Scott, EAA 24643, has been flying airplanes for
80 years , compiling more than
8,000
hours
in
airplanes too
nu
merous to list. When he turned
101
on July 15 , the folks up at
the Renton, Washington, airport that bears his name (Clayton L.
Scott Field ) dedicated a life-sized bronze sculpture to honor him.
"Scotty, " to his friends, learned
to
fly by persuading airmail
pilots
at
Vern
Gorst s
Pacific Air
Transport
to
give him
some
dual instruction in 1926. He soloed in a Waco 9, three months
before Lindbergh s famous trans-Atlantic flight to Paris in May
1927, and soon was a Pacific Air pilot.
In
1929 , Scott made the first commercial flight across the
Gulf of Alaska, from Juneau to Cordova, in a Keystone Loening
Clayton Scotty
Scott at his l lst birthday
with
(L to R Dr.
Bonnie Dunbar,
president
of the Museum of
Flight
in
Seattle;
Bill
Jepson, co-sculptor, and Kathy Keolker, mayor, city of Renton.
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Our thanks to every member who stepped up and m de a donation to help make the
VAA
area
of EAA
AirVenture
2 6
one
of the highlights of the annual
EM
Fly-In
and
Convention.
Your
selfless contributions benefited your fellow
VAA
members,
as
well
as
those members of the general public who came to be educated
and
entertained.
All
of the
contributors are listed
on
this
page, and we
thank you all - The V oard
of
Directors and V
taff
Diamond
Bronze
Bob :
Norma
Puryear
Ted : Beverly Beckwith
Anonymous
Donor
Stephen
Sawyer
D.
Ronald Boice
William Aikens
Arthur
F
Sere que, Jr.
Jeffrey Fallon
Lloyd
L.
Austin
Robert W. Siegfried
Rich Giannotti
James c. Baker
Hal W.
Skinner
Charles W. Harris
Lawrence A. Bartell
Colin
A. Smith
Hobart
Bates
David
P
Smith
Lynn
Jensen
Butch Joyce
Dave Belcher
Guy
A.
Snyder
Norma Joyce
Gary rossett
Joan Steinberger
Thomas
K.
Buckles
Donald
J.
Straughn
Bill : Saundra Pancake
Steve Buss
Seymour Subitzky
Stephen
Pitcairn
John S.
Carr
Allan R. Thomas
Ronald E. Tamon
George J. Ceshker
Don
:
Mary
Toeppen
John
R.
Turgyan
Perry M. Chappano
Cliff Tomas
Leslie Whit tlesey
Gene
R.
Chase
Carl : Pat Tortorige
Jim Zazas
David A. Clark
Harland Verrill
EAA
Antique/Classic Chapter 10
Geoffrey
E.
Clark
Tom Vukonich
Syd
Cohen
Bob
:
Pat Wagner
Platinum
Gerald
W.
Cox
Kern Wallace
Richard
:
Sue Packer
Dan
Dodds
LeRoy Weber, J
r
Robert : Jennifer Parish
Chris :
Cheryl
Drake
Robert
D.
Weber
W. Ben Scott
David G. Flinn
Rudy Frasca
Loyal
Supporters
Gold
Gavin Giddings
Harry O. Barker, Jr.
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Curr
ent
Edi tor's Note: This is
one of
a series
of
articles concern
in
g
th
e restorat
ion of
vintage aircraft. The
or
iginal
series started in the
Fe
bruary 1986 issue of Vintage Airplane and
ran
until early 1987.
uselage and landing
gear
Any attempt to be specific on this
subject would have to be on one, and
only one, type
of
aircraft. So I feel it
best to start with the all-metal mono
cogue style of construction,
e.g.,
Cessna, Ercoupe,
Luscombe,
Swift,
etc. They all share similar
construc-
tion and evidence similar traits in how
they wear and
how
they are repaired.
We want this IRAN (Inspect and Re-
pair As Necessary) project to conform
to good practice, using
original
specs and standard repairs. In 2006,
EAA
sells a couple of good books:
Tips on Fatiglle will tell you
how
it
got that way and point out possible
areas to consider as prime inspection
for rework. Aircraft Sheet Metal, pub
lished by Jeppesen, is
one
good
book
available on the subject. I'd also sug
gest a
copy
of F Advisory Circular
43.13 be in your library. This
is
your
bible, your
encyclopedia,
and
your
ever-ready
reference
as to
how
the
FAA says repairs should
be accom-
plished.
And if
available,
we want
the airframe manuals from the spe
Y E.E.
BUCK
HILBERT
E
21,
l
e 5
dentist
does, we are going to
chart
it all, complete with frame numbers,
locations, descriptions, and notes as
to
our
plan
of
action. We'll attach
this plan
to
the
airframe
and use it
as a
checklist
as we
accomplish our
IRAN.
We may have to leave room for
items
that
will turn up
as
we go.
Got your
worksheets?
Digital camera?
Pencil and
measuring stick?
We re embarking
on a omplete
Take
one
area
at
a time, making notes,
taking pictures,
or
drawing diagrams.
If
it ain't broke, don't fix it may
apply to plumbing jobs, but we are
working
on
an
airplane, so
be thor-
ough Your airframe
manual
will be a
great help.
It
should have subassem
bly diagrams and speCifications, bolt
sizes and
tensions,
and information
that will save a lot
of
trial and error
when it's time
to
reassemble.
Some airplanes may have
bundles
of wiring. Pay attention to these, look
ing for deteriorating insulation. Cal
culate
planned
new
electrical
loads
if you can, and determine if
there
is
a need for replacement,
or
if the wir
ing is serviceable. Now is
the
time,
too,
to
look
at the engine
controls,
the
heat
and air boxes on the firewall,
and the ducts to the back seat. Check
the battery
box,
door
hinges, locks,
catches,
ashtrays
(hah I threw that
in
to get your attention ). Look at the
fuel lines and valves, hydraulic lines,
brake master cylinders, pitot
and
static lines (especially the old rubber
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you look
at that
list
and
try
to
put a
timeframe on each item that needs
accomplishing, you'
ll
also realize this
is going
to take awhile. But it's
not
impossible.
