Vintage Airplane - Feb 2000

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STRAIGHT AND  LEVEL 
2  VINTAGE  HALL OF  FAME 
4 VAA  NEWS 
6 THIRTY  FIVE  YEARS  AT  THE  OUTER 
MARKER!Dutch Redfield
10  MYSTERY PLANE/HG. Frautschy
12  PASS  IT TO  BUCKlE.E.  ((Buck" Hilbert
13  BUD  FIELD' S C-180... AND  NIKKI TOO!/ 
Budd Davisson
18  GOLDEN  WEST FLY-IN/ 
H G.  Frautschy
21  AN  EXTRAORDINARY  ELDER  EAGLE/ 
Ron Gamer
25  WELCOME  NEW MEMBERS/CALENDAR 
27  CLASSIFIED  ADS 
30  VINTAGE  MERCHANDISE 
www.vintageaircraft.org
SEE  PAGE  2 6  FOR  FURTHER  VINTAGE  AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION  INFORMATION 
Publisher
Editor-ill-Chief
Editor
Execlltive Editor
COlltributillg Editor
Art Director
Photography Staff
AdvertisillglEditorial Assistalll
TOM  POBEREZNY 
scon SPANGLER 
HENRY G.  FRAUTSCHY 
MIKE  DIFRISCO 
JOHN  UNDERWOOD 
BUDD  DAVISSON 
BETH  BLANCK 
JIM  KOEPNICK 
LEEANN  ABRAMS 
MARK  SCHAIBLE 
ISABELLE WISKE 
As I peer out the win-
dow today here in
North Carolina I am
looking at some six
inches of that white
stuff that is normally re-
served for those lucky
people who live North
of the Mason/Dixie line.
Luckily, the Luscombe and Baron are tucked safely inside our
hanger at Shiloh Airport.
Our Black Lab is out in the back yard, plowing furrows in
the snow with her nose. The two cats are sitting on a table
under the roof of our cook shed, watching her actions with
an expression of disbelief on their whiskered faces. I guess it
all boils down to what makes you happy! That new snow also
means that far away in Oshkosh, many people will enjoy the
skiplane fly-in at Pioneer airport behind the EAA AirVenture
Museum. I hear it's lots of fun!
Norma and I traveled to Oshkosh last year for the event.
Unfortunately, all we had that weekend was rain and slush,
but this year should be great. We'll share some photos of the
fly-in in next month's issue.
If you're planning your calendar and would like to spend
a weekend helping us get ready for the 2000 edition of EAA
AirVenture, we will again host a fly-in work weekend during
the latter part of May. We spruce up the VAA area on
Wittman Field, all the while having a great time working to-
gether and enjoying an evening of camaraderie that's a
natural extension of the enjoyable times we spend during the
Fly-In. This is a great time to enjoy some grass roots camping,
flying, fellowship, and at the same time help V AA prepare
your area for AirVenture 2000. We'll give you the exact date
as soon as it is firmed up.
As you read this February issue of Vintage Airplane, you
can just about look out over the horizon and almost see the
sunshine of Lakeland, Florida. That's right, the Sun 'n Fun
EAA Fly-In happens April 11-17. This exceptional event has
grown to be a huge success over the years.
One of the important reasons for this great accomplish-
ment was the guidance and hard work of newly retired
Executive Director Billy Henderson. Billy would be the first
to tell you his greatest asset is his wife Adair, who has
worked equally as hard to make Sun 'n Fun a great success.
I've know Billy for many years, starting from the time he
was a hard working volunteer and then moved on to be-
come the full-time paid Executive Director of Sun 'n Fun.
On December 31, 1999 Billy retired from that position. Time
nor space will not allow me to list all of the things and per-
sonal sacrifices Billy and Adair have put forth for the good
and growth of this fly-in.
Personally, I would just like to say, "Thanks, Billy and
Adair, for your dedication to sport aviation and for the
friendship we continue to enjoy."
John Burton is now the new Executive Director of Sun 'n
Fun. Many of you will remember John-he worked for EAA
at their Oshkosh, Wisconsin Headquarters as the Vice Presi-
by ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE
PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
dent of Communications. John had also been the link be-
tween EAA HQ and Sun 'n Fun management for a number of
years, which gave him a measure of insight in the operation,
and has helped provide for a smooth transition.
I really think that John got to where he liked all of that
sunshine and warm weather. When given the chance, why
not? What about it, John? For those of you who have been
attending Sun 'n Fun, you know how much enjoyment you
can have. If you haven't had a chance to get to the weeklong
event, give it a try. It can be a very relaxing kick-off to the fly-
in season.
When you do go to Sun 'n Fun be sure to check out the
Vintage Headquarters Building, hosted by your V AA Chapter
1, the "FSAACA". They have great iced tea and popcorn, and
you can also register your aircraft there as well. You can even
renew your V AA membership and have your friends sign up
in the V AA as well. Just ask Jane Kimball and her volunteers!
They'll be happy to help. Oh yes, be sure to bring your sun-
screen-you'll need it!
But enough daydreaming of warmer weather. I need to
bring my mind back to the present, to February. Since it has
snowed and I cannot get the airplanes out of the hanger, I'm
going to have to be good to my word and start working on
the Luscombe panel replacement. Years ago, I bought a panel
kit for the Beech D-35 owned and operated for 11 years be-
fore moving over to the Baron.
Every so often, I would get that kit out and look at it,
studying all of the things that needed to be done in order to
redo the instrument panel. After thinking about the chore
and knowing how much work was there, I would slide it back
into the box and wait another year!
I sold the D-35 before I could talk myself into doing all of
the work. Later I sold the panel kit to an aircraft dealer lo-
cated at St. Simons Island, Georgia, delivering it on my way
to Sun 'n Fun.
I have often wondered if he ever got the nerve to install
that kit. The Beech panel would have been quite a project.
Thankfully, I don't think the Luscombe panel rework will be
quite as difficult.
Your V AA Board of Directors will be meeting March 31 at
EAA Headquarters in Oshkosh to discuss continuing subjects,
business matters, and government matters related to our air-
craft. This is your organization, so we invite you to air any
concerns you feel need attention. Drop me note at P.O. Box
35584, Greensboro, NC 27425 so that these matters might be
brought before the proper committee or the board for discus-
sion. Try to get it to me before March 1 so we can do our
homework on the subject.
As we look forward to the beginning of the fly-in season,
I'd like to ask you to consider asking a fellow enthusiast to
join your Vintage Aircraft Association. It would be great if
you made this one of your personal goals for the year 2000.
There's strength in numbers. As we add more members, we
build a stronger voice when discussing matters that effect
your freedom to maintain and fly your aircraft. Let's all pull
in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember we
are better together. Join us and have it all! ......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1
Concluding our profiles of the 1999 \:\ \ Hall of Fame
inductees. this month Itt's meet ...
Tom and Barbara Flock with one of the five Wacos restored by Tom since 1979. Sadly,
Barbara Flock passed away November 23, 1999.
Tom also enjoys "modern" airplanes. He's owned two
Navlons, the latest this 1962 Navlon Rangemaster H he pur-
chased in 1974.
VAANEWS
compiled by H.G. Frautschy
GENERAL AVIATION
CONTINUING AIRWORTHNESS
SUMMIT
In Kansas City, Missouri, a spec-
trum of General Aviation leaders
met with FAA officials to provide
proactive input concerning dealing
with the issues surrounding the ag-
THE COVERS
FRONT COVER . .. One of the
workhorses of the General Aviation
fleet is the Cessna 180. Owners Bud
and Nikki Fields are featured in this
month's issue, starting on page 13.
EAA photo by Mark Schaible, shot
with a Canon EOSIn equipped
with an 80-220 mm lens on
100ASA Fuji Provia slide film. EAA
Cessna 210 photo plane flown by
Bruce Moore.
BACK COVER . .. "Feet Dry, Half
Moon Bay" is the title of this etch-
ing by Bill Ellsworth, Virginia
Beach, Virginia. It depicts the USS
Macon as it approaches Moffett
Field at the south end of San Fran-
cisco Bay. The airship is flying in
from the West over Half Moon Bay,
with another 30 minutes of flight
time remaining before docking at
the Navy field.
Bill is a former Naval Aviator (he
says at his age, he's nearly a former
everything!), and that he enjoys
doing artwork depicting Naval avi-
ation events that have occurred
within his lifetime. He is a veteran
of WW-II, Korea and Vietnam, and
flew propeller and jet aircraft off of
27 different carriers. Feet Dry, Half
Moon Bay was presented with an
Honorable Mention ribbon during
the 1999 EAA Sport Aviation Art
Competition.
A collection of Bill's etchings is
on display in the EAA AirVenture
Museum. On your next visit, use
the stairs located just behind the
Women With Wings exhibit, next
to the Air Racing gallery. There are
24 of his etchings on display in the
well-lit stairway.
4 FEBRUARY 2000
ing General Aviation fleet. The aver-
age age of the fleet is expected to be
41 years old by 2009.
Mike Gallagher, FAA Small Air-
plane Directorate manager, stressed
that it was important for all partici-
pants, including Type Clubs,
manufacturers, associations and
EAA, AAA, and the Vintage Aircraft
Association to provide input and
assist the FAA put together a pro-
gram that can be proactive instead
of reactive.
As we've seen in the past, when
pushed by political considerations,
some issues have not been resolved
in a way that benefited GA own-
ers/ users. It is hoped that this
dynamiC approach will result in an
effective program.
For an extensive description of
the meeting, please see the Febru-
ary issue of Sport Aviation, starting
on page 12. You can also go to the
EAA web site at www.eaa.org, and
enter the "Members Only" Section.
Go to "Government and Industry
Relations" and click on "Top Gov-
ernment Issues" for a full article
concerning this meeting, along
with a list of recommendations
made by attendees.
EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS
NOW AVAILABLE ON LINE
Students interested in pursuing
aviation studies can now learn more
about up to $67,000 in EAA Aviation
Foundation scholarships and receive
applications through a new service
on the EAA World Wide Web site:
www.eaa.org
These scholarships, which range
from $500 to $25,000, recognize, en-
courage and support excellence among
individuals studying the essential
technologies and skills of aviation.
The awards assist outstanding students
demonstrating a financial need to ac-
complish their goals.
"One of the missions of the EAA
Aviation Foundation is to inspire a
new generation to become the next
aviation innovators," said Tom
Poberezny, President of the Founda-
tion. "These scholarships are a way
to assist students who are fulfilling
their dreams in the world of flight."
EAA Aviation Foundation
scholarship applicants should be
well-rounded individuals, in-
volved in school and community
activities as well as aviation. Their
academic record should indicate
that they can successfully com-
plete the course of study described
in the scholarship.
To reach the scholarship page,
connect with the EAA website then
click on "aviation education" or
type in the direct page address:
www.eaa.org/education/schoiarships
HOMEBUILT HEADQUARTERS
SITE UP AND RUNNING
One of the great aspects of being a
part of the EAA family is access to a
well of information that is so deep
you hardly hear a splash when you
drop an AN12 nut into it. There's so
much stuff available, and sometimes
it can be a bit daunting just knowing
where to start.
Charlie Becker and the Informa-
tion Services staff are one of your
first links to that information well,
and they've put together a terrific
section in the EAA "Members Only"
area of EAA's web site.
