Vintage Airplane - Feb 2002

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VOL. 30, No. 2

STRAIGHT & LEVELlButch Joyce

2 VAA NEWS/H.G. Frautschy & MaryJones
4

MYSTERY PLANE/H.G. Frautschy

5 FROM THE ARCHIVES/H.G. Frautschy & Susan Lurvey
6 FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA/James & Diane Morton
and Walter Thomas

10 TYPE CLUB NOTES/Scott Barland
13 MEMBERS PROJECTS
15 THE VOLUNTEER SEABEE/Budd Davisson
21 PASS IT TO BUCK/Buck Hilbert
25 NEW MEMBERS
26 CALENDAR
27 CLASSIFIED ADS
30 VAA MERCHANDISE

WWW.VINTAGEAIRCRAFT.ORG

Publisher

TOM POBEREZNY

Editor.in.Chief

scon SPANGLER

Executive Director, Editor

HENRY G. FRAUTSCHY

VAA Administrative Assistant THERESA BOOKS
Executive Editor

MIKE DIFRISCO

Contributing Editors

JOHN UNDERWOOD
BUDD DAVISSON

Graphic Designer

OLIVIA L. PHILLIP

Photograpl.y Staff

JIM KOEPNICK
LEEANN ABRAMS

Advertising/Editorlal Assistallt ISABELLE WISKE

FEBRUARY 2002

S RAIGHT Be LEVEL
BY ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE
PRESIDENT, VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Celebration and a helping hand

Time certainly has a habit of sneaking up on you. As I
write this, we have only 23 months to go until we cele­
brate 100 years of powered flight with EAA's flight of a
reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina. This amazing airplane is taking shape in
the shop of Ken Hyde and the Wright Experience.
At this year's EAA Sun 'n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland,
Florida, be sure to check out the Centennial of Flight tent
display for a wide range of displays highlighting the cele­
bration of EAA's Countdown to Kitty Hawk. After Sun 'n
Fun, all eyes will be focused on the 2002 edition of EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh, where we'll continue to honor the
Wright brothers' achievements.
Time really does streak by. Here's a graphic exam­
ple-during this year's EAA AirVenture event, we'll take
part in festivities that will commemorate the 50th an­
niversary of EAA's annual fly-in, which was first held in
September 1953. Fifty years of EAA conventions? It
hardly seems possible, but indeed, the 2002 gathering
is the fiftieth such event, which took place during the
first year of EAA's existence (EAA came into being on
January 26, 1953).
We're quite pleased to announce that the VAA will be
helping the EAA commemorate that first gathering with
a special display in the grassy area just north of VAA's Red
Barn, south of AeroShell Square (often referred to as "the
West Ramp") . EAA is well along in its planning of a re­
creation of that first gathering, with many of the
airplanes and displays that were present at that first
event on hand during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2002. It
really is amazing to see how far we've come as an organi­
zation. Now with more than 170,000 diverse people who
embrace literally everything from single-place light­
planes to rocket-powered homebuilts, EAA and its family
of like-minded enthusiasts such as the Warbirds of Amer­
ica, lAC, and your Vintage Aircraft Association compose
the vast majority of what we now refer to as general avia­
tion. We are in need of any information, photos, 8 mm
movies, or any other documents you may have on hand
to help with this project. Call the EAA Aviation Center­
920/426-4825-if you can aid us in helping EAA with
this research.
I do hope you took a few minutes to read last month's
guest editorial by EAA President Tom Poberezny. Tom
said it well, and we encourage all VAA members to re­
sponSibly exercise the privileges of their certificate. What

better way to show
the world that we are
all responsible, capa­
ble individuals who
enjoy the freedom of
the skies in the same way a sailor revels in taking to the
nation's waterways or an automobile or motorcycle en­
thusiast takes to the highways. Plan on attending EAA
AirVenture and showing the world that no matter where
we fly from, the events of last September will not cause
us to cower and retreat. See you at the fly-in!
As we are often reminded, for good or bad we are still
a pretty small group of people. It's not so good when
you're trying to be heard above the crowd of other voices
calling for restrictions. A nice part of being a small group
is that we often know and take care of one another. Un­
fortunately, sometimes things don't go as planned, and it
really can put a sour taste in someone's mouth if he feels
the community didn't treat him well.
We've all heard stories about parts being sent out for
repair and then not being returned to their owners.
When and if the part finally does get back to the owner,
it turns out to not be the same one sent in. That's very
disappointing, and it belays the trust placed in the recipi­
ent by the part's owner.
This type of situation recently happened to me, and I
am disappointed and not happy that this has come to
pass. For the time being, I'll continue to believe that the
situation will reach a satisfactory conclusion. I was dis­
cussing this matter with a fellow antique owner, who felt
that this type of occurrence should not happen in avia­
tion. We in the old airplane group must have trust in one
another, and once something is lent, it shou ld be re­
turned in as good or better condition. For instance, if you
were rebuilding a Piper J-2, but you had no side window
frames, you may find someone who had a frame that you
could use as a pattern. They'd trust that you would re­
turn the frame after you were finished . I know some
people who are so helpful that they might even make an
extra set and give the new and old frames back to the
lender. To keep our airplanes flying we all need to help
one another. My disheartening experience will not stop
me from reaching out to be of help in the future.
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

VAA NEWS
COMPILED BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY & MARY JONES

Sport Pilot NPRM
Release Imminent
As this issue goes to press the
sport pilot/light-sport aircraft notice
of proposed rulemaking is about to
be published in the Federal Register.
There are plenty of opportunities for
vintage aircraft enthusiasts to enjoy
the privileges afforded by these pro­
posed regulations, so we encourage
you to read and comment on the
NPRM. Check EAA's websites at
www.eaa.org and www.sportpilot.org
for the latest on this issue.

Commenting on the
Sport Pilot NPRM
After the NPRM is published, a
90-day public comment period
will follow. During that time, any­
one can officially register support,
concerns, or questions about the
proposed new rule. EAA expects
significant public input because
the sport pilot rule will establish
not only a new pilot certificate
and a new aircraft category but
also new aircraft maintenance reg­
ulations.
There will be several ways to
submit comments to the sport pi­
lot docket:
1. You may submit a letter in
triplicate to the docket office via
FRONT & BACK COVERS: The vol­

unteers at Wally Fisk's Polar
Aviation Museum rebuilt this Re­
public Seabee from a pile of parts.
The manual helped, but persist­
ence and helpful fellow owners
really made the restoration possi­
ble. On the back cover, pilot Larry
Mullaly skims along the sunlit
surface of Wisconsin's Lake Win­
nebago. EAA photos by Jim
Koepnick, shot with a Canon
EOSIn equipped with an 80-200
mm lens on 100 ASA Fuji slide
film. EAA Cessna 210 photo plane
flown by Bruce Moore.
2

FEB RUARY

2002

the mail. Be sure to use the specific
docket number, which will be an­
nounced with the NPRM.
2. You may submit comments
electronically:
a) Via e-mail. That process will
be explained in detail when the
NPRM is released.
b) Via fax. Again, the proper fax
number will be supplied with the
NPRM.
3. EAA will provide a direct link
through both the www.eaa.org and
www.sportpilot.org websites to make
general comments to the NPRM
and to ask the FAA to add specific
aircraft to the NPRM.
Commenting on the NPRM will
be very important. However,
what's even more important is
what you say and how you
say it. EAA offers this guidance:
1. NOTE THAT ALL COMMENTS
ARE OPEN TO PUBLIC REVIEW.
(For example, that includes all me­
dia, members of medical and
environmental groups, and other
governmental agencies.)
2. Comments should be written
reasonably and rationally. Emo­
tional or unsupported statements
will be disregarded.
3. Identify and be specific about
which part of the rule you are com­
menting on .
4. Be factual and, if possible, of­
fer suggested changes to the
regulatory language.
s. Keep your comments brief
and to the point.
6. Compose your own letter.
Form letters are not effective. This
is not a numbers game; what's im­
portant is what you say and how
you say it. The FAA is interested in
unique and useful comments.
7. In particular, EAA is concerned
that inappropriate comments rela­
tive to the medical issue could be
harmful. We suggest that comments
made to this issue speak to the fact
that this rule change will reduce the

cost of obtaining a medical for many
people. The requirement to hold a
valid U.S. driver's license does es­
tablish a medical requirement.
Therefore, at no time should any­
one make a reference to "no medical
being required."
8. There is no limit to the num­
ber of comments you can submit.
Separate comments may be sub­
mitted for different subjects.
9. Your name, address, and
phone number or e-mail address is
required in case the FAA needs to
contact you to help them under­
stand your point of view.

TECHNICAL
ARTICLES WANTED
As a group, we ' re a pretty re­
sourceful bunch, and one of the
stated missions of the Vintage
Aircraft Association is to share
educational opportunities among
the membership. We're always
on the lookout for good technical
articles. This year , we've re­
ceived a number of requests for
solid information on radio and
transponder information in light
airplanes. If you've done a well­
executed, approved installation
of light avionics, we'd appreciate
hearing about it. While we are
not aware of any specific new
regulations requiring transpon­
der use, more people are willing
to invest in a light unit if it will
allow them to enter airspace
that currently excludes them.
Call us at 920-426-4825 or e­
mail [email protected] to help us
help your fellOW members.

WHAT OUR MEMBERS
ARE RESTORING
We're always interested in seeing
what our members are flying and
restoring. If you'd like to share your
project with your fellow members,
send us a small selection of photos
(two to four pictures) and a short de­
scription. Use the address at the end
of this page.

NEW BOOKS OF INTEREST
VAA member and historian Chet
Peek has filled in one of the blank
spots in the history of light aircraft
in the United States with the publi­
cation of his latest book, Flying With

40 Horses, A History of the Continental

A-40 Aircraft Engine and the Planes It
Flew. Chet takes us on a journey
though the history of light aircraft
engines, setting the stage for the
well-timed introduction of the Con­
tinental A-40 in February 1931.
Breaking down the $1,000 engine
cost barrier for an aircraft engine
was just what the struggling light
aircraft industry needed. The
Aeronca E-l13 of 36 hp was close,
but the next generation A-40 was
just what the engineer ordered.
The A-40 weighed 147 pounds and
displaced 115 cubic inches, and
when first produced, it generated
38 horsepower, later upgraded to
40 hp when a new forged crank­
shaft replaced the earlier version.
Chet then details many of the
lightplanes that benefited from the

WANT TO SEND US A PHOTOGRAPH?
If you're thinking about sending a photograph to Vintage Airplane, we'd ap­
preciate it if you'd follow these pointers.
All photographs must be sharp, with the main subject in clear focus. If it's
not in focus in the photographic print or slide, no amount of production magic
on our part can make it usable for magazine reproduction.
The same holds true for the exposure of the print. If it's over- or underex­
posed, we can't fix it. If it has problems like this, we simply can't publish it.
Here's our list of acceptable photograph formats, in order of preference:
A. 35 mm slides on 100 ASA or lower film
B. 4-by-6-inch or larger prints from 35 mm or larger negatives
C. Digital photographs- The digital file directly from the camera should
support a file that is 300 dpi at a photo size of 4-by-6 inches. That does not
mean that a low-resolution file can Simply be re-sized to the larger size-the
file must be a high-resolution image for us to use it in a magazine. Since
prints from digital printers vary so widely in quality, we prefer not to use them
for publication, unless they are printed with at least 300 dpi resolution on a
high quality photo inkjet or dye sublimation printer, using photo paper appro­
priate for the printer. Prints made on regular inkjet paper are not suitable for
reproduction .
To help you take a great picture of your airplane, here are some tips to
make it look its best:
1. Shoot your photos early in the morning or later in the day. Our favorite
times are during the "golden hour" after sunrise or before sunset. Avoid mid­
day, as the harsh shadows of noontime sun can obscure details. Keep the
sunlight on the nose and side of the airplane. Facing the sun at about a 45­
degree angle seems to work well.
2. Clean the airplane. Even a coating of dust can make it look drab.
3. Put away any accessories such as fueling steps or ladders . Keep the
background clean. When you're shooting the airplane, avoid including other
objects or people. Be mindful of background landscape items such as airport
antennae or control towers-in a photo, they can appear to grow from your air­
plane. The same holds true for people standing behind the airplane-your
fuselage may sprout feet!
4. Keep the horizon level in the viewfinder.
5. Use a separate shot if you want to highlight people. If a person is next to
the airplane, please don 't show them leaning on the prop.
6. Don't have the engine running and no one in the cockpit!
7. Take a number of photos, and send us a selection of in-focus, properly
exposed slides or prints. Send them to:

EAA
Vintage Airplane
P.O. Box 3086

Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086

E-mail : [email protected]

introduction of the A-40, and its
later version, the A-SO. The success
of the A-40 would lead Continen­
tal to produce the A-6S and its
later versions, which powered
most light airplanes until the
1980s, when production of the 0-

200 was ended. Flying With 40
Horses as well as Chefs other books
including The Spartan Story, Resur­
rection of a Jenny, The Taylorcraft,
and The First Cub are available from
EAA Membership Ser vices . The
continued on page 28
VINTAGE AIRPLA NE

3

1926 ARROW FIVE

MYSTERY

PLANE

BY

H.G .

