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VOL. 32, No. 10 2 4
CONTENTS
2
4
1
VAA
News
Reminiscing
with
Big Nick
Reprinted from Vintage Airplane
une
1974
by Nick Rezich
French Delicacy
The Morane Saulnier 230 of Tom Leaver
COVERS
RONT COVER It
could
be
argued
that
Tomas
Leaver's Morane Saulnier 230 is one of the rarest
airplanes
in the United
States,
since there is only
one
between
our shores. The
same
type airplane
as
used
to depict the
New
Monoplane
in the
1960's WW·I flick The Blue
Max
: the 230 is
flown
by Tom in
the
same
manner
in
which
it
was
built
originally-no brakes, and no
steerable tailwheel.
EAA photo by Jim Koepnick,
Cessna
210 photo
plane flown by Bruce Moore
.
BACK COVER Racing the Storm ,
an oil
painting by
artist Jerry
Anderson,
depicts an American Airways
Curtiss
Condor on
short
final to
a fictitious airport
in
rural
New
York,
circa
1932-34. The
captain
is
attempting to
land
just
ahead
of an
approaching
line
of
summer
thunderstorms,
as
a
farmer in his
Model
T
also rushing
to
beat the weather
,
slows
momentarily
to
watch
the aircraft pass overhead.
You can
reach Jerry at jandersonart@supernet.
com.
He resides
in Middletown
,
Pennsylvania.
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G OFF
RO INSON
PRESIDENT VINTAGE ASSOCIATION
Exercising your right to
speak out
Having just returned
from EAA
AlrVenture Oshkosh 2004, I must say
my head
is
still in a bit of a spin. There
was just so
much
to see
and
do, it was
nearly overwhelming.
It continues
to amaze me
that so
many rare and beautiful vintage aircraft
make the trek to our event to show off
their wonderful machines from the past.
Did you see that gorgeous Jenny and
all those Howards? And
the
Type Club
Parking area was well represented with
large numbers of Cessna 195s, Stinsons,
and Helio Couriers.
The buzzword
at
EAA
AirVenture
2004 was weather.
Everyone
was
wondering how
long we
would
be
able to enjoy the sunny days
and
mild
temperatures, and
we
ended up having
one of
the
best weather years ever,
at
least in recent memory. I hope everyone
liked the layout of the Vintage Aircraft
Parking area.
As
most of you are aware,
for
many years the vintage parking area
played host to the
homebuilt
arrivals
who wanted to camp with their aircraft.
2004 was the first year
EM
was able to
provide
the
homebuilt campers
with
exemplary
display
of
our
attendees'
aircraft. This
committee
has
been
led
by its chairman, George Dauber
VAA
vice president), for
many
years,
and he
has
been
blessed
with
a
talented and
enthusiastic group of
co-chairs who
perform yeoman's duty
on
the flightline
each year. Thanks to
all
for your efforts
I would of course be remiss
in
failing
to mention all the other
EM
AirVenture
volunteers. This was a truly remarkable
year for our volunteer numbers,
as
I was
informed
that
we were blessed with
nearly 500
volunteers in
the
vintage
area alone. Again,
many thanks
to all
the
judges, the Manpower Committee,
participant's plaques, parking, volunteer
center, public relations, merchandising,
trams, past grand champions, interview
circle, Tall Pines Cafe,
security
and,
of course, our
VAA
staff.
You
are all
valuable to the operation of the vintage
area
during
EAA
AirVenture,
and
we
sincerely appreciate your efforts.
In last month's column, I mentioned
the
importance of
continuing
to wage
a unified front to battle additional
flight restrictions
in
an already overly
proposed rule being drafted to modify
this ADIZ to
make it
a
permanent,
heavily restricted area.
EM's
position
opposing this proposed modification
is
the right
one and
should be supported
by
all
the alphabet organizations
as well
as
our membership.
Earl Lawrence, EAA vice president
of industry
and
regulatory affairs, said
it best: "There
is
absolutely no need to
make this
ADIZ permanent.
It would
not
add
a
shred
of
extra
security for
this country, and would
only
further
discriminate against general aviation."
I
don't
care if you live
in
Spokane
or Little Rock, we all need to have our
voices heard
inside
the Beltway on
all issues that serve
to
further confuse
airspace
users. We
should
all voice
our opposition to this anticipated
notice
of
proposed rulemaking to our
congressional
representatives.
Gone
unchecked,
the
question will become
who gets the next ADIZ"?
You can
bet
elected officials like Mayor Daley
of
Chicago will be
watching
this one
closely with an "if
they
can have one,
why can't we?" attitude.
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Ce:et'o·:r.\) 5 J.
~ 0 : ) 1
d
(,,'.12 0:0: Yr,Or ot P':'w reci r :C f--.1
EAA
Annual
Report
for
2 3 Online
Celebrating 50 Years o EAA
in the Centennial
Year
o Powered
Flight the annual report of
the
Experimental
Aircraft
Association for 2003, is available
at
www.eaa.org. The 16-page
report highlight's
EAA
activities,
accomplishments , and its
financial standing for its golden
anniversary year.
Tr
ibutes
In
the tributes to three of
our
friends who we lost earlier
this summer,
I failed
to add
a
paragraph honoring
the family
members
affected by their loss.
Darren
Banfie ld is
survived
by his mother, Susan, his sister,
TFRs Can Be Avoided
Using
EAA s
Flight Planner
This
year's election,
the
first
national
el
ection held since
9/11,
has
been marked by
a flurry
of
presidential temporary flight
restrictions
(TFRs),
both for
the
chief
executive
and
his challenger. These
TFRs
have been
known
to appear
on
short
notice,
and
are often ro l
ling
TFRs
as the candidates travel on
the
surface. As
is
noted at the end
of
the
TFRs, lilT
IS
RECOMMENDED
THAT ALL AIRCRAFT OPERATORS
CHECK NOTAMS
FREQUENTLY FOR
POSSIBLE REQU I
RED
CHANGES TO
THIS
TFR
PRIOR TO OPERATIONS
WITHIN THIS REGION.
Many of us fly aircraft that have
no or limited communications,
so checking
the
status
of the
airspace we intend to fly through
is
imperative. Using
the
EAA
Flight
Planner benefit
of
your
EAA membership can help you
avoid an
ominous
cal l from a
federa l agency. You
can
access the
EAA
Flight
Planner, powered by
AeroPlan n
er.com,
from the EAA or
VAA websites, www.eaa.orgorwww.
vintageaircraft.org. Click the Plan A
Flight
button on
the
left-hand
side
of the
page
and then,
after you log
in, click NOTAMs
on the menu bar
near
the top
of
the
page.
Friends of the Red
Barn
Sport
Pilot FAQs
Updated Regularly
Visitors to
the
EAA sport pilot
website
will find continuously
updated content,
including
new
frequently
asked questions (FAQs).
Organized in 12
subject areas, new
entries are based
on
calls to
the
Sport
Pilot
Hotline and e-mails
received
by
EAA Aviation
Information
Services.
If
you have an
SP/LSA
question,
check
the
SP/LSA FAQs at
www.sportpilot.org-your answer is
probably
waiting
there
for you.
EAA
Air
Academy
Announces 2 5 Dates
Registration is now available for
the full slate
of
sessions at the
EAA
Air Academy in
summer
2005.
Two sessions for ages 12-13,
EAA
Young Eagles Camp, will take place
on Jun e 29-July 3 and
July
6-10.
