STRAIGHT amp LEVEU Espie Butch Joyce

2 AlC NEWS

3 WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING H C Frautschy

4 A CLASSIC TRIP IN CLASSIC AIRPLANES Dip Davis

5 NAVIGATING THE CLOUDS OVER SAN DIEGO BAY Miss Ida Roschmann

8 REMEMBERING THE BIRD BOY Bill Truax

11 FROM THE ARCHIVES

12 PLEASANT TO FLY WITHOUT THE STING Walt Kessler

17 1938 J-3C H G Frautschy

21 MYSTERY PLANE H G Frautschy

23 PASS IT TO BUCK EE Buck Hilbert

~ ~

gt-i

27 CALENDAR

29 WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

33 VINTAGE MERCHANDISE

Publisher TOM POBEREZNY

Editor-in-Chie JACK COX

Editor HENRY G FRAUTSCHY

MaJaging Editor GOLDA COX

COlllribming Editor JOHN UNDERWOOD

Computer Graphic Specialists BETH BLANCK OLIVIA L PHILLIP PIERRE KOTZE

Photography Staff JIM KOEPNICK LEEANN ABRAMS KEN LICHTENBERG MARK SCHAIBLE

AdvertisinglEditorial Assistant ISABELLE WISKE

SEE PAGE 30 FOR FURTHER VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INFORMATION

ST AIGHT amp LEVEL by ESPIE BUTCH JOYCE

PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

April is here and almost everyone has gotten out their dust rags and polish to get their birds up to speed and ready for the flying season

I dont want to sound like a broken record but permit me to once again say Lets be careful out there

We need to be very cautious at all times but the during the flight hours right after a long layoff you should take extra care It seems that the ground is involved with about 95 of the accident reports I see You know the old sayshying It isn t the speed that kills but it is the sudden stop at the end Keep thinking about it - you will live longer

There will be a great many of you at Sun n Fun this year and so will I Its remarkable how this fly-in has grown over the past two and a half decades to become an internationally recognized gathering of aviation individuals It is a direct result of the dedication and great leadership of the management team Officers Directors and Volunteers past and present that have made this success possible

I have heard some people talk about the location of a fly-in from time to time In my humble opinion that is of a lesser concern except from a weather standpoint We can use our aircraft to go to almost any locality with ease Think about it - who would have ever thought that a town in mid-eastern Wisconsin would be visited by so many just to look at an airplane or two Congratulations to the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In on your 25th anniversary May you continue to be successful in the years to come

Here are some of the things you can look forward to during your visit at the 25th Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland FL

bull The Seaplane Splash-In on Thursday not Friday as in years past

bull 451 Antique Classic and Contemporary aircraft parked in the Vintage Aircraft area last year - will yours be one of them this year

bull Check the forums schedule too - how about Henry Holdens The Fabulous Ford Trimotor (Sunday I pm Tent 8) or Robert Czegos Bellanca-Champion Club Forum (Sunday at 11 am Tent 7) Theres plenty more to take in Check your program when you arrive and register

Be sure and visit with the folks at the Vintage Aircraft Headquarters building located in the northeast corner of the Vintage Aircraft area This building complete with a

great front porch is hosted by Chapter I of the Vintage Aircraft Association During the balance of the year this building is home base for the Chapter During the fly-in you can relax there drink some lemonade or iced tea and munch on some popcorn Its also the place to go to regisshyter your aircraft These folks also are a great source for information about almost anything you need to know about the fly-in Just writing about Sun n Fun gets me more excited about going to the fly-in for the week I hope to see you there as well

It was with great interest that I read this past month s article written by Buck I can relate to his experience with a computer but dont count him out because it wont be a year before he will be putting floats on his one-eyed box Hang in there Buck

After Sun n Fun almost everyone will be enjoying quite a few local fly-ins Some of the type clubs will also be holding their fly-ins at different locations in different areas of the U S You can check the dates for many of these activities by reviewing the Calendar section of your Vintage Airplane

Joe Dickey Vintage Aircraft Association Director and Type Club Chairman for your area has written to inform me that he is stepping down as a Director and also is givshying up the Chairmanship of the Type Club Headquarters If Joe was there to help you youll also recall that his wife Julia was right there too They make a powerful team and I never had to worry about any project they agreed to complete It would be completed on time and with a high quality level The type club headquarters loshycated just to the south of the V AA Red Barn on the EAA AirVenture grounds is one of the more important areas of service to your membership that we offer and they helped bring it up to the next level of participation and organizashytion On behalf of the membership and the Officers Directors and Advisors of the VAA Id like to say

Joe and Julia thank you for giving your time and talents to be of service to the membership You have been a great help to me personally and I thank you for that time and friendship Best wishes in your future endeavors

Ask your friends to join up with the Vintage Airplane Association Lets all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation Remember we are better together Join us and have it all

I PI F

VAANEWS compiled by HG Frautschy

1999 BIPLANE EXPO The 1999 Biplane Expo June

Bartlesville OK has announced that Brigadier General Paul W Tibbets Jr famed pilot of the legendary B-29 Enola Gay has accepted the invitation of the National Biplane Association to be their honored guest General Tibshybets one the nations great heroes of WW-Il will join a select list offamous aviators who have been honored by the NBA for their contributions to aviation and to the USA

General Tibbets organized comshymanded and piloted the most significant single mission in the history of military aviation The mission on August 6 1945 to Hiroshima Japan to drop the first atomic bomb effectively ended WW-Il saving an estimated one million lives of allied forces who were gearing up for the planned invasion of Japan The Biplane Expo is the largest gathershying of biplane in the world annually attracting 400-500 aircraft of which 130-50 are of the classic biplane conshyfiguration

For information call the Biplane Expo Information office at 9181 622-8400

THE COVERS

FRONT COVER Cubin 1938 style with John Meyers 1938 J-3C Cub Sport It was restored to the original configuration by John Clyde Smith Jr and Johns cousin Sam Beach EAA photo by Jim Koepnick shot with aCanon Eos1 nequipped with an 80-200mm lens EAA Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore

BACK COVER The only one of its type in the United States Walt Kessler runs up the Gipsy Major engine on his DeHaviliand DH87 Hornet Moth which was restored by Ed Clark of California The Hornet Moth now resides near Marengo IL on Walt s home strip The photo was taken by longshytime EAA volunteer Ted Koston of Ted Koston Photography in Melrose Park IL

2 APRIL 1999

A FEW QUESTIONS Our eastern sage Bob Whittier

P O Box T Duxbury MA 02331 has a few items hed like to know more about and Im certain there are a few of you who can help

First Can anyone accurate ly exp lain why the Stinson 108 seshyries have very different vertica l tail surfaces

Where can he find usefu l readshying on the characteristics of these THE GASTRONOMICAL two different forms of tai l surfaces m STORY OF AVIATION

by Nicholas Frirsz EAA Chapter 1070 Newsletter Leatherstocking Flyers Editor

The history of aviation is closely tied to that of the pancake breakfast We are all fashymiliar with the events leading up to that December afternoon when the Wright Brothshyers took to the air for the first time However few realize that their attempts were based on their intense drive to reach the pancake house on the other side of Kill Devil Hills

So with maple syrup in hand young Orville bravely set out to where no man had gone before - the first fly-in breakfast

Why were the magnetos News of this great development spread fast mounted on the front of the Wright across the continents A few years later a felshyJ-5 engine low named Louis Bleriot tired of crepes

What is usua lly done to make suzette and with a longing to make a name for the upright members of wooden himse lf in the anna ls of breakfast food took ribs fit the spars properly in sweptshy to the air crossed the English Channel in his back wings frail craft and in what has become a mileshy

stone in aviation history discovered the bottomless cup of coffeeI In 1927 Lindbergh added his name to the list of greats His transatlantic crossing creshyated an instant media sensation by becomingf11[S2111t the most expensive breakfast hop in history Lindbergh also set up the three golden rules of the fly-in breakfast

I) the best pancakes are always the furshythest away

RYAN DRAGONFLY 2) they will always be in Our good friend Dr Harvey the shortest field and

Paste l 802 Bo lton Rd Vernon 3) they will always be Rockville CT 06066 is looking for closing just as you arrive information on the Ryan YO-51 The postwar years were Dragonfly He has copies of the kind to general aviation Apri l 1940 edition of Aviation aviation in general and a and Flying Review Feb 1964 few captains and lieutenants but has yet to be able to come up 1111 with a good three-view drawing of lJias well

Technology blossomed in the airplane Weve checked here q ~ the 1940s bringing names in the EAA Aviation Foundation s like Aunt Jemima Hungry Library and we were unable to Jack and Bisquick to the foreshyadd to that information but pershy front of aviation science shyhaps one of you may be able to ~ THE INSTANT PANCAKE help You can write to Harvey at ~~~ MIX HAS ARRIVED the above address ~

~----------------------~

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING by HG Frautschy

ALASKANTAYLORCRAFT Nestled in the tall grass of an Alaskan waterway Robert

E Taylor of Kenai AK uses his 1946 Taylorcraft BC12D to visit pristine spots like this all over the USAs 49th state Based in Texas after being produced in the Alliance OH facshytory it later was moved to the Fairbanks AK area Robert purchased the basket case project in 1987 and spent the next two years rebuilding it into a all season flyer It has a Lycoming 125 hp 0290D engine with a custom Piper-like cowl new seats extended baggage compartment and a skyshylight Of course shoulder harnesses were installed as well as removable seat flotation cushions and lower door windows Fitted for Federal 2000 skis and 85x6 in tires and tubes it is shown here on its Edo 1400 floats with dual water rudders splash rails and compartment pump outs A nice medium blue and yellow color scheme tops off the job The Taylorshycraft has become an old friend over the decade Bob has owned it and he welcomes notes concerning flying in Alaska or questions about his restoration You can reach him at Robert E Taylor 2745 Set Net Ct Kenai AK 99611 or rtayshylorptialaskanet

RON PARKERS STINSON 108

Restored by Dennis McCormack of Yelm W A Ron Parker is tickled to own and fly this 1947 Stinson 108-2 powered by a Franklin 6A4165 Covered with Ceconite in the mid-1980s Ron bases the airplane at Harvey Field in Snohomish WA Hes looking forward to flying it extenshysively this summer and spending a little time detailing the little items that still need to be done

THE GOLDEN BUZZARDS

Based in Old Bridge NJ at the local airport these nine handsome gents are the Golden Buzzards who bought a 1940 J-3 Cub to reshyally learn how to fly So far theyve put over 70 hours on the Cub In front (L-R) we have Dick Webb Lew Levison Jack Kurtz and Tony Schiano In back (L-R) are Jack Marin Tom Goeddel Rich Bielak Marty May and Philippe Marchal

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

ST AIGHT amp LEVEL by ESPIE BUTCH JOYCE

PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

April is here and almost everyone has gotten out their dust rags and polish to get their birds up to speed and ready for the flying season

I dont want to sound like a broken record but permit me to once again say Lets be careful out there

We need to be very cautious at all times but the during the flight hours right after a long layoff you should take extra care It seems that the ground is involved with about 95 of the accident reports I see You know the old sayshying It isn t the speed that kills but it is the sudden stop at the end Keep thinking about it - you will live longer

There will be a great many of you at Sun n Fun this year and so will I Its remarkable how this fly-in has grown over the past two and a half decades to become an internationally recognized gathering of aviation individuals It is a direct result of the dedication and great leadership of the management team Officers Directors and Volunteers past and present that have made this success possible

I have heard some people talk about the location of a fly-in from time to time In my humble opinion that is of a lesser concern except from a weather standpoint We can use our aircraft to go to almost any locality with ease Think about it - who would have ever thought that a town in mid-eastern Wisconsin would be visited by so many just to look at an airplane or two Congratulations to the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In on your 25th anniversary May you continue to be successful in the years to come

Here are some of the things you can look forward to during your visit at the 25th Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland FL

bull The Seaplane Splash-In on Thursday not Friday as in years past

bull 451 Antique Classic and Contemporary aircraft parked in the Vintage Aircraft area last year - will yours be one of them this year

bull Check the forums schedule too - how about Henry Holdens The Fabulous Ford Trimotor (Sunday I pm Tent 8) or Robert Czegos Bellanca-Champion Club Forum (Sunday at 11 am Tent 7) Theres plenty more to take in Check your program when you arrive and register

Be sure and visit with the folks at the Vintage Aircraft Headquarters building located in the northeast corner of the Vintage Aircraft area This building complete with a

great front porch is hosted by Chapter I of the Vintage Aircraft Association During the balance of the year this building is home base for the Chapter During the fly-in you can relax there drink some lemonade or iced tea and munch on some popcorn Its also the place to go to regisshyter your aircraft These folks also are a great source for information about almost anything you need to know about the fly-in Just writing about Sun n Fun gets me more excited about going to the fly-in for the week I hope to see you there as well

It was with great interest that I read this past month s article written by Buck I can relate to his experience with a computer but dont count him out because it wont be a year before he will be putting floats on his one-eyed box Hang in there Buck

After Sun n Fun almost everyone will be enjoying quite a few local fly-ins Some of the type clubs will also be holding their fly-ins at different locations in different areas of the U S You can check the dates for many of these activities by reviewing the Calendar section of your Vintage Airplane

Joe Dickey Vintage Aircraft Association Director and Type Club Chairman for your area has written to inform me that he is stepping down as a Director and also is givshying up the Chairmanship of the Type Club Headquarters If Joe was there to help you youll also recall that his wife Julia was right there too They make a powerful team and I never had to worry about any project they agreed to complete It would be completed on time and with a high quality level The type club headquarters loshycated just to the south of the V AA Red Barn on the EAA AirVenture grounds is one of the more important areas of service to your membership that we offer and they helped bring it up to the next level of participation and organizashytion On behalf of the membership and the Officers Directors and Advisors of the VAA Id like to say

Joe and Julia thank you for giving your time and talents to be of service to the membership You have been a great help to me personally and I thank you for that time and friendship Best wishes in your future endeavors

Ask your friends to join up with the Vintage Airplane Association Lets all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation Remember we are better together Join us and have it all

I PI F

VAANEWS compiled by HG Frautschy

1999 BIPLANE EXPO The 1999 Biplane Expo June

Bartlesville OK has announced that Brigadier General Paul W Tibbets Jr famed pilot of the legendary B-29 Enola Gay has accepted the invitation of the National Biplane Association to be their honored guest General Tibshybets one the nations great heroes of WW-Il will join a select list offamous aviators who have been honored by the NBA for their contributions to aviation and to the USA

General Tibbets organized comshymanded and piloted the most significant single mission in the history of military aviation The mission on August 6 1945 to Hiroshima Japan to drop the first atomic bomb effectively ended WW-Il saving an estimated one million lives of allied forces who were gearing up for the planned invasion of Japan The Biplane Expo is the largest gathershying of biplane in the world annually attracting 400-500 aircraft of which 130-50 are of the classic biplane conshyfiguration

For information call the Biplane Expo Information office at 9181 622-8400

THE COVERS

FRONT COVER Cubin 1938 style with John Meyers 1938 J-3C Cub Sport It was restored to the original configuration by John Clyde Smith Jr and Johns cousin Sam Beach EAA photo by Jim Koepnick shot with aCanon Eos1 nequipped with an 80-200mm lens EAA Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore

BACK COVER The only one of its type in the United States Walt Kessler runs up the Gipsy Major engine on his DeHaviliand DH87 Hornet Moth which was restored by Ed Clark of California The Hornet Moth now resides near Marengo IL on Walt s home strip The photo was taken by longshytime EAA volunteer Ted Koston of Ted Koston Photography in Melrose Park IL

2 APRIL 1999

A FEW QUESTIONS Our eastern sage Bob Whittier

P O Box T Duxbury MA 02331 has a few items hed like to know more about and Im certain there are a few of you who can help

First Can anyone accurate ly exp lain why the Stinson 108 seshyries have very different vertica l tail surfaces

Where can he find usefu l readshying on the characteristics of these THE GASTRONOMICAL two different forms of tai l surfaces m STORY OF AVIATION

by Nicholas Frirsz EAA Chapter 1070 Newsletter Leatherstocking Flyers Editor

The history of aviation is closely tied to that of the pancake breakfast We are all fashymiliar with the events leading up to that December afternoon when the Wright Brothshyers took to the air for the first time However few realize that their attempts were based on their intense drive to reach the pancake house on the other side of Kill Devil Hills

So with maple syrup in hand young Orville bravely set out to where no man had gone before - the first fly-in breakfast

Why were the magnetos News of this great development spread fast mounted on the front of the Wright across the continents A few years later a felshyJ-5 engine low named Louis Bleriot tired of crepes

What is usua lly done to make suzette and with a longing to make a name for the upright members of wooden himse lf in the anna ls of breakfast food took ribs fit the spars properly in sweptshy to the air crossed the English Channel in his back wings frail craft and in what has become a mileshy

stone in aviation history discovered the bottomless cup of coffeeI In 1927 Lindbergh added his name to the list of greats His transatlantic crossing creshyated an instant media sensation by becomingf11[S2111t the most expensive breakfast hop in history Lindbergh also set up the three golden rules of the fly-in breakfast

I) the best pancakes are always the furshythest away

RYAN DRAGONFLY 2) they will always be in Our good friend Dr Harvey the shortest field and

Paste l 802 Bo lton Rd Vernon 3) they will always be Rockville CT 06066 is looking for closing just as you arrive information on the Ryan YO-51 The postwar years were Dragonfly He has copies of the kind to general aviation Apri l 1940 edition of Aviation aviation in general and a and Flying Review Feb 1964 few captains and lieutenants but has yet to be able to come up 1111 with a good three-view drawing of lJias well

Technology blossomed in the airplane Weve checked here q ~ the 1940s bringing names in the EAA Aviation Foundation s like Aunt Jemima Hungry Library and we were unable to Jack and Bisquick to the foreshyadd to that information but pershy front of aviation science shyhaps one of you may be able to ~ THE INSTANT PANCAKE help You can write to Harvey at ~~~ MIX HAS ARRIVED the above address ~

~----------------------~

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING by HG Frautschy

ALASKANTAYLORCRAFT Nestled in the tall grass of an Alaskan waterway Robert

E Taylor of Kenai AK uses his 1946 Taylorcraft BC12D to visit pristine spots like this all over the USAs 49th state Based in Texas after being produced in the Alliance OH facshytory it later was moved to the Fairbanks AK area Robert purchased the basket case project in 1987 and spent the next two years rebuilding it into a all season flyer It has a Lycoming 125 hp 0290D engine with a custom Piper-like cowl new seats extended baggage compartment and a skyshylight Of course shoulder harnesses were installed as well as removable seat flotation cushions and lower door windows Fitted for Federal 2000 skis and 85x6 in tires and tubes it is shown here on its Edo 1400 floats with dual water rudders splash rails and compartment pump outs A nice medium blue and yellow color scheme tops off the job The Taylorshycraft has become an old friend over the decade Bob has owned it and he welcomes notes concerning flying in Alaska or questions about his restoration You can reach him at Robert E Taylor 2745 Set Net Ct Kenai AK 99611 or rtayshylorptialaskanet

RON PARKERS STINSON 108

Restored by Dennis McCormack of Yelm W A Ron Parker is tickled to own and fly this 1947 Stinson 108-2 powered by a Franklin 6A4165 Covered with Ceconite in the mid-1980s Ron bases the airplane at Harvey Field in Snohomish WA Hes looking forward to flying it extenshysively this summer and spending a little time detailing the little items that still need to be done

THE GOLDEN BUZZARDS

Based in Old Bridge NJ at the local airport these nine handsome gents are the Golden Buzzards who bought a 1940 J-3 Cub to reshyally learn how to fly So far theyve put over 70 hours on the Cub In front (L-R) we have Dick Webb Lew Levison Jack Kurtz and Tony Schiano In back (L-R) are Jack Marin Tom Goeddel Rich Bielak Marty May and Philippe Marchal

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

VAANEWS compiled by HG Frautschy

1999 BIPLANE EXPO The 1999 Biplane Expo June

Bartlesville OK has announced that Brigadier General Paul W Tibbets Jr famed pilot of the legendary B-29 Enola Gay has accepted the invitation of the National Biplane Association to be their honored guest General Tibshybets one the nations great heroes of WW-Il will join a select list offamous aviators who have been honored by the NBA for their contributions to aviation and to the USA

General Tibbets organized comshymanded and piloted the most significant single mission in the history of military aviation The mission on August 6 1945 to Hiroshima Japan to drop the first atomic bomb effectively ended WW-Il saving an estimated one million lives of allied forces who were gearing up for the planned invasion of Japan The Biplane Expo is the largest gathershying of biplane in the world annually attracting 400-500 aircraft of which 130-50 are of the classic biplane conshyfiguration

For information call the Biplane Expo Information office at 9181 622-8400

THE COVERS

FRONT COVER Cubin 1938 style with John Meyers 1938 J-3C Cub Sport It was restored to the original configuration by John Clyde Smith Jr and Johns cousin Sam Beach EAA photo by Jim Koepnick shot with aCanon Eos1 nequipped with an 80-200mm lens EAA Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore

BACK COVER The only one of its type in the United States Walt Kessler runs up the Gipsy Major engine on his DeHaviliand DH87 Hornet Moth which was restored by Ed Clark of California The Hornet Moth now resides near Marengo IL on Walt s home strip The photo was taken by longshytime EAA volunteer Ted Koston of Ted Koston Photography in Melrose Park IL

2 APRIL 1999

A FEW QUESTIONS Our eastern sage Bob Whittier

P O Box T Duxbury MA 02331 has a few items hed like to know more about and Im certain there are a few of you who can help

First Can anyone accurate ly exp lain why the Stinson 108 seshyries have very different vertica l tail surfaces

Where can he find usefu l readshying on the characteristics of these THE GASTRONOMICAL two different forms of tai l surfaces m STORY OF AVIATION

by Nicholas Frirsz EAA Chapter 1070 Newsletter Leatherstocking Flyers Editor

The history of aviation is closely tied to that of the pancake breakfast We are all fashymiliar with the events leading up to that December afternoon when the Wright Brothshyers took to the air for the first time However few realize that their attempts were based on their intense drive to reach the pancake house on the other side of Kill Devil Hills

So with maple syrup in hand young Orville bravely set out to where no man had gone before - the first fly-in breakfast

Why were the magnetos News of this great development spread fast mounted on the front of the Wright across the continents A few years later a felshyJ-5 engine low named Louis Bleriot tired of crepes

What is usua lly done to make suzette and with a longing to make a name for the upright members of wooden himse lf in the anna ls of breakfast food took ribs fit the spars properly in sweptshy to the air crossed the English Channel in his back wings frail craft and in what has become a mileshy

stone in aviation history discovered the bottomless cup of coffeeI In 1927 Lindbergh added his name to the list of greats His transatlantic crossing creshyated an instant media sensation by becomingf11[S2111t the most expensive breakfast hop in history Lindbergh also set up the three golden rules of the fly-in breakfast

I) the best pancakes are always the furshythest away

RYAN DRAGONFLY 2) they will always be in Our good friend Dr Harvey the shortest field and

Paste l 802 Bo lton Rd Vernon 3) they will always be Rockville CT 06066 is looking for closing just as you arrive information on the Ryan YO-51 The postwar years were Dragonfly He has copies of the kind to general aviation Apri l 1940 edition of Aviation aviation in general and a and Flying Review Feb 1964 few captains and lieutenants but has yet to be able to come up 1111 with a good three-view drawing of lJias well

Technology blossomed in the airplane Weve checked here q ~ the 1940s bringing names in the EAA Aviation Foundation s like Aunt Jemima Hungry Library and we were unable to Jack and Bisquick to the foreshyadd to that information but pershy front of aviation science shyhaps one of you may be able to ~ THE INSTANT PANCAKE help You can write to Harvey at ~~~ MIX HAS ARRIVED the above address ~

