Vintage Airplane - Feb 2009

GEOFF ROBISON
PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Next year is here

year ago in this column
I spoke a bit about mak­
ing plans to attend a
number of the many
great aviation fly-in events around
the United States.
Although little of my original
plan got implemented, I again find
myself thinking ahead to a won­
derful all-new flying season. One of
the events I had planned to attend
last year was the annual Biplane
Expo in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. I
recently found out the 2009 event
would be its last. How disappoint­
ing! For those few who may not be
familiar with the National Biplane
Association (NBA), you can read
all about it on its website at www.
NationaiBiplaneAssn.org.
This truly unfortunate turn of
events was announced to the NBA
membership in a letter that ex­
plained the decision to make the
2009 event its last. An excerpt from
this letter reads in part:
"Next year 's Biplane Expo in
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, will be the
last of the annual fly-ins that began
in 1987. The National Biplane As­
sociation finds itself facing increas­
ing costs and staffing requirements
which resulted in the Board of Di­
rectors becoming convinced that
the time had come to end the event.
The final Biplane Expo is scheduled
for June 4 through 6, 2009. During
the past 23 years, nearly 2,500 bi­
planes have attended the Biplane
Expo, along with more than 7,000
regular general aviation aircraft and
75,000 people.
Regrettably, this type of an-

A

II

noun cement has become increas­
ingly common for more and more
organizations of this nature. Al­
though I was able to attend this
event on only one occasion in
1998, I have always attempted to
make time in my crazy schedule to
get back to what I observed to be a

Next year's
Biplane Expo in
Bartlesville, Oklahoma,
will be the last of the
annual fly-ins that
began in 1987.
successful and well-run fly-in event
that always attracted the finest bi­
planes and was truly a whole lot of
fun. Well, that settles it. The 2009
Biplane Expo is now at the top of
my list for the upcoming fly-in sea­
son. Hope to see you there!
2008 was a tough year for all
of aviation, but we can Still count
the few blessings we have seen in
recent months. Gas prices have fi­
nally begun to fall in my part of the
country. Although they are now
under $4 per gallon, it seems a lit­
tle crazy to voice happiness about
that when I remember in the '80s
I was paying far less than half of

that for 100LL, and 80 octane was
still widely available. Then again, I
will always remember paying $5.61
a gallon in California this past
spring. Let's remember, too, that
as of yet, we haven't experienced
the dreaded "user fees." But like the
monster lurking in the shadows of
a B-movie, only time will tell. We
look forward to working with the
new leadership within the Depart­
ment of Transportation and Fed­
eral Aviation Administration. We
hope they will see the light of day
when it comes to this subject and
will develop a fair and more even­
handed initiative to finally resolve
the infrastructure issues facing the
air traffic control system in this
country. Let's all stay active on this
front and hope for the best for all of
general aviation.
You have all shown a great deal
of patience with my bantering on
about my experiences with the EAA
B-17 Tour, but I just have to tell you
about yet another opportunity that
developed while I was volunteering
with this vital EAA program. It was
Sunday, November 30, and I found
myself in Lancaster, California, when
the space shuttle Endeavour was di­
verted from its planned landing in
Florida to one at Edwards Air Force
Base. The base is just down the road
a bit from Lancaster. A couple of days
later at breakfast, the B-17 crew en­
countered a young fellow from the
NASA ground crew that prepares the
shuttle for its return trip to Florida.
This gentleman, who shall remain
nameless, stated, "I would kill to get
continued on page 39

VOL. 37, No.2

N E
2009

FEBRUARY


CONTENTS

I Fe

Straight & Level
Next year is here
by Geoff Robison

2

News

6

Cupid Flies a Cessna
Stephanie Allen's stellar Skyhawk
by Budd Davisson

12

The Chastains' 1952 Rawdon T-1
Three generations and a heartwarming family history
by Sparky Barnes Sargent

20

Light Plane Heritage
The Szekely Aircraft and Engine Company
by Jack McRae

24

The Vintage Instructor
Lesson Learned
by Doug Stewart

28

The Vintage Mechanic
Aging Aircraft Issues, Part 2
by Robert G. Lock

30

Mystery Plane
by H.G. Frautschy

34

The Bet
And a little bit of winter preflight wisdom
by Irven F. Palmer Jr.

37

Classified Ads

COVERS
FRONT COVER: The Chastain family's Rawdon T-1 is a multigenerational aircraft. The fi­
nal restoration by Jack Chastain with help from his wife, MayBelle, and sons Terry and
Phil, it won the Reserve Grand Champion Classic award at EAA's fly-in in 1978. To cele­
brate the 30th anniversary of that flight from St. Louis , Terry and his daughter, pilot Teri
Lee, brought the Rawdon back to Oshkosh. See the story starting on page 12. In this
photo by Don Parsons, family friend Dotty Kotik rides in the back seat, with Terry piloting
the former spray plane.
BACK COVER: February 23 marks the centennial of powered flight in Canada. This is John
Alexander Douglas McCurdy, the pilot of the Aerial Experiment Association's fourth powered
biplane, the Silver Dart, flown that historic day off the ice of Baddeck. Nova Scotia 's Bras
d'Or Lake. Photo courtesy the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York .

STAFF

EAA Publisher
Director of EAA Publications
Executive Director/Editor
Production/Special Project
Photography
Advertisi ng Coordinator
Classified Ad Coordinator
Copy Editor
Director of Advertising

Tom Poberezny
Mary Jones
H.G . Frautschy
Kathleen Witman
Jim Koepnick
Bonnie Kratz
Sue Anderson
Lesley Poberezny
Colleen Walsh
Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertising Representatives: Specialized Publications Co.
U.S. Eastern Time Zone-Northeast: Ken Ross
609-822-3750 Fax: 609-957-5650
[email protected]
U.S. Eastern Time Zone-Southeast: Chester Baumgartner
727-532-4640 Fax: 727-532-4630
cbauml [email protected]
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800-444-9932 Fax: 816-741-6458
[email protected]
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[email protected]
Europe: Willi Tacke
Phone: +49(0)17 16980871 Fax: +49(0)8841 /496012
willi@f/ying-pages.com
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Canada Flight Centennial an
Oshkosh Highlight
Thousands of Canadian avia­
tion enthusiasts annually trek to
Oshkosh, and this year they'll have
another reason to be here: to com-

memorate the 100th anniversary of
the country's first successful pow­
ered flight.
EAA is planning to commemo­
rate the occasion with a number of
aircraft and activities.

"EAA AirVenture 2009's recogni­
tion of 100 years of flight in Can­
ada is a magnificent opportunity
to show our global friends the con­
tributions, spirit, and pride of Ca­
nadian aviation," said Jack Dueck,
an EAA member from High River,
Alberta, who edits the Bits and
Pieces e-newsletter for EAA mem­
bers in Canada. "If you're one of
those Canadians who dreamed of
one day making it to Oshkosh, this
is the year to do it! We can show
our proud colours at AirVenture
Osh kosh during our flight centen­
nial year with the entire world of
flight.
Canadian aircraft and pilots
who have been a part of the EAA
AirVenture celebration in the
past include the Snowbirds aero­
batic team, the world's only flying
Lancaster bomber in Royal Cana­
dian Air Force markings, and doz­
ens of unique homebuilt, vintage,
and other aircraft. Many Canadian
members have also been Oshkosh
volunteers during the event for a
half-century.
Specific programs and activities
will be announced as they are fi­
nalized. As those activities are con­
firmed, complete information will
be available at www.AirVenture.org,
which also includes valuable infor­
mation regarding flying to Oshkosh
from Canada, as well as admissions
and housing information.
II

Large historic aircraft such as this restored Martin 4-0-4 would be sub­
ject to onerous security regulations if the TSA proposal becomes law.

GA Greets LASP Hearings With Loud Opposition
If the first two public hearings on the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP)
were any indication , public outcry is virtually unanimous in opposition to the
sweeping new regulations proposed by the Transportation Security Adminis­
tration (TSA). Aviation enthusiasts and industry representatives sounded off
against the proposed rules the TSA wants to impose on Part 91 operations and
aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more .
At the first hearings held January 6 at Westchester County Airport in White
Plains, New York, abo ut 200 people attended, including Joe Gauthier, EAA
31860, of Cromwell, Connecticut.
"It was an interesting meeting," said Gauthier, who serves on the EM Home­
built Aircraft Council. "Those who spoke stressed there are huge problems with
the rule. The overall consensus was that it doesn 't make any sense and would
be prohibitively costly and operationally negative for many operators."
Two days later another hearing was held in Atlanta, drawing about 225
people saying many of the same things; essentially, the program is unreason­
able. Connie Bowlin, a director of EM Warbirds of America, testified, telling the
panel , "The implementation and maintenance of these proposals will be so
cost-prohibitive as to el iminate the ability of many to operate their aircraft. This
will impact all of aviation , in particular the 'small operator' including personal
and business aviation and the operators of historic aircraft.
" In the case of the large, historically significant or classic aircraft, they are
operated by dedicated individuals and organizations with a goal of preserving
our nation's rich aviation heritage. At a minimum, the classic and historic air­
craft should be exempt. "
Many in aviation fear that this security program will eventually trickle down
from the 12,500-pound benchmark to all of aviation, thus ending freedom of
flight as we know it. There is still time for our collective voices to be heard on
this important issue. Visit the EM website at www.EAA.orgjgovtj tsa.asp and
take a few minutes to send your comments to the TSA before February 27,
2009. (Read EM's briefing paper at www.EAA.orgjgovtjlasp_briefing.pdf.)
2

FEBRUARY 2009

406 MHz ELls Required in
Canada by 2011
Transport Canada (TC) is moving
forward with a rule requiring vir­
tually all aircraft operating in Ca­
nadian airspace to have 406 MHz
emergency locator transmitters

(ELTs) on board within two years
of February I, 2009. Despite re­
quests from general aviation pilots
at home and abroad, TC will not
make any exceptions other than
gliders, balloons, ultralights, para­
chute aircraft, and a limited num­
ber of other operations.
The rule is inspired by the Inter­
national Civil Aviation Organiza­
tion (ICAO) standard requiring the
newer digital units for commercial
international flights. Search and
rescue satellites are scheduled to
stop monitoring the current 121.5
MHz standard on February I, 2009.
Denis Browne, chairman of the
EAA Canadian Council, feels the
requirement goes beyond the ICAO
standard. "Transport Canada seems
to be exceeding the requirements
of other jurisdictions by requir­
ing virtually all aircraft to be so
equipped," he said. "In effect
they are going further than any
other jurisdiction regarding non­
commercial flights."
TC anticipates at least a two-year
transition period in which a blanket
exemption would be in effect to al­
low thousands of Canadian aircraft
to comply with the rule. The pro­
posed exemption would allow flight
in Southern Canada (below 50° lati­
tude east of 80° longitude/below 55°
latitude west of 80° longitude) with
an installed 121.5 MHz ELT.
In the United States, the FAA
does not plan to adopt the 406 MHz
ICAO standard for domestic-only
flights. EAA therefore requested
that U.S.-registered aircraft 12,500
pounds gross weight or less with a
maximum five seats be exempted
from the 406 MHz rule, claiming an
equivalent level of safety under the
U.S. ELT regulatory requirements.
Since most U.S. aircraft own­
ers will likely choose not to spend
the estimated $1,000 (plus instal­
lation) to equip their aircraft, a
sharp decline in tourism and busi­
ness flights by U.S.-registered air­
craft into Canada is expected. TC
also denied EAA requests to allow
U.S. pilots to use less costly 406
MHz personal locator beacons in­

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Silver Dart Centennial
One hundred years ago this month-on February 23, 1909-John Alexande r
Douglas McCurdy flew the Aerial Experiment Association's (AEA) Silver Dart at Bad­
deck Bay, Nova Scotia, marking the first flight in the British Commonwealth.
The Silver Dart was the culmination of two year's work by the AEA. Founded in
the fall of 1907 by telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell , and funded by Mrs.
Bell, the AEA's members were Dr. Bell, John Alexander Douglas "Doug" McCurdy,
U.S. Army Lt. Thomas Selfridge, F.W. "Casey" Baldwin, and Glenn H. Curtiss. In addi­
tion to experiments with Dr. Bell's kites, three fixed-wing aircraft (in the normal con­
vention of the day, they called each an "aerodrome ") were built by the group before
the fourth, dubbed the Silver Dart due to its silver silk covering, was built in the fall
of 1908 and first flown by McCurdy in Hammondsport, New York, on December 6,
1908. Powered by a 50-hp Curtiss V-8 engine, Aerodrome NO.4 was moved the next
month to Baddeck, Nova Scotia, where it was flown from the frozen surface of Lake
Bras d'Or on February 23, 1909. In Home Notes, Volume 58, McCurdy wrote:
"The Silver Dart . .. rose from the ice after travelling about 100 feet & flew at an
elevation of about 10-30 feet directly east for a distance of about a half mile. Landed
without any jar whatsoever. The speed I should judge about 40+ miles per hr. "
Years later, in a 1944 radio interview for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,
McCurdy recalled the events of that day:
"The whole scene is still very vivid to me. It was a brilliant day in more ways than
one. The sun was glaring down on the ice of Lake Bras d'Or, which is near Baddeck.
The town had turned out in a festive mood, done up in mufflers and heavy fur hats.
"The town, by the way, consisted largely of very doubtful Scotsmen. Most of them
were mounted on skates-the kind you strap to your feet. They didn't say much­
just came to wait and see.
"The aircraft, or aerodrome as it was called in those days, which we had chris­
tened the Silver Dart, was surrounded by people. During the early afternoon it was
wheeled into place. The propeller was cranked, and with a cough, the motor snorted
into place. I climbed into the pilot's seat. With an extra special snort from the motor,
we scooted off down the ice.
"Behind came a crowd of small boys and men on their skates-most of them still
doubtful I would fly. With a lurch and a mighty straining of wires we were in the air. It
was amusing to look back and watch the skaters-they seemed to be going in every
direction-bumping into each other in their excitement at seeing a man actually fly.
"In taking off I had to clear one old Scot, so doubtful I would fly, that he had
started off across the ice with his horse and sleigh. I think they both had the day­
lights scared out of them. I traveled three-quarters of a mile at a height of about 60
feet before again coming to the surface of the ice. I will say, the doubting ones over­
came their feelings in short order."
For more on the Canadian Centennial of Right, visit WWN.FlightOfTheSilverDart.ca
and www.SilverDartReplica.com.Aninteresting article written by McCurdy's grand­
son, Gerald Haddon, is published on WWN. VintageWings.ca, the terrific website ofthe
Vintage Wings of Canada collection in Gatineau, Ontario.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

3

stead of an installed 406 ELT, as
well as exempting pilots who fly
common/direct flight routes over
Canada between the Northeastern
U.S. area and the Midwest with no
intention of landing at a Cana­
dian airport.