EAA
Basic Air Academy for ages 14
15 has three sessions
scheduled,
June 13-19; June 21-27; and
July
11-17. EAA Advanced Air Academy
sessions for ages 16-18 are
scheduled
for July 19-26 and July 30-August
8. For complete information, visit
www airacademy org
Restoring Smithsonian
Ercoupe
The Smithsonian
Institution's
Silver Hill (Paul
E.
Garber) facility
has the original
Ercoupe aircraft
in
its collection
and
is in the
process
http:///reader/full/AeroPlanner.comhttp:///reader/full/AeroPlanner.comhttp:///reader/full/AeroPlanner.comhttp://www.eaa.orgorwww/http:///reader/full/vintageaircraft.orghttp://www.sportpilot.org-your/http:///reader/full/www.airacademy.orghttp:///reader/full/AeroPlanner.comhttp://www.eaa.orgorwww/http:///reader/full/vintageaircraft.orghttp://www.sportpilot.org-your/http:///reader/full/www.airacademy.org
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
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barometric pressure adjustment
only 25, 30, 35 )
knob
at
180
0
)
-Ignition Switch AC Type
-Tachometer (reading from
face,
top
It
also
needs
a Lear
radio
Model
to bottom: R.P.M., Hundreds, Mark
AMR-1
or
AMRL-1
(200-500 cps)
I,
BU.
AERO
U.S
.N.
, Serial 209-34,
receiver
and loop antenna.
manufacturer's
name was very
If
yo u know of anyone that has any
short, ended in CO ; 360
0
range
of these radios or instruments, please
starting vertically 5, 10, IS, 20
co
ntact William R. Bayne
via
e-mail at
then smaller 180
0
arc on right ercoguru@txercoupemuseum
1
Sport
Pilots
Take
light
On
September I, 2004,
the sport
pilotllight-sport aircraft
SP/LSA)
rule went
into
effect, and current certificated pilots with an
FAA
medical
certificate or valid driver's license began exercising sport pi lot privileges
in eligible homebuilt
and
production aircraft.
Among them was Roger Peterson
of
Sweeney, Texas. On September
I,
for
the
first
time in
17 years, he flew as
pilot
in command
of
his
Piper J-3 Cub. About
two
years ago, when
i t
looked like
sport pilot
was coming
in,
I bought a
1940
J-3 and have been
flying
with an
instructor since
then,
he
said. Last April it looked like [the final rule]
was
imminent,
so I started building a PA-l1 replica. I completed it this
April, so
now
I am legal in both of
them.
I really appreciate the effort
[EAA]
put in
to
bring this
thing
off.
Peterson, 66, grew
up
on
an
Iowa farm, started flying
in
1954, earned
The Rest of the
Story
Get
the
rest of
the EAA
Air
Venture Oshkosh 2004 story at www.
airventure org For
daily convention
news, click
on the
AirVenture
Today
newspaper links headlining the
AirVenture
homepage.
Who won the
EAA
Sweepstakes'
Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee? Find
out
by clicking on the Sweepstakes
and
Raffle Winners
link.
See
why Marv Melanson's Wag Aero
Cubby received the Outstanding
Homebuilt Seaplane Award. Or
check out Marc Stamsta's 1960
E8L
Falco, this year's Most Unique
Award
(Contemporary Category).
Photos of all the award-winning
aircraft
are
now
available
by
clicking
on
the 2004
Aircraft
Awards
link.
While you're visiting the
home page,
see
hundreds of
photos detailing all aspects of the
convention,
from
the
Warbirds
area to
the
Vette Seaplane
Base.
To
see
what
you missed at
EAA
AirVenture this
summer,
visit
www airventure 01g
http:///reader/full/airventure.orghttp://www.airventure.01g/http://www.airventure.01g/http://www.airventure.01g/http:///reader/full/airventure.orghttp://www.airventure.01g/
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REMINISCING
WITH
IG
ICK
printed from Vintage
Airplane June
1974
The ow
a
rd
S
to
ry
Part O
ne
"It's a Wasp Monocoupe "
"No it's a aha?"
"Wow Look at
it
go
What
is
it?"
"It 's Benny Howard's new
Mulligan "
These
are
just some of
the
comments
you
would have heard
had
you been
in the
grandstands
on
opening
day of the 1935
National
Air Races at Cleveland, Ohio.
Benny
O. Howard had just won
by
Nick Rezich
of
Kansas City,
to
handle
the
chores. Harold was no newcomer
to
the Howard designs
as he had been
flying
the
"Ike," "Mike"
and
"Pete."
Harold qualified the Mulligan at
a speed of 247
mph,
which made
him a threat to the other qualifiers
and
a
potentia
l winner.
Before
the
Thompson
got
underway Harold
warmed up
by
winning the
Greve Trophy
in
Benny
Howard's
"Mike" ... making
it two
out
of three for Benny. Winning
the Thompson would give
him
a
second place
with
that
big
brute
and
played
a waiting
game
...
"who is going
to blow
his engine
firs t ;
Turner in
the
lead or
Witt
righ t
behind him
nibbling
on
his
flippers?"
He
throttled
back
just
enough to keep Roscoe in sight ...
and then it
happened.
Bang
Roscoe blows his engine
and
leaves
the race.
The
crowd
goes wild and
when
they
come
around
again the dean
of air show announcers past
and
present, Jack Storey, booms over
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Mr Mulligan on the
day
o its first flight Few fairings had been applied at this point The exhaust system
visible
in
this
shot is different from what
appears
on laterphotographs o the
rac
er
PHOT
OS
COURTE
SY
D
ON
PRA
TI
between
Mulligan and the pylon
Harold goes on
to
win the coveted
Thompson
Trophy Race
and
it is
a clean sweep of the
Nationals
for
Benny Howard.
Benny
went to the Nationals
for
one
reason-to win as much
money as he could. The money
was to be used to open a factory
to
produce America s
fastest 300
h.p., four-place
cabin
monoplane.
Benny was already into
the
design
with Gordon Israel, the co-designer
and co-pilot of
the
Mulligan for
the
PH
OTOS COURTESY D
ON PR TI
Bendix win. Benny left Cleveland
with a
hat
full of money, but before
he
left, he called Chicago and said
member
Eddie Fisher, or EAA/IAC
building it. He
may
have picked up
go full bore
on the new airplane.
member
Harold Neumann , pilot
a few scraps of
the
wings or other
Before we
go
on
about the
of the Mulligan. He also states that
parts,
but
not
THE
Mulligan
...
or
Howards, I
would
like to clear
our
Harold was co-pilot
on
the victorious else there must have been TWO
engine here.
The December
1973
Bendix
flight-not so It was co
Mulligans because "Sludge" Doyle
issue
of
the
AOPA
Pilot carried an
designer Gordon Israel.
He
states that and Mike
Molberg
brought
back
article about Benny Howard's
DGAs. the
factory opened in 1937-not so
what
was left to bring back. I was
at
It was written
by
my good friend
It was 1936. (The Howard Aircraft
the
factory when they unloaded it
and popular
EAAer, Peter
Bowers
Corporation
was formed
in
1937.)
in front
of the engineering offices.
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f and
Mr
Mulligan on the day of the first flight of the racer Noten J n
the lack of fairings nd paint.
Ewing, our first plant superintendent,
the
other day
and
he informed me
that his wife still has
the
flower pot
holder
made
from
the Mulligan.
Mrs. Molberg has hers also.
