--------------

STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

~ oltl ~ Q

by Espie Butch Joyce

As many of you read this you are enjoying the EAA Sun n Fun Fly-in in Lakeland Florida or will have reshyturned from that event I also realize that there are many of our members who could not attend this fun event due to your work schedules The people at Sun n Fun really work their hearts out to put on a superior show and the weather is a welcome taste of the sumshymer to come for northern visitors

As I have said many times before there are a number of antique and classic aircraft at Sun n Fun that you will seldom see outside the Florida area The Sunshine State is a haven for retired people including many with an aviation bent There are a number of air-park developments with adjacent landing strips rather than golf courses (and in some cases both) One of the finest of these air parks is Jimmy Leeshywards Air Ranch in Ocala Notable aviation personalities such as Steve Wittman have settled there for the winter

Chapter One Antique Classic Chapter One feashy

tured in the color section of this issue starting on page 20 hosts the Antiquel Classic area at Sun n Fun The Chapshyter members good leadership and hosshypitality have made vistitors comfortashyble for the past several years 2 APRIL 1990

Florida fly-market The fly-market at Sun n Fun is most

interesting as several old duster operashytions bring out years of accumulated wares What s one mans trash is another man s treasure and nowhere is that more true than in old aircraft restoshyration Make up a comprehensive wish list and keep your eyes peeled as you survey the mountains of grimy goodies at the fly-market I hope my airplane will haul all the junktreasure that I hope to find at Lakeland this year

EAA Oshkosh 90 While talking about fly-ins let s

discuss the upcoming event at EAA Oshkosh 90 All your Headquarters staff and I are certainly looking forshyward to an even more exciting Convenshytion this year than in the past There will be some changes in our area this year all for the good of the Antiquel Classic Division of the EAA First the EAA has acquired additional land to the west and will be moving the Ulshytralight area in that direction The old Ultralight area will be ours expanding our parking space to accommodate the growing number of participants in our division The amount of NC merchanshydise available to the membership will also be expanded

Since 163 Cessna 120 140 aircraft flew in two years ago an increasing number of type clubs have asked to arrive in a group This year we have been contacted by a group that wishes to arrive with 22 Ryan PT-22s In the interest of safety we need to limit the number of aircraft arriving simultaneshyously to 25

As time progresses we have to bend to the pressures of legal action and liashybility At times I personally would like to throw this type of thinking to the wind and just not concern myself with it but that would not be good for the whole division or EAA

Parade of Flight 90 This year the Parade of Flight will

be held on Monday afternoon during the air show We will not be able to re-park the participating ai rcraft until the entire air show is completed and the crowd has thinned With the number of people on the flight line durshying the show it s just not practical to move our aircraft through Also if you think about it its not really considershyate to ask spectators to move from their seats when some of them have staked them out hours in advance for the best view of the air show

Those who want to fly in the Parade of Flight will also need to have proof of insurance Please contact Phil Coulshyson in advance this year or have this insurance paperwork with you

One of the changing items thi s year is that the Valley Queen riverboat has been sold This means that we will not be hosting a riverboat cruise Steve Nesse Chairman of our AIC picnic has asked the past Chairman of the rivershyboat cruise Jeannie Hill to team up with him Together they hope to make our annual picnic on Sunday night an extra-special event

Grass roots Enough rambling on about the sumshy

mers rally BIG shows The spring flyshying weather is upon us with a great deal of local events to enjoy This type of flying is my personal favorite The people I meet are as important to me as the airplanes There will be some new restorations flying this spring and I look forward to seeing them Please exercise extra safety this year when you fly We cannot afford any bad pubshylicity

Lets all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation Join us and have it all bull

PUBLICATION STAFF PUBLISHER

Tom Poberezny

VICE-PRESIDENT MARKETING amp COMMUNICATIONS

Dick Matt

EDITOR Mark Phelps

MANAGING EDITOR Golda Cox

ART DIRECTOR Mike Drucks

ADVERTISING Mary Jones

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Norman Petersen Dick Cavin

FEATURE WRITERS George A Hardie Jr Dennis Parks

EDITORIAl ASSISTANT Isabelle Wiske

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jim Koepnick Carl Schuppel

Jeff Isom

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC

OFFICERS President Vice President

Espie Butc h Joyce Arthur R Morgan 604 Highway St 3744 North 51st Blvd

Madison NC 27025 Milwaukee WI 53216 919427-0216 414442-3631

Secretary Treosurer George S York EE Buck Hilbert

181 Sloboda Ave PO Box 424 Mansfield OH 44906 Union IL 60180

419529-4378 815923-4591

DIRECTORS Robert C Bob Brauer John S Copeland

9345 S Hayne 9 Joanne Drive Chicago IL 60620 Westborough MA 01581

312m9-2105 508366middot7245

Philip Coulson William A Eickhoff 28415 Springbrook Dr 415 15th Ave NE

Lawton MI 49065 St Petersburg FL 33704 616624-6490 813823-2339

Chartes Harris Stan Gomoll 3933 South Peoria 1042 90th Lane NE

PO Box 904038 Minneapolis MN 55434 Tulsa OK 74105 6121784-1172 9181742-7311

Robert D Bob Lumley Dale A Gustafson 1265 South 124th SI

7724 Shady Hill Drive Brookfield WI 53005 Indianapolis IN 46278 4141782-2633

317293-4430 Steven C Nesse

Gene Morris 2009 Highland Ave 115C Steve Court RR 2 Albert Lea MN 56007

Roanoke TX 76262 507373-1674817491-9110

SH OWes Schmid Daniel Neuman 2359 Lefeber Avenue

1521 Berne Circle W Wauwatosa WI 53213Minneapolis MN 55421 414m l -1545

612571-0893

DIRECTOR EMERITUS SJ Wittman

7200 SE 85th Lane Ocala FL 32672

904245-7768

ADVISORS John Berendt Gene Chase

7645 Echo Point Rd 2159 Carlton Rd Cannon Falls MN 55009 Oshkosh WI 54904

507263-241lt1 414231 -5002

George Daubner John A Fogerty 2448 Lough Lane 479 Highway 65 Hartford WI 53027 Roberts WI 54023

414673middot5885 715425middot2455

Jeannie Hill PO Box 328

HONard IL 60033 815943middot7205

APRIL 1990 bull Vol 18 No4

Copyright copy 1990 by the EAA AntiqueClassic Division tnc All rights reseNed

Contents

2 Straight and Levelby Espie Butch Joyce

4 AlC Newslby Mark Phelps

4 Letters to the Editor

5 Calendar Page 6

6 Interesting Member Ray Brooks Iby Jeannie Hill

8 Vintage Literaturelby Dennis Parks

12 Members Projectslby Norm Petersen

14 Pass It To Bucklby EE Buck Hilbert

16 Vintage Seaplaneslby Norm Petersen Page 17

17 1950 Bonanzalby Mark Phelps

20 Chapter Onelby Bob Brauer

23 Project Porterfieldlby Norm Petersen

28 Old Bluelby Mike McCann

34 Vintage Trader

38 Mystery Planelby George Hardie Jf

FRONT COVER Mike McCanns Stinson negotiating the Alaskan terrain (Photo courtesy of Mike McCann)

REAR COVER A Sun n Fun scene Barefoot pilot Hal Wightons Lincoln Page PT-W neath the photographers tree a t Lakeland 1988

(Pho to by Mark Phelps)

TIle words EAA ULTRALIGHT FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM SPORT AVIATIONand he kgtgos 01 EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC EAA INTERNAmiddot TIONAL CONVENTION EAA AlNTIQUEICLASSIC DIVISION INCbull INTERNATIONAL AEROOATIC CLUB INC WARBIRDS OF AMERICA INCbull lre registered trademar1lts THE EAA SKY SHOfPE and kgtgos 01 he EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION INC and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION e trademar1lts 01 he above associations ltrod lheir use by arrt person _than he above associations is sbictIy prolliJited

Edtorial Policy Readers are encouraged 10 sOOrrit SIOIies and pOOUlgraphs Policy oprons expressed in mes are solely hose 01 he authors Responsblity lor aooJracy in repor1ing rests entiety with he con1riluIOr Malen shook be sent 10 Edtor TIle VINTAGE AIRPlANE WIman Regional Airpor1 3(XX) Poberezny Ad OsNltosh WI 54903-3086 Fhorlt 4141426-4800

TIle VINTAGE AIRPlANE (ISSN 0091middot6943) bull published and owned exclusively by EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc 01 he Experimental Aicraf1 Association Inc and bull published m001l1~ al Wrttman Regional Aipor1 3(XX) Poberezny Ad Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Second Class Postage paid a1 OsNltosh WI 54901 ltrod additional mailing offices ~ rales lor EAA ArliqueiClassic Division Inc are $1800 lor OJen EAA members lor 12 morIh period 01 v1ic1l $1200 bull lor he publication 01 TIle VINTAGE AIRPLANE ~ bull open 10 all who are ~lerested in aviation

ADVERTISING - AntiqueClassic Division does no1 guaranlee or eOOorse any product offered 1I1rough our advef1isingWe invile constructive cti1icism and welcome arrt repor1 01 inlefior mercllardse oblained 1I1rough our adver1ising so 1I1al corrective measures can be taken

POSTMASTER Send address changes 10 EM AntiqueClassic Division Inc PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

VtNTAGE AIRPLANE 3

Compiled by Mark Phelps

EAA dues increase The EAA Board of Directors has

voted to increase EAA membership dues to $35 effective July I 1990 The current dues structure has been in efshyfect since October 1985 Additional membership increases are as follows Family members $10 uS schools and libraries $20 Foreign schools and libraries $23 Junior membership $20 Full family memberships $45 Again the increases are effective July 1 1990

EAA Scholarships Offered Scholarships and awards ranging

from $200 to fuJI degree programs are offered through the EAA Aviation Foundation To encourage recognize and support excellence in students purshysuing the knowledge of the technologies and skills of aviation are the stated goals for these Scholarship awards Scholarship applecations may be made on the application provided by EAA Education Director Chuck Larsen EAA Aviation Center Oshshykosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Tel 4141 426-4800 Applications must be reshyceived by May 1 to be considered A wards will be announced at EAA Oshkosh 90

~IL

Wabash flier

Dear Norm Please find the enclosed photograph

of what I believe to be a Curtiss JN4D Jenny The photograph is believed to have been taken around 1915 or maybe later (probably later - Ed) The gentleman standing in the middle is Frank W Kern Mr Kern was born in 1898 He was an entrepreneur who learned to fly at an early age Mr Kern was known to have done some flying in the Wabash Indiana area during this time period This photo is believed to have been taken around Wabash or Fort Wayne Notice the advertisement 4 APRIL 1990

on the side of the airplane The other two men in the photo are unidentified At the time of this photo Mr Kern lived in the small town of Athens Inshydiana My interest in Mr Kern is that he is the grandfather of a colleague of mine We are interested in knowing more about Mr Kerns flying acshytivities We would enjoy hearing from anyone with any information on this early aviator

Sincerely Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 AlC 5728) 347 South 500 East Marion Indiana 46952

PS Norm I just completed your artishycle about John Lafferty (February 1990) Keep up the good work

Expensive autographs

Dear Mark I was happy to read that Paul Pobershy

ezny might be willing to push for a repairmans certificate on older proshyduction light aircraft (Interview Janushyary 1990) I do not feel the requireshyments should be the same for an Amershyican Airlines engine mechanic and a guy who owns and flys his own classic Beechcraft I have two former brothers-in-law who are AampP mechanics for Piedmont Airlines They may have the skills necessary to rebuild a 727 engine but I wouldn t want either of them working on my lawn mower much less my airplane I am also tired of paying someone who knows less about my airplane than I do to sign off my work I own a 1952 Bonanza because I cant afford a newer one The cost of maintenance would be greatly reduced if it did not include the price of the AampP autograph I also dont like anyone else working on my airplane If we are going to make the pilot in command responsible for the airworthiness of his airplane should we not also give him the authority to be the one person who really knows the quality of maintenance Wouldnt our entire fleet be better maintained if the mechanic were required to fly the airplane

Sincerely Paul Whitesell (EAA 288943 AlC 12757) Plano Texas

April 8-14 - Lakeland Florida 16th annual Sun n Fun 90 EAA Fly-in Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun EAA Fly-in Inc PO Box 6750 Lakeland Florida Tel 813 644-2431

April 28 - Levelland Texas Airport Breakfast sponsored by EAA Chapter 19 at Levelland Municipal Airport Contact John Smith 2826 62nd Street Lubbock Texas Tel 8061793-7889

April 29 - Shreveport Louisiana Holiday in Dixie fly-in sponsored by EAA Chapter 343 Shreveport Downshytown Airport Contact Sam Waldrop 6215 Quilen Blvd Shreveport Louisiana 71108-3703 Tel 318653shy9933

May 4-6 - Burlington North Carolina Burlington Airport Sponshysored by AntiqueClassic Chapter 3 Contact Ray Bottom co Antique Airshyways 103 Powhatan Parkway Hampton Virginia 23661 Tel 804 722-5056

May 5-6 - Winchester Virginia Winchester Regional EAA Spring Flyshyin Winchester Airport Sponsored by EAA Chapter 186 Contact George Lutz Tel 703256-7873

May 6 - Rockford Illinois EAA Chapter 22 Annual Fly-in Breakfast Mark Clarks Courtesy Aircraft Greater Rockford Airport 700 am to noon ATIS 1267 Contact Wallace Hunt 8 15332-4708

May 12-13 - Reading Pennsylvania Reading Aerofest at Reading Regional Airport Contact Paul R Doelp RD 9 Box 9416 Reading Pennsylvania 19605-9606 Tel 215372-4666

May 19-20 - Hampton New Hampshyshire Fourteenth Annual Aviation Flea Market Hampton Airfield Hampton New Hampshire Anything aviation reshylated okay No fees Camping on airshyfield Contact Mike Hart Hampton Airfield Route US I North Hampton New Hampshire Tel 603964-6749

May 20 - Benton Harbor Michigan Fourth Annual EAA Chapter 585 Dawn Patrol BreakfastLunch Inshycludes boat and classic car show Ross Field Benton Harbor Michigan Conshytact AI Todd PO Box 61 Stevensville Michigan 49127 Tel 616429-2929

May 25-27 - Atchinson Kansas Kansas City Area Chapter AAA Flyshyin at Amelia Earhart Memorial Airshyport Contact Lynn Wendl 7509 Conshyser Overland Park Kansas 66204 Tel 913642-5906

May 26-27 - Vidalia Louisiana Fershyriday Fly-in sponsored by EAA Chapshyter 912 Concordia Parish Airport Contact Jerry Stallings Rte I Box 19D Ferriday Louisiana 71334-9709 3181757-2103

June 1-2 - Bartlesville Oklahoma Biplane Expo 90 the National Bishyplane Association s -Fourth Annual Convention and Exposition Frank Phillips Field Bartlesville Oklahoma Free to members of NBA For memshybership information contact Charles Harris NBA Hangar 5 4-J Aviation Jones-Riverside Airport Tulsa Okshylahoma Tel 918299-2532

June 1-3 - Merced California 33rd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-in Merced Municipal Airport Contact Merced Pilots Association PO Box 2312 Merced California 95344 or call Dick Escola at 209358-6707

June 8-10 - Middletown Ohio Fifth National Aeronca Convention Aeronca factory Includes factory tour and vi sit to USAF Museum Contact Jim Thompson President National Aeronca Association PO Box 2219 Terre Haute Indiana 47802 Tel 812 232-1491

June 9 - Newport News Virginia 18th Annual Colonial Fly-in Sponshysored by EAA Chapter 156 at the Patshyrick Henry Airport Contact Chet Sprague 8 Sinclair Road Hampton Virginia 23669 Tel 8041723-3904

June 22-24 - Pauls Valley Okshylahoma Greater Oklahoma City AAA Chapter Fly-in Contact Dick Darnell 100 Park Avenue Building Suite 604 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 73102 Tel 405236-5635

June 23-24 - Orange Massachusetts 14th Annual New England EAA Fly-

in Orange Airport Contact James OConnell at 413498-2266

June 28 - July 1 - Mount Vernon Ohio 31st Annual Waco Reunion Wynkoop Airport Contact National Waco Club 700 Hill Avenue Hamilshyton Ohio 45015 Tel 513868-0084

July 7-8 - Emmetsburg Iowa Secshyond Annual Aeronca Champ Fly-in and fly-in breakfast Emmetsburg Airshyport Contact Keith Harnden Box 285 Emmetsburg Iowa 50536 Tel 712 852-3810

July 13-15 - Simsbury Connecticut 2nd Annual Northeast Stearman Fly-in at Simsbury Airport Contact Jim Kipshypen II Crestwood Street Simsbury Connecticut 06070 Tel 203651shy0328

July 20-21 - Collingwood Ontario Second Annual Gathering of Classic Aircraft sponsored by Collingwood Classic Aircraft Foundation Colshylingwood Airport (NY3) Contact Doug Murray 5 Plater Street RR No 3 Collingwood Ontario Canada L9Y 3Z2 Tel 705445-5433

July 27-August 2 - Oshkosh Wisshyconsin 38th Annual EAA Fly-in Conshyvention EAA Oshkosh 90 Wittman Regional Airport Oshkosh Wisconsin Contact EAA EAA Aviashytion Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Tel 414426-4800

August 19 - Brookfield Wisconsin 5th Annual Ice Cream Social sponshysored by EAA AntiqueClassic Chapter II at Capitol Drive Airport Contact George Meade 5514 N Navajo Avshyenue Glendale Wisconsin 53217 Tel 414962-2428

August 24-26 - Sussex New Jersey 18th Annual Sussex Air Show Sussex Airport Call 201 875-7337 or 702shy9719

September 8 - Chico California Chico Antique Airshow Chico Airshyport Contact Chico Antique Airshow Committee 6 St Helens Lane Chico California 95926 Tel 916342-3730

September 15-16 - Rock Falls Ilshylinois Fourth An nual North Central EAA Old Fashioned Fly-in Pancake breakfast Sunday Contact Dave Chrisshytansen at 815625-6556

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

INTERESTING MEMBERS

The biggest smile and the brightest twinkle in his eye seated second from right

6 APRIL 1990

Ray Brooks in Skeeter Carlsons Curtiss Canuek

RAY BROOKS by Jeannie Hill Advisor

In trying to pick up poillfers on how to know and fly old slow airplanes I always try to seek out the guys and gals who flew themfirstJ7ew them best and lived the longest to tell about it Even in a crowd its usually easy to single out these folks Theyre the vinshytage fliers with the biggest smiles on their faces and that mandatory twinkle in their eyes that lets you know right off that theyve probably got a story or two to tell I cant remember where I first ran into Ray Brooks but there he was with that smile and that twinkle There was nothing left to do but introshyduce myself ask a leading question and sit back and he delighted

Youd have to search far and wide to find a more interesting member than Ray Brooks First of all it would be hard to find another member with more seniority in the system Ray has been working in aviation since 1917 He is 96 years young and as each year passes Ray seems to be able to glean the very best from it and then tries to pass it all along to us He wants to share what he is and what he has with everyone Thats just the kind of guy he is At a time in his life when he should be restshying on his laurels Ray Brooks is still going to air shows being interviewed posing for photos and serving as a walking talking enshycyclopedia of aviashytion for anyone who has the good sense to realize that when theyve found Ray Brooks theyve stumshybled upon a mother lode of knowledge and experience in the aviation world

There is so much history on Ray Brooks that in this short arshyticle I couldnt beshygin to recount enough of it to do justice to him So I wont even try right now Besides that leaves an opening to do an even more extenshysive article about one of my favorite subjects at a later date Suffice to say that among his many accomplishments Ray has had a very disshytinguished military career His initial training took place in Canada in Curtiss JN4Ds from September through Noshyvember of 1917 In France during World War I he learned to fly a Nieushyport He was later assigned and flew the Spad VII and the Spad XIII Now I couldnt tell you the difference beshytween a Spad VII and a Spad XIII to save my life But if you have a minshyute Ray sure can and in as much detail as you care to get into (Ill give you a hint It has something to do with an extra 40 hp on the Hispano Suiza enshygine and with a second Vickers gun installation on the Spad XIII So there now you know as much as I do )

Ray flew with the Lafayette Escashydrille and became an ace with six menshytions in orders for confirmed air vicshytories His restored Spad No 20 Smith IV with the Shooting Star inshysignia of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron is now on display with the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum in Washington DC Due to a stroke of luck it was shipped there when orders came through to send two combat airshyplanes to the States for a war bond tour It seems Ray was the officer of the day when headquarters called so he selected his and a friends airplane for the tour At some point during the

AntiqueClassic Division Advisor Jeannie Hill with Ray Brooks

tour the other plane was destroyed but Rays remained in original condition until its recent total restoration at the Smithsonian

After his wartime service Ray reshyturned to the States and graduated from Field Officers School at Langley Field Virginia where he became an instrucshytor After five and a half years of milshyitary service Ray received his honorshyable discharge on December 14 1922

His civilian career carried equal imshyportance As an engineer with Bell Telephone Laboratories he authored 18 secret technical manuals for the milishytary services He helped pioneer airshy

mail routes organize the early airlines and establish location and contracts for the visual rotating beacons that delineated the routes for the night flying airmail pilots Ray has logged over 3100 solo hours and the low number of his transshyport pilot license No 1738 is another testimony to his early entry into aviashytion A list of Rays credits and membershyship associations would take up half a page Some of his more noteworthy afshyfiliations are Associate Fellow of Amerishycan Institute of Aeronautics and Astroshynautics World War I Overseas Flyers American Fighter Aces Association OX-5 QBs and of course our own

AntiqueClassic Dishyvision In 1980 Ray was inducted into the New Jersey A vishyation Hall of Fame

Ray attends both Sun n Fun and the EAA Oshkosh Conshyvention whenever possible This past Convention we were honored to have him with us at the Red Bam for several days While he was there he gave freely of his time allowing us to visit with him and introduce him to multitudes of intershyested people Ray gave us a wonderful interview for our A vishyation Pioneer Video Library He allowed us to lift him into the Canuck for his first-hand account of what it was like to learn to fly in a Jenny The still

shots of Ray in that Canuck are priceshyless Ive shared a few of them here with you As you can see Ray Brooks is far from being a has-been The Ray of yesterday was a great fellow but the Ray of today is fantastic So just remember the next time you saunter on down to the Red Barn and see a dapper old gentleman leaning over his cane peering through his wire rimmed glasses and looking like maybe he has a story to tell go up and introduce yourself and shake his hand And remember that hand held the stick that fought the battles of World War I

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2ATUI2~

by ()ennls llalks

~ LlbraoMdllves ()Iroc(()r

STOUT 2-AT

~

FORD MODEL 14

8 APRIL 1990

THE STOUT 2-A T A REMEMBRANCE

The January 1990 issue of SPORT A V1ATlON had an article about the Ford Tri-Motors and the Stout aircraft that proceeded them The article brought about some interesting reshysponses One of the most interesting was a letter from Roland L Hall (EAA 146593) of Northfield Illinois Mr Hall told in his letter of his first airplane flight which took place aboard a Stout 2-AT in April 1927 at Grand Rapids Michigan

Dear Mr Parks I cant tell you how much I enjoyed

your excellent article THE PLANES THAT MR FORD AND MR STOUT BUILT since my first flight was in a Stout 2-AT in April 1927

My boyhood was spent in Grand Rapids Michigan our being within earshot and a short bike ride from the field that became the airport and we practically lived there We could quickly recognize the sounds of an OX-5 C-6 or Hisso so when we heard the throaty roar of the Liberty in a DH-4 or the D-12 in a P-I from Selfshyridge Field across the state would pedal madly to the field hoping to see one of these beautiful machines before it departed