EAA Canadian Council
Members Named
To better serve Canadian mem­
bers, EAA President Tom Poberezny
confirmed new appointments to the
restructured EAA Canadian Council.
They are Mike Bourget of Orleans,
Ontario; Denis Browne, of Campbell
River, British Columbia; Jack Dueck,
of High River, Alberta; Paul Dyck,
of Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Lloyd
Richards, of Timmins, Ontario.
The council members serve as vol­
unteers, working to help Canadian
members get the most out of their
membership, while also communi­
cating their needs and aspirations
to EAA headquarters. Read more
about the members at www.EAA.org!
bitsandpieces/articies/2009-01Jouncil.asp.
Subscribe to Bits and Pieces, EAA's
e-newsletter for Aviation and Can­
ada, at www.EAA.org/bitsandpieces/
subscribe.asp.

EAA Editor in Chief
EAA has an excellent opportunity
for an editor in chief to provide lead­
ership across the organization's en­
tire range of printed and electronic
publications. The editor in chief will
playa key role in implementing an
exciting strategic vision for EAA's fu­
ture. This will include a reshaping
of EAA's printed publications while
also developing a closer interrela­
tionship with rapidly growing elec­
tronic publications, websites, and
online communities.
This is a unique leadership po­
sition within EAA, responsible
for formulating and implement­
ing editorial policy, managing re­
lated budgets, and developing a
world-class team of staff and out­
side contributors.
Qualified candidates will have a
minimum of ten (10) years of dem­
onstrated experience in editorial op4

FEBRUARY 2009

erations, including proven success
in a leadership role and experience
with a broad range of electronic com­
munications. such as e-mail publi­
cations, websites, blogs, wikis, and
online communities. The successful
candidate will have a strong passion
for EAA's mission to serve the needs
and interests of a diverse member­
ship and possess a broad knowledge
of the wide range of aircraft, people,
issues, and other subject matter that
are represented under the banner
of EAA. Pilot credentials, technical
knowledge, and/or aviation back­
ground are strongly preferred.
For consideration, send resume,
cover letter, and salary history to
[email protected] or to EAA, Attn: Human
Resources, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh,
WI 54903-3086. A complete posi­
tion description can be found at
www.EAA.org/careers.

New Aviation Event Grows
From Rocky Mountain Fly-In
Colorado Sport Aviation Inc.
(CSA) will hold the first Colorado
Sport International Air Show and
Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In
(RMRFI) at the Rocky Mountain
Metropolitan Airport in Denver,
Colorado, on August 22-23, 2009.
This new event brings a substan­
tial general aviation air show and
fly-in to the Denver metro area,
making it easily accessible to
flight enthusiasts.
The RMRFI was held for 29 years
at three different locations: Gree­
ley, Longmont, and most recently
at the Front Range Airport in Wat­
kins . There was no event in 2008,
as the organization committed its
resources to relocating the event.
"We are anticipating something
truly spectacular as we work to­
gether to incorporate the success­
ful annual Metro Airport Open
House into our event," said Jim
Cimiluca, CSA's president and
event chairman. "Metro Airport's
added on-site capabilities and easy
access to many local businesses,
accommodations, and restaurants
in the Denver metro area will also
enable the event to reach its de­

sired future potential."
Metro Airport is located on the
northwestern edge of the Denver
metropolitan area and just south­
west of Boulder.
For event information, including
additional services and available
amenities, visit www.COSportAviation.
org. Organizers are also looking for
volunteers for the event and ask
those interested to visit the website
for a list of opportunities.

2009 Biplane Expo
Is Grand Finale
The chairman of the National
Biplane Association (NBA), Char­
lie Harris, has announced that the
2009 event will be the last hosted
by the NBA. Scheduled for June 4-6,
2009, the world's largest gathering
of biplanes has been attracting these
wonderful airplanes from across the
United States for 22 years, and it's
been the go-to event for biplane en­
thusiasts since its inception.
Citing generational factors, staff­
ing issues, declining attendance,
and event costs, the NBA board of
directors made the difficult deci­
sion this past fall. In a letter to NBA
members mailed this past Decem­
ber, Chairman Harris noted that
the association plans to conduct
the 23rd and last Biplane Expo as
The Grand Finale, with the same for­
mat as previous events, including
special guests, forums, evening pro­
grams, and dinner.
The NBA will continue to exist as
arrangements are made to perpetuate
the Biplane Center and NBA Memo­
rial Center at Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
For more information, write to
the National Biplane Association,
P.O. Box 470350, Tulsa, OK 74147,
call 918-665-0755, or visit its web­
site at www.NationalBiplaneAssn.org.

Calendar of Events
For a list of regional fly-ins and
national EAA-oriented events,
please see our abbreviated calendar
of events on page 33. For details on
EAA chapter fly-ins and other lo­
cal aviation events, visit www.EAA.
org/events.
.......

David W. Brown
Warrenton, VA

• Licensed pilot for over 30 years
• Commercial, Single and Multi·
engine Land, Instrument rated, CFI
• Over 2100 hours of tail wheel time
• Stearman flight instructor
• Air show pilot
• Regular participant in the Flying
Circus Airshow, Bealeton, VA

"AUA has given me great service over the last several years
with competitive rates. They have always been very helpful
when I needed the additional paperwork to attend an air
show or fly my plane to a military base. Thanks so much!"

- David Brown

AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. To become a member of VAA call 800·843·3612.

fAA Vintage Program oHers:
Lower Premiums with payment options - Additional Coverages - Flexibility on the use of your aircraft - Experienced agents

allsk1te$

ShOUld come as no sur­
prise that Cupid flies a
Cessna. Especially the
Skyhawk. After all, with
so many nosewheel derivatives
of the 170 having been produced
(36,000 plus!), the odds were pretty
high that he (she? it?) would be fly­
ing one. In this case, Stephanie Al­
len found that her 1968 C-l72K
turned out to be the vehicle that,
in a very real way, was instrumental
in setting up the marriage between
her and Rich Jones (to clarify, she
kept her maiden name).
Living around Everett, Wash-

It
6

FEBRUARY 2009

ington (Mukilteo, to be exact), she
was in an especially aviation-rich
environment. "Airplanes were al­
ways around," she says, "but I really
hadn't thought about learning to
fly. Then I met a guy through a bi­
cycling club who owned a Skyhawk,
and he started taking flying lessons.
I was terrified and had to address my
fears. That was accomplished by tak­
ing flying lessons to be a pinch hit­
ter with absolutely no intention of
becoming a pilot. Then, one day the
CFI said the weather was too bad to
fly, and I grabbed him and started
crying that it couldn't be that bad.

Then I realized that something had
happened that had turned my fear
into a passion. My friend talked
me into becoming a partner with
him in his Skyhawk even before I
had my license. That was 1990. I
switched my lessons over to that
Skyhawk, which is the same one I
own today. I bought him out of the
airplane very early, so I've owned it
since 1991, when I earned my Pri­
vate PIlot License."
Although she had absolutely
zero background in airplanes and
even less in the concept of rehabil­
itating a slightly grungy airplane,

The Grand Champion Contemporary
for 2008, Stephanie Allen 's 1968
Cessna 172K.

....I knew nothing about restoring
an airplane and reallg didn·t care
about it_ Ijust wanted it to look a
little less ugly.··

she was game to learn.
"As soon as I got the airplane, I
started working on it. I took some
lessons at a community college or­
ganized by the Washington Pilots
Association, and the first thing I
did was rip out the carpet. It was
oil-soaked and awful looking. At
the time all I was trying to do was
improve the looks and comfort of
my airplane. I knew nothing about
restoring an airplane and really
didn't care about it. I just wanted it
to look a little less ugly. I bought the
carpet from Boeing's surplus store,
and as far as I know, it could have
been intended for a 727 or even a
757, but after six hours of cutting
and fitting, it went into N78797.
It made me feel good seeing how
much it improved the looks of my
airplane, which was a little doggy
all around.
"Since I'd gone that far, I also
pulled the interior side panels and
yanked out the fiberglass insula­
tion. Someone had told me closed
cell foam worked much better and
didn't hold water, so that's what I
replaced the fiberglass with."
By this time she had begun to get
involved with a unique educational
association called Big World Flight
for Education. They take airplanes
to various locations throughout the
area and put on presentations for
local youth groups. She quickly be­
came its preSident.
"At one pOint," she says, "I
needed another airplane for a pre­
sentation, and I asked Rich, who
was based on Paine Field with me,
if he'd be willing to bring his Bo­
nanza, which had been Grand
Champion Contemporary at Osh­
kosh in '96, and help me out. Rich
is an engineer at Boeing and turned
out to be an excellent instructor for
the kids, grades four through eight.
At that presentation we had about
120 students and teachers lined up
in front of the two airplanes while
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

7

The key to moving up from a Silver Lindy in 2007 to the
top award , a Gold Lindy in 2008, was the time spent
detailing the engine compartment.

The now husband-and-wife duo of
Stephanie Allen and Rich Jones.
PHOTOS BONNIE KRATZ

we talked to them. At the time, we
both knew we had to do something
with my airplane because it looked
so bad parked next to his. So the
urge to improve my little airplane
became just that much stronger. I
really wanted it to look as good as
his Bonanza, which I knew wasn't
going to be easy, because his air­
plane is absolutely perfect."
Initially, Stephanie jumped into
the project on her own, determined
to learn what she needed to know
to make the airplane fit the image
she had of it in her mind.
"I'd started on the interior, which
turned out to be three steps forward
and two back, because I kept doing
things, not liking it, then doing it
again. The plastic on the interior
needed a lot of work, and when I
was doing the seat backs, which re­
quired drilling out rivets from the
old backs to use the old trim for the
new seat backs, I went over to Rich's
hangar and asked him for help in
that area. Little by little we began
working together on the airplane.
"The seat upholstery that was in
it was automotive, and I'd changed
8

FEBRUARY 2009

What started as an effort to replace the carpeting so
the airplane didn 't look "so doggy," eventually wound
up being the "Well, if I'm doing this I might as well to
that" story. The interior shows the great deal of effort
made by Stephanie Allen and her eventual husband,
Rich Jones.

it once, but it still wasn't right. So,
with his help, we took everything
out and started doing the entire in­
side. It's important to remember,
however, that I didn't want the air­
plane down more than a month at
a time, so we had to be careful we
didn't get it too far apart.
"With the interior out, we could
see that the dingy appearance was
much more than skin deep. The in­
side of the fuselage was full of oily
gunk and was generally disheveled

looking.
Plus it had lay­
ers of wires from
each different avi­
onics package the air­
plane had received. So, we
just took everything out,
and this is where Rich really got his
hands dirty: He rewired everything
and I replaced all the old SCAT hose
and I did my best to stay ahead of
him with the cleaning.
"I had done a couple of interior
renovations on the airplane, but
nothing as deep as we were going,
so some things still needed doing. I
should also mention that Rich is a
perfectionist. And I mean a serious
one. After a while that began to rub
off on me, so I didn't object when

we pulled out the windshield and
replaced it strictly because it was a
clear windshield and only straight
172s had a clear one. This was a Sky­
hawk and it was supposed to have a
lightly tinted one . A small detail,
but in Rich's world, which is now
my world, all details count. And,
incidentally, we replaced the rest of
the windows at the same time.
"The plastic parts of the airplane
were in pretty bad shape. Some
were missing, most were broken,
and even the glare shield was bro­
ken into three pieces. By the time
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

9

we were done, we'd replaced, re­
paired, and painted all of it."
Most 40-year-old airplanes have
seen a lot more than their share
of radio changes, and N78797 was
no exception. And, as seems tra­
ditional, as time goes on and the
shine wears off an airplane, peo­
ple become more and more casual
about what they do to instrument
panels. Sometimes it's hideous;
sometimes not so much so.
"Our panel wasn't really butch­
ered, but it certainly wasn't right.
For one thing, the radios were
mounted crooked. I mean it. They
were lopsided. And the metal strip
with all the switches and placards
across the bottom of the panel had
been butchered so many times that
we had no choice but to build a
new one. At the same time, I started
cleaning the original instruments
and was amazed when they came
out looking nearly new. I would
have never believed it.
"As we stripped stuff out of the
interior, we could see where there
had been some cosmetic damage
to the airplane. There was very
little corrosion, although right af­
10 FEBRUARY 2009

ter I got the airplane, I did have
to replace a cracked landing-gear
mount casting.
"As we worked on the rest of the
airframe, we could see things like
repaired bird strikes, and at one
pOint, the horizontal stabilizer had
been really beat up. It spent a lot of
years in Arizona as a training plane,
and there were places on the hori­
zontal that holes went all the way
through the leading edge. We com­
pletely re-skinned the leading edge
of the horizontal and the elevators
and eventually re-skinned various
other parts of the airplane."
When it came to removing rivets
and riveting skins, Stephanie devel­
oped a definite love/hate relation­
ship with the process.
"I hated drilling out rivets. I can't
tell you exactly why, but I never felt
good doing it. Probably since Rich is
the expert at drilling out rivets. How­
ever, I love my rivet squeezer and I love
bucking rivets and, with my smaller
hands, was able to get into some tiny
spots, so eventually we divided up the
responsibilities and he'd remove and
I'd help replace. My favorite tool is a
pneumatic Cleco gun."

