Vintage Airplane - Jan 1979

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GUEST EDITORIALBy Buck il ert

1979 - YEAR OF THE REPLICA?Notice a trend in the air? I have! A definite leaning towards fu ll size replica antique airplanes . The

sentiment or nostalgia or prestige or whatever, is pushing more and more people into the construction of fullsize - equal to or better than - original reproductions, is beginning to show.The scarcity of rebuildable antique airframes, thehigh cost of inflation, the Depression Era, l imitedproduction of these sporty machines, and the desireto see if they really were that great, add up to a bottomline that says, "build".

With better construction techniques , modern materials, more reliable engines and the benefits of experience, there is no reason a replica can't be built,and flown . After adequate, dilligent research of itsco nstruction, detail and equally important researchof its flight characteristics, the decision can be made .Don't just dream about it, though, be certain. Was ita hotter than average "Bear"? Did the name pilotsgive it reflect its true nature (Cactus Kitten)? Discountin g the old hangar flyer's tales of flat spinning, killerstalls and vicious never-do maneuvers, what was itreally like? Did it fly we ll in the hands of an experiencedpi lot? Remember, experience level in "those" dayswas at a very low ebb, often inexperience culminatedin a crash and the airplane was saddled with a badrep utation. Sometimes it was the only one availableand there was no money to build another. Humannature being what it is, and our tendency to blamesometh ing o r someone for our frailties, maybe put ahex on fu rther development of an otherwise very desirable f lying machine.Keep in mind to o , that what was a " Bear" for thepilots, might be a "Kitten" for today's pi lots. We arefortunate to benefit from the experience of all those

Photo y Ted j. Koston)who have gone before us. They bui l t a " foundation "that has passed on to us a much higher experiencelevel by comparison. Don't slight those guys, though.There was a lot more " horse sense" approach in theirday , something slightly lacking in today's way of life.Being fortunate enough to travel a bit, and seeingsome of these machines under construction has reallyfired me up. I've got my eye on a couple of theseprojects in which I am vicariously participating andsincerely hoping I get the chance to fly them. AndI' m even giving serious thought to starting one ofmy own. Mr. Laird , take note!

75 YEARSOF POWERED FLIGHT!Incredible!What happened to all those grand plans and forecasts?Where's the post-war boom?Where are all those sport pilot 's dream amphibians?Where 's the helicopter for every garage?Where are the roadables?Where have all the airports gone?How come we can't get " 80"?Why are costs so high?Will Bede rise again?Will hang gliders take over?What will EAA ' s Air recreation vehicle loo k like?Will they allow it in T.CA .?

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Chris Sorensen Photo)Father Ma cGillivra y and his Miles Ha

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PublisherPaul H.Poberezny

EditorDavid Gustafson

Associate Editors: H . Gl enn Buffington, Robert G . Elliott , AI Kelch,Edward D. Williams, Byron Fred )FredericksenRe ade rsare enco urage dto submit stor ies and photograph s.Assoc iate Ed itor ship s are ass ignedto those writers who submit fiv e o r mo re arti c les whi ch are published in THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE during th e current year. Associates receive a bound volume of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE anda free one-year membership in th e Division for their efforts. POLICY-Op i ni onsexpressed in arti c lesaresolely those of the auth ors. Responsibil ity for acc urac y in report ingrestsent i re lyw ithth econtr ibu tor . Directors

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC Will am J.Ehl en AI KelchDIVISION Rout e8Box 506 7018W .Bo nniwellRoadOFFICERS Tampa,Flo rid a33618 Mequon ,W isconsin 53092Claud e L. Gray ,Jr . Morton W. Les terPRESIDENT 9635 Sy lvi aAvenu e Box 3747J.R.NIELANDER,JR. No rth ridge ,Ca lifo rni a91324 Ma rtinsvi lle, Virgini a2411 2P.O. BOX 2464 DaleA. Gustafson A rthur R.MorganFT.LAUDERDALE ,FL 33303 7724ShadyHill Dri ve 3744 N.51stBoufevardInd ia napoli s, Indiana46274 Milwaukee,Wiscon sin 53216VICE-PRESIDENT RichardWag ner M .C. " Kelly" VietsJACKWINTHROP P. O. Box 181 RR 1Box 151RT .1,BO X111 Lyons,Wisconsin 53148 St illwell , Kansas66085ALLEN,TX75002 Advisors

RonaldFritz1989Wil so n,NWECRETARYW.BRADTHOMAS,JR . GrandRapid s,Mi chiga n49504301 DODSONMILL ROADPILOTMOUNTAIN,NC 27041 John R.Tur gyan Robert E Kessel153 0Ku se r 445OakridgeDriveTrenton, New Jersey 08 619 Roches ter,New York 14617TREASURERE.E. " BUCK" HILBERT StanGomoll RobertA .White8102LEECHRD . 104290 th Lane, NE Box 704UNION,IL 60180 Minnea po lis, Minneso ta55434 Zellwood , Flo rida32798THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE ISowned exclUS vely by EAA An tiqu e/Classic DIVision , In c. and ISp ub lishedmonth ly at Hales Corne rs. WisconSin 53 130.Second class Post3ge paid at Hales Corne rs Pos t Off ice.Ha les Co rne rs. Wisconsi n 53130. and add it iona l maili ng off ices . Mem be rship rates for EAA Antique !ClaSS ICD iviS on . Inc. are $ 14.00 per 12 month per iod o f whi ch $10 .00 is l o r the publicati on o f THEVINTAGEA IRPLANE Memb ershIp is o pen to::( wh o are int erested in aviatIo n .

The VINT G AII1PLANEOFF ICIAL MAGAZINE

E ANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION INC.of THE EXPERIMENTALAIRCRAFTASSOCIATION

P.O. Box229, HalesCorner s, WI 53130Copyrig ht ' 1978EAAAnt ique /Class ic Division ,Inc.,AllRightsReserved .

JANUARY 979 VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1On Th e Cover . WacoUBF 2 belonging toMr . and Mrs. HenryStraugh. Photo by J. H . M itchell)

TABLE OF CONTENTSGuestEditorial by BuckHilbert ........................................ 2One Of AKindWaco byJack H. Mitchell ... .. .. .. 4TimeMachine by RobertMixon ... ....... . . .. 10Contemplating AStaggeringRebuild by JohnSwing.. ... . ... .. 13VintageAlbum . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . ... . .. 14Once Upon ABetterTimebyDavidGustafson .... 16Northrop Primaryby HankNixon ... .. ... ... .... .. .. . 22Save InchesAnd Money byWilliam B. Haselton . . ... ..... 23BeechcraftModel G-17-SStaggerw ingbyJimGorman .... . . ... 24The FlyingBug byGeneEsker... . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . ... . 25

E ANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION MEMBERSHIPoNON -EAA MEMBER - $20.00. Includes on eyear membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Divisio n, 12 monthly issues o f THE VINTAGE A IRPLANE ; oneyea r mem-bership in the Experim ental Aircraft Associ ation and se parate membership ca rd s.SPORT AVIATION ma gazin enot included.oEAAMEMBER - $14.00. Includeson e year membership inthe EAA Antique /Class ic

Division, 12monthly issues of THE VINTAGEAIRPLANE AND MEMBERSHIP CARD.(Appli ca ntmu stb ecur rent EAA memberand mu st give EAA membership number .)

Page4 Page16 Page25 3


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The sight of a modern f loat plane in PacificNorthwest skies is not an unusual occurrence ; however, the appearance of a 1930 open cockpit WacoUBF-2 fitted with a set of 1930 Edo floats is definitelyextraordinary.

This is a story about an immaculate whitelredWaco UBF-2, NC13075, serial No. 3692, one of eightremaining examples of th is remarkable F 2 series andthe meticulous restoration that brought the aircraftand floats together again after a lapse of twenty-sevenyears .According to information provided by the EdoCorporation , the 1930 model No . 2665 floats manufactured August 20, 1930, now on this aircraft, are theoldest known set of Edo floats in active service today.

Waco company records indicate that NC13075 roIled out of the Troy, Ohio, factory May 3, 1933. Itcame equipped with a seven cylinder Continental 210hp engine , Hartzell wooden propeller, speed ringcowl, 6:50x10 Warner wheels, 7:50x10 Firestone tires,metal front cockpit cover and wing root fairings.