You
can do
it
Tires and
Wheels
These
guys
take
one
beating
af
ter another. They get slammed
onto
the
ground, accelerated from zero to
landing
speed in a fraction of a sec
ond and banged through loose stones
and
gravel. They
hop
up and down
over pavement
and
turf irregularities
and suffer the
indignities
of heavy
footed drivers
who
take
them
for
granted. These are
the
drivers who
cuss when a brake fades
and
who give
very little thought to routine mainte
nance. "Whaddaya mean I need
new
bearings They were okay
when they
were inspected last year "
One
of the mysteries of aircraft
wheel bearing deterio ration
is
expe
rienced when we open up a wheel we
know
hasn't
flown in
maybe
a year
or so, and we find the bearing cup
all full of little dents. They were re
packed
and
fine
when
we stored
the
airplane in the back of
the
hangar last
year, and now they whine like a siren
when we spin them up.
This
is a classic case of what
the
bearing boys call frenelling. This
was explained
to
me
as
being
the
re
sult of
the earth's vibrations acting
on the
bearings
.
Anyone
else
heard
that
defin ition for frenelling?
-
Edi
tor) These
vibrations
seem
to
affect
the old, hard, 6-inch tail wheels more
than
anything. One of
the
engineers
told me it's a high-stress area and
that
the
whole airplane He gets dragged
through the mud,
sand,
tall
grass,
and dirt, suffers
the same
decelera
tion/accelerat ion forces
and
unbeliev
able side loads,
and
yet is
one-tenth
the
size of
the main
gear. Usually
the
only
attention
he
gets is when
he
falls apart
and
doesn' t work anymore .
I wish there was
some
way
to teach
respect and
admiration
for this little
guy instead of the scorn and neglect
that is so prevalent. But lectures aside,
check
the
tire for wear,
the
bushings
for slop,
the
steering and swivel op
eration, the springs and chains, also
the
connectors and
the control
arms
on the rudder and
the
wheel for wear
and
elongations.
Tires and Tubes
Why
is
it a guy
with thousands
of
dollars invested in an often rare and
valuable machine wi
ll
risk the whole
thing
with a
pair
of
mismatched,
weather-checked,
raunchy-looking,
you-wouldn't-believe-he-did-that car
casses of old tires? He won't replace
them because
the
tread is still good,
even
though the
sun
has baked
the
sidewalls
to
a frazzle.
Plan
to rep
l
ace
them
if they
are
more than
seven
or eight
years
old,
but
keep
them on the airplane
through
the
rebuild process. Then
you won't get
all
upset
if
you
spill
stuff on
them
or overspray
a li
ttle
paint.
Replace
them
after
the
threat
of oil spills, paint,
and any
backward
towing trips are over.
Trade A Plane roving Test
Redoing
the
gear isn't too difficult.
ward, and vice versa if there's toe-in.
Try
it-you'll
figure
i t
out
It's
then
up to you to adjust the track
correctly according
to
the manual, if
you have
one
. In
an older machine
you may have to "beat and heat" and
use
the
old eyeball
and
Trade-A -Plane
pages to get
the
results you want.
Toe-in may be desirable in a rolling
vehicle, but it
isn't
too advisable for
an airplane. I f you have toe-in
i t
will
exaggerate when the wing goes down,
and actually promote or help a ground
loop. DOff Carpenter learned this trick
with his Ryan
ST,
and he got it from
Bill
Haselton who got
it from some
smart
cookie
who
will go nameless.
The old Swallow
is
a good example.
When
originally built,
that thing had
so much toe-in it looked like
the
tires
were
affectionately looking at
one
another.
No
wonder
the
old-timers
couldn't
keep it from ground loop
ing. With
that
short-coupled tailskid
and a wing going down,
the
wheel just
rolled
under and took the
gear
with
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we
picked
dirt
and
grass
from
be
tween the wheel flange and the tire
bead. More often than not,
the
wheel
flange is scratched and/or broken.
A
Cessna
195 also suffers
some
what
from the same malady. Pay ex
tra special attention to the
manual
on
these airplanes.
Make sure
your
Trade P
lane
proof test shows
proof
positive that you
don't
have a built
in ground loop.
One more item
on
this type of gear
leg. There is a
bolt
I call
the tongue
bolt at the extreme
upper
end
of
the
gear
that holds the entire
assembly.
Give this
guy
more
than
a cursory
glance. He holds everything in place
and is
subject to all the forces imag
inable . I f
the
aircraft has a history of
hard landings, it might
behoove
you
to replace
that bolt
,
or at
least Mag
naflux it to be sure.
Tubes Rags and
Sticks
Make the structure out
of
tubing
an
evolution
of the
bamboo
struc
ture in Dale Crites'
weetheart
Curtiss
Pusher.
Then
fair i t into a nice shape
with
formers
and
stringers
to
make
the lines flow. Cover
the
whole
thing
with the "rag" process of your choice,
and
you can have some very aesthetic
and
eye-pleasing designs like
the
Stag
gerwing,
Monocoupe
, Aeronca, etc.
These shapes are really neat and func
tional,
but the
strength lies
not in the
rag
or
the
stringers or
the
formers,
but in the tubes; namely the longe
rons and the clusters where the gear,
wing struts,
engine mounts,
and tail
feathers are attached.
When manufactured, these long
Telltale signs of rust-impregnated fab
ric may lead you to discover more ex
tensive
internal
damage. An ice-pick
test or even a drilled hole
in
these
suspect
areas will confirm or deny
deep
involvement. Now is the time
to prove to yourself and your IA that
you have a
sound fo
u
ndation
to build
on.
Also, if you have a tube
within
a
tube assembly (such as where a fin or
horizontal
surface
slips
into
a
tube
receptacle), it's a good idea to check
these rather carefully
too
.
Check these weld clusters and look
closely if
these
areas
have
a repair.
Clues as to
deformation
can
really
be evident if you just realize
they
are
trying to tell you
something;
for ex
ample
, a dragging
door
that doesn't
seem
to fit the
opening anymore,
doors
that won't
stay closed
and
keep
popping open
in flight
under
normal
flight
maneuver
"G" loads,
or
when
you are taxiing over rough
or
bumpy
ground. A little flexing may be nor
mal,
but it
could be a clue
that
some
thing is amiss! I
have
seen Champs
with
backbone
problems, and Super
Cubs
with
cracked
and even broken
diagonals
behind
the baggage pit ar
eas. Suspicious wrinkles in the fabric
and a "loose as a goose" feeling are
usually there to give
us
a clue.