~----------------------~

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING by HG Frautschy

ALASKANTAYLORCRAFT Nestled in the tall grass of an Alaskan waterway Robert

E Taylor of Kenai AK uses his 1946 Taylorcraft BC12D to visit pristine spots like this all over the USAs 49th state Based in Texas after being produced in the Alliance OH facshytory it later was moved to the Fairbanks AK area Robert purchased the basket case project in 1987 and spent the next two years rebuilding it into a all season flyer It has a Lycoming 125 hp 0290D engine with a custom Piper-like cowl new seats extended baggage compartment and a skyshylight Of course shoulder harnesses were installed as well as removable seat flotation cushions and lower door windows Fitted for Federal 2000 skis and 85x6 in tires and tubes it is shown here on its Edo 1400 floats with dual water rudders splash rails and compartment pump outs A nice medium blue and yellow color scheme tops off the job The Taylorshycraft has become an old friend over the decade Bob has owned it and he welcomes notes concerning flying in Alaska or questions about his restoration You can reach him at Robert E Taylor 2745 Set Net Ct Kenai AK 99611 or rtayshylorptialaskanet

RON PARKERS STINSON 108

Restored by Dennis McCormack of Yelm W A Ron Parker is tickled to own and fly this 1947 Stinson 108-2 powered by a Franklin 6A4165 Covered with Ceconite in the mid-1980s Ron bases the airplane at Harvey Field in Snohomish WA Hes looking forward to flying it extenshysively this summer and spending a little time detailing the little items that still need to be done

THE GOLDEN BUZZARDS

Based in Old Bridge NJ at the local airport these nine handsome gents are the Golden Buzzards who bought a 1940 J-3 Cub to reshyally learn how to fly So far theyve put over 70 hours on the Cub In front (L-R) we have Dick Webb Lew Levison Jack Kurtz and Tony Schiano In back (L-R) are Jack Marin Tom Goeddel Rich Bielak Marty May and Philippe Marchal

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING by HG Frautschy

ALASKANTAYLORCRAFT Nestled in the tall grass of an Alaskan waterway Robert

E Taylor of Kenai AK uses his 1946 Taylorcraft BC12D to visit pristine spots like this all over the USAs 49th state Based in Texas after being produced in the Alliance OH facshytory it later was moved to the Fairbanks AK area Robert purchased the basket case project in 1987 and spent the next two years rebuilding it into a all season flyer It has a Lycoming 125 hp 0290D engine with a custom Piper-like cowl new seats extended baggage compartment and a skyshylight Of course shoulder harnesses were installed as well as removable seat flotation cushions and lower door windows Fitted for Federal 2000 skis and 85x6 in tires and tubes it is shown here on its Edo 1400 floats with dual water rudders splash rails and compartment pump outs A nice medium blue and yellow color scheme tops off the job The Taylorshycraft has become an old friend over the decade Bob has owned it and he welcomes notes concerning flying in Alaska or questions about his restoration You can reach him at Robert E Taylor 2745 Set Net Ct Kenai AK 99611 or rtayshylorptialaskanet

RON PARKERS STINSON 108

Restored by Dennis McCormack of Yelm W A Ron Parker is tickled to own and fly this 1947 Stinson 108-2 powered by a Franklin 6A4165 Covered with Ceconite in the mid-1980s Ron bases the airplane at Harvey Field in Snohomish WA Hes looking forward to flying it extenshysively this summer and spending a little time detailing the little items that still need to be done

THE GOLDEN BUZZARDS

Based in Old Bridge NJ at the local airport these nine handsome gents are the Golden Buzzards who bought a 1940 J-3 Cub to reshyally learn how to fly So far theyve put over 70 hours on the Cub In front (L-R) we have Dick Webb Lew Levison Jack Kurtz and Tony Schiano In back (L-R) are Jack Marin Tom Goeddel Rich Bielak Marty May and Philippe Marchal

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

A Classic Trip in

Classic Airplanes By W D Dip Davis Pen and Ink Artwork by Jim Newman

October 1998 This story probably should begin with

the International Cessna 1201140 Associashytion convention of 1996 in Faribault Minnesota Larry Marc and I had planned to fly our respective little Cessnas to the event Marc had recently completed the reshypairs and restoration on his 140 and it was in pristine condition to compete for best original 140 Larry had acquired what may be the lowest time 140 in existence with less than 500 logged hours and had polished it carefully to the point that my slightly ratty 120 would have to trail a ways behind so as not to be associated with them

The night before we had planned to deshypart Larry phoned with the news that the weather prognostication was not conducive to a VFR round - trip so he proposed that we all pile in his Suburban and drive up As is so often the case the weatherman was overly pessimistic and we could have flown without much strain However we had a nice trip and of course a great time at the convention

The 1997 convention in Ona West Virshyginia was our next target This time Larry had unbreakable commitments and Marc had just sold rus shlny little 140 to liberate funds for the completion of his even more comprehensive rebuilding project a 120 My 120 was airworthy although stHI laokshying an interior so Marc condescended to ride with me His GPS navigation kept me from deviating more than a few feet off of a straight line all the way and we again enshyjoyed the marvelous hospitality that this

4 APRil 1999

group always affords All of which brings us to plans for the

1998 convention to be held in Chino Calishyfornia California is a considemble distance in a little 100 mph airplane and a great deal ofplanning took place among the diehard Midwesterners who gave thought to makshying the trip I was pleased to see the turnout at a July session held at Cottonwood Airshyport in Rockford Several of the members had made the trip (in larger faster airshycraft) and had interesting observations as to routes and favorite stopovers Marc had done such a great job on the 120 that someone came along before he was quite done and made him an offer he couldnt refuse Larry convinced him that it was too lake to back out of the journey though so Marc made tentative plans to borrow another 140

Exactly three weeks before our planned departure Larry taxied out ofhis hangar at Campbell Airport in Grayslake to attend another planning session at Poplar Grove As he descended the winding strip down to the runway the airplane slowly diverted toward the gas pit and lightly struck a pole People in the operations office ran out to see what the problem was and found Larry unconscious at the controls They summoned an ambulance but he died of a massive coronary before reachshying the hospital

Two or three days after the funeral Marc and I received a conference call at our homes from Larrys partner who inshyformed us that Larrys family would like us to take rus airplane to the convention anyshyhow since that had been such a fond dream

They also asked if we would be willing to take Larrys ashes with us and scatter them over the Pacific Ocean

What can you say Saturday September 19 - Marc had

made the arrangements with his Dad to atshytend a concert in Peoria so he flew Larrys 140 loaded with enough gear to last a coushyple of weeks down there and I met him at Mt Hawley on Sunday morning I visited with his parents for a few minutes and we departed for Pittsfield Illinois sometime before noon Pittsfield has a new high tech credit card operated self fueling sysshytem with reasonable prices Good thing too as the field was otherwise unattended on a Sunday We checked weather on the phone and found that we must hustle a little to beat a rapidly approaching front It looked kind of dark for just a short while but got better as we motored southwest Two and half hours later we landed at Pt Lookout near Branson Missouri a brand new facility with an imposing terminal building where we gassed up and gmbbed a quick snack before we headed out for McAlister Oklahoma where we arrived about 600 pm Seven and half hours in the air was plenty for one day for these old bones even though I was able to stick my feet over onto the right rudder pedals for half the trip I was really glad I didnt have a passenger We had kept up a running conversation on 1234 mhz the entire time so it never seemed lonel y The folks at McAlister provided a courtesy car to a nearby motel where we got a decent meal and a good nights rest

We decided we were on vacation so we

didnt set an alann clock any morning We left there about nine am headed for Olny Texas where we arrived at noon Olny is the home of Leland Snow s Air Tractor and turbine powered Ag machines in varishyous stages of completion were all over the field We were also treated to a guided tour of the CarterCopter by Carters extremely enthusiastic PR man Rod Anderson If this machine should happen to fulfill its hype it will revolutionize aviation

The Olny airport is considerable disshytance from town and there were no vending machines for other than soft drinks so MaFc dug -down in his b~g of tricks and produced a loaf of bread a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly It made a surprisshyingly satisfying lunch and we were able to depart within a reasonable time frame We plugged along for another 28 hours to Midland Texas across a not very exciting landscape but without too much of a headshywind for that part of the world

Larrys original carefully planned itinshyerary called for El Paso as the next stop but weariness and no great urgency to go further dictated an overnight stop at Pecos where we arrived about 630 Dennis Blanshychard the FBO at Pecos made us glad we had elected to do so He treated us to a cold drink and pointed us to his courtesy car without being asked A decent motel was just a few blocks away served an enjoyshyable dinner and gave us coupons for a complimentary full breakfast

The weather west looked just a trifle iffy as we got ready to leave in the mornshying We elected to have a look and headed between two thunderstonns on either side of the pass It was raining a little in the pass but we could see the hills on the other side and made it through with only light turbushylence in just a few minutes We called back

~ --~-

lt~

to Dennis on the Unicorn to infonn him of our progress and he expressed his thanks for our doing so

GPS groundspeed numbers in the low 80s were about the best we saw as we slowly climbed towards Deming New Mexico Got there shortly after noon (Censhytral time - we had crossed the first time zone at the state line) Deming is an old military field with long runways but a new modern terminal with a sharp FBO and friendly folks There were no food disshypensers but the line crew called the Grand Hotel in town and they sent a van to pick us up within minutes We had a delightful lunch and again a van ride back to the airshyport with a big smile and no charge

On departure from Deming we discovshyered why the runways were so long Hot day high density altitude and 85 little horses under the cowl We circled the airshy

~

~

port once before heading towards Tucson Tucson lies between two mountains Intershystate 10 runs right through the middle of the city and a major airport lies on either side Busy Davis-Monthan AFB on the north and busier Tucson International on the south

Marc had found that his altitude encoder didn t jibe with his altimeter so he had turned off his transponder while I left mine on He was in contact with ATC calling us a flight of two 140s as I kept my big mouth shut I misinterpreted one transmission which had implied hold short Marc made a circling turn just as I put my head down to check a frequency When I looked up Marc was gone

I didnt feel that I should wander around that sky looking for a little airplane espeshycially when I heard center talking to two F-16s coming out of Davis Monthan I conshytinued through the hornets nest saw the fighters cross well in front of me just a little lower and finally drew a breath when I got through the pass at the west end ofthe city Our planned stop was at the Avra Valley airport a few miles northwest of Tucson and when I switched to the Unicorn freshyquency Marc was called in for traffic advisories He had swung south of the mountain and received a chewing out from Center for the transgression Being the friend he is he forgave my stupidity

Avra Valley is another neat airport Lots of aerobatic activity and unusual airplanes with several open sided plane ports as well as lots of new looking tee hangars We fushyeled up and once more conned the operators into the use of a courtesy car for the night It was a considerable distance to motel

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

now all the way back to the edge of the city We got a comfortable room and adeshyquate dinner Really dawdled in the morning and got back in the air at 1030 our time We pretty much followed Interstate 10 up towards Phoenix cutting corners in places where the mountains didnt look too formidable but stayed south of the control zone til we were well west of it Next stop across the Colorado River to Blythe Calishyfornia an airport I was quite familiar with though it had been several years

We caught up with another 140 there Ken Liggett from Colorado with whom we had a nice visit while the only unpleasant line person we encountered on the whole trip fueled our airplanes We ate machine dispensed sandwiches (not bad) in the airshyconditioned flight office before departing on our last leg of the outbound trip

Banning pass was as its usual sootiness though VFR Marc contacted Palm Springs approach and they were very helpful in getshyting us pointed in the right direction picking up SoCal approach just beyond Banning and they vectored us towards Chino We got a landing clearance as a flight of two and as we got within a half mile the tower apologized for leaving us at 3000 feet so close to the field and asked if we needed to circle once Marc informed them that we were 140s and could come down like sewer lids if required Landing in tandem we were cheerfully welcomed to Chino by ground control and directed to the growing flight line at the base of the tower

The excessive oil consumption I had enshycountered at the start of the trip seemed to have been alleviated somewhat by a steady diet of 100 LL with TCP added each time and perhaps by a small amount of Marvel Mystery Oil that Marc had loaned me My recording tach showed 249 hours for the westbound portion of our journey

After registering and being welcomed

6 APRIL 1999

by all our old and new friends we were shutshytled off to the Ontario Hilton headquarters for the convention The two hour time lag was most welcome in the morning

Convention activishyties officially started Thursday morning and after a somewhat pricey breakfast we hopped a shuttle van back to the airport where we were briefed for the fly-out

to Gillespie Field in San Diego 1 climbed in 95V with Marc since he had been able to unload all the baggage and we joined a five aircraft formation - to use the term very loosely

The flight leader Lloyd Sorensen was familiar with the area and did a good job of threading through the hills but the followshying gaggle spread out so far that ATC called with a warning that one of the group was about to encroach on Miramars Class B airspace and that would not be a good thing That 140 got so far afield that the pilot lost contact with the rest of us and obshytained an individual clearance into Gillespie The rest of us were cleared en masse and landed without incident after a really strange approach around the hills

We were greeted cordially by the ground controller and directed to the museum hangar which houses the overflow from the downtown SD Aerospace collection John Klien a museum volunteer and aviation enshythusiast from way back gave us a very entertaining lowdown on all the aircraft on display We then walked a few rows down to the Confederate Air Force hangar where those friendly folks prepared a barbecue lunch for us including all the trimmings

They also had an interesting display of airplanes and memorabilia which we had adequate time to enjoy I failed to mention that there had been three or four other gagshygles of 140s besides ours so that the ramp was filed with the little beauties The return trip broke down to smaller groups so that we left as only a flight of three and the reshysult was much less traumatic We landed tandem at Chino and headed back to the hoshytel and an excellent dinner at Tony Romas Rib Joint just a block away

Friday morning started off as nicely as the previous day Our convention host John Westra had arranged with a Ford dealer friend for the loan of two large cashy

pacity vans and we never had to wait more than a few minutes for a ride back and forth the entire time Breakfast was scheduled for Flos Airport Cafe a local institution great fun and good food at reasonable prices shythe adjoining pilots supply shop is labeled Over Flos We then shuttled our full belshylies to the tower area where we were briefed on todays fly-out to Catalina Island and isshysued life vests being assured that the US Coast Guard was alerted and that we would be in the water for only a few minutes in case of a ditching Again I accompanied Marc in 95V - no sense getting both airshyplanes wet and besides he would need a little assistance with the task before us

We embarked as a formation of six Ken Morris and Don Alisi in Dons 120 in the lead Again the formation deteriorated into a gaggle and one member turned back in horror He showed up at the island later eishyther alone or with a following group The trip was a delight smooth air and somehow less daunting than a flight across Lake Michigan The approach to the Airport in the sky as it is billed is a little hairy at first glance The runway was scraped off the top of a mountain and looks like a carrier deck Its also quite wide which gives the illusion of being shorter than it really is The landshying was anti-climatic

We explored the terminal area which has a restaurant and gift shop and gardens with nicely done local history displays An hourly bus down to the town of Avalon is available and most of us elected to do the tourist routine The road to Avalon is just ten miles but requires nearly 30 minutes to cover Its a rough narrow winding road with a number of switch-backs so tight that mirrors have been installed to view any onshycoming traffic - there is not room for two vehicles to pass in the turns I sat near the back of the bus and the rocking motion plus gnawing acrophobia from the view to the side had my stomach in no mood for lunch when we got to our destination

I walked around for 45 minutes or so enjoying the holiday atmosphere of a someshywhat typical tourist trap It reminded me a little of Mackinac Island The bus tickets are sold on a scheduled basis and Marc had arranged for an earlier departure than I so my queasiness gone I was able to enjoy a snack on the pier while being amused at the antics of a couple of seals and flocks of gulls conning diners into tossing them scraps The Avalon harbor is loaded with lovely little sailboats and you could spend all day without being bored

I got a seat farther forward on the bus for the ride back and it was much less unshy

settling Marc had had an hour to prepare for the return flight and was all ready when I got back to the airport We left by ourselves and swung around the cliffs to get a view of Avalon from the air then headed back over the channel where I held the airplane steady in slow flight while Marc neatly spread Larrys ashes over the blue Pacific

We headed back to Chino with guidance from SoCal approach and fell in behind Jack Hooker in his 120 for the landing Our hosts had arranged an elaborate cookout at one of the hangars and the annual business meeting was conducted with the enticing smell of beef roasting over hot coals assailshying our noses New officers duly elected we settled down to the really serious busishyness of eating A champagne cork shooting contest was also in order with two winners managing to hit the hangar wall 110 feet across the ramp

A full size bus got us back to the hotel without delay and festivities continued at the hospitality room a lot longer than I was inclined to be up

Saturday morning The shuttle van sershyvice which was beginning to spoil us ran us back to the Chino airport where we had planned again to breakfast at Flos We inshyadvertently (honest) walked into the hangar where the club officers and new members were having a breakfast buffet The bacon smelled so good I couldnt get past it so we sat and ate with the newcomshyers just as though we had been invited A short walk down the ramp brought us to the Planes of Fame museum complex where our convention member status earned us a discounted admission price

They have an impressive collection of warbirds including the only flyable origishynal engine powered Japanese Zero in the world We got to see it fly along with an early model P-40 and several more munshydane WW II era aircraft Since I had been up close and personal with the warbirds the earlier and scarcer airplanes of my youth were ofeven greater interest

The restoration of the Northrop N9M flying wing was really impressive Those dedicated volunteers had converted a pile of moldy sticks into a flying aircraft that looks as though it had been carved from a solid block ofbright yellow plastic

An area devoted to racing also turned me on There stood a Supermarine Schnieder Cup racer which held the abshysolute speed record for many years a Curtis R-I racer on floats from the same contests (Remember the picture of a young Jimmy Doolittle in helmet and goggles standing

on one of those floats) Also in the same collection is Benny Howards DGA-5 Ike and a long nosed Rider Special with Tony LeViers name on it that I remember best as the Schoenfeldt Firecracker There were three or four others who are almost as historic but we didnt have all day Outshyside I was surprised to see with wings removed the B-50 which was the first airshycraft to fly around the world nonstop I had all but forgotten the excitement of that time

We flagged down Carlos the cheerful line attendant who had kept our tanks topped off each day (100 LL at 145 per gallon) and he ran us the considerable disshytance back to the tower area where we sucked up some lemonade and allowed our feet to cool We had intended to ride the shuttle van back to Ontario for the final nights banquet but were surprised by the appearance of a friend of a mutual friend from home Our buddy Greg had phoned his buddy Sam and told him to look us up He drove his big Lincoln right out to the tiedowns and introduced himself After adshymiring our airplanes and swapping a few stories he took us back to Ontario in high style and made arrangements to take us to breakfast Sunday morning

The banquet was presented in a huge dining room at the Hilton decorated with balloons and flowers I felt slightly undershydressed for the affair but this was Southern California and everyone was casual with maybe a dozen neckties in evidence in the whole place After the umpteen course meal and a few brief speeches the awards were presented Marc was called up to acshycept the plaque for the Best Original 140 for 1695V As he told Larrys story I noted several people having a little trouble with their eyeglasses There were so many doshynated door prizes to be awarded that folks began to get a little restless and when the festivities finally adjourned there was a rush to the hospitality suite to imbibe a bit more and swap even more lies

Sunday morning and a painless checkshyout from the hotel (the pain doesnt start til the credit card bill arrives) Sam was at the door five minutes early and took us to a deshylightful home style restaurant where it appeared half of the people in Southern California liked to have Sunday breakfast He then delivered us right to our airplanes where we said out good-byes and loaded our bags for the return trip Don and Maushyreen Alisi had asked to accompany us on the way home so we cleared out of Chino as a flight of three

Several of our friends had lauded the

beauties of central and northern Arizona over the flat desert that we had crossed on the way out and said we shouldnt miss seeing Sedona We all agreed on that route and after clearing Banning pass we angled northeastward to Parker Dam and the airshyport on the Arizona side of the Colorado River There was a strip mall within easy walking distance of the runway which housed not only a McDonalds and Taco Bell but a gambling casino We resisted the slot machines in favor of tacos and burritos It was quite comfortable when walking in the shade of the malls overshyhanging canopy but when you stepped out into the direct sun you immediately knew the temperature was crowding the century mark

The airport is less than 1000 feet ASL and the runway is plenty long so we had no trouble getting back into the air after refuelshying Next stop - Sedona and its renowned red rocks The scenery is indeed spectacushylar and I silently thanked our friends for convincing us to come this way The runshyway has been scraped off the top ofa mesa similar to that on Catalina but even longer Of course the wind seldom blows in the dishyrection the runway is aimed and we had to demonstrate our proficiency somewhat

We had the airplanes serviced and tied down then walked to the Sky Ranch Lodge at the edge of the airport After checking in Marc grabbed his camera and departed for scenic photo ops I adjourned to the patio with a libation put my feet up and watched the sun go down After an appropriate adshyjustment time I walked the couple ofblocks back to the airport cafe which is good enough to draw even a non-flying crowd from town and had dinner with Don and Maureen Carol and Mat Rybarczyk and Doug Corrigan The latter group had landed at Flagstaff and brought a rental car to Seshydona rather than miss the sights

Marc had encountered some interesting tourists and was having dinner with them I left the key under the doormat and Marc showed up before I dozed off In the mornshying I scarcely had one eye open when the phone rang The Alisis wanted to know if we were about ready to go When Marc inshyformed them that he had promised a couple of young ladies airplane rides at nine oshyclock they decided to depart by themselves as they were more anxious to get home that we were Something about having to report for work

We had a leisurely breakfast at the airshyport cafe and got to the ramp at the same

- Continued on page 28shy

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

The month is August the year 1911 A train has pulled into the Soo depot in Minot North Dakota where it has discharged passenshy

gers and goods of all sorts The depot itself a two-story clapboard building with four windows on its northwest fayade is to the right of the great locomotive and its cars the engine spewing steam which lends a slightly surreal quality to the scene In an upper window of the depot can be seen small children looking out over an asshysemblage which while it may appear

B APRIL 1999

unremarkable presages an event in aviashytion history which has gone unremarked in many quarters for nearly 90 years

There is a horse-drawn ambulance parked at the platform its driver sitting on his seat making some adjustments Its back doors are open whether waiting to receive or to discharge is unknown On the left-hand side of the ambulance is parked a black hearse It too has open doors around which are standing several men in hats all looking in the same direcshytion Next to the ambulance is parked a

horse-drawn dray-wagon belonging to J B Reed Storage a family known to my family in Minot long ago The horse pashytiently stands waiting perhaps for more cartage to be loaded or possibly to unload the same box seen on the wagon

On the platform there is an odd-shaped crate mounted on a wheeled conveyance Having six sides and maybe ten to twelve feet in length the box seems to be an ob-

By Bill Truax

ject of curiosity to some small boys nearby one of whom holds the wagons tongue and looks directly into the camera which is capturing this event and which I surmise has been placed atop a freight car on the siding

Mostly it is men who are gathered on the dock of the depot An occasional woman can be seen but it appears that it is mens work which is being done on this day

Slightly to the left and several feet from the odd-shaped crate a young man

stands his white shirt front standing out from the dark-suited men a soft cap on his head unlike the fairly forshymal headwear of most of the men on the platform with him

On the crate are stenciled words Curtiss Aeroplane the word Curshytiss spelled out in the recognizable logo script of the day Below that are the words Dixons Humming Bird and worlds youngest aviator

The first time r saw this photoshygraph was almost 20 years ago where it hung in the law offices of Ella VanshyBerkom in my home town of Minot North Dakota For two years I found myself returning to the scene in my mind and I decided to explore a means to acquire the photograph Afshyter having done so I submitted it to the editor of my local Montana An- The young dapper Cromwell Dixon in a porshytique Aircraft Association newsletter trait taken In 1911 by Pach New York NY

for publication in my mystery plane column Two replies came back idenshy training from the Curtiss school and obshytifying the young man in the white shirt tained the Federation Aeronautique and soft checkered cap as Cromwell Internationale sporting license number Dixon a 19-year-old youth from the 43 which was issued to him August 31 Midwest who was the flrst person to fly 1911just a month before his record-setshyacross the Continental Divide ting flight from Helena Montana

