Vintage Airplane - Apr 1978

Here it is; the announcement that you have been
waiting for! Our EAA Antique/ Classic Division' s new
membership contest is off the ground and is in full
flight. The rules are very simple. PRI NT your name
and Division membership number on the back of each
Division membership application which you now have
in your possession, and then give the applications
to your friends after you have told them why they
should join the Antique/Classic Division. Or make
a short speech on the subject at your next EAA chap-
ter meeting and sign up your chapter members. Or
talk to the gang that hangs out at your local airport
and get ,nem to sign up. That's all you have to do.
The rest will be accomplished for you by Headquarters.
For any contest there have to be prizes, and your
Headquarters staff have some great ones just waiting
to be mailed out. When the first five new memberships
with your name and Division membership number print-
ed on the back arrive at Headquarters, you will be
sent one pair of original military style goggles com-
plete with a leather pouch . When the second five
(a total of ten) new members are received with your
name and number on the back, you will be shipped a
beautiful new brown genuine leather flying helmet.
Additional goggles and helmets will be sent to you
each time an additional five and ten new members
respectively bearing your name and number are re-
ceived, so there is no limit to how many goggles
The  Restorer's  Corner 
By].  R.  Ni elander, Jr. 
Division  Pres ident 
and helmets you can win. On December 31,1978, Head-
quarters wi ll total the number of new memberships
sponsored by each member during this entire year,
and the member who has sponsored the most new mem-
bers will receive a free five year membership in the
EAA Antique/Classic Division. Sounds great, doesn't
:t? Earn one, two, three, four or more sets of beauti-
ful new goggles and helmets just by telling your
aviation-minded friends and acquaintences about the
EAA Antique/Classic Division and getting them to join,
and then put yourself in the running for the big prize
of a five year free membership, too.
You should have about 24 membership applications
on hand in back issues of this magazine, but if you
need additional ones, just write to Headquarters. The
staff will be happy to send you all that you can use.
This contest is open to all members of the EAA
Antique/Classic Division, even to those new members
whose membership application may have counted
toward another member's prize. Only your officers,
directors, advisors and Headquarters staff are inelligi-
ble to win prizes.
Elsewhere in this issue you will find our annual
listing of type clubs and/or newsletter editors. Your
Division Officers encou rage you to support the type
clubs of your choice, particularly if you own that
type airplane. The majority of those listed publish
newsletters which, in many cases, are the only sources
of information concerning parts and maintenance pro-
cedures on that particular type aircraft. Most of
the officers and editors are extremely dedicated, and
many times they do not even ask for enough remuner-
ation to cover the printing and mailing costs of their
newsletters. The cost of joining a type club runs
all the way from just making your desires known to
the club to sending a contribution for postage and
printing to just a few dollars a year. Nowhere else
can such a wealth of information be obtained for such
a small investment.
Calendar  of  Events 
APRIL 16 - GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS - Annual Fly-In sponsored by
EAA Chapter 34. Contact George C. Sims, 8171292-4233  or 292-3798.
MAY 5-7 - ROANOKE RAPIDS, NORTH CAROLINA - Spring Fly-In
sponsored by AntiquelClassic Chapter 3.
MAY 5-7 - CHINO, CALIFORNIA - 4th Annual Southern Califor-
nia Regional Fly-In. Sponsored by EAA Chapters 1, 7, 11, 92, 96,
448 and 494. Contact Gene Vickery, 1115 S. Sierra Vista Avenue,
Alhambra, California 91801 .  
MAY 19; 20, 21 - HORN POINT, MARYLAND - Potomac Antique
Aero Squadron Fly-In. Aerodrome built by Francis du Pont 2
miles west of Cambridge on Maryland' s Eastern Shore. For in-
formation contact Bernie Funk, Office 301-952-4770.
MAY 26, Z7,  28 - WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA - 14th Annual West
Coast Antique Aircraft Fly-In and Air Show at Watsonville Air-
port. Co-sponsored by the Northern California Chapter, Antique
Airplane Association and the Watsonville Chamber of Commerce.
For information, contact : Earl W. Swaney, Publicity Director, 525
Saratoga Ave., No.3, Santa Clara, California 95050. 415/645-3709' 
(days) ; 4081296-5632  (evenings).
MAY 26-29 - HARVARD, ILLINOIS - Monocoupe Fly-In. Dacy Air-
port. Held in connection with Ryan Fly-In. Contact Willard Bene-
dict, 129'Cedar Street, Wayland, Michigan 49348.
MAY 28 - TOUGHKENAMON, PENNSYLVANIA - A gatheri ng of
Moths, Garden Flying Field. Unicom 122.8, 80 octane. 215/268-
8988.
JUNE 2-4 - ATCHISON, KANSAS - The Annual Fly-In of the Greater
Kansas City . Chapter, Antique Airplane Association will be held
at Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport . Contact Dick Shane, 8315
Floyd, Overland Park, Kansas 66212. 913/648-3139"  or Kermit Hoff-
meier, 103 N.W. 64th Terrace, Gladstone, Missouri 64118. 8161 
436-3459:
JUNE 3-4 - GENERAL MOTORS WILDCAT TEST PILOT and Ground
Crew reunion . Contact Dick Foote, P.O. Box 57, Willimantic,
Connecticut 06226 - 203/423-2584  or Dan Hanrahan, 470 Elmore
Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey On08 - 2011254-4481 . Names and
addresses appreciated.
JUNE 9'11 - SPRINGFiElD, OHIO - 2nd Annual Spring EAA Mid-
Eastern Regional Fly-In (MERFI). Air Show, awards, on airport
camping, static displays, etc. Please check NOTAMS. Contact
Myrna Lewis, 241 Bassett Drive, Springfield, Ohio 44506. 5131 
323-2424.
JUNE 17-18 - FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA - Antique Aircraft Fly-
In, Shannon Airport. Air Show attractions: Bob Hoover, Bob Rus-
sell and Duane Cole.
JULY 1-2 - GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA - 11th Annual Cracker Fly-In
at Lee-Gilmer Airport. Awards will be presented in all categories.
Our banquet will be at the Gainesville Holiday Inn Saturday night ,
July 2. Len Povey has accepted an invitation to be guest speaker.
Accommodations - Gainesville Holiday Inn and other local motels.
I",formation : Jim Ealy, 3535 Childers Road, Roswell, Georgia 30075,
404/993-4568. 
JULY 1-9' - BLAKESBURG, IOWA - Wright Brothers 75th Anniver-
sary Fly-In at the Antique Airfield. Includes World War II PT and
liaison Plane Fly-In July 1-3, Fairchild Cl ub Fly-In and Unique Air-
plane Fly-In July 6-9:
JULY 14-16 - MINDEN, NEBRASKA - Second Annual National Stin-
son Club Fly-In. Pioneer Field near Harold Warp' s Pioneer Vil-
lage. BBQ Friday night for early arrival s. Saturday night banquet
and awards. Scheduled events. Fly-In Chairman Bob Near, 2702
Butterfoot Lane, Hastings, Nebraska 68901 . 402/463-9309 . 
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - 26th Annual
EAA Fly-In. Start making your plans now - it isn't too early.
(Photo by Chris Sorensen)
John  Bowden's  Curtiss  Robin. 
Editorial
Staff
Publisher 
Paul  H.  Poberezny 
Editor 
David  Gustafson 
Associate  Editors: 
H.  Glenn  Buffington,  Robert  G.  Elliott,  AI  Kelch ,  Edward  D.  Williams 
Readers  are  encouraged  to  submit  stories  and  photographs. Associate  Editorships  are  assigned 
to  those  writers  who  submit  five  or  more  articles .which  are  published  in  THE  VINTAGE  AIR-
PLANE  during  the  current  year.  Associates  receive  a  bound  volume  of  THE  VINTAGE  AIR-
PLANE  and  a  free  one-year  membership  in  the  Division  for  their  efforts.  POliCY-Opinions 
expressed  in  articles  are  solely  those  of  the  authors.  Responsibility  for  accuracy  in  reporting 
rests  entirely with  the  contributor. 
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC 
DIVISION 
OFFICERS 
PRESIDENT 
J.  R.  NIELANDER, JR. 
P.O.  BOX  2464 
FT.  LAUDERDALE,  FL 33303 
VICE-PRESIDENT 
JACK WINTHROP 
RT.  1,  BOX  111 
ALLEN, TX  75002 
SECRETARY 
W.  BRAD THOMAS,  JR. 
301  DODSON  MILL  ROAD 
PILOT  MOUNTAIN, NC  27041 
TREASURER 
E.  E.  " BUCK"  HILBERT 
8102  LEECH  RD. 
UNION, IL 60180 
Directors 
William  I .  Ehlen 
Route  8 Box  506 
Tampa,  Florida 33618 
Claude  l. Gray,  Ir . 
%35  Sylvia  Avenue 
Northridge,  California  91324 
Dale A.  Gustafson 
7724  Shady  Hill  Drive 
Indianapoli s,  Indi ana  46274 
Richard  Wagner 
P.O.  Box  181 
l yons,  Wi sconsin  53148 
Advisors 
Rona ld  Fritz 
1989 Wil son,  NW 
Grand  Rapids,  Michi gan  49504 
Roger  I.  Sherron 
446-C  Las  Casit as 
Sa nta  Rosa ,  Californi a  95401 
AI  Kelch 
7018  W.  Bonniwell  Road 
Mequon,  Wisconsin  53092 
Morton  W.  lester 
Box  3747 
Martinsville,  Virgi ni a  24112 
An hur  R.  Morgan 
513  North 91st  Street 
Milwa ukee,  Wi sconsin  53226 
M.  C.  " Kelly"  Viet s 
RR 1  Box 151
St ilwell ,  Kansas  66085 
Stan  Gomoll 
1042  90th  Lane,  NE 
Minneapolis,  Minnesota 55434 
Robert  E. Kessel 
445  Oakridge  Drive 
Rochester,  New York  14617 
Robert  A.  Whit e 
1207  Falcon  Drive 
Orlando,  Florida  32803 
THE  VINTAGE  AIRPLANE  is  owned  exclusively  by  EAA  Antique/Classic  Division,  Inc.,  and  is  published 
monthly  at  Hales  Corners,  Wisconsin  53130.  Second  class  Postage  paid  at  Hales  Corners  Post  Office. 
Hales  Corners.  Wi sconsin  53130.  and  additional  mailing  offices.  Membership  rates  for  EAA  Ant iquel 
Classic  Division.  Inc.. are  $14.00  per  12  month  period  of  which  $10.00  is  for  the  publication  of  THE 
VINTAGE  AIRPLANE.  Membership is  open  to  all  who are  interested  in aviation. 
The VINTAGEAI!1PLANE 
OFFICIAL  MAGAZINE 
EAA  ANTIQUE/CLASSIC 
DIVISION  INC. 
of THE  EXPERIMENTAL  AIRCRAFT  ASSOCIATION 
P.O.  Box  229,  Hales Corners,  WI  53130 
CopyrightO 1978 EAA  Antique/Classic  Division. Inc. , All  Rights  Reserved. 
APRIL  1978  VOLUME  6  NUMBER  4 
CONTENTS 
(Cover Photo by Chris Sorensen; 1937  Model A-7S-300 Stearman)
The  Restorer's  Corner by J.  R.  Nielander,  Jr.  . ... ... .. ... .. .. ............ .. ......  2 
Calendar  of Events  .... .. ... . .... ................. ... . ..... . ... ... • .... ... ... ..  2 
A  Vintage  Pilot  by David  Gustafson  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . ..  4 
Fords Are  Where  You  Find  Them  by  Byron  (Fred)  Fredericksen  .. ... . . ... ... . ... ..  8 
Antique  and  Classic  Aircraft Type  Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . ..  9 
Bill  Chomo  Reports:  Philosophy  of  Restoration  .. . .... . . . .... . . .. . . . . .. ... .... . ..  10 
We  Were  There  In  Numbers Even  If 
" They  Ain' t  Making Them  Like That  Anymore"  by Wm.  J.  " Bill "  Ehlen  . .. . ... . . .  12 
Vintage  Album  ...... .... . .. .. . . .. ... ...... .. ... .......... .. ... .. . ..... . ...... .  14 
Dean  Tilton' s Grand  Champion  Travel  Air 2000  by Jack  Cox ....... ....... . . . .... . .  16 
Whi stling  In  The  by  Paul  H.  Poberezny  .. ............................. . . .  17 
National  Stearman  Fly-In  by Thomas  E.  Lowe  ....... . .... .... .. •. . . ........ .. • .. .  18 
Clear To  Land  compiled  by  Kell y  Viets  . .. ... .. . ........ . .. .... . ... ..... . ........ 21 
Restoration  Tips:  Equal  or Better  by  Dorr  8.  Carpenter  ..... . .. . ......... ... ...... 22 
Periodicals of Interest  to  the  Antique/Classic  World  by Leo  Opdycke  ... ... ... .... ,  23 
Letters  .. . .... .. .... . ... . .... .. .... ... ........ ...... ... ... ... ............ . ... .  25 
EAA  ANTIQUE/CLASSIC  DIVISION  MEMBERSHIP 
o NON-EAA  MEMBER  - $20.00.  Includes  one  year  membership  in  the  EAA  Antique/ 
Classic  Divi sion,  12  monthly  issues  of  THE  VINTAGE  AIRPLANE;  one  year  mem-
bership  in  the  Experimental  Aircraft  Association  and  separate  membership  cards. 