Very few people are either
equipped or trained to shoot their
own exterior paint. Plus, now that
so much of the material is lethal, the
smart money sends their airplane to
a pro, and that's what Stephanie and
Rich did, although they did shoot
all of the interior paint.
"We have Sun Quest Air Special­
ties right on the field , so we disas­
sembled the airplane and took it
over to them, and they stripped it
for painting. When they got it com­
pletely stripped, we took it back and
started going over the sheet metal
we hadn't already worked on.
"One of the things we found was
that it appeared as if someone had
removed ice from the tops of the
wings with a screwdriver or maybe,
Rich thought, an ice pick. There
were dozens of fairly deep gouges
and nicks, so we used lightweight
body filler and high-build primer to
fill those areas.
"Also, the corrugated skins on
most of the control surfaces were
really bad. Some of them, we found
you could pull the rivets at the trail­
ing, reach inside, and iron most
of the wrinkles out with an oiled

The fact thilt the ilirplilne still
cilrried its originill pilint.,
ilndthiitStephiinieloved
both the scheme ilnd the colors.,
drove the rest of the pilintjob_
bucking bar. Three of the eight ai­
leron skins, however, had to be
replaced, and we couldn't get pre­
drilled skins. Trimming the skins
so the corrugations lined up, top
and bottom, on ailerons that have
twist built into them was one of the
most difficult parts of the rebuild. A
lot of people, including Rich, have
a 'Cessna dimple'- that charac­
teristic diamond scar in their fore­
heads. I felt as if we had to get the
corrugations lined up so at least the
scars would be symmetrical." She's
kidding. We hope.
When they were done riveting,
bumping, and ironing the metal
straight it was time for it to go back
to SunQuest to have the paint ap­
plied, a phrase which oversimplifies
that process.
"The colors, Vestal White, Valor
Red, and Velvet black, were on a fac­
tory sticker on the edge of a door,
just like on a car. But there were no
paint codes, so we weren't exactly
sure what color Valor Red actually
is. We had to guess as best we could
from the faded paint that remained.
It is a very nice red, don't you think?
Plus, the original paint scheme had
pin striping, but we masked and
painted the pin stripes."
The fact that the airplane still
carried its original paint, and that
Stephanie loved both the scheme
and the colors, drove the rest of
the paint job: They were going to
take it back as close as they could
to original.
Stephanie says, "I'm lucky
enough to have an airplane with

classic looks that I absolutely love.
I didn't want to change anything,
so Sun Quest took digital pictures
of the airplane from every angle.
From those they could see exactly
where a paint line went in relation
to a given rivet or seam, so they
could really get the scheme right.
I was impressed at how exacting
they were. The final paint used was
Imron II.
"What they couldn't paint at the
same time as the airplane was the
landing gear because they had to
use it to move the airplane around.
So, we built a cradle to sit the air­
plane in while we removed the gear
to detail it. The steel legs are famous
for rusting, and it's really hard to
get it off. I spent a day or two with
Scotch-Brite pads attached to a
right-angle die grinder sanding ev­
ery little spot of rust down to good
metal so we could paint it. So far we
haven't seen any indications that
the rust is returning.
"We decided to take the airplane
to AirVenture in 2007 even though
we weren't totally finished with it.
For instance, I put the wheelpants
on the same morning I took off for
Wisconsin. When we got there, I
had no interest in having it judged,
but Rich insisted. I was too nervous
to want it judged. After all, it's just a
plain Skyhawk and I thought there
would be no interest. But I was very
wrong. We actually had lines wait­
ing to take a closer look. So Rich
checked the 'judge me' box, and
judges showed up with clipboards
and pencils. I couldn't believe it

when they gave us a Silver Lindy.
Absolutely couldn't believe it!
"Rich got a pep talk from the
judges about bringing it back again,
so he asked them what we'd need
to improve to get a Gold Lindy, and
they said to detail the engine com­
partment, which we had hardly
touched. Plus, I thought we had a
bunch of other areas that needed
work. When we got home, the
comment about detailing the en­
gine touched off an argument be­
cause I couldn't see spending the
time detailing an engine that had
1,800 hours on it [Editor's note: She
has put more than 2,000 hours on
the airplane herself], but Rich's per­
fectionist streak won out . Before
long, we had the engine out on a
hoist. It took two weeks of cleaning
and painting before it was ready to
go back in, and I polished the fire­
wall while it was out. I even went
so far as to mix up blue paint that
matched the factory parts stamp
and replaced those."
No one can say Stephanie and
Rich haven't got the perfection­
ist thing perfected, because all the
work paid off.
"We came back in 2008 and had
it judged again, and this time we
got a Gold Lindy. It just doesn't get
any better than that!"
Early in the rebuild, when they
were both still living separate lives,
it became obvious that they were
building more than just an air­
plane . They were building a re­
lationship. This relationship was
finally formalized at EAA AirVen­
ture Oshkosh 2002 as Cupid turned
short final.
"We were married on the fight­
line in front of the Bonanza . We
had a lot of friends and family
there, and it all seemed so fitting."
So now that she's won the gold,
what does she have left to do on
the airplane?
"It'll never be finished. I'm not
happy about the door seals, and the
nose wheel fairing, and the... "
Stephanie, we see what you mean
that it'll never be finished. Now,
about that perfectionist thing.......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

The

Chastains'


Three generations and
a heartwarming family history
BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT
12 FEBRUARY 2009 ............~_

The Chastains' elegantly restored and lovingly maintained 1952 Rawdon T-1.

This past summer, Teri Lee
Chastain became the third genera­
tion of her family to fly the Raw­
don to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
2008. Her father, Terry, proudly ac­
companied her, as together they
celebrated their family's 30th an­
niversary of their first flight to
Oshkosh. But before we delve into
the Chastain family's history, let's
~ take a look back in time to discover
J:
a. more about Rawdon Brothers Air­
~ craft Company.
<!l
0:

~

t3 RAWDON

z

BROTHERS AIRCRAFT

0:

During the late 1920s, Herb Raw­
1ii
~ don was employed by Travel Air
The Rawdon is soloed from the front seat.

Cleveland brakes have replaced the original Goodyear brakes.
14 FEBRUARY 2009

~ and , along with Walter Bu rnham,
was known for designing the suc­
cessfu l Travel Air Mystery Ship­
which flew faster than the favored
military aircraft and won the first
Thompson Trophy air race in 1929.
Many of these engineers eventually
formed th eir own companies, and
Rawdon was among them. Herb
was the aircraft designer, and Gene
Rawdon fulfilled the role of busi­
ness manager.
A prototype, the side-by-side R-1,
was built in 1938 and tested as a ci­
vilian pilot trainer, but was rejected.
Not to be defeated by that attempt
to enter the aircraft manufactur­
ing market, Rawdon Brothers Air­
craft Company began production
after World War II with its tandem
cockpit T-1 models in Wichita, Kan­
sas. The T-1 had been tested for mil­

itary use, but wasn't selected . But
by 1947, the fixed gear monoplane,
which was designed for training,
touring, and crop spraying, was fi­
nally certified . Production mod­
els also included the T-1CS (crop
sprayer), T-1M (Colombian Air Force
version) , T-1S (sprayer), and the
T-1SD (sprayer/duster with wingtip
end plates and a modified tail).
The T-1 was originally powered ~
by a 12S-hp Lycoming engine, and 1£
later upgraded to 150 hp in its ag- ~
C!l
ricultural configuration . The semi- ~
cantilever, low-wing plane stood 13
z
just over seven feet tall and was ~
barely 24 feet long, with a wing- !::
0::
span over 33 feet. Early models were ~
fabric-covered with wooden wings.
This Rawdon is powered by a Lycoming 0 ·320.
Later models used sheet metal in
place of the fabric, and the wings
were constructed of metal. Corru­
gated metal was even used at one
time for the wing section between
the front and rear spars, and the
aircraft also went through wingtip
variations.
The Rawdons wanted to make
their T-1 fill an agricultural niche.
Its large inboard struts rising up
from the low wings to structural
tubing inside the canopy created
a protective turnover structure for
the pilot. They designed and added
a spray manifold system and spray
nozzles in the wing, along with a
hopper tank behind the pilot's
seat. But the latter feature made it Closeup view of the tail , with its neatly
less crashworthy than other agri­ painted trim.
cultural sprayers, which placed the
load in front of the pilot. Appar­
ently the Rawdon design was labor
intensive, resulting in higher man­
ufacturing costs, and it was difficult
to sell the aircraft competitively. Pi­
lot safety, cost, and eye appeal were
major selling points, and the Raw­
don was eventually edged out of
the market.
Rawdon Brothers Aircraft incor­
porated several interesting design
features in its airplane, and one of
them was selected for use on mil­
itary trainers . Rawdon canopies,
Right: Close-up view of the
elevator trim mechanism.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

1S

(Chastain family photo OSH 1980) The Chastain
family at Oshkosh 1980 (L-R): Phil, Betty, Bill ,
MayBelle, Jack, Terry, Mary, and Teri Lee.
Teri Lee was the third-generation
Chastain to fly the Rawdon to Air­
Venture; her father, Terry, accom­
panied her.

Jack Chastain , test pi­
lot and shop forema n
for Rawdon Brothers
Aircraft. Photo taken in
1948 with T-1 N44505.

"My DAD WAS THE


SHOP FOREMAN

AND TEST PILOT

FOR RAWDON

BROTHERS AIRCRAFT
COMPANY, AND THAT'S
HOW WE CAM E TO
BE ATTACHED TO AT-I:'

This Aeronca Champ was the Chastain family's first restoration project.

- TERRY CHASTAIN

which covered the entire cock­
pit area, were contracted for use
on the Fairchild PT-19/23 flown
in cold weather climates. Quite a
few were also manufactured for use
on the PT series of Stearman train­
ers . About 800 were sold as an af­
termarket addition to enclose the
open-cockpit trainers. Herb worked
as an engineer and draftsman for
several well-known aircraft compa­
nies throughout the years, includ­
ing Beech, Boeing, and Cessna.
The T-1 has survived the test of
time, albeit in even smaller num­
bers than were manufactured. Per­
haps the most significant tribute
16 FEBRUARY 2009

This Fairchild PT-26 was the Chastain family's second restoration project.

to Rawdon's classic, well-designed,
and solidly built airplane is that
more than half a century since its
original manufacture, no Airwor­
thiness Directives (AD) have been
issued for the airframe.

Today, brothers Phil and Terry
Chastain are co-owners of N5160,
and Terry can't help but smile
when he describes the T-1: "It's
a fun airplane to fly, it really is!
It holds 38 gallons of fuel, burns

Young brothers Phil and Terry Chastain with their father 's Mirage in
1951. Their father raced the Mirage at Detroit in the early 1950s against
Steve Wittman , Bill Flack, and other greats of that era.

After AirVenture 2008, the Chastains can add another "award winner"
sticker to N5160.

