Getting out there! To help me write this column, I figured out that the best way to get my mind shifted to "aviation mode" was to go to the airport, make a pot of cof
chili served up. Sorry I didn't make it this year, Audrey. I t seems as though my 3-year-old grandson is now of the age that he wants to know when
well-attended event. After Sun ' n Fun a nd Marion,
fee, turn on a little country radio radio,, " and just be around the many avia
I'm going to be there for his birth day, which is now always celebrated
things will start to get pretty busy for me in preparation for EAA Air
tion artifacts at the hangar. I could hear the airplanes coming and going on the nearby runw runway, ay, and there was
no phone to pester me. Then all of the airplane noise got me thinking about the upcoming flying season, now just a couple of months away.
Suddenly, the motivation kicked in, and my mind started cranking. Deci
the local community to visit the air
port during this well-managed and
Venture Oshkosh. The spring board
the airplane noise got me thinking about the upcoming flying
meetings are in early May, and then
several Oshkosh work parties keep m e pretty busy right up t hr ough
early August. August . With Oshkosh behind me, I then
have the opportunity to get back out on the fly - in circuit. The weekend after Labor Day, in Hagerstown, In
sions, decisions I have been trying to decide which fly-in events to attend in 2008 . To start off my planning, I thought about the local events that are relatively easy to get to. I t starts every year on the first of January at Nappanee,, Indiana, where EAA Chap Nappanee ter 938 members, the "Cloudchasers," host their annual New Year's Day Han gar-Over Fly-In/Drive-In Luncheon event. This year was their 17' annual
away. Suddenly, the motivation kicked n
diana, Chapter 373 President Mar vin Stohler hosts an overnight fly-in
camping event. This is always great
fun, and has great food and a huge bonfire to battle the normally crisp air. With pancakes in the morning
and a nice trip home by early after noon, a good time is had by all.
future,, my that same Saturday. In the future
This year, our local VAA Chapter 37 is making plans to host the re gional Stinson fly-in at Auburn, In
solution to this dilemma is to bring him along
diana (GWB). This event is shaping up to be a real hit o n the circuit. Au-
burn is home to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum as well as the
Fly-In at Oshkosh's Pioneer Airport. This event got started many years ago as a celebration of Audrey Audrey Poberezny's birthday, and it is typically held on the fourth Saturday of January, which
The weather up north is just start ing to turn when the second largest fly-in in the world takes place in Flor ida . I try to make Sun 'n Fun at least every other year, and I was there in 2007, but I had a lot of fun last year. So don't be surprised if you see me in Lakeland in early April On Memorial Day weekend I can typically be found at the Marion, In diana, airport where Ray J ohns on and a corps of voluntee rs always hold their annual fund-raiser fo forr the local
this year was January 26. This is al ways a good time with lots of great
high school band. Ray puts on a great show and manages to attract most of
get-together, and they put on a great feed that attracts a whole bunch of EAA members and their aircraft. No, there's no jumping in the nearly fro zen river or anything like that. They just have a large, warm hangar, and you get to do a whole bunch of han gar flying with a great group of folks while enjoying some good chow. Then there's the great Skiplane
season, now just a couple of months
Kruse World War II Victory Museum. Our local "Hoosier Warbird Warbird Museu m" will be partiCipating as well. On Sep tember 13 we are planning a pancake breakfast for anyone interested interested.. With all of this going on, I am still hoping to attend the Tulsa Regional Fly-In and/or the Biplane Expo i n Bartlesville, Oklahoma . The last time I attended the Tulsa Regional Fly-In was in 1998, and I had a great time. I have never attended the annual cont inll ed on p
g
7
G
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VOL. 36 , No 2
co e
2008
TENTS
Straight
Level
Getting out there! by Geoff Robison
2
News
6
Vintage Aircraft Club of Great Britain Fly-In
10
A delightful aviation day by David Macready
Timeless and Tr i u m p h a n t The Taylorcraft Taylorcraft "Twosome" "Twos ome" "Best buy in the sky!" by Sparky Barnes Sargent
18
Reziches' Travel Airs
Part II-Nov e mber Charlie Eighty One Fifte Fifteen en by James Re zich
22
What Our Membe Members rs Are Restoring by David Tunno
24
The Technical Corner Slotted ailerons by Ro Robb ert G. Lock
28
Multiple Organization Listing
3
Pass I t to Buck
He re I am again by Buck Hilbert 32
The Vintage Instructor Kick th e tires: Part I by Doug Stewart
34
ST
Reviews
Books and Videos of Interest to Vintage Members
by H.G. Frautschy 36
Execu tive Direct or/Edi tor Exec uti ve Assistant News Editor
Mystery Plane
b y H .G. Frautschy
38
Calendar
39
Classified Ads
Photography Advertising Coord ina to r Class ified Ad Coo rdinator Copy Ed itor
OVERS
husiasts. s. We FRONT COVER The side-by-side Taylorcraft has long been a favorite of lightplane ent husiast spotted this month's featured airplane well south in the VM parking area during EM AirV enture AirVenture Oshkosh 2007 and Sparky Barnes Sargent had an enjoyable ti me interviewing its ow ner Jo e l Severinghaus. See the story beginning on page 10. EM photo by Jim Koepnick. BACK COVER: David Macready of the United Kingdom has been kind enough eno ugh to share do dozens zens of images of aircraft ftown in the UK and we ' re happy t o start star t featuring a few of his photographs in this month's issue. This pretty 1946 Auster 5J1, owned by Barry Dowsett and Ian Oliver. Oliver. is se se rial number 1970. David snapped this photo as Pamela IV was departing the 2006 Croft Farm Charity fly-i n in Defford Defford.. Worcs., Gre at Britain.
FF
Publisher Tom Pob erezny Direc Dir ec tor of EAA Publication Publicationss David Hip sc hman EAA
H.G. Frautschy Jillian Rooker Ric Reyn olds Jim Koepnick Bonnie Kratz Sue Anderson Daphene VanHullum Co lleen Walsh
Katrina Bradshaw Director of Adve rti si ng Display Advertising Representatives: No rth east: Allen Murray Phone 856-229 -7180 , FAX 856 -229 -7258, e-mail: allemllllffa;@tnilllisprillg.colII Sou theas t: Ches ter Baumgartner Phone 727-532-4640, FAX 727 -532 -4630 , e-mail: c
milldsprillg.co g.com m llmlll @ Centra : Gary Worden Phone 800-444-9932, FAX 816-74 1 6458, e-mail: gary.lVoriIell@Spc gary.lVoriIell@Spc mag.com Mountain Pacific: John Gibson Phone 9 16-784-9593, e-mail: jOllIIg ibso ll Spc lIlag.colll lIlag.colll Europe: Willi Tacke Ph one 4989693 40213, FAX 49896934021 4, e-mail: willi@flyillg pages co m
VINTAGE
AIRPLANE
Cessna T SO Bobcat Club
1987 . We have reason to believe
directive or a service service bulletin .