In 1926 I recall Father telling us that an airline would soon begin flying between Dearborn near Detroit and Grand Rapids Naturally on the day of the inaugural flight I along with about every kid in the town (and a lot of grown-ups too) was there Soon the 2-AT appeared in the east and landed on the sod field Maneuvering on the

ground was not a simple operation since the plane had a tailskid and no wheel brakes Two mechanics in white coveralls would run out on the field to meet it at the end of its rollout Each carried a large wooden block with a length of rope attached which upon signal from the pilot or copilot they would place in front of the designated wheel A blast of the big Liberty would cause the plane to turn in the desired direction and it ultimately lumbered up to the area where a group of local digshynitaries and photographers were waitshying With the engine shut down seven passengers made their way out of a rather small oval shaped door on the right side of the fuselage Most of them still had bits of cotton sticking out of their ears As I learned much later when I flew in it the cabin lacked sound insulation and the noise from the Liberty was deafening

We boys were bugeyed Never had we seen such a huge plane Actually I believe the span was something less than 70 feet Its skin was a corrugated material which we naturally assumed in view of the name FORD promishynently displayed in several places was tin We also assumed that the word Stout referred to the rugged conshystruction of the aircraft Other markshyings were a large numeral I on the rudder and the name Miss Grand Rapids on each side of the engine cowl The nose of the plane was surshymounted by a monumental radiator complete with cap as was the style with automobiles of the day The massive propeller appeared to be at least 10 feet long Since it had no mechanical starter of any sort it had to be propped like my Champ Well not exactly After the blades had been pulled through sevshyeral times three mechanics upon signal from the copilot (the pilot being on the left couldnt see them) would link hands and run past the prop the last man grabbing it as he went by Note the position of the blade in the illustration No 2 in your article It is 60 degrees beyond that which we use on our smaller engines

Initially only one aircraft was used It departed from Dearborn the first thing in the morning arriving at Grand Rapids an hour or an hour and a half later depending on the prevailing wesshyterly headwind It would depart late in the afternoon for its return flight The fare one way was $16 so even with a 100 percent load factor which it selshydom was it gave the airline a gross

revenue of only $224 per day totally inadequate even in those days when you could buy a Ford car for just under $500

It was this layover of the 2-AT for several hours that got me my first flight The Stout people reasoned that by charging $500 for a 20-minute sightseeing flight over Grand Rapids they could produce an hourly revenue equal or greater than flying their regushylar route On a Saturday in April 1927 Father chartered the whole plane for seven family members including two of my grandparents and myself To me and perhaps to my fellow passhysengers the flight was memorable in more ways than one Just before landshying I for the only time in 63 years of flying became violently airsick and they hadnt invented barfuags

A short time later a second 2-AT was added to the run This one bore no name as did its hangarmate only the numeral 2 on its rudder Where the earlier schedule catered to the Detroitshybased businessman who would fly to Grand Rapids in the morning and reshyturn home in the afternoon his much more numerous counterpart was the salesman representing one of the many small companies who were suppliers to Detroits automobile plants It was pointless for him to arrive in Detroit in the later afternoon spend two nights in a hotel and return home two days later The second plane allowed him to make the trip within the same day It also added to the enjoyment of the three Hall boys When the arriving afshyternoon plane had discharged its passhysengers at the small terminal building it was restarted and taxied a few hundred feet to the hangar where it spent the night We were frequently allowed to climb on board and ride over to the hangar It did not enter our heads that it was Father s frequent use of the airline that got us this special treatment

The pilots who were always addresshysed by their former military ranks or as mister included such names as J Parker VanZant who played a key part in setting up the first coast to coast airmail routes Tom Halpin who later set up his own company to make an all metal plane of his own design the Flamingo Capt C C Swenson and Peter Berger to name a few

Unfortunately the airline was not a commercial success and the Grand Rapids route was discontinued after about a year My recollection is that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

I I __

000

AERO DIGEST NY

Three-view outline drawing of the 2530-horsepower Ford Model 14-A transport a irplane

10 APRIL 1990

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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WRITE EM Aviation Foundation Boeing Aeronautical library EM Aviation Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3065

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

PUBLICATION STAFF PUBLISHER

Tom Poberezny

VICE-PRESIDENT MARKETING amp COMMUNICATIONS

Dick Matt

EDITOR Mark Phelps

MANAGING EDITOR Golda Cox

ART DIRECTOR Mike Drucks

ADVERTISING Mary Jones

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Norman Petersen Dick Cavin

FEATURE WRITERS George A Hardie Jr Dennis Parks

EDITORIAl ASSISTANT Isabelle Wiske

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jim Koepnick Carl Schuppel

Jeff Isom

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC

OFFICERS President Vice President

Espie Butc h Joyce Arthur R Morgan 604 Highway St 3744 North 51st Blvd

Madison NC 27025 Milwaukee WI 53216 919427-0216 414442-3631

Secretary Treosurer George S York EE Buck Hilbert

181 Sloboda Ave PO Box 424 Mansfield OH 44906 Union IL 60180

419529-4378 815923-4591

DIRECTORS Robert C Bob Brauer John S Copeland

9345 S Hayne 9 Joanne Drive Chicago IL 60620 Westborough MA 01581

312m9-2105 508366middot7245

Philip Coulson William A Eickhoff 28415 Springbrook Dr 415 15th Ave NE

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PO Box 904038 Minneapolis MN 55434 Tulsa OK 74105 6121784-1172 9181742-7311

Robert D Bob Lumley Dale A Gustafson 1265 South 124th SI

7724 Shady Hill Drive Brookfield WI 53005 Indianapolis IN 46278 4141782-2633

317293-4430 Steven C Nesse

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ADVISORS John Berendt Gene Chase

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414673middot5885 715425middot2455

Jeannie Hill PO Box 328

HONard IL 60033 815943middot7205

APRIL 1990 bull Vol 18 No4

Copyright copy 1990 by the EAA AntiqueClassic Division tnc All rights reseNed

Contents

2 Straight and Levelby Espie Butch Joyce

4 AlC Newslby Mark Phelps

4 Letters to the Editor

5 Calendar Page 6

6 Interesting Member Ray Brooks Iby Jeannie Hill

8 Vintage Literaturelby Dennis Parks

12 Members Projectslby Norm Petersen

14 Pass It To Bucklby EE Buck Hilbert

16 Vintage Seaplaneslby Norm Petersen Page 17

17 1950 Bonanzalby Mark Phelps

20 Chapter Onelby Bob Brauer

23 Project Porterfieldlby Norm Petersen

28 Old Bluelby Mike McCann

34 Vintage Trader

38 Mystery Planelby George Hardie Jf

FRONT COVER Mike McCanns Stinson negotiating the Alaskan terrain (Photo courtesy of Mike McCann)

REAR COVER A Sun n Fun scene Barefoot pilot Hal Wightons Lincoln Page PT-W neath the photographers tree a t Lakeland 1988

(Pho to by Mark Phelps)

TIle words EAA ULTRALIGHT FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM SPORT AVIATIONand he kgtgos 01 EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC EAA INTERNAmiddot TIONAL CONVENTION EAA AlNTIQUEICLASSIC DIVISION INCbull INTERNATIONAL AEROOATIC CLUB INC WARBIRDS OF AMERICA INCbull lre registered trademar1lts THE EAA SKY SHOfPE and kgtgos 01 he EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION INC and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION e trademar1lts 01 he above associations ltrod lheir use by arrt person _than he above associations is sbictIy prolliJited

Edtorial Policy Readers are encouraged 10 sOOrrit SIOIies and pOOUlgraphs Policy oprons expressed in mes are solely hose 01 he authors Responsblity lor aooJracy in repor1ing rests entiety with he con1riluIOr Malen shook be sent 10 Edtor TIle VINTAGE AIRPlANE WIman Regional Airpor1 3(XX) Poberezny Ad OsNltosh WI 54903-3086 Fhorlt 4141426-4800

TIle VINTAGE AIRPlANE (ISSN 0091middot6943) bull published and owned exclusively by EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc 01 he Experimental Aicraf1 Association Inc and bull published m001l1~ al Wrttman Regional Aipor1 3(XX) Poberezny Ad Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Second Class Postage paid a1 OsNltosh WI 54901 ltrod additional mailing offices ~ rales lor EAA ArliqueiClassic Division Inc are $1800 lor OJen EAA members lor 12 morIh period 01 v1ic1l $1200 bull lor he publication 01 TIle VINTAGE AIRPLANE ~ bull open 10 all who are ~lerested in aviation

ADVERTISING - AntiqueClassic Division does no1 guaranlee or eOOorse any product offered 1I1rough our advef1isingWe invile constructive cti1icism and welcome arrt repor1 01 inlefior mercllardse oblained 1I1rough our adver1ising so 1I1al corrective measures can be taken

POSTMASTER Send address changes 10 EM AntiqueClassic Division Inc PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

VtNTAGE AIRPLANE 3

Compiled by Mark Phelps

EAA dues increase The EAA Board of Directors has

voted to increase EAA membership dues to $35 effective July I 1990 The current dues structure has been in efshyfect since October 1985 Additional membership increases are as follows Family members $10 uS schools and libraries $20 Foreign schools and libraries $23 Junior membership $20 Full family memberships $45 Again the increases are effective July 1 1990

EAA Scholarships Offered Scholarships and awards ranging

from $200 to fuJI degree programs are offered through the EAA Aviation Foundation To encourage recognize and support excellence in students purshysuing the knowledge of the technologies and skills of aviation are the stated goals for these Scholarship awards Scholarship applecations may be made on the application provided by EAA Education Director Chuck Larsen EAA Aviation Center Oshshykosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Tel 4141 426-4800 Applications must be reshyceived by May 1 to be considered A wards will be announced at EAA Oshkosh 90

~IL

Wabash flier

Dear Norm Please find the enclosed photograph

of what I believe to be a Curtiss JN4D Jenny The photograph is believed to have been taken around 1915 or maybe later (probably later - Ed) The gentleman standing in the middle is Frank W Kern Mr Kern was born in 1898 He was an entrepreneur who learned to fly at an early age Mr Kern was known to have done some flying in the Wabash Indiana area during this time period This photo is believed to have been taken around Wabash or Fort Wayne Notice the advertisement 4 APRIL 1990

on the side of the airplane The other two men in the photo are unidentified At the time of this photo Mr Kern lived in the small town of Athens Inshydiana My interest in Mr Kern is that he is the grandfather of a colleague of mine We are interested in knowing more about Mr Kerns flying acshytivities We would enjoy hearing from anyone with any information on this early aviator

Sincerely Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 AlC 5728) 347 South 500 East Marion Indiana 46952

PS Norm I just completed your artishycle about John Lafferty (February 1990) Keep up the good work

Expensive autographs

Dear Mark I was happy to read that Paul Pobershy

ezny might be willing to push for a repairmans certificate on older proshyduction light aircraft (Interview Janushyary 1990) I do not feel the requireshyments should be the same for an Amershyican Airlines engine mechanic and a guy who owns and flys his own classic Beechcraft I have two former brothers-in-law who are AampP mechanics for Piedmont Airlines They may have the skills necessary to rebuild a 727 engine but I wouldn t want either of them working on my lawn mower much less my airplane I am also tired of paying someone who knows less about my airplane than I do to sign off my work I own a 1952 Bonanza because I cant afford a newer one The cost of maintenance would be greatly reduced if it did not include the price of the AampP autograph I also dont like anyone else working on my airplane If we are going to make the pilot in command responsible for the airworthiness of his airplane should we not also give him the authority to be the one person who really knows the quality of maintenance Wouldnt our entire fleet be better maintained if the mechanic were required to fly the airplane

Sincerely Paul Whitesell (EAA 288943 AlC 12757) Plano Texas

April 8-14 - Lakeland Florida 16th annual Sun n Fun 90 EAA Fly-in Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun EAA Fly-in Inc PO Box 6750 Lakeland Florida Tel 813 644-2431

April 28 - Levelland Texas Airport Breakfast sponsored by EAA Chapter 19 at Levelland Municipal Airport Contact John Smith 2826 62nd Street Lubbock Texas Tel 8061793-7889

April 29 - Shreveport Louisiana Holiday in Dixie fly-in sponsored by EAA Chapter 343 Shreveport Downshytown Airport Contact Sam Waldrop 6215 Quilen Blvd Shreveport Louisiana 71108-3703 Tel 318653shy9933

May 4-6 - Burlington North Carolina Burlington Airport Sponshysored by AntiqueClassic Chapter 3 Contact Ray Bottom co Antique Airshyways 103 Powhatan Parkway Hampton Virginia 23661 Tel 804 722-5056

May 5-6 - Winchester Virginia Winchester Regional EAA Spring Flyshyin Winchester Airport Sponsored by EAA Chapter 186 Contact George Lutz Tel 703256-7873

May 6 - Rockford Illinois EAA Chapter 22 Annual Fly-in Breakfast Mark Clarks Courtesy Aircraft Greater Rockford Airport 700 am to noon ATIS 1267 Contact Wallace Hunt 8 15332-4708

May 12-13 - Reading Pennsylvania Reading Aerofest at Reading Regional Airport Contact Paul R Doelp RD 9 Box 9416 Reading Pennsylvania 19605-9606 Tel 215372-4666

May 19-20 - Hampton New Hampshyshire Fourteenth Annual Aviation Flea Market Hampton Airfield Hampton New Hampshire Anything aviation reshylated okay No fees Camping on airshyfield Contact Mike Hart Hampton Airfield Route US I North Hampton New Hampshire Tel 603964-6749

May 20 - Benton Harbor Michigan Fourth Annual EAA Chapter 585 Dawn Patrol BreakfastLunch Inshycludes boat and classic car show Ross Field Benton Harbor Michigan Conshytact AI Todd PO Box 61 Stevensville Michigan 49127 Tel 616429-2929

May 25-27 - Atchinson Kansas Kansas City Area Chapter AAA Flyshyin at Amelia Earhart Memorial Airshyport Contact Lynn Wendl 7509 Conshyser Overland Park Kansas 66204 Tel 913642-5906

May 26-27 - Vidalia Louisiana Fershyriday Fly-in sponsored by EAA Chapshyter 912 Concordia Parish Airport Contact Jerry Stallings Rte I Box 19D Ferriday Louisiana 71334-9709 3181757-2103

June 1-2 - Bartlesville Oklahoma Biplane Expo 90 the National Bishyplane Association s -Fourth Annual Convention and Exposition Frank Phillips Field Bartlesville Oklahoma Free to members of NBA For memshybership information contact Charles Harris NBA Hangar 5 4-J Aviation Jones-Riverside Airport Tulsa Okshylahoma Tel 918299-2532

June 1-3 - Merced California 33rd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-in Merced Municipal Airport Contact Merced Pilots Association PO Box 2312 Merced California 95344 or call Dick Escola at 209358-6707

June 8-10 - Middletown Ohio Fifth National Aeronca Convention Aeronca factory Includes factory tour and vi sit to USAF Museum Contact Jim Thompson President National Aeronca Association PO Box 2219 Terre Haute Indiana 47802 Tel 812 232-1491

June 9 - Newport News Virginia 18th Annual Colonial Fly-in Sponshysored by EAA Chapter 156 at the Patshyrick Henry Airport Contact Chet Sprague 8 Sinclair Road Hampton Virginia 23669 Tel 8041723-3904

June 22-24 - Pauls Valley Okshylahoma Greater Oklahoma City AAA Chapter Fly-in Contact Dick Darnell 100 Park Avenue Building Suite 604 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 73102 Tel 405236-5635

June 23-24 - Orange Massachusetts 14th Annual New England EAA Fly-

in Orange Airport Contact James OConnell at 413498-2266

June 28 - July 1 - Mount Vernon Ohio 31st Annual Waco Reunion Wynkoop Airport Contact National Waco Club 700 Hill Avenue Hamilshyton Ohio 45015 Tel 513868-0084

July 7-8 - Emmetsburg Iowa Secshyond Annual Aeronca Champ Fly-in and fly-in breakfast Emmetsburg Airshyport Contact Keith Harnden Box 285 Emmetsburg Iowa 50536 Tel 712 852-3810

July 13-15 - Simsbury Connecticut 2nd Annual Northeast Stearman Fly-in at Simsbury Airport Contact Jim Kipshypen II Crestwood Street Simsbury Connecticut 06070 Tel 203651shy0328

July 20-21 - Collingwood Ontario Second Annual Gathering of Classic Aircraft sponsored by Collingwood Classic Aircraft Foundation Colshylingwood Airport (NY3) Contact Doug Murray 5 Plater Street RR No 3 Collingwood Ontario Canada L9Y 3Z2 Tel 705445-5433

July 27-August 2 - Oshkosh Wisshyconsin 38th Annual EAA Fly-in Conshyvention EAA Oshkosh 90 Wittman Regional Airport Oshkosh Wisconsin Contact EAA EAA Aviashytion Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Tel 414426-4800

August 19 - Brookfield Wisconsin 5th Annual Ice Cream Social sponshysored by EAA AntiqueClassic Chapter II at Capitol Drive Airport Contact George Meade 5514 N Navajo Avshyenue Glendale Wisconsin 53217 Tel 414962-2428

August 24-26 - Sussex New Jersey 18th Annual Sussex Air Show Sussex Airport Call 201 875-7337 or 702shy9719

September 8 - Chico California Chico Antique Airshow Chico Airshyport Contact Chico Antique Airshow Committee 6 St Helens Lane Chico California 95926 Tel 916342-3730

September 15-16 - Rock Falls Ilshylinois Fourth An nual North Central EAA Old Fashioned Fly-in Pancake breakfast Sunday Contact Dave Chrisshytansen at 815625-6556

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

INTERESTING MEMBERS

The biggest smile and the brightest twinkle in his eye seated second from right

6 APRIL 1990

Ray Brooks in Skeeter Carlsons Curtiss Canuek

RAY BROOKS by Jeannie Hill Advisor

In trying to pick up poillfers on how to know and fly old slow airplanes I always try to seek out the guys and gals who flew themfirstJ7ew them best and lived the longest to tell about it Even in a crowd its usually easy to single out these folks Theyre the vinshytage fliers with the biggest smiles on their faces and that mandatory twinkle in their eyes that lets you know right off that theyve probably got a story or two to tell I cant remember where I first ran into Ray Brooks but there he was with that smile and that twinkle There was nothing left to do but introshyduce myself ask a leading question and sit back and he delighted

Youd have to search far and wide to find a more interesting member than Ray Brooks First of all it would be hard to find another member with more seniority in the system Ray has been working in aviation since 1917 He is 96 years young and as each year passes Ray seems to be able to glean the very best from it and then tries to pass it all along to us He wants to share what he is and what he has with everyone Thats just the kind of guy he is At a time in his life when he should be restshying on his laurels Ray Brooks is still going to air shows being interviewed posing for photos and serving as a walking talking enshycyclopedia of aviashytion for anyone who has the good sense to realize that when theyve found Ray Brooks theyve stumshybled upon a mother lode of knowledge and experience in the aviation world

There is so much history on Ray Brooks that in this short arshyticle I couldnt beshygin to recount enough of it to do justice to him So I wont even try right now Besides that leaves an opening to do an even more extenshysive article about one of my favorite subjects at a later date Suffice to say that among his many accomplishments Ray has had a very disshytinguished military career His initial training took place in Canada in Curtiss JN4Ds from September through Noshyvember of 1917 In France during World War I he learned to fly a Nieushyport He was later assigned and flew the Spad VII and the Spad XIII Now I couldnt tell you the difference beshytween a Spad VII and a Spad XIII to save my life But if you have a minshyute Ray sure can and in as much detail as you care to get into (Ill give you a hint It has something to do with an extra 40 hp on the Hispano Suiza enshygine and with a second Vickers gun installation on the Spad XIII So there now you know as much as I do )

Ray flew with the Lafayette Escashydrille and became an ace with six menshytions in orders for confirmed air vicshytories His restored Spad No 20 Smith IV with the Shooting Star inshysignia of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron is now on display with the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum in Washington DC Due to a stroke of luck it was shipped there when orders came through to send two combat airshyplanes to the States for a war bond tour It seems Ray was the officer of the day when headquarters called so he selected his and a friends airplane for the tour At some point during the

AntiqueClassic Division Advisor Jeannie Hill with Ray Brooks

tour the other plane was destroyed but Rays remained in original condition until its recent total restoration at the Smithsonian

After his wartime service Ray reshyturned to the States and graduated from Field Officers School at Langley Field Virginia where he became an instrucshytor After five and a half years of milshyitary service Ray received his honorshyable discharge on December 14 1922

His civilian career carried equal imshyportance As an engineer with Bell Telephone Laboratories he authored 18 secret technical manuals for the milishytary services He helped pioneer airshy

mail routes organize the early airlines and establish location and contracts for the visual rotating beacons that delineated the routes for the night flying airmail pilots Ray has logged over 3100 solo hours and the low number of his transshyport pilot license No 1738 is another testimony to his early entry into aviashytion A list of Rays credits and membershyship associations would take up half a page Some of his more noteworthy afshyfiliations are Associate Fellow of Amerishycan Institute of Aeronautics and Astroshynautics World War I Overseas Flyers American Fighter Aces Association OX-5 QBs and of course our own

AntiqueClassic Dishyvision In 1980 Ray was inducted into the New Jersey A vishyation Hall of Fame

Ray attends both Sun n Fun and the EAA Oshkosh Conshyvention whenever possible This past Convention we were honored to have him with us at the Red Bam for several days While he was there he gave freely of his time allowing us to visit with him and introduce him to multitudes of intershyested people Ray gave us a wonderful interview for our A vishyation Pioneer Video Library He allowed us to lift him into the Canuck for his first-hand account of what it was like to learn to fly in a Jenny The still

shots of Ray in that Canuck are priceshyless Ive shared a few of them here with you As you can see Ray Brooks is far from being a has-been The Ray of yesterday was a great fellow but the Ray of today is fantastic So just remember the next time you saunter on down to the Red Barn and see a dapper old gentleman leaning over his cane peering through his wire rimmed glasses and looking like maybe he has a story to tell go up and introduce yourself and shake his hand And remember that hand held the stick that fought the battles of World War I

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2ATUI2~

by ()ennls llalks

~ LlbraoMdllves ()Iroc(()r

STOUT 2-AT

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FORD MODEL 14

8 APRIL 1990

THE STOUT 2-A T A REMEMBRANCE

The January 1990 issue of SPORT A V1ATlON had an article about the Ford Tri-Motors and the Stout aircraft that proceeded them The article brought about some interesting reshysponses One of the most interesting was a letter from Roland L Hall (EAA 146593) of Northfield Illinois Mr Hall told in his letter of his first airplane flight which took place aboard a Stout 2-AT in April 1927 at Grand Rapids Michigan

Dear Mr Parks I cant tell you how much I enjoyed

your excellent article THE PLANES THAT MR FORD AND MR STOUT BUILT since my first flight was in a Stout 2-AT in April 1927

My boyhood was spent in Grand Rapids Michigan our being within earshot and a short bike ride from the field that became the airport and we practically lived there We could quickly recognize the sounds of an OX-5 C-6 or Hisso so when we heard the throaty roar of the Liberty in a DH-4 or the D-12 in a P-I from Selfshyridge Field across the state would pedal madly to the field hoping to see one of these beautiful machines before it departed

In 1926 I recall Father telling us that an airline would soon begin flying between Dearborn near Detroit and Grand Rapids Naturally on the day of the inaugural flight I along with about every kid in the town (and a lot of grown-ups too) was there Soon the 2-AT appeared in the east and landed on the sod field Maneuvering on the

ground was not a simple operation since the plane had a tailskid and no wheel brakes Two mechanics in white coveralls would run out on the field to meet it at the end of its rollout Each carried a large wooden block with a length of rope attached which upon signal from the pilot or copilot they would place in front of the designated wheel A blast of the big Liberty would cause the plane to turn in the desired direction and it ultimately lumbered up to the area where a group of local digshynitaries and photographers were waitshying With the engine shut down seven passengers made their way out of a rather small oval shaped door on the right side of the fuselage Most of them still had bits of cotton sticking out of their ears As I learned much later when I flew in it the cabin lacked sound insulation and the noise from the Liberty was deafening