Ive never been certain why the phoshy The photograph which has so piqued tograph of Cromwell Dixons passage my curiosity over these years was unshythrough Minot has meant so much to doubtedly made on Dixons trek from the me Our aviation careers were certainly Midwest to Williston North Dakota vastly different but something about the where he made nine flights at the Williams young mans experience has spoken to County fair From Williston Dixon me over the years Where Cromwell shipped his airplane by rail to Helena Dixons aviation career began in Columshy Montana where he set out to cross the bus Ohio in 1906 with his construction Continental Divide a feat which was reshyof a flying bicycle mine began in markable not only for his youth but for Minot North Dakota when I was 17 the fact that so many had tried and so flying a J-3 Cub And where Cromwell many had failed Dixon made the first flight across the As a pilot for Frontier Airlines and Continental Divide at the age of 19 r later for Continental I spent many years continue to fly over the Divide as a reshy flying the high line a series of cities tired captain who now pursues the joys on the great northern plains which inshyand frustrations of building and flying cluded many of those Dixon came to my own airplanes

Montana Historical Society Cromwells mother and sister

helped him to build a flying bicycle which he flew at the Columshybus Ohio fair and later in 1907 at the St Louis Exhibition It would be just five years until his historic flight over the Divide and during the intervening years Dixon made many exshyhibition flights balloon flights received flight

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

Cromwell Dixon aviator at the Montana State Fair September 30 1911

know Ive wondered if like me Cromwell Dixon came to appreciate the rugged often unforgiving beauties of the Dakotas and Montana where he made his historic flight It is hard to imagine on an early morning still air arrival from the west crossing Mullan Pass with a 737 flaps 30 and the gear down and on bug speed that we were three minutes from the end of the runway at Helena and Dixons trip took 40 more minutes

Coming only eight years after the Wright brothers feat Dixons achieveshyment was as great in its way as was theirs Dixon flew his bamboo and fabric Curtiss

D-III biplane to an altitude of7000 feet higher than man had flown previously Dixons airplane appears to be a D-III vershysion of the Curtiss D model the primary difference being that the ailerons pivoted from the rear interplane strut The other significant difference was the fabric covershying on both top and bottom surfaces of the wing The engine on the D-III was a V-8 of 60 to 70 horsepower and the wingspan was 26 feet 3 inches Taking off from Heshylenas fairgrounds on September 30 1911 in the early afternoon Dixon headed for Blossberg Montana a 17 mile flight through Mullan Pass where at 5092 feet above sea level headwinds and turbulence were the order of the day Kind folks in Blossberg set a large bonfire ablaze to sigshynal to Dixon his point of arrival which he reached at 234 pm He left the deep valshyley location of Blossberg at 3 16 pm and after struggling for altitude reached 7000 feet and landed at Helena at 359 pm claiming the $10000 prize offered for the first successful flight across the Continenshytal Divide Cromwell had hoped that this money would help him to support his

mother and sister who had given him so much moral support in his search for aviashytion fame An account ofDixons feat was recorded in the Montana Daily Record It was one of the most dangerous feats ever attempted by man Death was pitted against daring and daring won Treachershyous winds above jagged peaks and declivitous slopes below It was a gamble Had for one instant fear crept into the heart of the bird-boy- -the wind and rocks would have claimed another victim

It was not to be so Two days later Cromwell Dixons life came to an end as his airplane crashed in Spokane during an exhibition flight He was just 19 years old and lived scarcely long enough to enjoy the fame and fortune he so richly deserved for his achievements

The State of Montana has chosen to honor Cromwell Dixon through granite memorials and murals at the Helena airshyport terminal plus a historic marker high above MacDonald Pass where highway 12 crosses the Divide near Blossberg One day several years ago I drove to Helena from my home in Big Fork to attend a dinshy

ner meeting of the Cromwell Dixon Society a group founded here in Montana whose members gather each September 30 to commemoshyrate Cromwell Dixons deeds and keep alive the memory of the young many who billed himself as the worlds youngest aviator I was early and decided to try to find the area where Dixon might have landed on his historic flight Blossberg as a town no longer exists and the railshyroad which Dixon landed near has been relocated to accommodate toshydays powerful locomotives As I looked at the scene three small airshycraft flew over Society members paying homage to the young birdshyboy we were joining together to celebrate that evening

10 APRIL 1999

FROM THE ARCHIVES by HG Frautschy

The next few editions ofFrom the Archives will focus on the Flaglor collection a donation of negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville WI

The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe fastest transports in existence when it was constructed and many feeder airlines used it to haul passengers and mail In producshytion from 1934 until 1941 its launch cusshytomer was Northwest who flew their fast Lockheeds allover the Midwest Popular w ith Pan American Airlines a number of Central American operators who were Pan Am affiliates also bought Electras This Mexican registered example was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C it was delivered on November 30 1934 It crashed 30 miles southeast of Playa Vicente Veracruz Mexico on November 1 1937

Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E a favorite of many a boy in the 1930s Heres another longtime favorite based at the same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit MI This is the Boeing Pshy26C built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March of 1936 Flaps were later added to all the P-26 models in service Powered by a Pratt amp Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33 it could reach a maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28000 ft

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE or should I say ZSshy

AOA she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in

close to her bright blue fuselage Yes her wings do fold neatly back She was in

the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California

As a Tiger Moth owner of many years I was visiting my friend Ed Clark

owner of the Moth Works located a few blocks from the airport Several

times over the past years Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his

Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum Ed displayed his

Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and

Hawthornes one paved runway

Although in a museum he flew his Hornet Moth regularly one trip as far

away as Seattle Washington He and his wife Connie loved the Hornet

Connie as a matter of fact picked out the colors when they restored it By the

way 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for

Ed and Connie

Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for

over thirty years For many years he has been building five Gipsy Moths the

predecessor of the Tiger Moth and two have since been sold Like many vinshy

tage aircraft restorers Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided

to sell his Hornet Moth

Pleasant to Fly Without the Sting America s Only Flying Hornet Moth

The upper landing gear fairings By Walt Kessler also serve as air brakes giving the DH87s pilot enhanced speed and decent control Ted Koston Photography

12 APRIL 1999

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

didnt set an alann clock any morning We left there about nine am headed for Olny Texas where we arrived at noon Olny is the home of Leland Snow s Air Tractor and turbine powered Ag machines in varishyous stages of completion were all over the field We were also treated to a guided tour of the CarterCopter by Carters extremely enthusiastic PR man Rod Anderson If this machine should happen to fulfill its hype it will revolutionize aviation

The Olny airport is considerable disshytance from town and there were no vending machines for other than soft drinks so MaFc dug -down in his b~g of tricks and produced a loaf of bread a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly It made a surprisshyingly satisfying lunch and we were able to depart within a reasonable time frame We plugged along for another 28 hours to Midland Texas across a not very exciting landscape but without too much of a headshywind for that part of the world

Larrys original carefully planned itinshyerary called for El Paso as the next stop but weariness and no great urgency to go further dictated an overnight stop at Pecos where we arrived about 630 Dennis Blanshychard the FBO at Pecos made us glad we had elected to do so He treated us to a cold drink and pointed us to his courtesy car without being asked A decent motel was just a few blocks away served an enjoyshyable dinner and gave us coupons for a complimentary full breakfast

The weather west looked just a trifle iffy as we got ready to leave in the mornshying We elected to have a look and headed between two thunderstonns on either side of the pass It was raining a little in the pass but we could see the hills on the other side and made it through with only light turbushylence in just a few minutes We called back

~ --~-

lt~

to Dennis on the Unicorn to infonn him of our progress and he expressed his thanks for our doing so

GPS groundspeed numbers in the low 80s were about the best we saw as we slowly climbed towards Deming New Mexico Got there shortly after noon (Censhytral time - we had crossed the first time zone at the state line) Deming is an old military field with long runways but a new modern terminal with a sharp FBO and friendly folks There were no food disshypensers but the line crew called the Grand Hotel in town and they sent a van to pick us up within minutes We had a delightful lunch and again a van ride back to the airshyport with a big smile and no charge

On departure from Deming we discovshyered why the runways were so long Hot day high density altitude and 85 little horses under the cowl We circled the airshy

~

~

port once before heading towards Tucson Tucson lies between two mountains Intershystate 10 runs right through the middle of the city and a major airport lies on either side Busy Davis-Monthan AFB on the north and busier Tucson International on the south

Marc had found that his altitude encoder didn t jibe with his altimeter so he had turned off his transponder while I left mine on He was in contact with ATC calling us a flight of two 140s as I kept my big mouth shut I misinterpreted one transmission which had implied hold short Marc made a circling turn just as I put my head down to check a frequency When I looked up Marc was gone

I didnt feel that I should wander around that sky looking for a little airplane espeshycially when I heard center talking to two F-16s coming out of Davis Monthan I conshytinued through the hornets nest saw the fighters cross well in front of me just a little lower and finally drew a breath when I got through the pass at the west end ofthe city Our planned stop was at the Avra Valley airport a few miles northwest of Tucson and when I switched to the Unicorn freshyquency Marc was called in for traffic advisories He had swung south of the mountain and received a chewing out from Center for the transgression Being the friend he is he forgave my stupidity

Avra Valley is another neat airport Lots of aerobatic activity and unusual airplanes with several open sided plane ports as well as lots of new looking tee hangars We fushyeled up and once more conned the operators into the use of a courtesy car for the night It was a considerable distance to motel

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

now all the way back to the edge of the city We got a comfortable room and adeshyquate dinner Really dawdled in the morning and got back in the air at 1030 our time We pretty much followed Interstate 10 up towards Phoenix cutting corners in places where the mountains didnt look too formidable but stayed south of the control zone til we were well west of it Next stop across the Colorado River to Blythe Calishyfornia an airport I was quite familiar with though it had been several years

We caught up with another 140 there Ken Liggett from Colorado with whom we had a nice visit while the only unpleasant line person we encountered on the whole trip fueled our airplanes We ate machine dispensed sandwiches (not bad) in the airshyconditioned flight office before departing on our last leg of the outbound trip

Banning pass was as its usual sootiness though VFR Marc contacted Palm Springs approach and they were very helpful in getshyting us pointed in the right direction picking up SoCal approach just beyond Banning and they vectored us towards Chino We got a landing clearance as a flight of two and as we got within a half mile the tower apologized for leaving us at 3000 feet so close to the field and asked if we needed to circle once Marc informed them that we were 140s and could come down like sewer lids if required Landing in tandem we were cheerfully welcomed to Chino by ground control and directed to the growing flight line at the base of the tower

The excessive oil consumption I had enshycountered at the start of the trip seemed to have been alleviated somewhat by a steady diet of 100 LL with TCP added each time and perhaps by a small amount of Marvel Mystery Oil that Marc had loaned me My recording tach showed 249 hours for the westbound portion of our journey

After registering and being welcomed

6 APRIL 1999

by all our old and new friends we were shutshytled off to the Ontario Hilton headquarters for the convention The two hour time lag was most welcome in the morning

Convention activishyties officially started Thursday morning and after a somewhat pricey breakfast we hopped a shuttle van back to the airport where we were briefed for the fly-out

to Gillespie Field in San Diego 1 climbed in 95V with Marc since he had been able to unload all the baggage and we joined a five aircraft formation - to use the term very loosely

The flight leader Lloyd Sorensen was familiar with the area and did a good job of threading through the hills but the followshying gaggle spread out so far that ATC called with a warning that one of the group was about to encroach on Miramars Class B airspace and that would not be a good thing That 140 got so far afield that the pilot lost contact with the rest of us and obshytained an individual clearance into Gillespie The rest of us were cleared en masse and landed without incident after a really strange approach around the hills

We were greeted cordially by the ground controller and directed to the museum hangar which houses the overflow from the downtown SD Aerospace collection John Klien a museum volunteer and aviation enshythusiast from way back gave us a very entertaining lowdown on all the aircraft on display We then walked a few rows down to the Confederate Air Force hangar where those friendly folks prepared a barbecue lunch for us including all the trimmings

They also had an interesting display of airplanes and memorabilia which we had adequate time to enjoy I failed to mention that there had been three or four other gagshygles of 140s besides ours so that the ramp was filed with the little beauties The return trip broke down to smaller groups so that we left as only a flight of three and the reshysult was much less traumatic We landed tandem at Chino and headed back to the hoshytel and an excellent dinner at Tony Romas Rib Joint just a block away

Friday morning started off as nicely as the previous day Our convention host John Westra had arranged with a Ford dealer friend for the loan of two large cashy

pacity vans and we never had to wait more than a few minutes for a ride back and forth the entire time Breakfast was scheduled for Flos Airport Cafe a local institution great fun and good food at reasonable prices shythe adjoining pilots supply shop is labeled Over Flos We then shuttled our full belshylies to the tower area where we were briefed on todays fly-out to Catalina Island and isshysued life vests being assured that the US Coast Guard was alerted and that we would be in the water for only a few minutes in case of a ditching Again I accompanied Marc in 95V - no sense getting both airshyplanes wet and besides he would need a little assistance with the task before us

We embarked as a formation of six Ken Morris and Don Alisi in Dons 120 in the lead Again the formation deteriorated into a gaggle and one member turned back in horror He showed up at the island later eishyther alone or with a following group The trip was a delight smooth air and somehow less daunting than a flight across Lake Michigan The approach to the Airport in the sky as it is billed is a little hairy at first glance The runway was scraped off the top of a mountain and looks like a carrier deck Its also quite wide which gives the illusion of being shorter than it really is The landshying was anti-climatic

We explored the terminal area which has a restaurant and gift shop and gardens with nicely done local history displays An hourly bus down to the town of Avalon is available and most of us elected to do the tourist routine The road to Avalon is just ten miles but requires nearly 30 minutes to cover Its a rough narrow winding road with a number of switch-backs so tight that mirrors have been installed to view any onshycoming traffic - there is not room for two vehicles to pass in the turns I sat near the back of the bus and the rocking motion plus gnawing acrophobia from the view to the side had my stomach in no mood for lunch when we got to our destination

I walked around for 45 minutes or so enjoying the holiday atmosphere of a someshywhat typical tourist trap It reminded me a little of Mackinac Island The bus tickets are sold on a scheduled basis and Marc had arranged for an earlier departure than I so my queasiness gone I was able to enjoy a snack on the pier while being amused at the antics of a couple of seals and flocks of gulls conning diners into tossing them scraps The Avalon harbor is loaded with lovely little sailboats and you could spend all day without being bored

I got a seat farther forward on the bus for the ride back and it was much less unshy

settling Marc had had an hour to prepare for the return flight and was all ready when I got back to the airport We left by ourselves and swung around the cliffs to get a view of Avalon from the air then headed back over the channel where I held the airplane steady in slow flight while Marc neatly spread Larrys ashes over the blue Pacific

We headed back to Chino with guidance from SoCal approach and fell in behind Jack Hooker in his 120 for the landing Our hosts had arranged an elaborate cookout at one of the hangars and the annual business meeting was conducted with the enticing smell of beef roasting over hot coals assailshying our noses New officers duly elected we settled down to the really serious busishyness of eating A champagne cork shooting contest was also in order with two winners managing to hit the hangar wall 110 feet across the ramp

A full size bus got us back to the hotel without delay and festivities continued at the hospitality room a lot longer than I was inclined to be up

Saturday morning The shuttle van sershyvice which was beginning to spoil us ran us back to the Chino airport where we had planned again to breakfast at Flos We inshyadvertently (honest) walked into the hangar where the club officers and new members were having a breakfast buffet The bacon smelled so good I couldnt get past it so we sat and ate with the newcomshyers just as though we had been invited A short walk down the ramp brought us to the Planes of Fame museum complex where our convention member status earned us a discounted admission price

They have an impressive collection of warbirds including the only flyable origishynal engine powered Japanese Zero in the world We got to see it fly along with an early model P-40 and several more munshydane WW II era aircraft Since I had been up close and personal with the warbirds the earlier and scarcer airplanes of my youth were ofeven greater interest

The restoration of the Northrop N9M flying wing was really impressive Those dedicated volunteers had converted a pile of moldy sticks into a flying aircraft that looks as though it had been carved from a solid block ofbright yellow plastic

An area devoted to racing also turned me on There stood a Supermarine Schnieder Cup racer which held the abshysolute speed record for many years a Curtis R-I racer on floats from the same contests (Remember the picture of a young Jimmy Doolittle in helmet and goggles standing

on one of those floats) Also in the same collection is Benny Howards DGA-5 Ike and a long nosed Rider Special with Tony LeViers name on it that I remember best as the Schoenfeldt Firecracker There were three or four others who are almost as historic but we didnt have all day Outshyside I was surprised to see with wings removed the B-50 which was the first airshycraft to fly around the world nonstop I had all but forgotten the excitement of that time

We flagged down Carlos the cheerful line attendant who had kept our tanks topped off each day (100 LL at 145 per gallon) and he ran us the considerable disshytance back to the tower area where we sucked up some lemonade and allowed our feet to cool We had intended to ride the shuttle van back to Ontario for the final nights banquet but were surprised by the appearance of a friend of a mutual friend from home Our buddy Greg had phoned his buddy Sam and told him to look us up He drove his big Lincoln right out to the tiedowns and introduced himself After adshymiring our airplanes and swapping a few stories he took us back to Ontario in high style and made arrangements to take us to breakfast Sunday morning

The banquet was presented in a huge dining room at the Hilton decorated with balloons and flowers I felt slightly undershydressed for the affair but this was Southern California and everyone was casual with maybe a dozen neckties in evidence in the whole place After the umpteen course meal and a few brief speeches the awards were presented Marc was called up to acshycept the plaque for the Best Original 140 for 1695V As he told Larrys story I noted several people having a little trouble with their eyeglasses There were so many doshynated door prizes to be awarded that folks began to get a little restless and when the festivities finally adjourned there was a rush to the hospitality suite to imbibe a bit more and swap even more lies

Sunday morning and a painless checkshyout from the hotel (the pain doesnt start til the credit card bill arrives) Sam was at the door five minutes early and took us to a deshylightful home style restaurant where it appeared half of the people in Southern California liked to have Sunday breakfast He then delivered us right to our airplanes where we said out good-byes and loaded our bags for the return trip Don and Maushyreen Alisi had asked to accompany us on the way home so we cleared out of Chino as a flight of three

Several of our friends had lauded the

beauties of central and northern Arizona over the flat desert that we had crossed on the way out and said we shouldnt miss seeing Sedona We all agreed on that route and after clearing Banning pass we angled northeastward to Parker Dam and the airshyport on the Arizona side of the Colorado River There was a strip mall within easy walking distance of the runway which housed not only a McDonalds and Taco Bell but a gambling casino We resisted the slot machines in favor of tacos and burritos It was quite comfortable when walking in the shade of the malls overshyhanging canopy but when you stepped out into the direct sun you immediately knew the temperature was crowding the century mark

The airport is less than 1000 feet ASL and the runway is plenty long so we had no trouble getting back into the air after refuelshying Next stop - Sedona and its renowned red rocks The scenery is indeed spectacushylar and I silently thanked our friends for convincing us to come this way The runshyway has been scraped off the top ofa mesa similar to that on Catalina but even longer Of course the wind seldom blows in the dishyrection the runway is aimed and we had to demonstrate our proficiency somewhat

We had the airplanes serviced and tied down then walked to the Sky Ranch Lodge at the edge of the airport After checking in Marc grabbed his camera and departed for scenic photo ops I adjourned to the patio with a libation put my feet up and watched the sun go down After an appropriate adshyjustment time I walked the couple ofblocks back to the airport cafe which is good enough to draw even a non-flying crowd from town and had dinner with Don and Maureen Carol and Mat Rybarczyk and Doug Corrigan The latter group had landed at Flagstaff and brought a rental car to Seshydona rather than miss the sights

Marc had encountered some interesting tourists and was having dinner with them I left the key under the doormat and Marc showed up before I dozed off In the mornshying I scarcely had one eye open when the phone rang The Alisis wanted to know if we were about ready to go When Marc inshyformed them that he had promised a couple of young ladies airplane rides at nine oshyclock they decided to depart by themselves as they were more anxious to get home that we were Something about having to report for work

We had a leisurely breakfast at the airshyport cafe and got to the ramp at the same

- Continued on page 28shy

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

The month is August the year 1911 A train has pulled into the Soo depot in Minot North Dakota where it has discharged passenshy

gers and goods of all sorts The depot itself a two-story clapboard building with four windows on its northwest fayade is to the right of the great locomotive and its cars the engine spewing steam which lends a slightly surreal quality to the scene In an upper window of the depot can be seen small children looking out over an asshysemblage which while it may appear

B APRIL 1999

unremarkable presages an event in aviashytion history which has gone unremarked in many quarters for nearly 90 years

There is a horse-drawn ambulance parked at the platform its driver sitting on his seat making some adjustments Its back doors are open whether waiting to receive or to discharge is unknown On the left-hand side of the ambulance is parked a black hearse It too has open doors around which are standing several men in hats all looking in the same direcshytion Next to the ambulance is parked a

horse-drawn dray-wagon belonging to J B Reed Storage a family known to my family in Minot long ago The horse pashytiently stands waiting perhaps for more cartage to be loaded or possibly to unload the same box seen on the wagon

On the platform there is an odd-shaped crate mounted on a wheeled conveyance Having six sides and maybe ten to twelve feet in length the box seems to be an ob-

By Bill Truax

ject of curiosity to some small boys nearby one of whom holds the wagons tongue and looks directly into the camera which is capturing this event and which I surmise has been placed atop a freight car on the siding

Mostly it is men who are gathered on the dock of the depot An occasional woman can be seen but it appears that it is mens work which is being done on this day

Slightly to the left and several feet from the odd-shaped crate a young man

stands his white shirt front standing out from the dark-suited men a soft cap on his head unlike the fairly forshymal headwear of most of the men on the platform with him

On the crate are stenciled words Curtiss Aeroplane the word Curshytiss spelled out in the recognizable logo script of the day Below that are the words Dixons Humming Bird and worlds youngest aviator

The first time r saw this photoshygraph was almost 20 years ago where it hung in the law offices of Ella VanshyBerkom in my home town of Minot North Dakota For two years I found myself returning to the scene in my mind and I decided to explore a means to acquire the photograph Afshyter having done so I submitted it to the editor of my local Montana An- The young dapper Cromwell Dixon in a porshytique Aircraft Association newsletter trait taken In 1911 by Pach New York NY

for publication in my mystery plane column Two replies came back idenshy training from the Curtiss school and obshytifying the young man in the white shirt tained the Federation Aeronautique and soft checkered cap as Cromwell Internationale sporting license number Dixon a 19-year-old youth from the 43 which was issued to him August 31 Midwest who was the flrst person to fly 1911just a month before his record-setshyacross the Continental Divide ting flight from Helena Montana

Ive never been certain why the phoshy The photograph which has so piqued tograph of Cromwell Dixons passage my curiosity over these years was unshythrough Minot has meant so much to doubtedly made on Dixons trek from the me Our aviation careers were certainly Midwest to Williston North Dakota vastly different but something about the where he made nine flights at the Williams young mans experience has spoken to County fair From Williston Dixon me over the years Where Cromwell shipped his airplane by rail to Helena Dixons aviation career began in Columshy Montana where he set out to cross the bus Ohio in 1906 with his construction Continental Divide a feat which was reshyof a flying bicycle mine began in markable not only for his youth but for Minot North Dakota when I was 17 the fact that so many had tried and so flying a J-3 Cub And where Cromwell many had failed Dixon made the first flight across the As a pilot for Frontier Airlines and Continental Divide at the age of 19 r later for Continental I spent many years continue to fly over the Divide as a reshy flying the high line a series of cities tired captain who now pursues the joys on the great northern plains which inshyand frustrations of building and flying cluded many of those Dixon came to my own airplanes