It
is a
We Jon and missed listing Larson the Cessna Bobcat club, now in its year,, as a type club . Here's its 49th year
information: Cessna T 50 The Flying Bobcats Jon D. Larson P.O. Box 566 Auburn, WA,98071 253-670-8218 E-mail: skykingjon@hotmail com Website: www.Angelfire. coml
mi2lbobcat
that wear-out for the spring struts is about 3,000 flight hours on rough terrain, and about 8,000 flight hours on paved runways. At t h i s time, we believe that our analysis is showing that these spring struts should be vi sual and NDI inspected every 2,000 flight hours . The ax le and hardware should be at least visually inspected
method by which the FAA can gather
recommended an initial inspection
the CPA wrote to the FAA engineer Mr. Park: Cessna Pilots Association CPA)
every 2,000 flight hours . In 2001, t h e NTSB issued two safety recommendations : The first at the next 100-hour or annual in
You can find the rest of the type
club list on our website at www .Vintag e Aircraft.org.. Click on the Type Clubs Aircraft.org link at the top of the home page.
Cessna Spring Steel Gear Leg F
issues airw orthiness concern sheet
In the fall of last year the FAA is an
concern sheet
sued airworthiness ACS) for Cessna models 120, 140, 150,170 , 1 7 2 , 1 7 5 , 1 8 0 , 1 8 2 , 185, 188, 190, 195, 205, 206, and 210. The reason for the ACS quoted from
the document was corrosion and fatigue cracki cracking of the main landing
gear MLG) spring struts have caused MLG failures on various Cessna air plane models. Here is the text of the ACS:
spection,; and the second recom
m en d ed repetitive inspections at
appropriate intervals. At this time , t h e FAA has not made a determination o n what type of corrective action (if any) should be taken. The resolution of this air worthiness concern could involve an airworthiness Ddirective AD) action or a Sspecial Aa i rwort h iness Iinfor mation Bbulletin SAIB), or the FAA could determine tha t n o action is needed at this time . The initial Rrisk Aassessment for this concern indi cated that a n AD or SAIB might be
considered . Enclosed are: (1) t he Ini t i al Risk Assessment Evaluation Chart (IRAEC), (2) a p h o t o g r a p h of t h e
co m m en t and field expertise regard ing a maintenance issue prior to the FAA making a determination regard
ing follow-up follow-up maintenance actions, if an y. The follow-up can be no further action on up to and including an air worthiness directive. directive . Tom Carr, technical representa tive of the Cessna Pilots Association, forwarded a copy of the club's com ments regarding the ACS. Here's what
has received very few comments from the membership o n the airworthiness concern sheet (ACS). One member wit h a U206F U206F model with 7,000 hours on the aircraft used o n unimproved strips felt that with the amount of hours on the gear and his type of op eration, rough runways, that is was probably time to just to go ahead and replacee his original gear struts. CPA replac feells his point about rough runways fee has merit and feels t h a t any flight operations off unimproved runways runways,, has to be harder on the gear struts as compared to the operator that st staa y s on improved runways. That would be especially true of any ski- equipped aircraft operations.
The left MLG broke o n a 172K
latest failure, (3) the previous ACS
The gear strut failures CPA has
that did a ground loop on June 18, 2007. On May 6, 6, 2006, the left MLG leg broke off at 4 inches from the
dated 5/23/01, (4) FAA AC43-16A article dated July 2002, (5) a sche matic of a spring strut, and (6) Cess
been made aware of all originated from a corrosion point usually o n the bottom side of the strut. The new
axle attach point on an A185F. Both of these failures were due to corro sion/fatigue. Our records indicate 72 occurrences beginning in 1975 until the pres ent time. Of these 72, 72, 35 were identified as being axle and hardware failures and 37 as being spring strut failures. Our analysis of the SDR and accident data indicates that, for the axle and hardware failu failures, res, the num ber of SDRs per year has dropped from 3. 3 .3 (1974 to 1981) to 1.0 since 1981; for the spring strut, the num ber of SDRs per year has increased from 0.6 (1974 to 1987) to 1.4 since
na's temporary revision to the ir service manual. Comments The FAA requests your comments. Any comments or replies to the FAA need to be as specific as possible.
Cessna inspection criteria called out in the July I, 2007, temporary 5 revi sion 180/185 manual revision details looking for rust as a warning sign .
FEBR U
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Please provide specific examples to il lustrate your comments/concerns. Comments are to be addressed to Gary D. Park, Aerospace Engineer, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office, Office , AC E - 118W, 1801 Airport Rd ., Wich ita, KS 67209, phone 316-946 316-946--4123, e-mail Gary.Park@ aa.gov. aa.gov. An ACS is not a n airworthiness
should be noted tha t until tha t 180/185 manual revision there is very little detail of inspection criteria for the main gear spring struts in any of servicee man uals for the fla flatt spring the servic Un gear equipped Cessna models . Un less a n experienced A&P/IA advised the owner that chipped paint and stone chips could lead to pitting cor rosion and strut fa il ure, many owners were accepting blind ignorance that It
8
ther e b y possibl possibly y avoiding becoming
8
/1RVENTLRE O S
K O S
another acciden t statistic. CP
Final Comments
in Th e re are two failure modes in volved here. Th e first is failure of
the strut at some point other th an the axles attach point. This type of failure is generally caused by corro corro
sion that has penetrated through the
shot peened surface surface.. CPA is unaware
There s Much More Online
Look for more E M AirVenture Oshkos Oshko s h 2008 information onll ine at www AirVenture org on 008// • For admissi admiss ion and hours: w w w A ir Ve n tu re o rg /2 008 planning/admission html planning/admission • For information on accommodati accommodat io ns ns:: w ww AirVentur e org/2008//planning/where org/2008 planning/where_ _to to_ _stay html • Find or shar sha re a ri ride to Oshkosh : www Ai A i rVenture rVenture or g/ rideshare/default rideshare/ default asp • For information on flying into Wittman Re Regional Airport Airport alternate airports and stop alternate stops s t o and from Oshkos h org/2008/f1ying /in de x html ww w ir Venture org/2008/f1ying/in html their struts were fine. The Cessna new pro pr o d uction 206H models still ut ilize flatt spri ng main gear, and the in the fla
mentioned earlier earlier,, an y back-country
of any gear leg failure of this nature where the shot peened surface had
not b e en penetrated prior to failure by damage or corrosion, either ox idation or fretting corrosion. This
t y p e of failure is preventable by an nual visual in spection of the gear leg for corrosion, corrosion , damage damage,, and integrity of the paint film. The se second failure mode is of the strut failing at the axle attach points . CPA s experienc e indicates that this t ype o f failure only occurs on aircraft that ar e used o n rough surfaces or operate o n skis from time to time.
