8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
1/46
FEBRUARY 2010
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
2/46
Vintage Aircraft Assoc iation
Chapter 37 in Auburn, Indiana, is
a truly exceptional group of indi-
viduals. Now nearly 70 members
strong, we are privileged to have a
hangar facility that consists of more
than 5,300 square feet, which also
houses an outstanding clubhouse
facility. Our clubhouse is decorated
with dozens of aviation artifacts,
antique aviation signs, photos,
and paintings. One unique, signed
photo is of the founder of the Ex-
perimental Aircraft Association. In
your chapter facility, you, too, may
have one of these highly treasured
photos, first published in the late1980s, titled “Freedom is what EAA
is all about.” Here are the words of
our founder as they appear on this
most treasured aviation artifact:
Freedom to create and build…to
dream…to fly.
Freedom is something that is oftentaken for granted…until it is lost.
Freedom is a precious gift that has
been given to us by our forefathers and
by all who served—and died—in wars
fought in its name.
Yet there are those who would chip
made a difference. 125,000 EAA
members, speaking with a strong and
unified voice, help keep the flame of
freedom burning brightly.
However, many challenges remain.
We need your help to fuel that fire…
to build stronger representation in
Government affairs, continue
vigorous activities at the local
level—through EAA’s strong Chapter
network—and further develop youth
programs so that the aviation chal-
lenges of the future can be met with
skill, talent and knowledge.
The price of Freedom is measured
not in time but in commitment.
Join us. Freedom is what EAA is allabout.
Signed: Paul H. Poberezny
Isn’t it amazing how so few of
these threats to our way of life have
my fellow aviators, remain deeply
concerned about our freedom to
fly. You have to wonder, “What’s
next?” Because of these continuous
threats, we all need to stay vigilant
and continue to engage ourselves
in the debate of all aviation issues,
local and otherwise. Be it through-
the-fence issues or airspace changes
or whatever, we need to continue
to be committed to the association
and speak with a strong and unified
voice in an effort to help keep the
flame of freedom burning brightly,
as Paul spoke about so many years
ago.
At least once every few monthswhen I catch myself walking past
this picture of Paul, I will pause
and read these words to yet again
remind myself why this organiza-
tion is so important to my way of
life. It also continuously reinforces
my personal commitment to this
wonderful group, and it keeps mefocused on the importance of these
freedoms Paul referred to. Virtually
little has changed when it relates
to the threats to these freedoms we
still hear about on nearly a daily
basis It also serves as a constant
GEOFF ROBISONPRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
STRAIGHT & LEVEL
Freedom and EAA
You have to wonder,“What’s next?”
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
3/46
IFC Straight & Level Freedom and EAA
by Geoff Robison
2 News
4 2010 VAA Friends of the Red Barn Campaign
6 Larry Howard’s Lovely Laird ‘Te thoroughbred of the airways’
by Sparky Barnes Sargent
16 Dear Jenny . . . A fellow never forgets his rst love
by Bill Larmore
19 My Friend Albert VollmeckePart II
by Robert G. Lock
26 Light Plane Heritage Te 1923 Mummert Sportplane
by Jack McRae
28 Te Vintage Mechanic My thoughts on propeller care, Part I
by Robert G. Lock
32 Te Vintage Instructor Tat turn to nal
by Steve Krog, CFI
34 Mystery Plane
by H.G. Frautschy
36 What Our Members Are Restoring
39 Classied Ads
A I R P L A N E F E B R U A R YC O N T E N T S
S T A F FEAA Publisher Tom Poberezny
Director of EAA Publications Mary Jones
Executive Director/Editor H.G. Frautschy
Production/Special Project Kathleen Witman
Photography Jim Koepnick
Bonnie Kratz Advertising Coordinator Sue Anderson
Classied Ad Coordinator Lesley Poberezny
Copy Editor Colleen Walsh
Director of Advertising Katrina Bradshaw
Display Advertising Representatives:
Specialized Publications Co.
Vol. 38, No. 2 2010
166
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
4/46
VAA NEWS
They’re coming from everywhere;
some three dozen DC-3 and C-47 air-
craft have already shown interest in
participating in “The Last Time . . .,”
the 75th anniversary celebration of
the aircraft at EAA AirVenture Osh-
kosh 2010.
The list of potential aircraft that
will be participating in the DC-3
mass arrival is still being finalized,
but many of the participants are
listed at www.TheLastTime.org , a non-
EAA website dedicated to the forma-
tion arrival coming to Oshkosh.
The registration list for the massarrival on July 26 has reached its
limit of 35 aircraft; it’s necessary be-
cause of limitations at the staging
airports. Other DC-3/C-47 operators
are welcome to participate, however,
by individually flying to AirVenture,
which will be held July 26-August
1 at Wittman Regional Airport in
Oshkosh. Those operating the aircraft
are asked to contact Adam Smith at
EAA headquarters at [email protected] .
“This is a tremendous response in
just the several weeks since the 75th
anniversary commemoration was
announced,” said Smith, EAA’s vice
president of membership. “We are
still receiving inquiries from own-ers of some very special DC-3s, and
we welcome all of them to be a part
of AirVenture 2010, whether or notthey are able to participate in the
mass arrival.”
Several of the DC-3s have been reg-
ular visitors to Oshkosh in past years,
while others have made only rare ap-
pearances or have never been here.
In all, it promises to be the largest
airborne group of DC-3s assembledsince World War II, and likely the last.
One of the details being solved
currently is parking for this many
magnificent DC-3s at Oshkosh. It’s
anticipated that AeroShell Square,
along with the Warbirds and Vin-
tage aircraft parking areas, will be
fully engaged in showcasing these
venerable airplanes.
Fewer than 100 of the aircraft re-
main airworthy in the United States,
meaning that nearly half of the cur-
rent fleet could be present at AirVen-
ture 2010. The weeklong festivities
at Oshkosh will also include histori-
cal and technical forums/presenta-
tions, fly-bys, and a special eveningprogram commemorating the DC-3
at the Theater in the Woods.
Marking Cherokee’s 50th With Mass Oshkosh Arrival
Along with a DC-3 celebration at Oshkosh this summer, enthusiasts
will honor another iconic general-aviation airplane of the past half-
century, the Piper Cherokee. A mass arrival of 50 aircraft will kick off thecelebration with other activities and programs included for Cherokee own-
ers and enthusiasts throughout the week. All Piper Cherokee clubs and
owners groups are invited to participate.
According to the “Cherokees to Oshkosh” website, the mass arrival
of Cherokees will be on Friday, July 23, which is the weekend before Air-
Venture’s opening day The Cherokees 2 Osh group has already filled its
DC-3 Celebration at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
5/46
To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little reminiscing on your part.
Mail nominating materials to:
Remember, your “contemporary” may be a candidate; nominate someone today!
www.VintageAircraft.org
CALL FOR VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
NominationsBonus EAA Magazine forSome Members
Those of you who are VAA mem-
bers with a “non EAA-magazine”
membership may have noticed
that you received a January 2010
copy of the newly revamped EAA
Sport Aviation . Rest assured
your membership status hasn’t
changed, but EAA felt everyone
should get a chance to see the
new Sport Aviation , so all EAA
members received a copy. Stick-
ers explaining the courtesy copy
were placed on the back of the
poly bag in which the maga-
zine was mailed, but in case
o missed it that’s h o
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
6/46
Each year at EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh the largest single space for
the display of enthusiasts’ aircraft is
the Vintage parking and camping area.
For more than three decades it’s been
not only a picturesque scene of the
finest restored airplanes in this country,
but also a gathering place for aviation
people and their magnificent machines
to share knowledge and friendship.
Each day during the convention,
we get to see the widest variety
possible of airplanes, including a few
one-of-a-kind aircraft. Don’t forget the
special Type Club parking area, where
we host many examples of a particularmanufacturer’s airplane. From
replica race planes to the American
Barnstormers Tour, the amazing colors
and outlines of the golden age of
aviation are on display for all to see
each year. All of this is possible through
the efforts of the nearly 500 VAA
volunteers, the volunteer VAA board ofdirectors, and the VAA staff.
Their passion is what makes it a
great place to be throughout the week at
Oshkosh; and it’s why so many visitors
and aviation enthusiasts come back
year after year to work, relax, and enjoy
aviation’s premier event. It’s a place to
rekindle old friendships and make new
ones. A time to relax and enjoy aviation,
learn something new, and rub elbows
with our fellow aviators. As you can
imagine, it takes some fairly substantial
financial resources to underwrite such
an event, and the Vintage area at EAA
Tall Pines Café, as well as for upkeep
of many structures. There’s never a
shortage of windows that need caulking,
doors that need to be replaced, and
roofs that need to be repaired. To be
certain, almost all of the labor involved
is performed by our dedicated and
talented volunteers, but what about the
cost of supplies and hardware?