Montana Historical Society Cromwells mother and sister

helped him to build a flying bicycle which he flew at the Columshybus Ohio fair and later in 1907 at the St Louis Exhibition It would be just five years until his historic flight over the Divide and during the intervening years Dixon made many exshyhibition flights balloon flights received flight

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

Cromwell Dixon aviator at the Montana State Fair September 30 1911

know Ive wondered if like me Cromwell Dixon came to appreciate the rugged often unforgiving beauties of the Dakotas and Montana where he made his historic flight It is hard to imagine on an early morning still air arrival from the west crossing Mullan Pass with a 737 flaps 30 and the gear down and on bug speed that we were three minutes from the end of the runway at Helena and Dixons trip took 40 more minutes

Coming only eight years after the Wright brothers feat Dixons achieveshyment was as great in its way as was theirs Dixon flew his bamboo and fabric Curtiss

D-III biplane to an altitude of7000 feet higher than man had flown previously Dixons airplane appears to be a D-III vershysion of the Curtiss D model the primary difference being that the ailerons pivoted from the rear interplane strut The other significant difference was the fabric covershying on both top and bottom surfaces of the wing The engine on the D-III was a V-8 of 60 to 70 horsepower and the wingspan was 26 feet 3 inches Taking off from Heshylenas fairgrounds on September 30 1911 in the early afternoon Dixon headed for Blossberg Montana a 17 mile flight through Mullan Pass where at 5092 feet above sea level headwinds and turbulence were the order of the day Kind folks in Blossberg set a large bonfire ablaze to sigshynal to Dixon his point of arrival which he reached at 234 pm He left the deep valshyley location of Blossberg at 3 16 pm and after struggling for altitude reached 7000 feet and landed at Helena at 359 pm claiming the $10000 prize offered for the first successful flight across the Continenshytal Divide Cromwell had hoped that this money would help him to support his

mother and sister who had given him so much moral support in his search for aviashytion fame An account ofDixons feat was recorded in the Montana Daily Record It was one of the most dangerous feats ever attempted by man Death was pitted against daring and daring won Treachershyous winds above jagged peaks and declivitous slopes below It was a gamble Had for one instant fear crept into the heart of the bird-boy- -the wind and rocks would have claimed another victim

It was not to be so Two days later Cromwell Dixons life came to an end as his airplane crashed in Spokane during an exhibition flight He was just 19 years old and lived scarcely long enough to enjoy the fame and fortune he so richly deserved for his achievements

The State of Montana has chosen to honor Cromwell Dixon through granite memorials and murals at the Helena airshyport terminal plus a historic marker high above MacDonald Pass where highway 12 crosses the Divide near Blossberg One day several years ago I drove to Helena from my home in Big Fork to attend a dinshy

ner meeting of the Cromwell Dixon Society a group founded here in Montana whose members gather each September 30 to commemoshyrate Cromwell Dixons deeds and keep alive the memory of the young many who billed himself as the worlds youngest aviator I was early and decided to try to find the area where Dixon might have landed on his historic flight Blossberg as a town no longer exists and the railshyroad which Dixon landed near has been relocated to accommodate toshydays powerful locomotives As I looked at the scene three small airshycraft flew over Society members paying homage to the young birdshyboy we were joining together to celebrate that evening

10 APRIL 1999

FROM THE ARCHIVES by HG Frautschy

The next few editions ofFrom the Archives will focus on the Flaglor collection a donation of negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville WI

The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe fastest transports in existence when it was constructed and many feeder airlines used it to haul passengers and mail In producshytion from 1934 until 1941 its launch cusshytomer was Northwest who flew their fast Lockheeds allover the Midwest Popular w ith Pan American Airlines a number of Central American operators who were Pan Am affiliates also bought Electras This Mexican registered example was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C it was delivered on November 30 1934 It crashed 30 miles southeast of Playa Vicente Veracruz Mexico on November 1 1937

Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E a favorite of many a boy in the 1930s Heres another longtime favorite based at the same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit MI This is the Boeing Pshy26C built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March of 1936 Flaps were later added to all the P-26 models in service Powered by a Pratt amp Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33 it could reach a maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28000 ft

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE or should I say ZSshy

AOA she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in

close to her bright blue fuselage Yes her wings do fold neatly back She was in

the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California

As a Tiger Moth owner of many years I was visiting my friend Ed Clark

owner of the Moth Works located a few blocks from the airport Several

times over the past years Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his

Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum Ed displayed his

Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and

Hawthornes one paved runway

Although in a museum he flew his Hornet Moth regularly one trip as far

away as Seattle Washington He and his wife Connie loved the Hornet

Connie as a matter of fact picked out the colors when they restored it By the

way 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for

Ed and Connie

Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for

over thirty years For many years he has been building five Gipsy Moths the

predecessor of the Tiger Moth and two have since been sold Like many vinshy

tage aircraft restorers Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided

to sell his Hornet Moth

Pleasant to Fly Without the Sting America s Only Flying Hornet Moth

The upper landing gear fairings By Walt Kessler also serve as air brakes giving the DH87s pilot enhanced speed and decent control Ted Koston Photography

12 APRIL 1999

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

now all the way back to the edge of the city We got a comfortable room and adeshyquate dinner Really dawdled in the morning and got back in the air at 1030 our time We pretty much followed Interstate 10 up towards Phoenix cutting corners in places where the mountains didnt look too formidable but stayed south of the control zone til we were well west of it Next stop across the Colorado River to Blythe Calishyfornia an airport I was quite familiar with though it had been several years

We caught up with another 140 there Ken Liggett from Colorado with whom we had a nice visit while the only unpleasant line person we encountered on the whole trip fueled our airplanes We ate machine dispensed sandwiches (not bad) in the airshyconditioned flight office before departing on our last leg of the outbound trip

Banning pass was as its usual sootiness though VFR Marc contacted Palm Springs approach and they were very helpful in getshyting us pointed in the right direction picking up SoCal approach just beyond Banning and they vectored us towards Chino We got a landing clearance as a flight of two and as we got within a half mile the tower apologized for leaving us at 3000 feet so close to the field and asked if we needed to circle once Marc informed them that we were 140s and could come down like sewer lids if required Landing in tandem we were cheerfully welcomed to Chino by ground control and directed to the growing flight line at the base of the tower

The excessive oil consumption I had enshycountered at the start of the trip seemed to have been alleviated somewhat by a steady diet of 100 LL with TCP added each time and perhaps by a small amount of Marvel Mystery Oil that Marc had loaned me My recording tach showed 249 hours for the westbound portion of our journey

After registering and being welcomed

6 APRIL 1999

by all our old and new friends we were shutshytled off to the Ontario Hilton headquarters for the convention The two hour time lag was most welcome in the morning

Convention activishyties officially started Thursday morning and after a somewhat pricey breakfast we hopped a shuttle van back to the airport where we were briefed for the fly-out

to Gillespie Field in San Diego 1 climbed in 95V with Marc since he had been able to unload all the baggage and we joined a five aircraft formation - to use the term very loosely

The flight leader Lloyd Sorensen was familiar with the area and did a good job of threading through the hills but the followshying gaggle spread out so far that ATC called with a warning that one of the group was about to encroach on Miramars Class B airspace and that would not be a good thing That 140 got so far afield that the pilot lost contact with the rest of us and obshytained an individual clearance into Gillespie The rest of us were cleared en masse and landed without incident after a really strange approach around the hills

We were greeted cordially by the ground controller and directed to the museum hangar which houses the overflow from the downtown SD Aerospace collection John Klien a museum volunteer and aviation enshythusiast from way back gave us a very entertaining lowdown on all the aircraft on display We then walked a few rows down to the Confederate Air Force hangar where those friendly folks prepared a barbecue lunch for us including all the trimmings

They also had an interesting display of airplanes and memorabilia which we had adequate time to enjoy I failed to mention that there had been three or four other gagshygles of 140s besides ours so that the ramp was filed with the little beauties The return trip broke down to smaller groups so that we left as only a flight of three and the reshysult was much less traumatic We landed tandem at Chino and headed back to the hoshytel and an excellent dinner at Tony Romas Rib Joint just a block away

Friday morning started off as nicely as the previous day Our convention host John Westra had arranged with a Ford dealer friend for the loan of two large cashy

pacity vans and we never had to wait more than a few minutes for a ride back and forth the entire time Breakfast was scheduled for Flos Airport Cafe a local institution great fun and good food at reasonable prices shythe adjoining pilots supply shop is labeled Over Flos We then shuttled our full belshylies to the tower area where we were briefed on todays fly-out to Catalina Island and isshysued life vests being assured that the US Coast Guard was alerted and that we would be in the water for only a few minutes in case of a ditching Again I accompanied Marc in 95V - no sense getting both airshyplanes wet and besides he would need a little assistance with the task before us

We embarked as a formation of six Ken Morris and Don Alisi in Dons 120 in the lead Again the formation deteriorated into a gaggle and one member turned back in horror He showed up at the island later eishyther alone or with a following group The trip was a delight smooth air and somehow less daunting than a flight across Lake Michigan The approach to the Airport in the sky as it is billed is a little hairy at first glance The runway was scraped off the top of a mountain and looks like a carrier deck Its also quite wide which gives the illusion of being shorter than it really is The landshying was anti-climatic

We explored the terminal area which has a restaurant and gift shop and gardens with nicely done local history displays An hourly bus down to the town of Avalon is available and most of us elected to do the tourist routine The road to Avalon is just ten miles but requires nearly 30 minutes to cover Its a rough narrow winding road with a number of switch-backs so tight that mirrors have been installed to view any onshycoming traffic - there is not room for two vehicles to pass in the turns I sat near the back of the bus and the rocking motion plus gnawing acrophobia from the view to the side had my stomach in no mood for lunch when we got to our destination

I walked around for 45 minutes or so enjoying the holiday atmosphere of a someshywhat typical tourist trap It reminded me a little of Mackinac Island The bus tickets are sold on a scheduled basis and Marc had arranged for an earlier departure than I so my queasiness gone I was able to enjoy a snack on the pier while being amused at the antics of a couple of seals and flocks of gulls conning diners into tossing them scraps The Avalon harbor is loaded with lovely little sailboats and you could spend all day without being bored

I got a seat farther forward on the bus for the ride back and it was much less unshy

settling Marc had had an hour to prepare for the return flight and was all ready when I got back to the airport We left by ourselves and swung around the cliffs to get a view of Avalon from the air then headed back over the channel where I held the airplane steady in slow flight while Marc neatly spread Larrys ashes over the blue Pacific

We headed back to Chino with guidance from SoCal approach and fell in behind Jack Hooker in his 120 for the landing Our hosts had arranged an elaborate cookout at one of the hangars and the annual business meeting was conducted with the enticing smell of beef roasting over hot coals assailshying our noses New officers duly elected we settled down to the really serious busishyness of eating A champagne cork shooting contest was also in order with two winners managing to hit the hangar wall 110 feet across the ramp

A full size bus got us back to the hotel without delay and festivities continued at the hospitality room a lot longer than I was inclined to be up

Saturday morning The shuttle van sershyvice which was beginning to spoil us ran us back to the Chino airport where we had planned again to breakfast at Flos We inshyadvertently (honest) walked into the hangar where the club officers and new members were having a breakfast buffet The bacon smelled so good I couldnt get past it so we sat and ate with the newcomshyers just as though we had been invited A short walk down the ramp brought us to the Planes of Fame museum complex where our convention member status earned us a discounted admission price

They have an impressive collection of warbirds including the only flyable origishynal engine powered Japanese Zero in the world We got to see it fly along with an early model P-40 and several more munshydane WW II era aircraft Since I had been up close and personal with the warbirds the earlier and scarcer airplanes of my youth were ofeven greater interest

The restoration of the Northrop N9M flying wing was really impressive Those dedicated volunteers had converted a pile of moldy sticks into a flying aircraft that looks as though it had been carved from a solid block ofbright yellow plastic

An area devoted to racing also turned me on There stood a Supermarine Schnieder Cup racer which held the abshysolute speed record for many years a Curtis R-I racer on floats from the same contests (Remember the picture of a young Jimmy Doolittle in helmet and goggles standing

on one of those floats) Also in the same collection is Benny Howards DGA-5 Ike and a long nosed Rider Special with Tony LeViers name on it that I remember best as the Schoenfeldt Firecracker There were three or four others who are almost as historic but we didnt have all day Outshyside I was surprised to see with wings removed the B-50 which was the first airshycraft to fly around the world nonstop I had all but forgotten the excitement of that time

We flagged down Carlos the cheerful line attendant who had kept our tanks topped off each day (100 LL at 145 per gallon) and he ran us the considerable disshytance back to the tower area where we sucked up some lemonade and allowed our feet to cool We had intended to ride the shuttle van back to Ontario for the final nights banquet but were surprised by the appearance of a friend of a mutual friend from home Our buddy Greg had phoned his buddy Sam and told him to look us up He drove his big Lincoln right out to the tiedowns and introduced himself After adshymiring our airplanes and swapping a few stories he took us back to Ontario in high style and made arrangements to take us to breakfast Sunday morning

The banquet was presented in a huge dining room at the Hilton decorated with balloons and flowers I felt slightly undershydressed for the affair but this was Southern California and everyone was casual with maybe a dozen neckties in evidence in the whole place After the umpteen course meal and a few brief speeches the awards were presented Marc was called up to acshycept the plaque for the Best Original 140 for 1695V As he told Larrys story I noted several people having a little trouble with their eyeglasses There were so many doshynated door prizes to be awarded that folks began to get a little restless and when the festivities finally adjourned there was a rush to the hospitality suite to imbibe a bit more and swap even more lies

Sunday morning and a painless checkshyout from the hotel (the pain doesnt start til the credit card bill arrives) Sam was at the door five minutes early and took us to a deshylightful home style restaurant where it appeared half of the people in Southern California liked to have Sunday breakfast He then delivered us right to our airplanes where we said out good-byes and loaded our bags for the return trip Don and Maushyreen Alisi had asked to accompany us on the way home so we cleared out of Chino as a flight of three

Several of our friends had lauded the

beauties of central and northern Arizona over the flat desert that we had crossed on the way out and said we shouldnt miss seeing Sedona We all agreed on that route and after clearing Banning pass we angled northeastward to Parker Dam and the airshyport on the Arizona side of the Colorado River There was a strip mall within easy walking distance of the runway which housed not only a McDonalds and Taco Bell but a gambling casino We resisted the slot machines in favor of tacos and burritos It was quite comfortable when walking in the shade of the malls overshyhanging canopy but when you stepped out into the direct sun you immediately knew the temperature was crowding the century mark

The airport is less than 1000 feet ASL and the runway is plenty long so we had no trouble getting back into the air after refuelshying Next stop - Sedona and its renowned red rocks The scenery is indeed spectacushylar and I silently thanked our friends for convincing us to come this way The runshyway has been scraped off the top ofa mesa similar to that on Catalina but even longer Of course the wind seldom blows in the dishyrection the runway is aimed and we had to demonstrate our proficiency somewhat

We had the airplanes serviced and tied down then walked to the Sky Ranch Lodge at the edge of the airport After checking in Marc grabbed his camera and departed for scenic photo ops I adjourned to the patio with a libation put my feet up and watched the sun go down After an appropriate adshyjustment time I walked the couple ofblocks back to the airport cafe which is good enough to draw even a non-flying crowd from town and had dinner with Don and Maureen Carol and Mat Rybarczyk and Doug Corrigan The latter group had landed at Flagstaff and brought a rental car to Seshydona rather than miss the sights

Marc had encountered some interesting tourists and was having dinner with them I left the key under the doormat and Marc showed up before I dozed off In the mornshying I scarcely had one eye open when the phone rang The Alisis wanted to know if we were about ready to go When Marc inshyformed them that he had promised a couple of young ladies airplane rides at nine oshyclock they decided to depart by themselves as they were more anxious to get home that we were Something about having to report for work

We had a leisurely breakfast at the airshyport cafe and got to the ramp at the same

- Continued on page 28shy

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

The month is August the year 1911 A train has pulled into the Soo depot in Minot North Dakota where it has discharged passenshy

gers and goods of all sorts The depot itself a two-story clapboard building with four windows on its northwest fayade is to the right of the great locomotive and its cars the engine spewing steam which lends a slightly surreal quality to the scene In an upper window of the depot can be seen small children looking out over an asshysemblage which while it may appear

B APRIL 1999

unremarkable presages an event in aviashytion history which has gone unremarked in many quarters for nearly 90 years

There is a horse-drawn ambulance parked at the platform its driver sitting on his seat making some adjustments Its back doors are open whether waiting to receive or to discharge is unknown On the left-hand side of the ambulance is parked a black hearse It too has open doors around which are standing several men in hats all looking in the same direcshytion Next to the ambulance is parked a

horse-drawn dray-wagon belonging to J B Reed Storage a family known to my family in Minot long ago The horse pashytiently stands waiting perhaps for more cartage to be loaded or possibly to unload the same box seen on the wagon

On the platform there is an odd-shaped crate mounted on a wheeled conveyance Having six sides and maybe ten to twelve feet in length the box seems to be an ob-

By Bill Truax

ject of curiosity to some small boys nearby one of whom holds the wagons tongue and looks directly into the camera which is capturing this event and which I surmise has been placed atop a freight car on the siding

Mostly it is men who are gathered on the dock of the depot An occasional woman can be seen but it appears that it is mens work which is being done on this day

Slightly to the left and several feet from the odd-shaped crate a young man

stands his white shirt front standing out from the dark-suited men a soft cap on his head unlike the fairly forshymal headwear of most of the men on the platform with him

On the crate are stenciled words Curtiss Aeroplane the word Curshytiss spelled out in the recognizable logo script of the day Below that are the words Dixons Humming Bird and worlds youngest aviator

The first time r saw this photoshygraph was almost 20 years ago where it hung in the law offices of Ella VanshyBerkom in my home town of Minot North Dakota For two years I found myself returning to the scene in my mind and I decided to explore a means to acquire the photograph Afshyter having done so I submitted it to the editor of my local Montana An- The young dapper Cromwell Dixon in a porshytique Aircraft Association newsletter trait taken In 1911 by Pach New York NY

for publication in my mystery plane column Two replies came back idenshy training from the Curtiss school and obshytifying the young man in the white shirt tained the Federation Aeronautique and soft checkered cap as Cromwell Internationale sporting license number Dixon a 19-year-old youth from the 43 which was issued to him August 31 Midwest who was the flrst person to fly 1911just a month before his record-setshyacross the Continental Divide ting flight from Helena Montana

Ive never been certain why the phoshy The photograph which has so piqued tograph of Cromwell Dixons passage my curiosity over these years was unshythrough Minot has meant so much to doubtedly made on Dixons trek from the me Our aviation careers were certainly Midwest to Williston North Dakota vastly different but something about the where he made nine flights at the Williams young mans experience has spoken to County fair From Williston Dixon me over the years Where Cromwell shipped his airplane by rail to Helena Dixons aviation career began in Columshy Montana where he set out to cross the bus Ohio in 1906 with his construction Continental Divide a feat which was reshyof a flying bicycle mine began in markable not only for his youth but for Minot North Dakota when I was 17 the fact that so many had tried and so flying a J-3 Cub And where Cromwell many had failed Dixon made the first flight across the As a pilot for Frontier Airlines and Continental Divide at the age of 19 r later for Continental I spent many years continue to fly over the Divide as a reshy flying the high line a series of cities tired captain who now pursues the joys on the great northern plains which inshyand frustrations of building and flying cluded many of those Dixon came to my own airplanes

Montana Historical Society Cromwells mother and sister

helped him to build a flying bicycle which he flew at the Columshybus Ohio fair and later in 1907 at the St Louis Exhibition It would be just five years until his historic flight over the Divide and during the intervening years Dixon made many exshyhibition flights balloon flights received flight

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

Cromwell Dixon aviator at the Montana State Fair September 30 1911

know Ive wondered if like me Cromwell Dixon came to appreciate the rugged often unforgiving beauties of the Dakotas and Montana where he made his historic flight It is hard to imagine on an early morning still air arrival from the west crossing Mullan Pass with a 737 flaps 30 and the gear down and on bug speed that we were three minutes from the end of the runway at Helena and Dixons trip took 40 more minutes

Coming only eight years after the Wright brothers feat Dixons achieveshyment was as great in its way as was theirs Dixon flew his bamboo and fabric Curtiss

D-III biplane to an altitude of7000 feet higher than man had flown previously Dixons airplane appears to be a D-III vershysion of the Curtiss D model the primary difference being that the ailerons pivoted from the rear interplane strut The other significant difference was the fabric covershying on both top and bottom surfaces of the wing The engine on the D-III was a V-8 of 60 to 70 horsepower and the wingspan was 26 feet 3 inches Taking off from Heshylenas fairgrounds on September 30 1911 in the early afternoon Dixon headed for Blossberg Montana a 17 mile flight through Mullan Pass where at 5092 feet above sea level headwinds and turbulence were the order of the day Kind folks in Blossberg set a large bonfire ablaze to sigshynal to Dixon his point of arrival which he reached at 234 pm He left the deep valshyley location of Blossberg at 3 16 pm and after struggling for altitude reached 7000 feet and landed at Helena at 359 pm claiming the $10000 prize offered for the first successful flight across the Continenshytal Divide Cromwell had hoped that this money would help him to support his

mother and sister who had given him so much moral support in his search for aviashytion fame An account ofDixons feat was recorded in the Montana Daily Record It was one of the most dangerous feats ever attempted by man Death was pitted against daring and daring won Treachershyous winds above jagged peaks and declivitous slopes below It was a gamble Had for one instant fear crept into the heart of the bird-boy- -the wind and rocks would have claimed another victim

It was not to be so Two days later Cromwell Dixons life came to an end as his airplane crashed in Spokane during an exhibition flight He was just 19 years old and lived scarcely long enough to enjoy the fame and fortune he so richly deserved for his achievements

The State of Montana has chosen to honor Cromwell Dixon through granite memorials and murals at the Helena airshyport terminal plus a historic marker high above MacDonald Pass where highway 12 crosses the Divide near Blossberg One day several years ago I drove to Helena from my home in Big Fork to attend a dinshy

ner meeting of the Cromwell Dixon Society a group founded here in Montana whose members gather each September 30 to commemoshyrate Cromwell Dixons deeds and keep alive the memory of the young many who billed himself as the worlds youngest aviator I was early and decided to try to find the area where Dixon might have landed on his historic flight Blossberg as a town no longer exists and the railshyroad which Dixon landed near has been relocated to accommodate toshydays powerful locomotives As I looked at the scene three small airshycraft flew over Society members paying homage to the young birdshyboy we were joining together to celebrate that evening

10 APRIL 1999

FROM THE ARCHIVES by HG Frautschy

The next few editions ofFrom the Archives will focus on the Flaglor collection a donation of negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville WI

The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe fastest transports in existence when it was constructed and many feeder airlines used it to haul passengers and mail In producshytion from 1934 until 1941 its launch cusshytomer was Northwest who flew their fast Lockheeds allover the Midwest Popular w ith Pan American Airlines a number of Central American operators who were Pan Am affiliates also bought Electras This Mexican registered example was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C it was delivered on November 30 1934 It crashed 30 miles southeast of Playa Vicente Veracruz Mexico on November 1 1937

Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E a favorite of many a boy in the 1930s Heres another longtime favorite based at the same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit MI This is the Boeing Pshy26C built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March of 1936 Flaps were later added to all the P-26 models in service Powered by a Pratt amp Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33 it could reach a maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28000 ft

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE or should I say ZSshy

AOA she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in

close to her bright blue fuselage Yes her wings do fold neatly back She was in

the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California

As a Tiger Moth owner of many years I was visiting my friend Ed Clark

owner of the Moth Works located a few blocks from the airport Several

times over the past years Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his

Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum Ed displayed his

Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and

Hawthornes one paved runway

Although in a museum he flew his Hornet Moth regularly one trip as far

away as Seattle Washington He and his wife Connie loved the Hornet

Connie as a matter of fact picked out the colors when they restored it By the

way 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for

Ed and Connie

Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for

over thirty years For many years he has been building five Gipsy Moths the

predecessor of the Tiger Moth and two have since been sold Like many vinshy

tage aircraft restorers Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided

to sell his Hornet Moth

Pleasant to Fly Without the Sting America s Only Flying Hornet Moth

The upper landing gear fairings By Walt Kessler also serve as air brakes giving the DH87s pilot enhanced speed and decent control Ted Koston Photography

12 APRIL 1999

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

settling Marc had had an hour to prepare for the return flight and was all ready when I got back to the airport We left by ourselves and swung around the cliffs to get a view of Avalon from the air then headed back over the channel where I held the airplane steady in slow flight while Marc neatly spread Larrys ashes over the blue Pacific

We headed back to Chino with guidance from SoCal approach and fell in behind Jack Hooker in his 120 for the landing Our hosts had arranged an elaborate cookout at one of the hangars and the annual business meeting was conducted with the enticing smell of beef roasting over hot coals assailshying our noses New officers duly elected we settled down to the really serious busishyness of eating A champagne cork shooting contest was also in order with two winners managing to hit the hangar wall 110 feet across the ramp

A full size bus got us back to the hotel without delay and festivities continued at the hospitality room a lot longer than I was inclined to be up

Saturday morning The shuttle van sershyvice which was beginning to spoil us ran us back to the Chino airport where we had planned again to breakfast at Flos We inshyadvertently (honest) walked into the hangar where the club officers and new members were having a breakfast buffet The bacon smelled so good I couldnt get past it so we sat and ate with the newcomshyers just as though we had been invited A short walk down the ramp brought us to the Planes of Fame museum complex where our convention member status earned us a discounted admission price

They have an impressive collection of warbirds including the only flyable origishynal engine powered Japanese Zero in the world We got to see it fly along with an early model P-40 and several more munshydane WW II era aircraft Since I had been up close and personal with the warbirds the earlier and scarcer airplanes of my youth were ofeven greater interest

The restoration of the Northrop N9M flying wing was really impressive Those dedicated volunteers had converted a pile of moldy sticks into a flying aircraft that looks as though it had been carved from a solid block ofbright yellow plastic

An area devoted to racing also turned me on There stood a Supermarine Schnieder Cup racer which held the abshysolute speed record for many years a Curtis R-I racer on floats from the same contests (Remember the picture of a young Jimmy Doolittle in helmet and goggles standing

on one of those floats) Also in the same collection is Benny Howards DGA-5 Ike and a long nosed Rider Special with Tony LeViers name on it that I remember best as the Schoenfeldt Firecracker There were three or four others who are almost as historic but we didnt have all day Outshyside I was surprised to see with wings removed the B-50 which was the first airshycraft to fly around the world nonstop I had all but forgotten the excitement of that time

We flagged down Carlos the cheerful line attendant who had kept our tanks topped off each day (100 LL at 145 per gallon) and he ran us the considerable disshytance back to the tower area where we sucked up some lemonade and allowed our feet to cool We had intended to ride the shuttle van back to Ontario for the final nights banquet but were surprised by the appearance of a friend of a mutual friend from home Our buddy Greg had phoned his buddy Sam and told him to look us up He drove his big Lincoln right out to the tiedowns and introduced himself After adshymiring our airplanes and swapping a few stories he took us back to Ontario in high style and made arrangements to take us to breakfast Sunday morning

The banquet was presented in a huge dining room at the Hilton decorated with balloons and flowers I felt slightly undershydressed for the affair but this was Southern California and everyone was casual with maybe a dozen neckties in evidence in the whole place After the umpteen course meal and a few brief speeches the awards were presented Marc was called up to acshycept the plaque for the Best Original 140 for 1695V As he told Larrys story I noted several people having a little trouble with their eyeglasses There were so many doshynated door prizes to be awarded that folks began to get a little restless and when the festivities finally adjourned there was a rush to the hospitality suite to imbibe a bit more and swap even more lies

Sunday morning and a painless checkshyout from the hotel (the pain doesnt start til the credit card bill arrives) Sam was at the door five minutes early and took us to a deshylightful home style restaurant where it appeared half of the people in Southern California liked to have Sunday breakfast He then delivered us right to our airplanes where we said out good-byes and loaded our bags for the return trip Don and Maushyreen Alisi had asked to accompany us on the way home so we cleared out of Chino as a flight of three

Several of our friends had lauded the

beauties of central and northern Arizona over the flat desert that we had crossed on the way out and said we shouldnt miss seeing Sedona We all agreed on that route and after clearing Banning pass we angled northeastward to Parker Dam and the airshyport on the Arizona side of the Colorado River There was a strip mall within easy walking distance of the runway which housed not only a McDonalds and Taco Bell but a gambling casino We resisted the slot machines in favor of tacos and burritos It was quite comfortable when walking in the shade of the malls overshyhanging canopy but when you stepped out into the direct sun you immediately knew the temperature was crowding the century mark

The airport is less than 1000 feet ASL and the runway is plenty long so we had no trouble getting back into the air after refuelshying Next stop - Sedona and its renowned red rocks The scenery is indeed spectacushylar and I silently thanked our friends for convincing us to come this way The runshyway has been scraped off the top ofa mesa similar to that on Catalina but even longer Of course the wind seldom blows in the dishyrection the runway is aimed and we had to demonstrate our proficiency somewhat

We had the airplanes serviced and tied down then walked to the Sky Ranch Lodge at the edge of the airport After checking in Marc grabbed his camera and departed for scenic photo ops I adjourned to the patio with a libation put my feet up and watched the sun go down After an appropriate adshyjustment time I walked the couple ofblocks back to the airport cafe which is good enough to draw even a non-flying crowd from town and had dinner with Don and Maureen Carol and Mat Rybarczyk and Doug Corrigan The latter group had landed at Flagstaff and brought a rental car to Seshydona rather than miss the sights

Marc had encountered some interesting tourists and was having dinner with them I left the key under the doormat and Marc showed up before I dozed off In the mornshying I scarcely had one eye open when the phone rang The Alisis wanted to know if we were about ready to go When Marc inshyformed them that he had promised a couple of young ladies airplane rides at nine oshyclock they decided to depart by themselves as they were more anxious to get home that we were Something about having to report for work

We had a leisurely breakfast at the airshyport cafe and got to the ramp at the same

- Continued on page 28shy

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

The month is August the year 1911 A train has pulled into the Soo depot in Minot North Dakota where it has discharged passenshy

gers and goods of all sorts The depot itself a two-story clapboard building with four windows on its northwest fayade is to the right of the great locomotive and its cars the engine spewing steam which lends a slightly surreal quality to the scene In an upper window of the depot can be seen small children looking out over an asshysemblage which while it may appear

B APRIL 1999

unremarkable presages an event in aviashytion history which has gone unremarked in many quarters for nearly 90 years

There is a horse-drawn ambulance parked at the platform its driver sitting on his seat making some adjustments Its back doors are open whether waiting to receive or to discharge is unknown On the left-hand side of the ambulance is parked a black hearse It too has open doors around which are standing several men in hats all looking in the same direcshytion Next to the ambulance is parked a

horse-drawn dray-wagon belonging to J B Reed Storage a family known to my family in Minot long ago The horse pashytiently stands waiting perhaps for more cartage to be loaded or possibly to unload the same box seen on the wagon

On the platform there is an odd-shaped crate mounted on a wheeled conveyance Having six sides and maybe ten to twelve feet in length the box seems to be an ob-

By Bill Truax

ject of curiosity to some small boys nearby one of whom holds the wagons tongue and looks directly into the camera which is capturing this event and which I surmise has been placed atop a freight car on the siding

Mostly it is men who are gathered on the dock of the depot An occasional woman can be seen but it appears that it is mens work which is being done on this day

Slightly to the left and several feet from the odd-shaped crate a young man

stands his white shirt front standing out from the dark-suited men a soft cap on his head unlike the fairly forshymal headwear of most of the men on the platform with him

On the crate are stenciled words Curtiss Aeroplane the word Curshytiss spelled out in the recognizable logo script of the day Below that are the words Dixons Humming Bird and worlds youngest aviator

The first time r saw this photoshygraph was almost 20 years ago where it hung in the law offices of Ella VanshyBerkom in my home town of Minot North Dakota For two years I found myself returning to the scene in my mind and I decided to explore a means to acquire the photograph Afshyter having done so I submitted it to the editor of my local Montana An- The young dapper Cromwell Dixon in a porshytique Aircraft Association newsletter trait taken In 1911 by Pach New York NY

for publication in my mystery plane column Two replies came back idenshy training from the Curtiss school and obshytifying the young man in the white shirt tained the Federation Aeronautique and soft checkered cap as Cromwell Internationale sporting license number Dixon a 19-year-old youth from the 43 which was issued to him August 31 Midwest who was the flrst person to fly 1911just a month before his record-setshyacross the Continental Divide ting flight from Helena Montana

Ive never been certain why the phoshy The photograph which has so piqued tograph of Cromwell Dixons passage my curiosity over these years was unshythrough Minot has meant so much to doubtedly made on Dixons trek from the me Our aviation careers were certainly Midwest to Williston North Dakota vastly different but something about the where he made nine flights at the Williams young mans experience has spoken to County fair From Williston Dixon me over the years Where Cromwell shipped his airplane by rail to Helena Dixons aviation career began in Columshy Montana where he set out to cross the bus Ohio in 1906 with his construction Continental Divide a feat which was reshyof a flying bicycle mine began in markable not only for his youth but for Minot North Dakota when I was 17 the fact that so many had tried and so flying a J-3 Cub And where Cromwell many had failed Dixon made the first flight across the As a pilot for Frontier Airlines and Continental Divide at the age of 19 r later for Continental I spent many years continue to fly over the Divide as a reshy flying the high line a series of cities tired captain who now pursues the joys on the great northern plains which inshyand frustrations of building and flying cluded many of those Dixon came to my own airplanes

Montana Historical Society Cromwells mother and sister

helped him to build a flying bicycle which he flew at the Columshybus Ohio fair and later in 1907 at the St Louis Exhibition It would be just five years until his historic flight over the Divide and during the intervening years Dixon made many exshyhibition flights balloon flights received flight

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

Cromwell Dixon aviator at the Montana State Fair September 30 1911

know Ive wondered if like me Cromwell Dixon came to appreciate the rugged often unforgiving beauties of the Dakotas and Montana where he made his historic flight It is hard to imagine on an early morning still air arrival from the west crossing Mullan Pass with a 737 flaps 30 and the gear down and on bug speed that we were three minutes from the end of the runway at Helena and Dixons trip took 40 more minutes

Coming only eight years after the Wright brothers feat Dixons achieveshyment was as great in its way as was theirs Dixon flew his bamboo and fabric Curtiss

D-III biplane to an altitude of7000 feet higher than man had flown previously Dixons airplane appears to be a D-III vershysion of the Curtiss D model the primary difference being that the ailerons pivoted from the rear interplane strut The other significant difference was the fabric covershying on both top and bottom surfaces of the wing The engine on the D-III was a V-8 of 60 to 70 horsepower and the wingspan was 26 feet 3 inches Taking off from Heshylenas fairgrounds on September 30 1911 in the early afternoon Dixon headed for Blossberg Montana a 17 mile flight through Mullan Pass where at 5092 feet above sea level headwinds and turbulence were the order of the day Kind folks in Blossberg set a large bonfire ablaze to sigshynal to Dixon his point of arrival which he reached at 234 pm He left the deep valshyley location of Blossberg at 3 16 pm and after struggling for altitude reached 7000 feet and landed at Helena at 359 pm claiming the $10000 prize offered for the first successful flight across the Continenshytal Divide Cromwell had hoped that this money would help him to support his

mother and sister who had given him so much moral support in his search for aviashytion fame An account ofDixons feat was recorded in the Montana Daily Record It was one of the most dangerous feats ever attempted by man Death was pitted against daring and daring won Treachershyous winds above jagged peaks and declivitous slopes below It was a gamble Had for one instant fear crept into the heart of the bird-boy- -the wind and rocks would have claimed another victim

It was not to be so Two days later Cromwell Dixons life came to an end as his airplane crashed in Spokane during an exhibition flight He was just 19 years old and lived scarcely long enough to enjoy the fame and fortune he so richly deserved for his achievements

The State of Montana has chosen to honor Cromwell Dixon through granite memorials and murals at the Helena airshyport terminal plus a historic marker high above MacDonald Pass where highway 12 crosses the Divide near Blossberg One day several years ago I drove to Helena from my home in Big Fork to attend a dinshy

ner meeting of the Cromwell Dixon Society a group founded here in Montana whose members gather each September 30 to commemoshyrate Cromwell Dixons deeds and keep alive the memory of the young many who billed himself as the worlds youngest aviator I was early and decided to try to find the area where Dixon might have landed on his historic flight Blossberg as a town no longer exists and the railshyroad which Dixon landed near has been relocated to accommodate toshydays powerful locomotives As I looked at the scene three small airshycraft flew over Society members paying homage to the young birdshyboy we were joining together to celebrate that evening

10 APRIL 1999

FROM THE ARCHIVES by HG Frautschy

The next few editions ofFrom the Archives will focus on the Flaglor collection a donation of negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville WI

The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe fastest transports in existence when it was constructed and many feeder airlines used it to haul passengers and mail In producshytion from 1934 until 1941 its launch cusshytomer was Northwest who flew their fast Lockheeds allover the Midwest Popular w ith Pan American Airlines a number of Central American operators who were Pan Am affiliates also bought Electras This Mexican registered example was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C it was delivered on November 30 1934 It crashed 30 miles southeast of Playa Vicente Veracruz Mexico on November 1 1937

Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E a favorite of many a boy in the 1930s Heres another longtime favorite based at the same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit MI This is the Boeing Pshy26C built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March of 1936 Flaps were later added to all the P-26 models in service Powered by a Pratt amp Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33 it could reach a maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28000 ft

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE or should I say ZSshy

AOA she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in

close to her bright blue fuselage Yes her wings do fold neatly back She was in

the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California

As a Tiger Moth owner of many years I was visiting my friend Ed Clark

owner of the Moth Works located a few blocks from the airport Several

times over the past years Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his

Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum Ed displayed his

Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and

Hawthornes one paved runway

Although in a museum he flew his Hornet Moth regularly one trip as far

away as Seattle Washington He and his wife Connie loved the Hornet

Connie as a matter of fact picked out the colors when they restored it By the

way 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for

Ed and Connie

Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for

over thirty years For many years he has been building five Gipsy Moths the

predecessor of the Tiger Moth and two have since been sold Like many vinshy

tage aircraft restorers Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided

to sell his Hornet Moth

Pleasant to Fly Without the Sting America s Only Flying Hornet Moth

The upper landing gear fairings By Walt Kessler also serve as air brakes giving the DH87s pilot enhanced speed and decent control Ted Koston Photography

12 APRIL 1999

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

The month is August the year 1911 A train has pulled into the Soo depot in Minot North Dakota where it has discharged passenshy

gers and goods of all sorts The depot itself a two-story clapboard building with four windows on its northwest fayade is to the right of the great locomotive and its cars the engine spewing steam which lends a slightly surreal quality to the scene In an upper window of the depot can be seen small children looking out over an asshysemblage which while it may appear

B APRIL 1999

unremarkable presages an event in aviashytion history which has gone unremarked in many quarters for nearly 90 years

There is a horse-drawn ambulance parked at the platform its driver sitting on his seat making some adjustments Its back doors are open whether waiting to receive or to discharge is unknown On the left-hand side of the ambulance is parked a black hearse It too has open doors around which are standing several men in hats all looking in the same direcshytion Next to the ambulance is parked a

horse-drawn dray-wagon belonging to J B Reed Storage a family known to my family in Minot long ago The horse pashytiently stands waiting perhaps for more cartage to be loaded or possibly to unload the same box seen on the wagon

On the platform there is an odd-shaped crate mounted on a wheeled conveyance Having six sides and maybe ten to twelve feet in length the box seems to be an ob-

By Bill Truax

ject of curiosity to some small boys nearby one of whom holds the wagons tongue and looks directly into the camera which is capturing this event and which I surmise has been placed atop a freight car on the siding

Mostly it is men who are gathered on the dock of the depot An occasional woman can be seen but it appears that it is mens work which is being done on this day

Slightly to the left and several feet from the odd-shaped crate a young man

stands his white shirt front standing out from the dark-suited men a soft cap on his head unlike the fairly forshymal headwear of most of the men on the platform with him

On the crate are stenciled words Curtiss Aeroplane the word Curshytiss spelled out in the recognizable logo script of the day Below that are the words Dixons Humming Bird and worlds youngest aviator

The first time r saw this photoshygraph was almost 20 years ago where it hung in the law offices of Ella VanshyBerkom in my home town of Minot North Dakota For two years I found myself returning to the scene in my mind and I decided to explore a means to acquire the photograph Afshyter having done so I submitted it to the editor of my local Montana An- The young dapper Cromwell Dixon in a porshytique Aircraft Association newsletter trait taken In 1911 by Pach New York NY

for publication in my mystery plane column Two replies came back idenshy training from the Curtiss school and obshytifying the young man in the white shirt tained the Federation Aeronautique and soft checkered cap as Cromwell Internationale sporting license number Dixon a 19-year-old youth from the 43 which was issued to him August 31 Midwest who was the flrst person to fly 1911just a month before his record-setshyacross the Continental Divide ting flight from Helena Montana

Ive never been certain why the phoshy The photograph which has so piqued tograph of Cromwell Dixons passage my curiosity over these years was unshythrough Minot has meant so much to doubtedly made on Dixons trek from the me Our aviation careers were certainly Midwest to Williston North Dakota vastly different but something about the where he made nine flights at the Williams young mans experience has spoken to County fair From Williston Dixon me over the years Where Cromwell shipped his airplane by rail to Helena Dixons aviation career began in Columshy Montana where he set out to cross the bus Ohio in 1906 with his construction Continental Divide a feat which was reshyof a flying bicycle mine began in markable not only for his youth but for Minot North Dakota when I was 17 the fact that so many had tried and so flying a J-3 Cub And where Cromwell many had failed Dixon made the first flight across the As a pilot for Frontier Airlines and Continental Divide at the age of 19 r later for Continental I spent many years continue to fly over the Divide as a reshy flying the high line a series of cities tired captain who now pursues the joys on the great northern plains which inshyand frustrations of building and flying cluded many of those Dixon came to my own airplanes

Montana Historical Society Cromwells mother and sister

helped him to build a flying bicycle which he flew at the Columshybus Ohio fair and later in 1907 at the St Louis Exhibition It would be just five years until his historic flight over the Divide and during the intervening years Dixon made many exshyhibition flights balloon flights received flight

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

Cromwell Dixon aviator at the Montana State Fair September 30 1911

know Ive wondered if like me Cromwell Dixon came to appreciate the rugged often unforgiving beauties of the Dakotas and Montana where he made his historic flight It is hard to imagine on an early morning still air arrival from the west crossing Mullan Pass with a 737 flaps 30 and the gear down and on bug speed that we were three minutes from the end of the runway at Helena and Dixons trip took 40 more minutes

Coming only eight years after the Wright brothers feat Dixons achieveshyment was as great in its way as was theirs Dixon flew his bamboo and fabric Curtiss

D-III biplane to an altitude of7000 feet higher than man had flown previously Dixons airplane appears to be a D-III vershysion of the Curtiss D model the primary difference being that the ailerons pivoted from the rear interplane strut The other significant difference was the fabric covershying on both top and bottom surfaces of the wing The engine on the D-III was a V-8 of 60 to 70 horsepower and the wingspan was 26 feet 3 inches Taking off from Heshylenas fairgrounds on September 30 1911 in the early afternoon Dixon headed for Blossberg Montana a 17 mile flight through Mullan Pass where at 5092 feet above sea level headwinds and turbulence were the order of the day Kind folks in Blossberg set a large bonfire ablaze to sigshynal to Dixon his point of arrival which he reached at 234 pm He left the deep valshyley location of Blossberg at 3 16 pm and after struggling for altitude reached 7000 feet and landed at Helena at 359 pm claiming the $10000 prize offered for the first successful flight across the Continenshytal Divide Cromwell had hoped that this money would help him to support his

mother and sister who had given him so much moral support in his search for aviashytion fame An account ofDixons feat was recorded in the Montana Daily Record It was one of the most dangerous feats ever attempted by man Death was pitted against daring and daring won Treachershyous winds above jagged peaks and declivitous slopes below It was a gamble Had for one instant fear crept into the heart of the bird-boy- -the wind and rocks would have claimed another victim

It was not to be so Two days later Cromwell Dixons life came to an end as his airplane crashed in Spokane during an exhibition flight He was just 19 years old and lived scarcely long enough to enjoy the fame and fortune he so richly deserved for his achievements

The State of Montana has chosen to honor Cromwell Dixon through granite memorials and murals at the Helena airshyport terminal plus a historic marker high above MacDonald Pass where highway 12 crosses the Divide near Blossberg One day several years ago I drove to Helena from my home in Big Fork to attend a dinshy

ner meeting of the Cromwell Dixon Society a group founded here in Montana whose members gather each September 30 to commemoshyrate Cromwell Dixons deeds and keep alive the memory of the young many who billed himself as the worlds youngest aviator I was early and decided to try to find the area where Dixon might have landed on his historic flight Blossberg as a town no longer exists and the railshyroad which Dixon landed near has been relocated to accommodate toshydays powerful locomotives As I looked at the scene three small airshycraft flew over Society members paying homage to the young birdshyboy we were joining together to celebrate that evening

10 APRIL 1999

FROM THE ARCHIVES by HG Frautschy

The next few editions ofFrom the Archives will focus on the Flaglor collection a donation of negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville WI

The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe fastest transports in existence when it was constructed and many feeder airlines used it to haul passengers and mail In producshytion from 1934 until 1941 its launch cusshytomer was Northwest who flew their fast Lockheeds allover the Midwest Popular w ith Pan American Airlines a number of Central American operators who were Pan Am affiliates also bought Electras This Mexican registered example was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C it was delivered on November 30 1934 It crashed 30 miles southeast of Playa Vicente Veracruz Mexico on November 1 1937

Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E a favorite of many a boy in the 1930s Heres another longtime favorite based at the same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit MI This is the Boeing Pshy26C built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March of 1936 Flaps were later added to all the P-26 models in service Powered by a Pratt amp Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33 it could reach a maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28000 ft

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE or should I say ZSshy

AOA she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in

close to her bright blue fuselage Yes her wings do fold neatly back She was in

the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California

As a Tiger Moth owner of many years I was visiting my friend Ed Clark

owner of the Moth Works located a few blocks from the airport Several

times over the past years Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his

Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum Ed displayed his

Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and

Hawthornes one paved runway

Although in a museum he flew his Hornet Moth regularly one trip as far

away as Seattle Washington He and his wife Connie loved the Hornet

Connie as a matter of fact picked out the colors when they restored it By the

way 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for

Ed and Connie

Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for

over thirty years For many years he has been building five Gipsy Moths the

predecessor of the Tiger Moth and two have since been sold Like many vinshy

tage aircraft restorers Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided

to sell his Hornet Moth

Pleasant to Fly Without the Sting America s Only Flying Hornet Moth

The upper landing gear fairings By Walt Kessler also serve as air brakes giving the DH87s pilot enhanced speed and decent control Ted Koston Photography

12 APRIL 1999

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

ject of curiosity to some small boys nearby one of whom holds the wagons tongue and looks directly into the camera which is capturing this event and which I surmise has been placed atop a freight car on the siding