SPORT  AVIATION  magazine  not included. 
o EAA  MEMBER  - $14.00.  Includes  one  year  membership  in  the  EAA. Antique/Classic 
Division,  12  monthly  issues  of  THE  VINTAGE  AIRPLANE  AND  MEMBERSHIP  CARD. 
(Applicant  must  be current  EAA  member and  must give  EAA  membership  number.) 
       
Page  8  • Page 10  Page  12 
3 
~
1-\ V   ~   r 1-\ G... Plt'o"r 
By David Gustafson, Editor
(Photographs Provided by Sabbie Ludovici)
Sabbie Ludovici started logging hours over fifty
years ago. Now that's not necessarily remarkable in
itself, but the picture changes a little when you dis-
cover that he's still spending 363 days a year on a field,
still logging 30 to 35 hours a week as an instructor -
and half of those are spent with the only FAA Approved
aerobatics curriculum in the country! At the age of
67, Sabbie has the kind of mental acuity and sensitivity
to flight that makes kids envious.
As a teacher, he hangs on to what he was taught
over fifty years ago: fly by feel. Or as he puts it: "You've
got to learn to fly by the seat of your pants; you' ve
got to feel it in your fanny." And he' s quick to point
out that no amount of federal regulating will ever have
an effect on someone's, ah ..., fanny. "You can't
regulate safety." What he's talking about is a total
physical, intellectual commitment to sensing what
the airplane is doing. Naturally, anyone who learned
to fly, as Sabbie did, in a Standard )-1 which couldn't
be trimmed and which had a grand total of four un-
reliable instruments (altimeter, tachometer, oil pres-
sure and temperature), would know exactly what he's
talking about.
I began to find out what he was talking about four
years ago when he agreed to check me out in the
Cessna 120 I'd just bought. It was my first taildragger.
We were in the pattern practicing touch-and-go' s.
I'd worked through three stages: mexican jumping
bean, kangaroo, Kamikaze. The score was Sabbie:
32,000 hours; me: 105. We were on base leg. The
plane was rocking.
Sabbie barked at me, "relax, dammit!" I tried to.
"You've got white knuckles," he added accusingly,
"and I can see the muscles bulging in your arms and
wrists." I wiped the sweat off my palms and turned
to final. "Think of the airplane as your lover. You're
not going to grab or squeeze or jerk a woman, are
you? Maybe you do. You shouldn't. Fondle that con-
trol stick and it'll be nice to you. Make love to your
airplane." His voice was softer and some color began
to show in my hands about that time. As he extended
his metaphor about the airplane as a woman I must
have developed a bit of color in my face too, for he
started chuckling and slapped his thigh. I wondered
Sabbie's Waco 10, built in 1928 and powered with an
OX-5 that reportedly came off Lindbergh's lenny.
what kind of an image he used when giVing flying
lessons to a woman. Then I chuckled. "See. It' s fun
when you relax."
We touched down, rolled; then I throttled for-
ward and lifted the tail. "Get that tail up sooner, and
get it up higher ... now keep it straight," Sabbie
4
(Photo by David Gustatson)
Sabbie Ludovici at 67, with his typical grin. Fifty years of
flying and still going strong.
You had to do more than fl y to keep going in the thirties.
Sabbie welds the gear back onto a j-3 that he' d ferri ed
out of a field.
coaxed. Then he snapped again, " don't jerk it off the laxed, I was still over-controlling. " You're driving
runway .. . ease it off." now, instead of flying. Leave the ailerons alone. You' re
We leveled off at 800 feet and Sabbie focused on working too hard. " He turned to me. "There's no
something below like he' d never seen it before even turbulence up here today, you know, but you sure are
though . he'd been over that part of the field thou- working hard to create your own with those controls."
sands of times. "See those ruts down there? I used to There was another kind of turbulence in his voice.
haul logs over that road when I was a kid. Made some His hands waved then fell on the right wheel. I let go
of my flying school money doing that." and braced myself for another of Sabbie's flying ex-
We turned final again, and though I was more re- amples. The plane lurched, tipped, hopped, dove and
Around 1940, Sabbie (second from right) ran a.mechanics'
school . His students are seen here recovering a Travel
Aire.
d ~  
sacheted. The aluminum skin crackled. Sabbie was
completely relaxed. "See," he shouted in mock seri-
ousness, see how you can make your own storm." I
saw vividly. "You don't have to keep readjusting for
every puff of wind." It was like riding with an Italian
John Wayne on a bucking bronco which had polished
off a bale of loco weed. He suddenly let go of the stick,
folded his arms, and pulled his feet back from the rud-
der pedals. He' d done it with hundreds of students.
5
The plane bobbed a few more times, leveled off,
and glided smoothly to the runway. " There's no rea-
son to be frightened of an occasional bump on final ,"
, he said softly and seriously. "And there's no reason
to be afraid of this machine falling apart either ."
Suddenly, it struck home that fear had been the enemy,
not the wind and not the plane. Sabbie had seen my
fear a lot earlier and finally decided to scare it out of
me. We shut down in front of his hangar and he
climbed out gingerly. With a broad smile that made
his ears stand out a little he said "you' ll make it". I
did. A few more hours with Sabbie and I felt like Clark
Gable with Vivian Leigh. I literally went with the wind.
Then a couple years ago Sabbie kissed one of his
female students, hopped out of the plane with an
expression of success, and stood back while she took
off for her first solo flight. It was his wife, Louise.
She was 63 at the time. " I always wanted to teach her,"
he said calmly over coffee, "but when we were
younger there never seemed to be any time. She was
busy raising the kids. Of course, she always wanted
to learn, so I guess now's as good a time as any." His
pride was obvious.
Sabbie's son, Joe, was ready to solo an airplane
at the age of 10. "We had to stick seven cushions
under him to bring his eyes above the plane's instru-
ment panel. He'd been flying with me for over nine
years. I started holding him in my lap when he was
nine months old. When he was eighteen months I
could talk him through a landing by anticipating his
moves and telling him when to pull back on the stick.
Then a winter went by and Joe stayed on the ground. The
next time I took him up and told him to 'pull back'
he nearly stood the airplane on its tail. I forgot to
take into account that he had become much stronger
and quicker with his reflexes."
Louise, Joe and I were only three people out of
about 3,000 that Sabbie has introduced to the art of
safe, sensitive flying. Unfortunately, what he knows
about relaxation and feeling in flight, is dying out.
"People teach you to tune dials and memorize rules,
but they don't get down to fundamentals. I've straight-
ened out a lot of pilots who were taught the wrong
way and who wound up being afraid of flying. Some
of them were high time pilots and some of them were
even CFI's. What does a scared CFI teach?" Sabbie
doesn' t hold back when he gets into the subject of
flight instruction: "Seventy-five percent of the flight
instruction in this country stinks today. They don't
teach you how the airplane can take care of itself.
Too many operators are anxious for a dollar and let a
student solo before he's ready. They promise they
can get you to solo in six hours and they do it and
that's stupid. You can't deal with a set period of hours,
you have to deal with individual personalities." He
believes that 70 percent of the instructor's effort should
go into teaching relaxation and feeling, 20 percent
goes toward breaking the " driving habit" or over-
controlling, and 10 percent goes into teaching skills.
There's fifty years of experience behind that idea. It's
the kind of experience the FAA would profit from if
there were some way they could gear up to listen.
Sabbie's one of those rare people who found a
way of life that he could embrace with undiminished
interest for a half century. " In fifty years of flying
and instructing I've never been frightened by it or
bored by it," he says convincingly. While he easily
looks like he's 67, he has the kind of energy that
mocks the white hair that's left on his head. He tells
stories with the flourish of a Zorba and commands
attention like a Pied Piper. He'll drop just about any-
thing he's doing on the ground to turn his hands into
airplanes and talk about flying. And when you hear
him say "that reminds me ..." or "there was this
pilot ..." it often becomes hard to get a word in edge-
wise. " I love talking to people," he once confided,
then grinned and added slowly, "maybe too much. "
All those years have given him a lot to talk about.
Unlike a lot of boys in the 1920's who watched a
bush pilot put down in a local pea patch, then bought
a two-dollar ride and left for flying school, Sabbie
didn't even get a close-up look at an airplane until he
was on his way to flying school.
"It was 1926 when I made up my mind to go. I was
16. I'd seen planes way overhead, but never got a
chance to look at one or fly in one," he recounts. "No,
I got hooked when I ran across a full-page ad in Popular
Mechanics for the Sweeney Aviation School out in
Kansas City, Missouri. It was the idea of speed more
than anything that excited me." He made up his mind
and told his mother: "There was a great storm. A year
later, though, I was on my way. I got a lot of help from
Lindbergh. When he made his great flight in '27 there
were a lot of sons who finally won their arguments."
Sabbie left his native Rhode Island with the ad in his
pocket.
His first ride overwhelmed him with disappoint-
ment . "There was no sense of speed. None. It was al-
most like that old Standard J-1 just hung there in space.
It was slow. I was ready to give up. But on the second
lesson my instructor let me take the controls and my
desire for speed was left in the clouds." Those lessons
cost him $35 a crack and he used to get up at 3:00
a.m., walk thirteen blocks, and then fly until the
winds came up.
Sabbie used the Waco 10 until 1938 when it was crushed
by a hangar roof that fell in during a hurricane,
Sabbie and Walt Scheibe pose in front of Walt's AW Cessna,
"There weren' t any aviation weather reports in
those days, there weren't any air sectionals, the planes
didn't have radios - there was no one to talk to, and
it was rare to find one that even had a compass."
On cross-country trips he'd literally stick a wet thumb
in the air, glance at the position of the sun, and climb
into the cockpit with his copy of the Rand McNally
Road Atlas. With those kind of conditions you either
developed a feeling for flight or took up farming (some-
6
rricanes sure raise havoc with airplanes. This one, in
54, tossed Sabbie's PT-23 into the trees . Somehow it was
cked out without any damage.
In 1946, Sabbie took delivery on a new Taylorcraft Be
120, which he still owns.
times suddenly). When he was on the ground, Sabbie
busied himself with a wrench, a needle and thread,
or a paintbrush, and he developed the knowledge
equivalent to an A&P.
A couple years later, Sabbie hitched back to Rhode
Island. He befriended Joel Meynard and the two went
off in search of an airplane (with a little financial help
from Sabbie's mother). They scoured the New York
area for a plane, but found nothing for sale. While at
Roosevelt field, however, he did make the acquaint-
ance of a young aviatrix: Amelia Earhart. They came
home empty-handed and found that there was a Waco
10 on Block Island that had been wrecked ten hours
after it had left the factory. Doug Harris had rebuilt
it. When Harris had found he couldn't rebuild the
engine and couldn't purchase a new one from the
factory, he changed the mount and installed an OX-5.
That engine reportedly came off of Lindbergh's old
Jenny (it was a small world then, too). Sabbie and Joel
bought the Waco 10, then flew it up to Woonsocket
where they opened the L&M Flying Service and School.
"And almost immediately after that, we were shut
down by the Federal Government." Someone had
crashed and in the space of a couple days the FAR's
I
became pregnant with new rules about licensing.
Sabbie and Joel of course complied; "there was no
choice." Soon after, they were running their service
again, doing charters, joy rides and the occasional
lesson. It was 1930 and things were slow.
" Anyone's first airplane becomes their lifetime
favorite," says Sabbie. "I don't care what kind of
machine it is, it's always the best. " The Waco 10 in
Sabbie's life lived to be rebuilt a couple times until
the hurricane of 1938 retired it permanently. In the
eight years he flew it, however, he logged enough ex-
periences to fill a book. Like the time he went up
late in the morning to relax a little; he'd only had
about an hour's sleep the night before. He fell asleep
in the Waco for 15 minutes and flew 20 miles in the
process without losing any altitude or altering his
heading. That's a trimmed airplane!
At another time, he was up on a sight-seeing trip
with a friend. They circled this and buzzed that, and
in the process a thunderstorm moved in between
them and the airport. They had two choices: go to
Boston or go through the storm. Sabbie decided,
mainly because he didn't know much about thunder-
storms back in 1932, to fly through it and satisfy his
curiosity. " I was very lucky, and I guess the good Lord
didn't want me yet. " He admits he really didn't get
scared while he was in the storm because he was too
busy. Almost immediately after entering the melee,
the control stick was ripped out of his hand. " It was
all over the cockpit," Sabbie recounts, "but for all
the violence, it averaged out to level flight, after a
fashion, and a straight heading to boot." Some fashion!
''' There was an incredible amount of rain and tur-
bulence, but none of the vertical drafts you hear
about." At least that's what he remembers. His alti-
meter wasn't the sensitive type. "When I got out, I
was ready to quit flying, but that feeling didn't even
last to the airport."
In 1937 Sabbie was ferrying home a brand new 40
horsepower Taylorcraft. The weather service had
reported some mild storms and he was eager to get
home. He decided to fly around the cells (no more of
that straight-through stuff) and took off with a full
tank. He went around a total of 14 thunderstorms,
some of which were so big and savage that they pro-
duced huge newspaper headlines the next day. In the
process of storm dodging, Sabbie found himself over
wilderness areas without roads, fields or runways.