being extreme mission spec speciific, and
Suggesting periodic inspection of the Suggesting bolt holes on aircraft used in such a manner for cracks and dealing with
spection details in its service man ual for the gear struts are st s t ill pretty sparse as compared to what is n ow
their maintenance program has to be adjusted accordingl accordingly to make sure
that are foundCo cracks asmprescribed by Ce s s n a Aircraft p an y will
the landing gear component parts are
prevent these types of failures . As far
contained in the 180/185 manual re vision . CPA fee ls that the 180/185 re vision should be incorporated into a ll the service manuals that affect any Cessna mode l equipped with t h e flat sprin spri n g gear struts. CPA was made aware of a co m pany, XP Modifica t ions (509-884 3355, www www..XPMods. XPMods.ccom om that has the provisions to inspect (NDI) and verify the bends and angles of the Cessna
inspected and determined to be air
as the axle and hardware inspection every 2,000 hours, CPA fee l s those items should be being looked at dur ing every tire change, which should occur more often than 2,000 hours. f t h o s e additional details were in cluded in the SAIB , then the owners changing their own tires as permit ted under preventative maintenance wo u ld be made aware of the impor tance of checking the axle and at at
operator has to u nderstand they are
worthy worth y on a regular basis. Cessn n a 180/185 man As per the Cess 'Ex x amine for signs of ual revision, 'E corrosion (red rust) i f damage t o the paint finish of the landing gear spring is found. ' That simplistic but very important detail put out in a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB) wo ul d alert owners and A&P/IAs as well to the firs t in
gear struts. They inspect a b out five
dication there needed to be further
ta c hing hardware whenever the
sets of gear legs a mo n t h and reject about one o u t of 100 due to cracks and corrosion dept h s o u t of limits . I t is interesting that t he ma jority of their current cliental is from Al Al aska and the Pacific Northwest where un improved landi ng strips are are t h e norm for back-country operat opera t ors. These op op erators have learned that verifying the condition of their gear strut stru t s in the off-season when the planes are converted to floats is t he better way to ensure their mission reliability. J u st as the CPA member with the 206
inspection and maintenance accom plished on the gear legs. legs . The aircraft
wheel was removed . Respecti Resp ectively vely submi tte d , Tom Carr Technical Representative Cessna Pilots Association I f you have any further comment you'd like to forward to the FAA , please send a copy of your comments to Mr. Park , and I'm sure the CPA would appreciate a copy of your com com ments, as would we here at EAA/VAA headquarters. You can e-mail them to info @ce ssna.org or send via regu regu lar mail to Cessna Pilots Association,
is required to have an n u a l inspec tions , and the landing ge ar is called out in any annu a l inspecti inspect io n check check list . A stone chip picked up taxiing away from the annua l now has a full 12 or more like likelly 13 months before the requir requireed annual inspection comes due again . I f the aircraf aircraftt ow ners were made aware of th e se riousn riousneess of that red rust forming on the gear by read read ing about it in an SAIB , action could be take tak e n soo n e r rather than later and
V IN
T
GE
A
AirVenture: Where the Aviation World Celebrates Plans are well unde rway for several major activities that will take place at the 56th EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, The World's Greatest Aviation Celebra Celebration, tion, scheduledRegional for July Air 28 August 3 at Wittman port in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Already in the works for this sum mer's aviation extravaganza are: • The 50th anniversary of NASA with the people and machines that
IR P L
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3
brought a half-century of achieve
ment and history in space and aero nautics, naut ics, and those wh o are planning
what's next. • G r e a te r o p p o r tu n itie s for women to participate in all aspects of aviation, including encourage
ment for more women to join the
pilot community. • Acknowledgment of a number of significant airframe milestones, in cluding the 70th anniversary of the T-6 trainer, the 50th anniversary of the Nanchang CJ-6A the 10th anni versary of Cirrus Design, and more more.. innovation
• Aviation displays, displays such as the late latest st d evelopments and, products relating to space tourism,
sands of aviation enthusiasts who make the annual pilgrimage each
summer to Northeastern Wiscon sin. It's the unique family atmo
unmatched anywhere in the avia tion world, it's the annual aviation family reunion element that is the most memorable feature of what is
sphere and culture o f t h e event itself, however, that brings people
known simply as 'Oshkosh' around
back year after year, says EAA Presi
Specific details for all the main activities, as well as traditional con vention mainstays, will be updated regularly regu larly over the nex t severa severall mo nt hs on www.AirVenture.org your source for AirVent Air Venture ure news and informatio information. n.
unmanned air vehicles, electric
de nt a n d AirVenture C ha ir m a n
powered aircraft, light-sport aircraft, and others. These events and much more are in store for the hundreds of thou-
Tom Poberezny. While the special events and activities at EAA AirVenture each year offer experiences t h a t are
the world,
he said.
Company Ends Support for Red Baron Pizza Squadron
market conditions as the primary reason the company decided to pul l the plug on the popular performing group. The retail grocery industry has experienced considerable change
would be interested. We hope to find a good use for t hem, he said. Jayson Wilson, director of flight operations and l eft wing pilot, com mented, We are very proud to have
The popula r Red Baron Pizza Squadron, which performed fre quently at the EAA AirVenture Osh
over the past few years, and as a re suit, we have decided to refocus our Red Baron marketing program and
been a part of su ch a legendary pro gram. W e can a ll say we were a part
John Frank, Executive Director, 3940
Mitchell Rd. Santa Maria, CA 93456.
of something really special. The air
kosh air show and was a sponsor of KidVenture in 2007, is being retired by its owner, the Schwan Food Com pany of Marshall, Minnesota. The
squadron, which flew vintage Boeing PT-17 Stearman World War II primary trainers, conducted more than 2,000 performances over the past 28 years. Bill McCormack, Schwan's execu tive vice preSident, cited changing FEBRU
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8
to discontinue the Red Baron Squad
show community and our fans have
ron, he said. The Red Baron Squad ron has been an incredible asset to our company, and we are very proud of its lo ng successful successful history. Schwan is looking to sell the squad ron's ass assets ets,, whic h incl udes seven air planes, tooling, and ground support vehicles. We'd be happy to dialogue
been great. We'll miss all of them. A total o f 42 pilots flew for the team over the years, traveling more
with any company or people who
tha n six million miles and flying more t h a n 80,000 passengers . The team won t he World Airshow News
Bill Barber Award for Showmanship in 1993 and garnered the Art Scholl Showmanship Award in 1995 . . . . . . . .