FRAUTSCHY

Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis, Minnesota, sent us the
one and only response to the November Mystery Plane:
The November Mystery Plane is the 1926 Arrow Five.
Built by Arrow Aircraft & Motor Corp., Havelock, Ne­
braska.
To clear up the March Mystery Plane, it is not the Ben
Jones Special, but the Briggs Special, also known as the
Briggs-Marion . It set a lightplane altitude record of
21,750 feet in 1936.
Pete Bowers submitted November's photo, and he
sent along this write-up with the photo:

This month's Mystery Plane is a bare-bones shot

from the collection of Dr. Stanley Mohler of Wright

State University.

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO:

EAA, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, P.O.

Box 3086 , OSHKOSH , WI 54903-3086 . YOUR ANSWER
NEEDS TO BE IN NO LATER THAN MARCH 10 FOR INCLUSION IN
THE MAY 2002 ISSUE OF VINTAGE AIRPLANE.
You CAN ALSO SEND YOUR RESPONSE VIA E-MAIL.
SEND YOUR ANSWER TO [email protected] .
BE SURE TO INCLUDE BOTH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS (ES­
PECIALLY YOUR CITY AND STATE!) IN THE BODY OF YOUR NOTE
AND PUT "( MONTH) MYSTERY PLANE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

BRIGGS MARION SPECIAL

4

FEBRUARY 2002

As identified in this photo taken October 13, 1926,
this one is called the Arrow Five.
It looks like a 1924 Lincoln-Standard LS-5 fuselage
with new tail surfaces and an entirely new one-bay wing
with a single I-strut on each side. Th ere's a 180-hp Hisso
engine, and a fou r-seat front cockpit with the two for­
ward seats facing aft. As on the LS-5, the front seats had
side windows.
Arrow, later noted for the little sport biplane and the
Ford V-8 powered ship, seems to have started in 1926
with some person nel from Lincoln-Standard.
The address on the back of the print says Havlock,
Nebraska. Modern atlases and a search on the Internet
show it to be Havelock, located on the north side of Lin­
coln. The later Arrow firm, supposedly founded in 1928,
was at Lincoln, where Lincoln-Standard, later Lincoln­
.......
Page, was located.

The March Mystery Plane has now been positively identified
as the Briggs Marion Special. Designed and built by Harold
Briggs, an automobi le mechanic of Portland, Oregon, the
Marion Special was powered by a 95-hp Cirrus. Briggs and
the Special were lost on April 28, 1938, when the right
wing parted from the aircraft during the climb-out after a
dive. Harold Briggs had been involved in building four air­
planes. The photo was taken at Swan Island, Portland,
Oregon. EAA has a copy of this photo in the Ralph Nortell
collection, and it has been attributed to Lloyd Phillips.

FROM THE A CHIVES

BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY AND SUSAN LURVEY

FROM THE EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION LIBRARY ARCHIVES

Racers

Frank P. Cavenagh of Hudson,
Ohio, snapped these images on 3­
1/2 by 4·1/2 inch Eastman
nitrate stock during the National
Air Races of the 1930s. We have
Richard Downes (he was Frank's
half·brother) to thank for saving
and donating the images to the
EAA Aviation Foundation.

1932, Cleveland, Ohio. Jimmy Doolittle taxis in
with the Gee Bee R-1's 800-hp Pratt & Whitney
Wasp Senior barking and snapping under the
tight cowling.

The Gee Bee R-2, Race No.7, at rest in a hangar at
Cleveland in 1932 (possibly the Skyways hangar?).
Lee Gehlbach flew the R-2 in the Bendix Trophy race.
Up against three Wedell-Williams racers, the Gee Bee
was considered a favorite to win . An oil leak forced
Gehlbach to land at Chanute Field in Rantoul , Illinois ,
to refill the oil supply for the 550-hp Wasp installed
for long-distance racing. Unable to repair the leak,
Gehlbach removed the canopy so he could at least
peer around the windshield's opaque, oil-coated sur­
faces. He landed 1 hour, 21 minutes, 54 seconds
after the race winner, Jimmy Wedell, did in his No. 92
racer. Gehlbach trailed the third place winner by
nearly half an hour. The exceptional metalworking
done by Hill Aircraft Streamliners of Cincinnati, Ohio,
is clearly evident in this view of the firewall cowling
and landing gear fairings (then called "boots ") .
The Laird LC-DW-300 Solution racer at Cleveland in 1931.
First built in Laird 's south-side Chicago factory in 1930, the
Solution was comp leted on the same day as the National Air
Races' Thompson Trophy contest, which was taking place
on the north side of Chicago at Curtiss-Reynolds airport.
Pilot Charles "Speed" Holman flew the speedster to first
place in the prestigious race, winning with a speed of 201.9
mph. After the 1930 race, Laird and his factory crew re­
worked th e airplane, replacing the hastily built landing gear
with a better design and revising the aft fuselage lines. The
top of the cockpit headrest aft to the rudder became a
straight line , giving the airplane a more streamlined appear­
ance. Still retaining the trademark gold wings of a Laird , the
fuselage was painted white. Of interest in the photo is the
ground-twndling strap draped around the aft fuselage.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

5

n early 1998 Walt Thomas men­
tioned to Jim and Diane Morton
his intent to fly his Cessna 140
from Maryland to Chino, California,
for the International Cessna 120/140
Association Convention. The Mor­
tons and Walt agreed to make the trip
together. For Jim and Diane, it was a
once in a lifetime opportunity to fly
their Cessna 140, NC89676, across
the country. Walt previously had
flown N2026V to California in 1989.

I

ACloudy Start
On September 18 Jim called at
1400 Zulu to say that despite the
overcast, the weather was flyable. We
agreed to meet at Potomac Airfield
(VKX), west of Andrews Air Force
Base. After everyone arrived near
midday, we refueled both planes, and
then Jim rechecked the weather.
Our originally planned route was
south-southeast to First Flight Air­
port (FFA-Kitty Hawk) and then
west across North Carolina and Ten­
nessee. A warm front stretched from
Missouri to Salisbury, Maryland, and
everything south had low ceilings
and poor visibility. That dampened
the start of our great adventure. The
weather was better to the north. We
revised our plan and departed VKX
under a l,400-foot overcast. Ten
miles north of Washington, D.C.,
the cloud deck became broken, and
by Frederick (FDK) the sky was clear.
We landed at FDK, ate lunch, refu­
eled, and departed at 1935 Zulu. At
4,500 feet MSL we had clear skies
6

FEBRUARY

2002

Jim Morton and NC89676 pause before departing Cape May, New Jersey.

Jim's wife , Diane, served as navigator, accommodations manager, and pho­

tographer.

and an hour later picked up a west­
bound tail wind! '26V was doing
S-turns behind '676, since Jim and
Diane were breaking in a just-re­
placed cylinder. The next stop was
Parr Airport (42I) just north of
Zanesville, Ohio. Walt has been
stopping there since 1980-it's a
nice airstrip, and the airport owners
(the Norman family) are very hos­
pitable. They provided a courtesy car
for our overnight stay.
The next morning we headed west
through the haze at 1,000 feet AGL,
passing Columbus and Dayton en
route to Lebanon, Indiana, for refuel­
ing. We lunched under clear skies in
Casey, Illinois, where Richard's Farm
restaurant offers a free pick-up from
and return to the airport. The food

was excellent. We refueled at Tay­
lorsville, Illinois, and then flew
west-southwest, crossing the Missis­
sippi River north of Saint Louis. For
our next overnight stop, we landed at
Elton Hensley Memorial Airport in
central Missouri. Harman Dickerson,
a renowned antique aircraft restorer
and a good friend of Walt's late fa­
ther, befriended us. Harman offered
to take us to a local motel and joined
us later for dinner. Our transportation
was unique-an original, un-restored
1956 Cadillac DeVille in pristine con­
dition. We had our picture taken in
front of his relic of Americana.
Sunday morning Harman picked
us up for breakfast. At the airport we
did our preflight and departed south­
west. Harman joined up and flew

Waiting for t he rain to stop and the ceiling to lift. Walt rises up on his tip­
toes to confirm that the airplane he sees taxiing in is another Cessna 140,
also en route to the 120/ 140 Convention.

with us for several miles in his classic
Piper. The two Cessnas flew past Jef­
ferson City, over the Ozarks , and
landed at Neosho (EOS) for refueling
and lunch . We took off, headed
southwest into Oklahoma, passing to
the north of Tulsa, following the
Cimarron River. At our stop at
Guthrie (GOK), warm temperatures
in the high 80s were accompanied by
high winds. Jim was concerned about
the hotter temperatures affecting his
plane's performance, so he took on
only enough fuel to fill three-fourths
of his tanks and put some of his bag­
gage in Walter's Cessna.

Westward Ho!
Leaving Guthrie we headed west­
southwest, climbed to 8,500 feet

MSL and "picked up" Interstate 40
near Clinton, Oklahoma. Another
60 miles under our wings and we
were over the Texas Panhandle,
where the visibility was unre­
stricted. The vast expanse was
breathtaking-we saw quilt-pat­
terned farmlands 100 miles away.
The Earth's horizon was a slightly
curved line below a clear blue sky.
Breathtaking! In another 40 minutes
we entered Amarillo International
Airport (AMA) airspace, received
vectors and landing clearance from
AMA Approach, and touched down
just before 1900 local. After fueling
and securing our planes, the folks
from the FBO, TAC Air, drove us to
the Hilton Inn. Jim still was con­
cerned about weight affecting his

Cessna's high-density-altitude per­
formance, so extra clothing and
other items were packed and
shipped back to New Jersey. After­
ward, we celebrated Jim's birthday
with dinner at the hotel's pub and
retired early.
We departed AMA on the fourth
day at 0815 local. Our 140s climbed
quickly in the cool, smooth air to
6,500 feet MSL. Flying west along 1­
40, the terrain underneath began
rising, so we climbed to 8,500 feet.
Santa Rosa , New Mexico, was our
next stop; we landed into a stiff 20­
knot breeze directly down Runway
26. Leaving Q58, we climbed again
to 8,500 feet and could see the San­
dia Mountains 90 miles away. Thirty
miles east of Albuquerque, civiliza­
tion reappeared. The lead aircraft
contacted ABQ Approach , and our
flight was given vectors to the Albu­
querque International Sunport
Airport. Once we passed the moun­
tains, we were given a lower altitude
and landed on Runway 3. We taxied
to Signature Flight Service where we
were fueled and tied down . Signa­
ture provided transportation to and
from lunch.