When
you do repair or replace,
do it according to th e book and do
it well. No
one can
dislike a job well
done, and
if
you
really like it
when
it's finished, then you,
my
friend, are
a mechanic and a craftsman . A
true
mechanic
is
the
guy
who is proud of
his work.
H
ook
up air hose from your com
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other
abrasive.
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(incl
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scale
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8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2006
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onto
N9 6H
taxied
the flightline
in
the vintage
aircraft
camping
area
just
as the
crowds
had
thinned
for
the
day. The early
evening sun
ca
ressed its bright scarlet gull-shaped
wings, setting them aglow atop a vel
vet
black fuselage. Freshly
restored
gullwings denoted N9116H's
Stin
son
Reliant heritage,
but N9116H
began
life as a
military
AT-19.
The
Stinson Aircraft
Division
of Vultee
built 500 of these robust aircraft for
use as
navigational
trainers by the
United
States Army Air Forces. Pow
ered by
a
300-hp
Lycoming R-680,
wheel facilitated ground handling.
The
majority
of the AT-19s
were
sent to Great Britain via our govern
ment's
Land-Lease program during
World War II, and the British military
employed them for a variety of uses,
ranging from training naVigators and
transporting personnel or cargo to fly
ing observation
and
aerial
photo
mis
sions. Yet
their need
was short-lived,
and
several
hundred AT-19s
were des
tined
to
become military surplus back
in the States after the war.
These
hardy, five-place
airplanes
were soon made
available
for civil
ian purchase
and subsequently
cer
tificated
as
the
V-77.
They quickly
gained
popularity
in Alaska as bush
planes-whether on
wheels,
pon
toons, or skis. While 134 V-77s
and
15 AT-19s remain listed on the
FAA
Registry, they
are still
a
fairly
rare
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Wynne, Arkansas.
Then he
sold it
to
another friend of mine,
and
it sat again
for years and years. Finally, this fellow
decided he wanted to sell it, and I told
Don and Mark about it. They
bought
it
in the spring of 2004 and started restor
ing it to show quality.
estoration
and
O/'a//enges
The V-77,
at that point,
had
only
1 077 hours total time in service but
c:
Q j i t despe
ratel
y needed a heavy
dose
of tender
loving care
to
bring
it
back
It
togeth
er into fly ing form. The
ensu
f)
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a::
'
J
Z
z
~ ~
AirVenture Lindy award
winners-a
1946 Piper Cub
and
a 1947 Aeronca
Champ-before taking on
this
Stin
son. He's a perfectionist, and he knows
what
it takes to do a quality restora
tion. I am a house builder,
and
he's an
airplane builder, and there's a tremen
dous difference there. Mark has taught
me a lot in rebuilding this airplane.
And
when the
airframe
components
were completed
and
ready for the fi
nal assembly phase, Ross
Jones
gave
Mark Henley a helping hand.
Nearly all of the Stinson 's major
components
had somehow
survived
The Stinson has ample space and horsepower to cany camping gear
We
Dought the night
I looked
ot
If;
I
lOt/ed 11
/rom Hrst slght··
After installing the fabric on the
Stinson's steel tubing
and
aluminum
faired airframe, Henley used th e Air
Tech coatings system, just as he
had
for hi s previous award winners. It's
rea l
user-friendl
y and
ha
s a really
good shine, plus it holds
up
well, he
explains, adding, I've
had
real good
luck with it, and I prefer it over other
paint systems. The color scheme came
from a Hallmark Christmas
ornament
that
a buddy gave me-it was a minia
ture Stinson Reliant, painted black
and
red-and I modified that
scheme
for
the V-77.
I used just a basic black
and
Mark
Henley
Henleys enco
unt
ered a variety of
challenges.
For
Don
Henley,
i t
was
learning how
to sew
the hidden
rib
stitch that Mark
taught
me
and
then
rib-stitching those gullwings, because
the
depth of
the
wing varies,
and
i t
has so
man
y internal structures.
For Mark Henley, one notable
challenge that required some careful
thinking
was
th
e
wing installation.
That was a head-scratcher, for sure,
he recalls, explaining, we
ended
up
making padded, carpeted slings that
hung from the ceiling
to
help slowly
raise those h
eavy
but fragile wings
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N9116H boasts a 300-hp Lycoming
R-6S0
from Radial
Engines Ltd. Note the gullwing style cowling, which pro
vides
easy
access to the
engine and
reveals the Stinson's
military heritage.
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at
a fly-in
at
Bartlesville,
Oklahoma
.
"
When
I
met
him, he asked me
what
I was restoring, and I told him what it
was. Most people hadn't
even heard
of
one, and he actually had one
So
he took me flying in it, and that was
real
encouraging
because I hadn't
even seen
a complete V-77 at
that
point. And it's
the
only
one
I've seen
except for
mine
since then. He's a real
nice guy, and I called him a hundred
times-he
never hesitated to answer
any questions about the airplane.
So
he was absolutely a great help."
eatures and
ods
This
custom restoration
was de
signed to keep the
aesthetic
beauty Rib-stitching the
Stinson s gullwings
was time-consuming job.
of the
gullwing Stinson
intact
while
simultaneously incorporating the
practical convenience of modern
technology. Its modifications include
Cleveland wheels and brakes; an al
ternator; a
Garmin
GNS 430 GPS,
GTX 327 transponder, and GMA 340
audio
panel;
and
for the pilot and
passengers' entertainment, a PS Engi
neering
CD
player.
One unique feature about
the
V 77
is its
vacuum-operated
flaps. "I was
going to modify them and put elec
tric flap
actuators
in it, explains
Mark Henley,
because
I didn't re
alize how smooth
and
reliable
the
vacuum-operated flaps were until af
ter I flew
with
Buddy
in
his
Stinson
.
The flaps are lowered by using mani
Work
on
the
wings is well underway.
fold pressure from the engine,
and
a return spring helps them retract.
If
the engine
quits,
there
is an extra
reservoir
tank
that gives you one last
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0-------- ~
Ryans
Tigers
and
Spartans
eandering through the fields
o
flying machines
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,
"This is my 6th year at Oshkosh; I started coming as amodeler,
looking
for
subjects
to
model, and Igot caught with the
full-size
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Leon
Whelchel
IL of
Iowa and his 1942
Tiger Moth,
with
longtime
friend and
fe
ll
ow
Tiger Moth
owner, Robbie
Jewitt of
the
United Kingdom
ger, and it was presented to
him
by
the Duchess of Bedford."