Mostly it is men who are gathered on the dock of the depot An occasional woman can be seen but it appears that it is mens work which is being done on this day

Slightly to the left and several feet from the odd-shaped crate a young man

stands his white shirt front standing out from the dark-suited men a soft cap on his head unlike the fairly forshymal headwear of most of the men on the platform with him

On the crate are stenciled words Curtiss Aeroplane the word Curshytiss spelled out in the recognizable logo script of the day Below that are the words Dixons Humming Bird and worlds youngest aviator

The first time r saw this photoshygraph was almost 20 years ago where it hung in the law offices of Ella VanshyBerkom in my home town of Minot North Dakota For two years I found myself returning to the scene in my mind and I decided to explore a means to acquire the photograph Afshyter having done so I submitted it to the editor of my local Montana An- The young dapper Cromwell Dixon in a porshytique Aircraft Association newsletter trait taken In 1911 by Pach New York NY

for publication in my mystery plane column Two replies came back idenshy training from the Curtiss school and obshytifying the young man in the white shirt tained the Federation Aeronautique and soft checkered cap as Cromwell Internationale sporting license number Dixon a 19-year-old youth from the 43 which was issued to him August 31 Midwest who was the flrst person to fly 1911just a month before his record-setshyacross the Continental Divide ting flight from Helena Montana

Ive never been certain why the phoshy The photograph which has so piqued tograph of Cromwell Dixons passage my curiosity over these years was unshythrough Minot has meant so much to doubtedly made on Dixons trek from the me Our aviation careers were certainly Midwest to Williston North Dakota vastly different but something about the where he made nine flights at the Williams young mans experience has spoken to County fair From Williston Dixon me over the years Where Cromwell shipped his airplane by rail to Helena Dixons aviation career began in Columshy Montana where he set out to cross the bus Ohio in 1906 with his construction Continental Divide a feat which was reshyof a flying bicycle mine began in markable not only for his youth but for Minot North Dakota when I was 17 the fact that so many had tried and so flying a J-3 Cub And where Cromwell many had failed Dixon made the first flight across the As a pilot for Frontier Airlines and Continental Divide at the age of 19 r later for Continental I spent many years continue to fly over the Divide as a reshy flying the high line a series of cities tired captain who now pursues the joys on the great northern plains which inshyand frustrations of building and flying cluded many of those Dixon came to my own airplanes

Montana Historical Society Cromwells mother and sister

helped him to build a flying bicycle which he flew at the Columshybus Ohio fair and later in 1907 at the St Louis Exhibition It would be just five years until his historic flight over the Divide and during the intervening years Dixon made many exshyhibition flights balloon flights received flight

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

Cromwell Dixon aviator at the Montana State Fair September 30 1911

know Ive wondered if like me Cromwell Dixon came to appreciate the rugged often unforgiving beauties of the Dakotas and Montana where he made his historic flight It is hard to imagine on an early morning still air arrival from the west crossing Mullan Pass with a 737 flaps 30 and the gear down and on bug speed that we were three minutes from the end of the runway at Helena and Dixons trip took 40 more minutes

Coming only eight years after the Wright brothers feat Dixons achieveshyment was as great in its way as was theirs Dixon flew his bamboo and fabric Curtiss

D-III biplane to an altitude of7000 feet higher than man had flown previously Dixons airplane appears to be a D-III vershysion of the Curtiss D model the primary difference being that the ailerons pivoted from the rear interplane strut The other significant difference was the fabric covershying on both top and bottom surfaces of the wing The engine on the D-III was a V-8 of 60 to 70 horsepower and the wingspan was 26 feet 3 inches Taking off from Heshylenas fairgrounds on September 30 1911 in the early afternoon Dixon headed for Blossberg Montana a 17 mile flight through Mullan Pass where at 5092 feet above sea level headwinds and turbulence were the order of the day Kind folks in Blossberg set a large bonfire ablaze to sigshynal to Dixon his point of arrival which he reached at 234 pm He left the deep valshyley location of Blossberg at 3 16 pm and after struggling for altitude reached 7000 feet and landed at Helena at 359 pm claiming the $10000 prize offered for the first successful flight across the Continenshytal Divide Cromwell had hoped that this money would help him to support his

mother and sister who had given him so much moral support in his search for aviashytion fame An account ofDixons feat was recorded in the Montana Daily Record It was one of the most dangerous feats ever attempted by man Death was pitted against daring and daring won Treachershyous winds above jagged peaks and declivitous slopes below It was a gamble Had for one instant fear crept into the heart of the bird-boy- -the wind and rocks would have claimed another victim

It was not to be so Two days later Cromwell Dixons life came to an end as his airplane crashed in Spokane during an exhibition flight He was just 19 years old and lived scarcely long enough to enjoy the fame and fortune he so richly deserved for his achievements

The State of Montana has chosen to honor Cromwell Dixon through granite memorials and murals at the Helena airshyport terminal plus a historic marker high above MacDonald Pass where highway 12 crosses the Divide near Blossberg One day several years ago I drove to Helena from my home in Big Fork to attend a dinshy

ner meeting of the Cromwell Dixon Society a group founded here in Montana whose members gather each September 30 to commemoshyrate Cromwell Dixons deeds and keep alive the memory of the young many who billed himself as the worlds youngest aviator I was early and decided to try to find the area where Dixon might have landed on his historic flight Blossberg as a town no longer exists and the railshyroad which Dixon landed near has been relocated to accommodate toshydays powerful locomotives As I looked at the scene three small airshycraft flew over Society members paying homage to the young birdshyboy we were joining together to celebrate that evening

10 APRIL 1999

FROM THE ARCHIVES by HG Frautschy

The next few editions ofFrom the Archives will focus on the Flaglor collection a donation of negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville WI

The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe fastest transports in existence when it was constructed and many feeder airlines used it to haul passengers and mail In producshytion from 1934 until 1941 its launch cusshytomer was Northwest who flew their fast Lockheeds allover the Midwest Popular w ith Pan American Airlines a number of Central American operators who were Pan Am affiliates also bought Electras This Mexican registered example was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C it was delivered on November 30 1934 It crashed 30 miles southeast of Playa Vicente Veracruz Mexico on November 1 1937

Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E a favorite of many a boy in the 1930s Heres another longtime favorite based at the same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit MI This is the Boeing Pshy26C built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March of 1936 Flaps were later added to all the P-26 models in service Powered by a Pratt amp Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33 it could reach a maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28000 ft

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE or should I say ZSshy

AOA she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in

close to her bright blue fuselage Yes her wings do fold neatly back She was in

the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California

As a Tiger Moth owner of many years I was visiting my friend Ed Clark

owner of the Moth Works located a few blocks from the airport Several

times over the past years Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his

Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum Ed displayed his

Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and

Hawthornes one paved runway

Although in a museum he flew his Hornet Moth regularly one trip as far

away as Seattle Washington He and his wife Connie loved the Hornet

Connie as a matter of fact picked out the colors when they restored it By the

way 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for

Ed and Connie

Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for

over thirty years For many years he has been building five Gipsy Moths the

predecessor of the Tiger Moth and two have since been sold Like many vinshy

tage aircraft restorers Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided

to sell his Hornet Moth

Pleasant to Fly Without the Sting America s Only Flying Hornet Moth

The upper landing gear fairings By Walt Kessler also serve as air brakes giving the DH87s pilot enhanced speed and decent control Ted Koston Photography

12 APRIL 1999

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

Cromwell Dixon aviator at the Montana State Fair September 30 1911

know Ive wondered if like me Cromwell Dixon came to appreciate the rugged often unforgiving beauties of the Dakotas and Montana where he made his historic flight It is hard to imagine on an early morning still air arrival from the west crossing Mullan Pass with a 737 flaps 30 and the gear down and on bug speed that we were three minutes from the end of the runway at Helena and Dixons trip took 40 more minutes

Coming only eight years after the Wright brothers feat Dixons achieveshyment was as great in its way as was theirs Dixon flew his bamboo and fabric Curtiss

D-III biplane to an altitude of7000 feet higher than man had flown previously Dixons airplane appears to be a D-III vershysion of the Curtiss D model the primary difference being that the ailerons pivoted from the rear interplane strut The other significant difference was the fabric covershying on both top and bottom surfaces of the wing The engine on the D-III was a V-8 of 60 to 70 horsepower and the wingspan was 26 feet 3 inches Taking off from Heshylenas fairgrounds on September 30 1911 in the early afternoon Dixon headed for Blossberg Montana a 17 mile flight through Mullan Pass where at 5092 feet above sea level headwinds and turbulence were the order of the day Kind folks in Blossberg set a large bonfire ablaze to sigshynal to Dixon his point of arrival which he reached at 234 pm He left the deep valshyley location of Blossberg at 3 16 pm and after struggling for altitude reached 7000 feet and landed at Helena at 359 pm claiming the $10000 prize offered for the first successful flight across the Continenshytal Divide Cromwell had hoped that this money would help him to support his

mother and sister who had given him so much moral support in his search for aviashytion fame An account ofDixons feat was recorded in the Montana Daily Record It was one of the most dangerous feats ever attempted by man Death was pitted against daring and daring won Treachershyous winds above jagged peaks and declivitous slopes below It was a gamble Had for one instant fear crept into the heart of the bird-boy- -the wind and rocks would have claimed another victim

It was not to be so Two days later Cromwell Dixons life came to an end as his airplane crashed in Spokane during an exhibition flight He was just 19 years old and lived scarcely long enough to enjoy the fame and fortune he so richly deserved for his achievements

The State of Montana has chosen to honor Cromwell Dixon through granite memorials and murals at the Helena airshyport terminal plus a historic marker high above MacDonald Pass where highway 12 crosses the Divide near Blossberg One day several years ago I drove to Helena from my home in Big Fork to attend a dinshy

ner meeting of the Cromwell Dixon Society a group founded here in Montana whose members gather each September 30 to commemoshyrate Cromwell Dixons deeds and keep alive the memory of the young many who billed himself as the worlds youngest aviator I was early and decided to try to find the area where Dixon might have landed on his historic flight Blossberg as a town no longer exists and the railshyroad which Dixon landed near has been relocated to accommodate toshydays powerful locomotives As I looked at the scene three small airshycraft flew over Society members paying homage to the young birdshyboy we were joining together to celebrate that evening

10 APRIL 1999

FROM THE ARCHIVES by HG Frautschy

The next few editions ofFrom the Archives will focus on the Flaglor collection a donation of negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville WI

The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe fastest transports in existence when it was constructed and many feeder airlines used it to haul passengers and mail In producshytion from 1934 until 1941 its launch cusshytomer was Northwest who flew their fast Lockheeds allover the Midwest Popular w ith Pan American Airlines a number of Central American operators who were Pan Am affiliates also bought Electras This Mexican registered example was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C it was delivered on November 30 1934 It crashed 30 miles southeast of Playa Vicente Veracruz Mexico on November 1 1937

Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E a favorite of many a boy in the 1930s Heres another longtime favorite based at the same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit MI This is the Boeing Pshy26C built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March of 1936 Flaps were later added to all the P-26 models in service Powered by a Pratt amp Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33 it could reach a maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28000 ft

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE or should I say ZSshy

AOA she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in

close to her bright blue fuselage Yes her wings do fold neatly back She was in

the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California

As a Tiger Moth owner of many years I was visiting my friend Ed Clark

owner of the Moth Works located a few blocks from the airport Several

times over the past years Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his

Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum Ed displayed his

Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and

Hawthornes one paved runway

Although in a museum he flew his Hornet Moth regularly one trip as far

away as Seattle Washington He and his wife Connie loved the Hornet

Connie as a matter of fact picked out the colors when they restored it By the

way 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for

Ed and Connie

Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for

over thirty years For many years he has been building five Gipsy Moths the

predecessor of the Tiger Moth and two have since been sold Like many vinshy

tage aircraft restorers Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided

to sell his Hornet Moth

Pleasant to Fly Without the Sting America s Only Flying Hornet Moth

The upper landing gear fairings By Walt Kessler also serve as air brakes giving the DH87s pilot enhanced speed and decent control Ted Koston Photography

12 APRIL 1999

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

FROM THE ARCHIVES by HG Frautschy

The next few editions ofFrom the Archives will focus on the Flaglor collection a donation of negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville WI

The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe fastest transports in existence when it was constructed and many feeder airlines used it to haul passengers and mail In producshytion from 1934 until 1941 its launch cusshytomer was Northwest who flew their fast Lockheeds allover the Midwest Popular w ith Pan American Airlines a number of Central American operators who were Pan Am affiliates also bought Electras This Mexican registered example was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C it was delivered on November 30 1934 It crashed 30 miles southeast of Playa Vicente Veracruz Mexico on November 1 1937

Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E a favorite of many a boy in the 1930s Heres another longtime favorite based at the same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit MI This is the Boeing Pshy26C built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March of 1936 Flaps were later added to all the P-26 models in service Powered by a Pratt amp Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33 it could reach a maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28000 ft

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE or should I say ZSshy

AOA she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in

close to her bright blue fuselage Yes her wings do fold neatly back She was in

the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California

As a Tiger Moth owner of many years I was visiting my friend Ed Clark

owner of the Moth Works located a few blocks from the airport Several

times over the past years Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his

Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum Ed displayed his

Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and

Hawthornes one paved runway

Although in a museum he flew his Hornet Moth regularly one trip as far

away as Seattle Washington He and his wife Connie loved the Hornet

Connie as a matter of fact picked out the colors when they restored it By the

way 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for

Ed and Connie

Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for

over thirty years For many years he has been building five Gipsy Moths the

predecessor of the Tiger Moth and two have since been sold Like many vinshy

tage aircraft restorers Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided

to sell his Hornet Moth

Pleasant to Fly Without the Sting America s Only Flying Hornet Moth

The upper landing gear fairings By Walt Kessler also serve as air brakes giving the DH87s pilot enhanced speed and decent control Ted Koston Photography

12 APRIL 1999

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

WHEN I FIRST SAW 74 ECHO CHARLIE or should I say ZSshy

AOA she was resting quietly with both white wings tucked back and nestled in

close to her bright blue fuselage Yes her wings do fold neatly back She was in

the Western Museum of Flight hangar located on Hawthorne Airport in California

As a Tiger Moth owner of many years I was visiting my friend Ed Clark

owner of the Moth Works located a few blocks from the airport Several

times over the past years Ed had taken me over to the Museum to look at his

Hornet Moth and other aircraft on display in the Museum Ed displayed his

Hornet at the front of the museum for easy access to the hangar door and

Hawthornes one paved runway

Although in a museum he flew his Hornet Moth regularly one trip as far

away as Seattle Washington He and his wife Connie loved the Hornet

Connie as a matter of fact picked out the colors when they restored it By the

way 74 EC stands for the year Ed and Connie Clark were married and EC for

Ed and Connie

Ed has specialized in the restoration of deHavilland aircraft and engines for

over thirty years For many years he has been building five Gipsy Moths the

predecessor of the Tiger Moth and two have since been sold Like many vinshy

tage aircraft restorers Ed had a lot of irons in the fire and he reluctantly decided

to sell his Hornet Moth

Pleasant to Fly Without the Sting America s Only Flying Hornet Moth

The upper landing gear fairings By Walt Kessler also serve as air brakes giving the DH87s pilot enhanced speed and decent control Ted Koston Photography

12 APRIL 1999

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfield England in 1938 and first flew on July 9 of that year It was the third to the last one built by the deHavilshyland Aircraft Company That same month it was crated and packed for export to South Africa Arriving in August it was reassembled and flown on August 23 at Johannesshyburg It was registered as ZS-AOA to John R Paget

Several years later in 1940 it was impressed into the SAAF (South African Air Force) as 1584 It was used for communications work and during its five years in the SAAF service clocking about 600 hours

In April 1959 she was regshyRoland Schable of Janesville WI flies Walt Kesslers DH87 Hornet Moth over the shore of Lake Geneva WI istered with C F Strecker at during a glorious Wisconsin fall season This shot by Ted Koston was taken from a Stearman flown by Tom

Rand Then it was sold to Foreys of Woodale IL several other owners (here it gets a little sketchy) a Mr Malherbe then J D Haupt and W C Whitfield at Benoni in 1968

The original Gipsy Major 130 hp enshygine was replaced with a Gipsy Major IC engine rated at 145 hp The newer engine had been in storage for some time and then installed in the Hornet in April of 1968 During April of 1973 the engine had 312 hours since a major overhaul On October 5 1978 the registration was canceled as ZS-AOA and the Hornet Moth was exshyported to the United States She spent considerable time in storage in California after purchase by her new owner Robert McJohnston who subsequently sold her to Ed Clark of Hawthorne California in Aushy

gust of 1985 Clark completely overshyhauled the engine in September of 1986 New guides sodium filled valves cylinshyders rods pistons and rings were installed plus accessories and many other parts

Sixty weight straight mineral oil is used in the Gipsy engine during the sumshymer months The airframe has 1600 hours and is covered with linen Paint is Delstar blue acrylic enamel and Fleet white with Midnight blue for the striping The linen was put on about 12 years ago and the fabshyric still passes the punch test Although Ive had lots of experience in taildragger aircraft including 17 years in the Tiger Moth flying the Hornet Moth proved to be a real challenge for me When I first got in

the left seat taxiing proved to be a chore I was not familiar with the full castering tailwheel or the Bendix mechanical brakes and their idiosyncrasies

Needless to say my first few takeoffs and landings on Hawthornes hard surface runway reminded me of some of my first flight lessons years ago They werent that great I also heard all these wild stories about the Hornet being tail heavy which she isnt and how bad she is in a crossshywind which she is Several years before I bought the aeroplane Ed had wiped the right gear out at Mojave Airport in a strong crosswind that caught him off guard I was prepared for the worst

After all this was a 56-year-old beaushytiful antique airplane To make matters worse - and to my knowlshyedge - it is the only Hornet Moth flying in North America so it is a very rare airplane indeed and I didnt want to bend it Plus I was to fly it back from California to Illinois

In addition to the normal pre-flight and walk around there is one very imshyportant check we make The wings on the Hornet Moth fold back for storage Both sets of wings are hinged to the fuselage The hinges are located three-

With its left wing folded for storage ZSshyADA rests on the airport at Lake Geneva WI Thats not an extra pair of wings behind the Hornet Moth - Walt enjoys British aircraft and his Tiger Moth sits awaiting a flight

14 APRIL 1999

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

Ted Koston Photography

Capetown South Africa Youngs Field Aerodrome November 1966 Frank Wilson who took the photo met Walt at EAA Oshkosh and send him photographs of the Hornet Moth when it was painted in a style obviously influenced by the Hollywood movie

The cabin of the Hornet Moth has a handy dual grip stick and a pair of large toggle switches for the magnetos mounted near the center of the instrument panel The horizontal trim across the middle separates two panels The instrument board can fold down for easy maintenance and the lower board folds up for access to a small storage area The sliding panel on the left when opened reveals a transponder and other modern electronics

quarters of the way back from the wing leading edge When the wings are in flyshying position we make sure that four spring-loaded pins located at each leadshying edge are securely locked into the fuselage After the pins are inserted leather straps extend over the pins and snap ftrmly into place

A jury strut is hinged to each top wing spar near both sides ofthe fuselage When flying both jury struts are held in place by a metal bracket beneath each top wing

Before the wings are folded back the jury struts are swung down and the lower ends are positioned and attached to the lower wing spar They are locked in place by turning them with your hand This gives added support to the wings before folding them back

At the top wing trailing edge located at both wing roots a 32 by 18 section of the trailing edge is hinged to the wing This section will fold up and forward to lie flat on the upper surface of the wing This must be done before the wings can be folded back With the 32 section of the trailing edge folded forward the void creshyated allows the upper wings to fold back partially over the top of the fuselage

The lower wings when folded back

released around the same time

are designed to allow the trailing edge to slide beneath the fuselage In the flying mode we make sure that both hinged sections of the trailing edges of the upshyper wings are down in their normal position and locked in place

It is fairly easy to get in or out of the Hornet Once up on the left wing walk

while crouching between the wings you swing your right leg in over the seat then you pull yourself across putting all your weight on your right leg It helps to grab the steel wing-bracing bar in the cabin overhead as you climb aboard

The leather seats do not adjust but are quite comfortable The rudder pedals can be adjusted to one of three positions deshypending on your height

The cabin is simple and very elegant You are surrounded with brass a walnut wood instrument panel and bright shiny aluminum The cabin roof overhead is all clear window which makes for great visishybility When it does get too hot one merely reaches back and pulls a neat sun shade forward that locks into place overshyhead There is even a rear view mirror that makes it possible to see behind you while taxiing or flying

The art and the quality of the early craftsmanship is evident throughout the cabins interior Both walnut and leather upholstered doors actually bow outward which gives both occupants plenty of elshybow room The left door holds the large brake handle and the throttle and mixture

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

At Kessler Field Walts private airport west of Chicago the Hornet Moth strikes a pretty pose as it waits for Walt to start the Gipsy Major engine and take off to enJoy the smooth evening air

controls Above the left door pillar is the elevator trim adjustment

At the left side of the instrument panel is a large aluminum lever called an air brake When pushed down both landing gear struts turn flat against the slipstream thus reducing the airspeed considerably

The lower half of the walnut wood inshystrument panel is also on a brass hinge Lifting the panel toward you and upward reveals a large storage area Also cleverly hidden inside is a Mode C Transponder altimeter amp gauge intercom and Escort II radio

A sliding door at the left of the panel lets you access the radio for communicatshying and navigating and viewing the altimeter The panel of instruments is aushythentic 1938 and yet when you lift the hinged panel there are all the modem day electronics hidden away from view

I might add that Hawthorne Airport where the Hornet was based is only a litshytle more than three miles away from LAX Its in Class B airspace so all these modern electronics were necesshysary and convenient

In between the seats is a velY comfortshyable leather armrest that also flips open for an additional storage area for sunglasses plotters pencils or whatever will fit

The Y stick or control column is poshysitioned at the center of the cabin floor It is spring loaded to move forward to allow easier entry and exit The stick does take some getting used to as it does not sit dishyrectly in front of you

Its a little difficult to pick the right poshysition for the elevators before takeoff but after a while you do get the feel of it You have to sort of guess at a position before the speed builds up to tell you if the nose is too high or too low Also because of

16 APRIL 1999

the very wide cabin the fuselage sides starting from the instrument panel forshyward angle sharply in toward the nose and are not parallel with your direction of takeshyoff or landing

The P 11 compass which is five inches in diameter sits at the center of the cabin just in front of the control column It has a neat little light that is positioned just above it

The fuel gauge is located between the two leather seat back at your right elbow The onlofffuel selector is a vertical lever that slides up and down and is located next to the fuel gauge 74 Echo Charlie does have a complete electrical system shielded ignition nav lights and a strobe at the bottom of the fuselage

Starting the Gipsy Major engine is difshyferent First you must tickle the carburetor that is hold down a small butshyton to flood it At the

left A push of the starter button on the panel and it belches to life The Gipsy Major settles down and idles with that fashymiliar sound that reminds one of a Model A Ford engine Recommended procedure is to idle the engine at about 800 rpm for about four minutes Oil pressure should be between 30 and 40 Ibs when cold

Within the cabin it is a little noisy but not too bad You can still hear and conshyversation can be carried on however headphones are the order of the day

The Bendix differential brakes once you get used to them are easy to use Full rudder pedal is demanded in either direction or when the ratcheted hand brake lever is pulled both wheel brakes function together

The Hornets angular nose does sit high while taxiing which doesnt help with forshyward visibility Lined up into the wind we do our engine check and go through our pre-takeoff checklist There is no temshyperature gauge so after about four minutes we run the engine up to 1800 rpm for a mag check then full throttle for max power check The brakes hold well

After checking the trim throttle brakes mixture oil pressure fuel selector lever compass air brakes doors and belts and we clear our area we give her full power for takeoff Today the wind is right down our favorite grassy runway