To
go a
bit further, I tried to buy the remains
at the time but couldn't-but during
the negotiations, I wound up with the
wings from Gordon Israel's "Redhead"
racer. I hope this clears
the
air once
and
for all about
the
Mulligan.
If
a
Mulligan emerges from the west coast,
it
will be a replica.
O.K,
'nuff said
Now, where was
I?
Oh yes, the first
Howard.
Benny
Howard was
flying
for
United Airlines at Muni (they
called the Chicago Municipal Airport
"Muni" in those days)
and
living at
the
Troy Lane
Apartments-known
as
the Troy Lane Hotel.
It was
located
at
63
rd
and
Troy on the south side
airplane when I first saw it assembled
was, "WOW " I t looked like
i t
was
doing 200 mph just sitting there. It
was painted with a metallic blue and
bronze and it sported a Wright J-6
7E2 in the nose.
I watched them make all the final
adjustments, etc., and made sure I
was
on hand for the first flight. I asked
Benny, "What are you calling this one?"
"The
'Flanigan,1II
was the answer.
. And that's what I have
been
calling it ever since.
When it came time to test fly
the
Flanigan,
Benny was
in his
usual
good form. Those of you
who
knew
Benny
will
remember
his
favorite
maneuver was a chandelle
on
take
off.
After completing his taxi tests,
he
came roaring down the old southwest
runway at Muni and
as he approached
the
old Standard
Oil
Company
0::
0..
Z
8
f)
UJ
0::
;:
o
u
f)
Now the
work of
getting
the
machine
certificated and finding
a place to build
i t
was underway.
Certification was handled by Gordon
Israel.
For the factory, Benny chose the
old Matty Laird factory located in the
Clearing industrial district. The address
was
5301 W.
6y
h
St
.
-just
two blocks
south
of Muni. Matty had used this
building to construct his last airplane,
the
Sesquiplane. The
factory
was
opened in 1936 with the same handful
of men who built the Flanigan.
All the money
Benny won at
the
1935 Nationals
was
put into the
certification
of Flanigan
and the
factory.
He
was still short of working
capital and needed more
money
to
get the operation off the ground. The
place to get the much-needed money
was
the
coming
1936 National Air
Races.
The now-famous
Mulligan
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Howard, Benny s wife. So, I was
allowed
to
help "Sludge" Doyle.
My
first job was that
of pouring
oil along
the hangar floor so we could slide the
tailskid,
which
was built
into
the
tail,
to maneuver the ship in and out of
the hangar. We didn t use good oi l -
the
oil came from
Roger
Scheon s
gas station, which was immediately
across the
street from
the
hangar.
Oh
yes, I
had
to clean up the hangar
floor afterwards
Being
on
hand during the
test
flights was breath
taking.
Every
flight was an air show. On
one
flight,
Benny took off from the north/south
runway, which was
the
shortest
at
Muni-around
4,500
feet long,
holding it
down
going
south
toward
the Texaco hangar. When he got to
the
ramp,
he
pulled it
up
into
the
famous Benny Howard chandelle and
I swear it was a 60-degree climb That
climb
continued
that
way to about
12
or
14 thousand feet. I
had
never
seen an airplane climb like
that
from
take-off. He
ran many altitude
tests
because
that
was his
secret-altitude
.
The low-level tests were something
else these you had to see and hear
to believe. The harmonics between
the
prop
and
exhaust sounded
like
the present
day
jets-it
was
more
like
a purr
than
roar. I will never forget
that sound or sight. A
day
didn t pass
that
I did not bug "Sludge," Gordon
or
Benny for a ride during the testing.
But with the tanks in the back there
was no way. Time was
short
and every
flight was
of importance. Benny
said
he would fly everybody in it after
the races. I lived for that day ... which
never came.
'
The final shakedown flight was
from Chicago to New York We gassed
and oiled
Mulligan to
race
weight,
Mike and Benny strapped themselves
into the
seats,
the
engine
barked
to
life and
they
were off. As
they
taxied
out
for take-off, I was wondering how
it would get off and if he would pull
his chandelle on take-off.
Well, the take-off was no different
than
the others as far as getting off
This is Maxine Mike Howard leaving
the
Chicago
hospital enroute
to
Palm
Springs, California, for recuperation
and rest (following the
Mr.
Mulligan
accident) . hat is Gordon Israel
with
her.
The other lady, I think, is
the hostess from Palm Springs. Note
that Mike is flying a TWA DC-2 ...
husband Benny flew for United I took
this photo at Muni.
This is the Flanigan after it went through the factory
This is the original Howard DGA-8, the Flanigan. The
picture was taken the evening of the first test flight.
certification. The photo was taken by me at Muni ...The ship
was
later sold to
Mexico
along
with
two others. Notice the only
changes from
original
to
licensed
airplane are a new fin and
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
10/36
and climb were concerned,
however, Benny did
leave off
the chandelle.
It
was less than
3 hours
when
Benny called and
said he had made it in just under
2
Vz hours with no problems.
(That's about 630 nautical miles,
with
a
ground
speed averaging
252 knots -Editor)
Again, everyone was jubilant ..all
but one, that
is. "Sludge" looked like
he had the weight of the world
on
his
shoulders. "Sludge" was clutching a
notice in his
hand that
read, "Tests
indicate propeller should be restricted
to
500 or 550
h.p.,
I
don't
recall
which.
This really disturbed
"Sludge."
He
knew
he had
over
800 horses jumping up and down
under
that
Mulligan cowl. There
was
no
other propeller
available
nor was there any money if one
were available.
Yet,
he knew he
couldn't turn Benny
and
Mike
loose with that prop. Many frantic
phone calls
were
made, and
still
no
prop.
Race
time was around
the
corner and a decision had to be
made.
As
I remember
it,
someone at
Smith said
it
was
O.K.
I
don't
know
who made
the
final decision
to
fly
the race with the Smith propeller,
but
I do know who accepted
the
responsibility
when
that
prop
failed
over
New Mexico while
Benny and Mike were leading the
Bendix by a huge margin.
When
the Mulligan was
destroyed in the ensuing crash,
Roy
"Sludge" Doyle crashed right along
This is the economy model with the
225 Jake and Curtiss-Reed prop, no
wheel
pants and
the cheap
paint
job.
Photo taken by
an
unknown
to
me)
photographer when the ship was on
the west coast
for
the
March 1937 Pan
Pacific Air Show at Los
Angeles.
I
have
a photo ofBenny and Mike sitting
with the airplane at the show.
NI K
REZI H
with them.
When
"Sludge" was
notified of
the
crash, he knew
what
The
same ship after being
returned
to
the factory for new deluxe paint
job
and
new
gas
tanks.
The
photo
was taken
by
me at the Chicago
factory
. . . we were
swinging the
compass at
the time.
OU RTE
SY
NI K
REZI H
Howard DGA-8 powered by a 32
never have let Benny
go
and that
the
factory would still be open if
it were
not
for that accident.
The accident really did upset
the apple cart
for Benny.
The
factory
was
open with
a few
orders for the new
DGA,
but it
needed
the money Benny had
hoped to win at the 1936 Nationals.
With Benny and
Mike
in the hospital,
the factory
more
or less
went into
receivership before it formally opened.
I
think
you know
what
I am trying
to say... Benny was broke Now add
the hospital bills to the already broke
Howard Aircraft and you have a grim
situation.