Chock full of "how to" informa-
tion, the new site is a handy
resource for those who are building
an airplane, and for those of us who
are restoring as well. Just click on
the "Members Only" button on the
left side of the home page at
www. eaa .org. Follow the prompts,
and take a look, but be sure and
give yourself a bit of extra time;
there's a lot to see!
JOEJUPTNER
Born in 1913, and enamored with
airplanes as a young boy listening to
the stories of the barnstormers who
would pass through his home town,
Joseph P. Juptner became an A&E
mechanic and a civilian pilot, and
even dabbled in amateur aircraft de-
sign. During WW-II he served as a
Air Force Fighter group crew chief.
In the busy times after the War,
he partnered in a flying school, and
later operated a hobby shop while
building wind tunnel models.
For most of us, Joe's enduring
legacy is a body of work that took
most of his lifetime to compile. Col-
lecting photos and information
about airplanes for many years, he
carefully researched and wrote what
has become to be known as the
"Family Tree of the ATC," the nine-
volume set of books published as
U.S. Civil Aircraft.
First printed by Aero Publishers in
1962, and more recently in the '90s
by McGraw-Hill, the first 817 Ap-
proved Type Certificates are
documented in Juptner's breezy,
warm style that comes from a per-
son who lived and breathed the
history of aviation as a boy and later
as a man.
He wrote a couple of other recol-
lections of aviation lore, including
his last, T-Hangar Tales, published
by Historic Aviation in Eagan, MN
(800/225-5575) .
Joe was a faithful correspondent
during his later years as he lived in
California. He passed away January
3, 2000 in Laguna Hills, California.
Here's a little quiz to honor Joe's
lifetime of work. Can you name the
first and last sequentially numbered
ATCs issued by the CAA/FAA? No
peeking in your books now! The an-
swer is at the bottom of the page.
THE "RITE" MONOCOUPE
A mistake in reading an "N" num-
ber on the tail of one of the
Monocoupes in attendance at the
Monocoupe Fly-In last Fall meant
the wrong name went with the
photo in last month's coverage of
the fly-in.
This is PhH Riter's Monocoupe
90A, NC19429, not Curtis White-
head's NC19423. Phil hails from
Stryker, OH and has owned his
Monocoupe for many years. Our
apologies! ......
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MORE ON DOUG CORRIGAN
Dear H.G.,
Duke Krantz (of Gates Flying Cir-
cus fame) was a pilot for the New
York Daily News for a number of
years, and he told this story back in
1952 or so.
In July of 1938, Howard Hughes
was garnering all the media attention
during his famous around-the-world
dash in a Lockheed Model 14 Electra,
with late dispatches coming in from
Paris, Moscow, Omsk, Yakutsk, and
other far away places, adding to the
excitement and glamour of Hughes'
week-long aviation accomplishment.
Hughes landed back at Floyd Bennett
Field in New York after 3 days, 19
hours and some minutes, where the
newsreels, radio reporters, and news-
paper photographers descended upon
the round-the-world crew.
While all this was going on, young
Doug Corrigan flew his Curtiss Robin
with the Wright radial engine from
Long Beach, California non-stop to
Floyd Bennett Field in New York City
- quite an accomplishment on it
own. He then planned to fly across
the Atlantic, retracing Lindbergh's
earlier path, hoping that the public-
ity would help him get a job as a
pilot. The flight to Europe, however,
was thwarted by the CAA because
they felt he did not have the proper
radios or navigation equipment for
such an exploit, and the CAA forbid
him to make the flight.
The day Corrigan
landed in New York
nonstop from Califor-
nia, The Daily News
sent a single reporter
to Floyd Bennett Field
to interview Corrigan
and get pictures. Pok-
ing around in a
hangar, the reporter
found Corrigan work-
ing on his Curtiss
Robin (fixing the door
handle, which he sub-
sequently simply wired closed). The
reporter asked Corrigan where he had
flown in from. Corrigan, a young
man of few words answered quite
honestly, "Long Beach."
The reporter, a New Yorker, knew
that Long Beach (Long Island) Air-
port was only a few miles away from
Floyd Bennett Field, so he immedi-
ately dismissed Corrigan, and walked
briskly away still looking for his story.
According to Corrigan, he said as he
left, "I'm looking for some damn fool
who just flew non-stop from Califor-
nia!" The reporter, of course, missed
the story completely.
Doc Mosher
Neenah, WI
Dear Mr. Underwood,
I certainly enjoyed your write-up
on "Wrong Way" Corrigan as it
brought back fond memories of days
gone by. Enclosed is a picture (below)
I took at the Detroit city airport at
Conners & Gratiot in 1938 when I
was learning to fly in an Aeronca C-3
and Doug was making a tour after his
wrong way flight. It sure is nice to
read about those days when flying
was an enjoyable adventure and I am
still "plane crazy" about the planes of
yesterday. Thank you again and keep
them flying.
Merl Aschenbach
Bay City, MI
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
• •
I
-
ears
att
Outer Marker
Comfort in a Cabin Waco, and Flying on the Water
Much as I loved flying in the
Adirondacks, our business in this
lovely area, even during the summer
season, was just too slim. Besides
this, in order for us to do any busi-
ness, it was necessary to do
considerable non-revenue flying be-
tween mountain lakes looking for it.
In the spring, as I had done for
the last few years with the F-2, we
rigged the new cabin Waco, tuning
it to its float gear while she sat in her
corner of Harry Ward's hangar.
We then flew her off the airport's
new runway, rolling on four Model
/I A" Ford wheels that were temporar-
ily rigged to the floats' integral
beaching gear axle tubes. Airborne,
and while circling over the lake, ta-
pered wheel retaining pins were
released by lightweight cables that
were temporarily run to the cockpit
windows and taped to the leading
edge of the lower wings. The Ford
wheels were then pushed off the
axles, dropping into the lake with a
huge splash. This wheel dumping
was carried on while leaning far out
the cabin side windows, working the
wheels off by the use of a long
broom handle. This saved many
hours of work that previously had
been done under often times diffi-
cult conditions. In only a few
minutes we could be switched over
to floats and completely ready for
the summer.
Business at Alexandria Bay the
next season was very good and at
our dock the cabin Waco attracted
many people who previously had
just not been interested in sitting in
the F-2's drafty open cockpit, don-
ning a cloth pilot's helmet in order
to make a scenic flight over the 1,000
Islands. Also, it was a very pleasant
summer for us. Peg and I rented a
comfortable summer camp right on
the river's shore with the seaplane
swinging nights on a mooring in a
shallow protected cove only a few
hundred yards from our front porch.
By the end of the first summer it
was clear, however, that the new
cabin Waco was short on power, and
prior to hunting season in the
Adirondacks we replaced her 225 hp
Jacobs engine with a 285 hp Jacobs,
and this made a fine performing air-
plane out of her.
In the meantime, correspondence
had been taking place with several
Chambers of Commerce in Florida.
We settled on spending the winter
at Winter Haven, in central Florida,
selected because I had no desire to
operate the airplane in salt water
with its associated and serious corro-
sion problems.
In November, Peg and I took off
to fly her south. Most of the route
we followed the Inland Waterway
just inside the Atlantic coastline be-
cause this provided protected waters
within gliding distance most of the
way. For one of our southbound
stops, we overnighted at Wilming-
ton, North Carolina, with the Waco
tied out between two large docks
with high pilings. I didn ' t sleep
much during the night and it was
by Holland "Dutch" Redfield
6 FEBRUARY 2000
The YKS-7 on its land lubber gear makes a low pass.
raining torrents and gusting hard as 
dawn broke.  The phone rang;  it was 
the  hotel  desk advising that a  tug 
was  waiting to get dockside where 
the  Waco  was  tied.  We  checked 
out quickly and  took a taxi  to  the 
waterfront. 
The airplane was  boarded in a 
pelting cold rain  and getting aboard 
was  not easy in the fast 
There was  no other way to do it,  and 
fortunately the Jacobs caught on the 
first  cylinder.  She was  running and 
whether we  liked  it or not, we  were 
also  moving.  The water rudders,  po-
sitioned by the pedals beneath my 
feet,  now knifed  into the flowing 
water streams  and we  swung away 
from  the gusting wind toward open 
water,  steering carefully 
between the barnacled, 
tarred  pilings  of  two 
commercial  wharves. 
But  as  we  neared  I could 
see  that  the  strong 
ebbing tidal current was 
sweeping us  seaward and 
it was  necessary to  crab 
her sharply over the bot-
tom,  tracking  so  as  to 
miss  the heavy high pil-
ings  that could  easily 
bash in our fragile  spruce 
wingtips. 
As  we cleared the pro-
tection of the wharves,  a 
strong gust hit her and 
heeled  her and a sharp, 
wave-slapping,  propeller-
spraying blast from  the 
engine  was  needed  to 
swing her away from  the 
wind and onto a down-
wind course down the 
harbor.  The now following waves 
were white capping and heavy gust 
driven  rain streaked the windshield 
and drummed the taut fabric  on top 
of the fuselage.  It was  an ugly day 
and  if there had been some other 
place to tie up,  I'd  have pulled back 
in,  but there wasn't,  because the 
night before we'd spent half an hour 
ebbing tide as  Peg and I  Dutch's Waco ZKS-7, set up on the temporary beaching wheels "borrowed" from a Ford Model A. The engine is a
285 hp Jacobs.
clambered  down  slip-
pery,  rickety  ladders. 
The assistance of two yel-
low-slickered  dock 
workers was  necessary as 
her stern line was  eased, 
then her bow line slowly 
pulled  in,  putting  her 
close enough so we could 
step from  the ladders to 
her rain-slicked  floats. 
We  then hunched our 
way  aft  beneath  the 
lower wing,  up the two 
short steps to the lower 
wing walkway,  and into 
the dry cabin. 
The engine was  pre-
primed and  ready to go 
as  the lines were  cast off 
by  those  on  the  dock. 
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
flying up and down the waterfront
looking for a spot to overnight.
Where we'd tied her was the only
place.
The evening before we had fueled
with marine gasoline and with 420
pounds of fuel on board, the Waco
was heavily loaded. Even with the
wind I would need a long, punishing
run to get airborne and thereafter
clear a bascule bridge that would be
in our climb-out path.
After a long downwind taxi, I
idled her back, pulled the water rud-
ders up, and let her weathercock into
the wind. The white-capping waves
now slapped the float bows and the
idling prop flung back their spray.
Streaking cats-paws showed the gust-
ing wind patterns on the harbor's
surface ahead of us as the throttle in
the center of the instrument panel
was opened full and locked there
with its knurled knob. The Jacobs
roared and with the wind and the
waves she was quickly on the steps.
The waves spanked hard against the
planing float bottoms, jarring us
with lighter and lighter taps as the
wings grasped the air, then lifted us
free and into turbulent, but far
smoother, flight than the very rough
waters we had just lifted off from.
The right wing was lowered and
we slowly banked away from the wet
gusting northeast wind. In the low
level eddying turbulence both my
hands and my feet were very busy,
feeling for, and correcting for, and
averaging the buffeting upsets from
my planned curving trajectory. Pres-
sured inputs to the ailerons and
rudder were simultaneously applied
and also carefully coordinated in or-
der to avoid unpleasant, sloppy,
yawing flight for my very pregnant
wife, Peg.
