Vintage Airplane - May 1989

8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 1989

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by Espie Butch JoyceThis month, I would like to bringyou up to date on our planned activitiesfor EAA Oshkosh '89. Our Convention theme this year is "From Jenniesto Jets.Ken Hyde of Warrenton, Virginiahas started a project, "Jennies to Oshkosh '89. He is contacting as manyJenny owners as possible to have thembring their aircraft to the Convention.The latest report is that he has commitments from several people. He is hoping for a good group and has beenworking very hard to transport theseaircraft . If you feel that you can be ofhelp, please contact him at 703/3471909. Wouldn't it be great to have sixor more Jennies in the air at one time?

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC PICNICChairman - Steve Nesse - 507/3731674This activity will be held on Sundayevening at 7:00 pm at the EAA NatureCenter. Tickets will be on sale at Antique/Classic headquarters and shouldbe purchased by 6:00 pm Saturday . Weplan on having the Jenny owners andpilots as our honored guests during thistime.ANTIQUE/CLASSIC TYPE CLUBHEADQUARTERSChairman - Joe Dickey - 812/3426878We invite all the type clubs to set uptheir headquarters in this area. t servesas a great gathering spot for these

STR IGHT AND LEVELChairman - George York - 419/4294378George is in charge of all categoriesin the classic class.

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC FORUMSChairman - John Berendt - 507/263-2414John has put together a very goodprogram with qualified individuals.This program will be presented overthe Convention week . Please checkthe program for the schedule.ANTIQUE/CLASSICINFORMA TION BOOTHChairman - Bob Brauer - 31217792105This booth is outside of the A/CHeadquarters. lC chapter peopleshould check in with Bob. Any information on the Convention and membership can be found there .

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC PARKINGChairman - Art Morgan - 414/4423631Type clubs wishing to park togethershould contact Art directly , well in advance of the Convention.ANTIQUE/CLASSICHEADQUARTERSChairman - Kate Morgan - 414/4423631This is the center of activity in theA/C area . These ladies can assist youwith most needs you have. Stop by andpick up your Convention button.ANTIQUE/CLASSICPHOTO CONTESTChairman - Jack McCarthy - 317/371-1290The sixth annual Antique/ClassicAmateur Photo Contest will be heldduring EAA Oshkosh '89. All contestants must register at the Antique/

in front of the Antique/Classic Headquarters. If you would like to haveyour aircraft and experiences included,please contact Charlie so that he mightbe able to include you in his schedule.ANTIQUE/CLASSICPARADE OF FLIGHTChairman - Phil Coulson - 615/624

6490This event will take place on Monday of the Convention as part of themain airshow. The briefing will beheld at I:00 pm at the A/C Headquarters. Phil would like as many as possible to contact him in advance if youwould like to fly in this show.ANTIQUE/CLASSICPARTICIPANT PLAQUEChairman - Jack Copeland - 508/3367245The Antique/Classic Division willpresent to the owner of each registeredaircraft, a recognition plaque with acolor photo of the aircraft parked atOshkosh. Please register your aircraftas soon as possible after you are parkedas this will speed up the procedure to

present you with your plaque .ANTIQUE/CLASSIC FLY-OUTChairman - Bob Lumley - 41412556832Thi s activity is enjoyed by all whoparticipate. This will be our sixth annual fly-out. No need to register , butbriefing will be held at the A/C Headquarters at 7:00 am on Tuesday . Departures will be at 8:00 - 8:30 am andreturning 1 30 - 2:00 pm in time forthe airshow.ANTIQUE/CLASSICRIVERBOAT CRUISEChairman - Jeannie Hill - 815/9437205


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PUBLICATION STAFFPUBLISHERTom Poberezny

VICE-PRESIDENTMARKETING & COMMUNICATIONSDick Mall

EDITORMark Phelps

ART DIRECTORMike DrucksADVERTISINGMary Jones

ASSOCIATE EDITORSNorman Petersen

Dick Ca vinFEATIJRE WRITERS

George A Hardie, Jr.Dennis Parks

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTIsabelle WlskeSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jim KoepnickCarl Schuppel

Jeff Isom

EM ANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION, INC.OFFICERSPresident Vice President

Espie "Butch" Joyce Arthur R MorganBox 468 3744 North 51st Blvd.Madison, NC 27025 Milwaukee, WI 53216919/427-0216 414/442-3631

Secretary TreasurerGeorge S York E.E. "Buck" Hilbert181 Sloboda Ave. P.O. Box 424Mansfield, OH 44906 Union, IL 60180419/529-4378 815/923-4591

DIRECTORSRobert C. "Bob " Brauer John S Copeland

9345 S. Hoyne 9 Joanne DriveChicago, IL 60620 Westborough, MA 01581

3121779 2105 508/366-7245Philip Coulson William A Eickhoff28415 Springb rook Dr. 41515th Ave . N.E.Lawton, M149065 St. Petersburg, FL 33704616/624-6490 813/823-2339Charles Harris Stan Gomoll3933 South Peoria 104290th Lane, NE

P.O. Box 904038 Minneapolis, MN 55434Tulsa, OK 74105 6121784 11729181742 7311 Robert D. "Bob" LumleyDale A Gustafson N104W203877724 Shady Hill Drive Willow Creek Rd.Indianapolis, IN 46278 Colgate, WI 53107317/293-4430 414/255-6832Gene Morris Steven C. Nesse115C steve Court, R.R. 2 2009 Highland Ave.Roanoke, 1)( 76262 Albert Lea, MN 56007

MAY 1989 Vol. 17, No.5Copyright ' 1989 by the EM AntiquelClassic Division, Inc. All rights reserved .

Contents2 Straight and Levellby Espie Butch Joyce4 Sun N Fun Photo Previewlby Mark Phelps6 lC News/compiled by Mark Phelps7 Calendar Page 128 Letters to the Editor

BENOIX AVIATION CORP.ORATIONaov ..s. b4J._9 Members Projectslby Norm Petersen10 Vintage Literaturelby Dennis Parks11 Chapter Chronicleslby Bob Brauer12 Flying the PCA-2 Autogiro/by Steve Pitcairn17 Louise Thadenlby Bill Thaden andPat Thaden Webb20 C-2 Restoration: A Journal- Part 4/by George Quast26 Pass I t To Buck/by E.E. Buck Hilbert27 RampTrampChamplby Edlock Hart28 Welcome New Members29 Planes and People/Publicity Committee30 Vintage Trader34 Mystery Planelby George Hardie Jf.

FRONT COVER Steve Pitcairn flies the PCA-2 Autogiro that alsobears his family name. For a unique pilot report, see Steve's story onpage 12. (Photo by Howard Levy)BACK COVER The Goodyear Blimp poses over Pioneer Airport.

(Photo by Dollie Gheen)

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P OTO ESSAYby ark helps

Contact!"


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Ed Sweeney enlists a helping leg to push his Aerocar out for a flyby.

Definitely worth a second look - Dick McNeil s award-winning Swift.


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Compiled by Mark Phelps

HISTORICAL VIDEO INTERVIEWSAnyone with leads on pioneer aviatorswho may be interviewed at Oshkoshduring this year s Convention shouldnotify the Pioneer Aviation VideoCommittee . The goal is to capture aviation s historical people on tape for future generations . Interview sessionsduring the Convention can be scheduled at the interviewee s convenience .

f you know of someone whose aviation legacy should be preserved, contact Bob Lumley, Willow Creek Road,Colgate, Wisconsin 53017, 414/2556832 .SUN N FUNThis year s fly-in at Lakeland,Florida was a rousing success. Atten

dance was up all through the week.The variety of antiques and classicswas enough to stir your imaginationback in time to the days when thesewonderful airplanes first plied theskies. Relaxing on the front porch ofthe relocated Antique/Classic Head

THE ENVELOPE PLEASEThe award winners at this year s

EAA Sun n Fun Fly-in are as follows:

AntiquesGRAND CHAMPION - LockheedElectra 12A, Kent Blankenburg, Arroyo Grande, California.RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION -Fleetwings F-5 Seabird, Blake Oliver,Daytona Beach , Florida.SILVER AGE 1928-1932 - WACOCTO, Bob White, Zellwood, Florida .CONTEMPORARY AGE 1933-1945- Piper J5A, Ronald Frank, LakeAngelus, Michigan.BEST CUSTOM - Howard DGA,Fred Kirk, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.BEST WORLD WAR II ERA -Cessna T-50, James Kramer, BoyntonBeach, Florida.BEST BIPLANE - Beech Staggerwing, Morley E . Servos, Burlington ,Ontario.BEST MONOPLANE - Rearwin,Joseph and Alex Garland, Naples,Florida.