Finally as night began to fall he found a grass strip,
put down and checked out a suspicion that had been
building up: he had less than one cup of gas left in
the nine-gallon tank. That was the closest he ever came
to running out of gas.
On another occasion, in the late 30's, a friend of
Sabbie's put a J-3 in a field to sit out a thunderstorm.
He was a tad nervous at the time and wound up with
"unapproved" retractable gear. The next day, Sabbie
hauled out some welding equipment and tacked the
gear together. He couldn't weld in the fuselage for
fear of burning up the fabric, so he fished a 2"x4"
in along a broken longeron and secured it with baling
wire. There were still some gaping holes in the fabric,
however, and they needed attention before the yellow
bird could be ferried back to the airport. The owner
had brought dope and thread, but forgot to bring
some fabric. They begged some pillow cases from a
friend, covered the holes in the true spirit of CAM 18
and took off for better facilities.
In August of 1942, Sabbie left Rhode Island to par-
ticipate as a civilian flight instructor in a Navy train-
ing program. He was with that program until late in
1944 when he switched over to the Air Force for a
chance to fly the hump from India to China. He was
in with 8,000 others, all of whom found themselves
out on the street when the Burma Road was finished .
So, Sabbie went home and set himself up again as an
FBO.
During his civilian career , he's worked at six air-
ports. One of those was turned into a racetrack, two
were converted to apartment complexes, one became
a shopping center and another is now a college campus.
Sabbie had built one of those fields himself. His wife
told me: " he used a wheelbarrow to cart stones off
the field and built a hangar with his own hands."
Sabbie added: "I became the airport manager, me-
chanic, instructor, charter pilot, bookkeeper, sales-
man . .. you name it." Louise reminded him: "you
used to come home from that job as an auto mechanic,
grab a bag full of sandwiches, a whiskey bottle filled
with coffee and down the works on the way to the
field."
Today Sabbie is still busy giving instructions to
students and experienced pilots. When he was 65, he
won FAA approval for a thirty-hour aerobatic curric-
ulum. Of course anyone who's taking it will quickly tell
you: "it's the teacher that makes the difference."
So he spends 4 to 5 hours a day sommersaulting around
the sky and loving every minute of it. "It cleans my
system out, moves the blood and the sediment
around," he says. "When you learn aerobatics the
right way, you learn safety, relaxation, and precision.
You become a better pilot."
Sabbie's students refer to him as salty and crusty,
but they always do it in tones of fondness. I have yet
to meet a student who didn' t respect him along with
his fifty-year-old approach to safe flight.
7
By Byron (Fred) Frederi cksen (fAA 99807 )
3240 W. Breezewood Lane
Neenah, Wi sconsin 54956
Perhaps twenty years too late would be a more
appropriate heading for my little tale here. I offer this
story for those interested in Ford Tri-Motor history.
I have read with much interest some of the fine works
Ford historians have done through the years and more
will be done as time goes on. I think THE FORD STORY
by William T. Larkins was done extremely well. Work
s u ~   as that takes a lot of research and it is good that
some one does it. There are also Ford history publi-
cations I have not seen and the Ford I write of here
may be old news to some folks .
While at a friend' s home in Alaska a few years ago,
our conversation got going on "rumors" of old air-
planes in the Alaska bush. (This kind of rumor always
excities me and I have followed many since I believe
this needs to be done.) My host went on to say he
thought he knew where there was a Ford. In fact , he
had seen it near a remote airstrip many years ago. He
also added that in all probability there may not be
much left of it, if in fact it was still there. How it got
there he did not know. He also said he knew of a
party that represented a group from " South Of The
Border" which had also been seeking this Ford. How-
ever he thought they had probably lost interest in it
by this point in time.
My thoughts went back to stories I had read about
aerial refueling with Fords over Alaska. I remembered
one about Garland Lincoln flying a Ford to refuel a
Lockheed 12-A in flight which Jimmie Mattern was
flying during an air search.
Of course, since Ford Tri-Motors have showed up
at all points of the globe through the years the one
my buddy was speaking of could have arrived at its
final resting place for any number of reasons. Since
I had to leave Alaska in a few days I asked my friend
if he would be interested in making a trip to the "Ford
Site" for a look-see, if I' d finance it. He agreed to do
so if he found the time that winter and if the weather
was suitable. I had things to do, and left for home.
Now perhaps some readers know all about the
Ford I refer to that Lincoln was flying. Maybe some
one owns it today. Upon returning home I found
some stories on the subject and they indicate Lincoln
crash-landed his Ford and totaled it on the Alaska
tundra during bad weather in 1937. I do not wish to
quote any publications here and I did not do any new
research on Ford history. However, I did find the
registration and serial numbers on the Ford involved
in our rumor. It was NC-8403, model 4-AT-E, serial
4-AT-65 and the name PTARMIGAN II was probably
painted on it. I also found a photograph showing Mr.
Ray Peterson and a Ford Tri-Motor bearing the words
PTARMIGAN lion its fuselage. The photo was dated
1932. Mr. Peterson has been involved with airplanes
and airlines in Alaska for years. Ptarmigan is the name
of the official state bird in Alaska.
Within a few months of returning to Wisconsin ,
I decided we should have a look at our rumor. As
agreed, my Alaskan buddy made the trip for me. It was
not a real long trip, but it was in December. It involved
going from Fairbanks to Bethel, then to Flat which I
understand is a mining camp and has been for years .
The Ford site was an hour's ride from the camp air-
strip via rented snow machine.
The Ford was still there! The name PTARMIGAN II
was on the fuselage. All that was visible was the fuse-
lage. And it had been stripped. Twelve foot high brush
had grown up around it . My Buddy took some photos,
then waited out some bad weather at Flat, and finally,
via a ski equipped Cub and Fairchild F-27 to McGrath
and Anchorage, arrived home four days later.
He sent me the photos and a letter explaining that
the cockpit gear, cabin interior and every other little
part had been removed. The tail feathers had been
damaged, probably by a dozer blade. He figured a
Ford restorer had gotten to it. The engines were gone
as was the cowling. The wings are said to be buried
in stones under the fuselage but he did not see them
due to the deep snow.
He ended his letter with the words, " we are just
twenty years too late. "
For the record: The Alaskan Ford was a model 4
ATE, Serial Number 4-AT-65, Registration Number NC
8403. It was built in 1929 with three Wright Whirl-
wind engines rated at 300 horsepower. Mamer Flying
Service in Spokane, Washington was the first owner.
They sold it to Tom Marshall Kester and Ed Groeneyke
in 1934, and that same year it was damaged beyond
repair while being landed at an airstrip at Flat , Alaska.
(Photo by ]. O. Berr y)
Twel ve feet of brush has grown up around the Ford.
sa
8
Antique and Classic
Aircraft Type Clubs
Publication  of  the  following Type  Club  information 
does  not  constitute  endorsement  of  either  the  listed 
organizations  or  their  officers,  nor  does  it  guarantee 
the  integrity  of  their  operations.  None  of  the  listed 
Type  Clubs  is  affiliated  with  either  the  Experimental 
Aircraft  Association  or  its  Antique/Classic  Division. 
While  every  effort  has  been  made  to  publish  correct 
and  up-to-date  information  solely  as  a  service  to  the 
members  of  the  EAA  Antique/Classic  Division,  the  ac-
curacy  can  not  be  guaranteed.  Please  send  any  addi-
tions  or corrections  to the  Editor. 
The  Aeronca  Chief Information 
George  S.  York 
181  Sloboda  Ave. 
Mansfield,  OH 44901 
Aeronca  Club 
Edward  H.  Schubert,  Chairman 
28  East  State  SI. 
Janesville,  WI  53545 
The  Aeronca  Owners Club 
C.  W .  Lasher 
14100  Lake  Candlwood  Ct. 
Miami  Lakes,  FL  33014 
Aeronca  Sedan  Club 
Richard  Welsh 
2311  E.  Lake  Sammamish  PI. 
Issaquah,  WA 98027 
The  Airmaster  Club 
Gar  Williams,  Chairman 
9  South  125  Aero  Drive 
Naperville,  IL 60540 
The American  Bonanza  Society 
B.  J.  McClanahan,  M.D. 
P.O.  Box 13 
Hornel,  NY  14843 
The  American  Bonanza  Society 
Reading  Municipal  Airport 
Box  3749 
'.  Reading,  PA  19605 
American  Navion  Society 
A.  R.  Cardono,  Chairman  of the  Board 
Box  1175,  Airport  Station 
Banning,  CA  92220 
The  Bird  Airplane  Club 
Mrs.  Richard  C.  Hill,  Secretary 
Box  89 
Harvard,  I L 60033 
Canadian-American  Amphibian  Assoc. 
Don  Kyte,  President 
Box  527 
Diablo,  CA  94528 
Cessna  120-140 Association 
Box  92 
Tom  Teegarden,  President 
Richardson,  TX  75080 
Culver  Club 
Lawrence  Low,  Chairman 
60  Skywood  Way 
Woodside,  CA 94062 
The  Dart  Club 
Lloyd  Washburn 
3958  Washburn  Drive 
PI.  Clinton,  OH 43452 
The  Dehaviland  Moth  Club 
John  Bright,  Chairman 
221  East  Ransom  SI. 
Kalamazoo,  MI  49007 
Eastern  Cessna  190/195  Association 
Cliff C.  Crabs 
25575  Butternut  Ridge  Rd. 
N.  Olmstead,  OH 44070 
The  Ercoupe  Club 
M.  C.  "Kelly" Viets 
RR  1 Box 159 
Stilwell,  KS  66085 
Ercoupe  Owners  Club 
Skip  Carden ,  President 
Box  15058 
Durham,  NC 27704 
The  Fairchild  Club 
Ken  Love,  President 
1102  Main  SI. 
Crete,  IL  60417 
Fokker  Verein 
Dr.  Stanley  S.  Murel 
812  East  Park  Row 
Arlington,  TX  76010 
The  Funk  Aircraft  Owners Assoc. 
G.  Dale  Beach,  Chairman 
1621  Dreher SI. 
Sacramento,  CA  95814 
The  Heath  Club 
Bob  Burgee,  Chairman 
7612  Erie  SI. 
Sylvania,  OH 43560 
Howard  Club 
Richard  K.  Martin,  Chairman 
Route  3,  Aerodrome  Road 
Green  Bay,  WI  54301 
International  Cessna  170  Association,  Inc. 
29010  Highway 160  East 
Durango,  CO 81301 
International  Cessna  195  Club 
Dwight  M.  Ewing,  President 
Box  737 
Merced,  CA  95340 
International  Citabria  Club,  Ltd. 
Box  29 
White  Lake,  NY 12786 
International  Swift  Association 
Charles  Nelson 
Box  644 
Athens,  TN  37303 
The  Interstate  Club 
Bruce  F.  Mitchell 
5421  NE  43  St. 
Kansas  City,  MO 64117 
The  Luscomb  Association 
Robert  Shelton 
339  W .  Pierce  SI. 
Macomb,  IL  61455 
The  Meyers  Club 
Ev.  Payette 
1604  South  Custer  Rd. 
Monroe, MI 48161 
Monocoupe Club 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bud  Dake,  Chairmen 
8318  Fairbanks 
!lerkeley,  MS  63134 
The  Mooney Mite  Owners  Assoc. 
Box  3999 
Charlottesvi lie,  VA  22903 
The  Moth  Club 
Dudley  Kelly 
RI.  4 
Versailles,  KY  40383 
National  Ryan  Club 
Mitch Mayborn 
3164  Whitehall 
Dallas,  TX  75229 
National  Ryan  Club  PT-22  Division 
Bill  J.  Hodges,  Chairman 
308  West  Moore Ave. 
Searcy,  AR  72143 
National  Waco  Club 
Ray  H.  Brandly 
2650  W.  Alex  Bellbrook  Rd. 
Dayton,  OH  45459 
OX5 Aviation  Pioneers 
419  Plaza  Building 
Pittsburgh,  PA  15219 
Porterfield  Club 
Charles  E.  Lebreckt; Chairman 
3121  E.  Lake  Shore  Drive 
Wonder  Lake,  IL  60097 
The  Rearwin  Club 
George T.  Williams 
115  Pauque.tte  SI. 
Portage,  WI  53901 
Robin  Club 
Walter  L.  Tufts,  Chairman 
4138  Santa  Rosa  Drive 
Moor Park,  CA  93021 
Rose  Parakeet  Club 
J.  W.  Pose 
P.O.  Box  32 
Ingleside,  IL  60041 
Seabee  Newsletter 
George W .  Mojonnier,  Editor 
10615  69th  Place,  S.E. 
Snohomish,  WA 98290 
Spartan  Club 
Don  Fairbanks 
Cardinal  Air Training 
Hangar  224 
Lunken  Airport 
Cincinnati,  OH 42226 
The  Staggerwing  Club 
James  C.  Gorman,  President 
Box  1217 
Mansfield,  OH  44903 
Stampe  Club 
Allen  Schneider 
RI.  1 
Brodhead, WI  53520 
Stearman' s Restorers  Association,  Inc. 