You
would
think that
would be
enough
problems for
Benny-but there
were
others
that
were
much worse. Mike's
legs
were
not
healing
properly
and
this worried Benny more than the
factory. Benny recovered first and
Mike came along later, after several
operations. She was
and
still
is
the
most beautiful, considerate
woman in the world. When she and
Benny healed and came by the factory,
she was dressed in the sharpest pair of
slacks I have seen. She stopped
and
talked with everyone in the shop .
and she always had
the
big smile
one never forgets.
Let
me
tell you a story
about
Mike
and
Ben. They were going
through
the
factory
and
stopped
to talk with me while Iwas putting
the final
sanding on a
yellow
Howard.
I don't
know
if I was
showing off or just super thrilled
with
our
chat,
but
while they
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enshrinement of Ben O. Howard
into the Pioneers of Aviation OX-
5 Hall of Fame.)
Benny hired only super
craftsmen.
You
had to be the best
in the industry or you didn't work
for Howard. After working for Blue Bird,
American Airlines, Stinson Aircraft and
others, I can truthfully say that when
a Howard
was
delivered it
was
the best
built airplane in the world.
Some of
the
original super
men were: The late Mike Babco,
welder
supreme.
He
came
from
Matty
Laird's. Mike
also
made jigs.
The woodworking
department
was
headed up by
the
late Eric Pearson. He and his
Swedes could lay plywood like it
was molded plastiC. The original
assembly was
handled
by three
men
from
Stinson-Earl
Ewing,
the
late Mike Molberg,
and
"Lefty" Huff.
"Lefty" didn t last
long
as
he
did
most
of his work
with
his mouth
instead of his hands. As it turned out,
Earl Ewing,
now
retired
and
living
in
Pennsylvania,
was
named shop
superintendent.
Mike Molberg was
put in
charge of all assembly. The
sheet metal department was headed
CAA
DGA-8. Note
the
lower gear and
right
handdoor. This
airplane
was loaded
with
radio gear for CAA work. The
pilot
got lost
over
Kansas City and cracked it
up
when it had only a
few
hours
on
it.
Ship was
rebuilt by
Howard.
This
is
a deluxe
9
with controllable
prop
2 doors
and deluxe paint. The
Stinson
in the
background was a trade
in for
a Howard.
The
photo was taken
by me at
the
Chicago Fly away
factory
area
.
..
during test flight phase.
up
by
the
dean of
tin
benders, Eskic
HallqUist, who also came from Matty
Laird's. He was a gutter man in Chicago
and would
come
out
to Matty s to
make cowling on contract. The
finishing department was run by
an old airmail mechanic, "Red"
Gross from Chicago. Inspection
was
the
job "Skippy" Butler nailed
down. The interiors were by Frank
Kubac, aluminum welding by the
super welder, Robert Babb of
St.
Louis
(and now a bartender in Chicago). This
guy put heliarc to shame. The plant
master mechanic and in charge of the
fittings and machine shop was
Roy
"Sludge" Doyle. The engineering
department
consisted
of
Gordon
Israel as
chief and
Ted
Linnert
.
Later came Dr. Walter Brownell,
Dr. Niebersauer,
Gordon
Israel
again and, finally,
Bill
Peerfield.
Flight
test
was handled by Ben
O. Howard, Walt Brownell, Fred
Novinger, Gordon Israel, Walter
Daiber
and
Tony Mackowicz. Tony
was
the
spin expert. He ran all the
early spin tests. Walter Brownell ran
the spin tests
on the
first seaplane.
He is the chief pilo t for Morton Salt,
flying a JetStar today. Tony Mackowicz
is
living
in
retirement
in
Chicago,
Ted
Linnert is with
ALPA
in Washington,
D.C.,
and
Gordon Israel is in California
working as a consultant.
Sales were handled by "Slim" Freitag
and Benny's brother, Sam Howard. The
last I knew of Sam, he was living in
Coral Gables, Florida, and producing
the world famous Aquatic Productions.
"Slim" is still living in DeKalb, Illinois.
I may be misspelling some names
here . . . please forgive me as I am
going back 38 years and I
couldn t
spell then
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Tom Leaver, who was
born
in
Sonoma, California, yet spent
much of his life in England, doesn t
strike you as someone who
would
enter
aviation at the extreme edge
of the logic curve: his first airplane,
the Morane, has neither a tail wheel
nor brakes and includes some
of
the most archaic systems outside of
a
turn
of the century locomotive.
Plus, even
though
he left California
early and has spent
most
of his
adult life overseas working in the oil
industry, the mystique of
Sonoma
and its old airplanes left its mark.
I
soloed
when
I was 16 years old
and
got my pilot
certificate before
I
had my
driver's license. My
dad
was a career Air Force officer and
mad keen
on
flying. I was always
out at
the base
with him and
met a lot
of great
people through
it. Even though I
hadn t
flown for
a long time and had flown nothing
even remotely resembling this, it
immediately
caught
my fancy. Tony
gave me
the
history of
the
type
and
this particular airplane-that it had
been
the
late Patrick Lindsay's first
airplane in his very unique
and
rare
collection. A
challenging
day VFR
airplane: perfect "
Tony and his
company
are world
famous for the
restoration
work
they
have done on a wide range
of extremely unusual airplanes,
especially those
from
World War
I
the 1920s, '30s, and World War
II
Often these airplanes wind up
in the movies,
as
Bianchi
is
a ready
source for these aerial movie stars.
Patrick Lindsay
was a
world
renowned airplane collector who
at various times had a wide
number
Tom eaver
actually in
production
for
quite
a
long time,
1930 to 1948
to
be
exact. Just
over
a thousand were
built primarily for
the
French air
force and Navy, but a number were
sold to foreign governments as
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MIK T IN K PHOTOS
for me, he found
the
wood was in
excellent
condition and
needed
only
light sanding and
another
coat of
varnish.
However, it's
easy to see why so many of
them
didn't survive. During the war the
Germans wrecked
quite
a number
of
them
because of
the
lack of
brakes
and
a strong propensity to
ground loop."
chewed up the strut,
which could
have
been a big deal if we
hadn' t been able to
find a replacement. The
struts are extremely
un ique
nd
have
internal aluminum ribs
reinforcing
them,
flush
riveted to
the
surface,
and
tapering at
both
ends of the strut. It still
took
two years to re-cover
the
wing
and
get her back
into the
air."
Up to and during World War
II,
the
airplane's primary mission
was advanced training, especially
aerobatics. Besides performing
liaison duties, it was also stationed
with front-line fighter units (French,
then
German) for aerobatic practice.
The Morane
230
was also
the
first
aircraft
used
by
the
Patrouille
de
France from
1931
to 1935, then
replaced by the more
powerful
Morane 225.
The airplane has a
fully
inverted fuel
and
oil
system, and
this
specific machine
was
used
by English aerobatic champion
Manx Kelly to win the 1969 Esso
Tiger Challenge in England. I t does
have its peculiarities, however.
For one thing, when inverted you
are actually
pulling
the stick back
to neutral, rather than pushing
it forward, as with
most
other
aircraft. I t flies fine
inverted,
and
most competitors in the airplane
routinely spun it inverted.
liThe
control pressures
are
Zenith
type carburetor. The engine
is one
reason Tom bases
the
airplane
in Winter Haven, Florida.