ClassicsGRAND CHAMPION - Cessna 195,Tom Hull, Hollywood, Maryland.BEST RESTORED, 1 1 TO 165 hp- Temco GC I B Swift, Mark Holliday, Lake Elmo, Minnesota .BEST RESTORED, OVER 165 -Luscombe IIA Sedan, Bill Wright, EICajon, California.BEST CUSTOM, OVER 165 hp -Stinson 108-2 Station Wagon, Tomand Lorraine Zedaker, Las Vegas,Nevada.BEST OF TYPE - PA 22-20, CarolJ . Ciavardone, Lakeland, Florida.BEST OF TYPE - Cessna 170, Martin Lowe, Culpeper, Virginia.BEST OF TYPE - Bellanca Cruisair,B. Dale Weakley, Chapmansboro ,Tennessee .BEST OF TYPE - Navion, Steve andScott McLain, Sussex, Wisconsin.OUTSTANDING AIRCRAFT - Luscombe IIA Sedan, Clyde Barton,Angleton, Texas.


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\C LEND R OF EVENTS IMay 5-7 - Burlington, NorthCarolina. Annual Spring EAA Fly-infor Classic and Antique Aeroplanes.Sponsored by EAA Antique/ClassicChapter 3. Contact Ray Bottom Jr.,1 3 Powhatan Parkway, Hampton ,Virginia 23661 .May 6-7 - Winchester, Virginia.EAA Chapter 186 Spring Fly-In at airport. Trophies for winning showplanes . Pancake breakfast Sunday.Concessions. Apple Blossom Festivaldowntown. All welcome . ContactGeorge Lutz at 703/256-7873 .May 7 - Rockford , Illinois. EAAChapter 22 Annual Fly-In Breakfast.Greater Rockford Airport - MarkClark 's Courtesy Aircraft, 7:00 amuntil noon . ATIS 126.7. Contact Wallace Hunt, Tel 818/332-4708.May 19 - Alsip, Illinois . EAA Chapter 260 23rd annual anniversary dinner. Condesa del Mar, 12220 So. Cicero . Contact Frank Rosner, Tel 312/339-6323 .May 20-21 - Alexandria, Minnesota.Bellanca - Champion National Fly-In .Alexandria Airport . Contact Rob orAI , Tel 6121762-2111.May 20-21 - Hampton, New Hampshire. 13th Annual Aviation Flea Market. Contact Mike Hart , Tel 603/9646749 .

May 20-21 - Ferriday , Louisiana .Ferriday Fly-In. Concordia Parish Air

miles north of Waupaca, Wisconsin.First annual, all-you-can-eat smelt fry,sponsored by Central County Flyers .Call 414/596-3530 .May 26-28 - Afton , Oklahoma. TheThird annual Twin Bonanza Association convention at the Shangri La Resort. Contact Richard Ward, TwinBonanza Association , 19684 Lakeshore Drive , Three Rivers, Michigan49093 Telephone 616/279-2540.June 2-3 - Bartlesville , Oklahoma .Biplane Expo '89 , National BiplaneConvention and Exposition . FrankPhillips Field . Sponsored by NationalBiplane Association. Contact CharlesW. Harris , 9181742-7311 or MaryJones , 918/299-2532 .June 3-4 - Coldwater, Michigan.Fifth Annual Fairchild Reunion. Contact Mike Kelly , 22 Cardinal Drive ,Coldwater, Michigan 49036. Tel 517/278-7654.June 9-10 - Denton , Texas. Twentyseventh Texas Chapter AAA Fly-In ,Denton Municipal Airport. ContactDon or Shirley Swindle 214/429-6343or Bob Landrum 817/430-3387 or JohnPrice 817/481-9005 .June 10 - Newport News, Virginia.Seventeenth Annual Colonial Fly-in.Patrick Henry Airport . Sponsored byEAA Chapter 156. Contact ChetSprague, 8 Sinclair Rd ., Hampton,Virginia 23669. Tel 8 41723 3904 .June 11 - Aurora , Illinois. EAA

June 23-25 - Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. Greater OKC Chapter of AAAFly-In. Great facility for Fly-In andcamping. Close to motels . ContactHarry Hanna at 405/946-4026, or BudSutton at 405/392-5608 .June 24-25 - Orange Massachusetts.EAA Chapter 726 New England Fly-Inand antique engine show. Two runways, 5,000- by I 50-feet, trophies,flea market and food. Warbirds welcome . Contact Joe Smolen, 413/4982266 .June 24-25 - Ridgeway, Virginia.Second annual Fl y-In and Pig-pickingat Pace Field (36 '35N, 79 '52 W).Call 703/956-2159 .July 14-15 - Fort Collins Loveland ,Colorado . Eleventh annual RockyMountain Regional Fly-In. Co-sponsored by EAA Chapter 648. Contact3031798 6086 or 442-5002.July 15-16 - lola , Wisconsin . AnnualFl y-In breakfast at Central County Airport, both days in association with lolaOld Car Show Weekend. Call 414/596-3530.July 15-16 - Delaware, Ohio . Central Ohio - 8th annual EAA Chapter 9Fly-In . Delaware Airport . ContactWalt McClory , 614/881-4267 or Al anHarding, 614/885-6502 .August 19-20 - Reading , Pennsylvania . Reading AeroFest at ReadingMunicipal Airport. Fly-In Breakfastsponsored by Pottstown Aircraft Own


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Letters T The ditor CE ~ ~ ~I

CENTERFOLDDear Mark,Thanks for the opportunity to tellone of my stories (Special Delivery,March) in VINTAGE AIRPLANE. I' vebeen getting a little ribbing about making the centerfold of the issue .t was al so interesting to see the letter about Cole Palen's Davis (Letters,March) in which I have many flights.It now has a 125-hp Warner in it and

no tail-heavy tendency . In fact , thetrim system had been removed sometime before Cole bought it and thestabilizer fixed in place apparentlylevel with the top longerons. t fliesgreat and with that beautiful wing I'veoften wondered why nobody tries toput them back into production insteadof Great Lakes . See you at Oshkosh.Yours,Andrew KingVa\ley Cottage, New York

WE LIKE WEICKDear Mr. Joyce,You probably wouldn't know mefrom Adam but for a number of yearsI was quite active in the Antique/Classic Division, mostly working withArt Morgan. Since I am about to takemy vow of Poverty in this ReligiousCommunity (Modonna House Apostolate, Ontario) after some 35 years inactive parish work, I have had to letmy membership AiC 2784) expire.Owning an airplane and the vow ofpoverty just don' t seem to go together.I am a dedicated Ercouper, havingowned one since 1954 - sometimesmore than one. I have also ownedTripacers, a Comanche, a J-3 and aNavion. But I do have a soft spot inmy heart (and head) for Ercoupes. Notonly that, I have tremendous admiration, loyalty and respect for Fred

read the book or the article about Fredin the September issue of AOPAPILOT, or who has talked to Ke\lyViets , or , better yet, has spent timetalking to Mr. Fred knows that here isone of the great men of aviation. Moreparticularly one of the great men ofGeneral Aviation, of "poor-boy flying ." Here is a man who is responsiblefor NACA winning a Co\lier Trophy,who holds the patents on steerabJetricycle landing gear, spinproof andstallproof airplanes, who designed themodem agplane, who converted Piperfrom "rag-and-tube" to metalairplanes; and who, with all of theseaccomplishments, when offered positions with the large manufacturers,turned these offers down because hebelieved more work needed to be donefor private flying.Fred's influence runs through private aviation everywhere you look,only most people don't know it. Didyou know that every time you figureout the distance it will take to take offand clear a 50-foot obstacle, you areusing a criterion set up by the sameFred Weick?The reason I am mentioning this isthat Fred is, thanks to the Good Lord,still alive and reasonable well. Heprobably will be at Oshkosh again thisyear as he is every year. However, heis now 90 years old and his wife of 64years is just a year younger. They maynot be around much longer.Enough said. I think Mr. Fred is thegreatest and I would like to suggestthat you come to know him while youcan since he is the epitome of dedication to private flying .The Rev. Thomas RowlandCombermere, Ontario

New Jersey in the 1930s. I lookedthrough his logbook from the CurtissFlying Service and was fascinated tofind that he had received hi s first Mothdual trammg in NC 566K inNovember, 93 . He subsequently soloed the aircraft.In his logs, there is an interesting"remark" noted after a flight on January 24, 1932 with one Norman Potterin NC 566K. He mentions a "crackupon landing" that must not have beentoo bad because he flew the aircraftlater that day.Dad flew his own Moth , NC 300Huntil it was demolished by a prospective buyer on May 7, 1933. The lossof his Moth, a pending marriage, a newand struggling business venture and theprivations of the Depression curtailedhis flying adventures after 7 hours .Although we were never able to flytogether, my kinship with Dad has justgrown from seeing an aircraft he flew.Thank you for this peek into the past.Yours truly,William B. Leavens III AiC 10201)Long Valley, New Jersey