Whelchel
describes
the
Tiger as a
fun flying airplane,
but one that
"isn't
terribly stable. I
think they
designed
it
that
way, because it was a primary
trainer
for the Royal Air Force.
They
built over 8,000 of
them
during World
War
II and
the Tiger Moth
is
as well
known
in England
and the British
Commonwealth
as the
Piper Cub."
One of the interesting features you '
ll
find
on this vintage machine,
in ad
dition to its "ship's compass," are the
slats on
the
leading edges of the upper
wings, which are controlled by a lever
in the
cockpit.
Whelchel
elaborates,
If
the slats are not locked, they'
ll
fly
aerodynamically.
As
you increase your
speed, they'll
fly
back to the retract po
sition,
and
when you slow down, they
come out and
help you fly
at
slower
speeds. You'll want to lock
them
down
if
you re
flying acrobatics or dog
fighting with a Cub--and you can out
tum a Cub with this airplane "
Three of these flying machines were
present this year to commemorate the
75th
anniversary of
the Tiger Moth .
Two retained military
paint
schemes,
and the third was a replica
of
Lindley
Wright's original Woody Woodpecker
owned by Vintage
member
Tom Diet
rich
of
Kitchener, Ontario.
Dietrich
explains the history surrounding the
Woody Tiger Moth this way: "Lindley
Wright
is
a retired airline pilot
and
a
wartime pilot who flew 125 missions
over the Hump, and he just loves to
fly.
He used to come to Oshkosh and
he gave rides in Woody and that was
with no brakes and a tailskid-he was
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Gary Kozak
of
Illinois with his Menasco-powered Ryan ST and its
original Dutch
navy
paint
scheme.
as they battled strong headwinds for
750 miles. Dietrich smiles with con
tagious enthusiasm as
he
shares that
he
has loved airplanes all
my
life,
and this is my 36th year
at
Oshkosh;
I started coming as a modeler, look
ing for subjects to mode l, and I got
caught with
the
fu
ll
-size bug, so
now
all my models are full size "
yan ST
When Vintage member Gary Kozak
of Downers Grove, Illinois, taxied his
1940 Ryan onto the grass field, onlook
ers walked over and began talking with
him before he even climbed
out
of
the
Menasco-powered open-cockpit mono
plane. But Kozak didn't seem
to mind
the
attention at all. He described
the
airplane he's owned since 1998 by first
134-hp Menasco Pirate D487." 450-hp Pratt Whitney Wasp R-985 .
Jake Bartholow was member
of the
Gemco Aviation
Services team
that re
stored
this Green Hornet Beechcraft Staggerwing.
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A
highly
modified
Navion, which belongs to
Ron
Judy
of Oklahoma.
When the fire department
got there,
they hit it with water and that just
accelerated the flames. It only had 7S
hours total time
then, and
it's flown
only 30 hours since we've restored
it and a new owner has purchased
i t-so it has just over 100 hours total
time today."
nauion s 60th Hnniuersary
While some folks enjoyed family
type reunions, type clubs celebrated
the
60th
anniversary of
the
Navion .
Ron
Judy of the American Navion
So-
ciety explains
that
three rows of park
ing were reserved for them by the
Vintage Aircraft Association this year.
"We flew in individually, and we had
to
be here
by Sunday
night,
or the
tie-down spots were given
to
some
body else. Vintage also worked with
another
Navion type club, Navion
Skies,
and
we love
the
fact that we
were all able to park together," says
which were field
approvals.
Judy
flew his Super Navion from his home
in
the
panhandle
of
Oklahoma
to
AirVenture-and
he's
been
flying a
Navion to the
show ever
since he
bought
his first
one
in 1988 and be
came a Vintage member. All told,
he's flown
to
the
show
for a
total
of
27 years.
Swifts
The International Swift Association
(now the Swift Museum
Foundation
Inc.) has made an annual tradition of
attending
AirVenture. Founder Char
lie Nelson explains that beginning
in 1970, we have always had a group
arrival at Oshkosh. This year, we had
23
pre-registered Swifts,
and
also two
or
three
found
their
way after
the
opening of the show."
"Swifters" flew to Wisconsin from
a variety of locations,
including
Or
egon, Minnesota , Tennessee, Texas,
Ron Judy at work in the type club
tent;
he
is
on
the
board of directors for
the
American
Navion
Society.
ard Means
of
Oregon, and Dick and
Jeanie
Collins of
California, says
Nelson, who also elaborates on other
Swift activities
that
went
well during
the week, including their information
table
in
lithe type club tent, thanks to
lots of help. Our forum was attended
by
67
people,
and
we
had
46 for din
ner
in
Winneconne."
Short
Wings
The
Short
Wing Piper
Club
(SWPC) was
very
well-represented
this year,
thanks
to organizational
efforts
by
Vintage
and
SWPC
mem
ber
Jim
Clark
, who
contacted VAA
about type club parking. He was
originally granted 20 spaces, but
that number soon doubled.
Twenty
short
wings
made
a
group
arrival
on
Sunday, with 20 more arriving later.
Clark remarks, "This has just been a
hoot And VAA has
been
so gracious
with us. We
have an
abundance of
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These Tri Pacers were among 40 short wing Pipers on the flightline this
year.
Jim
Clark
of Kansas
is all smiles as he stands with his freshly restored award-
winning PA 22120.
pie of Vagabonds
and
a Clipper here.
Our members flew in
from
Kansas,
Ohio, California, Illinois, Nebraska,
Pennsylvania
Georgia,
Wisconsin
Indiana, Oregon, Missouri, Michigan,
Tennessee,
Washington
Texas, New
York Florida,
and
Idaho./I
Clark flew his newly restored and
modified PA-22/20 Pacer to
the
show
this year from his home in Chapman,
Kansas, and smiles
proudly
when
he
says, I had eight hours
on
it
when
I landed here. This is
my
first resto
Spartan-they
only made 34
of them
and there's
21
left
on
the registry, of
which
about
10 to 12 are flying./I
The Spartan has
a
450-hp
Pratt
Whitney R-985, and Bucher says, it
cruises around 150-160 mph
down
low,
and i t
goes 200
mph up high at
10,000 feet. It's a two-finger airplane;
it's very stable in the air and has fairly
good ground-handling characteris
tics. I
do
like wheel landings because
they
give me better visibility over
the
nose./I He's
owned the
airplane for
four years
now-two of
which were
devoted to
its
restoration-and this
was its
third
visit to AirVenture.