1952 RAWDON Tl N5160 AIRVENTURE AWARDS
CLASS IC RE S ERVE GRAND CH AMP I ON 1 978
RE SE RVE GR AND CHAMP I ON 19 7 9
BRON ZE LIN Dy-CLA SSIC 1 980
OUTS TANDIN G LI MI TED PRODUC T ION 1 98 1
BE ST RA WDON 1983
RESE RVE GRA ND CHAM P ION 1984
OUTST ANDING LI MI TED PRODUCTION 1987
PRESERVA T IO N AWARD- CLASSIC 2008
NUMERO US OTHER AWARDS, I NCLUD I NG ANTIQU E
AIRP LAN E ASSOCIATION'S GRA ND CHA MPI ON 1 9 7 8
about 9 gallons per hour, and
cruises about 118 mph. It has a
short takeoff, and lands about
55 mph-you can bring it in and
land it in probably 250-300 feet.
The flight controls are very well
harmonized, and it has a fast roll
rate-it's very aerobatic."
CHASTAIN FAMILY
"My dad, Jack, was the shop
foreman and test pilot for Raw­
don Brothers Aircraft Company in
the 1940s and early 1950s," smiles
Terry, "and that's how we came to
be attached to a T-l. He and my

mom, MayBelle, flew a T-1 from
Wichita, Kansas, to Bogota, Colom­
bia, and back in the early 1950s to
demonstrate its capabilities to the
Colombian Air Force. During that
trip, Dad also flew the T-1 from Bo­
gota to Quito, Ecuador, over the
Andes Mountains. He performed
aerobatic demonstrations there, at
a field altitude of over 9,200 feet."
The Colombian government was
impressed with the Rawdon T-1's
capabilities and purchased three of
them. "Dad and two other Rawdon
pilots delivered the three Colom­
bian T-1s in 1952. Along the way,

one of the T-1s developed an oil leak
and had to land, unauthorized, in
Nicaragua," Terry shares. "In order
to proceed to Bogota, he was forced
to deliver a prisoner being extra­
dited to Colombia. The prisoner
was handcuffed to the longeron in
the rear seat! The T-1s were armed
with 30-caliber machine guns in
the wings, and a 100-pound bomb
on a belly rack. They were used for
ground attack ships during those
unsettled times in South America."
Jack also demonstrated the T-1's
highly maneuverable aerobatic capa­
bilities during the early 1950s. "My
dad flew it in air shows for many
years at Wichita and all around the
Midwest. And he gave air show an­
nouncer Roscoe Morton his check­
ride in Wichita. Roscoe's first air
show announcing job was in 1952,
and my dad was flying the T-1 during
that show. Dad also flew the T-1 in
the 1949 Miami All American Air Ma­
neuvers aerobatic competition."
In 1954, Jack became a corporate
pilot, flying a Beech E-18S . Terry
and his brother, Phil, started their
flight training in the twin Beech,
and each of them made their first
takeoffs and landings in that air­
plane. In 1962, both Phil and Terry
soloed a 1946 Aeronca Champ at
Creve Coeur Airport. "Dad, an in­
structor, traded his time for use of
the Champ to instruct us," recalls
Terry. "Phil, being two years older,
was ready to solo as soon as the
Champ became available to us, but
I had to wait until my 16th birth­
day arrived. We later purchased the
Champ for $200 and completely
restored it as our first family proj­
ect around 1964. We upgraded
it to a 7CCM with a Continental
0-200 and installed a complete
IFR panel. Phil and I both earned
our private licenses in the Champ,
and Phil even earned his commer­
cial in the Champ."
The Chastain family's next proj­
ect was a Fairchild PT-26-at $500,
it was just a bit more costly than
the Champ. The PT-26 was com­
pleted in 1969, and the Champ was
sold to make room in the hangar.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

17

The sons had grown up listening
to their father's intriguing stories
about flying T-1s and working at
Raw d o n Brothers Aircraft Com­
pa n y, and with two restorations
completed, they encouraged their
father to start looking for a T-1 as
their next family project.
Finally, in 1974, they found
N5160. "It was a basket case, " says
Terry, "but it had a set of new Raw­
don metal wings. It had been in a
spraying accident; it was a crop
sprayer at the time. My dad built
this plane originally, and his signa­
ture is all over the logbook. So we
bought the pieces, and Phil and my
dad and mom and myself all worked
on it. It took about three and a half
years, and we had it scattered out
all over the place-I had parts at my
house, and Phil did all of the tail
surface covering at his house. We
didn't build it as a show airplane,
just a fun airplane for the family."
Terry, who worked internation­
ally for the oil industry, was trans­
ferred to Singapore during that
time, so the bulk of the restoration
was then completed by his brother
and dad. Sadness coursed through
the Chastain family toward the end
of the Rawdon restoration, as their
hearts were made heavy when they
learned that Jack had cancer.
18

FEBRUARY 2009

"Dad was diagnosed with lym­
phoma in 1977, but did not let
the illness deter him from work­
ing on the Rawdon. By 1978, the
lymphoma was in remission, and
the T-1 was ready to fly. I had been
transferred to Sumatra, Indonesia,
that year," shares Terry. "So the first
flight after restoration had Dad in
the front seat and Phil in back. The
date was April 13, 1978, or better
said as Friday the 13th! After the
first flight, Dad got out and told Phil
that he wanted to see the T-1 fly. Af­
ter all those years of hearing about
the T-1, its harmonized controls and
great performance, Phil finally had
the chance to experience it first­
hand. I had to wait until vacation
from the Far East before my chance
came, which was in July of 1978.
We found that all of Dad's 'braggin'
about the T-1 was justified!"
The Chastains had read about
the great experiences people were
having at Oshkosh every year, and
since they'd recently completed the
Rawdon and Jack was feeling pretty
good, they decided to head north to
Wisconsin in 1978. "Dad and Mom
flew the Rawdon, Phil and his wife,
Betty, flew their N model Bonanza,
and Mary rode with me in the fami­
ly's PT-26. We had planned for only a
two-day stay, since the kids were with

babysitters-but Dad and Mom were
asked to stay on a little longer, since
the classic judges had the T-1 in con­
tention for one of the Grand Cham­
pion awards, " says Terry, fondly
reminiscing. "So Mom and Dad
stayed in Oshkosh while Phil, Betty,
Mary, and I flew back to St. Louis. A
couple of days later, we received a call
from Dad saying they were asked to
stay until the awards presentations.
They wanted to know if we could fly
up and bring some money so they
could stay! Phil and I flew back to Os­
hkosh in his Bonanza, with money
in hand, and proudly watched Dad
receive the Reserve Grand Champion
Classic award."
On the return flight home, May­
Belle rode with Phil in the Bonanza,
and Terry flew the T-1, while Jack
rode in the back to complete some
fuel burn and other systems tests. A
week later, Terry and his family went
back to Singapore, and just three
short months later, received a heart­
wrenching phone call. "Dad was in
the hospital with acute leukemia.
He went 'went west' just a few days
later at the young age of 58, " shares
Terry. "Dad's passing put even more
focus on the great time and memo­
ries we all had at EAA Oshkosh 1978
and my last flight with him."
As the family gathered together

fore retiring and is currently a pilot
for the Historical Aviation Restora­
tion Museum, which means he has
flown everything from Jennys to
jets. His wife, Betty, flies her own
Cessna ISO, Betty Boop. Terry is now
retired from his career in interna­
tional oil production, and he re­
stores antique airplanes for John
Cournoyer's Old Style Aircraft at
Creve Coeur. Terry's wife, Mary, is
a youth minister and shares in the
joy of flying with her family.
As for MayBelle, Terry grins and
says, "Mom is 86, and she's a bona
fide airport bum! She came up to
Oshkosh with me several times after
Dad died, and she parked herself by
the T-1 and wouldn 't leave it. She
said she had to be there to answer
questions that people might have."
for their beloved patriarch's funeral,
their good friend Doug Watanabe
was preparing to take delivery of a
Rawdon T-1 (sin 2, N44S0S) that he
had recently purchased. "N44S0S
was the T-1 that Dad used in all of
his air show work and the 1949 Mi­
ami All American Air Maneuvers.
Doug had asked if we would perform
the check flights when it arrived.
Its delivery to St. Louis was sched­
uled for the day of Dad's funeral,"
Terry shares in a wistful tone, "and
we thought it would not only be a
tribute to Dad to fly his 'old mount,'
but it would also give us the oppor­
tunity to be alone with him, beyond
any earthly bounds. Phil and I flew
N44S0S and our NS160 in forma­
tion that day, before breaking off to
say our final farewells."
For the Chastain family, the fol­
lowing year was filled with the min­
gled emotions of sadness and loss,
swirled together with hope and an­
ticipation-for it was in Singapore
that Terry and his wife, Mary, along
with their two young sons, would
joyfully welcome the addition of a
baby girl-Teri Lee-to their family
in October 1979.
In later years, Terry's brother,
Phil, became a corporate pilot, fly­
ing an MU-2 and a Cessna Citation
S. He earned his A&P and IA be­

THIRD GENERATION
And then there is the third gener­
ation of Chastains. Phil and Betty's
sons, Mike and Rob, are both quite
naturally interested in flying. Terry
and Mary's sons, Jack and Bill, work
for NASA. Bill is a lead engineer on
the space shuttle program, and Jack
is a design engineer on the inter­
national space station program.
Their baby sister, Teri Lee, soloed in
a Champ at age 26 and earned her
private in 2007 in a Cessna 140.
"I always wanted to fly, and
the opportunity came up where it
wasn't that expensive," says Teri
Lee, "so it was a perfect time!" Smil­
ing brightly, with her long blonde
hair kissed by the summer sun, her
sparkling light blue eyes reveal a
quiet inner determination and con­
fidence. She transitioned to the
Rawdon T-l in early 2008; to date,
she's logged more than 100 hours'
total flight time-all of which is in
tailwheel aircraft. She enjoys tak­
ing friends and family up for rides,
including her girlfriends, her two­
year old niece, her brothers and
mother, and even her boss.
Comparing the three airplanes,
Teri Lee smiles and says, "The
Champ's slow and pretty much flies
itself because it wants to fly. The
140 was a little squirrelly when I

first started with it, because it's a
lot faster and bigger. And then the
T-1 was just pretty easy. When I was
younger, he used to let me fly it in
the air, so that was not a problem.
It took me a while to get the land­
ings on concrete because the tail is
longer, so it always wanted to whip.
But once you get it down, it's not
that bad."
Teri Lee flew the entire five-hour
flight from Missouri to Wisconsin,
with her dad riding in the back seat.
It's easy to sense the love between
this father and daughter; it's virtu­
ally tangible, as is the humble pride
they share in their family history.
Brimming over with happiness, Teri
Lee shares that "it's just really excit­
ing to fly the T-1 here for the 30th
anniversary, and my grandma'S so
excited! We called her when I landed
in the Champ after my first solo, and
that was the first time ever I saw my
dad tear up. It just gave him a spe-­
cial feeling, and it's exciting coming
here. I'm glad to have this experi­
ence with my dad. rt's exciting to
see him so proud."
Currently, Teri Lee is learning
to fly a Waco, and she's starting to
build her very own Hatz biplane.
"It's a neat feeling to be that close
to my dad and work on Wacos and
stuff with him," she says with a
smile. "He's going to help me build
my classic Hatz, too. We have to
finish the WacoYKS-7 first, but I
can make a jig and start ribs in my
basement now."
As for NS160, it is a frequent flier,
whether it's the second or third
generation at the stick (and there
may well be a fourth and fifth gen­
eration of flying Chastains, when
they become of age). Additionally,
the T-1 is often used as a photo ship
for air-to-air photography of the
antique and classic aircraft at Creve
Coeur Airport. It's no surprise that
this cherished Rawdon will remain
in the Chastain family-especially
now that the third generation has
climbed into the cockpit. Together,
father and daughter happily main­
tain and honor their unique Raw­
don family heritage.
......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

19

Light Plane Heritage

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN

EAA Experimenter SEPTEMBER

1990

The Szekely Aircraft and

Engine Com pany

BY JACK

T

McRAE, EAA 93

he Szekely Aircraft and Engine Company of Hol­
land, Michigan, was one of a large number of
aircraft companies that sprang up during the
wave of aeronautical prosperity that began with the
Lindberg transatlantic flight of 1927. Many of these
companies lasted long enough to build a few airplanes,
and then as the Depression developed in the 1930s,
they disappeared after two or three years. The Szekely
Company was unusual in that it produced both air­
planes and engines. For them, engine manufacturing
turned out to be more successful than airplanes.
Otto E. Szekely (Zay-Kay) was reported to have been
an engineering graduate of schools in Berlin and Vienna
before coming to the United States in the early 1920s. Af­

ter working for the Velie Motor Corporation, he founded
his own business of designing small gasoline engines and
manufacturing piston rings. In about 1925 he moved to
Holland, Michigan, where he continued to manufacture
piston rings and small engines while he developed a
3-cylinder aircraft engine, which was his primary interest.
In early 1928 it was announced in Aero Digest and
Aviation magazines that the O.E. Szekely Corporation
had begun production of two new types of airplane
engines of the 3-cylinder (model SR-3) and 5-cylinder
(model SR-5) design. The 3-cylinder Sky Roamer was
the first to appear and was described as developing 40
hp at 1,800 rpm with a weight of 148 pounds.
About a year later Szekely announced the Flying Dutch­

Editor's Note: The Light Plane Heritage series in EAA's Experimenter magazine often touched on aircraft and concepts
related to vintage aircraft and their history. Since many of our members have not had the opportunity to read this se­
ries, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!-HGF
20