In a short time the wings were lev-
eled and the compass beneath the
rain-smeared windshield settled
down and showed us heading south
again. The rain and windswept
buoy-marked waterway was only few
hundred feet beneath us and for the
next several hours, and to keep the
waterway in sight, we took every
bend of it, banking gently left, then
8 FEBRUARY 2000
.. .his sudden awareness
of our swift passage
above him at mast height
evidenced by his
wavering surprised wake
as we looked back over
the dripping, streaming
trailing edges of the
lower wing panel.
right, and we were buffeted and
gusted and rained on. Neither of us
liked it, but there simply was no
place we could ride the storm out
and after a while we became accus-
tomed to it.
Ahead we'd see, then catch up
with, then zoom over and quickly
leave behind many pleasure boats
also heading south, his sudden
awareness of our swift passage above
him at mast height evidenced by his
wavering surprised wake as we
looked back over the dripping,
streaming trailing edges of the lower
wing panels. Then an occasional
gentle pull-up to skim a telephone-
poled bridge spanning the marshy
winding shores of the waterway,
slowly waggling the Waco's stubby
red wings at a decrepit old Ford,
splashing its way along muddy roads
and up and over the bridge as we
flew by. And our passage flushed
many geese and ducks, but most of
them had more sense than we as
they fed and paddled along the
marshy shores till the scudding
storm abated.
With no warning, there was a sud-
den loud bang, and the airplane
shook, and next to me Peg gave a cry
of pain. I was puzzled, as I did not
know what had happened and our
low skimming flight in the rain and
turbulence continued to require all
my attention. Peg was there beside
me, sobbing and clutching her leg,
yet everything seemed normal with
the airplane. I was concerned and fi-
nally between tears we sorted out
that the plane's brake handle was
the culprit. Used only during land-
plane operations, it had somehow
snapped back and hit her left shin
with a vicious whack. The hook for
the seaplane's water rudder retract
cables had been attached to this un-
used handle at the time the water
rudders were retracted for takeoff
and we must have flown into a
frightened low flying duck, which
probably struck one of the retract ca-
bles down in the float gear, causing
the handle to snap back. It had been
a sharp whack and it hurt.
In a couple of hours the scudding,
dark, wet clouds began drying out,
gradually lifting to a clearing gray,
with occasional patches of blue. We
were able to let the Waco climb now
and the air smoothed. The power-
fully surfing, curving shore of the
Atlantic off our left wings met the
now blue sky far ahead to the south.
In the snug cabin the outside
warmth we were flying into was
ducted in to us, and it felt good. We
munched a sandwich and I rubbed
Peg's bruised leg and we laughed.
At Jacksonville, I fueled in shirt-
sleeves and by late afternoon we
touched her down at her new home
on Lake Howard, at Winter Haven.
Barb, who was driving our car down,
was not there yet.
Besides a few charters, then a cou-
ple of deep-winter occasions where
we were hired to spend entire nights
flying low over orange groves, stir-
ring up the air to pOSSibly prevent
frost damage, plus a few passengers
carried on weekends. My dreams
that Florida could playa big part in a
12-month-a-year seaplane operation
turned out to be a giant flop, and as
it turned out I had to borrow money
so I could get my pregnant wife and
the airplane home.
As part of an effort to make the
Florida operation work, we believed
we could make a few additional dol-
lars if we had the capability of flying
after dark, on weekend evenings.
After much trial and error, Barb and
I, from lakeshore trees, were able to
finally saw up four small bamboo
rafts that wouldn't flop over after we
launched them. Kerosene truck
flares were secured to the rafts,
which were then anchored on a line
parallel to the wind. On the air-
plane we mounted a single landing
light on one of the float support
struts.
The first night we tried our new
system the Waco had just lifted off
and was clearing the tree'd lakeshore
and in our climb-out path ahead it
was pitch black. Suddenly there was
a loud clattering and we both
thought, "What a place for her to
quit! " yet the big Jacobs continued
running beautifully and we were un-
able to determine where the banging
noise was coming from. I switched
on our new landing light and in its
reflected glow we discovered a small
hinged cowling that gave access to
the rear accessory section of the en-
gine was flapping wildly in the
powerful prop stream.
From our position, to land imme-
diately was impossible and the
cowling would surely batter itself to
pieces by the time we got back
around the lake. I asked Barb to fly
and passed the swing-over control
wheel to him, then, with my side
cabin window full down I stretched
outside in the strong propeller
stream and forward just far enough
so the aft cowl fastener could be re-
latched with my fingertips. With
things now quieted down, we flew
around for several minutes to calm
our jangled nerves and prepare for
the first use of our night water land-
ing system.
With the bright lights of town,
and by utilizing the beam from our
single landing light, it was possible
to approach the lake's shoreline very
low; from which position our line of
flares ahead looked beautiful. But it
turned out we had positioned the
flares too close to shore and they
were also set much too close to-
gether, because by the time we had
descended from treetop height to a
few feet above the surface, they had
skimmed beneath us and were far
behind. Ahead on the lake it be-
came suddenly very dark, but
fortunately there was plenty of
smooth water still under us and a
slow controlled descent with a small
amount of power put us gently down
and with much room to spare.
Some repositioning of flares, then
a few more trials and we had our-
selves a good and workable system,
but we found few people really inter-
ested in night seaplane rides and in
a few weeks we gave it up.
One March night a whistling
norther practically blew the covers
from our beds and my first thought
was the seaplane as I hollered to
Barb. The two of us sped to the lake,
zipping pants and buttoning shirts.
In the beam of our headlights as we
swung the car toward the mooring
area, we could see the Waco hobby-
horsing badly as she crashed into
large white-capping waves. Despite
lift-destroying spOilers which were
tied every night along the upper sur-
faces of the lower wing panels, she
was half flying and had already
dragged her heavy moorings a con-
siderable distance toward shore. One
of her restraining bridle ropes had
parted and dangled free.
I kicked off my shoes, dove in and
waded to her in the waist deep
waves. Her wild plunging made it
very difficult to get aboard, but once
there I quickly threw off the engine
covers, climbed in and started her
up. Then, for the next two hours, to
keep her from lifting into flight and
to keep the mooring from dragging
ashore, she was literally flown at the
end of her one remaining bridle
rope. I was scared for her.
The waves, as the dim light of
dawn crept over the low gray sky,
were big and carried much weight,
and the wind streaked them and
blew spin-drift from their crests as
the float bows smashed heavily into
them and the prop rang from their
impacts. It was cold and I was alone.
Barb, sitting in the car, watched anx-
iously. The norther moaned around
her, and buffeted her, and shook
her, the shifting winds hitting her
first from one side, then the other,
as northers tend to do, and it tried to
get under her wings to lift her, so it
could dash her through the surf and
smash her into the swaying palm
trees behind. I fought the buffeting
wind and waves with the Waco's
flight controls and propeller thrust.
I couldn't take off with her and put
her in her own element, flying her
out of the pounding waves, because
I just couldn't leave the flight con-
trols long enough to slide out the
lower wing spars to remove the lift
destroying spoilers, nor could I, sin-
gle-handed, remove the one
still-intact mooring line.
In a couple of hours the strong
frontal passage winds diminished a
bit as the storm moved rapidly out
to sea. There was now sufficient
light, and Barb was able to wade out
and release her. We then taxied and
crabbed her slowly, pitching and
bucking, through the white-capping
waves, across the lake to a protected
corner. Peg, who had been worried
about us, hitched a ride to the lake-
front in the dawn with a milkman
making early deliveries. She met us
on the distant shore as we tied up af-
ter our long taxi. We watched her
there all that day and all the next
night as the norther gradually blew
itself out.
In the early spring, we flew the
Waco back north, retracing our route
along the seaboard, across Pennsyl-
vania and New York, to the St.
Lawrence River and the Thousand
Islands. There we worked her up
onto a ramp just below our camp's
front porch and then spent many re-
laxing days in fine spring weather
getting her ready for a summer of
hard work. It was pleasant being
back with friends and in familiar
surroundings. In June, we were pre-
sented with a bouncing baby boy,
Charles Scott. "..
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
November's foreign airplane
presented few difficulties for our
members. We'll start with a note
from Anna Pennington, Wilming-
ton, NC:
"Your November Mystery Plane is
a French Farman F.121 Jabiru. Note
part of the name on the nose. It was
powered by four 180 hp Hispano-
Suiza 8Ac engines, and carried 9 or
10 passengers. (My two sources varied
on this.) It won the 1923 French
Grand Prix des Avions Transports,
and 500,000 Francs.
"Four flew on the Farman air-
lines Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam
route during 1926, and Danish Air-
lines used a few between Amsterdam
and Copenhagen."
From Pete Bowers, Seattle, W A,
who supplied the photos you see
on these pages, we read:
"The November Mystery Plane is
F-AIAU, the forth often French Far-
man F-121 Jabirus built between
1923 and 1925. Also known as
Model F-3X, these nine-passenger,
four-engine transports were built by
Avions H. & M. Farman of Baillan-
court. Five were used on Farman's
own airline, three were sold, and
two more were built under license in
Denmark.
"The Jabiru was an unusual air-
plane of combined wood and metal
construction. The four 180 hp His-
pano-Suiza 8Ac engines were in
tandem pairs in nacelles supported
by a short stub-wing that also sup-
YSTER
P HE
by H.G. Frautschy
ported the landing gear and anchored
the wing struts. I wonder what the
rear propeller attrition rate was on the
Jabiru and other designs with pusher
props low and directly behind the
wheels which were rolling on dirt and
gravel runways?
"The aerodynamic layout was also
unusual. The wing had a very low as-
pect ratio, only 4.46, and the root
chord was almost half the length of
the (uselage. As with some other Eu-
Farman R121 /abiru 
ropean transports, the passenger cabin
extended forward clear to the nose.
The pilots sat in an open cockpit
above the cabin.
"If the Jabiru has any historical
significance, it could be that it was
one of the first four-engined trans-
ports to be designed as such, rather
than being derived from a bomber."
Ralph Nortell, Spokane, WA
adds:
"A vions Farman was formed by
Ed Parker, Apalachin, NY, via John W. McDonald, tipped us off to this photo
published in 1937 by the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce. (No, it's not the
Aircraft Yearbook.)
Send your answers to: EAA, Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086. Your answers need to be in no later than March 25, 2000 for in-
clusion in the May issue of Vintage Airplane.
You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your answer to vin-
[email protected]
Be sure to include both your name and address in the body of your note,
and put "(Month) Mystery Plane" in the subject line.
10 FEBRUARY 2000
This uncluttered view of F-AIAN, the second production Jabiru, shows the really
neat engine nacelle/stub wing arrangement, the passenger windows in the nose,
and the position of the pilots' cockpit.
brothers Henri and Maurice in 1912. Both were pioneer pilots and
airplane designers-Henri since 1907 and Maurice since 1909.
liThe firm soon became one of the largest manufacturers in France
l
and during the next 25 years
l
Farman built numerous military and
civil aircraft in quantity. In 1936
1
when the aircraft industry was na-
tionalized in France
l
the firm merged with Hanriot to form Societe
Nationale de Construc-
tions Aeronautics du
Centre (SNCAC). At
that timel Henri and
Maurice retired."