M.  Lowe,  President 
823  Kingston  Lane 
Crystal  Lake,  IL  60014 
Stinson  Club 
J.  J.  Paul 
1518  Ronson  Rd. 
Houston, TX  77050 
Taylorcraft  Owners  Club 
Merton  A.  Meade,  Jr .,  Chairman 
5906  Summer  Lane 
Oxan  Hill,  MD 20021 
Travel  Air  Club 
H.  M . "Herb" Harkcom 
Buzzard's  Roost 
RI.  1 
Mola,  OK  74036 
U.  S.  Stampe  Club 
Stephen  J.  Linsenmeyer 
127  Hollywood  Drive 
Monroe,  MI  48161 
Vagabond  News 
Cecil  Ogles,  Editor 
448  CAve. 
Coronado,  CA 92118 
Vintage  Sailplane  Association 
Jeff  Steele 
6053  - 25th  Rd.  N. 
Arlington,  VA  22207 
West  Coast  Cessna  120/140  Club,  Inc. 
Doug Williams,  President 
Box  891 
Menlo Park,  CA  94025 
Wheelchair  Pilots 
Howard  L.  Treadwell 
11018  - 102nd  Ave. 
Largo,  FL  33540 
World War  I Aeroplanes 
Leonard  E.  Opdycke 
15  Crescent  Rd. 
Poughkeepsie,  KY  12601 
Wright  J-5  Club 
George  Lanning 
833  Stoneburner Lane 
Kent,  WA 98031 
9 
BILL CHOMO REPORTS:
PHILOSOPHV OF
RESTORATION
An  Intervi ew  with  Bill Choma, 
Director  of  Maintenance  & Restoration 
VINTAGE AIRPLANE: What is your philosophy on re-
storing airplanes?
Bill Chomo: Well, at EAA, we' re charged with a very
great responsibility in that we' re preserving our avia-
tion history for posterity. We're fortunate in that we're
dealing with something that is relatively new: avia-
tion's only 75 years old. So we' ve got a better jump
than the museum people who are restoring Egyptian
items that are thousands of years old. Our philosophy
differs between the two types of restoring: (1) work-
ing for flying condition and (2) restoring for museum
display. Flying takes preference here, so all planes
have to be made airworthy, and authenticity, as far as
materials and so on, are secondary. To some extent,
that's true in Museum quality restoration. You have to
take modern liberties. We want an airplane that can
sit on that floor for two hundred years possibly, and
not have to be rebuilt another time. I know there are
other museum people who differ with me because
they think that an aircraft should be restored to EXACT
original type materials, glues and everything else. The
reason I differ is that if you are looking for a two or
three hundred year life on a very perishable com-
modity like an airplane, you have to use the best pos-
sible techniques that we have today - the best pos-
sible glues (including epoxy). The dope is a good ex-
ample, all of the original planes way back had varnish
on them, which became britt le in a very sho rt time. A
little later, they had nitrate dope which deteriorates.
The old nitrate film actually dissolves and turns back
into a natural state right in the can . That's why there
are very few old movies left. Well , nitrate dope is
about the same. It's made with nitric acid and cellu-
lose. Cellulose is dissolved by nitric acid until all acid
is consumed, so it' s neutral . But the stuff will turn acid
again, as this process never stops with acid, and even-
tually it will eat the fabric off the airplane. This is one
of the reasons that butyrate dope was developed. So
why would you put nitrate dope on it just for the sake
of being authentic and have the fabric fall off in ten
years?
Tires are another example of a problem. On origi-
nal tires, the rubber just has to deteriorate over a cer-
tain number of years. The ozone in the air destroys
the rubber. Then you have to find sources of supply to
get original configuration tires. That's a must, even on
the flyable airplanes.
Hardware's also difficult, because we have mod-
ernized our bolts. Unless you go to a local hardware
store and buy tractor nuts and bolts, you really don' t
have the same style of bolt and nut that they had back
then. A lot of the original materials are just not in use
anymore.
Naturally, some things like the integrity of the air-
plane, its general shape and some details like the rib
stitching can be kept true to form. With rib stitching
for example, the same spacing that was used when it
was originally built, shou ld definitely be retained. You
don't want to change any of that. It's something that a
future scholar , a hundred years from now, is going to
(Photo  by Dick  Stouffer) 
Bill  Choma  !left)  lays  on  some  tape  over 
ri b  stit ching  on the  elevator of the  Dehavil-
l and  Rapide  being  res tored  in  the  shops. 
Phillipe  Van  Pel t  lencls a  hand. 
want to know - how far the rib stitches were apart
or how many tacks were used to hold the fabric down
on the leading edge.
On the other hand, what do you do for accuracy
with some of the rare aircraft , where there were abso-
lutely no blueprints. Usually you can copy some of the
parts from original s. That's an art in itself. But, when
the part is actually missing, what did it look like?
The search can wind through old photos, magazines,
or books and you pull out a ten-power magnifying
glass, trying to decipher from the picture what the part
looked like and what its scale was. It takes a fantasti c
library.
VA: Of the airplanes you ' ve restored for EAA, how
many have been given the "Museum" treatment?
BC: The only two that I can think of that weren ' t re-
stored to flying condition were the Pheasant and the
Pfalz . Those two were restored to museum status .
That's only because they would have required major
rebuilding and since EAA had no idea of ever flying
them, there was no reason to do the extra work. Con-
sequently, the Pheasant was not even recovered. It
was rejuvenated and repainted, with the original fab-
ric on it. Someday we're goi ng to have to completely
restore that airplane. The flying wires, or flying cables,
in some instances, were just cleaned up but not re-
placed. They wou ld not be ai rworthy. The engines
were not gone through. They were cleaned on the out-
side, but not disassembled and overhauled.
VA: Have they been pickled?
10
(PhOLO by David Gustafson)
Bill Chomo, Director of EAA's maintenance and restora-
tion facility, works on the two-place Aero Sport.
Be: Those two have been, yes. Not all of the aircraft
engines in the Museum are pickled. Problem is, it real-
ly doesn' t do a long term safe job of preserving the en-
gine. That's because we have museum visitors who
turn propellers. Once you turn the propeller, even half
a turn on a pickled engine, the pickl ing is destroyed,
because the rings wipe it off the wall.
We have another preservation problem : on a lot of
the engines you don' t dare pull the carburetors off be-
cause they' re visible and you don' t dare pull the ex-
haust stacks off because they' re also visible. But you
still want to pull those items off and cover the holes,
because no matter where the prop stops, there are al-
ways some open intake valves and some open exhaust
valves which allows outside air to get in so there is no
way to seal off the crankcase. You might seal off the
breather, but you can' t seal off the intake and exhaust
valves that are open.
We' ve been thinking, if we remove the carburetors
and exhaust stacks, and slip polyethylene film over
the studs on the exhaust stacks and carburetors, then
reinstall and then trim them off with a razor blade,
we' d have a perfect way to seal off the crankcase.
The alternative would be to try to stop the people
from turning the props . The Smithsonian uses some
small metal clips actually screwed to the nosebowl to
discourage prop turning. Of course, I' m afraid that if
anybody forcibly turned the prop they' d damage the
nosebowl - so that isn' t the answer. Maybe further
back from the ropes . . .
The EAA has such a tremendous backlog of aircraft
    ~ .
(Photo by David Gustafson)
The Museum's Pheasant, one of very few aircraft in EAA's
Museum that has not been restored to airworthy condition.
right now that are in need of restoration. About two-
thirds of those, I'll never see restored because I'll have
retired by then. I' ve got about 25 years to go. The
Smithsonian has a crew about 5 times our size, they
have about 35 mechanics working for them and they
restore, on the average, one airplane a year. I feel real
proud of my people in that, up until two months ago,
we only had 5 mechanics here, including myself. Now
we're up to seven. We' ve been averaging about two
aircraft a year and some were built from scratch, like
the "Spirit of St. Louis" in 4'12 months - and the two-
place Acro which will soon be ready to fly.
It is a time consuming thing for a restoration of an
aircraft the size of a Waco or a Stearman. For a com-
plete restoration of one like that, you're looking at
about 2,000 man hours. That's roughly, one man, one
year. They can run as high as 6 or 7,000 hours on some-
thing like a P-39 or the Stuka.
Sheet metal aircraft really require a lot more hours.
Maybe we should talk about sheet metal awhile.
VA: Sure . . . , but let's start with pickled engines.
next month.
The EAA Museum's Pfalz, restored for display only.
11
We Were There In Numbers Story and Photos By
Wm. }. "Bill" Ehlen
Even If
EAA 26796, Ale 441
"They Ain't Making Them Like
Rt. 8, Box 506
Tampa, Florida 33678
That Anymore"
Those of us whose only detected vice is having
made a clandestine mistress of our deep love for the
older airplanes have certainly bumped our heads and
butts against the laws of man and nature many, many
times. In fact, I doubt if you could flit from hither to
yon more than once or twice before becoming con-
vinced that somebody or something was trying to
crowd you between a rock and a hard place. If the
friendly folks don't throw you a curve, there is al-
ways Murphy to contend with.
If Murphy isn't enough, there is always the rest
of that horde of rules makers that came after Fara-
day and Einstein. There are guys like Sodd whose
Second Law says: "Sooner or later, the worst pos-
sible set of circumstances is bound to occur." And
that philosopher Simon, who enunciated the law,
"Everything put together falls apart sooner or later."
And there is no way we can forget Gumperson who
first postulated the theory of the "Perversity of in-
animate objects," after which he concluded that "You
cannot determine beforehand which side of the bread
to butter." He then went on to state with profound
wisdom, "The probability of anything happening is
in inverse ratio to its desirability."
So, we who dreamed up this mid-winter bash,
known as the Sun 'n Fun Southeast Regional Fly-In,
knew what kind of odds were against us. The first
year, there was an impassable front that lay across
southern Georgia, and a sudden rain storm made
us wonder what was going on when it hit. And the
second year we should have started wondering when
an unaccustomed frost put a chill on our campers.
Last year, we finally knew for sure that Murphy and
all his cohorts were after us when, for the first time
in history, snow fell in Lakeland.
More sane folks, I'm certain, would have given
up, but who in their right mind could ever call pilots
sane? However, long before the airplane loused up
our life myoid Grand-daddy, that sage from around
Rabbit Hash, Kaintuck, learned the "Non-Reciprocal
Laws of Expectations." As published, they said (1)
"negative expectations yield negative results," and
(2) "positive expectations yield negative results."
Long years of poker playing made quite a mathema-
tician out of old Gran-pappy, and he figured that if
you punched the 1/X button on any pocket calculator
often enough, the reciprocal of that second truism
came up and read: "negative results yield positive
expectations." He then postulated that famous corol-
lary to Murphy's laws that has become our bible,
"Don't believe in miracles - RELY UPON THEM."
We did. Consequently, the 1978 Sun 'n Fun dawned
bright, sunny, and passably warm. It stayed that way
all week. Like all the other self-ordained psychics, I
can loudly say, "I told you so."
Some unofficial advance figures are quite inter-
esting. This year, 9740 EAA members registered at
the Sun 'n Fun; there were 1089 pilots registered; 736
people filled 285 camping units; and this year we had
twenty of the most delightful, real down-to-earth FAA
controllers manning our temporary tower. They logged
9140 movements on the active transient runway (not
counting fly-bys, nor exhibitions).
If you'll look at the aerial photo showing the Sun
'n Fun sector of the airport, you'll note that almost
one third of the planes on the field at that time were
Antiques and Classics. Our Antique & Classic Divi-
sion of the EAA was well represented. The Sun 'n Fun
is a regional event sponsored by EAA chapters in the
eight southeastern states,the local chapters, includ-
ing our large antique group known as the Florida
Sport Aviation Antique & Classic Airplane Association.
For the second year in a row our division officers
held an all-day Board of Directors meeting during
the fly-in, and manned a good-fellowship booth in
one of the exhibition tents.
This year's Grand Champion Antique award win-
ner, a Travel Air 2000, NC6117, was restored to ab-
solute mint condition by Dean S. Tilton of Lakeland,
Florida. For the last two years, right here on our Sun
'n Fun Field, I watched as Dean transformed a pitiful
basket case that he purchased from joe Araldi in janu-
ary 1975. This Travel Air was originally built by that
famous triumvirate, Cessna, Beech, and Stearman.
Dean's rather extensive log book entries show that
in 1938-39 it was owned by jesse L. Schroeder of Erie,
ND, and in 1946 it was bought by Peter Bryn who ap-
parently owned it until joe Araldi found it in Dazey,
North Dakota. This 2000 still has the original 90 HP,
OX-5 engine. Its log book shows that it was "accepted
for the U.S. Army, May 8,1918."
Of side interest, Dean decided it would be best
to use 20 inch Bendix wheels, fitted with 30-5.00, 4-ply
tires, as used in 1929: These' tires were made for Dean
by the Universal Tire Co., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
For awhile it looked like a complete overhaul on
the old OX-5 would be a serious problem, but by a
stroke of antiquer's luck, a stranger named Clarence
Benjamin, from way down east in Maine, supplied an
original OX-5 Overhaul Manual. From there on, Dean
says it was only busted knuckles.