We boys were bugeyed Never had we seen such a huge plane Actually I believe the span was something less than 70 feet Its skin was a corrugated material which we naturally assumed in view of the name FORD promishynently displayed in several places was tin We also assumed that the word Stout referred to the rugged conshystruction of the aircraft Other markshyings were a large numeral I on the rudder and the name Miss Grand Rapids on each side of the engine cowl The nose of the plane was surshymounted by a monumental radiator complete with cap as was the style with automobiles of the day The massive propeller appeared to be at least 10 feet long Since it had no mechanical starter of any sort it had to be propped like my Champ Well not exactly After the blades had been pulled through sevshyeral times three mechanics upon signal from the copilot (the pilot being on the left couldnt see them) would link hands and run past the prop the last man grabbing it as he went by Note the position of the blade in the illustration No 2 in your article It is 60 degrees beyond that which we use on our smaller engines

Initially only one aircraft was used It departed from Dearborn the first thing in the morning arriving at Grand Rapids an hour or an hour and a half later depending on the prevailing wesshyterly headwind It would depart late in the afternoon for its return flight The fare one way was $16 so even with a 100 percent load factor which it selshydom was it gave the airline a gross

revenue of only $224 per day totally inadequate even in those days when you could buy a Ford car for just under $500

It was this layover of the 2-AT for several hours that got me my first flight The Stout people reasoned that by charging $500 for a 20-minute sightseeing flight over Grand Rapids they could produce an hourly revenue equal or greater than flying their regushylar route On a Saturday in April 1927 Father chartered the whole plane for seven family members including two of my grandparents and myself To me and perhaps to my fellow passhysengers the flight was memorable in more ways than one Just before landshying I for the only time in 63 years of flying became violently airsick and they hadnt invented barfuags

A short time later a second 2-AT was added to the run This one bore no name as did its hangarmate only the numeral 2 on its rudder Where the earlier schedule catered to the Detroitshybased businessman who would fly to Grand Rapids in the morning and reshyturn home in the afternoon his much more numerous counterpart was the salesman representing one of the many small companies who were suppliers to Detroits automobile plants It was pointless for him to arrive in Detroit in the later afternoon spend two nights in a hotel and return home two days later The second plane allowed him to make the trip within the same day It also added to the enjoyment of the three Hall boys When the arriving afshyternoon plane had discharged its passhysengers at the small terminal building it was restarted and taxied a few hundred feet to the hangar where it spent the night We were frequently allowed to climb on board and ride over to the hangar It did not enter our heads that it was Father s frequent use of the airline that got us this special treatment

The pilots who were always addresshysed by their former military ranks or as mister included such names as J Parker VanZant who played a key part in setting up the first coast to coast airmail routes Tom Halpin who later set up his own company to make an all metal plane of his own design the Flamingo Capt C C Swenson and Peter Berger to name a few

Unfortunately the airline was not a commercial success and the Grand Rapids route was discontinued after about a year My recollection is that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

I I __

000

AERO DIGEST NY

Three-view outline drawing of the 2530-horsepower Ford Model 14-A transport a irplane

10 APRIL 1990

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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library Handbook and User Guide - Free SPORT AVIATION Aircraft Article Index (1953-1988) - $1200Journal list - $200

Radtke Photo Collection Catalog - $300 THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Airplane Article Index (1973-1988) - $500Index to Scale Aircraft Drawings - $1500

WRITE EM Aviation Foundation Boeing Aeronautical library EM Aviation Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3065

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

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EAA EXPERIMENTER EAA membership and EAA EXPERIshyMENTER magazine is available for $2800 per year (Sport Aviation not included) Current EAA members may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER for $1800 peryear

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Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars

Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

Compiled by Mark Phelps

EAA dues increase The EAA Board of Directors has

voted to increase EAA membership dues to $35 effective July I 1990 The current dues structure has been in efshyfect since October 1985 Additional membership increases are as follows Family members $10 uS schools and libraries $20 Foreign schools and libraries $23 Junior membership $20 Full family memberships $45 Again the increases are effective July 1 1990

EAA Scholarships Offered Scholarships and awards ranging

from $200 to fuJI degree programs are offered through the EAA Aviation Foundation To encourage recognize and support excellence in students purshysuing the knowledge of the technologies and skills of aviation are the stated goals for these Scholarship awards Scholarship applecations may be made on the application provided by EAA Education Director Chuck Larsen EAA Aviation Center Oshshykosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Tel 4141 426-4800 Applications must be reshyceived by May 1 to be considered A wards will be announced at EAA Oshkosh 90

~IL

Wabash flier

Dear Norm Please find the enclosed photograph

of what I believe to be a Curtiss JN4D Jenny The photograph is believed to have been taken around 1915 or maybe later (probably later - Ed) The gentleman standing in the middle is Frank W Kern Mr Kern was born in 1898 He was an entrepreneur who learned to fly at an early age Mr Kern was known to have done some flying in the Wabash Indiana area during this time period This photo is believed to have been taken around Wabash or Fort Wayne Notice the advertisement 4 APRIL 1990

on the side of the airplane The other two men in the photo are unidentified At the time of this photo Mr Kern lived in the small town of Athens Inshydiana My interest in Mr Kern is that he is the grandfather of a colleague of mine We are interested in knowing more about Mr Kerns flying acshytivities We would enjoy hearing from anyone with any information on this early aviator

Sincerely Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 AlC 5728) 347 South 500 East Marion Indiana 46952

PS Norm I just completed your artishycle about John Lafferty (February 1990) Keep up the good work

Expensive autographs

Dear Mark I was happy to read that Paul Pobershy

ezny might be willing to push for a repairmans certificate on older proshyduction light aircraft (Interview Janushyary 1990) I do not feel the requireshyments should be the same for an Amershyican Airlines engine mechanic and a guy who owns and flys his own classic Beechcraft I have two former brothers-in-law who are AampP mechanics for Piedmont Airlines They may have the skills necessary to rebuild a 727 engine but I wouldn t want either of them working on my lawn mower much less my airplane I am also tired of paying someone who knows less about my airplane than I do to sign off my work I own a 1952 Bonanza because I cant afford a newer one The cost of maintenance would be greatly reduced if it did not include the price of the AampP autograph I also dont like anyone else working on my airplane If we are going to make the pilot in command responsible for the airworthiness of his airplane should we not also give him the authority to be the one person who really knows the quality of maintenance Wouldnt our entire fleet be better maintained if the mechanic were required to fly the airplane

Sincerely Paul Whitesell (EAA 288943 AlC 12757) Plano Texas

April 8-14 - Lakeland Florida 16th annual Sun n Fun 90 EAA Fly-in Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun EAA Fly-in Inc PO Box 6750 Lakeland Florida Tel 813 644-2431

April 28 - Levelland Texas Airport Breakfast sponsored by EAA Chapter 19 at Levelland Municipal Airport Contact John Smith 2826 62nd Street Lubbock Texas Tel 8061793-7889

April 29 - Shreveport Louisiana Holiday in Dixie fly-in sponsored by EAA Chapter 343 Shreveport Downshytown Airport Contact Sam Waldrop 6215 Quilen Blvd Shreveport Louisiana 71108-3703 Tel 318653shy9933

May 4-6 - Burlington North Carolina Burlington Airport Sponshysored by AntiqueClassic Chapter 3 Contact Ray Bottom co Antique Airshyways 103 Powhatan Parkway Hampton Virginia 23661 Tel 804 722-5056

May 5-6 - Winchester Virginia Winchester Regional EAA Spring Flyshyin Winchester Airport Sponsored by EAA Chapter 186 Contact George Lutz Tel 703256-7873

May 6 - Rockford Illinois EAA Chapter 22 Annual Fly-in Breakfast Mark Clarks Courtesy Aircraft Greater Rockford Airport 700 am to noon ATIS 1267 Contact Wallace Hunt 8 15332-4708

May 12-13 - Reading Pennsylvania Reading Aerofest at Reading Regional Airport Contact Paul R Doelp RD 9 Box 9416 Reading Pennsylvania 19605-9606 Tel 215372-4666

May 19-20 - Hampton New Hampshyshire Fourteenth Annual Aviation Flea Market Hampton Airfield Hampton New Hampshire Anything aviation reshylated okay No fees Camping on airshyfield Contact Mike Hart Hampton Airfield Route US I North Hampton New Hampshire Tel 603964-6749

May 20 - Benton Harbor Michigan Fourth Annual EAA Chapter 585 Dawn Patrol BreakfastLunch Inshycludes boat and classic car show Ross Field Benton Harbor Michigan Conshytact AI Todd PO Box 61 Stevensville Michigan 49127 Tel 616429-2929

May 25-27 - Atchinson Kansas Kansas City Area Chapter AAA Flyshyin at Amelia Earhart Memorial Airshyport Contact Lynn Wendl 7509 Conshyser Overland Park Kansas 66204 Tel 913642-5906

May 26-27 - Vidalia Louisiana Fershyriday Fly-in sponsored by EAA Chapshyter 912 Concordia Parish Airport Contact Jerry Stallings Rte I Box 19D Ferriday Louisiana 71334-9709 3181757-2103

June 1-2 - Bartlesville Oklahoma Biplane Expo 90 the National Bishyplane Association s -Fourth Annual Convention and Exposition Frank Phillips Field Bartlesville Oklahoma Free to members of NBA For memshybership information contact Charles Harris NBA Hangar 5 4-J Aviation Jones-Riverside Airport Tulsa Okshylahoma Tel 918299-2532

June 1-3 - Merced California 33rd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-in Merced Municipal Airport Contact Merced Pilots Association PO Box 2312 Merced California 95344 or call Dick Escola at 209358-6707

June 8-10 - Middletown Ohio Fifth National Aeronca Convention Aeronca factory Includes factory tour and vi sit to USAF Museum Contact Jim Thompson President National Aeronca Association PO Box 2219 Terre Haute Indiana 47802 Tel 812 232-1491

June 9 - Newport News Virginia 18th Annual Colonial Fly-in Sponshysored by EAA Chapter 156 at the Patshyrick Henry Airport Contact Chet Sprague 8 Sinclair Road Hampton Virginia 23669 Tel 8041723-3904

June 22-24 - Pauls Valley Okshylahoma Greater Oklahoma City AAA Chapter Fly-in Contact Dick Darnell 100 Park Avenue Building Suite 604 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 73102 Tel 405236-5635

June 23-24 - Orange Massachusetts 14th Annual New England EAA Fly-

in Orange Airport Contact James OConnell at 413498-2266

June 28 - July 1 - Mount Vernon Ohio 31st Annual Waco Reunion Wynkoop Airport Contact National Waco Club 700 Hill Avenue Hamilshyton Ohio 45015 Tel 513868-0084

July 7-8 - Emmetsburg Iowa Secshyond Annual Aeronca Champ Fly-in and fly-in breakfast Emmetsburg Airshyport Contact Keith Harnden Box 285 Emmetsburg Iowa 50536 Tel 712 852-3810

July 13-15 - Simsbury Connecticut 2nd Annual Northeast Stearman Fly-in at Simsbury Airport Contact Jim Kipshypen II Crestwood Street Simsbury Connecticut 06070 Tel 203651shy0328

July 20-21 - Collingwood Ontario Second Annual Gathering of Classic Aircraft sponsored by Collingwood Classic Aircraft Foundation Colshylingwood Airport (NY3) Contact Doug Murray 5 Plater Street RR No 3 Collingwood Ontario Canada L9Y 3Z2 Tel 705445-5433

July 27-August 2 - Oshkosh Wisshyconsin 38th Annual EAA Fly-in Conshyvention EAA Oshkosh 90 Wittman Regional Airport Oshkosh Wisconsin Contact EAA EAA Aviashytion Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Tel 414426-4800

August 19 - Brookfield Wisconsin 5th Annual Ice Cream Social sponshysored by EAA AntiqueClassic Chapter II at Capitol Drive Airport Contact George Meade 5514 N Navajo Avshyenue Glendale Wisconsin 53217 Tel 414962-2428

August 24-26 - Sussex New Jersey 18th Annual Sussex Air Show Sussex Airport Call 201 875-7337 or 702shy9719

September 8 - Chico California Chico Antique Airshow Chico Airshyport Contact Chico Antique Airshow Committee 6 St Helens Lane Chico California 95926 Tel 916342-3730

September 15-16 - Rock Falls Ilshylinois Fourth An nual North Central EAA Old Fashioned Fly-in Pancake breakfast Sunday Contact Dave Chrisshytansen at 815625-6556

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

INTERESTING MEMBERS

The biggest smile and the brightest twinkle in his eye seated second from right

6 APRIL 1990

Ray Brooks in Skeeter Carlsons Curtiss Canuek

RAY BROOKS by Jeannie Hill Advisor

In trying to pick up poillfers on how to know and fly old slow airplanes I always try to seek out the guys and gals who flew themfirstJ7ew them best and lived the longest to tell about it Even in a crowd its usually easy to single out these folks Theyre the vinshytage fliers with the biggest smiles on their faces and that mandatory twinkle in their eyes that lets you know right off that theyve probably got a story or two to tell I cant remember where I first ran into Ray Brooks but there he was with that smile and that twinkle There was nothing left to do but introshyduce myself ask a leading question and sit back and he delighted

Youd have to search far and wide to find a more interesting member than Ray Brooks First of all it would be hard to find another member with more seniority in the system Ray has been working in aviation since 1917 He is 96 years young and as each year passes Ray seems to be able to glean the very best from it and then tries to pass it all along to us He wants to share what he is and what he has with everyone Thats just the kind of guy he is At a time in his life when he should be restshying on his laurels Ray Brooks is still going to air shows being interviewed posing for photos and serving as a walking talking enshycyclopedia of aviashytion for anyone who has the good sense to realize that when theyve found Ray Brooks theyve stumshybled upon a mother lode of knowledge and experience in the aviation world

There is so much history on Ray Brooks that in this short arshyticle I couldnt beshygin to recount enough of it to do justice to him So I wont even try right now Besides that leaves an opening to do an even more extenshysive article about one of my favorite subjects at a later date Suffice to say that among his many accomplishments Ray has had a very disshytinguished military career His initial training took place in Canada in Curtiss JN4Ds from September through Noshyvember of 1917 In France during World War I he learned to fly a Nieushyport He was later assigned and flew the Spad VII and the Spad XIII Now I couldnt tell you the difference beshytween a Spad VII and a Spad XIII to save my life But if you have a minshyute Ray sure can and in as much detail as you care to get into (Ill give you a hint It has something to do with an extra 40 hp on the Hispano Suiza enshygine and with a second Vickers gun installation on the Spad XIII So there now you know as much as I do )

Ray flew with the Lafayette Escashydrille and became an ace with six menshytions in orders for confirmed air vicshytories His restored Spad No 20 Smith IV with the Shooting Star inshysignia of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron is now on display with the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum in Washington DC Due to a stroke of luck it was shipped there when orders came through to send two combat airshyplanes to the States for a war bond tour It seems Ray was the officer of the day when headquarters called so he selected his and a friends airplane for the tour At some point during the

AntiqueClassic Division Advisor Jeannie Hill with Ray Brooks

tour the other plane was destroyed but Rays remained in original condition until its recent total restoration at the Smithsonian

After his wartime service Ray reshyturned to the States and graduated from Field Officers School at Langley Field Virginia where he became an instrucshytor After five and a half years of milshyitary service Ray received his honorshyable discharge on December 14 1922

His civilian career carried equal imshyportance As an engineer with Bell Telephone Laboratories he authored 18 secret technical manuals for the milishytary services He helped pioneer airshy

mail routes organize the early airlines and establish location and contracts for the visual rotating beacons that delineated the routes for the night flying airmail pilots Ray has logged over 3100 solo hours and the low number of his transshyport pilot license No 1738 is another testimony to his early entry into aviashytion A list of Rays credits and membershyship associations would take up half a page Some of his more noteworthy afshyfiliations are Associate Fellow of Amerishycan Institute of Aeronautics and Astroshynautics World War I Overseas Flyers American Fighter Aces Association OX-5 QBs and of course our own

AntiqueClassic Dishyvision In 1980 Ray was inducted into the New Jersey A vishyation Hall of Fame

Ray attends both Sun n Fun and the EAA Oshkosh Conshyvention whenever possible This past Convention we were honored to have him with us at the Red Bam for several days While he was there he gave freely of his time allowing us to visit with him and introduce him to multitudes of intershyested people Ray gave us a wonderful interview for our A vishyation Pioneer Video Library He allowed us to lift him into the Canuck for his first-hand account of what it was like to learn to fly in a Jenny The still

shots of Ray in that Canuck are priceshyless Ive shared a few of them here with you As you can see Ray Brooks is far from being a has-been The Ray of yesterday was a great fellow but the Ray of today is fantastic So just remember the next time you saunter on down to the Red Barn and see a dapper old gentleman leaning over his cane peering through his wire rimmed glasses and looking like maybe he has a story to tell go up and introduce yourself and shake his hand And remember that hand held the stick that fought the battles of World War I

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2ATUI2~

by ()ennls llalks

~ LlbraoMdllves ()Iroc(()r

STOUT 2-AT

~

FORD MODEL 14

8 APRIL 1990

THE STOUT 2-A T A REMEMBRANCE

The January 1990 issue of SPORT A V1ATlON had an article about the Ford Tri-Motors and the Stout aircraft that proceeded them The article brought about some interesting reshysponses One of the most interesting was a letter from Roland L Hall (EAA 146593) of Northfield Illinois Mr Hall told in his letter of his first airplane flight which took place aboard a Stout 2-AT in April 1927 at Grand Rapids Michigan

Dear Mr Parks I cant tell you how much I enjoyed

your excellent article THE PLANES THAT MR FORD AND MR STOUT BUILT since my first flight was in a Stout 2-AT in April 1927

My boyhood was spent in Grand Rapids Michigan our being within earshot and a short bike ride from the field that became the airport and we practically lived there We could quickly recognize the sounds of an OX-5 C-6 or Hisso so when we heard the throaty roar of the Liberty in a DH-4 or the D-12 in a P-I from Selfshyridge Field across the state would pedal madly to the field hoping to see one of these beautiful machines before it departed

In 1926 I recall Father telling us that an airline would soon begin flying between Dearborn near Detroit and Grand Rapids Naturally on the day of the inaugural flight I along with about every kid in the town (and a lot of grown-ups too) was there Soon the 2-AT appeared in the east and landed on the sod field Maneuvering on the

ground was not a simple operation since the plane had a tailskid and no wheel brakes Two mechanics in white coveralls would run out on the field to meet it at the end of its rollout Each carried a large wooden block with a length of rope attached which upon signal from the pilot or copilot they would place in front of the designated wheel A blast of the big Liberty would cause the plane to turn in the desired direction and it ultimately lumbered up to the area where a group of local digshynitaries and photographers were waitshying With the engine shut down seven passengers made their way out of a rather small oval shaped door on the right side of the fuselage Most of them still had bits of cotton sticking out of their ears As I learned much later when I flew in it the cabin lacked sound insulation and the noise from the Liberty was deafening

We boys were bugeyed Never had we seen such a huge plane Actually I believe the span was something less than 70 feet Its skin was a corrugated material which we naturally assumed in view of the name FORD promishynently displayed in several places was tin We also assumed that the word Stout referred to the rugged conshystruction of the aircraft Other markshyings were a large numeral I on the rudder and the name Miss Grand Rapids on each side of the engine cowl The nose of the plane was surshymounted by a monumental radiator complete with cap as was the style with automobiles of the day The massive propeller appeared to be at least 10 feet long Since it had no mechanical starter of any sort it had to be propped like my Champ Well not exactly After the blades had been pulled through sevshyeral times three mechanics upon signal from the copilot (the pilot being on the left couldnt see them) would link hands and run past the prop the last man grabbing it as he went by Note the position of the blade in the illustration No 2 in your article It is 60 degrees beyond that which we use on our smaller engines

Initially only one aircraft was used It departed from Dearborn the first thing in the morning arriving at Grand Rapids an hour or an hour and a half later depending on the prevailing wesshyterly headwind It would depart late in the afternoon for its return flight The fare one way was $16 so even with a 100 percent load factor which it selshydom was it gave the airline a gross

revenue of only $224 per day totally inadequate even in those days when you could buy a Ford car for just under $500

It was this layover of the 2-AT for several hours that got me my first flight The Stout people reasoned that by charging $500 for a 20-minute sightseeing flight over Grand Rapids they could produce an hourly revenue equal or greater than flying their regushylar route On a Saturday in April 1927 Father chartered the whole plane for seven family members including two of my grandparents and myself To me and perhaps to my fellow passhysengers the flight was memorable in more ways than one Just before landshying I for the only time in 63 years of flying became violently airsick and they hadnt invented barfuags

A short time later a second 2-AT was added to the run This one bore no name as did its hangarmate only the numeral 2 on its rudder Where the earlier schedule catered to the Detroitshybased businessman who would fly to Grand Rapids in the morning and reshyturn home in the afternoon his much more numerous counterpart was the salesman representing one of the many small companies who were suppliers to Detroits automobile plants It was pointless for him to arrive in Detroit in the later afternoon spend two nights in a hotel and return home two days later The second plane allowed him to make the trip within the same day It also added to the enjoyment of the three Hall boys When the arriving afshyternoon plane had discharged its passhysengers at the small terminal building it was restarted and taxied a few hundred feet to the hangar where it spent the night We were frequently allowed to climb on board and ride over to the hangar It did not enter our heads that it was Father s frequent use of the airline that got us this special treatment

The pilots who were always addresshysed by their former military ranks or as mister included such names as J Parker VanZant who played a key part in setting up the first coast to coast airmail routes Tom Halpin who later set up his own company to make an all metal plane of his own design the Flamingo Capt C C Swenson and Peter Berger to name a few

Unfortunately the airline was not a commercial success and the Grand Rapids route was discontinued after about a year My recollection is that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

I I __

000

AERO DIGEST NY

Three-view outline drawing of the 2530-horsepower Ford Model 14-A transport a irplane

10 APRIL 1990

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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WRITE EM Aviation Foundation Boeing Aeronautical library EM Aviation Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3065

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

April 8-14 - Lakeland Florida 16th annual Sun n Fun 90 EAA Fly-in Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun EAA Fly-in Inc PO Box 6750 Lakeland Florida Tel 813 644-2431

April 28 - Levelland Texas Airport Breakfast sponsored by EAA Chapter 19 at Levelland Municipal Airport Contact John Smith 2826 62nd Street Lubbock Texas Tel 8061793-7889

April 29 - Shreveport Louisiana Holiday in Dixie fly-in sponsored by EAA Chapter 343 Shreveport Downshytown Airport Contact Sam Waldrop 6215 Quilen Blvd Shreveport Louisiana 71108-3703 Tel 318653shy9933

May 4-6 - Burlington North Carolina Burlington Airport Sponshysored by AntiqueClassic Chapter 3 Contact Ray Bottom co Antique Airshyways 103 Powhatan Parkway Hampton Virginia 23661 Tel 804 722-5056

May 5-6 - Winchester Virginia Winchester Regional EAA Spring Flyshyin Winchester Airport Sponsored by EAA Chapter 186 Contact George Lutz Tel 703256-7873

May 6 - Rockford Illinois EAA Chapter 22 Annual Fly-in Breakfast Mark Clarks Courtesy Aircraft Greater Rockford Airport 700 am to noon ATIS 1267 Contact Wallace Hunt 8 15332-4708

May 12-13 - Reading Pennsylvania Reading Aerofest at Reading Regional Airport Contact Paul R Doelp RD 9 Box 9416 Reading Pennsylvania 19605-9606 Tel 215372-4666

May 19-20 - Hampton New Hampshyshire Fourteenth Annual Aviation Flea Market Hampton Airfield Hampton New Hampshire Anything aviation reshylated okay No fees Camping on airshyfield Contact Mike Hart Hampton Airfield Route US I North Hampton New Hampshire Tel 603964-6749

May 20 - Benton Harbor Michigan Fourth Annual EAA Chapter 585 Dawn Patrol BreakfastLunch Inshycludes boat and classic car show Ross Field Benton Harbor Michigan Conshytact AI Todd PO Box 61 Stevensville Michigan 49127 Tel 616429-2929