c
~ ~
EA v lh
pirit of Aviation. I88.OI J
M
AlrYenture 2
8 July 23 • August
A
delightful vi tion d y Y D
estled i n th e h e a rt of rural Bedfordshire is the delightful air-
N
fie ld a t S a c k v ille Farm, a n d th e a n nual V C members-only visit can often be associated with the need for the pre-Christmas diet coupled
VID M CRE DY
with a n enforced consideration of the weight and balance chart for
all things looked good for Sunday
the aircraft for t h e re tu rn jour ney hom e . This year o n ce again the alternate adverse weather day Sunday) was not needed, and our c ha i r m a n agreed several days be forehand with Tim Wilkinson that
Saturday arrived and we were in-
6th October deed blessed with a delightful au
tu m n a l m o r n i n g a nd reasonably clear conditions; the crosswind often associated with Sackville Farm and incidentally our old home at
FEBRU
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Finmere was missing, and this day was set to be a delight. First arriv als, a Beagle D5 Hus Husky ky G-A G-ATCD TCD and Super Ace Sky Jeep G a Chrislea AKVR also signified the standard for the aircraft types that arrived at varying times during the day. From a personal perspective , O.K. , m y son, loved Auster J I N G-BLPG . The aircraft was built in 1959 and flown in by Peter Gill resplendent in its Royal Canadian Air Force markings, and O.K. insisted o n h av i n g his photo taken by it . It was nice t o see our membership secretary, Rob Stobo, venture out to field afar, in his diminutive Volkswagen-powered Jodel D.9 Bebe
G-BDNT. However, of special note it was great to see Barbara Schlus sler fly in her Evan VP-l Volksplane G-BGLF; Barbara succeeded this time despite several thwarted at tempts previously. Watching the come and go of aircraft from the vantage point of a comfortable seat by the clubhouse an airmanship
The single-place Druine Turbulent is often powered by an aero-conversion of the air-cooled Volkswagen engine. This one, a Rollason-bui Rollason-built lt example exam ple constructed in the md - 1950s, is owned by John Mickleburgh and David Clark of the Tiger Club one of the UK s most venerable sport flying clubs. The club just celebrated its 50th anniversary. This Turbu lent is one of four cUlTently flown by the Turbulent Display team of the club. Log on to www tigerclu co uk or or more information.
note became all too apparent; re member when landing toward the clubhouse
hold off making con-
tact until after the windsock. Sev eral people were cau g h t o u t buy the gently undulating landscape of this great rural airfield . Of those a
few decided to get value their for money by landing a few times all in the same approach before finally giving up the flying lark and park
1961 1. This Piper PA-22-108 Colt, G-ARNJ was built in 196
ing the aircraft before retiring to the clubhouse. Close to lunchtime the barbecue was fired up, with those wisps
of smoke gently drifting away in the breeze acting as a beacon to the fast-growing numbers of attendees;
lunch was imminent. In this case my two children who had accompanied me o n the day were prowling with their eyes firmly set on the sausages and beef burgers. Lunch re ally plays down the feast and selec tion of fare that Tim and all those at Sackville Farm lay on so magnifi cently for all those fortunate to at
tend The growing hive of activity . place inside the clubhouse taking preparing the feast t h at was soon
Built in 1954 1954 this Super Cub, serial number 18-3841 is is owned by the FoXt Fo Xtrot Flying Group. VINT
G E A IR
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to beckon all, was reaching a fever
pitch as a huge table in the club house slowly vanished as more and more food piled up. A queue slowly
formed , a queue that was polite and in a way both subdued yet orderly, fuelled by eager anticipation adding to its growing length. Now queues seem to be one of the few national sports that we excel in. The queue
o n this occasion was indeed one of our finer efforts in both its good
A few StaggelWings are in Europe includ ing this fine example owned by The Fighter Collection. It was originally delivered to the U.S . Navy as a UC-43B BuNo 23689 and then allocated serial 44-67724 44-67724.. It was assigned to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease agreement becoming FT475 and operating from Scotland. After the end of World War II it returned to th e U.S. Navy as BuNo 32874 before returnin the U.S as NC1193V. g to . civilian registry
n a tu re d and c o n tro lle d m a n n e r tempering the desire to rush for ward for the food. But the urging from those deep within the queue a virtual stampede was tempered by knowledge that savoring the de lights of the cooking was now im minent , yet the volumes available to all was indeed plentiful. Ver y soon the background noise gave way t o contented murmurs as the food, a very special element of the da y, had once again hit the mark. Still more and more people flew
in. The growing number and variety of aircraft types and color schemes acted as a great visual aid when ap
proaching from the air and was the
delight of all those o n the ground
as well. A rough idea o f the span of aircraft types and variety can be judged by the fact that at the oldest end of the scale were four aircraft from both sides of the Atlantic, an
the Vaga Vagabo bond nd has managed to spread ts wings ove rseas . This is a Piper PA-17, serial num ber 15 15-2 -22 29, owned by B.P Gardn Gardner. er. Ev en
interesting juxtaposition when con Sidering the development of gen
eral aviation at that time. There was J o h n Coker and Sue Thompson in the DH Tiger M ot h G-ANFM an d Cliff Lovell in the Luscombe 8E GBTCj, b o t h aircraft being built in 1941 . These were then followed by, age-wise of the aircraft
two more examples from b o th sides o f the Atlantic with Cathy Silk s DH Ti
ger Moth G -AVPJ and Cathy Stokes Piper J-3C-6S J-3C-6S G -BBUU both aircraft being built in 1943. At the o t h er
If it has a familiar look to you, it s be cause the Auster 5J2 Arrow in a li cense-built Taylorcraft. This one, serial number 2366 buiH in 1946 is owned by J.G. Parish and is powered by a Continental C-85-12. FEBRU
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BuiH in 1965 this is a Beagle (Auster) 06. In 1960 Auster was sold to British Executive and General Aviation Ltd (BEAGLE). Auster production continued until 1968. This 06 is owned by D.J. O Gonnan.
Some of the most popular post-war lightplanes in Europe are the Druine Turbulent series, designed by Frenchman Roger Druine. This is a D5 Turbi, a two-place model. end of the scale was David Cassidy s
MCR-Ol Banbi G-CDLL, which was only 2 ye yeaa rs old, having been built in 2005, followed by Derrick Brunt in his Banbi G-TDVB built in 2004 and Richard Goddin s Skyranger GSKRG , a head y 4 years old and a well-traveled aircraft despite such
tender years, adorned with stick stickee rs from trips both close and afar. Although food does often form the central theme when most peo ple talk about Sackville Farm each yea r it is worth remembering what makes i t all so special and why we really keep returning. And that is
The Chrislea CH3 Super Ace Sky Jeep is certainly a unique airplane. Des Desiigned by R.C. Christoforides, the four-place plane powered by a 145-hp Gypsy Major en gine it has a wingspan of 36 feet and a maximum gross weight of 2 350 pounds. This one is owned by R.B. Webber.
the friendliness and welcoming na ture of Tim and all those involved at the flying club whose labors and our
own sense o f well-being and con tentedness are directly attributed to.