FEBRUARY 2009

Lead Scavenger

man airplane, a single-seat low-wing monoplane pow­
ered with the SR-3 engine. It was described as intended
to supply the need for a light, single-place airplane with
Now Available! Tep (Tri-Cresyl-Phosphate) Fuel
quality of construction combined with moderate cost
Additive
for 1OOLL Avgas. TCP, the proven additive for lead
and economy of operation. It was claimed that the air­
scavenging.
TCP has been approved by the FAA since 1977 in
plane could be operated for $1.60 per hour, which made
scavenger
formulations
in Lycoming, Continental, Franklin, Pratt
it ideal for building up flying time for a license.
&
Whitney
and
Wright
engines.
Construction of the fuselage and tail surfaces of
Predator Drone of USAF
the Flying Dutchman was of welded steel tubing,
-Prevents Plug Fouling*
fabric-covered. The cantilever wood wing was also
fabric-covered. An unusual feature for a low-wing
-Used by USAF
airplane was the lack of dihedral, and it was claimed
-Patent Pending
that the shape of the wing tip would allow the air­
-UPS Ground Shipping
plane to maintain lateral stability without dihedral.
('when used as directed)
The landing gear was of the split-axle type with shock
absorber of rubber rings. The wheels were 24 x 3 with
Decalin "RunUpTM"
fabric covering the spokes. It was stated that because
of the high-lift airfoil used, the airplane could take
OODecalin Chemicals LLC
off in 75 feet. The top speed was said to be 80 mph.
793 S. Tracy Blvd.#319,
The advertised price was $2,200.
Tracy, CA 95376
A review of the Department of Commerce list­
ing of Licensed and Identified airplanes in Michigan
Tel: 650-353-5062
for the years 1930, 1931, and 1932 shows ten Flying
www.decalinchemicals.com
Dutchman ID numbers, with Serial Number 21 the
Distributors:
highest number. All were shown as owned by the Sze­
Aircraft
Spruce (877)477·7823,
.!!W~ag~·!:!.Ae~r~o_~(8~OO!!J.)~55~8~·6:!!!86~8
kely Aircraft and Engine Company. Two were listed as
Distributor enquiries welcome
manufactured in 1928 and the remainder in 1929. It's
uncertain how many were actually built or if any were I:===:;:::=::::;;::::;;:==============~--­
sold. Department of Commerce approval was never ob­
tained, although an Approved Type Certificate (ATC)
was applied for. The Flying Dutchman was, therefore,
"COLLECTOR SERIES"
limited to an experimental license or to an ID number
permitting flight under certain conditions.
Published photographs seem to show three differ­
New USA Production
ent airplanes. The earliest shown, ID No. 3088 (Ser.
Show off your pride and joy with a
No.7, mfg. 1928) had a long tapered fairing forward
fresh set of Vintage Rubber. These
of the windshield. The most photographed airplane
newly minted tires are FAA-TSO'd
and speed rated to 120 MPH. Some
was ID No. 9450 (Ser. No. 12, mfg. 1929), which had
things are better left the way they
checkerboard decorations and a conventional wind­
were, and in the 40's and 50's, these tires were perfectly in
shield. The airplane appeared on the cover of Aviation
tune to the exciting times in aviation.
magazine for August 19, 1929, as well as in several
Not only do these tires set your vintage plane apart from
advertisements. A letter in Vintage Airplane magazine
the rest, but also look exceptional on all General Aviation
for May 1987 stated that it was destroyed in a crash.
aircraft. Deep 8/32nd tread depth offers above average
tread life and UV treated rubber resists aging.
A third airplane, ID No. 9455 (Ser. No. 17, mfg. 1929),
First impressions last a lifetime, so put these
is shown in flight in a photo in the Aircraft Yearbook
bring back the good times .....
for 1930. A Szekely advertisement in March 1929
New General Aviation Sizes Available:
stated that production in the new factory would be
500 x 5, 600 x 6, 700 x 8
two airplanes and four engines per week.
Although the Flying Dutchman never established
Oesser has the largest stock and
any aeronautical records or otherwise became fa­
selection of Vintage and Warbird
mous, it was an interesting design that unfortunately
tires in the world. Contact us
came at a time when there was an overproduction of
with
private airplanes, followed by the stock market crash
TelePhone: 800-247-8473 or
and the Depression of the 1930s.
ffi
323-721-4900 FAX: 323-721-7888
During 1930 the sales effort by Szekely was based
_
6900 Acco SI., Montebello, CA 90640
TIRE &: RUBBER COMPANY
3400 Chelsea Ave, Memphis, TN 38106
on engines entirely. At the St. Louis Aviation Exposi­
01 Aviation 5inc.1920....
www.desser.com
tion in February 1930, two new engines were intro­

AERO CLASSIC
Vintage Tires

DESSER

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

21

duced. These were similar to the previous 3-cylinder
and 5-cylinder engines except that they were of the
L-head design instead of the overhead valve type. The
new 3-cylinder SR-3L developed 30 hp instead of 40
and was only a few pounds lighter than the older SR-3.
The only advantage seemed to be that the outside diam­
eter was reduced from 36 to 30 inches. The SR-3L was
granted Approved Type Certificate No. 53 in May 1930.
Subsequently, an improved overhead valve engine,
SR-3-45, received Approved Type Certificate No. 70 in
January 1931 and was rated at 45 hp. This engine be­
came the most popular of the series and was used in
a number of lightplanes. These included the Curtiss­
Wright Jr., Buhl Bull Pup, American Eaglet, Spartan,
Rearwin Jr., Prest Baby Pursuit, Harper, Crawford Tri­
Motor, Crawford Power Glider, Simplex Kite, Nicholas­
Beazley NB-8, Corben Baby Ace, Alexander Flyabout,
and Taylor Cub. Some of these used the engine only
for test purposes.
Development continued on the 5-cylinder engine,
the 70 hp. SR-5L being of L-head design, followed by
the 80-hp SR-5-0. which used overhead valves. Report­
edly the testing of these engines was very expensive
and an ATC was never received. During 1930 and 1931
a 2-cylinder horizontally opposed engine was experi­
mented with, and also a 4-cylinder opposed type using
cylinders from the 3-cylinder engine. The 4-cylinder
model was rated at 65 hp and 1,850 rpm.
In 1932 the Szekely Company went into receivership
and was taken over by the Aviation Holding Company.
In 1937 the factory was purchased by the Crampton
Manufacturing Company, which supplied parts for the
earlier engines. Eventually the Heath Aviation Com­
pany of Benton Harbor, Michigan, bought the parts in­
ventory for servicing existing engines.
22 F EBRUARY 2009

References:
"Szekely Aircraft and Engine Company" by Phil Mich­
merhuizen, Vintage Airplane, July 1980.
Aero Digest and Aviation magazines, 1928-1931.
Aircraft Yearbooks, 1928-1931.
Aerosphere, 1939.
.......

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If' U .LI:.

TOWER: You are now cleared to Oshkosh as filed.

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EA~

THE SPIRIT OF AVIATION

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For more information visit www.airventure.org


BY DOUG STEWA RT

Lesson Learned

For me, one of the most impor­
tant phases of a flight comes after
the engine has been shut down
and the airplane rolled back into
the hangar. It's that phase when
I debrief myself on the job I have
done as a pilot during the flight just
completed. When necessary, I tend
to be harsh on myself, but by be­
ing harsh I help myself continually
learn and improve as a pilot.
However, when the flight ends
in the disaster of crashing into
trees upon takeoff, and my pas­
senger and I end up in the hospi­
tal with multiple serious injuries,
the word "harsh" in describing
how I debriefed myself hardly
suffices. Indeed, it doesn't come
close to describing the emotions
I went through during the early
weeks following the accident I
had late this summer, which was
recounted in last month's issue of
Vintage Airplane.
Although many of my trusted
friends and associates who called
and wrote offering words of con­
cern, support, and wisdom said that
I should not be too hard on myself
as I dissected the events of the ac­
cident, it was virtually impossible
for me not to be. The process had
started even before the ambulance,
with me on board, commenced the
journey to the hospital from the ac­
cident site.
There were so many unanswered
questions running through my
mind, but the most important one
to me was, "What could or should
24

FEBRUARY 2009

I have done differently to avert this
disaster?" Why didn 't I abort the
takeoff the instant the thought oc­
curred to me? Why had I contin­
ued and lifted off as soon as we
reached rotation speed? What was
I thinking?

But as I made these

computations .. . I

realized one of

the major

mistakes I had made.

I recalled thinking, when I first
thought of aborting the takeoff,
that I probably would end up run­
ning off the end of the runway and
damaging my airplane. Thus, as
soon as I saw rotation speed on the
airspeed indicator, I decided to con­
tinue with the takeoff. Mind you,
not more than two seconds passed
between seeing the airspeed drop
from 55 to 52 and then come back
up to the rotation speed of 65.
I knew that under normal condi­
tions my Cardinal should have no
problems clearing the trees. Earlier
in the day, I noted how well the en­
gine was running, which reinforced
the decision to continue . (Flying
up that morning, I was running the
engine lean of peak and made spe­
cial note that CHTs were about 50

~ ' --.
degrees below typical temperatures
when operating Rap (rich of peak),
that I was burning about 1-1/2 gal­
lons less fuel per hour, and, best of
all, that the engine was purring and
really seemed to like it.) In light of
those previous thoughts, it never
entered my mind that that very
same engine might have decided to
"head south."
Perhaps you can see how I was
lulled into a sense of complacency
by those facts, as I viewed them.
The engine had appeared to be run­
ning great; neither the density al­
titude nor the weight and balance
posed any issues. Although I had
not referred to the performance
charts that day, I was intimately
familiar with the "typical" perfor­
mance of my own airplane and
knew that there shouldn't be any
problems whatsoever in clearing
the trees, which stood more than
2,500 feet from where we started
the take-off roll.
As an aside, during my recov­
ery in the weeks following the ac­
cident, I had more time than usual
to get some reading done. One of
the books I chose to reread was Fate
Is the Hunter by Ernie Gann. In that
book, he describes a similar inci­
dent that happened to him in Agra,
India. It was summertime, and he
was taking off in a C-8 7, a less­
than-stellar performer. He had or­
dered a light load of fuel so that he
would be able to get the best perfor­
mance possible in order to clear the
Taj Mahal, which stood just beyond

the end of the runway.
As he headed down the runway, he
realized all was not as it should be.
"I already sense something is
wrong," he wrote. "We are halfway
down the runway and have only
achieved sixty miles an hour.... Ap­
preciation through habit is nearly
instantaneous, but understand­
ing is not. What the hell is wrong
now? ... Yet all is apparently in or­
der. These are the moments of truth
in a pilot's life when he must de­
cide within seconds whether he
should abandon take-off and jump
the brakes, or fully commit his air­
plane to flight. There is still room
for choice."
Mr. Gann made the same choice
I did. He decided to commit to
flying. The similarities don't end
there. As he broke ground and
lumbered out of ground effect,
he realized that he wouldn't clear
the Taj Mahal unless he took some
nonstandard action. And just as I
did, in order to clear the first set
of trees in my path, he deployed
more flaps, which ballooned him
over the Taj, just narrowly missing
workers who were in the process of
restoring the building.
After clearing the Taj Mahal,
Gann had no other obstacles in
his path and now could afford to
lose some altitude as he cleaned up
the airplane to get a climb going. I,
however, didn't have that luxury.
More trees stood in my path.
Once Gann arrived at his destina­
tion, he found that, unbeknownst to
him, the fuel tanks had been topped
off, contrary to his fuel order. He
had not checked the tanks and thus
was about 3 tons heavier on take­
off than he thought he would be.
He had the answer to his problems
shortly after the flight ended.
For me, an answer is not yet
forthcoming. I am still waiting for
the NTSB probable cause report.
They have downloaded the infor­
mation from my engine monitor
and GPS, and they have the engine.
They saw, in their initial investiga­
tion, that there was no scarring on
the propeller blades save for some

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

25

It's a mistake I have made, not
curling at the tip of one blade, giv­
ing some indication that the en­ only as a pilot, but also as an in­
gine stopped as soon as the prop structor. And it is a mistake that I
hit the first branch, which is evi­ see many other instructors make
dence that the engine was not mak­ as well. When so many of us teach
ing any power at all, so to speak, short-field takeoffs and maxi­
when we hit the trees. Nonetheless, mum-performance climbs, the big
I still have not received a solution emphasis always seems to be on
from the NTSB.
clearing the obstacle. We all know
Whereas the NTSB is slow in com­ the drill of the short-field takeoff.
ing up with an answer to help me Get as much runway as possible;
solve the riddle of what went wrong, hold the brakes as you apply full
the FAA helped me out, albeit indi­ power; assuring full power, release
rectly, when I received a certified let­ the brakes, allowing the stick to
ter from them informing me that I "float" as you accelerate; lift off
would have to take a recertification at the proper rotation speed; and
checkride (the infamous 709) to the accelerate to Vx (best angle climb
Commercial Pilot Practical Test Stan­ speed) until clear of the obstacle.
dards on "performance and limita­
Everything we do in the short-field
tions; and short field take-off with takeoff is predicated on clearing the
maximum performance climb."
obstacle, but therein lies the mistake.
In preparing for the oral por­ When one uses the performance
tion of the" ride," I pored over charts for the airplane, the first figure
the performance tables, coming that one obtains as the planning for
up with the performance I should the takeoff is done is the ground roll.
have had on the day of the crash . Yet how often do we skip over that
Even with a fudge factor added number and move on to find out if
that took into consideration that we will have sufficient distance from
the airframe was more than 30 the obstacle to clear it?
years old, with "draggy" worn-out
Had I done the actual planning
paint, and that I wasn't under the on the day of the aCcident, with all
employ of the Cessna folks as a the correct information relative to
test pilot, we only needed 1,560 density altitude, wind, weight and
feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle. But balance, and runway surface and
as I made these computations­ gradient, I would have found out
not only for the day of the acci­ that I needed 960 feet for a ground
dent but also for the day of the roll. Then, when my airspeed fal­
test-with my FAA inspector on tered, knowing that I was about
board, I realized one of the major 200 feet beyond the 960 required,
mistakes I had made. And from there would have been no hesita­
that realization I have learned at tion in pulling the throttle to idle
least one very important lesson.
and aborting the takeoff. I would
----------------------------------,

To start receivi ng e- Hotllne th iS week, VISit www.EAA.orglnewsletters
26

FEBRUARY 2009

have been aided and abetted in the
decision by sound fact rather than
by a subjective guess.
So although I still don't have
a complete answer to what hap­
pened, and I might have to wait
quite some time before the NTSB
comes up with its "probable
cause," hopefully discovering why
the engine stopped making power,
I have learned a very valuable les­
son: Even when you are intimately
familiar with your airplane and its
performance, you shouldn't get
complacent about doing the re­
quired planning. And when you do
that planning, consider absolutely
all of the elements, not just the end
result. Otherwise you might not
be as lucky as I was, and instead of
looking down at the daisies, you
could be looking up at them.
Also remember that regardless of
how many hours you have in your
logbook, the learning never ends.
I learned a very valuable lesson in
this episode of my flying career.
May you not have to learn in such
a dramatic way. May you be blessed
with blue skies and tail winds while
you continue, as I do, to learn more
and more about the wonderful
world of flight.
Doug Stewart is the 2004 National
CFI ofthe Year, a NAFI Master Instruc­
tor, and a designated pilot examiner.
He operates DSFI Inc. (www.DSFlight.
com) at the Columbia County Airport
(lBl) in Hudson, New York.
Editor's Note: A pair of copy-edit­
ing goofs introduced long after Doug
submitted his article for publication
crept into the January issue's article.
First of(, the line concerning " ... the
houses actually get bigger rather than
smaller" should read: "In this regime,
you will notice that if you increase
backpressure on the stick, rather than
making the houses get smaller, they
actually get bigger." The other error
that crept in was an incorrect spelling
out of lAS, which is, of course, Indi­
cated Air Speed. Our apologies to Doug
for the introduction of the errors into
the copy he submitted.-HGF .....