May 25-27 - Atchinson Kansas Kansas City Area Chapter AAA Flyshyin at Amelia Earhart Memorial Airshyport Contact Lynn Wendl 7509 Conshyser Overland Park Kansas 66204 Tel 913642-5906

May 26-27 - Vidalia Louisiana Fershyriday Fly-in sponsored by EAA Chapshyter 912 Concordia Parish Airport Contact Jerry Stallings Rte I Box 19D Ferriday Louisiana 71334-9709 3181757-2103

June 1-2 - Bartlesville Oklahoma Biplane Expo 90 the National Bishyplane Association s -Fourth Annual Convention and Exposition Frank Phillips Field Bartlesville Oklahoma Free to members of NBA For memshybership information contact Charles Harris NBA Hangar 5 4-J Aviation Jones-Riverside Airport Tulsa Okshylahoma Tel 918299-2532

June 1-3 - Merced California 33rd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-in Merced Municipal Airport Contact Merced Pilots Association PO Box 2312 Merced California 95344 or call Dick Escola at 209358-6707

June 8-10 - Middletown Ohio Fifth National Aeronca Convention Aeronca factory Includes factory tour and vi sit to USAF Museum Contact Jim Thompson President National Aeronca Association PO Box 2219 Terre Haute Indiana 47802 Tel 812 232-1491

June 9 - Newport News Virginia 18th Annual Colonial Fly-in Sponshysored by EAA Chapter 156 at the Patshyrick Henry Airport Contact Chet Sprague 8 Sinclair Road Hampton Virginia 23669 Tel 8041723-3904

June 22-24 - Pauls Valley Okshylahoma Greater Oklahoma City AAA Chapter Fly-in Contact Dick Darnell 100 Park Avenue Building Suite 604 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 73102 Tel 405236-5635

June 23-24 - Orange Massachusetts 14th Annual New England EAA Fly-

in Orange Airport Contact James OConnell at 413498-2266

June 28 - July 1 - Mount Vernon Ohio 31st Annual Waco Reunion Wynkoop Airport Contact National Waco Club 700 Hill Avenue Hamilshyton Ohio 45015 Tel 513868-0084

July 7-8 - Emmetsburg Iowa Secshyond Annual Aeronca Champ Fly-in and fly-in breakfast Emmetsburg Airshyport Contact Keith Harnden Box 285 Emmetsburg Iowa 50536 Tel 712 852-3810

July 13-15 - Simsbury Connecticut 2nd Annual Northeast Stearman Fly-in at Simsbury Airport Contact Jim Kipshypen II Crestwood Street Simsbury Connecticut 06070 Tel 203651shy0328

July 20-21 - Collingwood Ontario Second Annual Gathering of Classic Aircraft sponsored by Collingwood Classic Aircraft Foundation Colshylingwood Airport (NY3) Contact Doug Murray 5 Plater Street RR No 3 Collingwood Ontario Canada L9Y 3Z2 Tel 705445-5433

July 27-August 2 - Oshkosh Wisshyconsin 38th Annual EAA Fly-in Conshyvention EAA Oshkosh 90 Wittman Regional Airport Oshkosh Wisconsin Contact EAA EAA Aviashytion Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Tel 414426-4800

August 19 - Brookfield Wisconsin 5th Annual Ice Cream Social sponshysored by EAA AntiqueClassic Chapter II at Capitol Drive Airport Contact George Meade 5514 N Navajo Avshyenue Glendale Wisconsin 53217 Tel 414962-2428

August 24-26 - Sussex New Jersey 18th Annual Sussex Air Show Sussex Airport Call 201 875-7337 or 702shy9719

September 8 - Chico California Chico Antique Airshow Chico Airshyport Contact Chico Antique Airshow Committee 6 St Helens Lane Chico California 95926 Tel 916342-3730

September 15-16 - Rock Falls Ilshylinois Fourth An nual North Central EAA Old Fashioned Fly-in Pancake breakfast Sunday Contact Dave Chrisshytansen at 815625-6556

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

INTERESTING MEMBERS

The biggest smile and the brightest twinkle in his eye seated second from right

6 APRIL 1990

Ray Brooks in Skeeter Carlsons Curtiss Canuek

RAY BROOKS by Jeannie Hill Advisor

In trying to pick up poillfers on how to know and fly old slow airplanes I always try to seek out the guys and gals who flew themfirstJ7ew them best and lived the longest to tell about it Even in a crowd its usually easy to single out these folks Theyre the vinshytage fliers with the biggest smiles on their faces and that mandatory twinkle in their eyes that lets you know right off that theyve probably got a story or two to tell I cant remember where I first ran into Ray Brooks but there he was with that smile and that twinkle There was nothing left to do but introshyduce myself ask a leading question and sit back and he delighted

Youd have to search far and wide to find a more interesting member than Ray Brooks First of all it would be hard to find another member with more seniority in the system Ray has been working in aviation since 1917 He is 96 years young and as each year passes Ray seems to be able to glean the very best from it and then tries to pass it all along to us He wants to share what he is and what he has with everyone Thats just the kind of guy he is At a time in his life when he should be restshying on his laurels Ray Brooks is still going to air shows being interviewed posing for photos and serving as a walking talking enshycyclopedia of aviashytion for anyone who has the good sense to realize that when theyve found Ray Brooks theyve stumshybled upon a mother lode of knowledge and experience in the aviation world

There is so much history on Ray Brooks that in this short arshyticle I couldnt beshygin to recount enough of it to do justice to him So I wont even try right now Besides that leaves an opening to do an even more extenshysive article about one of my favorite subjects at a later date Suffice to say that among his many accomplishments Ray has had a very disshytinguished military career His initial training took place in Canada in Curtiss JN4Ds from September through Noshyvember of 1917 In France during World War I he learned to fly a Nieushyport He was later assigned and flew the Spad VII and the Spad XIII Now I couldnt tell you the difference beshytween a Spad VII and a Spad XIII to save my life But if you have a minshyute Ray sure can and in as much detail as you care to get into (Ill give you a hint It has something to do with an extra 40 hp on the Hispano Suiza enshygine and with a second Vickers gun installation on the Spad XIII So there now you know as much as I do )

Ray flew with the Lafayette Escashydrille and became an ace with six menshytions in orders for confirmed air vicshytories His restored Spad No 20 Smith IV with the Shooting Star inshysignia of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron is now on display with the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum in Washington DC Due to a stroke of luck it was shipped there when orders came through to send two combat airshyplanes to the States for a war bond tour It seems Ray was the officer of the day when headquarters called so he selected his and a friends airplane for the tour At some point during the

AntiqueClassic Division Advisor Jeannie Hill with Ray Brooks

tour the other plane was destroyed but Rays remained in original condition until its recent total restoration at the Smithsonian

After his wartime service Ray reshyturned to the States and graduated from Field Officers School at Langley Field Virginia where he became an instrucshytor After five and a half years of milshyitary service Ray received his honorshyable discharge on December 14 1922

His civilian career carried equal imshyportance As an engineer with Bell Telephone Laboratories he authored 18 secret technical manuals for the milishytary services He helped pioneer airshy

mail routes organize the early airlines and establish location and contracts for the visual rotating beacons that delineated the routes for the night flying airmail pilots Ray has logged over 3100 solo hours and the low number of his transshyport pilot license No 1738 is another testimony to his early entry into aviashytion A list of Rays credits and membershyship associations would take up half a page Some of his more noteworthy afshyfiliations are Associate Fellow of Amerishycan Institute of Aeronautics and Astroshynautics World War I Overseas Flyers American Fighter Aces Association OX-5 QBs and of course our own

AntiqueClassic Dishyvision In 1980 Ray was inducted into the New Jersey A vishyation Hall of Fame

Ray attends both Sun n Fun and the EAA Oshkosh Conshyvention whenever possible This past Convention we were honored to have him with us at the Red Bam for several days While he was there he gave freely of his time allowing us to visit with him and introduce him to multitudes of intershyested people Ray gave us a wonderful interview for our A vishyation Pioneer Video Library He allowed us to lift him into the Canuck for his first-hand account of what it was like to learn to fly in a Jenny The still

shots of Ray in that Canuck are priceshyless Ive shared a few of them here with you As you can see Ray Brooks is far from being a has-been The Ray of yesterday was a great fellow but the Ray of today is fantastic So just remember the next time you saunter on down to the Red Barn and see a dapper old gentleman leaning over his cane peering through his wire rimmed glasses and looking like maybe he has a story to tell go up and introduce yourself and shake his hand And remember that hand held the stick that fought the battles of World War I

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2ATUI2~

by ()ennls llalks

~ LlbraoMdllves ()Iroc(()r

STOUT 2-AT

~

FORD MODEL 14

8 APRIL 1990

THE STOUT 2-A T A REMEMBRANCE

The January 1990 issue of SPORT A V1ATlON had an article about the Ford Tri-Motors and the Stout aircraft that proceeded them The article brought about some interesting reshysponses One of the most interesting was a letter from Roland L Hall (EAA 146593) of Northfield Illinois Mr Hall told in his letter of his first airplane flight which took place aboard a Stout 2-AT in April 1927 at Grand Rapids Michigan

Dear Mr Parks I cant tell you how much I enjoyed

your excellent article THE PLANES THAT MR FORD AND MR STOUT BUILT since my first flight was in a Stout 2-AT in April 1927

My boyhood was spent in Grand Rapids Michigan our being within earshot and a short bike ride from the field that became the airport and we practically lived there We could quickly recognize the sounds of an OX-5 C-6 or Hisso so when we heard the throaty roar of the Liberty in a DH-4 or the D-12 in a P-I from Selfshyridge Field across the state would pedal madly to the field hoping to see one of these beautiful machines before it departed

In 1926 I recall Father telling us that an airline would soon begin flying between Dearborn near Detroit and Grand Rapids Naturally on the day of the inaugural flight I along with about every kid in the town (and a lot of grown-ups too) was there Soon the 2-AT appeared in the east and landed on the sod field Maneuvering on the

ground was not a simple operation since the plane had a tailskid and no wheel brakes Two mechanics in white coveralls would run out on the field to meet it at the end of its rollout Each carried a large wooden block with a length of rope attached which upon signal from the pilot or copilot they would place in front of the designated wheel A blast of the big Liberty would cause the plane to turn in the desired direction and it ultimately lumbered up to the area where a group of local digshynitaries and photographers were waitshying With the engine shut down seven passengers made their way out of a rather small oval shaped door on the right side of the fuselage Most of them still had bits of cotton sticking out of their ears As I learned much later when I flew in it the cabin lacked sound insulation and the noise from the Liberty was deafening

We boys were bugeyed Never had we seen such a huge plane Actually I believe the span was something less than 70 feet Its skin was a corrugated material which we naturally assumed in view of the name FORD promishynently displayed in several places was tin We also assumed that the word Stout referred to the rugged conshystruction of the aircraft Other markshyings were a large numeral I on the rudder and the name Miss Grand Rapids on each side of the engine cowl The nose of the plane was surshymounted by a monumental radiator complete with cap as was the style with automobiles of the day The massive propeller appeared to be at least 10 feet long Since it had no mechanical starter of any sort it had to be propped like my Champ Well not exactly After the blades had been pulled through sevshyeral times three mechanics upon signal from the copilot (the pilot being on the left couldnt see them) would link hands and run past the prop the last man grabbing it as he went by Note the position of the blade in the illustration No 2 in your article It is 60 degrees beyond that which we use on our smaller engines

Initially only one aircraft was used It departed from Dearborn the first thing in the morning arriving at Grand Rapids an hour or an hour and a half later depending on the prevailing wesshyterly headwind It would depart late in the afternoon for its return flight The fare one way was $16 so even with a 100 percent load factor which it selshydom was it gave the airline a gross

revenue of only $224 per day totally inadequate even in those days when you could buy a Ford car for just under $500

It was this layover of the 2-AT for several hours that got me my first flight The Stout people reasoned that by charging $500 for a 20-minute sightseeing flight over Grand Rapids they could produce an hourly revenue equal or greater than flying their regushylar route On a Saturday in April 1927 Father chartered the whole plane for seven family members including two of my grandparents and myself To me and perhaps to my fellow passhysengers the flight was memorable in more ways than one Just before landshying I for the only time in 63 years of flying became violently airsick and they hadnt invented barfuags

A short time later a second 2-AT was added to the run This one bore no name as did its hangarmate only the numeral 2 on its rudder Where the earlier schedule catered to the Detroitshybased businessman who would fly to Grand Rapids in the morning and reshyturn home in the afternoon his much more numerous counterpart was the salesman representing one of the many small companies who were suppliers to Detroits automobile plants It was pointless for him to arrive in Detroit in the later afternoon spend two nights in a hotel and return home two days later The second plane allowed him to make the trip within the same day It also added to the enjoyment of the three Hall boys When the arriving afshyternoon plane had discharged its passhysengers at the small terminal building it was restarted and taxied a few hundred feet to the hangar where it spent the night We were frequently allowed to climb on board and ride over to the hangar It did not enter our heads that it was Father s frequent use of the airline that got us this special treatment

The pilots who were always addresshysed by their former military ranks or as mister included such names as J Parker VanZant who played a key part in setting up the first coast to coast airmail routes Tom Halpin who later set up his own company to make an all metal plane of his own design the Flamingo Capt C C Swenson and Peter Berger to name a few

Unfortunately the airline was not a commercial success and the Grand Rapids route was discontinued after about a year My recollection is that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

I I __

000

AERO DIGEST NY

Three-view outline drawing of the 2530-horsepower Ford Model 14-A transport a irplane

10 APRIL 1990

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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WRITE EM Aviation Foundation Boeing Aeronautical library EM Aviation Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3065

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

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AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

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1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

INTERESTING MEMBERS

The biggest smile and the brightest twinkle in his eye seated second from right

6 APRIL 1990

Ray Brooks in Skeeter Carlsons Curtiss Canuek

RAY BROOKS by Jeannie Hill Advisor

In trying to pick up poillfers on how to know and fly old slow airplanes I always try to seek out the guys and gals who flew themfirstJ7ew them best and lived the longest to tell about it Even in a crowd its usually easy to single out these folks Theyre the vinshytage fliers with the biggest smiles on their faces and that mandatory twinkle in their eyes that lets you know right off that theyve probably got a story or two to tell I cant remember where I first ran into Ray Brooks but there he was with that smile and that twinkle There was nothing left to do but introshyduce myself ask a leading question and sit back and he delighted

Youd have to search far and wide to find a more interesting member than Ray Brooks First of all it would be hard to find another member with more seniority in the system Ray has been working in aviation since 1917 He is 96 years young and as each year passes Ray seems to be able to glean the very best from it and then tries to pass it all along to us He wants to share what he is and what he has with everyone Thats just the kind of guy he is At a time in his life when he should be restshying on his laurels Ray Brooks is still going to air shows being interviewed posing for photos and serving as a walking talking enshycyclopedia of aviashytion for anyone who has the good sense to realize that when theyve found Ray Brooks theyve stumshybled upon a mother lode of knowledge and experience in the aviation world

There is so much history on Ray Brooks that in this short arshyticle I couldnt beshygin to recount enough of it to do justice to him So I wont even try right now Besides that leaves an opening to do an even more extenshysive article about one of my favorite subjects at a later date Suffice to say that among his many accomplishments Ray has had a very disshytinguished military career His initial training took place in Canada in Curtiss JN4Ds from September through Noshyvember of 1917 In France during World War I he learned to fly a Nieushyport He was later assigned and flew the Spad VII and the Spad XIII Now I couldnt tell you the difference beshytween a Spad VII and a Spad XIII to save my life But if you have a minshyute Ray sure can and in as much detail as you care to get into (Ill give you a hint It has something to do with an extra 40 hp on the Hispano Suiza enshygine and with a second Vickers gun installation on the Spad XIII So there now you know as much as I do )

Ray flew with the Lafayette Escashydrille and became an ace with six menshytions in orders for confirmed air vicshytories His restored Spad No 20 Smith IV with the Shooting Star inshysignia of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron is now on display with the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum in Washington DC Due to a stroke of luck it was shipped there when orders came through to send two combat airshyplanes to the States for a war bond tour It seems Ray was the officer of the day when headquarters called so he selected his and a friends airplane for the tour At some point during the

AntiqueClassic Division Advisor Jeannie Hill with Ray Brooks

tour the other plane was destroyed but Rays remained in original condition until its recent total restoration at the Smithsonian

After his wartime service Ray reshyturned to the States and graduated from Field Officers School at Langley Field Virginia where he became an instrucshytor After five and a half years of milshyitary service Ray received his honorshyable discharge on December 14 1922

His civilian career carried equal imshyportance As an engineer with Bell Telephone Laboratories he authored 18 secret technical manuals for the milishytary services He helped pioneer airshy

mail routes organize the early airlines and establish location and contracts for the visual rotating beacons that delineated the routes for the night flying airmail pilots Ray has logged over 3100 solo hours and the low number of his transshyport pilot license No 1738 is another testimony to his early entry into aviashytion A list of Rays credits and membershyship associations would take up half a page Some of his more noteworthy afshyfiliations are Associate Fellow of Amerishycan Institute of Aeronautics and Astroshynautics World War I Overseas Flyers American Fighter Aces Association OX-5 QBs and of course our own

AntiqueClassic Dishyvision In 1980 Ray was inducted into the New Jersey A vishyation Hall of Fame

Ray attends both Sun n Fun and the EAA Oshkosh Conshyvention whenever possible This past Convention we were honored to have him with us at the Red Bam for several days While he was there he gave freely of his time allowing us to visit with him and introduce him to multitudes of intershyested people Ray gave us a wonderful interview for our A vishyation Pioneer Video Library He allowed us to lift him into the Canuck for his first-hand account of what it was like to learn to fly in a Jenny The still

shots of Ray in that Canuck are priceshyless Ive shared a few of them here with you As you can see Ray Brooks is far from being a has-been The Ray of yesterday was a great fellow but the Ray of today is fantastic So just remember the next time you saunter on down to the Red Barn and see a dapper old gentleman leaning over his cane peering through his wire rimmed glasses and looking like maybe he has a story to tell go up and introduce yourself and shake his hand And remember that hand held the stick that fought the battles of World War I

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

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by ()ennls llalks

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STOUT 2-AT

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FORD MODEL 14

8 APRIL 1990

THE STOUT 2-A T A REMEMBRANCE

The January 1990 issue of SPORT A V1ATlON had an article about the Ford Tri-Motors and the Stout aircraft that proceeded them The article brought about some interesting reshysponses One of the most interesting was a letter from Roland L Hall (EAA 146593) of Northfield Illinois Mr Hall told in his letter of his first airplane flight which took place aboard a Stout 2-AT in April 1927 at Grand Rapids Michigan

Dear Mr Parks I cant tell you how much I enjoyed

your excellent article THE PLANES THAT MR FORD AND MR STOUT BUILT since my first flight was in a Stout 2-AT in April 1927

My boyhood was spent in Grand Rapids Michigan our being within earshot and a short bike ride from the field that became the airport and we practically lived there We could quickly recognize the sounds of an OX-5 C-6 or Hisso so when we heard the throaty roar of the Liberty in a DH-4 or the D-12 in a P-I from Selfshyridge Field across the state would pedal madly to the field hoping to see one of these beautiful machines before it departed

In 1926 I recall Father telling us that an airline would soon begin flying between Dearborn near Detroit and Grand Rapids Naturally on the day of the inaugural flight I along with about every kid in the town (and a lot of grown-ups too) was there Soon the 2-AT appeared in the east and landed on the sod field Maneuvering on the

ground was not a simple operation since the plane had a tailskid and no wheel brakes Two mechanics in white coveralls would run out on the field to meet it at the end of its rollout Each carried a large wooden block with a length of rope attached which upon signal from the pilot or copilot they would place in front of the designated wheel A blast of the big Liberty would cause the plane to turn in the desired direction and it ultimately lumbered up to the area where a group of local digshynitaries and photographers were waitshying With the engine shut down seven passengers made their way out of a rather small oval shaped door on the right side of the fuselage Most of them still had bits of cotton sticking out of their ears As I learned much later when I flew in it the cabin lacked sound insulation and the noise from the Liberty was deafening

We boys were bugeyed Never had we seen such a huge plane Actually I believe the span was something less than 70 feet Its skin was a corrugated material which we naturally assumed in view of the name FORD promishynently displayed in several places was tin We also assumed that the word Stout referred to the rugged conshystruction of the aircraft Other markshyings were a large numeral I on the rudder and the name Miss Grand Rapids on each side of the engine cowl The nose of the plane was surshymounted by a monumental radiator complete with cap as was the style with automobiles of the day The massive propeller appeared to be at least 10 feet long Since it had no mechanical starter of any sort it had to be propped like my Champ Well not exactly After the blades had been pulled through sevshyeral times three mechanics upon signal from the copilot (the pilot being on the left couldnt see them) would link hands and run past the prop the last man grabbing it as he went by Note the position of the blade in the illustration No 2 in your article It is 60 degrees beyond that which we use on our smaller engines

Initially only one aircraft was used It departed from Dearborn the first thing in the morning arriving at Grand Rapids an hour or an hour and a half later depending on the prevailing wesshyterly headwind It would depart late in the afternoon for its return flight The fare one way was $16 so even with a 100 percent load factor which it selshydom was it gave the airline a gross

revenue of only $224 per day totally inadequate even in those days when you could buy a Ford car for just under $500

It was this layover of the 2-AT for several hours that got me my first flight The Stout people reasoned that by charging $500 for a 20-minute sightseeing flight over Grand Rapids they could produce an hourly revenue equal or greater than flying their regushylar route On a Saturday in April 1927 Father chartered the whole plane for seven family members including two of my grandparents and myself To me and perhaps to my fellow passhysengers the flight was memorable in more ways than one Just before landshying I for the only time in 63 years of flying became violently airsick and they hadnt invented barfuags

A short time later a second 2-AT was added to the run This one bore no name as did its hangarmate only the numeral 2 on its rudder Where the earlier schedule catered to the Detroitshybased businessman who would fly to Grand Rapids in the morning and reshyturn home in the afternoon his much more numerous counterpart was the salesman representing one of the many small companies who were suppliers to Detroits automobile plants It was pointless for him to arrive in Detroit in the later afternoon spend two nights in a hotel and return home two days later The second plane allowed him to make the trip within the same day It also added to the enjoyment of the three Hall boys When the arriving afshyternoon plane had discharged its passhysengers at the small terminal building it was restarted and taxied a few hundred feet to the hangar where it spent the night We were frequently allowed to climb on board and ride over to the hangar It did not enter our heads that it was Father s frequent use of the airline that got us this special treatment

The pilots who were always addresshysed by their former military ranks or as mister included such names as J Parker VanZant who played a key part in setting up the first coast to coast airmail routes Tom Halpin who later set up his own company to make an all metal plane of his own design the Flamingo Capt C C Swenson and Peter Berger to name a few

Unfortunately the airline was not a commercial success and the Grand Rapids route was discontinued after about a year My recollection is that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

I I __

000

AERO DIGEST NY

Three-view outline drawing of the 2530-horsepower Ford Model 14-A transport a irplane

10 APRIL 1990

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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The EM Aviation Foundations Boeing Aeronautical library is a research collection devoted to acquiring preserving and sharing the heritage of aviation in general and personal flight in particular

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library Handbook and User Guide - Free SPORT AVIATION Aircraft Article Index (1953-1988) - $1200Journal list - $200

Radtke Photo Collection Catalog - $300 THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Airplane Article Index (1973-1988) - $500Index to Scale Aircraft Drawings - $1500

WRITE EM Aviation Foundation Boeing Aeronautical library EM Aviation Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3065

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

Youd have to search far and wide to find a more interesting member than Ray Brooks First of all it would be hard to find another member with more seniority in the system Ray has been working in aviation since 1917 He is 96 years young and as each year passes Ray seems to be able to glean the very best from it and then tries to pass it all along to us He wants to share what he is and what he has with everyone Thats just the kind of guy he is At a time in his life when he should be restshying on his laurels Ray Brooks is still going to air shows being interviewed posing for photos and serving as a walking talking enshycyclopedia of aviashytion for anyone who has the good sense to realize that when theyve found Ray Brooks theyve stumshybled upon a mother lode of knowledge and experience in the aviation world