FARMAN F.121
Larry Knechtel,
Seattle, WA writes:
JABIRU {STORK}
II Key to the F.121's
SPECIFICATIONS
safety was the use of a
Wing Span 62 ft., 4 in.
high set wing of great
area. This 62 foot, 4
Length 44 ft., 10.5 in.
inch wing span was of
wooden construction
Wing Area 871.8 sq.ft
and
l
as the photo The fuselage bulkheads of the Jabiru divide the passenger
Empty Weight 6,6121bs
shows, strut braced. The cabin into three compartments. Two passengers sit in the
root chord was no less nose, one in the second compartment, which is directly under
Gross Weight 11,0231bs
th anI 9 feet
l
8 -1 /4 the cockpit, and six sit in the main cabin. Note the overhead
inches and the wing was baggage racks.
Cruise Speed 108.7 mph
2 feet, 6 inches thick. 'I
Range 403 miles
-continued on page 27
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
PASS IT TO BUCK 
Basics 
As most of you know, "my bag"
is old airplanes. They weren't old
when I was young, but we some-
how seem to have aged together.
My 1934 Aeronca C-3, which has
been in the family since 1962, is a
good example. The old airplanes
were very basic. The best of them,
like the Porterfield 35-70, with its
sporty wing and higher cross-
country speed, and the cabin
Waco were also basic, but the
Aeroncas, Cubs, T-crafts were very
basic. You learned the basics, and
you learned them well.
Instruments were there to tell
you the oil pressure, oil tempera-
ture (when it worked), and the
tachometer so you could set climb
and cruise RPM. The compass
sloshed around and was only there
to tell you were in the Northern
Hemisphere. Usually the airspeed
indicator didn't work too well, the
altimeter was graduated in 200-foot
increments, and there was really no
precision instrument flying as we
know it today. You were taught to
fly from one forced landing field to
the next, always keeping in mind
where the wind was from and
mindful that the engine could
lunch out at any time. Sometimes
it did! Reliability was never taken
for granted.
Cross-country? What a laugh!
The reason there were so many air-
ports around the area was because a
12 FEBRUARY 2000
by  E.E.  "Buck"  Hilbert 
EAA  #21 VAA  #5 
P.O. Box  424,  Union,  IL 60180 
ten-mile cross-country was an ac-
complishment. Most of the time
we spent in or near the pattern
next to your home airport. Climb-
ing up to fifteen hundred feet
above the ground sometime took
ten minutes or more! Then you'd
practice a few stalls, some turns,
and then a couple of power-off
stalls and you were back down to
pattern altitude so you shot a cou-
ple of landings and quit.
All this was seat of the pants .
You flew by sound and feel. The at-
titude indicator was the bottom of
the wing and the way it angled on
the horizon, and you flew from
point to point using the seat of
your pants for reference. East was
thataway, and North was that way.
If in doubt, you looked for a marker
painted on a roof, or read the name
of the town on the water tower.
The best way was to land and ask
someone if you were lost.
You looked for washing hanging
on the clothes lines, or smoke, or
ripples on the water to tell where
the wind was from, and by drawing
a line on the map and noting how
it cut the section lines you knew
what angle you were to use for a
heading. You were always aware of
your position because as I said be-
fore, it was from the last forced
landing field to the next one.
By marking off the route in ten,
fifteen or if you were really opti-
mistic, thirty mile segments on the
map you were able to calculate
your ground speed and figure how
long you could fly with the gas you
had left. Many times, the wind
would decimate your 60 mph cruis-
ing speed and the ground speed
would be maybe 40 or 45 mph.
The "fun" began after you got
there. The harrowing experience
gave way to a joy you couldn't wait
to share with others. There was al-
ways an air of happiness around
the airport, you and all those
around you ate, slept, dreamed and
talked aviation. We all had the Air-
plane Disease, and we reveled in it.
It was fun! Fun! Fun! Even the CAA
guys were a happy lot.
The written test for the Private
Pilot was fifteen or twenty ques-
tions. The flight-check maybe
thirty-five minutes. The poor per-
formance of some of the airplanes
often had the CAA man watch you
fly while he stood on the ground
and critiqued your stalls and spins
after you landed.
It was a much simpler day. It was
basic flying like there will never be
again. How I wish all of you could
experience that freedom, that joy,
the pure elation of flight. But you
gotta get old before you really ap-
preciate it.
Over to you,
t(
T
here are  lots of reasons  air-
planes are  interesting and 
the deciding factor  is  almost 
always  the people behind them. 
Take  the  nearly stock appearing 
Cessna  180,  N180XP,  for  instance. 
Aside  from  the fact  that you  sel-
dom see  180's done in  1950's era 
paint schemes anymore and  the 
fact  that this one is  cleaner than 
most,  it would still  be easy to coast 
right past it in search of some-
thing  more  exotic.  Something 
more  /lantiquey." 
Then you see  Bud  Fields.  And,  if 
you  see  Bud  Fields,  you'll also see 
Nikki  Fields.  Fourth grade,  blonde, 
energy personified  and  clearly 
daddy's little girl.  It's the combi-
nation  of  Bud  and  Nikki  that 
makes their 180 special. 
Bud,  who  owns a  large  indus-
trial  plant contracting business in 
Hayward,  California,  isn't your av-
erage  business-man-with-a-180. 
Besides  the fact  that his business, 
which is  largely based on building, 
installing,  repairing glass  melting 
The traveling airplane for Nikki and dad,
the 180 fills the need perfectly by offering a
good cruise speed (listed between 151 and
160 mph) along with great short field per-
formance, particularly with the Horton
STOl kit installation.
14 FEBRUARY 2000
furnaces  for  folks  like  PPG  and 
Corning,  he  has a  serious addic-
tion for  antique airplanes. 
He  started flying  in  the USMC 
aero club at El  Toro while he was 
stationed there in 1964 as  a  simu-
lator technician. He soloed in their 
C-150 but quickly graduated up to 
the T-34B.  Then it was  college at 
Cal State in  Fullerton where  he 
graduated with a  degree  in  eco-
nomics.  He  immediately went to 
work for  a  concrete contractor, 
eventually establishing his own 
company in the field.  One of their 
The Cessna 180 has one of t he
most distinctive " chins" in
general aviati on.
major customers was a 
company that supported 
glass manufacturers and, 
when that company de-
cided they wanted out of 
the business,  Bud  sim-
ply  took  them  over. 
That was  two  decades 
ago and it has  been up 
hill  every since. 
He  had gotten his pi-
lot's license while  still 
in  the  Marines  but 
found  himself drawn to 
tailwheel  airplanes.  In 
this case an  old Aeronca 
Champ.  But,  there was-
n't anyone to check him 
out.  One of the guys on the base 
said,  /I ••• you're a  good  pilot,  Bud, 
here's  all you  need to  know... " 
and  he  proceeded to give  him  a 
verbal checkout in a  tailwheel air-
plane.  Today Bud  doesn't suggest 
anyone  follow  his  lead  in  this 
area  as  there were  a  few  /I ••• in-
teresting runway trips,"  before he 
figured  it out, but he never dinged 
the airplane. 
Today Bud  somehow finds  time 
to manage his business while man-
aging his fleet  of eleven  (that's 
right,  eleven)  airplanes,  most of 
Bud Field and his
daughter, Nikki.
them serious antiques.
Oldest to newest, there is
the 1928 Travel Air 4000,
two C-3 Aeroncas, the
4CM-1 Bull Stearman, an
STA, a stock Stearman, an
L-5£ Stinson, a 150 horse
PA-12, a Dragon Rapide
(undergoing restoration), a
250 Comanche and the
Cessna 180.
While the entire list of
airplanes is notable, sev-
eral should be looked at
individually. His Ryan
STA, for instance is serial
number 110 (1936) and is
assumed to be the oldest
STA flying. His stock Stear-
man is even more
interesting. A Lycoming powered
model 75, its serial number is
75001, which makes it the very
first production Stearman built.
SIN 75000 was the prototype and
his airplane was the first in a batch
of 27 airplanes ordered by the
Army in 1936. It should also be
noted that any time this airplane
is discussed, Nikki instantly claims
ownership, something that Bud
doesn't dispute. Nikki as you will
see is very vocal about airplanes.
Oshkosh '99 was the second
year Bud and Nikki brought the
airplane east. The Cessna was fin-
ished only two years ago, and their
trip to last year's AirVenture
Oshkosh included a slight dog leg
up to Alaska on the way in and
another little side trip to New York
on their way home. That particu-
lar trip took three weeks and 100
Look closely at the leading edges of the wings, and you can see the distinctive cusp added during the installation of the
Horton STOL kit.
hours of flying and Bud says, " ... Nikki does all the
VOR navigating. I just drive."
The airplane has 250 hours on it since they rebuilt
it and he says Nikki has been aboard for almost every
hour. When asked how many hours she has, she
chirps"About 1,000." If you raise your eyebrows at
the number, look over at her father who will grin and
say, "She's probably about right. None of the air-
planes go anywhere without her. I showed up at an
airshow a while back with the Bull Stearman and the
first person who walked up said 'where's Nikki' at
which point her head popped up in the front pit. She
had been sleeping, which she often does."
The 180 is a 1956 model with a stock 0-470-K done
by Monte Barrett. When he bought the airplane it
was " ... a solid airplane, but a little faded all the way
around." Field polished it and re-painted the stripes
and freshened up the interior and panel. Knowing
this was going to be his go-everywhere-airplane, he
added a Horton STOL kit to the wings just in case
they decided to drop in some place that required the
A handy addition to the 180 are pop out handles to help move
the airplane while on the ground, instead of pushing and lifting
on the fixed tail surfaces.
16 FEBRUARY 2000
low and slow capabilities built-
into the Horton STC.
In questioning his relationship
with Nikki, he says, "I'm a single
dad." At which point Nikki chimes
in, "Yeah, but you didn't used to
be." The two of them talk quite
freely about being a team and
she's excited about everything
around her. There's also the possi-
bility she' s the only girl in her
fourth grade class who can make
comments like, "What dad really
needs is a Widgeon, or maybe a
Goose or Mallard." Then she
thinks for a second and adds, "Or
maybe a Duck."
Dad is president of Vintage
Chapter 29 in Hayward, which
should be proud this year because
the chapter is home to the Parris
brothers whose Lockheed 12A
brought home the 1999 EAA Air-
Venture Grand Champion trophy
for antiques. Recognizing the
huge number of hard core an-
tiques in the area, as well as his
own, Bud is in the process of
building a 38,000 square foot mu-
seum on the Hayward airport
which will be home to the chapter
as well as housing his and others
antiques. He says, " .. .it's going to
be a flying museum and once a
month, we'll have an antique fly
day in which we get as many of
them into the air as we can." It's
called the Vintage Aero Museum.
When the future is mentioned
Bud and Nikki's "go where they want to go today" machine is comfortably set up
to be nice-cross country machine. No virtual reality here - this is the real thing!
around the inseparable pair, two
subjects generally come up. The
first , is what kind of airplane
should be added to the collection
next and the conversation goes
something like this:
"Nikki would like us to have a
warbird but ... " Bud starts and Nikki
finishes.