That’s where our Friends of
the Red Barn campaign comes
in—it provides all of us, who wish,
the opportunity to assist in the vital
financial support of the VAA’s activities.
We’re most appreciative of the
contributions made by hundreds ofVAAers who see the tangible benefits
of supporting their fellow VAA members
in this manner. As a critical part of the
VAA budget, the fund pays for such
diverse items as VAA awards presented
during the annual EAA aircraft awards
program, special recognition for our
many volunteers, and expensesassociated with our special displays,
forums, and educational areas such
as the VAA Workshops and Type Clubs
located in the new Vintage Hangar.
Your annual contribution made in
the first half of 2010 will directly benefit
this year’s convention activities and VAA
programs throughout the year.
Please consider actively
participating in the 2010 VAA Friends of
the Red Barn Campaign. Your donation
is tax-deductible to the extent allowed
by law, and you can enhance your
participation if you work for a matching-
2010 VAA Friends of the Red Barn CampaignThe VAA annual fundraising campaign fuels VAA action
by H.G. Frautschy
Many services are provided to vintage
aircraft enthusiasts at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
From parking airplanes to feeding people at the
Tal l Pin es Caf é and Red Bar n, vo lunte ers do it
all. Some may ask, “If volunteers are providing
the services, where is the expense?”Glad you asked. The scooters for the
flightline crew need repair and batteries, and
the Red Barn needs paint, new windowsills,
updated wiring, and other sundry repairs, plus
we love to care for our volunteers with special
recognition caps and a pizza party. The list
really could go on and on, but no matter how
many expenses we can point out, the need
remains constant. The Friends of the Red Barn
fund helps pay for the VAA expenses at EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh, and it’s a crucial part of
the Vintage Aircraft Association budget.
Please help the VAA and our nearly 500
dedicated volunteers make this an unforgettable
experience for our many EAA AirVenture guests.
Your contribut ion now reall y doe s mak e a
difference. There are seven le vels of gifts and
gift recognition. Thank you for whateve r you
can do.
Here are some of the many activities theFriends of the Red Barn fund underwrites:
•Red Barn Information Desk Supplies
•Participant Plaques and Supplies
• Ton i’s Red Car pet Exp ress Repair s a nd Rad ios
•Caps for VAA Volunteers
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
7/46
VAA Friends of the Red BarnName______________________________________________________________________EAA #___________ VAA #___________
Address______________________________________________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip________________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone___________________________________________________E-Mail______________________________________________
Please choose your level of participation:
Please help the VAA makeEAA AirVenture Oshkosh an unforgettable
experience for our many guests.Become a Friend of the Red Barn.
____ Diamond Plus - $1,250.00 ____ Diamond Level Gift - $1,000.00
____ Silver Level Gift - $250.00 ____ Bronze Level Gift - $100.00
Diamond Plus$1250
Diamond$1000
Platinum$750
Gold$500
Silver$250
Bronze$100
Loyal Supporter$99 & Under
EAA VIP Center 2 people/Full
Week
VIP Air Show Seating 2 people/2 Days 2 people/1 Day
Close Auto Parking Full Week Full Week 2 Days
Two Tickets to VAA Picnic ★ ★ ★
Tri-Motor Certificate 2 Tickets 2 Tickets 2 Tickets 1 Ticket
Breakfast at Tall Pines Café 2 People/Fu ll Wk 2 People/Fu ll Wk 2 Peop le/Ful l Wk 1 Person/Fu ll Wk
Special FORB Cap ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Two Passes to VAA Volunteer Party ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Special Friends of the Red Barn Badge ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Access to Volunteer Center ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Donor Appreciation Certificate ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Name Listed: Vintage Airplane Magazine,Website, and Sign at Red Barn ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
✃
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
8/46
‘The thoroughbredof the airways’
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
9/46
Larry Howard’s
Lovely Laird
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
10/46
only four LC-1B-300s built by theE.M. Laird Airplane Company, and
each one was built by hand. The “C”
stands for commercial, and the “1B-
300” indicates that NC10402 was a
high-performance version, powered
by a Wright J-6-9 of 330 hp. “There
were less than 40 Laird commercial
aircraft built all together, from 1925up into the early 1930s,” explains
Larry. “Of those, there were about
three built with an OX-5 engine,
two with the Wright J-4, and most
of them had Wright J-5s. Four had
the Wright J-6-9s, of which this is
one—this airplane was built in 1930
and had a very fun life.”
The first owner, A.D. Knapp,lived in the Detroit area and soon
sold the biplane to another pilot
in the area. In May 1931, it was
purchased by Thomas Berry Colby,
vice president of Berry Brothers In-
corporated (maker of Berryloid air-
craft finishes). As with the previous
five airplanes the company owned,the Laird was christened after its
advertising slogan, “On the Wings
of Progress,” and bore the number
“VI.” “Colby flew it as an official
ship during the 1931 Ford National
Air Tour,” says Larry. “He was the
assistant timer and flew ahead of
the fleet. He took the times as the
pilots arrived at each stop.”During the mid-to-late 1930s, the
biplane was flown to its new home
in Pennsylvania, and a banner re-
lease mechanism from a PCA-2
autogiro was installed. NC10402
started towing banners—first in
Pennsylvania and then at Miami
Beach. In 1941, yet another ownerinstalled a 30-gallon smoke-oil tank
in the front cockpit, and the Laird
was used for an additional form of
aerial advertising—skywriting.
The biplane changed hands sev-
eral times during World War II and
was flown to its next home in Van
Nuys, California, in May 1945. “Un-
Aero Digest April 1928Popular Aviation January 1928 Aviation January 1928
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
11/46
munication with Mr. Edmiston,
who owned the Laird but didn’t
want to sell it.”
Backing up just a bit, Larr y
shares how he became interested
in aviation. “I’ve dreamed of fly-ing airplanes since I was a teen-
ager,” he recalls, smiling. “In those
days Mechanicx Illustrated had cards
you could tear out and send in to
get a brochure about Cessnas and
Beechcraft and whatnot. Eventu-
ally I bought the very aircraft that
I was dreaming about—my firstairplane was a 1957 straight-tail
Cessna 182, and then I had a V-tail
Bonanza. Thankfully, I got to know
Addison Pemberton [a neighbor-
ing antiquer] who infected me with
the old-airplane disease. And be-
fore you know it, I was trying to
explain to my wife why I needed
to buy a wrecked Great Lakes inGuatemala. I brought it back to the
United States and restored it from
the frame up.”
It was during that time that he
began talking with Dick, and in No-
vember 2001, after completing the
Great Lakes, he bought the Laird.
Chuckling, he reflects, “I kind ofwent to grad school in the restora-
tion game, straight from the grade
school of a Great Lakes to the Laird,
and I loved learning the skills in-
volved. I live at Sky Meadows Air-
park, and my hangar and shop is
just 100 feet from the house. I
don’t like television, so I work inmy shop every evening, and it was
a fun project. It is very rewarding
fortunately it was wrecked on its ar-rival,” says Larry, “but after it was
rebuilt, it served for the United States
Army as a coastal patrol and target
tug off the coast of California.”
In 1946, the Laird flew to Long
Beach with another owner and
was converted to a crop duster. A
hopper, venturi, and agitator wereinstalled, and “all of the controls
were taken out and BT-13 controls
were put into it,” says Larry, “along
with a BT-13 tail wheel. It served as
a duster in southern California for
several years.”
Then in 1952, the Laird was con-
verted to a sprayer. A metal tank andsprayer bars, along with a Lycom-
ing R-680-13, were installed, and
the biplane worked in the Califor-nia valley and Arizona for several
years—up through 1957. By the late
1950s, the thoroughbred “was re-
tired to a duster’s yard in Woodlake,
California,” says Larry. “It was dis-
covered as a derelict behind a han-
gar there by local Dick Edmiston. He
rescued it in 1984 and spent yearstrying to get it restored.”
Owner/RestorerEnter Larry, a dentist (now re-
tired) from Greenacres, Washing-
ton. He heard about the aircraft
from a patient. “We were talking
about airplanes, and he said, ‘Iknow a guy who has a Laird’—and
that started about a five-year com-
I
Aero Digest June 1929 Aero Digest April 1930
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
12/46
to see this aircraft come to life, af-
ter spending about nine years and
thousands of hours restoring it.”
Research
A good portion of those hours
C O U R T E S Y L A R R Y H O W A R D
C O U R T E S Y L A
R R Y H O W A R D
STEVE SCHULTE
(February 2004) Larry Howard works on the wings.You can also see the unusual aluminum tube fuselage
framework construction. All steel junctions were plated
with silver cadmium, and the aluminum tubing was
coated with zinc chromate.