CAPITOL CONDORSDear Mr. Phelps,In answer to your inquiry in "TimeCapsule" (March), under the CurtissWright YC-30, the "Capitol Dome"was the squadron insignia of the 14thBomb Group. It absorbed the BollingField Detachment, General Headquarters Air Force (GHQAF), and its insignia in the spring of 1935 . This was atime of great changes in the U.S . ArmyAir Corps.Very truly yours ,George F. JohnsonEast Greenwich, Rhode Island


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y orm Petersen

AlC member Weldon (Will ie) Ropp (EAA 12331, AlC 787) of Delray Beach, Florida sent in these pictures of his recent ly restored Curtiss WrightTravel Air 16E, N12380, SIN 3520. Only ten of this model were built in the early 1930s nd three survive on the FAA register. Powered with aWright R-540 engine of 165hp, the 16E is a lively performer.Although presently flying on wheels, the Travel Air is slated to be mounted on a set of EDO 2425 floats in the future. Willie reports theoriginal pprov l to mount the 16E on EDO 2260 floats is being modified to the 2425 floats nd the FAA paperwork is well long aftertwo years of diligent work. And for those of you working night nd d y to restore n airplane, take heart - Weldon Ropp has justcelebrated his 77th birthday Congratulations


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GROUP TW PPROV LSThe Air Commerce Act of 1926brought commercial air operations inthe country within the law , thus establishing the foundation of a new andvital business. The Act was the resultof many years of agitation throughoutthe country for federal action in theencouragement and control of civilaeronautics.One of the provisions of the new lawwas to Provide for the rating of aircraft of the United States as to theirairworthiness. One of the methodswas covered in Section 2 of the 1926Air Commerce Regulations as Manufacturer's Approved Type Certificates.

The regulation provided that Amanufacturer of airplanes in quantitiesand of an exact similarity of type,structure, materials, assembly andworkmanship may, at the option of themanufacturer, file with the Secretaryof Commerce an application for an approved type certi ficate .The A. T . C. number was a mark ofhonor awarded by the Department ofCommerce stating to all that the planewas completely airworthy and safe.The first such certificate was issuedduring March 1927 for the Buhl-Verville J4 Airster. An examination of design trends of the aircraft receivingtype certificates during the first fouryears was presented in the October1987 installment of Vintage Literature.n January 1929 a new type of approval appeared . This was known asthe Group 2 approval . The first aircraftto receive such an approval was theAlexander Eaglerock A-7 with theSiemens-Halske SH-12 engine.

by ennis Vaf ksThe structural strength of wings, fuselage, engine mount, (B) Cockpit, cabinand control arrangements , etc . Nothingvery detailed.

t also stated in Section 3 that Certain of these items may be demonstrated by analyses and drawings, othersby visual inspection and others bytests.A search through CAA regulationson certification from 1926 to 1938 hasbeen unable to locate any mention ofsuch a thing as a Group 2 Approval .According to Volume 9 of JUPTNERU CIVIL AIRCRAFT the Group 2Approval was initially offered as acheaper way to go for the small operation, or individuals, who could not seefit to spend the rather large amounts ofmoney necessary for acquisition of afull-blown ATC.

This lesser type of approval wasusually awarded to an airplane thatwould be built either in one or twoexamples only, a limited quantity for

Group 2 Approval #2-506 (6-29-35) ParksP-1T with 115-hp Milwaukee Tank engine.Group 2 approvals were also issued toTravel Air 2000s and Bird ATs with the Tankengine.

test and evaluation, or for some predetermined number of airplanes. Thisapproval was also awarded for certainmodifications (such as a differentengine, increased, decreased or rearranged seating, major interior changes,increased fuel capacity, etc .) of a standard type airplane already in approved(ATC) production.

Again no basis in the regulations forsuch a downgrading or relaxation ofcertificate requirements was located .Can anyone shed any light on Group 2Approvals?

JUPTNER's lists more than 600 aircraft with Group 2 Approvals. Thereseem to be two major categories of aircraft on the list. The first are thoseATC 'd aircraft that have been re-engined such as the Eaglerock with theSiemens-Halske engine and the Stinson SM-6B with a 4S0-hp Wasp. Second were the limited production aircraft such as the California Cub, theThaden T-I and Howard Hughes 'sBoeing 100 Special .

Group 2 Approval #2-416 7-11-32) Lockheed Orion 9-C originally with 450 hp Waspfor serial no. 180. Later converted to Shelllightning with 650 hp Wright SR-1820. Flownregularly by Jimmy Doolittle.


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C>-[ACY ER CHRONICLESby ob rauer

T his column is the first of a seriesdealing with the activities of our division's chapters . Currently, our divisionsports S chapters with applications infor two more.The content of the column will benews items, Antique/Classic commentary and items of interest originatingfrom chapter newsletters, correspondence and personal contacts. So, if anyof you are planning, or have done, anything you think we would like to readabout, please submit it to me by phoneor mail. I appreciate the receipt of allmaterial .Antique/Classic Chapter 2, the"Houston Antique Flyers," meets thefourth Sunday of each month at the DryCreek Airport in Cypress, Texas, nearHouston. The chapter was founded inthe late 1960s by its current secretary,J.J. "Jonsey" Paul as an affiliate of theAAA and joined the Antique/ClassicDivision of EAA in March 1973. Jonsey recalls the founding members asJohn Kane, Ed Markowski, Jim Cox,Bob Day, Frank Dedak, Corky Pyronand Raybourn Thompson, Jr.Jonsey is the president of the National Stinson Club and is the ownerof a Stinson SR9 and a 1929 Laird Biplane LCB. Rowland Howard, another Typical Chapter 2 meeting circa 1974


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by teve itcairn

n 1923 a young Spaniard, Juan dela Cierva, flew the first rotary-wingaircraft in controlled flight t Madrid,Spain. Cierva, the inventor and piloto this unique aircraft, called it the Autogiro. The name came from the factthat the rotor blades rotated withoutpower as a result o aerodynamicforces created by the movement o theaircraft through the air. The Autogirowas pulled through the air by an enginedriven propeller similiar to airplanes othe day. The rotary wing which provided the lift, permitted slow flight andlandings at virtually no forward speed .My father, Harold F. Pitcairn, whohad been experimenting with rotarywing models (with limited success)heard o Cierva s work and went toEurope in 1925 to talk to Cierva andwatch his new machine fly . On a second trip to Europe in 1928, my fatherflew Cierva s latest C-8 Autogiro andin 1929 he purchased the U. S. rightsto Cierva s inventions and patents.The first series o autogiros manufactured by Pitcairn had a fixed rotorhead spindle and control in flight wasby means o ailerons fixed to stubwings, plus elevators and a rudder. In1933, Pitcairn completed the designwork on a tilting rotor-head (directcontrol) autogiro, designated the PA22, and started flight tests . All controlon the PA-22 was through movemento the rotor-head by means o the control stick. t was no longer necessaryto have stub wings with ailerons andelevators. The rudder was retained togive extra control in slow flight andfor maneuvering on the ground.Development work continued on thePA-22 and later on the AC-35, PA-33 ,PA-36 and PA-39 direct-control Pitcairn autogiros. The PA-36 was n all


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pilot. Because of its steep approachand short or no landing roll , the autogiro could always be landed directly intothe wind. Many times I have landed onrunways at 90 degrees to the runwaydirection when there was a direct crosswind.The later autogiro with the tiltingrotor-head had positive control at alltimes . The trained pilot could correcta sideways drift on landing or couldapply power in the flare and counteractthe engine torque through control inputto the rotor-head .