Luscombe T8f
Longtime
Vintage member Jerry
Sadowski was quietly reading a book
under the
wing
of
his Lycoming
powered 1949 Luscombe T8F Observer,
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That was right after World War
II,
when all the pilots were
fly-
ing
on
the
GI
Bill. My friend
and
I would ride
our
bicycles
across
town
to the airport and
go sit inside
the
airplanes-and
they'd let us /I
family of
uiators
AirVenture not only attracts
all sorts of flying machines, but
groups of individuals who have
bonded over the years. Twenty
four years ago a unique family
of aviators was formed amidst
the rows of airplanes at Osh
Je
r
ry
Sadowski
of Minnesota
with
his
1949 Luscombe
T8F
and
patch-covered jacket rep
kosh. That family has grown to
resen
ting decade
s
of attendance at AirVenture.
Janis Thacker
of
Illinois spent her
h
on
eymoonwith her husband,
Bill,
at
EAA
s fly-in at
Oshko
sh years ago, and
they
ve
been
attending ever
since
yet welcomed the opportunity to
share
his
knowledge about
the
T8F.
There
were
73 of these Observ
ers built, and
they
made 35 more as
sprayers;
there
are
probably
just
un
der 50 flying today.
I
bought it
in
2000 in
Kingfisher,
Oklahoma, and
before
that,
I
owned
a Luscombe
8A
for 27 years. Compared to
the 8A the
T8F
is
a very heavy-feeling airplane,
and
it's a difficult airplane
to land
in
a crosswind."
When
asked
how many
times he's
attended
the
show, Sadowski laughs
with
the unbridled
enthusiasm of a
young boy and
holds up
his
patch
covered jacket, exclaiming, "I come to
Oshkosh every year I
wouldn't
wear
this
jacket
until I had five patches
on
it, because I
wanted
to be
an
old
t imer-now I am a really
old
timer.
As a little boy, I was an
airport bum.
more
than
60 members today,
and they range in age from 7 to
70, according to Ercoupe owner Darrell
Jenkins of Heber Springs, Arkansas.
We
have people from California, Arkan
sas, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Kentucky, and
South Carolina,
and
most all of us
fly
vintage airplanes here every
year.
Being
at Oshkosh
is an
experience
that
you
just can' t describe to people, and I guess
if
I had to say that one particular thing
is
the best part, it would be the fellow
ship in our Metro Warbirds group./I
Vintage
members John
and Joyce
Pipkin, who journeyed to Wiscon
sin from
Columbia, South
Carolina,
in their
Cessna 180 to be with
the
group, echo similar sentiments. Joyce
Pipkin enjoys
the lithe gathering of
folks
from
all over
the
country;
we
look forward to getting together each
year
to celebrate our
love
of
avia
tion with
longtime
friends
and
new
acquaintances. Both
she and her
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A nicely
restored
1946 Aeronca
7AC
in Chenoa, Illinois, this
year-a
jour-
ney they've been making for 19 years.
My
husband and
I had our honey
moon at Oshkosh under
the
wing of
our Luscombe, and that's
when
we met
some of these guys. Now it has become
a family vacation s well s an aviator's
reunion
for us, she says
with an
en-
ergetic smile. She earned her pilot cer-
tificate years ago, but explains that as
a busy
mother
today, she flies a mini-
van instead of an airplane.
fields
of
iscouery
AirVenture's grass fields were ripe for
discovery this summer, and we hope
you've enjoyed learning a bit more about
just a few
of the hundreds of airplanes
and their caretakers who were there. The
next time you find yourself meandering
through a field of flying machines, pause
for just a moment, and allow your eyes
to caress the graceful curves of wingtips
and rudders, and feel the wonder of dis-
covery unfolding deep
within
you as
A 1959
Meyers
200 0ne
of
two
Meyers
on
the
flight
line this year
.
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Bob
Lock s newly
re-restored
1929 Command-Aire, which
fl w with
the American
Barnstormers
Tour this summer.
This
1931
Steannan
was a p rticip nt in the American
This
Menasco-powered 1932 Fairchild 22 was p rt of the
Bamstonners Tour, which ended t AirVenture.
American Barnstonners Tour.
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We
supply Quality
workmanship
with
a
quick
turnaround
for
a
price you ll like.
• CR NKSH FT GRINDING • C MSH FT GRINDING • CONNECTING RODS • ROCKER RMS • T PPET BODIES • COUNTERWEIGHTS
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INSPECTIONS • CUSTOM M CHINING • PL TING
At Aircraft Specialties Services
asp
is the goal. The
first part of
asp
is the quality which is the watch word;
every part is re-machined to the tightest Original
Equipment Manufacturers specifications. Our quality
control continually tests repairs and certifies new repairs to
with fast turn around to keep your plane or a customer s
plane in the air not on the ground.
Last and by no means least is price. We work hard to
provide as many safe certified repairs as possible. We
-
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A Pratt
Whitney-powered Grumman
Goose-note the retractable tip float modification.
.
A patriotic-colored
Seabee
nestles close to the shoreline at the seaplane base.
This 1941
Aeronca 65-CA was
rebuilt
by
a host of
teenagers
at
the Flabob
Airport in Riverside, California. We ll have
more
on
this inspiring story in a future issue of
Vintage Airplane
-
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Robert
Pete
Johnson
Faribault
MN
rivate
pilot since
197
urchased
first aircraft
in 1992
I purchased my first and only aircraft,
GC l
B Swift
78068
in
1992 after a lengthy search.
Immediately after the purchase, 068 was fully restored back to
original. And, also immediately after the purchase, I began my
relationship with AUA that continues very favorably to
this
day.
Pete Johnson
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Several
Cessna
170s
were
grouped together.
These
three
Spartans made an impressive showing on
the flightline
Bob
McCorkle flew
his
1935 Kinner Sportster to
AirVenture from his
home
in Connecticut
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The 2007 official Vintage Airplane calendar is a collection
of
stunning
air-to-air aviation photography showcasing some
of
the most remarkable
airplanes of yesteryear. Each month features a classic aircraft that will
be prized by anyone who appreciates the grandeur of aviation. Detailed
narrative descriptions are provided with each image, plus "three-views" of
the featured planes. Each month also provides key events in aviation history,
on the actual date of occurrence. This 14xll-inch, full-color wall
rUF. HUU
is the perfect giftfor all
V
members and their families.