Another winner I was privileged to get closer
acquainted with when I had a chance to bus its own-
ers to the car rental agency, was the "Super 260"
Navion which won the Best Custom Restored Clas-
sic over 165 HP. Mr. and Mrs. Hale Andrew flew their
beautiful prize winner down from Berkley Springs,
West Virginia where they left 31 inches of snow.
So, while almost everything north of the deep
south was seriously snowed-in, a goodly number did
succeed in escaping the frozen Nawth.
We're deeply indebted to fellows like Dave Ver-
gason who was FAA Chief of our temporary tower
and his gang of controllers. At a bash before the
week began, I was invited to bend elbows with them.
Believe it or not: secretly, they have the same mis-
tress that we do.
12
ANTIQUE MERITORIOUS AWARD WINNER
Stampe SV-4, N666DH, owned by Don Henry, St.
Augustine, FL.
ANTIQUE & CLASSIC WINNERS
Antique Awards
Grand Champion Antique - Travel Ai r 2000,
NC6117 - Dean Tilton, Lakeland, FL.
Golden Age Champion - CTO Waco, NC7527 -
Erni e Moser, St. Augustine, FL.
Silver Age Champion - Fleet 9, NC66V - Dick
Durst, Orlando, FL.
Platinum Age Champion - Lockheed 12A, NC-
25628 - Bob Allen, Fayetteville, NC.
WW II Era Champion - Cessna T50, NC69072 -
jim Kramer, Palm Beach, FL.
Classic Awards
Grand Champion Classic - Stinson 108-3, N963 -
"Red" Smith, Lakeland, FL.
Best Restored, Up to 100 HP - Mooney Mite,
N346M - john Wright and B. McKinney, Greenville,
Sc.
Best Restored 101·165 HP - Aeronca Sedan, C-
FAKT - Ernie Sykes and jim Powls, Brampton, Ont. ,
Canada.
Best Restored Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion, N5437-
Hale Andrew, Berkley Springs, WV.
Classic Best Of Type - Ercoupe, N2279H - john
Wright, Springfield, IL.
Classic Best Of Type - Swift , NC3834K - j. M .
jones, Clarkston, GA.
13
Vintagl 
Men and Th e
Best Restored Classic Over 165 HP - Ryan Navion,
N5437K, owned by Hale Andrew of Berkeley Springs,
WV.
LAKE 
Ph(
Best Classic Restored - Up
To 100 HP - Mooney Mite,
N346M,-owned by John Wright
and B. McKinney of Green-
ville, Sc.
A part of the gaggle of Ercoupes that arrived at the Sun 'n
Fun.
14 
Album
age Machines
D '78
I Ehlen
Aeronca - Most Authentic Restoration - N82934, owned
by Archie Young of Reddington Beach, FL.
Sun ' n Fun's SW corner of Lakeland Airport.
Left to right: Hugh Morel and
and Col. Bob Blackburn, who
used their arctic gear to fly
clown frolll the Northwes t
Territories of Florida in
Hugh' s recently restored
Stearman, are greeteci by
Harold Wa tson, the thircl
member of their " Counterfeit
Air Force" .
The Antique & Classic parking area as viewed through the wings of a Stearman.
Dean  Tilton's  Grand  Champion 
Travel  Air  2000 
By Jack Cox, Editor of Sport Aviation
(Reprinted from Sport Aviation)
When we think of the late 20s, inevitably it is
of Lindbergh and the Spirit of St . Louis. On a more
mundane level, however, that was the time of the
3-place, open cockpit, OX-5 powered biplane. It
was the heyday of the American Eagle, the Alexander
Eaglerock, Swallow, KR-31, Command-Aire, Waco 10
and the Travel Air 2000.
The Waco 10 and the Travel Air 2000 were the Ford
and Chevy of the lot and as long as two antiquers
are left breathing, the relative merits of each will
be argued with gusto ... a stein or so, usually.
They were built in the greatest number and survive
today in the greatest number to stoke the fires of the
antique airplane hobby. The most colorful comparison
of the two I ever heard came from the late M. B.
"Dusty" Huggins of Timmonsville, South Carolina. In
the 30s and late 40s Dusty operated one of the na-
tion's larger crop dusting outfits, following the grow-
ing season each year from Louisiana to Canada. At
one time he managed a fleet of nearly 30 Waco
dusters - mostly Model 10s with any sort of radial
engine he could hang on them. Dusty loved the Wacos
and, in fact, retained a couple of them until the day
he died, just for old times' sake ... but readily
(and I think with no little pride) admitted they were
a handful on the ground. So much so, that he kept
several Travel Airs on hand to check out new pilots
before turning them loose in the Wacos." Even then,
9 out of 10 would groundloop on their first landing
in a Waco," Dusty would guffaw. His experience was
that the Waco stood up better under the incredible
day-to-day pounding they took in the dusting business,
but that the Travel Airs were more pleasant, docile
airplanes to fly.
Today one is fortunate indeed to lay hands on an
example of any  of the Roaring 20s OX-5 jobs. One so
blessed is Dean Tilton of Lakeland, Florida. Three years
ago he bought a basket case Travel Air 2000 from Joe
Araldi and finished its complete restoration just in time
to win the Grand Champion Antique trophy at Sun'N Fun
78.
Dean's beautiful Travel Air, NC6117, Ser. No. 615,
began life in Walter Beech's Wichita aeroplane works
in 1928 ... and for a great while appeared to have
ended it as a part of Peter Bryn's personal cache
of Travel Airs stashed away on his Dazey, North Dakota
farm. A few years ago, however, Mr. Bryn began to sell
off some of his treasures and Joe Araldi was shortly
at his door, empty trailer at the ready.
For a variety of reasons, one of which was having
more antique airplanes than time, Joe never got around
to restoring the Travel Air and eventually sold it to
Dean - minus an engine. Dean began work three years
ago and flew the airplane for the first time on January
9- 13 days before the start of Sun 'N Fun 78. But
that's getting ahead of the story.
Dean found the airframe to be in reasonably
good condition, requiring basically just a good clean-
up, new fuselage formers and stringers, a little repair
work on the wings and cover job. The engine was a little
more of a challenge. For a time, Dean dickered with
Peter Bryn for a majored OX, but after finding it was
going to take a lot more time than he cared to wait,
looked elsewhere. As often is the case, an OX-5 was
eventually found right in his own backyard. Merle
Jenkins sold him a dismantled Hot Water Eight that
until lately had been used in the orange groves to
stir up the air to prevent crop damage frost.
Dean overhauled the engine, refinished the still
airworthy Fahlin propeller, covered the airframe with
Grade A cotton and finished it with butyrate dope. The
final color coats were International Orange for the
fuselage and vertical tail and Insignia White for the
wings and horizontal tail. A leaf-spring tail wheel rig
was grafted onto the aft end of the fuselage to replace
the original skid and N3N wheels with hydraulic brakes
were fitted - the principal concessions to the realities
of today's paved runway environment.
A number of antiquers had provided valuable advice
and assistance along the way. An OX-5 overhaul manual
was obtained from a friend in Maine, and Ernie and Lucy
Webb of Charlotte, North Carolina, who own one of the
first and still finest TA 2000 restorations, provided inval-
uable tips - like lining the headrest baggage compart-
ment to avoid having the fabric damaged from within,
etc. And, of course, local airplane nuts were always
dropping by to lend a hand here or there, kibitzing
of just drinking his coffee.
The final hang-up was a useable magneto. An ad in
good 01' Trade-A-Plane ultimately provided the needed
item and paved the way for an award winning first
showing at Sun 'N Fun. The first trip around the patch
was strictly unintentional. Dean had not flown a tail
dragger in many, many years, so was doing a lot of
taxiing to get the hang of it again - getting a little
faster for a little longer each time until the inevitable
happened: the lightly loaded Travel Air responded to a
gust and launched into the breeze. Fortunately, Dusty
Huggins' assessment of the type was correct, for Dean
was able to get it around the pattern and back down
on pavement again, safely even if not too artistically.
By Sun 'N Fun time he had built up several hours
flying time and was beginning to appreciate what a
really great old flying machine he had. Winning the
Grand Champion Antique trophy was a very sweet
frosting on the cake.
Dean Tilton is a native of Sidney, Maine. He left
there during World War II,  joining the Air Force as
an aviation cadet. He progressed through the Stearman
and the AT-6 and was at a base in Waycross, Georgia
preparing to transition into P-51 s when the war ended.
He and his classmates were probably the only persons
in the world who greeted the news of victory with dis-
may ... they never got to fly the Mustang.
After his discharge, Dean married and settled in
Nebraska where he became a general contractor. After
12 years of battling Great Plains winters, he moved
to Florida where he could " ... operate his business
on a year-round basis." He has continued to fly over
the years and owns a Cessna Centurion, which his
wife also flies.
The Centurion is one of the most popular light-
planes of our day ... just as the Travel Air 2000 was in
the late 20s. Owning one of each is what I call enjoy-
ing the best of two worlds.
(Photo by lac k Cox)
GRAND  CHAMPION  ANTIQUE 
AT  LAKELAND  78 
16
('\
./' ,( 3 2 i * /Ii
17
"Whistling In The Rigging"
By
Paul  H.  Poberezny 
EAA  President 
It has been some time since I wrote a "Whistling In
The Rigging" column, which appeared in our early is-
sues of the " Experimenter", the forerunner of our
SPORT  AVIATION  magazine. This column is being
written on my return flight from Washington, D.C. The
day and a half meeting at FAA headquarters was, as it
has always been, most enjoyable and helpful. There
were a number of general aviation problems discussed
- problems that concern all of us : Whether our air-
planes are factory built, antiques, classics or home-
builts, some ownership problems are the same. Many
of the fine FAA people, who are involved in the com-
plexity of bureaucracy, are not aware of the grass
roots problems of aircraft ownership. Lately, there has
been increased legislation by local communities and
states adding to the complex rules, regulations and
laws of our federal government . When these rulings
are totalled up, they discourage aircraft ownership.
Many of them not understood by current pilots and
owners of aircraft . There is a great difference between
flying someone else's airplane, either through rental
or borrowing and owning your own aircraft. There is
considerable expense involved in the private owner-
ship of an object that spends about 99% of its life tied
to the ground or setting in a hangar. I have always had
great admiration for those who have met the chal-
lenge of aircraft ownership.
While in Washington we discussed many of our
problems and philosophies. When I mentioned to one
very understanding, pro aviation (all phases of it) FAA
official that I considered the approximately 170-175,
000 general aviation type aircraft, in flying condition,
to be a drop in the bucket, his first reaction was as-
, tonishment . He felt that many licensed airplanes was
quite significant . Perhaps to some people it might be
if 20,000 of those were in the air on any single week-
end. Yet , in one medium-sized community there are pro-
bably more automobiles than the national total of air
vehicles. In our conversation with the FAA man , the
more we compared numbers of aircraft with boats,
snowmobiles, motorcycles and other recreational ve-
hicles, the more he agreed we have a long way to go in
aviation. There are too few aircraft owners sharing the
tax load placed upon us by the local, state and federal
government. There is a great advantage for us all in
increasing our numbers - numbers of airplanes to
provide for a healthy general aviation future. That
way, we would also increase the security of those
earning a livelihood in aviation, such as the mechanic,
the fixed base operator, the factory worker, engine
manufacturer and all others directly concerned with
the making of and use of the end product - the air-
plane. It also behooves government and the FAA itself
to establish and encourage the construction and op-
eration of a greater general aviation fleet for recrea-
tion and transportation. That would make it easier for
government to justify the numbers of employees it has,
and it would insure justification for maintaining
smaller airports that will otherwise disappear in the
future.
I have always been encouraged in my visits to FAA
in Washington. They need our support, good thinking
and cooperation. However, it is we who must come up
with the ideas and solutions and follow through . Don't
expect your government to do it for you.
Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board
came forth with a directive that all aircraft manufac-
tured after 1978 should have shoulder harnesses for
the pilot and the adjoining front seat. A further recom-
mendation was made to FAA that all aircraft, antique,
classic, etc. be required to have shoulder harnesses in
the front seats. EAA, for the past twenty-five years,
has led the way in encouraging amateur aircraft build-
ers to install the shoulder harness and our member-
ship application has carried that pledge. However, the
installation of the shoulder harness in a type certificat-
ed aircraft, though appearing to be a simple matter to
those at the National Transportation Safety Board,
does create a problem. As we know, modification or
installing non-approved equipment in these aircraft
requires FAA approval or a supplemental type certifi-
cate. This can be extremely time consuming as well
as costly. If it were a matter of the owner being asked
to do this on a voluntary basis, without approval of
FAA, much more could be gained. However, this we
are sure would not be the case. Our recommendation
to NTSB is to not require a shoulder harness on the
many different aircraft produced before 1978, unless
someone develops a very practical solution.
It is often noted that our organization is looked up-
on as a fine group that's dedicated only to the encour-
agement of people to design and build airplanes.
However, aviation people, aviation organizations and
government are learning that EAA is and has been
much more than that. It is an organization that grew as
it learned of the needs of all phases of aviation, and,
in particular, of the average individual's desire to fly.
With your continued support and your efforts to
strengthen your Division and EAA itself by encourag-
ing all of aviation to be a part of us, we shall make
great strides.