My limited experience in flying autogiros began in the early 1940s. I hadpurchased a used 1933 PAA-I, a smallsport Pitcairn autogiro which had afixed rotor head, standard airplanecontrol surfaces and a 160-hp five-cylinder Kinner engine. The owner of theautogiro was going to teach me how tofly it as part of the deal. For somereason, he and I could never find atime when we could meet and, afterseveral weeks of frustration, I decidedto solo myself and fly the autogirofrom Warrington Airport, Pennsylvania, to my father's estate about 15miles away. During the two-weekfrustration period, I read everything Icould find from the Pitcairn factoryfiles on flying autogiros. On the firstnice day with light winds, I gatheredup my courage and flew the autogiro ,landing awkwardly but successfully onthe lawn of my father's home. I continued to fly the autogiro for severalyears and made the mistake of sellingit when I signed on with Eastern Airlines as a pilot. Years later, in 1982, Iwas fortunate to be able to purchasethe PCA-2 autogiro, Miss Champion, which was stored in pieces in aVermont bam . This autogiro was originally owned by the Champion SparkPlug Company . During the restorationof Miss Champion , I went to Farrington Aircraft in Paducah, Kentucky ,to get my private gyroplane rating in


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Amelio Earhart taking the first. three footstep into the cockpit of her PCA-2 autogiro.Miss Beech Nut.

and instruments are basically the sameas those of any airplane of the 1930s .The autogiro has the addition of a rotortachometer, fuel pressure gauge, wobble pump, rotor brake handle and alarge lever for engaging the rotorclutch . The cockpit is large and roomyand the seat's vertical adjustment is al-

Pitcairn PAA-1. similar to my first autogiro.

most JO inches, allowing the pilot toraise the seat to high position for takeoff and landing, and lowering the seatfor comfortable cruise out of theslipstream. Taxiing is also similar to abiplane requiring S turns to makesure that nothing is hidden by the bigengine.

While not rotating, the blades on theearly fixed rotor-head autogiro weresupported by droop cables. The bladespivot vertically on flapping hingesand if not for the restraint of the droopcables, the blades would rest on thefuselage or the ground. n a strongwind, the non-rotating blades could be


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blown vertically causing damage whenthe blade drops back down after thewind or gust subsides. The later directcontrol autogiros are similar to thehelicopter in that the blades are supported at the hub, eliminating the needfor droop cables . Their vertical travelis also restricted by the hub design. Onthe PCA-2 and other fixed rotor-headautogiros, the hub spindle is slantedslightly to the left. By turning the leftside of the autogiro into the wind, theforce blows on top of the blades, preventing them from being blown vertically. At a rotor rpm of 60 or higher,centrifugal force holds the blades horizontal, eliminating any serious windeffect while taxiing.The first flight test of Miss Champion was scheduled on May 14, 1986,three days after my 62nd birthday. Thechallenge to test-fly the PCA-2 was, ina way, awesome. I had self-soloed thePAA-I some 40 years ago and I hadreceived instruction and a privategyroplane rating in the Air and Spaceautogiro in 1983. But the Air andSpace autogiro with enclosed tandemcockpit, direct control and jump takeoff was small and a completely different flying machine from the big PCA2. On the day of the first flight tests,George Townson, who was responsible for restoring Miss Champion, assured me that all systems were okay.George, an A&P and lA had been atest pilot for Piasecki Helicopters andhad flown PCA-2 and Kellett autogiroson various missions and test flights including crop dusting in the PCA-2. Iknew his okay meant the PCA-2 wasready to fly.

After managing the climb into thecockpit, my 62-year-old bones settledinto the cushioned seat. The cockpitfelt comfortable and familiar as I hadbeen regularly flying two PitcairnMailwing biplanes with similar

Taxiing with the pilOt s seat in the raised position.

Just before ground cont ct, airspeed 10 mph. Full up elevator will stop the autogiro ttouch-down.


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proximately 40 minutes flying time.The wobble pump is used to pump fuelfrom the belly tank in case the enginepump fails .After eight pumps on the primer , Iturned the magneto switch on bothand hit the starter. The big Wright ' s300-hp came to life with a cough anda great deal o smoke as the nine cylinders cleaned themselves o residue oil.The plan was to make a series oshort hops o about 400 feet distanceat an altitude o six to 10 feet to checkthe trim and for me to get a feel o thecontrols in flight. Trenton-RobinsvilleAirport, where my restoration facilityis located, has a grass strip parallelto the paved runway - ideal for thetest flights . After taxiing to the endo the strip, I checked the magnetosand the various instruments. With theengine at high idle, around 800 rpm,the clutch lever is slowly pulled backengaging the clutch . t is important toincrease pressure smoothly and slowlyso as not to break the shear pin or overstrain the clutch assembly . The shearpin is designed to break if the clutchor rotor ring and pinion drive gears areover-torqued. Installing a new shearpin is an easy task. The large heavyrotors come up to speed slowly. Whenthe clutch is fully engaged the rotor isturning about 60 rpm with the engineat 700 rpm . While moving the throttleahead slowly to increase the rotor rpm ,care must be taken not to advance thethrottle too quickly or the clutch willstart to slip and lose its efficiency because o heat. Normal flight rotor rpmis 120 and this rpm can be reached bytake-off power i all systems are ingood condition. At 120 rpm, the engine should be turning close to 1,300rpm and at this point the pilot releasesthe clutch and brakes while adding fullpower. Normal take-off is in a threepoint attitude . Lift-off, with lightwind, comes in about 200 feet at 30 to35 mph. At this point, the rotor rpm

cided to come around and before Icould find the brakes, the 'giro madea 90 degree tum and stopped. ThePCA-2 brake pedals are identical to therudder pedals and located just inboardo the rudder pedals . To actuate thebrakes, the pilot has to lift his foot offthe rudder pedal and move over to thebrake pedal which takes some practicebefore it comes naturally .After three more similar short hops ,getting the landing flare down to apoint where my roll was only five to10 feet, I taxied back to the hangar tocheck out the autogiro and calm mynerves.On the next good day, I flew theautogiro to about 3,000 feet above theairport to become familiar with the bigmachine. I normally do not wear a helmet or headphones if I can help it andon this longer flight, the first thing Inoticed was the whish-whish o thelarge, slow-turning blades. You can almost pick out each blade as it spinsforward across the horizon. In contrast, the small blades on my Hughes500D helicopter tum at 459 rpm andjust disappear into a blurred disc andhum.I noticed the stick movements required for control were larger than theMailwing, mostly due to the size othe PCA-2 and slower speed. MissChampion seemed stable and I couldtrim her for hands-off flight, however,she did not have the stability o theMailwing.With the power on, I could bring theairspeed down to 25 mph in a climband maintain control. In a power oglide, control was lost around 30 mph .The autogiro does not stall as the spinning blades are the lifting surfaces. fthe nose is held high without power, itwill settle slowly and the autogiro willtend to go into a large spiral as speedpicks up to 30 mph and control is regained. The maximum-glide-distancespeed is 60 mph . On approach to a

the large size o the autogiro 3 ,000Ibs . gross weight) and its ability to settle softly on the ground with virtuallyno roll. Through practice, I learnedthat a vertical approach can be madeto a landing spot by holding the autogiro at 25 to 30 mph with the engine atidle. The air flow over the control surfaces is then derived mainly from therelatively rapid vertical descent and notthe forward flight. At about 120 feet ,the nose has to be dumped sharply toincrease the forward speed to 40 mph,allowing a last moment flare andtouchdown without damage. My firstapproach and landing from altitudecreated some apprehension . I hadwanted to flare and touch down without a roll . I speculated that if I flaredtoo high , I would drop in and i I flaredtoo late , I could bounce and damagethe landing gear. Fortunately, thePCA-2 is very forgiving and with whatlittle mistakes I made, the touch downwas soft and the roll out two or threefeet.Once on the ground the blades beginto slow down and the pilot must checkthe wind. f it is strong, he must posi-tion the autogiro so that the wind isfrom the left or rear until the rotor hasbeen slowed to a stop with the brakes.I use rope tiedowns to each blade whentaxiing directly into heavy winds andfor outside storage. The autogiro canbe taxied in strong winds with the rotorturning over 60 rpm, but special careshould be exercised.Miss Champion has been flyingsince the summer o 1986. In additionto local flights, I have flown her toOshkosh, Wisconsin and Jacksonville,Florida from my home base at theTrenton-Robbinsville Airport in NewJersey. My airspeed on cross-countryflights is about 85 mph at 65 percentpower. The PCA-2 properly rigged andtrimmed and with the ground adjustable propeller set for cruise will makeabout 100 mph .


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n 1933, the Thadens found themselves with no airplane o their own .Herb had a job with TWA in KansasCity and he occasionally got to flycopilot on a scheduled flight. For thefirst time Louise was forced to rent aircraft time to stay current. Louisewrote, When you haven't been in theair for a while, it becomes madness the desire to fly. Perhaps because fly

y ill haden and Pat haden Webbthe McRobertson Race. Walter Beechagreed to build the ship - a Staggerwing to be powered with a Wright Cyclone engine. Expected cruise speedwas 220 mph at 15,000 feet. Production lagged behind schedule and eventually the plan was aborted. Never oneto play the odds when they weren't inher favor, it was uncharacteristic oLouise to continue with the attempt foras long as she did. The pair admitted


18/36

Bendix beams as louise accepts his 936 Trophy.N UM e c A

BENDIX VI TION CORPOR TION 8712. South Be'Dl1, Indiana~ r o 1 B 1 :QRDmOF $ 2,500.00

VOU iC CMCCKN 187 'P

SIXT HAlEXANDW' BRANCII 11> 291.ttuk. n Ami rintWATIO ,, ,41;. L . ~ l \ 1 o t A'.OC,ATIO .