Besides the
obvious weather
advantages-spending
so
much
time
in
England makes you aware
of
sunshine-I
have
the
airplane in
Winter Haven because that's where
Andy Salter lives. Andy overhauled
the
engine when he
worked
for
Tony Bianchi. He then moved over
here and
now
works for Kermit
Weeks. Since he knows
the
engine
and airframe better than anyone else
and loves the airplane
as
much
as
I
do, we agreed
to
leave
the
airplane
there for him to look after."
Tom
had
little or no
tailwheel
time when he bought the airplane,
but since he had flown very little
in more
than
15 years,
to
a certain
extent he was starting over anyway.
I started training in a CAP 10 and
then on to an SVA Stampe. When Tony
thought I was ready, I started flying
the Morane with
Jonathon
Whaley,
an incredibly experienced display and
ex-RNAF pilot. Jonathon brought a
certain amount of military
diSCipline
into my flying, which I thought was
really good
and
benefited greatly
from. A lot of the training focused on
landing and the flight characteristics
near the stall. She will drop a wing
and only
rudder will lift it, which
then puts you off your heading-in to
wind landing configuration, setting
you up
for
a ground loop The other
part of the training focused on
ground handling, especially avoiding
ground loops in an aircraft without
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bottle located
beneath
the pilot
seat.
I t can be pressurized by
attaching
a
handle to
a
fitting
on
the
right side
of
the fuselage and
manually recharging the bottle.
Don t go there: it
would
take
forever to get to
the
30 hectopascals
(atmospheres) that the bottle needs
to
turn
the
engine. Instead, I use a
high-pressure
industrial
air bottle
through a Schrader valve to charge
the internal bottle. The airplane was
never designed to recharge itself./I
According to Tom,
starting
the
Morane is
something
of a one
armed wallpaper hanging drill:
Once
you
have charged the
internal
bottle
to 30 hectopascals,
throttle
1 inch open, open the
air valve on your right (engine is
turning
with appropriate hissing
sounds) and crank
the
starter mag,
also on your right, until
the
engine
fires or you run
out of
air.
If the
engine fires, quickly shut
off
the air valve to conserve air,
adjust the
throttle to 800 rpm,
turn the primer suction
to charge,
push the primer cylinder down
into the closed position, and lock
the suction/charge valve into the
neutral position.
If
the
engine didn t start, repeat
the entire
air charge and primer
sequence per
the
above again
Tom swears that
once you get
maneuvering at away airfields like
Sun n Fun and in my hangar, I use a
dolly to wheel her around.
liThe
trim
is set via a large lever
on your right that looks like a
flap
handle. You
select
the
takeoff
position
out of
three detents. When
you
move that
handle
, you re
moving the ent i re
horizontal stabilizer./I
The
lack
of brakes
and
the
tailskid (this is
a real taildragger)
throw
a
long
shadow
over
everything done
on
the
ground. You
can t
so much as
crack
the throttle
a little
without
thinking
of
the consequences
of
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When
landing on the grass
at
Sun
'n Fun, on my first day
the
wind was
just
picking
up to 5
or
7
knots
from the southeast such that
just before
the
aircraft
stopped rolling, it
made a gentle
rotation of the engine, but
as
soon
as
the power
is
up,
you
have lots
of
rudder
and elevator authority. Of
course, initially you have
no forward visibility at all,
butthe tail lifts quickly with
forward stick enabling a
somewhat improved view.
The airplane weighs over
1,800 pounds empty, so
even
with
the
big prop and
engine
it doesn't
accelerate like a shot. Fortunately, it
doesn 't have to be going very fast
to fly. You
bring the tail
up
right
away to allow her to accelerate
better, and at 50 mph it floats
off
the
ground.
You hold
it
in ground effect for just
a
second
or
two, then
let
it climb.
With just
me aboard, it'll climb at
1,500 fpm.
t
gross, about
2,300
pounds
, that drops
to
in appearance.
So
I
had
Tony
paint
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EAAAirVenture
Text
nd
Photos
by
H G Frautschy
This year s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh was chock-full of neat things to
do
nd great planes nd
people
to
visit. Sit back
nd
enjoy a sampling of
wh t
we saw this
year
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2004
The
2005 VAA Board of
Directors, officers, and
directors
emeritus (L-R):
Dale
Gustafson, Dave
Clark, Bob Lumley,
Steve
Krog, Ron Fritz,
Jeannie
Hill, Steve
Binder,
Jack
Copeland, Butch Joyce
(kneeling), Geoff Robison,
Dave Bennett, Steve Nesse,
Bob Brauer, Charlie
Harris,
John
Berendt,
Gene Morris,
Phil Coulson.
George
a u b n e l ~
Roger
Gomoll,
Gene
Chase and Buck Hilbert
are
missing
from
this picture.
Fifteen-year-old Theo Prins
of
Port
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The winner of the Grand Champion Classic Lindy was Boyd "Butch"
Walsh's beautiful Stinson 108-2. Here he shows Charlie a few of
the details on the neatly finished Stinson.
the guard: newly elected VAA President Geoff
Robison pauses
for
a photo with former president Butch
Joyce.
Butch
has stepped down after more than 6 years of service as president of
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This
year's
Antique jud
ges
: (
L-R
) C
ha
s Be
ll
,
Don
Co
leman, Dale Gustafson, Ken
Morris, Gene
Morri
s,
Bill Halver
so
n,
Je
rr
y
Brown, Phil
Co ulson,
Da
ve C
lark
,
Mike
Hoa
g,
Mike
Shaver,
Densel Williams, John Pipkin, Xen Motsinger
This year's Co temp
orary
judges: (s tanding L-R) A
rt
Anderson,
Dan Knutson,
Ja
y
Gavender, Dick
Knutson, Jess Krall
(Kneeling
L-R)
Tim
Popp, Li
z Popp, Jeff Ande
rson
, John Good loe
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Club
Fly-In with
VAA s
Flight Line Operations
crew,
and more than
36 Stinson 108s were
Books chats a
The VAA s Tall
Pines
Cafe was
up
and running
four
days
VAA
Treasurer
Charlie
Harris
conducts a
The
Stinson
Club
series
of
taped interviews with a variety
coordinated a
Type
ofmembers during the convention.
He s shown
here
with Sandy and
Kent Blankenburg and their beautiful
Luscombe Sedan, which they flew from
member while
Vintage Airplane
contributing editor
Budd
Davisson talks about his latest book, Cobalt Blue, with
another
VAA
member
who stopped by the Vintage Airplane
tent.
Throughout
the
week
various
contributing
authors
and
the editor of the magazine staffed the tent, available
to
answer members questions and listen to their suggestions.
VAA volunteers Alden Frautschy a Dave Clark get
another batch
of
pancakes ready for those eating t the
cafe. Thousands ofmeals were served during the week. The
volunteers
would especially
like
to
thank Steve Nesse, Clair
Dahl, Craig Baumgardner, and Tom Hildebrand for
the
many hours of
work
they put into making
the
Tall Pines
Cafe a
success.
before the start
of
the convention, serving meals to many
members who arrived
early.
On Friday and Saturday meals
were served all
day.
Starting Sunday, only breakfast was
served.
On
Sunday morning Thayer Syme (holding his
son,
Gryftin) and his
wife,
Anne, stopped
for
breakfast after
watching Eric Presten land Frank Schilling s Curtiss
Jenny
on
the
grass of
the
lightplane
runway.
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In
the
past four articles I have
been
talking about hazardous
attitudes. Hazardous
attitudes
exist
in all of us pilots. They are referred
to
as hazardous because if allowed
to
go unchecked, they certainly act
to
either
start
the
forging of
the
accident
chain
or
to
reinforce that
chain in
such
a way
that
the
chain
might
become impossible
to
break.