The UBF-2 was noted for its exceptional flyingcharacteristics and was extremely popular with thesportsman pilot of the day , living up to the Wacomotto "Ask Any Pilot" . It also had the capability ofcarrying two passengers in the front cockpit or utilizing this space as an extra luggage compartment.NC13075's flying career began with the originalowner in Auburn, Maine, and acquired six additionalowners in the following thirteen years . The Waco wasflown in the east coast states of New York, SouthCarolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.The early years of World War II must have beenvery active for the Waco as log book entries for 1941indicate numerous flights of short duration . Twoground loop incidents are recorded and this wasprobably due to the narrow landing gear, whichcould prove troublesome to the student pilot.The aircraft was owned and operated by a civilianflight service during this time and no doubt was affiliated with the government's C.P.T. (Civilian PilotTraining) program, whereby the fledgling U.S.A.A.F.cadet was given his primary flight instruction.1946 marks the year that NC13075 changed ownership again and departed Westboro, Massachusetts,for the Pacific Coast and a new owner in Milwaukee,. Oregon. The transcontinental flight was accomplishedwith conventional undercarriage. The set of 1930 Edofloats were installed upon arrival by the new ownerand the Waco was placed into service as aninstructional/cross country training aircraft.

The circumstances that finally led to the ultimatepurchase of the Waco by its present owner, Mr.Henry Strauch of Junction City, Oregon, are uniqueto say the least and form the basis for this story.

Henry became aware of the Waco in 1950 whileworking at Lake Union Air Service , Seattle,Washington. The Waco was used as a cross countryfloat aircraft by Loney'S Aero Marine Service based atSwan Island, near Portland, Oregon, and was a frequent visitor to Lake Union .

Henry used to take cross country students downto Oregon and always made a point to swing by SwanIsland and make sure that the Waco was still there.He really admired the UBF and made this known toLoney on many occasions. He had a secret desire toown the aircraft, but didn't have enough money toeven approach the subject .One day Loney flew into Lake Union with a student and contacted Henry. Loney asked Henry pointblank if he would like to purchase the Waco, knowing full well that Henry would probably jump at thechance . Henry was at a loss for words and managedto reply with an affirmative response , but had toadm it that he didn't have much cash on hand. Thatdidn ' t seem to bother Loney and he said that theWaco was for sale real cheap that day ". Henry wassomewhat puzzled and asked him what he meant bycheap The reply to Henry 's question was fast and direct, "How does $600.00 sound to you? After recovering from the initial shock Henry still had to say thathe didn't even have that much money, but the dealseemed too good to be true. Then the obvious question came to Henry's mind, realizing that Loney hadnot arrived in the Waco. "What ' s wrong with theWaco?" Loney grinned at Henry and said, "Nothingmuch Henry. It 's just lying at the bottom of the Willamette River. The details of the accident are notclear; however, the Waco had not been under waterfor a great length of time.Henry simply couldn't resist this temptation andhe badgered his boss at Lake Union Air Service untilhe finally relented and agreed to purchase what wasleft of the Waco for the $600.00 and furnish repairmaterials with the stipulation that Henry would investhis own time in the repair work.

Henry, a flying associate, Ralph Williamson, andtheir mutual boss left for Oregon to retrieve thewater-logged aircraft. By the time they had arrived atthe scene the Waco was in the process of beingraised from the river. Examination revealed that theright float was almost totally destroyed and the leftfloat was not in much better condition .

Th e working end of this beautiful Waco, a Continental220 hp engine with a Curtiss Reed propeller.

By Jack H . Mit chell2564 7th Avenue WestSeattle Washington 9811 9(Photographs by the Author)


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Aside from the float damage, the only other struc-tural failure was the vertical fin and this damage tookplace while the Waco was being removed from theriver. s a result, the fin was a total loss. Generallyspeaking, ' the fuselage and wings sustained moderatedamage.The three of them disassembled the Waco andloaded the assortment of parts which included a setof wheels and the undercarriage on a truck for thetrip back to Seattle. Upon their return the Waco wasstored in the back of the Lake Union Hangar. Thebattered floats also made the trip to Seattle and wereset to one side.

Henry was anxious to commence repair work, butfor one reason or another his boss never found theway to purchase the materials. Weeks passed and theproject never got off the ground, much to Henry' sdisappointment.Henry was determined to get the repair work un-derway somehow and contacted an acquaintance thatwas interested in airplanes and also had the financialresources to start the project. Henry made a businessproposition with him that if he would purchase theWaco from Henry's boss and furnish funds for therequired materials, Henry would do all the work him-self.The acquaintance agreed to purchase the Wacoand the sale was finalized. The aircraft and floatswere moved from Lake Union to a rented garage inSeattle . Repair materials were obtained and Henrymade preparations for the work to begin at his home.s the months passed and the materials dwindled thebenefactor's interest in the Waco project began to

decline . Henry could see the problem coming andmanaged to accumulate enough money to cash outhis friend ' s initial investment and thus at long last be-came the sole owner of NC13075 in 1955.Henry's first decision as new owner was to termi-

nate the garage rental , as he could not justify the ex-pense, and move the Waco to his home. Once at thisnew location the inevitable question arose, Wheredo you store a Waco biplane in a single story home ?Using the fine art of persuasion, Henry convincedhis wife to let him remove the siding from one sideof their home and place the large sections into the at-

tic. The remaining small parts filled every availablecloset.Work first commenced with rebuilding the wingbays . Henry instructed his wife in the use of Cclamps, glue, hammer and nails and between the twoof them the project moved ahead. New Sitka sprucereplaced the old and damaged wood . Mrs. Strauch

will never forget the fourteen ribs required to com-plete each wing bay. Their living room became theworkshop and the center of activity. They eventuallyrebuilt three wing bays and the center section in theconfines of their home.

Always on the lookout for another challenge,Henry accepted a flying position in the Middle Eastand planned to reside. there for an indefinite periodof time. The decision was made to sell their home inSeattle and the Waco was carefully removed from theattic prior to the home being listed on the local mar-ket. Henry's brother who lived in Oregon agreed tostore the Waco for the duration of Henry's employ-ment overseas.With the Waco in good hands the Strauchs de-parted Seattle on their new adventure . s luck wouldhave it , the position didn ' t last as long as they hadoriginally planned and they returned to Seattle in1957.

Henry contacted Ralph Williamson shortly after hisarrival and they combined their talents and formed apartnership operating a f l ight service located inSnohomish , Washington, a picturesque rural com-munity with a grass landing strip. Henry operated themaintenance shop and Ralph assumed responsibilityfor the flight school. For the first time in many yearsHenry finally had a logical place to store the Waco .After yet another trip to Oregon, the aircraft was re-turned to its new home.Business was good to them during the followingtwo years and the Waco was set aside. The floatswere stacked outside the shop and were consideredmore or less unuseable.1959'was a very important year for NC13075. Henryand Ralph came to terms with the dusty Waco andagreed that the only way to get the aircraft back intothe air was to stop playing around and run it throughtheir shop and do a first class job.


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Exce llent view of ventral fin floa ts an general arrangement of the aircraft.The aircraft was rebuilt in stages because it had

been over nine years since any serious work hadbeen completed and many of the small details hadbeen forgotten. Three new wing bays and center sec-tion were already finished. They chose to use thefourth wing bay, the right upper, as it was. This wingwas a combination of old and new wood and even re-tained the original spars from 1933.The fuselage was completely stripped and sub-sequently sandblasted. Every foot of tubing wasexamined and first flushed out with rust remover ,then followed up with a flushing of hot linseed oil.This also included the tail surfaces. All of the tubingis 1933 original with the exception of the vertical fin.After this process, the fuselage tubing was coatedwith epoxy paint.Henry chose the Eonnex system for the recoverjob. This utilized Dacron fabric and he elected to usesynthetic automotive enamel for the protective finish .Looking back on this he feels that this was a mistake .

It didn't give him the finish that he really wanted. Theelaborate white/red paint scheme came from his ex-perience with sport parachute jumping. The resultingeffect is to create the image of a deployed parachute .After weeks of hard work the Waco in its newpaint job finally sat outside the shop ready for theimportant first test flight. Henry and Ralph were like acouple of kids and couldn't wait to lift it off the grassfield . NC13075 made the successful flight one after-noon and was back into the air as a landplane for thefirst time in nearly nine years.Although some of their work involved installingfloats on various aircraft the thought of putting theWaco back on floats was never seriously considered .The remnants of the floats remained stacked outsidethe shop gathering birds nests. A fellow dropped bythe shop one day and asked if he could buy thefloats. He was told that if he would simply movethem out of the way he could have them without anycharge. To this day Henry and Ralph joke about this

and are not reall y too sure which one of them madethat s tateme nt. I n any case, the floats left Snohomishfor parts unknown.Individual interests and goals changed over theyears and the partnership in the flight service wasdissolved in the mid 1960's. Ralph settled in Seattlewhere he is now an independant insurance broker.His business still keeps him in touch with the privateaviation industry. Henry and the Waco moved toOregon where he is now employed by a private firmheading their aircraft maintenance program . Once inOregon and settled into his new routine, Henry dis-covered that he had more spare time on his handsthan he liked and the thought of the give awayfloats began to prey on his mind . He called Ralph andasked him if he could remember the name of the fel -low who had taken the floats . Ralph did rememberand promised Henry that he would try to locate theindividual if possible. Henry needed another projectand was convinced that rebuilding the damaged floatswould serve the purpose and possibly put the Wacoback on floats.After numerous phone calls, Ralph located thefloats and found much to his surprise that nothinghad been done with the floats. They were in the samecondition as he had seen them years ago. Ralph metthe fellow and indicated Henry's desire to retrievethem with purpose of putting the Waco back into thewater. The fellow was more than glad to dispose ofthe floats and returned them to Henry with his bestwishes .The task of rebuilding the floats began in 1968 andwas completed in 1972. Henry designed a special jigto rebuild the floats and modified the original keeldesign to accommodate grass field take offs and land-ings if ever required. The original keel was of twopiece construction and e inch width. This would notgive the support reqUired for a grass field operationso Henry manufactured a one piece keel % incheswide using 60 61 aluminum.