From a purely selfish perspective, the fact that my 2-year-old daugh ter fell asleep in the car on the jour ney home (a definite indication of contentment) and the pOint that at n o time did I have to worry about her or m y 8-year-old son, who inci inci dentally continually asks when we are going back again, both of whom
were made very welcome, is a testa ment to all those involved. ....... Owned by J K. Houlgrave and R.B. Webber, this Luton two-place, side-by side airplane with parallel lift struts reminds one of Paul Poberezny s Super Ace airplane. It s powered by a Conti
nental (Rolls-Royce) C-90. VINT
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IRPL
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Thenew straight stringers allow you t o see the structure o f th thee airframe jus ustt be bene nea a th the t he
fabric-they re like cheekbones
on
a supermodel
- Joel Severinghaus
Y SP RKY B RNES S RGENT
Sometimes there are hidden treasures tucked
months after NC96130 rolled off the production
quietly away in the south 40 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, fa farr away from the milling crowds. That s where Joel Severinghaus Severingha us Taylorcraft BC12 BC12-D -D was tied down this past summer, and it beckoned to me as I wandered through the field. It was conspicuous by its very presence, with its fresh ivory paint glowing under the midday sun and
line and onto the ramp. NC96130 s own saga began on May 23, 1946, when its airworthiness certificatt e was issued. Six days lat er it flew t o its certifica new home in Kansas and later went to owners in Missouri. I t eventually made its way to several different owners in Minnesota including a flying club and in North Dakota, as well. This par
its bright blue trim reflecting the sky above. The judges found it alluring, as well, and awarded it a Classic Bronze Lindy (Class 1 0-80 hp) trophy. NC96130 (s/n 8430) was manufactured in 1946 at the Taylorcraft Aviation Corporation fac tory in Alliance, Ohio. I t was a turbulent year for Taylorcraft, replete with several factory fires, storm damages, and financial troubles. The com pany filed filed bankrup tcy in early November, just six
ticular Taylorcraft, like the company itself, had its own share of hardship including ground loops, wind damage, and a hand-prop ping inci inci dent. Then in August 2005, Severinghaus of Des Moines, Iowa, became its new caretaker.
Sfrf
€J
t t ~ f € J ' f 1
Chet Peek, aviation historian and author, pro
vides a glimpse back in time regarding the devel-
oel Severinghaus
ohn
Frisbie with
the
completed BC12 0.
opment of the Taylorcraft: "In 1931,
Taylorr married his E-2 Cub when e.G. Taylo to Continental's new A-40 engine, he made personal flying safe and afford able . Of course, you couldn t fly very fast, or very far or very high high,, but you could get in the air air.. A few short yea years rs later,, Taylor formed a new company later and built his famous Taylorcraft. Taylorcraft . I t of fered side-byside-by-side side seating, sea ting, wheel con trol, closed-c closed-cabin abin c omfort, and would cruise at 100 mph with only 65 hp. Finally, a lightplane could be used for business trips or even vacation jaunts. Taylor's Cub made private flying possi possi ble; his Taylorcraft made i t practical." The side-by-side BC12-D (model B .continental engine, 1200 pounds
gross weight) was dubbed the "Two some" and had numerous improve
rib stitching. Three versions were available-the Standard Standard,, Custom, and Deluxe Deluxe.. Powered by a Continen tal A-65-8 engine, the airplane had a
maximum cruising speed of 105 mph and a landing speed of 38 mp h . I t car
ried 50 pounds of baggage behind the seat and had a fuel capacity of 18 gal lons, providing a range of 500 miles. miles . Like its predecessors, the BC12-D had a NACA 23012 semisymmetrical air foil, as opposed to the flat-bottomed Clark Y airfoil used on many Pipers. So its wings, coupled with a stream lined airframe, allowed it to fly faster than a Cub with the same engine. A company ad in the February 1946 issue of lying proclaimed the finer fea tures of the airplane, including: "Will outperform any ship in its class-in
Taylorcraft
d in
April
946
issue of
kyways magazin magazine e
2
FEBRU
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ments over the prewar model BC-12. I t had larger tail surfaces like Taylor craft's earlier 2 model, and the rudder and elevators had only two hinges (the
Speed, Altitude, and Endurance. Bet ter Construction--of 6500 Taylorcrafts built in the past two years, not one has been found to have a structural failure.
prewar model had three). The BC1 BC122-D D also had a one-piece windshield, and by February 1946, stamped alumi num wing ribs and fabric retainer clip wire were used-thereby eliminating the need for costly rib building and
PROOF: CAA records Lower Ope Operat rat ing Cost-War training school opera tors have proved Taylorcraft costs less to maintain than any other plane in any class at an any y pri price ce Bes Bestt hig high h alti tude take-off performance. All who
8
see and fly the new Taylorcrafts agree-Dollar for Dollar, Feature for Feature-Taylorcraft has earned the reputation I est Buy in the Sky. 1 The publicity that was gen erated when pilots set records while flying their Taylorcrafts in the late 1930s and early 1940s was perhaps some of the best marketing for the company. Those records included: Hunter and Humphrey Moody flew an endurance flight of 14 days days and nights aloft in 1938; Dewey Eldred flew 975 miles nonstop
from New York to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1939; Grace Huntington achieved a world
Look how cleanly the trailing edge drain hole is opened up . ou can see how taking your time results in fine fabric work that both the public and aircraft judges notice. notice . PHOTOS SP RKY B RNES S RGENT
altitude record for lightplanes of 24,311 feet in 1940; Jack Snodgrass won the Firestone Trophy Race during the Miami
J f i n ~ f
f j i)~
T 9 . f ~ ( i ) ' f e ~ # f ~
Air Maneuvers 1940 and Stark won it inin1941; and Fon Evelyn Burleson flew a nonstop goodwill flight from Canada to Mexico in 1941. Burleson had extra fuel tanks installed in the 1940 deluxe Tay lor lorcraft craft Miss Lib erty and completed her l,700-mile flight in 16 Vz hours. These accomplishments, and others, were highlighted in a full-page ad in the April 1946 issue of Skyways. That same ad also listed the firsts for Taylorcraft, such
Severinghaus' introduc style tion to tube-and-fabric flying occurred while he was a studen t pilot and had the opportunity to do part of his training in a Piper J-5. He en joyed it so much that he be gan looking around at vintage airplanes, and he soon de veloped an affi ni t y for Tay lorcrafts. It was more than 10 years ago, on one of my first trips to Oshkosh, he re calls, when I was walking the flightline and looking at old
as: FIRST to introduce side by-side seating with wheel control in light airplanes. FIRST to employ a racing type wing with fuselage giv ing added 'lift.' FIRST to issue an illustrated printed parts catalog to its service organi zation, assuring Taylorcraft owners prompt, e f f i ~ n t ser vice at home and away from home . FIRST to use multilami nar wing spars FIRST to introduce model changes ev
planes, and way down there in the south forty was a Taylorcraft. What caught my eye was the long, elegant taper of the fuselage. e .G . Taylor, who originally designed the Cub, refined his ideas with the Tay lorcraft. He made it side-by side, gave it a more efficient airfoil, and put th e shock cords up inside the fuselage, rather than have them hang ing out in the slipstream. Two years later, Severing
Quite the cream puff take a look at the newly fabricated landing gear leg to fuselage fairings. Nice new Alrtex upholstery upholstery wool headliner headliner firewall fabric fabric and
ery year. And kyways helped
haus attended the Taylorcraft
further promote the new Taylorcraft Twosome with its special three-page cutaway fe fea a ture in its May 1946 issue.