I f that doesn't create
a hazard
to
our
flying, what does?
There
are
three
steps in
dealing
with
hazardous
attitudes.
The first
step
is
to recognize
the
fact
that
you
have
the attitude in the
first place.
It isn't always easy to
do
that. In the
previous article I spoke of one pilot
who was
unable to
recognize
that
fact. I know
that many
of us can
tend
towards
denial, especially
when
it
comes
to
admitting
to
ourselves that
some
of
these attitudes might
be
harbored
within our
otherwise safe
flying
habits.
However, it
doesn't
take too much
honest
insight to
recognize
and admit to
oneself that
they are present.
DOUG STEW RT
Anti authority
attitude. If
we
have a personality
that does things
with
impuls
ivit
y
reminding ourse lves
that not
so
fast can keep us from increasing the
depth of the yoghurt
as
it
attempts
to
rise above
our
eyeballs. For some,
reminding oneself I
can make
a
difference, will keep you
flying
when the attitude of
res ign tion
wants to
take over and turn
you
into a
passenger rather
than the
pilot in command.
The
last
step in the
process
is to
apply
the antidotes that
we have
For every hazardous
ttitude there is
an
antidote
learned will
counter
our
hazardous
attitudes. But
herein
lies
the rub.
I t
has
been my
experience
that the
nature
of each
attitude is
such
that
one
can get into
one
heck
of
an
argument with
oneself. And some of
being a
control
freak.
Is there any
greater manifestation
of being the
master of one's destiny than being a
pilot
at
the controls of an airplane?
Face it; type A personalities
make
good pilots. But it
is
just this type
of personality
that has
a
very
difficult time accepting direction
from someone else.
I hate
to
say it,
and
I might very
well get a lot of mail
on this one,
but my experience
is such that
the
vast majority of
E
pilots fall
into
this category. I t comes with the
turf. Can
any of
us
who
fly vintage
airplanes
not admit that
we
have
a
love affair
not only
with old
airplanes,
but
with a time in flying
when the regulations
that
govern
our flying were far fewer?
To
many
of the pilots
who
learned
to fly in
a
less regulated era, the need
to
show
bi-annual
recurrency
is
an
insult
to
their pride and dignity, and their
vocal scorn of such regulatory
restriction
is vociferous.
For
those who
like
to build their own
airplanes,
is
the
fact
that
we
have
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rules were made for all of us, goes
completely counter to what got us
to the attitude in
the
first place. I
know that for me, as an old hippie
who
was raised to ques tion
authority
and who has spent much of my life
working to change those things, I
thought
unjust, or restrictive, or
just plain dumb, it is very difficult,
though not impossible I am happy
to report, to accept
that the
rules
we
r
made for ll of us
I f
we
were to take an
honest
look at the regulations, we would
find that many of them have come
about as a result of pilots killing or
maiming themselves.
If
pilots didn't
keep
flying into
the ground as a
result of low-level
maneuvering,
I
really
doubt
that we
would
have
minimum safe altitude rules.
We
certainly can't
have
traffic
cops
hovering
in
the
sky
guarding
and
directing
busy airspace
intersections,
so rules governing
rights-of-way were created
to
keep
us from falling
out
of the sky as a
result of the types of fender benders
we
expect
to happen at a traffic
circle in a busy city street system.
When
I
look
at the regulations
in this light it becomes much easier
for
me
to
accept
the
rules
and
regulations. So when the old hippie
part of me says to myself: leave
that transponder
turned
off,
do
you want them to know that you're
flirting with their airspace? I can
self-respond:
hey,
you dummy,
a lot of those aircraft sharing
the
airspace
with you
have
traffic
detection systems
that are
only
helpful if your transponder is
turned
on. Do you
want
to get hit by some
big,
embedded
aluminum, flown
by some other dummy,
who isn't
looking out the window? And that
response then triggers
the antidote
to
the anti-authority attitude (the
rules are made for all of us)
and
I
quickly turn the transponder on.
The
anti-authority hazardous
attitude exists in many of us
pilots. It is somewhat insidious in
that it also can lead to our
being
scornful of the whole concept of
hazardous
attitudes.
It
certainly
can be an attitude that prevents us
from recognizing or accepting the
other
attitudes,
and one
that will
join the evil twin argument against
accepting any and all antidotes.
So I urge all of you to take a
deep, soulful look within yourself.
Be
honest
with
yourself.
I f
you
recognize some of
the
hazardous
attitudes lurking there, start a
proactive program to recognize
when
those attitudes might
put
you,
and
all
the
rest of us
sharing
the sky with you, at risk. Learn
the
appropriate antidote to the attitude,
and then apply
that
antidote. I
am
confident that
this
will definitely
help
you,
as
it has
been helping
me, in making the journey
from
being
just a
good
pilot, to being a
great pilot. .......
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
26/36
--
BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY
JULY S MYSTERY ANSWER
.:. .
/ _
(
_
..
L
- ' - - - ~ v r ~
.... , ; : - ~ = ~ , ; - , ,
ARTHUR
BERRY COLLECTION,
VIA
TERRY
BOWDEN
was publ i shed
in AV I
ATION
magazine in 1929.
The c o m p n y
was
one
of
many
This reference
is
ac
tu
ally in error as it
shows a
photo
of a model KN-3. A third
reference
to
the Knoll Aircraft Corp. as
published on the
Internet is
found on
the Wichita Photos website,
where
a
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
27/36
pilot's cockpit location. The
KN-3
has
an 'open' cockpit aft of the passenger
cabin. Note
the
KN-3 has
two side
windows, versus
the
three windows of
the
KN l.
The following timeline
is
compiled
from
various references,
some
unconfirmed:
December 30,
1928:
Knoll KN-1
makes successful first flight.
February 1929: Prototype Knoll
KN
1 destroyed in crash.
May 29
,
1929:
Knoll
KN-3
demonstrated at Gardner
Air Race,
Parks Airfield, East
St.
Louis, Illinois.
1930: Knoll Aircraft Corp.
files
bankruptcy, assets sold
to
Yellow Air
Cab Company.
The
Knoll
airplanes were never
certified. I
Terry Bowden, Moody, Texas
The following note from a relative of
Felix
Knoll
is
published on the Aerofiles
website:
(My grandfather) returned from a
short vacation and saw that the crew had
painted the popular cartoon Felix the Cat
on the
door-the
port side
had
doors,
the starboard side had only painted
doors (also with Felix the Cat).
He
was
very upset, but the cats stayed on the
plane. Three KN-1s were sold to Mexico,
and rumors have
it
that there are two
alongside the road in a terrible state of
decay south of
Rosa
Beach. Colors were
blue
for
the fuselage and orange for the
wings and horizontal stabilizer. Most all
of the
KN-1
documents that remained
are in the Smithsonian, donated by his
eldest son (my uncle).
I
T IS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE
COMES
TO
US
FROM
THE COLLECTION
OF
EDWARD BEATTY, RUSKIN, FLORIDA.
Send
your
answer to EAA Vintage Airplane
P.O. Box
3086, Oshkosh,
WI 54903-3086.
Your
answer needs to be
in
no
later
than
November 10
for inclusion
in
the
Jan
uary 2005 issue
of
Vintage
Airplane.
You
can
also
send your
response via e-mail.