Each float has nine cells. The left float has theoriginal bulkheads with the exception of three rearunits that were beyond repair. The right float has allof the original bulkheads and Henry strengthenedspecific bulkheads by splicing them where corrosionhad taken its toll.The original intent was to put the Waco on the re-built floats for the summer of 1972; however, Henrydiscovered areas of dry rot in the lower wing baysnear the trailing edges. Rather than quickly patchthese areas and enjoy the summer with the floats heelected to strip down the entire aircraft and do athorough job .


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Henry had always toyed with the idea of doing thetime tested classic recover job using grade A cottonfabric with butyrate dope as the finish. To accomplishthis traditional procedure would entail the sanding ofall the tape edges so that no trace of the tapes wouldbe visible to the naked eye. The ultimate goal being amirror-like finish .

The woodwork was tackled fi rst usi ng the bestclear Sitka spruce obtained from the Posey Companyof Hoquiam, Washington. The partially rebuilt rightupper wing bay was completely rebuilt at this timeand with the completion of this last wing bay none ofthe original wood remained in the Waco.Henry and his wife made all of the fabric envelopes for the wings and fuselage by themselvesusing an old household Singer sewing machine . Mrs .Strauch remembers quite vividly how awkward theheavy grade A cotton fabric was to handle. She alsodid all of the hand stitching of the seams . With thefabric secured on the Waco's surfaces , the finishingprocess was begun.

Two coats of clear butyrate dope were applied byhand brushing to the fabric, followed by two spraycoats of clear dope . The rib stitching and tapes werebuilt up with hand brushing so that they would havethe same amount of dope on them as the fabric.The next step involved the mixing of clear dopewith aluminum powder to create the silver dope.Henry sprayed 20 coats of the silver dope on all thesurfaces. The silver dope acts in two ways. It makesthe dope much easier to sand and also becomes anopaqueing agent for the sun rays. The main reasonfor the 20 coats of silver is that it gave them the opportunity to sand down all of the edges and imperfections. They used both wet sanding and an air powered orbital sander to accomplish the job.

At one point Henry ran into a bad batch of dopeand elected to remove the entire fuselage fabric andstart all over again, much to his disgust.The final four coats of white pigment dope wereapplied and after the last coat of white was dry it wasa sight to behold. One of the hardest things that theyhad to do was take sandpaper and sand away all thegloss built up over a total of 24 coats. This sandingwas the preliminary process prior to the applicationof rubbing compound. Both of them attacked thelaborious task with hours of back breaking elbowgrease. The time was well spent as the resulting mir

ror finish speaks for itself.Henry masked the aircraft for the unique redparachute trim and anyone with a knowledge of spraypainting can imagine the lengths that he had to take

to protect the gleaming white finish from overspray.Henry estimates that the same total rebuild and coverjob done by a top notch commercial shop wouldprobably run somewhere near 35 ,000 .00 . Taking intoaccount the amount of woodwork and metal fabrication and finishing with the fantastic fabric job, this figure is understandable.

The Strauchs are fortunate to have their presenthome located on a section of property that affordsthem the use of their own private grass strip . A permanent hangar less than 100 feet from their frontdoor provides secure storage for the Waco. With therebuild completed sometime in early May , 1977, thisbrought the overall project to a close after five yearsof painstaking work . NC13075 made its test flightfrom Henry ' s grass field late that same month andpassed with flying colors.

The next month, June, 1977, Henry transferred theWaco to his employer's landing strip, Daniel 's field,Oregon, which is a short distance from Henry's grassstrip . The undercarriage was removed and the floatswere attached to the Waco. Daniel's Field is conveniently located adjacent to a 1000 foot shallow pondand the highpoint occurred when the Waco wasmoved to the pond, introduced to its familiar habitatand gracefully flown off the water. After an absenceof twenty-seven years the UBF-2 was returned to itsoriginal set of floats.

Mrs. Strauch considered the summer of 1977 a fitting playtime after all the years of restoration. TheWaco was flown to Lake Chelan, Washington, wherethe couple maintains a summer cabin. Mrs. Strauchwas raised in this area and well remembers Henrycourting her via seaplane prior to their marriage.The balance of the summer was simply a pure delightfor the Strauchs enjoying their newfound waterwings.

The Strauchs are a very open and generous coupleand couldn't wait to share their enthusiasm withRalph Williamson. They called him in Seattle and insisted that he drop everything and meet them in LakeChelan for the Labor Day weekend. Ralph jumped atthe invitation and still remembers the thrill of takingthe Waco off from the lake for the first time .Ralph was further surprised when Henry offeredhim the opportunity of taking the Waco back to Seattle so that he could become better acquainted withthe aircraft on floats. The author first saw the UBF-2overhead one late September afternoon and couldhardly believe what he was seeing. A Waco biplane,yes, but a Waco biplane on floats? - oh come now ;however, there it was for all to see.

One fast telephone call to Kenmore Air Harbor onLake Washington confirmed the presence of an oldairplane on floats tied up to one of their docks.After another series of telephone calls, contact wasmade with Ralph Williamson and arrangements weremade to obtain the photographs for this article. Thiswas accomplished on two separate occasions in October and November of 1977, prior to the time theplane returned to Oregon .

PERFORM NCE O FLO TSThe Edo floats of 1930 incorporated a design feature that produced a float that was long , wide andflat . The step is located far to the rear of the floatcreating a situation that places the aircraft up on the

step in relatively short time, yet not allowing thefloats to break the water easily.The Waco usually cruises around 100 mph onfloats and stalls gently at 30 mph . Henry regards the

performance on floats as a matter of time rather thandistance; however, distance becomes a key factorwhen operating from Daniel's Pond. He knows thisfrom personal experience that the Waco can get offthe water within 700-800 feet because the pond onlyhas 1000 feet available to use.

The Waco 's fixed ventral fin was part of Henry'soriginal pu rchase and gives the ai rcraft greater directional stability.

The comfortable range on floats is generallyaround 300 miles. Henry says with a slight smile thatYou 'd better start looking for open water and have aplace to land after 300 miles.

POWERPLANTSeveral engines were obtained with the Waco, oneof which was a Continental W-670, 220 hp (W designates the civilian production model). Henry sent this

engine to a Seattle vocational school for a completeoverhaul and rebuild . The work was completed in1954 and the engine was pickled at this time for possible future use.

Another W-670 came into his possession whileoperating the shop at Snohomish. This particular engine was a -23 series that had a provision for a controllable pitch propeller and he wanted this type ofengine installed on the Waco; however, preliminarywork on this engine revealed a crack in the nosecase. In the interest of time this powerplant was replaced with the standard W-670 that had been storedfor five years . This same engine powers the Wacotoday and is equipped with a Curtiss Reed propeller.
http:///reader/full/35,000.00http:///reader/full/35,000.00http:///reader/full/35,000.00http:///reader/full/35,000.00http:///reader/full/35,000.00http:///reader/full/35,000.00


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Birds eye view 15 ' over Lake Wa shin gton. Note theelaborate paint scheme.

Fo llowin g t he shore lin e of Lake Was hin gton goo d prof ileof aircraft and the 1930 Edo 2665 flo ats .FUEL SUPPLY

The two upper wing fu el tanks provide a totalcapacity of 40 gallons and give the Waco a comfortable cruising range of approximately three hours . Thisbreaks down to a fuel consumption rate of 12 gallonsper hour.

INSTRUMENT TIONThe aircraft is equipped with a basic set of primary

instruments for each cockpit and is flown under VFRconditions . The only piece of electronic equipmentthat Henry has installed consists of a single 1960model King KY 90 radio. The forward cockpit's controlstick can be easily removed when two passengers oc-cupy this space.