There is so much history on Ray Brooks that in this short arshyticle I couldnt beshygin to recount enough of it to do justice to him So I wont even try right now Besides that leaves an opening to do an even more extenshysive article about one of my favorite subjects at a later date Suffice to say that among his many accomplishments Ray has had a very disshytinguished military career His initial training took place in Canada in Curtiss JN4Ds from September through Noshyvember of 1917 In France during World War I he learned to fly a Nieushyport He was later assigned and flew the Spad VII and the Spad XIII Now I couldnt tell you the difference beshytween a Spad VII and a Spad XIII to save my life But if you have a minshyute Ray sure can and in as much detail as you care to get into (Ill give you a hint It has something to do with an extra 40 hp on the Hispano Suiza enshygine and with a second Vickers gun installation on the Spad XIII So there now you know as much as I do )

Ray flew with the Lafayette Escashydrille and became an ace with six menshytions in orders for confirmed air vicshytories His restored Spad No 20 Smith IV with the Shooting Star inshysignia of the 22nd Pursuit Squadron is now on display with the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum in Washington DC Due to a stroke of luck it was shipped there when orders came through to send two combat airshyplanes to the States for a war bond tour It seems Ray was the officer of the day when headquarters called so he selected his and a friends airplane for the tour At some point during the

AntiqueClassic Division Advisor Jeannie Hill with Ray Brooks

tour the other plane was destroyed but Rays remained in original condition until its recent total restoration at the Smithsonian

After his wartime service Ray reshyturned to the States and graduated from Field Officers School at Langley Field Virginia where he became an instrucshytor After five and a half years of milshyitary service Ray received his honorshyable discharge on December 14 1922

His civilian career carried equal imshyportance As an engineer with Bell Telephone Laboratories he authored 18 secret technical manuals for the milishytary services He helped pioneer airshy

mail routes organize the early airlines and establish location and contracts for the visual rotating beacons that delineated the routes for the night flying airmail pilots Ray has logged over 3100 solo hours and the low number of his transshyport pilot license No 1738 is another testimony to his early entry into aviashytion A list of Rays credits and membershyship associations would take up half a page Some of his more noteworthy afshyfiliations are Associate Fellow of Amerishycan Institute of Aeronautics and Astroshynautics World War I Overseas Flyers American Fighter Aces Association OX-5 QBs and of course our own

AntiqueClassic Dishyvision In 1980 Ray was inducted into the New Jersey A vishyation Hall of Fame

Ray attends both Sun n Fun and the EAA Oshkosh Conshyvention whenever possible This past Convention we were honored to have him with us at the Red Bam for several days While he was there he gave freely of his time allowing us to visit with him and introduce him to multitudes of intershyested people Ray gave us a wonderful interview for our A vishyation Pioneer Video Library He allowed us to lift him into the Canuck for his first-hand account of what it was like to learn to fly in a Jenny The still

shots of Ray in that Canuck are priceshyless Ive shared a few of them here with you As you can see Ray Brooks is far from being a has-been The Ray of yesterday was a great fellow but the Ray of today is fantastic So just remember the next time you saunter on down to the Red Barn and see a dapper old gentleman leaning over his cane peering through his wire rimmed glasses and looking like maybe he has a story to tell go up and introduce yourself and shake his hand And remember that hand held the stick that fought the battles of World War I

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2ATUI2~

by ()ennls llalks

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STOUT 2-AT

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FORD MODEL 14

8 APRIL 1990

THE STOUT 2-A T A REMEMBRANCE

The January 1990 issue of SPORT A V1ATlON had an article about the Ford Tri-Motors and the Stout aircraft that proceeded them The article brought about some interesting reshysponses One of the most interesting was a letter from Roland L Hall (EAA 146593) of Northfield Illinois Mr Hall told in his letter of his first airplane flight which took place aboard a Stout 2-AT in April 1927 at Grand Rapids Michigan

Dear Mr Parks I cant tell you how much I enjoyed

your excellent article THE PLANES THAT MR FORD AND MR STOUT BUILT since my first flight was in a Stout 2-AT in April 1927

My boyhood was spent in Grand Rapids Michigan our being within earshot and a short bike ride from the field that became the airport and we practically lived there We could quickly recognize the sounds of an OX-5 C-6 or Hisso so when we heard the throaty roar of the Liberty in a DH-4 or the D-12 in a P-I from Selfshyridge Field across the state would pedal madly to the field hoping to see one of these beautiful machines before it departed

In 1926 I recall Father telling us that an airline would soon begin flying between Dearborn near Detroit and Grand Rapids Naturally on the day of the inaugural flight I along with about every kid in the town (and a lot of grown-ups too) was there Soon the 2-AT appeared in the east and landed on the sod field Maneuvering on the

ground was not a simple operation since the plane had a tailskid and no wheel brakes Two mechanics in white coveralls would run out on the field to meet it at the end of its rollout Each carried a large wooden block with a length of rope attached which upon signal from the pilot or copilot they would place in front of the designated wheel A blast of the big Liberty would cause the plane to turn in the desired direction and it ultimately lumbered up to the area where a group of local digshynitaries and photographers were waitshying With the engine shut down seven passengers made their way out of a rather small oval shaped door on the right side of the fuselage Most of them still had bits of cotton sticking out of their ears As I learned much later when I flew in it the cabin lacked sound insulation and the noise from the Liberty was deafening

We boys were bugeyed Never had we seen such a huge plane Actually I believe the span was something less than 70 feet Its skin was a corrugated material which we naturally assumed in view of the name FORD promishynently displayed in several places was tin We also assumed that the word Stout referred to the rugged conshystruction of the aircraft Other markshyings were a large numeral I on the rudder and the name Miss Grand Rapids on each side of the engine cowl The nose of the plane was surshymounted by a monumental radiator complete with cap as was the style with automobiles of the day The massive propeller appeared to be at least 10 feet long Since it had no mechanical starter of any sort it had to be propped like my Champ Well not exactly After the blades had been pulled through sevshyeral times three mechanics upon signal from the copilot (the pilot being on the left couldnt see them) would link hands and run past the prop the last man grabbing it as he went by Note the position of the blade in the illustration No 2 in your article It is 60 degrees beyond that which we use on our smaller engines

Initially only one aircraft was used It departed from Dearborn the first thing in the morning arriving at Grand Rapids an hour or an hour and a half later depending on the prevailing wesshyterly headwind It would depart late in the afternoon for its return flight The fare one way was $16 so even with a 100 percent load factor which it selshydom was it gave the airline a gross

revenue of only $224 per day totally inadequate even in those days when you could buy a Ford car for just under $500

It was this layover of the 2-AT for several hours that got me my first flight The Stout people reasoned that by charging $500 for a 20-minute sightseeing flight over Grand Rapids they could produce an hourly revenue equal or greater than flying their regushylar route On a Saturday in April 1927 Father chartered the whole plane for seven family members including two of my grandparents and myself To me and perhaps to my fellow passhysengers the flight was memorable in more ways than one Just before landshying I for the only time in 63 years of flying became violently airsick and they hadnt invented barfuags

A short time later a second 2-AT was added to the run This one bore no name as did its hangarmate only the numeral 2 on its rudder Where the earlier schedule catered to the Detroitshybased businessman who would fly to Grand Rapids in the morning and reshyturn home in the afternoon his much more numerous counterpart was the salesman representing one of the many small companies who were suppliers to Detroits automobile plants It was pointless for him to arrive in Detroit in the later afternoon spend two nights in a hotel and return home two days later The second plane allowed him to make the trip within the same day It also added to the enjoyment of the three Hall boys When the arriving afshyternoon plane had discharged its passhysengers at the small terminal building it was restarted and taxied a few hundred feet to the hangar where it spent the night We were frequently allowed to climb on board and ride over to the hangar It did not enter our heads that it was Father s frequent use of the airline that got us this special treatment

The pilots who were always addresshysed by their former military ranks or as mister included such names as J Parker VanZant who played a key part in setting up the first coast to coast airmail routes Tom Halpin who later set up his own company to make an all metal plane of his own design the Flamingo Capt C C Swenson and Peter Berger to name a few

Unfortunately the airline was not a commercial success and the Grand Rapids route was discontinued after about a year My recollection is that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

I I __

000

AERO DIGEST NY

Three-view outline drawing of the 2530-horsepower Ford Model 14-A transport a irplane

10 APRIL 1990

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

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Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

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34 APRIL 1990

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2ATUI2~

by ()ennls llalks

~ LlbraoMdllves ()Iroc(()r

STOUT 2-AT

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FORD MODEL 14

8 APRIL 1990

THE STOUT 2-A T A REMEMBRANCE

The January 1990 issue of SPORT A V1ATlON had an article about the Ford Tri-Motors and the Stout aircraft that proceeded them The article brought about some interesting reshysponses One of the most interesting was a letter from Roland L Hall (EAA 146593) of Northfield Illinois Mr Hall told in his letter of his first airplane flight which took place aboard a Stout 2-AT in April 1927 at Grand Rapids Michigan

Dear Mr Parks I cant tell you how much I enjoyed

your excellent article THE PLANES THAT MR FORD AND MR STOUT BUILT since my first flight was in a Stout 2-AT in April 1927

My boyhood was spent in Grand Rapids Michigan our being within earshot and a short bike ride from the field that became the airport and we practically lived there We could quickly recognize the sounds of an OX-5 C-6 or Hisso so when we heard the throaty roar of the Liberty in a DH-4 or the D-12 in a P-I from Selfshyridge Field across the state would pedal madly to the field hoping to see one of these beautiful machines before it departed

In 1926 I recall Father telling us that an airline would soon begin flying between Dearborn near Detroit and Grand Rapids Naturally on the day of the inaugural flight I along with about every kid in the town (and a lot of grown-ups too) was there Soon the 2-AT appeared in the east and landed on the sod field Maneuvering on the

ground was not a simple operation since the plane had a tailskid and no wheel brakes Two mechanics in white coveralls would run out on the field to meet it at the end of its rollout Each carried a large wooden block with a length of rope attached which upon signal from the pilot or copilot they would place in front of the designated wheel A blast of the big Liberty would cause the plane to turn in the desired direction and it ultimately lumbered up to the area where a group of local digshynitaries and photographers were waitshying With the engine shut down seven passengers made their way out of a rather small oval shaped door on the right side of the fuselage Most of them still had bits of cotton sticking out of their ears As I learned much later when I flew in it the cabin lacked sound insulation and the noise from the Liberty was deafening

We boys were bugeyed Never had we seen such a huge plane Actually I believe the span was something less than 70 feet Its skin was a corrugated material which we naturally assumed in view of the name FORD promishynently displayed in several places was tin We also assumed that the word Stout referred to the rugged conshystruction of the aircraft Other markshyings were a large numeral I on the rudder and the name Miss Grand Rapids on each side of the engine cowl The nose of the plane was surshymounted by a monumental radiator complete with cap as was the style with automobiles of the day The massive propeller appeared to be at least 10 feet long Since it had no mechanical starter of any sort it had to be propped like my Champ Well not exactly After the blades had been pulled through sevshyeral times three mechanics upon signal from the copilot (the pilot being on the left couldnt see them) would link hands and run past the prop the last man grabbing it as he went by Note the position of the blade in the illustration No 2 in your article It is 60 degrees beyond that which we use on our smaller engines

Initially only one aircraft was used It departed from Dearborn the first thing in the morning arriving at Grand Rapids an hour or an hour and a half later depending on the prevailing wesshyterly headwind It would depart late in the afternoon for its return flight The fare one way was $16 so even with a 100 percent load factor which it selshydom was it gave the airline a gross

revenue of only $224 per day totally inadequate even in those days when you could buy a Ford car for just under $500

It was this layover of the 2-AT for several hours that got me my first flight The Stout people reasoned that by charging $500 for a 20-minute sightseeing flight over Grand Rapids they could produce an hourly revenue equal or greater than flying their regushylar route On a Saturday in April 1927 Father chartered the whole plane for seven family members including two of my grandparents and myself To me and perhaps to my fellow passhysengers the flight was memorable in more ways than one Just before landshying I for the only time in 63 years of flying became violently airsick and they hadnt invented barfuags

A short time later a second 2-AT was added to the run This one bore no name as did its hangarmate only the numeral 2 on its rudder Where the earlier schedule catered to the Detroitshybased businessman who would fly to Grand Rapids in the morning and reshyturn home in the afternoon his much more numerous counterpart was the salesman representing one of the many small companies who were suppliers to Detroits automobile plants It was pointless for him to arrive in Detroit in the later afternoon spend two nights in a hotel and return home two days later The second plane allowed him to make the trip within the same day It also added to the enjoyment of the three Hall boys When the arriving afshyternoon plane had discharged its passhysengers at the small terminal building it was restarted and taxied a few hundred feet to the hangar where it spent the night We were frequently allowed to climb on board and ride over to the hangar It did not enter our heads that it was Father s frequent use of the airline that got us this special treatment

The pilots who were always addresshysed by their former military ranks or as mister included such names as J Parker VanZant who played a key part in setting up the first coast to coast airmail routes Tom Halpin who later set up his own company to make an all metal plane of his own design the Flamingo Capt C C Swenson and Peter Berger to name a few

Unfortunately the airline was not a commercial success and the Grand Rapids route was discontinued after about a year My recollection is that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

I I __

000

AERO DIGEST NY

Three-view outline drawing of the 2530-horsepower Ford Model 14-A transport a irplane

10 APRIL 1990

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

THE STOUT 2-A T A REMEMBRANCE

The January 1990 issue of SPORT A V1ATlON had an article about the Ford Tri-Motors and the Stout aircraft that proceeded them The article brought about some interesting reshysponses One of the most interesting was a letter from Roland L Hall (EAA 146593) of Northfield Illinois Mr Hall told in his letter of his first airplane flight which took place aboard a Stout 2-AT in April 1927 at Grand Rapids Michigan

Dear Mr Parks I cant tell you how much I enjoyed

your excellent article THE PLANES THAT MR FORD AND MR STOUT BUILT since my first flight was in a Stout 2-AT in April 1927

My boyhood was spent in Grand Rapids Michigan our being within earshot and a short bike ride from the field that became the airport and we practically lived there We could quickly recognize the sounds of an OX-5 C-6 or Hisso so when we heard the throaty roar of the Liberty in a DH-4 or the D-12 in a P-I from Selfshyridge Field across the state would pedal madly to the field hoping to see one of these beautiful machines before it departed

In 1926 I recall Father telling us that an airline would soon begin flying between Dearborn near Detroit and Grand Rapids Naturally on the day of the inaugural flight I along with about every kid in the town (and a lot of grown-ups too) was there Soon the 2-AT appeared in the east and landed on the sod field Maneuvering on the

ground was not a simple operation since the plane had a tailskid and no wheel brakes Two mechanics in white coveralls would run out on the field to meet it at the end of its rollout Each carried a large wooden block with a length of rope attached which upon signal from the pilot or copilot they would place in front of the designated wheel A blast of the big Liberty would cause the plane to turn in the desired direction and it ultimately lumbered up to the area where a group of local digshynitaries and photographers were waitshying With the engine shut down seven passengers made their way out of a rather small oval shaped door on the right side of the fuselage Most of them still had bits of cotton sticking out of their ears As I learned much later when I flew in it the cabin lacked sound insulation and the noise from the Liberty was deafening

We boys were bugeyed Never had we seen such a huge plane Actually I believe the span was something less than 70 feet Its skin was a corrugated material which we naturally assumed in view of the name FORD promishynently displayed in several places was tin We also assumed that the word Stout referred to the rugged conshystruction of the aircraft Other markshyings were a large numeral I on the rudder and the name Miss Grand Rapids on each side of the engine cowl The nose of the plane was surshymounted by a monumental radiator complete with cap as was the style with automobiles of the day The massive propeller appeared to be at least 10 feet long Since it had no mechanical starter of any sort it had to be propped like my Champ Well not exactly After the blades had been pulled through sevshyeral times three mechanics upon signal from the copilot (the pilot being on the left couldnt see them) would link hands and run past the prop the last man grabbing it as he went by Note the position of the blade in the illustration No 2 in your article It is 60 degrees beyond that which we use on our smaller engines

Initially only one aircraft was used It departed from Dearborn the first thing in the morning arriving at Grand Rapids an hour or an hour and a half later depending on the prevailing wesshyterly headwind It would depart late in the afternoon for its return flight The fare one way was $16 so even with a 100 percent load factor which it selshydom was it gave the airline a gross

revenue of only $224 per day totally inadequate even in those days when you could buy a Ford car for just under $500

It was this layover of the 2-AT for several hours that got me my first flight The Stout people reasoned that by charging $500 for a 20-minute sightseeing flight over Grand Rapids they could produce an hourly revenue equal or greater than flying their regushylar route On a Saturday in April 1927 Father chartered the whole plane for seven family members including two of my grandparents and myself To me and perhaps to my fellow passhysengers the flight was memorable in more ways than one Just before landshying I for the only time in 63 years of flying became violently airsick and they hadnt invented barfuags

A short time later a second 2-AT was added to the run This one bore no name as did its hangarmate only the numeral 2 on its rudder Where the earlier schedule catered to the Detroitshybased businessman who would fly to Grand Rapids in the morning and reshyturn home in the afternoon his much more numerous counterpart was the salesman representing one of the many small companies who were suppliers to Detroits automobile plants It was pointless for him to arrive in Detroit in the later afternoon spend two nights in a hotel and return home two days later The second plane allowed him to make the trip within the same day It also added to the enjoyment of the three Hall boys When the arriving afshyternoon plane had discharged its passhysengers at the small terminal building it was restarted and taxied a few hundred feet to the hangar where it spent the night We were frequently allowed to climb on board and ride over to the hangar It did not enter our heads that it was Father s frequent use of the airline that got us this special treatment

The pilots who were always addresshysed by their former military ranks or as mister included such names as J Parker VanZant who played a key part in setting up the first coast to coast airmail routes Tom Halpin who later set up his own company to make an all metal plane of his own design the Flamingo Capt C C Swenson and Peter Berger to name a few

Unfortunately the airline was not a commercial success and the Grand Rapids route was discontinued after about a year My recollection is that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

I I __

000

AERO DIGEST NY

Three-view outline drawing of the 2530-horsepower Ford Model 14-A transport a irplane

10 APRIL 1990

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

I I __

000

AERO DIGEST NY

Three-view outline drawing of the 2530-horsepower Ford Model 14-A transport a irplane

10 APRIL 1990

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

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34 APRIL 1990

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JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

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Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

they had onl y one forced landing this without damage to the pl ane nor inshyjuries and that they fai led to complete their scheduled fl ight on less than half a dozen occasions Although I went on to get my license fly ing out of that field in later years things were never qui te the same after the 2-ATs left

In the years that fo llowed I can reshycal l two visits to the plane in Dearborn On one of these I saw Richard Byrd s Floyd Bennett being modified by the replacement of its nose-mounted 3-5 Whirlwind with a 525-hp Cyclone Even with thi s added power Bernt Balchen was barely able to coax her high enough to reach the South Pole In a later visit I saw the Model 14 The people at the plant wouldn t even talk about it LeRoy Manning Fords chief test pilot had just been ki lled in a crash of a Ford pl ane Rumor was was that Mr Ford had issued orders to shut down the operation Id li ke to know more about the 14

I have a couple of observations reshygarding your fine arti cle Stout never used 4-A Ts in schedu led service on the Grand Rapids route Earl y models with their 3-4 engines appeared on the field from time to time One of them brought Charles Lindberghs mother in the summer of 1927 to see her son durshy

ing his tour of the US fo llowing hi s Paris fli ght It was fro m thi s field th at she had her onl y fli ght in the Spi rit of St Louis The other concerns the lack of registration numbers on the 4-A T in photo No 5 I seem to recall that they were not required until 1927 I never saw any on the 2-ATs

First of all let me apologize fo r being so long-w inded and since I have been for not retyping this Your arti cle brought back so many fond memories that I got carri ed away Toss it or use it as you see fit Thanks aga in for a great arti cle

FORD Model 14 In hi s letter Mr Hall asked fo r

some in formation about the Model 14 The Ford Model 14 was the last of

the Ford Tri-Motors As a replacement for the prev ious Tri -Motors thi s plane was des igned to carry 40 passengers in Pullman car comfort

It was huge with a full y canti levered wing of 11 0 feet and an all metal fuseshylage with a length of 4 1 fee t The wing was very deep with a max imum depth of four feet three inches Though the plane was skinned in alclad the central fuselage section and the wing center section was done in steel

The three engines used were French

built Hispano-Suizas The center enshygine rated at 1 100 hp at 2000 rpm was a direct-drive three-bank 18 cyshylinder type 18Sb driving a threeshybl aded adjustable pitch propeller

The outboard engines buried in the wings were 12-cylinder type 12 Nbr rated at 715 horsepower At the end of an extension shaft each of these enshygines had a 12-foot IQ-inch fourshybladed wooden propeller

It was expected to appear at the Nashytional Airplane Show in Detroit but checking with AERO DIGEST and AVIATION magaz ines indicate that it was not exhibited Bill Stout in hi s book SO A WA Y I WENT reported on its fate

Before the giant plane built by the back-door crowd at Ford was fini shed the government CAA said that even if it did fl y the forty-passenger ship would be licensed fo r a maximum of only ten passengers When it went out for tri al no prov ision had been made for steering it to the ground Work did go on however with the big plane until its final fi asco It was exhibited in one show as a marvelous structure which it was and then cut up with torches for the scrap heap

It didn t fl y but they learned a lot from it

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WRITE EM Aviation Foundation Boeing Aeronautical library EM Aviation Center Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3065

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

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AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

MEMBERS PROJECtS by Norm Petersen

This blue and silver American Eagle 101 NC7157 SIN 273 has been owned by Swann Allen (EM 75432 NC 14930) of Milford Michigan since 1936 The restoration was started in 1968 and finished in October 1989 Swann reports a wheel was broken

on taxi tests so new wheels are in the ofshyfing Although he is 75 years of age Swann still has the enthusiasm of a youngster and loves his American Eagle with its OX-5 enshygine Note the very tidy workmanship on the rebuild

David amp Paula Henderson (EM 276589 NC 11264) of Felton Delaware have eight Piper Cubs under restoration at the same time Their firm called Henderson Aviation specializes in Cub rebuilds On hand an l-4B military Cub a PA-11 85hp Cub a Clip Wing Cub and five standard J-3 Cubs One has the feeling their days are full from early morning to late at night 12 APRIL 1990

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

Retuming to the airshow circuit this sumshymer will be ex-president of the Antiquel Classic Division RJ (Dobbie) Lickteig of Port Lucie Florida and Albert Lea Minshynesota in this nicely rebuilt 135 hp Piper Super Cruiser N4219M SIN 12-3115 Expertly rebuilt by Gordy Westphal (EM 9833 AlC 7270) of Rochester Minnesota the Cruiser features many extras such as interior sight fuel gauges Cleveland wheels and brakes sky light shoulder hamesses and avionics The white and red paint scheme carries inside the aircraft as well as outshyside We look forward to seeing Dobbie this summer as he taxis up with a big grin on his face

This photo of a very pretty Taylorcraft BC-12D N43002 SIN 6661 was taken at an open house at Eglin AFB in Florida It had been completely restored from 1984 to 85 by Captain Rob Ray (EM 344216 AlC 14398) and his father who had previously owned the very same airplane from 1970 to 72 Rob reports he had his very first airplane ride in this T-craft Built on December 16 1945 it was one of the first T -crafts off the line following WW II Although Rob is an Air Force F-16 pilot in Japan he hopes to be able to attend EM Oshkosh 90

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

PASS II IO--J] An information exchange column with input from readers

ded it in the Bakolite thereby making constant contact and making it HOT anytime it was out of any detent