The High Country
After lunch an FSS briefing showed
good weather westward. Walt re­
called the afternoon mountain
turbulence during his previous trip
west and suggested we call it a day.
Jim and Diane voted to press on. The
two 140s departed Runway 21 and
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

7

Noted aircraft restorer Harman Dickerson and his Piper PA-11. Harman took
us under his wing and transported us back in time by offering us a ride in
his unrestored, remarkably original 1956 Cadillac DeVille.

headed west. '26V climbed out well,
but '676 was dragging its feet from
t h e 5,500-foot elevation. '676 was
carrying two fo lks and more weight
than '26V, even minus fuel and the
stuff shipped east. After 30 miles '676
reached 8,500 feet-p lus or minus. It
was difficult to hold an altitude, so
we both chose to soar and sink in the
thermals: 120 mph nose-down in up-

a

FEBRUARY 2002

drafts and 80 mph nose-up in down­
drafts. We flew past Transcontinental
Number 6 (Grant-Millan) and
Transcontinenta l Number 5. These
airstrips are the last ones remaining
from those built in the 1920s as fuel
stops for trans-southwestern air serv­
ice. Just east of Transcon No . 5 we
passed the Continental Divide. Be­
cause t h erma ls and associated

turbulence were becoming worse, we
landed at Gallup. The winds were 20
knots at 30 to 45 degrees to the run­
way, so we bo t h carried higher
approach speeds and made wheel
landings. This was the first airport we
noticed really heavy chains being
used as tiedowns. The strong winds
made their existence obvious.
Our fifth day began with a trip to
the airport before sunrise. Pullover
sweaters and other layers were
needed for the 39°F temperature,
but takeoff performance would be
great! We lifted off just after sunup,
departing east (downhill and up­
wind), and turned west to follow
the highway. At 8,500 feet MSL we
had a 10- to 12-knot tail wind and
unrestricted visibility. The smooth
morning air was enjoyab le, espe­
cially after yest erday's turbulence.
We passed the Petrified Forest and
then headed over the desert, past
Holbrook and Winslow, Arizona.
The famous meteor crater west of
Winslow looked small from 8,500
feet. Vegetation reappeared 20 miles
from Flagstaff, where we also saw
light rain showers. Walt contacted
the tower 14 miles out and our '140
flight was cleared to land straight
in on Runway 21. As we landed
light showers became a steady rain,
so we parked and tied down on the
ramp and waited in the FBO. It was
so cold (low 40s) Walt wondered if
we'd soon have snow showers. We
had encountered "up-slope show­
ers." A strong low off the Baja

Peninsula was pumping moisture
across the desert and up the moun­
tains. As the warm, moist air rose
up the mountain slopes, it cooled
and condensed, causing the over­
cast and precipitation.
Two hours later FSS said condi­
tions were improving. We departed
Runway 03 and followed 1-40 at 500
feet AGL. Twelve miles west, low
clouds hung entirely across a ridge,
obscuring it and the terrain on the
other side. We could see clearly
northward but not west where we
were headed. We turned around and
returned to FLG. There we joined
three gentlemen for lunch. They
were also waiting out the weather en
route to the ' 140 Convention. After
another hour's wait, we tried again.
This time we flew around the west
ridge, and within 20 miles skies be­
came scattered and then clear.
Our "concrete compass" guided
us past Williams and Seligman to a
landing on Kingman airport's Run­
way 21, which pOinted into a direct
20-knot wind. We refueled and then
decided to stop for the day. Our ac­
commodations at the Quality Inn
were most interesting-Route 66
memorabilia everywhere and a late
'50s decor coffee shop. Many nota­
bles had stayed there-Jimmy Dean,
Robert Duvall, George H. Bush, and
others-attested to by numerous
plaques on room doors. We washed
our clothes, dined at a local steak­
house (steaks out here are really
BIG!), and retired early.

This interesting array of mirrors with a cent ral tower is a solar power gener­
ating station located just west of Barstow-Daggett airfield in California.

The Desert

=Desolation

Day six started with a sunrise de­
parture. We headed southwest along
the highway, flew past the Ford Mo­
tor Company Proving Grounds,
then west to Needles, California. At
Needles we followed the road north­
west and then turned to the west
once we cleared a mountain. Then it
was 150 miles of nothing but high­
way to Barstow-Daggett. Since
Albuquerque we had flown over
rugged terrain-beautiful, but very
desolate and unfriendly for an off­
airport landing. Thus, we preferred
following the highway-it has peo­
ple near it, and it's the lowest terrain.
Our preflight planning had
shown a restricted area south of 1­
40. We, of course, flew north of the
highway. Motoring on, Jim sud­
denly saw bright flashes, followed

by white plumes falling to the
ground. Whoa! These were muni­
tions exploding over the desert. We
never determined where they origi­
nated, but it definitely got our
attention. Uh-huh! That's why it's a
restricted area!
We refueled at Daggett and then
departed west at 4,500 feet, past Ed­
wards Air Force Base and Lancaster.
Climbing to 7,500 feet we cleared
the Tehachapi Pass. Descending west
of the pass, visibility was only 5 to 7
miles. That was much less than the
50 to 100 miles we'd experienced
the past three days. At Bakersfield
we landed, refueled, ate lunch, and
then departed to the west-northwest
at 1300 local. Over the Imperial Val­
ley visibility was 10 to 20 miles with
a few scattered clouds above our
continued on page 24
VINTAGE AIR PLANE

9

PE CLUB NOTES


TOWARD SAFER REFU ELING

As published in the 170 News
SCOTT BARLAND

M

any of us who utilize the
autogas STC refuel our
Cessna 170s with those
2.5- and 5-gallon plastic jugs that
are so easy to use and that pass the
test of being an "appropriate and
properly labeled container" when
we stop by our favorite gas station
on the way to the airport. While
these jugs are obviously intended
for transporting gasoline, they
have several characteristics that
cause concern about fire safety.
The one that causes the most
concern is that the molded poly­
ethylene plastic is an insulator,
preventing any buildup in static
electrical charge from escaping
rapidly through the container to
the ground. Remember the science
experiment where you pull a plas­
tic comb through your hair on a
dry day and generate a spark of
static electricity? Similar stuff here.
You probably have read recently
in the general press that you should
put gasoline cans or jugs on the
ground when you are filling them,
rather than filling them on the tail­
gate of your pickup or, heaven
forbid, in the trunk of the family
car. The primary concern here is
one of static electricity buildup due
to the gasoline flowing into an in­
sulated vessel that is further
insulated by being held off the
ground by the vehicle tires, which
are also insulators. However, even
10

FEBRUARY 2002

setting the plastic jugs on the
ground doesn 't complete ly bleed
off the static charge unless they re­
main there for a while, because the
insulating characteristics of the
plastic jug slows the static charge's
dissipation to a slow trickle.
The real concern comes when
we take that jug up the ladder,
open the fuel cap, and start pour­
ing the go-juice in. If the plane has
acquired a slight static charge from
such things as the wind blowing
over it, there may be enough elec­
trical potential (difference in static
charge) between it and the fuel in
the jug to cause a spark.
This was brought home to me in
a rather dramatic fashion when a
good friend and fellow Cessna 170
Association member called to relate
what he thought might have been a
close approach to disaster. He h ad
filled his plastic gas jugs at the sta­
tion, driven to the airport, removed
the full jugs from his truck, and set
them on the floor of his hangar. He
then walked under the wing to re­
trieve his ladder, and as he passed
the trailing edge of the aileron, he
felt a fairly strong spark jump from
the plane to the top of his head. It
was one of those cool and dry early
spring days, and his airp lane was
not grounded . If that spark had
happened when he removed the
fuel cap or when he started pouring
from one of the jugs, he could have

become the centerpiece in a fire de­
partment training film.
I started thinking about "static
proofing" this process, and the ob­
vious first step is to be sure that
your plane is adequately grounded .
This is critical during the refueling
operation, and there's no good rea­
son why it shouldn't be grounded
all the time . If your hangar is
grounded electrically through your
electrical service, attach one end of
the wire to the hangar steel and the
other end, through an alligator clip,
to any bare metal part of the air­
frame. If your airplane is tied down
on grass/dirt, anyone of your metal
tie-down rods is a good ground .
Tied down on pavement? Your tie­
down rings in the pavement should
do nicely. I used a piece of stranded
14 gauge copper house wire for this
airframe ground cable, one end
firmly attached to my hangar fram­
ing and the other clipped to my
tailwheel steering, as shown below:

[Vintage Airplane Editor's Note:
Be certain the airframe component
you attach your grounding strap to is
indeed electrically bonded to the rest
of the airframe, all the way to the
fuel tank-you'd be surprised how
may light airplanes have electrically
isolated components. A simple check
with the continuity test function on
a multimeter can be used to confirm
your ground location.]
So what do we do about those
pesky plastic jugs? If we electri­
cally connect the gasoline to the
now-grounded airplane (before
opening the fuel tank caps or the
plastic jugs), then no static charge
can exist. And no spark can jump
up and bite us. Here's how I modi­
fied my plastic jugs to allow me to
do that. (See the drawing below.)

Cut the head off a 10-32 x 1.5­
inch machine screw and drill a
No. 48 hole down the center of
the screw about 1/4-inch deep.
Cut a piece of 14 gauge solid cop­
per house wire long enough to
reach from the handle of the plas­
tic jug to the bottom (inside),
strip the insulation from its full
length, and solder one end of the
wire into the drilled screw .
Thread on a common hex nut, a
flat washer, and a rubber washer
cut from an old inner tube . Drill
a 3/16-inch hole in the jug han­
dle just behind the filler opening.
[Vintage Airplane Editor's Note: If
you're using an electric drill, be cer­
tain no gasoline fumes are
present-you'd feel pretty foolish if
you blew up the gas jug and yourself

10-24 X 11/2
/MACHINESCREW~

HEXNUT~

./

FLAT METAL WASHER ~
RUBBER WASHER~==:!!~':-iiiiii~_ _.,.

#48 HOLE 1/4" DEEP

~

FUEL JUG CUTAWAY

t;

#14 BARE COPPER
WIRE
SOLDER INTO
SCREW

while installing a grounding strap!]
To install the ground wire you
just made, ho ld the wire/screw
assembly with a long-nose pliers
or a hemostat, insert the assem­
bly, wire-end first, through the
filler opening and up through
the 3/16-inch hole. Spread a little
gasoline-resistant sealant around
the base of the protruding threads
(I used some neoprene cement left
over from a wet-suit repair kit),
and then add another rubber
washer, flat washer, and hex nut.
You should now have about 1
inch of screw thread exposed to
act as your ground lug. The bare
copper wire should be pushed,
pulled, or bent as necessary to
reach near the bottom of the con­
tainer without blocking the filler
neck. Snug the top hex nut down,
and let the sealant/cement cure
before exposing it to gasoline . I
modified all five of my containers
in less than two hours, so it is not
a big job. The photo on the fol ­
lowing page shows one of my own
"anti-static" fuel containers, at­
tached to its connecting wire
alligator clip (that's next).
We have to be able to connect
the fuel jug's ground lug to the
airframe, so make a connecting
cable: I used another piece of that
14 gauge stranded house wire,
about 10 feet long, and attached
medium-size alligator clips to
each end . You'll see how it is used
in just a moment.
To put this "system" to work,
put the jug down next to the gas
pump and touch the nozzle to the
ground lug before opening the
filler; the gas pump nozzle is itself
grounded. (Touch or "ground"
ALL jugs you intend to fill before
starting to fill ANY of them .) Fill
and cap the jugs (pay the cashier,
of course!), and take them to the
airport, placing them on the pave­
ment in front of the plane. Check
that the plane is connected to its
ground, and attach one end of
that lO-foot connecting cable to a
bare metal part of the airframe
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

(an exhaust stack is convenient
and works well).
After touching the free end of
this wire to each jug's ground
lug, clip it to one, carry the jug
up the ladder, and start the refu­
eling. It is most important that
this connecting wire be attached

both to the plane and the fuel
jug before taking the jug up near
the fuel cap, and it must remain
attached throughout to make
sure that any static electricity is
bled off harmlessly before it
builds up enough to cause a
spark. Bring the empty fuel jug

down off the ladder, attach the
clip to the next one, and con­
tinue.
Remember also that gasoline
fumes are heavier than air, sink­
ing to the floor and following
any sloping surfaces downward.
Any open flame, pilot light, or
source of electrical spark below,
downwind, or down-slope from a
fuel overflow or spill can com­
pletely wipe out all your good
work in eliminating the static
electricity hazard. It has been
said that fire is a wonderful ser­
vant but a horrible master. You
don't need to let a gasoline-fed
fire prove it to you.
This doesn't eliminate all fire
hazards; it just helps minimize
ones we can do something about
without too big an effort. If noth­
ing else, your insurance carrier
should breathe a little easier, and
you can tell that smart mouth
across the ramp to put away the
marshmallows.
......