Close- up of flo at attachment po ints fl ying Wires etc.

WINDSHIELDSThe f ive piece split windscreen is original equip

ment and is reminiscent of the popular open cockpitLockheed Sirius. The only major disadvantage withthis type of windscreen is that it tend s to deflect theair down the neck of the pilot necessitating a some-what hunched down flying position .

MISCELL NEOUSThe storage compartment aft of the rear cockpitha s more than adequate space for personal luggage,sleeping bags , etc.

oments after touchdown in Lake Washington .

FUTURE USE OF THE W CODue to the inability to hangar the Waco on floats,

Henry plans to install the floats only for the summermonths and put the ai rcraft back on its regular undercarriage for the remainder of the year .The choice was made after this last rebuild to limitthe f lying to regular maneuvers and no longer perform aerobatics.The Strauchs plan to start another summer adventure and contemplate an aerial tour of the beautifulSan Juan Islands in the state of Washington which willoffer them innumerable landing sites.

Mr. Mrs . Strauch are obviously very proud oftheir Waco restoration over the years and are espe-cially proud that all of the work was completed withthe labors of their own hands . Reflecting on the vari-ous stages of the rebuilding, both agree that theseemingly unending task of hand sanding was themo st difficult.

Henry can claim a record of sorts in that he hasowned the aircraft over one-half of its life from 1933to the present date. The Waco has occupied much oftheir married life and Mrs. Strauch says with a gleamin her eyes that she loves the Waco almost as muchas Henry. By Henry ' s own admission the Waco isstrictly an expensive toy .NC13075 is now starting its forty-fifth year bestowing flying pleasure and more than ever emphasizesthe time proven adage that "Life begins at 40 "

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I had always wondered, if a pilot were to fly theWright Flyer if he would actually feel as if he hadtaken a step back in time. Certainly flying some ofthe older airplanes gives you the feeling that youhave taken a step back to another era.

There is no doubt that a fabric covered Piper CubJ-3) gives a pilot different sensations and a differentfeel for flight than a brand new, all metal airplane; tothis degree an older antique/classic airplane would bel ike using an airplane in the same manner as onewould use a science fiction "time machine"

By Robert Mixon13365 S.w. 208 StreetMiami Florida 33177

Photos Provided by the Author

The 1909 Hang Glider project I became involved ina while back got its original name from the manner inwhich the pilot hung out of the bottom wing while itwas in flight. (A good second guess might be that itobtained its name from hanging up in trees and cliffs

)It was biwing, with lots of wire bracing, and it hada 12" opening in the bottom wing for the pilot tohang out of. While in flight the pilot controlled theglider by weight shifting. The method of "wing warp-ing", which led to the use of ailerons. In addition to

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using his legs for weight shifting the pilot al so usedhis legs as the landing gearThe wing span of the 1909' hang glider picturedhere was 20 feet, with a total of J60 square feet ofwing area . The " tail sticks" as the fuselage was calledin 1909) and empennage were also braced with wire.I originally found the sketches of the glider in anexcerpt from a 1909' Popular Mechanics, and my partner , Gary Alfonso , drew up plans in greater detail sothat the glider could be constructed.Many people helped in obtaining the buildingmaterials.A carpenter living nearby hand-picked thestraight-grained spruce. The saleslady where I purchased the lightweight 65 percent Dacron fabric , to beused for the wing and empennage covering, ran outof material after she had unrolled 155 ft . of the 160 ft.needed for the wings Everywhere materials werepurchased people helped.I made a telephone call to the FAA and obtainedan "Aircraft Project File" listing, and had an FAA inspector assigned to the 1909'glider project.As the inspector was sitting at his desk, asking thenecessary questions, and filling out the informationpertaining to the glider, he came to the question:" How do you intend to launch this glider? " Therewas a silence as I remembered the 1909 ' launchingprocedures that accompanied the original drawings.Again he asked , " Will you launch the glider byairplane-towing? " In reply , I explained that, in thetrue 1909 ' fashion , both wings would only have covering over their top sides and it might be disastroususing an aero-tow.

At this point he stated , "If you don ' t intend to usean aero-tow, how do you intend to launch it?" " Well,the only methods established for a Hang Gliderlaunch, as published with the sketches, were to ' runand leap into the air , or jump off of a cliff' , I replied.

Well, for the next few minutes the inspector wasspeechless , and I suspect that the silence may havebeen the " hold " button on his telephone while he relayed his newly acquired knowledge to the rest of hisstaff, saving a chuckle or two for himself . . .Regaining his composure, he then humored mealong by telling me to give him a call before coveringthe airframe with fabric.Finally, the airframe was approved and the Dacronfabric was applied to both wings and the tail surfaces.Only one coat of clear dope was applied to seal thefabric because we wanted to keep the weight as lightas possible.

The glider was given a final inspection by theF.A.A . and issued an Airworthiness Certificate.The glider now had a Registration Certificate , Aircraft Log Book , and the Airworthiness Certificate thatwas just issued. The assigned registration numberapplied to the vertical stabilizer was N2579: and a flagwith red, white , and blue vertical stripes was paintedjust above and in front of the registration numbers.

With the antique gold registration numbers, outlined in black; red, white and blue flag on the empennage; the translucent Dacron covering on the surfaces that were covered , and all of those flying andbracing wires; it certainly looked as if aviation hadstepped back into the year of 1909

At this stage of the project, just about everyonewho saw the glider started laughing and thinkingabout the funny little movies with "early aviators "leaping off of cliffs , bridges, etc., as they made theirmark in history . or on the ground, which evercame firstThen a strange thing would happen. These samepeople would suddenly start talking about the properway to launch the glider, and the fact that they mighteven like to try their hands (and feet) at flying itOf course , there were one or two people whocontinued to run across my living room, flappingtheir arms like a bird and making a noise like a chicken, trying to emulate what they thought a 1909 'glider was all about . . .

Trying the glider on by climbing into the twelveinch opening in the bottom wing, provides a wonderful sensation of wearing an authentic antique replica.Looking over the leading edge of the wing gives thepilot a feeling that he is standing on the edge of acliff; this is due to the long wings and the pilot beingthe farthest point forward in the glider.

During the first try at launching the glider, weworked up a good sweat running back and forth in anopen field , "leaping into the air" We generatedenough lift to be able to tell that there was lift, butnot enough to "l ift of f" of the ground for any lengthof time. We were getting tired of running, so we decided to use an auto tow by rigging a bridle underthe glider with a quick-release tow line attached.Rigged like a kite, the glider obtained approximately 20 ft. of altitude and produced a fairly goodfree flight. A steep angle of attack, not unlike that ofa kite, was obtained during the tow and was counteracted, upon release of the tow, by "forward weightshifting" by the pilot. I must add that directional control left something to be desired .For the last part of the project, just to keep it au

thentically 1909; it would be necessary to find a clifffor the " cliff launch".Now, to find any elevation over nine feet in SouthFlorida is quite a good trick. After two days , we founda medium size man-made hill, with a " cl iff " on it'shighest side . Several of the people who had been following the project took one look at the cliff, remem bering the frail 1909 ' Hang Glider, and suggested thatwe invite the Press to our cliff launchsite on themorning of the launch .Early on the morning of the launch as I looked outof my bedroom window , remembering my commitment, it looked like the start of a beautiful SouthFlorida day.To the East, three golden elongated swirled cloudswere visible. The clouds were stretched out over apale blue morning sky, and resembled the skeletonof a huge prehistoric animal ' s rib cage once againgiving me a strange premonit ion about the day 'sschedule.To the left of the clouds was a huge orange sun,just breaking ground and looking much like a friedegg. After the sun had burned through the light hazenear the ground, the clouds turned into puffy whitealtocumulus as they climbed skyward. By this time Iwas on my way, driving to the launch sight, with theHang Glider lodged in the back of a pick-up truck ;the tail pointing toward the sky and the nose towardthe ground . . . another premonition .

Arriving at the launch site we found one newspaper reporter , a local television station camera andreporter, and seventeen close following spectatorsstanding by the cliff to return with us to the beginning of aviation and the year 1909The first take-off "run" was beautiful. I cleared theedge of the cliff, and had obtained l ift from theglider's airfoils. As I got ready to maneuver the glider,by weight shifting , I heard the sharp sound of woodcracking and felt the glider ' s positive feeling of liftdeteriorate . . . the landing left a lot to be desiredIn effect, what had happened was that the tail hadnot cleared the edge of the cliff . As the tail hit thecliff it forced the relative wind to come from a greaterangle of attack, from under the wing , causing astall /mush condition.