Lets skip to 1975 when I had Mr Fleet That s the one I sold to Richard Bach to raise the money to build the

euro Swallow I was up at Oshkosh and the sect blasted thing wouldnt start I had Curt ~ Taylor in the cockpit and it just Q wouldnt start Sure it was cockpit

by Buck Hilbert (EM 21 Ale 5) Po Box 424 Union IL 60180

Proper Behavior PART II

W ell since Part One Ive had more experiences I was over in Michigan at a fly-in and a gal name of Dorothy used to have a real neat Meyers OTW with a Kinner on it No electric starter of course and I got to prop it Switch off I yelled and she gave an affirmashytive reply I grabbed that prop and moved it about one blade The impulse snapped and it was running My preshycaution of always treating a Kinner like 14 APRIL 1990

its gonna start paid off Meanwhile Dorothy is screaming in a voice loud enough to hear in Heaven It s off Its off and when [ walked around the wing and up to the cockpit it was indeed OFF But it was one of those old A-7 switches from 1946 that there was an AD note on They were all supshyposed to be replaced because they had an internal problem that wiped some of the brass off the contacts and imbed-

trouble I ousted Curt and jumped in myself after I recruited Bill Haselton to prop it Now Bill overhauled the enshygine and has as much smarts as anyone who has been around Kinners as long as he has We went through the routine and after about three tries he hollers It must be loaded Switch OFF [ do as he says and he backs it up a couple revs and calls Contact [ reply Contact he grabs the blade and it prompt ly fires backwards and busts his hand It didnt start and [ hear all this cussin and see him jumpin around so [ shut down everything and jumped out to see what happened After a trip to the infirmary and getting him patched up we opened the cowl The impulse was just hanging on one mag and somehow the assembly had slipped and was firing way off proper time Lesshyson If it dont wanna start its trying to tell you something Investigate

Then we got the Swallow flying In an effort to be as authentic as possible I didn t have an electrical system [ propped it each time [ got ready to go and [ always did it myself because [ dont trust anybody [ tied the tail in

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

most instances and left the fuel off and I a lways briefed the person in the seat whether passenger or pilot on what to do IF Well everything was going along real nicely until one day I was flyin g from Wichita to Kansas City where I was to meet some of the KC Antiquers I was running parallel to a fast advancing cold front and making terrific ground speeds when I reali zed the rain and thunderstorms had cut me off from my destination which was acshytuall y Gardiner Kansas I elected to land at Paoli Kansas about 10 minutes ahead of all this weather phenomeno n The place was deserted - not a soul around and the office was locked up I found one T-hangar (no doors) open so I decided to taxi over there and stuff Swallow in it I was alone but Id been through thi s many times All went well and she started up beautifully I jumped in and taxied to the hangar As I swung the ta il around towards the hangar the left brake pedal le t go I It broke right off at the master cylinder and gouged heck out of my ankle bone to boot I had given one good blast of the engine to get the tail around and got momentum that carried me right into a barbed wire fence The big Ham Standard wrapped itself in barbed wire and pulled fence staples like crazy I cut the switch My ankle was hurtin I was hurtin and the storm was comshying FAST

I jumped out started to unravel barbed wire from the prop tried to get Swallow up the incline into the hangar and couldn t seem to accomplish ei ther one as the hail balls started beating me about the shoulders and bouncin off the fabric It rained and hailed and blew like the dickens but the barbed wire held and the Swallow rode it out pretty well As it lessened up some I dashed out into the highway that fronts on the airport and tried to fl ag down a passing car to get help I can just imshyagine the feeling the drivers had as they see this soaking wet character with he lshymet and goggles dressed in a 1920s flying suit trying to stop their car Especially as I learn later since there is an insane asylum just down the road a ways and there are signs posted against picking up hitch-hikers Thoroughly wet and defeated I went back to Swallow

The storm had all but quit There was a fine misty rain falling now and I was wet anyway so I got to work with side cutters and a 2x4 and whatshyever else I could find layin around I

untangled the barbed wire and levered the Swallow out of the fence one wheel at a time with the 2x4 J finally got it up the incline and straightened around so I could prop it and continue on toward Gardiner My ankle hurt and I hurt - cause I hurt the airplane I was mad and disgusted J started propping NO GO Shutting it down with the switch and not the mixture like usual had loaded it up I must have unwound it and rewound it 10 times and it still wouldnt start I

THE FBO HAD EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN HIM TO PROP HIS AIRPLANE

walked back to the cockpit and nudged the throttle a little Next pull it started and went to about I 100 rpm almost ran me down as I dropped to the ground and let the wing pass over me Then the chase began It was moving at a very fast walk and I realized I cou ldn t get up on the wing and into the cockpit to close the throttle before we came to the end of the row of hangshyars I grabbed the wing strut and sort of veered it around the corner of the hangars and headed it out towards the open field It was gaining on me I finally got up on the wing walk threw myself into the cockpit and closed the throttle I sat there trying to gather my marbles and believe you me as Nick Rezich used to say I d have given up old biplanes had there been another way to get home To shorten the story somewhat I did strap in take off and fly on to Gardiner where after landing in standing water a couple inches deep Kelly Viets and the boys helped me install a new master cylinder tended my gored ankle bone fed me and nursed me back into a better frame of mind

Now were here at the Funny Farm Swallow again Nice brisk morning and I was about to leave for a flight

over to Niles Michigan My destinashytion was Jack Knight s home town of Buchanan Michigan This folklore hero of the airmail days was being recshyognized by the home town at last and they were about to dedicate a chapel in hi s honor Swallow would pay her reshyspects to the man who proved the mail could be carried by air Tail tied evshyerything went great carb heat on mix rich it started with ease I let it sit and idle and warm up while I suited up climbed into the cockpit got all buckshyled up and ready to go Yes I did untie the tail rope I opened the throttle It barked once and quit DagNabit [unshybuckled and fully suited up started the procedure again It was loaded so I nudged the throttle (again) Well the story is getting to be repititious it chased me all around the Funny Farm when it did start Lesson Get an elecshytrical system and a starter installed ASAP It was and is still installed and that took care of that [ never propped it again

What brought all these incidents and thoughts to mind was a conversation with Ben Owen up at EAA A fella had just called him and asked him what to do cause the FBO had expressly forbidden him to prop his airplane on the airport Even though he tied the tail and all that the FBO was not about to allow hand propping on his airport [ don t know what that fella is going to do to alleviate the situation but [ do know I recited all the things I knew on how to accomplish a safe and sane prop job Ben suggested [ write them down I said [ would but that writin it down still doesn t get around the FARs and most insurance policy clauses that say hand propping can only be acshycomplished with a qualified person at the controls Despite the fact that the tail is tied that you cant find a qualified person to twirl the prop or sit in the cockpit you just aint legal acshycording to the FARs and your insurshyance is no good What are you gonna do I really haven t the answer but [ usually do get someone into the cockpit where [ can show them the switch the throttle the mix and the fuel and drill them as to what to expect and what to do if what happens That makes him or her qualified as you can get and should satisfy the rule book so go ahead and prop your airplane If pershychance you are alone and if perchance you lose your cool count to 10 slowly and take every precaution possible to ensure a safe sane operation bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

VINTAGE SEAPLANES by Norm Petersen

Pretty summertime picture sent in by Thomas Melbye (EM 132217 Ale 14121) of 51 Paul Minnesota shown standing on the float of his Waco YKS-7 N19373 SIN 5204 mounted on a set of 1929 Edo P-3300 floats Note the enlarged rudder and aux seaplane fin used with floats Tom reports he enjoyed the big cabin Waco for several years before selling it to Tom Orlowski of Minneapolis The Waco was damaged in a subsequent accident and is presently stored in a hangar awaiting a rebuild floats and airplane

This one-of-a-kind seaplane is a Northrop Alpha 2 NR11Y SIN 3 which was flown on TWA routes from 1930 to 1935 Sold by the airline in 1935 it was converted to a model 4A and put on Edo XA-5400 floats by Frederick B Lee of New York He intended to fly around the world however he only flew it up and down the east coast for two years In 1937 it was converted back to wheels and wound up in the estate of Foster Hannaford Jr in Illinois who donated it to EM In the 1970s the Northrop was traded to the NASM where it is now on display after being totally restored by TWA employees The engine is a 450 hp Wasp R-1340 16 APRIL 1990

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

FOR 1950

by Mark Phelps

How does an RF-4 Phantom instructor-pilot relax He rebuilds classic Bonanzas ofcourse At least this one does Ross Collins ofBoise Idaho has more than 2500 hours in RF-4s and is currently based at the USAF Fighter Weapons School In November 1979 he bought his 1950 Bonanza B351D2513 after the aircraft had suffered a particularly bad gear-up landing He

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc is $3000 for one year including 12 issues of Sport A viation Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $1800 annually Family Membershyship is available for an additional $1000 annually

ANTIQUECLASSICS EAA Member - $1800 Includes one year membership in EAA Anshytique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airplane and membership card Applicant must be a current EAA member and must give EAA membership number

Non-EAA Member - $2800 Inshycludes one year membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airshyplane one year membership in the EAA and separate membership cards Sport Aviation not included

lAC Membership in the International Aerobatic Club Inc is $2500 anshynually which includes 12 issues of Sport Aerobatics All lAC members are required to be members of EAA

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EAA EXPERIMENTER EAA membership and EAA EXPERIshyMENTER magazine is available for $2800 per year (Sport Aviation not included) Current EAA members may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER for $1800 peryear

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Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars

Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

ferried it back home disassembled it and trucked it to his garage Not only did he overhaul his Bonanza he acshyquired his AampP licence at the same time

This overhaul was performed in the truest sense of the word Ross took evshyerything down to its barest minimum of parts cleaned inspected and reshyplaced the smallest of those pieces in an effort to make his aircraft better than new In addition to revamping all the stock components Ross added several Beryl DShannon modifications to inshycrease the speed range and load-carryshying capacity of his B3S He added a one-piece sloped windshield pilot s window extended tailcone exhaust silencers aileron- and flap-gap seals and DShannon s IS-gallon tip tanks Other mods include late-model control wheel and fuel selector a digital clock Cleveland wheels and brakes exshytended nose-gear doors electric prop governor Beech firewall-mounted batshytery and battery-solenoid kits Beech

step assist kit a SO-amp generator airshyoil separator a dry vacuum pump bracket air filter and Ross rearranged his gyro instruments in the standard or configuration

Ross went the used-avionics route to upgrade the YFR panel He selected a Collins package including dual navshycoms glides lope receiver audio panel ADF and transponder with enshycoder A King DME Apollo loran with database and Sigtronics intercom managed to fit into the panel as well

The budding mechanicowner meticulously rebuilt his own E22S-8 Continental to factory-new specs He spent hours on the detailing of the enshygine compartment gear wells and center section so that his airplane looked as good inside as it did outside Besides a clean airplane the goal was ultimate reliability

Ross waited until he had 20 flight hours of tweaking and testing on the Bonanza before turning it over to Steve Greene in Ashland Oregon to apply

the paint scheme that the owner deshysigned In March 1988 he topped off the project with a set of stainless steel exterior screws The 40-year-old Bonanza performs like a yearling with an average cruise speed of 160 knots Empty weight is a trim 1849 pounds with a useful load of 100 I pounds It nibbles away at its 70-gallon fuel cashypacity at an average rate of 11 5 galshylons per hour

Most Bonanza afficianados have a fondness in their hearts for the early lightweight versions without the heavy springs attached to the elevators deshysigned to lower pitch sensitivity Ross has taken an airplane that is only a couple of years younger than he is and made it uniquely his own He successshyfully incorporated his specific flying needs in an airplane he can truly enjoy - the more so since he did the work all himself and earned his AampP rating to boot The nine years of hard work show up well bull

18 APRIL 1990

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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TANK PAINTlNb AND REPAIING

SANotLASTING TANK LINUS AND COATINGS

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DIS ANTLING AND OVING TANKS

NEW USED AND CONDITIONED TANKS

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

Bob White of Zellwood Florida with his Waco Taperwing at Sun n Fun 89 Charles Speed Holm

20 APRIL 1990

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

n once flew this Waco

CHAPTER CAPSULES

CHAPTER ONE Your hosts at Sun n Fun

by Bob Brauer

Stories generally begin with Chapter One and our AntiqueClassic history keeps with this practice In May 1966 the Florida State A viation Antique and Classic Association based in Lakeland affiliated with EAA to form the first EAA AntiqueClassic chapter

Membership now numbers approxishymately 135 families President Ray Olcott of Nokomis Florida says that although there are no specific qualifishycations for membership a love of anshytiques classics and sport aircraft help We are very proud to be a part ofEAA Its emergence as the vanguard of sport aviation has been increasingly evishydent

Ray who took office in December 1989 has been around airplane people for quite a while He is chairman of the AntiqueClassic Divisions Oshshykosh volunteer manpower past direcshytor of the division is now a director of Sun n Fun and has restored a Cessna 180 which he flies regularly

One of the chapters most important functions is directing the Antique Classic Divisions activities at the anshynual Sun n Fun fly-in in Lakeland It is the host chapter of this fly-in and operates the AntiqueClassic Division Headquarters In 1982 33 of Chapter Ones volunteers obtained a building for this purpose and donated it to Sun

Johnny Thomson and his New Standard

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc is $3000 for one year including 12 issues of Sport A viation Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $1800 annually Family Membershyship is available for an additional $1000 annually

ANTIQUECLASSICS EAA Member - $1800 Includes one year membership in EAA Anshytique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airplane and membership card Applicant must be a current EAA member and must give EAA membership number

Non-EAA Member - $2800 Inshycludes one year membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airshyplane one year membership in the EAA and separate membership cards Sport Aviation not included

lAC Membership in the International Aerobatic Club Inc is $2500 anshynually which includes 12 issues of Sport Aerobatics All lAC members are required to be members of EAA

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EAA EXPERIMENTER EAA membership and EAA EXPERIshyMENTER magazine is available for $2800 per year (Sport Aviation not included) Current EAA members may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER for $1800 peryear

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Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars

Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

EAA AVIATION CENTER OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086

PHONE (414) 426-4800 OFFICE HOURS

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

n Fun It all started as a result of an idea that originated with past-presishydent Gene Crosby in 1981

There are many chapter members active in restoration projects Bob White of Zellwood Florida is a past president of the chapter and has reshystored several antiques and classics that have appeared at the Sun n Fun fly-in over the years John Stilly of Lakeland has restored some old bishyplanes including an OX-S powered Waco a Travel Air and a rare Butler Blackhawk Barbara Fidler and her husband Jerry of Alva Florida restored the EAA Oshkosh 88 Grand Chamshypion Antique J-3 Cub Barbaras airplane was featured in the cover story 11

c

of the September 1988 issue of SPORT 0

sectAVIATION E

Chapter meetings are held at various =

airports in Florida seven or eight times Oshkosh Grand Champion Cub by Barbara Fidler a year The meetings are hosted by local EAA chapters or individual EAA ing of dining EAA programs socializshy chapter membership changes over groups Chapter One meetings are realshy ing and of course much hangar talk time interests and activities seem to ly mini-fly-ins of three days and two The chapter holds an annual September go through different phases She said nights Participants tly or drive to the business meeting in Thomasville that although it is an AntiqueClassic meetings and frequently camp at the Georgia which is hosted by the Rose chapter with interests in vintage airport The programs consist of semishy City Antiquers airplanes we are mainly a people nars on aviation-related topics Bill Kilborn of Melbourne Florida chapter and tend to stay away from

In addition to programs the fly-in is the groups newsletter chairman stereotypes Interest in vintage aircraft meetings include visits with FBOs and The publication features aviation news is a cementing factor Sandy also feels points of interest such as the Kennedy and information schedules of local that receiving publications such as Space Center at Cape Canavaral and aviation events interchange of memshy VINTAGE AIRPLANE and SPORT the Jacksonville Navy Yard Among bership information and even cartoons AVIATfON are an important benefit of the 80 to 100 planes that are flown to Besides the membership the newsletshy membership the meetings are many fine examples ter goes to previous members recent Chapter officers practice what they of antiques and classics which are guests and selected aviation associashy preach Sandy completed a restoration judged using similar standards to those tions project on a Cessna J20 last October used at EAA Oshkosh Fly-in Outgoing President Sandy McKenshy The project took almost seven years in weekends are highlighted by an even- zie of 0 Brien Florida says that as the an on-and-off schedule that included a

complete rebuild of both the airframe Cubsters Barbara Fidler (front) and friend Marcia Sullivan and engine

Sandy believes that it would be great if the AntiqueClassic Division as well as the chapter could function as an ofshyficial activity at Sun n Fun and she would like to see a combined regional AntiqueClassic Chapter tly-in to help cement our interests There is no doubt about the priorities of Chapter One shypeople and airplanes in that order

Sun n Fun is upon us For informashytion call Bonnie Ware at 813644shy2431 and plan on sampling Chapter Ones hospitality at the Sun n Fun AnshytiqueClassic Headquarters Enjoy the shade of the porch and meet some fine antiquers

Anyone interested in information for this years remaining tly-in meetings is invited to contact Ray Olcott at 813 488-8791 bull

22 APRIL 1990

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

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Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

PROJECT PORTERFIELD A 1940 Beauty Rebuilt in the Wild Northwest

by Norm Petersen

Perhaps the dream of finding a derelict antique airplane in an old bam and restoring it to new condition is prevalent in all of us For some the dream never comes true try as they might to make it so However for others the dream becomes a reality through

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

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AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

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Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

steady persistent hard work and someshytimes - a little dumb luck One has to realize that in the wonderful world of airplanes it is all part of the game

Our subject aircraft is a 1940 Portershyfield CP-65 Collegiate NC25590 SIN 696 which was one of about 200 CP-65s built at the Porterfield factory in Kansas City Missouri from 1938-1942 Although purchased primarily for the Civil Pilot Training Program (CPTP) which was urgently training pilots for the future military demands some Colshylegiates were sold to private owners around the country

The rebuilder of NC25590 is Wilshyliam (Bill) Burkey (EAA 275966 AC 14970) of Moses Lake Washington Bill is an A amp P with Inspection Aushythorization and runs an aircraft repair shop His interest in antique airplanes goes back many years and when the word came wafting through his shop that an old airplane was laying in a hay shed near Othello about 20 miles south Bill was off and running It took nearly five years to strike a deal for the forlorn looking Porterfield that had been idle for over IO years It was coshyvered with ash from the eruption of Mt St Helens in 1980 Bill hauled the bare bones home in a trailer and slowly

24 APRIL 1990

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

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1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

began the teardown to a bare airframe Once everything was detached (and

scraped) from the basic tubing it was sandblasted clean Surprisingly it was in excellent shape with no rust or holes Bill painted the framework with a Ditzler polyurethane primer that is impervious to almost any other paint or liquid Assembly was then begun with each part and piece being brought up to new condition or replaced before it was installed Bill reports excellent assistance from Univair of Aurora Colorado which carries many of the necessary parts on hand In addition the holder of the original Type Certifishycate for the Porterfield CP-65 is Joe Rankin in Mayville Missouri (Phone 816-582-3291) and certain parts are available from him

One lucky acquisition with the tired old Porterfield was a complete set of blueprints that helped the assembly process a great deal It makes it so much easier to sort a pail full of parts when you know where the parts go All wood was replaced on the fuselage and properly varnished before installashytion New control cables were made up and installed with new guides - for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

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1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

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34 APRIL 1990

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JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

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Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

that moving your hand through a tub of whipped cream feel All of the bearings in the Porterfield control sysshytem are ball bearing so it behooves one to do a good job on the controls

The wing spars were in good restorshyable shape however the ribs and ailershyons had to be done over from scratch All ribs were jig built to the original Munk M-5 airfoil and slid on the sanded and varnished spars When all the hardware was in place Bill tramshymeled the wings square and readied them for covering The ailerons were also rebuilt with new wood and careshyfully assembled It was now covering 26 APRIL 1990

time Stits HS90X lightweight fabric was

used on the fuselage wings and tailshyfeathers with the normal build-up and sanding before a final finish in Canyon Red (Tennessee Red) with black trim The results speak for themselves as the finish is outstanding

All cowling metal was replaced and the many metal fairings were redone in new aluminum to get away from that wrinkled look so prevalent in old airplanes The instruments were sent out to an overhaul shop for rebuild and the 65-hp Continental engine was tom down for a major overhaul Although

the log books showed only 200 hours since the engine had been worked on it was in dire need of help Bill brought it back to new limits and ordered a Flottorp propeller to be installed on the engine when ready The final touch would be a skullcap spinner

The original 135 gallon fuel tank had to be repaired before it could be installed just ahead of the instrument panel However once it tested OK it was carefully installed and the plumbshying was hooked up The engine mount was then installed and the newly overshyhauled 65 Continental was hung on the mount The old exhaust system needed

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

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Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

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34 APRIL 1990

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JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

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Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

considerable rework before it was ready for installation

A new windshield was shipped in from Pennsylvania and together with new glass for all windows was careshyfully installed With the redone seats and new interior the inside of the Porshyterfield looked just as nice as the outshyside The cream faced instruments reshyally gave the panel that look of a well restored airplane when they were inshystalled

Final assembly of the wings and tail surfaces somehow made all the work and effort worthwhile as the Porterfield looked for all the world like it had just

rolled out of the Kansas City factory The Flottorp propeller was installed and the overhauled brakes were checked to see that they worked propshyerly (I once had a friend in Minnesota who taxied his newly restored LP-65 Porterfield to the far end of the runway for its first flight Reaching the end of the hard-surface he stepped on the brakes to make a turn around Nothing He had forgotten to hook up the brakes The Porterfield rolled off the end of the runway and flopped over on its back)

Bill Burkey says his beautifully reshystored CP-65 flies like a new airplane

and handles very nicely Although it can be flown from either the front or rear seat it handles the nicest when flown solo from the rear seat His fonshydest hope and dream is to fly the bright red bird to Oshkosh where it can enjoy the company of many other antique and classic airplanes We look forward to seeing the Porterfield taxi up to the parking area and receive its rightful share of admiring glances And you can be sure the gentleman standing next to the pretty airplane with the huge smile on his face is Bill Burkey one of the lucky ones who found an old airplane in a barn bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

OLD BLUE Wrecked in 1952 this classic Stinson Gullwing wasnt too

much for this pilot to handle

It was a cool clear June morning about five years ago when Old Blue and [ lifted off the Fairbanks Metro Airfield for the last time We were packed with a fairly hefty load includshying spare engine parts tools survival gear and a rocking chair I had to 28 APRIL 1990

by Mike McCann

search for the pilots seat After a smooth engine run-up [

aimed down the narrow airstrip then pushed the throttle in for full power Within yards her tail was up We sprang along on the main gear over the wavy tarmac With a leap the

thick gull-shaped wings pulled her skyward

Climbing she sounded like a 0-8 Cat pulling a sled-load up a steep hill But once we reached 8000 feet prop and engine slowed to 18 inches and 1800 rpm Old Blue purred and flew

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

like the beauti ful Gullwing Stinson shed been back in 46

Following the Tanana Ri ver east we had a good sti ff tail wind In two hours we were clos ing in on the Canad ian border I was not digesting th is fac t very well The tail wind died off shyand Old Blue slowed down seem ing to hes itate herself

She d been in Alaska since 1949 except for four months in 8 1 when my friend Claire and I hauled her mangled remai ns to Montana for restoration Thirty of those years shed lain on her back in the Interior tundra slowly settling into the ice and tussocks Many a cold trapper camped in her tattered cabin often stripping a piece of wing rib or engine hose to repair a faulty snow machine or patch a broken dogshysled From the air she was a landmark - the big yellow fuselage among the short black spruce - well known among Yukon Ri ver Bush pilots alertshying them that they were 15 miles west of the village of Tanana

Now about to cross the north-south survey line that indicates the official U S -Canadian border I banked into a shallow left turn fl ying two large circles The action seemed to be

slowed down My mind was rac ing Hard to believe I was leaving

Alaska Even harder to believe that Old Blue would probably never return but fa ll into the hands of some co llec tor in