Larry Howard with his bare Laird in July 2005.
The neatly finished baggage com-
partment, aft of the pilot’s seat.
It takes quite a few helping hands to carefully install the wings.
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
13/46
STEVE SCHULTE
The folding windscreen for the front cockpit can easily be installed
or removed.
The instruments were overhauled by Keystone in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
14/46
Larry. “It was interesting, though,
that sometimes I’d have two or
three drawings of the same part,
yet they were different, because
the airplanes were pretty much all
custom, hand-built to order; theyweren’t production line.”
LC-1B-300According to the late aviation his-
torian Joseph Juptner, this model
Laird was cleaned up aerodynami-
cally by the addition of a low-drag
cowl, and its lower wing roots wereneatly faired into the fuselage—plus
it had the advantage of 30 extra
horses. With an upper wingspan of
34 feet and a lower span of 30 feet,
this thoroughbred measures 23 feet
9 inches from tip to tail It came
FuselageThe Laird’s fuselage isn’t made
from steel, as one might think. The
tubing that composes the complex
framework is all aluminum. “The
tubing fits into steel clusters ateach station,” explains Larry, “and
the longerons slide through these
weldments—while the vertical and
horizontal tubes just nest in. There
is one bolt that bolts through the
longeron, to locate the longeron
fore and aft, but that’s the only
bolting. Then there are tie rodsat each station in all directions—
they go crosswise through the cen-
ter of the station, and the sides,
bottom, and top all have cross tie
rods in them. There are up to 12
tie rods per station with at least
interesting feature that is easily vis-
ible in the cockpit is an elevated
floorboard, which neatly conceals
the flight control connections and
cables. “Down in the belly, just
above the last station, is a plywoodfloor that goes from the firewall all
the way to the back of the aft cock-
pit,” he explains. “All of the con-
trols are underneath that plywood
floor; so the cockpit is very clean,
both front and back. You could
fill it up with marbles, and they
wouldn’t run into the belly!”Another feature—the combined
rudder/brake pedals—requires some
fancy footwork of the pilot. “There’s
a structure that suspends the brake
mechanism under the floor, and
the rudder pedals rotate inward for
MIKE STEINEKE
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
15/46
heat controls were located in thesidewalls of the cockpit.”
WingsSurprisingly, most of the wing
hardware, along with the original
flying and landing wires survived
for an airplane of this vintage.”
EmpennageThe tail group is of mixed con-
struction; the horizontal stabilizer
is built of wood, but the fin, rud-
der and elevators are all welded steel
The Laird’s trim system is rather
nice, with a full trimming stabi-
lizer. A Johnson bar provides gross
trim control, and a wheel directly
behind that provides a fine trim
control. “You can trim it up at anypower setting to fly straight and
level,” says Larry, “which is nice!
You can’t do that with all old air-
planes. It’s a pushrod affair that
actually works a bell crank, which
jacks the tail up and down.”
WrightSince Larry lives in Washington,where mountains loom large on
the horizon, he decided to go with
a later version of the Wright Whirl-
wind, instead of the older “snap
cap” engine. Radial mechanic
Al Holloway of California over-
hauled the Wright J-6-9 R975-11.
“This one is a sacrificial ‘oiler’ en-gine, so it has pressure lubrication
to the valves on the top half of the
engine and gravity lubrication to
the ones on the bottom. It’s a very
nice, clean-running engine—it does
not leak very much at all,” he says,
adding, “John Swander of Missouri
built the cowling ring for it.”
Finishing TouchesMeticulous with his restoration,
Larry took the time to include
several nice yet subtle finish-
ing touches for his rare Laird. For
one, he installed a brass trim plate
along the top edge of the frontcockpit, which has LAIRD neatly
engraved on its top, polished sur-
face. Brass buckles and latches fas-
ten the front cockpit and baggage
compartment (there are two) cov-
ers and a three-piece folding wind-
Larry Howard
Rubber shock cords cushion the Laird’s landings.
S P A R K
Y
B A R N E S
S A R G E N T
S P A R K Y
B A R N E S
S A R G E N T
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
16/46
I made my own light bases using
rubber molds and lost wax casting.
I reproduced the lights, the lenses,
and the castings [for the fixtures].”
A few modifications were also
made for safe operations in today’senvironment. They include mod-
ern avionics, such as a transponder,
encoder, GPS/comm, emergency lo-
cator transmitter, and a fuel flow me-
ter. Additionally, a Scott tail wheel
(as opposed to a tailskid) and hy-
draulic brakes have been installed.
Aloft in the Laird
NC10402’s first flight was in Sep-
tember 2008, and Larry logged about
20 hours before winter set in. This
past spring, it returned to the sky.
“We’ve put about 120 hours on the
airplane this year already,” he says.
The Laird maneuvers nicely on
the ground, thanks to its steerabletail wheel and BT-13 brakes. Acceler-
ating down the runway on its 30 x 5
wheels (made by Dick Fisher of Cali-
fornia), the biplane begins levitating
skyward at 80 mph. “It’s a very spir-
ited aircraft on takeoff,” says Larry,
smiling. “It climbs out somewhat
over 1,600 feet per minute, and thetakeoff run is very short. It’s got a
very skinny wing with a little un-
dercamber on the bottom of the
wings, and I was real concerned that
it would have a lot of adverse yaw
and be a snappy staller. Well, it is a
snappy staller, but it has very little
adverse yaw once it’s in the air. It’sa very fast airplane and cruises be-
tween 125 to 135 mph at 1950 rpm.
We’re burning between 16 and 17
gph, and it carries 74 gallons total,
with 53 in the main tank (located
in the front cockpit) and 23 in the
gear, and the way the wheels are set
up, the camber actually changes—
when it’s in flight attitude, the gear
has a neutral toe in and toe out. But
as the weight of the aircraft comes
down on the wheels, they toe inbecause of that camber. So in nor-
mal landing configuration, it’s very
docile, and it rolls out straight and
handles just fine. It much prefers a
three-point landing; it tends to dart
and weave on a wheel landing,” he
explains. “During crosswind land-
ings, you’ve got to get it going
straight, or else it’ll skip, and with
all the bungee cords in there, it’s
like a slingshot—so it can relaunch
itself pretty easily. And at that
point, it quits flying all together!
So we tend to make approaches
at about 80 mph and start to flare
at 75, and once you get to 55, it’s
done flying all together. You haveto be very near the ground or it will
land, because the thin airfoil does
not allow it to float. Yet the aircraft
glides surprisingly well; compared
to something like a PT Stearman,
it will glide 50 percent better at the
same speed. It’s taken most people
who have flown it a while to getused to that—you have to fly a lit-
tle bit bigger approach because it
doesn’t like to come down.”
One of the most rewarding as-
pects of this restoration is that, af-
ter all those long years of work,
Larry has discovered that he really
does like flying the Laird. “It’s anice-flying airplane, and it is pretty
much as Matty Laird advertised it—
the thoroughbred of the airways. It
has a beautiful combination of per-
formance and looks. The fact that
it’s the one and only is certainly
fly-in. “We’re flying it extensively
this year, and then the future is
uncertain for the airplane,” relates
Larry. “I hope it lives a long life,
and I’m hoping that I can move on
S P A R K Y
B A R N E S
S A R G E N T P H O T O S
S T E V E
S C H U L T E
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
17/46
Despite being a foreigner, spending money on Airport-Property in the US was the easy part. Finding somegood insurance for my experimental planes was a bitmore of a challenge. But then somebody recommendedthe friendly folks at AUA and it became an easyand flawless cooperation instantly. Thanks.
— Bernhard Rouschal
Bernhard Rouschal,ATP, Lufthansa German Airlines
■ 15.000+ hours in more than70 different types of planesfrom J3-Cubs to the A340-600
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
18/46
O
ne bright, sunny July
day in 1929, I was a
12-year-old Iowa farm
kid out at the OttumwaAirport for a Saturday
afternoon air show. The air was rich
with engine sounds, sweet with the
wonderful aroma of hot oil, inline
and radial engines playing sweet
music to my ears and there were
known by all us flight buffs as a
Jenny). It was squatting off to itself
over near the gas trucks, like an old
crow that had flapped down to restin a cornfield. I was to find out a bit
later that those good old birds were
usually World War I vintage. In
fact, that particular craft probably
looked like it had been through the
entire conflict But on that momen-
show, but also for the entire Satur-
day. That included a double-feature
Western later that afternoon in the
old Rialto (Rathole) theater in Ot-tumwa; Bob Steele in one show,
Col. Tim McCoy in the other one,
followed by a great serial segment
of “Don Winslow of the Navy.” I
was to give up all of that, plus a
huge hamburger at the Canteen
Dear Jenny…A fellow never forgets his first love
BY BILL LARMORE
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
19/46
had slept under the wing in his out-
fit while sobering up from a lively
night before at the Twinkle Inn. Be
that as it may, at that special mo-
ment, to me, he was a movie star.