LOS AN6ElES. CAL (FTwo checks one for being the first wom n to finish and one for being the first pilot to finish.

tory in Wichita where Walter Beechhandled all the details of refueling .When he discovered what power setting Louise had been using on the firstleg of the flight, he blew up. "Whatthe hell do you think you're in, a potatorace? Open this damn thing up " "Yessir," Louise answered.Louise was not only the first womanto cross the finish line, she won thewhole shooting match. Beech arrivedin Los Angeles the following day."Nice work, fella," he told Louise ,"The old man knows what he's talkingabout, doesn't he?" "You certainlydo, Louise answered smiling, "exceptwe cruised out from Wichita, too. ""The devil you did Well I'll bedamned " and he roared with laughteruntil his face flushed red and tearscame to his eyes. That's the best Iever heard. Two women winning theBendix flying a stock airplane at cruising speed. And that engine has over1 200 hours on it, too," he said, wipinghis eyes. Which made it Louise 's tumto be surprised. "One thousand twohundred hours Why that engine'spractically a grandfather Dam you forgiving us a worn out engine "

f Louise learned anything from herinterminable travels as an air marker,it was to always know where you areand never abuse the powerplant. It'snot always the fastest ship that winsthe race, she would say.Louise collected both Bendix prizechecks. Some say it took Mr. Bendixjust about as long to figure out how tochange the name "consolation prize"as it did for Louise and her copilot ,Blanche Noyes to fly the race - 14hours, 55 minutes .Louise was awarded the HarmonTrophy for the year 1936, proclaimingher the outstanding woman pilot in thecountry. t was a personal high for her ,but soon came crashing down on hershoulders when 1937 brought the deathof her good friend Amelia Earhart .


19/36

louise straps into son, Bill s T-33 for her first ride in a jet.

port, she proved to be master of herfate. Once again she emerged the winner. She wrote:There is a sea, a quiet sea,Beyond the distant line,

Where all my dreams of yesterday - ndall the things that were to be,Are mine.When World War ended and private flying could resume , Louise continued to fly. She devoted much of hertime to the Civil Air Patrol, performing

search and rescue missions over theVirginia and North Carolina mountainsand plateaus. One of her proudestachievements for the Civil Air patrolwas the development and expansion ofthe Virginia Cadet Program . Her greatjoy was always not only to do the bestshe could do, but to encourage her children, and other youths to greaterheights. She rose to the rank of Lt.Colonel.

Somehow she managed to find timefrom her work with Thaden Engineering Company to serve on the Department of Defense Advisory Committeeon Women in the Service. She continued as a Red Cross volunteer workerand supported her beloved 99s as a raceofficial. Her only venture back intocompetitive flying was to give daughter, Pat the fun and experience of acting as her copilot in the 1950 International Women's Air Race. The borrowed Taylorcraft, the only ship in therace without a radio (or starter ), required special dispensation for landings and take-offs at the race points.Fog covered the greater part of theroute from Montreal , Canada to WestPalm Beach , Florida. Due to Pat ' syouthful exuberance, Louise pressedon. They finished in fifth place aftertwo nerve-wracking days in dubiousVFR

Louise had many offers to fly jet aircraft. She waited to share this elation


20/36

I

C 2 RESTORATION:A JOURNAL

art 4by George Quast EAA 123836, le 8885

February 10, 1984I had written to Ben Owen, EAA sdirector of information services to askif he might help me locate and photocopy the May 1962 issue of SPORTA VIA nON which had my C-2, NC10303 on the cover. Dave McCluretold me about it. Today Ben sent mean original copy of this issue and sureenough, there was Dave McClure andthat special smile of his right smack onthe cover with the yellow and blackC-2.

February 11, 1984We took a wing dnwn from the northwall of the hangar, cleaned and inspected the bare wood and metal fittings and pronounced t all sound.Then we made plans to cover the firstwing. Jim wanted to suspend it byropes from the ceiling. He tied a steel

wrench on the end of a small nylonrope and before his son, Butch or Icould move into position and give hima hand, he twirled the rope around andsent the wrench flying toward a steelrafter. The wrench ricocheted straightdown, however, picking up speed onthe way and hit the ribs of the wing .This upset Jim and he threw a tantrum,along with a wastepaper basket againstsome hangar junk. t reminded me ofhow the Tasmanian Devil reactedwhen Buggs Bunny frustrates him onthe Saturday morning cartoons . Jimwent into his office, closed the doorbehind him and began to do some earlyspring office remodeling . I could hearthe noise of another waste basket beingphysically abused but could only imagine what was actually going on .When the smoke cleared, Jim emergedfrom the office and declared he was

going home and his son was to get hishinder into the car. For once, Butchdidn t ask a single question.I stayed after and surveyed the office, pounded out the dented waste baskets, swept the floor and checked thedamage to the wing . t wasn t that badso I repaired t and while the glue wassetting, went home to retrieve a longladder to hang two ropes from the shopceiling. I closed the shop and wenthome to get ready to go to the Minnesota Antique Flyer's banquet thatnight n the Twin Cities. The nextmorning, before Sunday School ,drove out to the airport to see what myrib repair looked like and found, to mysurprise, that the wing had been mysteriously covered with fabric. It musthave been done by hangar elves - ormaybe one big bearded spook.

February 16, 1984Jim taught me how to tie the modifiedseine knot to complete a rib stitch.With the re-covering manual close by,I made my stitches close enough together to exceed the 200-mph safetyspeed stress limit. We spread fabrictape over the stitches and sprayed thewhole wing with butyrate dope. Whenboth wings were finished throughdope, we hung them on the north wallagain.

Augie Wegner sent along a few tipsabout painting and he was happy thatI had gotten in touch with so manyfolks. If he could come up with anything, he d let me know.February 27, 1984Robert C Mikesh, Senior CuratorAeronautics, Smithsonian Institutionsent a postcard saying that the informa

tion on the C-2 decal had been locatedand that I would be hearing from JaySpenser.March 5, 1984Finally, after a few months, several


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Rib stitching Stits fabric to wooden ribs

March 6, 1984John Rice, from Spicer, Minnesotasent a card thanking me for the photoI sent him of the fuselage and he included a photo of his latest project , aWaco HRE. John is a member of theMinnesota Antique Flyers and flewwith my father in the 1930s. He is alicensed examiner and gave my fatherone of his check rides on December13, 1947 and licensed me on June 29,1972.

March 13, 1984received a postcard from AugieWegner. He sent me the name and address of Duane Berke, of Black Hawk,South Dakota. Duane is the owner ofAeronca Champ N 2259E, sn 7 AC5833 - the plane in which my fathersoloed . I had taken the registrationnumber from an early photo and sentit to Augie to see if he might have information on its whereabouts.Russ Borton sent a letter on this date

of the history of the airplane and sendsome good pictures .I got a postcard from Erwin Eshelman. On the front of the card were twosunbathers on the beaches of Floridaand Erwin told me that he had atendedthe EAA Sun n Fun fly-in at Lakeland, Florida but there were no C-2s,C-3s or K Models there.March 16, 1984Dale Wolford, from Ashland, Ohiohad called me and asked about my C-2.I sent him some information and hewrote back today, thanked me for thephotos I had sent him on the C-2 swing assembly and asked for more dataon front and rear spar thickness. Hisgroup got a fuselage, n 66, with tailfeathers , five engines (two 107s andthree 113s), condition unknown but reported that one of the E-113 enginesran . They were rebuilding a completenew set of wings and going to use thetripod landing gear until the plane

oil temperature gauge, tachometer andignition switch to the engine stand ywire and electrical tape . The gas linefrom the engine was attached to thegas line from the plastic tank with avise-grip. The Flottorp propeller, having been cleaned, revamished andpolished was bolted to the engine. Amixture of gasoline and oil was pouredinto the tank, crankcase oil levelchecked and rocker arms greased. Ichecked the engine manual that BuckHilbert had sent and reviewed the section on engine starting. With thegasoline on and the spark plug wiresoff, I pulled the prop through a fewtimes. I opened the throttle and propped some more until the enginesounded good and squishy withgasoline now dripping out the bottomof the carburetor. The squishy, slurpysound was identical to the noise DavePershau makes when he s got a headcold.We pushed the engine and stand outside the hangar and Jim, with stockingcap pulled down close over his head,pulled the prop over twice. On the thirdpull, at exactly 4:40 pm, the enginecame to life with a few pops and acough of smoke. Jim hollered at me toquick take a picture and get the heckover here and hold onto the enginestand. The left cylinder wasn't firingproperly. It had good spark but something was wrong that we couldn ' t see.But, at least we started the engine onthis special day, which just happenedto be Joe Dooley's birthday, too .