forum at EAA AirVenture Osh kosh,, and he posed a question kosh to the group group:: Does anyone have a nice BC12-D for sa le?
carrpet complete the interior. ca
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Shinn mechanical brake parts are still available from SkySky Bound
n
A new Lang tail wheel was
n stalled.
Atlanta Georgia.
A guy told me to see him afte afterr the forum was over. Two weeks later, I was up in Fargo looking at NC96130, smiles Severinghaus. liThe appeal of that airplane was that it was pretty orig inal. The panel hadn t been cut up to add extra instruments, and the engine had been top overhauled overhauled.. I t had all of its logbooks-including the original one with the factory test pilot's signa ture-and most of the repair and main tena nce invoices from FBOs around the country,, dating back to 1946. country He flew it for a year and brought it to E AirVenture in 2006, camping out under its wing. wing . But he noticed several nicer-looking Taylorcrafts, and that inspired him to make a change.
Fairings help streamline
th
bungee shock absor abso rbers bers..
ter that week, I started the campaign of convincing my wife to let me restore it, he says, with a gentle laugh.
FEB
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8
~ u
~
}(9 (O .JJ1ufhenf cJfy
Severinghaus won his campaign and gained permission from his wife, wife ,
from plastic resin. When it came time for firewall-forward originality, he in sisted upon keeping the old Case mag
parts that needed to be fabricated
as owner-produced parts, and he discovered that a few items were
netos, with unshielded ignition harnessalong and spark plugs. And after an extensive search, he located an old, unfiltered air scoop in good condi tion, with a factory-original screen over its opening , and john carefully shaped the new cowlin cowling g he'd made to fit around it. Meanwhile, Westra, who good na turedly adopted the title of Taylor craft Financier, patiently endured her husband's quest for authentic ity in the restoration , including the overflowing filing cabinets full of Taylorcraft research and his self
being supplied by vendors, still such as Shinn mechanical brake parts (Skybound); an exhaust sys tem (Wag-Aero); an aluminum nosebowl (Aircraft Spruce); miscel laneous parts for Taylorcrafts (Uni vair); and cabin carpet and interior upholstery (Airtex). As they removed the fabric from the airframe at Frisbie's shop in Kansas, they were surprised and dismayed at what they saw. Per haps most alarming was a crack
and have the airplane looking like it did the day it came out of the factory. It's tough to find a mechanic willin willing g to do t h a t - t o use all slotted screws and original fasten fasten ers, such as friction tape and cord, as opposed to Phillips-head screws and
confessed obsession with the smallest of details.
ment b r ack et - t h e fitting was com pletely broken off below the fabric.
As Severinghaus delved ever deeper, he realized that parts avail ability (or lack thereof) presented
I learned that some mechanics don't go into a great amount of detail o n the FAA Form 337s, shares Severinghaus with a wry smile. We found that every piece
with plastic Icable Afterthe I talked john, knewties he . was one to re store my airplane, so I flew it to his
own challenge. Fortunately, its was he able to locate drawings for
of wood o n the airframe was either cracked or broken. Some had been
Beverly Westra, to begin a full-fledged restoration of NC96130. One of the next steps was finding a mechanic. While attending the Antique Airplane Associa Association's tion's fly-in that fall, he noticed a pristine 1940 Taylorcraft BC 6S. It was owned and restored by john Frisbie of Udall, Kansas, says Severinghaus, and it was his father's airplane. He had inherited his father's hangar and tools, and he had just started his Aircraft Restoration and Recovering business. My goal for the restoration was to be completely authentic
1 { e f 9 . " ( O ~
9.nJ JMi(9 (Oe
and bend in the compression tube
at the right front jury strut attach
-
shop in November 2006. Back at home in Iowa, Severinghaus devoted devote d ho urs upon hours to learning the answers to myriad questions, such as: What were the correct colors and paint scheme, and was the glove box handle originally plastic or metal? His persistence was fruitful, and he found sought. ht. Oth er Tayl Taylor or the answers he soug craft owners had scanned in unfaded paint sample sampless from old airplanes, and then jim and Dondi Miller at Aircraft Technical Support mixed the paint to match. Now they have the formula for Taylorcraft Ivory, which is subtly different than Daytona White or Di ana Cream. Cream . And I'm indebted to the members of the Taylorcraft Founda tion, particularly everyone who par ticipated in the discussion forum on the website-they shared an incred ible wealth of knowledge, reflects Severinghaus. And Ch Chet et Pee Peek's k's book, The Taylorcraft Story, is a goldmine of historical information. information . Yet anot her Taylorcra Taylorcraft ft pilo t loaned him the correct glove box handle, and Severinghaus replicated it by making a rubber mold and casting a new one
Well, for fabric-covered airplanes, anyw anyway ay .. w got th idea from Ponce. It's called rejuvenation, and t works great with re l
dope finishes. Spray our rejuvenator over aged dope; it soaks and restores flexibility for years o f add added ed life. It can even hide hairline cracks. And no finish has the foot-deep luster of authentic polished dope. Roll back the calendar on your plane s finish
800 362 3490 Ra ndolphAircr ndolphAircra aft.com VINT
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Here s the mold Here
for
making th the e new glove box handle.