-
To
order, mail your check/money order to:
VAA
2007 Calendar c/o Turner Publishing Company
PO Box 3101 • Paducah, KY 42002-3101
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2006
30/44
Stinson
Gullwin.g
continued from page
eautiful Henley
Red gullwings form
a
bold
yet
graceful silhouette against the
blue Florida
sky
l e S S O l S andRewords
Together, the Henleys gained some
valuable
know
ledge
throughout the
project. When asked what tips or sug
gestions they might share with others,
Mark Henley laughs
good-naturedly
and
comments, "Know
when
to stop
That's because before too long, it can
cost you more
than
it might be worth."
Don Henley, who
watched
his
son
Mark
become interested in
air
planes
as
a child, shares that his
own
"personal satisfaction was
to
see
my
son
fulfill a
dream, adding,
after a
moment's thoughtful
reflection,
"I
know how
to build houses, and how
to
make
a
living
, but I had no clue
we would spend a third this much
time to build
an airplane.
So
it's im
portant
to
have
patience
and no t
be
overwhelmed by a project. If you can
learn
to
take it
one
step
at
a time, it's
not
so overwhelming."
e r
haps
the
most
satisfying thing
about
the pro ject, for both men, was
seeing it accelerate
down
the runway
and
take off for its
maiden
flight.
Sweet
FI ling Moehine
Of
course, one
of
the ultimate re
wards of this custom restoration is re
served for those
aviators who
have
the good fortune to climb inside the
spacious cabin
and
experience flying
in
this
victorious V-77. Mark Henley
wasn't able
to
attend Sun 'n Fun be
r i L W ~ L S
cause of his work schedule,
and
it was
Chris Emerson who received the
honor
of
flying
the newly
restored
Stinson
from Batesville, Arkansas, to Lakeland,
Florida, accompanied by Don Henley.
"Well, somebody
had
to
fly
it," says
Emerson,
laughing as a huge
smile
spreads
across
his
face . He quickly
adds, "Seriously, it's a real opportu
nity
to get to
fly
it,
and
opportunities
like
that don't
come along every day.
We left
Arkansas
a little after
9:00
a.m. and arrived here at Lakeland
about 7:30 p.m. When we left, it only
had
about 10 hours on it,
and
we put
abo ut seven
hours
on
it
flying down
here
. It's very
fun to
fly; it's
kind
of
like a big truck because i t has a heavy,
solid fee l to it. I t ~ not
bad at
all on
land ing, but
it
does need brakes be
cause the tail wheel
doesn't
steer. It's
a real sweet flying airplane, real easy
to handle, and very predictable."
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2006
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continued from page 3
The
experience
is
capped by
a two
hour
flight in EAA s 1929 aircraft
during which participants can log 0.2
hours at
the
controls.
EAA s B-17G, December 1-3
One of
the
most
noteworthy-and
effective-airplanes
of
World War II
was
the
B-17 Flying Fortress.
EAA s
meticulous flying example,
Aluminum
Overcast needs little introduction.
Camp participants will be immersed
in
the history
of
the
type
meet
B-
17 veterans,
and
receive a 45-minute
flight experience.
Visit
www.AirVentureMuseum.org /
f/ightops/fantasycamp
for more infor
mation or to sign up to attend.
VAA
Calendar
Ad
In this month's issue of
Vintage
Air-
plane
you'll see
an
advertisement for
the
2007 Vintage Aircraft Association
calendar,
as
published by Turner Pub
lishing. The calendar features
the
out
standing aviation
photography
of
EAA s staff and volunteers, along wi th
a bonus page dedicated
to
VAA s
vol
unteer corps. Each airplane is described
and shown with a three-view draWing,
and many
aviation events
are
high
lighted
on
the actual day of occurrence.
A portion of
the
proceeds benefits
the
VAA.
See the ad on page
25
for more in
formation, and order yours today
Do You Have a Story to Tell?
Whether you are a
student
pilot
or
an
experienced flight instructor, we'd
like to hear about why
you
fly. EAA
CFI's
Guide
to Sport Pilot and
Light-Sport
Aircraft
Available
EAA
and its affiliate organization the Na
t ional Association
of
Flight Instructors
(NAFI)
have developed the CFI's Guide to Sport
Pi
lot
and Light-Sport Aircraft for existing cer
tificated flight instructors
seeking to
offer
sport pilot instruction.
Current certificated flight instructors don't
need any new certification to train sport
pi
lots. They may train
sport
pilots within the
category and class limitations
of
their certifi
cate. The
CFI s Guide
provides overviews of
t
he
sport pilot certificate
and
the various
LSA
categories, along with requirements for aug
mented privileges, endorsements,
and
more.
Our goal is
to
make
it
as easy as pos
sible for existing CFls to offer sport pilot instruction, said Charlie Becker,
EAA
director of aviation services. This puts it all in one place to take some of the
perceived mystery out
of
what's required for sport pilot instruction.
Larry Bothe, Master Instructor and an
FAA
deSignated pilot examiner from
Seymour, Indiana, attended AirVenture Oshkosh this year looking for answers to
a list of
sport
pilot certificat ion questions. My intent was to ask the experts who
would be available at the show,
he
said, but upon entering the
sport
pilot area
at the
EAA
Member Village,
he
got a copy
of
the
CFI s Guide.
After I got
that
I
didn t
need to talk to anybody, he said. All the answers
and interpretations I needed were right there
in
plain English. Every CFI and
DPE
ought to have a copy.
Visit
www.SportPilot.org
and click on the Flight Instructors tab to download your
copy today.
And
if you're a
CFI
offering sport pilot instruction, get some free expo
sure by listing yourself in the
EAA
sport pilot instructors directory on the website .
• Written testimonials must not
EAA's
New
U.S Bank
exceed 150 words
in
length. Visa Card Features
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ties cardholders to a discount (Up to
10 percent; restrictions apply to avi
onics) with
EAA
flagship partner Air-
craft Spruce & Specialty. Additional
partners will be added to the program
in
the
future.
EAA serves the needs and interests
of aviation enthusiasts by
provid
ing
opportunities
for
participation,
representation in government and
industry
affairs,
information re
sources, and
educational
programs.