March 24, 1984Dale Wolford sent a photocopy ofan article taken from the July 1958issue of AMERICAN AIRMAN titledMeet Airman Antiquers, the McClureBrothers. A portion of the article tellsmore about Dave McClure:Marion and Dave McClure ofBloomington, Illinois are brother antiquers who engaged in this hobby in


22/36

Aeronca C-2 which is his present project. Dave s transition from P-47s,Swifts, 140s and Seabees to a C-3 isof special interest. The C-3 has a bigjob hauling him around, since Dave isa man weighing well over 200 pounds .

At our Fly-in last year, Dave wonthe 'Flying Birdcage Race' with his C3 and Marion was awarded the R.L.Taylor Trophy in the best Ultra-LightAircraft class with his Wiley Post.March 30, 1984I thought about making new aileronskins and today Dale Wolford sent methe address of Factory and Steel MetalSupply in Highland Park, Michigan .

These people had the correct aluminumto use in making ailerons . Some restorerswere using aluminum gutter material.

Dave McClure sent a letter explaining to me how to grease the wheelbearing. We had problems, not knowing how to pull apart the wheels without damaging them, only to learn thatsteel pins had to be drilled out and replaced at every greasing . Dave said,because of very little weight on thesebearings, they stood up pretty well. Healso attended the EAA Sun n Fun flyin this year in Florida but saw no earlyAeroncas.

April 5, 1984At the time I refinished the Flottorppropeller, I wanted to preserve its decalfrom the Anderson Propeller Company. Before sanding off the decal , Itook a photo of it and wrote the company to see if anyone there could tellme something about it. I received aletter today telling me that the FlottorpPropeller Company was out of busi-

ness and that Anderson had a completely different decal from the one inthe picture I sent.April 10, 1984Jim and I di smantled the cylinders

Jim hollered, Take the picture and get over here and help hold the stand "

The Anderson Propeller o. decal on the Flollorp propeller.


23/36

April 30, 1984A new record snowfall was set today- 98 .5 inches of snow in a season. Ithou ht I did a lot of shoveling thisyear

Jim and I stripped all the paint offthe crankcase and repainted it inAeronca orange and the cylinders inblack. We connected the pistons andJim showed me how to nick the skinoff the tips of your fingers when putting one cylinder over the pistons andrings . I'm not a fast learner so he tooksome more skin off finishing up thesecond cylinder. After the rods andvalves were replaced, adjusted andgreased, we re-attached the engine tothe fuselage and added the propeller.After connecting the instruments, fuelline and timing the magneto, we wereready to start the engine again.

t started with good compressionfrom the cylinders and ran with a goodsteady "one-two, one-two" beat. TheC-2 looked like a motorized, one-manpup tent with wheels . The idling engine sounded like that of a two-cylinder , John Deere A tractor - slow butsteady.I learned how to start the C-2 engineby myself after tying the tail down soshe wouldn t get away from me . Theengine and fuselage were then coveredwith bed sheets to protect them frombird droppings and then I rolled it intoJoe Dooley's hangar, next to his KR-l.No more work was done on theairplane until late summer.

July 28 through August 2, 1984I went to the EAA Convention inOshkosh on my motorcycle and fi veminutes after reaching the campgroundentrance, I lost my camera. It wasreturned 24 hours later. I set up my2 x 2 umbrella tent along with thetrailers and motor homes of the Minnesota Antique Flyers. They adopted

hopped over a small retammg fenceand "looked her all over " Buck is trulya character and I got my picture takenwith him. The next morning he gaverides in his Swallow to media membersof N TION L GEOGR PHICMagazine and people from the Smithsonian Institution.

Erwin Eshelman was at the Convention but I was unable to find him . JoeDooley, Dave Pershau , Jim Wechmanand Butch were there and in the evenings I'd check in over at Jim's motorhome, just to tell him what I hadlearned that day. Whatever questions Ihad about old airplanes and how to fix'em , this was the place to get the answers. For the next few days I overdosed on people, food and airplanes.

August 14, 1984John Houser from Aeronca Inc.

wrote asking if NC 10303 was for saleand if it was; was it currently licensed?;assembled or dismantled?; type of engine installed and approximate time onit?; airframe complete?; general condition?; and approximate value and asking price? The C-2 was not for sale.

August 29, 1984John Houser wrote back thanking

me for my response to his inquiry. Hewould appreciate a small photo whenI got the C-2 flying again , and I wasto keep him advised on the progress.John wished me luck.

Buck told me, Shoot, I thought you were older "


24/36

The uncovered left wing.

Covered with Stits

September 11 1984discovered that the gas tank wasleaking. Before I painted it , I had theseams resoldered s a precaution, butstill it developed a pinhole leak. Thistime, I sloshed the inside o the gastank with Randolph s gas-tank sloshing compound. The tank was then repainted.

September 26, 1984The left wing was removed from thenorth wall o the shop hangar and hungfrom nylon ropes extending from thesteel rafters. Saw horses were used tolay the wing on its flat side. Alreadycovered with butyrate dope, the wingwas inspected, cleaned and thensprayed with 1980 Ditzler sealer. Wewet-sanded and inspected it before Jimsprayed the first coat o orange paint.More wet-sanding followed and then Isprayed the next coat o orange.Early Aeronca C-2s and C-3s hadround registration numbers rather thanthe square block letters and numberscalled for by the CAA . Aeronca wasamong the few that used round letterswithout strong protest by the government, so I made up my own stencils inround letters and numbers . Tracing thestencils on the wing, taping the outlineand painting black on orange gave mea beautiful finished wing.

October 2 1984By this time, I was doing all o thepainting myself which left Jim able tosit back and watch his current student.The right wing was prepared the sameas the left. Upon sanding the frontwooden spar in the area where it attaches to the fuselage, I discoveredthree coatings o paint. From the outside in, the colors were yellow, redand finally true Aeronca orange . Theorange matched the color on the covero Jay Spenser s book on the C-2,


25/36

I sprayed the registrationnumbers n black paint

October 18 1984Dale Wolford wrote and told me thattheir fuselage was ready to cover andone wing was ready to assemble. Heasked what colors I arrived at to duplicate the Smithsonian color scheme. Itold him o the paint that I discoveredon the wing spar and gave him thenumbers o the Ditzler paint that I wasusing.

October 27 1984Jim, David and I attached thepainted wings to the fuselage . We adjusted the flying wires, attached the ailerons and placed the cowling aroundthe engine. The C-2 was wheeled outside for a picture. t was almost complete with only the gas tank,windshield and greenhouse wing cowling t be added . There were a few littleadjustments to be made on the flyingwires and control cables. We coveredthe airplane with sheets and rolled itback into Joe Dooley s hangar. twouldn t be long now to be on luded next month


26/36

ninformation exchange column with input from readersall the help you gave me when I blewmy engine on the L-2 and deadstickedinto your airport. I tell that story manytimes and how much help you were.So on behalf of myself and my family,we wish to extend to you a very HappyHoliday Season and heartfelt thanks .You're never forgotten. Thanks.Sincerely,Chuck Kessler FamilyLitchfield, IllinoisDear Mr. Hilbert,I enjoyed your story about the Porterfield 35-70 - and it took me backsome years - a lot of years, that is . Ihad an opportunity to fly one severaltimes and I still remember what a niceflying bird. I learned about the trimcrank on the first hop. Yep, that's right- I hit the throttle with my big fatelbow reaching for the trim crank inthe aft seat. This was at about 25 feetover the sage brush of New Mexico.Shocking? Yes But due to youth etc .I caught it in plenty of time. That sudden quiet was an experience . Thiswould be about 1941 or 42 . The onlybird I have now is a Luscombe 8E, 1these many years - since 1960. Ienjoy your column.Sincerely,Joe YoakumForth Worth, Texas

by Buck HilbertEM 21, le 5P.o. Box 424Union, IL 60180

FROM THE MAILBAG ...Dear Buck and Dorothy,We missed you at OSH this year, infact we looked real hard to find anyonewe know. Is there a message there Weflew the Luscombe 8E back andworked it real well. I think I'll stick tothese modem birds for cross country .