The new glove box handle.
c utaway in the lower cowling.
n
Sandblasting the BC12-D fuselage.
original wing tank placard , which
Severiinghaus replicated. Sever
repaired, and some had not. That's the kind of thing you don't see until you take the fabric of offf. The metal wingtip bows and nose ribs needed straightening, and the tail was in pretty good condition, although it had splices on the top of the fin and rudder. but that wasn't ba d . It's like a small scar o n a pretty woman 6
FEBRU
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8
time, fabricating new upper and lower cowlings, windshield fairings, landing gear, and wing root fairings, as well as spruce stringers and door frames. Other items, such as instruments, and the the floorboards, instruments, compression tube in the right wing,
fuselage was sandblasted and primed, tiny pinholes appeared along some of the bottom fuselage cross tubes. Frisbie cut out the damaged tubes, tubes, which had collected water for years and were filled with rust, and replaced them. I was very lucky to have a talented mechanic lik likee John, who also did the welding repairs on the fuselage, the
were repaired
fabric installation, and the painting,
it and it adds some character. Frisbie worked o n the project full-
as
necessary. After the
The windshi windsh ield fai ng wa was s t he t rickiest piece to fabri c at e
says Severinghaus. "He even made staples stap les by hand, i n order to fasten the wool felt gasket material to the en gine baffles, using the original 1946 staple holes." As is common with modern-day restorations, a few concessions were made for safety's sake. Shoulder har nesses were installed, a small fire ex tinguisher was mounted adjacent to
long 36-foot wing I get 80 mph in in dicated at cruise with the Sensenich wood prop. She could fly faster with a metal prop, and I could push the engine faster faster,, but I fly at 2,lS0 rpm as the manual says says.. " His first cross-country was his jour ney home to Iowa June 23-24, 2007. "It was wonderful, flying her home at l,SOO feet agl above Kansas and
his newly restored Taylorcraft Taylorcraft,, and he finds it quite economical to op op erate . He typically plans for a 4.S gph fuel burn, "so even with avgas over $4 per gallon, it o n ly costs me about $20 per hour to fly the Tay Tay lorcraft, he commen t s . My wife,
the seat, and an antenna (for use with a handheld radio) was routed inter nally so it wouldn't be visible from the exterior of the aircraft. And for longevity considerations, considerations , Poly-Fiber fabric and coatings were selected, as opposed to Grade A cotton.
Missouri," Severinghaus reminisces. "She flies well, and she's lighter now, too . she lost 17 pounds in the res toration. The new straight stringers allow you to see the structure of the airframe just beneath the f ab r i c they ' re like cheekbones on a super model-and it's just pretty when you can see that underlying structure.
of course, points o u t the additional fixed costs of hangar rent and in in surance at about $300 per month, plus the capital costs of the plane and restoration. Even so, she flies with m e o n the weekends, and she's willing to hand-prop it .. .I'm a very lucky guy /I Severinghaus has become an am am
n f a
e
Va tte
Severinghaus delights in flying
~ ~ ~
~ fQt ~l
NC96130 was ready for her test flight. Frisbie had the honor of that first flight , and then a very eager Sev Sev eringhaus had his chance they were both pleased with what they
You try not to anthropomorphize your airplane, but you end up doing it anyway." In late July, he flew it to EAA Air Venture, just as he did last year. But this time, it was his Taylorcraft
bassador for the va lue of restoring vintage airp lanes, enthusiastically
found . "Boy, she flies like a differ ent airplane now," smiles Severing haus, "because she's rigged correctly correctly.. That's one advantage to taking the wings and tail off an old airplane and rigging them again. She holds a heading nicely now, and trims up
that was literally outstanding in the field. "It's been agonizing as well as exciting, because I feel like I should put white gloves on before I fly her, and I spend 4S minutes cleaning her after a flight. So I tell people my next airplane is going to be painted
I've got a 61 -year -old [sport pi pi lot-eligib l e] airplane. It may not fly as fast as a new light-sport air plane, and it doesn't have a glass panel, but I don't need one. Brand new airplanes are great, and I
better , too. Flight controls are more better, sensitive to input, since the new cables take the slop out of the sys tem te m . The stall is very gentle, and I fly my final approach at 60 m p h but you have to be careful about ex cess airspeed on final , or you'll float forever in ground effect with that
the color of dead bugs " laughs Sev eringhaus. "But there is something that I miss in the airplane, now that it's been restored-it's that old air plane sm e ll-th a t combination of old gas, oil, and fabric combined with dust and grass. People tell me it'll come back, with time. "
says.. "But there are some of us who says are crazy about old tube -and-fabric airplanes. We love flying from grass strips , and naviga navigatt ing by pilotage and dead reckoning instead of using GPS. It's not for everybody, but it's very satisfying, because it's pure, unadulterated fun flying."
months,
promoting the advantages they of fer to pilots and owners. "I wish restt ore old more people would res airp lanes . For a SOK investment,
can understand their appeal,
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And here is what air show smoke is all about Although this is actually
NC606K-the R e z i i c h e ~ s Travel Air D-4-D Speed
wing not NC8US. Photo was taken by Ted Koston at the AAA DuPage Air Show in the earty 1970s. A unique feature of Travel Airs is the bottom of the rear control stick
belly which allows air and smoke to enter the rear cockpit as can I e seen by looking closel closely y at this picture 8
FEBRUARY 2
8
This is the photo that Mike first saw and started his pursuit of owning NC8115. At this time the airplane was owned y Eart
Stein of Fostoria Ohio. The ship was then powered with the Wright J·6-7 Whirtwind. These were commonly called "El
monly confused with Speed Wings.
Travel Air has round wingtips that i t is a Speedwing, when in reality it is a Standard Wing. Another mis conception is that Speedwings were
The Standard Wings incorporated
Standard Wings, just shortened at
within his budget. He finally set tled on NC8US, SIN 887. One thing about M ik e -h e was very thorough in his research and often knew more
the new "Frieze" ailerons to replace the old overbalance design and fea tured round wingtips on both the up
the inboard ends. The Speedwing used the Travel Air N o . 2 airfoil,
about the airplane than the owner He kept meticulous notes about
which had a slight undercamber to
Travel Airs and had many detailed
per and lower wings. The Th e same Tra Travel vel Air No.1 airfoil was retained, and the span stayed the same at 33 feet for the upper wing and 28 feet, 10 inches
the airfoil and featured heavier spar and rib construction. The span was
lists of airplanes by registration number and serial number, owner,
reduced t o 30 feet,S inches for the
and geographic area.