I was ushered into the Jenny’sfront cockpit by the pilot while be-
ing grimly ordered not to step on the
already-tattered wing root, and was
belted into an apple-crate-style seat
behind a yellowed, badly scratched
windscreen. I was left to observe the
instrument panel while the pilot
staggered around to the propeller. Inow recall seeing an old Sperry com-
pass, an engine oil-pressure gauge,
a tachometer, an ammeter, a large
off/on switch, and a couple of rusty-
looking snap switches for added
wingtip running lights That’s all I
feeling like I had just been awarded
the Congressional Medal of Honor!
The pilot snapped the prop
through, and the engine started. It
shook as if it were setting loose in
the bedplates. But instead of flee-ing for his life, he yanked the wheel
chocks himself, ducked under the
wing as the plane began to creep
forward, and leaped into the rear
cockpit. The next miraculous mo-
ment we were shaking, rattling, and
rolling out onto the old graveled
east-west runway, with rocks flyingout from under the metal tailskid.
Then the tail was off the ground. A
kick of the rudder to line up with
the runway, an asthmatic burst from
the old engine, an ever-increasing
duck-waddle and we were in the
arms was loose and flailing around
like a blacksmith’s hammer!
We are going to die! I had that
interesting thought as the seat of
my pants started to be in definitely
damp danger. We will crash in themuddy, murky old Des Moines river
below, and our bodies will never be
recovered, and I’ll never ever have
a real date with Donna . . . or with
Helen . . . or with Evi . . . or even
with that one with the buck teeth
. . . but the pilot, hero that he was,
proved to be fearless and even un-concerned. He grinned like a hungry
hedgehog, made a daring thumbs-up
gesture, and we completed the en-
tire 10-minute flight. Later I was to
discover that such an adventure was,
for him and his noble equipment
Above: 12-year-old Bill Larmore with his parents in 1929.
Left: Until federal air regulations came into effect, war-surplus Curtiss Jenny biplanes and similar air-
planes were used by barnstorming pilots to eke out a meager living. Bill Larmore’s experience with abarnstormer and his tired Jenny would keep him enthralled with aviation for a lifetime.
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
20/46
J U S T A R E M I N D E R . . .You can buy your tickets online now and save time and money.
Go to www.airventure.org/tickets and get to the fun faster…and cheaper.
SEE YOU THERE!
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
21/46
My Friend
Albert Vollmecke Part 2
BY ROBERT G. LOCK
A
n o t h e r i d e a
that Albert Voll-
mecke broughtto Command-
Aire from Ger-
many was the
formation here in the United
States of glider clubs to teach
young boys how to fly an air-
plane. The program had been so
successful in Germany that Albertreasoned, why not here? He un-
dertook a project to design a small
primary glider that Command-
Aire could market to glider clubs
that would spring up across the
United States
clubs, the same as in Germany,
and to individuals who wished to
have a small plane for experimen-tal purposes. “Will be completed
January 1st, 1928 at our factory,
Lit tle Rock, Arkansas.” In the ap-
plication a description of the air-
plane appears , “Biplane Glider for
motorless flying. Steel tube fuselage
and wooden wings. Controls same
as conventional airplane. Designedby our engineer Mr. Albert Voell-
mecke, formerly of the Ernst Heinkel
Airplane Works, Germany.”
Because of the pressures of de-
signing and producing powered
biplanes the glider idea never
cation numbers at the proper time.
Enclosed, find the metal identifica-
tion plate for the glider. The recordsof the company were recently moved
from the factory to an uptown of-
fice, and the license itself has ap-
parently been lost as we cannot
find it.” W.S. Shannon, on behalf
of Arkansas Aircraft Company,
signed the communication. Four
North Little Rock boys spent twoyears completing a glider. First
flights of the glider were made
by Albert Vollmecke, chief engi-
neer at Command-Aire Incorpo-
rated, who furnished plans and
sketches of the glider However
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
22/46
night. At the top, the glider is shown
in flight with Albert Voellmecke,chief engineer at Command-Aire,
Inc., at the controls. He made two
flights of about 75 yards each, at-
taining an altitude of about 25 feet.
The four glider builders are shown
below. From left to right they are:
Hubert MacDonald, Elmo Bachus,
Buddy Py le s and Weldon Clark.”(See Figure 2)
At the completion of the test
flights Mr. Vollmecke stated,
“Glider training is good for prelimi-
nary training of an airplane pilot.”
He himself was a glider pilot
repairs can be made easily and
without much expense.” Vollmeckefurther stated, “Gliding should be-
come popular in the United States
since Colonel Lindbergh demon-
strated its safety. Training should
begin on a primary type, after which
a sailplane can be flown. The Ozark
mountains should furnish excellent
opportunities for a sailplane pilot tomake a new long-distance record in
a motorless plane.”
One of Vollmecke’s crown-
ing achievements while at Com-
mand-Aire was the design and
construction of a small racing
of a long-since-departed com-
pany. 1930 was also the year ofthe final chapter for Command-
Aire Incorporated, as it fell into
bankruptcy and quickly ceased
to exist.
The Little Rocket racer was a
single-seat low-wing monoplane
constructed most ly of wood
and powered by a 110-hp super-charged American Cirrus four-
cylinder, inline, upright, air-
cooled engine. With pilot Lee
Gehlbach at the controls, it won
the Cirrus Derby with an average
speed of 127 11 miles per hour
Figure 1
Figure 2
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
23/46presented all the difficulties of
speed of 200 miles per hour.
A number of private investors
from the Little Rock area put up
approximately $10,000 to have
the ship designed and built. I t
was built for the Little Rock Rac-
ing Association Incorporated.
Gilbert Leigh was president, R.B.Snowden Jr. was vice president,
and Charles E. Shoemaker Jr. was
secretary treasurer. The aircraft
was constructed July 7, 1930,
and issued registration number
X-10403. Manufacturer’s serial
number was R-1, and the model
number was MR-1. Command-Aire vice president Charles M.
Taylor stated , “The Little Rocket,
Command-Aire, Little Rock, and
the state of Arkansas got national
publicity as the Little Rocket, flown
by Lee Gehlbach won most of the
When Gehlbach returned to
Little Rock with the racer, he was
treated as an air hero. The Arkan-
sas Gazette reported, “ Lit tle Rock
got its first glimpse of its ‘air hero’
as he trailed behind a formation offive National Guard planes as they
circled the city shortly before noon
Wednesday. Immediately upon ar-
rival at the Municipal Airport the
tiny monoplane was loaded on a
truck and the procession through
the business district started, headed
by Gehlbach, state, county and mu-
nicipal officials. Gehlbach, smiling
and still wearing the grimy pilot’s
uniform, was seated on the top of
a large touring car, which had been
lowered. The event recalled the re-
ception given for Lindbergh shortly
after his epochal Atlantic flight.”
Following the small ship were
cars with state and local officials,including Albert Vollmecke, de-
signer of the plane; officials of
the Little Rock Racing Associa-
tion, which sponsored the plane;
officials of Command-Aire Incor-
porated, which built the plane;
and members of the city council.
After the celebration was over,the plane was offered for sale by
the racing association (see Fig-
ure 4). It was sold to Mr. Jack
Walker of Little Rock, Arkansas,
for the sum of $750. Included in
the sale was the following: one
Little Rocket racing airplane, one
second-hand 28-foot Irving back-pack parachute, one extra blade
for the propeller of Little Rocket,
and one small lot of parts for the
engine. This was not the end of
the story of the Little Rocket by
any means The plane would race
Figure 3
Figure 4
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
24/46
Depression that gripped the coun-
try starting with the stock market
crash in 1929 was about to take its
toll on many small airplane-man-
ufacturing companies. In Albert
Vollmecke’s brief four-plus years
with Command-Aire, the com-
pany received 14 approved type
certificates (ATC) that resulted in
the construction of 116 aircraftpowered by the Curtiss OX-5 en-
gines. The company built approx-
imately 184 aircraft of all types;
a respectable record for only four
years of operation.
Vollmecke detailed to me the
story of his design of a larger and
more powerful Little Rocket—type aircraft that featured a re-
tractable landing gear. The design
was for a pursuit-type ship for the
U.S. government, and his compi-
lation of sketches was presented
for review. However, the com-
pany ceased operations before
any negotiations could be com-pleted for a prototype ship.
In one interview with Albert
Vollmecke I asked what it was
like in the last few weeks of
Command-Aire as an employee
and well-known designer First
located in the factory building.
Then, he and others turned out
the lights, walked out the front
door, and locked it. The days ofCommand-Aire had ended.