We checked the glider for damage, completed apreflight, and headed for a slightly higher portion ofthe hill.

Consulting my preflight check list once again, Iread through the required items: 1) All nuts and boltssecure; 2) No damage to fabric; 3) No warps in structures ; 4) All flying and bracing wires secure and rig


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ged properly; sf Pilot's boo-s tied (this last itemsuggesting that somewhere in early childhood I hadstarted my " pilot training skills "); 6) Area below"clear" .Telev ision camera-rolling, silence , action Thetake-off " run " became a reality. Once again I was

hanging in space with plenty of lift, the wind startingto hum around the wings and w i res , thenCRACKOnce again, loss of lift into a mush ; the feeling offlight stopped; here comes the grou nd with all ofthose jagged coral rock protrusions looking up at meMy right foot hit the ground first and the gliderassumed a graceful position . The leading edge ofboth wings were where my feet should have beenand the tail pointed skyward like a buzzard in heat.That night on television there I was , crawling outfrom the twelve inch opening in the bottom wing, all12

dust covered and holding on to my right ankle.It was obvious that the cliff had been in the way of

the descending empennage again. Later, when theglider, complete with " landing" photographs, appeared on the front page of the local newspaper, itwas obvious that a ten knot headwind might haveheld the tail up long enough to clear the edge of thecliff. We had assumed calm wind conditions wouldbe best for the launch because of the difficulty wehad in handling the wings during construction in onlythe slightest winds.

The 1909 'Clider was a great project. I am sure thatsome aircraft building techniques which were used in1909 ' and that have long since been forgotten, wererediscovered. The crutches and the severe sprain thatI developed in my right ankle during that last landingwould help me to remember for some time to come,how it really was in 1909:

Since my flight with the hang glider, many hangglider flights with improved modern designs havebeen made.What our project was primarily concerned with,

was why does a person want to strap on a fifty-twopound set of wings and jump off a cliff?s it the childhood dream of flight? Is it a deathwish? s it possibly man's nature to explore what hasnot been done before successfully? Could it be a

combination of all of these factors?The visual and mental effect of looking over theleading edge of those twenty foot wings was truly anadventure.

Watching the seemingly magical modern hanggliders around the country has been like a page fromaviation history , with the famous legend of Icarus andDaedalus , actually happening before your very eyesThey sure are like a time machine.


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CONTEMPL TING ASTAGGERING REBUILD

Story and Photos by John Swings ilia 713Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Staggerwing 0-17S, SN 4902, was built in 1943 forthe U. S Army (UC-43, #43-10854) and was later registered as N51120. In 1955 it was purchased by an airtaxi firm in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and was licensed asCP-613. In 1962 it was again brought State-side whereit was given metal skin on the fuselage in Tyler,Texas. It was returned and continued to fly in Boliviauntil 1970 when it had a power failure and landedshort, going throul?h a fence and causing major dam-age .to the lower wings and right wing root section onthe fuselage. In 1975 I couldn't believe my eyes whenI arrived in Cochabamba, Bolivia. There she was sitting in the weeds. Little by little I found out moreabout her and the possibilities of getting her out of .there.It took about a year with paperwork and muchhelp from friends to finally clear the craft for exportation. This is something I would never do again , evenif I had to do it a over. During this time I built aplatform for the fuselage. It was done in Mahogany,plentiful in Bolivia, a fitting throne for a queen. Later,we found the craft wouldn't f i t in the Boeing 707Cargo ship that goes almost empty to Miami severaltimes a month . The engine had to come off. Withsome borrowed tools, a pliers, a crescent wrench anda screwdriver and an occasional helping hand from apasser-by, she reluctantly gave up her 600 pound, 450horsepower, 9' cylinder, heart. The Pratt & WhitneyR-985-AN-12 seems to be a in tact, even the propel-ler had survived unscathed.

April 27, 1978, a was ready. Before dawn the giantBoeing was towed to the ramp. The 0-17S was scattered arou nd the area with its motor secu red to ashipping skid along with a shipment of Bolivian Beer.There was still some apprehension as to whether thefuselage would fit. It was going to be close. Aftermuch pushing, pulling, whistles and shouts from theloading crew, 4902 was in her place and ready to go.After an exciting flight at about 550 mph indicated wearrived in Miami and just as the sun was setting shewas unloaded and once again touched her wheels onthe land of her birth.The next day 4902 was loaded on a flatbed truckand she and I began the long drive north to La

In the hills outside of Cochabamba, o l i v i the Staggerw-ing waited for almost a year for her exportation papers .

Preparing to remove the motor.

Crosse, Wisconsin, her new home. Of course, howcould any respectable Staggerwing pass near Tul-lahoma, Tennessee without visiting the bunch at theStaggerwing Museum. We were received with greathospitality and about half a day was spent by severalmembers there readjusting the load for the rest ofher journey north.As the weather got quite a bit cooler and weneared Wisconsin , EAA Headquarters was on our

49 2 as I first saw her in 1975 in Cochabamba, Bolivia .

The Cochabamba ir Cargo Crew load the fuselage in thelight of early dawn .mind. The staff there was very interested in this apparition from the South and were very informative asto where to begin or what to next.She's now resting in a barn, after a 5000 mileOdyssey. It wi be some time before she' get thetender love and ca re that she deserves. be goingSouth again for another three years. Meanwhile,there will be many books read and plans made to.begin her resurrection to life.

13


14/28

n ag

7937 PCA2 taking off from the White House lawn after 7930 PCA 7and PCA2 Pitcairn Autogiros over New York City.award o the Collier Trophy to Harold F Pitcair by PresidentHoover.

7926. 7930 7937 PA-7 Pitcairn Super Mailwing.

Pitcairn Photos Provided ByStephen Pitcairn


15/28

Jenkintown PlazaJenkintown, P 19046um

1930 PA-7 Pitcairn Sport Mailwing.

1936 PA-36 Pit cairn Autogiro two place jump take-off as shown.

1926 1927 PA-4 Pitcairn Fleetwing.

1927 1929.

:

I I I (


16/28

j : ~ uponL A Barnaby (teacher of chemistry and physics tNegaunee ,High School /925-36 supervised this earlyProject Schoolflight and joined his students in flyingthe project.'

By David Gustafson, Editor(Photos by Rollin Thoren) ottop tlmo6


17/28

undiminished zest Rollin transported me backthrough time to the days when young men soughtout useful projects to amuse themselves instead of filling up their hours with a lot of vacuous televisionprograms or movies. l iving in the small town ofNegaunee in Upper Michigan in 1929' would havetested the re sourcefulness of any young person .Being thrown back on their own wits for entertainment that year had already resulted in some successful , prop driven snow sleds . One of the ThorenBrothers even designed a sled with a belt drive system that pre-dates all the modern snowmobiles .Someone struck on the idea that a good way topass the winter of ' 29' would be to build a primaryglider . They found an advertisement for a NorthrupPrimary Glider Kit in one of the aviation publicationsof the day and soon found themselves eagerly awaiting a sizeable delivery. It surprised us when it arrived, said Rollin. It wasn't like a model kit whereeverything is pre-cut. All you got was a bunch ofrough boards, some wire, and a set of plans . Theplans were detailed and very thorough . easy tofollow .

The task of building the glider fell on Rollin ' syounger colleagues: Rudy Thoren (his brother),Hartley Haines , l loyd Heinenen, Oscar leynanen,and larry Anderson. lorraine A. Barnaby (l .A.B.),who ran the Negaunee High School Physics la b ,made his room available (to the delight of all) forconstruction of the glider. It was strictly an ex tra cu rricular activity, but rarely a school day went by without something getting done during classtime hours.Slowly and patiently the boys cut cap strips and gussets and pieced together the light ribs of the gliderwings . First the Physics lab, then the whole schoolwas permeated with the intense odor of dope as thenewly formed Negaunee Glider Club forged aheadwith their project.No one knew how to fly. They 'd read about it,watched closely at the local grass strip on the rareoccasions someone flew in, and they 'd come up theobligatory route of model building and rubber bandflying, but no one had been up as a pilot in command in a real plane. So, feeling a sense of obligationto the boys' safety and future, Barnaby set off on hisown to learn the art of f lying . He went down into

Lorraine ( yup, thats the correct spelling A Barnaby (left,Larry nderson , Rudy Thoren, and Lloyd Heinonen reallytied up the tables of the Negaunee High School Physics

Ro ll y Thoren in 7978 . Hi s energy and enthusiasm fo r Lab for a year.story-telling and living hasnt changed a whit in 23 years.s a freshman in high school, twenty three yearsago, aviation meant little more to me than an occasional balsa ki t, some rubber bands, and a messy encounter with a tube of glue. I' d never ridden in aplane, hadn't even been to an airport. It was difficultrelating to something you couldn't at least get to look

at up close.Then one day in General Science Class Rollin Thoren told a story about his experience with aviationand my sense of involvement changed as a result.Rollin was an unforgettable teacher, as well as a veryspecial kind of person. His energy and warmth enhanced his outstanding talent to make everything including shark anatomy sound like the most fascinating source of excitement man had ever thought of.learning in Rollin's class was not only pleasant, it wasan adventu re.Rollin 's flying days made such an unforgettableimpression that I made use of a recent trip home tolook him up and listen to the whole tale again . With

17


18/28

Lloyd Heinonen left), Bob Theriault, and Rudy Thorenprepare or a launch.