We set the stick position for neutral while we build up our airspeed We bring the tail up as soon as we have elevator control and hold the stick forward Now our view is much better The takeoff run

- Continued on page 25shy

same time you reach around the front of the engine with your right hand to the left side of the engine A lever attached to the fuel pump is wobbled up and down until you hear the fuel start to trickle and flow After buttoning both cowl doors we turn the wooden prop (made in Australia) over about six or eight times (all switches off) Reshymember the British engine turns the opshyposite from the American - to the

SPECIFICATIONS DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH 130 horsepower Gipsy Major

Weight (including standard equipment) 1255 Ibs Useful Load695 Ibs Length Overall 24 ft 115 in Span 31 ft 114 in Span (with wings folded) 9 ft 05 in Height 6 ft 70 in Maximum speed at sea level 121-124 mph Cruising speed at 1000 ft2050 rpm 103-105 mph Endurance (with normal tanks) 6 hours Stalling Speed 40 mph Takeoff run in 5 mph wind 135-175 yds Climb to 5000 ft 875 min Service Ceiling 14800 ft Gliding angle (air brakes on) 1 in 8 Price L875

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

Built when a compass still cost extra the 1938 Piper Cub Sport could be had with all sorts ofoptions

ne look at the front half of John Meyer s 1938 Cub

Oand you know something different has been reshystored Certainly the Piper Cub has long been the darling of the Vintage Airplane world sought after by thousands hoping to enjoy the simple ways of

the airplane so many used to learn about aviating But even Cubs come in different varieties and with each years model subtle changes were made Most obvious on the exterior of early J-3 Cubs were the barbed hook fuselage stripe and three-piece windshield Built up with three pieces of plastic held together by a pair of metal strips it would be a couple of years before a one piece molded unit was installed Even though the J-3C had much in common with the J-2 the biggest difference was the new Conshytinental A-50 engine a new more powerful engine meant to replace the ground-breaking A-40

John Meyer of Hudsonville MI and his 1938 J-3C Cub Sport

By RG Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

Leslie Hilbert

The original steerable non-swivel tailwheel was tough to find Originally an option on the Cub Sport one was finally tracked down with a rare tire found by Clyde

The similarities were most apparshyent in the wing structure Basically the same except for the curved root rib the wing has built-up metal ribs and wood spars The ribs proved to be quite a challenge for John (EAA 144458) of Hudsonville MI and his fellow restorers his cousin Sam Beach (EAA 550081) and the Cub Doctor Clyde Smith Jr (EAA 48316 V AA 20765)

Sam hails from Greenville MI and had some extra time on his hands one summer while he was between engineering jobs Sams two-week trip down to Hudsonville MI would help solidify one more restoration team members hero status - Johns wife Lois During the time the Cub was being restored Clyde Smith would spend extended periods living with the Meyers so the maximum amount of time could be spent on the project Lois kept the restorers fed and took care of so many other chores that John says he really came to appreciate his wifes patience with all the extra traffic in the house exshytra cleaning etc Certainly her work contributed to the success of the restoration project as much as the work done by the other folks From

18 APRIL 1999

The cockpit of the J-3C Cub Sport was also different from the trainer model The upholshystered side panels and varnished floorboards were unique to the model The pre-war black face instruments with the Cub logo were expertly rebuilt and refaced by Keystone Instruments Lock Haven PA The magneto switches are the pushbutton variety changed a year later after complaints about the switches came to Pipers attention

John Sam and Clyde they all say Thanks Lois

When Sam arrived with his suitshycase he sat down to build ajig so the ribs that were so badly damaged while the Cub sat in a chicken coop could be rebuilt None of the ribs were usable so a new set had to be constructed using the thin corrugated aluminum and small rivets For two weeks Sam was the rib man Provshying his prowess with the lightweight structure earned him the right to reshybuild the ailerons which were in poor shape as well He also spent a lot of time with a bead blaster nozzle

in his hand cleaning off the many small parts so Clyde and John could evaluate them for airworthiness

John Meyer came to own the Cub in a way that would not be one he would choose but it all worked out fine in the end A wayward grandson of the owner sold the airplane withshyout his grandfatherS knowledge but thanks to a forgiving grandfather John was able to obtain clear title to the airplane and the paperwork for it as well including the logs Once it was at his home shop his check of the airplane made him realize it was a project he felt was beyond his level

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

of expertise Thats when he called in the Cub Doctor

Clyde Smith Jr has been menshytioned before in the pages of Vintage Airplane for a very sound reason Clydes been around Piper airplanes ever since he was born His father Clyde Smith Sr worked in the Piper plant in Lock Haven P A for most of the time the plant was open Starting in 1941 Clyde Sr was Pipers chief test pilot during WW-II and was the head of the experimental test flying department through the 1950s He retired from Piper in 1975 His son was born in December of 1947 durshying the heady days of the post-war lightplane boom

Dad didnt push junior into aviashytion preferring to allow the young man to choose his own path Still as he matured he did enter aviation earning his AampP and an engineering degree and just a couple of weeks after graduating from college young Clyde went to work in the drafting department of Piper Aircraft

In the early 1970s his interest in

homebuilt aircraft led him to the anshynual EAA members Convention in Oshkosh WI and as things turned out as AntiqueClassic Division members discovered Clyde worked at Piper they began questioning him about the correct configuration about their various projects Hed head back to Lock Haven with a notebook full of questions and before he knew it he became the man Hed be the first to tell you howshyever that the man is really his father especially in the beshyginning when hed ask his father to fill in the missing details

These days Clyde Smith Jr is kept busy putting on Piper restoration clinics where he shares his 20-plus years of Piper experience with felshylow restorers and each year at EAA AirVenture he puts

on the Cub Forum one that has intershyested Piper fans spilling out of the tent straining to hear each word

The father and son team of Smith and Smith have restored a number of Pipers including a Vagabond a Clipshyper and a J-3 the same one formerly owned by the Piper employees flying club For many the crowning restoration will long be the PA-12 Super Cruiser which earned a Grand

The J-3C also came with a set of snazzy aileron cable exit fairshyings and you can also see the very necessary aileron gap seals

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

All of the side glass is thin Plexiglasreg replacing the original but delicate 060 in acetate winshydows The peanut shell wheel pants are reproductions of original metal pants available as an option on the Cub Sport as are the metal shock cord covers on the landing gear Both were installed on the airplane when it was delivered but brakes another option were not John and Clyde opted to install an original set of brakes

Champion Classic trophy at EAA Oshkosh 86 and previously at the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In It seemed to pick up the hardware everywhere it went and deservedly so

With such a resume it wasnt too hard for John to know who to ask but would he come Happily they were able to come to an agreement and for the next three years Clyde would spend an extended period of time working side-by-side with John and Sam as they rebuilt an airplane said to be in deplorable shape

There was plenty to do Once the fuselage was cleaned up and ready for paint Clyde applied Randolph Rand-O-Plate primer followed by a coat of white Fuller OBrien epoxy paint The white color Clyde exshyplained makes it look newer and al so its easier to inspect in the tail where it is dark You can see rust imshymediately and you can detect cracks It also gives me a good white base coat for the tubes in the cabin which are painted yellow

Cub yellow is not the densest color but has poor hiding qualities Later when it came time to paint the Ceconite 104 fabric and the sheet metal a base coat of white was used again to make certain the yellow would have the proper hue

All sorts of little details put Clyde

20 APRIL 1999

to the test including the engine oil tank Not your regular kidney tank this tank was a rolled piece of galvashynized steel soldered together and then painted The boot cowl had to be replicated as did the three-piece windshield A set of cast aluminum engine valve covers had to be found to replace the badly corroded parts found in the chicken coop and Cub restorer Dave Henderson was able to come up with those

Each visit with the Meyers would resu lt in a little bit more of the Cub being complete and finally nearly three years after beginning with a pile of parts that had been walked on by chickens John Meyers J-3C was ready to take to the air restored to exacting standards as it was the day it rolled out into to sunshine in the valley of the west branch of the Susquehanna river It first flew again after its restoration on September 5 1995 John Meyer was thrilled with the final product of their labor and of his new friend Clyde Smith Jr

I cant say enough about his workmanship enthused John He is an interesting guy to work with shywe have a lot in common it was a fun project for me

The following summer a trip to Oshkosh was made and the judges and spectators got a gl impse of the past The week was spent answering questions (when Dan Knutson wasshynt out looking at other Pipers with Clyde Smith) and when it was time for the awards ceremony at the EAA Theater in the Woods the announced winner of the Bronze Age (1933shy1941) Champion of EAA Oshkosh 96 was Piper J-3C Cub Sport NC21646 restored by John Meyer Clyde Smith and Sam Beach Stickshying to the original script was the best way to get just what John wanted and pretty Cub just like it was alshymost 60 years ago

Sitting behind a Continental A-50 swinging a Flottorp prop (made just a few miles down the road from Johns boyhood home) John Meyer enjoys flying his Cub Sport from the back seat where thousands of new pilots first soloed

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

Aeronca retiree and SIN 2 Chief restorshyer Bob Hollenbaugh of Middletown OH sent in this months Mystery Plane The photo was taken while he was a student at Parks Air College in Cahokia IL just south of East St Louis IL In 1940 the large amphibian was flown in to be serviced then it hopped over town to Curtiss-Steinberg field April Mystery Plane

by HG Frautschy

Our January Mystery Plane from George Townson created a little stir of interest from those who remember the project including Harry C Luecke of Lexington NC

Dear Sir It is good to know that George

Townson is still active I remember him back in the early thirties when he was working at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when I was learning to fly He must be in his eighties since I am 84

1 have enclosed two photos (one beshylow and on the next page) of the January Mystery Plane that were taken

in the early thirties at the Boulevard Airport in Philadelphia I never saw it fly but it had to get there

It looks like someone s noble exshyperiment

Harry Luecke (EAA 322834 V AA 24214) Now we can answer Harrys

decades long question - whos noshyble experiment is this

The January Mystery Plane is the Hall-Aluminum Monoped

The Monoped was the personal airshycraft ofCharles Ward Hall who was dedicated to the use ofaluminum in airshycraft structures at a time when wood and steel tubing were the accepted mashyterials He also pioneered the concepts ofweight control and ofusing aerodyshynamic forces for stress relief or transfer

Perhaps this plane can be described as looking like a porcine Rearwin Speedster It derives its name from the unusual landing gear a single central retractable Goodyear 22 x 104 wheel supplemented by small outriggers loshycated in a sesqui-wing lifting strut combination By all accounts the airshyplane was easy to fly Hall used to joke about reading the newspaper while flying down to Washington DC from his Bristol Pennsylvania factory

The cockpit of the little private transport was well instrumented and had a Lear radio The control stick was suspended from an overhead mounting in the cockpit thus reducing the number ofcontrol cable pulleys and length ofcable run required The aircraft structure was all aluminum

Powered by a 120 hp Ranger six cylinder model 390 engine swinging a steel Hamilton-Standard prop the lit-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

tle Monop ed had a top speed of 130 mph Wingspan was 32 feet length 25 feet

Hall lost his life in the Monoped on 21 Augus t 1936 when th e airplane struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell New Jersey At the time of the crash the plane had logged more than 530 hours The Monoped was his next to last design and probably his favorite of the 31 aircraft ofseven different types he created in his lifetime

Hal s concep ts did not die with him however and his pioneering use ofaluminum was adopted by many other firms He was an engineering genius whose advanced ideas on metal working eased the transition from wood and fabric to all metal aircraft for the us Navy

Starting his career as a building contractor Hall s radical search for improved methods got him into so much trouble with the building trade unions that he was forced to seek anshyother fie ld He had his first airplane ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909 and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF flying boats at the Rodman Wanashymaker school in Washington Long Island New York By 1922 he had built his first aircraft a tiny 25 foot wingspan biplane flying boat conshystructed entirely ofaluminum except

for a wood spar upper wing The experience gave him sufficient

confidence in his skills to set up his own engineering firm and begin bidshyding on Navy contracts It was a move that would keep him prosperous durshying the Great Depression ofthe 1930s With good judgm ent and efficient management Hall kept his firm small and prosperous during this p eriod when one major company after anshyother went bankrupt

Charles Ward Halls greatest legacy was the pursuit ofweight control an idea more important now than when he was blazing new trails in structure Unfortunately no example ofHalls

handiwork survives today Ref Airpower Sept 72 Now

Theres a rare Bird- Walt Boyne Wings June 75 Th e Flying Hallshy

marks-Walt Boyne Ke ep Em Flying and Keep Us

Guessing HG Cheers Larry Knechtel EAA 391208 VAA 17648) Seattle WA

Correct answers were also received from Doug Rounds Zebulon GA Harry O Barker Jr West Milford NJ Pete Bowers Seattle W A and Joseph J Tarafas Bethlehem P A

bull Hany Luecke_

22 APRIL 1999

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

PASS IT TO BUCK by EE Buck Hilbert

EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

Little Rocket No 2

1930 All American Fly ing Derby - Little Rocket - Command Aire - Lee Gehlbach - Albert Vollmecke - Joe Araldi - Sun n Fun Museum - Lakeland FL

They all come together although it is been many years since the All American Flying Derby of 1930

The All American Flying Derby was sponso red by the American Cirrus Corporation makers of the Cirrus line of aircraft engines To promote their engines they offered a 15000 do llar prize for the winshyner The race course was some five thousand miles long starting and finishing in Detroit MI The enshytrants had to have American Cirrus engines installed in their aircraft to be eligible to compete

Command Aires Little Rocket came home with the prize Lee Gehlbach was the winning pishylot and Albert Vollmecke was the little race planes des igner Joe Araldi is the builder of Little Rocket 2 and after flying it he has it on loan to the International Sport Aviation Museum on the Sun n Fun grounds in Lakeland FL

The significance of this airplane The Little Rocket is somehow lost

Joe Araldi pilots the Little Rocket No 2 powered by a Wright Gipsy in place of the original American Cirrus Corporation engine Albert concurred on the engine change remarking that t he Wright would have been the choice if the Rocket had gone into production Purpose-built to enter and w in the All American Air Derby of 1930 the sleek monoplane won the 5541 mile race reaching speeds of up to 200 mph on one leg Its average speed of 12711 mph

Joe Araldi builder of Little Rocket No 2 checks his work on one of the elevashytors of the replica racer

~amp-

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

The exquisite woodwork done by Joe Araldi on the Little Rocket No2 can be seen in these two views of the aft fuselage The lightweight but strong design by Albert Vollmecke is evident in the light bulkheads and veneer turtledeck

The unique wheels are a testament to the genius of Albert Vollmecke who did all he could to get every bit of speed out of the Little Rocket Each of the wheels also incorporates the only shock absorbing in the landing gear The skinny wheels and tires didnt help any on the bump soaking-up department Joe Araldi and his friend Harry Stenger built them up machining the castings and recreating the remarkable units

in the shadow of the Gee Bees the Howards and the Big Iron growlers of that era But here was an airplane deshysigned and built from scratch in just about four months for the sole purshypose of winning that race

The four cylinder in-line engine with supercharger put out about 110 hp Installed in this super-light little airframe it went like a streak Eighshyteen airplanes started the race but only ten finished The Cirrus engines had problems that were eventually conquered but their reliability in those days was tongue-in-cheek

Serial No2 came about in an unshyusual way Joe Araldi had to go and open his big mouth to the original deshy

24 APRIL 1999

signer Albert Vollmecke during a Cognac frontal passage they were imshybibing and Albert game him the prints for the original aircraft on the promise that Joe would build one

Well seven years upteen trillion dollars a zillion phone calls to Albert and the labor of half of the Florida aviation community and there stands Little rocket number two

The story has been well told sevshyeral times - Skyways Vol 23 July 1992 and Vol 26 April 93 feature the No2 airplane and the trials and tribulations of its building From its start with Joes admiration of his Command Aire biplane and his deshysire to meet its designer to the

passing Cognac front the revelation of the Little Rocket plans the germ of an idea and the culmination of that first flight

Aero Digest Sept 1930 had the whole American Air race in great deshytail including the original National Aeronautic Association record sheets Joe was born sixty two years too late to be part of it but believe me hes flown that race many times in his mind after test flying serial number two His admiration for the designer and the pilot Lee Gehlbach who flew it to victory are soon evishydent when you read or listen to his story

Little Rocket ushered in a number of super-light racing planes in the next few years Howards Mike and Ike Chesters Goon and Jeep Folkshyerts SK series and The Miles amp Atwood racer were built after the Litshytle Rocket proved it could be done Still the big growlers like the LairdshyTurner and the Marcoux-Bromberg Special and their ilk were the big crowd pleasers

After flying this built to win airshyplane Joe decided the best place for it was in a museum so it rests in a place of honor in Lakeland a tribute to the man who designed it and the pilot who flew it to victory

When you come down for the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In this year drop into the International Sport Aviation Museum and join with other race plane fans as they admire this beautishyful airplane Reflect for a minute or two on the pioneering victory it made back in 1930 f( Bcltck

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

-Continued from page 16shy

is short and the Hornet gets off in less than 200 yards We are lightly loaded and are underway

Aileron control is pretty good At 70 mph we climb out at about 600 feet per minute rate of climb

The Hornet Moth cruises as nice as my Cessna 182 It is a very stable platshyform easy to trim and we even have a rudder trim a ratcheted horizontal bracket beneath the instrument panel that is easy to adjust

The Hornet Moths nose really slants downward below the horizon - more nose down than other aircraft which gives it excellent forward visibility while in cruise There is a tendency at fITst to takeshyoff and climb too steeply As a result attention should be paid to the airspeed inshydicator rather than the feel or aspect of the Hornet At 2050 rpm we do about 105 mph in cruise

The Hornet handles beautifully for long

cross country trips The stall which ocshycurs at about 40 mph is quite gentle

Coming into the pattern speed is easy to dissipate as we can push down the air brake lever at any speed either for slowing down or decreasing the float on landing The air brake reduces top speed about 35 mph Without the air brake the Hornet tends to float and the glide is very flat

On downwind we bring the power back to about 1700 rpm and about 80 mph Our pre-landing check is simple brakes mixture fuel doors belts on look for trafshyfic On final at about 400 feet I pull down the air brake lever with my left hand and the Hornet settles back to about 65 mph Rudder and elevator control are fme but aileron control is a little slow

It takes a while to get used to the conshytrol column especially in turbulent conditions and not having it directly in front of you Over the fence we come in at 55-60 mph and do a wheel landing Most pilots land the Hornet using the wheel landing technique

The Hornet has a springy but very strong gear that sometimes gives you some excitement when you least want or expect it Landing run in a 5 mph headshywind is supposed to be about 125 yards With wheel landings however the landing roll is much longer

Ninety degree crosswinds are as bad with the Hornet as they are with most tailshydraggers Anything over 8 to 10 mph makes your landing or takeoff a No-Go situation As we taxi the wings are very close to the ground so we must be in full control all the way to shut down At 1000 rpm I close the throttle switch off the mags and then open the throttle When the engine stops I close the throttle Mag igshynition switch and radio are turned off

One thing I have learned flying the old antiques including the Hornet Moth they are all different Each one has its own moods and characteristics and most handle differently from each other Knowshying how to fly one taildragger doesnt make you an expert on all taildraggers As

THE HORNET FLIES HOME ____ To help with the flying chores I enlisted a good friend of With blue skies all around us at Albuquerque a stationary

mine - Roland Schable from Janesville Wisconsin Flying front had settled in just over the Sandia Mountains to the out of the LA basin can be a zoo especially flying an unfashy east this held us up for two days Finally early the miliar 56-year-old airplane As we departed Hawthome our morning of the third day we were ready to depart Coronado intent was to follow a highway east with Blythe as our first Airport During the runup the engine started missing again fuel stop This time it was the back cylinders plugs that went bad Forshy

The LA area had the usual haze and what seemed like a tunately we had along six spare Lodge plugs (British) and we hundred freeways all going in different directions replaced both fouled plugs

When we landed at Blythe the temperature was 110deg With fuel stops at Tucumcari and Dodge City we finally arshyon the runway After refueling and doing our runup the rived about 830 pm at Topeka Airport where we stayed rpm indicator needle got tired and started to oscillate and the night We did almost 800 miles this one day then the cable snapped It really didnt affect the flight any Next morning we were off at 815 and made a fuel stop at because in anticipation of this happening I had put a Ottumwa What a wind Roland got out and as I taxied in for pencil mark on the throttle quadrant indicating where fuel he held the wings as best he could (Our charts also cruise power should be blew out the open door)

Upon reaching Phoenixs Deer Valley Airport all of a sudshy We launched from Ottumwas 1100 foot taxiway instead den our 4-cylinder engine started to sputter and lose power of the runway The winds were blowing about 25 mph gustshyWe found out later it was fouled plugs in the front cylinder ing to 35 Several hours later we arrived over my strip near Temperature was about 105deg so with 25 of our engine Marengo Illinois with a 90deg crosswind blowing right out of power lost we made a porpoise type landing My friends the west at 25 mph So we landed at my neighbors strip Bob and Carol Curtin of Scottsdale Al took plenty of picshy which is an eastwest runway After the winds diminished tures and can prove it we flew Echo Charlie back to my place a short hop away

Another friend Mike Kelley also of Scottsdale graciously She sure loves grass runways let us use his hangar for the night Before leaving the next The total distance of the journey was about 1840 miles morning we changed both fouled plugs and the engine was and flying time took about 21 hours Over the mountains fine again and passes and through the valleys we followed highways

Over Flagstaff (elevation 7011 ft) we were at 9200 feet and other check points until we got to the flat lands There following a highway and on both sides of us mountain peaks we used a Trimble handheld GPS I had borrowed from good jutted upward to almost 12000 feet I wondered if 74EC friends Don and Maureen Alesi What a neat tool had ever flown this high before With a fuel stop at Holshy It was a great and exciting trip and one we shall always brook we went on to Coronado Airport at Albuquerque NM remember

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

I said they are all different The key is to know your airplane inshyside and out Know its good habits and especially its bad ones if it has any

Of 165 Hornet Moths manufactured by deHaviliand from 1934 to 1938 less than 40 remain The original DH87A models with the tapered wings are almost extinct only one in Australia one in a museum in Edmonton Canada and I believe several in Great Britain

Presently there are only about 12 Hornets flying in the world with 74 Echo Charlie being the only one in North America She is registered in the US as 74 EC Experimental-Exhibition and in South Africa as ZS-AOA

She has been featured in several Hollywood movies In 1989 74EC was in a five hour miniseries on NBC called Til We Meet Again based on the novel by Judith Krantz She was also in one segment of the Designing Women television series

The Hornet Moth is one neat airplane but like some women I know does demand your undivided attention

Its also an endangered species Like other antique aircraft there arent too many of them left We need to preserve them all

In order to do this we need to get more tricycle gear pilots and new pilots into tailwheel type airplanes or in the future the only antiques around will be the modem Spam-cans oftoday

Lets fly

1 wrote to six names and addresses found in the Hornet Moths logbooks all ofthem at least 50 years old 1 put a $1 bill in each envelope with a short letter seeking information on the Hornet

Most thought Id never hear from anyone Four weeks later Jack Spencer sent me a letter with about 20 docushyments pictures schematics etc on the Hornetl

Would you believe it his father owned it and his family had not lived at the address 1 mailed the letter to in 30 years I His father passed away 18 years ago Jack was joyshyous and overwhelmed to hear from the owner ofhis fathers beloved Hornet Moth This air-to-air shot was taken by Jack riding in a Fairchild and shooting with a Baby Brownie Kodak camera when he was 12 years old

He sent me the history ofhis fathers aviation career and was quite enthused He also sent me copies ofhis fathers logbook

1 sent him several 8xl0 pictures ofthe Hornet as she looks today and he wrote back and said the pictures now hand in his pub

He told me there were two Hornets in South Africa and the other one is now in the South African Air Force Museum What a small world we really live in - Walt Kessler