When asked who was Neil
Romich, Vollmecke answered,
“ Romich joined Command-Aire in
1930, just before the company went
into receivership. He was in charge
of production, replacing a fellow by
the name of Fielding. Romich and Bob Snowden moved small parts ,
including wings, fuselages, em-
pennage, etc. to a National Guard
building on the municipal airport.
They planned to build more air-
planes later when money was more
plentiful, but they never did.”
Now unemployed and with
the country on hard times, Voll-
mecke had to find work to sup-
port his wife, Maja, and their two
sons, Walter and Albert Jr. He
found a job with the Civil Works
Administration program for air-
Figure 5
Figure 6
“In several
countries, before a
person is permitted
to train to fl y an
airplane he must
be a glider pilot.
Flying a glider is
much safer for the
beginner than fl ying
an airplane, as theglider very rarely
gets over 25 feet
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
25/46
Bureau of Aeronautics in 1933.
He was not the only talented per-
son with aircraft experience to
In the April 1980 issue of OX-5
News, “ Moving over to th e CAA/
FAA in 1933 and for the next 30
mendous savings in money and en-
gineering manpower during WWII.”
Vollmecke joined the govern-
ment to help regulate the grow-
ing field of aviation in 1933. The
Aeronautics Branch of the De-partment of Commerce would
be reorganized and renamed in
1934, becoming the Bureau of
Air Commerce; it was still within
the Department of Commerce.
In 1938, Congress created the
Civil Aeronautics Agency, which
would be known as the CAA. A
change from “agency” to “ad-
ministration” came a short time
later, and Vollmecke, with all his
talent, began to climb the ladder
toward the top.
As civilian aviation contin-
ued to grow in the 1930s and
1940s, Vollmecke was assigned
the formidable task to develop amanual for the repair of aircraft.
This was to be a document for
mechanics to make “approved”
repairs on wood and steel tube
aircraft. Prior to this publication,
each repair had to be inspected
a nd a pprove d b y a gove rn -
ment official, which was a time-consuming task and caused great
delays and frustration to me-
chanics and owners since ideas
on correct procedure for repairs
varied among mechanics.
Vollmecke assembled a small
group of design engineers in
Washington, D.C., and set out
to create the document. He de-
signed splices for wood and steel
tube structures that still appear
today in the FAA’s Advisory Cir-
cular (AC) 43.13-1B.
When asked how he and his
Figure 7
Figure 8
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
26/46
nautics Bulletin No. 7-H (see Fig-
ure 5), signed by Daniel C. Roper,
Secretary of Commerce, on Sep-
tember 23, 1935. The document
became effective January 1, 1936.
In this document there appearseveral drawings of steel tube re-
pairs and of splices to wood wing
spars and ribs. It is most likely in
Aeronautics Bulletin No. 7-H that
Vollmecke and his committee de-
signed the repairs. The drawings
are very similar to those found
in Civil Aeronautics Manual (CAM)
18 and FAA Advisory Circular
43.13-1B.
Aeronaut ic s bu l le t ins ap-
peared in 1927 beginning with
No. 7, Airworthiness Requirements
for Aircraft . This document was
needed to comply with gov-ernment regulations regarding
ATCs. Aeronautics Bulletin 7 was
amended to AB-7A September 1,
1934. Aeronautics Bulletin No. 7-H
is significant because it was the
first document to address altera-
tions and repairs to certificated
aircraft. Prior to AB-7H there was
no documented repair procedure
if an aircraft was damaged.
Figure 6 shows a sketch of a
structural tube splice using an
inside sleeve (as originally pub-
lished in AB-7H it is Figure 5).
Vollmecke led the committeewho designed and tested these
types of repairs for both 1025 and
4130 alloy steel tubing. All ships
with ATCs used either this type
of steel tubing for fabrication of
the structure. Figure 7 (Figure 9
in AB-7H) is the method of splic-
ing solid or laminated rectangular
wing spars. This basic design is
still used to this day. If properly
cut, finished, glued, clamped, and
cured, the splice is as strong as the
wood itself. It is called a “scarf”
splice, the angle being 10 times
the thickness of the spar. This
type splice puts the glue in shear
and gives grain continuation.Figure 8 (Figure 17 in AB-7H) is
a typical rib splice at a spar. While
similar to the splice shown in the
current AC43.13-1B, it is not the
same. There is good reason to
believe that Vollmecke either de-
signed or had a hand in the design
of these major repairs to primaryaircraft structural components.
Vollmecke’s main concern in
aircraft design was always safety,
and the designs for major repairs
to aircraft primary structure re-
flect this vision. To design a repair
that, when properly completed,
is as strong as the structure itself
is noteworthy. He was indeed a
genius, a person with immense
talent. Former Command-Aire
Vice President Charles M. Taylor,
in his presentation of November
11 1983 stated “The National
Since the EAA fly-in (AirVenture) arrived in Oshkoshin 1970, the “Brown Arch” has been the gateway tocountless aviation dreams and accomplishments. This isthe original and traditional entry to the Oshkosh flight line.Millions of people have walked under this arch to discoverthe innovation, imagination, and craftsmanship withinthe thousands of airplanes that have been a part of the“Oshkosh Experience.” The EAA grounds and AirVenture Oshkosh haveexpanded greatly since 1970, but the ingenuity, camaraderie
and high standards remain the same. The Brown Archrepresents all of those EAA attributes, becoming a favoritegathering point. “Meet you at the Brown Arch” is a part ofthe Oshkosh lexicon that stretches across generations. From this place, aviation’s premier event provides a
year-round spirit that reaches every corner of the aviationcommunity. For those with a passion for flight…this is
your home.
Tom PobereznyEAA President and Chairman of the Board
Leave Your Mark The design, symmetrical in nature, will consist of3 000 tribute bricks each measuring 2 feet by 2 feet
Purchase your brick NOW and have itinscribed and placed by AirVenture 2010!If you select a full brick, pricing beginning at $1,000, youmay select the location of YOUR BRICK in the full design!
That’s right – you can place it!
Compass Rose brick (limited availability) ..................$10,000
Biplane Landing Gear and Cockpit brick.......................$5,000Biplane Wings and Struts brick ......................................$2,000General Area Full b rick ..................................................$1,000General Area Half brick ....................................................$600General Area Quarter brick ...............................................$350
Inscription Guidance*:Full brick (24”x24” square):
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
27/46
A
B
C
D
AIRPLANE APRONS
Adult and youth aprons with
various airplanes images
ying through the skies
are useful and fun
for parent and child.
Adult 5265450900000
$21.99
Youth 5265450800000
$19.99
A. “Oshkosh The Spirt of Aviation” Wood PlaqueApproximate size: 12 X 6 x 1”
5263656100000 $24.95
B. “Oshkosh be there!” Wood PlaqueApproximate size: 12 x 6 x 1”
5257027600000 $24.95
C. Vintage Logo Wood PlaqueApproximat size: 12 x 6 x 1”
Telephone Orders: 800-843-3612 From US and Canada (All Others Call 920-426-5912)
Or send to: EAA Mail Orders, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086Limited supplies available.
*Shipping and handling NOT included. Major credit cards accepted. WI residents add 5% sales tax.
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
28/46
The second of the Mummert homebuilt
lightplanes, which appeared at Roosevelt Field
in 1923, was intended to be a low-powered,
inexpensive airplane with a good cruising
range and low operating cost. It was an all-wood
midwing monoplane of very clean design, powered with
a 74-cubic-inch Harley-Davidson V-twin motorcycle
engine, rated at 18 hp. It was designed and built in his
spare time by the Curtiss engineer Harvey C. Mummert.
The fuselage was of monocoque construction using
A steel tube landing gear was used, with shock
absorbers mounted inside the fuselage. The propeller
was a miniature Curtiss Reed-type of twisted aluminum.
It was 52 inches in diameter and had a maximum rpm
of 2800. A propeller spinner and cowling added to the
neat appearance.
The cantilever one-piece wing was fabric-covered and
had two spruce spars of box beam design. The spars were
continuous across the fuselage, and they were fastened to
the top longerons with pins that could be easily removed
Light Plane Heritage
published in EAA Experimenter October1989
THE 1923
MUMMERT SPORTPLANE J MREAA
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
29/46
for small stick displacement at low speeds.
The tail surfaces were of wood construction withplywood covering and well-faired into the fuselage.
The wingspan was 20 feet and the length 14 feet
1 inch. The empty weight was 286 pounds. Cruising
speed was estimated to be 75 mph.
Test flying was done by the Curtiss pilot Jack
Pierson. The plane was apparently successful until,
during a demonstration of short-field landings, the
wheels hooked on some electric wires at the edge of
the field, which resulted in the loss of the airplane, but
without injury to the pilot.