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BY ROB ERT G. LOCK

Aging Aircraft Issues
Part 2
In this continuation of last
month's article, we will discuss
some more of the problems facing
Aging Aircraft." Notice I said some
of the problems. Trying to list ev­
erything would take more space
than is available, so I will cover
what I believe are some of the most
important issues, keeping in mind
that some of the airplanes we are
dealing with were manufactured
70 or more years ago when aircraft
design and construction were in
their infancy.
Now let's look briefly at wood
structure.
Rot: Discoloration in the wood
is a key indication of wood rot.
Dry rot will turn the wood a light
tan to a light gray color. Dry rot
is really a fungus growth that re­
moves the moisture and causes the
wood to lose its strength and turn
soft, like balsa wood. Most nails
used in wood construction today
are brass-coated steel wire. If the
brass coating is removed by sand­
ing, the steel wire will rust, and the
rust will discolor the wood dark
gray to a black. This discoloration
will be around the nails.
Loo se glue joints: This is com­
mon, especially in old structure.
Casein glue was primarily used in
the old days. The glue rots and
fails. Newer adhesives, particularly
the epoxy adhesives, are much bet­
ter and withstand the elements
and aging very well.
Shakes, c heck s, an d l ongi­
II

28 FEBRUARY 2009

tudinal sp lit s: Shakes and checks
are likely found on spar ends at the
attach fittings. They are caused by
moisture entering the wood grain,
causing the wood to swell and

The expertise in
keeping our
aging fleet ahworthy
no longer resides
in the FAAit resides in
the type clubs.
crack. Shakes are cracks along the
annual rings, and checks are cracks
across the annual rings. Longitu­
dinal cracks are generally cracks
along the annual rings that may ex­
tend several rib bays. They are most
likely found at strut fittings where
moisture can enter the wing.
Compression failure: This is
a big dea l now on acrobatic air­
planes with wood wings. The fail­
ures are normally located on the
outboard edge of wing strut/wire
attachment point. Most wings
have plywood doublers glued to
the spars. The failure will be along
the outboard edge of the doubler.
The failure can also be found along

the top of the spar, usually out­
board of the strut point. Compres­
sion failures are characterized by
a "jagged" line across woodgrain.
The grain actually fails with the
application of very heavy bending
load upward. This area is hard to
see because, unless one installs in­
spection openings, there are no in­
spection openings on the top of a
wing surface.
Delamination in laminated
structure: Glue failure along the
bond line. The wood used in a
laminated structure should have
close to the same moisture con­
tent. Widely varying moisture
content will stress along the bond
line, and these stresses will cause
wood to delaminate.
Now let's move to a quick dis­
cussion of common problems with
fabric covering:
Wrinkles in f abric: Wrinkles
may very well indicate structural
problems underneath. Make a thor­
ough investigation of the structure
using a flashlight and mirror. Don't
be tempted to just heat-tighten the
fabric! You might have to open
some inspection holes or even cut
the fabric open to completely in­
spect the problem area.
Lack of ultraviolet protec­
tive coating: Silver or gray coat­
ings are required on all fabric (grade
A and Dacron) to exclude the ul­
traviolet (UV) rays of the sun. Not
enough UV protection will allow
the fabric to deteriorate at a very

rapid pace. Shine a bright light
from inside of the fabric and check
if the light penetrates to the out­
side surface. If it does, then more
UV protection material should
be sprayed on the surface . It's re­
ally best to make this check before
painting the topcoat on fabric sur­
faces. Usually, if the manufactur­
er's instructions for covering are
followed and spray-gun technique
is good, enough material will be
sprayed . However, if spray-gun
techniques are poor, there could
very well be insufficient material
to block the sun's rays.
Aging Fabric: AC43.13-1B
states that aircraft fabric can de­
teriorate to 56 pounds per inch
pull strength . Originally this was
70 percent of new strength for
grade A cotton fabric (80 pounds
per inch new x .70 = 56 pounds).
The 56 pounds per inch is for air­
craft with wing loading in excess
of 9 pounds per square foot and
VNE (velocity never exceed) of 160
mph or greater. This requirement
is for any fabric-covered aircraft,
no matter what type of fabric was
used to cover the surfaces. Aircraft
originally designed with a wing
loading of less than 9 pounds per
square foot and a VNE of less than
160 mph could be covered with in­
termediate grade A fabric that had
a tensile strength of 65 pounds per
inch. In this case, the minimum
tensile strength is 70 percent of 65
pounds, or 46 pounds per inch.
Cracking and peeling of fin­
ish and/or filler material: If
filler material cracks or peels and
you can see the fabric weave, sun­
light will destroy the material. It's
really best to re-cover the surface.
Anything less is purely cosmetic
and may not last very long.
Inspection and testing of
fabric to determine airwor­
thiness: If this is necessary, the
most accurate method is a pull
test done under controlled con­
ditions in a laboratory. However,
this leaves a rather large opening
in the fabric surface that must be
repaired. Owners don't like fab­

ric repairs , so you may be able
to field test using a Maule Fabric
Tester. This test will give approxi­
mate strength of the fabric. How­
ever, let me point out that the old
Seyboth tool was calibrated only
for grade A fabric with about eight
coats of dope. The more filler ma­
terial used, the more error there is
in determining the actual fabric
strength. If you're in doubt, have it
pull tested by a laboratory for pre­
cise strength measurements.
Finally, let me address a prob­
lem that is difficult to detect-con­
trol cable fraying. Recently I have
found two cable problems in air­
craft I maintain. First, let me give
a short description of the problem.
Control cable fraying can occur
where the cable rides on a pulley
or through a fair-lead. To inspect,
one must move the control surface
to full deflection and then run a
shop cloth over the cable. If there
are broken wires, the rag will snag.
I detected a frayed aileron ca­
ble where it traveled through a
fair-lead in the lower wing. And
just recently, another fraying
problem in a rudder balance ca­
ble was detected, which is very
difficult to inspect because it is
located under the front seat, and
the fraying was against the pulley
and not on the outside where it
could easily be found. Both cables
were removed and replaced, but
an inspection program was initi­
ated during which we loosened
the aileron cable in order to pull
the cable from the fair-lead and
through an inspection opening
in the fabric to inspect every 100
hours of flight time .
The rudder balance cable will be
removed every 500 hours of flight
time for complete inspection. Re­
moving this cable is difficult because
th e front seat must be removed,
which is a real pain. So don't over­
look control cables, particularly in
areas of pulleys and fair-leads . And
remember, some disassembly of the
structure may be required. Here, re­
fer to FAA AC43.13-1B, chapter 7,
section 8, particularly paragraph

7-149 and figure 7-16. There are a
lot of good data here on cable in­
spection techniques.
Since we operate two New Stan­
dard D-25 and two Boeing Stear­
man ships, I have developed
"critical area of inspection" guides
for both aircraft types. Whenever a
problem occurs more than once, it
is logged and the inspection check­
list is modified to reflect these con­
cerns. Inspection guidance is a
most important issue with aging
aircraft. Here, the type clubs offer
both owners and mechanics this
type of gUidance. If you are not
involved with a type club, think
about joining. The expertise in
keeping our aging fleet airworthy
no longer resides in the FAA-it re­
sides in the type clubs . Continual
vigilance is much better than re­
ceiving an Airworthiness Directive
from the feds.
........

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

29

BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US VIA

VAA MEMBER/EDITORIAL VOLUNTEER WESLEY SMITH.

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 15 for
inclusion in the May 2009 issue of
Vintage Airplane.

You can also send your response
via e-mail. Send your answer to mys­
[email protected]. Be sure to include
your name plus your city and state
in the body of your note and put
"(Month) Mystery Plane" in the sub­
ject line.

NOVEMBER ' S MYSTERY ANSWER


30 FEBRUARY 2009

The Sikorsky UN-4 monoplane conversion was built to improve the safety and performance as­

pects of the venerable Curtiss Jenny and similar biplanes of that era.


ur two shots of the Fowler variable-area in Aviation by Frank Delear, 20 sets of the new G-S-1
wing modification of the Curtiss Jenny wings were sold.
In that same time frame , Sikorsky and Gluhareff
reminded us that a few other designers
had built improved wings for the WWI­ also collaborated on a monoplane version of the Jenny
era trainer. With so many Jennys surplused out of the modification. The UN-4, designed in late 1926/early
military, it's not surprising the aircraft was chosen 1927, had a graceful strut-braced parasol wing that
for modification. Buy one cheap, replace the engine spanned 43 feet, within a foot of the original span of
or wings, and a new, more capable airplane could be the Jenny's upper wing. The wing was braced with two
had. For most of the modifications, only one thing parallel struts and a set of jury struts that picked up
prevented them: the cost. A Jenny was so inexpensive ,_ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
to buy in the early 1920s that any additional cost was
tough to justify. Buy it, use it up in your flying circus,
and when you where done, buy another one.
Still, the prospect of making the Jenny a "better
airplane" was irresistible to a few of the talented en­
gineers of that time, including Igor Sikorsky and one
of his fledgling aircraft manufacturing company en­
gineers, Michael Gluhareff. Michael and h is brother,
Serge, were a major part of the success of the fixed­
wing aircraft designed and built by Sikorsky. In 1925,
Sikorsky, with the help of New England businessman
Arnold Dickinson, had reorganized his small aircraft
concern. The new firm, Sikorsky Manufacturing Com­
pany, had Dickinson as its president and Sikorsky as
the vice preSident, a move that gave Igor Sikorsky the
freedom to pursue the design and engineering of new
and exciting aircraft.
During 1926-1928, as the company began work on
larger aircraft, Sikorsky and Michael Gluhareff became
convinced that they could design a better set of wings
for the Curtiss Jenny belonging to Roger Kahn, a local
pilot who flew from Roosevelt Field on Long Islan d,
where Sikorsky Manufacturing was based at that time.
With fewer struts, a revised airfoil, and a cleaned-up
bracing wire arrangement, the reincarnated Jenny flew
20 mph faster, stalled in a more predictable m anner,
and climbed as well with two aboard as it h ad before
modification with only the pilot flying the biplan e.
According to the book Igor Sikorsky: His Three Careers

O

VINTAGE A IRPLANE

31

-UN-4 r--·<CJNG':JL.AI'.'r.:­
S IK 0 R S K

YI\/1F'G,

[j

oi"p'

.
; - •.=

! :, :I ;I

1

:

L

I
I

J

1.1
I

I

:

~ .:.: -=r ':-" ~. "'-4 .­.:. '- I ....:.

!

I

-

I

r-- _ _~ ----------I.7' ..'- - - - - - -­ - - - -- ­

---,,----­
r:-

_.0-;- .. - . - ' ,

A factory general arrangement drawing of the UN-4,

the original fuselage's lower wing
attach points. Otherwise, the air­
plane was unchanged.
According to www.Aerofiles.com.
the UN-4 wing could be adapted to
other biplanes, including the Travel
Air and Standard.
There is one record listed in Au­
gust of 1927 for a Standard J-l, reg­
istration number 5469, with a UN-4
wing, and a pair of Standard J-l air­
planes registered in 1927 as NC2705
and NC2752, plus Standard J"1 reg­
istration NC6703 and a very heavily
32

FEBRUARY 2009

modified Standard J-l, X802W.
There is one registration to an
E.H. Burgin in New York for a UN-4
modified Curtiss Oriole (originally
serial number 3), C3089, also in
November of 1927.
Then the Jennys that were modi­
fied:
Curtiss IN-4D, serial number
5621, registration number 6166,
August 1927.
Curtiss IN-4D, serial number
5190, registration number 3030,
March 1928.

The only photo I've seen of any of
the three Jennys listed on this page
is the one shown on A erofiles.com
and in Vol. 9 of U.S. Civil Aircraft by
Joseph P. Juptner, page 110. It's the
shot we've printed here. The photo,
of Curtiss IN-4D, serial number
5469, registration C-2044, received
its Group 2 approval 6-15-1928.
If anyone has additional infor­
mation on the Sikorsky UN-4, fee l
free to share it with us at the ad­
dress shown in the introductory
paragraphs of this article.
......