Grounding Wire Alternative
Vintage Airplane Editor's Note: I've used a similar
set ofgrounding wires for a number of years, built
using 1/16-inch stranded stainless steel cable bought
by the foot at the local hardware store. The store
even had a vinyl-covered version, but I was too
cheap to buy it. I added clips from the local electrical
supply house, and my grounding cables looked just
like the ones on the fuel trucks . If you really hate
those "finger sticks" that occur when your tender
digit is impaled on a stray strand of cable, slip a
piece of heat-shrink tubing over the cable before in­
stalling the clip. After securing the clip, slide the
tubing over the cut end of the cable and then shrink
it with heat. It's much neater than a wrap of electri­
cal tape, which always seems to look messy and
unwrap just before your fingers get close to those
bloodthirsty cable ends .
Because they are woven cables, they coil nicely and
can be stored in a heavy zippered plastic bag that is
kept in the baggage compartment. Then the next time
the fueler at the FBO says their grounding strap is
broke, you can save the day, at least for your airplane.
12

FEBRUARY 2002

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING
BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY

DH.82A TIGER MOTH
Nick and Elsa Steo of Mendon, New York, are the proud owners and restorers of this 1944 de Havilland Tiger Moth.
Built at Hatfield, Herts R-S063 served the RAF and then the Belgian air force as a primary trainer. Next it belonged to
the Brasschaat Aero Club in Belgium, where it was used for banner and glider towing, as well as general sightseeing
flights. After it had accumulated more than 4,000 hours of flight time in its logs, Gert Frank bought it and had it and
a number of other Moths shipped to the United States. In 1971, Nick Steo Sr. bought the project and slowly began its
restoration, but he passed away before its completion. His son, Nick Jr., and his son's wife, Elsa, then picked up the
project and restarted the process using professional restorers. Fifteen years after it began, the project was completed,
thanks to the efforts of George Denys. Its maiden flight in U.S. airspace took place on August 24, 2001.

N3424E started its flying career as a 7AC, but the recent
restoration of the 1947 model included an 8S-hp Conti­
nental engine and an understated custom color scheme.
Last flown at Hyde Field in Clinton, Maryland, in 1969, A.
Lee Dowdy's son, John, made the first post-restoration
flight from Elk Rock Flying Field, Monroe County, West
Virginia, on November 4, 2001. A. Lee wishes to thank his
wife, Adonna, and their sons, Perry, Lee, and John, plus
all his friends who helped in some way to get the Champ
back in the air after a 32-year hiatus.

PRE-WAR ERCOUPE 415C
Grant Ross of Carson City, Nevada, bought his
1941 Ercoupe, serial number 102 of 112 Ercoupes
built prior to World War II, as a basket case. It had
not flown in more than 30 years. Grant worked
8,000 hours spread over nine years to restore the air­
plane and make it the most authentic Ercoupe
possible . It's based in Minden, Nevada.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

13

DH.82A TIGER MOTH

William "Bill" King, a name well known to those who have had the pleasure of visiting Cole Palen's Old
Rhinebeck Aerodrome, decided to restore his Tiger Moth, which he had been flying at the aerodrome for 15 years.
Bill pointed out that the Tiger Moth has plenty of small parts, so the restoration progressed slowly, but in spring
2001 the airplane was restored and ready for the air show season. Bill credits John Cullere and John Tremper for
helping him not miss a third season with his Tiger Moth. Bill's son, Andrew King, sent us the second photo showing
Bill's brother, David, flying the Moth, Andrew in his Ryan M-l mailplane, and Bill flying the recently completed
Rhinebeck Aerodrome Curtiss Jenny. That's quite a formation shot! Tom Polopink, the Aerodrome's museum direc­
tor, took the photo.

PIPER PA-24 COMANCHE

You'd never know it seeing it today, but this nice 1962 Piper PA-24-180 Comanche was one of the many mechani­
cal victims of the great Mississippi River flood during the spring of 1993. Robert Kendig, Live Oak, Florida, spent
eight years, two months, and 24 days restoring the low-wing Piper. Everything had to be replaced, from the paint to
the interior, plus, of course, all of the instruments and radios. It flew again on November 28, 2001.
14

FEBRUARY 2002

t's a common story:
Someone finds an airplane
abandoned in a barn/field/
hangar. It's totally run-down
with mice corroding the
wings, the engine frozen
into a solid lump, the fabric
a c lose approximation of
papyrus, and everything in
the airplane needing re­
placement. So, the would-be
restorer takes it apart, trucks
it home, and starts the long
process of disassembling,
tagging, restoring, and re­
assembling.
But that's not the story of
Wally Fisk's "Volunteer
Seabee." The above story,
where the restorer starts with
an entire airplane and, in
the process of disassembling
it, figures out where every­
thing goes, is the exact
opposite from what the
Seabee crew started with.
They didn't start with a cor­
roded hulk covered with bird
droppings; they started with
mounds and mounds of
boxes full of parts, not a one
of which was identified. The
Seabee, although partially re­
stored and painted, was
totally disassembled and rep­
resented one of those jigsaw
puzzles that come in a plain
brown box with no picture
to go by. They thought they
had all the parts, but they
weren't sure where the parts
went. To make matters even
worse, some of the parts had
been overhauled and some
hadn ' t been, but nothing
told them which was which.
Like we said, a jigsaw puzzle
with no picture to go by, and
the nearest Seabee was many
miles away.
According to Duane Poehls,
one of the many volunteers
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

15

During EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh
2001, Seabee pilot
Larry Mullaly stands
between fellow
restorers Ray Kreps
and Duane Poehls

who banged away on the airplane,
Wally Fisk originally bought the air­
plane for two reasons. First, it was to
be a volunteer project on display dur­
ing its restoration at his Polar Aviation
Museum in Blaine, Minnesota. Sec­
ond, a Seabee started his interest in
aviation, so Wally has a nostalgic at­
tachment to the type. When the
airplane was purchased in the mid
'90s, it was in Rockford, Illinois. And
already disassembled and painted.
Duane says, "It would have been
easier if the airplane hadn't been
painted, because we had to be really
careful [of] what we did, or we ran
the risk of damaging the paint.
16

FEBRUARY 2002

When we got the airplane, only a
half a gallon of paint of each color
came with it, so besides not know­
ing what went where, we were
constantly worried about dinging
something."
The Polar Aviation Museum
closed its doors in 1999, but Fisk
wanted the volunteers to keep ham­
mering away on the airplane.
"When the museum closed, the
number of volunteers dropped, but
those who remained were really faith­
ful to the project, and it became as
much of a social event as anything
else. We all became friends and en­
joyed the interaction," Duane says.

"When the airplane came to us,"
according to Duane, "the wings
and control surfaces were in crates.
The engine was disassembled and
in boxes. Another box held a bunch
of actuators, but we didn't know
what they were for. All the hy­
draulics parts were in another box.
Again, not tagged. We had a terrible
time just figuring out which parts
needed rebuilding.
"We had drawings for most of the
airplane, but there was no exploded
view giving us the big picture," Du­
ane says. "We made many, many trips
up to Prior Lake to see Grant
Leonard's Seabee. If it hadn't been for
his airplane, we would have never
gotten ours together, but we still had
tons of questions. Most Seabees have
been modified in a lot of different ar­
eas, but ours was mostly stock. So,
even though we'd all take pictures of
different parts of every Seabee we
saw, they often didn't help much be­

The six-cylinder Franklin engine is coupled to a cooling
fan in front and a crankshaft extension on the rear, which
drives the prop . You can clearly see the Franklin 's distrib­
utor and coil ignition system. It' s mounted on the left
side of the shaft extension case, just aft of the baffle.
The Franklin uses a mixed system, with one magneto fir­
ing one set of plugs and an automotive-style distributor
for the other set.

cause they didn't match."
The water rudder was a classic
case of not knowing what did what.
"We had no way of knowing how it
attached . We e-mailed a lot of peo­
ple. We even made parts out of wood
to try to figure out how it worked.
"The tail wheel steering was the
same way. As far as we could tell, we
had all the parts, but because they
had this kind of Rube Goldberg way
of working, we just couldn't figure it
out. If we hadn't had another air­
plane to look at, we might still be
trying to make it work."
The seats had already been uphol­
stered, but there were no side panels,
so they came up with upholstery
that wo uld match and had Airtex
make up the panels.
The instruments that came with
the airplane were a mixture of over­
hauled, old, really old, and useless.
The problem, however, was finding
the right ones to build up the dis­
tinctive Seabee instrument group in
the middle of the panel. Here they
got really lucky. Jim Harker found a
number of complete Seabee instru­
ment clusters and the panels in a
warehouse and contributed one to
the project. So, the airplane is
eqUipped with 50-year-old stock
gauges. When they tested them ,
everything but the frozen tachome­
ter passed muster.
Duane says, "The landin g gear

Cloth interiors are not usually the best choice for sea­
planes, so the Seabee was neatly upholstered in vinyl
with a close-nap carpet used underfoot . A basic VFR in­
strument panel was re-instalied, along with expertly
rendered lettering for each switch and placard . The new
lettering included a placard for one unusual switch-on
the lower left corner of the panel, there's an electrical
switch labeled "Anchor Light."

turned out to be a real problem be­
cause most of it, including the axles,
were badly corroded and had to be
replaced or rebuilt. Fortunately, that
was the only serious corrosion in the
airframe because the airplane only
had about 450 hours total time and
had never seen sa ltwater."
If they thou ght the landing gear
was a problem, then they must have
thought gett ing the Franklin engine
running was a borderline disaster
because, among other things, some
of the accessories were missing along
with some of the internals. On top
of that, many of the parts they did
have couldn't be rebuilt, and they
had to buy a second engine just to
get enough usable parts to get one
running. They had the basic engine
overhau led by Bolduc Aviation in
Minneapolis. Then it was found that
the exha ust system was really
screwed up. The exhaust studs were
wrong, and they had to have the
rusted parts of the exhaust system
that needed replacing custom made
using a Continental system as a pat­
tern. A full month was spent doing
nothing more than removing and
replacing the stud s and getting the
custom-made parts to fit. It took
three tries t o get them right. They
knew little about the engine type
when they started, but they became
near experts through trial and error.
Still, they knew no matter what they

did, they could expect some prob­
lems, because one of their engine
manuals had the notation that they
should" ... expect major repairs
shortly after 600 hours."
Once they got the engine prob­
lems solved, the project really kicked
into high gear. According to Duane,
"We could see the airplane was start­
ing to take shape, so we put the pedal
to the metal. When we started work­
ing on the windows, we realized they
weren't tagged either. They were
grommet mounted, so they could be
kicked out in [an] emergency, but we
didn't know which grommet went
with which window. It was just an­
other piece of the Seabee puzzle.
Towards the end, we were calling
people, including those who had
painted the airplane, and tracking
down information like what type of
wing extensions were on it and who
had the pap erwork for them . Just
two weeks before Oshkosh, I was up
at Grant's and finally noticed that
the little white piece we had left over
went on top of the battery box. It
was a frustrating process, but we
made it all work."
The original crew who started the
project while it was still at the Polar
Aviation Museum included:
Jerry Fenton-an ex-B-36 flight en­
gineer and Navy Seabee
Dick Houck-control cables and
carpet patterns
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

17

Slence anll his
By H.G.

The designers of the Seabee made
extensive use of corrugated metal to
add stiffness to the wings , tail , and
in this case , the water rudder.