It was reported that Mummert corresponded with
the Polish lightplane builders Pawel and Jan Gabriel
of Bydgoszcz, Poland, concerning lightplane design.
In 1924-25 the Gabriel brothers designed and built
the L-7 ultralight airplane, which was very similar
to the Mummert Sportplane and was powered with
a 24-hp Indian motorcycle engine. A photo of thisairplane appears in the 1970 German book Das Buch
der Deutschen Luftfahrttechnik, by Bruno Lange.
References: Aviation Magazine , August 13, 1923;
interviews with Curtiss engineers of the 1920-30 era.
Photos are from the collection of Charlie Geignetter,
former Curtiss engineer.
Note: In th is Light Plane Heri tage se ri es , we have
endeavored to present the many outstanding light airplanes
of the past to illustrate the longtime interest in the
purely personal airplane. Fortunately, we have enlisted
the assistance of two very knowledgeable colleagues to
contribute articles on these many forgotten airplanes.
Jack McRae (EAA 93) of Huntington Station, New York, is
well-known for his interest in early homebuilts. Owen Billman
(EAA 648) of Mayfield, New York, also is well-known to EAAers.We hope you will share our enjoyment as we review the
development of the purely personal sport airplanes in future
articles. Send us your favorites to be included in the series.
If you have photos, lend them, and we’ll get them copied.
And let us know if you enjoy the series.— George A. Hardie
Jr., EAA Historian Emeritus
2010 Editor’s Note: The late George Hardie Jr.’s notefrom 20 years ago is still valid today—we’re always open to
articles on vintage lightplanes. All we ask is that you share
your sources with the editor here at EAA so we can properly
credit them within the article. Feel free to contact us via
e-mail at [email protected] , or at the address shown
in the back of the magazine in our Membership Services
Directory.—HGF
Harvey Mummert, in front of the
Mummert Sportplane, circa 1923.
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
30/46
This article will cover some thoughts on the care
and maintenance of propellers, specifically ground-
adjustable props. For the antique aircraft, there are
three types of materials from which propellers can be
both spanwise and chordwise. So care must be taken
not to disturb the balance by adding excessive finishes.
It is possible to finely balance a propeller with paint
or varnish; however, a propeller maintenance shop isusually the only source for prop balance. FAA Advisory
Circular 43.13-1B is a good guide for care and mainte-
nance of aircraft propellers.
Perhaps a quick discussion of engine crankshaft
sizing would be in order at this time. Crankshafts
were sized according to SAE standards. These sizes
were No. 1 and No. 2 tapered and No. 20, No. 30,
No. 40, No. 50, and No. 60 splined. Older engines,such as the Wright J-5 and Curtiss OX-5 had tapered
crankshafts. Other small single-row radial engines,
such as Continental W-670, Lycoming R-680, Ja-
cobs R-755 series, and Warner had crankshafts that
were SAE No. 20 spline, while the Wright J-6-5, J-6-7,
J-6-9 and Pratt & Whitney R-985 series engines were
No. 30 spline. Propeller hubs, whether they were for
wood or metal props, were manufactured according
BY ROBERT G. LOCK
My thoughts on propeller care, Part I
THE VintageMechanic
Figure 1
Wire pointer shown fastened to No. 5 rocker box on
Wright R-760 engine. It’s a quick and simple way to verify
prop pitch.
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
31/46
to an approved type certificate (ATC) to match en-
gine propeller shaft sizes.
WOOD PROPELLERS: Inspect wood props to assure
continued airworthiness. The inspection should in-
clude visually looking for cracks, dents, warpage, gluefailure, and delaminations between the wood lami-
nates. Also, the hub bolt torque should be checked.
Loose hub bolts can cause elongation of the holes in
the prop hub. Wood propellers are manufactured from
yellow birch, and the laminations are bonded with
Resorcinol glue. Wood prop leading edges are pro-
tected by brass tipping fastened to the wood by copper
rivets and steel screws. After attachment, the screw and
rivet heads are secured in place by soft solder. Check
for loose screws and/or rivets by observing the condi-
tion of the solder. Thin cracks in the solder around the
outer edge of the fastener (which is covered by the sol-
der) indicate the fastener is working in the hole, and it
and the tipping are becoming loose.
If the hub bolts are loose, check for possible elonga-
tion of the holes and for wear between the steel hub
and wood propeller. All varnish should be in goodcondition. If the varnish is faulty, showing cracks, or
checking (where the varnish is failing with a web of
fine cracks all over the surface), carefully sand and re-
coat both blades with a good grade exterior spar or ep-
oxy varnish. Remember, balance is critical to smooth
engine operation. Typical critical data on a wood prop
that operates at 2100 rpm shows that the tips will
travel at roughly 612 mph, or Mach 0.80. Wood doesnot fatigue like metal; therefore, a good visual inspec-
tion of the prop and its attaching hardware should be
conducted at regular intervals. Avoid operating the
propeller in the rain as it will effectively remove the
varnish coating.
ALUMINUM ALLOY GROUND-ADJUSTABLE PROPELLERS:
I recently came across a Hamilton Standard Propeller
Corporation brochure dated 1930. It details two- and
three-blade ground-adjustable models and contains
some interesting data regarding care and maintenance.
Hamilton Standard manufactured two hubs that fit
most small single-row radial engines that used either
the SAE No 20 or No 30 crankshafts These hubs were:
Like engine crankshaft sizes, hub sizes were also
based on an SAE numbering system. The SAE No. 0 size
hub is used for engines up to 125 hp, including the
Warner, Kinner, OX-5, LeBlond, G\ipsy, etc. The SAE
No. 1 size hub can be used on engines with either SAE
No. 20 or No. 30 crankshafts. On larger engines, suchas the Pratt & Whitney Hornet and Wright Cyclone,
the SAE No. 1-1/2 size is used for two-blade propellers.
The SAE No. 2 size is used for geared engines requiring
propellers of a large diameter.
I’m going to extract this Hamilton Standard data
and list some of it here in this column. The quotes are
directly from this manual.
“Dynamic Balance of the Propeller: The running or
dynamic balance of the propeller is ordinarily roughly
checked by testing the ‘track’ of the propeller. The
propeller is mounted on the engine or on a suitable
mandrel, and the blades are swung through an arc of
180 degrees. Both blades should pass through exactly
the same path, and the amount by which they fail to
do so is the ‘error in track.’ For this reason Hamilton
Standard Propellers are set very accurately at the fac-
tory, the two opposite blades being set to correspondto within 1/10 of 1 degree. It is not always possible to
set these blades accurately in the field, but it is recom-
mended that an effort be made to keep the angle of the
two blades alike within 2/10 of 1 degree.”
Here, a side note from the author may be helpful. A
certain prop shop recently overhauled and returned to
service two 5406AR-4350F Hamilton Standard props
for a pair of Wright-powered biplanes. Both engineshad vibration modes around 1400-1550 rpm; they
were so bad that we didn’t run the engines in that
range, only to accelerate or decelerate. After they had
been overhauled at the shop and reinstalled on the air-
planes, I checked the blade angles and found that both
props had a deviation in blade angle greater than spec-
ified above. One blade had 0.090 inches more pitch
than the other. I reset the blade pitch, and now both
engines operate smoothly. Figures 1 and 2 show the
“special tool” I used to check/reset the pitch.
According to the Hamilton Standard manual,
“When it is desired to change the rpm of the engine at
full throttle by adjusting the pitch of the propeller, the
following general rule may be applied The engine will
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
32/46
be necessary to remove so much material that the pro-
peller becomes unbalanced. This condition must be
watched for and be corrected.”
(Editor’s Note: Be careful when choosing abrasive cloth.
Sometimes the term “crocus cloth” is used generically when
referring to abrasive cloth, but it originally was an ironoxide product. Crocus cloth made
using iron oxide is appropriate for
use only on steel propeller blades
and should not be used on alumi-
num blades. The iron oxide abra-
sive particles used to create crocus
cloth will induce dissimilar metal
corrosion if used on aluminum.
If it ’s necessary to use abrasive
cloth when dressing out a pit on
an aluminum blade, use mineral-
based abrasives such as emery
cloth.—HGF)
“Vibration: The question of
vibration in the powerplant,
propeller and mounting is a
very important one. There are,of course, a number of possi-
ble causes of vibration. One of
the most obvious causes is the
static unbalance of the propel-
ler and that can be controlled
by inspection. The dynamic
unbalance of the propeller
can be controlled within fairlyclose limits by checking the
face alignment or ‘track’ of the
blades at a number of stations.
“An aerodynamic unbalance
of the propeller may be caused,
as is well known, by unequal
angle setting of the two blades.
It may also be caused by im-
proper template fit of the two blades, resulting in dif-
ferent characteristics for the airfoil, and this feature
is carefully controlled by inspection at the Hamilton
Standard plant.”