upper wing and 26 feet for the lower
So why was Mike at t r act ed to
forThe the lower. unique design feature of the Frieze aileron was the hinge arrange ment, which had the hinge pivot set back to allow the entire leading edge of the aileron to extend beyond the surfacee of the wing. When the aileron surfac was deflected up, the bottom leading edge of the aileron extended below
wing . But the most visible and sig nificant feature was that the flying
of this NC811S? was the 10-year-old Travel Airhistory that Mike was taken with, along with the price. Mike knew that the airplane was delivered in early February 1929 to N.R. Air ways, the Travel Air dealer at Curtiss Field o n Long Island. The ship was outfitted nicely with a short NACA cowl, wheelpants on the 30 x 5 Ben
ephant Ear" Travel Airs. Next came Standard Wings," which are com
wire terminal ends were below the surface of the wing. This eliminated the small bump fairings at the in in tersection o f the flying wires and wing surfaces. This and the shorter
span helped push cruising speeds u p in to th e 120- m ph range. The
owners, trying to find a n airplane
It
the lower surface of the wing. This
trade -off was a slightly higher stall
added aerodynamic drag to the wing with the upturned aileron on the out side of the turn, therefore reducing adverse yaw yaw created by b y the downward deflection from the opposite wing's
speed. Speedwings were never of of
aileron in a turn. Standard Wings also came with or without fuel tanks, depending on the model. Standard Wing airplanes carry the -4000 designation. Many people th in k because a
fered i n any Travel Air factory lit erature, and only five airplanes were built as D - 4-Ds by Travel Air, and six more were factory-converted. The two most famous D-4-Ds were NC434N, th e original Pepsi y-
writer and NC606K, the Reziches' third Travel Air During 1939 Mike began corre sponding wi t h D-4000 Travel Air
dix wheels, and a Hamilton Standard ground-adjustable ground-adjustab le prop was on the J-S. front of the ever-p opul ar Wri ght J-S. Additionally it had a hand-crank in ertia starter and running lights with a hot-shot battery. It also featured two lugga luggage ge compartments-the tra ditional one behind the pilot and one on the left side of the fuselage with an external door. The onl y detail I cannot find is in what colors it was originally delivered. I t was sold to a local pilot, VINT
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NC8l1S on the south side of "Muni" airport. You can see the Joe Marshall Buick dealership on 63 n Street. Believe it or not, the dealership still remains at this same location today, under another name and it remained in the
New
City area for a number of years having ork
severall successive own severa ers. During this time it was never cracked up. I t did have a 3 x lO-inch tail wheel installed in
place of the original tail skid. The ship received routine maintenance an d various airframe
parts were recovered as necessary.. necessary Then in 1937 t h e famed Linco gasoline
pilot Joe Mackey bought pilot the airplane and moved it to Fin l ay Ohio. Joe a n d his crew m o d i fied the airplane for air
show work and skywrit
ing. Bu t the most im pressive modification was the removal of the Wright J 5 and the in stallation of the more
m o d er n J 6 7 Whirl wind with the classic front exhaust collec2
FEBRU
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tor. This exhaust system was one of the keys for successful skywriting, successful skywriti ng, as the smoke oil could be injected into the large exhaustt collector where exhaus would be heated by th e s u p e rh e a te d ex
it
haust from every cyl inder before entering the tailpipe and being
trailed in a great burned smoke oil cloud behind the airplane. Okay, here's the fam ily secret to the impres amounts of
siveare able to getsmoke we from the J -6-7s on the Travel Air : we inject the smoke oil into the exhaust col
Here is Frank, with his ever-present cigar, in 1941 with the Reziches' second Travel Air, a D-4000 NC8l1S at the Chicago Municipal airport. Colors are overall re with white.
lector through an AN-6 steel el b o w we ld e d into the manifold. The smoke oil is pumped in
You can see the extra lon g exhau haust st pipe with the front co llector on the Wright J 6 7 in this view of the re rest stored NC811S
under 15 psi of pressure Now that's a lot of pressure, and i f you have even seen oil being pumped out of a 3/8-inch fitting, you know what large amount of volume we are talking about.
hardly a trace of unbur ne d smoke oil. The Pitts drivers with only 180
between two sawhorses and let him
h p of heat and two headers t h at exit the cowling pointing straight down don't have a chance of leav
Most of the "training" was done after work, and it was hard to get the full five hours. In 1933 Milo Burcham had
Once the smoke oil is burned, you need to keep it together in a
ing a nice long smoke trail Okay, back to NC811S. One of
c o n t i n u o u s s tre a m b e h i n d th e airplane. The key here is a l o n g tailpipe, and where it exits the air plane. I f the smoke stack is too short, the smoke will not b e con
the other air show modifications the
Mackey team did was to add an in v e r t ed header fuel tank for extended ar ti ti cu cu inverted flying. This was of p ar lar interest to the Rezich brothers,
set the record of four hours and five minutes, so the Rez Rezich ich boys were out to raise the bar quite a bit. As it turned out, th ey never did make the attempt. While Joe had this Travel Air, Mike flew it during an air show per formance at the Cleveland National
centrated and will disperse quickly. the smoke en The angle at which
they had been considering an as tempt to set a record. They had at al
Air Races information 1938.. Mike 1938 wa s patrailed rt o f a three-ship actwas that
ters the air stream is equally impor-' tanto f the angle is too large, the
ready put some t h o u g h t i n t o this
airflow will tear apart the smoke
a "simulator." The theory was to fly from Chicago to St. Louis and back
miles of smoke. Mik Mikee Murphy would later buy the Travel Air from Mackey and remove the WrightJ-6-7 and put a Wright J-S back on, but he kept the smoke system and inverted fuel system. Murphy would sell the air plane to a local pilot, Earl Stein, but might have had the airplane o n a lease-back, as the hours continued
idea and even developed and used
hang out
as soon as it leaves t h e pipe. On the Travel Airs, we had the tailpipe run under the right landing gear,
The route was well-known, but the
and it ended just past the leading edge of the lower wing. I f you see
plan had an added twis t-th e entire route would be flown upside down
an AT 6 or a BT 13 used for skywrit
That would be nearly five hours of
ing, you'll notice they will have Harvard-style tyle the long overwing Harvard-s
inverted flight So in preparation for this record attempt, the Rezich boys
to mount.
tailpipe. Many air show pilots can
came up with their inverted flight
Lentz in Lafayette, Indiana, for a
tell you that unburned smoke oil
simulator. This was a backseat with
short time before Mike would get to
following along the airmail route.
The airplane would be sold to Art
can really give you a greasy belly Well, I started cleaning t h e belly on NC606K when I was 9 years old,
and I can tell you th a t there was
seat belts and a rudder bar with stir rups attached to a beam. Nick would get strapped in right-side up, and Mike and Frank would roll him ove overr
p u r c h as e i t in May of 1941. We will pick up next time with the prewar activities and the restoration of NC811S. ....... VINT
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VID TUNNO
N3N-3 44879 has been in my family for 29 years. I t was the second N owned by my father, a II Marine Corsair pi World lot whoWar trained in N s at Pensacola and always sang the ir praises, espe cially when compared to the more numero us Stearmans and Wacos. Dad passed away a couple of years ago. I undertook finishing
the work he had done over the years and adding a few touches of my ow n . That work has taken about eight years, admittedly in small increments, but it s done now, finally, and I think the results
speak for themselves. Power is from a 300-hp Lycom ing and 2B-20 prop. It s the per fect engine for the N in terms of