"Yeah, we need an AD Skyraider.
One of the four-place versions so I
can take my friends."
"But, Nikki ," Bud answers, "We
have a warbird, the L-S is a warbird."
"Daaad," she returns, IIWe need
something bigger. Maybe something
like an L-l."
Asked what an L-1 is, she answers,
lIyou, know, the long, round-mo-
tored, big L-bird. You know."
It would be interesting to hear
her with her peer group at a sleep
over.
A friend says, IIDid you see
Bobby. Isn't he cute?"
She answers, III guess so," then
she brightens up, IIBut did you
know his dad owns a IIG" model
Staggerwing. Now that's cool!"
The second subject that comes
up when they talk about the fu-
ture is a goal Nikki has. She wants
to be the youngest person to fly
into Oshkosh. However, since her
birthday is in December she
knows there's probably no way
she can do that in power planes,
but she has a plan.
IIWhen I'm still fifteen, we'll
tow me in in a glider," then the
conversation expands and dad
suggests maybe he'll tow her with
the Bull Stearman. Then the
glider type is discussed and it be-
comes a WW-II TG model. When
last seen, the two of them were in
animated conversation about all
the neat things they were going
to do together.
Like we said, it's the people that
often make airplanes interesting . .....
The Central Valley of California 
is  a great place for  a fly-in,  and the 
1999 edition of the Golden  West 
EAA  Regional  Fly-In was  blessed 
with the good flying weather you'd 
expect.  In addition to those pictured 
here,  the other award winners were: 
ANTIQUE AIRCRAFT 
Reserve  Grand Champion 
Waco UPF-7  N32135 
Gary Entrekin,  Ventura,  CA 
CLASSIC AIRCRAFT 
Grand Champion 
Piper J3C-65 
Paul and Joyce Brown 
Capitola, CA 
CONTEMPORARY AIRCRAFT 
Grand Champion 
Cessna 180, N180LG 
Jim Goodman, San Jose,  CA 
Champion 
Cessna  195B,  N2134C 
George Dray,  Novato,  CA 
Champion 
Cessna  180, N9675B 
James Golyer,  Arroyo  Hondo,  NMz 
H.G.  Frautsch 
Amelia Reid's beautiful airshow routine shows each of us just how a Cessna 150
Aerobat can really be put through its paces by a pilot whose flying skills are the
very definition of finesse. Amelia runs her own FBO at the Reid-Hillview airport in
San Jose, CA, and has trained over 4,000 pilots.
Sidney Scarlett's justifiably proud of his 1950 Beech Bonanza. He's from Phoenix, AZ.
"Bad Habit" is the name given by Scott O'Brien to his Luscombe 8A. This airplane
has a pretty low serial number, being the 17th Luscombe built in 1945.
18 FEBRUARY 2000
Volunteer Irene Arnold,  Placerville,  CA  helps Mark Backes register his Stinson 
108-3.  Mark is  from Ridgecrest,  CA. 
The  Reserve  Grand Champion Contemporary of the 
1999 Golden West EAA  Regional  Fly-In  is  this Bellanca 
14-19-3 owned by Patrick Frewald and Julie Joquette. 
Scott Crosby of Antelope,  CA flies this 
Steve and Sharon Jebb keep their extra-shiny Luscombe 
very sharp  1949  Piper PA-16 Clipper. 
8A at the Fresno-Chandler field  in  Fresno,  CA.  It even 
includes a well-maintained wind-driven generator 
between the gear legs. 
From the tower cab at Castle  Airport controllers Eric  Micklesen, 
Mark Lambie,  Phillip Martin and  Don  Ide kept the traffic flowing 
smoothly during the three days of the fly-in. 
VINTAGE AIRPLANE  19 
Kent White of TM Technologies demonstrates gas welding of alu-
minum while onlookers don masks so they can see the results as
Kent runs a bead. Hands-on demonstrations are always very pop-
ular at fly-in s.
Marketing & Public
Relations Director of the
Hiller Museum and all
around old airplane
good guy Willie Turner
served as the Golden
West's airshow boss. His
partner with the radio is
Jimmy Lichtenstein who
was the airshow's
ground boss.
Jeff Montgomery cleans up while checking in at home on the
phone. His 1929 Consolidated Fleet biplane was picked as the
Champion Antique aircraft.
Boy, these guys get around! David Liebecott, who restored the
Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser "City of the Angels" and Harry Mutter,
the owner of this historic airplane and historian of the Piper
Aviation Museum in Lock Haven, PA pause before taking off. Harry
and David flew the PA-12 on a recreation of a portion ofthe
around the world flight in 1947, visiting all the u.s. cities flown into
by George Truman and Cliff Evans in their PA-12s. You can check
out the Piper Aviation Museum's web site at
http://www.kcnet.org/-piper for more information. David's restora-
tion of the globe circling Super Cruiser was honored with a Reserve
Grand Champion Classic trophy.
Bud Field, Hayward, CA took home
the Antique Grand Champion
plaque for his Stearman 4 CM-1.
20 FEBRUARY 2000
An
Extraordinary
Elder Eagle
"What you should do is
to get yourselfa good
highway atlas. Then
plan your trip along
the major routes.
Roads lead to towns
and towns have
airports. Stop every
hour or two for fuel
and a cup ofcoffee. If
the weather ahead
looks questionable
stop and get
acquainted with some
ofthe local people. "
byRon Gamer
  s   words from his personal
experiences were spoken to
~ me by 87-year-old aviation en-
thusiast Robert Rietzke, as we relaxed
in his hangar located at his private
airstrip in central Minnesota. The
advice seemed simple enough, espe-
cially coming from a man who's
"been there and done that" in al-
most all aspects of aviation. It's
advice he and his wife, Marie, fol-
lowed for years of travel in
single-engine aircraft while visiting
many of the lower 48 states. With
the exception of a sudden engine
shutdown on a cold winter after-
noon somewhere over Nebraska, it's
been a flawless plan of travel for the
Rietzkes. The unexpected loss of en-
gine power wasn' t a big deal to this
veteran airman. He simply landed
on a plowed field, found the prob-
lem, and returned them on their
way towards the next town down
the highway. No big deal for a man
who has flown in dozens of different
aircraft, starting with open air bi-
planes of the 1920s and progressing
to the edge the earth's atmosphere
in U-2 spy planes. He even flew in
the second seat of the once top-se-
cret SR-71 Blackbird.
It's a story I almost missed. For
many years I had rushed past the
small white sign announcing"Air-
port" while hurrying on my way to
the family cabin located on one of
Minnesota's ten thousand lakes. But
since I had taken up the pursuit of
flying a few years back, my curiosity
about this little airstrip finally got
the best of me. I decided I'd just
have to check out this small rural
airfield. So one day, instead of rush-
ing past, I slowed down and turned
onto the gravel drive leading to the
neatly mowed grass runway. Enter-
ing one of two metal hangars, I was
cheerfully greeted by a friendly ma-
ture gentleman. I'm still finding it
hard to believe that this outgoing
energetic man is closing in on nine
decades of life. Don, as his friends
know him, was happy to share with
this fledging airman a bit of his per-
sonal history. After learning about
his seven decades of unique flying
experiences I'm doubtful there are
many men or women around today
who could come close to having
such a colorful history in aviation-
related activities as this experienced
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
toured the Pacific
in this manner
with Don aboard
until his discharge
from regular duty
in 1936.
Returning to
civilian life, Don
used his electron-
ics background to
help work on the
construction of
the massive aque-
duct project which
Don and a model airplane "award" presented to him during brought water over
his Lockheed Skunkworks® days.
elder eagle.
Robert Don Rietzke was born in
Beaumont , Ca lifornia, in 1912,
about the time mankind was first
conquering the mastery of flight.
When he was just fifteen an older
cousin took him for spin in the then
modern "j enny". Like a fish on a
line, Don was hooked. Eagerly
awaiting high school graduation,
Don already had a flight plan in
mind. He would enlist in the Navy
so he could take flight training and
become a Naval Aviator. Unfortu-
nately for Don, soon after he signed
on the Navy changed their policy of
letting enlisted men become avia-
tors. His immediate flight plan was
put on hold. He was left with his
second choice of training, radio
communications. Some time after
he completed his basic communica-
tions training Don was assigned to
the battleship Nevada.
Now it just so happened that the
ship carried three float planes on
board for search and rescue mis-
sions. These planes were launched
from the deck of the battleship with
help of a track and catapult system.
Upon their return, a shipboard crane
would pluck them from the water
and return them to the deck. Don
was able to make many flights in
these planes, not as the pilot, but as
the radio communications special-
ist. Once airborne he would unreel
a length of wire and carry out the
business of sending coded messages
back to the battleship. The Nevada
22 FEBRUARY 2000
the mountains to
the thirsty Los An-
geles basin. Whenever possible Don
would hitch a ride on whatever small
plane was available to keep in touch
with his passion for flying. While
working with the water district Don
also started up a small radio shop.
This led him to a position as radio
technician with the L.A. police force.
Leaving L.A. for a year to further
his electronics training at the Capi-
tol Engineering College in
Washington, D.C., Don returned to
the Los Angeles police force as their
radio communications engineer. It
was during this period he began do-
ing work on the side for Douglas
Aircraft Corporation. In 1940,
shortly after being promoted to ra-
dio communications superintendent
for the L.A. police force, and despite
protests from the police chief to the
contrary, Uncle Sam called him back
to active duty. Don was then as-
signed to the Adva nced Training
Carrier Group, which was then flying
scout bombers. Don flew in the back
seat as the radio specialist as the pi-
lots practiced their bombing accuracy
around the California coast.
His life then took unexpected
twist. After the attack of the Navy
base at Pearl Harbor, he was assigned
to Treasure Island, California where
he was to assist starting up a Navy
radio school. When that task was
complete he was next assigned to
Johnson Island, some 600 miles
south of Hawaii. But his trip to John-
son was delayed at Pearl, while the
Navy had him updating I.F.F. equip-
ment, better known to those who
used it as "identify, friend or foe." Fi-
nally arriving at his original
destination, he immediately set
about working on I.F.F. installations
on johnson, Midway, and Palmyra
Islands. For Don, the up side of this
assignment was being able to serve
as a crewmember for many hours
during search and rescue flights
looking for lost aviators.
1944 found Don back in the
Hawaiian Islands working on the
huge 500,000-watt transmitter
which had enough power to send
messages to almost any location on
the globe. It was here he met his
soon-to-be bride. Marie was a Red
Cross nurse assigned to duty at Pearl.
After a short aSSignment on the
flagship U.S.S. Rocky Mountain dur-
ing the invasion of the Marshall
Islands, Don returned to take Marie
as his wife. Their first flight together
was provided by the Navy on a DC-
3. The Navy flew the newlyweds to
the big island for a honeymoon at
the famous Volcano Island Inn.
Coming back to California in
1945, the couple went quickly to
work finding 400 acres of open land
to build their first private airport .
The state of California and the city
of Beaumont had different plans for
the property and the Rietzke
Airstrip and his radio repair facility
soon had to be closed for the cre-
ation of a new highway. It was at
this point in time that Don actually
took the time to make his flying le-
gal. He logged some time with an
instructor in an old L-2 taildragger
and shortly thereafter received his
official license to fly.