Hamilton Standard’s book continues: “Unequal
amount of stiffness in the two blades may also cause vi-
speeds. This is often the result of the period of vibra-
tion of some of the parts coinciding with the rate of
engine impulses or with the rate of revolution. It can
sometimes be eliminated by changes in the mounting
of the engine or by changes in propeller design.”
Climb and/or cruise performance of the airplaneis in direct relationship to pro-
peller pitch. There are “climb”
props and “cruise” props.
Climb props allow the engine
to develop maximum rpm at
full throttle, thus achieving
maximum rate-of-climb. Quot-
ing from the manual, “For ex-
ample, it may be desired to get
out of a small field even at the
expense of the speed of the air-
plane. In this case the propel-
ler should be set at a low pitch,
allowing the engine to turn-up
fast on take-off. The plane will
then get off the ground in a
short distance.“On the other hand, it may
be desirable to economize
on fuel. For this, the pitch of
the propeller should be set at
a high angle and the engine
held down to a low rpm at full
throttle. This setting will give
the greatest economy of fuel,or, in other words, the most
miles per gallon.”
The Hamilton Standard
manual further states, “Adjust-
ment of Pitch for High Speed:
For racing or any other type of
flying in which high speed is
important, an intermediate set-
ting between these two will be found the most desir-
able. In determining the best setting (or the prop) for
speed, the pilot should try several pitch settings, flying
level and at full throttle with each setting. A reading of
the airspeed meter should be taken during each test.
The setting which gives the greatest speed is of course
The propeller is
mounted on the
engine or on a
suitable mandrel,
and the blades are
swung through an arc of
180 degrees.Both blades should
pass through exactly
the same path,and the amount by
which they fail to do so
is the ‘error in track.’
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
33/46
STEEL PROPELLERS: My only ex-
perience with steel propellers is on
the McCauley installed on stock
Stearman aircraft. These props
have been around for a long time,
and there is an airworthiness di-rective (AD) on the prop requir-
ing disassembly and inspection
every 100 hours’ time in service,
which makes this prop expensive
to operate. The McCauley has steel
blades with a steel hub, making it
heavy. The AD requires disassem-
bly, magnafluxing, and a visual
inspection of hub and shank end
of blades for pitting corrosion. If
corrosion pits or any evidence of
cracks are found, the component is
“red tagged” and scrapped. I have
four McCauley props in my shop
that have been scrapped by prop
shops. Many owners have decided
that the prop is too expensive tooperate and have opted to replace
it with a wood prop or a Hamilton
Standard with 5404 or 5406 part-
numbered hubs. Finding a 5404,
20-spline prop hub can be diffi-
cult and expensive. My experience
shows that the 5406, 30-spline
hub is more prevalent.Again, propeller pitch is set by the
manufacturer or the propeller repair
shop. Prop pitch is generally set at
the 42-inch station (42 inches mea-
sured from hub center line) for many
props. Smaller props may use the 36-
inch station; the manufacturer deter-
mines the exact station location.
FIXED-PITCH METAL PROPS: Most
220-hp Continental-powered Waco
aircraft left the factory with Curtiss
Reed aluminum alloy propellers.
Curtiss Reed propellers f eatured
I hope this information will be
useful for both owners and me-
chanics. Let me stress again that
the owner cannot make any re-
pairs to the propeller; A&P me-
chanics are very limited in whatthey can legally perform. If there
are questions regarding the pro-
peller, especially the older props,
contact a propeller repair facility.
Make sure it is familiar with the
type of prop you have; some shops
won’t deal with the older ground-
adjustable props. Good luck and
happy flying.
Sources for Technical Data:
FAA AC43.13-1B, Chapter 8, Section 4
Hamilton Standard Propeller manual
dated 1930
“Good Wood,” Smithsonian Air &
Space magazine, dated June/July
2003FAA propeller listing for Hamilton Stan-
dard blades and hubs
FAA engine listing for various radial
engines
A Unique Supplementto Support Eye Health*
MacuHealth™ with LMZ3 contains
ALL three carotenoids found in theretina to help maintain eye healththroughout our later years.*
Tis formula combines powerfulantioxidants that help protect tissuesagainst the potentially damaging effectsof harmful blue light and is designed
Ma i n ta i n i ng Yo u r V is io n is S t i l l
t h e Bes t Wa y to K ee p F l y i n
g. Des p i te A d va nces i n Tec h no l
og y,
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
34/46
STEEL PROPELLERS: My only ex-
perience with steel propellers is on
the McCauley installed on stock
Stearman aircraft. These props
have been around for a long time,
and there is an airworthiness di-rective (AD) on the prop requir-
ing disassembly and inspection
every 100 hours’ time in service,
which makes this prop expensive
to operate. The McCauley has steel
blades with a steel hub, making it
heavy. The AD requires disassem-
bly, magnafluxing, and a visual
inspection of hub and shank end
of blades for pitting corrosion. If
corrosion pits or any evidence of
cracks are found, the component is
“red tagged” and scrapped. I have
four McCauley props in my shop
that have been scrapped by prop
shops. Many owners have decided
that the prop is too expensive tooperate and have opted to replace
it with a wood prop or a Hamilton
Standard with 5404 or 5406 part-
numbered hubs. Finding a 5404,
20-spline prop hub can be diffi-
cult and expensive. My experience
shows that the 5406, 30-spline
hub is more prevalent.Again, propeller pitch is set by the
manufacturer or the propeller repair
shop. Prop pitch is generally set at
the 42-inch station (42 inches mea-
sured from hub center line) for many
props. Smaller props may use the 36-
inch station; the manufacturer deter-
mines the exact station location.
FIXED-PITCH METAL PROPS: Most
220-hp Continental-powered Waco
aircraft left the factory with Curtiss
Reed aluminum alloy propellers.
Curtiss Reed propellers f eatured
I hope this information will be
useful for both owners and me-
chanics. Let me stress again that
the owner cannot make any re-
pairs to the propeller; A&P me-
chanics are very limited in whatthey can legally perform. If there
are questions regarding the pro-
peller, especially the older props,
contact a propeller repair facility.
Make sure it is familiar with the
type of prop you have; some shops
won’t deal with the older ground-
adjustable props. Good luck and
happy flying.
Sources for Technical Data:
FAA AC43.13-1B, Chapter 8, Section 4
Hamilton Standard Propeller manual
dated 1930
“Good Wood,” Smithsonian Air &
Space magazine, dated June/July
2003FAA propeller listing for Hamilton Stan-
dard blades and hubs
FAA engine listing for various radial
engines
A Unique Supplementto Support Eye Health*
MacuHealth™ with LMZ3 contains
ALL three carotenoids found in theretina to help maintain eye healththroughout our later years.*
Tis formula combines powerfulantioxidants that help protect tissuesagainst the potentially damaging effectsof harmful blue light and is designed
Ma i n ta i n i ng Yo u r V is io n is S t i l l
t h e Bes t Wa y to K ee p F l y i n
g. Des p i te A d va nces i n Tec h no log
y,
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
35/46
STEEL PROPELLERS: My only ex-
perience with steel propellers is on
the McCauley installed on stock
Stearman aircraft. These props
have been around for a long time,
and there is an airworthiness di-rective (AD) on the prop requir-
ing disassembly and inspection
every 100 hours’ time in service,
which makes this prop expensive
to operate. The McCauley has steel
blades with a steel hub, making it
heavy. The AD requires disassem-
bly, magnafluxing, and a visual
inspection of hub and shank endof blades for pitting corrosion. If
corrosion pits or any evidence of
cracks are found, the component is
“red tagged” and scrapped. I have
four McCauley props in my shop
that have been scrapped by prop
shops. Many owners have decided
that the prop is too expensive tooperate and have opted to replace
it with a wood prop or a Hamilton
Standard with 5404 or 5406 part-
numbered hubs. Finding a 5404,
20-spline prop hub can be diffi-
cult and expensive. My experience
shows that the 5406, 30-spline
hub is more prevalent.Again, propeller pitch is set by the
manufacturer or the propeller repair
shop. Prop pitch is generally set at
the 42-inch station (42 inches mea-
sured from hub center line) for many
props. Smaller props may use the 36-
inch station; the manufacturer deter-
mines the exact station location.
FIXED-PITCH METAL PROPS: Most
220-hp Continental-powered Waco
aircraft left the factory with Curtiss
Reed aluminum alloy propellers.
Curtiss Reed propellers f eatured
I hope this information will be
useful for both owners and me-
chanics. Let me stress again that
the owner cannot make any re-
pairs to the propeller; A&P me-
chanics are very limited in whatthey can legally perform. If there
are questions regarding the pro-
peller, especially the older props,
contact a propeller repair facility.