CALL FOR

VAA

~~

HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS

Nommate your favonte aVIator for the EAA Vmtage Aircraft ASSoCIatIOn
Hall of Fame. A huge honor could be bestowed upon that man or woman
working next to you on your airplane, sitting next to you in the Chapter
meeting, or walking next to you at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Think
about the people in your circle of aviation friends, that mechanic, that
photographer, that pilot who has shared innumerable tips with you and
with many others. They could be the next VAA Hall of Fame inductees-but
only if they are nominated.
The person you nominate can be a citizen of any country and may be
living or deceased, and his or her involvement in vintage aviation must have
occurred between 1950 and the present day. His or her contribution could
be in the areas of flying; design; mechanical or aerodynamic developments;
administration; writing; some other vital, relevant field; or any combination
of fields that support aviation. The person you nominate must be or have
been a member of the Vintage Aircraft Association, and preference is given
to those whose actions have contributed to the VAA in some way, perhaps
as a volunteer; a writer; a photographer; or a pilot sharing stories, preserving
aviation history, and encouraging new pilots and enthusiasts.
To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little
reminiscing on your part.
• Think of a person, think of his or her contributions.
• Write those contributions in the various categories of the form.
• Write a simple letter highlighting these attributes and contributions. Make
copies of newspaper or magazine articles that may substantiate your view.
• If you can, have another person complete a form or write a letter about this
person, confirming why the person is a good candidate for induction.
• Mail the form to:
VAA Hall of Fame
Charlie Harris
PO Box 470350
Tulsa, OK 74147
REMEMBER, YOUR "CONTEMPORARY" MAY BE A CANDIDATE­ ,
NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY!

Call the VAA office for a form (920-426-6110), find it at www.vintageaircra(t.org,
or on your own sheet of paper, simply include the following information:
• Date submitted.
• Name of person nominated.
• Address and phone of nominee.
• Date of birth of nominee. If deceased, date of death.
• Name and relationship of nominee's closest living relative.

• Address and phone of nominee's closest living relative.

• E-mail address of nominee.

.Time span (dates) of the nominee's contributions to aviation. (Must be

between 1950 to present day.)
.VAA and EM number, if known.
• Area(s) of contributions to aviation.
• Describe the event(s) or nature of activities the nominee has undertaken in
aviation to be worthy of induction into the VAA Hall of Fame.
• Describe achievements the nominee has made in other related fields
in aviation.
• Has the nominee already been honored for his/her involvement in aviation
and/or the contribution you are stating in this petition? If yes, please explain
the nature of the honor and/or award the nominee has received.
• Any additional supporting information.
• Name of person submitting petition.
• Submitter's address and phone number, plus e-mail address.
• Include any supporting material with your petition.

EM Calendar of Aviation Events Is Now Online
EAA's online Calendar of Events is the 'go-to"
spot on the Web to list and find aviation events
in your area. The user·friendly, searchable format
makes it the perfect web-based tool for planning
your local trips to afly·in.
In EAA's online Calendar of Events, you can
search for events at any given time within acertain
radius of any airport by entering the identifier or a
ZIP code, and you canfurther define your search to
look for just the types of events you'd like to attend.
We invite you to access the EAA online Calendar
of Events at http://www.eaa.orgjca/endarj

Upcoming Major Fly-Ins
Aero Frledrlchshafen
Messe Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen, Germany
April 2-5, 2009

www.Aero-Friedrichshafen.com/htm/jen
Sun ' n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland
Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL)
Lakeland, Florida
April 21-26, 2009

www.Sun-N-Fun.org
Golden West Regional F1y·ln
Yuba County Airport (MYV)
Marysville, California
June 12-14, 2009

www.GoldenWestFlyln.org
Virginia Regional Festival of Flight
Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ)
Suffolk, Virginia
May 30-31, 2009

www.VirginiaFlyln.org
Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In
Front Range Airport (FTG)
Watkins, Colorado

TBD
www.RMRFI.org
Arlington Fly-In
Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO)
Arlington, Washington
July 8-12, 2009

www.NWEAA.org
EAA AlrVenture Oshkosh
Wittman Regional Airport (OSH )
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
July 27-August 2, 2009

www.AirVenture.org
MId-Eastern Regional Fly-In
Grimes Field (174)
Urbana, Ohio
September 12-13, 2009

www.MERFI.info
Southeast Regional Fly-In
Middleton Field Airport (GZH)
Evergreen, Alabama
October 23-25, 2009

www.SERFI.org
Copperstate Regional Fly-In
Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ)
Casa Grande , Arizona
October 22-25, 2009

www.Copperstate.org

VINTAGE AIRP L ANE

33

The Bet

And a little bit of winter preflight wisdom

BY IRVEN

As bets go, the money at stake
was not that much. But we both
agreed that it was the principle of
the thing that was important, so
we took the bet. After all, we could
not let those guys think we were a
couple of wimps.
Winter in Alaska is long. Even in
Anchorage, which lies in south­
central Alaska, winter is long. Snow­
fall starts in late October and gathers

all over the city in great piles that
last until late April. Anchorage's el­
evation is 114 feet above sea level.
My friend Bill and I had lived in
Alaska for more than 25 years and
had long since incorporated winter
sports into our weekend activities.
Downhill and cross-country skiing,
ice hockey, hunting, ice fishing, and
winter camping were all part of our
weekend outings.
For caribou hunting and ice fish­
ing, we often used my 1954 Cessna
170B on wheel-skis. Of course, we
always had the required and neces­
sary winter survival equipment on
34

FEBRUARY 2009

F.

PALMER JR.

board. On many of these trips we of­
ten camped out in the wilderness in
subfreezing weather. On some occa­
sions there was a lodge close by, and
we could rent a cabin or room. But
if we were in a really remote area,
which we usually were, we would
pitch our tent and rough it.
Tolsona Lake is approximately
170 highway miles north of An­
chorage, which works out to about

Irven Palmer's
Cessna 170 is
kept frost-free
on the upper sur­
faces with a set
of covers.

one hour and 30 minutes of flying
time. The lake is situated near the
Glenn Highway and contains some
fine-eating burbot (a kind of fresh ­
water cod) .
Bill and I made plans on Friday
to fly up there Saturday morning,
go ice fishing, stay overnight, and
fly home to Anchorage on Sun ­
day. We were up and raring to go
on Saturday morning in the near

Irven Palmer's pre-heating system. The homemade shroud around the little Coleman stove shields the burner
from the wind. It can be rotated to change the opening where it attaches to the reducer. The entire outfit
weights only five pounds, and even includes a spare fuel bottle. The background of the photograph is a visual
signal device he carries as part of his survival gear. Its made of bright International Orange nylon.

dark. It was mid-December, and
there were only about five and a
half hours of daylight. In fact, that
is why we often stayed overnight
on our outings, because after you
fly in and do a little fishing, it
is often dark. So it is a matter of
safety to avoid flying around in
the dark in the mountains.
Now we get to the aviation part
of this story. I had already gotten
the weekend weather report. Get­
ting the airplane ready in the dead
of winter is not a quick process. The
temperature in Anchorage was 5
below zero. First I got out my small
portable engine heater kit, assem­
bled the parts, lit the small burner,
and placed the ducting up into the
engine compartment under the in­
sulated engine cover.
As the heat warmed the engine
and the battery, which is also under
the cowling, I began to remove all
the covers from the airplane. Since
they were covered in snow and ice,
I had to shake all that off because
we planned to take all the covers
with us in a bag. If you leave a lot

of snow on the covers, you will
have moisture inside the airplane
as it warms up, which will con­
dense on the inside of the cockpit

"You mean you
two are going
to camp out
there by that
island tonight?"
I felt I had to
back up Bill, so I
said, "Yep, that's
the plan."
windows, severely limiting your vi­
sion. So you should always have a
cotton terrycloth towel ready dur­
ing the flight to wipe the inside of
the windshield when needed.
Once cleared of snow and ice, the
covers were stowed inside the air­

plane with our fishing gear and sur­
vival kit, sleeping bags, tent, camp
chairs, catalytic heater, etc. But we
weren't ready yet. I got out my push
broom and carefully removed all the
frost from the undersides of the wing
and the underside of the horizontal
stabilizer and any parts of the fuse­
lage that had frost on them.
Most of us are aware that in­
flight icing, either airframe or car­
buretor ice, can be a pilot's worse
nightmare. But all too often, pi­
lots forget to remove all the frost
from their airplanes before trying
to take off. Even a slight amount of
frost on the wing will increase your
ground run and increase your stall
speed. Frost on the underside of the
horizontal stabilizer can even in­
duce a tail plane stall with a severe
pitching down of the nose during
your take-off attempt. Even as lit­
tle as one-sixteenth of an inch of
frost will severely degrade your air­
plane's performance.
Always Remove All Frost From Your
Airplane's Surfaces Prior to Takeoff!
With all the frost removed and
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

35

the engine preheated after about
3S minutes, I called flight service
and filed our flight plan. We de­
parted, and I essentially followed
the Glenn Highway north and east
up past the Matanuska Glacier and
on through the Tahneta Pass. After
an hour and 30 minutes, we landed
on Talsona Lake, elevation 2,000
feet. I taxied next to a small tree­
and brush-covered island, shut
down, inserted ice pitons into the
lake ice, and tied the plane down .
Out came the airplane covers, and
we covered up the entire plane.
We got out our fishing equip­
ment, collapsible chairs, catalytic
heater, and ice drill and drilled some
holes. The ice was 24 inches thick,
as it had been freezing up here in
interior Alaska for at least two and
a half months. We were dressed in
our insulated pants, parkas, shoe
pack boots, multilayered under­
clothes, gloves, hats, etc., so we
were still comfortable even though
the airplane temperature gauge read
2S below zero. It is always colder in
the interior of Alaska than down
near Cook Inlet, the large body of
water near Anchorage.
In about four hours we both
caught and kept a couple of nice
20- to 24-inch burbot, throwing
back the smaller ones. As we sat

there, it started to get dark, and as
we occasionally dipped ice scum
out of our fishing holes, we no­
ticed that over at the Tolsona
Lodge there seemed to be a lot
of arriving traffic, both cars and
snow machines.
Bill said, "What say we go over
there and see what's going on?" So
we removed our lines and stowed
our gear next to the airplane and
walked over to the lodge. Taking
barstools at the bar, we ordered a
couple of brews and asked the bar­
tender what was happening.
He said, "We saw you guys land
out there earlier a few hours ago, so
how are you doing?"
We told him we both had a cou­
ple of nice fish.
I asked him, "Where did all these
people come from?"
He said, "You guys are in luck."
"Why's that?" we queried.
He said, "The Indian folks over at
Copper Center are having their annual
bison barbeque feed here tonight, and
all the lodge guests are invited."
Bill, my copilot and fishing
buddy, told him that we planned
on camping by the island. At that
point, several guys nearby stopped
talking and looked at us . By now
the temperature was probably down
around 30 below zero.

rAiLWt-lE:E:LS

t-lE:ADiI\1G SOurt-l
36 FEBRUARY 2009

Why Bill said that, I didn't know.
It was a surprise to me! Back in An­
chorage, I had just assumed that,
like we had done previously, we
would rent a room at the lodge.
Some guy said, "You mean you
two are going to camp out there by
that island tonight?"
I felt I had to back up Bill, so I
said, "Yep, that's the plan."
Another fellow piped up and ex­
claimed, "I don't believe it!"
"We do winter camping a lot,"
replied Bill.
A third guy yells out, "I bet each
of you 20 bucks that you don't camp
out there on that ice all night."
What could we do?
We said in unison, "We' ll take
that bet."
We all had a great bison dinner,
a couple more beers, and played
some pool. Our bettor was staying
at the lodge, so we would see him
in the morning. Bill and I left and
went out to the plane, got out the
tent, and pitched it on top of a plas­
tic tarp on the ice. We laid out our
foam sleeping pads under our down
sleeping bags and crawled in.
I must tell you that we turned over
many times during the night as the
cold seeped through the many layers
between us and the ice. Our bodies
had melted body-shaped indentations
in the ice, our body heat penetrating
right through the sleeping bag, foam
pads, tent floor, and tarp. But the next
morning when we walked up to the
lodge for breakfast and met our bet­
tor; we had won the bet.
The folks that were there the pre­
vious night congratulated us on
our survival. The 40 bucks paid for
breakfast and the avgas for the trip.
If you are prepared, winter camping
can be fun . But given some condi­
tions, you may shiver a lot.
So if you are like me and like to
keep flying even though it's winter,
be sure to get yourself some covers,
cover up that airplane, and remove
all that snow, ice, and frost prior to
takeoff. And if the temperature is be­
low freezing, then thoroughly pre­
heat the engine prior to starting it.
Have fun and be safe out there ........

Something to buy,
sell, or trade?
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180 words maximum , with boldface lead-in
on first line.
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frequency discounts.
Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second
month prior to desired issue date (i.e. ,
January 10 is the closing date for the March
issue). VAA reserves the right to rej ect any
advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates
cover one insertion per issue. Classified ads
are not accepted via phone . Payment must
accompany order. Word ads may be sent via
fax (920-426-6845) or e-mail (classads@
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(/fa.tlona.' cfil'C OUz.cefj
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" .. a pos itive addition to the aviation historian's
video collection."
Je rri B erg en, A merican A viatio n Historical S ociety

" I highly recommend this interesting video."
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MISCELLANEOUS
Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit

www.flyingwires.com or caIiSOO-517­
927S.