Don't
forget, we've got a
new
e-mail address for
you
to use when
sending in your
response. Send
your
answer to mysteryplane@eaa org Be sure to include
your
name plus
your
city
and
state
in the
body
of your note and
put (Month) Mystery
Plane/l
in the
subject line .
mailto:mysteryplane@eaa.orgmailto:mysteryplane@eaa.org
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
28/36
Lachlan
Wishart Alphington
Australia
Roy G. Manuell .Itirapima Brazil
Patrick Bohan Calgary AB
Canada
Samuel Longiaru Kamloops BC Canada
Roman Mitura Kanata ON
Canada
Marc Pfister Thorndale ON Canada
james
P Leonard Eagle River AK
Donald Lynn Love Searcy AR
Robert L Gear Paradise Valley
AZ
Charles C. Harmon Scottsdale AZ
Louis Bernt Hudgin Gilbert
AZ
Terry j Menees . . . Apache junction
AZ
james A. Turrell Flagstaff AZ
Gary M. Brunton Carmichael CA
Edward Burnett Venetura CA
Thomas
W. Goodwin Lancaster CA
john
B.
Marushak
. . .Cerritos CA
Russell J. Nichols Wilton CA
Marshell
A.
Rief. Escalon CA
Craig Ryan . . . . Corona Del Mar CA
Tom Aniello Littleton CO
Bill Coyle Kiowa CO
David C. Dooley Erie CO
Rene L Minjares . Littleton CO
John
D.
Newell . . Denver CO
Charles
T. Schumacher
Boulder CO
Peter Stobbelaar. Ce
ntennial
CO
Stan c Wawrzyni ak Erie CO
Don Binns .
Ft
Myers FL
Lothar Boeck South West Ranches FL
Michael Braham Port Charlotte FL
Stephen Malin . Pompano Beach FL
james
P Raub . . Winter Haven FL
Steve Berg . Midway GA
ja mes W Dewberry Savannah GA
Francis A. Hayes Dawsonville GA
Geoffrey Tinsley . . . Turin GA
Matthew Schild berg . . . . Greenfield IA
Alan Reber .
Indianapolis
IN
Mark Warren . . Coatesville IN
Stanley Wogoman Elkhart IN
Daniel
H. Cammack
Dodge City KS
James B. Clark Chapman KS
john Grissinger Roeland Park KS
Bruce G. Papon
Hardtner
KS
james Glasgow . . . Frankfort KY
Jonathan
jenning
s
Union
KY
john A. Mahanna . Radcliff KY
Robert Davis . South Egremont MA
Stephen
Manchester Raynham
MA
John Estevez White Plains MD
Joseph A. Keefner Riva MD
john W Benson . Tecumseh Ml
Michael Chase
Walkervilleq MI
james
D. Fase
Rockford MI
Joseph
Mendyk . Grand Ledge MI
Terry A.
Michmerhuizen
Gobles MI
James Phillips Hickory Corners MI
Dale W Snook Mancelona MI
Nancy Walters Royal Oak MI
jonathan G. Blais St. Paul MN
Glenn
W Bowen Eden Prairie MN
Loren
F
Chantland
Burnsville MN
Dennis L Fuhrman . . Fergus Falls MN
Dale Haag .West St Paul MN
Tom Joynt .
White
Bear Lake MN
Philip Rud . . . Clara City MN
Norman
L Williams Two Harbors MN
Victor Henrikson . . Troy MO
Michael W Mulford Kirksville MO
Butch Pennewell
Monroe
City MO
Scott P Tidd
Pleasent Hill MO
Frank Garletts jackson MS
Frank M. Ingels . Starkville MS
Michael G. Shallbetter Bay St Louis MS
William P McCart Hamilton MT
jerry
Kemp . COVington OH
Brian Kittleson CinCinnati OH
jeffrey D.
Smith
New Concord OH
jason Scott Woodside . Cincinnati OH
Christopher
Greenlee Piedmont OK
Terry Lee Toole Shawne e OK
Mark Baxter . Corvallis OR
Eric Baxter Philomath OR
Gregory L
Guy Independ
ence OR
Kirk
Groenendaal
. Erie PA
John S. Lindsay . . Freeport PA
Mark
K.
Gim Barrington
RI
William R. Martin . Greenville
SC
David Richardson Brandon SD
Alan Anderson . . Lexington TN
Charles
V.
Collins Memphis TN
James
Rawlinson
Golden
Knoxville TN
David R. Higgins Burns TN
john P Sandiford . . MemphiS TN
Roy F Smith . . Tullahoma TN
Allen Boger . . Argyle TX
Paul D. Brose . Celina TX
Trent J. Corcia . . . Dyess TX
Vance Duffy Fort Worth TX
David
Duncan
. Roscoe TX
Michael Elliott. . Kerrville TX
Kevin R. Miller Frisco TX
Alan Victor
Nekhom
Mckinney TX
jan L
Schuermans
Plano TX
David M.
Smither
. . Aubrey TX
Scot Warren . Shady Shores TX
Brooks Yeilding Spicewood TX
Roy Hugie Wellsville UT
John Lake Park City UT
Garry Reid . . . . Chantilly VA
Robert Brooke Lake Stevens
WA
Clayton D. Fuehrer Yakima
WA
Edward D. LeDuc Wenatchee
WA
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
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E.E. BUCK
HIL ERT
E
has
Swallow!
T
e
phone
call leaves
me
stunned The
Swallow mail
plane
EAA has
been working
on
for
the
past several years is
ready to be test-flown. The call was to
ask me to
come
up to
Oshkosh and
test-fly the airplane.
Once, like 28-plus years
ago-egad,
a lifetime
ago-I
was
the
highest-time
Swallow mail plane pilot alive.
It's history now,
but in
1968 two antiquer friends
and myself
discovered
this
old 1926
biplane
hanging
from
the
ceiling
of
a commercial trucking
garage
on
Chicago's
near
north
side. I t had
been
there since 1933,
but I'm
getting ahead of myself.
The man
wouldn't
sell
it to us even though we
offeredhimthetremendous
sum of a thousand dollars.
After several
months went
by and the pot sweetened,
he still wouldn't budge.
Finally, after
almost
two
years, with his building at risk because
I
had to pay
back
the
friends we
had
touched for the $3,500 in small bills.
It is now
1972.
By this time, I
was
up to my
ears. I'd taken on the
presidency
of
the new
EAA Antique
and
Classic Division, and that coupled
with
my
flying
reserve
on United
Airlines DC-8s left precious little time
for airplane restorations.
We stored the airplane, in pieces,
along with the two engines and some
transportation section.
I
got involved
in
this restoration
and that led to my discovery that I had
a Swallow in storage.
What
was a Swallow? Well, we're
back to where I started.
The Swallow was
the
first airplane
to begin contract airmail service
in
1926
when
the
Post
Office
let
contracts to private operators to
feed airmail into the mainline they
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
30/36
HOMEBUILDER WORKSHOP
SCHEDULE
Oct.
16 17 Corona, C
TAKE SOME OF THE EXPERIMENTING
OUT
OF HOMEBUILDING
HANDS-ON
(LA Area)
• Sheet Metal Basics • Fabric Covering
• Composite Construction
• Electrical Systems and
Av
ionics
Oct. 22 24 Lakeland, FL
• RV Assembly
(Sun 'n Fun
Campus)
Nov . 5-7
Griffin, G
• TI We lding
(Atlanta Area)
to become United Airlines.