As I have often said, there is strength in numbers,
but there must also be strength in leadership. I am
very proud of our Antique/Classic Division and the
great help and leadership it has provided throughout
the years, along with the special efforts that are ex-
pended at your annual Oshkosh convention.
Let's all enjoy our close ties with aviation folks -
enjoy our aircraft and realize our responsibilities. To-
gether we will make aviation better for those who will
follow us.
nA   flY-In
• •
By Thomas E. Lowe
823 Kingston Lane
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
The 6th National Stearman Fly-In was held at
Galesburg, lllillois on September 9-11, 1977 with 51
Stearmans from all over the country in attendance,
equaling the previous high number achieved the year
before. The fly-in seems to get an earlier start with
each succeeding year and in 1977 the first arrival was
also the Stearman flying the greatest distance. Bob
Eicher and Byron Trent arrived early in the week from
Florida in their outstanding Stearman N2S-3, N66416,
which had been the Grand Champion at the 1976 Stear-
man Fly-In. Sam "Ace Eli" Mendenhall , his wife, Lean-
na, Dave Finn, and several others also arrived early in
the week and were very helpful in completing the
myriad of final details in preparation for the fly-in.
By Thursday afternoon several Stearmans had ar-
rived and that evening Jim Leahy led a flight over
town to get the fly-in off to an official start. Later that
night a fly-in kick-off cocktail party was greatly en-
joyed at the Holiday Inn. On Friday Galesburg con-
tinued to be blessed with excellent weather and by
evening 29 Stearmans were parked in the grass. Thurs-
day also saw the " official" opening of the Stearman
Fly-In Headquarters Building, which strangely enough
looked exactly like an old outdoor privy. It was! Earlier
in the week Jim Leahy had asked Sam Mendenhall
and Dave Finn to buy some lumber and build a replica
" outhouse". Being purists, they instead scoured the
rural areas surrounding Galesburg until they found
the real thing behind a farmer' s house. Sam and Dave
astounded the farmer by asking to buy it, and pur-
chased the original "two holer" for $20. They removed
it, suffering several stings from the wasps that called
it home, and brought it to the airport where it was
placed in a prominent spot on the flight line. It was
duly decorated with several vintage WW II recruiting
posters, an old Sears catalog, a U.S. star insignia, and
officially marked as a "1942 two holer" . A small flag
pole was mounted on the top sporting a size 44D bra
which served as a windsock. While the "fly-in head-
quarters" was a focal point of conversation, jokes, and
ribald comments, it also served as an information cen-
ter about the fly-in, for as each Stearman arrived, its
type, military serial number, and N number were re-
corded on the side for all to see. Later Jim Leahy was
heard to remark, " Well, now I'll have to clean out a
spot in my hangar so that thing that' s been outside for
the last 50 years can be in out of the weather!"
Just before dark on Friday evening a mass flight of
Stearmans was made over town and then all the par-
ticipants retreated to the Galesburg American Legion
Hall where they were served a delicious free chicken
or fish dinner. Saturday morning dawned bright and
18
(Photo by Kenneth D. Wilson)
autiful bl ack and gold fully IFR equipped custom
0 hp Stearman is owned by Gino Massignani.
beautiful and almost all the Stearmans rose to greet
the rising sun in the traditional dawn patrol. Several
circuits were flown over town, then the mass gaggle
proceeded the few miles west to Monmouth, Illinois to
enjoy a fine breakfast at the airport served by the
Monmouth Flying Club. This year was no exception ,
and once again we had our usual incident at Mon-
mouth. The " New Orleans twins", John Hooper and
John McCormick, with Hooper at the controls, landed
thei r N2S in the grass alongside the paved runway
that everyone else was using. That was OK, except
Hooper failed to see the VASI light system that lay
directly in his path after touchdown and he demolished
it into shattered pieces of glass, tin, wire, and pipe
with a direct hit with the propeller and landing gear of
their Stearman. After close inspection there was found
to be little damage to the Stearman, except for the
prop, which was replaced by one of Jim Leahy' s extra
ones, but with plenty of damage to Hooper' s pr ide.
Later that evening at the awards ceremony, Hooper
and McCormick were presented several bits and pieces
of the VASI as a remembrance of one landing they'd
like to forget and also so that they could always carry
their own VASI with them in the future.
After the return flight back to Galesburg the re-
mainder of the day was filled with constant flying,
buddy hops, formation flying, conversations, and nos-
talgia with many former WW II pilots that flew Stear-
mans that attend the fly-in each year. The afternoon
saw the many Stearmans competing in the flying con-
tests and another mass flight was flown over town just
before sunset. One incident of interest to the pilots
was the first solo in a Stearman by 17 year old Private
Pilot Bob Baird, who flew his father's 300 Lycoming
powered Stearman at Galesburg. He was given the tro-
phy for being the youngest Stearman pilot at the fly-
in and later that evening received his welcome into
the group by being thrown, clothes and all, into the
swimming pool at the Holiday Inn .
The awards dinner and presentations were held in
the Galesburg Aviation hangar and a good time was
'
(Photo by Kenneth D. Wilson)
Paul Boyer (l eft) of Lakewood, Colorado and Bill Wil -
kins , " The Sil ent Eagl e", a deaf-mute Stearman pilot
from Circleville, Ohio check the message board at the
rear of the Stearman Fl y-In Headquart ers Building, a
" 7942 Two-Hol er" ,
enjoyed by all. Numerous awards were presented by
the Stearman Fly-In, Dusters & Sprayers Supply, Inc.,
and the Stearman Restorers Association. The second
annual Lloyd Stearman Memorial Award was present-
ed to SRA Presi dent and Stearman Fly-In Co-Chairman,
Tom Lowe. The SRA had established this to be their
highest honor after the passing of Lloyd Stearman to
honor some individual whose efforts had been out-
standing in preserving the hi story and in promoting
Stearman ai rplanes today. Nominations were made by
SRA members and the final selection made bY ' a com-
mittee headed by SRA Vice-President, Larry Palmer-
Ball. The first recipient was Jim Leahy, Fly-In Co-
Chairman and founder. Chet Reyckert of Skiatook,
Oklahoma was given the Hero Award for his accom-
plishment of actually making it to the fly-in this year.
In 1976 he had started for Galesburg in his newly re-
built PT-17 that had been completed only the day be-
fore, and made it only about 30 miles when a fuel
starvation problem required an emergency forced
landing 'in a field and the termination of his flight to
Galesburg. Many of the trophies were adorned with
beautiful silver wire sculptured models of the Stear-
man handmade by Dave Finn. They were greatly ap-
preciated by all. The final award of the evening was
the Dusters & Sprayers Supply Grand Champion Tro-
phy which was presented to Bill Bohannan for his out-
standing PT-17 restoration.
Sunday' s dawn again was welcomed with a dawn
patrol of eleven Stearmans, with the remainder choos-
ing to sleep in a little late. The weather again was ex-
cellent at Galesburg, but was deteriorating in other
areas of the country. Six Stearmans had left Houston,
Texas enroute to Galesburg and made it only into Ar-
kansas before the weather caused them to return
home. Many of the Stearman pilots began departing
for home knowing that the weather was destined to
get worse. Several pilots including Chet Reyckert,
Jimmy Maris, John and Frank Price, Dick Bardon, Dick
Harders, and Don Buck decided to leave for home on
Monday, but instead spent several more days weath-
19
(Photo by Kenneth D. Wilson)
Bill Bohannan in his newly restored Stearman PT-17,
N38940, the recipient of the Dusters & Sprayers Sup-
ply Grand Champion Trophy.
ered in at Galesburg as the ceiling and visibility
dropped radically Monday morning and rain poured
down for several days. They finally got to leave for
home on Wednesday, but still fought marginal VFR
conditions to their various destinations.
A fine Sunday morning fly-in breakfast was held
in the Galesburg Aviation hangar sponsored by the
Galesburg Pilots Association. The remainder of the
morning was spent in last rounds of fun flying, buddy
hops, and conversing with old and new friends. Sun-
day afternoon an excellent air show was presented for
the public featuring aerobatics by Frank Price and Du-
ane Cole. Stearman aerobatics were flown by Jim
Leahy, who as usual thrilled the crowd and astonished
the pilots with his skill and the maneuvers he can get
out of a stock Stearman, and also by Dick Baird, a
fly-in regular from Buffalo, New York, in his Lycom-
ing 300 Stearman.
Just prior to the start of the air show the entire
Hugh Carr family was given flights in six Stearmans.
Marilyn Stearman Carr is the daughter of Lloyd Stear-
man and she and her entire family thoroughly enjoyed
their first flight ever in a Stearman biplane. A local
Galesburg woman, Mrs. Mary Bishop, also received a
flight in a Stearman, along with several other prizes,
as the winner of radio station WAlK's Stearman Pilot
of the Year Contest. She won by correctly guessing the
exact number of Stearmans that would attend the fly-
in.
Each year the National Stearman Fly-In has con-
tinued to grow and improve with pilots and airplanes
coming from near and far to enjoy several days to-
gether renewing the warm bond of friendship gener-
ated by the love for a great old biplane. The 7th Na-
tional Stearman Fly-In will be held in Galesburg on
September 8-10,1978 and everyone interested in Stear-
mans is cordially invited.
(photo by Dick Stouffer)
Some of the Stearman pilots and SRA members with
part of the lineup of Stearmans at Galesburg.
20
CLEAR  TO  LAnD... 
(Photo  Provided  by Jim  Barton) 
Leonard  Buckler  and  Ken  Ringle  inspect  the  results 
of someone's  first  solo  landing  .  .. after  zero  dual. 
Note  the  CAP  embl em  on  the  side,  it  was  the  only 
way  you  could fly  during  the  second  World  War. 
Compiled by  Kelly  Viets,  Editor 
Ercoupe  News letter 
RR 1, Box  151 
St ilwell,  Kansas  66085 
During World War II the only private aircraft al-
lowed to fly were those in the Civil Air Patrol. A gen-
tleman in the C.A.P. had arranged to fly from the Mo-
line, Illinois area to Galesburg, Illinois for some busi-
ness we had there. As it was a nice day, he brought his
wife along. When they prepared to return home, he
dutifully placed his wife in the cockpit, locked the
brakes, set the throttle and proceeded to prop the en-
gine. When the engine caught it was running a little
fast so he called to his wife to slow it down. Now she
had never been in a plane till that morning and had
only had the one flight from Moline to Galesburg. She
did, however, know how to drive a car. So she did as
you do in a car to turn things off, she pushed the knob
in, and in the same instant she hit the parking brake
causing it to release.
The plane immediately moved forward at an ever
increasing speed right toward a Gull Wing Stinson.
Her husband had jumped clear and was shouting at
her which seemed only to add to her confusion. She
had this steering wheel in front of her, so she grabbed
it and drove around the Stinson and out onto the air-
port. To her horror she soon felt no more bumps and
knew that she was flying. By some miracle the plane
cleared the trees at the end of the runway and con-
tinued to climb.
As her first panic subsided she realized that in or-
der to survive this she would have to somehow figure
out how to fly the plane. She started experimenting
and found that she could turn, like driving a car, and
in that way she kept the airport in sight. She then
found out if she pushed forward the plane went down
and when she pulled back the plane went up. She
thought, " Well now, this isn't so bad," so she then
started tryi ng out the "i nfernal" knob that started all
this in the first place. She found out that if she pulled
back, the engine would slow down. She was smart
enough to keep the knob all the way forward, because
she wanted to be sure the engine was running fast
enough to keep her up in the air.
Meanwhile, back at the airport it was chaos. Peo-
ple were running everywhere trying to clear things so
she would have a chance (if she ever got back to the
field). Mainly they were shoving planes in hangars.
The take-off had scared every plane owner on the field
so they were all trying to save their planes.
She flew around the airport three times before she
remembered that when her husband landed he had
come in over some trees at the edge of the field, so
that was what she would do. She came over the trees
just right, pulled back on the knob, and the plane set-
tled to the ground just right. She was so relieved that
she shut it down. That's right, she pushed it forward
to the panel. Yes, sure enough, she was flying again.
Again, after regaining some composure, she came
in over the trees, only this time she hit hard on the
nose wheel. It really wasn't too bad. This landing did,
however, preclude any more inadvertant take-offs.
Th us ended one of the true sagas of aviation.
21
(Photo  by  Lee  Fray) 
There  are  times  when  the  only  source  of  new  rings  is 
an  auto  dealer,  but  .  ..
Restoration
By  Dorr  B.  Carpenter,  I.A. 
EAA27724L 
225  Saunders  Rd. 
Lake  Forest,  IL  60045
Tips:
Equal  Or  Better 
The supply of original engine and airframe parts
for antique airplanes dried up for all intents and pur-
poses many years ago.
Fortunately, most of the old flying machines with
the exception of the Warbirds, were essentially hand-
made, and if they could be built that way then, they
can be rebuilt the same way now. Anything made of
metal can be made just as well or better now than it
was then.
I n the case of the Ryan ST series aircraft, blue-
prints, manuals and bulletins are available to help
with this task of maintenance. For a part to be entirely
legal and satisfactory, it need not come from a box
marked "Menasco" or "Ryan".
It is hard to set these ideas down in black and
white without an illustration showing that there can
be pitfalls and failures in these substitution-of-parts
endeavors.