After 18 hours official flight time
Don bought himself an old Stear-
man. He used this aircraft t o
commute to many of his job sites.
With the closure of his private strip,
he took a position with the Civil
Aeronautics Administration in-
stalling VORs at all the major
airports in California. He found it a
great way of combining his flying
and radio talents. Before long Don
exchanged the Stearman for a Lus-
combe, and later, a beloved little
Ercoupe. In no time at all he and
Marie had put over 400 flight hours
on this small two-seater.
In 1950 the Navy once again
called Don back to active duty. He
was to help supervise the installa-
tion of radio equipment at Pearl
Harbor. Discharged again in 1952
he went to work for the Hughes Air-
craft Company. Once more he could
commute to work in his little Er-
coupe. He then left Hughes to work
on the F89 project over at Northrop
Aviation. At Northrop he was re-
sponsible for the electrical and radio
equipment on newly designed air-
craft. From Northrop Don went to
work for Lockheed at now famous
Skunkworks(R).
He was involved with much of the
instrumentation used on the exotic
craft being designed in complete se-
crecy, including the renown SR-71
Blackbird. When asked about his
testing out electronics at nearly ten
miles above sea level he gave a wry
smile and said, "Pretty much like
any other flight, except a lot higher.
But the real difference is seeing the
curve of the earth."
Not only did he ride second seat
in the Blackbird, but also made high
altitude flights in the famous U-2
spy plane. He notes that it came
with the responsibility of being an
electronic research engineer for these
top-secret aircraft. Even though Don
was heavily involved with his design
and application work on the top-se-
cret aircraft, he kept many weekends
open to pursue his own love of flying.
He and his wife spent many hours
flying up and down the coast of Cal-
ifornia in the pursuit of new
adventures. At one time one of his
favorite pastimes was for a friend
and himself to fly low over much of
the open arid government land of
the southwest.
Don had designed a scintillator, a
gieger counter like device that would
indicate the presence of uranium. Af-
ter locating likely deposits, they
would later bounce and jar to the
site in an old jeep. If uranium was
present they would file their claim in
hopes of making a profit. Don notes
that there were some anxious mo-
ments, as they weren't the only
ones prospecting and many of the
others were very well armed in at-
tempt to keep newcomers from
invading territory where they had
hoped to strike it rich.
Once again the Rietzkes wanted
their own airstrip from which to
launch flying adventures. They pur-
chased and created the Rietzke Flying
Ranch located about 15 miles from
Palmdale, California. Here, Don,
Marie, and their daughter Linda were
free to come and go in a variety of
small aircraft for which he kept trad-
ing. Don had a chance to take his
first flight in a Navion. He was smit-
ten! He knew that some day he would
own and fly one of
these great perform-
ing aircraft. In 1968
Don and Marie, us-
ing the road atlas
technique, headed
towards Minnesota
in their very own
Navion to visit
Marie's hometown
of Aitkin, Min-
nesota. Having
finished his career
at the Skunkworks,
their mission was
to locate lakeshore
cons at great distances in the night
sky, Don set to work finding a way
to make them brighter. His inven-
tion was the Hali-Brite. His
company developed a product that
could enhance the visibility and
brightness of established beacon in-
stallations. Before long his small
company was busy applying their
modifications to airports all over
Minnesota. Don relates that the
modified beacons are now found at
almost all U.S. airports.
Early in 1986, Don received a call
from a former colleague at the
Skunkworks. Would he like to help
set up the radio communications for
the around-the-world, nonstop unre-
fueled Voyager project? Never one to
in her home state Part ofthe Voyager Communications crew, Don (center) is flanked
on which they by Dave Beardon (left) and Bruce Evans.
would build a re-
tirement home.
Finding property that suited their
needs, they drove a bouncy 4x4
jeep back to California to pack up
and put the Reitzke Flying Ranch
on the real estate market.
Wanting to use his retirement
time and his talents productively,
Don started up a small company
called Nav-Com Contractors, which
he located at the Aitkin Airport. He
went about the business of repairing
and installing aircraft avionics in
civilian planes. Never one to hold
just single job at a time, he also went
to work for the Minnesota Dept. of
Aeronautics maintaining nav aids
and VORs. Hearing comments about
the difficulty of seeing airport bea-
miss out at a new adventure, Don ea-
gerly agreed to lend a helping hand.
Working with former Skunkworks
engineer Larry Caskey, Don formu-
lated a plan for continuous
communication with the Voyager
no matter what its location during
the record-breaking attempt at non-
stop circumnavigation. The summer
of '86 found Mr. Rietzke living with
Dick Rutan near the Mojave Air-
port. It was here that all flight
operations were to be planned,
tested, and managed.
Don was assigned communica-
tions director for this historic
undertaking. His first priority was to
establish a working link with numer-
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
Navions back to the skies.
Don uses his tremen-
dous patience and aircraft
knowledge to rebuild or re-
new each component of
the aircraft. Besides N91491
that Don completely re-
built, a visit to the hangar
workshop will reveal an-
other beautiful Navion
about to brought back to
life. A set of highly buffed
aluminum wings are cra-
dled in the corner awaiting
their turn to be reat-
Marie and Don Riezke with their beloved Navion. tached. That'll be done
ous agencies and companies in the
communication community. Using
every resource at his disposal, Don
helped insure that flight director
Caskey was in continual contact with
the Voyager in order to pass on vital
flight information about weather,
route changes, etc. As the flying world
knows, it worked! Dick and Jeana as-
tounded the aviation world with
their nonstop global flight.
Back at his home airstrip, Don
continued to have a love affair with
Navions. On one of his trips about
Minnesota he had the opportunity
to meet a fellow pilot nicknamed
"Navion Mike."
It seems that Navion Mike also
had an intense passion for this par-
ticular line of aircraft. Not only did
this gentleman have a beautifully
restored Navion, he had another
disassembled but could be brought
back to life with someone's caring
touch. In his hangar at the Anoka
County Airport he also had wide
variety of Navion parts. When
Navion Mike passed away, Don bar-
gained for the whole works. He had
just recently made the purchase of
the Miller Airport located some IS
miles from Aitkin and had plenty of
hangar space to store both the
planes and their parts. So, in, the
mid-nineteen eighties, when Don
was in his own mid seventies, he
took on the challenge of moving
his business and restoring the
24 FEBRUARY 2000
shortly after the installation
of his newly hand-crafted
instrument panel, the fifth such panel
he has made in recent years. He had
hoped this aluminum beauty would
be up and flying the summer of '99
but he says he has so many other
things to do that Oshkosh AirVen-
ture 2000 might be more realistic.
Working from the original manufac-
turing manual he wants the aircraft
to be very close to the way it left the
factory. One exception he is making
is the windshield. On this project he
has opted to replace the split wind-
screen with a one-piece installation.
Don notes that configuring the
shape and size of the heavy duty
Plexiglas(r) was one of the more chal-
lenging problems he had to solve, as
it's not an item you'd find at the lo-
cal hardware. He solved the problem
and the installation is complete.
With the installation of the in-
strument panel and associated
tubing connections, Don will send
the engine out for a complete
workup. Don states that he is fortu-
nate to have made so many aviation
contacts in the Midwest. Finding an
A&P or an FAA check person has not
been a problem for him. He also
greatly appreciates the many friends
and fellow pilots who stop by and
contribute time and effort helping
him with the restoration. My guess
is they are quite enthusiastic just to
visit his littl e airport and do some
hangar flying with a living historian
of aviation history. When asked if
he'll ever show his finished aircraft
at Oshkosh he modestly replies, "My
work isn't anything special, not like
all those fancy homebuilts on dis-
play." Chances are he'll once again
quietly attend the event as a general
help volunteer and never let those
he chats with know that he's a walk-
ing encyclopedia of airplane history
and experience.
On a recent visit to his little airport
I found the energetic octogenarian
finishing up his regular mowing of
the grass strip. When questioned why
he had such a broad grin on his
face, his reply was quick in return-
ing: "Passed my bi-annual flight
review yesterday in Navion.49l. Re-
ally gave the plane a good
workout." One should have figured
he'd use the high-performance air-
craft for such an event. The little
Cessna ISO he and Marie have used
so many times to criss-cross the
country just wouldn't have been
challenging enough for this opti-
mistic airman, even at eighty-seven
years young.
If you ever find yourself in central
Minnesota, near the famous walleye
factory known as Mille Lacs Lake, go
to the northwestern corner to a small
town called Garrison. A mile north
of town on highway number 18
you'll see a small white sign indicat-
ing an airport. Don't rush by like I
used to. Turn in and spend some
time with a twinkly-eyed fellow pi-
lot who'll advise you how to see the
country following America's road-
ways. He says, "It works for me and
it'll work for you, just be patient and
enjoy the scenery." This from a fel-
low airman who's seen lots of
countryside from many different al-
titudes. But the ones the Rietzkes
like best are the many long cross
countries they've made in small air-
craft using his own sage advice, " ..
. follow the highways, and take
time to enjoy the flight." It's advice
all of us would love to be able to
use if and when we're nearing nine
decades of life. In my eyes, Don
Riezke is certainly one extraordi-
nary elder eagle. ......
NEW MEMBERS 
Victor E. Mail ........ .. Smithfield
· .. . . . ... . . . . . Heights Q, Australia
Ray Toews ................... . .
· ...... Fort Vernlillion, AB, Canada
Todd D. Cunningham . ...... . ... . .
· ...... . . .. Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Alan Fi lby ....... La Fleche, France
Marvin Miller .......... Kenai, AK
James E. Phillips . .. . .. Opelika, AL
Windle Henry ... .. .... Sercay, AR
Jim Hillabrand . .... . Springdale, AR
Paul Seveerson . .. .... . Phoenix, AZ
James Beck .. ... ... Bakersfield, CA
Edwin M. Bower . ...... Norco, CA
Steve Brown ... . . . . .. Mentone, CA
John T. Culp ....... . Palmdale, CA
Steven Emley .. ... . . Oak Hills, CA
E. Gene Frink . . . Newport Beach, CA
Travis G. Gammill . . . Riverside, CA
Stephen C. Hull ... . ... .. .. ..... .
· ... ... ..... .. Red Wood City, CA
John Keams . ... .. ... . Pioneer, CA
William C. Knauer ... Riverside, CA
Melvin D. McWilliams .. .... ... . .
· ... . ...... . ... ... .. Banning, CA
Harold Nemer .... . ... Ramona, CA
Taylor Smith .. . San Bernardino, CA
William S. Timmer ............. .
· ...... ... ... . . San Francisco, CA
James F. Ure .... . ... Fallbrook, CA
Howard G. Wilson .. . ..... . .. ... .
· .. . ..... . ... . . . Los Angeles, CA
James Bonner .. ... . ... . Miami, FL
Daryl L. Bortel ... St. Petersburg, FL
Wayne J. Boyer ..... Clearwater, FL
Jim Heekin ........ . .. Orlando, FL
Fred W. Hill ........ Ft. Meyers, FL
Paul E. Petro .. Defuniak Springs, FL
Kenneth A. Weld, Jr. ... Sorrento, FL
Wendell Davenport .... Honolulu, HI
Claire Wilson ........ Honolulu, HI
Michael S. Jones . .... . .. Roscoe, IL
Frank W. Mellberg . . . Park Ridge, IL
Glenn R. Stout ... . .. Gages Lake, IL
Edward A. Connell . . Annapolis, MD
AOPA .. .. .... ... . . Frederick, MD
Susan 1. Gagne . . ..... .. Wells, ME
Steve Howe ...... Bryant Pond, ME
Matthew Cognata ... . ... .. . . . .. . .