Buck,I was just reading the December1988 issue of VINT GE IRPL NEand always enjoy your column. Duringthe holiday season we give thanks fora lot of things and it comes to mind,


27/36

DearBuck,Ihave just read yourcolumn in theFebruary issue. t was interesting.Now here is a question to which noonearoundhere seemstoknowtheanswer.WereadthattheFAAinspectors

are requiring an FCC license for theELT. So probably that means, if youjusthaveanELTandnothingelse,youneed a license to transmit. Now thequestion is, ifyou haveanothertransmitterin theplane,andit islicensedbythe FCC, do you need an additionallicense to transmitontheELT?Ifyouhave more than one transmitter in aplane (not counting the ELT) do youneedanFCClicenseforeachtransmitter?This question is probablyof littleinteresttomost. Still, I d liketoget itsquaredaway in mymindsothosewhoaskmecangetthecorrectanswer.Canyou help?Best,HowardC. HolmanSkyRanchWayne,MaineP.S. On seniority: notice by yourEAAand lCnumbersthatyou have

mebeat - by several years.HelloHoward,Goodtohearfrom youagain. YourquestionabouttheFCC station licenseis a good one. Not everyone realizesthat the ELT is a transmitterand thatit d eS requirealicense.Regardlessofhow we think about it, with the enforcementprogramgoingontoday,it'sbest that you get one. f you've gotother radio equipment in the airplane,the ELT is covered by your stationlicense. Theairplane becomes a radiostation and you could have three orfour radios installed and they'd all becoveredby the one station license.

f any of those Champs and Luscombes withoutelectrical systemsareto belegal, theyMUSThavethatstation license. Get one of them littlegreen applications and get it in themill.Idon t think I m sosenioratEAA.My number is 21. That justproves Iwaitedawhileto seehowthingsweregonna go before I signed up. As forthe lCDivision, that was started toensure us Antiquers ClassicpeopleaplacetoparkattheConvention.Back

in the old days when it was "firstcome, first-park,"therewasanendlessvariety of airplanes in each row.There'd be a homebuilt, then a warbird, maybe an antique and then aChamp or something. They weren'tgrouped as type ormakeoranything.I thought it was great but obviouslybirdsof a featherwant to flock.WeapproachedPaulPobereznywiththeideaof segregatingtheantiquesandclassics and he said, "Fine, but youprovideyourownmanpowerandparking!" That was the beginning of thedivision. Dave Jameson was the firstpresident and I was the second. Wedecided to weld the thingtogetherthesecondyearsowecouldassignresponsibilities and betterorganize the parkingand registration.Thatwas the beginningof themembershipandthebylaws and all the rest of the stuff thatgoes with getting organized. I tooknumber 5, again because I was alatecomer. Iwasn't too sure this thingwould catchon .Overto you,Buck

TH R MPTR MP CH MP t Merced and fro ..

partlybecausehewasbasedthereyearsago, but mostly because Sparky isSparky.Weplannedto refuel at Delanoandwedidbecausewe gotthere.Uphillalltheway toGormanwasunusually unturbulent and clear enough to seethrough. RampTramp climbed easilyenoughtoseeahead, crowflyingmiles

off the highway route. This kept theChamp abreastof Lance andSparky,even though it crossedthe gapatGorman from a vantage point 1,500 feetabove them. The excess altitude wastraded for airspeed and shenanigans.Communication spiced the journeywith sense and nonsense.FromDelanotoMercedouraltimeterswentberserk.Theyrefusedtoindi


28/36

there. Sparky and Lance arr ived thisyear too, but in Lance's newly purchased Beech Musketeer, whichdoesn't associate much with Champs,except on the ground .The Champ liked the show , theplanes and friendly people as much asbefore. We left for home o n Sunday inclear, cool air. Stopping for 80-octaneat Bakersfield Airpark surprised us alot more than if it hadn 't. Parked onthe line was a Bird (Joe Griffith), anN3N (Les and Nancy DeLine) , a TCraft (Jim McCormick) , a 150 (BillDutton and Carol) and room to parkthe RampTramp

Assembled at a large round table,this happy group made room for Edlock . There was no dearth of mirth atthis meal. Last year a similar happy

happenstance happened at Madera. Somuch more goodness than badnesshappens to and fro fly-ins, that fly -inscontinue to be flown to, and fro.We intended to fly home more orle ss as a flock , so the RampTramparose first, being the easiest bird tocatch up to. Scanning the sky unrewarded my eye. Nothing was there butunoccupied air. Later I lea rned that therest of the flock found they flew solo,too.The Champ picked a point betweenGorman and Tehachapi, dead reckoning to Cajon Pass. Helping to deadenthe reckoning, its compass card reads,Fo r 360 degrees - steer 43 degrees."The cool air friskied all 65 horses.They galloped upstairs like a champ to8,500 feet to see over the fast-forming

clouds above the mountains. The buildup was too fast to dare fly over, so Idove to get under and squeaked between peaks and clouds. Mojave continued to ot show up on the far sideof ridge after ridge until I wondered ifit was lost. When it finally found itselfI slid down below the clouds, makingCajon Pass anti-climactic. Oncethrough the pass, decent visibi litymade getting home to Gillespie evenanti-c1imacticer, until a gust attouchdown put me and theRampTramp 30 degrees sideways .Taxiing in was worse, with throttle andand rudder twice saving the wingtips.It wasn't until shutting down at thehangar that anti-climax sett led in tostay

WEL OME NEW MEMBERSThe following is a partial listing of new members who have joined the EM Antique/Classic Division (through September18, 1988). We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members' common interest is vintage aircraft.Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members.

Edgell, Gerald B Flaharity, Larry R. Graves. Darrell A Heard, Dan Inge, Hutchins B.Skaneateles, New York Amari llo, Texas Worden, Illinois Jackson, MiSSissippi Northridge, Cal iforniaEgbert, Frank M. Fleming, Robert E. Grice, Bobby G. Hellert, Henry Int'I Civil Aviation Org.Kent. Ohio Hamilton, Ontario Snyder, Texas Vincennes, Indiana Montreal, QuebecEhrenstrom, Ingemar Foster, Geoffrey E. Griffer, Wade Hendershot, Markus E. Irwin, Thomas B.Osterskar, Sweden Santa Barbara, California West Palm Beach, Florida Jonesburg, Missouri Jupiter, FloridaElkins. Jr., Waller Francis. George Grundeman, Sr, Fred D. Hendricks. Leroy Jablonski, Richard ALake Charles, Louisiana Creston, Iowa Scandinavia, Wisconsin Lansing, Kansas Burlington, ConnecticutElliott, John M. Frumkin, Mark S. Guelde, John E. Henry, William E Jarnagin, William ATulsa, Oklahoma Hazelton, Pennsylvania Earlville, Illinois Cumming, Georgia Miami. FloridaEllis. T. L Fulmer, James P. Gurney, Phil S. Hensley, Garry Johnson, CraigEmmetsburg, Iowa Diamond Bar, California Oak Grove, Missouri Topsham, Maine Cumberland, MarylandElswick, James L Fye, Michael S. Gygax, Larry Herring, Brian Johnson, Greig E.St. Louis, Missouri Clintondale, New York Waukesha, Wisconsin Lennoxville, Quebec East Greenwich,Rhode IslandEmerson, D. Gallagher, William J. Haarr, Thor Higgins. Harry G.Brandon, Manitoba Chalfont. Pennsylvania Tacoma, Washington Tallahassee, Florida Johnson, William LLivermore, CaliforniaEngelen, Antoine Gambrell, Robert Hall, Rowland L Hogan, KennethWesterlo, Belgium Columbia, South Carolina Northfield, Illinois Hicksville, New York Julian, Thomas H.Niceville, FloridaEnglish, E. SJune Garrison, Raymond Hallenbeck, Seigle M. Holland, William M.Cross, South Carolina Loveland, Ohio Satellite Beach, Florida Garrett Pari


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Left to Right - Bill Schlapman, Munsil Williams and Jack Wojahn.

By volunteers of the Antique/ClassicPress CommitteeLarry O Attilio and Pamela Foard,Co-ChairmenEM 150262, AlC 8265)1820 N 166th StBrookfield, WI 53005

y Carl N PedersonThis pretty little airplane is a 1930product o the Heath Aeroplane Company o Chicago, Illinois. The modemday Heathkit Company o Benton Har

Model T, rear-axle parts were used inthe crankshaft-to-propeller adaptation.The little four-banger was rated at 27hp, but 20 was a more realistic outputfigure.Just how tiny is the Heath? Bill is a

Custom restoration o N752Y wasprofessionally done in Michigan in1971 . The major departures from anas manufactured Heath were the engine and twin fuel tanks in the wingwhich were not o the proper vintage.