Make sure it is familiar with the
type of prop you have; some shops
won’t deal with the older ground-
adjustable props. Good luck and
happy flying.
Sources for Technical Data:
FAA AC43.13-1B, Chapter 8, Section 4
Hamilton Standard Propeller manual
dated 1930
“Good Wood,” Smithsonian Air &
Space magazine, dated June/July
2003FAA propeller listing for Hamilton Stan-
dard blades and hubs
FAA engine listing for various radial
engines
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
36/46
Many of you reading
t h i s a r t i c l e a r e
experienced pi lots
and have excellent
f l i g h t s a f e t y r e c o rd s , w h i l e
others a re re l a t ive ly new to
the world of Classic, Antique,and Contemporary tai lwheel
flying. However, both groups are
probably thinking, “Who is this
guy and what does he know about
flying old airplanes?”
I have had the pleasure of flying
airplanes and providing flight
instruction for more than 40 years.
For the past 25 years I’ve focusedalmost exclusively on tailwheel
(conventional gear) instruction,
providing me an opportunity to
fly with a lot of individuals in a lot
of different tailwheel airplanes.
I o f f e r pr imary ins t ruc t ion,
tai lwheel instruction leading
to a ta i lwheel endorsement,FAA WINGS instruction, and
numerous FAA-required flight
reviews. Most of the flying time
has been uneventful, but some
has proven to be quite interesting!
reduction to landing, especially
the turn from base leg to final.
Why should that be so hard? It’s
not! But executing that portion
of the flight smoothly, safely, and
comfortably can be a challenge
when additional factors are addedto the equation.
Let’s take a close look at a
typical scenario that you may face
when flying into a nontowered
airport. The wind is from 260
degrees at 10-12 knots, and the
active runway at our destination
is Runway 29. The airplane you
are flying could be any one ofa dozen di f f erent models , as
many have similar approach and
landing speeds. In this case you’re
slowing to 90 mph after applying
carburetor heat and making the
initial power reduction. Your
f inal approach speed wi l l be
70 mph. The traffic pattern isthe traditional left-hand with a
published traffic pattern altitude
of 1,000 feet AGL.
What’s so unusual about this?
You deal with this scenario all the
he’s in a hurry!
Entering the traffic pattern using
the normal 45-degree approach,
you turn to 110 degrees, apply
carburetor heat at the runway
midpoint , make your ini t ia l
power reduction to 1200 rpm,and establish your 90-mph glide
attitude. While completing the
pre-landing checklist assuring the
fuel selector is on the proper tank,
making trim adjustments, and
securing maps and other loose items
lying on the seat, you momentarily
lose sight of the slower airplane in
front of you. It takes a few seconds,but the airplane is finally located.
“Man, he sure is taking his time,”
you think! You’ll need to extend
your downwind leg just a bit to give
him more time for his approach.
Now where is that twin behind you?
Finally, the slow airplane is on
final approach. You’re wingtip towingtip, he on final and you on
downwind, so the turn to base can
be initiated. As you establish your
bank angle for the turn, things don’t
seem quite right. But no problem.
BY Steve Krog, CFI
That turn to final
THE VintageInstructor
t it th l i l i itti t th t l f i l k th b l t h
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
37/46
eternity, the slower airplane is
finally on the ground and rolling
out. You can begin your turn to
final. Just as you start your turn
the twin behind you radios that
he is on base leg and beginning his
turn to final. You think to yourself,what’s he doing? Doesn’t he know
I’m here? Doesn’t he see me? While
your neck is straining to look
behind you, your beautiful bird is
still flying the base leg heading.
As you initiate your turn to final
you realize that you’ve overshot
the runway by a little and you’re a
little too high. You need to realignyourself with the centerline and
reduce the power.
Without realizing it, while in
the turn to final, you’ve added a
little bottom rudder to speed up
the turn and to help get realigned.
The bank angle seems a little
steep, and you apply oppositeaileron to keep the bank at a
comfortable 30 degrees. Straining
in your seat you take a quick
look over your left and right
shoulder trying to locate that
fast-approaching twin supposedly
on your tail, and unknowingly,
you have applied some back-pressure. Wow. What started out
to be a normal pleasure flight has
caused some stress. Small beads
of perspiration form just below
the bill of your flying cap. You
can’t find the airplane behind
you, your airplane is too high and
not aligned with the runway, and
without realizing it, you’ve added
even more bottom rudder to help
with the alignment. This is a
classic stall/spin predicament, the
most common cause of accidents
in general aviation
sitting at the controls of a nicely
restored airplane. You’ve put your
heart, soul, and a fair amount of
money into the beautiful old bird.
Why risk your $30,000 - $150,000
investment trying to salvage a
landing for the cost of a couple ofbucks worth of avgas?
Now, let’s go back to the point of
the pattern entry and look at what
could have been done differently.
First, you had an approximate
15-mph q uarte r ing t a i lw ind
can make the base leg turn when
wingtip to wingtip with the
traffic ahead of you, which will
usually provide adequate spacing
when the airplanes have similar
performance parameters.
The turn to base also requiresa slight crab angle to the left to
compensate for t he wind that
is now pushing you away from
the runway. Upon completing
the base leg turn, you should
have approximately 500 feet of
altitude (assuming you’re not
on a 2-mile final!). Due to the
now left-quartering tailwind,the turn to final will need to be
initiated a few seconds earlier
than normal. Doing so should
e l i mi na te ov e r sho ot i ng the
runway and prevent the desire to
apply additional bottom rudder
pressure. From this point the
approach and landing can beconducted normally and safely.
As a longtime flight instructor in
these old airplanes, I like to have
students begin the turn to final
with a shallow (15-degree) angle of
bank. This provides the flexibility
to either safely increase or decrease
the angle of bank to align theairplane with the centerline of
the runway and never exceed a
30-degree bank angle.
Addi t iona l ly , i t i s a good
practice to review slow flight in
your airplane from time to time.
Know your airplane and what it
is safely capable of before finding
out the hard way in the traffic
pattern and under pressure.
Steve Krog
Steve learned to fly in 1968 and
has been flight instructing since
What’s so
unusual about
this? You deal
with this scenarioall the time at
your own airport.
How can this be
a problem?
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
38/46
Send your answer to EAA,Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086,
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Youranswer needs to be in no laterthan March 20 for inclusion in
the May 2010 issue of Vintage Airplane .
You can also send your re-sponse via e-mail. Send youranswer to [email protected] .
Be sure to include your nameplus your city and state in the
body of your note and put“(Month) Mystery Plane” in the subject line.
by H.G. FRAUTSCHY
MYSTERY PLANE
This month’s Mystery Plane comes to us via Wes Smith
of Springfield, Illinois.
NOVEMBER ’ S MYSTERY ANSWER
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2010
39/46
The November Mystery Plane is the 1934 Potez
56 prototype, first flown on June 18, 1934, later
shown at the Paris Aeronautical Salon and regis-
tered F-ANSU. The same photo appears in John
Stroud’s European Transport Aircraft Since 1910 (Put-
nam, 1966). Designed by Louis Coroller as an ex-ecutive transport, the Potez 56 was said to have
good flight characteristics and was quite stable.
A clean all-wood aircraft with retractable landing
gear, it was powered by a pair of 185-hp Potez 9Ab
nine-cylinder air-cooled radials in NACA cowlings.
The Model 56 accommodated six passengers in ad-
dition to the pilot and copilot and had a mail com-
partment in the nose. Variable pitch props are said
to have improved takeoff qualities. Cleaned-upcowlings and refined cockpit lines were also retro-
fitted to standard Model 56 (also called Model 560)
production aircraft. Some sources compare the Po-
tez 56 to the British Airspeed Envoy/Oxford.
The prototype entered service on May 15, 1935,
on Ste Potez Aero Service’s Bordeaux-Toulouse-Mar-
seilles-Nice-Bastia route. Six examples served LAN-
Chile, at least 11 flew with SARTA (later LARES) inRomania from 1935 until World War II, and Regie
Air Afrique in North Africa used two (F-ANMZ and
F-AOCB). The standard transport had a top speed
of 168 mph, a ceiling of 19,600 feet, and a range of
over 400 miles.
Further models followed, including the 1936 Po-
tez 56E with an arrester hook for operation off the
aircraft carrier Bearn; three armed Potez 566’s with240-hp Potez radials had a top speed of 193 mph.
In 1937, 22 Potez 567s were built for the French
navy with provisions for target towing, and 26 Po-
tez 568 multiengine trainers, with the instructor
sitting behind the pilot, were built for the l’Armee
de l’Air . These also saw use as liaison, day/night re-
connaissance, and unit hacks. Total civil and mili-
tary production is believed to be 72, with the last
examples delivered at the time of French surrender