Greg Jones-landing gear struts
Ray Kreps-an ex-F-86 pilot; did
whatever was needed and was "Mr.
Window Guy"
Larry Mullaly-research and paperwork
Duane Poehls-wiring and parts
coordinator
Frank Sokolik-" a little of everything" and head parts cleaner
Alden Bjorkland-Plexiglas polisher
When the volunteers came to the
museum, the universal attitude
among them was, "We don't want
to be tour guides. We want to work
on airplanes." The Seabee fulfilled
th at desire. When the museum
closed, Fenton, Kreps, Poehls, and
Sokolik stayed on the project, and
every Wednesday night became
Seabee night for them.
"We wound up working 156 days
on the project for a total of 1,002
man hours, as near as we can figure," says Duane.
In a long-standing Oshkosh tradition, they didn't get the airplane
finished and ready to fly until just a
few days before EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh 2001. This is a pervasive
story among restorers; it makes you
wonder whether airplanes would
ever be finished if Oshkosh weren't
sitting out there imposing a time
limit. In the case of the Volunteer
Seabee, they managed to get four
hours on the airplane before heading over to the convention.
liOn the first flight the generator
was discharging like crazy," Duane
recalls. liThe generator had been a
headache anyway because when we
continued
18

FEBRUARY 2002

011

page 20

FRAUTSCHY

n the year before the United
States entered World War II, P.H.
"Spence" Spencer lofted the lines
on what he would call the Spencer
Amphibian Air Car, Model S-12. By
March I, 1941, Spencer and his
two employees (one part-time, the
other in the shop all day) cut the
first parts for the two-place aerial
boat. Only 5.5 months after construction began the Air Car first
flew from the beach at Belmore,
Great South Bay, on New York's
Long Island.
With flat plywood for the fuselage and conventional wood spars
and ribs for the wings, the Air Car
was quite practical, albeit a bit unusual in appearance . Its pusher
engine allowed for a handy door
on the nose of the airplane. A pilot
or passenger could settle into the
right-hand seat, flip open the
cabin hatch/door on the nose, and
fish all day in comfort. When the
pilot was done, the amphibian
could be nosed up to the beach or
floating dock. It was a simple matter of opening the door and
stepping out to secure the machine. The rear-mounted prop was
somewhat protected from the
hull's water spray, and Spence enjoyed the rest of the summer
operating the Air Car from the
Babylon, Long Island, seaplane
base. By the next spring, Spence's
Air Car was in storage, like so many
of its brethren grounded since the
attack on Pearl Harbor. Spence was
hard at work as a test pilot for Republic Aircraft, flying the P-43 and
then the P-47. During 1943, he
worked for the Mills Novelty Company in Chicago, lured by an offer
from former Republic executive
Nels Kelly. Mills was interested in
obtaining military contract work,
and as part of the deal to hire

I

Seabel'"
Spence to help the company, he
would have access to its woodmolding workshop during off
hours. By that time some restrictions on civilian flying had been
lifted, and Spence flew the Air Car
to Chicago, where he made further
changes to the airframe, streamlining some of the early version's
rather slab-sided looks. He flew it
regularly from Fox Lake, northwest
of Chicago, where he tested the
hull's hydrodynamic qualities.
By the close of '43, Mill's Novelty had not been very successful
in getting more than one contract,
and Spence was ready when Nels
Kelly called again. Kelly had gone
back to work for Republic, and
upon hearing that the company
was interested in a civilian project
for work after the war ended, he
made a pitch to senior management regarding the production of
the Air Car. Spencer was hired as a
design consultant, and Republic
paid him $17,000 for the rights to
the design.
Republic had plenty of experience in building airplanes out of
sheet metal, and if the postwar
market was as hungry for airplanes
as was forecast, they'd need to produce them at a pretty good clip,
possibly as many as 10 per day!
After Republic built and flew the
prototype (the RC-l), a review of
the program showed that the cost
to produce the airplane was going
to be excessive, and well in excess
of the projected $3,995 price for
the Thunderbolt Amphibian, as it
was first named. Alfred Marchev,
Republic's preSident, ordered a design review, which proved to be an
illuminating exercise in production
economy. Changing the wing from
a tapered to a straight planform
saved tooling money and time in

production, and extensive use
of hydro-formed sections of aluminum for all of the major
components kept the number
of pieces in the airframe down
to a minimum. As originally designed, the hull had 362 parts
assembled with 6,200 rivets. It
took 590 man-hours to build it.
After the design review, the
number of parts tumbled to 63,
with only 2,400 rivets needing
to be driven in place, taking
only 20 man-hours. The total
number of parts in the airframe
went from 1,800 down to a
more manageable 450. The wing's
new structure was also innovative,
using beading stamped into the
wing panel's surfaces to act as stiffeners for the structure, instead of
laborious wing rib installations. After heated debate about the merits
of such a structure, it proof tested
to be four times stronger in torsional rigidity and held up to a
proof load of 115 percent.
The RC-1 Seabee, as the design
was now dubbed, was ready to
show to the postwar public by the
winter of 1945, and when the production RC-3s started coming off
the line at Republic's Long Island
factory, it was believed they had
about 4,000 orders for the unique
airplane . But those orders were
made when the price was $3,995,
and the book started shrinking as
soon as the price started to increase.
Republic management had targeted
a price that was far too low to meet,
even if it did create a lot of buzz in
the marketplace. When it became
apparent there was no way that
more than 4,000 of the airplanes
would actually be built and delivered, the price had to go up to
attempt to cover the cost of production, put by some at nearly
$17,000 per unit!
During the redesign, the new
airplane was also expanded to a
four-place model, with the landing gear now simply rotated aft,
instead of into a pair of wells set

Douglas Rolfe

into the sides of the hull. Eliminating the wells added enough
room to the interior to make a
four-seater practical.
Also needed was more horsepower. The Franklin engine first
considered for the revamped design developed 200 hp, but more
was needed, and to help control
costs, Republic bought a controlling interest in Aircooled Motors,
Syracuse, New York . Aircooled
had been building the Franklin
series for a number of airframe
makers, and it managed to simplify the Franklin 500 engine and
get a 12 hp boost in the process .
When finall y put into production, that horsepower had grown
to 215 ponies, with the Franklin
6A8-215B9F as the standard installation. While the Koppers
Aeromatic prop was standard
equipment, the metal Hartzell
controllable/reversible prop was a
handy option.
Unfortunately, escalating prices,
coupled with a sharp decline in demand and a deepening postwar
economic recession, meant the
production run of the Seabee was
short-lived, with only 1,050 of the
airplanes built before Republic shut
down the line.
Spencer moved to Florida,
where he dabbled in the construction and real estate business .
Later, after a move to California,
he returned to aviation, and he

continued to develop his Air Car
series as a homebuilt project until
his death in 1995 at the age of 97.
Spencer's life was filled with a
number of remarkable technical
achievements, no doubt a legacy
of his father, Christopher Minor
Spencer. C.M. Spencer invented
the Spencer repeating rifle, one of
the Union Army's most effective
weapons of the Civil War.
Longevity must run in the
Spencer family, as Spence was
born long after the war, when his
father was 63 years old. The elder
Spencer lived long enough to see
his son solo a Curtiss-type flying
boat on the Connecticut River in
the summer of 1914.
For information on the Seabee, visit
www.mindspring.com/-jhooper3/seaclub.htm

That's the web address for John
P. Hooper's Seabee web page, the
home of the International Republic Seabee Owners Club. You
can also write to them at: 6607
Rosemont Drive , Saginaw, MI
48603-6907. There's also a link
to a biography of P.H. Spencer,
one of aviation's most fascinating deSigners.
Air Car plans are still available
for homebuilders. For more information on the Seabee's look-alike
homebuilt sibling, you can contact Spencer Amphibian Air Car
at: P.O. Box 327, Kansas, IL 61933;
phone: 217-948-550, 847-8825678; fax: 847-882-0123.
VINTAGE AI RPLANE

19

The Seabee's distinctive lines come from
the genius of Percival H. Spencer, whose
basic design for an amphibious airplane
made out of steel tube and wood was
bought by Republic and then modified
and produced after World War II. Spencer
helped Republic design the airplane for
all-metal construction on an assembly
line, but its unique art deco lines re­
mained true to his original concept.

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20

FEBRUARY 2002

opened it up to work on it, there
were no brushes in it. We found one
brush in Grant's garage attic, so
Bolduc [Aviation] took the one brush
down to the parts store and pawed
through a bunch of brushes until
they found a pair that matched.
When we investigated the discharg­
ing problem, it turned out the
generator was wired for 'normal' ro­
tation. The Franklin turns the other
direction, so we swapped a few wires
and were on our way."
With a cruise of 103 to lOS mph,
the Seabee isn't a rocket ship, but with
its pregnant pickle shape, you would­
n't expect it to be. "Fortunately," says
Duane, "we aren't burning much oil
and [are using] about 14 gallons of
gas. However, the engine has a mag­
neto and a battery/distributor, which
isn't shielded, so there's lots of igni­
tion noise in the radio.
"The airplane isn't really very
good in a crosswind because of that
huge tail," he says, "Which is aggra­
vated on takeoff by the way it
levitates up on the struts at such a
slow speed. I don't think it even has
a demonstrated crosswind compo­
nent in the handbook."
So, now that the Seabee is fin­
ished and the volunteers have their
Wednesday nights free, what are
they going to do with their time?
Duane looks around at the rest of
the volunteers and grins, "We started
on a Strikemaster in November, but
we have a leg up on this project. We
not only have a full set of manuals,
but there's a completed one sitting
in the same hangar. By comparison,
this one will be easy."
Easy? Obviously, after what this
team of volunteers just went through,
easy is a relative term.
........

PASS

IT TO

CK


BY E.E. "BUCK" HILBERT, EAA #21 VAA #5
P.O. Box 424, UNION, IL 60180

Reading about the adventures and
experiences of Dutch Redfield and
now Bill Dunn sure triggers your ex­
citement bones. They're wonderful!
I've had a few adventures as well,
but I hesitate to relate them, know­
ing full well that some of them were
pretty boneheaded and I was lucky
to have survived to tell about them.
Before I spill the beans about this
incident, here's a little background.
At 17, right out of high school, I en­
listed in the Army Air Corps at the
beginning of World War II. I had fin­
ished a specialized course in aviation
mechanics and enlisted to become
an aviation cadet.
I had been working at the local
airport for a couple years, had all
kinds of "sandbag" and dual time,
and had soloed in the J-3, Porter­
field, Aeronca Defender, and the
Duster Stearman C-3. I was pretty
hot; I'll tell you that.
After the stint in pre-flight school I
was assigned to Primary Flying School
at Wickenburg, Arizona. I was intro­
duced to PT-l7s, PT-13Ds, and PT-27s.
The -27 was a fully instrumented,
electrically equipped version.
My instructor, Mr. Bingham,
soloed me in short order, and I was
free to practice what I was supposed
to have learned. Unlike most of the
students, who padded their time a
little, I would fly for an hour and log
forty-five minutes. I just loved to fly,
and I guess it showed.
Toward the end of our six weeks
at Echiverria Field 1 was one of about
four or five cadets still flying off the
required 65 hours. According to the
book I had about 60-1 still had
more to fly. I flew off the home field
late in the afternoon one day, and
since all the checkrides were over
and I was just having fun, I decided
to see how high a PT-17 would go.
I left the pattern and began to

climb. Finally, after an eternity, I got
up to 13,500 feet indicated. In Janu­
ary, I can tell you, it was very cold
up there. I was freezing and now
only wanted to get back to that
warm Arizona desert air.
I thought a while and then de­
cided a spin would be the best and
quickest way down. After about six
turns I pulled out, and I was still
above 10,000, but it was a little
warmer. Okay, what to do now? How
about a few rolls on a point? So from
about 15 miles away from the field, I
put the nose on a point and began
doing rolls, one after another, maybe
about 10 or so.
Now that 220 Continental, as
some of you well know, has a float­
type carburetor and would always
quit when inverted. I had held in­
verted for a couple minutes during
one of the rolls, and when I rolled
right side up, the engine was just
wind milling. Never giving it a sec­
ond thought, I just kept on rolling
and rolling. I finally got down to
about 2,000 or 3,000 feet off the
ground, poked the power to it,
and ... NOTHING! I pumped the
throttle, I checked the fuel selector, I
hit the primer ... it took a little, but
not enough to keep me in the air.
By now I was about 1,500 feet
above the ground, seven or eight
miles away from base, with no radio
(we didn't have them in those days),
and maybe four or five miles from
the highway, the only highway in the
area. Fortunately, the desert in this
area had sparse growth, so 1 picked a
passable piece of desert and landed.
No problem. I might have scared a
few horned toads, or maybe a rat­
tlesnake, but I was on the ground,
and the airplane was all there. Plus, I
was now nice and warm!
Now begins the saga. Here I am
seven or eight miles from the field,

four or five miles off the highway, no
one knows where I am, and it's get­
ting to the point where the sun is
setting. Now, the book says in a situa­
tion like this you stay with the
airplane and wait for rescue. But wait
a minute; I think I know what's the
matter with this engine. I'll bet the
float is stuck. It ran on the primer,
didn't it? Well that's got to be it! Find
a rock; bang on the carburetor bowl.
Bang it good; this used to happen on
the Duster Stearman. Now, let's try it.
Wind up the inertia starter and, "That
was it! It runs!" It's now almost dark,
so a quick run -up with a full power
check and it's off for home.
When 1 land the proverbial stuff
hits the fan. The A.O. (airdrome offi­
cer) is upset, as I am the last one to
land and it's dark! "Where 'n 'ell
have you been?" Thinking I was a
hero, I explained, and explained
again in front of the e.O., and again
in front of the accident investiga­
tion board, and then again in front
of the Cadet Evaluation Board!
Somehow, possibly because my
instructor thought 1 might someday
grow up, they let me off with a rep­
rimand. A couple days later I was
even allowed to finish up my 65
hours and graduate.
The moral of the story is that this
"Hot Shot" kid had his first en­
counter with military thinking, and
they didn't appreciate "American in­
genuity" one bit. I still feel I did the
right thing. I didn't want to spend
the night in the desert, the airplane
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