SERVICES
Always Flying Aircraft Restoration, LLC
A&P I.A.: Annual, 100 hr. inspections.
Wayne Forshey 740-472-1481
Ohio - statewide.

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING
Are you nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it done and you're busy flying
showing it off? If so, we'd like to hear from you. Send us a 4-by-6-inch print
a commercial source (no home printers , please-those prints just don 't
well) or a 4-by-6-inch, 30O-dpi digital photo. A JPG from your 2.5-megapixel
higher) digital camera is fine. You can burn photos to a CD, or if you're on a
igh-speed Internet connection, you can e-mail them along with a text-only or
document describing your airplane. (If your e-mail program asks if you'd like
make the photos smaller, say no.) For more tips on creating photos we can
• • • •-:~~~},~: , visit VAA's website at www.vintageaircraft.org. Check the News page for
a hyperlink to Want To Send Us A Photograph?

For more information, you can also e·mail us at [email protected] or call us at 920·426·4825.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

37

Child's Hat, Scarf & Mittens
Chase the chill away from your little
bundle of joy with this three piece
set of comfy fleece hat,
scarf and mittens.

$5.95
V09915 Black
V15402 Cobalt Blue
V15404 Navy

Ladies Quilted Vest


.$i8.9~

OW $29.95

V00605
V00606
V00607
V00608

Y5M
YMD

This warm jacket in navy is
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YLG
YXL

Ladies Hooded Sweatshirts
Your choice of two colors; baby blue
with navy or deep heather with blad<.
V12787 MD Baby Blue
V12788 LG Baby Blue
V12789 XL Baby Blue
V12790 MD Heather
V12791 LG Heather
V12792 XL Heather
38

FEBRUARY 2009

This vest keeps you warm while looking stylish.

Studded with stones that sparkle around collar,

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Limited quantities. Size Is a ladles medium.

V08394 White
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Vl1600
continued from IFe

Plan your days, weeks, and year
with this classy organizer. Black
vinyl, with VAA logo lasered on
a flap of the portfolio. Room for
your cell phone plus a couple of
handy extra side pockets. Includes
calculator with ruled side. Tabbed
dividers for Communication,
Projects, Expenses, Goals, and
Contacts directory.

Leather Briefcase

$32.95
Sophisticated leather bag is
perfect for the business man.
Travels will be easy as you carry
all your working needs, even your
computer along with you in this
VAAcase.
V07069 Briefcase/Computer Bag

on board a B-17 bomber." Well, as
you can imagine, this turned into a
"you show me yours and I'll show
you mine" sort of an arrangement,
and the B-17 crew was treated
to an amazing tour of the space
shuttle Endeavour. We arrived
early in the evening, and as luck
would have it, the decontamina­
tion fence was being taken down.
This, of course, led to a close-up
tour. We were actually walking
around on the catwalk surround­
ing the shuttle, and we were even
allowed to poke our heads inside
the ship. What a treat! These guys
spent a couple of hours with us as
we looked this amazing spacecraft
over. They were very friendly and
tolerated all of our dumb ques­
tions. You could easily sense the
immense pride this ground crew
had in what they were doing for
the space program. A number of
these individuals shared with us
the fact that they knew exactly
what EAA was all about, and a few
were even members. This was an
experience of a lifetime, and I will
always treasure having had this
unbelievable opportunity.
Speaking of space travel, as you
know, Apollo 8 astronaut Frank
Borman was the featured speaker
at EAA's December 17 Wright Broth­
ers Memorial Banquet at the EAA
AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh.
Forty years ago this past Decem­
ber, Borman, EAA 300174, served
as commander of NASA's Apollo 8
space mission to the moon. That
mission gave humankind its first
close-up view of the lunar surface
and the dark side of the moon
during the mission's 10 lunar or­
bits. Unfortunately, I was unable
to attend, but I have watched
the video feed of his talk. Wow!
Borman, now 81 years old, gave
an extremely interesting talk. He
is an icon among our surviving

astronauts, and I'm certain you
would enjoy watching him speak
at the Wright Brothers Memorial
Banquet. Go to http://EAA.org/
news/200B/200B-12-1B_borman.asp.

EAA also has a wonderful Timeless
Voices interview of him online at
www.EAA.org/video/timelessvoices.
html?videold=5474347001. This,

too, is a must-see video of his
many experiences in a life full of
opportunity and challenges.
Following his retirement as CEO
of Eastern Airlines, Col. Borman
moved to Las Cruces, New Mex­
ico, and began restoring vintage
and warbird airplanes, several of
which he has flown to Oshkosh.
Over the years his company has
restored 17 aircraft.
Last on my list for this month's
column is a heartfelt thanks
from your board of directors to
those of you who have chosen to
hang in there with us as mem­
bers of the Vintage Aircraft Asso­
ciation. What with the economy
of late being so lean and mean,
this association still continues
to experience excellent rates of
membership renewal. It will al­
ways remain our mission to fulfill
your expectations and offer you
excellent value for your member­
ship dollar. As you can only imag­
ine, that will require your board
of directors to remain engaged ,
creative, and productive through­
out the upcoming new year.
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009,
The World's Greatest Aviation Cel­
ebration, is July 27 through August
2, 2009.
VAA is about participation: Be a
member! Be a volunteer! Be there!

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

39

Membershi~ Services Directory
VINTAGE

THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND
AIRCRAFT
ENJOY
~"~1I~
EAA's VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION
EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

~

~ TM

OFFICERS
President
Geoff Robison
152 1 E. MacGregor Dr.
New Haven, IN 46774
260·493-4724

Vice-President
George Daubner

2448 Lough Lane

Hartford, W I 5302 7

262-673-5885

[email protected]

[email protected]

Secretary

Treasurer

Steve Nesse

Charl es W. Ha rris

2009 H ighl and Ave.
Albert Lea, MN 5600 7
507-373- 1674

72 I 5 East 46th St.

Tu lsa, OK 74147

9 I 8-622-8400

cwh@hvs u.com


DIRECTORS
Steve Bender

Dale A. Gustafson

85 Brush H ill Road
Sh erborn, MA 0 1770
508-653-7557

Indian apo lis, IN 46278

sst [email protected]

[email protected]

7724 Shady Hills Dr.
3 17-293-4 430

David Ben nett

375 Killdeer Ct

Li n coln, CA 95648

9 16-645-8370

[email protected]

John Beren dt

Jeannie Hill
P.O . Box 328

Harvard, IL 60033-0328

8 15-9 43-7205


7645 Echo Poi nt Rd.

Espi e " Butch " j oyce
704 N . Regiona l Rd.

Ca nnon Fa lls, MN 55009

Greensboro, NC 2 7409

S07·263·24 14

336-668-3650
[email protected] m

[email protected]

Jerry Brown
4605 Hicko ry Wood Row

Greenwood, IN 46 143

3 17-422-9366

IbroWIl4906@aoi .col1l

Dave Clark

Dan Knutson

106 Tena Ma rie C ircle

Lodi, WI 53S55
608-592-7224

/[email protected]
Steve Krog

1002 Heather Ln.


Ph on e (920) 426-4800

EAA and Division Membership Services (8:00 AM-7:00 PM
Monday-frlday CST)

80()'564-6322
FAX 920426-4873
www.eaa.orgjmemberbenefits
[email protected]

•New/renew memberships · Address changes •Merchandise sales ' Gift memberships

EM AirVenture Oshkosh
888-322-4636
www.airventure.org
Sport Pilot/Lij(ht·Sport Aircraft Hotline 877-35g.1232
www.sportpifot.org
PrOgramS and Activities
Auto Fuel STCs
920426-4843
92()'426-6570
Education/ Aeroscholars
• EM Air Academy
920426-6880
www.airacademy.org
• EM Scholarships
92()'426-6823
Right Instructor information
920426-6801
www.eaa.orlUnafi
Library Services/ Research
92()'426-4848
Benefits
80()'727-3823
AUA Vintage Insurance Plan
www.auaonline.com
EM Aircraft Insurance Plan
866-647-4322
www.eaa.orgjmemberbenefits
EM Platinum VISA Card
80().853-5576 ext. 8884
EM Aircraft Rnancing Plan
866-808-6040
www.eaa.orgjmemberbenefits
EM Enterprise Rent-A-Car Program
877-421-3722
www.eaa.orgjmemberbenefits
Editorial
www.vintageaircraft.org
920426-4825
VAA Office
FAX 920426-6579

davecpd@att."et

[email protected] m

EAA

j oh n S. Copeland

Ro bert D. " Bob" Lumley

l A Deacon St reet

1265 Sou th 124 th Sl.
Brookfiel d, W I 53005
262-782-2633

Membership in the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Inc. is $40 for one year, indud­
ing 12 issues of SPORT AVIATIO N. Family
membership is an addi tio nal $10 an nually.
Jun ior Membersh ip (under 19 years of age)
is available at $23 annually. All major credit
cards accepted fo r membership. (A dd $16 for
Foreign Postage.)

[email protected]

Phil CouIson


S.H. "Wes" Schmid

284 15 Springbrook D r.

Lawton, M I 49065

269 -624-6490


2359 Lefeber Avenue
Wau watosa, W I 5321 3
4 14- 771 -1 545

rcoll ison516@cs .co m

shsch m i d@g,naii. com

DIRECTORS

EMERITUS

Robert C. Brauer
9345 S. Hoyne
Ch icago, IL 60643
805 -782-9713

E.E. "Buck " Hilbert
8 102 Leech Rd.
Union, IL 60 180
8 15-923-459 1

photop i iot@ao/,com

buck 7 ac@gma ii ,com

Gen e Ch ase
2159 Ca rlton Rd.
Oshkosh , WI 54904
920-23 I -5002

Gen e M orri s

5936 Steve Court

Roa n oke, TX 76262

8 17-49 1-9 110


GRCH A@charter. net

genem orris@Cli arter.flet

Ronal d C. Fritz
1540 1 Spa rta Ave.
Kent C i ty, MI 49330
616-678-5012

Jo hn Turgya n
PO Box 2 19
New Egypt, Nj 08533
609- 758-29 10

rFr i tz@pa th waynet.cmn

jrtu rgya n4@aoi .com

~

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
scholarships@eaa. org .
[email protected](
[email protected](

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION


Hartford, W I 53027
262-966-7627

copeland l @jlJllO.COtll

[email protected]
[email protected]

EAA Members Information Une
888-EAA-INFO (3224636)

Use this toll·free number for: information about AirVenture Oshkosh; aeromedical and technical aviation questions;

chapters; and Young Eagles. Please have your membership number ready when calling.

Office hours are 8:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Monday - Friday, CST)


635 Vestal La ne
Plai nfiel d, IN 46168
3 17-839·4500

Northborough, MA 01 532
508-393 -4775

Fax (920) 426-4873


Web Sites: www.villtJ1geaircra(t.org, www.airventure.org, www.eaa.org/memberbene(its E-Mail: villtageaircra([email protected]


EAA SPORT PILOT
Curre n t EAA membe rs m ay add EAA
SPORT PILOT magazine for an additiona l
$20 per year.
EAA Members hi p and EA A SPORT
PILOT magazine is ava ilable for $40 per
yea r (SPORT AVIATION magazine not ineluded). (A dd $16 for Foreign Postage.)

VINTAGE AIRCRAFf ASSOCIATION
Cu rre nt EAA m embers may jo in t he
Vi n tage Aircraft Associatio n an d receive
VINTA GE AIRPLANE m agazi ne for an ad­
ditional $36 per year.
EAA Members hip, VINTAGE AIRPLA NE
magazine and one year membership in the EAA
Vintage Aircraft Association is ava ilable for $46
per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not ineluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage.)




lAC

Cu rren t EAA membe rs may join t he
International Aerobatic Club, Inc. Divi­
sion and receive SPORT AEROBATICS
m agazine fo r an additional $45 per year.
EAA Membersh ip, SPORT A EROBAT­
ICS magazine an d one year membership
in th e lAC Division is ava ilable for $55
pe r year (SPORT AVIA TION magazine
no t incl ud ed) . (A dd $18 for Foreig n
Postage.)

WARBIRDS
Current EAA members may join the EAA
Warbirds of America Division and receive
WARBIRDS magazine for an additional $45
per year.
EAA Members h ip, WA RBIRDS maga ­
zine and o n e year members h ip in t he
Wa rbirds Division is avail able for $55 per
year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not ineluded). (A dd $7 for Foreign Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS
Please submi t your re m itta n ce with a
ch eck or d raft drawn on a Un ited St ates
bank payable in United States dollars. Add
required Foreign Postage amount for each
membership.

Membership dues to EM and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

Copyright ©2009 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved.
VINTAGE AIRPlAN E (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA
Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903·3086, e·mail: [email protected]. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane
magazine, is $36 per year for EAA members and 546 for non-EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at addijional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. PM 40063731 Retum undeliverable Canadian addresses to Pijney Bowes IMS, Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. FOREIGN AND APO
ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPlANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface 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: Members are encouraged to submij stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely
with the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800.
EAA® and EAA SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA logo® and Aeronautica T. are registered trademar1<s, trademar1<s, and service mar1<s of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademar1<s
and service marks without the pennission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited .

40

FEBRUARY 2009

Drive one.


Drive Green.

Fusion: It has the stuff you want.

The MPGs. The technology. The performance.


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FEBRUARY .23,1:909