Probably the modern parts most often substituted
for originals are piston rings. Every combustion en-
gine uses them and they are readily available over the
counter in auto stores and on special order from some
manufacturers.
This is where the problems of legality and suita-
bility come into play. There are a number of facts
which you should know. No engine part manufactured
for a car or tractor has a parts manufacturer's authori-
zation under FAR Part 21. These parts bear no Air-
worthiness Approval tag form 8130.3 and none were
manufactured under a TSO (Technical Standard Order)
as in FAR Part 37. So, on the surface, it appears that
they cannot be used in aircraft. But this is not so.
The fact that these parts have no tag or authoriza-
tion only means that they were not manufactured for
aircraft use. We must go one step further into FAR
Part 43; to be specific Part 43.13 paragraph (b) which
reads:
Each person maintaining or altering, or per-
forming preventive maintenance, shall do that
work in such a manner and use materials of such a
quality that the condition of the aircraft, airframe,
aircraft engine, propeller, or appliance worked on
will be at least equal to its original or properly al-
tered condition (with regard to aerodynamics func-
tion, structural strength, resistance to vibration
and deterioration, and other qualities affecting air-
worthi ness).
The key to the above paragraph is the "materials
equal to its original". Nothing is said about boxes, yel-
low tags or approvals. Here we have a question as to
who makes this evaluation and on what basis. Any
certified A and P or Inspection Authorized mechanic
and any FAA maintenance personnel can make these
substitutions legal. Bear in mind that they lay their
reputations and license on the line when they sign for
the work done with other than authorized parts. If
these people are not engineers, and most are not, it
boils down to such parts as pistons, rings, gaskets, and
such parts that are known to be better made in 1977
than in the 1920's and 30's.
On the other hand, most manufacturers do not like
to sell their automotive rings for use in aircraft be-
cause of a possible liability. One manufacturer .has
even gone so far as to instruct his salesmen to say that
there is an FAA letter in the company files prohibiting
the sale of rings for aircraft use. This isn't true, but
they do have a company memo t'o this effect. For this
reason, it is best when buying rings, to buy them in-
dicating size and not use.
The modern cast iron ring is of much better quality
than in years past. However, when using these rings
in Menasco engines, trouble results because of their
increased efficiency. My experience in the installation
of modern rings in a Menasco D4-87 engine which was
rebuilt about 15 years ago, gives some idea about the
type of difficulties that could occur. The engine was
run in and flown for about ten hours when the rings
seated and then the trouble started. Up until this time
the engine burned a considerable amount of oil, but
ran very well. As the rings seated she seemed to miss
and lose power for no apparent reason. Every test was
performed on the engine. While hot and cold it tested
perfectly with exceptionally good compression. How-
ever, after twenty-five hou rs of very unsatisfactory
flying service, the engine was removed and torn down.
To my great surprise, the compression rings were
nearly worn out!
What had happened is that in April , 1942 the Men-
asco Company had issued a Service Bulletin (number
29) calling for installation of double oil rings in place
of the single rings found in the original product be-
cause of excessive oil consumption. Now, 25 years la-
ter, the modern ring had improved in quality to such
an extent that the combination of two oil scraper
rings left the cylinder walls dry, which accounted for
the missing and low power from poor compression .
This poor compression was evident only when the en-
gine was running. When it was stopped and allowed to
cool somewhat, the inverted configuration of the cyl-
inders and extra heat allowed oil to seep down around
the rings and seal them for good compression by the
time it was tested!
Since that time I have used only single oil rings ,
usually on new pistons and have not had any prob-
lems .
The only advice I can put forward concerning sub-
stitutions on parts, is to be very careful. The more you
know about old equipment, the more likely you will
come to realize that almost anything can happen and
sometimes does.
22
Periodicals  of  Interest to  the 
Antique  Classic World 
Compil ed and Commented on  By 
Leonard  Opdycke,  Editor  (EAA  1076) 
World  War  I  Aeropl anes 
75 Crescent  Rd. 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York 
AELR:  quarterly  journal  of  the  friends  0) the  Army 
Museum,  Belgium,  half  in  French,  the  other  half 
features  news of the  collection  and  supplementary 
history  of  the  a/ c;  Albert  Van  Hoorebeck,  ed, 
Avenue  van  Gogh  15,  1140  Brussels;  100 francs. 
AERODROME  MODELER:  bimonthly  journal  devoted 
to the WWI  modeler,  information on  markings,  de-
tails,  kits,  some  history;  Gary  Circe,  ed,  788  State 
St.,  Schenectady,  NY 12307;  $10/yr. 
AEROPLANE  MONTHLY:  monthly  aviation  history 
journal  with  access  to  the  back  files  of  both 
FLIGHT and THE AEROPLANE, and a rare combination 
of  literacy  and  accuracy;  Richard  T.  Riding,  ed, 
Dorset  House,  Stamford  St .,  London  SE1  9LU  UK; 
$20.80/yr . 
AEROSPACE:  10  issues/yr. ,  journal  of  the  Royal 
Aeronautical  Society,  deals  with  the  affairs  of  the 
RAeS  plus special papers on aero history and design, 
and  current  research ;  comes  with  membership; 
G.  R.  Wrixon ,  ed,  4  Hamilton  PI. ,  London  WIV 
OBQ,  UK;  $5/yr. 
AIR-BRITAIN  DIGEST:  bimonthly,  along  with  the 
monthly AIR-BRITAIN  NEWS:  journals  of The  Inter-
national  Association  of  Aviation  Historians,  the 
former strong on  registers, production, and airlines, 
mostly  Briti sh;  the  latter  strong  on  registers  and 
a/ c  movements;  occasional  pieces  on  early  a/ c 
as  they  appear;  J.  C. Cook,  ed,  12  Woodfield 
Close,  Redhill ,  Surrey  RH1  2DL,  UK;  $11/yr. 
AIR  CLASSICS:  monthly,  on  aircraft  history,  a  good 
deal  on  museums  and  restoration,  heavy  on  WWI , 
WWII  - frequent  articles  on  "forgotten  air-craft"; 
Jim  Scheetz,  ed,  Challenge Publ.  Inc., 7950  Deering 
Ave.,  Canoga  Pk.,  CA  91304;  $11/yr. 
AIRCRAFT  ILLUSTRATED  EXTRA:  quarterly,  featuring 
picture  stories  of  six  or  seven  famous  aircraft 
types  with  brief  informative  text ;  Ian  Allan  Ltd. 
(US  subscriptions  from  Bill  Dean  Books,  166-41 
Powells  Cove  Blvd.,  Whitestone,  NY  11357). 
AIRPOWER:  bimonthly,  on  military  aircraft  and 
their hi story, use;  JV Mizrahi, ed, Sentry Books Inc., 
10718  White  Oak  Ave.,  Granada  Hill s,  CA  91344; 
$8/yr. 
AMERICAN  AVIATION  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  JOUR-
NAL:  quarterly  scholary  publication  dealing  with 
all  aspects  of American  avhist,  generally  balancing 
nicely the old and the new;  membership also brings 
the  AAHS  NEWSLETIER,  a  brief  interim  account 
of  current  doings  and  new  members;  Robert  E. 
Williams,  ed,  Box  99;  Garden  Grove,  CA92642; 
$12.50/yr. 
ASAP  NEWS:  brand  new  journal  of  the  Australian 
Society for Aerohistorical  Preservation, dealing with 
collection  and  restoration  and  partly  aimed  at 
the  establishment  of  an  Australian  National  Avia-
tion  Museum;  Neville  Hewitt,  President,  Box  1093, 
Canberra City,  ACT 2601 ,  Australia. 
AVIATION  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  AUSTRALIA 
JOURNAL:  there  is  both  a  society  and  a  journal , 
but we  seem  not  to  have  been  able  to  make  con-
tact with  either.  . 
AVIATION  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  CANADA 
JOURNAL:  there  is  both  a  society  and  a  journal , 
but we seem  not to  have  been able to make contact 
with  either. 
AVIATION  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  NEW ZEALAND: 
quarterly  journal  about  NZ  aviation  history  and  its 
aircraft, usually some material on the earliest period; 
membership also brings the AHSNZ NEWSLETIER and 
THE  REGISTER  REVIEW,  altogether  giving  a  nice 
overview  of the  subject  past  and  present;  Brian  L. 
Lockstone, ed, Box 18-056, Wellington, NZ; $6NZlyr. 
AVIATION  NEWS:  weekly,  subtitled  Britain's  Inter-
national  Aviation  Newspaper,  mostly  historically-
oriented  articles  with  current  news  when  appropri-
ate;  Alan  W. Hall , ed, 26 The  Broadway, Amersham, 
Bucks  HP7  OAR;  US  subscription  fr  Bill'  Dean 
Books  (cf AIRCRAFT  ILLUSTRATED  EXTRA,  above). 
CONTROL COLUMN:  bimonthly journal of the  British 
Aircraft  Preservation  Council,  features  restorations 
of all  kinds,  recovered  wrecks  and  sites,  museums, 
collections;  some  history  when  appropriate,  a 
modellers'  column;  Peter  -Schofield,  ed,  8  Green-
field  Ave.,  Urmston,  Manchester  M31  1XN,  UK; 
25p  each. 
CROSS  & COCKADE  JOURNAL  (GT  BRITAIN): 
quarterly  journal  of  the  British  Society  of  World 
War  I  Aero  Historians,  scholarly,  readable,  stresses 
the  aircraft  themselves  perhaps  more  than  its  US 
counte.rpart (below), which tends to feature accounts 
of pilot s,  squadrons,  and  missions;  Paul  S.  Leaman, 
ed,  31  Holly  Rd .,  Cove,  Farnborough,  Hants  GU14 
OEA,  UK;  $9/yr. 
CROSS  &  COCKADE  JOURNAL  (USA):  quarterly  jour-
nal  of the  Society  of World  War 1  Aero  Historians, 
featuring  (but  not  exclusively)  men  and  machines 
and  events  connected  with  the  American  War; 
scholarly and  complete  (cf C&C  Gt  Britain,  above); 
rotating  editorship;  write  George  H. (Cooke,  Bus 
Mgr.  10443  S.  Memphis  Ave.    h i t t i e r ~ CA  90604; 
$9/yr. 
DEUTSCHE  AEROKURIER:  monthly,  covers  current 
German  aviation  scene,  with  stress  on  gliders  and 
- general aviation; articles on oldtimers and museums; 
Wolfgang  Wagner,  ed,  5000  K61m  1,  Ebertplatz  2, 
W .  Germany. 
LE  FANATIQUE  DE  L'AVIATION:  monthly  aviation  re-
view,  a  good  deal  of  historical  material,  largely 
French  though  not  exclusively;  modelers'  page; 
Michel  Marrand,  ed,  15-17  Qual  de  l'Oise,  75019 
Paris,  France;  99f overseas. 
ICARE:  quarterly  revue  de  I' aviation  francaise:  each 
volume  is  a  work  of  art,  visually,  technically,  his-
torically - superb  journal;  each  issue  has  a special 
theme  or  topic,  with  appropriate  research  and 
authors;  Jean  Lasserre,  de,  ICARE/-Cidex  A  No. 
213  94396,  Orly-Aerogares,  France;  105f  overseas. 
INTERNATIONAL  ANTIQUE  AIRPLANE  DIGEST:  quar-
terly  journal. of  the  Antique  Airplane  Association, 
some  historical  material ,  often  in  the  form  of 
reprints  from  early  sources,  plus  news  of  fly-ins 
and  reports  from  the  various  chapters  (type  clubs) 
of  AAA;  member'ship ' also  brings  the  QUARTERLY 
AAA  NEWS  and  the  QUARTERLY  APM  BULLETIN 
(journal  of  the  AM's  Airpower  Museum);  Louise 
Blaine, ed,  Box  H. , Ottumwa,  Iowa 52501;  $12.50/yr . 
Incl.  membership. 
ITALIAN  AVIATION  RESEARCH  BRANCH  OF  AIR 
BRITAIN  JOURNAL:  quarterly  journal  of  the  IARB, 
features  Italian  aviation  history,  especially  the  air-
craft,  old  and  new,  drawings  and  a  green-paper 
English  translation  insert ;  Giorgio  Apostolo,  ed, 
Via  Ampere  49,  20131  Milan,  Italy;  8500  lire. 
NSM:  quarterly  journal  of  the  National  Soaring 
Museum  at  Elmira,  NY,  features  soaring  activities 
and  developments everywhere, with occasional  his-
torical  material  on  the  gliding  pioneers;  Meta  L. 
Levin,  ed,  NSM,  Harris  Hill,  RDI,  Elmira,  NY 14903. 
23
PEGASE: quarterly journal of 1'AssoCiation des Amis WINGS: bimonthly, on all types of aircraft and their
du Musee de l'Air presents historical material in historyand design,excellentmaterial; j .V.Mizrahi,
connection with the various types on exhibit, ed, Sentry Magazines, 10718 White Oak Ave.,
orwith some special current events, and includes
somestraighthistoryall,ofcourse,abouttheFrench
efforts, men and machines; jean-Paul F-Chapuis,
ed,46, Ave. Kleber, 75116 Paris, France, 20f.