IN A PUFF THE NOSE OF THE STINSON WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES

the Lower 48 Leveling off I rocked the wings in salute took a deep breath - then crossed the border

I knew the route south pretty well I planned to fl y along the AI-Can Highshyway In case of severe weather or

mechanical problems I could set her down on the road

There was lots to think about on thi s trip Lots of memories Not the least of which was Joe Cook himself - the Alaska Bush pilot who d parked the Stinson on the tundra way back in the fall of 52

Joe had spent a rough three days tryshying to fl y from the western Alaska vil shylage of Galena to Fairbanks The first day icing and poor visibility had forced him to land on a sandbar on the Tanana Ri ver He spent the night wrapshyped in a sleeping bag in the cockpit The nex t morning the visibility was marginal but improved He took off without trouble and fl ew low over the countrys ide hop ing to find a cloud break that would allow him to make it into Nenana Instead heavy icing forced him down on a hill side in the Redl ands area 40 miles north of Nenana

Us ing a small hatchet he spent the afternoon clearing a path across the slope through the black spruce fo r a poss ible runway Temperatures had dropped By the time he was ready to try a takeoff the pl ane s engine oil had

The Challenge

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

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Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

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JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

30 APRIL 1990

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

thickened so much that the battery He had only two candy bars and half crept over the horizon Joe could see couldn t turn the propeller over Enshy a container of water for food He began the c louds had li fted If he could just gine heat was needed to work up a plan He decided to heat get in the air and aim north he knew

Joe jumped from the cockpit grabshy he would intercept the Yukon River bed armfuls of brush and stacked it After two hours the bucket of oil under the engine cowl Next he drained several gallons of A V gas from the wing tank and poured it on the brush pile He lit the brush In a puff the nose of the Stinson was engulfed in flames Dense black smoke billowed out from under the old sleeping bag that was doubling as an eng ine cowl cover

In a frenzy now Joe was able to kick the blazing brush away from the airplane Then by wrapping the bag completely around the engine cowl he tried to suffocate the fire Please don t blow he thought knowing full well that if the carburetor gas caught it would be curtains for his plane The fire smothered Joe lay back against the windshield The Stinson was saved but what next

The snow was getting heavier and it was almost dark Joe crawled into the cockpit wrapped himse lf in the charred sleeping bag that had just saved his only way out - wherevershyand tried to sleep

Joe Cook awoke just before dawn

JOE COOK GRUNTED A SHORT PRAYER AND GAVE HER FULL POWER

the oil and engine separately Fumblshying in the dark he built a fire well away from the aircraft He drained the engine oil into a five-gallon pail then hung it over the fire Next he built a small fire under the planes nose He needed to heat the mass ive radial enshygine case Pouring warm oi l into a froshyzen engine would be futile As light

was plenty hot the eng ine case warm to the touch Joe tossed the ratty engine cover as ide and poured the five gallons of hot oi l into the oil reservoir - hopshying some of its heat would help defrost the windshield too He needed all the visibility he could get to maneuver down hi s narrow s lanted homemade runway

Stamping out his fires Joe leaped inside the cockpit and pumped the primer knob five solid strokes and kicked down hard on the starter button The Stinson roared to life no uneven popping It was hard to believe the electrical harness had survived the pre shyvious nights torching

A steady 60 pounds of oil pressure registered on the gauge Clenching hi s teeth Joe Cook grunted a short prayer and gave her full power The plane waddled a bit The tail wheel hung up in the short brush He worked the yoke back and forth - and the tail sprang free The propeller sucked snow ashes and sma ll twigs The plane started to roll forward while sliding sideways

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc is $3000 for one year including 12 issues of Sport A viation Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $1800 annually Family Membershyship is available for an additional $1000 annually

ANTIQUECLASSICS EAA Member - $1800 Includes one year membership in EAA Anshytique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airplane and membership card Applicant must be a current EAA member and must give EAA membership number

Non-EAA Member - $2800 Inshycludes one year membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airshyplane one year membership in the EAA and separate membership cards Sport Aviation not included

lAC Membership in the International Aerobatic Club Inc is $2500 anshynually which includes 12 issues of Sport Aerobatics All lAC members are required to be members of EAA

WARBIRDS Membership in the Warbirds of America Inc is $25 00 per year which includes a subscription to Warbirds Warbird members are required to be members of EAA

EAA EXPERIMENTER EAA membership and EAA EXPERIshyMENTER magazine is available for $2800 per year (Sport Aviation not included) Current EAA members may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER for $1800 peryear

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS

Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars

Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

EAA AVIATION CENTER OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086

PHONE (414) 426-4800 OFFICE HOURS

815-500 MON-FRI

HowDoesYour Aviation Insurance Company Really Feel AboutAviation

Insuring aircraft is a sideline business for a number of insurance companies At AVEMCO were committed to aviation Weve provided a stable source for your aircraft insurance for nearly three decades

Part of that commitment is providing extra service to the aviation community thats been so good to us We support aviation organizations like AOPA NAA EAA NBAA and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation helping to promote the health and safety of General Aviation We provide a wide range of General Aviation coverage including airshows and flyshyins at very competitive rates Were available to local pilot organizations to encourage a clear understanding of aviation insurance issues

On Approach our policyholders newsletter contains the latest aviation industry news flying safety updates and fuel prices across the nation through AOPAs Fuel Watch program

Commitment Thats the way we feel about aviation Thats the way we feel about our customers

CALL DIRECT TOOA Y FOR AN IMMEOIA TEl NO OBLICA TlON QUOTE

1-800-638-8440

CAVEMCO INSURANCE COMPANY

By Aviation People For Aviation People THE SPORT AVWION ASSOClAT1ON

MEMORABILIA

The largest collection of outstanding warbirds

and aeronautical memorabilia assembled under one roof Includes world renowned classic

aircraft and museum quality items

from the Donald

Douglas collection

For the 48-page color auction catalogue send $14 (includes

postage and handling shyCalifornia residents add 634

sales tax) or call1-800-AIR-1004 or (213) 392-6392 (in CAl 8AM to 5PM PST

2772 Donald Douglas Loop North Santa Monica California 90405

FAX (213) 452-1933

Auction conducted by W R Stevenson CA LlC A1347

YOUR PROP SHINING

with a prop cover

Keep your propeller free from fingerprints dust and condensation as your plane sits in your hangar-with beautiful sleeves printed with Hamilton Standard logo 81 2 x 48 Send $3750 to KCP Enterprises

~ ENTERPRISES 7533 JULER AVE CINCINNATI OHIO 45243

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALl 1 (513) 891-8733

KEEP

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation

Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

oirexlRODUCTS INC I~ I I

259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

VISA I

(111111111111111111111I ISTITS POLY-FIBER I THE MOST POPULAR II AIRCRAFT COVERING MATERIALS II IN AVIATION HISTORY I I HERES WHY Proven Durability on Thousands of Aircraft II FAA-STC for Over 660 Aircraft Models Over 23 Years Service IIIti1I History Superior Quality Coatings Developed and Manufactured I B Under the Quality Control of an FAA-PMA especially for Polyester II Fabric on Aircraft Not Brittle Automotive Finishes Modified Short Life I IItl Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Relabeled Cellulose Dope II Will Not Support Combustion Lightest Covering Approved ~ IItl Under FAA-STC and PMA Most Economical Covering Materials IIIti1I Considering Years of Trouble Free Service Easy Repairability I I II IVIDEO T APE AVAILABLE ~ FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponsored by EAA II Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This I ~ Tape and LEARN HOW TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME VHS ~

I ~Ie~~~~~~~I~~I~~~~~~ (~-~~~~-~2~v~I~~~ml

1=middot1I Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polester Fabric Developed IItlI Especially for Aircraft Covering Poly-Fiber Manual with I ~ Detailed Instructions for Fabric Covering and Painting Aircraft II for Corrosion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List 1I ISTITS POLY FIBERI AIRCRAFT COATINGS II PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 1I IPhone (714) 684-4280

1r11111111111111111111~

po box 88 madison north carolina 27025 (919) 427-0216

AWWA

MEMBER

MEMBER

TANK PAINTlNb AND REPAIING

SANotLASTING TANK LINUS AND COATINGS

VNTlVI TANK o4AINHNANCE INSPECTION SERVICE LAOOU SMETY tOUIP04tNI lESUVOI LINUS AND loafS

DIS ANTLING AND OVING TANKS

NEW USED AND CONDITIONED TANKS

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

I down the slope The left wingtip lodged in a tree Cutting the engine to idle Joe jumped out with hi s axe cleared some more trees and pushed the ta il sideways

Several more such del ays and Joe was at the far end of his airfield Turnshying the Stinson around was no easy chore Finally he was able to aim it back down the runway He breathed a hope that the engine torque would help him keep the plane out of the downhill brush - then gave her full power once again

Starting slow she began to gain speed - then lifted off

Joe banked the Stinson out over the fl ats and headed north for the Yukon River It took full power to keep her flyin g since the plane had lost much of her lower-side fabric and tail covershying to the previous day s semi -crash landings In 30 minutes Joe could see the Yukon But he could also see that both hi s gas gauges indicated empty

She ll make it he thought Joe recall ed later that he d just comshy

pleted that thought when the engine began sputtering - and then all was so quiet he could hear the air hi ss ing over the Stinson s big wings

Damn Rocking the wings he hoped to coax

an extra cup of fuel out of the tank At the same time he searched the area for another place to crash-land

I thought shed glide to the river Joe said later But all torn up she came down like a streamlined rock

Hitting the tundra she bounced and lurched - then flipped hard ejecting Joe through the front windshield He landed in the semifrozen muck He was OK But he was growing tired of the trip His big yellow airplane looked bad The worst hed ever seen her lying there on her back with small spruce trees sticking through her wings wheels 10 feet off the ground

Joe Cook picked up his gun and hi s frayed sleeping bag He looked at hi s plane one last time It was hard to beshylieve she was fini shed He felt as if he was leaving an old friend at the graveyard

Then Joe turned away and began walking He walked three miles to the Yukon River Then he walked 15 more miles to a sand spit across the village of Tanana To get attention he fired two shotgun blasts Then he lay down in the snow exhausted

Cross ing Lake Kluane with a 40shy32 APRIL 1990

mph headwind Old Blue and I turned east at Haines Junction

When Claire and I had returned Blue to Alaska from Montana in 8 1 she d seemed to fl y double-time like a horse heading for the barn Although she was indicating 115 mph all calculations gave us 145 mph ground speed Now the best she could do was 85 mph I could only think Blue wasn t real anxshyious to meet the customs man in Whitehorse

As we rounded the las t bend of the Mendenhall Ri ver Whitehorse Airport

ITS BEEN HERE 30 YEARS ITLL BE HERE TOMORROW

came into view I fl ew a straight and level turn lined up and landed tax iing over to the fli ght service station where a small crew of mechanics gathered under Blue s wings Several of them remembered her from our flight north in 8 1 That evening roll ed up under the midnight sun in the deep grass I thought of how fortun ate I was to own such a beautiful old plane and of the unusual circumstances that had led to this fli ght

I had come to Alaska to learn how to fl y After two years o f working as a nurse in a small Bush hospital in Tanana I took my bankroll of $4 500 and hopped a fli ght into Fairbanks hoping to buy a small fl yable machine I had a rude awakening comshying In 1980 my savings could only afford a balled up pile of tubing behind a hangar on Phillips Field a pile that I was not convinced had ever been an airplane

I headed back to the vill age frusshytrated and di sappointed In the next few days I thought of different opshytions all based on the fact that since Id never acquired anything in working order before why start now I d heard of several wrecks in the area within a 100-mile radius of the vill age With

the help of several local res idents plotted the ir approx imate s ites on a map

Then I convinced my frie nd Claire who owned an Alaskanized PA-J2 to take several reconnaissancescenic fli ghts With in a week wed spotted all the sites except one and all were e ither totally inaccess ible without a helicopshyter or too far gone to justify a trip across tundra and mountains Last on the li st was a Stinson - Joe Cook s plane - crashed in the early 50s about 15 miles down the Yukon

It was cold and gray that February afternoon when we found something that resembled her A small patch of dull yellow peeked out from a snow berm looking like a chunk of snow machine cowling fro m the air We deshycided to have a closer look Claire shot a compass heading whil e preparing to land on a small lake Land ing on sk is in a puff of dry snow we jumped out and untied our snowshoes from the wing struts

From the ground the berm looked like there was a school bus buried unshyderneath A small metal stepladder po inted skyward fro m its snow-coshyvered heap I was convinced it was the class ic Stinson Us ing the snowshoes as shovels we stood chest-deep and dug hastil y uncovering a large tatshytered inverted fuse lage

C laire called a halt It s been here 30 years it ll be here tomorrow We still have a run way to stomp out -

The lake was too small Even with building a small launch ramp and showshoe-packing the whole runway the planes ski s trimmed the trees on takeoff Obviously we couldn t re turn to that lake

Back in the vill age that evening it was time to organize a strategy without advertis ing too much We would need heaters generators saws shove ls and come-alongs Stan Zuray a homeshysteader 40 miles to the north had arshyrived for the evening Caught up in the excitement he offered to help with hi s large fre ight sled and di sc iplined dog team

The airplane had lain upside down for 30 years on the tundra its wings swallowed by the tussocks and ice We spent several days heating the metal wing structure with portab le heaters run by a small generator before the ground would realease each wi ng They were hardly recogni zable

We were pressured by an earl y thaw and the overflow from a tributarv

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc is $3000 for one year including 12 issues of Sport A viation Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $1800 annually Family Membershyship is available for an additional $1000 annually

ANTIQUECLASSICS EAA Member - $1800 Includes one year membership in EAA Anshytique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airplane and membership card Applicant must be a current EAA member and must give EAA membership number

Non-EAA Member - $2800 Inshycludes one year membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airshyplane one year membership in the EAA and separate membership cards Sport Aviation not included

lAC Membership in the International Aerobatic Club Inc is $2500 anshynually which includes 12 issues of Sport Aerobatics All lAC members are required to be members of EAA

WARBIRDS Membership in the Warbirds of America Inc is $25 00 per year which includes a subscription to Warbirds Warbird members are required to be members of EAA

EAA EXPERIMENTER EAA membership and EAA EXPERIshyMENTER magazine is available for $2800 per year (Sport Aviation not included) Current EAA members may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER for $1800 peryear

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS

Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars

Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

EAA AVIATION CENTER OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086

PHONE (414) 426-4800 OFFICE HOURS

815-500 MON-FRI

HowDoesYour Aviation Insurance Company Really Feel AboutAviation

Insuring aircraft is a sideline business for a number of insurance companies At AVEMCO were committed to aviation Weve provided a stable source for your aircraft insurance for nearly three decades

Part of that commitment is providing extra service to the aviation community thats been so good to us We support aviation organizations like AOPA NAA EAA NBAA and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation helping to promote the health and safety of General Aviation We provide a wide range of General Aviation coverage including airshows and flyshyins at very competitive rates Were available to local pilot organizations to encourage a clear understanding of aviation insurance issues

On Approach our policyholders newsletter contains the latest aviation industry news flying safety updates and fuel prices across the nation through AOPAs Fuel Watch program

Commitment Thats the way we feel about aviation Thats the way we feel about our customers

CALL DIRECT TOOA Y FOR AN IMMEOIA TEl NO OBLICA TlON QUOTE

1-800-638-8440

CAVEMCO INSURANCE COMPANY

By Aviation People For Aviation People THE SPORT AVWION ASSOClAT1ON

MEMORABILIA

The largest collection of outstanding warbirds

and aeronautical memorabilia assembled under one roof Includes world renowned classic

aircraft and museum quality items

from the Donald

Douglas collection

For the 48-page color auction catalogue send $14 (includes

postage and handling shyCalifornia residents add 634

sales tax) or call1-800-AIR-1004 or (213) 392-6392 (in CAl 8AM to 5PM PST

2772 Donald Douglas Loop North Santa Monica California 90405

FAX (213) 452-1933

Auction conducted by W R Stevenson CA LlC A1347

YOUR PROP SHINING

with a prop cover

Keep your propeller free from fingerprints dust and condensation as your plane sits in your hangar-with beautiful sleeves printed with Hamilton Standard logo 81 2 x 48 Send $3750 to KCP Enterprises

~ ENTERPRISES 7533 JULER AVE CINCINNATI OHIO 45243

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALl 1 (513) 891-8733

KEEP

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation

Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

oirexlRODUCTS INC I~ I I

259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

VISA I

(111111111111111111111I ISTITS POLY-FIBER I THE MOST POPULAR II AIRCRAFT COVERING MATERIALS II IN AVIATION HISTORY I I HERES WHY Proven Durability on Thousands of Aircraft II FAA-STC for Over 660 Aircraft Models Over 23 Years Service IIIti1I History Superior Quality Coatings Developed and Manufactured I B Under the Quality Control of an FAA-PMA especially for Polyester II Fabric on Aircraft Not Brittle Automotive Finishes Modified Short Life I IItl Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Relabeled Cellulose Dope II Will Not Support Combustion Lightest Covering Approved ~ IItl Under FAA-STC and PMA Most Economical Covering Materials IIIti1I Considering Years of Trouble Free Service Easy Repairability I I II IVIDEO T APE AVAILABLE ~ FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponsored by EAA II Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This I ~ Tape and LEARN HOW TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME VHS ~

I ~Ie~~~~~~~I~~I~~~~~~ (~-~~~~-~2~v~I~~~ml

1=middot1I Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polester Fabric Developed IItlI Especially for Aircraft Covering Poly-Fiber Manual with I ~ Detailed Instructions for Fabric Covering and Painting Aircraft II for Corrosion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List 1I ISTITS POLY FIBERI AIRCRAFT COATINGS II PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 1I IPhone (714) 684-4280

1r11111111111111111111~

po box 88 madison north carolina 27025 (919) 427-0216

AWWA

MEMBER

MEMBER

TANK PAINTlNb AND REPAIING

SANotLASTING TANK LINUS AND COATINGS

VNTlVI TANK o4AINHNANCE INSPECTION SERVICE LAOOU SMETY tOUIP04tNI lESUVOI LINUS AND loafS

DIS ANTLING AND OVING TANKS

NEW USED AND CONDITIONED TANKS

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

stream flooding the river ice The fourshymile snow-packed trail from the river through the spruce was dropping out The Lycoming engine and prop mounted on a fre ight sled flipped many times due to poor trai l conditions before we got it to the more solid river trail

After two weeks and many trips to the crash site by dogsled and snowshymachine - and with the help of Stan and hi s 18-foot freight sled - much of the Stinson was in my yard On the last trip we had three sleds loaded wi th wings and fuse lage and pulled straight through town

There was a big pre-dog-race party at the time Lots of folks were sociali zshying out on Main Street most blearyshyeyed They came to attention as thi s convoy of decrepit airplane parts creaked past It came to rest on the sawhorses behind my house

Later I liked to si t on an old kitchen chai r in place of the pilots seat in the fuse lage and wonder just what style of Stinson I actually had It sure wasn t obvious

Sometimes friends would visit I added chairs to the Stinson and welshycomed them on fantasy excursions That spring I dug through all the aviashytion books avai lable anxious to see a picture of what a Gullwing Stinson in flying order looked like Claire arrived one evening with a folded-up picture of a V -77 Stinson Reliant Gullwing I couldn t believe that my pile of pieces could ever have looked like the beautishyful plane in her photo

The parts search was on Many phone call s and ads later a contact was made in Minnesota He had what J didn t all for sale He was willing to hold the parts until September while I tried to come up with more money I came up with enough for the needed parts by making tents working part time as a nurse and running a small fish business

I shipped the plane on a ri ver barge to Nenana where I loaded her onto a boat trailer towed by an old Chevy panel van Thanksgiving Claire and I headed south Nine days and 45 quarts of motor oil later we hit the Montana border

It took three months to restore her We lived in a big garage with her until the job was done She was reshaped recovered repainted (blue) - and hopefully ready to fly

A retired Alaska Bush pilot Glen Gregory hopped in and gave Claire

her first Gullwing flying lesson off a Montana wheat field

These Stinsons are built like a bridge Glen said by way of encourshyagement Only problem is they fl y like one Anyway they always get off before they hit the fence

We knew he liked flying the Stinson - which we rechristened Old Blue - because he often beat us to the airshyfie ld

Several weeks of practice and we were ready to head home to Alaska Anxious and overloaded we took off

YOU DONT CALLA PREACHER ON SUNDAY FOR GAS

from Bozeman We barely cleared the horizon An hour later we landed in Great Falls and dumped 500 pounds out of our load

Now she ll be fun to fl y Claire said

The shiny classic Stinson drew a crowd everywhere we landed She was making great time Dawson Creek Fort Nelson Wqtson Lake - all seemed to go by in a blur We landed in Tanana Easter Sunday spring of 8 1

Over the next three years Old Blue received lots of tender lov ing care I got a handle on fl ying her and would take her up between the many hours of tinkering I never could get myself to load her up with fish or sled dogs So she enjoyed the retired life of a workshyhorse getting out to stretch once in awhile Often the old-timers would say that whenever they saw the old Gullshywing flying it reminded them of the early trapline years when Stinsons were the most common Bush plane

Now it was the spring of 84 Blue and I were heading south After two long days of fl ying we reached Dawshyson Creek

The temperature was close to 100

degrees midday I would take off at 5 am fly three hours then put down until evening The countryside had leveled out and I had to be more careshyful following roads Suddenly they seemed everywhere

I found a small airstrip 20 miles west of Edmonton and spent that evening visiting old friends Up and off at 5 am I was having a hard time navigatshying Forest fire smoke from the Rockshyies covered the valley I planned to refuel in Lethbridge but the runway was socked in

Luckily Cards ton was up on a plateau with a small paved strip five miles from town Blue was hot and dripping oil from every poss ible fi tshyting The local preacher also ran the fuel depot If I learned anything on this trip it was that you don t call a preacher on Sunday for gas Fifty galshylons of car gas cost me more than $ 15000

Then off we went to Bozeman Mont with a strong tailwind Late that afternoon just as we had climbed high enough to clear Flathead Pass in the Bridger Mounta ins with Bozeman runway visible in the di stance the enshygine began to surge - racing then slowing We were sinking I put the nose down to gain speed and cool things looking for a place to land I couldnt believe we had made it this far and now were heading for the bushes - in clear sight ofour destinashytion

I flashed back on o ld Joe Cook and his many rough landings Still on the wrong side of the ridge skimming the hill side at treetop level the engine began to smooth out I started breathshying again pulling back easy on the yoke hoping for power enough to climb out of the Bridger Canyon Bit by bit we neared the 8OOO-foot pass once again My pulse raced faster than the engine Bozeman Airport was in sight Cross ing the pass was like escapshying from jail I put the nose down and glided the 15 miles to Gallatin Field

As the prop quit spinning Claire who had since become my wife and Chris our 2-year-old son ran up the runway to greet me I hugged them both

How was the trip Claire asked For a plane that didn t want to

come south she did a helluva job I said

Glen was right She always clears the fence Though the cow elk had to lie down so I could get over the pass

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc is $3000 for one year including 12 issues of Sport A viation Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $1800 annually Family Membershyship is available for an additional $1000 annually

ANTIQUECLASSICS EAA Member - $1800 Includes one year membership in EAA Anshytique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airplane and membership card Applicant must be a current EAA member and must give EAA membership number

Non-EAA Member - $2800 Inshycludes one year membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airshyplane one year membership in the EAA and separate membership cards Sport Aviation not included

lAC Membership in the International Aerobatic Club Inc is $2500 anshynually which includes 12 issues of Sport Aerobatics All lAC members are required to be members of EAA

WARBIRDS Membership in the Warbirds of America Inc is $25 00 per year which includes a subscription to Warbirds Warbird members are required to be members of EAA

EAA EXPERIMENTER EAA membership and EAA EXPERIshyMENTER magazine is available for $2800 per year (Sport Aviation not included) Current EAA members may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER for $1800 peryear