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MEMBERSHIPINFORMATION

EAAMembership in the ExperimentalAircraft Association, Inc. is $30.00for one year, including 12 issues ofSport Aviation. Junior Membership(under 19 years of age) is availableat $18.00 annually. Family Membership is available for an additional$10.00 annually.

ANTIQUE/CLASSICSEAA Member - $18.00. Includesone year membership in EAA Antique-Classic Division, 12 monthlyissues of The Vintage irplane andmembership card Applicant mustbe a current EAA member and mustgive EAA membership number.Non-EAA Member - $28.00. Includes one year membership in theEAA Antique-Classic Division, 12monthly issues of The Vintage ir-plane, one year membership in theEAA and separate membershipcards. Sport viation not included.

lACMembership in the InternationalAerobatic Club, Inc. is $25.00 annually which includes 12 issues ofSport Aerobatics. All lAC membersare required to be members of EAA

WARBIRDSMembership in the Warbirds ofAmerica, Inc . is $25 .00 per year ,which includes a subscription toWarbirds. Warbird members arerequired to be members of EAA.

EAA EXPERIMENTEREAA membership and EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine is available for$28.00 per year (Sport viation notincluded) . Current EAA membersmay receive EAA EXPERIMENTERfor $18.00 per year.

PLANS:POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol unlimitedin lowcost pleasure flying . Big, roomy cockpit forthe over six foot pilot. VW power insures hard tobeat 3V gph at cruise setting. 15 large instructionsheets. Plans - $60.00. Info Pack - $5.00. Sendcheck or money order to : ACRO SPORT, INC.,Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/5292609.ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable ofunlimited aerobatics. 23 sheets of clear, easy tofollow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical drawings, photos and exploded views. Complete partsand materials list. Full size wing drawings. Plansplus 139 page Builder's Manual - $60.00. InfoPack - $5.00 . Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing $15.00. The Technique of Aircraft Building $12.00 plus $2.50 postage. Send check or moneyorder to : ACRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, HalesCorners, WI 53130. 414/529-2609.

ENGINES:160 hp Gnome - extra cylinders and prop hub;remarkable inside (run once) . Missing push rods.Rusty casing, in original crate. 215/340-9760 or215/340-9133.

Continental A-40 - no time since top overhaul.Complete and crated. You Ship . $1 ,250. 3121742 2041. (5-1)

Franklin - 165 hp HC , 300 SMOH. Wood Sensenich propeller. $2 ,500. 619/346-6834 . (5-1)

Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet25 per word, $5.00 minimum charge. Send your ad toThe Vintage Trader, Wittman Regional Airport

Oshkosh , WI 54903-2591.

AIRCRAFT:(2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks, 1931 and 1934. Package includes extra engine and spares. Fuselage,wing spars and extra props. Museum quality! 30,000firm! Hisso 180-hp Model "E. 0 SMOH with propand hub and stacks. Best offer over $10,000. 1936Porterfield 35-70 , the lowest time Antique ever!Less than 200 hrs. ITA & E. 20 hours on engine.$12,500. No tire kickers, collect calis or pen pals,please! E.E. "Buck" Hilbert, P.O. Box 424 , Un ion ,Illinois 60180-0424.

POSITION/EMPLOYMENT:AIRFRAME and powerplant instructor for past 22years, A&P school in central California, desireschange. 30 years experience in antique aircraft restoration , Command-Aire, Waco, Stearman, Fairchild, Aeronca, Cessna, Piper, Taylorcraft, etc. Excelient craftsman in sheet metal , steel tube, woodstructures, fabric (Grand A and Stits my specialty) .Have shop, wili take sub contract work for individuals or museums. Or wili relocate for employment.Resume on request. ROBERT G. LOCK, 19342 E.South Avenue, Reedley, California , 209/638-4235.(5-2)

WANTED:Wanted: Cont. A-40, Aeronca E-113 engines.Complete or partial. Harold Buck, Box 868, Co lumbu s, GA 31902, 414/322-1314. (5-2)Wedell Williams Aviation Museum wants to locate a Lockheed "Vega" in any condition. Willcheck all leads. Information to P.O. Box 655, Patterson, LA 70392. (5-2)WANTED - Warner 145 Crankshaft with sp lines.Will trade tapershaft type and cash or cash only .


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Fly high with aquality Classic interiorComplete interior assemblies for do-ityourself installation.

Custom quality at economical prices. Cushion upholstery sets Wall panel sets

Headliners Carpet sets Baggage compartment sets Firewall covers Seat slings Recover envelopes and dopes

Free catalog of complete product line.Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors andstyles of materials: $3.00.

Qir exI;RODUCTS INC.259 Lower Morrisville Rd., Dept. VAFallsington, PA 19054 (215) 2954115

~ Y i n ~light estl

ANTIQUES &. CLASSICSGather in KENOSHA, WISCONSIN theweekend before the EAA Conventionin Oshkosh. Come JULY 21-JULY 23.

' I ' I I I ~~ STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ THE MOST POPULAR ~AIRCRAFT COVERING MATERIALS~ IN VI TION HISTORY ~~ HERE'S WHYI * Proven Durability on Thousands 01 Alrcralt. ~~ * FAA-STC lor Over 660 Alrcralt Models. * Over 23 Years Service ~~ History. * Superior Quality Coatings Developed and Manulactured~ Under the Quality Control 01 an FAA-PMA especially lor Polyester ~~ Fabric on Aircraft, Not Brittle Automotive Finishes, Modified Short Life ~~ Water Borne House Paint, or Tinted and Relabeled Cellulose Dope. ~~ * Will Not Support Combustion. * Lightest Covering Approved ~~ Under FAA-STC and PMA. * Most Economical Covering Materials ~~ Considering Years 01 Trouble Free Service. * Easy Repairability. ~

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Aviation Foundation. Belore Making Expensive Mistakes, See ThisTape and LE RN HOW TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. VHS~ or Beta, $49.95. A lso Direc t Irom EAA (1800-843-3612), and Irom ~~ S ~ t ~ ~ s ~ I ~ I i ~ O ~ ~ A ~ - ~ ' ~ : ' N _ & _ S ~ ~ ~ ~ I ~ O ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ h ~Very Smooth 1.7 oz. Patented Polester Fabric Developed ~

~ Especially lor Aircraft Covering. * Poly-Fiber Manual with ~~ Detailed Instructions lor Fabric Covering and Painting Aircraft ~~ lor Corrosion Control. * Latest Catalog and Distribut or List. ~~ ~~ STITS POLY FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~~ P.O. Box 3084-V, Riverside, CA 92519 ~~ Phone (714) 684-4280 ~

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AWWAMEMBER


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THE QUICKEST AVIATIONINSURANCE ANSWER ISDIRECT FROM AVEMCO

Who can make a fast decision when I need it most?It's one of the most important questions you should askyourself before you buyaviation insurance.

Most independent agents arevery good. But no matter howgood they are, they may not beable to answer your tough questionswithout first checking in with theinsurance company. So if you havea claim, need a quote or just want aquick yes or no , you could be leftwaiting for a return call.

s a direct writer, your AVEMCO salesunderwriter has the authority to make mostquoting and binding decisions on the spot. Sowhen you need that extra coverage, additionalpilot or just have a last-minute coverage question,you're speaking to the source.

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by George Hardie Jr.

This neat-looking amphibian was aone-off product of a well-known aircraft manufacturing company in thepre-Depression years. The photo wastaken at some aircraft show, date andlocation unknown. Answers will bepublished in the August 1989 issue ofVINTAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline forthat issue is June 10, 1989.Some readers were not fooled by theview of the February Mystery Plane.Henry Hellert of Vincennes, Indianawrites:

It's an Emsco 'Artic Tern,' named

of the Wedell-Williams MemorialFoundation, Patterson, Louisianaadded this :The Mystery Plane in the Februaryissue is the 'Arctic Tern,' built byCharles F. Rocheville in the 1930s todo aerial survey work in Alaska forShell Oil Company. Unfortunately, the'Tern' did not have a chance to do thejob it was built for. After a flight forShell Oil Company photographers, theengine quit and a forced landing de

stroyed the aircraft.Other answers were received fromJack McRae, Huntington Station, NewYork; R.L. May, Butler, Pennsylvania; LeRoy H. Brown, Zellwood,Florida; Robert E Nelson , Bismarck,North Dakota; John C Nordt , III,North Miami, Florida and RobertLingenfelter who sent two additionalpictures - taken before and after thecrash. Reference : WINGS June 1973and AIR POWER July 1973 .'.


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EMs O ,. ARcnc TfRtf

If lkiP

Pen nd ink drawing by Henry Heller .

ONE GOO TERN DESERVESANOTHER


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Vintage Airplane - May 1989

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