21

I've told you about
this project some­
time in the past,
and after the dust
settled over Sep­
tember 11, I got to
fly Gary Karner's
Aeroncopy. It was
great fun, and it
flies great with a
Continental A-65.
Gary used my C-3
to take measure­
ments to make his
copy of a C-3 as a homebuilt airplane. I've been selling some of my toys to
make a bit of room around here at the Funny Farm, and my C-3, which I've
had since the 1960s, was on the block. Gary bought it, so now he owns both.
As soon as the weather gets nice, and we get it running, it will move to the
Brodhead, Wisconsin, airport. Isn't Gary's Aeroncopy cute?

got fixed and got home in fine
shape, and I'm here to tell about it
almost 60 years later.
I've had several forced landings
since that time, and I've lucked out
every time. It did teach me to always
be aware of your options and always
have a plan in mind in case the un­
mentionable happens.
Here's a recent note I received:
Dear Mr. Hilbert,
I would appreciate any informa­
tion you might have regarding any
DH-4 aircraft that might be flying
and/or in a museum.
I am 84 years old and grew up on a
farm across the river from Peoria, Illi­
nois, over which DH-4 mail planes
flew in the mid-1920s. I was, and am,
an aviation buff but not a pilot or
builder. In deference to my love of
things flying, my dad would milk the
cows early and take me to the Peoria
airport west of Peoria, at Alta, illinois,
22

FEBRUARY

2002

to see the northbound mail planes
come in. There were three pilots:
Lindbergh, Slonnegar, and Smith. I
had the great privilege of seeing and
talking to all three.
The big thrill was in 1928 when
Col. Lindbergh flew over his old air­
mail route in the Spirit of St. Louis,
with Slooney and Smith in DH-4s in
formation. They were about SOO feet
high and flew over me in a berry
patch where I was working. Lind­
bergh looked out his side window at
me. Such a thrill!
American Airways came in on
that route in Ford Tri-Motors about
that time, and the DH-4s disap­
peared. I haven't seen one since.
I certainly like your column in the
Vintage Airplane publication. With the
publication and Poplar Grove Airport
close by, I am well served.
Richard Pedrick
Winnebago, Illinois
VAA033163

Richard,
It's a pleasure to hear from you,
and I thank you for your kind re­
marks about Vintage Airplane.
When I was a trustee for the
Wings & Wheels Museum in Florida,
now defunct, we had an ex-Marine
Corps DH-4 in almost-flying condi­
tion. When the museum broke up it
was auctioned off and went to Brazil,
I think.
It was one that had been modi­
fied to a steel tube fuselage and, of
course, was not the mail plane
model that was all wood. It also had
armament and was a single place
with a cargo pit up front. Not too
authentic at that.
I'm sending you, on loan of
course, the Smithsonian publica­
tion on the DH-4 history. In this
book you'll find all sorts of infor­
mation on the original airplane and
the many variants. Enjoy the book,
and one of these days when you are
finished with it, either drop it off at
my son's house over in Rockford
(address included), or if you are out
for a drive, stop by here at the
Funny Farm.
Reading about your childhood
in Peoria is very interesting. I never
got to actually meet Lindbergh ,
but I was just a kid when he flew
over Rockford on his nationwide
tour and dropped the message con­
tainer. I was only 4 years old, but I
remember the crowd was going
crazy yelling, "Lindy! Lindy!" and
jumping up and down with excite­
ment. Quite a time. Lindbergh sure
made a name for himself in later
years as a conservationist, a med­
ical research scientist, and as a
man to admire. I visited his grave
in Hawaii and thanked him for
what he did for aviation.
Looking forward to meeting you
one day. If you decide to visit the
Railroad Museum, we are just about
a mile south. Who knows, I might
even have an airplane flying, and we
could take a ride.
Over to you,
f(

Wally Baldwin of Middle­
town, Ohio, whose father
spent many years at Aeronca
during its aircraft production
heyday, sent us this photo­
graph. Taken at Lunken
airport (sometimes referred to
as "sunken Lunken"J in
Cincinnati, Ohio, it shows the
airfield the year before the
devastating flood of January
1937. The new administration
building in the center was
added on to the smaller termi­
nal just to its left. When the
airport was flooded, only the
top floor of the new building
and the instruments on top of
the small white weather in­
strument box were visible.
In the far upper left comer, the low building along the road is the first Aeronca factory. On the left side of the photo is the Metal Aircraft
Company, builders of the Ramingo series of all-metal airplanes. The flood bankrupted the already fragile company, and Aeronca bought the
building. Aeronca chose to move its operation to Middletown, Ohio, and the Metal Aircraft Company building was moved to Aeronca's new
location after the floodwaters receded.
On the main ramp is a Stinson Trimotor and an American Airways Douglas DC-3, complete with the entry door on the right side of the cabin.
The administration building still stands, and it now has Dr. Kindall's Aeronca C-3 hanging in the west wing.

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

23

~

St!4 t6 S~ St!4

a mesa. For winds 10 knots or less,
you land uphill. Turning base, an­
4,500-foot altitude. The valley
other mesa "sticks up" a mile away.
No problems, just very different to
was filled with quilt-patterned
us "flatlanders./I We enjoyed tour­
vegetable fields crosshatched
ing Sedona's many tourist
with irrigation canals . We saw
laborers tending some fields and
boutiques, which sell Indian art­
Flight planning with a wall chart is always fun ,
other fields that had just been and it ' s also neat to figure out just how far work and wares. Then we drove
reclaimed adjacent to the low your flight has taken you. Walt and Jim use the back up the mesa to view an ab­
solutely stunning sunset, followed
hills west.
time-honored string and scale method of dis­
by dinner and a restful sleep.
tance calculation to figure out how far they
On Tuesday we departed Se­
Coast to Coast
had flown with their Cessna 140s.
dona at 0725 local, refueled at
Leaving the Imperial Valley
we flew northwest above the
Gallup, and then flew back to
ABQ
International. Wednesday
Salinas Valley to west of Salinas Air­ The Convention and Return
port at the valley's north end. jim,
Thursday afternoon we left MRY morning '26V departed ABQ for the
leading since Bakersfield, called at 1500 local with '676 leading. We A/C Chapter 3 Fly-In at Darlington,
flew back down the Salinas Valley, South Carolina, arriving Friday
Monterey Approach and requested
and was granted a flyby over Mon­ followed Route 101 southeast,
morning . Walt returned to Mary­
terey Bay then back across the crossed over the pass at Las Cruces, land on October 5. jim and Diane
flew beside the mountains adjacent stayed in New Mexico, visiting Taos
peninsula. Walt, never having flown
over the Pacific Coast, was amazed to the ocean, and landed at Santa and taking in the Balloon Festival
Barbara (SBA) for fuel. We left SBA on Saturday. '676 departed ABQ on
at the ocean's clear, deep blue color.
After our aerial reconnaissance we at 1745 loca l and headed southeast Sunday, October 4, and returned to
landed on MRY's 28L at 1505 local, along the coast with Point Mugu Cape May on October 10, having to
taxied in, and tied down at Del Naval Air Station. Approach proVid­ follow a weather system across Okla­
ing flight following into the Los homa, Arkansas, Tennessee, North
Monte Aviation. As a destination,
Monterey was significant since it Angeles basin. The basin was hazy Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.
jim and Diane received the
was a duty station during jim's Navy with an overcast 1,000 feet above.
career. He acquired his commercial We landed at Chino (CNO) just af­ Longest Distance Flown Award at
and instrument ratings while here.
ter dark, taxied in, and parked our the 1998 International Cessna
NC89676 and its crew had com­ two transcontinental Cessna 140s 120/140 Association Convention.
pleted the trek from the Atlantic to together at the base of the tower. They said: "The longest distance
the Pacific Ocean, flying 2,930 The next two days we enjoyed the award was nice, but we are pleased
statute miles in six days. N2026V International Cessna 120/140 Asso­ with the fact that we did it; we flew
had traveled 2,920 miles, not quite ciation Convention, caught up with our Cessna 140s literally 'from sea to
from sea to sea (albeit W18 is beside friends who had flown out at shining sea,' saw our beautiful coun­
the Patuxent River, which empties 30,000 feet, toured the several avia­ try, met some very nice people, and
into the Chesapeake Bay, which tion museums at CNO, changed will remember this experience for
'676's and '26V's oil, and relaxed the rest of our lives./I Walt received
empties into the Atlantic).
the Longest Distance Flown Award
Our afternoon, evening, and fol­ before our return east.
'676 and '26V departed CNO to­ at the 1998 EAA Antique and Classic
lowing day were spent enjoying
Monterey and its Sights: dinner at a gether on Sunday, September 27. We Division (now Vintage Aircraft Asso­
......
restaurant on the wharf, rescuing a flew north under an overcast, then ciation) Chapter 3 Fly-ln.
seagull, gazing at deer grazing by the along Interstate 15 over Cajon Pass,
lighthouse and at sea otters in the and back over the desert and its clear
Acknowledgments
Pacific, visiting the aquarium, and skies. At Barstow we followed the now
Thanks to all the generous folks
just touring the town and its shop­ familiar 1-40 eastbound and stayed
along the way: the Normans at Parr
ping boutiques. jim fed his ground overnight in Kingman. The next morn­
Airport (421); Hannan Dickerson, Co­
squirrel buddies peanuts at Point ing we left at a more leisurely 0915
lumbia, Missouri; the unidentified but
Pinos-they likely were descendants local, flew east to Flagstaff, and then
very helpful FBO employee at Neosho,
of ones he had fed during his Navy south to Sedona (SEZ). We stopped
Missouri; and the "big airport" FBOs
tour. Our final stop was a gift shop here on a whim (thanks, Dorchen Fore­
who gave us red carpet service--TAC
to purchase sea otter stuffed animals man). Landing here was most
Air (AMA), Signature (ABQ) , and Del
to display in our aircraft (an "East interesting-you descend down a
Monte Aviation (MRY).
Coast bunch" tradition).
canyon to land at the airport on top of