EAA
receives a
portion
of each
pur
chase
made with the card
to help
support
its educational
and youth
activities
.
Share
your
passion
and
commitment to aviation by signing
up
for an
EAA
Platinum Visa credit
card . Visit U.S. Bank's secure sign
up
site, www.USBank.com/eaavisa .
for more information.
AVIATION N THE MEDIA
lyboys
Lucky EAA
members
who won
tickets to
the
premiere of Flyboys
min
gled with aviation celeb
rities such as Bob Hoover
and movie folks as the
film, directed by
Tony
Bill, debuted in EAA s
Ea-
gle Hangar during EAA
AirVenture. Based
on
the
story of the men of the La-
fayette Escadrille, the film
features the flying skills of
a number of EAA
mem
bers, including
VAA s
own
Andrew King, who helped
the
movie's producers gather
the replica aircraft used for full-scale flying. Andrew also
flew for
the
cameras, his experience
with
World War I
aircraft
and
vintage airplanes proving to be just
what
the
director needed.
Using extensive computer-generated (CG) scenes and
aircraft,
F/yboys is
a spectacular film. While certainly
not
a documentary, the aircraft look exceptionally good, as
the filmmakers strove to make the presentation of oth
erwise impossible scenes to film come alive. Bill, direc
tor of
the
film,
is
an active pilot,
and
he used technology
to help artists complete their CG work. For example, a
Bticker biplane was rigged
with
a set of sensors so
that
aerobatic sequences for the movie could be recorded in
terms a computer could understand, including accelera
PBS viation
Programs
Aviation seems to be a common theme in the media
these days,
and the
PBS
network has a pair of programs
that
will pique the interest of aviators. Warplane will air
November
8 and 15, 2006.
The
first program,
Airplane
to Air Force deals with the invention
and
growth of
the
airplane
into
a practical fighting machine
and
includes
some well-done graphics. In particular, the use of a com
puter-animated rotary engine explains
the
unusual na
ture of its construction clearly
and
quickly. Since there
is
no
actual aerial footage shot during WWI,
the
produc
ers met
the
challenge of visually explaining early aerial
combat by rolling
out the
footage from Hell's Angels
and
Wings to help fill in the visual gaps, and those shots are
intermingled with footage shot of modern-day replicas,
which help clarify the origin of the footage. Since I saw a
copy of the program before it
had
been finalized, I can t
tell you for certain the footage will be identified within
the
program,
but
you'll
know
it
when
you see it. Both
programs help highlight the challenges
aviators
and
designers had to deal with as the fighting airplane rap
idly matured
into
a force
that
literally could change the
course of history.
Also being shown on PBS
within
its award-winning
NOVA series
is
a
documentary concerning one
of piO-
neer aviation s most enigmatic men:
Alberto Santos
Dumont.
We
have
not had
the opportunity to
preview
the program, but the NOVA website
has
details
con
cerning
Wings
o
Madness
the
title
of the
NOVA pro
gram that will tell the amazing tale of Santos-Dumont,
the
expatriate
Brazilian whose work in balloons, air
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Maybe
you
vvere
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and
vvant
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EAA AirVenture
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this year's Fly-In Convention.
The
daily air shows ...
the
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. . . he Ultral ights .. . the
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-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2006
34/44
BY DOUG STEW RT
laying the
weather
game
Last
month
I wrote about my departure from AirVenture cards correctly, there was
no
reason I couldn't make it safely
2006 and mentioned the fact that many pilots were rushing
home before the day was done. Part of playing my cards cor
to depart between two weather systems. A strong front had
rectly was knowing
that
I had an ace
up
my sleeve in the
swept across
OSH
from the northwest with a squall line con form of all the weather information that was available to me
taining some severe thunderstorms that created havoc in in my Garmin 396 portable GPS and
XM
Weather receiver. I t
its path. A second squall line was following about 80 miles
was
the
proper use of this equipment that would aid me
as
I
behind the first line, so many pilots were eager to depart be caught up to the weather and picked a route around it.
tween the two lines of weather.
In the
not
too
distant
past, the
I
suppose many of those
pi
lots might have been departing
to
the
west, southwest, or
south and
would soon be far away from
the
problematic weather But I was
headed eastbound. It wouldn't take
too terribly long until I would catch
up to the weather that was leading
me
on
my way back home. What
would I do then, and what was my
rush to depart Wittman Field?
To
answer
the
latter question
first, I did have a client scheduled
at
my home airport for
the
fol
lowing day. The client knew
that
our appointment
was
dependent
In
the not
too
distant
past,
the
best that any
of
us
flying general
aviation aircraft
had
for
weather
avoidance
equpment
was
"third world radar"
best that any of us flying general
aviation aircraft
had
for weather
avoidance equipment was third
world radar (our two eyeballs look
ing out the windshield) and an ADF
to act as a Stone
Age
stormscope.
A handful of folks
did
have live
weather radar on board, and some
of those folks even knew how to use
that equipment
That, along with
some
approach
and
center
con-
trollers
who
had
the
knowledge,
equipment, and willingness to help,
was about the best that we could
do in avoiding any serious en-route
weather. But those days are history.
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8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2006
35/44
weather that preceded me eastbound, I knew exactly where
that weather was. At
the
touch of a button I could see
the
NEXRAD radar picture (including a time stamp telling me
how old the picture was, which was rarely more
than
10
minutes, maximum), I could see graphically which airports
were reporting VFR, MVFR, IFR, and LIFR,
and
if I chose, I
could also see a textual
METAR
as well
as
any updated TAFs
for any selected airport.
If
there were any storm cells, I could
drag the cursor on the screen to the cell
and
tell instantly
the height of the tops, the decibels of rain, and the general
direction the cell was moving, as well as where it should be
in
15
minutes. Again, at the touch of a button I could read a
textual message telling even more about
the
cell: how wide
the cell was; its direction of movement as well
as
speed;
the
height of the tops and decibels of precipitation; and the per
centage and probability of hail.
As
AIRMETS, SIGMETS, and convective SIGMETS were is
sued, I could go to the screen of my receiver and see, graph
ically, what the
limits of those warnings
were,
without
having to try and find the VORs
that
defined those limits
(whose identifiers I knew not)
on
a chart. I could see
the
satellite picture as well as echo tops. I could reference winds
aloft and request the most effective altitude without climb
ing or descending only
to
find
out
that I had been better
off where I had been. I could see reported lightning strikes
(more
on
this in a moment), the synoptic picture
as
well as
forecast pictures up to four days hence), and more, all at the
stroke of a button or two.