Wisconsin where he found another group that wasusing a Northrup Glider. He found out that the kitbeing assembled in Negaunee was complete in all butone respect: they hadn't received the 200 feet ofshock cord that was intended for launching. How-ever, when he saw how the Wisconsin group wasusing it he didn ' t really care anymore . What they didwas to attach the center of the cord to a release ringon the glider. The cord was then laid down on a line5 to the right and left of the glider 's flight path .When the pilot was ready, several people would grabhold of the tail group. A larger number of peoplethen picked up the ends of the shock cord and ran ashard as they could 'till those hanging onto the tailcouldn't hang on any longer . The pilot was thensling shot catapulted into the air. Barnaby learnedto fly with the shock cord, but decided his boyswould be better off with tow launching.

Upon his return , Barnaby was surprised to see thatthe shock cord due the Negaunee Glider Club hadarrived. We'll use a tow line, said Barnaby. It'ssafer.18

Prior to their involvement with the glider, the Thorenbrothers we re active with their own version of snow-mobiles The one on the right has the Harley 7 that waslater mounted on the glider.

Work on the glider was pretty steady right up tocompletion, and after some initial test hopping, thedust was given little chance to settle. n the summersthey launched from Cascade Junction . When the win-ters set in the Thoren Brothers nagged their father touse his connections with City Hall (he was City Attor-ney) to get a municipal snow plow out on Teale Laketo clear off a strip of bare ice.For the new student pilots , the method of flightinstruction was simple but effective. Using a clothesline tow rope between a car and glider, the initiateworked first to clear the ground by only a few inches.On the second flight he'd go up a foot in altitude,and so the process continued until the pilot couldoverfly the tow car. The boys couldn't get much over700 feet with maximum climb in launch , and fromthere it was always downhill. Free lift from thermalsnever materialized for the heavy craft. To providethem with some sense of how high they actuallywere , Barnaby had attached an altimeter from hisPhysics Lab - it was their only instrument.

They also learned that when flying off frozen TealeLake they 'd have to rock the wings if the glider hadbeen allowed to sit for a few moments, otherwise thetow line would surely break. The glider would freezein place .

Rudy Thoren sits in the m odified glide r, which t thispoint spo rts a Harley 7 engine . This obviously occuredbefore STCs dominated the avia tion world.

ing it underpowered, they moved up to the Harley 74


19/28

t this point th e Harley 74 h d been removed but theengine mount was left on and used or balance weight soth e pilot cou ld ride under th e wing nd be fared in . Noteth e windshield.After a couple of seasons ' worth of serious glid

ing, with an expected rising level of confidence in thepilots, it was decided that flying would be more funwith an engine. They sent off 50 for a Lawrence Kiwiengine . It was a World War I surplus item with twocylinders opposed and it was big . When they uncrated their brand new Lawrence they wanted to seewhat kind of practical power it could develop . An engine mount was rigged at the back end of a trailerwhich was hooked to a car . With apparent ease, theLawrence pulled the trailer, car and several occupantsquickly out into the street. " Oh boy , that ' s for us ,"they cried . They figured out a way to attach the engine to the cabane structure above the wing in a tractor position, and they ran brace wires from the cylinders out to the wings. The new engine and resultingshift in CG . meant that the pilot would have to movefrom his up-front position to a location somewhereunder the wing. To find out exactly where , they

placed a piece of pipe under the glider 's runner at apoint they considered appropriate. The pilot 's seatwas moved back and forth until the glider balancedon the pipeIt was winter . They took the glider out to TealeLake and Barnaby decided to fly the first hop. Heopened the throttle and had rattled down the iceabout a hundred yards, when he aborted his take-offand shut down the engine. When the excited observers caught up to him, he exclaimed, " You can ' t flywith this thing on, it nearly shook the daylights out ofme.So much for the Lawrence. They dismantled theengine to find the source of vibrations and discovered that both pistons were attached to the samethrow of the crank.

They sold their Lawren ce to some other eager aviators and for 35 bought a Gnome Rotary. " As soonas it arrived we knew we'd made a mistake it wasbeautiful and new and HUGE " Rollin said. No effortwas made to mount the big rotary, they simply turnedaround and sold it in its can.

They took the Harley 61 motorcycle engine off oneof their snow sleds and bolted it on the glider. Find

on another sled and found they could fly quite handily as long as they stayed in ground effect. Actually,they had no choice. Rollin recalls there were twolong flights over Teale Lake about five miles each; therest were considerably shorter. But it was a form ofpioneer flight, it was an activity they could all cheerand how lucky they were compared to those whocouldn't fly at all.Apparently it was a fairly simple operation tomount and remove the Harley 74 The sex changefrom glider to airplane or back to glider was madeseveral times .At the beginning of 1932 the Negaunee GliderClub had a glider (the Harley was off). It was at thispoint that Rollin became actively involved. His diaryfor 1932 helps recreate some of the fascination he feltfor flying:

May 8 1932Finished assembling glider. All set to fly no w .May 9Hauled glider out to Maas field and tested it.North wind made flying bad. Handles O.K. though.May 1Very spring like at eventide. Rudy and Barnabyeach had a flight.MayReal summer weather today, tree buds are comingright along . P.K., Heinenen, Terry and Thorens glidedfrom 7:30 to 9 ~ 0 0 Terry has a big bump on his spinefrom riding the glider on the ground so long . Gliderkept busy all day. Flew after supper a while (I meantaxied). That rudder is a sonuvagun.May 12Gliding started at 6:30 this a.m. Robert and I havereached a very fair stage of ground flying proficiency.My prat and back are very sore. Glider working perfectly. Flies well at 30 mph more or less .May 13Flew from 7 - 8:30. That is, Rudy flew and I taxied.Terry hopped today .May 14Flew from 5:00 - 6: 30 p.m. I made my first fewhops , but came down as fast as I went up . Terry nowflies the length of the field at about 4 feet altitude.May 15Terrific south wind turned glider over on its backnotwithstanding being firmly tied at both wing tips .Right leading edge of stabilizer and rib broken necessitati ng repairs.

May 29'Glider Club convened at Marquette Airport to see


20/28

the air show which started yesterday. Wally Arntzenattempted outside loop twice in Tauch's Great Lakesbut motor would not work upside down. He gotaround the bottom and was coming up once, butmotor pooped. Did some dandy stunting.May 30

Airport again. Some stunting by Arntzen and FrankSchoblaska of Manitowoc. Dog fight between Mothand Great Lakes. Lieutenant Shelly dropped in withhis Scarab powered Waco. Barnstormer from On-tonagon with land biplane and OX-5 with maximumof 1325 rpm's struggled off field and headed home.May 31

Sikorsky landed in Marquette harbor this after-noon. Isle Royale Plane. Heinenen reports gliderready to fly again.JuneUp at 6:00. Flying at 6:30. Filthy crosswind but gotin several good hops.June 2Flying again early. Made my first flight the lengthof the field. Made one difficult flight tho that scaredthe others ... but merely pancaked.June 3

Terry and Heinie were both up' at 6:00 a.m. wait-ing for us so we could fly but signals were crossedand we didn't arrive.June 4Flying again. I ripped off half the metal skid.

And so it went . . . day after day, through thesummer. The simplicity of it all makes it highly attractive. For a brief period that summer the Harley 74 wasreinstalled. Then one day the boys went by Mar-quette Airport on their way to Cascade Junction,where they did all their flying. The FBO tipped themoff to something they had feared for a long time: aC.A.A. Inspector was looking for them. They wentout to their plane where we found this big red tagattached to the prop spinner, recalls Rollin. It saidthis airplane is grounded in very large letters. It is notto be flown under penalty of $500 or six months injail. He listed eight reasons including things like noidentifiCation number, and using a rubber gas line,but the worst, most scathing remark was: unairwor-thy design and construction throughout. In otherwords, there was not a single thing good about i t.The engine was removed. There seemed to be no ob-jection to flying it as a glider, so that's exactly whatthey did. On December 31, 1932 Rollin recorded hisbest flight: 4 minutes, 15 seconds.