continlled from page 9

24

FEBRUARY

2002

NEW MEMBERS

Jeff Ottewell. ................. Richmond, BC, Canada

Jean Hickman ............... Stoneycreek, ON, Canada

Alan McLeod. . . . . . . . . .. Hudson Heights, po, Canada

Frederic Djakov................ L'Hay les Roses, France

Ian Rosewell .......... Little London, Hamps, Great Britain

John E. Stevens................... Staffs, Great Britain

Richard Wery .................. . ........ Juneau, AK

Ralph Doss ............................. Wynne, AR

Robert D. Hohanshelt .................. Scottsdale, AZ

David Molina ........................... Tucson, AZ

William N. Doushkess .................. Pasadena, CA

Rick Mohr .................. . ........ Placerville, CA

Donald P. Stevenson ..................... Denair, CA

Don Zabel ............................ Tujunga, CA

Ronald Padgett .......................... Tampa, FL

Frank J. Sierra ........................... Tampa, FL

Ronald Cox ........................ Poplar Grove, IL

Melvern K. Finzer. ..................... Naperville, IL

Jack Gladish ........................ Camp Point, IL

Paul David Stevens ................ . . Montgomery, IL

Clarke Tate ............................. Gridley, IL

Jerry L. Maxfield ..................... Hutchinson, KS

R. O. Lassalle ........................ New Iberia, LA

Donald Sands ......................... Lafayette, LA

Gary M. Banks ......................... Scituate, MA

Thomas W. Tinkler ........ . .......... Edgewater, MD

Corey G. Jacques .......................... Saco, ME

Warren S. Bolton .......................... Niles, MI

Peter Keillor, III ........................ Midland, MI

Daniel L. Mills ...................... Manchester, MI

Paul R. Nicholls ......................... Lowell, MI

Donald C. Berndt .................. Coon Rapids, MN

Robert E. Bush ....................... Maryville, MO

David Carpenter ..................... Granview, MO

John D. Groeneveld ............ Maryland Heights, MO

Kenneth W. Sevy .................. Harrisonville, MO

Thomas McMahon .................... Missoula, MT

Mitchell Hines........................ Charlotte, NC

Wayne C. Mathson .................. Jamestown, ND

Normand G. Bisson.................. Manchester, NH

Gregg W. Granville.................. New Boston, NH

Skip Bush ........................ Albuquerque, NM

Gerald Brown ............................ Reno, NV

Gilbert Schulenberg ..................... Buffalo, NY

Charles Shene .................. . ...... Potsdam, NY

Dan E. Baun ........................... Poland, OH

Harold F. Crites .................... Wilmington, OH

James Sumrow ....................... . Madison, OH


H. Dwight Hardy .. . ...................... Tulsa, OK

Bradley Hardy.... . ..... . .... . .. . . .. . . .... Tulsa, OK

Gordon E. Munch . . .................. Aumsville, OR

Eugene Chiappe ......... .. ........... Granbury, TX

Rodney L. Doss .... . ... . .... .. ... . .. .. ... Dallas, TX

Louie Hamilton........................ Houston, TX

John Ingham ... . ......... ... . . ...... Fort Worth, TX

Walter Lansing ... . ......... . ........ San Marcos, TX

Mike Plyer ................... . .... . . .. Sherman, TX

James W. Welch .. .. ..... . .... . . . ........ El Paso, TX

John A. Williams ......................... Dallas, TX

Kimbel H. Watson . .. .... . . . .. . .......... Ogden, UT

Thomas A. McKee ......... ... ..... . Spotsylvania, VA

Charles Schuck . .... . ................. . . Vienna, VA

Larry Toigo........ . ....... . .. .. . . .. . . Dale City, VA

Patrick Thompson ................... Enumclaw, WA

John Reidenbach ............. . ......... Kenosha, WI

Clif Harper. .. ... .... .. . . . . . ... . .. . Rock Springs, WY


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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

25

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a
matter of information only and does not constitute approval, sponsor­
ship, involvement, control or direction of any event (fly- in, seminars,
fly market, etc.) listed. Please send the information to EAA, A tt: Vin­
tage Airplane, PO. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Information
shollid be received four months prior to the event date.
FEBRUARY 10-Mondovi, WI-Ski-Fly-ln a t Log Cabin
Ai rpo rt. Info: 715-287-4205.
FE BRUARY 23-Fort Pierce, FL-EAA Ch. 908 Pancake
Breakfast, 7-11 a. m . at the EAA Hangar, St. Lucie
International Airport. Info: 561-464-0538 or 561-489-0420.
FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 2 - Bozeman, MT-Mo ntana
Av iati on Confe rence, Ho liday & Gran Tree Inns. Workshops,
se mina rs, nationally recognized speakers, trade show. Info:
phone: 406-444-2506, fax: 406-444- 2506, e-ma il :
dalke@state. mt.lls.
MARCH 1-3-Casa Grande, AZ-the Arizon a An tique Aircraft
Assoc is spo n soring the 44th Ann ua l Cac tus Fly-[n, 480-987­
55 16.
MARCH 23-Fort Pierce, FL-EAA Ch . 908 Pancake Breakfast,
7-11 a.m., EAA Hanga r, St. Lucie Interna ti onal Airport. Info:
561-464-0538 o r 561-489-0420.

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trophies
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Roscoe Turn er - Famaus Race Pilot

ell, OK. .. maybe he didn't actually say that. ..

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W
been around in the '305. His plane would have been
lighter and stronger, too, and the chance of fire
would have been greatly reduced because Poly-Fiber
won't support combustion. Not only that, but
Gilmore's playful claw holes would have been easy
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26

FEBRUARY 2002

The best manual around
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APRIL 20-Furt Pierce, FL-EAA C h. 908 Pancake Breakfast, 7­
11 a.m., EAA Hangar, St. Lucie Inte rnational Airport . Info:
561-464-0538 or 561-489-0420.
MAY 3-S-Cleveland, OH-18th Ann ual Symposium of th e
Society of Ai r Racing Historians. Sessions fea turing talks by
pilots, crew members and others at the Holiday Inn-Ai rport.
In fo: Herman Schaub, 440-234-2301 o r Don Berliner, 703­
548-0405.
MAY 4-S- Woodland, CA-8 th Annual Great Valley Fly-In,
Watts-Woodland Airport (041). Jud g ing of a ntiqu es, classics,
and h omeb uilts. Pa n cake breakfasts, food ve ndors, raffle,
Young Eagles program. Info: 530-662-9631 or www.woodlan­
daviatioll .com.
MAY 4 -S- Daytoll, OH-C h . 48 Annua l Funday Su nday
Regional Fly-In at Moraine Ai rPa rk (1-73). Ca mping, awards,
d isplays. Info: 937-859-8967 o r www.MoraineA irpark.com.
MAY S-Rockford, IL- EAA Ch. 22 Fly-In/Drive-In Breakfast,
Greater Rfd. Airport, Courtesy Ai rcraft Hangar. Info: 815­
397-4995 .
MAY 11- TUlIghkenamon, PA-EAA Ch apter 240 Open House &
Hangar/Cl ubh ouse Dedication. 28 th Annual Fly-In/Drive-In
season at New Garden Airport (N57), with pancake brea kfast.
Young Eagles flights. Ad missi on free . Info: 2 15-761-319l.
MAY 17-19-Colllmbia, CA-Gathering of Luscombes 2002,
26 t h ann ual event. Aircraft judging, spo t landing, flour
bombing competitions, and more. Info: 559/888-2 745;
619/482-8236, or www.luscombe-c1a.org.
MAY 18-Fort Pierce, FL-EAA C h . 908 Pancake Breakfast, 7-11
a.m., EAA Hangar, St. Lucie Internationa l Ai rport. Info: 561­
464-0538.
MAY 19- Troy, OH-VAA Chapter 36 1st Annual Fly-[n
Barbeq ue at Waco Field. In fo: 937-447-41 45.
MAY 19-Romeoville, /L-EAA Ch . 15 Fly-In Breakfast at Lewis
Romeoville Airport (LOT). Info: 630-243-8213.
MAY 24-2S-Atchison, KS-36 th Annua l Kansas C ity Area Fly­
In , Ame lia Earhart Memorial Airport (K59). Info: 816-238­
2161 or 816-363-6351, or jsullens@kc. rr.com.
MAY 31-JUNE I-Bartlesville, OK- 16 th An nual National
Biplane Co nvention and Exposit ion a t Frank Phillips Field.
Forums, static displays, seminars, exh ibits. All types of ai r­
craft a nd airp lane lovers are invited. Biplane crews and NBA
m e mbers admitted free. Info: 9 18-622-8400 o r 9 18-336-3976
JUNE 7-9-Ga inesville, TX-Texas Ch. Vintage Airc raft
Association hosting its 39 th Ann ual Fly- In. Ga in esvi ll e
Municipal Ai rport (GLE) Info: 817-429-5385; 817-468-15 7l.
J UNE 23-Niles, MI-EAA Ch . 865 Annua l Fly-[n/ Breakfast a t
Jerry Tyler Municipal Airport (3TR), 7 till noon. Info: 219­
271-8533.
J ULY 6-Rcnsselaer, IN-EAA Chapter 828 Fly-[n at Jasper
County Airport. Ham & bean lun ch. Info: 2 19-866-5587.
JULY 13- TOllghkenamon, PA-EAA C h ap ter 240, 28 th Annual
Fly- In/Drive- In Pancake Breakfas t 8:00 a.m. at New Garden
Airport (N57). Young Eag les' Ra ll y. Ad mi ssio n free. Info:
215-761-3191

EAA FLY·IN SCHEDULE 2002
SUNI NFUN EAA FlY·IN

VIRGINIA STATE EAA FlY·IN

www.slm-n- flln.org
April 7·13, Lakeland, FL

September 7·8, Dinwiddie County Airport

EAA ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONAL

EAA EAST COAST FlY·IN

www.greeieynet.com/eaaregiOllai
June 29·30, Longmont, CO

September 13·15, Toughkenamon, PA

NORTHWEST EAA FlY·IN

EAA SOUTHWEST REGIONAL FlY·IN

www.nweaa.org
July 1()'14, Arlington, WA

September 27·28, Abilene,TX

www.vaeaa.org

www.eastcoastflyill.org

www.swrfi·com

EAA AlRVENTURE OSHKOSH

EAA SOUTHEAST REGIONAL FlY·IN

www.airventure.org
July 23-29, Oshkosh, WI

www.geocities.com/-serfi
October 4·6, Evergreen, AL

EAA GOlDEN WEST REGIONAL FlY·IN

COPP£RSTATE EAA FlY·IN

www.gwfly-in.org
September 6-8, Yuba County Airport (MRV)

October 10·13, Phoenix, AZ

EAA MID-EASTERN flY-IN
419·447·1773 (telefax)
September 6·8, Marion, OH

www.copperstate.org

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Something to buy,
sell or trade?
Classified Word Ads : $5.50 per 10
words, 180 words maximum, with bold­
face lead-in on first line.
Classified Display Ads: One column
wide (Z.167 inches) by I , 2, or 3 inches
high at $20 per inch. Black and white
only, and no frequency discounts.
Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of
second month prior to desired issue
date (Le., January 10 is the closing date
for the March issue). VAA reserves the
right to reject any·advertising in conflict
with its policies. Rates cover one inser­
tion per issue. Classified ads are not
accepted via phone. Payment must ac­
company order. Word ads may be sent
via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (clas­
[email protected]) using credit card payment
(all cards accepted). Include name on
card, complete address, type of card,
card number, and expiration date. Make
checks payable to EAA. Address adver­
tising correspondence to EAA
Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O.
Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.
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For sale, reluctantly: Warner 145 & 165 engines. 1
each, new OH and low time. No tire kickers, please.
Two Curtiss Reed props to go with above engines.
1966 Helton Lark 95, Serial #8. Very rare, PQ-8
certified Target Drone derivative. Tri-gear Culver
Cadet. See Juptner's Vol. 8-170. Total time A&E
845 hrs. I just have too many toys and I'm not get­
ting any younger. Find my name in the Officers &
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evenings. E. E. "Buck" Hilbert
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want to see your plane or pearls of wisdom in print?

Write an article for

VINTAGE AIRPLANE


We're always looking for technical articles and photos of your latest
restoration. We can't offer you money, but we can make you a hero among
fellow Vintage Aircraft enthusiasts!
Send your submissions to:

Editor, Vintage Airplane

P.O. Box 3086


Oshkosh, WI 54904


e-mail: [email protected]
For pOinters on format and
content feel free to call
920-426-4825
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

27

VAA
NEWS
CONTINUED
prices range from $19.95 to $22.95,
plus shipping and handling. Call
EAA at 800-843-3612 (outside the
United States and Canada call 920­
426-4800).