Having
all
this weather information available in the cock
pit sure makes the airborne decision-making process much
easier when adverse weather is involved. It's obvious
that
having it is the cat's meow, but I also have some warnings as
well, lest that cat turn into a tiger and bite you real bad. To
begin with, we have to always remember that the NEXRAD
radar picture is a minimum of five minutes old when it is re
ceived in the cockpit. Thus, whereas the information is fan
tastic in developing a strategic plan for aVOiding the serious
weather that can ruin our day, it is not to be used
as
a tactical
tool to attempt to penetrate a line of weather.
As
an example, I used the equipment on
my
flight
out
to
OSH
, to avoid all the bad weather that lay from my home
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that is present in
the
cumulous (or building) stage of
the
thunderstorm is not shown on any of the datalink weather
receivers. The only place to find this information is on real
time devices, such as the
L-3
Avionics Systems Stormscope
and the Insight Strikefinder.
Also beware that
when
looking at
the
graphical depic
tions of field conditions VFR/MVFR, etc.) remember
that if
the
icon indicates
VFR,
it
is
only saying
that
the ceiling
is
at
least 3,000 feet
and
visibilities are at least 5 miles or more.
It
does not necessarily mean that the skies are CAVU/severe
clear. The ceilings might very well be just at 3,000 feet,
and
you might find yourself unable to descend from your cruise
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2006
36/44
BY
H.G. FRAUTSCHY
THIS ONT S MYSTERY PLANE PHOTO COMES TO US FROM
THE COLLECTION
OF
ERIC LUNDAHL.
1929, pp 388, 445) has two men
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2006
37/44
tions
of the 1929
amphibian.
The
first mention is made
in
an article
about the
forthcoming
National
Aeronautic Association
(NAA) Exhi
bition and National
Air Race,
held
at Cleveland, Ohio (where the Great
Lakes
Aircraft
Corp.
was
located).
The
article,
A
forecast
of the
Cleve
land
Show
(Neville, Leslie E., pp
387 -394), states: ... Two amphibi
ons, the
latest
products
of
the
Great
Lakes Aircraft
Corp.,
will
be shown
in
the
company's
booth.
Two
train
ers, one of which will
be
suspended
overhead on
a revolving
turntable in
constant motion, will be
shown.
An
other trainer will be used by the air
race
management
as a
'living poster'
and other planes of this type
will
be
exhibited at various
hotels
and de
partment
stores
in
the
city
. .
,,
The second
mention of the
Great
Lakes amphibian, or
amphibion, to
use
the contemporary term,
comes in General
News
column
in viation
(Great Lakes Making
Amphibions,
p
445).
The
text
states: CLEVE
LAND (OHIO) - Great
Lakes
Aircraft
Corpora
tion here is now in pro
duction on a new four
passenger, twin-engined
amphibion biplane.
Whether
the Neville
article refers
to
two air
craft
of the same type
or
two
different
designs,
I
cannot say.
phibions and
air yachts as far back
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as 1911. Given the preponderance
of
evidence that Richardson had
been
involved
with
so
many
float
planes and flying boats, it does seem
likely
that
he had
a
good
deal
to do
with the 1929
amphibion s
design.
That said
given
his reputation as a
designer, it is a bit
surprising
that
the 1929 amphibion would have
been
such a flop.
I
understand
the Skyways maga
zine has a
fairly good
article
on
Great
Lakes
aircraft in
the January
2003 issue which may have further
information about
the
amphibion.
Unfortunately,
I
do
not have
that
issue. Moreover it is
quite possible
that
there
are further mentions of
the 1929
amphibion
in the various
periodicals,
including Aviation
My
copies for 1929 are
quite
limited as
I generally specialize in
much ear
lier aircraft types.
Wesley R Smith
Springfield Illinois
The July
Mystery
Plane
is the
1929 Great Lakes 4A-1 amphibian
with
16S-hp
Wright WhirlwindJ-6-S
engines.
The
Wright
engines re
placed
the
original 11S-hp Cirrus
Hermes
in-line
four-cylinder en
gines after the
prototype
crashed
on takeoff with
the Cirrus Hermes
engines.
I t seems
uncertain how
many
model
4A-l
planes
were built. Aero
files.com
lists registration number
8S0K as serial number 100 and reg
istrations 851 K and 8S2K were ap
parently
reserved for registration as
The
July Mystery
Plane
is the
http:///reader/full/files.comhttp:///reader/full/files.com
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2006
39/44
Great Lakes 4 A1 with identification
made from Joe Juptner's T-Hangar
Tales,
pp. 83-84, and from the article
by Page Shamburger and Joe Christy
entitled
liThe
Legendary Meyers
and
his Mighty Midget" in Air Progress
for November 1968, pp.S2-SS, 72-73 .
There were reports in contemporary
aeronautical magazines, for exam
ple, Aviation Vol. 27 (July - Decem
ber
1929) p. 277, p. 245, p.
467ft.
and
p. 502ft. I'll
quote
from the last
of these later.
The
4-A 1 was built by the
Great
Lakes Aircraft Company (GLAC) of
Cleveland, Ohio, in about 1929. I t was
a four-place
amphibian
powered ini
tially by a pair of Cirrus Hermes four
cylinder
in-line engines
of
115 hp
each. Later, it was re-engined
with
a
pair first of Wright J-6-S five-cylinder
radial
engines of ISO hp each and
later with WrightJ-6-7 seven-cylinder
radial engines of 220 hp
each.
The
Hermes engines were probably made
in
England, since American Cirrus
Engines
Inc.
built
only
a slightly
smaller engine,
the
Cirrus Mk.Ill (ac
cording to Aerosphere for 1939).
The story of the failures
to
fly of
the 4 A1 is described in the Juptner
and Air Progress write-ups. I am quot
ing, instead, from
the
fourth Aviation
reference because it gives information
not
available in more recent publica
tions. My quotation is from a hand
written
transcription that I made
about 45 years ago (before copy ma
chines), so it
may
not
be exact .
The
GLAC
training plane
in the quote is
the famous 2-T-l series, which had
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r
oval belt
buckle. It fits a 105 wide belt. A great
TOOR ER
1-800-843-3612
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