Mag Ranguette, a barnstormer from Nahma Michiganwas one of many distractions for the Negaunee GliderClub.

Shortly after that, sometime in 1933, the glider disintegrated from heavy use. It marked the end of Rollins' flying days, but had only served as a beginningfor three of the group. Rudy Thoren and LloydHeinenen went on for Masters Degrees in engineer-ing, became licensed pilots, and went to work for

Rolly s diary and log book for the glider in 1932. r ~ I ; r ....t . L A.8 f l i ldy Bo bs Bob I 1'1 , P I e .'

J ~ n It:- IJ.,a , if' 3

.: : : : ~ : t : = = + = = ~ = = t = ~ = = = + : ; ; ; = = t = = = = = = = = = = = = . t l..

l. i % ..3 ?, . "L

....38 J6 -3

< - ,* jil l

~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ j---.L- I- I - '1'1 I , ..0 P'. " '


21/28

Oshkosh 8 Gosh made a couple landings in Negauneebefore its fatal journey out over the Atlantic

..

Front vi w of the fared glider those cold upperMichigan winters undoubtedly had some influence

Some of the members o the G li der C lub decided itwould be fun to move onto something a l itt le moresophisticated. They graduated to thi s Curtiss-WrightJunior

Rudy Thoren and 01 Jennie

2

NORT ROP PRIM RY


22/28

By Hank NixonVintage Sailplane AssociationScott AirparkLovettesville, Virginia 22080

The Northrop Primary was a copy of thevery successful German Zoegling. Many werebuilt from kits, priced at $85, and countlessmore were built and flown with varying degrees of success from magazine plans.

These machines were mostly bungeelaunched from hills and had no instrumentsother than the senses of the pilot. In flatareas, launching was done by auto towing.As can be imagined, learning to fly solo withlittle guidance was not the best way to ensure longevity, so many of these gliders weresoon destroyed. The low and slow nature ofmost of these crashes meant that what fewinjuries occurred consisted mostly of cutsand bruises.Construction was simp le and results varied greatly with the skills of the builder. Thewings had two wood spars with built-up trusstype ribs. Drag loads were handled with wirebracing. Flight and landing loads were carried by % inch cable. Sk ids of steel tubingprotected the wingt ips from the inevitableabuse of student landings. The leading edgewas covered with plywood or aluminum.Tail surfaces were fabricated of sprucewith plywood gussets and wire braced. Allflying surfaces were covered with lightweightlinen and doped. Long life of the coveringwas not important as the glider was usuallycovered with patches very soon.

The fuselage runner was of spruce withplywood sides and a skid of ash, often with asteel shoe . The seat was a piece of plywoodwh ch did not encourage hard landings. Unlike many primaries of the time , the Northrop was equipped with a seatbelt . The aftfuselage was of 1% inch square spruce withplywood gussets and was wire-braced. Spareswere often kept handy because they werefrequently broken. Rigg ing was tedious dueto the many connections required; there wasa lot of w ire bracing to hook up and adjustto keep it in proper alignment.

NORTHROP PRIMARYaPAN : 3 4 FT. a 2 IN .AREA I 17 1 aea. FT.LENGTH ' 1a FT. B IN .EMPTY WT. ' 17 1 LB.

HI IN '1D-77

/

Flying qualities of the Northrop Primarywere average for the type . The advert isedglide angle of 1 was undoubtedly a littleoptimistic. Aileron reversal was a commonproblem i f the rigging wires were not kepttight. If the rigging was right and an exper ienced p i lot was aboard, the Northrop wascapable of handling and performance characteristics somewhat better than most of today's hang gliders . Pods to enclose the pilotand instruments were added to many ofthose ships that survived training . These


23/28

this problem may have been used before but I amnot aware of having seen it published. VEINCHES ND MONEYBy William B. Hase lton EAA 22608 Lifetim e Antique 91 )1238 Ca therwoodSouth Bend, Indiana 44614

'\'\-FIG 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 3 FIG. 4 v1

I'.. [ ]I-~ . ~ . \ 1J 1jt ~ % - 1~ ~ A Z E

FIG. 5 o FIG. 6

The standard C-26 sparkplug is considerably shorter than the regular shielded plug so it lends itselfwell to building a shield.

Using .030 or .040 mild steel, I first constructed aloose cylinder around my deep socket that fit theC-26 plug. I removed the socket and then welded theseam so that I had a closed cylinder. (Figure 1).

Using the same material, I next made a washerwith an inside diameter the same as the spark plugcopper gasket and an outside diameter slightly largerthan the previously constructed cylinder. This washerwas welded to one end of the cylinder. (Figure 2).A cap was next made to fit over the cylinder.I cut a disk slightly larger in diameter than the cylinder and I also cut a piece of metal one-fourth inchwide just long enough to go around the outside ofthe cylinder. This piece was welded as a skirt to thedisk so that the completed unit formed a cap to fitover the outside of the cylinder. The cylinder wastrimmed to extend approximately % to 3 e incheshigher than the C-26 plug. Two short number 4 sheetmetal screws hold the cap on. (Figure 3).I next went to the local airport and begged severaldiscarded shielded plugs. I cut the next of one ofthese off Sfs from the end. (Figure 4).I carefully cut the porcelain inside so it could beused as an insulator. A triangular file works well forthis cutting.The C-26 spark plug has a rounded terminal ontop. I put the plug in the shield and opposite thecenter of this rounded terminal I drilled a hole thesame outside diameter as the porcelain .The cut-off neck was then brazed to the cylinderside thus: (Figure 5).

The cut off porcelain was then slipped into theneck by inserting it from the inside of the shield. Thisporcelain does double duty as insulation and alsosupport for the "cigarette".

The next problem to be considered was that ofheat. From my ham radio experience I knew that themaximum hole size recommended for ventilation wasone-fourth inch, so I drilled three or four % inchholes in the cap and eight or nine in the body.I got field approval from our local FAA GADO of fice to use it on an 85 horse Taylorcraft with an electrical system.

There may be shorter shielded plugs on the market but for price you can' t beat a $1.00 C-26 plug andsome scrap material

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y im Go rm an1885 llsboro


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Mansfield Ohio 44906Thi s is the last seri es of th e famous StaggerwingBeech. It was built in 1946 and sold new for $29,000.The " G" differs from earlier models in the followin gres pects:1) Enclosed gear fairings2) Cowl flaps3) Engine moved forward 12 "4) Longer windshield5) Larger vertical fin6) Modern " Puck" brakes. 7) Twin Beech type cowlingA total of 781 Staggerwings were built from 1933 to1948, of which 353 were commercial models and 428

were for the military . 20 " G" models were built in1946-1948. About 250 Staggerwings exist today, witharound 150 licensed and flying . Over 50% of theairplanes are owned by airline pilots .The Staggerwing is a docile airplane in the air .

Landing is not much different than any other earlytailwheel airplane - you have not landed until youturn off the runway.I have been asked many tim es if it is a 200 mphairplane as claimed . Yes , it is at 9;700 ', pulling 65 %power. Most of the time , 80305 is flown at 53% wh ichgives a true air speed of 185 mph (9 ;500 '), burning22-2 3 gph with the Pratt & Whitney 450 hp engine.The " G" model has 6 fuel tanks (one in each wing ,one forward fuselage tank , one rear fuselage tank) fora total o f 170 U.S. gallons , which gives 7 hours ' duration or a 1,300.statute mile range.

General Infonnation on StaggerwingsMo del 17 . .. Fixed gear prototype made first flight

on November 4, 1932Model A1 7 . . . Pre-production airplaneModel B17 .. .. . . . First production model ,March 1934 to March 1936Model C17 . . .. . Mar ch 1936 to March 1937Model D1 7 .. .. .. . . .. . . . . . Februa ry 1937 to 1945*Mo del E17 . .. . . .. .. .. . . March 1937 to 1944*Model F17 .. .. . . . . .. . .. .. April 1938 to 1944*Mo del G17 . .. . . .. . 1946 to 1948(*AII were military models after 1941 )To understand better the differences in Model 17se rie s, li sted below is the model designation sys tem :Number 17 .. .. . .. .. . . SeriesPrefix letter . . .. . Model (Basic thru G)Suffix letter .. .. . .. . .. Engine in stalled

BEECHCRAFT MO EL G-17-SSTAGGERWING

Engine DesignationsA Wright R760-E-2 .. .. . .. . . . (350 hp jB Jacobs L-5 . . . (285 hp jD Jacobs L-6 . . . .. . .. . . . . (330 hpjE - Wright R760-E-l . . . . .. .. . . (285 hp jF - Wright R1820 .. .. . . . . (690 hp jL Jacobs L-4 . . . . .. . . .. . . . (225 hp jR - Wright R-975 . (420 hp jS - Pratt & Whitney R-985 .. . . (450 hp jW - Pratt & Whitney R-985-SC-G . . . . . . .. . . . (600 hp jNot all engines were installed in each model. Thebreakdown of commercial produ ction by model was:17R - 1 . . . .. .. .. . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . C17L - 6A17F 2 . . . . C17R - 17B17B - 2 . .. . . . . .. . . .. . . E17L - 1B17E - 3 . . . .. F17D - 59'B17L - 45 . . .. . .. . . .. .. . . . .. . D17A - 8B17R - 16 . . .. . . .. .. . . .. D17S - 51C17B - 39' .. .. . . .. . .. . . . . . Dl7W - 3C1 7E - 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G17S - 20The rest were D1 7S, D1 7R, 7B, and F 7D. Mostw ere military models, with the larger quantity beingMo d el D1 7S.