PILOT: monthly review of flying for business and
pleasure, with occasional pieces on early aircraft
of different periods; james Gilbert, ed, Blakeden
Dr., Claygate, Surrey KTIO OjR, UK; $9.25/yr.
PILOT NEWS: m.onthly, sent free to all a/c owners
intheMidwest,dealingmostlywithflyingsituations,
menandmachinesin thatarea, includingsome his-
torical material that goes way back, and Stan
Morel's regular FokkerVerein column; Kenneth C. 
Weyand, ed, 5320 N. jackson, Kansas City, MO
64119 ; $5/yr.
PIONNIERS: quarterly review des Vieilles Tiges,
featuring articles on aviation pioneers, esp French
ones; ArnauddeCastillondeSaint-Victor,ed, Porte
Maillot, 75116 Paris, France; 20f.
PROP SWING: journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran
Aeroplane Society, occasional publication, comes
withtheShuttleworthCollection and its restoration
and exhibition projects; David Ogilvy, ed, Shuttle-
worthCollection,OldWardenAerodrome, Biggles-
wade, Beds, UK.
SCALE MODELS: monthly, dealing with scale models
of all kinds: aircraft, tanks, cars, etc. plastic and
flying; historical articles in support of the model
underconsideration- goodhistoryandtech.draw-
ings; R. G. Moulton,ed, Box 35, Bridge St., Hemel
Hempstead, Herts HP1 1EE; $8/yr.
SPORT AVIATION: monthly journal of the Experi-
mental AircraftAssociation, dealswith everyaspect
of homebuilding and design and restoration; tips,
techniques,newmaterials,newkits,newdesigns-
andoldones; marvelousadvertisements; jackCox,
ed, Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130; $20/yr in-
cludes membershipand organizational services.
VINTAGEAIRCRAFT: monthly,dealingwithantiqueand
classic aeroplanes, their history, construction, and
reconstruction and flying - museum news, work-
shop reports - mostly English; Gordon Riley, ed,
137OnslowGardensSWoodford,London E18 INA,
UK (US subscriptions Bill Dean Books .- CF AIR-
CRAFT ILL EXTRA,_above); $5.50/yr.
Granada Hills, CA 91344; $6.50/yr.
WINGS: weekly magazine, color, good paper and
all, on aviation of all kinds and periods (subtitled
The Encyclopedia of Aviation in Weekly Parts);
Anthony Robinson, ed, Orbis Rubl Ltd., 20/22 Bed-
fordbury, London WC2N 4BL, UK.
WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES: 5/yr. journal dealing
with buildingand rebuilding aeroplanes 1903-1919,
techniques, information, sources, museums, some
history; Leonard E. Opdycke, ed, 15 Crescent Rd.,
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; voluntary contributions,
back issues forsale at $2.
AVIATION  PUBLICATIONS 
Operations Manual For The Ford Trimotor - One of
the most delightful books in the aviation world. A rare
text , this story of the "Tin Goose" is beautifully com-
posed. More than 70 clear photos and drawings. 120
pages ........ ................ $4.80
Instructions Manual For The Curtiss Jenny - Be an
experton the aeroplane that putthe USA into the world
of aviation. Many photos.76 pages .............. $4.30
Operations Manual For The Piper J-3 Cub - A true
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stock ..........................................$4.30
Manual For The OX-5 Engine Of Jenny Fame - Re-
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covers the operation, assembly and repair of the 90
hp powerplant .20.pages, photographs........... $2.30
Guide To Pre-1930 Aircraft Engines - Your reference
book to such engines as the Kinner, LeBlond, Szekely,
Century, American Cirrus, Crosley , Packard and many
others. 60 pages................................ $3.30
1929 Airline Schedule Of Commercial Transport - A
delightful little reprint of the entire Spring 1929 Air-
line Schedule. Plan a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles
in only 23 hours (with 9 stopovers) in a brand new Ford
TriMotor ................................$1.30
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24
1..  
Dear  Sir: 
I  enjoyed  the  December  1977  issue  of  The  Vintage 
Airplane  which  just  arrived.  I  was  particularly  in-
terested  in  the two articles  on  Carl  Swanson's  creation 
and  restoration  for  the  National  Aeronautical  Collec-
tion  in  Canada  as  my  father  was  a  scout  pilot  in  the 
First  World  War with  a few  hours  in  Sopwith Triplanes 
and  Active  Service  Flying  Camels. 
The  photographs of the cockpit arrangements were 
particularly  fascinating  as  they  bore  out  many  of 
my  father's  memories.  However,  I  believe  that  your 
caption  writer  is  in  error  in  drawing  attention  to  the 
firing  button  for  the  machine  gun  located  at  the  top 
center  of  the  spade  handle  "joystick"  in  the  pictures 
on  pages  11,  12,  15.  If what  my  father  has  told  me  is 
correct,  this  is  the  " blip"  switch,  used  to  short 
out  the  ignition  circuit  on  the  rotary  engine  to  give 
the  pilot  some  measure  of  control  over  R. P.M.  Evi-
dently  throttle  and  mixture  adjustments  were  touchy 
and  once  set,  were  left  alone  as  much  as  possible 
with  power  air  final  approach  being  controlled  by 
shorting out the  mags  for  short  periods. 
The  machine  guns  on  my  father's  aircraft  were 
activated  by  two  levers  located  inside  the  spade 
grip  and  attached  to  bourden  cables  which  ran  to 
the  triggers.  Neither  the  Sopwith  Triplane  nor  the 
Sopwith Camel were equipped with an electrical system. 
Therefore the  machine guns could  not have been  fired 
electrically. 
I  still  own  the  "  joystick"  out  of  one  of  my 
father's  Camels,  a  photograph  of  which  is  enclosed. 
The  " blip" switch  and  gun  levers  can  both  be  seen. 
Tom  Wood 
122  John  Street 
P.O.  Box  2080 
Bracebridge,  Ontario,  Canada 
POB  1CO 
Dear  Sir: 
Enclosed  is  a  print.  It  was  taken  from  a  glass 
negative,  somewhat  deteriorated  after  65  or  70  years 
of  storage,  that  was  found  in  extreme  northeast 
Kansas.  . 
My  grandmother  has  spoken  of  seeing  Lincoln 
Beecky  barnstorming  in  the  area  although  I  cannot 
say  if this  is  a  photograph  of him. 
I  would  also  be  interested  in  corresponding  with 
anyone  that  has  information  about  the  Lincoln  Sport 
Biplane  or  the  Lincoln  Aircraft  Co.  that  produced 
airplanes  in  Lincoln,  Nebraska about 1920-30. 
Harry R.  Owen 
EAA  02365 
Railroad  Ave. 
Isanti,  Minnesota 55040 
Dear  Mr.  Nielander: 
Last  week  I  had  the  pleasure of meeting with  Gene 
O' Neill.  The circumstances  of our meeting were  quite 
extraordinary  and  one  of those  things  that go  to  make 
a Ripley story. Apparently he is  a friend of the Applebys 
(Flabob)  and  had  been  asked  by  them  to  look  me  up 
in  Australia.  Would  you  believe,  the  first  day  in  the 
country,  some  70  odd  miles from Sydney,  he attended 
a  barbecue  at  which  I  was  present.  Needless  to  say, 
at  dawn the  next  morning we went flying! 
Having  learned  that  I  intended  to  visit  the  States 
in  January,  he  did  a  good  selling  job  in  that  I  have 
changed  my  vacation  itinerary  so  that  I  can  visit  the 
Lakeland  Winter  Convention.  The  purpose  of  this  let-
ter  is  to  ask  you  to  please  initiate any  pre-registration 
that  might  be  necessary.  I  am  already  a  member  of 
E.A.A.  - reg.  no.  097622.  My  Australian  private 
pilot  license  is  No. 4396. 
In  Australia  I  am  building  up  an  airfield  complex 
similar  in  concept  to  Cole  Palen' s.  Hopefully,  it  will 
be  finished  in  4  - 5  years,  however,  at  the  present 
time we  have  in  residence  two Tiger  Moths,  two Tiger 
Hornets,  Fokker  DR1  Triplane,  an  Auster  and  a  J3 
Piper  Cub.  Our  field  covers  130  acres,  grass,  of 
course,  and  we  welcome  in  only  old  aircraft .  My  aim 
is  to  duplicate  Palen's  setup  right  down  to  the  replica 
World  War  I  aircraft,  and  to  this  end  we  are  currently 
building two Sopwith Pups. Come 1984, we should have 
our  act  together.  In  the  meanwhile  I  am  visiting 
as  many  antique  field  shows  as  possible  to  pick 
up  pointers,  and  I  look  forward  to  meeting  you  and 
members  of your group in  Florida. 
Cheers, 
Neil  Cottee 
Hurstville,  New South  Wales, 
Australia 
Dear J.R.: 
Thank  you  very  much  for  being  so  kind  as  to  send 
us  the  early  "AAA  Newsletter".  You,  indeed,  do  have 
a  deep  interest  in  the  early  publications  of  the  AAA, 
and  you're  to  be  commended  for  your  pursuit  of 
finding a set of these  things. 
We  just  returned  from  a  1400  mile  round  trip  to 
Ardmore,  Oklahoma  where we  picked  up the  remains 
of  the  Rearwin  Airplane  Company  which  had  been 
donated  to  the  Museum. This  consisted  of five  pickup 
loads  plus  three  trailers  including  the  type  certificate, 
manufacturing rights,  and we still  have to get the  blue-
prints and  miscellaneous  stuff in  connection  with  this. 
There always seems  to be something that takes  us  away 
from  our correspondence  and  magazine  work,  but it's 
nice to get out and  go pick up some goodies once  in  a 
while,  too. 
Very  truly yours, 
Robert  L.  Taylor 
President 
Antique Airplane  Association,  Inc. 
Dear  AI: 
I  wish  to  compliment  you  on  your  presentation 
of the articles on  the  Johnson airplanes  and  on  Orville 
Hickman.  My  compliments  also  to  Mr.  Ropp  and  Mr. 
Peterson.  I have the original article  in Argosy magazine 
and  newspaper  articles  about  the  Johnsons.  I  did  not 
know the Johnsons, but live only 25  minutes from Terre 
Haute.  I  was  only  6  years  old  in  1913  but  remember 
well  the tornado and  flood  which  did so  much damage 
to  the  Johnson  Brother' s  efforts.  This  same  tornado 
25
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103
WORLD WAR 1
 
WORLD WAR I AEROPLANES is a service
organization founded in 1961 to bring to-
gether builders and restorers of early air-
craft, and provide information about parts,
information, drawings, engines, and if pos-
sible, whole aircraft. Sample issue of the
journal $2 ; subscriptions on the basis of
voluntary contributions.
Leonard E. Opdycke
15 Crescent Road
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
no problem whatever. I enjoyed flying the Air 'King ,...-----------------------...,
blew away my grandparents barn and another barn
plus doing other major damage within a quarter
mile of our home.
I also flew one of Mr . Hickman' s designs in 1928,
which was an OX5 powered Air King owned by Walter
Jones, Brail, Indiana. The only thing I didn!t like
about the Air King was the method they used to
mount the aileron horns on the aileron front box
spars. While checking the airplane one day I found
one of the aileron horns loose. On further inspection
we found the horns were fastened to the box spars
with just plain wood screws. As the aileron box spar
was built up with rather thin wood we decided to
beef them up. We removed one side of the box at
point of aileron horn attachment and inserted an
18 inch solid piece of spruce glued in, and replaced
part of box removed; redrilled holes and bolted
horns back on clear through spar. Otherwise the
plane flew good and I had no other complaints.
I soloed a JN4D in 1925 and flew it quite some
time; then I bought a J1 Standard and was flying it
at the time I flew the Air King. I transitioned to the
Air King myself without a check ride in anything, with
as it was so much more responsive to control input
than J1 or JN4. Of course, the performance and
load carrying capabilities were much better, also, I
wish that National Airways System could have stayed
in business. Of course those depression days affected
a lot of us, including me. I always thought the Pheasant
and Starl ing were pretty airplanes. I never flew either
of them.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year, I beg to remain,
Sincerely,
Malcolm McHargue
Rural Route No.1
Carbon, IN 47837
Mr. Dave Gustafson:
Noted the article of AI Kelch on Orville Hickman
in the December 1977 issue of the Antique/Classic
publication " Vintage Airplane".
I read the article with interest and could not help
noting the last paragraph where he states that "it's
a shame that these small bits of history are lost" .
Recognizing Orville's name somewhere, I dug out a
1933 issue of the Flying Manual and sure enough,
in Chapter 4 he authored an article on his own deSign,
the Hickman Midget Seaplane. Complete plans were
offered. A very early contributor to the homebuilt
movement!
Respectfully,
Marion H. Havelaar
(EAA 47909)
President Chapter 39
Route 1 Box 133A
Rapid City, SD 57701
Dear Mr. Gustafson:
I would be happy to have you run this photo in
your next issue with the request that if anyone knows
anything about the event, such as Name of Pilot,
Owner of Plane, Name of Plane, Location: Jackson
Park or Lincoln Park, Chicago, etc., can contact me at
the address shown below.
Thank you very much for your cooperation in this
effort to satisfy my curiosity.
Richard A. Wiley
1710 Avondale
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