Workshop Schedule
Feb 8-10. 2002

Griffin. GA

April 20-21. 2002

TIGWELDING

SHEET METAL
COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT
FABRIC COVERING

Oshkosh. WI
RVASSEMBLY

April 27-28. 2002

ADVANCED TIG WELDING
RVASSEMBLY

Corona.CA

Pittsburgh. PA
SHEET METAL
COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT
FABRIC COVERING
GAS WELDING

Griffin. GA

RVASSEMBLY

Watsonville. CA

May 3-5. 2002

Griffin. GA
TIGWELDING
RVASSEMBLY

Dallas. TX
TEST FLYING
YOUR PROJECT

May 31-June2. 2002 Griffin. GA
ADVANCED TIG WELDING

Dallas. TX

June 7-9. 2002

SHEET METAL
COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
& AVIONICS
FABRIC COVERING
GAS WELDING

Corona. CA
RV ASSEMBLY

June 21-23 2002

Griffin. GA
TIG WELDING

June 21-23. 2002

Frederick. MD
RV ASSEMBLY

Visit www.sportair.com for a complete listing of workshops.

S
poRrA1R
WORKSHOPS
-

28

-.iZ)-­

FEBRUARY 2002

1-800-WORKSHOP
1-800-967-5746
[email protected]

The Aviator's Apprentice is the first
part of a very enjoyable fiction tril­
ogy skillfully written by Chris
Davey. Davey neatly weaves histori­
cal figures into the life story of his
fictional protagonist, Will Turner.
Starting in the early years of avia­
tion 's pioneer era, The Aviator's
Apprentice eventually propels Will
into the maelstrom of the European
conflict that defined the beginning
of the last century. It's very well
done and an enjoyable to read story,
and while not intended for younger
readers, Davey's storytelling is com­
pelling reading. He does an
exceptional job in creating a group
of believable and interesting charac­
ters to support the storyline.
The second part of the trilogy,
Turner's Flight, was published this
past year, and th e third, Defense of
the Realm, will be published this year.
For more information on Turner's
Flight Logs, visit www.turner/ogs.com.
Published by Lucky Press, it's avail­
able at many bookstores and by
calling 800-345-6665.
........

Membership Services Director~

VINTAGE

AIRCRAFT
ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND
THE EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

OFFICERS
President

Vice-President

Espie W
Butch" Joyce

George Daubner
2448 Lough Lane
Hartford, WI 53027
262/673·5885
[email protected]

P.O. Box 35584
Greensboro, NC 27425
336/668·3650
[email protected]

Treasurer
Charles W. Harris

Secretary

Steve Nesse
2009 Highland Ave.
Albert Lea, MN 56007
507/373-1674

7215 East 46th 5t.
Tulsa, OK 74147
918/622·8400

[email protected]

DIRECTORS
David Bennett
P.O. Box 1188
Roseville, CA 95678
916/645-6926

[email protected]

Jeannie Hill

P.O. Box 328

Harvard, IL 60033

815/943-7205

[email protected]
Steve Krog

ll

Robert C. "8ob Brauer
9345 S. HOJne

Chi~~~?7~~21~~20

1002 Heather Ln.
Hartford, WI 53027
262/966-7627

[email protected]

[email protected]

John Berendt

7645 Echo Point Rd.

Cannon Falls, MN 55009

507/263-2414


Robert D. "Bob" Lumley

1265 South 124th St.

Brookfield, WI 53005

262/782·2633


[email protected]

[email protected]


John S. Copeland

Gene Morris

5936 Steve Court

Roanoke, TX 76262

817/491-9110

[email protected]


1A Deacon Street

North'S"08/3~~:Nt5 01532
copeland [email protected]

Dean Richardson
Phil Coulson

1429 Klngs Jj;nn Rd

28~~~;'i';J~~f~fr

Stou!J'it;;i7.8~~ls89

616/624·6490

[email protected]

rcoulsonS [email protected]
Geoff Robison

Roger Gomoll

3i~~e~t~r~~~~~~tl
507/288-2810

[email protected]
OaJe A. Gustafson
7724 Shady Hills Dr.

India3tm~~_~~3t6278

1521 E. MacGregor Dr.


Ne\\' Haven, IN 46774

219/493-4724

[email protected]
S.H. "Wes" Schmid
2359 Lefeber Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
414/771·1545

[email protected]

DIRECTORS

EMERITUS

Gene Chase

E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

2159 Carlton Rd.
Oshkosh, WI 54904
920/231-5002

P.O. Box 424
Union, IL 60180
815/923-4591

[email protected]

ADVISORS
Alan Shackleton
P.O. Box 656

Sugar Grove, IL 60554-0656

630/466-4193

103346.1772@<:ompuserve.com


Steve Bender
815 Airport Road
Roanoke, TX 76262
817/491-4700

[email protected]

Dave Clark
635 Vestal Lane
Plainfield, IN 46168
317/839·4500
[email protected]

Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Site: http://www.eaa.org and http://www.aiYllenture.org
E-Mail: vintage

EM and Division Membership Services
800-843-3612 , , . . ... ..... FAX 920-426-6761
Monday-Friday CST)
(8:00 AM - 7:00 PM

• New/renew memberships: EAA, Divisions
(Vintage Aircraft Association, lAC, Warbirds),
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(NAFI)

• Address changes
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Programs and Activities
EAA AirVenture Fax-On-Demand Directory
, , , , ............. , . , , , , . , , 732-885-6711
Auto Fuel STCs .. , , , , , , , , , .. . 920-426-4843
Build/ restore information ", . . 920-426-4821
Chapters: locating/organizing .. 920-426-4876
Education .... .. , , , , , , , . , , .. 920-426-6815

• EAA Air Academy
• EAA Scholarships

@

eaa.org


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
Technical Counselors ... • ... .. 920-426-4821
Young Eagles. , , , . , ... . . .. .. . 920-426-4831
Benefits
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 informa­
tion
920-426-4825 . . . , , , , , . , , , FAX 920-426-4828
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Artifact Donations ... ...... . , 920-426-4877
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MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

EAA
Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associ­
ation, Inc. is $40 for one year, including 12 issues of
SPORT AV1A1ION. Family membership is available
for an additional $10 annually. Junior Membership
(under 19 years of age) is available at $23 annually.
All major credi t cards accepted for membership.
(A dd $16 for Foreign Postage,)

AVIATION magaZine not included) . (Add $10

for Foreign Postage.)

WARBIRDS

Current EAA members may join the EAA War­
birds of America Division and receive WARBIRDS
magazine for an additional $35 per year.
EAA Members hi p, WARBIRDS magazine
and one year membership in the Warbirds Divi­
VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION sion is available for $45 per year (SPORT
AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $7 for
Curren t EAA members may join the Vintage
Foreign Postage.)
Aircraft Associa ton and receive VINTAGE AIR­
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EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE
EAA EXPERIMENTER
magaZine and one year membership in the EAA
Current EAA members may receive EAA
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per yea r (SPORT AVIATION magazine not in­
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cluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage,)
EAA Membership and EAA EXPERIMENTER
magaZine is available for $30 per year (SPORT
AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $8 for
lAC
Foreign Postage.)
Curren t EAA members may join the Interna­
tional Aerobatic Club, Inc. Division and receive
. FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS
SPORT AEROBATICS magazine for an addi­
Please submit yo ur remitta nce with a check or
tional $40 per year.
draft drawn on a United States bank payable in
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magazine and one yea r membership in the lAC
Division is available for $50 per year (SPORT
Postage amount for each membership.
Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions.

Copyright ©2002 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 Associalion of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM Avialion
Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and al additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EM
Vintage Aircraft Association, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via sur­
face 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 submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the
contribulor. No renumeration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920/426-4800.
EAA~ and SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo~ and Aeronautica llol are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service
marks without the permission of the EXperimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.
The EM AVIATION FOUNDATION Logo is a trademark of the EM Aviation Foundation, Inc. The use of this trademark without the pennission of the EM Aviation Foundation, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

29

INTAGE

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handle and cap. Standal'(l base filS most
cal' cup holders .
~1ug . . ... \100234
$4.95
Enjoy your morning corree with lh is blue
Irimmed Vintage logo mug.

e. Coffee

f. Youth Flight Jackel. . . .. $:J8.95
This classic jacket is sized for young
people. Made or nylon wilh knit collar.
curl's. and waist. SPOl'tS an OI'ange liner.
Yo uth sizes:
Sill \10060 5

IIId \100606

Ig \100607

TELEPHONE
ORDERS

800-843-3612
FROM US AND CANADA
ALL OTH ERS CAL L

920·426·591 2

MAIL ORDERS
P.o . Box 3086
OSHKOSH , WI 54903-3086

ORDER ONLINE

WWW.EAA.ORG

AND

g. Crew Sweater ..••..•.. ~
This daJ'k navy kn it sweater has cotton
patches at the shoulder and elbows and
sports the Vintage logo.
S~
sm \100516
xl \110525
~ ~.E:
md \110523
x.lI \100517

..

49.911

Ig \110524

Leather Baas from

Vintaae Alr~raft

An embossed logo graces each of these
finely crarted . genu ine leather bags.
which come in either tan or black.

h. Leather "ou~h ........... $21.95

tan V00584
bla~k V00513
Flapped. soft leather bag has shoulder
strap. Approx imate size: 7.5"h x 5"w x l.5"d

i. Leather

Brlef~a8e

tan V00497

........ $79.95

bla~k V00510

Crafted with a rich design. this case has
seve ral intel'ior pockets and goes from
home to the boardroom in style. Approxi­
mately 12"h x 16"w x 4.5"d

j. Lealher Backpack ...•.... $49.95
tan \100498
black V0051 1
Perfectly sized wilh convenient zippered
pockets on the inside and outside. Approx­
imately: 11"h x g'\v x 4.5"d

k. Leather "o~ket Bag
(black only) .......... \100512

$46.95

Convenient phone/sunglass pocket make
this bag a definite accessory.
Approximate size: 9"h x 6"w x 3"d

I. Adult Burgundy Flee~e Vest
....................... $ 14.95
Similar to the youth neece vest. this adult
version is a welcomed layer during cold
winter activities.
Sill

\100586

Ig \I 10506
xl V10507

IIId V10505

m. Youth Camo Shirt ....... $19.95

Sport shirL features four buttoned pock­
ets and Vintage Logo. Made of 65%
poly/35% cotton and is machine
washable. Youth sizes:

V00609
Ig V00611

SOl

Old

V00610

xl V00612

TELEPHONE
ORDERS

800-843-3612
FROM US AND CANADA
ALL OTHERS CALL

920-426-5912

MAIL ORDERS
ORDER ONLINE

WWW.EAA.OR

P.O . Box 3086
OSHKOSH , WI 54903-3086

Raymond Miller
Taylors, SC
ATP CFII ME
USAF Pilot, 1955-1975
Corporate and Airline
Pilot, 1976-1996
Flying for 48 years
First solo flight in 1954
Ray Miller, pilot/owner of "Red,_White and Blue" - a 1946 GC-I B Swift Custom Classic Award winner

AUAis

~

"AUA was my first choice for insurance
coverage a year ago, and I have just




renewed at a discounted price. For
immediate coverage; a comprehensive
policy; for efficient and personable

To become a
member of the

service - AUA is hard to beat."

- Raymond Miller

lower liability and hull premiums
Medical payments included
Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft
carrying all risk coverages
No hand-propping exclusion
No age penalty
No component parts endorsements

Vintage Aircraft

Discounts for claim-free renewals
carrying all risk coverages

Association call

800-843-3612

AUA's Exclusive EAA
Vintage Aircraft Assoc.
Insurance Program

The best is affordable.

Give AUA a call - it's FREE!


Remember,


We're Better Togetherl


800-727-3823

Fly with the pros.. .fly with AUA Inc.

AVIATION UNUM/no AGENCY

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