....... . ....... Pleasant Ridge, MI
Charl es E. Garrett. .. . . ...... .. .. .
.... ....... .. ... Grand Rapids, MI
Jenny Hanson . . ... Eden Prairie, MN
William R. Collette ... Foristell, MO
Richard Christensen .... Lincoln, NE
Denise A. Lauer ... ... Helmetta, NJ
John D. Northrup . . . Ellicottvi ll e, NY
A. Wayne Overton ....... Islip, NY
Graham Bale ...... .. . Lebanon, OH
Jack Lenhardt .. . ..... Hubbard, OR
Edward Gibbons ............. ... .
.............. . Schwenksville, P A
Keith S. Sargent ..... Hermitage, TN
Rodney L. Doss ........ Dallas, TX
Mark Lee ... ... .. ... Floydada, TX
Joe Rogers ....... .. .. Pearland, TX
Bruce R. Hinds ... Port Orchard, W A
Dennis Ames . ..... .. .. Datien, WI
Harold R. Duehring . . . . . .. .... .. .
.. . ....... ... .. . Fond Du Lac, WI
Carlton D. Bailey .. Barbersville, WV
Davi d Hersman . . .. Clintonville, WV
Fly-In Calendar
The following list ofcoming events is furnish ed
to our readers as a mailer ofinformation only
and does not constitute approval, sponsorship,
involvement, control or direction ofany event
(jly·in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. Please
send the information to EAA. All: Golda Cox.
P.D. Box 3086, Oshkosh. WI 54903·3086. Infor-
mation should be received four months prior to
the event date.
FEBRUARY 26-27 - RIVERSIDE, CA . Flabob Air·
port. EAA Chapter I Open House and Fly·ln.
Sawrday night fundraiser dinner. fly market. silent
auction, YOllng Eagles, workshops. etc., Info:
909/682·6236, 909/686·1318 or 626.287·2139.
MARCH 2-4 - BILLINGS, MT· Holiday Inn Grand
Montana. Montana Aviation Conference. Work-
shops. seminars. nationally recognized speakers.
trade show. Info: MT Aeronautics Div. , PO Box
5178, Helena. MT 59604-5178.406/444-2506.
MARCH 3-5 - CASA GRANDE, AZ - Casa Grande
Airport. 42nd Annual Cactus Fly-In. Info:
www.americanpilot.org/cactus or call Jon Engle
at 480/891-6012from 0800 to 1700. Man. through
Thurs.
MARCH 4 - WISCASSET, ME - Wiscasset Airport
(KIWI) "Fly Here - Get Gas" Chili Cook-of! and
Preventive Maintenance Safety Seminar. Open to
all. Info: Wicked Good Aviation 207-882-5475 or
[email protected].
MAY 6-7 - CLEVELAND, OH - 16th Annual Air
Racing History Symposium. sponsored by the So-
ciety ofAir Racing Hi storians. Holiday Inn-
Airport. 216/267-1700. Info: Herman Schaub.
440/234-2301.
MA Y19-21 - COLUMBIA, CA - 2000 Gathering Of
Luscombes. Aircraft judging, spot landing and
flour bombing. 8th annual Great Luscombe Clock
Race. Info: Doug Clough, 360/893-5303; Art Mox-
ley, 253-630-1086; Gordy Birse, 253/631-8478 or
E-Mail [email protected]
MAY 20-21 NILES, Ml - (3 TR) VAA Chapter 35
hosts Kalamazoo Air Zoo Ford Tri-motor and
traveling warbirds show. Tri-Motor and helicopter
rides. Lunch on Sat. 11-3. Sun. Breakfast 7-1 1.
then lun ch 11-3. Fly-In pilots eatfree. Info: Len
Jansen. 616/684-6566.
JUNE 2-3 - BARTLESVILLE, OK - Frank Phillips
Field. 14th Annual National Biplane Convention
and Expo. Forums, static displays, Seminars,
Workshops and exhibits. Biplane crews and NBA
membersfree, all others pay admission fee. Info:
Charles W. Harris. Chairman, 918/622·8400 or
Virgil Gaede, Expo Director, 918/336-3976.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
VINTAGE 
AIRCRAFT 
Services Directo!y_
Enjoy the many benefits ofBAA and the
ASSOCIAT ION 
O FFICERS 
President  Vice-President 
Espie 'Butch' Joyce  George Daubner 
P.O.  Box 35584  2448 Lough Lane 
Greensboro. NC 27425  Hart1ord.  WI  53027 
336/393-D344  414/673-5885 
e-mail:  [email protected] 
e-mail: [email protected] 
Treasurer
Sec retary 
Chanes W. HarriS
Steve Nessa 
7215 East 46th St.
2009 Highland Ave. 
Tulsa. OK  74145
Albert Lea.  MN 5IflJ7 
918/622-8400
fJJ7I373-1674 
[email protected] 
DIRECTORS 
Robert C.  "Bob- Brauer  Steve Krog 
9345 S.  Hoyne  1002 Heather Ln. 
Chicago. IL 60620 Hart1ord. WI  53027 
7731779-2105  414/966-7627 
e-rnai: [email protected]  e-mail: sskrog@aC>.com 
John Berendt 
7645 Echo Point Rd.  Robert D. "Bob" Lumley 
Cannon Falls.  MN 55009  1265 South  124th St. 
fJJ7/263-24 14  Brookfield. WI  53005 
414/782-2633 
John S. Copeland  e-OOI: 
1  A Deocon Street  [email protected] 
  01532 
Gene Morris 
e-mail:  5936 Steve Court 
[email protected]  Roanoke. TX 76262 
817/491-9110 
Phil  Coulson  e-mail: [email protected] 
28415 SprIngbrook Dr. 
Lawton.  MI 49065  Dean Richardson 
616/624-6490  6701  Colony Dr. 
Madison. WI  53717 
Roger Gamoll  608/833-1291 
321-1/2 S. Broadway #3 [email protected] 
Rochester.  MN 55904 
fJJ7288-281O 
[email protected] 
Geelf Robison 
1521  E.  MacGregor Dr. 
Dale A. Gustafson 
New Haven.  IN 46774 
7724 Shady Hill  Dr. 
219/493-4724 
Indianapolis. IN 46278 
e-mail: [email protected] 
317/293-4430 
S.H. "Wes" Schmid 
Jeannie Hill  2359 Lefeber Aveooe 
P.O.  Box 328  Wauwatosa. WI  53213 
Harvard.  IL 60033 414/771-1545 
815/943-7205  [email protected] 
BAA Vintage Aircraft Association

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
Phone (920) 426-4800  Fax (920) 426-4873 
Web Site: http://.eaa.organd http://www.airvent ltre.org  E-Mail: vintage @eaa.org 
EAA and Division Membership Services
800-843-3612  • _.... _....•• FAX 920-426-6761 
(8:00 AM -7:00 PM Monday- Friday CST)
• New/renew memberships: EAA, Divisions
(Vintage Aircraft Association, lAC, Warbirds),
National Association of Fli ght Instructors
(NAFI)
• Address changes
• Merchandise sales
• Gift memberships
Programs and Activities
EAA AirVent ure Fax-On-Demand Directory
........ . .. .............. . . ... 732-885-6711 
Auto Fuel STCs . ............... 920-426-4843 
Buil dlrestore information ... . . . 920-426-4821 
Chapters: locating/organizing .. 920-426-4876 
Education . . . . ........... . .... . 920-426-6815 
• EAA Air Academy
• EAA Scholarships
• EAA Young Eagles Camps
Flight Advisors information . .... 920-426-6522 
Flight Instructor information ... 920-426-6801 
Flying Start Program . _.... •.•.. 920-426-6847 
Library Services/Research .. .... 920-426-4848 
Medical Questions ... ... . . ..... 920-426-4821 
TechnicaJ Counselors ...... .... 920-426-4821 
Young Eagles .................. 920-426-4831 
Benefits
Aircraft Financing (Textron) "'" 800-851-1 367 
AVA ... . . .................... . 800-727-3823 
AVEMCO . . ................ . .. 800-638-8440 
Term Life and Accidental ....... 800-241-6103 
Death Insurance (Harvey Watt & Company)
Editorial
Submitting article/photo; advertiSing infonnation
920-426-4825 . . .. • . . . _• .•• FAX 920-426-4828 
EAAAviation Foundation
Artifact Donations ............. 920-426-4877 
Financial Support ....... . ... .. 800-236-1025 
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
avai lable for $50 per year (SPORT AVIATION mag-
Membershi p in the Experimental Aircraft Association, 
EAA
azi ne  not  included).  (Add  $10  for  Foreign 
Inc. is $40 for one year,  incl uding  12 issues of SPORT 
Postage.) 
AVIATION. Family membership is availablefor an addi-
tional $10 annually.  Junior Membership (under 19 
WARBIRDS 
years of age) is available  at $23 annually. All  major 
Current EM members may join the EM Warbirds of 
credit cards accepted for membership. (Add $16 for 
America Division and receive WARBIRDS  magazine 
Foreign Postage.) 
for an  additional $35 per year. 
EM Membership,  WARBIRDS  magazine and  one 
year  mem bership  in  the  Warbirds  Division
VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION 
is available fo r $45  per year (SPORT AVIATION 
Current EM members may join the Vintage Aircraft 
magazine  not included). (Add $7 for Forei gn 
Associaton and  receive VINTAGE AIRPLANE maga-
Postage.)
zine for an additional $27 per year. 
EM Membership,  VINTAGE AIRPLANE mag-azine 
EAA EXPERIMENTER
and  one year membership in  the  EM Vintage Air-
Current  EAA  members  may  receive  EAA
craft Association  is available for $37  per year 
EXPERIMENTER magazine for an  additional $20
(SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add 
per year.
$7 for Foreign Postage.) 
EM Membership and  EM EXPERIMENTER  mag-
azine  is  available  for  $30  per  year  (SPORT 
lAC  AVIATION magazine not inciuded).(Add $8 for For-
Current  EM members may join the  International  eign Postage.) 
Aerobatic Club, Inc. Division and  receive SPORT 
AEROBATICS magazine for an  additional $40  FOREIGN  MEMBERSHIPS 
per year.  Please  submit your remittance with  a check or 
EM Membership, SPORT AEROBATICS magazine  draft drawn on  a United  States  bank  payable  in 
and  one year membership in  the  lAC  Division  is  United  States  dollars. Add  required  Foreign 
Postage amount for each  membership. 
DIRECTORS 
EMERITUS 
Gene Chose  E.E. "Buck" Hilbert 
2159 Canton Rd.  P.O. Box 424 
Oshkosh.  WI  54904 
Union. IL 60 180 
815/923-4591 
e-mail:  [email protected] 
920/231-5002 
ADVISORS 
David Bennett  Alon Shackleton 
11741  Wolf Rd.  P.O. Box 656 
Grass Valley,  CA 95949  Sugar Grove,  IL 60554-0656
530/268-1585  630/466-4193 
[email protected]  103346.1772@comp;seNe.com 
Membership dues to EAA  and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions. 