Now yo
u know why the Swallow
suddenly became
an important
part of
the
United
Airlines 50th
anniversary
proceedings. And yours truly was right
in
the
middle of it al
l.
I
had the
football, so I was elected
to carry it.
Since very little had
been
done to
res tore our Swallow, I was taken off
flight duty
and
given the assignment to
get it done in time to re-enact the first
flight
of
Varney Airlines at the exact
time, over
the
same route, etc.
That's another long story we won t
re late here. I t
was
one
crisis
after
another,
and
we came within an eyelash
of failure when we lost our only Wright
J-4 Whirlwind engine three days before
we were to
fly
the mail.
So here we were again. The United
Airlines
Historica
l
Foundation had
underwritten the restoration of
EAA's
Swa llow,
and
it had
been
put
into
the
airmail configuration
and
livery
of one of those firs t Varney Airplanes.
The restoration,
under
the prodding
and pu
shing
of Paul Poberezny
and
through the efforts of
EAA
restoration
staff members, was now complete. The
time
had
come
for the test flights and
the
FAA-designated fly-off time.
I got the job.
Back
in 76,
our
test-f l ight
program
was much
the
same as far
as
restrictions and time
allotment
went.
Fifteen
ho
u
rs
in a deSignated
practice area, expl
oration
of
the
flight
enve
lope, CG parameters, numerous
landings, and the
usual air work like
sta ll
s,
slow flight,
max
and
minimum
speeds, and
whatever. We
were
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
31/36
on we had it made
this one flies just like mine did .
EAA s Swallow
came
with the
And fly it
did I stayed
in the
220
Continental.
Again, there
pattern
overhead
Oshkosh
for a
is a story
here.
The
engine
was
little more than
30
minutes.
Then
donated by one of our United
it was back to the
barn
to check
Airlines
Foundation
members
, for
obvious engine
oil leaks
and
retired captain Clay Lacy,
and
was
any
other
problems that
might
built up by the son of
a
retired
need
attention.
United engineering test pilot who
There were none None,
mind
specializes in engine overhau
l.
This
you.
It was a real
tribute to
the
project, much like the first
one,
boys
who did the work. Th
e
has been a United family affair.
engine
was running
fine-no
oil
Take a look at the pictures
of
loss, no temperature
problems,
the finished Swallow. It
is
a beauty.
no
t
hing
to do
but
get in some
They didn't look that good in 1926,
more time.
I
put almost
five
that's
for
sure. The luxury of an electrical
system, radio, and a reliable engine were
lacking, but this one has it
all.
My
EM
ground crew
and
builders,
Gary Buettner
and
Colin Hildebrandt,
hovering
over me like fathers over a
new baby, briefed me
on
what, where,
and
how
. Gary
gave me
a
cockpit
checkout,
and
explained he'd kick my
butt
if I
did
anything to hurt his
airplane, and the time had come.
Two blades and the engine started A
call to Oshkosh tower for taxi clearance
and
there was
no
turning back.
Ru n -up was
normal,
controls
checked, gas on , altimeter
and
trim set,
I'm out of excuses.
Cleared for takeoff, slight crosswind,
open the throttle
and
it was just like 28
years ago.
Ground
run less than a hundred
feet
acceleration
and climb like
a
skyrocket. Stiff ailerons, good
rudder
control. Am I really in 2004?
Can't
be;
hours on it in
the
next two days with
frequent
back-to
-
the-barn trips
for
inspections
and
more fuel.
I explored
the
entire envelope and,
if I could as easily erase the years
and
say I was back in '76, I wouldn't be the
unhappiest guy in the world for sure.
I f
this story
interests you, I'll
have
more to
tell about
the
trials
and
tribulations
of that
'76
event;
meanwhile,
EAA
has a
Sw
a
llow,
and it's
over to you. ........
W. VI
••
.
~ ~
hese are
thefirst
tools you need
to buy when you c o v r your
ai
rplane. Anyone who has used them
ERO
CL SSIC
COLLECTOR SERJES
Vintage Tires
New USA Production
Show off yo ur pride and joy with a
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es
h set of Vintage Rubber. These
newly minted tires are FAA-
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ee
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e be
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we re, and in the 40 's and 50's, these tires we re per fectly in
tune to the excitin g tim es in aviation.
No t only do these ti res set your vintage plane apart f rom
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
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-
S o m e t h i n g
to buy
, se l l o r
t r a d e
Cl
ass
ified Word Ads
: 5 .
50 pe
r
10 words
,
180 words ma
x
imum
,
with
boldface lead-in
on
first
line
.
Cl
a
ss
i
fied Displa
y Ads : One
column
wide (2.167
inches
) by 1, 2,
or
3
inches high at 20 per
i
nc
h. Bl
ack
and white only, and no f
requency
discou
nt
s.
Ad
ve
rt
ising Clos ing Dates: 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January
10
is
the
closin
g
date fo
r
the Ma
rch
issue
).
VAA reserves the right
to
reject an
y
advert
i
sing in
conflict w
ith
its
po licies
.
Rates cover
one
insertion per issue. Classified ads are not
accepted via
phone. Payment must accompany
orde
r
Word ads may be sen t
via
fax (920 -426-4828) or e-ma il (classads@eaa .org) using cred it ca rd
payme nt
(a
ll cards accepted
).
Inc
l
ude name on card
, complete address , type of
card
,
card
number,
and
expiratio
n date . Make
checks
payable to EM . Address
advertising correspondence
to
EM Publicat
ions
Classified Ad Manager, PO. Box 3
086
,
Oshkosh
, WI 54903-3086
BABBITT
BEARING SERVICE
- rod
Warner
engines. Two 165s, one fresh
bearings, main bearings , bushings,
O.H., one low time on Fairchild 24
master
rods, valves,
piston
rings. mount with all
accessories.
Also
Call us Toll Free 1-800-233-6934,
He lton Lark and Aeronca C-3 project.
e-mail ramremfg@aol com Website
Find
my name
and
address
in
the
www.ramengine
co m VIN TAGE
Officers and Directors listing and call
ENGINE MACHINE WORKS, N. 604
evenings. E. E. "Buck" Hilbert.
FREYA ST., SPOKANE, WA 99202
Flying wires available. 1994 pricing.
Airplane T-Shirts
Visit
www.flyingwires.com
or call
150 Different Airplanes Available 800-517 -9278.
WE PROBABLY
HAVE
YOUR
AIRPLANE
For Sale
-
1939 Spartan Executive,
www.airpianetshirts.com
3500TT, 10 SMOH. 214-354-6418.
1-800-645-7739
LOCKHEED
12A
PARTS WANTED
THERE'S JUST NOTHING LIKE IT -
Looking for parts, memorabilia,
ON THE WEB
articles,
photos of
anything related
www.aviation-giftshop.com
to 12A for restoration project. E-mail:
A Website with the
Pi
lot in Mind whittlesey4@cox net
or 940-285
(and
those who love airplanes) 1155
I
Th e following lis t of
co
min
g events is
furnished to our readers as a matter of
informa tion only and do
es
not consti-
tute approval, sponso rship, invol
ve
ment
co
ntrol or dir
ec
tion of any eve
nt
fl y-
in,
seminars, fly
mark
et, etc.) lis ted . To
r
: · ~ s i i ~ ~ - - - J MH
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Oct 2004
34/36
Robert
rist
Chicago,
IL
_ Private pilot since 1988
_ 55 hours
flying time
_ Waco
owner since
a