MODEL D175

General Specifications of NC 8 3 5 G-17-SWingspan . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . 32'Length . . . .. . . . 26'9"Height .. . . . . . .. . .. . . . . .. . . .. 8'Weight:Empty . . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . .. 2, 800 Ibs.

Gross . . . 4,250 Ibs.Useful . . .. . . .. . . . . . 1,450 Ibs.Engine . .. . . . . .. . .. Pratt & Whitney R985-14B ,450 hp at 2300 rpmPropeller . . . . .. Hamilton Standard 2D30

constant speedFuel Capacity . .. . . . . 170 U.S. gallonsPerformance:Max imum speed . . . . .. .. 212 mphCruising speed . . .. . 201 mph at 9;700 'Landing speed . .. . .. . .. .. 60 mphSeating Capacity . . . .. . . . .. . .. . . 5Mo st owners of Model 17 have banded together inth e Staggerwing Club. Due s are $7.50 per year, whichincludes four newsletters per year. We would wel

come you as a member. Write George York, P.O. Box111 , Mansfield , Ohio 44901.There is also a Museum of Staggerwings and other

interes ting art icles located at Tullahoma, Tennessee.You can taxi from the Municipal Airport (WilliamNorthern Field) directly to the Mu seum . If interested ,write Dub Yarbrough , P. O. Box 550 , Tullahoma , Tennessee 373 88 .

Hope you enjoyed thi s short hi sto ry of Staggerwing s.

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the

BUGHE ITE

E P Lott brought the flying bug to Norwalk, Ohioin 1919' aboard a Curtiss JN4D Jenny and it bit me .He and his mechanic set down in Fred Ward 's hayfield and in short order was making more money, offthe field, than Fred ever made. Fifteen dollars for fifteen minutes was the first asking price and many ofthe local and nearby sport grabbed the chance to fly.My first chance to touch this beautiful thing waswhen I asked the grease monkey as the mechanicswere known, if I could help him oil the exposedrocker-arms on the OX5 engine. I had noticed that hehad to do this operation after every third flight and itwasn't long before I became assistant mechanic, incharge of lubrication.Later on I was promoted to tail l ifter , because ofthe short field, E P would taxi clear up into the fencecorner and then we would lift the tail and turn theplane around, to take-off position. The tail lifter's jobwas also, to hold back on the plane while the pilotwound-up some of the engine 's 1400 revolutions perminute. I jumped aside, at his hand signal, after awhile and two-thirds of the field had been passed,this 90 horse wonder began, more or less to fly . E Pwith his passenger always cleared the maple trees onEast Main Street, much to the surprise of everyone.On Armistice Day of 1919; E P proved to be aHot Dog Pilot by the present day definition, whenhe flew down Main Street just over the trolley wires

and below the tops of the taller buildings. Note: TheAir Commerce Act went into effect May 1,1926.Believe i t or not, E P Lott lived to be an old man,and for all I know, might still be living. Wherever heis, he's not worrying about water pumps and rockerarms on OX5's.

After WWI there were thousands of unused aircraft engines, in storage, all over the United States.The largest quantity was probably, the Curtiss OX5and OXX6 series engine.I recall one surplus sale, in Dayton, where theseengines sold for 90.00 each in their original crates,during the 1920's. One company bought severalhundred of these and stored them in a distillarywarehouse, which was not being used because ofMister Volstead's Act.

In 1928 to 1930 I helped build several hundred aircraft to accommodate these powerplants, but by 1930the aircraft industry was scraping the bottom of thebarrel for engines and parts. know, I was there .

An OXX6 powered Waco model 9 (on floats) .

y Esker777 Woodlawn Avenueorwalk , Ohio 44857

THE ITCHMy next move towards my life career, was to builda set of simulated airplane controls on a mock-up, for

my fifth grade science class. At that time practically allaircraft were using the Joyce control system, so 1mounted my joy stick on a universal joint to thefloor of the mock-up. 1 used screen door springs tosimulate the forces required to actuate the aileronsand the elevators. The same was used on the rudderbar. There was a left hand throttle, which was thecommon location in those days.

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THE SCR TCHThen, after what seemed like twenty years, I could


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begin to see the end of my High Schooling and Isoo n would be ready to take the big jump. Eachsummer I had been working at 'highway constructionuntil the last two weeks before school started. I wasusi ng this time to locate a good place to begin what,by now, I was positive , was the way for me to go. Myfi rst destination was the Advance Aircraft Company atTroy, Ohio , then McCook Field at Dayton, Fokker atWheeling , Bristol, Pennsylvania and Lakehurst, Newjersey, etc.Come back later was the standard reply . Publictransportation gained little from my movements , butmy thumb got a good work ou t . In February of 1928, Ihit Stout-Ford in Dearborn, Michigan , and Meyers inTecumseh , Michigan. On this trip I did get a ride ' in anew Ford Tri-Motor with three j-5's, piloted by testpilot, john Coll ings. Lindbergh used a WrightWhirlwind j-5.

T L ST R LI FOn March 17, 1928 I got the word from a man ,

who knew a man, who knew a man that could get meon at the Advance Aircraft Company. Man numberthree owned the field they were flying from . Shortlyafter this the industry started to boom. Then jobs became plentiful , until the fire. An OX-5 powered planesold for about a dollar a pound , in tho'se days, therefore, a 3300 pound plane sold for about $3300. At thattime, the aircraft industry would hire pretty-fair youngmechanics, at thirty-five cents an hour, for a fortyfour hour week. Few could expect to get beyond thecent-a-minute rate. Nevertheless, after paying for ourroom and board, in advance, we were still able to hitthe Winter Garden or the Roof Garden at Piqua, Ohioevery Saturday night, where we could prance half thenight. Then we went to the Spot of the Dog House inTroy to eat completely decorated and big hot dogsfor a nickel. Once after winning a dollar bet , I spentthe whole buck on a plank steak , which was, actuallyse rved on a short plank of oak. Transportation wasusually accomplished by the use of our thumb , as-sisted by a red big lettered sweater, from my schooldays . Clothes and shoes were trading stock, and attimes we got to looking pretty ragged, but we alwayshad our hair cut and got our shoes shined at johnny 'sShine Parlor . I can still see johnny' s big fat handreaching out for the dime after a complete spit andpolish jo b . Once I bought a suit, and because of thefifty cents a week , I had to pay on it, my social activities were reduced for some time, From 1900 to

1920 every farm in the United States had one or morefarm wagons. Most of them were either Studebakers,made in Indiana , or by the Troy Wagon Works , atTroy , Ohio . In about 1920 the wagon business wasdiscontinued and the young Weaver Aircraft Company moved into the old Wagon Works , sometime later. After the death of two of the members of theoriginal Weaver Company, including Weaver himself,the co mpany reorganized under the name of AdvanceAircraft Company. Line production was just nicelygetting underway when a fire , in the dope room,stopped operations. A new factory was ru shed toco mpletion with much better facilities, including,their own flying field. Everything seemed to be goingwell, by the middle of the summer, following the fire .Since the planes being manufact ured were known as

MY CKYARD TRASH BURNERStill mon ying with one kind of an engine or ano the r,

Waco after the Weaver Aircraft Company, the Advance Aircraft Company changed the name to WacoAircraft Company. By 1930, any field with two orthree planes based thereon , at least one would be aWaco . Production was about five planes a day, andmy pay got up to the cent-a-minute mark.Then the time came for me to move to the nextstep, which is another story. y this time, because ofmy occupation and associates , my family were certainthat, eventually, I would return to Norwalk , horizontal in a pine enclosure. Today, I possess many smallreminders of my days at Waco , which includes acomplete set of the special tools, supplied with everyOX5 and OXX6 engine. I, also, possess a million fondmemorie s of people, places and things in Troy, Ohio .

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Vintage Airplane - Jan 1979

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