Copyright  ©2000 by the  EM Vintage Aircraft Association 
All  rights reserved. 
VINTAGE  AIRPLANE  (ISSN  0091-6943) IPM  1482602  is published  and  owned  exclusively  by  the  EM Vintage  Aircraft  Association  of  the  Experimental  Aircraft  Association  and  is  published  monthly  at  EM Aviation  Center, 3000 
Poberemy Rd .• PO.  Box 3086. Oshkosh. WISConsin 54903-3086.  Periodicals Poslage paid at  Oshkosh. Wisconsin 54901  and  at  additional  mailing offices.  POSTMASTER:  Send address changes  to EM Antique/Classic  Division. Inc.•
PO.  Box  3086,  Oshkosh, WI  54903-3086.  FOREIGN  AND  APO  ADDRESSES  - Please aliow  at  least  two months lor delivery of VINTAGE  AIRPLANE  to  foreign  and  APO  addresses via  suriace mail.  ADVERTISING - Vintage  Aircraft 
Association does not guarantee or endorse any product  offered through  the advertising.  We  invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising  so  that corrective measures can 
be  taken. EDITORIAL POLICY:  Readers are encouraged  to  submrt  stories and  photographs.  Policy opinions expressed  in  articles are  those  of the authors.  Responsibility for accuracy in  reporting rests  with the cootributor.  No 
renumeration  is made.Material should  be sent to: Editor. VINTAGE  AIRPLANE, PO.  Box 3086,  Oshkosh,  WI  54903-3086.  Phone 920/426-4800. 
The  words  EM. ULTRALIGHT, FLY  WITH  THE  FIRST TEAM,  SPORT  AVIATION,  FOR  THE  LOVE  OF  FLYING  and  the logos of  EM. EAA  INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION,  EAA VINTAGE  AIRCRAFT  ASSOCIATION. INTERNA-
TIONAL  AEROBATIC  CLUB, WAR BIRDS  OF  AMERICA  are ® registered  trademarks. THE  EAA  SKY  SHOPPE  and  logos  01 the  EAA  AVIATION  FOUNDATION. EAA  ULTRALIGHT  CONVENTION  and  EAA  AirVenture  are  trade-
marks of the above associatioos and  their use by any person other than  the above association is strictly prohibited. 
26 FEBRUARY  2000
Mystery Plane - continued
Reference Sources: 
VINTAGE  TRADER
European Transport Aircraft Since
1910 - John Stroud, published by
Putnam.
Jane's All The Worlds Aircraft, 1927
The Illustrated Encyclopedia ofPro-
peller Airliners,Editor-in chief: Bill
Gunston (Exeter Books).
Other correct answers were  re-
ceived  from:  Leonard  E.  Opdycke, 
Poughkeepsie,  NY;  Ed  Simpson, 
Camp  Lake,  WI;  R.  E.  Louderback, 
Cincinnati,  OH;  Richard  Carter, 
Oshkosh,  WI;  Don Capasso,  Had-
donfield,  NJ;  Samuel Vick  Smith, 
Arlington,  VA;  Max Norris,  Sacra-
mento,  CA; Bob  Nelson,  Bismarck, 
ND;  Albert  Aplin,  Chuluota,  FL; 
Wayne Van  Valkenburgh, Jasper, 
GA; John Erickson, Jr,  State College, 
PA;  Tony Morris,  Bicester;  England; 
Vic  Smith,  Uxbridge,  Engl and; 
Charles Holmes,  Baton Rouge,  LA; 
Cody McCormick,  Scottsdale,  AZ; 
Earl  Swaney,  Fresno,  CA; Brian  R. 
Baker  and Theodore H.  N.  Wales, 
Westwood MA.  ~
Something to buy, sell or trade?
An inexpensive ad in the Vintage Trader may be just the answer to obtaining that elu-
sive part. . 50¢ per word, $8.00 minimum charge. Send your ad and payment to:
Vintage Trader, EAA Aviation Center, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, or
fax your ad and your credit card number to 920/426-4828. Ads must be received by
the 20th ofthe month for insertion in the issue the second month following (e.g., Octo-
ber 20th for the December issue.)
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AIRCRAFT  LINEN  - Imported.  Fabric  tapes.  For  a  18"  by  18"  sample,  send  $10.00. 
Contact for price  list.  WWI  Aviation Originals, Ltd.,  18 Journey's End, Mendon, VT 05701 
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Complete interior assemblies for do-iI-yourself installation. 
Custom quality at economical prices. 
•  Cushion upholstery sets 
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•  Baggage compartment sets 
•  Firewall covers 
•  Seat slings 
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Free catalog of complete product line. 
Fabric  Selection  Guide  showing  actual  sample  colors  and 
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Winner of Oshkosh
and numerous Grand
Champion awards
Member of AOPA and
Shorlwing Piper Club
fAA  Technical Counselor
Volunteer aircraft judge
AUAis
 
approved. 
To become a 
member of the 
Vintage Aircraft 
Association call 
800·843·3612
Fronk Sperondeo poses with Miss Pearl, a  winner at Oshkosh and numerous Grand Champion awards.
"A natural  pearl  is  one  of a  kind  and  a 
rare  find.  So  to  is  the  service and  price 
of AUA. ..  a  gem  of a  deal." 
- Frank Sperandeo
The  best is  affordable. 
Give AUA a  call  - it's  FREE! 
800-727-3823 
Fly with the pros .. .fly with AUA Inc.
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Insurance Program 
lower liability and  hull  premiums 
Medical payments  included 
Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft 
carrying all  risk  coverages 
No hand-proRping  exclusion 
No age pena ty 
No com pone  t parts endorsements 
Discounts for daim-free renewals 
carrying all  risk  coverages 
Remember, 
We're Setter Together' 
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V00260  Airshow 
V00261  Air Race 
,
"intage
V00259  Logo shirt 
V00262  Airmail 
ASSORTED VINTAGE T-SHIRTS
100% cotton tee featuring four different Vintage scenes. 
S- 2X  $12.95 
BLUE EMBOSSED DENIM JACKET
Made of 100% cotton.  Vintage logo embroidered on 
front with special embossed logo on back. 
V00241  M-XL  $65.99  V00244 2X  $65.99 
VINTAGE MAROON JACKET
The perfect jacket for  the outdoors! Tills 100% nylon jacket features the 
Vintage logo embroidered in front.  Also, for added convenience this 
jacket can be folded and made into a carrying pouch! 
V00126  S-XL  $25.95  V00130  2X  $25.99 
VINTAGE NAVY JACKET
Gear up for fall  in this Acadia lined Jacket.  Outer shell fea-
tures 100% waterproof nylon willIe the lining is  a comfortable 
cotton/poly blend. 
V00118 M-X  $35.95  V00131  2X  $36.95 
To Order Call: 1-800-843-3612 (Outside US and Canada920-426-4800) 
DENIM SHORT-SLEEVED SHIRTS with Button-down collar by Three 
Rivers.  Features button-closure on pocket. Double stitching on sleeves 
for durability. 100% cotton. 
SM-XL  V41263  $36.99* 
2X  V41267  $39.99* 
DENIM LONG-SLEEVED SHIRTS with button-down collar. 
Similar to above shirt but in long-sleeved design. The shirts feature 
two-button adjustable cuffs. Available in light-blue denim or natural 
colors. 
Natural  MD-XL  V41268  $39.99*  2X  V41271  $43.99* 
Lt. Blue  MO-XL  V41272  $39.99*  2X  V41276  $43.99* 
COTTON PIQUE GOU SmRTS
100% combed cotton.  Knit collar and cuffs. 
Two-button placket.  Drop-tail with side vents. 
White  SM-XL  V41294  $32.99*  2X  V41298  $34.99* 
Khaki  SM-XL  V41299  $32.99*  2X  V41303  $34.99* 
Navy  SM-XL  V41289  $32.99*  2X  V41293  $34.99* 
JACQUARD GOU SmRTS
100% combed cotton. Knit collar and cuffs with beige trim. 
Five-button placket. Drop tail with side vents. 
Wine  MD-XL  V41281  $34.99*  2X  V41284  $37.99* 
Navy  MO-XL  V41285  $34.99*  2X  V41288  $37.99* 
Black  MD-XL  V41277  $34.99*  2X  V41280  $37.99* 
BRUSHED COTTON TWILL
KHAKi/NAVY PRO STYLE CAP
V00227  $12.95 
WASHED BULL DENIM CAP
V00222  $12.95 
WASHED PIGMENTED
DENIM CAP
V00221  $12.95 
COTTON TWILL KHAKi
GOLF-STYLE CAP
V00223  $12.95 
BARREL BAG
Show off the Vintage colors proudly at the hangar with this 
gold/ navy Vintage imprinted barrel bag! 
V00237  $12.95 
LADIES SMALL
FLOPPY HAT
V00133  $19.95 
STUFFED BEARS
These brown bears are an adorable accessory to any gift! 
Dressed in a gold Vintage t-shirt  these bears make a great 
flying companion. 
V00238 Lt. Brown Bear 
V00239  Dark Brown 
$12.95 
$12.95 
Feature adjustable leather closure strap.  One size fits  most. 
White  V41260  $10.99* 
Khaki  V41261  $10.99* 
Navy  V41262  $10.99* 
CLUBHOUSE JACKETS 
High quality jackets feature two-button adjustable cuffs, elastic waistband, 
inside coat hook loop, inside pocket with velcro closure and more! Contrasting 
color trim  pieces and adjustable lanyard cord on collar make this jacket very 
distinctive. Shell and  lining are both 100% nylon. 
Natural/Navy Trim  SM-XL  V41250  $63.99*  2X  V41254  $66.99* 
Navy / Fst Grn Trim  SM-XL  V41250  $63.99*  2X  V41254  $66.99* 
WORLD  CLASS NA VY SWEATSHIRT 
This solid navy blue World Class sweatshirt by Jerzees fea-
tures unique embossed Vintage logo on front.  Cotton/Poly 
Blend. 
M-XL  V00252  $27.95 
MEN'S TRI-MOTOR 
2X  V00255  $29.95 
SPORT WATCH 
V00219  $24.95 
SMALL VINTAGE  PIN 
V00258  $3.99 
LARGE VINTAGE PIN 
V40120  $11.99 
MEN' S METAL 
VINTAGE PATCH 
WHITE  W/BLUE  BAND  WATCH 
V00257  $1 .99 
TWO-TONE  MUG  V00215  $28.95 
V00234  $4.95 
LEATHER BAND  WATCH 
Men's  V00218  $32.95 
Ladies'  V00214 
NYLON/POLY WINTER  CAP  LADIES LARGE FLOPPY HAT  LEATHER EMBROIDERED CAP 
WITH EARFLAPS  V00132  $23.95  WITH EARFLAPS 
VOOl44  $14.95  V00137  $29.95 
(not shown)  RABBIT FUR  WINTER HAT WITH SIDE FLAPS.  V00134  $32.95