26 APRIL 1999

DEHAVILLAND HORNET MOTH HISTORY

The Homet Moth DH87A was touted as a magnificent two place cabin biplane Gone forever are the days of draughty cockpits - helmets - goggles - long distance conversashytions through voice tubes The modem air tourist flies in the comfort and quietude of the Homet Moth Cabin so the British ads expounded

The year was 1936 and although introduced on May 9 1934 many Homet Moth owners and pilots were not very happy with its long tapered wings Also instead of a touring ship many were being used as trainers and low time pilots were having problems with the sharp stall characteristics

So Geoffrey deHaviliand decided to change things he added more wing area and made the wing tips sort of square Thus the DH87B was bom

The Homet Moth was the 87th in a long line of deHaviliand aircraft A pilot report in 1935 stated that The center of gravishyty was arranged so that once the aircraft was in the air there is no necessity to use the rudders at all

Ordinary flying maneuvers can be carried out perfectly by the use of elevators and ailerons only On a cross-country flight the pilot can take his feet off the rudder pedals and conshytrol the machine entirely by the stick

The fuselage of the Homet is all wood with longerons and struts covered with plywood On the outside of the plywood are additional longeron stringers which support the fabric covering Inspection plates are located in the floor of the fuselage - one large enough to put your head into which makes for easier inspections

The biplane wings have two spars of solid spruce and of course interplane struts are located on each side joining the top and the bottom wings Ailerons are on the lower wings only The wings fold back for easy storage Overall width when folded back is only 9 ft 10 in In 1934 deHaviliand introduced the trim tab to the Homet Moth instead of the trimming gear for the tail plane The Homet is also equipped with a castering tailshywheel Beneath the two seats is plenty of storage area for tools extra oil and other flight gear The battery is located beneath the right seat

Luggage area for 130 Ibs is also provided right behind the seats and over the fuel tank which holds 35 Imperial gallons The instrument panel is finished in walnut veneer and houses the standard instruments of the thirties airspeed indicator rpm indicator altimeter tum and slip indicator vertical climb indicashytor magneto switches and oil pressure gauge The upper half of the panel that houses the instruments is hinged By unsnapshyping a leather strap at the top of the panel the entire instrushyment panel folds toward you for easy access to the instruments wires and cables The bottom half of the panel lifts toward you and storage space is provided all the way to the firewall

A one-piece windscreen closes the front of the cabin and both side door windows are of the sliding type for ventilation Walnut wood trim surrounds both side windows

The control column is Y shaped so that each occupant can use the controls

Dunlop wheels and Bendix mechanical brakes are standard equipment Both brakes are applied by pulling a single ratchet bar located on the left door

Dual fuel pumps are also standard equipment as the fuel tank is such that it will not gravity feed The Homet Moth was originally equipped with a 130 hp Gipsy Major engine In 1935 you could buy one for L875 or about $1300

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

Fly-In Calendar

months prior to the event date

APRIL 25 - HALF MOON BAY CALIFORNIA shy9th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines fly-in at HalfMoon Bay Airport 10 am - 4 pm Antiques classics warbirds vintage autos tnlcks Contact 650726-2328

MAY 1-ABiLENE KS - Abilene Aviation Associashytion Annual Fly-1n 99 and Pancake Feed Info 785263-3970

MA Y 7-9 - PINEHURSTSOUTHERN PINES NC shyMoore County Airport (SOP) EAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In Trophies EAAfellowship Friday golftourshynament Sat banquetguest speaker Sunday poker nm YEflights vintageaviationfilms HQ Holiday Inn Southern Pines 910692-3212 Info 910947shy6896 -1853 (Fax) or the web wwwsouthern shyaviatorcomad

MAY 8 - ALPENA MI (APN) EAA Chapter 1021 Spring Bust Out Pancake breakfast 800 AM to 1200 noon Aerobatics demonstration by a local Yak 55 and Glider Towing Demonstration by Alpena Soaring Club For information phone 517-354-5465 or 517-354-2907 or email rbocknorthlandlibmius

MAY 15 -ALLIANCE OH -Alliance-Barber Airshyport (2DI) Taylorcrafl Foundation and Taylorcrafl Owners Club welcomes all to the Armed Forces Day Military Vehicle showJeaturing reenactments and military displays Food being served all day Sod field - use caution Info Forrest Barber 330823shy1168 jbarberalliancelinkcom or check wwwtaylorcraflmiddotorg

MAY 15 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

MAY 16 - WARWICK NY - EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In at Warwick Aerodrome (N72) 10 am-4 pm Food available trophies Judging closes at 2 pm Unicom 1230 Info Harry Barker 973838-7485

MAY 16 - ROMEOVILLE IL - Lewis Romeoville airshyport (LOT) EAA Chapter 15 Fly-In breakfast 7 am-Noon Contact Frank Goebel 815436-6153

MAY 28-30 - ATCHISON KS - Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport KC Chapter ofAAA 33rd Anshynual Fly-In Potluck dinner for registered guests Fri night Awards banquet Sat night On field camping hotels other accomodations available Info Gerry Gippner 913764-8512 or Stephen Lawlor 816238-2161

MA Y29 - OGDEN UT - Memorial day weekend Fly-

MTO Luscombe Fly- In Luscombe judging and awardsJonims and banquet $50 cash to Luscombe that flies the fartest to attend Contacts Jerry Cox 217234-8720 or Shannon Yoakim 217234-7120

JUNE 13 - ROCK FALLS iL - Whiteside County Airport (SQI) 17th Annual EAA Chapter 410 FlyshyInDrive-In Pancake Breakfast 7 am-noon Info Bill Havener 815626-0910

JUNE 16 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JUNE 17-20 - CREVE COEUR MO - American Waco C1l1b Fly-In Info Phil Coulson 616624-6490 or Jerry Brown 317535-8882

JUNE 19 - MOOSE LAKE MN - Lake Air Flying Club Annual Fly-In Breakfast 730-1100 am Info Larry Peterson 218485-4441

JUNE 20-25 - DURANGO CO - Animas Air Park 31st annllal lnternational Cessna 170 Association convention Bassed at the Doubletree Inn 970259shy6580 Info David or Judy Mason 409369-4362

JUNE 26-27 - WALWORTH WI- Bigfoot Field (W105) Pancake breakfastbrunch Aerobatic demo at 10 am Stearman rides and displays ofvintage aircrafl warbirds and experimentals 7am-I pm Info John Anderson 44248-8748

JUNE 26-27 - PETERSBURG-DINWIDDIE VIRshyGINIA - 3rd Annual State EAA Fly-In Contact Ron VanSickle 832932-4709 wwwvaeaaorg

JUNE 26-27 - LONGMONT CO - Vance Brand Airshyport (2V2ji-eq 122975) Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In Pancake breakfast and IlInch served on both days For more info see the RMRFI web page at wwwgreeleynetcomeaaregionalindexhtm

JUNE 27 - HAMMONTON NJ - (N81) EAA Chapshyter 216 Red White and Blueberry Festival Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Info George Bigge Jr 609582shy5630

JUNE 27 - NILES MI - Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport EAA Chapter 865 Pancake Breakfast 7am-1 pm Info Ralph Ballard 616684-0972 or Dick Haigh 616695-2057

JUNE 27 - ZANESViLLE OH - Municipal Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Awareness Day Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 3-5 - WELLSViLLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Fourth ofJuly Taildragger Fly-In Info John Shreve 77432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

JULY 5-8 - DENVER CO - Centennial Airport Short

Wing Piper Club annual convention This years theme Rocky MOllntain Rendezvous Info Kent OKelly 303979-3012 (Headwindsmsncom)or visit the SWPC web site at htlpwlVwshortwingcom

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON WA - Northwest EAA Reshygional Fly-in at Arlington Airport Contact Barbara Lawrence-Tolbert 360435-5857 or wlVwnweaa orgnweaa

JULY 9 -II - LOMPOC CA -15th annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Info Bruce Fall 805733-1914

JULY 10-12 - ALLIANCE OH - Alliance-Barber Airport (2DJ) 27th Annual Taylorcrafl Owners Club Fly-In and Old Timers Reunion DisplaysJorums workshops Sat evening program Breakfast Sat and Sun served by EAA Chapter 82 Sunday worship sershyvice Info Bruce Bixler 330823-9748 Forrest Barber 330823-1168jbarberalliancelinkcomor check wwwtaylorcraflorg

JULY 16-18 WEST YELLOWSTONE MT - 3th anshyIlUal Northwest Mountain Region Family Fly-In Safety Conference and Trade Show at the Holiday Inn Conference Center Sponsored by local EAA Chapters and the FAA Flight Standards District Of fice Kit plane exhibitors and seminars Contact Jim Cooney FAA FSDO 1-800457-9917 wwwjaa govlfsdolhln

JULY 17 - COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

JULY 25 - ZANESViLLE OH - Parr Airport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Injo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JULY 28-AUGUST 3 - OSHKOSH W1- 47th Annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 99 Willman Regional Airport Contact John Buron EAA P OBox 3086 WI 54903-3086 or see the web site at wwwairvenshytureorg

AUGUST 8- QUEEN CITY MO -12th annual Fly-In at Applegate Airport Info 660766-2644

AUGUST 21- COOPERSTOWN NY - (NY54) EAA Chapter 1070 Pancake breakfast and old Aeroplane Fly-In 7am - noon Info 607547-2526

SEPTEMBER 3-6 - WELLSVILLE PA - Footlight Ranch 10th annual Labor Day Fly-In Info Johll Shreve 717432-4441 or Email ShreveprtNaolcom

SEPTEMBER 4- STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO shyEAA Chapter 649 Vintage Fly-In

SEPTEMBER 5 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Airport Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2 pm Info Darrell Todd 740450-8633

SEPTEMBER 1O-12-ATWATER CALIFORNIA shyGolden West EAA Fly-In at Castle Airport Contact Wltwgwjly-inorg

SEPTEMBER II-12 -MARION OHIO - MERFI Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Contact Lou Lindeshymall937849-9455

SEPTEMBER 17-19 - JACKSONVILLE IL - (IJX) 15th Annual Bvron Smith Memorial Midwest Stinson Reunion InfoeSuzette Selig 630904-6964

SEPTEMBER 17-18 - BARTLESVILLE OK shyFrank Phillips Field 42nd Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA chapter 10 VAA Chapter 10 IA C Chapter 0 AAA Chapter 2 and the Green County Ultralight Flyers All types ofaircraft and airplane enthusiasts are encouraged to attend Adshymission is by donation Info Charles W Harris 918622-8400

OCTOBER 7- 10 - MESA ARIZONA - Copperstate EAA Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport Contact Bob Hasson 3027706420

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter ofiriformation only and does not constitute approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed Please send the information to EAA Au Golda Cox PD Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Information should be received four

In Open House and Air Show pancake breakfast Competitions Free shuttle to Hill Aerospace mushyseum lnfo Jerry Taylor 801629-8251

MAY 30 - ZANESVILLE OH - Riverside Airshyport EAA Chapter 425 Fly-in drive-in breakfast 8 am - 2pm 1nfo Darrell Todd 740450-8633

JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESViLLE OK - Frank Phillips Field 13th Annual National Biplane Conshyvention and Exposition Biplane Expo 99 Static Displays forums seminars workshops exhibits Biplanes and NBA membersfree all others pay admission Info Charles Harris Chairman 918622-8400 or Virgil Gaede Expo Director 918336-3976

JUNE 4-5 - MERCED CA - 42nd Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In Info Virginia or Ed Morshyford 209383-4632

JUNE 5-6 - ELKHART IN - EAA Chapter 132 Fly-In Breakfast and Elkhart Airshow Info 616699-5237

JUNE 11-13 - MATTOON iL - 3rd Annual

-Continued from page 7shy

time the tourist ladies did I visited with each in tum while Marc gave the other a birds-eye view of the town and surroundshying wonders One was a schoolteacher from Boston and the other a visitor from Isshyrael both delightful to talk with

We had 95V topped off again and left for points east about noon

Once more across the desert but as adshyvertised a lot more scenic than further south The meteor crater was a commandshying sight if it had struck just a little to the north it would have wiped out those buildshyings Much further to the east we landed at Albuquerques Double Eagle n airport outshyside the ABQ control zone for fuel A brand new looking corporate aviation facilshyity with nice amenities but no restaurant We settled for snacks from the vending machine and headed out again skirting north to miss the tall terrain We had tentashytively planned to make Borger Texas our next and overnight stop but nightfall began to catch up with us and we decided to cut it

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a few rniles short by going to Dumas I had lived there for a time long long ago and thought it would be fun to see again anyshyhow The field has been relocated since my era has two paved runways and a neat little flight office The place was deserted for the evening but a telephone on the porch with the operators phone number prominently displayed brought a prompt response

The jovial manager soon appeared and presented us with the keys to the courtesy car along with good advice for dinner and overnight accommodations After stuffing ourselves at the Steak House and unloading our stuff at the motel I picked up the local phone directory to see if there were any names I still recognized after 47 years abshysence Sure enough J L Kennedy still lived at the address I dimly remembered I gave him a call and asked if he would have time to meet us at the airport the next mornshying Said hed make time

1 L and his dear wife Zelma were there when we arrived He had found some old snapshots and had posted them on the ofshyfice refrigerator before we got there An

hours reminiscences ensued while we got the airplanes fueled and loaded and I promised to see them again in another 40 some odd years

Marc tried to contact our former asshysociate A C Cooper who had returned from the Chicago area to his home town of Stillwater Oklahoma and was working at the FBO there but was unable to reach him by phone so we decided wed just surprise him A couple of hours through sunny skies and we did indeed surprise AC He was delighted to see us and took time to give us the grand tour including an aviation museum in the terminal building comprised mostly of WW II military aircraft parts from the surshyplus bombers that were stored there then scrapped after the war They also had an impressive display of photographs and models of all the different machines that had ended their careers there

We rolled out again on the runway with a 90+ degree temperature and were again pleased with the perforshymance of the little C-85s Northeast across the Oklahoma landscape towns began to appear closer together and it even looked as though something might grow in the soil down there We intercepted our outbound map lines and landed again at Pt Lookout Misshysouri1t was Marcs turn for a nostalgia trip so we rented a car and drove down

to the lake where the Mills summer place had been and Marc shot up a bunch of film for old-times sake He also remembered where a lovely lakeside restaurant was and we had a delightful dinner before retiring to a lakeside cottage for the night after picking up some breakfast provender at a local store

Wednesday morning after a breakfast of bacon and eggs fixed the way we liked them we headed back to the airport planshyning to take our own sweet time departing since it was an easy flight home from here but a check of the weather put a burr under our blanket A front was rapidly approachshying and we made haste to depart We skirted that storm for over two hours- a good escape route to east was always preshysent but we hung to our direct line without incident We landed again for fuel at Pittsshyfield Illinois This time the field was attended even though we utilized the credit card operated do-it-yourself pump system Visiting briefly with the pleasant city emshyployee who does all the airport chores we grabbed a quick snack and departed again for the last leg

Big weather was still present off to our west but we proceeded without having to deviate from course Just north of Peoria it began to darken in front of us and we deshyscended to below a thousand feet AGL where the visibility was unlimited We reshyalized that we were beneath a thunder buster when the shock hit By the time I could throttle back and slow to an unbreakshyable speed it was all over and we were in relatively smooth air again We had passed the cold front and the temperature and dew point were nearing the same number

In front of us little sausages of very thin fog began to appear weather to the east of us was reported as deteriorating although still VFR To the north we could see clouds begin to gather and it looked as though we might not get home in our airplanes this afshyternoon As we approached Earlville it appeared we could make DeKalb and Marc said it was about quitting time for friend Steve who worked there and we could preshyvail on him for a ride home if we had to give up at that point

Passing DeKalb the clouds to the north didnt appear to be any closer so we pressed on without any problem A few miles furshyther and I diverted from Marcs trajectory heading for the Funny Farm while he went on to The Landings we both announced entering the pattern at the same time

After tieing down I tried to remember when I had had that much fun in any two week period I had to give up

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30 APRIL 1999

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

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President Vice-President Esple Sutch Joyce George Doubner

PO Box 35584 2448 Lough Lane Greensboro NC 27425 Hartford WI 53027

910393-ltJ344 4W673-5885 e-moil windsockoocom e-mail anfique2aolcom

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918622-8400507373-1674

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ARLINGTO~ The Wests Premier EAA Event

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Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for dO-it-yourself installation

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Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

Qine~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

Gr

G Leslie Sweetnam

Woodstock CT

Began flying July 1997

Joined VAA March 1998

AHends fAA chapter fly-ins - Favorite fly-in

Tail Wheel Fly-In at Robertson Farm

Connecticut

AUAis

approved

To become a

member of the

Vintage Aircraft

Association call

800-843-3612

G Leslie Sweetnam rolls out his 52 Cessna 1708 for another flight

My wife gave me an introductory

flying lesson for my fiftieth birthday and

I passed my Private Pilot checkride 10

months later During my training the

aircraft that always caught my attention

were the older conventional-gear

classics I knew I needed an insurance

company that understood the special

problems and costs of keeping the older

birds flying

- G Leslie Sweetnam

The best is affordable

Give AUA a call - its FREE

800-727-3823 Fly with the pros fly with AUA Inc

AUAs Exclusive EAA Antique amp Classic Division Insurance Program

Lower liability and hull premiums

Medical payments included

Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages

No hand-propping exclusion

No age penalty

No component parts endorsements

Discounts for claim-free renewals carrying all risk coverages

Remember Were Better Togetherl

AVIATION UNUMITED AGENCY

SM-XL 2X

VINTAGE MERCHANDISE NEW STYLES ALL CLOTHING FEATURES NEW THREE-COLOR EMBROIDERED VINTAGE LOGO

Twill Six-Panel Caps with Braiding Feature adjustable leather closure strap One size fits most White V41260 $1099 Khaki V41261 $1099 Navy V41262 $1099

Clubhouse Jackets High quality jackets feature two-button adjustable cuffs elastic waistshyband inside coat hook loop inside pocket with velcro closure and more Contrasting color trim pieces and adjustable lanyard cord on collar make this jacket very distinctive Shell and lining are both 100 nylon NaturalNavy Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399

2X V41254 $6699 NavyForest Green Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399

2X V41254 $6699

Denim Short-sleeved Shirts with Button-down collar by Three Rivers Features button-closure on pocket Double stitching on sleeves for durability 100 cotton

V41263 $3699 V41267 $3999

Denim Long-sleeved Shirts with Button-down Collar Similar to above shirt but in long-sleeved design The shirts feature twoshybutton adjustable cuffs Available in light-blue denim or natural colors Natural MD-XL V41268 $3999

2X V41271 $4399 Light Blue MD-XL V41272 $3999

2X V41276 $4399

Cotton Pique Shirts 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs Two-button placket Drop-tail with side vents White SM-XL V41294 $3299

2X V41298 $3499 Khaki SM-XL V41299 $3299

2X V41303 $3499 Navy SM-XL V41289 $3299

2X V41293 $3499

Jacuard Golf Shirts 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs with beige trim Fiveshybutton placket Drop tail with side vents Wine MD-XL V41281 $3499

2X V41284 $3799 Navy MD-XL V41285 $3499

2X V41288 $3799 Black MD-XL V41277 $3499

2X V41280 $3799

Gr

G Leslie Sweetnam

Woodstock CT

Began flying July 1997

Joined VAA March 1998

AHends fAA chapter fly-ins - Favorite fly-in

Tail Wheel Fly-In at Robertson Farm

Connecticut

AUAis

approved

To become a

member of the

Vintage Aircraft

Association call

800-843-3612

G Leslie Sweetnam rolls out his 52 Cessna 1708 for another flight

My wife gave me an introductory

flying lesson for my fiftieth birthday and

I passed my Private Pilot checkride 10

months later During my training the

aircraft that always caught my attention

were the older conventional-gear

classics I knew I needed an insurance

company that understood the special

problems and costs of keeping the older

birds flying

- G Leslie Sweetnam

The best is affordable

Give AUA a call - its FREE

800-727-3823 Fly with the pros fly with AUA Inc

AUAs Exclusive EAA Antique amp Classic Division Insurance Program

Lower liability and hull premiums

Medical payments included

Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages

No hand-propping exclusion

No age penalty

No component parts endorsements

Discounts for claim-free renewals carrying all risk coverages

Remember Were Better Togetherl

AVIATION UNUMITED AGENCY

SM-XL 2X

VINTAGE MERCHANDISE NEW STYLES ALL CLOTHING FEATURES NEW THREE-COLOR EMBROIDERED VINTAGE LOGO

Twill Six-Panel Caps with Braiding Feature adjustable leather closure strap One size fits most White V41260 $1099 Khaki V41261 $1099 Navy V41262 $1099

Clubhouse Jackets High quality jackets feature two-button adjustable cuffs elastic waistshyband inside coat hook loop inside pocket with velcro closure and more Contrasting color trim pieces and adjustable lanyard cord on collar make this jacket very distinctive Shell and lining are both 100 nylon NaturalNavy Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399

2X V41254 $6699 NavyForest Green Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399

2X V41254 $6699

Denim Short-sleeved Shirts with Button-down collar by Three Rivers Features button-closure on pocket Double stitching on sleeves for durability 100 cotton

V41263 $3699 V41267 $3999

Denim Long-sleeved Shirts with Button-down Collar Similar to above shirt but in long-sleeved design The shirts feature twoshybutton adjustable cuffs Available in light-blue denim or natural colors Natural MD-XL V41268 $3999

2X V41271 $4399 Light Blue MD-XL V41272 $3999

2X V41276 $4399

Cotton Pique Shirts 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs Two-button placket Drop-tail with side vents White SM-XL V41294 $3299

2X V41298 $3499 Khaki SM-XL V41299 $3299

2X V41303 $3499 Navy SM-XL V41289 $3299

2X V41293 $3499

Jacuard Golf Shirts 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs with beige trim Fiveshybutton placket Drop tail with side vents Wine MD-XL V41281 $3499

2X V41284 $3799 Navy MD-XL V41285 $3499

2X V41288 $3799 Black MD-XL V41277 $3499

2X V41280 $3799

SM-XL 2X

VINTAGE MERCHANDISE NEW STYLES ALL CLOTHING FEATURES NEW THREE-COLOR EMBROIDERED VINTAGE LOGO

Twill Six-Panel Caps with Braiding Feature adjustable leather closure strap One size fits most White V41260 $1099 Khaki V41261 $1099 Navy V41262 $1099

Clubhouse Jackets High quality jackets feature two-button adjustable cuffs elastic waistshyband inside coat hook loop inside pocket with velcro closure and more Contrasting color trim pieces and adjustable lanyard cord on collar make this jacket very distinctive Shell and lining are both 100 nylon NaturalNavy Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399

2X V41254 $6699 NavyForest Green Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399

2X V41254 $6699

Denim Short-sleeved Shirts with Button-down collar by Three Rivers Features button-closure on pocket Double stitching on sleeves for durability 100 cotton

V41263 $3699 V41267 $3999

Denim Long-sleeved Shirts with Button-down Collar Similar to above shirt but in long-sleeved design The shirts feature twoshybutton adjustable cuffs Available in light-blue denim or natural colors Natural MD-XL V41268 $3999

2X V41271 $4399 Light Blue MD-XL V41272 $3999

2X V41276 $4399

Cotton Pique Shirts 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs Two-button placket Drop-tail with side vents White SM-XL V41294 $3299

2X V41298 $3499 Khaki SM-XL V41299 $3299

2X V41303 $3499 Navy SM-XL V41289 $3299

2X V41293 $3499

Jacuard Golf Shirts 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs with beige trim Fiveshybutton placket Drop tail with side vents Wine MD-XL V41281 $3499

2X V41284 $3799 Navy MD-XL V41285 $3499

2X V41288 $3799 Black MD-XL V41277 $3499

2X V41280 $3799