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS

Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars

Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

EAA AVIATION CENTER OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086

PHONE (414) 426-4800 OFFICE HOURS

815-500 MON-FRI

HowDoesYour Aviation Insurance Company Really Feel AboutAviation

Insuring aircraft is a sideline business for a number of insurance companies At AVEMCO were committed to aviation Weve provided a stable source for your aircraft insurance for nearly three decades

Part of that commitment is providing extra service to the aviation community thats been so good to us We support aviation organizations like AOPA NAA EAA NBAA and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation helping to promote the health and safety of General Aviation We provide a wide range of General Aviation coverage including airshows and flyshyins at very competitive rates Were available to local pilot organizations to encourage a clear understanding of aviation insurance issues

On Approach our policyholders newsletter contains the latest aviation industry news flying safety updates and fuel prices across the nation through AOPAs Fuel Watch program

Commitment Thats the way we feel about aviation Thats the way we feel about our customers

CALL DIRECT TOOA Y FOR AN IMMEOIA TEl NO OBLICA TlON QUOTE

1-800-638-8440

CAVEMCO INSURANCE COMPANY

By Aviation People For Aviation People THE SPORT AVWION ASSOClAT1ON

MEMORABILIA

The largest collection of outstanding warbirds

and aeronautical memorabilia assembled under one roof Includes world renowned classic

aircraft and museum quality items

from the Donald

Douglas collection

For the 48-page color auction catalogue send $14 (includes

postage and handling shyCalifornia residents add 634

sales tax) or call1-800-AIR-1004 or (213) 392-6392 (in CAl 8AM to 5PM PST

2772 Donald Douglas Loop North Santa Monica California 90405

FAX (213) 452-1933

Auction conducted by W R Stevenson CA LlC A1347

YOUR PROP SHINING

with a prop cover

Keep your propeller free from fingerprints dust and condensation as your plane sits in your hangar-with beautiful sleeves printed with Hamilton Standard logo 81 2 x 48 Send $3750 to KCP Enterprises

~ ENTERPRISES 7533 JULER AVE CINCINNATI OHIO 45243

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALl 1 (513) 891-8733

KEEP

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation

Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

oirexlRODUCTS INC I~ I I

259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

VISA I

(111111111111111111111I ISTITS POLY-FIBER I THE MOST POPULAR II AIRCRAFT COVERING MATERIALS II IN AVIATION HISTORY I I HERES WHY Proven Durability on Thousands of Aircraft II FAA-STC for Over 660 Aircraft Models Over 23 Years Service IIIti1I History Superior Quality Coatings Developed and Manufactured I B Under the Quality Control of an FAA-PMA especially for Polyester II Fabric on Aircraft Not Brittle Automotive Finishes Modified Short Life I IItl Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Relabeled Cellulose Dope II Will Not Support Combustion Lightest Covering Approved ~ IItl Under FAA-STC and PMA Most Economical Covering Materials IIIti1I Considering Years of Trouble Free Service Easy Repairability I I II IVIDEO T APE AVAILABLE ~ FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponsored by EAA II Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This I ~ Tape and LEARN HOW TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME VHS ~

I ~Ie~~~~~~~I~~I~~~~~~ (~-~~~~-~2~v~I~~~ml

1=middot1I Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polester Fabric Developed IItlI Especially for Aircraft Covering Poly-Fiber Manual with I ~ Detailed Instructions for Fabric Covering and Painting Aircraft II for Corrosion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List 1I ISTITS POLY FIBERI AIRCRAFT COATINGS II PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 1I IPhone (714) 684-4280

1r11111111111111111111~

po box 88 madison north carolina 27025 (919) 427-0216

AWWA

MEMBER

MEMBER

TANK PAINTlNb AND REPAIING

SANotLASTING TANK LINUS AND COATINGS

VNTlVI TANK o4AINHNANCE INSPECTION SERVICE LAOOU SMETY tOUIP04tNI lESUVOI LINUS AND loafS

DIS ANTLING AND OVING TANKS

NEW USED AND CONDITIONED TANKS

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet 25cent per word $500 minimum charge Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh WI 54903-2591

AIRCRAFT (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks - 1931 and 1934 Package includes extra engine and spares Fuseshylage wing spars and extra props Museum quality $30000 firm No tire kickers collect calls or pen pals please EE Buck Hilbert PO Box 424 Union IL 60180-0424

1950 Cessna 170A - 3200 n 1050 SMOH 300 STOH Franklin 165 w40 amp alternator King radios with Loran Digital EGTCHT auxiliary tank wing leveler Imron paint and much more $29000 Call Mark Lindberg 415967-4795 (4-1)

1961 Piper PA-22-108 Colt -150 hours SMOH and restoration Two people plus 36 gallons fuel and 100 Ibs luggage Cleveland brakes ELT Esshycort 110 EGT CHT beacon new glass tires and Dacron cover A lot of flight time for $9800 Call Chuck at 414426-4815 days and 414235-8714 evenings (CST-WI) ufn

Sell or Trade 1940 Fleet 16B - OH Kinner B5-R brand new unused Fahlin 92-63 prop Guaranteed complete except few minor instruments Fuselage covered Stits Fleet Blue Wings ready for cover SIS wires ALSO historic Warner SS-50A Was inshystalled in stbd position of Blimp L-8 when she came ashore minus crew at Daly City California in August 1942 Complete logs show crash Later OH and served on L-9 and L-l0 Was removed from fleet to mOdify to large cylinder studs but upon examination of logs decided not to change anything account of history Cylinders removed for pickling engine complete and standard SASE no phone Curtiss-Reed 86-63 extra Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940 (4-1)

1935 Porterfield Flyabout - Model 3570 - 70 hp LeBlond engine 84 hours since total restoration A true classic and award winner $17000 Todd 405 282-7580 (5-2)

Curtiss-Wright 16E - Powered by a Wright U-6shy5 This aircraft is the only known surviving example of a 1936 CoW export order for the Argentine Navy The aircraft is complete and was flown as recently as 1988 Recently imported and offered for sale at $49500 Contact John Tucker 3141731-7111 (4-1)

Taylorcraft 1941 BC12D - C85 250 SMOH wings partially rebuilt envelopes original wheel pants $3000 obo wi ll consider trades plus cash forC170 C180 PA12 PA20 408296-3458 (4-1)

ENGINES Dynamic Antique Radial Engine Balancing shySpecializing in Warner 145 165 185 engines Smooth out the vibration when rebuilding 904 768-5031 (7-4)

34 APRIL 1990

MISCELLANEOUS

Super Cub PA18 fuselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new J E Soares Inc 7093 Dry Creek Road Belshygrade Montana 59714406388-6069 Repair Stashytion D65-21 (c4-90)

JN4-D Memorabilia - Jenny Mail collector cachets actually flown in Jenny to Day and Osh along with T-shirts pins posters etc Send SASE for catalogpricing Virginia Aviation Co RD 5 Box 294 Warrenton VA 22186 (c-590)

NEW EAA REFERENCE GUIDE - Now in one volume Covering all EAA journals 1953 through 1989 Newly organized easier to read MUCH REshyDUCED PRICE Past purchasers $750 USD plus $150 UPSpostage $300 Canadian $700 other New purchasers $15 USD plus $1 50 UPSpostshyage $300 Canadian $700 other VISAIMASTERshyCARD accepted John B Bergeson 6438 W Millbrook Road Remus MI 49340 517561-2393 Note Have all journals Will make copy of any arshyticle(s) from any issue at 25cent per page ($300 minimum)

Meticulous Delineations - Antique scale model construction plans or wall decor by Vern Clements (AiC 5989) 308 Palo Alto Caldwell ID 83605 CatalogInfoNews $300 refundable (7-4)

Porterfield Landing Gear Vees - $100 Ryan PT-22 parts controls flying wires LG parts enshygine mounts tailwheels and much more Kent McMakin 815624-6617 eves (4-1)

1910-1950 Original Plane and Pilot Items - Buy - sell - trade 44-page catalog over 350 items availshyable $500 Airmailed John Aldrich POB-706 shyAirport Groveland CA 95321 209962-6121 (9-6)

Sectional Charts - 1941 to 1966 many areas Send long SASE for descriptive price list Edward Peck Rt 2 Box 225-A Waddy KY 40076 (4-1)

For Sale - Beautiful winged CONTINENTAL enshygine Powerful as the Nation 193040s era water transfer decals Red black and silver just like Conshytinental made em 6 by 2 Apply face up or down to cowl panel windows Pair postpaid $650 CurshytissAldrich POB-21 Big Oak Flat CA 95305 (4-1)

WANTED WANTED Right streamlined gear leg tapered axle shinn wheel for 1938 Aeronca C50 Chief Minor axis 78 inch major 2 inch Also complete set of rudder brake pedals for Fleet 16B Smith 204 Lockport Plainfield Illinois 60544-1940

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc is $3000 for one year including 12 issues of Sport A viation Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $1800 annually Family Membershyship is available for an additional $1000 annually

ANTIQUECLASSICS EAA Member - $1800 Includes one year membership in EAA Anshytique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airplane and membership card Applicant must be a current EAA member and must give EAA membership number

Non-EAA Member - $2800 Inshycludes one year membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division 12 monthly issues of The Vintage Airshyplane one year membership in the EAA and separate membership cards Sport Aviation not included

lAC Membership in the International Aerobatic Club Inc is $2500 anshynually which includes 12 issues of Sport Aerobatics All lAC members are required to be members of EAA

WARBIRDS Membership in the Warbirds of America Inc is $25 00 per year which includes a subscription to Warbirds Warbird members are required to be members of EAA

EAA EXPERIMENTER EAA membership and EAA EXPERIshyMENTER magazine is available for $2800 per year (Sport Aviation not included) Current EAA members may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER for $1800 peryear

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS

Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars

Make checks payable to EAA or the division in which membership is desired Address all letters to EAA or the particular division at the folshylowing address

EAA AVIATION CENTER OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086

PHONE (414) 426-4800 OFFICE HOURS

815-500 MON-FRI

HowDoesYour Aviation Insurance Company Really Feel AboutAviation

Insuring aircraft is a sideline business for a number of insurance companies At AVEMCO were committed to aviation Weve provided a stable source for your aircraft insurance for nearly three decades

Part of that commitment is providing extra service to the aviation community thats been so good to us We support aviation organizations like AOPA NAA EAA NBAA and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation helping to promote the health and safety of General Aviation We provide a wide range of General Aviation coverage including airshows and flyshyins at very competitive rates Were available to local pilot organizations to encourage a clear understanding of aviation insurance issues

On Approach our policyholders newsletter contains the latest aviation industry news flying safety updates and fuel prices across the nation through AOPAs Fuel Watch program

Commitment Thats the way we feel about aviation Thats the way we feel about our customers

CALL DIRECT TOOA Y FOR AN IMMEOIA TEl NO OBLICA TlON QUOTE

1-800-638-8440

CAVEMCO INSURANCE COMPANY

By Aviation People For Aviation People THE SPORT AVWION ASSOClAT1ON

MEMORABILIA

The largest collection of outstanding warbirds

and aeronautical memorabilia assembled under one roof Includes world renowned classic

aircraft and museum quality items

from the Donald

Douglas collection

For the 48-page color auction catalogue send $14 (includes

postage and handling shyCalifornia residents add 634

sales tax) or call1-800-AIR-1004 or (213) 392-6392 (in CAl 8AM to 5PM PST

2772 Donald Douglas Loop North Santa Monica California 90405

FAX (213) 452-1933

Auction conducted by W R Stevenson CA LlC A1347

YOUR PROP SHINING

with a prop cover

Keep your propeller free from fingerprints dust and condensation as your plane sits in your hangar-with beautiful sleeves printed with Hamilton Standard logo 81 2 x 48 Send $3750 to KCP Enterprises

~ ENTERPRISES 7533 JULER AVE CINCINNATI OHIO 45243

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALl 1 (513) 891-8733

KEEP

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation

Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

oirexlRODUCTS INC I~ I I

259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

VISA I

(111111111111111111111I ISTITS POLY-FIBER I THE MOST POPULAR II AIRCRAFT COVERING MATERIALS II IN AVIATION HISTORY I I HERES WHY Proven Durability on Thousands of Aircraft II FAA-STC for Over 660 Aircraft Models Over 23 Years Service IIIti1I History Superior Quality Coatings Developed and Manufactured I B Under the Quality Control of an FAA-PMA especially for Polyester II Fabric on Aircraft Not Brittle Automotive Finishes Modified Short Life I IItl Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Relabeled Cellulose Dope II Will Not Support Combustion Lightest Covering Approved ~ IItl Under FAA-STC and PMA Most Economical Covering Materials IIIti1I Considering Years of Trouble Free Service Easy Repairability I I II IVIDEO T APE AVAILABLE ~ FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponsored by EAA II Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This I ~ Tape and LEARN HOW TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME VHS ~

I ~Ie~~~~~~~I~~I~~~~~~ (~-~~~~-~2~v~I~~~ml

1=middot1I Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polester Fabric Developed IItlI Especially for Aircraft Covering Poly-Fiber Manual with I ~ Detailed Instructions for Fabric Covering and Painting Aircraft II for Corrosion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List 1I ISTITS POLY FIBERI AIRCRAFT COATINGS II PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 1I IPhone (714) 684-4280

1r11111111111111111111~

po box 88 madison north carolina 27025 (919) 427-0216

AWWA

MEMBER

MEMBER

TANK PAINTlNb AND REPAIING

SANotLASTING TANK LINUS AND COATINGS

VNTlVI TANK o4AINHNANCE INSPECTION SERVICE LAOOU SMETY tOUIP04tNI lESUVOI LINUS AND loafS

DIS ANTLING AND OVING TANKS

NEW USED AND CONDITIONED TANKS

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

HowDoesYour Aviation Insurance Company Really Feel AboutAviation

Insuring aircraft is a sideline business for a number of insurance companies At AVEMCO were committed to aviation Weve provided a stable source for your aircraft insurance for nearly three decades

Part of that commitment is providing extra service to the aviation community thats been so good to us We support aviation organizations like AOPA NAA EAA NBAA and the AOPA Air Safety Foundation helping to promote the health and safety of General Aviation We provide a wide range of General Aviation coverage including airshows and flyshyins at very competitive rates Were available to local pilot organizations to encourage a clear understanding of aviation insurance issues

On Approach our policyholders newsletter contains the latest aviation industry news flying safety updates and fuel prices across the nation through AOPAs Fuel Watch program

Commitment Thats the way we feel about aviation Thats the way we feel about our customers

CALL DIRECT TOOA Y FOR AN IMMEOIA TEl NO OBLICA TlON QUOTE

1-800-638-8440

CAVEMCO INSURANCE COMPANY

By Aviation People For Aviation People THE SPORT AVWION ASSOClAT1ON

MEMORABILIA

The largest collection of outstanding warbirds

and aeronautical memorabilia assembled under one roof Includes world renowned classic

aircraft and museum quality items

from the Donald

Douglas collection

For the 48-page color auction catalogue send $14 (includes

postage and handling shyCalifornia residents add 634

sales tax) or call1-800-AIR-1004 or (213) 392-6392 (in CAl 8AM to 5PM PST

2772 Donald Douglas Loop North Santa Monica California 90405

FAX (213) 452-1933

Auction conducted by W R Stevenson CA LlC A1347

YOUR PROP SHINING

with a prop cover

Keep your propeller free from fingerprints dust and condensation as your plane sits in your hangar-with beautiful sleeves printed with Hamilton Standard logo 81 2 x 48 Send $3750 to KCP Enterprises

~ ENTERPRISES 7533 JULER AVE CINCINNATI OHIO 45243

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALl 1 (513) 891-8733

KEEP

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation

Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

oirexlRODUCTS INC I~ I I

259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

VISA I

(111111111111111111111I ISTITS POLY-FIBER I THE MOST POPULAR II AIRCRAFT COVERING MATERIALS II IN AVIATION HISTORY I I HERES WHY Proven Durability on Thousands of Aircraft II FAA-STC for Over 660 Aircraft Models Over 23 Years Service IIIti1I History Superior Quality Coatings Developed and Manufactured I B Under the Quality Control of an FAA-PMA especially for Polyester II Fabric on Aircraft Not Brittle Automotive Finishes Modified Short Life I IItl Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Relabeled Cellulose Dope II Will Not Support Combustion Lightest Covering Approved ~ IItl Under FAA-STC and PMA Most Economical Covering Materials IIIti1I Considering Years of Trouble Free Service Easy Repairability I I II IVIDEO T APE AVAILABLE ~ FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponsored by EAA II Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This I ~ Tape and LEARN HOW TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME VHS ~

I ~Ie~~~~~~~I~~I~~~~~~ (~-~~~~-~2~v~I~~~ml

1=middot1I Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polester Fabric Developed IItlI Especially for Aircraft Covering Poly-Fiber Manual with I ~ Detailed Instructions for Fabric Covering and Painting Aircraft II for Corrosion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List 1I ISTITS POLY FIBERI AIRCRAFT COATINGS II PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 1I IPhone (714) 684-4280

1r11111111111111111111~

po box 88 madison north carolina 27025 (919) 427-0216

AWWA

MEMBER

MEMBER

TANK PAINTlNb AND REPAIING

SANotLASTING TANK LINUS AND COATINGS

VNTlVI TANK o4AINHNANCE INSPECTION SERVICE LAOOU SMETY tOUIP04tNI lESUVOI LINUS AND loafS

DIS ANTLING AND OVING TANKS

NEW USED AND CONDITIONED TANKS

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

MEMORABILIA

The largest collection of outstanding warbirds

and aeronautical memorabilia assembled under one roof Includes world renowned classic

aircraft and museum quality items

from the Donald

Douglas collection

For the 48-page color auction catalogue send $14 (includes

postage and handling shyCalifornia residents add 634

sales tax) or call1-800-AIR-1004 or (213) 392-6392 (in CAl 8AM to 5PM PST

2772 Donald Douglas Loop North Santa Monica California 90405

FAX (213) 452-1933

Auction conducted by W R Stevenson CA LlC A1347

YOUR PROP SHINING

with a prop cover

Keep your propeller free from fingerprints dust and condensation as your plane sits in your hangar-with beautiful sleeves printed with Hamilton Standard logo 81 2 x 48 Send $3750 to KCP Enterprises

~ ENTERPRISES 7533 JULER AVE CINCINNATI OHIO 45243

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALl 1 (513) 891-8733

KEEP

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation

Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

oirexlRODUCTS INC I~ I I

259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

VISA I

(111111111111111111111I ISTITS POLY-FIBER I THE MOST POPULAR II AIRCRAFT COVERING MATERIALS II IN AVIATION HISTORY I I HERES WHY Proven Durability on Thousands of Aircraft II FAA-STC for Over 660 Aircraft Models Over 23 Years Service IIIti1I History Superior Quality Coatings Developed and Manufactured I B Under the Quality Control of an FAA-PMA especially for Polyester II Fabric on Aircraft Not Brittle Automotive Finishes Modified Short Life I IItl Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Relabeled Cellulose Dope II Will Not Support Combustion Lightest Covering Approved ~ IItl Under FAA-STC and PMA Most Economical Covering Materials IIIti1I Considering Years of Trouble Free Service Easy Repairability I I II IVIDEO T APE AVAILABLE ~ FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponsored by EAA II Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This I ~ Tape and LEARN HOW TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME VHS ~

I ~Ie~~~~~~~I~~I~~~~~~ (~-~~~~-~2~v~I~~~ml

1=middot1I Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polester Fabric Developed IItlI Especially for Aircraft Covering Poly-Fiber Manual with I ~ Detailed Instructions for Fabric Covering and Painting Aircraft II for Corrosion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List 1I ISTITS POLY FIBERI AIRCRAFT COATINGS II PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 1I IPhone (714) 684-4280

1r11111111111111111111~

po box 88 madison north carolina 27025 (919) 427-0216

AWWA

MEMBER

MEMBER

TANK PAINTlNb AND REPAIING

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

by George Hardie Jr

There is considerable mystery as to the eventual fate of this airplane The photo was taken in a hangar at the Wayne County airport according to known sources The photo was submitshyted by Jack McRae of Huntington Stashytion New York Answers will be pubshylished in the July 1990 issue of VINshyTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is May 10 1990

38 APRIL 1990

Nathan Rounds of Zebulon Georgia submitted a detailed answer to the Mystery Plane for January He writes This January Mystery Plane is the Wilcox T-12-1 airplane - it was built about 1930 in Tulsa Oklahoma In fact it was built in the town of the picture submitter George Goodhead It was powered by a Warner engine probably a 100 or 125 hp model of the Scarab which was originally manufacshytured from vendor parts near my father s home town in Michigan - he was from Dowagic which is 15 miles from Niles Michigan where the Warner was first manufactured before moving to Detroit Michigan

Enclosed is a three-view of the Wi 1shy

Wilcox T12-1

_- - -shy - - shy - - --shy - -shy~

_-------- ---

1--------VmiddotT-------1

H F WILCOX AERONAUTICS INC TuhOklbull

MODEL T 12-1 3 PUCE

ENGINE W ARNER

cox It was built by the W F Wilcox Aeronautics Inc Company In some references they refer to it as a two place trainer and in some a three place airplane shy take your pick

George Goodhead Tulsa Okshylahoma who submitted the photo writes These are photos of the H F Wilcox Trainer that was built here in Tulsa back around 1928 1929 The three-view drawing of this ship was published in the 1930 Aircraft Yearshybook

These photos were taken by Howard Pettit who was working for Wilcox at that time He now lives in Wichita Kansas I received the photos from Walter D House an aviation historian and collector of old photographs at Wichita

Quoting from Aero Digest for June 1930 A biplane designed by W S Collier of the H F Wilcox Aeronaushytics Inc of Tulsa will be manufacshytured by the Wilcox company The plane has a cruising speed of about 100 miles an hour a landing speed of 35 miles per hour and a high speed of liS miles per hour and is powered with IIO-horsepower Warner Scarab enshygine The overall length is 21 feet and the wing span is 31 feet Dual controls and a set of Navy type instruments are provided The plane is designed as a training ship The plane will be proshyduced with any type powerplant deshysired within the 100 to 150 horsepower range

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39

Nathan Rounds of Zebulon Georgia submitted a detailed answer to the Mystery Plane for January He writes This January Mystery Plane is the Wilcox T-12-1 airplane - it was built about 1930 in Tulsa Oklahoma In fact it was built in the town of the picture submitter George Goodhead It was powered by a Warner engine probably a 100 or 125 hp model of the Scarab which was originally manufacshytured from vendor parts near my father s home town in Michigan - he was from Dowagic which is 15 miles from Niles Michigan where the Warner was first manufactured before moving to Detroit Michigan

Enclosed is a three-view of the Wi 1shy

Wilcox T12-1

_- - -shy - - shy - - --shy - -shy~

_-------- ---

1--------VmiddotT-------1

H F WILCOX AERONAUTICS INC TuhOklbull

MODEL T 12-1 3 PUCE

ENGINE W ARNER

cox It was built by the W F Wilcox Aeronautics Inc Company In some references they refer to it as a two place trainer and in some a three place airplane shy take your pick

George Goodhead Tulsa Okshylahoma who submitted the photo writes These are photos of the H F Wilcox Trainer that was built here in Tulsa back around 1928 1929 The three-view drawing of this ship was published in the 1930 Aircraft Yearshybook

These photos were taken by Howard Pettit who was working for Wilcox at that time He now lives in Wichita Kansas I received the photos from Walter D House an aviation historian and collector of old photographs at Wichita

Quoting from Aero Digest for June 1930 A biplane designed by W S Collier of the H F Wilcox Aeronaushytics Inc of Tulsa will be manufacshytured by the Wilcox company The plane has a cruising speed of about 100 miles an hour a landing speed of 35 miles per hour and a high speed of liS miles per hour and is powered with IIO-horsepower Warner Scarab enshygine The overall length is 21 feet and the wing span is 31 feet Dual controls and a set of Navy type instruments are provided The plane is designed as a training ship The plane will be proshyduced with any type powerplant deshysired within the 100 to 150 horsepower range

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39